THE DIARIES OF EDWARD PEASE
THE DIARIES
OF
EDWARD PEASE
THE FATHER OF ENGLISH RAILWAYS
EDITED BY
SIR ALFRED E. PEASE, BART.
LONDON
HEADLEY BROTHERS
BISHOPSGATE STREET WITHOUT E.G.
1907
HEAIM.tY BROTHERS
PRINTERS
LONDON J AND ASHFORD, KENT
V
I dedicate this volume to my eldest son
EDWARD PEASE born 1880
the senior representative in the latest generation
of the descendants of my great-grandfather
EDWARD PEASE born 1767
Integer vitae scelerisqtie purus
non eget Mauris jaculis neque arcu
nee venenatis gravida sagittis,
Fusee pharetra,
sive per Syrtes her aestuosas
ALFRED EDWARD PEASE
Pinchinthorpe
1907
PREFACE.
I ORIGINALLY intended this volume should be a private
memorial of the life and opinions of Edward Pease.
The introductory essay on Quakerism was an attempt
to set forth the general meaning of Quakerism in his
day, and of the peculiar system which developed,
influenced and restrained his character. I have
been persuaded to allow this book a wider circulation,
in spite of the style being little adapted to public
taste. The serious and tame records of an old time
Quaker s life seem hardly likely to interest many
outside the Society of Friends. I have hesitated
before placing my prosy old ancestor in the public
stocks, perhaps to be pelted by scoffers and critics.
Yet Edward Pease s life, however uneventful, narrow
and peculiar it may seem, was devoted to his conception
of his duty to his God and to his neighbour. His
public services, however small the value he desired
to have placed on them, entitle him to kindly treatment
by that great public who reap the fruits of his labours.
For myself I am satisfied if the object of placing on
record a truthful account of Edward Pease and of
8 PREFACE.
the singular system he supported and defended, is
in the opinion of his descendants faithfully accom
plished. Quakerism must be judged by its fruits.
It is not for me to say whether its professors did their
share towards alleviating the lot of suffering humanity,
increasing the true happiness and virtue of mankind,
and diminishing hatred and strife. If the verdict
be in its favour, it may induce a course of reflection,
leading some of my readers to find that this faith,
divested of human imperfections, is anything but con
temptible, and its old professors, not altogether
ridiculous.
In the quoted passages throughout this volume
the original spelling, as well as the old fashioned
indiscrimate use of capital letters, has been generally
adhered to. In the original diaries the date headings
are printed and this explains the absence of the Quaker
names of months and days in the extracts from the
Journals. This is my reply to the otherwise reasonable
criticism made by one who knew Edward Pease :
" It would have set the good old man s teeth on edge
to see Sunday 25th February in his Journal."
Messrs. Headley Brothers have given me every
assistance, and my grateful acknowledgment is
especially due to the firm s Literary Manager, Mr. S.
Graveson, who has, at all times and in the kindest
manner, given me the advantage of his advice and
experience.
CONTENTS.
II.
1838
Ill
1839 -
IV.
1840
V.
1841
VI.
1842
VII.
1843
VIII.
1844
IX.
1845 -
X.
1846
XI.
1847 -
XII.
1848
XIII.
1849
XIV.
1850
XV.
1851
PAGE
INTRODUCTORY ESSAY ON QUAKERISM - i
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES OF EDWARD PEASE AND
OF RACHEL HIS WIFE 43
THE DIARIES OF EDWARD PEASE :
INTRODUCTORY - 112
I. THE YEAR 1824 - 115
- 127
141
- - - - - 158
186
193
200
206
220
235
251
265
277
289
io CONTENTS.
PAGE
THE DIARIES OF EDWARD PEASE (continued) :
XVI. THE YEAR 1853 - - 302
XVII. 1854 310
XVIII. 1855 325
XIX 1856 335
XX. 1857 342
APPENDICES :
I. A PLEA FOR A PEACEABLE SPIRIT 351
II. A QUAKER WEDDING 354
III. EDWARD PEASE S MOTHER - 359
IV. JOSEPH PEASE AND BANKING 361
V. ITEMS FROM RACHEL PEASE S ACCOUNTS - 363
VI. EDWARD PEASE S FRUIT TREES - 365
VII. PAPERS RELATING TO THE EMPEROR
ALEXANDER OF RUSSIA - 367
VIII. GROWTH OF THE PORT OF MIDDLESBROUGH - 377
IX. A LABOURER S LETTER ON THE STARTING OF
THE FIRST RAILWAY - 379
X. MATERIALS THAT WENT TO MAKE A
QUAKER COAT - 382
XI DR. JOHNSON S ATTITUDE TOWARD THE
QUAKERS - 383
XII. QUAKERIETIES FOR 1838 387
XIII. LETTER FROM EDWARD PEASE FROM
MINDEN, 1842 - - 394
PEDIGREE CHART 400
INDEX - - 401
ILLUSTRATIONS.
PORTRAIT OF EDWARD PEASE, 1848 (Act. 80) - Frontispiece.
THE OLDEST LOCOMOTIVE - 44
MARY PEASE (SILHOUETTE) - 63
EDWARD PEASE AND ISAAC PEASE (SILHOUETTES) - 64
JOSEPH PEASE (PORTRAIT) 66
FACSIMILE OF HOTEL BILL, 1808 - 80
OPENING OF THE FIRST PUBLIC RAILWAY 88
FACSIMILE OF LETTER FROM GEORGE STEPHENSON, 1821 92
JOHN PEASE AND HENRY PEASE (SILHOUETTES) - - 108
JANE GURNEY Fox (PORTRAIT) - 201
NORTHGATE, DARLINGTON, IN 1848 - - 25!
GEORGE STEPHENSON (PORTRAIT) - 260
SAMUEL CAPPER (SILHOUETTE) - - 382
QUAKERISM.
AS the following pages deal with the lives of men
and women belonging to a peculiar religious
body, who passed through this world with a standard
of spiritual perfection ever before them, Religion must
claim a large share of the attention of the reader.
It seems necessary, at the outset, to give some
general idea of the principles upon which the Quakers
based not only their religion and worship, but regulated
their conduct. Besides, the object, in all the labour
my task has imposed, has not been merely to interest
posterity in the lives of those who have gone, and
preserve family records from oblivion, but through those
lives to discover, to any who are in need of it, a found
ation of rock upon which their forefathers built, against
and around which the storms of doubt and the tempests
of theological controversies beat and rage in vain.
The ultimate destiny of our individualities our
spirits, our souls must ever be the most vital, however
secret, concern of our existence. Any contribution
from the experience of others that may tend to save
the hearts of men from the torments of wondering
fears and doubts, or of losing themselves in the labyrinths
of contending creeds, and which can encourage in
mankind a faith and hope that no Bible criticism, no
philosophies, no human logic, and no scientific dis
coveries impair, is of some service to humanity.
It is because I believe the central principles of
the Society of Friends contain the touchstone in contact
2 EDWARD PEASE.
with which all turns to gold, and that, with all their
mistakes and eccentricities, the early Quakers pro
claimed a secret known to, or guessed by, others beside
themselves in many ages of the world, that I have
devoted my time to give an account* of bygone
generations of my family, which is also something of
an Apology.
Such fragments of family history as are here put
together I hope may contain evidence of how pure
Christianity can be practised, and of the truth and
fruits of Friends principles. If they indicate, at the
same time, the mistaken limits set up in applying
these principles, and where the conception of their
meaning was at fault, this part of my object will be
equally served.
From a mere hereditary point of view, few have
a superior title to speak of Quakerism : my ancestry
for 200 years, at least, being on male and female
sides purely Quaker ;f but few within the Society
have less of right and authority to put forward an
exposition of its Doctrines and Practice, and I here
warn the reader that I alone am responsible for this
attempt at one, and that the statements are my own
views and impressions, however authoritative some
of the sources may be from which they are derived.
I claim for the Truth, as the Quakers term their
creed, that it gives the answer to those who dare
in unflinching self-examination, and to those who
dare not, " Prove all things," and ask the questions
of their souls : Is there a God ? What is God ?
What is His will ? Can my reason, my intelligence,
my whole being truly believe in Christianity ? Is
the Bible true ? Have we immortal souls ? What
* This volume is one of a projected series.
f Pease and Coldwell, Pease and Coates, Pease and Richardson,
Pease and Whitwcll, Pease and Gurney, Pease and Fox, are the last
six generations.
QUAKERISM. 3
must I and mine and the world do to be saved ? Is
there a Hereafter, and what is it ?
To me it appears that, in general, professors of
Christianity have no realisation of the religion they
profess. The religion in vogue in most Christian
Churches is one that fills the soul with doubts and
superstitions, false fears, false hopes, and, reduced
to its naked meaning/ is so terrible that no one who
really believed it and realised its meaning could spend
a happy hour upon this earth. To me it seems that
this kind of Christianity is losing its hold on England.
To truly believe what intelligence and heart cannot
respond to is an impossibility. I must have a religion,
if I have any, that does not contradict what I know
are the deepest, purest, and best sentiments of justice,
mercy and love I find within me, and which I rever
ently believe are part of the Divine Spirit. I find
that rather than search for the truth, or fearlessly
examine the humanly devised and painted picture of
Christianity, the back is turned and the soul com
manded to accept what it can only pretend to believe.
This pretence is often misnamed " faith."
Quakerism at least divests religion from all outward
and material phenomena, from all anthropomorphising
of the Deity, and brings forth something more than
a theory, which philosophers or ecclesiastics may
gainsay, but cannot disprove, and which commends
itself to the open soul as to the open mind.
First, then, Quakerism does not unequivocally
demand that the Christian must believe that God
is a Being in the likeness of man, a gigantic Creator
sitting in the skies, who once upon a time in space
called into existence infinite numbers of celestial bodies
just to light this infinitely little world, and then pro
ceeded with this world s making and history as told in
the Bible at His dictation and out of His " mouth."
4 EDWARD PEASE.
It is not imperative on the Quaker to believe that
God has a " mouth " or spoke with a " voice," or that
He showed His " body " to Moses, or that He planned
and fixed our individual destinies. The Quaker
can, without any loosening of his faith, refuse to say
" I believe the Bible to be the Word of God," though
he could never say " The Bible does not contain the
Word of God."* He may believe it to be written with
poor human hands and by fallible men, but he will
believe that his own share of the Divine Spirit within
him can testify as to what is declared by the Spirit
of God in the Scriptures, and that in Divine ordering
the Scriptures were written for our guidance and
edification, and that they contain evidence of inspir
ation. Quakers, however, do not limit inspiration to the
writers of the Bible. I think they would claim all
good words, thoughts and deeds as inspired.
The Quaker rejects man-made doctrines. The
creeds of churches, theories about the Trinity and
Sacraments and apostolic succession are little to him,
and he need not trouble himself with attempts to
understand the mystery of the Incarnation or vex
himself by debating whether when God became man,
there were two gods, or about the puzzle of three
Persons in the Godhead. He cannot or need not
think that an all-powerful and omniscient Being
who sees the future, allowed man to fall when He could
have prevented it, permitted countless millions to
go to eternal suffering, and then to assuage His own
anger with the creatures whom, by a mere exercise
of volition, He might have at any moment in His
omnipotence, have rendered free from sin, suffering
or sorrow, voluntarily sent His Son and permitted
* According to the Quaker profession, Christ is the Word of God,
and "The Father, The Word, and the Holy Spirit are one, in divine
being inseparable."
QUAKERISM. 5
Him to be murdered with every circumstance of
cruelty and torture in order that He might be less
angry with the wretched beings He had called into
existence.
The miraculous does not strain the Quaker faith,
for we live in a universe of miracles, from the incom
prehensible mystery of the miracles of small things
such as the springing of the seed in the earth to a
plant or a tree and the life histories of all creatures,
to the vast systems of the heavenly bodies. But
new miracles are not required to prove the existence
of a Power that he feels within himself and perceives
without himself.
It is true that at various times the leaders of the
Society of Friends have attempted to reduce their
faith to writing. As early as 1693 (vide Sewel s
History) this was attempted, and again as late as the
last century but no credo of this sort has been
exacted as a religious test of members of the Society.
To deny and to assert the contrary of the doctrines
laid down in such declarations of faith would probably
unfit an individual for membership. Among the men
most honest with themselves there may, I believe
must be, doubts where beliefs are expressed in words
and reduced to writing. The Quaker creed or rather
its basis can be put very simply : God is a Spirit,
His Kingdom is spiritual, God (a spirit) is omnipresent,
this spirit embraces every quality of goodness, to every
man is given the spirit of God, and that the com
munication between the Spirit in man and God is a
reality, that His Spirit is a witness in the hearts of men,
and to hear this witness we must turn within and need
to be still. When once the full meaning of this is grasped
there is no difficulty in conceiving the Perfect Man,
incarnate spirit of God, and our spirits, if we listen, will
tell us surely the teaching and the life of Christ to be
6 EDWARD PEASE.
Divine and that in Him God has revealed Himself
to man. I know the difficulty of accepting absolutely
the New Testament accounts of the Conception, the
Resurrection, and the Ascension. The last perhaps
is the highest trial of faith, being from a human point
of view the most stupendous event, and yet supported
by so brief a Scriptural notice and by no evidence
outside. The man who can say he truly and honestly
believes in the bodily and material Resurrection and
Ascension of Christ is saved from the trembling wonder
and speculation in regard to the rising of the dead and
ultimate destiny. But on the evidence producable no
impartial court could bring in " proved."
The attitude of Friends to the doctrine of the
Trinity is difficult to define. It probably will not be
unfair to them to say it is in their opinion a human
device to express what is as inexpressible as it is
incomprehensible.* The following note which I found
among Edward Pease s papers, possibly states generally
the feeling of Friends on the subject :
" Whilst I love to contemplate the Deity under the three
fold character in which, for the benefit of poor lost and sinful
man, he has condescended to reveal Himself in the Holy
Scriptures, I seem in the secret of my heart the most profoundly
to adore Him, as an infinite and incomprehensible Unity
an ineffable and unapproachable glory an unutterable and
incommunicable name I am that I am, said the Lord to
His servant Moses nor can we by searching, find out the
Almighty to perfection. M JONATHAN HuiCHiNSON.t
"London, 5th mo., 26th, 1831."
I shall now try to show, in very light outline, how
Friends have presented their case and defended their
* "He that goes about to speak of and to understand the Trinity
and does it by words and names of man s invention, he will talk he
knows not what." Jeremy Taylor.
| Jonathan Hutchinson, of Gedney.
QUAKERISM. 7
principles as Christians : and then how their religion
and principles affected their conduct.
The reader must bear in mind that the religion of
Quakers is based on what they accept as Truth, that no
man knoweth the things of God but through the Spirit
of God that is in him, just as no man knoweth the things
of man save through the spirit of man. This leads us
to their doctrine of Universal Light.
When Christ said " If ye were blind ye should have
no sin," He said what our pure conception of justice
assents to. In the first chapter of the Epistle to the
Romans the Gentiles were condemned on the ground that
some knowledge of Divine Truth was theirs the whole
reasoning of the Apostle rests on the assumption that
they were guilty because they sinned against the
inward and universal light, God " had showed it unto
them, " partly by imprinting this knowledge of Himself
on the hearts of all men, and partly by His open book
of all creation. That the light is universal is the
consequent argument of " all have sinned," for " where
no law is there is no transgression," and it must follow
if " all have sinned " all have some knowledge of the
law. The so called heathen by this law feels con
demned when he lies, cheats, steals, and murders.
The perceptions of right and wrong come neither from
reason nor education, but are native and immediate,
and as Plutarch said, never permit the soul to be
destitute of an interior guide. Socrates describes
it as the voice which " has followed him ever since he
was a child. " This conscience may become dim and
degraded and dislodged from supremacy or deluded
by superstition and imaginations, and so may decide
good actions as bad and bad actions to be good. The
voice of conscience neglected grows fainter and fainter.
A Quaker believes that Christ gave Himself " a ransom
for all" and that the spirit of God " lighteth every
8 EDWARD PEASE.
man that cometh into the world," and that " in every
nation he that feareth God and worketh righteousness
is accepted of Him."*
For the promotion of union and brotherhood
among Christians the Quaker holds that all men should
abstain from harsh judgments, and that all classes
influenced by the Holy Spirit more than by the tradi
tions and opinions of men must be in fundamental
unity. Whilst abstaining from accusing and con
demning others, the true Quaker desires to " prove all
things, " and then to " hold fast to that which is
good."
The Quaker believes that God can be acceptably
and profitably worshipped without the intervention
of a single typical ceremony, and without the aid of
any human ministry ; that the work of the Holy
Spirit is direct and perceptible in the soul, and if the
inward guide is faithfully obeyed and closely followed
it will conduct us into true virtue and happiness ; that
there is no condemnation for those " who walk not
after the flesh but after the Spirit" ; and that " as many
as are led by the Spirit of God they are the sons of
God." Many other passages of Scripture support the
theory of the perceptible guidance, and that the inward
light reveals man s iniquities and his proneness to evil,
and must render him humble, lead him to self-denial,
and to taking up his Cross. The truth is perceptible
to those who retain their mind in calmness, and who
are still and wait for the leading of the Spirit of God,
and keep themselves abstracted from the world.
The Quakers claim to found their faith on Gospel
principles and their discipline on Gospel rules as the
best and surest outward guide provided. Quakers
also reject terms such as " original sin," " the Trinity,"
* See " Observations on the Distinguishing Views and Practices of
the Society of Friends," by Joseph John Gurney.
QUAKERISM. 9
" Sacrament," and many other expressions adopted
by other Christians not found in the Scriptures. Man
is born with proclivities to sin, but he is not regarded
as chargeable with uncommitted sin. Man sins and
nothing he can do can undo the past ; the sacrifice of
Christ proves what the love of God can do, and the
possibility of redemption and forgiveness. The Spirit
of God can purify and make man in future able to
resist sin. One of the peculiarities of this Quaker
theory of the Redemption is that it is given purely
from the love of God, and His forbearance, and not as a
sacrifice or murder to appease an angry Divinity; and
that any such theory is at variance with the voluntary
nature of Christ s sacrifice, who made Himself of no
reputation, who humbled Himself and became obedient
unto death. Friends believe in spiritual perfection
and that " whosoever is born of God doth not commit
sin," and rather oppose the idea of sudden conversion,
and favour the view of the new birth being a progress
and growth. As to Predestination, the Friends view,
I take it, is that if predestination were conceivable, the
mission of Christ was useless and ineffectual, and He
certainly gave no colour of countenance to such a
theory, which offends against such feelings of justice
and mercy as we are endowed with.
As to Immortality, the Quaker, I think, would
claim that the Light within him points most surely
to it, and as to what the future life may be, no heart can
conceive it ; speculation is therefore vain and idle.
To see the rule and the daily illustration that death
is the door to life, that unless the dead grain of seed
fall into the ground it is alone, but that buried it
springs into a larger and fuller existence, is sufficient.
To believe that following the Guide, man is on the only
path to eternal bliss is enough. What gifts limitless
Love and infinite Compassion may have in store, or
io EDWARD PEASE.
what the requirements of perfect justice may be, we
cannot know. But those who trust the Spirit of God
in Life can trust Him in the hour of Death, and such
die in peace and often in a sure and certain hope.
Through all the trials of time, in the mysteries of pain,
in the apparent inequalities of suffering and the
anguish of innocent and helpless creatures, we have
to believe in some way or other perfection can only
be attained through suffering, and that in the end
there is a glory so sublime that all this is nothing, and
the sufferer would oft repeat the experience rather
than lose the reward.
Whilst the world outside may find it impossible to
prove scientifically or philosophically the fact of
immortality, and is driven either to agnosticism or to
a blind faith, and a blind acceptance of Authority,
in this, and all else, the Quaker looks for the proof
within himself by the Light within, and believes that
the things of God knoweth no man but by the Spirit
of God within him. On the earth, in the universe,
man may grope outside in vain to find the Kingdom
of Heaven, for it is within him.
As for the rules of life, sufficient is revealed : they
are summed up in love toward God and love to our
neighbour. The 5th chapter of Matthew, when under
stood, learnt, and its lessons put into practice, will turn
men into Christians. The blessings are for the poor in
spirit, the afflicted, the meek, the hungry souls, the
merciful, the pure in heart, the peacemakers, the
persecuted. The danger is for unreasonable anger,
for the unforgiving, the implacable. Sins are of the
heart as well as in deed. Swearing is forbidden and
resistance and vengeance, and the refusal of charity.
Enemies are to be loved, those who hate you are to be
served, and the standard of perfection is the perfection
of God.
QUAKERISM. n
The spirituality of the religion of Quakers is appli
cable to all creation. The creation of the universe
or its existence is due to the principle we call life or
vital energy, that is the Spirit of God, which, in Bible
phrase, moved upon the face of the waters. In man
is placed a portion of this Spirit, and this is the basis
of the Doctrine of the Inward Light. As to mysteries
of the animal kingdom, and other miracles of what we
term creation and life, we know little, but we are
conscious that we at least are charged with a responsi
bility, and we cannot be sure that no spark of this Divine
spirit reaches the animal or other creations. Untrue
to this responsibility mankind is found out of harmony
with the divine element in his nature. Christ is
the one example of perfect harmony with the Divine.
Perfect God, as man, is the means by which we are
taught how perfection may be attained and Paradise
regained. The Inward Light or " Word " was made
flesh and dwelt among us.
As regards the Scriptures much can be said that
must exact an acknowledgment that they are of no
ordinary origin, but their divinity can only be proved
by the divinity in man, and the response of his spirit.
Knowledge I can gain from the Bible, but it is only
my spirit that can adapt it to its own needs, and
find the Great Spirit bearing witness with my own
spirit. Thus theology and knowledge have no relation
to the spiritual life. Even Luther declared the
Scriptures are not to be understood but by the same
spirit by which they were written. Reason is of no
avail against spiritual facts. That it is a spiritual
fact that our consciences are spiritually convinced by
the spiritual interpretation of the Scriptures cannot
be gainsaid. According to the Quaker theory a
spiritual guide is within us prompting to all that is
good and reproving all that is evil, and opening the
12 EDWARD PEASE.
spiritual eye to see the Spirit of God in all nature.
Thus Friends do not place the Bible as the principal
foundation of their religion, nor yet the first adequate
rule of faith and manners (Robert Barclay). The
Spirit of God reaches all mankind, the Bible only those
who have it and can read or hear it. The Scriptures
are neither perfect nor free from error. Opinions differ
in different epochs as to which are canonical but the
spiritual sense distinguishes between the true and the
false. In Barclay s words, " a sufficiently clear testi
mony is left to all the essentials of the Christian faith
in the Bible.
Quakers have been charged with making much of
the Spirit and little of Christ. Nothing could be more
mistaken ; they adore Him in His capacity as the
Human Example and a Man, but regarding Him as the
Spirit of God or God the Spirit, they place him on the
highest pedestal the human heart can conceive. It is
true that they dwell less than other Christians on the
mysteries of His birth, of His carnal condition, and
more on His spiritual mission. The human body of
Christ, which was temporal, is less to them than
the Spirit of Christ, which lives in each heart
not closed to Him. Christ is the Quakers only
Mediator, and they have neither Pope nor priest
standing as middle man to interrupt direct access
to God.
Ministry. Friends own no priesthood except the
One High Priest, accepting the abolition of human
intermediary offices, rites and ceremonies, declared in
the Epistle to the Hebrews. It is also a direct conse
quence of the spiritual basis on which their religion
is founded. They deny emphatically the possibility
of the Spiritual gifts of God being communicated by
human and material means and by human mediation
to the soul of man. No amount of theological training
QUAKERISM. 13
nor human qualifications qualify for ministry. Their
ministers must be of the " true tabernacle, which the
Lord hath pitched and not man." The logical conse
quence is that there is no sex limit to the call of the
Spirit, which is given to all. The objection raised to
women acting as ministers, founded on " Let your
women keep silence in the Churches, for it is not per
mitted unto them to speak, is brushed aside, the
word translated speak meaning " talk " and " con
verse " and not " preach," and St. Paul gives them
rules to conform to, when they prophesy or pray,
which is a confirmation of the contention.
The fitness of a Friend to be considered a Minister
is decided by the opinion of Elders, as to the evidence
of truth and inspiration in the tenor of the ministry
offered. The Monthly Meeting, on receiving the report
of the elders, if satisfied, simply acknowledges the
Friend as a Minister. Certificates are issued from
Monthly Meetings to Ministers, which set them free
to preach and visit outside the bounds of their own
Quarterly Meetings and in foreign parts. These are
in fact passports giving them the entree into other
Meetings and introducing them to the consideration
and attention of members of the Society and prevent
unauthorised persons imposing on Friends.
Elders. The office of Elder is a very important
one. In theory Elders are selected by joint committees
of the Monthly and Quarterly Meetings, and the
members of such committees are selected as far as
possible from persons of blameless lives and of clear
spiritual discernment. The duty of Elders is to watch
and advise on all questions of ministry, but they can
make no rules nor dictate any article of faith. All
these matters must be left to the authority of the
representatives of the whole church in Yearly Meeting
assembled.
14 EDWARD PEASE.
Worship. Must be spiritual and in truth no
human forms or rites or set prayers are recognised
" in truth " meaning that the worship must be the act
of a true disposition to worship. In theory no thought
before entering meeting as to what they are to say
should be taken by ministers. The spiritual faculty
must conceive in a state of mental calm, disembarrassed
from all human imaginations. In prayer the Minister
kneels, the congregation stands and men uncover. The
Minister alone need uncover when he stands up to
preach. It may often happen, with Ministers present,
that the entire period of worship is passed in silence.
Friends believe in the sublimity of silent worship, that
the best prayers transcend all power of words, and do
not consist in bent knees and prostrations of the body
or lip service, but in the lifting of the soul towards
God. The best devotion is secret and silent, and
" recollection " the best exercise towards it. The
singing of hymns and psalms is not countenanced,
because no act of religion can take place in truth unless
the Spirit influences the utterance and unless the
words used are true and honest to the heart of each
who uses them. And when there is attention to airs,
time and harmony there cannot be full and pure
oblation of the Spirit. To consider that human noises
and modulations of voice can please the Deity is to
anthropomorphise Him and make Him with ears of
flesh sensible to carnal delights. The psalm or hymn
may be the true spiritual prayer of the psalmist or the
divine, but is not from others who are not in that
particular disposition of mind. In theory they regard
not times and seasons, Sabbaths, and the new moons,
Feasts and Holy Days. These things are man ap
pointed, and devotion cannot be appointed by man for
stated times or days. Sunday is neither more holy nor
more proper for worship than any other day. Every
QUAKERISM. 15
day is the Lord s day. The first day in the week is
chosen for public worship, for no other reason than that
the Apostles chose it for their assembling with their
followers. But meetings are held on week days as
well. Those typical ceremonies regarded by other
bodies of Christians as essential rites and sacraments,
are not accepted by Quakers. Following the Founder
of Christianity, and the teaching of the Apostle to the
Hebrews, the ceremonial of religion is abolished with
the advent of a new covenant. " Baptism " and " the
Lord s Supper " are by most churches considered
essential rites, and one or both indispensable to salva
tion. Friends regard them both as out of harmony
with the spirituality of religion, for they are formal
and ceremonial and typical, the very kind of religion
that Christ abolished, for they maintain, when Christ
came and died, the sacrificial type was fulfilled. St.
Paul remonstrated with the Colossians, " Why . . .
are ye subject to ordinances ? " Baptism is a survival
of the Jewish typical ablutions ; the Lord s Supper
of the sacrificial rites. When I have talked with
Mohammedans and other religious persons unpre
judiced by anything near my own associations, I
have at times, when divested for a moment of precon
ceived opinions, been able to see clearly something of
the horror with which they regard the incorporation
of a cannibal idea into the worship of the Spirit of the
Universe.
The baptism of proselytes was, it is believed, used
as a sign among the Jews. It was a rite of purification.
When John baptised it was no strange innovation.
When later the Apostles baptised converts to Jesus it
was in conformity with the Jewish practice. The
Lord s Supper was eaten with the bread broken and
wine poured out according to the Jewish observance
of the Passover.
16 EDWARD PEASE.
As regards the interpretation of certain passages
which are used from the New Testament in support of
the continued use of these typical ceremonies, Friends
judge by a spiritual interpretation rather than a
literal.
To found baptism as an order of Christ s on the
words addressed to Nicodemus, " Except a man be
born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the
Kingdom of God," seems at variance with the system
of Christianity, besides placing a great weight on a
solitary and obscure expression. Friends take this
baptism in a spiritual sense as signifying converted
and cleansed by the Spirit of God, and feel justified
in doing so when they examine such expressions as
" baptise with the Holy Ghost and with fire." Why
take the " born again " figuratively and the " baptism "
literally ? How is it that St. Paul declares he had no
commission to baptise ? I leave, however, the dis
cussion of these questions for the reader to follow in
other books, beyond referring him to the following
notes I found among my father s papers after his
death :
When a child of mine thinks it would conduce to his or her
spiritual growth or comfort to be baptised, perhaps the first
feeling that it calls forth in my mind is one of injured family
pride. For 200 years or more all my ancestors have lived and
died in the faith of Christ, and many, if not all, in perfect peace,
and not one has been baptised.
Putting this feeling to one side, I would ask, " What is to
be gained by this ceremony ? "
Is it an outward and visible sign of being a member of
Christ s Church ?
I would reply, " It can be no such sign, for there are thou
sands baptised who it is notorious are not members of Christ s
Church on earth."
The outward signs of being members of Christ s Church are
the ornaments of " a meek and quiet spirit," of using the
QUAKERISM. 17
talents given in His fear and to His glory, and not in an act
that can only be performed once in a lifetime.
Baptism was no doubt the sign by which the nations living
around the Jews acknowledged their worship of the One
true God. In this sense it was used by the Apostles.
Christ never baptised.
Paul the Great Apostle to the Gentiles tells us Christ gave
him no commission to baptise.
There is one Lord, one faith, one baptism.
That baptism is the baptism of the Holy Ghost.
Without that baptism water baptism is powerless. With
it water baptism is useless and needless ! Then why use
water baptism ?
How are you to be baptised ? As in the Church of England ?
A few drops of water on your face ! Is that the essential
acknowledgment of your Christianity ? Or by total immer
sion as amongst the Baptists ? The latter is perhaps the truer
and more complete emblem of purification yet how few
adopt it.
Who is to baptise you ? The man made a priest by the
Bishop s hands ?
The man sent there by the Wesleyan Conference ?
The man selected by the Independent Congregation ?
Which of these rather than any other has the power of God
to subject you to a rite by which you confess your acknow
ledgment of Christ s Kingdom ?
But after all, Christ s Kingdom, Christ s Church, is not
set up in meats and drinks and divers ordinances. It is a
spiritual Kingdom. They that belong to it have their hearts
purified. It is no longer a dispensation of symbols but of
Christ in man, Christ s spirit being in men teaching them
leading them to a likeness with Himself.
If you once admit the need or even comfort of an outward
sign, where is it to end ? In praying before an outward and
visible Cross ? You at once admit that Christ s Kindgom is
not a spiritual Kingdom but a Kingdom of signs and symbols
to some extent. You lower the standard. You degrade
Christianity. It seems to me that those who think there is
comfort in the signs are very apt to lose hold of the comfort
18 EDWARD PEASE.
there is in the daily realisation that He hath loved us and washed
us from our sins in His blood. That thus washed we are safe.
No symbol will alter our position in the least. Then why use
a symbol, when even as such it is useless, when the reality is
within reach.
The following, taken from Joseph John Gurney,
will explain the position of Friends to the Lord s
Supper :
The words used by Our Lord on this solemn occasion afford
no more evidence that the bread which He brake was itself
His body than they do that the cup which He held in His
hand was itself the New Testament in His blood. It was an
actual meal, and when the earliest Christians partook of the
Lord s Supper, there was no mystery in the observance.
And he shows how it was a social repast at which they
simply remembered the dying of their Lord.
The Scriptures do not appear to afford us any
sufficient proof that the command on which this
custom was founded was intended for the whole Church
of Christ in all ages, any more than our Lord s injunction
to His disciples to wash one another s feet.
But no sooner was this practice changed from its
original simple character, employed as a part of the
public worship of God, and converted into a purely
ceremonial rite, than the state of the case was entirely
altered. The great principle that God is to be wor
shipped in spirit and in truth was infringed . . .
a return took place to the old legal system of forms
and shadows.
It is probably in consequence of this change the
invention and contrivance of man that an ordinance
of which the sole purpose was the thankful remem
brance of the death of Jesus, has been abused to an
astonishing extent. Nothing among professing Chris
tians has been perverted into an occasion for so much
QUAKERISM. 19
superstition ; few things have been the means of
staining the annals of the Church with so much blood.
It is the Spirit that quickeneth, as our Saviour
Himself has taught us, " the flesh profiteth nothing."
The attitude of the Society towards the Civil Gov
ernment and in respect to oaths and war may be briefly
indicated here. The testimony of Friends in regard to
Church rates, tithes, military obligations and oaths
brought them under the ban of the law. There were
at all times individual Quakers who were not clear as
to the position taken, as a body, by the Society in its
stand against tithes, but the general conviction was
so strong against paying taxes to support a sacerdotal
caste and forms of worship, which they believed to be
a departure from those of primitive Christianity, that
most Friends, till my time, submitted to being dis
trained on for these imposts rather than pay them.
Some of the clergy exercised forbearance, but, as a rule,
were the chief instigators of persecution. But Friends
refused only to obey such laws as they regarded as
being in conflict with the Divine will. They considered
that the law s requirements were met by active obe
dience when not conflicting with Divine duty, and
when otherwise, they believed the law to be satisfied
by an unresisting acceptance of the suffering imposed
by the laws. Thus, when the law demanded that they
should swear, they declared that the " Swear not at
all " of Christ must be obeyed before the command of
the magistrate. When called on to bear arms they
were unable to reconcile injury and violence to their
fellow creatures with the precept to love their enemies.
Friends have drawn a very distinct line for themselves
between the Civil and the Military arm. In practice,
it is not always easily to be distinguished and at times
a distinction is compelled between the application of
their principles to individual action and as citizen
20 EDWARD PEASE.
members of a community. Many Friends are not
quite clear as to the exact attitude required of them,
and some few agree with Isaac Penington s views thus
expressed : " I speak not against any magistrate or
people defending themselves against foreign invasions
or making use of the sword to suppress violent and
evil-doers in their borders ; for this the present state
of things may and doth require ; and a great blessing
will attend the sword when it is borne uprightly."
As an illustration of the attitude of the Society to
day in respect to war I refer the reader to Appendix I.
The peculiar customs and habits of the Society,
many of which have fallen into disuse, or have been
greatly modified, result from this view, namely, the
necessity of being retired and still and out of the world,
in order to gain a true perception of God s will. The or
ganisation of Friends into a Society, and the principles
underlying their Discipline and Education, practically
imposed on members an obligation to follow practices
and accept certain doctrines as conditions of member
ship. Many of these conditions have no absolute
connection with the principles of their faith. It is not
too much to say that in the attempt to rid themselves
of human traditions and ceremonies the Quakers of
the period covered by these records had constructed
a formalism and tyranny of rules that was worthy of
the Pharisees.
The peculiarities of Quaker dress arose in a very
simple manner, firstly from the refusal to change the
mode of dress with the fashions, secondly by attention
to great simplicity. The main body of the early
Quakers was drawn from the middle class of society,
who mostly wore simple clothing, and almost invariably
drab or grey cloaks of undyed wool, foreign dyed
stuffs being beyond their reach. The times also were
those of a very general Puritan simplicity in dress.
QUAKERISM. 21
The early Friends made no alteration in their dress
because of their religion, but recommended simplicity
and plainness of apparel. If gaily clothed people j oined
the Society they laid aside their gaudy clothing. But
anything like an uniform did not exist till about the
middle of the eighteenth century. By 1800 Quakers had
become extremely formal, laying great stress, contrary
to their best principles, on outward forms of dress,
phraseology and customs. Long before Queen Vic
toria come to the throne, the " green apron " and beaver
hat had been dropped by women friends and the pre-
Victorian coal-scuttle bonnet,* made plain and ex
aggerated, was added to the livery, and became de
rigeur for the fair sex. There were, in my time in the
sixties, still one or two men Friends of an old school who
still wore three cornered hats instead of broadbrims, and
I can also remember some extraordinary broad brimmed
beavers, buff and straw coloured, very rough in their
fur, and astonishingly quaint. Any deviation from the
sealed pattern of the uniform was looked on as a devia
tion from simplicity of heart, and as backsliding from
the duty of taking up the Cross. The uniform was
found a splendid test of real connection with the
Society, and a great protection from the world. A
Quaker could not be seen at races, cock fights, or
balls without attracting a peculiar and disagreeable
attention and running the risk of his conduct becom
ing known to his friends. Nor when away from home
was he safe from the observation of other Friends, f
* I have a portrait taken in the end of the i8th Century or not
earlier than the beginning of the i9th, of Mrs. Richard (Rachel) Gurney,
of Keswick, in one of these bonnets and with the great regulation muff
common among women Friends as late as 1870.
f Joseph John Gurney, like John Pease, though more evangelical in his
views, was a great upholder of the peculiarities of Friends in the
matters of dress and language. The Orthodox Friends of the days of
my youth had given to this part of the Quaker system an importance
equal to the fundamental doctrines of Christianity at least as far as
its relation to the discipline and life of the Society. They
22 EDWARD PEASE.
In furniture and decorations they tried to be simple,
and in this respect the early Victorian Quakers and
preceding ones displayed a better and simpler taste
than society. The richer members used the best
articles because the best wear longest and are the most
useful. The best of curtains, the best of Turkey
carpets, and elegant but solid furniture were in use in
Friends houses. But useless fringes, decorations,
gilded chairs and satin seats, pictures and portraits
were seldom seen in their homes. Many of them
collected prints, but few Friends had their portraits
painted. When photography was introduced many
allowed themselves to be photographed, thinking no
doubt that such likenesses would not flatter but be
correct and truthful images.
Plain Speech. George Fox introduced or re-intro
duced the " Thou " to take the place of you in the
singular. That is to say he reinstated the general
practice, for Thou and Thee have always been re
tained as the familiar pronouns among the humbler
classes. Undoubtedly, judging by other languages,
and following those who recommended this reversion
regarded departure from the peculiar pose or bearing of a Quaker,
his dress and speech, as leading surely to neglect of the other
" testimonies " of the Society and probably to a merging with the
world outside. To quote Joseph John Gurney s words it tended to
" the loss of the high and conspicuous standard which it is now the
privilege of the Society to uphold respecting the Christian law of
peace, and respecting the complete spirituality of the gospel dispensa
tion " As far back as 1859 a critic, one of their own body, said "And is it
come to this that this Society, that two hundred years ago braved
the fiercest persecution . . and whose members were most effect
ually distinguished from the rest of the world by their extraordinary
zeal and the pre-eminent holiness and integrity of their lives, now
require a broad-brimmed hat, a straight collar and an indescribable
bonnet with a blanket shawl in order to enable them to maintain their
high principle or to avoid merging in general society ? " and went on
to show that " the bright light is now in most part concealed under
a bushel, and the rest of the world, for whom the friends complacently
believed they are holding up a conspicuous standard, scarcely notice
them except as a very peculiar and totally incomprehensible, though a
very well meaning, people."
QUAKERISM. 23
to correct address, George Fox had grammatical argu
ment on his side, but it was also adopted because of
some supposed flattery that existed in using " you."
The whole thing was a piece of pedantry, but if the
use of Thou and Thee was respectful to the Deity,
it was respectful and not offensive towards men.
Most of these customs of language among Friends
were pedantic and ridiculous, and sometimes con
fusing, such as the disuse of the names of the days
of the week and months. They also avoided the words
" Saint," " Christian name," " good-bye," " Rev
erend," and all other titles of courtesy.
Hat Testimony. Friends who prayed or preached
did so uncovered, and during prayer all uncovered
because St. Paul enjoins the custom, but they
would not use the same outward mark of homage
for men as they used for God. They wore their hats in
Meetings for Worship, in Courts of Law, in Churches,
in the presence of kings, and never doffed them as a
sign of honour and respect to man or to a place. This
was a protest against extravagant fashions of address,
against the idea that man was more in the presence of
God in one place than another, and against the in
sincerity of the bowing and scraping and hat carrying
salutations of the day. The superstition that the omni
present Spirit of God haunts buildings more than
other places has a firm hold on the religious and
superstitious people of this country. Whilst admitting
the force of association and the effect on the human
mind of beautiful architecture, the edifices of certain
sects and especially of the Anglican branch of the
Church are a sort of fetish with ecclesiastics and their
flocks, thousands of pounds will be spent in what is
called beautifying them, whilst ministers and curates
cannot be paid and the poor and sick remain unvisited
and uncomforted. The most elaborate building is but
24 EDWARD PEASE.
a pimple among the mountains of God s world, and the
accoutrements and accessories of worship here no wit
better than those of Oriental idolaters or indeed than
of some African savages. " He dwelleth not in temples
made with hands."
It is only occasionally, so does familiarity with the
customs of one s own countrymen destroy impartial
and unprejudiced mental vision, that I have been able
to see in a true and naked light the absurdity and
stupidity of the ecclesiastical paraphernalia of our
Churches. These clear glimpses have usually occurred
after long absences from England, after becoming
familiar with the people of other religions. At such
moments, the attitudes and poses, the vestments and
the ornaments, the ceremonies and the noises, which
have become the recognised accompaniments of re
ligious services at home have appeared to me far more
childish, ridiculous and curious than anything I
have seen in the East, or among Abyssinians and
Mohammedans, or even among idolaters and pagans.
Indeed there is more dignified simplicity and reality
in the worship in the mosque or in the desert, there is
less theatrical nonsense of gestures and dress in
heathen temples, there is less affectation of voice and
manner among so called savages, than is to be found in
many services in our own land. And yet all this is
supposed to please God. Whether it does or not
we do not know. He looks at the heart, but it
pleases the eyes and ears of a large number of His
creatures.
Is it not possible that a greater prevalence of
doubt as to " the truth " of all required of the national
priesthood is responsible for the falling off in numbers
among candidates for it ? A suspicion that it is not
all consistent with honest intelligence and with pure
religion is growing.
QUAKERISM. 35
To the Quaker, Bishops in lawn sleeves, aprons,
knee breeches, and weird head gear studded with
tufts of ribbons, clergymen in cassocks, surplices,
and bell rope hangings, processions and struttings,
and curious noises in the back regions of churches for
theatrical effect appear as far from Christ s practice and
teachings as the ends of the earth are asunder. Are
the performers on any higher level in these respects,
considering their opportunities, than Kaffir witch
doctors, smellers out, green turbaned Mullahs, and
dancing dervishes ? Yet so ingrained is all this and
so steeped in superstition are our priests and people
that any such opinions as the foregoing are more
likely to be regarded as the ravings of a lunatic
than anything else, and certainly not worth a
moment s consideration, far less examining by the
standard of Christ s own example or that of His
immediate followers.
Friends at a day when grace before meat was
habitual, said none; because the habit was artificial,
and often accompanied by no religious disposition.
To give all or any opportunity to recognise the
author of all good things and to thank Him they
sat a minute or two in silence before meals. Friends
also as a rule took no part in the drinking of healths
during or after meals, as a heathenish custom descended
from pre-Christian times and likely to promote intem
perance. In some Friends houses the ladies sat with
the gentlemen over the wine, though they were never
under an obligation to do so. And the practice in
those days of sitting over the wine till tea time was
rare among them. The bottle passed round after
dinner, but there was no obligation to fill. When I
was young, outside the Society it was considered bad
form, or at least attracted attention, to pass the
bottle without filling.
26 EDWARD PEASE.
Marriage. When informal betrothal had taken
place, the man had to publicly declare his intention
of marriage before his Monthly Meeting, producing
certificates of consent from his fiancee and parents.
A deputation of two men and two women were then
appointed to visit the parties and inquire if they were
quite " clear " from any other engagements. The
next Monthly Meeting received the report ; if reported
" clear," they were free to marry. In the case of second
marriages the rights of children of the first marriage
are under the care of the Monthly Meeting in such
preliminary inquiries. The marriage is solemnised
in meeting by a declaration in form made by each
contracting party, and the signature by them of a
certificate engrossed on parchment and witnessed by
relations in the right hand column and by any others
present in the remaining space. This certificate is
signed before leaving the meeting, and often is an
interesting record of autographs. I hold them for
many generations of my own family.
Till recently marriage was only permissible between
Friends, and to marry " out " meant disownment.
Probably this severity was due to the frequent un
comfortable experiences of " mixed marriages," the
resulting contravention of Friends principles, and
the difficulty of maintaining the " discipline " of
the Society in respect to plainness of speech and
simplicity of apparel, etc. Women were far more
frequently disowned for marrying out than men, a
woman being more easily attracted to the liberty and
fashions of the world, and the virtue and education
of women Friends being a special attraction to many
outside the Society.
The marriage of first cousins was also forbidden.
The frequency of disownments for disobedience
in these respects had a deplorable effect on the Society
QUAKERISM. 27
and materially affected its numbers. A much wiser
and more charitable policy has long been adopted.
I give as an illustration of a Friends wedding in
Appendix II. a newspaper report of one in 1851 ;
which contains the address by John Pease on the
occasion, whence the Quaker view of the marriage tie
and its indissolubility may be gathered.
Funerals. All unnecessary display of mourning
is discouraged and all ceremonial pomp dispensed
with. Mourning formerly was never worn by Friends,
and no rites are observed at the burial, but a Meeting
for Worship is held subsequently to the interment,
and at the graveside usually some minister or other
Friend breaks the silence by prayer or address. In
early times, before the Friends had burial grounds of
their own, they buried their dead in their gardens,
orchards, and closes. I know of several of these old
places. Not a few Friends were buried in the garden
of Headlam* Hall, the residence of my brother,
Mr. Joseph A. Pease. Vaults are rare in Friends
families. Tombstones have comparatively recently
been permitted, f and no epitaphs are allowed, nor are
the gravestones permitted to be ornamental. In
all Quaker graveyards they are of a uniform plain type,
and these cemeteries are free from the marbles, columns,
and forests of ingenious but unsightly monuments of
the dead. The best way of honouring the dead, accord
ing to Quakers, is to keep alive the good actions of the
man in your memory. And the practice is still main
tained of issuing " testimonies " from the Monthly
Meetings, which are memoirs of deceased Friends,
containing lessons of piety and morality drawn from
their lives. These are submitted for further examina-
* Headlam, where lived the Birkbecks and Garths; see Surtees
" History of Durham."
j At first only a flat stone on the grave was allowed, with names and
dates. Now headstones of a simple pattern have been permitted.
28 EDWARD PEASE.
tion to the Quarterly and Yearly Meeting, so that
every precaution is taken that such biographical
notices shall be consistent with truth and utility and
form a reliable and lasting memorial. As to mourning
apparel, Friends profess to discard it, as mourning
should be worn in the heart and not as a fashion, often
in insincerity and for advertisement. Their attitude is
(or was) a protest against display, extravagance and
hypocrisy.
Occupations. It was not only the manner in which
they adapted the principles of their religious persuasion
to a practice that made Quakers a peculiar and limited
body, and put bounds to their action as citizens and
curtailed their general usefulness. The laws of their
country hedged them into a narrow field during several
generations, leaving few other spheres of energy to them
other than trade and agriculture. Their pursuit
of wealth was a result of these conditions, but in
their pursuit they were honest, not from policy but
principle, and they have kept hands clean from blood
and oppression, in days when trade too often meant one
or both of these things. A few Friends were doctors,
sea captains, and solicitors. Originally most lived in
the country, out of the crowd, and as far as they could
get from molestation, but now the reverse is the case,
for the ordinary avenues of life are open, persecution is
no more, and the facilities for common worship and
education in towns are greater. This change is largely
answerable for the loss of that quietude and simplicity
and abstraction from the world, which is encouraged
by rural tranquility. Spiritual existence is in har
mony with nature in the fields and woods and among
scenes formed for contemplation. The earlier Friends
warned their fellows against cities and the concourse
of towns. As regards trade, the manufacture of
arms and munitions of war, slave owning and slave
QUAKERISM. 29
trading were forbidden, also privateering, as akin to
robbery and war, and Friends have always been
careful to inculcate the wrong of all attempts to
defraud the public revenue, and to warn Friends in
regard to such business as distilling spirits. In all
differences between themselves litigation had to be
avoided and resort had to arbitration. Where this has
not been tried first, disownment is, or used to be, the
consequence.
The Poor. All members of the Society are in
theory bound to support each other. In practice all the
necessities of the poor are provided, and members
of the Society have a right to a treatment as belonging
to one great family. The Monthly Meetings are
charged with the oversight of the poorer members.
Whatever the overseers (men and women) find is
required in the way of supplies and medical attendance
is ordered, and the Monthly Meeting pays. In London
formerly, and perhaps still, a committee is appointed
to attend to each poor person. Relief is, of course,
given quite privately, neither disorderly conduct nor
any other, discovered after the need of relief, is allowed
in principle to disqualify.* Subscriptions for this and
other objects are collected quarterly, and on special
occasions. The poor are attached to their Monthly
Meetings, and their children s instruction is carefully
attended to by it. The pride that will hide its
poverty is discouraged as much as possible. The
poor of the Society are self-respecting, well educated
and moral, and can never fall into the pauper class
as long as their membership is retained.
These peculiar customs and doctrines grew largely
out of the minutes and advices which were the printed
sentiments of the religious leaders in the Society.
They consist of recommendations and suggest pro-
* Vide p. 133, 1869 Edition of Clarkson s "Portraiture of Friends."
30 EDWARD PEASE.
hibitions as rules of guidance, and as they came from
bodies of supposed spiritual minded men they are
regarded as spiritual in origin.
Quaker parents were and are sensible of the
needs of youth. Even in the strict old days
the child was allowed the amusements, toys and
exercises that other children enjoy. They proscribed
all games of chance, dice, cards, horse-racing, and
cock-fighting, the public lottery, pure speculation, and
laying wagers. All childish games that tended in
these directions were generally disallowed. The
principle upon which these prohibitions rested was
that they absorbed valuable time, led to waste of
money, to a disturbed mind, to covetousness, and often
to misery, and were below the dignity of Christian
character, and that the time so spent should rather
be devoted to the improvement of moral character and
the pursuit of knowledge.
The little Quaker, however, had to undergo a
course of training that might make it easier for him
to attain that stillness and quietness of mind that was
of such importance. So each perverse passion was
promptly checked and the child made passive and
quiet in deportment.
Music was not allowed ; not that Friends condemned
music or were insensible to it, but they thought it led to
self-gratification and to little improvement of the mind,
and might promote sensual and voluptuous thoughts.
Besides music would disturb the " retirement " of the
elder members of a household. They disliked much
in the sentiments and words of songs, martial, impure,
Bachanalian, and generally thought the pursuit of
music led into the world.
As the child emerged from infancy he found the
theatre forbidden. It must be remembered when
Friends, as a Society, were in their infancy, the stage
QUAKERISM. 31
was a school for profligate and corrupt morals, and
George Fox placed it under a ban, as did Robert
Barclay and William Penn. But later, Friends objected
to the fiction of the drama and the pretence of actors to
pleasure or pain as contrary to Christian simplicity, and
they also disliked warrior heroes, knaves succeeding
without punishment, and the influence of acted trage
dies and comedies on the mind.
Dancing was left out of Friends education in spite
of its power of improving deportment and leading to a
graceful use of the limbs, partly because music is neces
sary and partly because it led into vain amusements
and frivolity. Great attention, however, was given to
deportment.
Novels were practically forbidden, because they
created an indisposition towards other kind of reading.
Field Sports were not absolutely condemned,
or if they were, the rule was frequently broken, at
least amongst the youth of the Society. Fishing was
considered less blameworthy than shooting, and
shooting than hunting. Still the Society strove to
foster a tender disposition towards the whole animal
creation, from the time of George Fox onwards, and
censured these diversions. It clearly ranked hunting
and shooting for diversion as vain sports, and " would
rather see leisure employed in serving our neighbour
than in distressing the creatures of God for our amuse
ment." Yet who has ever met the Quaker who on
principle refused a present of game, or to eat it ? All these
prohibitions Friends based on no specific scriptural
authority, but as implied in the spirit of Christianity.
Their policy was to bar all approaches to the avenues
of vice, and to fill the heart as much as possible with
virtue. Whether a man is better able to fight vice
and pursue virtue under this system than any other
will be disputed by many, but in Friends families
32 EDWARD PEASE.
where the policy was consistently pursued its success in
bringing up virtuous men and women was, it may be
said, almost if not quite complete. The first lesson
was to abstain from vice, and this was the first step to
virtue. The young Friend came, by means of this
kind of education, to the same maxims of philosophy
and religion as the foundation of happiness that others
learn after a vain and long pursuit of pleasure.
The discipline of the Society is based on the principle
that vigilance over the moral conduct of individuals
is a duty, and that interference and admonition
must be accompanied by a spirit of Christian love
and tenderness. The courts charged with this
duty are the Meetings for Discipline. The extreme
punishment is disownment. The administration of
the Discipline is in the hands of men and women who
are appointed overseers to one or more congregations.
It is the duty of overseers to take cognisance of all
violations of prohibitions, and any inconsistency with
Christian conduct.
The overseers first admonish privately, unless a
case is notorious, and the admonition is secret, and
considered sacredly so, and has to be without austerity
and in tenderness. If repeated admonition fails, the
case is laid before the Monthly Meeting. Such cases
comprised and still do with some exceptions : im
morality, drunkenness, paying tithes, marrying a first
cousin, or outside the Society, swearing, insolvency,
breach of rules, etc., etc. The Monthly Meeting
appoints a Committee to wait on the delinquent, and
the Committee reports. Appeal lies from the Monthly
to the Quarterly Meeting, and from the Quarterly
to the Yearly Meeting. In the administration of this
discipline, careful attention was always given, not to
be " respecters of persons." The arrangement of the
discipline and organisation of the Society is simple :
QUAKERISM. 33
1. A Meeting. Each congregation of members
constitutes a Meeting, and becomes a Prepara
tive Meeting, when arranging business for a
Monthly Meeting, with an appointed clerk.
2. A Monthly Meeting. A group of Meetings at
tended by representatives appointed by Meet
ings. These meetings take place as a rule every
month, and are preceded by a Meeting for
Worship. In these, as in all meetings, the men
and women in the old days sat apart and
separated.*
3. A Quarterly Meeting. A group of Monthly
Meetings, attended by representatives from the
Monthly Meetings, preceded by a Meeting for
Worship.
At the Quarterly Meeting set questions are put
and answered, f
4. A Yearly Meeting, constituted from the repre
sentatives of the Quarterly Meetings. This
meeting takes up all appeals and questions from
the meetings, passes in review the state of the
Society, and its institutions, "Sufferings," new
proposals for regulations or advices. The Meeting
receives reports from foreign bodies of Friends,
and Missions. Decisions are not carried by
votes or voices, but by the sense and convince -
ment of those present. This is a most remarkable
instance of what, humanly speaking, seems an
impracticable method, proving a most practicable
one and one most conducive to order. The Yearly
Meeting issues a general Epistle to be circulated
through the Society, and is a vehicle for advice
and warning as well as for encouragement.
* At the present time in not a few Meetings the sexes sit together.
| The Queries of to-day are given, p. 41, et seq,, Vol. II. of
Christian Discipline," 1906.
34 EDWARD PEASE.
In conclusion, it would seem that Quakerism in the
past begot at times a narrow view of life s duty to the
world at large, an exclusive and inhospitable spirit to the
poor struggling fellow creatures around it. It seems
an irony that members of a body theoretically founded
on principles of universal charity should have become
at one period, at least, concentrated on the salvation
of their own souls, and the attainment of perfection,
and that to such an extent as to be incapable of or
dinary social association and fellowship with those who
were not of them. That there were always many who
broke loose from these fetters is certain. There have
always been Elizabeth Frys and William Aliens to set an
example of a more unselfish service, refusing to be kept
within the pale of a sect by a hedge of formalism, or by
the threatening face of an unkind world. The system of
the Society set limits on education and intellectual
development, but gave to the whole body a better
average knowledge and far greater refinement than
was common in parallel classes of the community.
Much innocent happiness was frowned on, and Friends
often forgot that a merry heart doeth good like a medi
cine, and that this world and all things were given richly
to enjoy.
Friends became slaves to, and superstitious about,
outward forms of dress, manners and speech, and
were perpetually perplexed with many questions of
little real importance, and harassed with impressions
and scruples now scarcely comprehensible in rational
beings. Persecution and their own training made
them self-reliant and often obstinate in spirit. The
ordinary openings for man s energies being for the
most part closed to them, their natural talents were
directed to money getting, and their honesty and
reputation made the pursuit, as a rule, successful.
Their caution and evasiveness in speech gave them
QUAKERISM. 35
a reputation ior slyness, something like that of the
canny Scot, which I do not think they deserved,
but which was the result of a training to be always
on their guard and to speak only the truth. There
is nothing that creates more suspicion than the cautious,
ambiguous reply.
The impression, as a whole, left by the old school
upon my mind, is a curious mixture of wonder and ad
miration, but not of attraction or affection. With very
striking exceptions, the older Quakers were calculated,
when not intimately known, to repel and frighten chil
dren, from the general gravity and austerity of their
demeanour and from their suppression of animation
outside their own families. But it was a day when
even outside the Society children treated parents
with respect, and the family patriarchs with trembling
veneration.
Shortly before my father s death, my sisters
and I looked over some hundreds of photographs
(from Southend) of old friends, American and British,
and, I am sorry to say, all my father failed to iden
tify, we destroyed. I am bound to confess there
were many in this collection that were dreadful to
look at, not so much because of their general " get up,"
for this was even less extraordinary than that of their
contemporaries of the world, from the Royal Family
downwards, but on account of the number of sour,
severe and unhappy faces among them. On the other
hand, the most saintlike, the sweetest and gentlest,
the most tender and sympathetic women I have
known are among Friends. The happiest, the bravest,
the best characters I can remember among men are
of them. But I imagine where the conformity with
the rigid formalism of the Quakerism of that time
had been the main object in life, and the innocent
joys of life and the heart s warmest instincts trampled
36 EDWARD PEASE.
on, ugly evidence of the unnatural struggle was left
upon their faces. The kindly word, the salutation,
the courtesy to strangers and those not of us, may
at times be an effort, but if so, it is an exertion of
Christian duty which reacts on the heart and warms
it towards one s fellow man. With some of these
old Friends, in their adherence to the formalism of
their testimonies and rules, all such charitable prompt
ings were ruthlessly stamped down. Such was the
unlovable side of Quakerism.
The general character given to Friends by those
outside qualified to know, was one of great benevolence,
of quietness of mind and complacency, of real sincerity
in deed and word, in politics reasoning on principle
and not from consequences, and one of remarkable
patience, fortitude, self-reliance and punctuality to
their words and engagements, and refined and happy
in their homes.
In a clever and curious book, " A Scientific
Demonstration of the Future Life," by Thos. Jay
Hudson, may be found some striking passages that
have a bearing on spiritual religion. There seems,
from a scientific point of view, much that is true in the
way of collateral testimony to the principles of Quaker
ism in such statements as the following :
The love of truth is inherent in the normal human soul
and its recognition of truth is instinctive. ... It is
this instinctive perception or recognition of truth when it is
presented that gives rise to that emotional thrill of pleasure
and satisfaction which one experiences when reading the
statement of a vital truth. It is the soul s response to a
suggestion which is in accord with its own deductions from
the facts of its own experience. In this connection it must
be remembered that the memory of the subjective mind is
perfect and that its power of deductive reasoning is also
perfect. It is, however, devoid of the power of induction
proper, being constantly amenable to control by suggestion.
QUAKERISM. 37
When therefore a suggestion is imparted to it that cor
responds to its own deductions it instantly recognises its truth
and responds with a thrill of pleasurable emotion
. . . The faculty of perceiving those truths which
affect the human soul is inherent in the soul although it is in
rare cases only that it is largely developed in any one individual.
Jesus was probably the only man who was endowed with this
faculty to perfection. . . . Others possess that power
(of independent perception of the laws of the soul) only in the
limited sense that they are able to grasp and comprehend
the truth when it is presented to them. . . .
. . . The fact that Christianity still exists as a system
of religion is evidence little short of demonstrative that it is
founded upon the true science of the human soul. It is cer
tainly the strongest corroborative evidence of the truth of the
claim that Jesus correctly expounded the laws of the soul in
its relations to the Divine intelligence. . .
After surveying the historical obstructions
Christianity encountered, the author proceeds :
It had its roots in a region remote from the centres of civili
sation and among a nomadic race who were poor and despised
and reprobated and persecuted. . . From the first it
encountered the refined philosophy of the most enlightened
nations of the earth. It has its literary setting in a volume
which teaches an absurd astronomy or impossible geography,
and a cosmogony, the crudeness of which is detected and ex
posed by the learning of every school boy. And yet it exists
not in decrepitude and decay, but as a vital element in every
civilisation worthy of the name.
What is interesting in this book is the fact that a
scientific and human argument, after an examination
of which I have only just indicated the lines, leads
towards the Quakers position :
i. Jesus Christ was endowed with the faculty of intuitional
perception of the natural laws of the human soul, and He
proclaimed to mankind in a few simple propositions the essen
tial principles which form the relationship of man to his fellow
men and to God.
3 8 EDWARD PEASE.
2. All men are endowed with the same intuitional powers,
differing only in degree, and by this means are enabled to recog
nise, when once presented, any truth which is essential to the
human soul.
3. It follows that when one reads the simple but all
comprehensive philosophy of Jesus, man s soul intuitively
and instantaneously recognises its essential truth.
Again, here is a purely scientific reason of why it
is that the Bible affords consolation to a vast multitude
of the human race. Variable and diverse as are
the emotions and aspirations, the spiritual wants
and necessities of aggregate humanity, there may be
found in the Scriptures something to fit every case,
something to pour the balm of consolation into every
stricken breast, something to inspire every human
heart with hope." " The philosophy of Jesus, however,
constitutes the chief corner-stone of the whole super
structure."
After showing what the principles and ethics
of Jesus were, and the effect of the golden rule with
His fundamental idea of the Fatherhood of God,
and His doctrine of the immortality of the soul, the
author points out that they " appeal strongly to the
unperverted intuitions of all mankind," and then pro
ceeds to show that Christianity is the pure and simple
code of morals, ethics and religion, which fell from His
lips, and not the vast mass of theological doctrine evolved
by Augustine, Athanasius, Clement, Justin Martyr
and Tertullian, nor the mass of dogma ingeniously
aggregated by the lesser lights of more recent times,
which has usurped the name, and he repeats " that
was the end of the evolution of religion on this earth,
for in that code perfection was attained." The
religion of Jesus is for all time to come." " It is
the final religion of humanity."
QUAKERISM. 39
" The vast system of theology has been erected
ostensibly upon the foundation which He laid. A
theology, much of which bears no resemblance to true
Christianity and this was because man was as he
still is imperfect."
The Quakerism of Edward Pease s day is dead, and
it is well that its formalism and exclusiveness has
departed. The Quakerism of our day still holds fast
to the simplicity and spirituality of the Gospel dispen
sation. The Society is no longer a close corporation
of self-centred mystics. Its discipline is loosened,
its rules are mildly administered, its bounds enclose
various schools of thought and the agents of many
forms of social activity. The transformation has not
been accomplished without the loss of some of the most
attractive attributes of Quakerism. The quietude and
calmness of Quaker life has given way to strenuous
activity. The ministry shows less and less of that
power to convince which was the offspring of retirement,
silence and contemplation. The well-being of mankind
and the cultivation of virtue and temperance beyond
its borders enlists the energies of its members. To-day
a Quaker may retain his membership though he be a
Peer or a Socialist, though he be a theatre-goer or bear
arms, though he administer oaths or be a musician,
though he be a hymn-singing evangelical or Bible critic.
Apart from the justifiable pride in the traditions of the
Society and a desire to be worthy of what is best in
them, the bond that still holds the Society together is
the belief in the immediate power of the peaceable
Spirit of Christ on the heart without the intervention
of all that is man-made and man-appointed, and the
conviction that the golden rule is no impracticable ideal,
but one that can be and is to be applied in private and
public life.
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES
OF
EDWARD PEASE, b. 1767, AND OF
RACHEL HIS WIFE.
EDWARD PEASE.
1767 to 1858.
HPHE task I have set myself is not to write biographies
but to save family records and leave the material
for such work in such a shape that a history of my
forefathers will be possible. The labour is sufficient
as it is, and will at least enable any one who desires
to study the lives of bygone generations to gain
information that would otherwise be, in the main,
inaccessible, and much of which could only be gleaned
at the same expense of time and pains that it has cost
me. The papers and letters that I have had to sort
and read can be numbered in thousands, and I have
purposely kept more than appears to me of importance
and interest and destroyed only what seemed valueless.
I desire however to give some outlines of the lives of
those I have to deal with, and leave the reader to fill
in the details from the diaries, correspondence and
memoirs, an instalment of which is presented in this
volume.*
* The antecedent history of Edward Pease s family is not dealt
with in this volume. It will be sufficient to state here that the family
was descended from certain Peases of Essex. A member of this family
settled on his own estate at Sikehouse, near Fishlake, Yorkshire, in the
reign of Henry VIII., and a descendant of the Sikehouse Peases is found
residing on his own lands at Pease Hall, Shafton Green, in the West
Riding, at the end of the seventeenth century. His name was Joseph
Pease and he apparently belonged to the yeoman or small landowning
class. This Joseph Pease married in, 1706, Ann Couldwell, who was
heiress in her issue of her brothers William Couldwell, of Cudworth, and
Thomas Couldwell, of Darlington. Joseph and Ann s son, Edward,
went into business with his uncle, Thomas Couldwell, at Darlington,
and was quite settled there by 1744. This Edward Pease born in 1711,
44 EDWARD PEASE.
Edward Pease was born on the last day of May,
1767, about the time when the question of the taxation
of the American Colonies was beginning to make a stir
in the world. He would be nine years old at the
Declaration of Independence, fifteen years old when
the Independence of America was recognised, twenty-
six when the French Revolution had culminated
in the execution of Louis XVL, twenty-eight when
the British took the Cape of Good Hope from the
Dutch, thirty when the battles of Camperdown and
Cape St. Vincent were fought, thirty-one when the
Rebellion broke out in Ireland, thirty-three at the time
of the Union and the battles of the Nile and Copenhagen,
thirty-eight when Nelson died at Trafalgar, forty-eight
when the Battle of Waterloo was won, fifty-three
when George IV. ascended the throne, sixty-three at
William IV/s accession, seventy when Queen Victoria
succeeded, eighty-seven when the Crimean War began
and ninety-one at the time of the Indian Mutiny.
It is only by some such scale that I can measure his
long life and realise that having sat on his knee and
taken from his hand the spade guinea which he habit
ually gave his grand-children and great-grand-children,
this one life will take me back through this long avenue
of history. I have heard my father say that he had a
clear recollection of talking to those who remembered
had married in 1735 at Raby Meeting-house, Elizabeth Coates, co
heiress of Michael Coates, of Caselee, and Langleyford, County Dur
ham. Thomas Couldwell retired from the business of wool combing
in favour of his nephew Edward, and in his will did not forget a brother
of Edward Pease s, George Pease. This George Pease though also
associated in business with his brother and uncle, and with the Quakers
of Darlington, does not appear to have been a member of the Society
of Friends, as he joined the army in 1740 and fought at Culloden in 1746,
before settling down at Darlington. The eldest son of Edward Pease
and Elizabeth, n6e Coates, was Joseph Pease, born 1737. He married,
in 1763, Mary Richardson (the eldest daughter of Richard Richardson,
of Kingston on Hull, and his second wife Lydia Richardson, of Great
Ayton in Cleveland). These last were the parents of Edward Pease,
born 1767, the subject of this memoir.
a -
I I
HIS BIRTH AND HOME. 45
Culloden in 1746 and especially of a Darlington old lady
who had helped to knit woollen waistcoats for the
Hanoverian troops passing through with the Duke of
Cumberland s army. I myself can remember an old
woman aged 108, in 1864, near Inverness, which takes
her birth farther back than the Battle of Plassey (1757).
Edward Pease was born in the house of his parents,
Joseph and Mary Pease, at Darlington. The house,
or most of it, is still standing and is to-day the offices of
Messrs. Lucas, Hutchinson and Meek, solicitors. The old
garden has disappeared and the town has grown round
it. It is a simple red-brick, red-tiled house, standing
back from the Market Place with a little court-yard
between it and the public pavement.* He was the
eldest son, his sister Mary being the eldest child (^1764,
d.i82o). The other children were Elizabeth (b.i_77o,
d.i8o6), and Joseph Pease (b.i772, d.i846).
Edward Pease s brother Joseph is generally referred
to as Joseph Pease of Feethams. Joseph married (in
1801) first Elizabeth Beaumont (who died 1824), an( i
* " On the West side of the Bull Wynd was and still is, a pleasant
garden, though sadly fallen from its former condition. Many years
ago here lived the ancestors of the senior member for South Durham
(the late Sir Joseph W. Pease) , and wine used to be made from the grapes
growing outside the house by Mrs. Pease, his father s great grand
mother ; opposite was a smaller garden the soil of which is now covered
by the outbuildings of the Central Hall ; in it very fine apricots grew."
(John Bousfield s Pleasant Memories of Darlington. Published 1881).
In 1787 Hutchinson, the local historian, describes Darlington as con
sisting of " several streets which are called Norgate, Briggate and Black-
wellgate, branching out of the great square where the market is held,"
and " one that runs parallel with the high part of the square called
Skinnergate, and another parallel with the south row called Hungate
the Bullweand leads from the market-place to Hungate so called from
the figure of a bull against the corner house, which anciently belonged
to the Bulmer family whose cognisance was a bull passant," and he
goes on to say : " There is a large manufactory carried on in the lower
woollen stuffs " called : " tammeys, moreens, harateens, chineas,"
also " a great manufactory of damasks, diapers, huckabacks, checks,
sheetcloth with other linnens," and that " it is computed that no less
than i ,000 looms are constantly employed here," and " daily work for
multitudes of dyers, spinners, combers and children who wind thread and
yarn."
46 EDWARD PEASE.
from this marriage are descended the Peases of North
Lodge, Bushel Hill, Mowden, Pendower, Otterburn, etc.
He afterwards married (in 1831) Anna Bradshaw, who
survived him about ten years. By this second marriage
there were no children. Edward Pease s elder sister
Mary died single, and the younger sister Elizabeth,
married (1798) John Hustler,* of Undercliff, Bradford,
Yorkshire, but bore him no children.
We must picture Edward Pease as a small boy in
the old north country market town, living in a
substantial house very plainly furnished, with a very
affectionate but strict and pious mother, who, though
she had put aside the world and was to be a minister
in the Society, must have understood what it was to
be youngf and had a tender sympathy with the joy
and spirit of youth. It is difficult from the scanty
records relating to his father to judge of his nature,
character and appearance, but the impression left on
me, from such allusions as I have heard or found,
make me think him the least interesting of the
line from which I am sprung. I picture him as a
hard-working man of business and a careful observer
of the discipline of Friends, somewhat tried by his
wife s religious activity, mixing little socially with
any outside his own circle. J Educated better,
judging from his writing, books and accounts, than
most men of his position, but interested in little
outside the small world he lived in. Still he is
* This John Hustler s father, John Hustler, d. 1790, aged seventy-
five, and an obituary notice of him may be read in the Gentleman s
Magazine. John Hustler, Jun., who married Elizabeth Pease, had a
brother William, who married, 1796, Jane Fell, and their daughter
Sarah married Charles Fox, of Trebah, Cornwall.
f I have her own account of her youth and of her transformation
from a rather fashionable young lady into a plain Friend. Vide
Appendix III.
J He appears to have had a bosom friend in a well-known American
Quaker, David Sands. Some of their correspondence is in my possession.
SCHOOL DAYS. 47
always alluded to with affection by his children,
and he " died well," and I may be wrong in inter
preting the tone that pervades his wife s not very
flattering allusions to him.
Friends even in those days paid great attention to the
education of their children. Little Edward Pease was
sent to various day schools till he was eleven years old.
From his own account and the contemptuous references
to the Horn Book teaching then in vogue, he had not
learnt much under Darlington dames and masters. By
the time he was twelve we find him at a Boarding School
at Leeds, kept by Joseph Tatham, the elder, and at
fourteen returning home well educated in English, with
a very fair knowledge of Latin, proficiency in French,
and able to draw and paint a little. I have not a few
of his school books, and they show where he learnt to
write a really beautiful clear hand, and explain how
it is that he became a correct writer in French, and
was able to converse in that language in his interviews
with French courtiers and ministers in Paris, and
when travelling on the Continent.
There were few openings for Quaker boys then, except
in trade or in agriculture, and at fourteen years of age
he was entered in his father s business.* This business
was that of a wool merchant and weaving. Whilst his
father attended markets and rode round the country
buying the fleeces from the farmers and selling the
finished woven pieces to London merchants or country
consumers, his son was learning the business from the
bottom. He went through the wool sorting and combing
room, sat at the looms and learnt the process of the dye-
house.
To Friends of that day, even those sprung from
better families and of greater wealth, the practice was
observed of avoiding all roads to pride or social pretence.
* The firm also did a banking business. Vide Appendix IV.
48 EDWARD PEASE.
The simple life was practised. Edward Pease enjoyed
the labour, he took a pleasure in business, and by the
time he was eighteen was, to quote the testimony of
the Annual Monitor, " travelling on horseback from
place to place buying and selling with energy and
prudence." The firm after the sons, Edward and
Joseph, were taken in was called Joseph Pease and Sons.
His business life did not occupy his whole time,
for as a young man he was addicted to field
sports * and light reading. The latter frivolity was
a failing in his eyes, with which he oftentimes
accuses himself in his old age. In 1857 we find him
at the age of ninety complaining that he has been reading
the " Travels of Dr. Livingstone " instead of the Bible.
He was very keen about his gun and his rod and
delighted in shooting and fishing and " similar amuse
ments." Little trace of this part of his life is to be
found amongst what he has left behind. He parted
with his greyhounds, put away his rod, his flintlock
and powder horn and " denied himself in these and
similar pursuits, under a heart tendering sense of divine
love, that as a Christian he was called to a closer walk
with God," and he turned from light reading to a long
course of study of the best authors and the most
serious writers. Throughout his life he exhibited in
conversation a well informed, disciplined mind and a
sound and shrewd judgment over a wide field of
knowledge.
The following I found among Edward Pease s papers
in his own handwriting :
* In a letter to Joseph Whitwell Pease written in August, 1849.
after regretting various things in his grandson s conduct and behaviour,
but " influenced by the warmest desires that can fill his bosom," he
proceeds: "Then my lov d Joseph, from some expressions dropt by one
of thy younger brothers respecting Joseph s Greyhounds, I feared
thou might be thinking of following that diversion, it once had
large attractions for me and formed a part of my mis-spent time, as
well as shooting."
HIS EARLY LIFE. 49
On meditating on the gracious dealings of my heavenly
father with me and the attractive influence of his love from
my very early days, I am bound to commemorate that mercy
which during the days of my early life and when much exposed
as a traveller* in the prosecution of my honord fathers business,
preservd me from the pollutions of the world ; for divine
grace followed me and a constant but I fear a very feeble
desire was maintained that I might be a good man and walk
in a way well pleasing to my God, and this state of watchful
ness, yet not constantly kept in all that reverence which is
due to the visitations and loving kindness of the Lord Jesus
Christ, ever restrained me and was a voice behind me and
prevented me from mixing in any scenes of folly or ever
going to any places of publick amusement.
When I was at boarding school, being a great reader,
many pernicious books of novels, etc., were perused by me,
but thanks to him without whom no man cometh to the
father, as the increased measure of his attractive love was
felt, the baneful efforts of such reading was seen, and pious
books, the writings and journals of our early friends, became
more and more satisfactory to me, and the taste for frivolous
and debasingly captivating books ceased ; desires for my own
preservation increased and I became more and more anxious
to walk uprightly, and serve the society with the talents my
heavenly father had given me ; and unworthy as I was,
my father in heaven ever gracious to me, gave me a pious,
precious heavenly minded companion a lovely form, en
riched with the sweetest of natural dispositions, dignified
and enobled in their exercise by a tenderness of feeling for the
poor in body or in spirit, all being done under the influence
of the good spirit which was richly shed abroad in her sensitive
mind ; her virtuous example and dispositions, such a blessing
to me and our beloved offspring, still continue to be blest
* "The late Edward Pease, of Darlington, who had travelled much
in Scotland in his youth, used to relate that when he was a young man,
the men Friends at Aberdeen were wont to come to Meeting in their or
dinary homespun garments, and with their broad blue bonnets on
their heads. Some friends from England were sadly troubled at what
they thought the unorthodox appearance of the Friends, and laboured
earnestly with them till they induced them to substitute broad-brimmed
beavers for their bonnets." Memorials of Hope Park, p. 35.
50 EDWARD PEASE.
to us, by her who is blessed, because she served her Lord,
may her many weighty powerful fervent petitions offered up for
us in private, and in our meetings, be of continued avail to us.
Since the dear deceased has been taken from me to her
heavenly home, increased have been my desires and my
prayers, that my life, my all, might be more and more tending
to fit me to join the saints above, and to do any little thing to
serve my Lord or his church, but while I have stood in the
willingness, I feel how powerless and weak and insignificant
every service of mine has been, and altho many of these
efforts have yielded me peace, yet neither in these, nor in my
progress through time, has it been granted me to know, that
joy and fullness of comfort & consolation that has been bes
towed upon many ; so neither have the reproofs nor condem
nations for transgression been permitted to visit me in that
force in which many have fell ; it may be that he who giveth
to every man the talents of his Grace severally as he will ;
& who hath given me abundantly for my salvation, hath yet
in a more limited measure given unto me, & my state may be
as that one description given by our Lord when he said,
" So is the Kingdom of God, as if a man should cast seed into
the ground, & should sleep, and rise night and day, and the
seed should spring and grow up, he knoweth not how ; for
the earth bringeth forth fruit of herself ; first the blade, then
the ear, after that the full corn in the ear," that however
lowly and imperceptible to me any growth of Grace in me may
be, yet if it should but please my ever blessed Omnipotent
Lord that there should be found in me, that which is worthy
to be gathered into his Garner ; every desire of my soul will
be reverently thankfully satisfied.
When twenty-nine he courted and won Rachel
Whitwell, who was then twenty-four years old.
There are no portraits of Rachel Whitwell as a
girl, nor is there any description of her appearance
when she was young, beyond that she was fair, and in
the eyes of those who loved her, " beautiful in form,"
and having " the very sweetest expression." Such
likenesses of her as exist are very poor and taken
RACHEL WHITWELL. 51
when she was about sixty years old. From her letters
she appears to have been a most sympathetic and very
gentle woman. She kept a journal which seems to
have been destroyed by her husband before his death,
as I have not been able to trace it. Such memoranda
as I have found deal with little else but her spiritual
state. One thing seems certain, that she must have
been a most lovable woman to have kindled so great
and so lasting a devotion in Edward Pease s heart.
There is ample evidence to show that the strict piety
of Edward Pease s later years, as revealed in his
diaries, was largely due to the influence of her saintly
life and to his hope that in following her here his spirit
might rejoin hers hereafter.
Rachel Whitwell was born at Kendal in 1771.
She was the youngest of a family of two sons and four
daughters. Her mother Dorothy, nee Wilson, died
when she was two years old and her father, John
Whitwell, in 1782, when she was eleven. Her mother,
who was only thirty-three at the time of her death,
was one of a remarkable group of sisters,* whom it
may be worth while to name, for so many of them and
their descendants are alluded to as relations in the
journals and family correspondence.
There were seven of these Wilson girls living at
Kendal ; Dorothy married John Whitwell, Deborah
married George Braithwaite, Rachel married Joseph
Smith, Elizabeth married Josiah Messer, Mary married
John Abbot, and Margaret married Hadwen Bragg.
Little Rachel Whitwell and her sister Hannah,
when left as orphans, found a home with one of their
uncles at Kendal, whilst their aunt Abbot f did all in
* There were three brothers, the eldest of whom, John Wilson,
married Sarah Dilworth and left numerous descendants.
f Sarah Abbot. In a letter addressed to his granddaughter, Jane
Gurney Pease, and alluding to Sarah Abbot s death in 1843, Edward
Pease dwells at great length on her beautiful life and saintly character
52 EDWARD PEASE.
her power to take the place of their mother. Their
education and training was most carefully attended
to in the old-fashioned-way. As Rachel grew up she
was apparently called on to contribute from her own
little income for her maintenance. She kept correct
and careful accounts of her expenditure and receipts.
She contributed between 30 and 40 annually for
what she terms her " Board," whilst her bills for
clothes would surprise girls of the present day. The
total for " Cloaths " in 1794 is 16 45., and in 1795
it reaches the highest figure, 26 os. 8d. Her income
at this time seems to have been at most 130, and in
one or two years only 50, but she manages in addition
to paying for her " Board," " Cloaths," and " Travel
ling," to subscribe to a Dispensary, Friends Charities
a " Lunatick Asylum," and other benevolent objects
and save a little each year.*
In 1796 she married and went to Darlington.
She became more and more serious till the time came
when she, at least occasionally, was heard in Meetings
for Worship.
Nothing is more touching in Edward Pease s life
than his love and admiration for his wife. While she
lived and during the long years he was a widower,
she remains the centre of his earthly being, retaining
and says, in addition : " I had cause to love her and revere her memory
thy Grandmama Pease who was dearer to me than life, while yet an
infant supported at the maternal breast, was deprived of her who had
given her birth, it was then that this beloved Aunt became the foster-
mother, caring and watching and training the mind of her to virtue and
sincere piety, who became the partner of all my joys and all my sorrow?
. . . and this dear Aunt had after this the guardianship and care
of three successive sets of Orphans who all may be said to have found
in her all that maternal solicitude could do for them, eventually, per
sonally, and pecuniarily. Indeed she was an admirable woman in
exertion, disinterestedness, humility, sincerity, kindness, benevolence,
cheerfulness, frankness, and hospitality. I never knew that mind
in which all these virtues so richly dwelt ; now my precious child con
template this sketch."
* Some of the items may interest her female descendants and may
be seen in Appendix V.
BUSINESS AND OCCUPATIONS. 53
to the end her influence on his outward and inner
life. He always speaks of her as lovely and beautiful.
Certainly she was so in character, and in the refinement
of her manners.
I have heard quoted as one of the maxims of
Edward Pease " when thou choosest a wife choose
one with a good natural temper, for religion comes and
goes, but a good natural temper remains." There is a
a depth of worldly wisdom in this advice. Consciously
or unconsciously he followed it himself, and nearly forty
years of perfectly harmonious married life was his.
A great proportion of Edward Pease s early busi
ness life was spent on the road, riding to most of the
wool-producing parts of the kingdom to purchase
fleeces. In 1815 I find him at Stirling, with his son
John, then about eighteen years old, writing to his wife
telling her that John enjoys the life and change of
scene and that his own mind seems to sound for him
" a retreat from this field of labour." He adds
I apprehend I am about the age my much lov d and
honoured father was, when I accompanied him to this place.
He had come into Scotland 30 years, and now after I also
have for the 30 past years come here, I look with some hope
and satisfaction to not having many more journeys of this
description.
When he was forty, probably some years before,
he was becoming more serious about religious matters
and had abandoned the sports of the field for the
quieter recreations of horticulture and fruit growing.*
To the end of his life he took a great interest in every
thing pertaining to the garden or the farm.
Some characteristic extracts from his letters and
memoranda will suffice to illustrate the period of his
life not covered by the diaries.
* In Appendix VI. I give some of the varieties of fruit planted
in his garden at the beginning of last century.
54 EDWARD PEASE.
1811. To HAD WEN AND MARGARET BRAGG.
3rd mo. 25, 1811.
Did you hear of Paul Cuffee a black friend having sailed
from America in his own vessel (and his ship s crew all black
friends) for the coast of Africa, his object is to bring the
produce of that country to London, having obtained permis
sion from the Government to sell it at a low rate of duty.
This same year the question of being appointed
an " elder " in the Society is mooted and seems to
have led to quite a heated controversy between those
who thought him a suitable candidate and those who
did not. He writes to Had wen Bragg :
I cannot but wish friends would leave my name out of the
nomination, though I do not understand that the establish
ment of inquisitorial tribunals for the investigation of private
character is either sanctioned by our discipline or founded
on Gospel love ; I am not dealt with as a delinquent in a
meeting capacity, neither am I treated with in private and
tenderness, but as a character held up for detractive inference
and unqualified surmise. I pretend not to that stability of
walk which is free from every mis-stepping, but I have noth
ing to hide nor anything to fear from any earthly tribunal.
When the fight grew still hotter Joseph Gurney (of
the Grove, Norwich) came to pour oil on the troubled
waters, and earns Edward Pease s gratitude, who
quotes Isaac Stephenson s remark that
Joseph Gurney was like a wall round about us, so we see as
we did in Benjamin Flounder s case who having aid, through
the coming in of Luke Howard and Uncle Bragg, assistance
comes into our torn monthly meeting at the needful time.
He states that he has been the mark for the archers
to shoot at and that as the want of unanimity was all
on his account he solicited the meeting to free him
1812 APPOINTED AN ELDER. 55
from the appointment and so withdrew from the
assembly. The meeting adjourns for a month the
further consideration of the subject.
In this exceedingly uncomfortable state am I taken as
from tribunal to tribunal certainly not in a way to exalt
me, but when I consider the parties, and how for years they
have treated me, no surprize attends me.
Finally he is appointed an elder and faithfully
discharges for many years the delicate and important
duties of this unsought for position in the Society.
In 1812 he takes a great deal of interest in the
preaching of Stephen Grellet and the budding influence
of Joseph John Gurney. He describes some of Stephen
Grellet s meetings ; one at Buxton,
brought about 3,000 persons together in a small square field
where for about 2j hours S. G. declared truth, great and
attentive stillness prevailed, and many were the expressions
of satisfaction heard from the auditory ; the preparatory
conflict which this dear Friend had which he compared
to one leading to the Stake, was I understand crowned finally
with great sweetness and peace.
At another meeting, with the Jews,
about 1600 attended, conducting themselves pretty orderly
during the silence ; when S. G. had stood sometime, consider
able restlessness took place and so many going out a degree of
discouragement was felt by S. G., but this soon subsided,
and the sequel proved that so general was their satisfaction
and approbation with that which he was communicating
that they had gone out to collect and bring in more of their
bretheren.
Of Joseph John Gurney he writes :
Joseph Gurney read a very pleasant letter to us from his
nephew Joseph John Gurney to whom his Uncle had wrote
56 EDWARD PEASE. 1813
rather largely on the subject of the Supper. J. J. G s reply
was an agreeable one, expressing some solemnity of regard for
it ; but* without a belief of its being needful for him to become
a communicant. Should this veil of attachment to outward
ordinance which seems to linger in J. J. G s mind be completely
rent by his feeling an inward and spiritual communion with
Christ being indeed come, and having taken up His abode
in his soul, so that a perpetuation of outward ordinance was
no longer needful in remembrance of Him, what a shining
Ornament in our Society would Joseph John become."
In the following year I find many allusions to the
work done in the prisons, the " abodes of misery and
indescribable wretchedness," by Stephen Grellet and
Elizabeth Fry. The next is a rather curious passage in
one of his letters.
Mary Dudley has had a meeting at Windsor at which most
of the distinguished persons of the place and in the vicinity
were present, several from the Castle, by all accounts it was a
memorable season, and after a powerful convinceing testi
mony she was favord in an extraordinary manner in supplica
tion, supplicating for the King with a power and solemnity
that tendered almost all present, the covering over the meeting
was represented as being marvellous ; she has since acknow
ledged she had never experienced the like descending of
divine empowering influence ; a person present penned this
prayer from memory and presented it to the Queen, who shed
many tears in perusing it, and despatched the Lord in waiting
(Harewood) with messages of kindness to M. D., directing
that every comfort and accommodation might be granted
her : A clergyman who was there spoke to her at the close
of the meeting offering his church, and I think added he was
convinced beyond all doubt that she was commissioned to
preach the everlasting gospel and enquiring where she lived,
said if she came to his place which he named he would give
her every information etc. She replied she had not been without
some thought of going there, and soon after went and a season
of favor was again witnessed. The same also at Staines, where
i8i4 THE CZAR AND THE FRIENDS. 57
being largely engaged and much exhausted she fainted near
the close of the meeting : on reviving and looking up she saw
the same clergyman standing over her, exclaimed Art thou
there." He replied, " Yes, and what is far the better the Lord
is here also."
In 1814 a more distinguished personage arouses
Edward Pease s attention the Czar of Russia. I
find many allusions to the almost Quaker Emperor :
EDWARD AND RACHEL PEASE TO HADWEN AND
MARGARET BRAGG.
6th mo. 26th, 1814.
I will advert to some tidings which have reached us res
pecting the Emperor of Russia as I cannot but admire his no
bility, his humility and condescension : he proposed to accom
pany W. Allen to Westminster metg. accompanied by his
Sister the duchess of Oldenburgh, putting W.A. in the coach
before himself, in meeting he behaved becomingly and
attentively, shaking hands with men frds under the gallery at
the conclusion of the meeting, and crossed over to do the same
with the female frds as did the duchess : The audience he gave
S Grelett, W A and Jno Wilkinson lasted about an hour,
conversing frankly on serious and religious subjects, ex
pressing his satisfaction with the address they had
presented, saying he had read it many times over,
dropping the tear of tenderness he acknowledged himself
a poor humble instrument in the divine hand, made use of
in restoring peace to Europe. His just sentiments on prayer
were striking, remarking he could find no one he could con
verse with on religious subjects, but his Sister; he regreted
he had to pass so considerable a part of his time in a
manner so unsatisfactory to himself, he wished if any frds
went on a religious visit to Russia, they would at once make
themselves known to him without waiting for any intro
duction all this appears to indicate a character I trust richly
acquainted with divine goodness may he be preserved and
his knowledge and faithfulness encrease.
58 EDWARD PEASE. 1814
EDWARD AND RACHEL PEASE TO THE SAME.
6th mo. $oth, 1814.
We expect many frds tomorrow, Cos Mary Birkbeck &
Chas Parker, Cos G Stacey jun & S Grellet. I did not when
I wrote you 4 or 5 days ago expect I should see the " friend
and Brother " of the Emperor, for so he designated S G at
parting S G at the Emperor s request had given some account
of his early life which Alexander remarked in some degree
resembled his own, but that he (S G) had obtained a safely
settled interest in heaven whilst he had to contend against
the temptations of time surrounding on every hand, remark
ing he was of the same faith and a fellow believer in spiritual
worship, that in his daily prayers he used no set form of
words, but as the divine spirit gave him aid so was his prayer ;
that his Sister so united with him, that he considered her as a
special gift of heaven.
The following letter is worth preserving too :
Substance of a letter from M. A. Deane, Tutoress in
Nathaniel Rickman s family, to her parents.
Auberstone, 26th of 6th mo. 1814.
DEAR PARENTS,
I must date my letter the 26th tho it is the 27th. I
write it, that being a day I shall ever remember, for on that
day I received a shake of the hand from an Emperor, and a
kiss from the Grand duchess of Oldenburgh. On first day
morning we placed ourselves at the front gate, in expectation
of seeing them on their way to Dover, and shortly after saw a
number of Foreign carriages ; those in them bowed to us,
and we nodded to them. After a time the King of Prussia
passed by with his two sons ; the King bowed to us and we
acknowledged the favour. Finding it would be some time
before the Emperor came we went to dinner, after which
Nathl. Rickman said he should like to go to Horsebridge, but
I said as there were crowds of people there, it would be more
respectable to be seen at home, little thinking who we should
entertain : we therefore returned to our post, and walked
about before the house, till we might see some of the carriages
1814 THE CZAR VISITS A QUAKER FAMILY. 59
coming : they made their appearance, and we were directed
to look into the second carriage for the Emperor. There
was a female with him, whom I directly knew to be the
duchess of Oldenburgh. The Emperor was looking at a map,
but observing us, he immediately called out " Halt, Halt."
The horses stopped, and he jumped out, and came towards
us with the air of a gentleman, and inquired if we were quakers?
we said we were ; " was it a quaker house ? " we replied it
was ; " might they see it ? " Nathl. Rickman said " cer
tainly." He then turned to the duchess and said, " Oni,
Oni"*; she immediately got out of the carriage, and held out
both her hands to Mary Rickman and me, and said, " how
do you do ? I am glad to see you." The Emperor then
shook hands with us, and taking hold of Mary Rickman led
her into the house, and the duchess taking Nathl. Rickman s
arm, they came into the best parlour, where they had some
refreshment. They inquired of Mary Rickman how many
children she had, and if I were their daughter. They then
went into the back parlour, and said, " how neat it is." The
duchess wished to go up stairs, and turning to Nathl. Rickman
said, "come, sir, come"; the duchess took Mary Rickman
and went into the best room. They remarked, " this is for
your visitors, which is your own room ? " which they were
shewn, and also the school room they then went down stairs
into the great parlour, where I had time to examine their
countenances, and I think I never saw one in which every
thing that is good was more observable than in the Emperor s.
He was open, generous, and polite in his manner, and affec
tionate in his address. They have both so won our hearts,
that I am sure we shall never forget them. The Emperor is
a very well made, handsome man, and when he rose to take
leave of "us, what shall I compare it to ? I do not know,
unless to fond parents taking leave of their children, for it
could not be more affectionate. The Emperor kissed the
cheeks of Nathl. Rickman and the boys, and the hands of
Mary Rickman, the girls, and myself. The duchess kissed
us, and the girls, and shook hands with Nathl. Rickman ;
* In the original it is not clear whether "Oni" is a familiar ap
pellation of the Duchess or intended for " Oui." I incline to think the
former.
60 EDWARD PEASE. 1815
they both wished us good bye, and farewell. The Emperor
turned round just as he got into the carriage, and said, " Re
member me to your brothers and friends we are going into
Russia it is a long way, but you will not forget us." We
assured him we should not ; I am sure I never shall. He
inquired of N. and M. Rickman their names. They both
speak English, and understand it very well. The Emperor
was dressed in a plain brown coat, of the English make, and
the duchess in a lustre and shawl, put on just as we wear
ours ; a bonnet, and feather half a yard high, of the Russian
make. Their coachman was the drollest looking man I ever
saw ; he had a long beard. I carried him out some ale, upon
which he took a brush and brushed the dust off his beard
before he drank, and patted his breast and bowed. I also
gave the Prince Regent s servants some ale ; they said we
had such an honour done us, as thousands would have given
hundreds of pounds to have had. The Foreign carriages are
the ugliest things I ever saw for such great folks. I must tell
you more in my next. Farewell I shall always use that
word, because the Emperor and duchess did.
MARY ANN DEANE.
The relationship between the Czar Alexander and
Friends is so remarkable that I give some of the docu
ments kept by Edward Pease in Appendix VII.
The early part of 1815 was a time of panic and
trouble for those in business, and Edward Pease left
home to visit various places to look after the interests
of his family. He writes :
I found every where a remarkable torpor at Leeds and
Manchester, London seemed palsied by the empty coffers of
the Bankers, and from some of them I learnt that there were
establishments with you and around you that could not
weather the storm, as they could receive little or no
help from the city ; and the confidence of the country was so
withdrawn from houses of the highest standing that a twenty-
four hours suspension is reported to have taken place in
Gurney and Go s branch at Lynn.
1816 THE DARLINGTON MILLS BURNT DOWN. 61
Sarah Hustler, writing to him this year (1815),
says
I have had from my dear Eliza Coggeshall pleasant
tidings of her safe arrival in the bosom of her own family. . .
After a tedious and trying passage of 83 days (from America)
four weeks of which they were in short allowance having
bread by weight and water by measure, many storms, and hard
gales and hard winds had been their portion, but she appears
to have been most tried by the conduct of some of their fellow
passengers who drank to excess and used much profane lan
guage.
Such letters as these explain, in some degree,
expressions of anxiety which otherwise seem ex
aggerated, in Edward Pease s allusions to parting with
his relations and friends who go to visit America.
1816. In a letter discussing the Holy Alliance
he adds :
I suppose you may have heard of a religious people in
Russia, the Duobortisi. A few years ago the Emperor sent
this class of religious into the government of Wiborg among the
Finns, who could not converse with them ; they are distributed
among the poor peasants, or were so, and not allowed their
place of abode or to seek work anywhere ; all their religious
books and Bibles were taken from them that they might be
instructed in the religion of the Greek Church.
He proceeds to detail the efforts Friends in England
are making on their behalf, and to assist them to
return to their homes among the Don Cossacks.
This year the family business receives a blow
through the destruction of the Darlington mills by
fire.
The first of consolations (for these are only left to flee to)
is the humble thankful acknowledgement that no life has been
lost, nor any personal accident befallen any one ; to us the
accident is heavy, but feelings dwell less on that, than the
thought of 600 persons, poor men, women and children so
62 EDWARD PEASE. 1819
suddenly thrown out of employ, or a livelihood, at a time so
difficult. The ways of divine providence are a great deep, and
perhaps a circumstance mixed with great suffering to the poor
is less scrutable than one where alone the weight would fall
on ourselves. These things we must leave with the query,
Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right ?
6th mo, i2th, 1819.
From what I see and hear I fear our valued relations here
are about to be plunged into great perplexity and distress, so
great a run on the bank and their Bank paper being soon ex
hausted, they tendered the notes of other banks which, in some
instances, were accepted, Cos E B. [Edward Backhouse]
is expected from London to bring a supply with him, and at
Sunderland they have closed until this come.
nth mo. 26th, 1819.
The national difficulty there is just now for want of silver is
much felt by us ; how do you get along, we represented to the
house in Lombard Street the trouble we had to get our work
men s wages paid ; they sent our letter to Lord Liverpool
who had kindly ordered the mint to send us 500^ the disposi
tion to hoard has soon taken it up, so that we are resorting to
checks on J Backhouse and Co for 55. ea, they to give a
one pound note for four of them.
EDWARD PEASE TO HADWEN AND MARGARET BRAGG.
2nd mo. 2nd, 1819.
A report is in circulation and said to be quite authentic that
the Prince Regent, Earl Sidmouth and another nobleman,
drove to the door of a ministering friend ; when the prince after
making many apologies stated that being unable to hear un
disguised truth, asked the friend if he would answer him one
question. " If it is not against my conscience I will," was the
reply. " Then do you think, and does the world think that,
in the existing separation between the princess and myself,
that I am to blame, or the princess ? " " Thyself," was
the answer. After many apologies and thanks, they drove
MARY 1 KASK.
oh. 1X2=;. act. 2
1825 DEATH OF HIS TWO CHILDREN. 63
off. The Princess, soon after this, was sent for to this
Kingdom.
In Edward Pease s accounts there are suggestive
items such as, to take examples from May, 1823 :
Hay taken for Church Cess beyond the amount charged
on me 28 55. 8d. Posting to and from London 53 155. 6d.
A similar entry to the last recurs each year
when he goes up to attend the Yearly Meeting. When
he is there in this particular year there is a curious
medley of purchases, while in town, including umbrellas
and such articles as " half-a-dozen silk hose, 2 175."
" i dozen Cocoa Nuts and bag o 75. 6d.," " 2 silver
Ladles, 2 is. od."
In October, 1825, his sister Mrs. John Hustler died,
and he feels her death acutely. Her death followed,
within a fortnight, that of his son Isaac, and Isaac s
that of his daughter Mary, at the age of 23, in May of
the same year. Mary had for several years given her
parents anxiety and for some time previous to her
death on the 30th May, they had abandoned all hope
of her recovery. In speaking of her death he says :
She was through the whole of her illness most gently led on
and spared the suffering which thousands have to pass through,
though the final separation came upon us as a flood overtaking
us before we were aware. . . . she was truely to us a lo vely
plant and the chasm in our home circle must be long and
painfully felt. I am also conscious of tender mercy in
preparing our minds for the sad parting, yet the aweful stroke
which set at liberty the precious spirit will call forth the
poignant pang all nature trembles but my soul must
wonder and adore.
And then he goes on to refer to Isaac, having
shown the same alarming symptoms.*
* Apparently, both these children died from consumption.
64 EDWARD PEASE. 1832
I scarcely know how patiently to bear up or to sustain the
possibility of a second bereavement awaiting us.
We will pass over the weeks of alternating hopes
and fears between May and September. In the
father s pocket book is the simple entry :
cfih mo., 27. My beloved son Isaac departed this life with
consoling faith that his heavenly father had prepared a blessed
mansion for him,
and another on " 10 mo i " that he is " laid by the side
of his sister, my beloved Mary."
These sorrows are necessary to allude to, for in his
own words they deepened his " religious life and
experience and diminished the estimate and value of
all visible created objects."
1832. Though I pass over many years in the life of
Edward Pease in this sketch, the picture of the Quaker
ism in which he lived would not be complete enough
without an allusion to the attitude of his own and the
Society s to public life. It is almost incomprehensible
to us, in our day, how great a commotion the bare idea
of a Quaker standing for Parliament caused in the
Society of Friends. There is a file of correspondence
exhibiting the tremendous opposition that Joseph
Pease had to encounter when he first entertained the
idea of entering Parliament, the heaviest being from
his own nearest relations and his mother-in-law Jane
Gurney. The strongest arguments that Edward Pease
could use to dissuade his son were used at the outset,
but once assured of the absolute purity and sincerity
of Joseph Pease s motives, of his loyalty to the prin
ciples in which he had been reared, and of his intention
to bear witness to them in the face of ridicule and in
all events, he did not further interfere. The following
passage in a letter from Joseph to his brother John
Pease exhibits Edward Pease s views at the outset :
1832 THE FIRST QUAKER M.P. 65
Calling this morning upon my beloved and honoured
Father he made several affectionate remarks to me on the part
I have already taken respecting the approaching Election, but
more pointedly attending to certain reports, he expressed his
decided opinion that unless I was wholly regardless of all
parental counsel, the advice of all my best friends, the domestic
happiness of my family, my duties as a husband and a parent,
and a member of the Society of Friends, I could not for a
moment entertain the idea of yielding under any contingency
to become a representative of my countrymen in Parliament
. . . he seemed astonished that there could exist a doubt
in my mind as to the wisest and safest course . . .
During this trying and worrying time it is refreshing
to find that some of his Backhouse relations and that
even in a meeting for worship a Minister, Caleb Wilson,
stood up for him and said that his sympathy was so
strong " that he had felt nearer to him than any
relation, bone of his bone and flesh of his flesh/
The Friends discuss the subject so long in a Monthly
Meeting that they have to adjourn to an inn where
the business was re-opened by Jonathan Backhouse,
Joseph s brother-in-law, declaring that he did not
dispute the step, that he believed the time would
come when Friends would be called more openly to
come forward, that some one must open the door and
now might be the time. " Father Pease " announced
that he had had his say and proceeded to advise Joseph
to make up his mind without being talked into it or
out of it by his friends, and they finally agree that they
are to use their influence to prevent " displays " of
popular feeling, drinking and lampooning, and " all
parted in great love." Joseph writing to calm his
mother-in-law, Jane Gurney s feelings says :
The day of trial has arrived, a requisition which leaves me no
doubt, as to the majority has been presented to me. I have
answered it That I will not canvass, I will not ask one man
66 EDWARD PEASE. 1833
for his vote, I will go to no expense, I will both in and out of
Parliament unflinchingly support my practice and my pro
fession as a member of the Society of Friends ; if elected under
these circumstances I will endeavour to serve them faithfully.
I have counted the cost I trust sacrifices in business, in ease,
in quiet, in domestic comfort, but in my conclusion, after intense
bitterness, I have been peaceful and comfortable. How much
is my heart torn in thinking that distress and dismay may
cover thy mind in reading these lines ; if I am right, mayst
thou be permitted to see it and feel it. If I am wrong, mayst
thou be enabled to put up thy prayers with mine for help in
danger and in difficulty. . . My dear Parents, Brothers
and Sisters have not dared to set their faces against it.
1833 may be said to have been the most marked
year in Edward Pease s long life. In October he and
his wife had gone to stay with their cousins Wilson and
Margaret Crewdson, at Plymouth Grove, Manchester.
One night she fell in her room and struck her head ;
concussion of the brain followed a few hours after
what was considered at first a slight accident. She
died the following day (the i8th of October), very
suddenly. With him by her side, her hand in his, she
passed out of his life, " as," he writes to his children
the infant sinks to rest so peacefully the purified spirit of my
greatest earthly treasure, your blessed mother, took its flight to
its mansion of glory.
Writing to Jane, the widow of Joseph Gurney, a
little more than a month later, he alludes to
the cup filled with the wine of astonishment which she has had
to drink, and adds, " and now in the ordering of heavenly
wisdom that cup having become mine, it has introduced into
all the avenues of sorrow into which no eye penetrates ; no foot
treads ; nor any heart feels ; but such as have had the same
administered and given them to drink also.
In this letter he asserts that the " heavenward
path " which his " treasure (his wife) had to walk in
JOSEPH PEASE.
Horn 1799. Died 1872.
Second son of Edward IVase. M.P. for South Durliam in four Parliaments.
From the original portrait by Sir George Hayter, painted in 1832, in the possession
of Sir Alfred Edward Pease, Bart. : being a study for his historical picture of the
lirst Reform Parliament of 1X^2,
1833 DEATH OF HIS WIFE. 67
was in great lowliness, humility and fear " and that
from her diaries penned " during forty years," there
are many entries that indicate the " wailings of a
mind " not satisfied yet. It is deeply instructive and
encouraging to see
how as life flowed down, her prospect and faith brightened and
strengthened, that she would through tender mercy become an
inhabitant of the heavenly city, and so fully does my heart
center in this belief, that when I meditate at intervals by the
spot where all that was dear to me lies reposed, it seems as
if no earthly inheritance claimed my wish than that space which
is by her side ; nor any in heaven, but where her pure Spirit
mingles with the just. . . May I so walk, as through
mercy to inherit such a blessing.
In this spirit Edward Pease lived out his long years
alone. What is given here, so briefly, will sufficiently
explain much in his after life.
There are a vast number of the old man s letters
to his grandchildren ; in almost all there are to be
found some touches of old world colouring amidst the
Quaker drab. One or two illustrations will be enough.
Writing to his little grandson Joseph at John Ford s
School at York, near Walmgate Bar, he tells him that
he thinks about him
as alternately engaged in lively, refreshing play, in plying at
other times over lessons, sometimes rather tedious, but to be
found in after life affording thee abundant compensation in
utility or pleasure, to acquire learning is sometimes felt to
be like drudgery, yet this tedious part is very short in duration,
compared with the pleasure which springs from possession
thus the hope of reward will, I trust, always sweeten labour.
. . . I should be glad to know how thou art, and every
thing about thee, what are thy pursuits, if botany, entomology,
the lathe, or that play and progress in thy studies are thy chief
resorts. Hast thou done any thing at photogenic drawing.
I enclose thee a few specimens, and if thou art unacquainted
68 EDWARD PEASE.
with preparing the paper and process, I could give thee some
preliminary instructions which I had from an ingenious youth,
Chas. Waring at Neath. . . Having mentioned Neath,
I may tell thee, I made an excursion into South Wales, a
part I had not previously visited ; my attraction was an old
and valued friend, Anna Price, upwards of 80. . . Had my
chief anxiety been to see the country which very near the point
of my tarriance is said in beauty much to be a counter part of
Switzerland, I should have been disappointed. I saw very
little beyond the locality I was in, except going to Swansea ; it is
a seaport of considerable consequence from its export of coal
and iron, in the latter article it may equal any other part of the
world, and in copper I suppose far exceeds all others. All the
copper ore raised in Cornwall, where there is no coal, is brought
to this place to melt, where coal is abundant ; of late a great
deal of ore has been brought from Cuba, where we may fear
it is obtained at the frightful cost of human misery, from the
slaves imported into that extensive Island. . . From the
pernicious smoke arising from melting copper ore, there are
hundreds of acres of ground on which not one blade of grass
or anything green or moss of any kind is to be seen washed,
beaten and guttered by the rain, it has something which, to a
stranger, has a feeling of frightful aridness about it. I was not
prepared to see South Wales exactly as I found it ; my appre
hension was that from the riches I should have seen the mark
of opulence and improvement, but I suppose the wealth ob
tained is comparatively recent, and that its income is more
expended in extensions to obtain still more, than in the im
provement of land or in draining and building cottages ; these
and their towns are of an inconceivably poorer description,
covered with almost universal thatch, than I anticipated ; of
the roughest stone work, nearly all white-washed. It may
seem to require 100 years to bring that part of Wales up to
England. The character of the country, in its abounding
in very fine ruined castles, proves they have had themselves
at some time to defend and keep separate, so that English
influence and customs have made slow inroad about Neath,
Swansea, etc. ; those who speak our language are but few ;
female costume is much different in the middle classes ; a
1836 LETTERS TO GRANDCHILDREN. 69
black beaver bonnet or a high crowned black beaver man s hat
adorned the head ; a large scarlet worsted shawl, reaching
from the shoulders almost to the feet, but these last invalu
able appendages in the lower classes have only the best and
kindest covering such as Nature grants, and, is it not sur
prising, never need either new sole or upper leather, being
good skin. I doubt not but thou wouldst hear of the Chartist
riots, there had been in Newport. I saw the windows of the
Inn much broken, and several of the soldiers standing in the
bow from whence they fired (the riot was on 2d day I went
through on 4th) ; on my return, they said there were 25
dead, some of them found in the woods, (how lamentable
to die there alone in such a cause !) ; from the arrival of so
many military there appeared no fear of further mischief.
They are building a very large -iron Steamboat and a gentle
man with whom I travelled in the Coach, an East India Cap
tain, I think, known to thy father, says he thinks in a few years
all the merchant Ships will be made of Iron ; there is so much
room for stowage, they take so light a draft of water and
possess so many advantages ; if so, how things change about,
when ship s carpenters have to turn blacksmiths.
Here is a picture of Dover in the olden time from
another letter to the same grandson, written in June,
1836 :-
I hope thou endeavours to be and art a good boy. It
would be a great pleasure to us to have thee here ; there are
so many things to please and amuse thee ; the sea is within
a few yards of our house, its fine waves break against steepish
banks of round flints, and rolls them together in such a hurry
and with such a clatter as to interrupt the sleep and quiet
of some persons ; pleasure boats with their waving flags lay
constantly, when not sailing, almost under our drawing-room
windows ; the harbour and piers, where the steamboats and
ships lie is about half a mile from us. The coming of boats and
their going to France, especially coming, attract a great deal
of attention, and it is amusing to see that so soon as
they come to the side of the pier, such a number of persons
jump on board with lighted lanterns and pop down the hatch-
70 EDWARD PEASE. 1836
ways to the engine ; into the Cabin and every place to look
for smuggled goods ; and to see the passengers looking anxi
ously after their luggage, all of which is carried to the custom
house, and every package and trunk opened, and if the keys
are not found or as is often the case the keys are lost or mis
laid, the Locks are broken. . . While we have been here
many of the nobility have been coming and going from and
to France, and if of royal families, then 21 Cannon are
fired when they arrive in the town, and the same number
when they leave it ; upwards of 100 cannon have been fired
since we came, and the fort being just above our house, we
find it shakes with such loud reports, the windows shake very
much. It is curious to see the smoke and flash of the firing
so long before you hear the crack. The good people of Dover
were roused from their slumbers, I should think, by the dis
charge of 21 pieces of cannon about four o clock this morning
to announce the arrival of the Duke of Brunswick, and the
same salute this forenoon when he sailed.
The very fine Castle here would please thee much, it stands
on what might be called a little mountain of chalk ; and worked
down into this chalk are places for troops, having windows
to the sea, and very large magazines where they have vast
quantities of gunpowder and arms ; the castle is a very old
building, some parts erected by the Saxons, some by the
Romans, and added to by former Kings of England.
There is one long and large Brass cannon, 24 feet long,
called Queen Elizabeth s Pocket Pistol; it has a deal of raised
work upon it, and must have been thought a valuable present
made to that Queen, by the Dutch, for helping them to drive
the Spaniards out of their country ; there is a Dutch inscription
on it purporting its power-
Sponge me well and clean
And I will carry a ball to Calais Green,
but this is a fable as it would not carry a ball above seven
miles, and it is twenty-two to Calais ; the houses in that
town may be seen from the castle with a telescope.
It is not the information in these letters which is
interesting, so much as the illustrations they afford
1834-7 AN ADDRESS TO THE QUEEN. 71
of the Quakerly caution of expression and description ;
they also exhibit at times the quality, so cultivated
in Edward Pease s day, of a sensitiveness as regards
personal responsibility ; take for example the follow
ing :
7 mo., 17, 1834. I send thee in this letter an account of
a balloon which is to go up next 3rd day ; ... It is to
ascend from my small field next to my garden, so that you
could have seen it very nicely and the gentleman who goes
up with it. I did not much like to let him have my field for
the purpose, and told him I must have time to consider of it,
before I could give leave, as he might fall down and break his
neck f and then I should be ready to consider some of the
blame would rest on me ; he said he had been up 114 times
and did not fear ; I wished him to look for another place
and would give him half a sovereign to have nothing to
do with it. As he could pitch on no other spot, and finding
it would be a great disappointment to him and the towns
people, I reluctantly gave leave, telling him I would not take
any pay for the use of the field and should he be killed by
falling from a very great height as a gentleman at Newcastle
once did, I would be clear of it ; the gentleman I have just
named was to hold down the balloon until it was ready to
be let off, and being busy cracking nuts he tied the string
round his arm, so when it went up he was entangled in the
string, and when so high as to be almost out of sight his arm
got loose and he dropped down feet foremost into a Garden,
but fell with so much force he sunk up to the knees in the earth
and was quite dead.*
In 1837, when the queen came to the throne the
Society of Friends presented an address ; the following
extract from a letter gives a description of the pro
ceedings :
* An account of this accident at Lunardi s ascent at Newcastle in
1 786 is given in Sykes Local Records. The gentleman who was helping
Lunardi, and who was killed, was Mr. Ralph Heron, " The border on
which he fell had been lately digged, into which he sank above his
knees, from which shock his bowels were totally displaced."
72 EDWARD PEASE. 1837
We have had a very interesting occasion last 6th day, as
the paper would show, in presenting our address to the young
Queen. After waiting in an adjoining room about half an
hour, folding doors opened and we observed at a longish
distance before us, our youthful Queen seated under a canopy,
with the Ministers standing about her in remarkable stillness
and stateliness. We advanced slowly through files of guards,
she fixing her large eyes upon us till we drew up close to the
footsteps of her throne. I thought she looked a little flushed
at first, but her countenance is pale, very fair, rather inclined
to plumpness, agreeable looking, but not of refined features.
She sat in remarkable stillness, no one about her seemed to
move a lip or a limb. At one part of our address, I believe,
when we alluded to the pardoning of the guilty criminal,
I observed she drew in her lips as if the subject closely in
terested her feelings ; and towards the close, when we used
solemn and supplicating terms, her bosom heaved as with
uniting aspirations. On the whole she conducted herself in
the most striking manner ; she sat in a high-backed chair,
which made her appear diminutive, and her person being much
covered with insignia, she appeared like one of fourteen or
fifteen years old ; her hair was very neatly done up. When
she had finished her reply, Lord John Russell took it from
her, and she bowed to us ; she then gave it to W. Allen, who
read our address (they said) beautifully. At a signal for
retirement we commenced the process of walking backwards,
to the amusement of many I dare say, and to the no small
amusement of my toes from the uncouth and uncourtly
breeding of a stout Friend before me. It was altogether a
most interesting spectacle, and there was, as I thought, much
solemnity apparent in the occasion.
The following extract from a letter of Joseph Pease,
gives an account of the coronation of the queen :
What have I seen ? An enormous well-behaved, contented
and apparently happy People crowning their youthful Sover
eign, and a splendid sight it was strange mixture and sad
confusion of the reality and semblance of sacred things
much of popery, much of ancient traditions and feudal days and
1837-40 THE QUEEN S CORONATION. 73
much of Jewish remnants grafted on a Christian stock ; much
to arouse the feelings, to excite the admiration, and disgust
the judgment. . . An air of congratulation and satisfac
tion is almost universal ; weather and circumstances having
favoured the whole. The Abbey was certainly a fine spectacle,
the company gorgeous and beautiful, the Queen interesting,
but somewhat benumbed (I should think), and the experienced
declared it to have been a whole without the possibility of
rivalry under the sun ; no metropolis so grand and no people
so rich, no nobility so capable, nor any empire more the sub
ject of admiration, or more worthy the consideration of the
statesman or the philosopher, all these as it were confided to
the guardian care of a child, just emerged from simplest
tutelage and tutor age. These points remembered, there was
much to induce trains of sentimental thought. I see the
Morning Chronicle singles me out for notice and echoes the
appreciated comments made to me on my appearance, simple
as it was. I had a capital seat in the Abbey ; came home and
wrote my letters. . . . then assisted my brother Barclay
in shewing the lions to his children, and Jane G. Backhouse ;
such prodigious masses of people (and the extraordinary dis
play of fireworks exhibited to us) my mind had never
conceived. A discharge of 800 Rockets simultaneously, throw
ing each as many balls of crimson, yellow, green and blue
lights throughout the sky, showed the hundreds of thousands
of gazing spectators. The illuminations were of the most
costly character, and as I pursued my way home from my
friend Vivian s garden, where I had secured for my compan
ions kind accommodation, near one o clock, the streets were
still crammed ; we were once locked for about one hour and
a half, the police in vain endeavouring to obtain any regular
passage. This finished my coronation others are pursuing
balls, music, fairs and reviews I have had enough.
1840. It will help to give some idea of the con
servative way in which he viewed the business of the
Quaker parliament when he went up each May to
London to attend its sittings, to quote from a letter to
his son Joseph on the 2nd of June, 1840.
74 EDWARD PEASE. 1840
I know not what tidings thy dear two may have given
thee of the winding up of our Yearly Meeting. I think it
concluded to a considerable degree of comfort, which would
have been yet more encreased had we parted under the solemn
supplication of thy dear brother (John), and had not George
Jones communication so far dissipated our gathered feeling
as to make way for a teetotal harangue, ... In my ap
prehension friends have seldom parted under a more united
feeling of brotherly love, more settled in our principles or in
more attachment to our common faith though in various
parts of the country, I can suppose, the attraction to other
places of worship is weaning many. It seems to me as if this
must be the consequence of so much association with others
for benevolent purposes (and how can we forbid the exercise
of such praiseworthy exertion), yet the temptation to young
friends to abate some part of their profession is obvious, and
opening the way to friendships and missionary meetings
it seems as if we were in a position fearfully liable to be caught,
so that " come out from among them, touch not," a language
much the reverse of my nature, as attaching to good works
to be performed in unison with others, has yet a great deal
in it as making for our preservation as a distinct religious
body.
As regards the Meetings of Ministers and Elders
he mentions some documents presented in person by
William Allen and Elizabeth Fry, and proceeds :
that balmy covering with which dear Elizabeth Fry gilded
hopes of good done and to be done, you know can spread a
very soft and softening mantle over what she has to represent.
She laid on the table a short, but pleasing, I may say flattering
letter, wrote by the now King of Prussia, and to which the
Queen had also signed her name, and which thou hast probably
seen. I am not sure that any such private letter comes
before such a body in our legitimate capacity. However it was
pleasing POSSIBLY not to all for I observed S. Grubb with
draw ere W. A. and E. F. s communications were made, so
that I have grounds to doubt the fulness of her unity, and
probably some more, with these mixed proceedings or the
1849 THE ANTI-SLAVERY CAUSE. 75
parties concerned in them but in our Meeting of Elders we
had a proceeding which to my view was as short of legitimacy
as the foregoing. Maria (Saml.) Fox asked leave to come
into our (i.e., the Elders ) meeting the only objection made
was a lateral one on my part, desiring that this visit of a minister
might never be drawn into a precedent, as our meeting should
be held for ourselves and free from any risk of bias from
ministers. She came in and a long communication we had,
encouraging us to a faithful discharge of duty, all very good
but all such as might have been expressed in our joint meeting
it seems to me that these meetings should be unapproach
able by any but our own cloth for had female visits been
admitted four or five years ago we might have received a bias
which would, as it did in the Yearly Meeting, have endangered
our being carried off our feet by WOMEN ! Admirable and
lovely in all respects in THEIR RIGHT POSITION. Feeling and
hearing how much trial there was in S. G. always occupying
the time in meeting, I was bold enough to offer a few obser
vations on that excellent advice not to exceed the measure
of their gifts. I was well followed by S. Corder and Samuel
Gurney, but whether friends were cowardly in touching such
a character or deemed us radical, I know not, but we were
not followed up ; this I deplore because I am certain we are
suffering under a domination which if continued will come out
in open revolt.
The foregoing will be enough to illustrate the
pedantry of Quaker style and the questions that occu
pied the thoughts and time of these Friends and Elders.
In 1849 there is evidence of the continued interest
Edward Pease took in the Anti-Slavery cause, and he
follows the proceedings of the Quakers deputations
that are received at various continental courts. He
calls the king of Hanover " a gruff article," and quotes
his remark to the friends who addressed him that
" he did not want anybody, tell him what was his
duty," and mentions that they had not seen the
King of Denmark.
76 EDWARD PEASE. 1851
He was so taken up with congratulations, rejoicings,
triumphal arches, and for the return of his armies from
Schleswig after such splendid victories, respecting which
August [Mundhenck], as a Prussian speaks with most marked
contempt.
In a truly patriarchal fashion he watches over the
manners and habits of all his descendants, noticing
the slightest breaches of the proprieties by even his
grandchildren. To Jane Gurney Pease :
I learn you [i.e., Jane and her sisters] are going to the
Mechanic s Soiree this evening I could desire and hope not
to be tea-makers. As regards the whole thing, there is an
unfeminine vulgarity in it from which you might do well to
stand aloof. There may be something antiquated you will
suppose in this sentiment ; but it seems to me the once very
worthy ancients at the Grove [i.e., Joseph and Jane Gurney,
their Grandparents] would have united in it.
To illustrate the straitness of old Friends such a
letter as the following is worth preserving :
TO JANE G. PEASE.
Marske,
8 Mo. 5, 1851.
MY BELOVED GRANDDAUR. JANE
I have heard with much concern that the Duke of North
umberland s band is to be at the flower show in thy cousin
Edmund Backhouse s grounds. I deeply regret that a
circumstance which would have given much pain to a char
acter so exalted who recently possessed these grounds,
and whose dimise is affectingly fresh should have been per
mitted.
Whither the attendance of friends may be considered the
attendance of a place of amusement (to make it such, is the sole
purpose for which the band is procured) I leave ; but to me
it feels such a trespass on, and violation of the discipline, and
principles of friends ; that I can do nothing but discourage
their presence : my conclusions, my Beloved Jane, may be
1845-50 HIS STRAITNESS. 77
considered strait ; and so will the conclusions of every
one be deemed, who faithfully aims for that only safe road
which has a "strait gate" and leads into a narrow way:
so it greatly crosses my natural dispositions to say, that
neither refreshments nor welcome will be provided at my
dwelling (for those who come only and purposely to be at the
show) ; I say this with much keenness affecting. Farewell my
beloved Jane my dear love is unchangeably with you all.
Thy truly affectionate Grandfather
EDWARD PEASE.
In another which he wrote to Jane in 1845, after a
visit he had paid to Elizabeth Fry at Plashet, he
speaks of her as
very sweet and conversible, perhaps her mind not quite so
strong as once, yet that prizable past tenderness of mind,
true piety and affection remain and what an adorning they
are to old age and under infirmity. I dare say it has occurred
to thee my Lov d Jane that the foundation for these attractive
dispositions are best and surest laid in early life, and ah ! so
blest is the possessor of them, and such a blessing to those
around, that every intent and purpose of the heart might well
and ought to be directed to their attainment.
He then points out the way to love, power and trust,
and warns her against what he has seen at Ham House :
The introduction and association of those not members of
our Society to the dwelling the seed bed of an alienation
productive of bitter fruit. So dear Jane think, and wisely
think, that the less association with those without our Pale,
is best, safest, most protective of principles and freeing from
temptation or to depart from it. Well, I had no idea of
giving expression to thoughts in rather too hasty a way
perhaps, and which would have been better if more pondered.
In yet another letter to Jane in 1850 he writes :
I do not know if I have told thee of my changed taste in
reading tis possible something of the same would yield thee
78 EDWARD PEASE. 1850
a sweet and peaceful mental rest after books quite properly
amusing and instructive
and suggests that she should acquaint herself " with
the faith, patience, hopes and sufferings of our wor
thies," and alludes to her cousin John, the eldest son
in the Earlham Gurney family,
who when reduced in health would only have Friends writings
read to him, and when thy cousin Joseph John [his brother]
would take some of their works less of narrative and rather,
as he thought, dry, in order to get him to sleep, his wakeful
interests in their pious sentiments kept away the intended
soothing effect. So dear Jane all this is to thyself in that
paternal warmth which wishes to promote thy happiness.
But when he is 90 he goes on advising Jane, and
writes to her at her late Uncle Barclay s house at Ley ton
believing you beloved Sisters are good friends, I wish you
would carry it as handsomely and becomingly neat as your
cousin [Jane Barclay] it might a little tend to stem the torrent
of unshamefaced tumble of head bonnets now usual. I know
you think to begin at the heart is best, so it is, but begin, at the
head or anywhere, to do well is good.
A great deal of Edward Pease s time was spent
each year, even when he was over eighty years old,
with his married daughters at Saffron Walden and
Bristol. The following extract from a letter to his
granddaughter Emma Pease gives us a glimpse of how
he spends his time when at Bristol in 1850.
Now my dear Emma it would be no surprise to me while
your five needles were whisking through wedding prepara
tions if there were started an expression " I wonder how
grandpapa spends his time." So to keep him in mind I will tell
you a little about him. He goes to meeting more frequently
than when at home, he writes many letters to those he loves
there . . . [here follows a list of calls paid and visitors].
. . . He reads a little variety, his present scale is the
1850 AT THE GROVE, NORWICH. ? g
archives and ancient records of this monthly meeting which
have considerable variety in them ; he finds turbulent couples
determined to be wed came into meeting with a few of their
friends, read a Certificate and wed themselves ; they and
their attendants, or at least the latter, send in an apology and
paper of regret, they seem to be forgiven but what becomes
of the bride and bridegroom (whose previous unsatisfactory
conduct was the reason why friends would not wed them) is
not noticed, but there are great contrasts to these unsavoury
and turbulent doings : there is a strong relief in the pro
ceedings of George Fox and Mary Fell who with a solemnity
of expression that can hardly be exceeded declare their
intention and belief in the sacred council that directs therein
. . . but order was not always kept, we may well con
ceive, when it was needful to appoint three friends to sit in the
Gallery to prevent the boys from spitting on the heads of
friends below !
The same year he goes to stay at the Grove, Nor
wich, with the widow of Joseph John Gurney. Here
he says he still feels the
overshadowing of the spirit that was so sweet under a
countenance so beaming, so bright, so playful, yet so pious
as thy beloved Grandfather s and thy dear Grandmother s,*
the latter never neglecting one iota of attentions that
could contribute to the comfort of those who inmated with
her. Changed as all are there, yet there is much of delight in
thinking the mansion is so worthily occupied ; such kindness
and goodness, and generosity so great (Oh, how I wish it was
counterparted at cold Keswick), that it seemed to me that
many ample folds of beloved Joseph John Gurney s did mantle
her f actions and gently lie upon her quiet subjected spirit ; that
there was a peacefulness in our coming sweetly zephyr d by
the very atmosphere of old Earlham. J
* The Grove was Joseph and Jane Gurney s home. On the death
of the latter in 1841, who had resided there during her widowhood,
The Grove became the home of Joseph John Gurney s widow till she
went to live in America.
f i.e. Eliza P. Gurney, his widow.
8o EDWARD PEASE. 1837
When we come to Edward Pease s Diaries we shall
find enough to show that he was not over partial to
such causes as the total abstinence one. There are
passages in his letters which betray his attitude to this
and some other philanthropic movements.
When I came to destroy old vouchers I reprieved
some of the old Hotel bills which indicated what we
should now consider a shocking consumption of liquor.
I reproduce one of many such ; old parliamentary
election accounts tell the same tale, and some of
Edward Pease s descendants who remember his son
John, a leading minister in the Society, may be
a little surprised to know that I have a voucher of
his for 2 paid for " Punch " at the Black Lion at
Stockton. My father told me that beer was in his
childhood looked upon as a necessary article in the
nursery, and that he and his brothers and sisters
were all brought up to have their beer at meals.
In 1837, Edward Pease, writing to his grand
daughter Emma Gurney Pease, tries to be patient with
Mrs. John Pease, who is going to attempt the wild
experiment of using milk instead of beer for herself
and little girl. He brings the question to the test of
the Scriptures and says
thou knowest the law concerning Nazerites is fulfilled ; but
what dost thou think of dear Sophia recommencing it ? in
the hope that she and her sweet infant may find that milk
in lieu of Malt Liquor may supply all maternal and infantile
wants ; in this anciently holy regimen she intends to perse
vere, until effects which demand a change shall impel her to
adopt a different course.
He trusts that there will be " a keeping on the
watch for that which shall render the adoption of
another course essential." His
hope is that in her case it may be with her, as it is with thou
sands, that health and strength may be theirs ; and maintained
^
M. YARKER,
* i: :
8*:
D
D
KINGS nu.fi) L\N,
EICHMOND*
Breakfast . .
pinner ... t
Supper .... ......
Fruit Cards and Biscuits
Ale and Beer ..!...,
Madeira and Claret . . . ,
Sherry and Lisbon . . .
Punch and Cyder . . . . ,
Wine and Negus .....
Pipes, Tobacco, and Paper
Brandy, Hum, and Gia . .
Servants Eating, &c. . . .
Coffee, and Tea
Washing and Postage . .
Horses Riy and
Post Chaise
B
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JH
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EDWAUJ) I KASK S " KXI KXSKS AT RICMMOX1), 7 in. K>. iSoS,"
Fucsiinilc >f an old H>tt-I Hill,
1840 POLITICS. 81
on the supply of nature s provision. Tis an experiment
I hope not unwise, not unsafe, but with some constitutions
its sinking effects would soon become evident.
Another new idea, namely, that Friends could take
a part in politics did not startle him so much, however
zealous he was that his own family should abstain from
any active share in them. Even after his son was in
Parliament he seldom alludes to politics or Parliament
ary proceedings, and when he does it is generally in
relation to Railways, the Slave Trade or Ecclesiastical
questions. If Toryism or Conservatism could have
been brought into harmony with civil and religious
liberty and been favourable to humane and philan
thropic objects, he would, I think, have been Conser
vative. But above all things he was anti-clerical, and
for toleration and peace.
In 1840,* writing to his son Joseph, he says :
I did not expect to have had to salute thee again in London,
but I can believe thou wouldst not have gone there again
couldst thou have helped it. On the Hartlepool business
thou mayst I hope be of use. As regards what may be those
agitating questions which are to keep thee going backwards
and forwards for them, it is not easy to determine. Legis
lation which would progress if the Ministry had but one vote
on the majority, and had the Lords on their side, may be said
to be much at a stand. And were the Tories in, with the upper
house to support them, it would go forward, and I hope with
good measures too, because they would not have power enough
in the Commons to get unpopular measures through. So on
the whole my anxiety about which is in, seems different to
what it was a few years ago. Thou perhaps discovers much of
fallacy in this reasoning.
Though in theory Quakers are not Sabbatarians,
Edward Pease was one to a great extent. This comes
* A year after, Lord Melbourne s Government was defeated by one
vote and a Dissolution followed. The Tories came in with a majority
and Sir Robert Peel formed his administration.
82 EDWARD PEASE.
out in such passages as the following, alluding to Mrs.
Jonathan Backhouse, a Minister :
There is hardly one I love so much none of her Station
and Sex or in whom I could forgive so much, but I almost
fear she will be narrowing that disposition in some slight degree,
if we cannot have her in a little more quietude. Whether
driving 40 miles on the Sabbath day (except under a sense
of dire duty) does not exceed the allowed measure, I do not
determine, but that which is of good report ought always to
be in our keeping. Besides, there has always been something
of an impression, that it was a wise part of Jewish Theocracy,
if one could make, like them, a preparation for the Sabbath
(I suppose some undisturbed solemnity) and as regards dear
Hannah, both for the sake of her calling and these anticipated
engagements, I should have been glad if she had had more
retirement.
Although in the diaries and elsewhere Edward
Pease expresses his doubts as to how far Friends should
enter into association with others in missionary and
benevolent enterprises, he himself warmly espoused
the causes of the Anti-Slavery and the Bible Societies.
In 1839, he eulogises Thomas Fowell Buxton and his
book " The Remedy/ and writes :
When one casts an eye back over the ancient Williams,
Henrys, Edwards and four Georges, what iron sleep humanity
seems to have had ; it now seems wakened up in every direc
tion, and flat, dull and slow as may the steps of pure religion
seem to be, I cannot but think that all good and humane efforts
are integral parts of that song that breathed Peace on Earth,
and are harbingers of that most exalted time when the earth
enjoying its Sabbaths, the morning Stars shall sing for joy.
The metaphors and style may be at fault here, but
the passage is a fair representation of his general atti
tude towards the philanthropic movements of his time.
Edward Pease was never a very wealthy man until his
old age, and became one in spite of pains not to be one,
THE FIRST PUBLIC RAILWAY. 83
and he disliked to see anyone absorbed in business and
money making. He took a part in most local public
efforts which had for their object the relief of the poor
and the promotion of public order, virtue and comfort.
He made a point of attending punctually all meetings
for worship, on Sundays, but was as diligent in at
tending week-day meetings and those concerned with
the work and discipline of the Society of Friends.
He had, at fifty, already withdrawn a good deal
from taking an active part in the family business. It was
at this age he began to study the question of a public
railway. His idea was an iron rail-road with waggons
drawn by horses to carry the coal from West Durham
to the sea. From this idea and his putting it into
practice sprung the public railway systems of the world.
The first public railway was projected by Edward
Pease. In the life of George Stephenson, by Smiles,
Edward Pease is described as
a thoughtful and sagacious man, ready in resources,
possessed of indomitable energy and perseverance ; he was
eminently qualified to undertake what appeared to many the
desperate enterprise of obtaining an Act of Parliament to
construct a railway.
In the old days, Stockton was the port of the Tees,
but the winding of the river from its mouth up to that
town, made the time occupied in sailing to it, from the
river s mouth, sometimes as long as that occupied
from London to the Tees.* In 1805 the Tees Navigation
Company was formed, and with Parliamentary powers in
1810 it completed the New Cut, shortening the distance
more than two miles by a straight channel of 220 yards.
A local historian states : " Mr. Edward Pease had at this
early day (1810) become satisfied that a tramway or
railway was at all events equal to a canal " for im-
* A brief chronology of the growth of the Port of Middlesbrough
from these beginnings will be found in Appendix VII.
84 EDWARD PEASE. 1815-18
proving the communication between Stockton and
Darlington, and the Committee of the Company
were directed by a meeting at Darlington * to con
sider the question and chose Mr. Rennie to survey
and report. This report was printed in 1815. The
district became divided into two parties in 1818, the
Stockton party for a canal projected by Mr. C.
Tennant and Mr. Leather (via Portrack and Brad
bury to Evenwood-bridge), and the Darlington party
for a tram or rail-road. But the Darlingtonians
were a divided camp, Mr. Backhouse and Mr.
Meynell being in favour of making the Tees
navigable above Yarm, and then a tramway on
via Darlington to the coal field, and Edward Pease
insisting on a rail-road all the way to save trans
shipments and shifting loads en route. A meeting
and vote was taken. Mr. Backhouse was beaten, but he
most loyally accepted the decision and became one of the
chief promoters of the great experiment, f
I have an imperfect copy of what I take to be the
first Prospectus of any railway, but it is undated.
One paragraph states :
In the year 1768, two of the most eminent engineers of
that day, Messrs. Brindley and Whitworth, surveyed this line
of country, and fully corroborated, as appears by their report,
those expectations of general advantage. . . . Their plans
then failed from a want of adequate subscription ; yet so
demonstrably beneficial is such a project, that it may be said
never to have been lost sight of. In 1812 or 1813 it was
renewed : Mr. John Rennie . . . was employed to make
a new survey, etc.
* The meeting took place on January I7th, 1812, George Allan in
the chair, and the printed report of it is in my possession with the list
of attenders.
| Mr. Backhouse s share in the promotion has never been sufficiently
recognised. Edward Pease often dwells on the enormous services he
rendered.
I8IQ-2I THE FIRST PUBLIC RAILWAY. 85
This old document holds out the following among
many other glowing prospects :
that a sum of not less than 30,000 per annum will be saved
to the Public on the carriage of coal alone.
One object is to supply a population of not less than 60,000
inhabitants with coal at a much cheaper rate than by its present
mode of conveyance. The quantity annually drawn at the
mines to which this road will extend is 140,000 tons, which,
on the average, is now carried twenty miles in carts on the
turnpike road along which one horse drags scarcely one ton
at the rate of 8d. or gd. per ton per mile ; whilst on a level
line of Railway one horse will take ten tons at the [remain
der of paragraph torn out].
There is an old notice with this paper dated Darling
ton, 24th February, 1819, to the creditors and mort
gagees
of the Tolls arising from the Turnpike road leading from
Darlington to West Auckland to apply to Mr. Raisbeck at
Stockton or Mr. Mewburn at Darlington (the solicitors to the
Paid proposed Railway) who are authorised to purchased their
Securities at the Price originally given for the same.
It is curious in examining these old papers to find,
among many astonishing things, such a paragraph (in
a Report of Proceedings of the London Northern Rail
way, 1825) as the following in the evidence of William
Chapman, Esq., an engineer :
The only remaining point of consideration is that of con
veying passengers with speed and convenience from place to
place which may be done in long carriages resting on eight
wheels and containing the means of providing the passengers
with breakfast, dinner, etc., whilst the carriages are moving.
One day in 1821 Edward Pease was writing in his
room when a servant announced that two strange men
wished to speak to him. He was busy, and he sent a
message that he was too much occupied to see them.
86 EDWARD PEASE. 1822
The door had no sooner closed than he lay down his
pen and wondered whether he had done right ; then
he rose from his chair and went downstairs. He asked
where the men were and was told that they were in the
kitchen. Going into the kitchen he found them and
they gave their names as Nicholas Wood, viewer at
Killingworth Colliery, and George Stephenson, an engine-
wright at the pits. Mr. Pease sat down on the edge
of the kitchen table to learn their errand. Stephenson
handed him a letter from Mr. Lambert, the manager
of Killingworth, recommending Stephenson to the
notice of Mr. Pease as a man who understood laying
down railways. In Edward Pease s own description
of this interview he says, " There was such an honest
sensible look about George Stephenson, and he seemed
so modest and unpretending, and he spoke in the strong
Northumberland dialect."
During the conversation Edward Pease agreed that
Stephenson was right when he recommended, for the
purpose Edward Pease had in view, a railroad instead
of a tram road. Edward Pease had long satisfied
himself as to the soundness of his idea "that a horse
on an iron road would draw ten tons for one ton on
a commonroad," and to use his own words, " I felt
sure that before long the railway would become the
King s Highway."
Then Stephenson told him that the locomotive
which he had made to run on the pit railway was worth
fifty horses. " Come over to Killingworth and see
what my Blutcher can do seeing is believing, Sir,"
said Stephenson.
In the summer of 1822 Edward Pease and his cousin
Thomas Richardson set out to visit Killingworth.
He found George Stephenson s cottage, and Mrs. Ste
phenson told him her husband was at the pit, but that
she would send for him. Stephenson soon after turned up
1823 STEPHENSON AND THE LOCOMOTIVE. 87
in pitman s garb, and brought up his locomotive,
made the two gentlemen get up and put it through its
paces.* From that day Edward Pease s faith in the
locomotive never wavered, and he had inserted in the
1823 Amended Stockton and Darlington Act a clause
empowering them to work the railway by means of
locomotive engines and to employ them to haul
passengers as well as merchandise. He entered (1824)
into partnership with Stephenson to make locomotives
in Newcastle.
When the Act referred to was passed George
Stephenson was confirmed in his appointment as the
Company s engineer at a salary of 300 a year.
In top boots and breeches George Stephenson and
John Dixon would work all day long from dawn to dark
surveying the newline, and Stephenson would constantly
drop in at Edward Pease s when the day s work was done
to discuss with him the railway and various matters.
Mr. Pease s daughters were usually present and on one
occasion, finding the young ladies learning the art of embroidery
he volunteered to instruct them. " I know all about it," said
he, " you will wonder how I learnt it. I will tell you. When
I was a brakesman at Killingworth I learnt the art of em
broidery while working the pitman s button holes by the
engine fire at nights." Mr. Pease s family were greatly pleased
with his conversation, which was always amusing and in
structive, f
It was in discussion with Edward Pease that the
questions were decided (which now seem so simple)
of the composition of rails, when of iron, whether
they should be wrought or cast, and of what weight,
* A picture of this incident painted by A. Blankley was exhibited
in the Royal Academy and at Haywood and Leggatt s gallery, Cornhill.
I do not know where it is now. It was reproduced in the Illustrated
London News with the title " George Stephenson at Darlington in
1823," and described as " in the Flatov Collection."
f Smiles Life of George Stephenson.
88 EDWARD PEASE. 1825
and what the gauge of the railway should be. Originally
a wooden tramway had been Edward Pease s idea and
then iron. Malleable rails in those days of com
paratively cheap labour cost 12 per ton, and cast
iron ones 5 los. These first rails were " fish-bellied,"
weighing only twenty-eight pounds to the yard, 2j
inches broad at the top, 2 inches in depth at the ends
and 3j inches in the middle of the belly part, with
a flange f inch thick. The gauge was taken from
the road waggons, 4 feet 8| inches.
The first railway between Stockton and Darlington
was opened on the 27th September, 1825. George
Stephenson drove the engine which trailed after it six
waggons loaded with coals and flour, a coach with the
directors and their friends, and then twenty-one waggons
filled with seats for passengers, and then six waggons
loaded with coal, thirty-eight vehicles in all ; and " such
was its velocity that in some parts the speed was
frequently twelve miles an hour." The engine arrived
in Darlington, 8f miles from Brusselton, where it started
from, in sixty-five minutes and starting off again did
twelve miles on to Stockton in three hours and seven
teen minutes including stoppages.
Smiles, the biographer of Stephenson, quotes an
opinion of Edward Pease in 1818. " He was a man
who could see a hundred years ahead." There is a very
pleasing account of him by Smiles when he was eighty-
eight years old. He describes him as hale, hearty,
full of interest in the present, with a bright eye and
the mental vigour of a man in his prime and with
an elasticity in his step which younger men might
have envied.
Edward Pease had a warm place in the hearts of
the Darlington people. His ability, activity, energy,
simple hospitality and warmheartedness made him a
general favourite, and he was familiarly called " Neddie
11
-
O "
1817 THE QUAKERS LINE. 89
Pease." Old men, when I was young, constantly
quoted his shrewd remarks and observations. Although
all the world called him schemer and fool, he joked
over its shortsightedness and stuck to his project. A
pretty picture is given by Smiles of " Neddie Pease,"
looking on an autumn landscape from his drawing-room
windows with full grown trees in the nearer distance
and exclaiming, " Look at those fine old trees, every one
of them was planted by my own hand. When I was a
boy I was fond of planting and my father indulged me
in this pastime. I went with my spade planting trees
everywhere as far as you can see ; they grew while I
slept, and now see what a goodly array they make.
Aye, but railways are a far more extraordinary growth
even than these. They have grown up since I was a man.
When I started the Stockton and Darlington Railway
some five and thirty years since, I was already fifty
years old."
I refer the reader to the same pages for an account
of the birth of the idea in Edward Pease s mind in 1817,
and to the vast labours and difficulties of the task
of bringing it into practice, the opposition of land
owners and even coal owners, of the backing he had from
the Richardsons, Backhouses and others, that made
the railway eventually to be called " The Quakers
Line." The fights in Parliament and the defeats and
final victory are part of national history. Here also
will be found the story of how Edward Pease discovered
the genius of George Stephenson, made him engineer
of the first railway, and backed him and his invention of
the locomotive. Stephenson one day in the midst
of the difficulties they encountered said to him, " I
think, sir, I have some knowledge of craniology and
from what I see of your head I feel sure that if you will
fairly buckle to this railway you are the man successfully
to carry it through." He replied, " I think so too, and
90 EDWARD PEASE. 1809
may observe to thee that if thou succeeds in making
this a good railway, thou mayest consider thy fortune
as good as made."
Edward Pease was by no means the originator of
railways, however much the father of public ones, and
his advocacy the means of attracting attention to their
importance. He may, nevertheless, be fairly considered
as the chief agent in bringing George Stephenson s
invention into the light. In Sykes " Local Records,"
under the date of May I5th, 1809, I find the follow
ing :
The inhabitants of Alnwick and its vicinity were gratified
by the completion of an undertaking hitherto unattempted
in that quarter, viz., the delivering of coals at Alnwick from
Shilbottle colliery, by waggons conveyed along a metal rail
road.
And on May ijth, 1809 :
The opening of the waggon-way from Bewicke main to
the river Tyne took place, on which occasion every road leading
to it was crowded with passengers at an early hour and before
eleven o clock about 10,000 people were assembled. About
this time, four waggons of small coals were brought up the first
plane by the steam-engine to the great admiration of the
spectators ; but owing to some little difficulties which often
occur in new machinery, the four waggons of best coals
intended for the Tyne did not start till a much later hour.
As soon as the waggons reached the summit of the second
and highest plane, up which they went with surprising velocity
and regularity, the British flag was hoisted at Ayton cottage,
and announced by a discharge of six pieces of cannon, which
were answered by an equal number from the Ann and Isabella,
his majesty s armed ship on the Tyne, and from Deptford
house, the residence of Mr. Cooke. . . In the evening, to
prove the excellence of the level railway, six men, without
horses, took with greatest ease four laden waggons with each
ten men on the top from Ayton Cottage to the Tyne ; and the
i82i GEORGE STEPHENSON. 91
first coals being put on board the Ann and Isabella the same
was announced by discharges of Artillery as before.
At Killingworth and other collieries railroads had
long been in use when Edward Pease began his agitation
in favour of them for the public service.
At one of the discussions between George Stephenson
and Edward Pease, the former pointed out that the
shortest line to the Collieries would be by Aycliffe and
not by Darlington. Edward Pease pulled him up, and
said with marked emphasis and determination, " George,
thou must think of Darlington : thou must remember
it was Darlington sent for thee."
I have thought that the following from among a
large number of letters I possess, connected with the
making of the first railway and with the first locomo
tive works in the world, may be of interest, . bearing as
they do on the allusions in this sketch to Edward Pease s
part in epoch-making.
GEORGE STEPHENSON TO EDWARD PEASE.
Killingworth Colliery,
April 28th, 1821.
EDWD. PEASE, ESQ.
SIR,
I have been favored with your Letter of the 20 Inst. and
am glad to learn that the Bill has passed for the Darlington
Rail Way.
I am much obliged by the favourable sentiments you ex
press towards me, and shall be happy if I can be of service in
carrying into execution your Plans.
From the nature of my engagements here and in the
neighbourhood, I could not devote the whole of my time to
your Rail Way, but I am willing to undertake to survey and
mark out the best line of way within the limits prescribed by
the Act of Parliament and also to assist the Committee with
92 EDWARD PEASE. 1825
plans and estimates and in letting to the different contractors
such work as they might judge it adviseable to do by Contract,
and also to superintend the execution of the work. And I am
induced to recommend the whole being done by Contract
under the Superintendence of competent persons appointed
by the Committee.
Were I to contract for the whole line of road it would be
necessary for me to do so at an advanced price upon the Sub
Contractors, and it would also be necessary for the Committee
to have some person to superintend my undertaking. This
would be attended with an extra expense and the Committee
would derive no advantage to compensate for it.
If you wish it I will wait upon you at Darlington at an
early opportunity when I can enter into more particulars as
to remuneration, etc. etc.
I remain yours
respectfully,
GEORGE STEPHINSON.*
The next letter I shall give is from another man who
played an important part in bringing Stephenson s
ideas into notice, viz. Nicholas Wood, the manager
of Killingworth Colliery.
NICHOLAS WOOD TO EDWARD PEASE.
Killingworth,
ist February, 1825.
SIR,
I must apologise for not answering your letter respecting
the Locomotive Engines before this, but what with my own
business and in making preparations for the experiments
for the other Rail Roads, I have been so much occupied, that I
really have not had an opportunity of doing so. I had also
another reason for delaying the answer. I expected from some
alterations I was making of the Locomotive Engines, that it
would be attended with considerable improvement, and their
performance increased accordingly ; and I waited until I had
* Note he signs his name Stephinson.
55
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1825 LETTER FROM NICHOLAS WOOD. 93
the result of these to assist me in determining your Questions.
I am happy to say these alterations have answered my most
sanguine expectations, and has given a new turn to the action
of those machines, rather different from what I anticipated,
and certainly the very reverse of what those opposed to them
were inclined to admit.
I must, however, beg a little more time to arrange the mate
rials derived from those experiments and as they are to form
the groundwork of my estimate of their performance, I should
wish to give it the most attentive consideration. You may,
however, depend upon me not delaying it beyond the earliest
period of my coming to a final determination.
I have now to thank you for the Friendly advice contained
in your last Letter you are aware of my friendship for Mr.
Geo. Stephinson, my conduct in many instances had shewn it
and I am happy my Friendship has been bestowed upon so
worthy a person. When he was associated with me at this
Colliery, we made a great many experiments on the subject
of Rail Roads, and since his employment elsewhere I have
made a great many more the benefit of which he has always
had from time to time as they were made.
Those experiments however have not been attended with
out expense, and I may add also with considerable mental
exertion, though, thank God, my circumstances are such as to
make me at present to live with the greatest comfort ; yet
that depends upon my constant and continual exertion both
of body and mind, and I think it a duty, therefore, incumbent
upon myself if those experiments are useful and such as will
afford any emolument, to embrace the opportunity at present
held out to render that comfort more lasting and independent.
Of course, if the publishing them to the world should injure
Mr. Stephenson, I should, notwithstanding, withhold them,
but after mature consideration I do not think they will
they are only conveying information which every one in a
short time will have an opportunity of informing himself, but
which at the present moment I may say only dwells with
myself.
When I state to you that, at this time, I am several pounds
the worse for all my experience in Rail Roads, I trust you will
94 EDWARD PEASE. 1824
not blame me for endeavouring to reimburse myself now, when
I think an opportunity offers, if it only be done judiciously
and without injuring my friends,
I am, Sir,
Your most ob. St.
N : WOOD.
The next document I shall give is the Partnership
Agreement, made at the end of 1824, between Edward
Pease and the Stephensons, for the purpose of con
structing locomotives.
The original memorandum signed by the partners in
the engine factory, is somewhere among my father s
(the late Sir J. W. Pease) papers, but I give the original
document drawn up at the meeting which formed the
" Basis of Partnership," in the Forth Street Works,
as it is endorsed.
It is in Edward Pease s handwriting.
At a meeting etc. etc. 12 M., 13, 1824.
it. In consequence of the numerous engagements of Geo.
Stephinson, it is concluded that he be relieved from that
ostensible share of the management of the said concern during
the ensuing year, which he has hitherto had, yet that the en
gine factory shall continue to receive any effort of his in
genuity and that of his Son for which they can spare time, and
it is now agreed that the management be taken by Mich.
Longridge at the rate of 200 per annum, for the year ensuing.
2d. On considering the circumstances of the existing
Patent for Locomotive Engines, and the short duration, say
three years, ere that Patent expires, that it is expedient if it
be practicable by a Petition to Parliament as Geo. Stephinson
has stated to this meeting, that he does not at present see any
additions can be made to his former invention of such moment
as to entitle him to sue for new Patent ; the care of this sub
ject is committed to Edwd. Pease.
1824 THE FIRST LOCOMOTIVE WORKS 95
It appearing to this meeting that we labour under
considerable disadvantage in not being able to found our
own Cylinders and other cast metal articles. It is resolved
that an adjacent piece of ground about 1,800 yds. square
being Leasehold for three lives, be purchased at 43. 6d. per
yard, to erect a foundry upon, and that the care of completing
this purchase be left to Michael Longridge. It is contem
plated that this extension of our works may involve a capital
equal but not exceeding, the sum already invested in our
Engine manufactory. A small modern built dwelling
house attached to the premises above named appearing to be
desirable to this concern, it is agreed that the same be
purchased for 120, the same is left to care of Geo. Stephinson.
Proposals and agreement for opening an office for Engin
eering and Railway Surveying entered into and agreed this
30 day, 12 mo., 1824.
1. That the Co. shall consist of Geo. Stephinson, Robt.
Stephinson, Edw. Pease and Michl. Longridge as follows :
Geo. Stephinson . . . . 2 Shares.
Rob. Stephinson . . . . 2 Shares.
Edwd. Pease (J T. R s.)* . . 4 Shares.
M. Longridge . . . . 2 Shares.
10
2. That Geo. Stephinson and Robt. Stephinson shall
take charge of pointing out, surveying, etc. all lines of Road,
and all other works which the Co. may undertake and shall
be provided with proper assistants at the expense of the Co.
3. Michl. Longdridge shall take the charge of the corres
pondence and all the accounts, etc., etc.
4. All expenses for Clerks, Surveyors and other Salaries,
and all other expenses shall be first discharged, after which
Geo. Stephinson and Robt. Stephinson shall be paid for their
joint use 1,500 per annum as a compensation for their
* T. R. Thomas Richardson, who put up half the money for
Edward Pease and had this interest in the concern.
96 EDWARD PEASE. 1854
services, and then the profits be divided according to their
respective shares, provided the work done and the money
received amount to the sum above named.
5. All Apprentice and other fees and remuneration shall
be paid over for the joint benefit.
6. Rob. Stephinson is at liberty to conclude his present
foreign engagement before he render any personal service to
this company, yet the benefit to arise from any other foreign
engagement is to go into the common stock. If within three
months after his return to England, it is the said Rob. Stephin-
son s wish to terminate this agreement, it shall end upon his
giving three months notice.
7. The office to be at Newcastle.
8. That this agreement commence on the ist January,
1825, and that the firm be Geo. Stephinson and Son.
One more letter I shall give and that shall be from
the distinguished son of George Stephenson.
ROBERT STEPHENSON TO EDWARD PEASE.
Newcastle-on-Tyne.
6th October, 1854.
MY DEAR MR. PEASE,
I believe the gentleman who has been engaged some time
in collecting facts connected with my father s life is highly
respectable and from what I can learn well calculated to write
a popular memoir. I have promised him all the assistance in
my power, and I believe Nicholas Wood has done likewise.
No one can give him such interesting information regarding
my father s early Rway Carreer as yourself, and I shall be
glad to hear that you have undertaken to do so.
It is my intention to spend some time in Whitby in about
a fortnight, and if I can find an opportunity on that occasion
to spend a day or two with you in Darlington, I shall have
great pleasure in doing so.
1857 FRANCIS MEWBURN. 97
My health, I am glad to say, is better than it has been for
some time past, but I do not feel that it is permanently
restored.
Yours faithfully,
ROB. STEPHENSON.
EDWARD PEASE, Esq.
Darlington.
I give in Appendix IX., a letter from a working-
man, a quaint account of the first firing and starting of
Locomotive No. i.
In a memoir of Francis Mewburn, the Chief Bailiff
of Darlington and first Railway Solicitor, published in
1867, there is much interesting information with regard
to the early history of the railway idea. There is also
an account of the first meeting between George Stephen-
son and Edward Pease. In this we read
At the behest of Pease, old George with Nicholas Wood
barefoot walked to Darlington, shoeing themselves near
Bulmer s Stone. Neither was ever backward in admitting
this, for neither was ashamed, for each had the true stuff of
men.
In 1857 Mr. Francis Mewburn, who had been
associated with the work from its first inception,
presided at a public meeting at the old Town Hall
with the object of taking steps to collect a sub
scription and to commemorate the great and invalu
able services of his old and firmest friend " Ed
ward Pease/ In his speech on this occasion, Mew
burn sketched the history of the Railway idea from 1768,
when the project was discussed of a canal from Winston
through Darlington to Stockton, down to that day.
The scarcity of money, owing to the Napoleonic wars,
hung up the plan of making a canal till 1812, and simi
lar causes delayed the tramway and canal scheme of
98 EDWARD PEASE. 1857
1812 till after the peace. Mewburn tells the story of
how " all the landed gentry in the county opposed the
railway with the exception of two/ Mr. Meynell and
Mr. Benjamin Flounders. He also states that Mr.
Overton s (the Welsh Engineer) recommendation of a
railway for the whole distance had the effect of ending
the differences between the two Quaker camps led by
Backhouse and Pease. He quotes Edward Pease s
dictum as to a canal :
It will be of no public use ; we must have a continuous
line of communication ; the canal will not be of so much use
as the railway, for if the railway be established and succeeds,
as it is to convey not only goods but passengers, we shall have
the whole of Yorkshire and next the whole of the United
Kingdom following with railways.
Alluding to the Parliamentary fights he says :
It was to the talent and firmness displayed by Mr. Pease
throughout the whole of these proceedings that they owed
the success of the undertaking.
Among the resolutions unanimously agreed to at
the above mentioned public meeting, were :
That, deeply impressed with the immense advantages of
the exertions of Edward Pease Esq., in promoting in the year
1818, the first public railway in the kingdom (the Stockton and
Darlington Railway), and in subsequent years prosecuting
the scheme of railway enterprise with indomitable perse
verance, under difficulties almost inconceivable at the present
day, it is expedient to record the facts by some testimonial, as
a proof of the estimation in which he is held in his native town
of Darlington, its neighbourhood, and the district generally.
That in consequence of such means of locomotion, sources of
wealth have been developed, the entire kingdom advanced,
and the convenience of the public wonderfully increased,
every railway company in Great Britain be communicated
i857 PROPOSED TESTIMONIAL. 99
with, in order to afford them the opportunity of co-operating
in this national tribute to a man who still lives to witness,
with the liveliest satisfaction, the result of his early labours.
That, considering that Mr. Pease has directly and indirectly
been the means of developing to an extraordinary extent the
mineral wealth of this district in particular, and thereby
stimulating every branch of trade and commerce in the
country at large, communications be made with employers
and employed, affording an opportunity to masters and
operatives of assisting in a testimonial commemorating the
services of that gentleman.
That F. Mewburn (Chief Bailiff), John Castell Hopkins,
Thomas Meynell, Robert Addison, John Harris, John Dixon,
Robert Thompson, Isaac Wilson, Thomas MacNay, Thomas
Snowden, H. W. Ornsby, Henry Hutchinson, Alfred Kitching,
and George Mason, with power to add to their number, be
appointed a committee for carrying out the object of this
meeting, and deciding upon the form which the proposed
testimonial shall assume.
A bronze statue, to be erected in Darlington, was
suggested, but it was thought best to make preliminary
inquiries not only as to the best form of testimonial,
but as to the wishes of Edward Pease and his family in
the matter.
Edward Pease wrote the following letter to Mewburn
on receiving a report of the latter s speech :
Darlington,
3rd Mo. 6, 1857.
DEAR FRA. MEWBURN, I am much obliged by the printed
copy of thy speech. I feel thy kindness, but does it not do me
some injustice in rendering me more than justice ? I never
aspired to be of any consequence in the town or elsewhere.
If in any respect I rendered it or thyself, my valued friend,
any service, I only did what every well-wisher to his friends
and his country ought to do. It seems to me that Divine
Providence has condescended largely to bless our designs and
ioo EDWARD PEASE. 1857
efforts for the good of the world, and that we have great cause
to thank Him for the benefits He has enabled MS to confer
on humanity.
Thy sincere affectionate friend,
EDWARD PEASE.
P.S. Very old age and imperfect vision must apologise
for this note.
The Pease memorial was frustrated by a more
public letter on the 3rd March from the Patriarch (who
died next year in his ninety-second year, being buried on
the 6th of August with every demonstration of marked
respect) decidedly forbidding it ; for it was his earnest
wish that no such testimonial be prepared or further
thought of. The Committee, however, took counsel
in their disappointment and decided upon an Address,
which the Hon. Sec. prepared ; it was most numerously
and influentially signed ; indeed it extended to an
immense and unusual length by consequence, and is
curious for its rare autography. The scroll itself was
considerable,* and on the date it bears was presented.
Mr. Mewburn was, of course, selected to perform what
would have proved one of the most gratifying duties
of his life. The chosen party met at the then well-
known house in Northgate, though no one would recog
nise it now, where they were hospitably welcomed and
received. The Secretary read the address, which ran
thus : t
To Edward Pease, of Darlington, in the county of Durham,
Esquire.
SIR, The undersigned, your friends and neighbours, in
most instances the descendants of those whom you have
survived greet you with unfeigned respect, due alike to
your venerable age, and the unvarying consistency of your
* The original Address is in the possession of the descendants of
John Pease.
f From the Memoir of Francis Mewburn.
THE ADDRESS.
101
conduct during a term far beyond the usual span of man s
existence.
We fondly hoped that this expression of esteem would have
assumed a form more public in its character, more gratifying
to ourselves, and more encouraging to posterity, than this
merely individual address ; but your modesty conspicuous
at the close, as it has been a strong feature in the progress, of
your eventful life, forbidding us to perpetuate your memory
by a lasting testimonial, leaves us no other alternative.
In no period of history have so many and so important
events occurred as that in which you have lived and no one
more than yourself has taken so active a part in strenuously
promoting whatever might develope the resources of the
country in which we have the good fortune to dwell.
In times less enlightened and more prejudiced than these,
with amazing foresight, you penetrated the necessity of
unbroken communication by railways, and in 1818 predicted
the extension of that system which now spreads a net-work
over the civilised world, binding nations together for the
interchange of mutual interests. Not content with simply
grasping the idea thus initiated, you brought an earnestness
of purpose, under difficulties almost overwhelming, to stimu
late your perseverance, and the success of your first project
from the collieries in the west by Darlington to Stockton-
upon-Tees the ample fulfilment of your augury is an
abiding monument to you, rightly called " THE FATHER
OF RAILWAYS." Many of us, inhabitants of Darlington,
reflect with gratitude that to yourself and your active col
leagues, the late Thomas Meynell and Jonathan Backhouse,
we owe entirely the advantage of our town being the focus
whence sprang the means of locomotion you originated ; and
can never forget that to your determination alone belongs
the merit of continuing and increasing the manufactories of
this place, which would otherwise have been abandoned for a
more profitable investment of capital.
Directly and indirectly by your sterling ability, fertile
resources of invention, inexhaustible assiduity, and the
highest moral courage, you have been the means, under God
who has hidden boundless riches in the earth, but granted
102 EDWARD PEASE. 1857
intellect to man for their development of opening fresh
avenues to science, encouraging every branch of trade and
commerce, employing large bodies of operatives, and amelior
ating the condition of all classes of society. To you, therefore,
more than to any hero of any age, the thanks of a Nation are
due, and justly may you be termed " A PIONEER OF
PEACE."
Few men have been blessed with so numerous, and none
with a more prosperous offspring, active benevolence
personal sacrifices in distant lands on holy and peaceful
missions distinction in the Senate a singular aptitude for
business, and an untiring zeal for the welfare of others ; such
are the marked characteristics of your children, and your
grand-children to whom you have always been the constant
exemplar and faithful friend. May your posterity to remotest
generations follow in your footsteps, and do likewise.
Private life is delicate ground, but we are not unmindful
that more than any man you enjoy the implicit confidence of
your fellows ; that you have foiled the subtle, assisted the
weak, guided the resolute, supported the wavering, assuaged
the angry, reconciled the estranged ! And though now in the
full maturity of age, in health and intellect marvellously, and
we trust long to be preserved, you can look back upon a life
of unblemished and distinguished reputation, leaving us only
the regret of being denied the satisfaction of recording our
sense of your services by some memorial more enduring but
no less sincere than this simple writing.
Darlington, 23rd October, 1857.
The reading of this document produced a
strange sensation ; the occasion was such as to make
all present feel as if at last, and too tardily, paying a
debt long out of date. The fine old man himself up
to whom everyone looked as if upon an institution
visibly connecting the past and present the extra
ordinary peroration which none living knew to be so true
as his fellow-worker about to make the presentation
the well advanced and respective ages of those twin
1857 MEWBURN S OPINION OF HIM. 103
worthies the welling recurrence of thoughts of the
inexorable future, soon to be realised as the debt
Nature claims in full from all such reflections clashing
with suddenly awakened memories of well-nigh
forgotten facts in both their lives ; the presence of es
teemed and mutual friends ; the absence of many more ;
all these influences rushing on the brain in flood, over
came Mr. Mewburn, who utterly broke down with
irrepressible emotion, which nothing could compose.
He tried, and tried hard, but it was all to no purpose.
Mr. Meynell was enlisted to undertake the duty, which
on the spur of the moment he did with much ability,
and the best tone."
In another place Mr. Mewburn gives Edward Pease
this character, " No one ever heard an honest man
impeach him, though his ability gave him vast advan
tage over his fellows. He was the type of a safe money
maker all his life, and left prodigious wealth, but no
one could whisper dirty craft, illegal traffic with his
rivals name, or any other counterfeit, or threat of law
as his means of heaping gold on gold, though he wor
shipped cent per cent, and got it. His knowledge of
how men stood was something wonderful, yet he had
no waged scouts to eavesdrop and reveal. His foes
respected him for he fought with fair weapons, abhor
ring foul. When Hollingsworth s bank was tottering
on the brink of ignominious ruin, though others were
blind and uninformed, he went straight to Mewburn
[Senr.] saying : I prefer owing to wanting money of
that house. Hast thou or Francis Smales any deposit
there ? The hint was enough, and being promptly
acted upon in Durham, a whole fortune awaiting the
completion of a purchase, was wrenched out of the
yawning gulph. In one of those frightful panics
in which the wisest lose their heads, there was a fearful
run on Backhouses [Bank] . Pease and Mewburn walked
104 EDWARD PEASE. 1857
leisurely together, sauntering if either ever did
into the bank. The counter was full, eager customers
could not be served fast enough from the shining
piled up mounds of bullion. Wrinkled care squatted
on every countenance but theirs, upon which, however,
sat no levity. After waiting some time and engaging
many in conversation, in a tone loud enough to be
heard a breathless whisper from such a quarter at
that time being merchandise Pease said to Plews,
who like all the rest around him was anxious as anxious
could be and well they d need : Nathan our time s
precious. Francis Mewburn and I have been waiting
long enough for our turn, but I have brought thee a
deposit of 10,000, and will thank thee to give me
credit for that amount.
" The effect was instantaneous. The fact passed
from mouth to mouth throughout the market that
Monday, and so on all over the country round about,
the withdrawals ceasing as if by the touch of
a magician s wand. So much for character ! The
influence this man had was almost unbounded, and
invariably healthy in its tone, for he was fair and above
board and infinitely wiser than the common herd of able
men. Mr. Mewburn [Senior] often said : * Edward Pease
was by far the cleverest man I ever met. ... It
is said old Edward Pease worship t cent, per cent.,
and so he did, getting it where he could, yet no miser
he, for his heart was sound as oak. *
" Pease was a grand, severe type of man. His servants and
the poor loved him not for his doles but justice, while all his
equals and his betters respected him. No one ever settled
more disputes than he, or so much discouraged suits and
costly quarrels, where often the victor champs the oyster
* There are other passages in this Memoir of Francis Mewburn
which give details of transactions to illustrate Edward Pease s "eye
for business," which are not so flattering.
1857 MEWBURN S APPRECIATION. 105
shell. He abhorred the Queen s Bench and by the weight
of his purse never asserted might against right. . . .
By his extraordinary sagacity and tact he not only selected
those by whom his method should best be worked out, but
bound them by ties of personal regard as few men could."
On the day of his funeral there is a note in the
diary of Mewburn :
Edward Pease was buried this morning. The shops
throughout the town were shut during the day, and there was
the largest concourse of people in the funeral procession and
in the streets, ever witnessed in Darlington. It was a proud
testimony to the man who, and whose sons, had made South
Durham. The preaching at the funeral was not to my taste.
Mewburn s son proceeds : " No doubt it was woe
fully beneath the occasion," and adds some entries
from his father s diary :
Mr. Pease was in his Q2nd year. His memory was drunk
in solemn silence at the dinner given at Appleby, the day
before the funeral, on the cutting of the first sod of the Eden
Valley Railway. No such honour was ever given to a Quaker
since the days of George Fox.
And another entry in 1865, after reading Smiles bio
graphy of Stephenson :
Pease Edwd., of Darlington I entirely concur with
Smiles in his character of my most valued friend Edwd. Pease.
No one out of his family knew more about him than I. If I
live to the age of Methusalem I shall reverence his name and
memory.
I have felt justified in giving these long extracts,
for they give an idea of how the subject of this memoir
appeared to those who knew him outside his own
family, and who were in no way associated with his
Quakerism.
106 EDWARD PEASE. 1857
In the writings of others, whether in biographies,
contemporary periodicals and obituary notices, may
be found a good deal about Edward Pease.* These and
the accounts I had from those who knew him make him
in my imagination a very different man to the impression
of him to be gathered from reading the religious journal
of the last twenty years of his life. To his family and
friends he was a hearty, affectionate and cheerful com
panion, to his acquaintances a simple, warm-hearted
sympathetic, shrewd man, ready to interest himself in
all that concerned them. In his Quaker peculiarities,
as well as in his sound sense, character and courage, he
stood out as a marked individuality.
To judge of him entirely by the morbid self-
examination of his journals is to get an entirely wrong
impression. Still, I give many extracts from them as it
is well to know the inner life of men. Man hides his
soul, and it is as a rule only after death that we get any
view of the things nearest his heart, and this knowledge
has its influences and its lessons. Joseph Pease, his
son, declared that his cheerfulness never deserted him.
This characteristic, like many others, would hardly be
gathered from his diaries.
In 1834 he fell ill and the following year he was at
death s door and the doctors considered his case
hopeless. He knew his state and prepared all things
for his end with calmness, and payed farewell calls of
friendship and affection. I have heard my father say,
when the doctors considered all was nearly over (in
1836), and every effort had failed to check the illness
(which included a very severe and prolonged jaundice
of about a years duration), that he said, " I have a
fancy for some Cider," and as it no longer mattered
* A good sketch of his life, in which he is recognised as " the originator
and fostering parent " of railways, may be read in the Illustrated News,
of August ;th, 1858.
1858 HIS LAST DAYS. 107
what he had he was given some. He seemed better
for it and continued to drink it regularly day after
day, and to the astonishment of his family, doctors
and friends, he quickly regained strength, and in a
few weeks perfect health. He used to declare in
after life that at seventy years of age he began
a period through which he " enjoyed the fullest
measure of health, and more than he had ever known
previously."
In his old age, when spoken to about fatigue, he
remarked, " that is something with which I am very little
acquainted," and repeated the same thing a week before
his death. There is however evidence that some years
before he died he must have lost some of the elasticity
of step Smiles talks of, for there is now(i9o6) at Pinchin-
thorpe Station a wooden step, that was made for him
to get in and out of the train with when he travelled
to and from Ayton.
On the 27th July, 1858, he was hardly dissuaded
from taking this journey to attend the General Meeting
of the Ayton Agricultural School. He served on, and
hardly ever missed the meetings of, the Committee of
Management there from 1841 to the last. On the 2Qth,
although he had suffered from slight indisposition on the
28th, he said he was well and was in the evening more
animated and cheerful than usual. The following night
he became ill and he knew what it meant, and when
being asked to see the doctor, said, " Well, do as you
think best. You will find probably that this is the
winding up of a long life." Among his words the day
before he died, were, " Goodness and mercy have
followed me all the days of my life and they will not
forsake me now." " No great things I never did
any ; but a meek trust in the mercies of my God and
Saviour and what they have done for me." He was
told " that is all the greatest and best have ever been
io8 EDWARD PEASE.
able to come to." " Yes, that is all," he said. The
next day passed in great pain and sickness and cramp,
but he praised those about him, saying that " their
attentions were far exceeding what royalty could
obtain in like circumstances." He said too, " The
Saviour hath said Him that cometh to me I will in no
wise cast out/ and again, He that cometh to me shall
never hunger and he that believeth on me shall never
thirst, thirst no more." Being told very near the
end that he was supported in body and mind by the
Saviour s love, he made one of his last audible replies
with very characteristic diffidence " Well measurably."
He had already, with warm words of love and
welcome, seen his surviving children round his bed, and
till the last kept on inquiring after them and again
and again, repeated, " How much trouble I give."
His last effort was to bring his hand repeatedly to
his eyes as though he felt the supervening dimness.
His face remained quiet and calm, he breathed more
and more gently and without ever a sign, death came
imperceptibly his warfare was accomplished and
those about him saw how a Christian can die.
The best portrait of Edward Pease is painted from
photographs, daguerreotypes, engravings and silhouettes
by Heywood Hardy, under the superintendence of
my father and others who knew him intimately. This
is of him in his old age and was done for the Board Room
of Pease and Partners, Ltd., Darlington, and was
pronounced wonderfully good by those who were
qualified to criticise it. Every detail of his ordinary
dress was carefully reproduced. It represents him
with long white locks, strong features, an expressive,
full, and clean shaven face, dressed in snuff coloured
Quaker coat, waistcoat and knee breeches, blue
grey worsted stockings, with a white stock and
waterfall cravat. His evening dress was similar, but
s
X w
X
Si
* 2
JP
2S ti ^ -
!x O u -tS
JOSEPH PEASE S REMARKS. 109
a black or dark blue suit replaced the brown one
and brown silk or white silk stockings were worn
instead of the grey ones. At night and in fine
weather, he wore large black shoes with silver buckles. -
In winter he wore long box cloth gaiters and shoes.*
Till he was very old he absolutely refused to be
photographed or painted, as did every correct Quaker of
his time, but in the end surrendered to the solicitations
of his family to allow himself to be photographed. He
was tall, strongly built, and muscular; he carried
himself very erect and had a simple dignity in his
carriage and general bearing.
Edward Pease s son, Joseph, left behind him some
memoranda respecting his father and alludes to others
in the possession of his brother John. These I have
not seen, but in Joseph Pease s notes he describes his
father as " of a nature active, enterprising, assiduous and
benevolent," " of an open and generous nature," " no
indifferent spectator of those engaged in commercial
pursuits after he had quitted them," and " retaining"
his " mercantile astuteness." " His information and
his rules were of no small value. Free of access to
all, drawn in kindness to visit all." " His well known
social habits rendered him a general favourite." " His
cheerfulness was hardly ever known to forsake him,
hence his society was attractive to the young."
* Vide Appendix X.
THE
DIARIES OF EDWARD PEASE,
1824-1858.
INTRODUCTORY NOTE.
T^ROM the Annual Monitor s Obituary Notice of
Edward Pease it would appear his journals prior
to about 1838 were destroyed and that there remain
only the diaries for the last twenty years of his life.
The first, I find, is for 1838 and the last for 1857.
The record, therefore, is one of his old age, beginning
when he was seventy-one years old and continued
regularly to his ninety-second year. The twenty
volumes* are uniform and his diary is written in a
publication called " Richard s Universal Daily Re
membrancer," in which is printed a mass of useful
contemporary information.
The journals are full of entries dealing with his
spiritual state and self-examination. This manner
of writing seems to have been the common practice in
this and the preceding periods of Quakerism.
The amount of self-condemnation that the best of men
and women record, is very depressing reading to those
who are conscious of much feebler and less successful
efforts to reach a much lower standard of Christian virtue.
There are, however, in these diaries, touches of genuine
human nature and allusions to matters of local or
national interest that, I think, justify me in giving as
much as appears in the following extracts. Without
giving those entries which deal with the inmost working
of his soul and with his most private feelings, it would be
* The diary for 1852 is missing.
THE JOURNALS. 113
impossible for those of his descendants who read these
pages to get so true an impression of his character and
of his life as I desire to give them. Although the j ournals
are often concerned with his most sacred reflections
and matters of domestic privacy, I have no hesitation
in publishing them. From numerous remarks it is
quite clear that they were written to reach posterity.
Here is one taken at random from the 2gth November,
1845.
Again, as often, thoughts arise about committing any
memoranda to this book ; but as the employ often leads me
into some examinations and an inward scrutiny into the
present and a reflection on the past and on my omissions and
commissions and also of prospective duties to be fulfilled, so
at present I conclude to continue the practice, unmindful
whether any of my descendants may deem them worth reading
over ; if they do may they know they are the productions of a
poor exercised pilgrim who lives by faith in the Son of God
and in trust for redemption through him.
The most touching allusions to his bereavements,
his dead children (Mary, Edward and Isaac), and above
all to his wife, abound. He records his more than
weekly visits to her grave. By day and on winter
nights in the wind and snow, we shall find him standing
over the place where his Rachel rests. I shall not very
often bring this picture before the reader, but I give
one extract here because it contains his apology for
the practice. It is written on a loose sheet of the
date 1835 and not in one of the twenty volumes.
In that silent and sorrowing hour when life was fled, that
precious impression, as from the voice of my unspeakably
dear companion, whilst I viewed her serene and peace-beaming
countenance, which seemed to say " Cherish my memory,"
has ever remained fresh on my memory indeed ; and it is known
to the Great Searcher of hearts . . . how, whilst I have
10
H4 EDWARD PEASE.
stood over that spot where her dear remains lie reposing,
I have seen in intellectual vision the beckoning finger, as it
were, to prepare and be fitted to join her in the abodes of the
blessed ; and how are my weekly visits to her grave and the
cherishing of her memory made, through the love of my
Redeemer, to be moments of deep instruction to me per
suading me to strive to follow her as she had endeavoured to
follow Christ, at other times to encourage me to ardency in
the pursuit of Heaven to guard against being occupied by
the things of time, to faith and faithfulness and obedience,
to love, to mercy, to kindness.
Some may condemn me for spending so many moments
where that form once so very lovely is now laid but as these
minutes are made to me, times of a nearer union of communion
with her spirit and my God, I cannot at present resign the
practice.
For twenty-five years after this entry, to the end
of his solitary journey, he continues to visit Rachel s
grave with the same regularity, and, with a devotion
that never abates, records his undying love for her.
Many years after her death such exclamations as
the following I often find :
Ah ! so sweet, so pure, was the affection which existed
between my beloved Rachel and myself, that if a sense of it
could be renewed in the interminable bliss of heaven, my
joy would be full.
CHAPTER I. ;/|
1824.
JOURNEY ABROAD IN THE ANTI-SLAVERY CAUSE.
Seventh $th mo. Attended Meeting for Sufferings which
separated a Committee to continue "Piety Promoted," or to
confer with John Barclay, leaving the Committee at liberty
to print testimonies or follow the plan of J. G. Bevan. The
needful case of Thomas Shillitoe s concern to visit Pyrmont and
Petersburg, etc., was referred to a few Friends, as also the need
ful for Elizabeth Walker, proceeding to Pyrmont and France
with her companion Catharine Price.
Another edition of the " Summary " being wanted and its
reference having been committed to J.F., L.H., W. A. and J. E.
and J. M.,* etc., they proposed a change in the introductory
passage on doctrine, which begins that we believe with our
Christian profession in one God a paragraph was read more
amply describing our belief and much more satisfactory, and
was after some interesting remarks adopted as brought in the
word divine was debated, and its sense said to be agreed to by
many as to the character of Christ who yet denied the Godhead.
No inconsiderable number of valued Friends expressed their
great satisfaction and unity with my going (to France), which
so far as the brotherly bond is felt to be of value was cheer
ing to me, and notwithstanding my desire to avoid a formal
notice of my proposed journey the meeting would give me
a minute of free concurrence.
I laid the abridgment of G. M. and her progress on the
table informing Friends I committed it to them to finish and
* Josiah Forster, Luke Howard, William Allen, John Eliot and
Josiah Messer.
"5
n6 EDWARD PEASE. 1824
publish, or if the Sub-Committee on books would consider it,
and point out what was needful to be done, I would take it
to complete as far as I could.
T. Shillitoe I learnt had addressed a note to Lord Liverpool,
requesting an audience with him on the subject of inattention
to the manner in which first days were spent in England.
Sixth 6th mo. I left London in company with Cousins
J. and R. F.,* the latter about to commence her visits to Friends
in Kent. The road from London to Rochester in many parts
in sight of the Thames was strikingly beautiful, the day was
cool and gloomy, and my situation not of choice on the outside,
I was separated from the interesting society of my friends.
We were kindly received by W. Rickman, where my com
panions lodged, whilst I was similarly accommodated at
R. Horsnaill s with much hospitality, and from Friends generally
received much attention. We called to see R. L. Weston,
who has upwards of fifty received in his school ; the premises
and house are well adapted to the establishment, and the
general appearance of things as well as the Friend and his
wife afford much satisfaction the premises in power of
accommodation much exceeding those of H. F. S. the
cost of house and garden was 2,500, and I should think
800 more in the erection of an excellent school room, etc.,
had been expended.
The sight of their instruction and the reflection of so many
of our youth receiving a guarded and religious education yielded
a very pleasing reflection to my mind.
About twenty families of Friends compose this meeting,
and having the addition of a girls school, consisting of fifteen,
as well as the boys, formed rather a considerable assembly.
My cousin R. F. was heard very agreeably in both meetings.
At the close of the forenoon meeting the school meeting was
held. I entertain some doubts about holding such a meeting
at the close of a meeting ; it appeared to me that time sufficient
was not afforded to sink down into that solid contemplation
* Josiah and Rachel Forster, the latter, nke Wilson, of Kendal, was
a cousin of Mrs. Edward Pease. She was born in 1783, married in
1809, and died 1873, a g ed 9- The late Right Hon. W. E. Forster, M.P.,
was a nephew of Josiah and Rachel Forster.
Act. 57
IN PARIS.
117
which the answering of those momentous queries require,
and the remarks which sometimes spring out of their considera
tion. My mind was impressed with the necessity of those who
have received the King s commission as his ambassadors only
entering on their master s business at his command and not
enter into his affairs through a willingless only, but really
watch for his royal mandate and obey it. Although I re
gretted my detention in London, yet there was so much
more prospect in cousin J. F. accompanying his dearest friend*
to this commencement of her Gospel labour I felt well satisfied
with the delay, having some humble hope that divine good
ness, who knows the sincerity of my motives in this absence,
will extend his goodness to my beloved wife and all my dear
connections left behind, and sincere have been my desires
that we may be enabled to excite a spirit of tenderness and
commiseration for the thousands who languish torn from their
native lands under the hard taskmaster and whip of cruelty :
may my valued companions deed of mercy and charity meet
its full reward.
Sixth mo., 1824. IN PARIS.
The Jesuits at this moment are taking steps after the
example of the Bible Society to raise a fund to be applied to
any purpose to oppose any circulation of the Scriptures
collecting id. a week from each individual, and where any one
who yet approved of such opposition and could not pay id.
then some individual would agree to pay for them.
Stapner says that no association could be formed to cir
culate R. F. s views on defensive war, because the opinion was
not adopted, that it was inconsistent with the Gospel ; the
propagation of opinions inconsistent with the principles of
religion, or of principles not acknowledged would only be their
self contradiction, the want of association seems to stop the
circulation of all good, the law does not allow of more than
nineteen persons to collect in one room without giving inform
ation to the King, who then immediately orders a military
guard to be mounted at the door ; indeed, military appear to
* i.e., his wife.
n8 EDWARD PEASE. 1824
be placed at every entrance to the public gardens, and scattered
all over them, as well as in every street that the present
reign may be said to be rather one of terror to the subject, than
one of love by which royalty is supported the profligate
licentiousness of the old king is spoken of with contempt and
detestation by some. Wishing to give his mistress a Bible he
obtained one with plates, and displacing the lawn paper by
which each was protected, he replaced the same with a 1,000
note before each, and having built her a house he sent the large
gold key of it set with diamonds.
jth day. Called on Keifer, Professor of Oriental Languages
and Translator to the Government our discourse turned on
the Turkish Bible, which he is now in hand with for the Society ;
he spoke with much calmness on Henderson s and Patterson s
opposition, had not heard that the Professor of Oriental Lan
guages at Cambridge had defended him against Henderson s
remarks he had rendered the New Testament into Turkish,
and showed us some proof sheets of the Old as far as Kings.
En passant, I gave one of the Yearly Meeting addresses of last
year to an elderly friend of his ; it was accepted civilly he
appeared to know something of Friends and their exertions,
and asked our address.
Sir S. Smith was engaged, Baron Girardo also. Visited Jas.
Violette from Bourdeaux, by which it appears that the trade
is not carried on at Bourdeaux except some very trivial
shoring, said he was in the trade in his youth on the Coast
of Africa, had seen in numerous instances slaves placed in
formations exactly the same as the pounds of England, miser
ably dying of disease or sores, and so affected with insects
that no inconsiderable part of the frame was wasted.
jth day afternoon at the Gobelins and exceedingly struck
with the beauty of the tapestry, exceeding anything I could
have conceived possible to be done by the loom. The patterns
are taken from the most beautiful paintings, which it appeared
to me must be executed in oil colours on canvas to the same
shades and size as is intended to be executed on the loom ;
the mode of warp as conducted in the first room appeared to
Aet. 57 EXPERIENCES IN PARIS. 119
me to be something of the same principle as that of the imi
tation India shawls, that surface of the manufacture only
being obvious which is covered with all the loose ends of the
silk (of which a small quantity is used in carrying out shades),
and worsted, etc., which on the completion of the work must
be cut off in the next room the weaving was of an entirely
different description the basis or warp of cotton was perpen
dicular from the top of the room to about three feet from the
bottom, the thread being arranged as in a common loom ;
the workman was placed behind the screen of thread or cotton
warp and having a strong light before him, he might be said
to thread the worsted across the perpendicular warp with
the fingers. The pattern appeared in some degree drawn on
the warp as we see it in canvas or rug-work the number
of pieces suspended from the wall for exhibition were not
numerous the work is not carried regularly on like common
weaving, but whilst one part of the figure is proceeded with
and finished to some extent, other parts of it are not com
menced with.
Children generally are sent out to nurse by those who can
afford it, soon after they are born, and remain out till fit for
boarding school ; they remain there till about fourteen, and
if females, are very often affianced at that age, and soon
married without affection, so that after life becomes a source of
violation of all mutual engagement to both parties.
2nd day morning. Called at the Hotel du Ministre de
Tlnterieur found him engaged in the Salon met with an
ecclesiastic and the Bishop of Quimper to whom as two
strangers C. and J. F. introduced us, and requested each of
their acceptance of a tract on the treatment of the negroes ;
at the presentment they appeared to shrink from their accept
ance, but took them hesitatingly, yet with acknowledgment.
Called again on the learned Keifer, found him quite en
gaged in his translation of the Scriptures into the Turkish
language, I had no competent idea of the laborious task
of such a translation till I saw the variety of authorities
he had laid open around him to consult. Lacy s Bible,
Martin s, and two other French ; two English, one literal,
120 EDWARD PEASE. 1824
Pool s annotations in Latin, one Greek, one Hebrew, one
German, and other languages, also Lexicons in great variety.
Our converse turned on his work, and on the Bible Society ;
we requested the gift of a dozen copies for the servants, etc.,
at our hotel ; on the whole he gave a good account of Leo,
who, he said, had first stirred the subject of Bible societies,
and by his exertions had brought it into notice. There could
be no doubt of his integrity, but he could not go on consis
tently with any established Society as he never would render
any account either of what became of the copies of the Bibles
he got or of the application of any money committed to his
charge.
Attended a sub-committee of mutual instruction, under
stood their cause did not prosper in the country, but in
Paris was in a thriving state the adult schools, which
are numerous, appear to exceed those in England ; this
committee appeared interested in the work they are engaged
in.
It seems T. Shillito has had opportunities with the Bishop
of London and Archbishop of Canterbury ; he presented
J. G. G. s [Joseph John Gurney s] work to each, the Arch
bishop referred him to Lord Liverpool and Peel. T. S. has
also had an opportunity with the Lord Mayor, who acknow
ledged that sufficient attention was not given to these things.
The Parisians having no coal, use charcoal in all their cook
ing ; in all passages or lobbies you see a square stove made of
enamelled earthenware, mostly white, having the appearance
of common white china. This stove has also a china chimney
which at the top of the room is inserted into a general chimney
the stove is warmed with charcoal only and will answer the
purpose of cooking the fixed (fire) places in the rooms are
always without grates, bars or stoves small faggots of wood
or sticks are laid upon the hearth or upon two cross pieces of
iron raised two or three inches to keep them from laying
close to the hearth and to admit a little air.
Every family appears to roast its own coffee, and this very
often conducted in the street ; the domestic sits at the door
with a small tin cylinder fixed over a chafing dish containing
charcoal, and continues to turn the cylinder till the roasting
Aet. 57 AN EVENING AT STAPNER S. 121
is effected. The use of charcoal and wood contributes very
extensively to the beauty of the scenery in the squares and
public gardens in what may be termed the centre of the city.
The numerous and very large scale statues which adorn the
gardens and walks retain so much beauty of colour. Nothing
but the ideas of the French could tolerate many of these statues.
3rd day afternoon attended the Committee of the Bible
Society ; its correspondence was very interesting, and on the
whole there was a spirit of energy quite exceeding anticipation.
Swain, Sigismund, Belling, etc., MarkWilks and Friend Minit,
Stapner, Keifer a member from Caen, in Normandy.
4th day. Silent meeting ; afternoon, called on Keifer with
cousin Fowler [Rachel Fowler, of Melksham], thought his
wife an interesting woman, and continued to think very
favourably of him. He let us see the congratulatory letter
of the Sultan of Constantinople to Louis on his ascending
the throne ; the document was on paper glazed and stiffened
so as to bear an exact resemblance to vellum, the signature
was like one ornamented letter done in gold.
The evening attended a soiree at Stapner s, many young
females and about the same number of men. Frank sociability
seemed wanting, and the only way they appeared to have in
these parties was a recourse to cards, which upon the introduc
tion of we took leave. We received a note this evening from
Villele, the Minister of Finance and Secretary of State, fixing
an audience with us on second day next, and from the Due de
Montmorency, Minister of Colonies, fixing an audience to
morrow. Addressed a note to the Minister of Justice, Cte de
Peyronnett, requesting an interview. Notwithstanding our
efforts produce but little and seem discouraging we continue
to think it the best to claim increased attention to the suffer
ings of the negroes.
There is an accommodation and selection in Parisian
hotels much exceeding anything I have found in England
the entrance door from the staircase is into a hall for servants
to wait in, and fitted with tables and chairs for daily accommo
dation ; next a handsome sitting-room and the lodging rooms
in the same line for the same floor ; the windows of the hotel
122 EDWARD PEASE. 1824
generally look into open courts mostly filled with trees, acacias,
etc., now beautifully white with flowers ; ranged in square green
boxes by the sides of the walls in the court are continued rows
of Chinese arbor vitae, which have a pleasing effect and foreign
appearance. Here follow notes of calls paid on Le Comte
Corbierre, Le Vte. de Cast elbaj ere, and others.
$th day noon. During our tarriance in the hall of the Min
ister of Colonies, surrounded by a number of naval officers in
their most superbly embroidered uniforms, who, like ourselves,
were waiting for audience and instructions, we introduced
respectfully to them the object of our application to the
Minister of the Marine, and had a courteous and patient
hearing. He received us, very attentively reading a paper we
had penned, being the outlines of our object. Count Severin
Tonnerre has a pleasant and interesting countenance. He made
some remarks on what our note stated as to the present extent
of the outfit of vessels for the slave trade from Nantes and
doubted our correctness : to the truth of this we were able to
reply. He acknowledged the iniquity of a trade in human
beings and the distress it must involve parents and children,
husbands and wives in ; he said he had strengthened the forces
on the coast of Senegal, and that he just had a captain with
him who complained of the seizure and forfeiture of his ship,
though he had no slaves on board.
6th day morning. Disappointed in finding the Due de Mont-
morency gone into the country. Received from de Laserre, the
banker, an introduction to Tornoux, the celebrated manufac
turer of fine cloths. Called at his hotel. He was also absent ;
from an intelligent clerk I could learn that Pardoes had been
corresponding with them, but had sent only samples of fine
yarn about eight to nine fils, which he said was dearer than their
own spinning ; stress on my part was laid on thick yarn, their
want of Brussels carpet, the bareness of their stairs and the
floors of their most superb rooms. Left our address ; the clerk
lamented the folly of the Government, which he said paid no
respect to commercial men or the extension of manufacture,
and would not listen to anything coming from his employer
Act. 57 THE FRENCH AND THE SLAVE TRADE. 123
Tornoux as he was one of those liberal and enlightened men
who was not at present in favor.
A general dissatisfaction with Government I continue to
observe pervades ; they observe we have a representative Gov
ernment with power more absolute than an arbitrary one,
when the King came a Constitution was agreed upon, it is
daily changed at his will and we have no power ; this almost
universal acknowledgement possibly may at this moment
refer to the change now made in Parliament.
Called on Louis Dumont on our way to attend Villele,
Dumont is a pleasant young man employed in some of the public
offices, he enters into our views with considerable animation ;
he made us feel some discouragement about going to Villele,
thinking him a complete courtier, of a cunning and intriguing
disposition, and considering him as the cause of Chateau
briand s dismissal, who though a rigid Catholic, he deems a
man of better heart. Villele he says is the possessor of colonial
property, was some years in the Isle of Bourbon in an official
station and called, it may be supposed for want of some
amiable qualities, the Marat of his day.
jth day, 6.20. Went to Minister of Finance Villele ; he was
very polite and skimmed over our paper, and endeavoured to
show it would not do for them to make slave carrying a capital
punishment, that it would exasperate the traders, lead them to
greater acts of cruelty, and that neither judges nor jury would
convict. He alleged that they were vigilant, suppressing as they
can and confiscating property, and that if our country would
exchange the Isle of France for Goree and Senegal, our
Government could then do more as it liked with the coast of
Africa.
In reply it was said that we did not plead for death as a
punishment, but that it should be made criminal, and alluded
to many vessels fitted out at Nantes ; he said their officers
were on the alert, and when any proofs of the object of the
voyage were discovered, the cases were followed up ; it was
remarked that they should have an increased station on the
African coast, he said the trade was less than it had been,
and that more care was taken; allusion was made more
124 EDWARD PEASE. 1824
particularly to the Guinea Coast. He was urged to consider the
thousands annually enslaved, the miseries and sufferings sus
tained, and the disgrace to the Christian name. We gave him
a copy of statements in French. Went afterwards to the Am
bassador, he was not so courteous ; did not trouble him long,
thinks he can do little. The American minister was working
with more effect. The British Consul at Nantes is deeply
interested in suppressing the trade and has been over to our
Government to state facts ; he said there had been several
vessels on the Eastern Coast of Africa which he had repre
sented to the Government.
Evening at Versailles, tea with S. Lloyd, who accompanied
us to the Petit Trianon, the favourite residence of the famous
Josephine, consort to Buonaparte. I consider this in its
simplicity and beauty as excelling anything I have seen in
France, the style is English and in some parts resembles
Studley. One part is very interesting called the Swiss farm
the dairy, the cowhouse, the mill, the maison du Cure", the
cottage and every part remarkably Swiss.
The^ Palace of Trianon is a small, compact place of little
or no magnificence, but the scenery is enchanting the front
commands a fine view of the Palace of Versailles, with which it
communicates along some avenues the back is divested of
all the cut tree formalism of Versailles, and which generally
attaches to the grounds of the Trianon, but I have seen no
trees in the country which I should call fine trees, nothing
comparable to our venerable oaks and elms in England.
This part of the Palace of Versailles which fronts the town
has a fallen, neglected state, and the whole appearance of
Versailles, which once contained 90,000 inhabitants and now
27,000, has rather a desolated aspect.
The Palace, which fronts into the grounds, is magnificent
beyond any building I have seen, and the view from the terrace
into the grounds commands the opening of several avenues in
each of which are either immense marble basins with Tritons
and other figures or remarkable fountains. The quantity of
polished Italian marble in steps, basins, and statues innumer
able exceeds anything I could have conceived. The Orangery
is very extensive and to an English eye must be exceedingly
Aet. 57 JARDIN DES PLANTES. 125
striking ; there are several hundreds, and just about breaking
into flowers ; perhaps few scenes in the world are calculated to
furnish the contemplative mind with a field so expansive as
this, where human grandeur is the subject of its musings what
a lesson to the proudest and most elevated in life is here
presented: the residence of that proud monarch Louis XIV.,
and the scene of his intimacy and finally of his marriage
with Madam Maintenon.
2nd day afternoon. Seated under the Cedars of Lebanon
in the Jardin des Plantes, surrounded by very interesting
objects ; this garden is very extensive and may be said to
commemorate Buonaparte s greatness of mind. Although it did
not owe its origin to him yet his genius enriched it with
specimens of natural history, the elephant, the elk, and numer
ous animals walking about in their own enclosures neatly and
rustically divided. The more tame animals were numerous :
goats, varieties of deer, sheep, etc. ; the collection of birds
not numerous ; a great variety of eagles most striking.
On the pages of the diary are disjointed memoranda,
such as the following :
6th mo. z^rd, 1824. Copied by Rachel Fowler, Sen., and
Edward Pease, in their walk through Pere la Chaise.
PERE LA CHAISE.
Anna Eleanor Langford died 1823, aet. 16.
If talents lost and virtue claim a tear
Pause, pensive mourner, and bestow it here,
Meek resignation to the power above,
To parents duty and to brothers love.
Marked her whole life, employed her latest breath,
Till sickness laid her in the arms of death.
A weeping mother in a foreign land, heard her last sigh,
Closed her dying eyes and clasped her death-cold hand.
A weeping father in the grave reposed
Saw o er his child the earth for ever closed,
Yet hope and Christian faith direct their eyes
To that high place where virtue never dies.
126 EDWARD PEASE. 1824
A FRENCH KITCHEN AT AMIENS.
Fire on the hearth, the cooking bench, with six stoves,
three yards long, covered with Holland tiles, top, sides and
end ; each stove heated with charcoal ; thirty-eight copper
pans from the largest to the smallest size, having one shank as
our frying pans ; twenty large copper plates, each having a
long shank for frying or pancakes. Fourteen fish pans of
copper from one yard long a good number copper moulds
for blanc mange from the size of a large bowl to the smallest.
Among numerous notes of visits paid in Paris are those of
calls paid on : Count Lasterin, Due de Broglie, Wurtz,
printer, Villeneuve, Mark Wilks presented annuity of the
Society of Christian morals, M. Soyer Deralois fabricant
Amiens, maker of tabinette and bombazine, Pailoo, Baron
Stael, AlixlaBorde (Comte), Baron de Lessert.
CHAPTER II.
EXTRACTS FROM EDWARD PEASE S DIARIES.
1838.
Jan. i. Religious controversy is a field of danger which
few enter and quit without injuring themselves and others.
The result of the contest is seldom joyful and glorious as issuing
in the advancement of pure and undefined religion, but com
monly with respect to both parties and even spectators who
delight in religious disputations is found to be wounds and
dishonour, spiritual declension and grief of heart. There are
so many incentives to carnal and unholy passions that the
air, if I may so speak, becomes contagious and can scarcely
be inhaled without at the same time imbibing the corrupt
matter with which it is charged. It acts as a stimulus to the
unsanctified, who seek the gratification of pride, selfishness
and bigotry, and has a lethargic or lethean influence on the
righteous so that they are too often induced to forget that
" the weapons of their warfare are not carnal but mighty
through God to the pulling down of strongholds." The ad
vantages they gain are dearly bought by the diminution of
their spiritual mindedness, humility and brotherly love ; for
they are tempted to rely on their own skill in dispute instead
of simply depending on the God of all grace, and appear to
be more concerned to secure a personal triumph than that
Christ may be glorified in them. Their arguments may be
good and unanswerable but they make too much of them when
they forget they are " mighty " only " through God," and that
unless He be pleased to give them effect, they will be as feeble
and unavailing as the weakness of those they [oppose, " for
the Kingdom of God is not in word, but in Power."
127
128 EDWARD PEASE. 1838
Sun., Feb. 25. Proposed to Abigail Thorpe to accept the
position of housekeeper to me after my dear daughter Rachel
leaves me, to have 40 per annum, to take the general over
sight of my indoors establishment, the care and spread of my
table except in my dear daughter s presence.*
Mar i. Hired Joseph Gatenby to come (as a manser
vant) at 20 per annum, to have two new suits, two hats and
one morning jacket each year and an upper coat once in two
years.
He refers in eulogistic terms to one Jabez Gibson
(of Saffron Walden) who is buried this day.
Tues., Mar. 6. The last remains of snow, which has
fallen at intervals ever since the 2nd of ist mo., and in rather
uncommon quantity, disappeared to-day.
April 3. Our Quarterly Meeting. We had a large share
of the company of our friends, about thirty dined with us.
During this year he pays many visits and accom
panies Hannah Chapman Backhousef on her minister
ing tours. Although he never himself appears to
have taken part in vocal ministry, he now and in
after years is often found accompanying Friends in
their travels in the ministry, especially this Mrs.
Backhouse and his son John Pease. This year he also
attends the Yearly Meeting in Dublin with his
daughter, Rachel.
April 30. This day the intelligence reached me of the
birth of a son to my dear son} and daughter, Henry and
Anna, at Middleton St. George.
* Rachel his daughter was engaged and married in August,
1838, Richard Fry, of Bristol. She died in 1853, and her husband in
1878.
f Hannah C. Backhouse, nte Gurney, of the Grove, Norwich,
married Jonathan Backhouse, of Darlington.
\ This son was Henry Fell Pease, who afterwards was the first
M.P. for Cleveland. He was the only son by his father s first wife, who
was a daughter of Richard and Mary Fell ; she died 27th October,
Act. 71 BETROTHAL OF RACHEL PEASE. 129
Mon. y May 7. Dined at Jonathan Pirns, sailed for Liver
pool in the evening. On the passage ruminated on a very
disturbed close of the Yearly Meeting yesterday from a Friend
kneeling and commencing an extended supplication after the
meeting had risen.
Tues., May 8. Reaching Liverpool this evening after
a remarkably fine passage (twenty-four hours) and proceeded
on our way towards Walden* by the Grand Junction Railway
to Birmingham, thence to Leamington. . . .
He attends the Yearly Meeting in London and
returns for a fortnight or so to Saffron Walden.
Mon., June 18. Left my dear son and daughter
Gibson. . . . This dearly loved pair, blessed with the
blessings of the heavens above and of the earth beneath
very ardent are my longings that they would bring their
tithes unto the storehouse of their bounteous Lord. . .
Thurs., June 21. (Darlington). The access to our
Meeting-house is at present incommoded by removing a
range of cottages, a stable and the small Meeting-house f next
the street.
Fri., June 22. Gave notice to Gervas Robinson, the
Registrar, of daughter Rachel s proposed marriage, when he
took her signature.
My affection for this precious daughter, my lonesomeness
when she is gone are the pervading feelings of my mind and
they may be the sole causes of that mysterious reluctance
which I have in resigning her to the Friend who, I believe, is
sincerely attached to her.
1839. In this year, 1838, references are found in these journals to
her delicate health. Henry Pease married secondly, 1859, Mary
Lloyd vide p. 401, and had issue, three sons and two daughters.
* His daughter Elizabeth married Francis Gibson, of Saffron Walden,
Essex, in 1829. Their only son died unmarried at Florence ; their
only daughter, Elizabeth Pease Gibson, married Lewis Fry (Rt. Hon.
Lewis Fry, M.P., and brother of Lord Justice Fry).
t Prints of the old Meeting House exist, one of which is in my
possession. A. E. P.
11
I 3 o EDWARD PEASE. 1838
Tues., June 26. At St. Helens. Called this evening
on a few poor Friends on one of them to considerable satis
faction pilgrims who desire to be on their way to heaven do
well to communicate with each other about the road. Visited
that which is to me a hallowed spot [i.e., his wife s grave].
Thurs., June 28. Almost universal idleness, feasting
and rejoicing on this day of the Coronation of Queen Victoria.
. Oh, for a more Christian way of celebrating what are
deemed auspicious events. ... A confused company to
feast at the opening of John Fell s Mill to end up as it begins.
Fri., June 29. Some mournful feelings are mine on
learning that some of our young men were among the festive
parties of yesterday ; scenes of music and clamorous noise
ought to be held in great repugnance by all sober Christians.
Wed., July 4. Low and tried during the whole of this day.
Returning (from Sunderland) from the Quarterly Meeting in
the carriage with Edward and Rachel, I was silent nearly the
whole way, nothing could raise or cheer me, the contemplation
of having so soon to part with my beloved daughter to Bristol,
etc., absorbed me. Richard Fry came in the evening.
Fri., July 6. Received a summons to attend the Grand
Jury on the 2 3 rd inst. After pondering my conscientious
difficulties therein, I attended, and thinking it might be in
my power to be excused I was best satisfied to acquiesce
and maintain a care not to put questions after the oath was
administered. The ground of my willingness now to attend
is founded on my wish to find an opportunity for pressing on
the jurors, the propriety of using some efforts towards sub
stituting declarations instead of oaths. The advance of Chris
tian principles, however little may be gained at once, is worthy
of an effort.
Sat., July 7. Admonished a Friend who I feared was back
sliding ; his worthy father a humble minister in our Society.
The love of company and ardent love of tobacco, and some love
of liquor, to some minds seems sure captivity. On my way
sifted my motives as to what impelled me to this task, found
Act. 71 QUAKER TERMS. 131
my station as an overseer demanded it, my love and gratitude
to my Lord called for the service, but perhaps stronger than
this was the sense that should this Friend lose his inheritance
in heaven.
Sun., July 8. Attended a Public Meeting at Stockton
this evening, appointed by my dear son (John Pease) ; it was
not large, the peace-bestowing influence of the government
of Christ on individuals and kingdoms was set forth; the
auditory was settled and attentive, and the meeting ended
solemnly after a supplication from John and cousin M.
Atkinson.
" Public meetings " among Quakers are meetings
held for the primary object of reaching the public
at large with some message, and are distinct from the
ordinary meetings for worship of the Society, though
the public are never refused admittance to the latter.
I give some of these extracts as illustrations of the
peculiar expressions in vogue. I might here call
attention to the very confusing habit of bestowing
the description of cousin, aunt, brother, sister to persons
outside the relationship which these appellations are
intended to imply. In this case I was very much
puzzled to find out how this Cousin M. Atkinson was
related. Here is the thread :
Anthony Wilson, b. 1663, d. 1755.
m. 1702 Dorothy Benson, b. 1678, d. 1755.
Elizabeth Wilson, b. 1703, d. 1781. Isaac Wilson, b. 1714/15, d. 1785.
I m. 1742 Regd. Holme, b. 1694, I m. Rachel Wilson, b. 1720,
d. 1772. d. 1775.
Elizabeth Holme, b. 1743/4, d. 1792, Dorothy Wilson, b. 1741, d. 1774,
m - J 775 Anthony Clapham, I m. 1765 John Whitwell,
b. 1743/4, d. 1792. b. 1735, d. 1782.
5th child 6th child
Margaret Clapham, b. 1780, d. 1860. Rachel Whitwell, d. 1833.
m. 1809 Benjamin Atkinson. m. 1796 Edward Pease.
Thus Edward Pease s wife s mother and Mrs. M.
Atkinson s mother were first cousins.
I 3 2 EDWARD PEASE. 1838
Wed., July IT. Peaceful in meditating where the hallowed
ashes sleep ; viewed with some calmness my next great be
reavement in having soon to resign to the chosen of her bosom
a darling daughter who has been my companion, my carer,
my consoler and my comforter since that solemn hour which
saw interred all that lies before me, to be freed from the
fluctuations of time, the trials of affection severed and be laid
nigh to the remains of my beloved at some early day if con
sistent with the will of my God . . . was the desire of
my pensive but adoring spirit.
Sat., July 14. Yesterday my dear Edward had one of his
trying attacks ; how tenderly I feel for this beloved son in
this afflicting permission of divine goodness, but what a favour
that no murmur repining or complaint escapes his lips though
cut off from many of the occupations and enjoyments which
vigorous health and the bloom of life is fraught with.
Mon., July 16. Richard Fry returned to Bristol the last
time ere he obtain the prize which has been the object of his
last twelve months pursuit. A combination of circumstances
make me sad when I consider this event probably my love
for my endeared child ; a sense of the greatness of my privation
when she is gone ; the disappointed expectation that from
her tenderness I should have had the last offices to close my
dying eyes, the want of a granted vision into the happiness
of her future lot may this be plenary.
Fri., July 20. A few days of mournful desertion : heavens
as brass. Some remembrance of the patience of the cripple
by the side of Bethesda who after a patient wait by the side
of the pool for thirty-eight years, was healed by the Lord
Lord remember me.
Mon., July 23. At Durham on the Grand Jury, endea
voured with Liddel the Chairman and some of the Jurors, to
obtain their favourable consideration of adopting declarations
instead of oaths agreeably to a bill of Lord Denman s, just
rejected. Herein I made in conjunction with my cousin
Edward Backhouse, but little way. Returned home same
Act. 7i MARRIAGE OF HIS DAUGHTER. 133
evening after viewing the prisoners and the interior of the Jail.
In point of order, cleanliness and accommodation vastly
superior to those dungeons in which ancient Friends suffered.
Wed., Aug. i. My dear F. and Eliz. Gibson and children
came. A tea drinking of teetotallers in my paddock, about
300 who have tickets of is. each present, held on this day to
commemorate the abolition of slavery, while I sincerely wish
well to this total abstinence system . . (here follow some
criticisms similar to those which recur in these journals).
Mow., Aug. 13. He records " Rachel s property which
she takes to Richard Fry at the time of her marriage." The
total is 4,670 and includes " 10 Railway Shares S. and D.
2,500 ; 10 Half Railway Shares (125) 1,250," etc.
Thurs., Aug. 16. My beloved daughter Rachel married this
day to Richard Fry (then follows an account of the "solemn
isation agreeably conducted") We had a sorrowing parting,
whether ever to meet again or under what circumstances is
veiled from me.
Among the guests on this occasion were " Joseph
Fry, his Sister Anna and their Aunt Sarah Allen,"
who left his house a few days after the wedding.
Tues., Aug. 21. Attended the Monthly Meeting at
Cotherstone. . . There were two presentations of marriage,
viz. : Henry Broadhead, of Leeds, with Cousin Eliza
Backhouse ; and John Harris with Mary Ann Mason, of
Penrith.* After meeting went to Middleton in Teesdale.
* " Presentations." The preliminaries to marriage are carefully
regulated in the Society of Friends. Among these are the filling up of
forms. No. i , a Declaration of Intention, which includes a declaration
that the parties " are clear of any other marriage engagements," and
No. 2, a Declaration of Consent of Parents and Guardians. These forms
are transmitted to the Clerk of the Monthly Meeting of which the
parties are members, who has to secure a public notice of the intention
being given as soon as possible at the close of the Sunday morning
meeting for worship in the Meeting-houses the parties attend. All
objections must be made in writing to the Clerk of the Monthly Meeting.
After the expiration of fourteen days from the giving of public notice
the forms are presented to the Monthly Meeting, and if all is in order as
134 EDWARD PEASE. 1838
It is difficult not to feel impatient sometimes
with the straightlacedness of the old gentleman, as
when he writes :
Sat., Aug. 25. Went to Newcastle. The town very busy
on account of the Scientific Meetings which have been held
there during the past week and which concluded this evening.
The advancement of science and general knowledge is the
ostensible object, but hundreds of the most respectable in
habitants of various kingdoms assemble for curiosity, display
and amusement. To such it is an idle lounge and waste of
time, etc.
The following day he accompanies Hannah Chap
man Backhouse to a meeting in Newcastle, who had
a concern to reach these scientific persons who would
not often be likely to hear " a Gospel ministry which
testifies against the ordinances of and many maxims
of men." Although the Meeting-house was full, it
" was thinly attended by such characters, yet there
was a large and respectable auditory."
Fri., Aug. 31. Reading Henry Martin s life and letters I
am forcibly struck with his piety, his zeal, the renunciation
of self-consideration that he might serve the Lord Christ.
What am I ? How do I spend this evening of my life ?
Sun., Sept. 2. At Croft this afternoon with my devoted
and industrious cousin, H. C. Backhouse, at a publick meeting ;
the auditory numerous, suppose 2 to 300, silent, solid and
civil ; how great the alteration in these respects since my
youth, so remarkably increased in the attendance of all places
of worship, that I cannot but believe that whilst much of
outward form is observed and much attachment evinced to
that which is outward and ritual, there is a great and growing
general belief in the guidance and teaching of the Holy Spirit.
regards the Society s and the Law s requirements the Monthly Meeting
directs the Clerk to record a Minute in form liberating the parties to
solemnise the marriage. Though the publication at the meeting of
intention should be in prescribed words the form has sometimes
been departed from. This procedure is now modified.
Aet. 71 PUBLIC MEETINGS IN CLEVELAND. 135
Wed., Sept. 5. My nephew and niece, Joseph and Jane
Clay came.
The following table shows this relationship :
John Whitwell, b. 1735, d. 1782.
1765 m. Dorothy Wilson, b. 1741, d. 1774.
|
||
I
1
Isaac Whitwell.
John.
Twins
Hannah
Rachel
ob. inf.
m.
married
Geo. Coates.
Edward
l\\
Pease.
i.
Wil
iam Whitwell
, b. 1809,
T
m. Sarah Routh
and had issue.
2. John Whitwell, b. 1811,
(M.P. 1868-1880),
m. Anna Maude
and had issue.
3. Thos. Whitwell, b. 1814.
4. Isaac Whitwell, b. 1815.
5. Edwd. Whitwell, b. 1817.
m. Mary Ann
Jowitt.
6. Henry Whitwell, b. 1818,
shot in Madrid.
1848 m. Anne
Backhouse Rob-
son and had issue.
7. Jane Whitwell, b. 1807, d.
1858, m. 1834
Joseph Travis
Clay, of Rastrick,
b, 1804, and had
issue.
8. Hannah Maria, 1832 m.
John Jowitt Wil
son and had issue.
On Monday, September loth, he accompanied
his son John to pay " a little debt of Gospel love laid
upon him to assemble the inhabitants of Guisboro ,
Whitby and Ayton." " The meeting at Guisborough
was large, satisfactorily and solidly held." On
the Tuesday they " travelled over the moors to
Whitby where all the remarks respecting the meeting
at Guisborough fully apply." ..." We were
kindly and hospitably accommodated by Jos. Sanders
and his wif e. The next day they hold a public meeting
136 EDWARD PEASE. 1838
at Ayton, but here there was not " that openness to
receive the Gospel message." They " remain at
Langbarf " [the Richardsons].
Fri., Sept. 28, 1838. At the marriage of my cousin Eliza
Backhouse to Henry Broadhead, of Leeds, enough of ministry
in the meeting, not weighty enough words without any evi
dence of power are worse than tinkling cymbals.
Wed., Oct. 17. For several days past my mind has solemnly
felt the near approach of that affecting day when my God, who
had given for a season one of his richest blessings, saw it meet
to take it again unto himself. . .
Oh, where the Christian ends her days
Lingers a lovely line of rays,
That speaks her calm departure blest
And promises to those who gaze,
The same beatitude of Rest.
Thurs., Oct. 18. Five years have this day run their course
since the departure of my inestimable and most unspeakably
dear Rachel. . . How vivid, how fresh the solemnity of
that day and that hour when I clasped her dying hand till the
pulse ceased to beat.
Fri., Oct. 19. Five years have now passed over me as a
widower ; the present time compared with the past oftentimes
feels lonesome and dreary.
Sat., Oct. 20. At Newcastle attending to a manufacturing
concern I have an interest in there. In the evening found that
my mind had been too much occupied in consideration of its
prospects and gains.
Mon., Oct. 22. Returned home from Newcastle, where I
learnt that my cousin Samuel Lloyd had been baptised
with water, and I deplored it. What a delusion of the adver
sary I believe this to be believing, as I do, that if I am bap
tised into the Spirit of my Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ it
is that cleansing and purifying baptism which sanctifies the
Soul and fits it for an entrance where all is peace and Joy.
Aet. 71 THE PIKES OF IRELAND. 137
Mon., Oct. 29. At Middlesbrough, where a large concourse
was assembled to see the Duke of Sussex who was this day
invited to a public breakfast. I had no share in this festivity.
I had some care of four of my grandchildren, but with my
views of the retiredness of a Christian life, etc., the evening
had no sweet peace as the reward of a well spent day.
Sat., Nov. 3. Anxious to leave all things in good order, I
considered my Will and directed it to be re-drawn ; very
solicitous that it might form the very nearly equal distribution
and be to the satisfaction of all my beloved children. If in the
residue there is a little extra to dear John and Joseph from
their having long unprofitably toiled in the business (in
which) I placed them, but having since tended to advance my
property it is my wish.
Sun., Nov. 18. Endeavord tenderly to reprove a back
slider for neglect of meeting, and other inconsistencies.
He had not been out to meeting, it was near seven o clock,
his dinner, wine and tumblers and music books were on his
table warned him my entreaty was that of a Father coun
selling, warning and expostulating with a Son.
Wed., Nov. 28. James Pike came for his sister Lydia, an
open, ingenuous young man engaged in an exposed position
in a Steam packet office in Liverpool.
Fri., Nov. 30. In my walk this morning had an oppor
tunity of affectionately expressing to James Pike my tender
concern for his present preservation and eternal interest.
. . . This little office of love discharged to a young man
affords me peace and all such offices will afford peace where
pure love is the impulse to fulfilled duty.
Mon., Dec. 3. Lydia Pike, after a two months resi
dence, left me accompanied by her brother James. My heart
yearns for the preservation of this amiable young woman of
eighteen, her lot seems cast in a slippery place.*
* The Pikes were of old Irish Quaker Stock, descended from one
Richard Pike, who was born at Newbury in 1627, and his wife, Eliza
beth Jackson, born 1636. He was a Cromwellian soldier and served
138 EDWARD PEASE. 1838
Wed., Dec. 5. In a sense of the remarkable mercy and
loving kindness of my God, I have this day concluded it right
to set apart sundry small sums to be distributed by my
executors after my decease, to poor friends and for other useful
purposes, but besides all the temporal blessings and gifts so
liberally bestowed, my Spirit yet more reverently returns thanks
for that Grace and truth which came by Jesus Christ, my hope
of redemption.
The following day he goes to Northallerton, then
to Borroby, where he visits a family " not Friends,"
whose children he remarks are " greatly neglected
in the school learning." " Thence to an evening
as N.C.O. in a troop of horse in the Rebellion of 1648. Richard Pike
turned Quaker and farmed at Kilcreagh, near Cork, and afterwards in
1664 removed to Cork and kept a shop there. He died in 1668, and
his wife in 1688. In the Life of his son, Joseph Pike, born 1657, there
are some curious descriptions of the procedure in the family in relation
to plainness of speech and simplicity of furniture, e.g., " Our fine
veneered and garnished cases of drawers, cabinets, scrutoires, etc., we
put away and exchanged for decent plain ones of solid wood. . . .
Our wainscots or woodwork we had painted one plain colour, also our
large mouldings and finishings of panelling, etc. ; our swelling chimney-
pieces, curiously twisted bannister we took down and replaced with
useful plain woodwork. . . . Our large looking-glasses with
decorated frames we sold or made them into smaller ones, and our
closets that were laid out with many little curios or nice things were
done away." . . " And our dear wives also joined in spirit
with us by putting away their silk garments, instead of which they got
plain stuffs."
"Now, in regard, I have mentioned the wearing of plain silks,
among the rest, which are still worn in England by some honest-minded
women Friends. . . . I do not, then, esteem it wrong in itself to wear
plain, modest-coloured silk clothes, provided the mind be not affected
with a delight in them, and especially worn in a climate where the heat
requires it ; nor do I believe that many who wear them are so proud of
them as some who wear none. Nay, further, I will say that if women
Friends had from the first putting them on kept to plain, grave colours,
and not changed their fashions and colours, I know not but that such
sort of silks might have been used to this day. But the ill tendency
lay here, that from grave, plain colours some got lighter colours, others
exceeding them adopted variable ones (shot ?), then others a
small stripe, then another a small figure, then another a large flower.
Thus they followed one another s example, until at length .
For my part when I was in England I could not know by their habit
who were called Friends from those who were not ; and with sorrow,
I speak also of some men Friends, both by their vain, fashionable
apparel and excessive, fine, superfluous, household furniture."
Arthur Pease, a grandson of Edward Pease, married a daughter of
this Lydia Pike, who married Ebenezer Pike.
Aet. 71 EDWARD PEASE, JUNIOR. 139
meeting at Osmotherley, about twenty-five present
. a great want of attention to learning here :
near twenty children in three families."
Thurs., Dec. 13. Executing my will this day produces
some solemn reflections that when it comes into force my
humble hope is my spirit may, through the revelation and mer
ciful mediation of my Intercessor and Redeemer, be at rest in
His eternal kingdom joining the spirit of my beloved.
Fri., Dec. 14. My dear son Edward poorly the thought
of being bereft of his affectionate and sweetly innocent and
to me endearing society depresses my poor mind, which deeply
and keenly feels how bereaved I am comparatively lonesome
my home feels since my beloved daughter left me.
Mon., Dec. 17. Discouraged and affected in seeing the
languid reduced state of my precious son, Edward, and the
suffering he so meekly endures.
Tucs., Dec. 18. Not much difference in the situation of
my beloved Edward ; my tenderest feelings and my deepest
sympathy is excited. May it stand consistent with the will
of the Holy and righteous Judge to restore to me this only and
last dear remains of my large family as my indwelling com
panion.
Wed., Dec. 19. Dear Edward still ill and after a painful
and very wearisome tossing night, whilst in much tender feeling
for him I inquired if he was favord with a quiet mind ; turning
his face to the wall he remained silent a while, and whilst a
tear appeared to flow over his cheek, replied, " I do."
Sat., Dec. 29. On considering my practice for several past
years of never retiring to my bed until I have read one or two
chapters of the holy Scriptures, and the like care every morning
ere I leave my chamber, I feel I have to lament the evanescent
abiding of the sacred truths I read, yet I cannot give up the prac
tice as the desire of my spirit is sometimes granted that portions
may, during the day, arise for my comfort and instruction.
140 EDWARD PEASE. 1838
The year ends with his son Edward " a little
improved."
On the last day of the year he makes a longer
entry than usual, beginning with the fact that he is
seventy-one-and-a-half years old. I give one or two
extracts from it :
Amazing is the retrospect of life how utterly indescrib
able are all events connected with it its sorrows, its joys,
its cares, its hopes, its fears, its doubts, its anxieties, its per
plexities and distresses. What but the power of a gracious
and merciful Creator s arm underneath could have helped me
in all the changes and vicissitudes which are above enumerated
in my long life. May my Soul magnify and adore, and to my
latest day commemorate the kindness and watchful care of
the Highest, not only for outward blessings, but above all for
the gifts of his Son, to whose mediation, intercession and
holy influence I owe preservation from falling in with many of
the allurements, temptations, and gilded baits of an unwearied
adversary, and to whose grace I also owe that precious faith
which assures me that there is a reward for those who continue
in a patient course of well doing, and in the fulfilment of the
will of Him whom I venture to call my Redeemer.
O Thou who inhabitest eternity ! it has pleased Thee in
the unerring counsel of Thy holy will to permit the dispensa
tions of Thy Fatherly love, to give me some bitter cups to
drink, some heavy waves of affliction to pass over my head. For
these, very distressing as they were for a season, my spirit can
now reverently thank Thee ; from the humble belief they have
been measured by weaning me from the breast of this world,
and more and more leading me into communion with the spirit
of thy beloved Son my Saviour, and O may it please Thee to
carry forward the work of righteousness in my soul so that
when the summons to depart may come, I may be so purified
as to be fitted to enter into the kingdom of Thy dear Son.
Amen.
CHAPTER III.
1839.
EDWARD PEASE begins this year in great anxiety
about his son Edward, who was now in his thirty-
eighth year and unmarried. There are many little
entries about the invalid s life, of his being " wheeled
on a couch from his own room to mine," etc.
January $th. How incorrect is the opinion that a state
of perfection cannot be arrived at ; it condemns the words of
our blessed Lord " Be ye perfect " as useless, and it denies
His ability to make His creatures perfect, and impeaches
His willingness to effect it. Surely the Captain of Salvation
has both the will and the power to perfect His soldiers.
This entry is interesting as showing the adherence
to one of the most prominent principles in early
Quakerism, and one that was a subject of endless
controversy between them and other sects and
Churches. It was one also which tended to the ex
clusive and severe discipline of the Society. To attain
spiritual perfection it became in the opinion of Friends
more and more necessary in the period covered by
Edward Pease s life to keep the world out by strong
hedges. But in many very old Quaker books great
stress is laid on the doctrine of perfection. In the
quaint " Memoir of John Roberts " we find the following
dialogue recorded between Parson Careless and John
Roberts.
142 EDWARD PEASE. 1839
Parson. The Quakers hold that Damnable Doctrine and
Dangerous Tenett of perfection in this Life and so do the Papists.
If you go about to deny it, John, I can prove you hold it.
/. R. I doubt thou are now going about to belye the
Papists behind there backs, as thou hast, heretofore, done us
behind our backs ; for by what I have understood of their
principles they do not believe in a State of freedom from Sin
and Exceptance with God possable on this side of the Grave,
and therefore they have imagened to themselves a place of
purgation after death. But whether they do believe such a
State attainable on this side of the Grave or not I do.
Parson. An t please your Ladyship John has Confessd
Enough out of his one mouth. For that is a damnable Doc
trine and Dangerous Tennett.
/. R. Then I would ask thee one question. Dost thou
one (own) a purgatory ?
Parson. No !
/. R. Then the Papists are in this case wiser than thee,
in that they believe the Sayings of Christ who told the unbe
lieving Jews that if they dyed in there sins, whither He went
they could not come. But by thy discourse thou and thy
followers must needs go headlong to Destruction. Since thou
dost not one (own) a place of purgation after death, nor such
a preperation for heaven as is absolutely necessary to be poss
ible in this Life : the Scriptures thou knowst, tell us plainly that,
as death Leaves us, Judgment finds us. If a tree falls towards
the North or South where it falls There it must Lye. Therefore
since no unclean thing can Enter the Kingdome of Heaven,
pray tell this poor woman whome thou hast been preaching to
for thy Belly (and suche others as pin there faith on thy
Sleeve) whether ever or never She may Expect to be freed from
her sins, and made fit for the Kingdome of Heaven ; or whither
the blind must Lead the blind till both fall into the ditch ?
Parson. No, John, you mistake me.
/. R. I would not willingly mistake thee, but I believe
thou hast mistaken Thy self.
Parson. I believe that God Omnipotent is able of his Great
Mercy to forgive a man or woman there Sins and fitt them for
heaven a Little before they depart this Life.
Act 72 JOHN FORD S SCHOOL. 143
j t /^ i believe the same, but if thou wilt limett The holy
one of Israel, how Long wilt thou give the Lord leave to fitt
a man or woman for his Gloryous Kyngdome before they Leave
this world.
Parson. It may be an hour or two.
jr # My f a ith is a day or two, as well as an hour or two.
Parson. I believe so too.
And thus he Brought him from a day or two to a week or
two, then to a month or two, and so on to Seven Years, and
the parson Confested he believed so, too.
Sat., Jan. 19. My grandson, Joseph Whitwell Pease,
went yesterday to John Ford s Boarding School at York.*
* JOHN FORD S SCHOOL. There is in a book called " Friends of
Half a Century," edited by W. Robinson, published 1891, a biography
and portrait of John Ford. Both are more flattering than my
father s (the late Sir Joseph W. Pease) frequent accounts of John
Ford and his school. My father looked back to all connected with
his schooldays with horror, and described the discipline as brutal and
unsympathetic, the thrashing frequent, the food execrable and in
sufficient, and the discomfort of life intolerable. He enjoyed relating
how he and others at times were able to defy the authority of the head
master and wreak vengeance on the author of their sufferings. One
incident I remember, was " when an Irish boy called Davis had, whilst
out on one of their two-and-two walks along the roads produced a pistol
and tried to fire it, but it missed fire, and Davis, who stammered, gazed
down the barrels, exclaiming, the thing won t geg-geg-go off, and
as he spoke it did go off, and blew a great hole through the peak of his
cap. On returning Davis was sent for by Ford to get his licks, but
arriving in the head-master s room and Ford getting ready to operate,
he produced a large knife, and approaching the head-master, said,
Tut-tut-tut-Teacher, if thee tut-tut-tut-touch me I will put this knife
into thee, which so alarmed John Ford that he dared not set to work,
and presently sent Master Davis home to Ireland." John Ford was a
Quaker, born in 1801, and was educated at Banbury and Ackworth.
He went to a boarding-school when six years and four months old ;
he left school at fourteen, and was apprenticed to Robert Styles, who
kept a school at Rochester, where his duties kept him closely and
continuously at work from 6 a.m. to often eleven or twelve at night.
His biographer says, " He was of a highly sensitive, nervous tempera
ment, and of ceaseless activity, with poor digestive powers and frequent
headache. It is, therefore, no matter for surprise that irritability and
much hastiness of temper were his conspicuous failings, and in measure
marred what was otherwise the good work of an energetic teacher,
who loved his work and loved his boys, too, and whose boys loved him
more than he thought, notwithstanding his untoward temper." He
was, in spite of what should have been regarded as disqualifying faults,
appointed to take up the new " Friends School," which was opened
on New Year s Day, 1829. For sixteen years the school was in Law-
144 EDWARD PEASE. 1839
Mon., Feb. n. Paid Abigail Thorp her first half
year s wage of 20.
I remember Abigail Thorpe very well. She was
Edward Pease s housekeeper, and a Friend, and
dressed as a Friend. In the early sixties, when I was a
small boy, my mother often took me after our Sunday
morning visit to my grandfather s at Southend across
the road to call on the kind old lady, who lived out her
remaining years in a nice little house. Although
an ex-housekeeper, I could not distinguish her from
any other old Quaker lady : her dress, her speech,
the neat simplicity of her home was identical with
those who in any other community would have been
outwardly, at least, her superiors.
The same day he also remarks :
Often tried from the encreased publicity of the graveyard
by the numerous workmen employed about the Meeting-house
improvements and being overlookd I am deprived of those
solacing moments which innumerable times have been enjoyed
by me in leaning over the Grave of her who to me was precious
beyond all earthly possessions or life itself, but Blessed are the
dead who died in the Lord here is that blessing. Amen.
Tues., Feb. 19. My property being apparently on the
increase, and already far exceeding all that ever I could ask
or think, my earnest desire is that I may become less attached
rence Street, outside Walmgate Bar, a poor quarter of the Old City.
In 1845 it was removed to better premises in Bootham, where it is still
carried on. John Ford married in 1837 Rachel Robson, of Darlington.
In 1859 he became a Minister ; he retired from the school in 1866, and
died in 1875. If an Y one wil1 read the memorials of John Ford, edited
by Silvanus Thompson, in 1877, he must feel that there was another
John Ford, a very different one to the man who appeared as a tyrant
to my father. It is interesting to record that in 1899 my father was
invited to lay the foundation stone of the new buildings at Bootham.
He performed this ceremony in January, 1900.
Act. 72 HOSPITALITY. 145
to it, and more and more anxious to be ready to distribute
in proper channels, ever ready to listen and obey the pointing
of the finger of the adorable Donor.
Thurs., Feb. 28. Attended the week-day meeting, it
was encouraging to see Friends so well out to me it was a
low season Can these dry bones live ? My beloved daughter
Emma* this day confined of her ninth child, a Son.
Sat., Mar. 2. Went home at noon ; had seven of my dear
Joseph s children and himself to dine. I looked round with
gratitude in the enjoyment of having them dear Henry,
who had returned from Belmont the day before, and Richard
Fry were of the company.
My father (J. W. Pease) told me that as long
as his grandfather lived, he constantly had some of
them to dine with him. That when he, my father,
had given up his Quaker coat except for evening dress,
he always wore it when he went to his grandfather s
to dine. The dinner-hour was 2.30, and Edward
Pease, although living in great and studied simplic
ity as regarded his home, kept a most excellent
table, and that everything provided in the way of
linen, china, silver, tankards and glass was of the best.
That beer was always provided, and after the cloth
was drawn, heavy cut-glass decanters of port, Lisbon,
Madeira and Bucellas wines were placed on the mahog
any with dessert, and that the fruit from his garden
and greenhouse was famed, especially his plums, apricots
and apples, in the cultivation of which the old gentle
man took a great delight and personal interest. I
still have some of the old cut-glass decanters and the
silver wine labels that hung round their necks, engraved
11 Port," " Lisbon," " Madeira," " British," " Bucellas,"
* " Emma" is Mrs. Joseph Pease, the son is Gurney Pease, who
married in 1863, Katherine, third daughter of John Jowitt Wilson ;
he died loth June, 1872, aet. 33, leaving three sons and two
daughters.
12
146 EDWARD PEASE. 1839
" Sherry," " Whiskey," " Rum," " Gin," " Brandy,"
etc.
Mon., Mar. 4. Became dry, empty and poor by spending
too much time (ought I to spend any ?) in reading narratives,
travels, anecdotes and news. Endeavoured in the evening
to turn inward, a little sweetness was afforded, in meditating
on the attributes of the Most High as the Author of Mercy,
the God of Love, and the God of the Spirits of all Flesh,
and, oh, awakening and solemn thought, the God to whom all
flesh must come and who judgeth according to every man s
work.
Tues., Mar. 5. Solicited yesterday to subscribe 500 in
unison with many Friends for the purchase of land in Jamaica
whereon to locate the negro population now free. I declined
to subscribe, my observation and experience affording me
no encouragment to trust that peace, harmony, and utility
would be likely to follow this joint-stock trading in a satisfac
tory way. The comfort of the negroes and some profit were
contemplated I hope some of the former will result profit
from sales to negroes !
Sun., Mar. 10. After remarking on some prayer that
had been offered in meeting, he writes : "It does not appear
to me that the use of Thou knowest O Lord as informing
Him that we were acquainted in some degree with His
prescience is as proper or deferentially ascribing His
attributes as to acknowledge it is known unto Thee. "
Tues., Mar. 19. My dear Edward s languid looks
affect me. He walked down as far as the hot-house, found the
ascent back rather trying. Advised a dear Stockton Friend to
take no share or interest in a new bottle house to be erected.
Thurs., April 4. Anxious and depressed. Another sur
gical operation being deemed needful in my dear Edward s
case, Dr. Baird of Newcastle came to perform it. His view
of the case is on the whole discouraging the pain was borne
with exemplary patience ; this case and my dear daughter
Anna (his son Henry s wife) are sources of deep anxiety.
Act. 72 CHURCH RATES. 147
Was informed of the very sudden decease of Barbara Palmer
who appeared well at meeting this forenoon a peaceable
Friend, a quiet-spirited widow.
Fri., April 5. The increase of my stewardship by the re
mittance of 1,000 from the Forth Street concern [Stephenson s
Engineering Works, Newcastle] should tend to rivet on me
forcibly the necessity of enlarged benevolence ; may an eye
to see and a heart willing to distribute be given me as my
gracious Lord commits more to my charge.
Wed., April 10. A remarkable sweet covering was over
many of our spirits as we stood round the grave of Barbara
Palmer. In reverence I accepted it as an evidence that she
was entered in the rest of her Saviour, who she often said was
her only hope. This pious female was laid very near where
my greatest earthly blessing lays reposed ; how often have
my feet visited that spot and my spirit been refreshed there.
Mon., April 29. Accompanied a few Friends, who had re
ceived summonses to pay Church Rates, in their attendance
on the magistrates, and used some endeavors to prove that
the words all chapels included those of dissenters and that
notices of the rate according to the words of the Act were
required to be placed on the doors of such chapels ; this was
over-ruled, as well as other reasons advanced, five justices being
present.
In May he attends the Yearly Meeting in London,
travelling part of the way thither in " the agreeable
company of the two Mary Leckies and J. Hadwen "
as far as Belmont. On Monday, 20th May, he attends
a meeting of Ministers and Elders, and says that the
" afternoon was much occupied in considering the
propriety of sending down a minute of counsel, chiefly
on the subject of plainness of speech." The following
day he again attends, " when certificates granted to
E. Robson and Daniel Wheeler to visit America were
read; also that for Elizabeth Fry to visit France.
148 EDWARD PEASE. 1839
A female, whilst long on the bended knee,
so very frequently used the word Grant ; my mind
was tried. Supplication addressed to the Highest
seems more becoming couched terms of lowliness and
the most humble intercession in which petition can be
couched."
In June he is much in his son s sick room.
On June 4th " Dr. Wishart informed dear Edward he
could give but very little hope of his recovery. The
beloved invalid then with great calmness remarked he
had for some time had similar apprehensions, and
added, Then it is only alleviations that are in thy
power/ . . . When the Doctor informed us
of this conversation, it covered the minds of
my dear sons and daughters and my own with
so .great sadness that it appeared to seal expres
sion for some time."
On June 5th :
" The information of last evening had such an impression
on him that, inquiring for his pocket book, etc., in the
morning, he calmly introduced the state of his affairs
to dear John s notice, explaining everything he thought
needed to be adverted to. On my being alone with him he
expressed his tender love and affection for me, and said there
was no one so suitable to confer with as to the settlement
of his affairs. I took down his wishes and the notes were
given to the attorney. In the evening, with tears and much
tenderness, he expressed his love for his brother John, who was
with him, and his desire that the best and richest of blessings
might be showered down on him and his precious family."
Fri., June 7. Not quite so low a day as yesterday, being
able to enter into conversation, desired a fair copy of his will
might be read over to him, which being quite agreeable to him
he signed it. He was very affectionate and endearing to me
in the course of the afternoon ; placing his arm round my neck
and pressing me to him, he remarked what a poor companion
he had been to me and how unable he always felt to make due
Aet. 72 FATHER AND SON. 149
return for my Love and affectionate care of him, that possibly
we might not be so long separated but go to join his precious
mother that we might be all united again. I reverently thank
my Lord for the sweet and peaceful overshadowing which
generally prevailed in the sick chamber of this beloved son.
A few more days record expressions of affectionate
solicitude, and hopes that his father should be cared
for, of his unworthiness but trust. On one evening
his father read to him the third chapter of Malachi
and added a few words : " The desire and trust that
we were and might be more and more of that number
who, written in the book of remembrance, would be
the Lord s in the day he makes up his Jewels." The
dying son sends many messages to his brothers. On
the nth he had " a hard struggle in the night with
his cough, and some sickness, but he was most affec
tionately sweet and composed, and expressed his
love for his Uncle and Cousin Coates in particular,
and for all his cousins. Spoke of feelings of tenderness,
sympathy and affection of his Cousin Jse. Lloyd,
and wished 50 might be sent to him as a token of
remembrance and regard."
Wed., June 12 My precious son still continues. At times
he entered into sweet, interested converse ; his mind is
centerd in peaceful trust in the mercy of his Redeemer, and
and in his chamber there is that witnessed which feels as a
confirmation that a prepared spirit is ere long to ascend to
Him who gave it. My heart in all its tenderness of feeling
is enabled to give thanks for that life and immortality which
is granted by the coming and offering of our Blessed Lord.
He dictated some kind messages to his cousins John
and Kath. Backhouse, encouraging in their tendency
and consistent with his standing as an elder in the
Church.
And so the entries follow each day, till
Mon., June 17. This day in his thirty-ninth year my
150 EDWARD PEASE. 1839
beloved Edward s earthly probation sweetly, peacefully
closd. His life might be said to be one of unspotted
innocency and integrity : uprightness and a tender conscience
were conspicuous in all his conduct, and in all his trans
actions he was remarkable in his care to put the most
charitable construction on the words and doings of all : his
watchfulness and piety were exemplary; he was dearly
beloved by us all, for he was worthy . . .
Tues., June 18, Thankful for the feeling granted me in
sitting by the remains of my dear son. My spirit forcibly was
impressed with a sense of the Blessedness of them that die in
the Lord the fluctuations oi life, its cares, its toils, its temp
tations and its intricacies are forever exchanged for a glorious
rest ! What is there worthy of pursuit compared with such
blessedness.
Wed., June 19. Oh Thou great and Glorious Being who
twice condescended to speak in words as intelligible to the ear
of my mind six months ago as ever I heard with my outward
Ear that my dear son would not recover, be pleased, I humbly
implore Thee, to instruct me in the way that I should go. . .
Known unto thee, O God, are all the alienations, all the wan
derings and the too often forgetfulness of Thee, be pleased to
look on me in tender mercy, follow me with Love correct
me in mercy until I am meet for an inheritance with thy Saints.
On the 2ist he sits by the coffin some time, and
records his feelings. On the 22nd he receives his
" Aunt Bragg and Cousins J. and R. Priestman,"
and rejoices to have " all my most dear sons and
daughters with me (except dear Anna). Henry came,
leaving his Anna very languid and reduced at Tunbridge
Wells."
Sun., June 23. A solemn day to me. The interment
of my dearly beloved, my tenderly affectionate son. A
very large attendance of the inhabitants of this place and
Friends from Stockton proved the estimation in which his
virtuous Character was held. As his unoffending life had been
one of great quietude and peace, so in dying and at the end
Aet. 72 JOSEPH PEASE, M.P. 151
all was peace, in a large and Solemn meeting. One removal
more and then my house will be desolate of all its family
occupants.
Tues., July 9. -Much engaged with my hay in trouble
some wet weather. Much unsettlement and rioting at
Birmingham, excited by those called Chartists, who want a
charter of equal rights and suffrages in Parliament, etc.
Unsettlement has been no uncommon occurrence amongst
the inhabitants of this favord isle and from it some of our
best and most tolerant principles and privileges have sprung.
Though unpleasant and sometimes attended with distressing
circumstances, I neither fear their operations nor dread their
ultimate effects ; to such I think we must look for an improve
ment in the Ecclesiastical state.
Wed., July 10. Joseph [his son, M.P. for South
Durham] arrived at home from attending Parliament. The
efforts of the Liberal members are rendered so abortive by
the power of the Tories in the House of Peers that hardly any
service is more discouraging than the spending of time in
endeavouring to frame good laws, conscious at the time they
will not be suffered to pass. May it please Omnipotence so to
overrule the counsels of men that all they do may have a
tendency to introduce harmony, happiness and righteousness
into the kingdoms of men.
Fri., July 12. Proceeded in the consideration and
arrangement in my outward affairs in preparation for my will,
which I am anxious should be clear, comprehensive and just,
and to meet my view of justice I shall leave to my three sons
a little more than to my precious daughters. My Love for
all my children is equal but my Sons in the prosecution of their
business have not been adequately remunerated by it, whilst
in pursuing it they have enhanced my profit and interest more
than their own by the occupation of the Mills, etc. etc.
Fri., July 26. Finished again the notes needful for the
republishing of my will. This engagement which has become
needful by that dispensation which Allwise Goodness has seen
meet to allot me ... I conclude may never become
152 EDWARD PEASE. 1839
needful for me again to engage with. My hope and my prayer
is, my dear descendants may maintain a pious care to use all
the bounty of the Lord as not abusing it, to have a tender
watchful care to alleviate the wants of those who are tried by
the narrowness of their circumstances, and who once might
have expected greater plenty, and to do good unto all,
especial the household of faith.
Sun., July 28. Received the account of the decease of my
Beloved daughter-in-Law, Anna, who died at St. Leonards on
the morning of sixth-day last, being the 26th Inst. Very sweet
is the remembrance of this amiable-minded daughter her end
was peaceful, her resignation and patience in a long, wasting
illness proved a fine disposition and well regulated mind. My
dear Son, after a very endearing union of four years, becomes a
Widower at the age of thirty-two with one only Son.
Mon., July 29. At St. Helen s Auckland an accident by
fire damp having occurd in the Coal Mine there, in which I
was interested, and seven (men and boys) being so severely
burnt that four have since died, it was my Concern that by
calling in additional medical aid and every means the remain
ing three might be most kindly taken care of, it was a satis
faction to learn they were in a fair away to recovery, and
sundry adaptations to render the Mine safe were directed to
be immediately carried into effect.
On Tuesday, soth July, he leaves home to attend
the funeral of Mrs. Henry Pease, his daughter-in-law,
at Uxbridge, and on his way calls at Doncaster " on
my worthy ancient friend, Richard Cockin* and his
wife." The following day, still travelling, he records,
" I have never seen the country, at least as far as
Grantham, more inundated, or the crops ....
more pressed down and laid flat. This is a critical
period exceedingly small is the supply of grain left
in the kingdom," On Friday, 2nd August, he attends
the funeral of his daughter-in-law, and soliloquises
* Richard Cockin, born 1753, died 1845.
Aet. 72 RELIGIOUS OPPORTUNITIES." 153
on the passing of beauty and the vicissitudes of life,
and quotes :
" So flourishes and fades majestic man,
Fair is the bud his vernal morn brings forth
And fostering gales the nursling fan."
Tues., Aug. 6. Travelling homeward in the mail, in
company devoid of much interest, except that of my
downcast son.
The next day he gets home and "found cousin T.
Richardson here and also my dear son Joseph; they
had been caring about earthly things."
On the loth August he starts with his son John
to visit Friends, and each day records his estimate
of the results or incidents arising out of these " oppor
tunities," as Quakers called them. Ordinary, special
and public meetings are attended, at which John
preaches, and though I dare not run the risk of trying
the reader more than I do already with these entries,
I may mention that from the number of places visited,
the careful estimate of attenders, and the number
of names that appear, as well as from little sketches
of persons and characters, they remain what would
be to some, an interesting record of the state of the
Society in many parts of England. The meetings
and families at the following places, among others,
come under review in his journey : Stockton, Norton,
Bishop Auckland, Greta Bridge, Cotherston, Darley,
Rawdon, Barnsley (lodged at Jervas Brady s, most
hospitably entertained), Sheffield, Chesterfield, Mans
field, Nottingham, Castle Donington (lodged at Bake-
well Ellis s), Leicester (lodged at Widow Burgess ,
dined at Thos. Burgess , Wigstone Grange), Northamp
ton (lodged at Wm. Collins ), Olney (only "one Friend,
Sheppard Bell, lodged there, was interested here in
154 EDWARD PEASE. 1839
going into the summer-house, a poor mean place,
where Cowper wrote his poem, The Task "), Newport
Pagnall, Buckingham, Banbury (lodged at Jos. A.
Gillet s), Adderbury, Sibford, Chipping Norton, Bur-
ford, Witney, Farringdon (lodged at Jane Reynold s),
Charlbury (at Nicholas Albright s, who " expresses a
few words in meeting. I apprehend his borders in
that way may be enlarged "), Newbury (" Jno. Albright
and Samuel Beezeley with us, lodged at Samuel
Whiting s "... Geo. Payne, " a Friend, was
Mayor of the place, I greatly fear to his maring in
every sense "), Warborough (lodged at Widow Green s)
Maidenhead and Henley (lodged at Jno. Fell s),
Reading, Thame (" five individuals keep up a meeting
after the manner of Friends ... in very low
circumstances, and meet in a poor cottage near Hadden-
ham "), Wycombe (lodged at Thos. Edmond s, " John
Wilkinson* has been painfully scattering here "),
Amersham (" our Religious Society here is nearly
extinct, where but a few years ago thirteen families
resided " ; accounts for it by death, removal, and
" the baneful influence of John Wilkinson "), Ches-
ham (about six families here), Leighton Buzzard
(" lodged at John Grant s, his wife, the daughter of
Mary Brooks, who wrote on Silent Waiting. J. G.
is eighty-seven years of age "), Aspley (at W. T.
How s), Berkhampstead (at Thos. Squire s), Derby,
Leeds, and thence home.
How solitary does it feel to have no more the endearing
reception which the tenderest heart . . . could give
John Wilkinson was an "Evangelical." In 1835 he preached
an evangelical sermon in Tottenham Meeting ; when he sat down,
Thomas Shillitoe rose and, with great solemnity, said " I hope that
nothing I shall ever hear, nothing that I shall ever read will shake me
from the foundation on which our early friends built the Truth as
revealed by the light of Christ within." After meeting he said to
John Wilkinson " Why, John Wilkinson, thou wouldst make us mere
Bible Christians." John Wilkinson resigned his membership in 1836.
Aet. 72 THE OXFORD MOVEMENT. 155
. . . how ardent have been my desires to rejoin thee my
dearest in Heaven with those precious treasures, Mary, Isaac
and Edward.
Thus the lonely old man gets to his house on the
28th September. Some of his remarks during this
journey call up passing events such as the Chartist
agitation, or the Oxford Movement. He writes on
one day:
" There appears to be a curious coincidence and re
semblance between the Oxford party in the Church of
England declaring against early reformers, and going back
to popery and the dissentients in our own Society abusing
early Friends and going back to the Church Establishment.
Such is the mutableness of everything which is apprehended to
be divine, but is not founded on Christ."
On the i6th October he completes his will, and
reverts again to his having given more to his sons than
daughters, and goes on :
" I would observe they entered on a business that had been
beneficial to me, but has never yet rewarded their toil, yet
their continuance of it and their great efforts to advance the
family interest in various ways have tended through divine
permission to be blessed, and remuneration from the common
stock is justly due."
To the end of his life my father, Edward Pease s
grandson, never could be dispossessed of the old-fash
ioned notion of the family s common stock and common
interest : his labour, and as long as he had it, his
wealth, was at the disposal of his family.
November finds him again visiting Friends at Bristol,
Coalbrookdale (at the Darby s), Hereford, and stay
ing with his dear son and daughter Fry, in Berkley
Square (Bristol).
Sat., Nov. 2. " Passed the evening agreeably at Sarah
Allan s my dear son and daughter Fry, D. Prior Hack, his
156 EDWARD PEASE. 1836
wife, and Gawen Ball the latter recalled an account he had
from Thomas Shillitoe of a Friend, Mercy Bell,having a religious
opportunity in the House of Lords."
Nov., Wed. 6. From Bristol to Neath to visit my dear
aged friend, Anna Price, in her eightieth year, and her agree
able family, Christiana, Junia and Joseph T. Price. Being on
the coach all day with four passengers, the review of it, etc.
Here he takes himself to task for being too frivolous
in his conversation.
Fri., Nov. 22. Confirmed in the belief that whether I live
to see it or not, the present divisions which exist in all old
religious bodies and the numerous new ones which are springing
up, a new and better condition of Christianity will arise and
those principles and testimonies which faithful Friends now
bear will become fully recognised and adopted.
Fri., Nov. 29. Heard much of the proceedings of those
termed Plymouth Brethren, their opinions Calvinistic, their
low estimation of all Christians outside their own pale, their
various views inconsistent with the doctrines of the ever-
blessed Gospel induced me to believe their foundation is not
safe on Christ the Rock, but must be broken up.
He goes on in December from Bristol to Plymouth,
Exeter, Stamford Hill ; then to Saffron Walden,
where he says he is " very deeply tried " by the " ac
count from home of the sad loss " his sons have sus
tained by carrying on the old family business of worsted
spinning, and he complains of being unable to sleep
in thinking of the poor without employment, and the
inconvenience to his family that may result. One day
he writes, " Some feeling of restraint from reading
narratives, though true, only to entertain time :
faculties and grace given for no such purposes."
Christmas-time finds him at Norwich.
Fri., Dec. 27. The accounts from my Irish correspondent
of the ranting spirit of two women travelling amongst them
Act. 72 THE YEAR IN REVIEW. 157
and disturbing their meetings in the north and the state of
Friends generally in Ireland afflicts my spirit.
On the last day of the year he reviews his spiritual
state, thanks Heaven for his own uninterrupted health,
remembers the dead, and in temporal matters takes a
gloomy prospect of the coming year.
CHAPTER IV.
1840.
Wed., Jan. i. I commence this remembrancer in the
seventy-third year of my age and under a consciousness of the
great probability I may ere the close of the year have passed
from this stage of existence. . . .
The following passage, January loth, is somewhat
enigmatical, but I have heard my father say that
there was a considerable coolness at one time between
the Peases of Feethams and the Southend and North-
gate houses, arising apparently out of some dispute
about land or other property. The brother here is
Joseph Pease (born 1772), who was one of the founders
of the Peace Society, and an active worker in several
practical branches of philanthropy (vide J. H. Bell s
biographical sketch, with portraits, of Joseph Pease in
a book called " British Folks and British India "). He
married first Elizabeth Beaumont, in 1801, from which
marriage the Peases of North Lodge, Mowden,
Pendower, Otterburn Tower, etc., are descended.
His first wife died in 1824. He married again in 1831,
Anna Bradshaw (a descendant of the Regicide Brad-
shaw) ; she died without issue in 1856, having survived
her husband ten years. The son mentioned by
Edward Pease is John Beaumont Pease (born 1803,
died 1873), who married Sarah Fossick in 1825 ;
158
Act. 73 A CASE OF COZENING. 159
she died 1877. I remember them both very well.
They both wore orthodox Friends dress, and observed
plainness of speech.
Here is the passage :
Isleed of patience under the affectingly trying state of my
poor brother s mind, in refusing to submit to the just rules of
the Society. What will be the end of this resistance to such
an upright settlement between my sons and his son, whose
conduct is most amiable ?
A generation later another little breeze ruffled the
family harmony. It is commemorated in the following
lampoon, written by Dr. Bedoes Peacock. "John" is
John Pease, of East Mount, Edward Pease s eldest son,
and "Ephraim" is John Beaumont Pease, of North
Lodge. The Church of St. John s, Bank Top, is the one
referred to. I do not vouch for the accuracy of this
version of the origin of the squabble.
FRIENDLY DOINGS.
At the skirts of a Town, thus begins my narration,
Where a Railway had raised up a new population
Of smiths, stokers, plate-layers, engine-men, wary,
And poor reckless navvies, ferocious and hairy ;
Where hucksters and butchers and beer shops abound,
But not one sacred edifice rose from the ground.
Some well-meanng Christians, not thinking it right
That folks should remain in so godless a plight,
Their welfare eternal thus left in the lurch,
Conceived it their duty to build them a Church.
No sooner resolved, than with pious intent,
To begging, in all sorts of manner they went ;
And being by much practice, at that work proficient,
By degrees they scraped up what they thought was sufficient.
Twere well if they first had made sure of a spot
For building : but this in their haste they forgot ;
And it happened, unluckily, for the church-makers,
Only two sites were left, which belonged to two Quakers,
Two cousins, and staunch anti-churchites were these,
In family virtues as like as two PEASE,
John and Ephraim their names ; to the latter they hie,
To try if his parcel of ground they could buy. ,
Now Ephraim, though never yet known to be slack
160 EDWARD PEASE. 1840
At driving a bargain, was taken aback.
He remembered how he and his father for years,
In resisting church-rates, set the town by the ears ;
And he felt that he could not see clearly his way,
As to what on the subject his brethren might say ;
Though his ringers were itching to handle the cash,
He resolved at the same time to do nothing rash,
So he hummed and he hawed, and no answer could make,
Till he with his friends further counsel could take.
The church folks departed. No sooner they d gone,
But he straight bustled off to his dear cousin John.
Quoth Ephraim, " Friend John, dost thou think it were well
If for building a church on, my land I should sell ; "
" For building a church ! " replies John, with emotion,
" Thou surely canst not entertain such a notion,
Thou hast ground fit for building a church, I admit,
But no grounds for doing so, no ! not a bit.
A church ! why, what is it ? a tax-house, a rod
Kept on purpose for scourging the people of God,
As thou and I are : oh ! banish it wholly,
Such a thought were a crime, much worse than a folly.
Thou surely hast heard, or perchance thou hast read
Of a man building walls, just to break his own head.
Now for Fox s disciples assistance to bring
In erecting a church, is it not the same thing ? "
Poor Ephraim s pretensions, thus laid on the shelf,
Honest John, as he wished, had the play to himself ;
No scruples had he about selling his earth,
Provided he got fully six times its worth,
He cared not a straw, about his roods and his perches,
Whether meant for the building of brothels or churches.
His end he attained, and thus ends my narration,
He sold all his land at his own valuation.
REFLECTIONS.
A fine case of cozening I a beautiful do !
I ne er knew a better ; good reader, did you !
Twas a feat e en for Quakers ! not one in a dozen
Could at once fleece the Church, and bamboozle his cousin !
The diary contains allusions in these early days
of 1840 to Edward Pease s anxiety regarding the
pecuniary affairs of his sons. On the iyth January, he
writes :
. . . troubled in thought about outward affairs.
How ardently my spirit longs that all my descendants to the
Act. 73 A CASE OF INTEMPERANCE. 161
latest generation of them may be contented with a very
limited pursuit after wealth, that no desires for aggrandisement
may allure them to enter into any new extensive projects,
but seeking first the Kingdom of God, and His righteousness,
which as faithfully sought they will feel measurably estab-
blished in them, and guided by its authority and within its
bounds they will be safe.
Fri., Jan. 31. Received this morning the very affecting
intelligence that expired about three o clock in an
attack of delirium tremens, the shocking effect of intemper
ance. No circumstance so lamentable has fallen under my
notice as the untimely death of this poor . A pious
education, with pious parents, excellent instructions in his
profession as a solicitor/ raised in esteem through his good
talents, but all lost by intemperance. Called before that
judgment seat which is covered with mercy may its breadth
extend to his spirit.
I insert this as the only case I can lay my hand
on of any one related to any generation of my family
who was given to intemperance. It is not to record
a boast, but as evidence of the practical worth of the
piety of those who have gone before. This relation
(not a Pease) was aged thirty-five, and a sister of
his, aged twenty-nine, died a few days previously ;
they were interred in the same grave side by side.
He attends the funeral, and remarks that though
his nephew had been " notoriously intemperate for
three years, the kindness of his disposition rendered
him much beloved. Dear (the sister), perhaps
too much in love with fading vanities, was yet very
amiable."
Here is a curious remark .
" W. W. is decidedly attached to the Society of Friends,
whilst his brother John, though yet a member, has been
sprinkled by Cousin I. Crewdson."
* Isaac Crewdson, a minister, was the author of " The Beacon,"
and one of the evangelical section who separated from the Society of
13
162 EDWARD PEASE. 1840.
Mon., Feb. 10. This day of the marriage of the Queen. It
was not at this place, as was the case in many others, celebrated
by unwise festivities : some treats to children in schools on
the British system were given. . . .
Fri., Feb. 21. Was at Middlesbrough this afternoon,
accompanied by my beloved sons, John and Joseph ; to the
efforts of the latter this busy bustling place owes very much
of its thriving and prosperity. Whilst I in no inconsiderable
degree was cheered with the hope that the comforts of 3,000
or 4,000 there were increased, yet the constant mantle of my
spirit . . . was that the spirit of this world might not
drink up the Spirit of the Lord which was in him [i.e. Joseph.]
Sat., Feb. 22. Rather discouraged in what has for several
years been my practice never to leave my room in the
morning nor to retire to rest without reading some portion of
holy scripture . . . yet in the hope divine compassion
may again so instruct me I must continue my practice.
Sat., Feb. 29. Heard of the decease of a worthy and dear
friend who had few equals, James Cropper, f late of Liverpool ;
Friends and became Plymouth Brethren or Low Churchmen. The
controversy preceding this secession was a burning one, the points of
difference were numerous. I. Crewdson disparaged the Quaker views
of universal light, and the immediate teaching of the Holy Spirit.
Joseph John Gurney, who in some respects was evangelical, tried to
find common ground for the two parties, but on these particular points
adhered firmly to the Quaker position.
f James Cropper, b. 1773, married Mary Brindsdon ; his son, John
Cropper, born at Liverpool, 1797 (died there 1874), married Ann Wake-
field (b. 1797, d. 1876), of Kendal. They had four sons and six daughters.
The eldest son (i) James Cropper, of Eller Green, b. 1823, was M.P. for
Kendal and High Sheriff, Westmoreland, 1875 ; he married his cousin
Fanny Alison Wakefield, who died 1868, leaving one son, Chas. James
Cropper, of Tolston Hall, Kendal, born 1852, who married 1876 the Hon.
Edith Emily Holland, a daughter, Frances Anne, who married the Rev.
J.W. E. Conybeare, M. A., and another daughter, Mary Wakefield Cropper.
The second son (2) John Wakefield Cropper, married a daughter of Dr.
Arnold, of Rugby in 1853. The third son (3) , Ed. Wm. Cropper, married
Frances Wright in 1861. A sister of these three brothers, Mary,
married the Very Rev. J. S. Howson, Dean of Chester. Another
sister, Sarah, married the Rev. Arthur Willink ; another sister,
Anne, maried 1850, Thos. Matheson ; another sister, Isabella Eliza,
married 1854 J. Rigg Brougham (nephew of Lord Brougham) ; another
sister, Margaret, married 1866 the Rev. Wm. Jones.
Act. 73 DUTIES AS AN ELDER. 163
his generosity was magnanimous, his efforts unwearied in
using every endeavour to put an end to Slavery and the Slave
Trade. Ever attached to the principles of the Society of
Friends. ... As he advanced in life the purity of these
became enhanced in his estimation.
Fri., Mar. 6. The church wardens called for Church rates.
I fear I was not sufficiently seriously on my guard to carry
much conviction to their minds either of my conscientious
scruples or of their anti-christian employment.
Then follow several days when he is beset with
fears that his son (i.e., Joseph) has upon him a load
of responsibility for public undertakings and private
ones, greater than he can carry through without
embarrassment. " This touches me to the quick."
Whilst Joseph is thus employed, his father is buying
premises at Seaton to provide a Meeting-house there.
Wed., Mar. 18. After much solicitude and anxious
thoughtfulness I united with two Friends in addressing a few
lines to a dear friend in the ministry stating that there were
times when his ministry did not appear to have that unction
and freshness in it which comforted the church. . . .
We tenderly desired the individual to endeavour to feel how
this matter stood, and as nothing but love moved us to the
very trying step, so if we were mistaken we hoped for
forgiveness, etc. This was a very heavy work to us.
Mar., Sat. 21. Another week is gone. I value my exis
tence and thankfully adore the Giver of it and for mercies.
I can see, admire, and love the beauties of creation, and I can
have pleasure in many of the improvements and projects of
men and am pleased with the completion of them.
After visiting one or two places in Yorkshire,
he returns home at the end of the month, remarking
as he enters his house, on the difference of " the recep
tion of hired kindnesses compared with the sweetness
164 EDWARD PEASE. 1840
of that affection which once from a lovely and beloved
group " met him, and notes his depression about the
state of trade, and says he is saddened " by the want
of employment and the affecting privations the poor
suffer at this time." He regrets he spends so much
time in reading publications " which are deemed
interesting and informing." He makes excuses and
good resolutions to be more watchful, after going to
Newcastle to see " a wonderful display of the powers
of the mechanic and artist," at the same time expressing
his approval of such exhibitions for raising men above
low pursuits.
On the iyth April a Moravian (Geo. Rose),
breakfasted with him and argues about the mar
riage and burial services, and the Moravians preferring
to submit rather than suffer, he " was struck, and my
own short-coming stared me in the face." He has
Ireland very much on his mind, and the state of the
Society. " Age is far from shaking or weakening my
faith, and I believe in years to come the Society of
Friends will rise higher than it now is."
He sets off for Dublin on April 22nd, sails from
Liverpool on the morning of the 24th. Almost all on
board are sea-sick, and he lands at 6 p.m., to meet
a warm reception at Henry Bewley s. He attends
the Dublin Yearly Meeting. On the 3Oth he writes :
Perhaps the natural openness of my disposition and the
love I have for my young friends might be one cause added
to my dear son John being a general favourite here, of at
tracting a very large company of the younger class to my lodg
ings about fifty were present it being my wish that this
dear company should continue to love our Society, and that
religion should not appear a gloomy thing I appeared too much
at my ease amongst them, and it may be too cheerful. A little
silence came over us and my tongue in unison with my feelings
was ready to express words, but did not.
Act. 73 SAMUEL LLOYD. 165
He gets home on the 7th May, and visits his wife s
grave the next day, and had the
benign assurance that the spirit of my dearest was with the
blessed and how it seemed as if its influence in the tenderest
accents of invitation bids me to live so holily and so justly
that ours might be one and the same eternal abode.
He is soon off again, this time to London via
Birmingham, where (May i6th) he goes " to Cousin
Samuel Lloyd s to breakfast," where he has much
sympathy for Mrs. Lloyd, " Cousin Rachel," whom
he finds in great distress about her husband s estrange
ment from the principles of Friends. He tells her
" not to be moved by that which afflicts her."
She remarked in unison with a sentiment of mine that
although all men forsook the profession of Quakerism she must
remain one.
He then attends the Yearly Meeting in London,
dines with William Allen, and hears about his and Eliza
beth Fry s visit to Berlin. One day he is exasperated
by " a meeting, one of the most trying ones I have
attended " by reason of S. Grubb occupying "nearly
the whole time in ministry," and " it is to me no small
trial that young Friends should have to remark to
me that which I cannot defend on the clearest and
soundest grounds."
June ist he commences his seventy-fourth year,
and on the 2nd goes on to Saffron Walden ; he enjoys
his time there, " having six of my sons and daughters
with me and three grandchildren," but hears on the 4th
of the death of his Aunt Bragg.*
Out of the limits of my own precious family I had not so
* Edward Pease s wife s aunt, Margaret Wilson, married Hadwen
Bragg.
166 EDWARD PEASE. 1840
true, so sincere, so affectionate, so sympathising a friend.
. . . I know no female that was her equal as regards the
powers of a naturally strong mind improved and cultivated
with care and greatly enriched by a submission to the influence
of divine Grace.
He attends her funeral at Manchester and stays
at Cousin Priestman s and their Brother and Sister
Bragg, and gets home the next day, the loth June,
when
Joseph left home once more to attend Parliament a mys
terious engagement for him ! What is the good to result out
of it to him to local concerns in which myself, my family
and friends have been and are interested, his attendance has
been of great value but nationally ... all is hidden.
The following day he is " lamentably heavy in
meeting."
Wed., June 17. My mind continues at seasons to meditate,
perplexity and distress to arise out of the intended settlement
between my nephew John, and my dear son, through the
difficulty of my dear brother whose waywardness I deplore.
To the great Searcher of hearts I can appeal that I could
give my nephew thousands to be quietly and peaceably and
comfortably through this long delayed and troublesome
affair, rendered so by my brother s procrastination and sus
picious disposition.
He then visits Cumberland, and at Wigton Quarterly
Meeting remarks, " Comforted in seeing as I believed,
an improvement in Friends of this Quarterly Meeting ;
very many formerly were the exceptions in the answer
to the query respecting Temperance ; now but little
complaint, and . . . more of a practical living
up to our testimonies. . . ."
I pass over another journey to Kendal, " where
once it was a delightsome land to me" and his anxiety
Act. 73 PUBLIC SERVICE. 167
on his return about his son s numerous undertakings
(" my spirit can have no rest, peace or unity with
great concerns, believing them to be without the
bounded limitations of truth "), and another visit
to Newcastle, another to Seaton, where he spends
three weeks of " idleness sauntering and walking :
which, however bracing they may be, have in them a
relaxing debilitating effect on the mind."
Mon., July 27. Went to Durham on a summons to
attend the Grand Jury with whom I dined. I am willing to take
some share in those services which I conceive are for public
benefit.
But he goes on to declare that he does not think he
will serve again as the numerous oaths put appear to
him a violation of the Lord s command, and " I cannot
bear to see this part of His office and end of His
coming trodden underfoot/
Thursday, Aug. 6th, finds him visiting the poorest
Friends.
Surely they must dwell nearer the fountain of good than I
do, their patience, their gratitude and thankfulness had loud
preaching in it to me, so I was glad I went.
The following incident is a curious survival of
Quaker testimony. On the nth August he goes to
attend the funeral of his "very worthy and much loved
cousin, W. Wilson." The funeral next day is very
largely attended and
whilst sitting previous to removing the coffin, Cousin
Isaac Crewdson made a prayer ; many Friends knelt [quite an
unorthodox thing to do] and all others stood up ; it appeared
to be my place much in the cross to keep my seat ; this I did
unpremeditatingly, and was peaceful in it, and increasingly
so in the remembrance that He Who gives the Spirit of true
prayer withdrew from them who were always ready. . . .
168 EDWARD PEASE. 1840
He deplores the fact, while at Kendal, that he
" could hardly enter a dwelling where the scatterer had
not been, alienating some and crippling others."
On the igth August :
In my ride this day observed some wheat cut, the first I
have seen this season.
On the 25th he goes to Seaton
to see the exhibition of rockets, used to save lives of mariners
when the ship was run ashore. It appears to me a useful
and praiseworthy invention.
After some very successful experiments, a
party of sixty dined together, but he will not join
them, because the " folly called cheering, inconsistent
with commonsense, is indulged in."
Thurs., Sept. 3. At an adjournment of our Monthly Meeting
my nephew, Henry Whitwell,* and Ann Backhouse Robson,
laid before it their intention of marriage.
My great-grandfather often makes me smile with
his pedantic language :
Wed., Sept. 9: Went to Newcastle to attend to my interest
in the Forth Bridge Engine manufactory, Whilst engaged in
matters needful to be attended to, I trust some anxiety was
generally prevalent that the important end of my being might
be uppermost.
Sat., Sept. 19. My dear sister Whitwell came to attend
her son Henry s marriage, accompanied by her son Edward,
* Henry Whitwell was shot dead in Madrid during the Revolution
in 1848 (2 /th March) by a sentry in the street. He had the password
but stammered, and it being a critical moment when he was challenged,
his nervousness made him stammer worse than ever, and unable to
give the word he was shot, and buried in a mule stable. His widow
married David Dale (afterwards Sir David Dale, Bart.).
Act. 73 VARIOUS VISITS. 169
who has recently thrown off the garb of a Friend and resigned
his membership. My apprehension is that there is a danger of
his having herein committed a mistake and may be accepting
and substituting form for power.
He puts up " ten to lodge," and has many visitors
for the wedding on the 23rd. I pass over another
tour he makes in Dorsetshire and Hampshire among
Friends, after a visit to Saffron Walden and London,
and returning by Bristol. At Southampton (26th
and 27th October), he remembers the anniversary of
his wife s death, and after a description of the " darling
of his bosom," he mentions that at " our morning
reading," she often " bent the knee and poured out
her thanksgiving for mercies, and prayers for dedi
cation, faith and obedience to divine requirings."
He also remarks about Southampton Friends the
love of the world, the fear of man, in neglecting " the
use of the plain, unflattering language has caused,
and will cause, a falling away and withering here."
He returns home, but spends five weeks with his
daughter at Bristol in November and December.
The I7th December finds Joseph John Gurney staying
with him, after three years in America.
Sat., Dec. 19. Read some of the Life of Sir Samuel Romilly ;
it interested me. Romilly seems to have been no Christian,
the associates of his early life were the wicked French revolu-
t ionary Atheists ; his own talents were brilliant, but his shock-
i ng self-destruction proved that his principles led to no correct
views of eternity or holy fear.
On the 24th December he feels it his duty to go
off to Edinburgh with H. C. B. (Mrs. Backhouse),
who has " a concern to visit Friends and hold a public
meeting." Mrs. Backhouse seems to have been rather
uneasy on the journey at Rusheyford on the 25th
December
170 EDWARD PEASE. 1840
she became desirous of a religious interview with the inn
keeper, T. Holt, but he was too much indisposed to be seen.
The next afternoon near Melrose the ." exercised
Sister became very thoughtful. . . After some
cogitation, she became willing to proceed." It is a
great trial to him, making up his mind to go as escort
with the two ladies (the other being Miss E. P. Kirk-
bride, afterwards the third Mrs. Joseph John Gurney).
They go on to Haddington and Anstruther and Kirk-
caldy. At the end of the year he adds up the blessings
of it, among which the settlement with his brother,
who with grief I record has evinced not one particle of brotherly
or relative love that I am aware of. If in his dispositions or
ours there should remain hard or unforgiving thoughts may
they be swallowed by that wisdom which is gentle and seeketh
not its own.
From further remarks, he appears to have dreaded
for years this settlement, having " abounding fears
of some open rupture " or wounding of the character
of his family, " who at one season were greatly and
falsely aspersed."
CHAPTER V.
1841.
EDWARD PEASE leaves Edinburgh on New Year s
Day, and " came to Melrose and had a meeting
for the inhabitants in the evening," which was well
attended.
Sat., Jan. 2. Travelled this day from Melrose to Berwick,
forty-three miles ; the weather was fine, the ride, much by the
river Tweed, was beautiful, the cultivation and land good, the
farmyards remarkably stocked with ricks of corn. . . .
Whilst at Edinburgh I heard of the very sudden decease of
my dear and valued cousin Ann Mounsey, three or four years
younger than myself. She was a virtuous kind, hospitable
woman in the station of an elder. She died universally beloved
by all who knew her.
The next day, Sunday, Mrs. H. C. Backhouse
addresses a meeting of 300 at Spittal and of " 1,000
at Berwick in a large chapel lent by the minister
present/
Mon., Jan. n. United with Annie Hutchinson and Mary
Cudworth, paid a visit to Ann Eliza Dale* on her request to be
united in membership with our Society. She is a truly pious
* The mother of the late Sir David Dale, who having lost her husband,
an Indian Civil Servant, had returned to England with her infant son.
I have heard that she was making her way to Scotland when either she fell
ill or some other misfortune occurred at Darlington. The Friends there did
what they could for her and her child and she made her home amongst
them. The day came when a full return was made by the son to the
town that had befriended him and his mother, for his public services to
Darlington were many and great throughout a long life, during the whole
of which he made this place his home.
171
172 EDWARD PEASE. 1841
minded person and being convinced of the principles has
through conscientious conviction taken up, to her, a heavy
Cross.*
Tues. Jan. 12. The application of Ann E. Dale was
again left for consideration next month.
On the 2nd February, at the Monthly Meeting
at Stockton, he notes :
It was concluded to receive pious A. Eliza Dale into mem
bership. The mind of the meeting, I think, was weightily
ascertained and whilst my judgment did accord therewith
yet my mind was not void of apprehension that in some way
or other this dear individual might not be a source of some
anxiety to us.
In the meanwhile he had one day
some conversation with Ann E. Dale on the established
religion. Her regard for it perhaps not sufficiently gone, but
that eye which can discern between true, pure, and undefiled
religion and that which is man-anointed and man-appointed
I trust is gradually opening.
On Saturday, i6th January, he relates that a large
collection of his wife s and his own letters,
wrote during the last forty years to my very worthy Uncle
and Aunt Bragg, being returned to me, I have this day com
menced to make extracts, trusting when I am removed to
another state of being there may be some lasting proofs for
his descendants of that true love their father and mother
had for each other. . . , though devious their course
and often backsliding as was their poor father, it was ever his
desire and aim to bring no stain on that cause which, with his
beloved companion in the fear of the Lord they endeavoured
to maintain.
The extracts of this and other correspondence
are in my possession. He often refers to these letters :
here is one out of several remarks :
* The stiffer sort of the Darlington Quakers even objected to her
wearing her wedding ring. My grandmother Mrs. Joseph Pease did not
wear hers at Darlington and only when away from home.
Aet. 74 DEATH OF JANE GURNEY. 173
When my beloved family come to peruse the extracts I
have made it will be needful they should make many allow
ances. They will discover much of human frailty and weak
ness ; yet they will discover that no union more true, more
saintly affectionate and one in purpose ever existed than that
between their father and mother.
Mon., Feb. 22. Met a few Friends to confer on
Cousin Thomas Richardson s munificent offer of 5,000
towards establishing an Agricultural School for children
whose parents have been members of our Society.
Feb. 26. My dear daughter-in-law Emma having received
an account of the increased indisposition of her dear mother,*
I agreed to accompany her to Norwich. We proceeded as far
as Borobridge this evening.
The next evening they reach Sleaford. The next
day, Sunday, 28th February,
when we came within two miles of Norwich we received the
solemn tidings that last night, about nine o clock the captive
spirit of my dear sister was set free.
The following days he spends in writing letters
from The Grove, and in the company of the relations.
On the 3rd March he writes :
How sweetly consoling is the death-bed scene, when as with
parting breath acknowledgment is made, as my dear sister
Gurney did, that the pearl gate was open, that all was clear,
that nothing stood in her way.
Fri., Mar. 5. The interment of my dear Sister-in-Lawf
Jane Gurney in her seventy-fourth year. Having known
the dear deceased upwards of forty years, when she was young
* Jane Gurney, nee Chapman, daughter of Abel Chapman, of
Whitby. The portraits I possess of her represent her as a fashionable
and beautiful young lady, and in advanced life and old age dressed as
a Friend.
f Sister-in-law : Quakers regarded the fathers-in-law and mothers-
in-law of their children as brothers and sisters.
174 EDWARD PEASE. 1841
and gay, I have seldom seen a more striking instance of the
refining influence of the Holy Spirit ... as years crept
on more and more anxiety was apparent in her house, pro
ceedings and demeanor to live up to the principles she
professed.
From the Grove he goes on to Saffron Walden, and
then to a Quarterly Meeting at Coggeshall ; he thinks
the place unsuitable for a meeting, where " 120 to
130 men attended, and many more females," and he
dislikes the " ministry of some females who only
spoke " without " liveliness of expression, feeling
or exercise."
It may seem to the reader that in my endeavour
to give in his own words an idea of this period of my
great-grandfather s life, I overload it with trivial
details and tiresome extracts, but I prefer to give too
much rather than too little, for only by copious quota
tions can the various thoughts and habits of expression
that belong to a bygone day be fairly judged. There
is nothing much more certain than that the picture
of a man as obtained from his journals is a very differ
ent one from that which is made from external obser
vation. But without the two no just appreciation
of the many sides of human nature possessed by any
one individual is possible. I like to note apparent
inconsistencies with the simplicity of Quakerism,
such as the following : When after leaving Saffron
Walden he goes to Belmont " to see my dear little
grandson Henry," and having regretted that owing
" to the knowledge of how much dwells in me not
redeemed from the world, I could not wholly adopt
the words. : . : The Angel who has redeemed me
from all evil bless the lad/ " he goes on to remark on
the illness of his " valued Sister Fell,"* and says :
* i.e., the mother of his son Henry s wife.
Aet. 74 " PULLING OFF OF HARNESS/ 175
having done what she could, may the four angels who had
the care that no winds should blow on the earth keep her from
the tossing of every tempestuous thought.
Again, here is a curious passage :
Thurs., Mar. 25. In the zeal which has recently been
manifested for the abolition of Slavery, there has been a mixing
of almost every description of character of not a few very
talented persons who, as regards our Blessed Lord and the
revelation of His will to man, many are unbelievers ; they are
benevolent and philanthropic, carrying their views on the two
last named virtues beyond a sound foundation, denying the
authority and intervention of human Government and au
thority ; this doctrine and their plausible manners have in
them a deadly snare to members of our religious profession.
. . . May it please Almighty God to frustrate the tokens
of these Liars against his Son, and his truth.
It is comparatively seldom that he takes much
notice of anything like business in these diaries. On
March 22nd, after spending part of a day at St. Helen s
Colliery, he says :
I seem prepared or nearly so to resign my cares (and they
have been very small) in this concern to others, the pulling
off of harness . . . more and more becomes me, so that
when the call comes " all things are now ready for thy
entrance," no Garments may be found on me unfitting for
the presence of my Lord.
Sat., Mar. 27. Whilst at Shields yesterday afternoon died
Isaac Richardson. He was the son of Henry Richardson of
Stockton, before that of Whitby. Isaac Richardson s wife,
now widow, was daughter of Joseph Unthank ; the deceased
died in humble hope of the mercy of his Saviour ; his had
been a life of vicissitude, some trial and some changes (having
been a brewer) for conscience sake. It has been much in my
observation that whilst Friends may not during life have
evinced all that watchfulness or regard for things of a heavenly
176 EDWARD PEASE. 1841
nature, yet there having been kept up a more than usual care
not to offend the Most High by violating his moral Law, though
strong confidence is not granted, there is among them a more
general humble peace, yielding hope in the end.
Tues., Mar. 30. A day of great bustle and unsettlement
from the opening of the Great North of England Railway.
Twenty years ago these projects, or rather that from this coal
district, was of much interest to my mind and its completion
in 1825 may be said to have given birth to all others in this
world. For the cause of humanity, at least, I believe them to
be useful and being in the permission of infinite Wisdom hope
they may not be wrong, but I desire to acknowledge with
thankfulness that my mind is broken off or weaned from all
new schemes.
Several times in this year he speaks of his anxieties
from " the numerous and extensive cares which rest
heavily on the shoulders " of his son Joseph. On
May I2th, he records at Saffron Walden, in reference
to some of these entries :
On the night of the loth it seemed to be so audibly spoken
to me " Grants have stopped payment " that not a shadow of
a doubt is with me but it is really the case, and as one of
those with whom my dear sons have the largest dealings I
fear a heavy loss is sustained ; how safe it is to have limited
and contracted affairs. May lessons of instruction be learned.
There is little to note whilst he is attending the
Yearly Meeting in London, but he records on Friday,
May 2ist, that
the consideration of the State of the Society coming before
the meeting brought some excellent remarks from my dear
son (John) and W. Forster ; the sum of which seems to have
been a pressing for a return to first principles in the simplicity
and sincerity and zeal in which our early Friends followed their
Lord, and how deviation from plainness of speech and apparel,
the first trespasses in a tender conscience were stated to be as
Aet. 74 PETER BEDFORD JOHN ALLAN. 177
snares. . . a quiet solid meeting ... In the after
noon at Gracechurch Street I had much struggle with heaviness ;
in striving against it, it was in some measure overcome.
June ist, after a good many visits and attending
many meetings and committees, finds him " with my
dear friend, Peter Bedford, at Croydon," and he puts
down, " Now this day entered my seventy-fifth year."
He returns home on the 4th June.
Sat., June 5. I am free to record that having made a
small purchase of some decoration to place on my lawn I am
not free from some reproach and condemnation, believing that
religion which I have from my Lord, if I am faithful to it,
admits but little of self-pleasing in the purchase and use of
things which are merely decorative; besides, there is an
example to those around us which, if they follow, we feel we
have been corrupters. . .
On the I2th June he refers to his property at Seaton
and what he has given for the Meeting-house there,
and on the I4th he calls on
John Allan, one of the magistrates for this place ; appre
hending many immoral stains attach to him, I contemplate
his removal from this state of being with awful feelings, for
it appears to me the time is nigh when his account must be
rendered to the righteous Judge of all the earth. May a
day of repentance yet be granted.
I think this refers to John Allan, of Blackwell Hall,
who died in 1844, aet - sixty-six, who left his property
to his nephew, Robert Henry Allan, born 1802.
On the igth June he refers to a visit made by Joseph
John Gurney and Josiah Forster to the King of the
French and his ministers
on subjects of general philanthropy, particularly respecting
slavery and the slave trade. To what a marvellous extent the
14
178 EDWARD PEASE. 1841
labours of those who have steadily and strenuously advocated
this cause have been blest.
He attends several meetings connected with the
foundation of the Agricultural School at Great Ayton.
Fri., June 25. Again has the making of these daily notes
claim d my consideration ; their contents may never be of
any value or interest to any one, but let the reader be informed
that having drawn me into self examination, and having been
an incentive to more watchfulness, so far they have not been
entirely without value to me in my Christian course !
Tues., June 29. In passing through the town I observe
nearly all the windows in the Town Hall are broken by the
riotous inebriates of last night. Oh, the wickedness of contested
elections. When will the day come . . . when righteous
ness shall run down as a mighty stream.
Wed., June 30. Party spirit, strife, tumult and dispositions
which are from beneath are mournfully the attendants of
contested elections and every species of wickedness may be
said appertains to them. If Friends are to vote, how quiet,
how retired they ought to be that in no wise they countenance
any proceedings beyond the bounds which a faithful listening
to the voice of wisdom would be revealed to them and be their
guide thus far shalt thou go and no further.
Wed., Julyj. Returned home thankful that the bustle
of yesterday, as the day of nomination for Members of Parlia
ment, was quietly over, and that my heart was out of all cares
and anxieties into which, little to their profit, some of my
friends were drawn.
Whilst I believe the Gospel Spirit may allow us to give a
vote for the best principled men who offer, yet there are so
many measures in which the man who may be said to repre
sent me can and does unite, that I am not free from some
reluctant feelings in giving any vote.
Sat., July 10. Concluding day of election, Bowes and Vane
the successful candidates ; the termination was as orderly as
Aet. 74 ELECTION OF BOWES AND VANE. 179
could be expected. Lord H. Vane lodged at my house, which
afforded an opportunity of frank and friendly converse ; he
appears an amiable man, friendly to religious. liberty and non-
Ecclesiastical assumption. Went to Middlesbro with dear
Joseph to see the docks drawing to completion. I should have
enjoyed such commercial advantages, but mental pain and
sympathy was my portion in a deep sense of the almost over
whelming load my dear Son has to carry. ...
Mon., July 12. A vast concourse in the town to witness
the two successful candidates being chaired ; great intemper
ance and tumultuous unsettlement. When will men be
wise and a better state of things supervene ? . . .
Thurs., July 15. Some sweet instruction as I meditate
over the silent Grave of my ever to be beloved and never to be
forgotten Rachel, who being dead yet seemed to speak and to
encourage me as she often did to live a life of piety, to love and
to serve my God and his church, to beware of the cares of life
that they did not dry up the Spirit of God that as she was
kind and tender-hearted to the poor and to all, so kindness and
tenderness might mark my path. Lord help in all this and in
all that is well pleasing to Thee.
The next day, among other memoranda, he writes :
This completes the 4O2nd week since I saw deposited in the
tomb the best of heaven s gifts to me on this side eternity.
And on the following one he reverts to his son
Joseph, who, he declares, " has too much to carry through
for any purse or resources," and exclaims :
What a contrast between the spirit of the world, its grasp
ing and compassing, compared with that peace yielding limita
tion described by the apostle, of being content with food and
raiment, toiling and anxiety to be rich is here at an end. This
day once more completed my redrawn will and a settlement
in trust on my daughter.
i8o EDWARD PEASE. 1841
On the 20th July he attends a meeting at Stockton,
where they cordially agree to recording E. P. Kirkbride
(afterwards Mrs. Joseph John Gurney) a minister,
and then he goes on to Ackworth School and examines
the boys, and on the 26th proceeds with W. Forster,
G. Stacey, D. P. Hack and W. Fry on a visit to the
meetings of Dorset, Hampshire, the Channel Islands
and Cornwall.
I pass over most of the incidents of this journey,
but the following are some of the more peculiar
remarks :
July 31. Went to Southampton and had a welcome
reception from my cousins,* Rolles Driver and Sarah.
Had to regret in this family a departure from simplicity
in speech, furniture and attire. Whilst much of sincerity of
desire may dwell in the bosoms of those who possess and do
these things my belief is that the spirit of truth as lived in
and obeyed, would do away with all connected with this part
of the pride of life and so refine the spirit that its enjoyment
would be, etc.
* Cousins the relationship is as follows :
Edward Pease, b 1711,
m. 1735 Eliz. Coates.
Joseph Pease, Edward Pease,
b. 1737, b. 1748,
1763 m. Mary Richardson. m. 1778 Selfe Pennitt.
Edward Pease, Selfe Pease,
b. 1767. b. 1781,
1804 m. Hy. Fredk. Smith.
Sarah Smith,
b. 1807, d. 1876,
1835, m. Rolles Driver,
of Southampton.
Saml. Rolles Driver,
Fellow of New Coll, Oxon,
and Canon of Christchurch,
b. 1846.
Act. 74 A CASE FOR DISCIPLINE. 181
At Poole a few days later, he remarks that at the
meeting were " several females, mostly very gayly
dressed," and " the Mayor of Poole, Wm. Pinny,*
was Clerk to the preparative meeting."
At Liskeard he met with his
dear friend Elizabeth Fox and her daughter Charlotte from
Falmouth, also Wm. and Ann Ball.
At Bristol he has
some conference with my dear friend Edward Ash respecting
a book he had given forth, j
He then travels on in September into Wales,
and mentions one meeting held regularly from time
to time at Brecknock in a " large good inn " ; he found
Peny-y-Bent such a " romantic spot," with such an
" excellent Inn," that he makes it his residence for
a few days, and then goes home.
The following is also a curious note of a meeting
he attended in September :
Report brought in by a Committee who after a searching
investigation acquitted a dear friend who had solicited inquiry,
that no moral turpitude attached to him but considerable
impropriety of conduct in his association with a female friend
too frequent, too intimate, too secluded.
Fri., Sep. 24. My dear daughter Sophia and her two girls,
my dear Joseph and Emma with their four daughters and five
sons, also dear Henry dined with me. When I looked round my
table and beheld so many of my descendants so healthy and
so happy my heart was filled with gratitude. The prayer of
my spirit is that all these dear children may be preserved in
simplicity, that they so walk in those principles and maintain
* Should be George Penney, Mayor of Poole, 1840-41.
f Edward Ash, M.D., author of various works. The book referred
to here is " An Inquiry into some Prominent Parts of Christian Doctrine,
published anonymously.
182 EDWARD PEASE. 1841
those testimonies of the truth, that they experience the comfort
and safety there is in them and the glorious hope which faith in
Jesus Christ and obedience to the revelation of his Spirit can
give.
The following description of a First-day afternoon
meeting is quaint :
A drive through the Old and New Testaments without
feeling or end seemed only to cover us with dust.
The next meeting he attends, he writes, " Ex
ceedingly heavy, trying meeting : could get at no
good."
In the early part of October he is rather too much
" engaged " by visitors ; he has " sixteen inmates
in his house for two or three days, and feels "a degree
of langour so different to that vigour of life which
for the few past years I have been favord with."
Mon., Oct. nth. Surrounded as I am with innumerable
comforts and blessed with enough of those things which con
stitute the outward and visible happinesses of time, some
thought crossed my mind of making some changes and altera
tions which some might deem adaptations to my circumstances,
but I felt thankful in finding a gentle restraint placed on my
mind in following customs luxurious in their tendency and
probably the seed of further deviations from simplicity in
those who follow the customs and to their successors I allude
to purchases and introduction of pictures and many fancy
articles into dwellings generally. As to the general use at
many Friends tables of silver forks,* a water goblet to each
person, a finger glass for water at the end of a repast
and other customs, whilst I desire not to condemn those
who use them I am satisfied they are not for me ; the more
all that surrounds us in our dwellings approaches that testi
mony which deems plainness of speech, behaviour and apparel
* I have sets of silver spoons and forks given by him to his children
and grandchildren. Silver forks appear to have been a greater vanity
than silver spoons, but he gave me a silver fork when a child.
Aet. 74
SAMUEL GURNEY.
183
Christian duties,the more free our tables,our houses, and all that
surrounds us from superfluities, the nearer to Gospel precept
and spirit.
Thurs., Oct. 14. . . . Adjourned Monthly Meeting to
receive J. J. Gurney s intention of marriage with E. P.
Kirkbride ; I accompanied them into the meeting. . .
Sat., Oct. 16. Wrote some letters of tender invitation and
exhortation to parties (with) whom the love of this world and
its captivating maxims and influence I feared obtained a sway
beyond the limitations which the Spirit of Christ can tabernacle
with. . . .
Mon., Oct. 18. This day completed the 4i6th week since
that which bereaved me of heaven s best earthly gift, and as
in deep darkness of last night I stood by her grave, and
whilst the loud stormy wind blew heavily on me, my spirit
had some sweet sense of the eternal rest . . . and some
hope was granted that when this poor frame came to lay like
hers, undisturbed by stormy winds or time or cares, our Rest
might be together in the Lord. Amen.
Thurs., Oct. 21. The marriage of J. J. Gurney and E. P.
Kirkbride very agreeably conducted. . . .
Fri., Oct. 22. I have been forcibly impressed with what
would be the blessing that would result from living in the dis
position as loving our neighbours as ourselves, or doing unto
others as we would they should do unto us ; how all hard
thoughts would be hushed, how every action which had its
spring in selfishness would be seen to destroy that harmony
which one day is to render the kingdoms of this world the
Kingdom of the Lord and his Christ.
Sat., Oct. 23. Accompanied Samuel Gurney* in a most
interesting journey to Ay ton by way of Middlesbrough ;
* Samuel Gurney, of Upton, born 1787, died 1856, a partner with
Thomas Richardson and John Over end, and an Elder in the Society of
Friends, and a practical philanthropist. My father possessed three
excellent portraits in oil of these three partners. They now hang in
the offices of Pease and Partners, Darlington.
i84 EDWARD PEASE. 1841
his wish was to see cousin Thomas Richardson, and our Agri
cultural School. The whole day appeared to be much enjoyed
by him ; his converse was truly instructive to me, his generous
and charitable deeds united with true Christian principles
seems to establish him in my mind as a friend and brother
beloved, if I have any right so to attach myself to a prince of a
a man.
On Sunday, 3ist October, he hears of the death
of his " dear Cousin Martha Richardson" at eight o clock
the previous evening ; he speaks of her generosity
to the poor and benevolence, and he goes to Ayton
the following week to console the husband (Thos.
Richardson), and on the 7th November attends her
funeral at Ayton.
Wed., Nov. 10. Yesterday was the birthday of a Son to our
Queen Victoria, the probable King of these realms oh,
unenviable possession sufficiently large the humbled Chris
tian will feel is that stewardship which the Most High has
committed to his charge. . .
Fri., Dec. 17. Exceedingly wearied and exhausted in
mind with long conversations and considerations on railway
affairs. Inexpressibly great is my longing that my dear Sons
and myself may be delivered from a burthen brought upon us
by once unwatchfulness in entering into public concerns.
May my sons fetters and bonds be a lasting warning to our
successors. . . .
Mon., Dec. 20. . . . When I contemplated the engage
ments of my three dear Sons during this day, my heart s desire
was that they should all be employed as my first born (John) at
Oxford Select Quarterly Meeting, but my second (Joseph)
was at Newcastle respecting Coals ; my third (Henry) at
Wolsingham respecting Railways these latter may be needful
and useful engagements, but a too much divided heart ruffles
the tide of peace.
Fri., 24. Went to Seaton to pay for the erection, finishing
and seating the Meeting-house I have built there for the use
Aet. 74 SEATON MEETING HOUSE. 185
of Friends who may go to that place to bathe. As a small part
of my substance dedicated for the purpose of worshipping
my most merciful and bounteous Benefactor, my heart most
cheerfully returns back for His own homage only that which
is his Own.*
On Friday, December 3ist, he sums up the mercies
of the past year, including "uninterrupted health for
the last six years/ with the usual self-condemnatory
remarks as to the use he has made of his time.
* The popularity of Seaton as a bathing place among Friends
may be gathered from the following note I find in Edward Pease s
papers.
"At Seaton, Summer, 1841 one first day.
John Pease. Alfred Backhouse. Thos. Atkinson.
Sophia Pease. Edwd. Backhouse, Jr. F. Atkinson.
Sophia Pease, Jr. Emily Backhouse. W. Benington.
M. A. Pease. John Mounsey. M. Benington.
Henry Pease. Lucy Mounsey. Benington.
Jos. Pease, Jr. Mounsey. Bennington.
Emma Pease. Jon. Backhouse. Bennington.
"ane G. Pease. H. C. Backhouse. Geo. Benington.
. W. Pease. J. G. Backhouse. Benington.
. G. Pease. Edmd. Backhouse. Benington.
R. Pease. E. P. Kirkbride. Benington.
E. S. Pease. F. Bowron. Benington.
Edwd. Pease, Jr. Grace Jowitt. S. Janson.
J. H. Pease. G. Jowitt, Jr. R. Janson.
A. Pease. Geo. Fox. Jas. Cudworth.
G. Pease. Reb. Fox. Thos. Backhouse.
A. Pease. Annie Fox. Mary Backhouse.
R. Barclay. A. Harris. Sarah Backhouse.
E Payne. R. Harris. Backhouse.
Deborah Hudson. M. Harris. Backhouse.
Ann Mason. C. Harris. James Backhouse.
Edward Backhouse. C. Harris. Benington A.C.
May Backhouse. M. Atkinson. Benington A.C."
CHAPTER VI.
1842.
HE begins the New Year with a religious dedication.
I may give a fragment of this to illustrate his
characteristic style of expression :
That stream of time which will roll its course through all
the events of the present year, may in the wisdom of my Gra
cious Creator remove me from the sight of men ! And O
happy hour, I humbly trust join me to those dear ones already
in the realms of purity, who were blessings to me here whilst
sojourners and fellow pilgrims on the footstool of Him, before
whom Lebanon is insufficient to burn and its beasts an in
adequate Sacrifice adored for ever be His Holy Name.
On January I2th he records the alarming illness
of his brother-in-law (J. Hustler), and speaks of the
happiness of J. Hustler s first marriage with his
(E. Pease s) sister, Elizabeth (born 1770, died 1806),
and says the second marriage was for twenty years
also a happy one, " but the latter years of his life have
been fraught with many bitters through the improper
conduct of his son, the loss of property, etc." On the
iQth he notes J. Hustler s death.
On the i8th January he is " at the house of my
Cousin Wm. Richardson, of York," and speaks of his
" descent from affluence and ease to embarrassment
and great straightness," and adds, " He has preserved
that honourable integrity which marks the tender
conscienced Christian, unblemished."
186
Act. 75 CORN LAW AGITATION. 187
On the 26th he attends the funeral in a " howling
tempest " at York. On the 27th he goes to the
funeral " of Thos. Pumphrey, the Superintendent,"
at Ackworth School. On the 28th to the funeral of a
" dear and worthy friend in the station of an Elder,
Geo. Smith," at Stockton, and regrets that he was
unable to attend the funeral at Newcastle " to sym
pathise with my dear friend, Daniel Oliver, whose
dear wife s remains were this day committed to the
dust ... a worthy, peaceable woman in the
station of an elder. She died in a good old age."
On the 3Oth January, Sunday, he writes :
This day a son of John FothergilTs was interred ; his life
appeared to be shortened by the misleading scruples of a
sensitive conscience believing it wrong to clothe himself
sufficiently for the season and to take that nutritious and
suitable food which his constitution required. He was a truly
innocent minded youth, and greatly fearing to offend his
Creator, I cannot doubt of his being at rest in Him.
Wed., Feb. 2. In certain circles of our Society resident in
London there appears to me a degree of excitement endanger
ing the sacrifice of some of our testimonies while paying atten
tion to the King of Prussia now in England. . . .
Sat., Feb. 12. " The present agitation of the Country for the
abrogation of the duty on imported grain may be said to be
so great as to threaten a revolution. Being earnestly solicited
to sign a petition to Parliament as emanating and confined
to Friends of this place, I objected thereto as recognising
the Meeting for Sufferings as the representative body of the
Society, and proper Organ for the representation of the views
of our little Church Friends petitioning from their separate
congregations might evince dissonance of opinion, which as
a religious community it ought to be our care and duty to
avoid.
Sun., Feb. 13. At Stockton, at the burial of Edward
aged about forty-three. Great stability and religious impres-
i88 EDWARD PEASE. 1842
sions in advancing life bid fair for rendering him a useful char
acter in Society. It is to be feared that indifferent to the
visitations of divine love these became effaced, a love of un
worthy company and a want of care when in it, caused a too
free use of liquor and this with some indolence might cause the
sudden extinction of life by Apoplexy without as it were, a
moment s warning.
This week he again expresses his dislike of Joseph s
taking so much interest in commercial pursuits and
" some public work," and wishes he could feel " the
unworthiness of such claims on his time and the
energies of his fine mind, and be enabled to shake
them all off."
Tues., Mar. i. General Meeting of the North of England
Railway Company, which I did not attend, nor have I for the
last ten years attended any such meetings, fearing to have my
mind (naturally very propense to such concerns) engrossed
in such cares. . . .
The following is a very unusually strong expression
of anti-clericalism.
Mon., Mar. 7. By all I see, and hear, and read, there
appears a very increased desire on the part of the Clergy to
grasp, aggrandise, and place themselves in a dominant position,
but as true as ever the words were spoken to the high priest
" God shall smite thee thou whited wall," so I believe it to be
in the Counsels of the Highest, He will smite the whited wall
of English prelacy and all its subaltern dependants.
Tues., Mar. 29. Walked through the Tunnel [this is
Shildon Tunnel, the first railway tunnel in the world] not
passable for waggons. Such extensive operations and new
works awaken my curiosity, but they carry no peace, comfort,
or solace to my mind ; they require such a Grasp of mind to
undertake and complete them and such an application of time
and talent to conduct them that I do not dare to judge how far
the Christian should be engaged in them.
Aet. 75 AYTON SCHOOL. 189
Through this year he takes a great interest in the
Agricultural School at Ayton, and continually records
his visits there and his pleasure at its success. He
often mentions his grandchildren at Southend in such
entries as :
Enjoyed a turn out with my ten grandchildren to purchase
some sweets, how delightful is such infantine innocence.
He has many guests, including Cousin Rachel
Fowler, for several weeks " a cheerful, instructive
companion," and " Jas. Cropper, grandson of that
worthy so well known." He notices the weather, and
springtime makes him sentimental, and almost poetical.
He reads a little, mentions having perused copies of
" my late Brother Gurney s letters and MS. reflections/
and says, " his (i.e., Joseph Gurney s) understanding
was enlarged ; there was a nobility and sincerity, and
penetration, as well as a genuine piety, fraught with
fervent charity, which marked no common mind."
In April he finds his son John has set his mind on
visiting "the few Friends at Pyrmont, Minden, and in
the South of France," and though he remarks he is in
his 76th year, being blessed with health and vigour,
he queries whether he ought not to go too.
He visits Birmingham, stays at Farm, where
he has much sympathy for his " dear Cousin Rachel
Lloyd. . . . Her husband, who ought to be her
consolation and support, as also several of her chil
dren . . . have forsaken the religion of their
forefathers." Then he goes on to London to the
Yearly Meeting on the i6th May, and after various
visits, returns home on the 4th June.
Mon. t June. 6. Entered with my three dear Sons into
a serious consideration ... as regards the Mill concerns,
how far it may be right at once to wind up. . . . The dis-
stress it would cause to the poor . . . and a loss of 30,000
igo EDWARD PEASE. 1842
to 40,000 to the family appear to render it prudent to try
another year. Seeing that it is the will of my good Heavenly
Father that wealth should so elude our grasp and knowing
how alienating great possessions are I cannot mourn or
deplore the dispensation.
Thur., Aug. 4. Parted with home, all its comforts, endear
ments and blessings, to accompany my dear Son John in his
visit to Pyrmont, Minden, and the South of France and Gurnsey
and Jersey. . . . Arrived in London . . . and had
good accommodations at the Guildhall Coffee House.
Fri., Aug. 5. Attended the Meeting for Sufferings.
. . . The address to the Queen which was agreed on by the
Yearly Meeting on the subject of war had not been presented
and it appeared that her ministers placed obstacles in the
way of its being presented. It had ever been the privilege
of our religious Society to present its addresses to the Sovereign
either in the closet or on the throne. Spent the afternoon in
collecting books, obtaining our passports, etc.
August loth to I3th in Belgium.
August I3th to loth September in Prussia and
France.*
September I2th to loth October in France.
He then, after travelling 2,500 miles, hurries home
to attend the interment of " Jonathan Backhouse,
who died in his 63rd year," and adds :
My clear recollection of attending his father s marriage with
my Aunt Ann Pease gives me a view of human changes and
the flight of time.
This was in 1774, when Edward Pease was seven years
old.
During December this year it seems Henry Pease
was considering the question of asking the hand of
"Cousin J.M.B." in marriage.
* Extracts from an interesting letter of Edward Pease written
from Minden in August, are given in Appendix XIII.
Aet. 75 A BAD ACCIDENT. 191
Sun., Dec. 25. Accompanying the remains of a poor but
pious man not a member of our Society, Major Shout, to the
last earthly abode we (Sophia Pease and myself) were met by
dear Joseph with the distressing announcement that his dear
brother John (Sophia s husband) had fallen at the Euston
station and broken his thigh. Almost oversetting as the
deeply afflicting tidings were we concluded to go to meeting.
. . . We left home that afternoon to be in London early
next morning.
This was a very bad accident, a compound
comminuted fracture, and nearly cost John his life.
Though weights on a pulley on his bedfoot were long
attached to the foot in order to prevent the leg from
being shorter than the other, this treatment was not
quite successful, for, as I can well recollect, he walked
with a limp to the end of his life.
CHAPTER VII.
1843-
THE New Year begins with entries about John s
condition and progress towards recovery. As illus
trating the life of the Quakerism of this period,
an entry made on Sunday, 8th of January, may be
given :
Passed this forenoon with my dear Son in silence but twice
interrupted ; we mutually, I believe, remembered Him to Whom
we owe life, breath, and all things.
The 26th January finds him at Belmont with the
Fells (his son Henry s boy, Henry Fell Pease, was
then apparently living with his grandparents, Richard
and Mary Fell). He speaks of his
dear little grandson, Henry Fell Pease, a lovely child, yet some
thing in his sweet countenance affects me as indicative either
of a sickly diseased frame, if life is continued, or the greater
probability that divine wisdom may see meet to cut existence
short. The divine will is perfect wisdom and kindness.
His son (Joseph) has written under this " Faithless ! "
which was not very respectful. Henry Fell Pease
grew up to be a tall handsome man, and enjoyed
on the whole excellent health. He describes the 2ist
March as " a day of more importance " to him " than
words can convey," for his son John has declared his
intention of visiting Friends in America. " To part
with him," he says, " is like parting with his eye or
192
Act. 76 " OLD RETAINERS." 193
right hand, but the Lord gave, and the Lord taketh
away ; blessed be the name of His holy name."
The next day he discharges " a duty to his dear brother*
which I felt would be wounding to my peace
to withhold ; he denied the correctness of the report
I had heard as regards his want of temperance on one
occasion. Although this is not my infirmity, yet . ."
My father-in-law, the late Sir Robert N. Fowler,
of Gastard, had a tale of this Joseph Pease making
a long journey to Falmouth to propose to one of the
Cornish Foxes, and going to dine at George Fox s
at two o clock. The story went that the meeting
with the lady and proposal was to come off the same
afternoon, but after dinner he found the port so much
to his taste that one glass followed another ; then he
fell asleep, and only woke up in the evening, and the
time had gone by that had been fixed for him to present
himself. The lady was deeply offended, and he re
turned to the North without even seeing her.
On April ist, after " reading,"! he considers his
duty towards his " domestics, whose attentions
to me and good services make them worthy of my
regard ; some of them have been long my inmates."
These indoor servants number four, under his house
keeper, Abigail Thorp. Jos. Gatenby has been with
him four years, Sarah Ventress about fifteen years,
and the others, Mary and Sarah Pounder, some time.
* This, I think, was Joseph Pease, of Feethams, who had the
character of being rather fond of his port.
f " Reading." In Friends families, as I can recollect, morning
family worship consisted of reading the Scriptures either before or
after breakfast, with or without the household present, generally
followed by a silence of some five minutes duration, very rarely with
prayers. Occasionally a visiting minister or the head of the family
might offer a prayer, in which case those present all stood up. I
remember that when my grandfather, Joseph Pease, attended our family
prayers when staying at Hutton, he always stood up during prayers,
though we all knelt.
15
194 EDWARD PEASE. 1843
Tues., April 18. Our Monthly Meeting held at Staindrop.
. . . Two disownments, John Coates and Thomas Nevill. An
application from Caleb Brown to be restored to membership
and the same from Thomas Pease on behalf of himself and
three children, two applications from Friends under convince-
ment were concluded to be read, they having been some time
under consideration.*
Fri., April 21. Attended a public meeting in the Methodist
Chapel to oppose Sir Jas. Grame s Factory Bill ; dissenters of
every denomination were present and some of each denomina
tion except Romanists took a part with great cordiality and
unanimity. Extremely unjust and oppressively unconstitu
tional as the Bill is, I hail its production with great pleasure
as it has given a tone and unison to the dissenting interest
which it had not before attained to and from which I believe
beneficial results will be seen.
Tues., April 25. At Ayton School Committee with Louise
Seebohm. . . . Cousins Isaac Wilson and his two sons
John and Isaac here (Middlesbrough) on their troublesome
pottery concerns, f in which they have got deeply involved, and
my beloved son Joseph by his over kindness has not only sus
tained grievous loss, but great perplexity from the reviling
of some who owe him the greatest gratitude.
*This Thomas Pease would be Thomas Pease, born 1786, and his
children, Edward Thomas Pease, born 1827, Margaretta Selfe Pease,
born 1828, and Martha Pease, born 1831.
f This Middlesbrough Pottery was carried on till about 1882
under the name of Isaac Wilson & Co., and had long been the property
of my father or his family, though managed by one of the Wilson
family. It was continued partly in the hope of becoming a profitable
business, partly through the reluctance to throw men out of work,
and partly for the sake of the Wilson family, who had founded the
concern. My father asked me to look into the business about 1881,
and I saw that it would continue to be a continual source of loss and
worry, and that even a large additional expenditure of capital would
not insure any profitable result. So my father decided to close, and
faced a very heavy loss in the winding-up. In its day it turned out a
great deal of good china and earthenware. About the time this con
cern came to an end the Linthorpe Pottery was started at Middles
brough, and though the excellence of designs and the quality and
artistic colouring of its ware made a great and deserved reputation
for the Linthorpe Pottery, the business proved unremunerative, and
was abandoned.
Act. 76 NARROW VIEWS. 195
Wed., April 26. Some trouble with a troublesome man at
Seaton saw how I could give trouble in return ; at one
time thought I would do so but my Heavenly Master forbids
me and all who desire the sweet sunshine of His favour to do
thus but by a reverse course to heap coals of fire on the head
of my adversary. This mode of melting down evil would, I
believe, tend to the refining of both parties.
The following is another illustration of what would
now be considered extremely narrow views and of the
diarist s pedantic style (May 6th) :
More and more convinced of the desirableness and necessity
of increased carefulness in members of our religious society
uniting themselves with popular associations for effecting
what may appear the most benevolent and philanthropic
purposes, the commencing individuals may be very pure in
their intentions,but gathered numbers are not easily controlled.
Many who subscribed to the Corn Law League would have
shrunk from it if they could have conceived that a part of its
funds would have been applied to contest elections.
Apparently he has an attack of gout in his left
foot so long that he begins to think " it will remain
the same to the end of my pilgrimage." " It disap
points me in abridging my walking powers, which I
much enjoyed."
Tues., May 16. Having received a letter from my brother,
surprizing full of care and affection for my Sons and myself
unintelligible as its professions must be, seeing he has not
entered my doors more than once the last twelvemonths
I answered it most copiously.
Thurs., May 18. In the afternoon had an interview
in company with Ralph Dixon and George Fox with cousin
Thomas Pease and Son, on their request to be received into
membership.
He attends the London Yearly Meeting and ends
with a quaint entry on June 2nd :
196 EDWARD PEASE. 1843
Our very harmonious Yearly Meeting closed this day:
the last sitting was marrd and clouded by some Friends
whose spirits had not been leavened. ... An anxiety
manifested by one Friend that the Society should think
it right to bestir themselves for the exercise of universal
suffrage, by another that exertions to promote the Corn
Law League, and by another that the cause of total abstinence
should be more promoted by Friends, and by another that
the cause of the slaves was not sufficiently carried out, and
all tended to waste our solemnity.
In June he spends some time reading the " sweet "
diary " of her who was as great a visible treasure as
ever man was blessed with. . . . This diary
commenced in the twenty-fifth year of her age to
record the breakings and prayer of her pious soul. . ."*
Fn. t July 7. This the day fixed for the remains of my
beloved Aunt Abbot f being committed to the silent grave.
Hers was a life of very remarkable utility in every respect as
a minister, a mother to four successive sets of orphans. . . .
He then mentions her age as eighty-four, and his
warm gratitude to her for having watched over and
cared for his wife Rachel, when left an orphan.
Sun. , July 30. ... It may be the last (meeting) in
which I may be permitted to sit under the anointed ministry
of my precious son. ... He honestly declared how he had
observed those deviations in dress and address to lead into
further alienation from the power and influence of the Spirit of
Christ. . .
The next day the family parts with John (who
is now bound for America). " It was accomplished
with many tears." On the 3rd he goes on board the
* The diary apparently destroyed by Edward Pease.
f Aunt Abbot Sarah Abbot, nit Wilson, a sister of Dorothy Wilson,
the mother of Rachel Pease.
Act. 76 REVISES HIS WILL. 197
vessel Hibernia, at Liverpool, to see the last of John,
who sails the next day for Halifax, and gives him a
final blessing. He returns home and writes, " how
saddened, how silent and bereft East Mount seemed."
Fri., Aug. 18. With nine of my dear grandchildren
went from Seaton to Eston Nab* (and a large party of relations).
We admired the beauties of Wilton Castle before we ascended
the toilsome height ; the fog nearly obscured all distant pros
pect, the heat was great. Our refreshing and enjoyment in
the Group was obvious perhaps thus to see the beauties of
the all-creative hand was allowable. He pronounced that all
was very good, and I believe given to his creatures richly and
fully to enjoy.
Mon., Aug. 21. Went a party of twenty, nine grandchildren,
in a steamer to Steaths [written as Staithes is pronounced].
The day was fine, the excursion interesting and pleasing, but
should opportunities of the like kind to these recent pleasure
tours occur, I think I shall not be free to join in them to
spend so much money which, if resolved to be given to the
poor, would alleviate so many wants .
These two entries suffice to show what extra
ordinary limits were set on innocent pleasure by the
Quakerism of this time. Here is one of rather a differ
ent kind, but equally suggestive :
Thurs., Sept. 7. As heretofore when employing myself
in eradicating Nettles and Thistles from my fields, an inward
review of how these offensive weeds had similar product in my
heart I was anxious to find them all out, etc.
On the gth September he is again revising his
will, and goes through his property. His real estate
he divides into shares ; to his daughters he gives
3,000 in cash each, and " the reversion of personal
estate equally divided among my sons."
* This was rather a remarkable walk for a man 77 years old, on a
hot day.
ig8 EDWARD PEASE. 1843
On the 1 2th September he attends a large annual
meeting of the Bible Society, and notes
The conduct of the Clergy in this district in taking no part
in the circulation of the holy scriptures through this most
valuable Society, in my estimation condemns them in a want of
sincerity of desire to spread the knowledge of the Gospel in
the World and not being true and sincere in the cause they
pretend to advance.
I can remember the Rector of Guisbrough refusing
to countenance the Bible Society because my father,
a Quaker, was asked to preside, and dissenters were
present at such meetings. Yet he was a kind,
sincere and religious man, and in later years changed
his attitude on such matters.
On the 2ist September he visits the Retreat at
York,
where I felt the very humiliating, mysterious condition to
which humanity is liable. Yet great was the comfort in
contemplating the indescribable utility of this institution in
spreading a gentle hand to poor Lunatics.
This month he travels with Hannah C. Backhouse
to Stowe-on-Trent, Newcastle-under-Lyme, Hanley,
Stoke, Burton-on-Trent, Leek, Sunderland, and other
places.
Wed., Oct. ii. That there is no resurrection of the
body but that the soul has no affinity to it at the hour
of death, but immediately enters on its appointed state may
we not gather from words pronounced to the expiring male
factor, " This day shalt thou be with Me in Paradise."
Cold, frosty and stormy. Many ships on shore at Tees
mouth.
Thurs., Oct. 17. Went with my Son Joseph and
Cousin Josiah Forster up the unfinished Weardale Railway
as far as my brother Coates paternal estate, Smelt House.
. . . To see this habitation of forefathers was interesting
Aet. 76 A RAILWAY OPENING. 199
to me as having been the spot where, about sixty-seven years
ago, I spent some enjoyable days. . . .
There are many entries this year referring to his wife,
now dead ten years. Some are beautiful eulogies of her.
Wed., Nov. 8. Walked up to see those who had
assembled to celebrate the opening of the Auckland and
Weardale Railway. The increase of national improvements
interests me. In this there was to me some painful alloy
from my two dear Sons participating in that . . . which
is at entire variance with that seriousness which becomes the
Friend or the Christian. I mean that drinking of healths and
toasts which is followed often by unmeaning speeches and those
maddening huzzas which better become the Lunatick than
the man of sober sense, etc.
Mon., Nov. 13. Attended a meeting of the Turnpike
Commissioners. Their adverse feeling towards railways
proves their limited powers of estimating public improve
ments
Wed., Dec. 6. We had yesterday another application
for membership (a William Pease). It is remarkable how
many are drawn to Friends at this time. . . .
Thurs., Dec. 14. My cousin Maria Backhouse s marriage
with Isaac Bigland, of Liverpool. The meeting rather large.
The ministerial labour on James and H. C. Backhouse, the
communication of the latter singular, " Husbands love your
wives and be not bitter against them." My mind could not
rest the Subject on any one. There is often a mystery in
ministry.
The end of the year is full of anxiety about his
daughter Rachel, at Bristol. He also visits Liverpool,
and attends there the funeral of his dear Cousin, Eliza
Robson, of whom he says :
Few characters have been more devoted or have more
dedicated all that was given her of outward comfort to enjoy.
CHAPTER VIII.
1844.
Thurs., Jan. n. If ever these notes are read by
any of my beloved descendants or any poor Christian pilgrim
whose face is set Zionward, let him be informed that much of
the writer s path in life has been a walk by faith and not by
sight, and far below the extent of his desires have been the
cheering and enlivening perceptions of the influence of the
spirit of my Redeemer, yet alike good in what He gives as in
what He withholds, saith my soul, and thanks be to His mercy
and goodness in that He keeps alive in me the sense of His
being my only hope of Glory. . . .
He is away all January (at Bristol, etc.), and returns
home February I4th. On the i6th he hears with
deep regret that his
Cousin Mary Wilson, who is likely soon to be married to John
Harris, has been baptised,
Men., Feb. 19. Visited my cousin Anna Back
house [nee Gurney, a daughter of Joseph John Gurney, by his
first wife, nee Jane Birkbeck], a pleasant friendly young
woman ; in attire, I saw with concern what I see in the
habitations of my dear friends, a wide departure from that
simplicity, etc.
Fri., Feb. 23. Cousin T. Richardson spent much
of this day with me. Let me see his will ; one mass of bene
volence and kindness. I have no doubt of his just intentions,
but I fear he has left his own near relations too much out of
sight. ... I conclude to write him hereon.
JANK (U RXKY FOX (/;<v H.xcKHorsK).
Wile of Robert Barclay Kox, first-cousin of Kduard Pease.
From an old miniature in the possession of Sir Alfred K. Pease,
being a copy of the portrait in the possession of her eldest son,
Robert Fox, of Grove Hill and Penjerrick, Falmouth.
Aet. 77 A FAMILY GATHERING. 201
Sun., Feb. 25. Forenoon Meeting. Some expression
from Mary Smith appeared to have some kindling
effect on dear worthy H. C. B. I cannot divest my mind of
fear when ministers take hold of what has gone before. Named
these fears to H. C. B.
Wed., Feb. 28. Had that degree of pleasure and comfort
in seeing my dear Sons Joseph and Henry and my dear
daughter (Emma) with their eleven children and dear John s
two, surrounding my table. Their happy healthy countenances
seemed to make my heart leap with grateful joy. . . .
Sat., Mar. 2. My fears for some days have been on the
increase that members of our religious society are in danger
of getting and doing harm by too closely allying themselves to
and espousing the total abstinence cause if it creates any sense
of self importance any apprehension of being further on the
heavenly way and disesteem for the aged or any want of the
fulness of Brotherly love, dispositions are awakened at variance
with pure Christian love and Unity.
On Tues., March 5, he attends, as he frequently
does, Ayton School Committee and goes on to
Osmotherly and visits Friends there. " I wish the poor
of this world who reside there were more rich in faith,"
he writes.
Sat. Mar. 9. Barclay Fox is here and likely to gain my
amiable cousin Jane G. Backhouse ; on her part it seems to me
to be a choice of taste. I question its being one of that sound
judgment which might have placed her in a position where
she might have more usefully rendered services. . . . .
May He Who directs all ... make this union as
replete with happiness, etc.
Sat., Mar. 16. Considerable excitement prevails from an
apprehension that all the coal miners in the kingdom are going
to strike early next month. . . Government have pro
posed to send two Pieces of Cannon to Bishop Auckland, which
my Son Joseph has dissuaded them from. Joseph and Emma
returned from London.
202 EDWARD PEASE. 1844
A few days later he expresses a " loathing " and
" fear " of increasing his earthly possessions, and
hopes he is becoming " more and more willing to
distribute."
Accumulation of wealth in every family known to me in
our Society carries away from the purity of our principles, adds
toil and care to life and greatly endangers the possession of
heaven at last, and to lose this what is all this world has to
bestow.
April 17. . . . Wrote to Samuel Rhodes, near
Philadelphia, expressive of my desire that his conscientious
disuse of the produce of Slave labour and his advocacy of
their emancipation and the union of his views with the Seceders
in Indiana might be mixed with patience, brotherly kindness,
forbearance and charity.
Mon. , May 6. How often we hear the remark that if there
be conspicuous talents, they are generally descended from the
mother s side, and how clearly I can trace every lovely dis
position in my descendants to the piety, virtue, training,
teaching and excellence, to her who gave them birth, while
I have to look on myself with great contempt as having neither
the gifts of nature nor profited so by those of grace, etc.
Mon., June 10. Received the last affectionate memento of
dearly Belov d Aunt Abott in a Legacy of 100 less the duty.
I trust it may be honouring her memory rather than add it to
my stock to give it all away, 75 already given.
The day before in meeting
dearly lov d cousin William Backhouse expired at my feet,
and it appeared to me his heart ceased instantly to beat.
On the I4th he goes to the funeral :
The whole town might seem to bear testimony to the estimate
of his worth. Every shop was closed.
Act. 77 EXTREME SIMPLICITY. 203
Sat., Aug. 3. A letter from my dear friend J. J. Gurney
tells me he has removed a considerable number of pictures from
his Ante-room, and been concerned to make other changes in
his dwelling more in accordance with the simplicity which the
spirit of Christ leads into. . . How desirable that such
changes should first commence among our most wealthy
friends.
On the gth August he says he is thankful that the
prospects of increase or reduction in his property
create in him no solicitude beyond that which attaches
to his sons, and trusts that
nothing may arise to introduce them deeply into the surfeiting
cares of this world.
Wed., Aug. 21. Went with D. and A. Clarke to meeting at
Guisbrough, and in the evening at Ayton . . our friend
D. C. speaks more loud than any friend I have heard except
the late Samuel Alexander. It has not been my lot whilst
out with these friends to be greatly refreshed, etc.
He is perpetually concerned about his son Joseph;
he says his engagements are so numerous and such
a host depend on his " capacious mind " and leading,
that if he were to die " where is the understanding that
could carry his load." He considers that the
" claims of the lovely family he is blessed with " are
too much neglected. He follows his eldest son John s
movements in America very closely, and with much
more approval.
Oct., Fri. 4. It is now in my heart to keep my heart more
alive and my purse more open for purposes of benevolence
and kindness to Friends and persons. I owe much, I have
received much, may my future renderings be more commen
surate with what becomes me ; as one that has been prospered
beyond all he ever did ask or think.
204 EDWARD PEASE. 1844
Wed., Oct. 9. My dear friends Elizabeth Fox and her
daughter came to be inmates for a few days. . .
I insert this as marking an early friendship between
the families of Pease and Fox. Among the various
articles that have descended to me from my grand
father is an old silver snuff-box, dated 1766, which once
belonged to a George Croker Fox, who married 1749,
Mary Were another proof of old acquaintance.
Thurs., Oct. 10. The wedding day of my dear cousin
J ane G. Backhouse to Robert Barclay Fox* . . .
Thurs., Oct. ii. Indescribably bright and pleased are our
dear Falmouth friends with the marriage solemnized yesterday.
Sat., Oct. 12. Increasing is the desire in my mind . . .
that I and all may be careful not to purchase or provide for
the luxurious accommodation of self or for the gratification
of the vain mind in our furniture ; shunning as much as
possible all decorations.
Mon., Oct. 14. [The Foxes leave him]. Their company
has been sweet to me Her [Elizabeth Fox] gentle spirit
cherished warmly the love of the brethren. . . A sweet call
this evening from John Hodgkin ; our converse was serious in
its bearing, with much unison of opinions and views.
Thurs., Oct. 17. Called on the Duke of Cleveland with my
son Joseph, to obtain an extension of Friends burying ground.
. . . . Also to extend the width of the road up Conscliffe
Lane opposite to my son Joseph s property (Southend). . .
Fri., Oct. 25. Was at Middlesbrough; its increase, bustle,
population and the number of vessels excited my surprize,
and though it afforded me satisfaction to see so much employ
ment and so much comfort for the various classes of the
inhabitants, yet underneath I felt . . a concern and appre-
* Robert Barclay Fox died at Cairo in 1855 and his wife died 1860,
leaving four sons, Robert, George Croker, Henry and J oseph Gurney Fox
and one daughter, Jane Hannah Backhouse Fox.
Aet. 77 BENJAMIN FLOUNDERS. 205
hension that all this was produced by the exertions of my
precious Son Joseph s untiring mind, and fears are mine that too
much of his time and heaven granted talents, etc. . .
Fri., Nov. 15. The Stockton and Darlington Railway
are now opening some iron foundry works at Middlesbrough,
and several Friends are about to be employed as managers and
workmen so that the erection of a Meeting-house is spoken of,
. Except the Lord, build, keep and watch the city,
vain is all human effort.
Tues., Dec. 10. In looking to the close of Life to joining
those beloved ones who sleep in Jesus but whose remains are
now included in and covered by parent earth I view the
passing away of all the enjoyments of time, and they have been
exceedingly largely given to me, without regret or a desire for
a prolonged existence. Hopes of Eternal life and Gratitude of
Soul are the merciful feelings which are permitted to be mine.
Fri., Dec. 20. Great stir and efforts are making to promote
the total abstinence cause ; and useful efforts they are when
any habits of intemperance or frequent drinking have obtained ;
but to him who has followed the law of Christ there appears
to me to be no need to proceed beyond the Counsel of his Will
as inwardly revealed the spirit of his Gospel or the practise
of his spotless example ought, as lived up to, satisfy the most
ardent total abstinence advocate.
Sat., Dec. 28. Went to Yarm to see B. Flounders in regard
to the settlement of his will, which he was desirous should be
made conveying his estates in trust for certain charitable
and educational purposes. My apprehensions are his feeble
health considered that the delay of his solicitor may defeat
B. Flounders design and the intention of his uncle, who left
him the Estate, which if there was no issue should go to benefit
the Society of Friends, but not imperatively so left.
He ends the year writing to his son in America,
settling his affairs, doing his accounts preparatory
to leaving for Bristol.
CHAPTER IX.
1845-
Wed., Jan. i. . . . Gave all the poor in the Workhouse
a tea drinking ; there was a peace and pervading happiness in
their countenances, old and young, which was very cheering.
On January 3rd, Friday, he goes to see his " Brother
Coates " at Norton ; " the mind quite gone, yet a
wilful, restless body, and an irritable and irritating
disposition," harassing to his family, " so that any
quiet or rest can hardly be obtained." He considers
the possibility of he himself becoming such a terrible
burthen to his " precious children," and trusts that
if this is his lot, that
tender compassion will be extended to me as they will know
how anxious I was when my mind was in its vigour to admin
ister to their comfort.
On the 8th he is " tenderly affected " by the news
of his coachman, John Hewitson s, death.
He has been about twenty years with me. He had some dis
positions not such as I could approve, but a more civil, obliging
man, ready, quick and patient, I never expect to meet with.
His duties by night were as cheerfully performed as by day ;
as a primitive methodist there was zeal and apparent devotion.
On the 20th January he finds much fault with
himself for " some impressions on my mind suggested
I had better not read a literary production which had
206
Act. 78 SAMUEL CAPPER. 207
pleased me last week to my condemnation I took
it up and read a little." On February ist he " break
fasted with Samuel Capper, a worthy man and minister
who has tasted largely of trial." On the 5th February
he goes to Frenchay, to visit " Francis Tuckett and his
wife ; their brother Philip has for some time been
alarmingly ill, and the prospect of his afflicted wife is
that she will soon become a widow and her three
children fatherless." The following day he is joined
there by H. C. Backhouse, who is returning from a
visit to her daughter (Mrs. Barclay Fox), at Falmouth,
and the funeral of his
valued friend, A. R. Barclay,* a true lover of the truth as pro
fessed by the Society of Friends. ... He edited the journal
of Thomas Shillitoe, superintended the republication of Sewell s
History, Daniel Wheeler s Journal, and published the post
humous works of his late brother, John Barclay.
Fri., Feb. 7. Attended the week-day meeting (Bristol) ;
distressingly heavy almost to sleeping (then follows the usual
taking himself to task). Heard that my dear and much valued
cousin Rachel Lloyd had a paralytic seizure how will her
simple, silly husband bear it.
Fri., Feb. 14. I fear I enter in my converse and thought
too much into the thoughts and excitement that seems
everywhere to exist and to be greatly enriching my friends
who are so busy buying and selling railway shares just now
in that advanced and fever state which I believe is the fore
runner of great loss, suffering and difficulties to many.
* Abram Rawlinson Barclay, one of four brothers. Robert
Barclay, the eldest, married a sister of Emma Pease s, Elizabeth
Gurney. He was known as " the Quakerly gentleman." The third
brother, Ford Barclay, as " the gentlemanly Quaker," the second Abram
Rawlinson Barclay as " the Quaker." The two former never wore
Quaker coats, but the last named was " such a plain Friend that he
cut the buttons off his coat above his coat tails, and would have nothing
but the plainest solid wood chairs in his house." The youngest, John
Barclay, was also a plain Friend.
2o8 EDWARD PEASE. 1845
On Wednesday igth, he meditates on the
silent retired resting places where lie in succession my
precious daughter Mary, her equally dear brother Isaac,
the greatest treasure of earthly bliss, my blessed wife, and
next my dear fine pure hearted Edward; their next com
panion, if it be the will of Him before Whom all flesh must
come, may be the writer of this, and O, then may God receive
my spirit into union with Himself and those dear sainted ones
gone before.
He is now with his daughter at Walden and passes
one evening pleasantly with my cousins G. and D. Gibson and
their son, looking brightly forward to a union with S. Tuke s
daughter Elizabeth.
On the ist March he is staying at Earlham and
nearly all the way there regretted I had not brought a copy of
the Scriptures with me. . . My reception as to kindness
all my heart could desire from a most affectionate welcome.
Mon., Mar. 3. Spent the early part of the day with my
beloved friend, J. J. G. and his Eliza. . . . Went at six to
cousin H. Birkbeck s to dine, the conversation much on
outward passing things.
He goes on to London and on Sunday the Qth to
two silent meetings at Tottenham ; heaviness to a degree
that made me abhor myself was my portion.
On the nth he spent
some time in the gratification of my curiosity and seeing the
new Parliament Houses and other things in the City ; season
very cold, frost and snow, a remarkable long winter.
He returns home on the I4th, and is full of memories
of those who once welcomed him, he recalls in affecting
review all the doings of that last mournful day spent
by his wife s side at Manchester and
Act. 78 HANNAH BACKHOUSE. 209
that bright morning when my precious dying Mary looked
upon it and said how sweet it was ere she drew her last
breath.
Wed., Mar. ig. Heard with some surprise that my nephew
Henry Whit well had been presented at Court, dressed not as
a Friend, with a sword, and engaged to go to Spain as an
Engineer. . . .
On the 2ist he notes
sixteen weeks of nearly uninterrupted frost, the keenest cold
I ever knew for so long a time. He hears of the death of a
"dear and worthy upright distant cousin, Thomas Backhouse,
of York, in the prime of his usefulness."
Sat., Mar. 22. On an evening visit to dear Joseph and
Emma I met with cousin H. C. B. and my daughter Sophia in
a conference. She (H. C. B.) spoke of her concern to visit
a poor condemned man at Aylesbury. She had seen him and
paid him a visit, to the great relief and comfort of her own
spirit, and returned home with very sweet peace. We felt it
right to discourage her going again ; she remained uninfluenced
by our Sentiments.
Thurs., Mar. 27. Cousin H. C. B. returned from an
unsuccessful effort to see that wretched murderer in
Aylesbury Jail, who is to be executed. Few men have acted
so completely the hypocrite while living in the greatest
wickedness ; having not yet made any confession, his wife
believes him innocent ; she was a member of our Society and
was warned in the strongest manner of the well-known iniquity
of his character.
Fri., April 4. Heard with much concern that my beloved
Joseph had undertaken some new colliery (perhaps a small one)
near Crook. Every addition to his cares, every additional im
mersion of his talents into worldly concerns is painful to me.
. . . He ought to be satisfied and want nothing more. . . .
Should Infinite Wisdom inflict disabling disease or call him
(which the Lord avert) who is to carry his load ?
16
210 EDWARD PEASE. 1845
Sat., April 5. Went with dear S. Emlen and her companion
to Newcastle. This sweet-spirited interesting woman gave
some very interesting particulars of her early life. Her
father being thrown overboard in the Mississipi, they were
reduced to live on potatoes and salt, the vessel with a cargo
was returning from New Orleans, the crew sold a part of the
Cargo and ran away, leaving the vessel. Some persons took
good care of it and sold it, goods and all, and desired some per
son might be sent for the money ; they sent a man for it he
received it, absconded with it and was never heard of !
Mon. April 7. Returned home with S. Emlen and E. M.
Very decided are S. E s. views on our departure from Christian
simplicity, no doubt affectingly departed from by many among
us, and I fear by myself also in whatever little matters
I have taken up the cross I have had peace in it, and whenever
I have departed from it some degree of condemnation has been
felt.
Wed., April 16. My cousin Frederick Backhouse departed
this life early this morning ; leaving a widow, one son and one
daughter an affectionateness of disposition marked his
character, as a Friend steady to our principles, uprightness
and integrity marked his transactions. His residence was at
Stockton, his departure . . . was at the house of his
mother, my near and dear neighbour. How those whose
nativity is well remembered by me are called hence before
me. . . .
He goes to Dublin Yearly Meeting this year. On the
5th May he dines at Henry Bewley s, Ebenezer Pike
and Lydia J., and Sarah Pike of the company. . . .
"Ah me ! I fear these dear Friends and many others
think of me a poor worm more highly than they ought
to think," took affectionate leave and sailed for Liver
pool at 7 o clock. On returning home he hears ac
counts from his son John of the " unsettlement, excite
ment and division which exists in Philadelphia and
other parts " among Friends, and is " fearful of his
Act. 78 SEVENTY-EIGHTH BIRTHDAY. 211
dear Sons (at home) being drawn into active partici
pation in a line of railway, which shall connect Lan
caster, Kendal, Carlisle, etc., with this part of Durham."
He then goes to the London Yearly Meeting, and on
his 78th birthday (Saturday, 3ist May), he notes his
age being " far beyond his expectation " and says :
Last night in bed I felt some tendency to fainting not
knowing to what extent this might go or how terminate.
Some hope was given me that the Arms of everlasting mercy
were open to receive me. Our good Yearly Meeting ended
to me the fulness of bread was not given ; may my hunger
continue.
Tues., June 3. In perusing the memoir of Thos.
Scattergood, a Friend I well knew and considered one of the
most resigned, dedicated religious characters, . . . I was
struck with that often lamenting language he uses as regards
the absence of all heavenly help, all feeling of good or any
inward supporting strength. Is there not in this a lesson for
me who has had to drink the drop of desertion. . . .
In noting on the 5th June the death of his son
Henry s father-in-law, Richard Fell, he uses the
curious friendly description of him as his " Brother-
in-Law." He denounces as " unnatural conduct, only
excusable from an apprehension that there is a shade
of insanity about the man," the refusal of S. Barnard,
senior, to consent to the marriage of his son (Samuel
Barnard), on whose behalf he had written to him. He
finds that his property has greatly increased from the
advances in railway property, but "is not elated but
humbled " by the discovery. He visits Birkenhead
and remarks on the preparations for docks, etc., but
fears there may be some disappointment in those who
have embarked capital in " the largest ship ever seen,
the Great Britain, which we went on board of." He
has gone to Liverpool to await the return of John on
212 EDWARD PEASE. 1845
board the Caledonia. She is overdue, and he spends a
day or two of great anxiety before a " joyful meeting."
Saturday, 2nd August, finds him visiting (at Plaistow)
that
dear and heavenly minded woman, Elizabeth Fry, who weak
in body and probably in some degree inpaired in mind. . .
Thurs., Aug. 7. The weather more cold and wet, gloomy
and dreary than I ever knew it, and being of long continuance
the appearance of the growing Crops all unripe is really alarm
ing, and we seem fearfully approaching that dreadful season
which, when a boy at Leeds School and going over to Gilder-
some one First-day, I heard a good old Friend who had visited
America declare that he believed some present would live to
see fearful times when the Lord would send famine, sword and
pestilence into the Land ; this would be in the year 1780.
I was then thirteen years old.
This month even the favourite son John is criticised
for "commencing extensive alterations in his house."*
He has many visitors, as many as five or six staying
with him at a time, and remarks :
While I endeavour to use hospitality without grudging,
I have, at present, a share of visitors which in some degree
interferes with my engagements, which, though not very im
portant I like to keep in their orderly train. . .
On the i6th August Joseph and Henry go
to Redcar, preparatory to commencing a line of railway
the opening of public concerns by a public dinner is little to
my satisfaction.
* This is " East Mount." In 1832, Edward Pease mentions in a
letter that his son " John is busy building a house near us to obtain the
Northern blast." I have often been puzzled by the northern aspect of
old houses in Cleveland and South Durham, and suppose they were
built facing North from an idea that the " Northern blast " came from
a quarter free from cholera, small pox, etc.
Aet.78 PARTNERSHIP WITH THE STEPHENSONS. 213
On Sunday, the 17th, he goes to Meeting " for the
last time in the present Meeting-house ; until extensive
alterations are completed," and adds :
All our ministering friends being absent I sat below the
Gallery.
The meetings appear to have been held during the
alterations " in a wool warehouse near Freeman s
place."
Thurs., Aug. 21. Went to Newcastle with cousin T.
Richardson to settle our co-partnership with George and
Robert Stephenson, when it was agreed that W. Hutchinson
should come in as a fifth, paying 7,000 to 8,000, and that
my Son Joseph should succeed me on my demise, the capital
and profits being solely mine to dispose of.
The following is rather nice, under September
4th :
My dear friends Francis and Matilda Fry left this
morning ; she is an interesting, agreeable woman ; he a man of
talent, full of as much enterprise and engagement as is con
sistent with that position which considerations on the life to
come ought to have My Spirit mind thou thine own business.
Sat., Sep. 6. Agreed to purchase the property (Darlington)
now used as a bleach ground occupied by P. Toulmin, and
belonging to my Cousin Backhouses of York for 1,400 ; the
idea of keeping away any erections that may be a nuisance
to my adjacent property has induced this.
Two days after he purchases some land up Conis-
cliffe Lane for 1,410. The next day but one he goes
to see how the business of Robert Stephenson and Co. is
getting on. On the Qth September he attends a
meeting of the Bible Society, and remarks:
It is now forty-two years at least since my interest in this
society commenced. It owes its success and the union of
214 EDWARD PEASE. 1845
sects which support it to the careful watching of Friends at its
beginning. They feared some of the homilies or prayers of
the establishment might be bound up with the bible. The
terms Friends made were that it should be part of the Society s
constitution without Note or Comment.
There was much in the Prayer Book that evidently
appealed to Edward Pease. I have several copies of
his Common Prayer Books. I have heard a story of
his being stopped by a clergyman who met him out
walking, and of a discussion that ensued on some
religious question and of Edward Pease making a
statement that the prayer book supported his argu
ment. The clergyman said, " If I had a prayer book
here I could show you it is otherwise." and Edward
Pease, pulling one from his pocket, replied, " If thou
hast not thy Prayer Book with thee I have mine/
much to the astonishment of the priest. One of his
Prayer Books he has at some time begun to alter in an
attempt to adapt it to his conscience, erasing such
words as " Priest " and inserting " Minister," etc.
Wed., Sep. 17 Marsk.* Came to this place last evening
with my dear daughter Emma a bare, open place not
attractive to me the back country fine and romantically
beautiful but it requires an outfit of horses and carriages to
enjoy it. I regretted my dear Son s (Joseph s) expenditure of
money there and erecting new buildings a measure I could
not see it desirable on any account and decidedly less so his
large family considered. Compactness not extension ought to
be his study and care.f
* Generally spelt Marsk when I was a boy, not Marske. A.E.P.
| This refers to the building of Cliff House at Marsk -by-the-sea,
which was added on to four small houses, which communicated with
each other and which accommodated members of the family during
the summer and autumn. My grandfather, Joseph Pease, always spent
a considerable part of the summer at Cliff House, and we as children
generally came over for a few weeks from Hutton, and put up at No. 4
with our ponies and donkey waggon ; in the same way nearly all the
grandchildren were entertained. Marsk was in those days a quiet
Act. 78 BY RAIL TO STANHOPE. 215
Thurs., Sept. 18 Wandered about the sands, had a pleasant
ride towards the top of Huntcliffe, did not gain the summit,
the country looked beautiful, the valleys covered with corn,
about a quarter of it cut, not one field gathered in.
On Saturday, 27th September, he refers to it as
the twentieth anniversary of his " precious son Isaac s "
death.
The day above-named one of sorrow was also remarkable
as the twentieth anniversary of the opening of the S. and D.
Railway. What a change has taken place in the civilised world
since that Era. Went by Railway up to Stanhope, the extreme
west-end of the line, with sundry respectable individuals.
On the 3rd October he visits a widow at Stockton,
he is disappointed to find that though she mourns her
husband
seaside fishing village, where save for a few villagers scraping up sea-
coal or a farmer carting seaweed, we had the vast sands to our
selves though even then Upleatham Mines were working two miles
off. The mine-horses stabled in the village, and these after their day s
work were always taken into the sea for a bathe. Every evening it
was a great excitement to see them go down, and to watch how far the
lads would venture in with them.
Marsk originally belonged to Robert de Brus, and passed through
marriage to the Nevilles (Lords Fauconberge) , and thence to the
Conyers, then to the Atherton family, then to Sir Wm. Pennyman,
then to the Lowthers, who sold it to the Dundases. The Earl of
Zetland is still the chief proprietor.
Marsk Hall bears the arms of Pennyman and Atherton on the
front. When I was a boy many traditions of smuggling and many
old smugglers still survived. Smugglers caves were found under the
cottages we lived in : the entrance to one was discovered, I remember,
by removing a hearthstone, and much later the carriage-drive collapsed,
exposing another one. Captain Cook s father was buried at Marske
in 1779, the year of his distinguished son s murder, but being a " day
labourer," no stone marks his grave.
My nurse, Sarah Wilson, still living 1906, a native of Runswick
Bay, but whose grandparents belonged to Marsk, told us many stories
of the bloody encounters of the Marsk smugglers with preventive
men, and how the run goods were sent on pack-horses trained to go
without men as far as Stokesley, and much else that I have long
since forgotten. On my grandfather s death Cliff House went to Arthur
Pease, and on Arthur Pease s death to his third son, the present
owner, Claud Edward Pease.
216 EDWARD PEASE. 1845
the value of earthly things and caring about them not only
seemed to dry up sorrow except in its gusts but was one means
of preventing the afflicting stroke to be refmingly felt
. . and preparation for joining the spirit of her husband
where she believed he was gone as an upright moral man we
may trust divine compassion was extended ; yet it seems to
me there is considered by the Society of Friends a higher
degree of purity and holiness needful to fit for heaven than
other Christians look to and tis well to remember it.
Thurs., ^ct. 9. John Peacock, Clerk to the Magistrates,
writes that he entirely gives up all his fees on the warrants of
distraints on Friends, a liberality Friends have not heretofore
been accustomed to be treated with.
This month he sees a good deal of John Hodgkin
and discusses with him the establishment " of the
schools at Nismes, which I hope will produce good
fruits." Evidently from many entries in this and
other years he is at times vastly perplexed with reli
gious doubts ; he apparently asks himself how is it that
the dispensations of the Holy One are so varied in
different periods and to different people. At one
period he sends His Son, and then Apostles to preach
and work miracles, and then these powers suffer eclipse,
and then the " most humble pious breathings and
endeavour " yield no results as those recorded at other
times, but he tries to sum up the puzzle by saying
" in this there is no cause to mourn and be sad, for
according to the gift is the judgment." On the I5th
October he notes the death of Elizabeth Fry at Rams-
gate, " a very dear Friend and the most remarkable
female in the Society of Friends in my day," " fervent
piety in a most benevolent mind " " to all connected
with vice and crime, she endeavoured to minister to the
necessities of soul and body," and " to reduce the
amount of human misery in gaol and hospital." Also
Act. 78 RAILWAY SPECULATIONS. 217
the death (on October I7th) of " my old neighbour
and friend Deborah Kitching, about 84 years of age ;
this leaves but one member of this meeting older than
myself."
Mon., Oct. 20. Went to Yarm with my Son Joseph, con
ferred with Benj. Flounders, how he had received 84,000
for his estate, how it was to be disposed of, his uncles having
desired Friends might have the benefit if there were no
issue. : : .
Mon., Oct. 27. Informed that my dear Son Henry had
bought Pierpoint [Pierremont], the late residence of Jno.
Botcherby, for 5,000, its fair value. The possession of this
showy mansion kindles a concern in my mind that being the
possessor of it, instead of being lifted up, his humility may
increase under a continued and grateful sense of the great
privilege he enjoys, etc.
The next day he goes to see the premises and thinks
the repairs and maintenance will " involve in an
uncomfortable extent " an expense.
Mon., Nov. 3. Mournful account of the dreadful specula
tion that exists in Railway Shares. A young Friend (about
twenty-three) of Bristol married about eight months ago, had
so involved himself that in a fit of despair he leaves his bride
and in a note tells her she shall never see him more, etc. .
This day completes the forty-ninth year since my happy
union with my long lost Love.
On the I4th November his " Worthy servant Jos.
Gatenby " dies, and in an eulogy he remarks, " he was
a tender nurse to my precious Edward " and to his son
John when he smashed his thigh. He terms him " a
careful and affectionate helper/ he sends three maid
servants to the funeral at Otterington (near North-
allerton). He takes an interest in the Locomotive
218 EDWARD PEASE. 1845
Engine Works at Newcastle, but a day or two after visit
ing them he says that " Great is the general agitation
about new works in railways throughout the Kingdom,
many contemplated to affect this County. ... To
my own surprise and comfort I am devoid of all anxiety
to see anything completed." He keeps up a corres
pondence with Friends in America and says in doing
this " the desire is present that I may say nothing but
what in some measure my heart has felt, my hands
have handled, my eyes have seen, or with opened ear
I have heard."
On the 27th November he puts down " Distressing
meeting, not one devotional thought, not the least
capacity for worship or religious exercise." On
December 5th " Jno. Fowler left me after two days
pleasant tarriance. I enjoyed his society." *
On the gth December he resigns the office of an
Overseer in the Society which he had " weakly filled
near fifty years." On the nth December " heard
Elizabeth Ann Dale in our meeting to-day in a good
testimony."!
The same day : " In my morning reading in bed I was
startled in seeing the corners of the leaves of my
testament in blaze ; I got it immediately put out."
He gets very " tried " with the editor of a paper
called the British Friend, and says he is fast becoming
a Ranter, and the following is rather characteristic of
his tender conscience in his endeavour to push The
Friend (evidently the rival periodical) : " Found by
the information from the editor of the British Friend
what I had indeed discovered before, that in order to
discourage his (I fear) strife sowing periodical I had
* This Jno. Fowler, born 1792, had lost his wife in 1842; his son
John, born 1826, married Elizabeth Lucy Pease, and his son William
married as his third wife her sister Rachel Leatham nke Pease.
f This was the mother of the late Sir David Dale, Bart.
Aet. 78 NATIONAL AFFAIRS. 219
proposed a mode, by reduction of price, to The Friend,
that was not consistent with the rule I am ever anxious
to attend to, of doing as I would be done unto. Con
demnation and repentant regret is my portion, and I am
humbled and thankful to my Father who is in Heaven
that he gives me to feel when I trespass against his
good preserving spirit."
Wed., Dec. 24. State affairs quite unsettled. No fixed
Government just now. Sir Robert Peel has resigned, Lord
John Russell is unable to make up an efficient ministry and
resigns it into the hands of the Queen. . . The prospects
of the Cotton and Worsted Manufactures now very gloomy and
threaten to the poor employed in them a time of great distress.
He ends the year with the remark, " Life extended
beyond any of my known progenitors on my father s
side," and then follows the examination of his record
as a steward, and a prayer that " mercy may cover the
Judgment Seat."
CHAPTER X.
1846.
IN a prefatory note to this year he declares he is
sensible of the incorrect judgments, the uninteresting
and trivial entries and remarks on character which
had better not have been noted in his diaries, and
adds the desire " To my beloved descendants who
may be disposed to cast -an eye over what is written
will do it with that affectionate kind indulgence
for my weaknesses and which my advanced age may be
an apology for my 8oth year." He speaks of abated
personal vigour, being blest with unimpaired health,
which gives him remarkably and fully to enjoy all the
branches of his beloved family, of the large share of the
abundance of this earth that has been placed under
his stewardship. He is rather "pained" with "the
extent to which some of us are decking and adorning
our dwellings and our gardens." He desires "to view
with great tenderness every juvenile pursuit and
relaxation," but thinks there is at times a " playfulness
not quite sufficiently chastened by the thoughts that
keep in view the life to come."
On the I4th of January he starts with John and
goes to Preston, and stays with one Michael Satter-
thwaite and his sister S. Ord. He attends a Quarterly
Meeting and speaks a few words, and goes on to Man
chester to sympathise with his " dear niece Rachel
Fryer, hourly expecting the dissolution of the tenderest
tie." He calls on his nephew Joseph (and Jane) Clay,
Act. 79 ROBERT FOWLER. 221
and they convey him to Huddersfield to see his cousin
N. Robson, who has a " sweet innocent unworldly
mind/ and on the igth he goes to Newcastle to settle
a new deed of partnership for twenty-one years with
Robert Stephenson. On the 22nd he hears of the
death of his dear nephew Joseph Jowett Fryer, " by
this affecting event my dear niece is a young widow
with five children ! . . . This evening a large
Essay Meeting (fifty-four) held in my drawing room."
He goes on the 26th January to Bristol and reaches his
son and daughter s home in Berkley Square at n p.m.
" without any sense of fatigue," but he " declined to
go to meeting " the next morning.
Wed., Feb. 4 At my Cousin John Fowler s at Elm Grove,
near Melksham ; he is the son of Friends and relatives of my
generation. Robert and Rachel Fowler, very worthy minis
ters, exemplary self-denying Christians of great simplicity,
When I look for such standard bearers and from whence they
are to arise, my heart is ready to faint within me. Lord give
not thy heritage to the moles and bats.
Robert Fowler was born 24th of 5th mo., 1755, and
died 27th 4th mo., 1825. Judging from the records of
him preserved in an old family MS., and edited by my
sister-in-law, Miss Jean Fowler, his boyhood was not
happy, chiefly owing to the unkindness of his
step-mother. Two generations after, the mark on the
wall of the old Counting House at Melksham was
shown where he used to lean his head when driven
out of the house by Mrs. Fowler number two.* Even
the " testimony " of the Melksham Meeting seems
to refer to this in its opening sentences, e.g., " Our
beloved friend Robert Fowler, owing to the death of
* The father, Thomas Fowler, born 1730, married first, 1753,
Katherine Rutty; she died 1762. Secondly, 1765, Elizabeth Fowler,
of Hampton, co. Gloucester.
222 EDWARD PEASE. 1846
his pious mother (nee Katherine Rutty), and some other
circumstances . . . was introduced to trials whilst
very young." Educated at Pickwick and Worcester,
he entered into his father s business (wine and spirit
merchants), at the age of fifteen. He resigned the
more profitable part of it, " the supplying of inns with
ardent spirits " as inconsistent with his profession,
and believed that a blessing rested on this sacrifice.
He married in 1790 Rachel Barnard, a daughter of
Hannah Wilson, of Kendal (hence the cousinship with
Edward Pease) " a most beautiful woman and actively
benevolent." They lived at Melksham till 1799, and
then moved to the present home of the family, Gastard,
formerly called Elm Grove or Chapel Knap. He was a
most hospitable man, and after 1799 became a minister.
He had a similar antipathy to that which Edward Pease
had of accumulating wealth and left on record his desire
" that our dear children may never possess more than
will conduce to their good as useful members of our
religious society." He travelled much, chiefly in the
Ministry. The testimony records that whilst " being
concerned for the support of our peculiar testimonies
he at the same time evinced a liberal spirit and true
esteem towards those of other religious societies," and
that he " was a man of clear and deliberate judgment,
his heart and ear were ever open to the trials of his
fellow-men ... he was particularly cautious not
to reflect upon the character of any." Charles Wake-
field has said of him that he was " a sweet man, one of
the most perfect gentlemen I ever knew, very gentle
in manner and speech"; that he was very interesting
and well read, neat in appearance and ways, fond of
nature, that he was fair, slight, and short, and that
" he walked more after the model of his Master than
any man I have ever met." The subjects in which he
was most actively interested were the Anti-Slavery
Act. 79 ILLNESS OF HIS BROTHER. 223
Movement, the Bible Society, the Society for Pro
moting Christian Morals and Education. In his
labours in France he was much helped by Baron de
Stael.*
After various visits Edward Pease hurries home,
having had an account of his brother Joseph s
illness. When he got this alarming report he " con
cluded to assemble with my friends, and in a disposition
that desired to be guided by Omnipotence and there
seek if haply I might feel what was best as to my
returning or remaining here when it left clear that
my peace would most likely be complete by returning
home," and so he goes home by Bristol and Birming
ham. The relations between the two brothers, as will
have been gathered by previous entries, had been
somewhat strained, and as I cannot say, " I have
heard the other side," I do not know to what
extent Edward Pease s judgments were harsh,
but if any one will read a book called "British Folks
and British India " they will find there an interesting
history of " Joseph Pease of Feethams and his Con
temporaries," written by John Hyslop Bell. In this
we find a very different picture of the man from that
we should gather from his brother s journals. A man
if of less gentle and genial nature than Edward Pease,
yet with broader views and wider sympathies, and who
if more absorbed and anxious about his material
interests, was active in benevolence and practical in
philanthropy. He was a richer man and lived in more
luxurious surroundings than other members of his
family, and some idea of him and his life may be
gleaned from the opening pages of the life of his
daughter, Elizabeth Pease Nichol, by Anna M. Stoddart,
in the series of " Saintly Lives." With this preliminary
* A memoir of Robert Fowler with extracts from his letters,
etc., was published for private circulation at Norwich, by Wilkin &
Fletcher, in 1833.
224 EDWARD PEASE. 1846
warning to the reader I proceed with some of the entries
that deal with Joseph Pease s closing days and the
final healing of the breach between the two brothers.
On the i7th of February, after describing his
brother s illness (gout and jaundice) Edward Pease
continues :
My brotherly solicitude is awakened and I desire it may be
granted to him to profit by this visitation by his mind
being turned to Him Who, I fear, of late he has much for
gotten in eager pursuit of the treasures of time.
On arriving at Darlington he sends a message to his
brother, " if he wished to see me." His reply was " No,
nor any one else."
I had hoped it might be otherwise and felt tried. I
searched my heart to know if injustice or unkindness had ever
been in it. I hope I was correct in thinking I had disinterestedly
advanced his interest to the cost of my own, and thankful
that there was none of the biting anguish of condemnation, etc.
Two days after, referring to his " dear Brother,"
but oh what tendency he manifests
to converse about earthly things and earthly possessions how
needful it is to watch lest the heart so fix upon the treasure
which the moth and rust destroy instead of that which is
safe from decay.
On the 28th February:
This evening much to my relief and comfort I had a short
and affectionate interview with my dear Brother, laid prostrate
probably to rise no more ; he was in a subdued and measur
ably awaken d state.
From further entries I gather that his anxiety about
Joseph s spiritual state is based upon the way he has
allowed " the pursuit of worldly things to lead away
from social worship " ; in fact, he has evidently not
been a very good attender of meetings for worship.
Aet. 79 JOSEPH PEASE OF FEETHAMS. 225
This is worth noticing, as evidence of the great stress
laid at this time in the history of Friends on the
importance of public worship, and it is of assist
ance in trying to trace the feeling that one
witnesses at times of guilt or uneasiness in
omitting to worship in public. The illness is long
and very painful, and as the days wear on, he notes
with satisfaction " the mind loosening from the things
of time," and ejaculates, " May heavenly compassion
and love make clean work of his bosom and mine,
that in the end the palms of victory may be in our
hands."
Sat., Mar. 14. Symptoms of nearly approaching disso
lution. . . The mind keeps clear the brightness of
prospect as to the life to come is not, I think, expressed, neither
is there a condemning review of past life ; there is a desire to
be dissolved and hope in the mercy of Him Who is greater
in this attribute than the magnitude of all transgressions. It
is on infinite mercy all have to rest, but its promise is to the
just, the pure and the merciful, and it will be fulfill d.
Mon., Mar. 16: Ere I rose this morning a note com
municated to me that the spirit of my dear brother had taken
its flight. . . . The departure was without a struggle and
I trust infinite compassion will receive the spirit into a prepared
mansion. His last expression was " Yes, very happy. Lord
Jesus, into thy arms I commit my spirit."
On the i8th the family mourners all meet at
Feethams, and on the igth he is pleased in " fixing
the interment to-morrow " to see the " attention to
simplicity." On the 2oth the funeral takes place
in deep snow, and it is a day with " many associated
recollections which came tenderly home."
The good old-fashioned way of walking solemnly to the
Graveyard was observed, the great quiet around the Grave and
the deep sorrow of my beloved Niece added to the impressive
17
226 EDWARD PEASE. 1847
weight of the last parting scene. About forty relatives assem
bled in the evening.
Sat., March. 21. My dear brother is now for ever gone.
I contemplate the last few weeks of his life with more comfort
than a few previous years as they appeared to be spent in
various pursuits whether of benevolent character or for pe
cuniary gain, they led the mind from that religious stability
and that due attendance at Divine worship which is due to
Almighty God ; yet I am comforted in the belief that heavenly
goodness was so powerfully near that he was enabled to put
nearly all worldly considerations away from his thoughts and
from his lips, calmly saying at last : " I am happy. Lord
Jesus into thy arms I commit my spirit."
During these months he refers to some passing
events, and notes an extraordinarily mild February
followed by deep snow ; he laments among his friends
that they have " so run out from the simplicity of
the Gospel of Christ in the furniture and decoration
of their houses, the waste of money in the extent of
horticultural and beautified grounds," that he is
" constrained " to think all sorts of things.
American Friends who visited England often were
troubled by the way in which the English Quakers
devoted themselves to business. There is a story in my
wife s family of an American visiting Melksham Meeting,
and who rose and said, " There s too much wool,
too much flour and too much hops in this meeting,"
and resumed his seat. The hops were those of the
Robert Fowler who is referred to a few pages back.
On the other hand the American Friends often
puzzled their British entertainers, as, for instance,
when two, named Charity Cook and Mary Swet,
strolled down Melksham street after dinner with
their pipes in their mouths, " considerably astonishing
the natives," as their hostess, Rachel Fowler, whom
Act. 79 DARLINGTON MEETING. 227
I well remember as " Aunt Rachel Fowler," used
to relate.
There are glimpses of Darlington Meeting in the
diary this year that recall memories of my childhood,
and of the curiosity and impatience with which I used
to watch the symptoms that a close observer might
count on as preceding the breaking up. The signal
for breaking up is the shaking of hands by the two
senior ministers in the ministers gallery. Although
Edward Pease was not a minister, he generally took
his place there, and latterly sat at the head, thus the
responsibility for this signal would fall on him. He
relates on the 2Qth March,
On the men s side alone in the gallery, two dear sisters
by me, my daughter Sophia and K. B. [Katherine Backhouse].
. . . Greatly condemned in mind and very uneasy under
a feeling that I concluded our very short meeting too soon.
As we were parting it felt to me that I had interrupted and
invaded that sense of solemn worship which clothed minds
present. Had I been less mindful and more quiet under the
great restlessness of the dear friend near me, I might have
escaped this sorrow.
Mon., Mar. 30. Heard last evening with much
satisfaction that my late dear Brother had left many small
donations to be given to poor men who had been in our joint
employ, and to several relations in limited circumstances.
His disposition, naturally a kind one, evidenced itself more and
more as the hour of his dissolution drew nigh. This informa
tion leads me to consider arrangements of a similar description
I had made many years ago. . . .
He goes the next day to Ayton and " dined in sweet
and friendly ease with twelve others at Thos.
Richardson s [Cleveland Lodge]. His generosity in
giving another 1,000 [to Ayton School] continues."
On one of the following days he had been thinking too
much of his wealth, and he calls it " a piteous day :
228 EDWARD PEASE. 1846
a blast of wind from the wilderness of this world s
spirit." He has a visit " from Ann E. Dale and her
brother and sister from Canada, some conversation
on music, of which the last is passionately fond ; it
might be useful, if the heart was not carried away
by its fascinating, delusive effects. ... I trust
nothing was seen or said that could occasion the blessed
cause to be lightly esteemed." On the nth April
he notes the death of his " Cousin " Eleanor Richard
son, wife of his " Cousin George Richardson," and
goes to the funeral at Newcastle on the i4th. On
the i5th he writes of great enjoyment as he saw
around his table, children and grandchildren eighteen
in number. On the 2Oth he hears of the death of
" Benjamin Flounders, of Yarm, once an over
scrupulous member of the Society of Friends. A
few months before his decease he settled 40,000 on
four Friends for an institution at Ackworth." The
same week he travels to London with John Hodgkin,
" my pleasant, interesting and only companion."
He goes on to his daughter s at Walden, and spends
his time writing to the Gurneys at Earlham and
reading works not to profit or edifying. He notes
his son Henry has got into his new house, " Pierremont"
the day his son (H. F. P.), is eight years old, and that
his other son, John, is " buying lands adjoining his
house at a very high rate." A great deal is written
about certain differences between Friends in America
and their correspondence with Friends in England.
He goes to the Yearly Meeting and lodges with Thos.
Richardson at Stamford Hill. His entries are always
full of the business of the Yearly Meeting each year,
but I pass them over mostly. This year, however,
he notices " less religious life and vitality," and a
" low state " in the Society ; " a general complaint
of departure from the plain language, the attendance
Aet. 79 BIRTHRIGHT MEMBERSHIP. 229
of places of amusement, and the introduction of
music into Friends houses," all of which he says he
finds very affecting. Also among other questions
which interest him the important one of " Birthright
Membership" comes up, or, as he says, was "thrown
before the meeting " by R. Jowett, and did not meet
with support. " I trust our religious society will
never change the present rule. I can hardly express
the feeling of my mind or the extent of my gratitude
for this blessing and privilege. The protection and
shelter " of it " is unspeakably great " in his own
case. He discusses a sermon, and writes That
Satan could transform himself into an Angel of Light,
but could never transform himself into an Angel of
Love."
On the 26th May he hears of the death of his cousin
Thos. Pease, of Leeds, " a first cousin gone, another
of my generation." " I am not to be long ere I follow."
On the 3ist May he enters his eightieth year in the
house of Peter Bedford, at Croydon, and then pays
visits to various Friends and thinks that, considering
his age, he perhaps " conversed too freely." On his
return home in June from Harrogate, he enters on
the loth :
Invited to lay the foundation stone of the new public
rooms about to be erected. I declined this as I have done taking
a public and prominent part in anything with which I might
be mixed up.
He mentions that his walk has been " humble "
and " unaspiring," with only remaining objects
to serve the Church on Earth, to love my children and grand
children, to increase their comfort and happiness according
to the utmost love and kindness I possess, and cherishing a
tender regard for the bulk of mankind to serve and relieve its
wants.
230 EDWARD PEASE. 1846
There is an entry this month about the domestic
troubles of his sister Whitwell and her daughter-in-law,
Ann, whose husband has ceased correspondence, and
who is " in Spain or elsewhere," but on the 23rd he
records, " My nephew, Henry Whitwell, returned after
an absence of about six months in Spain/ He calls
him a poor wanderer from the path of virtue, if reports
are true, and he is sorry for his wife, " a most amiable
and personally very engaging young woman." * He
mentions that from the family businesses of the Coal
Trade, Collieries, and in the Woollen Mills there is no
income, and that his son s establishments are expensive
at Southend and Pierremont. The collieries have lost
1,400 in five months, but the " Forth Street Concern "
(i.e., R. Stephenson & Co.), is doing well, and he goes
to Newcastle occasionally to attend to it. In July he
alludes with satisfaction to Lord John Russell coming
in, and Peel retiring.
Tues., July 14. Heard with concern that my young
Cousin E. B. [Edmund Backhouse] had been so unwise as to
have a trotting match. Ah, lamentable, if these buddings
of outgoings are not checked, a wider deviation and wrong
association ensues.
Edmund Backhouse was one of the heroes of
my father s youth, and his companion in field sports.
Both were lovers and good judges of horseflesh.
Edmund Backhouse was an excellent whip, and like
my father, was fond of driving his four-in-hand till
he was advanced in years. He was the first Member
of Parliament for Darlington, and died, loved and
respected, in 1906, at Trebah, near Falmouth, and
was buried in the Friends Burial Ground at Budock,
having been a Friend all his life and a regular attender
of Friends meetings of worship.
* She was afterwards Mrs. David Dale, the late Sir D. Dale s first
wife.
Aet. 79 MECHANICS WAGES. 231
In the previous year, Edward Pease had purchased
some land (" Coniscliffe Lane," " Tolsons," and various
fields, etc.), and so he re-arranges his will, and having
done so, he adds,
My desire is that all my precious descendants may be satis
fied of the fulness of my love for them . . . and that
the distribution of the property with which my Heavenly
Father has endowed me may be to their satisfaction and
promote their comfort, ever considering that they are stewards
under the Highest . . . and beware of living too much to
themselves.
At the end of July he remarks that wheat harvest
has begun, and that it is a year of plenty, and
I have known no former time in which the wages of masons,
carpenters and all mechanists were so high in their demand
for wages : 26s. to 303. per week. At the same time living is
cheap.
Fri., Aug. 7. . . . The Horticultural Show this day
was beautiful and interesting, but my mind was not at
ease in it and my stay was short. Too much care, cost and
thought to gratify the mind that loves the simplicity of
Christ.
Tues., Aug. ii. The wages of the mechanics and of
many descriptions of labourers are now excessive. The
contemplative mind cannot but regret the demoralisation and
intemperance the present state of things induces. Want I
believe will follow this waste, for in my observation it hath
ever been one extreme follows another, and although at
the present time there seems nothing but prosperity in the
future, yet I believe that a blast, and a terrible one, will over
take this season of national prosperity.
Soon after this entry, he records the rumours of
the alarming failure of the potato crop.
Tues., Aug. 25. Went to Marsk and much enjoyed the
company of my beloved Joseph and Emma, and eleven of
their children.
232 EDWARD PEASE. 1846
But he is pained, (but does not say so, as that
would give pain,) at the fancy ornamentation of the
new buildings and costly superfluities.
Fri,. Sept. 4: An account received this day from my
nephew, Wm. Whitwell, at York, that no traces of his poor
brother Isaac could be found . . . fears that he had
drowned himself.*
He counts on the 5th of September the number
of his family he has seen " deposited in the silent
Grave " :
One grandfather.
Two grandmothers.
Six uncles.
Four aunts.
Father and mother.
Two sisters.
One brother.
An unspeakably dear wife.
Two sons.
One daughter.
" Surely the solemn day when my mortal remains must
be added to this company cannot be remote."
On the nth he sends four " Friends " going to
America each 50, but it is returned to him as " they
deemed it more safe to be free from any inquiry
respecting pecuniary things."
It is wonderful how he travels to Ackworth, Ayton,
Tottenham, or anywhere at his age, and he still takes
an interest in the concern of Robert Stephenson & Co.,
and puts his son Joseph into the deed of partner
ship on the 28th October, and another day he con
gratulates himself at not seizing an easy opportunity
of increasing his riches, and he writes, " Such is the
fluctuation in things temporal that now the coal
* He did not do this.
Act. 79 CHRISTIAN BROTHERHOOD. 233
owners are pursuing a gainful track after a long
season greatly the reverse."
Fri., Nov. 6. Heard of the death of Robert Walker, of
York. ... A Friend. He married one of the dear and
early intimates of my precious Rachel, then Alice Birkbeck,*
first married to Benjamin Horner. . . .
Sat., Nov. 7. . . . The state of the poor in Ireland is
affecting. A dire famine has begun its devastation. May my
heart be opened to give ; duty, love and gratitude to Him who
has done so much for me, demands this at my hands. [He
sends 200.]
Sat., Nov. 21. Morning commenced with very animated
converse on the part of Mildred Hustler, respecting coals and
mining, in which every faculty of his busy immature judg
ment seemed turned with fullest confidence of success. When
I remembered the dignity of his grandfather, his quiet
religious mind maturing that great work, the Leeds and
Liverpool Canal, and his pious dedicated grandmother,
Christiana Hustler, and his worthy father, my brother-in-law
John Hustler, I could only lament over this youth.
Sat., Dec. 12. Snow very deep on the Ground this morning.
In the various meetings now taking place for the advance
ment of Christian Brotherhood, total abstinence, peace
meetings, anti-slavery meetings, Bible meetings, all of which
may be said to have the semblance and surface of good in them,
and some deeper than that yet my fear is that among my
dear junior friends, and some older, there is more of a resting
in doing good in this way than in that taking up a daily
cross to all that is of creaturely activity, in place of pious
co-operation with divine Grace.
* Alice Birkbeck, born 1 774, daughter of William Birkbeck and
his wife Sarah, n&e Braithwaite. Her brother, George Birkbeck, M.D.,
married a Lloyd and was one of the originators of Mechanics Institutes.
Her eldest brother was William Birkbeck, of Settle. These three were
first cousins of Henry Birkbeck, born 1787, who married Jane Gurney,
a sister of Emma Pease.
234 EDWARD PEASE. 1846
Wed., Dec. 23. Much within doors writing and reading ;
works of fancy and mere entertainment, so attractive to me
till almost middle life, have ceased to have any charm. . . .
On Christmas Day he goes to Middlesbrough to
try and do something " to influence a female not a
member, to keep silence in our meetings," but he
seems to think he had not succeeded. He misses his
train, and has to spend the whole day there.
He ends the year with a prayer, as he cannot expect
to see another one, that he may be kept for his few
remaining days near to God, and exclaims, " and fulfil
that gracious promise, my soul, through the influence
of the Spirit of thy Son, once did grant to me, that
thy Guardian Angel should be with me when I passed
through the valley of the shadow of death."
CHAPTER XI.
1847.
THIS year the diary contains an extraordinary
record of Edward Pease s activity and vigour
in his eightieth year. He travels, he visits, he enter
tains, he attends meetings and committees, and much
against his will, owing to the business troubles of a
disastrous year, he is dragged into pecuniary worries.
Between the leaves of this journal I found an unused
Mulready envelope, endorsed in his handwriting,
" One of the first envelopes issued by the General
Post Office on the establishment of the Penny Postage,"
and a printed lecture by Joseph Pease on " the Bible."
The entries more than ever are religious in tone, and
for the most part his self-examination is self-condemn-
tory, especially in respect to his wandering, " earthly,
useless and hated thoughts," which he likens to " bars
of iron " barring the " door of access." Often he
finds the " heavens as brass," but almost as often
has " drops of rich consolation," or feels the "descend
ing of heavenly love and influence." He spends some
time over the proofs of Joseph John Gurney s MS.*
sent him by his widow, and sees a good deal of his old
friend, Thomas Richardson ; these two old gentlemen
stay with each other, and seem congenial spirits.
* There is in my possession a large folio volume of these proofs
with inserted illustrations. From this the Memoirs of Joseph John
Gurney were compiled. Three similar copies exist, one at Keswick Hall,
one at Grove Hill, Falmouth, the other at Devonshire House.
235
236 EDWARD PEASE. 1847
On January ist he begins by recording his impres
sion that he will not live to see the end of the year ;
his apprehension is that his dissolution may be accom
plished by paralysis, and he says,
if so, may I not continue long a burden to a family as precious
to me and as affectionate as any parent was ever blessed with
As my death may touch their minds
with sorrow so it carries grief and sadness to my mind
when I think of their weeping for me ; may their tears soon
be dried up by a thankful remembrance of what a long life
of granted health and happiness has been mine any streaks
of woe and distress that have been in it are all now counted
as drops of more marked mercy and purification.
Wed., Jan. 6. : : : Returned home. : : : On
stepping out on to the platform, was met by my dear John,
who, after a little time, told us that the vital spark had
left dear Joseph John Gurney s tabernacle. It was and remains
to be an affecting stroke to me ; he was a man I loved as a
Brother, and among his fellow-citizens and in our Society he
might justly be deemed a prince.
I mention the following to show how often his
premonitions are incorrect : he says he has had a
sense of " giddiness," and has not had his " usual
flow of spirits " on the gth January.
I was willing to accept this light indisposition as a pre-
cursive warning of its being not improbably the forerunner
of some paralysis and in some feeling that my hour must soon
come.
Sat., Jan. 23. Engaged in writing to sundry Friends,
to Thos. Evans, of Philadelphia, encouraged him to print an
edition of his Exposition of the faith and doctrine of Friends.
He proposes to print 1,500, to cost $600, I agree to take 500,
and contribute $200. This very valuable work merits a large
circulation.
Aet. 80 JANE M. BARCLAY. 237
Thurs., Feb. 4. A female who was born and educated
Gipsey, but early taken from them, had become a Wesleyan ;
on First-day she spoke rather long in the meeting, warning
friends to repent, and that days of great distress were coming
on the Land, that famine and bloodshed were approaching, that
the inhabitants of their country must prepare for it
How far this is the excitement of pious enthusiasm I do not
determine, but there was visitation of heavenly love my
conversation with her led me to believe.
Wed., Feb. 10. Wrote home [from Bristol] to dear Emma
on a momentous subject I had thrown before my dear Henry s
consideration ; in doing this, my motive was to advance his
happiness ; the position of the individual seemed to leave
rather a lively impression on my mind of being suitable,
and was entirely irrespective of any height of family alliance
or increase of property. Ah my heart knows right well,
my Lord, I believe knows, that moderate, not great possessions,
held in a reverent sense of only being a dependent steward,
is my desire.
One day this week he takes himself to task for
two or three days " desultory reading " and " looking
into newspapers. *
Many entries occur, referring to the idea of Henry
Pease remarrying. The lady in view was a first cousin
of my father, Jane Mary Barclay, who, however,
died single, aged 81, in 1899. When dying, she
said to my father, " Joseph, thou art almost the last
of my generation, and the only one left with whom
I have anything in common," and asked him to kiss
her. She was a sister of Joseph Gurney Barclay, of
Knott s Green, Leytonstone.
The following is interesting as an instance of Quaker
formality in the serious business of matrimony :
Tues., Feb. 2. : . . Wrote an important letter to
Robert Barclay, stating my Son Henry s regard for his Jane
238 EDWARD PEASE. 1847
Mary and enclosing Henry s leave to come to Ley ton [i.e.,
Edward Pease s consent.]
Sat., 5. He goes to London : . . to see R. Barclay
on my dear Son Henry s account, had an agreeable interview,
and obtained for him all I could wish that he might see
Jane Mary.
He pays various visits, stays at Coggeshall, and
is pleased to see many "solid Friends " at the meeting
there. He stays at Walden, and goes on to Earlham.
Tues., March 23. Arrived at Earlham, had a most sor
rowing meeting [i.e., with Mrs. Jos. Jno. Gurney] amid many
sobs and tears under a sense of her bereaved condition.
Wed. 24. He goes into Norwich and attends the Quarterly
Meeting In the evening, the Select Quarterly
Meeting, the most painful and personal I ever attended,
arising from a great indiscretion of a personal attack the aged
Clerk of the Meeting made ; calling forth some replies that
would have better been omitted We were f avord to part in
some quiet and peace.
Thurs., April 8. Henry goes to Leyton: May the
object of his important pursuit be obtained, or if otherwise,
may all work for good
Mon., April 12. At Newcastle with my son Joseph,
and Cousin T. Richardson. Looked over the very interesting
large Forth Street works, etc we agreed to
1,000 each how unexpectedly has this been made a source
of considerable profit to me. . . .
He expresses a hope that he may be given " a heart
not covetously to keep," but " to freely dispense."
The next day he visits Middlesbrough and Redcar,
and goes on to stay with his son Joseph, at Marsk,
but it is " an alloy to my full enjoyment to see my dear
son expending money, time and care in a place which
Act. 80 J. BE VAN BRAITHWAITE. 239
seems as if it would be but a transient and temporary
residence to fall into early neglect and non-repair.
Oh the purest guidance I think would, if allow d,
except out of this self-gratification." The next day
he " enjoys a morning walk among the beautiful and
interesting ruins of Guisbro Abbey," and then goes
on to Ayton to stay at Cleveland Lodge and visit the
school.
Sun., April 18. At Meeting, J. Bevan Braithwaite, a
humble-minded man, was with us, and heard in an acceptable
ministry ; in the evening a large public meeting was held,
his exercise was to bring man from all dependence on his
fellow man and from all outward rites and ceremonies, as
having no soul saving efficacy in them and from all considera
tions, that Bishops and Priests, as now exercising their offices,
act in accordance with the Gospel of Christ, for He was the
only High Priest of His own Church, and God over all blessed
for ever.
Mon., April 19. B. Braithwaite returned to London,
relieved, I believe, in mind, and in much peace his matter is
good and sound, his appearance, his manner and voice, are
against him, his exhortations from these causes have less of
power, authority and dignity attending them than one could
desire, as greater edification would flow into the minds of his
auditors under different circumstances : yet I cannot doubt
but his sound gospel truths were indelibly fixed on some
minds.
Joseph Bevan Braithwaite was born in 1818,
so would now be about twenty-nine years of age.
He was a barrister and a good classical and Hebrew
scholar. In 1840 he entered Chambers under the
late John Hodgkin, and was called to the Bar in 1843.
He died in 1905. He was a man of great sympathy
and benevolence, beloved by the Society in general,
and wielding a great influence among its members.
240 EDWARD PEASE. 1847
To my grandfather and father he was ever a counsellor
and friend. His peculiar manner in preaching was due,
I always thought, to his struggles with a very trying
impediment in his speech, but when once the hearer
could forget this sufficiently to listen and follow his
sermons, he would have to admit they were of a
high order, and came from an evidently pure and
charitable heart.
Wed., April 21. Heard this morning of the death of
Dr. Trios. Bevan, of London, the husband of my cousin
Hannah Bevan, leaving her with the arduous charge of five
sons and one daughter*. . . . .
Mon., May 3. Long continued very cheerless wet weather.
No wind, and now, at 10 o clock, thermometer at 43, the
mean heat of last month said to be two degrees less than in any
month the last 21 years. The prospect of a very late harvest
begins to be feared, and corn is now dear, I2s. per bushel,
potatoes 6s. 8d. per bushel. The prospect for the poor
engaged in manufacture, cotton especially is very gloomy.
Iron trade good.
Fri., May 7. Left home this morning by Railway to
Newcastle, thence to Berwick by mail coach, the Railway not
complete in this space, and to Edinbro .
He travels to Edinburgh to attend the half-
yearly meeting there. Among the sufferings under
consideration is one of a young man, " imprisoned
for a month for not taking an Oath," and "a petition
to the Queen agreed on."
By the I2th May he is back at home, and notes,
" Saw two swallows, the first this year." After a
* Thomas Bevan, M.D., died aged forty-two ; his widow, Hannah
Mareshall Bevan settled at Darlington in 1852, where two of her sons
resided. She died at Penge, in her seventy-seventh year, in 1874.
Her maiden name was Bennet. I cannot trace the cousinship with
Edward Pease, though various mutual connections exist.
Act. 80 AT YEARLY MEETING. 241
day or two he travels south to the London Yearly
Meeting, and speaks of the " beautiful country,"
and " the sweetness of all Nature," at Tottenham,
where he stays with " Cousins George and M. Stacey."
Thurs., May 20. Deeply tried on consideration of my
beloved Joseph and Henry s affairs being so extended
that it is needful that their brother G., with H. B.
[F. Gibson and Henry Birkbeck, both bankers] should have
to assist them. May this prove a lesson of instruction to
them and us all, lessening our anxiety about earthly things.
During the Yearly Meeting he accompanies his
" dear friend W. Forster, into the Women s Meeting."
W. Forster makes a " powerful appeal to mind the
light, and its safe direction," and sets before Friends
the manner " how precious time was spent in orna
mental needlework that might be so usefully employed
for the poor, and how much larger would be the share
of mental peace . . ." Time makes little difference
to his expression of devotion to his lost Rachel. On
June 4th he begins the entry, " Those impressive words
which were sealed on my spirit when my beloved
Rachel heaved her last sigh, Cherish my memory/
have often of late tenderly been felt."
Sat., June 5. Spent near an hour in reading a newspaper,
a waste of time I am nearly always condemned for
beware. I learn that Edward Oxley is no more. A close to
speculation and ambition. . . . [Then follow lamenta
tions over his family s political and commercial pursuits].
On June 16 he goes to York with John to attend
the marriage of John R. Proctor to Lydia Richardson,*
* Edward Pease was related to both parties. John Richardson
Proctor, one of the Tyne Commissioners, was related to him through
his mother, a Richardson, and Lydia Richardson was one of the same
family, but of Cherry Hill, York.
18
242 EDWARD PEASE. 1847
" which was very agreeably solemnised " in a " solid
instructive meeting."
The next day he attends " the interment of a man
named Peto," and at meeting is " cruelly persecuted
by wandering thoughts." The following day, however,
he records, " He led me to His banqueting house,
and His banner over me was love."
The same day, " Feelings of distress are in my
mind for the state of many poor men and families
who have long served me and my family, the sad low
rate of wages, and the scarcity of work, the cessation
of all trades almost." In July we find him as usual,
" engaged with my hay." Among his visitors in July
is " Lydia Majolier "* : " Her kindness to my son and
me at Congenies is freshly remembered ; she is an
ingenuous, sincere-minded Friend."
On the 2ist July he goes with Joseph " up the
railway as far as Rodeymoor ; very extensive are
the varied mining concerns, coal and iron, which are
opening out in that district."
He is interested in Thos. Richardson s collection
of " remarkable events, gathered from testimonies,
narratives and other sources of upwards of 1,000
individuals," and remarks on his diligence and says
" his general acquaintance with the writings of early
Friends is remarkable."
On the 27th July he declares his heart is full of
tender and mournful sympathy for his sons : " their
load of care from exhausted capital in a business
where the loss has not been less than 60,000."
As an instance out of many, of his devotion to his
servants on the 2Qth July, hearing " my worthy
and very valuable servant, Jas. Burton, was near his
* Lydia Majolier, died 1889, aet. eighty-three. She was a sister
of Christine Alsop, nbe Majolier. The Majoliers belonged to a spiritual
branch of the Camisards, who had independently developed a religion
akin to Quakerism before coming into contact with English Friends.
Act. 80 ELECTION DAY. 243
end, I conclude if a steamer for Whitby touch here
(Seaton) to-morrow, as it has the two past days, to go
there to see him."
In August we find him with his " beloved Joseph
and Emma " at Marsk ; " with them and in them
my affectionate enjoyment is complete," but not en
tirely so in their " mansion," " because in it and about,
the pure simplicity of Jesus, by whom the world is
crucified to us and we to the world, is in degree departed
from."
On the 3rd August :
To-moro is the day of nomination for members of
Parliament. Great is my satisfaction that my dear family is
out of that excitement which oft exists at such times.
On the 4th August (the Election Day) :
This is a day of bustle in the town ; I am thankful I have
no feeling or part in it, unless some disappointment in re
turning an unworthy person, " Farrar," with Lord Henry
Vane.
Fri. t Aug. 6. Lord Henry Vane, who lodged at my house
last night, left this morning, his quiet easy satisfied demeanour
with his general intelligence prevented any irksomeness in
his company ; indeed, on the whole, it was interesting. I
trust that in adviting to a better legislation accordant with
my religious principles, I was on the side of truth against
corruption.
Sat., Aug. 5. Went with my friends Samuel and Ann
Rhoades to see Raby Castle ; its extent, antiquity and highly
ornamented magnificence had a large share of their admiration.
I had a conference with the Duke of Cleveland, respecting
the late election. My desire that he should subscribe to the
Bible Society, and desired him to hasten the conclusion of
the pending negotiation with Friends for an addition to the
burying ground.*
* i.e., at Darlington, where the Duke was a landowner.
244 EDWARD PEASE. 1847
He notices the progress of the harvest, and delights
in the prospect of " the flowing and golden fields,"
and that wheat which " a month ago was sold at I2s. 6d.
per bushel is now about 8s. 6d."
Sun., Aug. 22. This day the remains of my dear cousin
John Backhouse were interred, aged about sixty-four years.
During his long confinement and exclusion from active life
for the past six years no murmur or repining escaped his lips,
his disposition, not naturally gentle, became through the
refining grace remarkably otherwise, as his sweet pious
demeanour and gentleness evidenced. His end was
peace. . .
This week he goes with his daughter Rachel and
her husband, Richard Fry, to Shotley, and had
a most kind reception from Cousin Jonathan Richardson and
his Ann I have seldom been in a more complete
habitation than Jonathan Richardson s, or with a more kind
bountiful-minded man.
He hears on the 27th August of the death of a
Friend he much valued, Abm. Beale,* of Cork :
The citizens of Cork will bewail his loss ... he was
most exertively useful during the famine calamity ...
and being attacked with famine fever, this was the
messenger permitted to close his useful life.
Sat,. Aug. 28. Conversing last evening with my beloved
John and Sophia on those last very solemn offices which may
soon have to be tendered to my dust, I expressed my earnest
wish that I might be inter d as my forefathers have been,
all simple, quiet, plain, no particular chosen spot, no walled
and white-washed Grave, nor anything to mark where one so
unworthy was buried.
* Abraham Beale died August 22nd, aet fifty-four. " He possessed
a refined and cultivated literary taste," and was a man in affluent
circumstances and of very amiable manners.
Act. 80 SIR ROBERT PEEL. 245
In the main his wishes were respected, but I am
glad to say that his burial place is marked by the plain
headstone that is now permitted in Friends grave
yards. My father also had erected a headstone on
the grave of Joseph Pease, the father of Edward,
though the earlier generations of my family lie
in unmarked graves in the present Friends Burial
Ground at Darlington, or in the old graveyard hard by,
now built over.
Wed., Sept. i. Went up to Darlington (from Marsk)
attended to some home cares, found the town excited in expect
ation of seeing Sir Robert Peel and presenting an address
to him, approving of his free trade policy and political
conduct generally. Left home in the evening, and the whole
town in a bustle to meet him on his coming, the shops closing
at 4 o clock. I learn that the assembled and highly gratified
throng in the Town Hall was upwards of 2,000. How recently
the man now cheered and huzzaed was the object of dislike
and hate by those who now extol him.
Thurs., Sept. 2. At Guisbro, not much refreshed,
there was a peaceful satisfaction in there assembling with
worshippers in silence ....
Friday, loth September, finds him at Kendal,
where he
received many calls from my relations towards whom there
was in my mind much of affection, but in most of those who
called I felt there was not that bond of sweet outward peace
which flows where unity of spirit accompanies. ....
The next day he has the same sort of feeling when
visiting the beautiful residence of his " nephew Joseph
Clay," at the east end of Windermere. He enjoys,
however, seeing their " lovely looking flock of five."
On Sunday he " sat the meeting, bewailing
for that scattering which has been among Friends
246 EDWARD PEASE. 1847
here, especially among my relations, who have generally
resigned their membership, so that this meeting,
which fifty years ago had 230 members, has now but
130 . . ." The next day he breakfasts with
" Cousin W. D. Crewdson," and praises his kindness
and natural disposition, but groans over " Love
without unity " ; he dines with his " nephew, W.
Whit well," at Tolson Hall, and is at a " large party
at John Wilson s," but " nearly all the company were
alienated Friends."
Here is a very singular entry :
Fri., Sept. 17. A very busy scene at the horticultural
Show. I did not feel free to attend, as some of the nobility
were expected, and I anticipated the exhibition of some
unwise crouching to aristocracy, entirely at variance with
the simplicity of Christ. All that I anticipated of mutual
insincere flattery, so common among the great, and an uproar
and various cheering was exhibited the presence of my
dear fellow professors does not entirely accord with my views
of the narrow way.
During this month he notices the death of " Emma
Barclay " (Emma Lucy Barclay, a niece of Emma
Pease s). On the 2gth, " My dear grandchild, Sophia,
[afterwards Lady Fry] by a fall from her horse,
broke the main bone in the leg."
Sat., Oct. 2. This is a most awful and trying juncture
to everyone engaged in extensive concerns, mercantile, mining,
banking, etc. The failure of most extensive firms in London,
whose stability was not doubted, have stop d payment to
the amount of many millions, besides the millions lost in the
corn trade, so that houses in London that have much wealth
will not discount bills, not knowing how they may be called
up for lodgments in their hands. I am deeply concerned
to see my Sons Jos. and H. so perplexed hereby.
Act. 80 TRADE DEPRESSION. 247
The next day he reverts at length to this subject,
and to the " exceeding gloom and anxiousness to all
persons " and adds,
Employment on railways has become limited instalments
on shares, which have exceedingly depreciated, have nearly
ceased to be paid the cotton spinners in Lancaster have all
exceedingly reduced their works, and many closed altogether
discount is seven to eight per cent., three per cent. Consols
80, that in labour and materials a great reduction I believe
is near at hand, and during the winter months will be fright
fully felt Iron concerns the most profitable
and prosperous.
The next day :
Money and credit, even by houses of high respectability,
is not obtainable, and a large thriving iron concern is expected
to stop to-moro. My anxiety for my beloved family is very
great, and my apprehensions at times are great, that ere I
go down to the grave I may see great and sore troubles.
This month he entertains the deputation (W.
Brown), and some friends in his efforts to promote
the success of the meeting of the Bible Society : " hav
ing ever been desirous to promote the universal cir
culation of the Holy Scriptures." " Few have a
more high value of the Bible and its circulation ;
without it what is man with it and the blest inter
preter, the holy Spirit, in which it was written, what
does become as a son of God."
One morning he puts down that after " reading,"
he offered " a few remarks to my servants on the
words, The Kingdom of God is within you. . .
" I hope I may not have meddled with things too high
for me." Another day, " Having now for several
weeks employed two or three men in my fields doing
things not in all cases necessary, I feel for them in
248 EDWARD PEASE. 1847
having to discharge them." On the 2gth October,
Joseph has to go to London.
In this most anxious time the failure of the Union Bank
(Chapman & Co.) of Newcastle, will greatly affect that place,
Shields and Sunderland, and the failure of the banks at
Liverpool and Glasgow seems spreading a wide calamity over
the land.
On the 30th he is depressed by the fear of the credit
of his family being injured from these calamities,
and the enormous loss in business, and he feels
" keenly the words of the Apostle that they that
will be rich fall into temptation and a snare. Into
this my dear Joseph has fallen, and while without
anxiety to be rich, I fear I have not kept quite out of
this snare."
On November 3rd :
Some little cheering in London from the Government
helping the Bank of England. . . . Joseph, who is yet in
the City . . . reports that the faces of bankers and all
gather paleness, and none feel their difficulties more than
London Banks. In order to maintain dear Joseph s credit, I
gave the National and Provincial Bank a guarantee for
10,000 with great reluctance. . . .
But a few days after he has to give " an un
limited guarantee," and in a fit of despondency about
Joseph and Henry, he puts down,
I wrote from this place (Newcastle) to dear Joseph in terms
that I now regret, and which deeply disquiet me. That he
has a great load to carry and is carrying it for my family
in all its branches, no distress surely ought to be added by
me. . . .
And day by day the " cloud gets darker," till the
igth, when Joseph came home from London
Aet. 80 FAMINE IN IRELAND. 249
somewhat relieved in mind, but it is a time of shaking
us as in our Nests, and proving to us that safe treasure
is only in heaven.
In December " the Collieries prove to be in a very
prosperous state," and also Joseph brings from New
castle " a promising account of Forth Street and its
pecuniary expectations."
At home he spends some of the last days of the
year in such occupations as revising the proof sheets
of " dear J. J. G/s memoranda."
On the 3ist December (New Year s Eve) :
I had much comfort in seeing my three Sons, two Daughters,
and ten Grandchildren surround my table to dine, etc., this
day. Their society was sweet and peaceful. Gratitude as
large as my heart is capable of fills it for the favour of this
affectionate assemblage, and for the refreshment placed on
my table I entertained the inmates of
the Workhouse with tea thereafter.
The following are a few extracts from his record
of the past year on this day :
It opened with great anxiety and tender commiseration
for the poor in Ireland when pestilence and famine was in
volving the population in unheard of misery and distress,
it being estimated that this awful dispensation had carried
off two millions of the inhabitants. As Spring advanced,
supplies of foreign grain came in beyond all estimated extent.
As Summer advanced prospects of great plenty caused a
reduction (in prices for grain) .... from 12s. 6d.
to 6s. 6d. (per bushel). Potatoes from 6s. to 33. After as
fine a Summer as was ever known, an Autumn very unusually
bountiful in the quantity and quality of the finest grain ever
known in this County through the kindness and mercy of
divine providence succeeded ; so that for a.while, peace and
plenty, with abundance of employment for the labouring
250 EDWARD PEASE. 1847
classes, was generally experienced : But whilst these pros
pects were yet realising, a want of money and a pressure of
difficulties beyond all precedent succeeded. Penury and
want of monied resources was most severely and wastingly
experienced. The Bank of England, with its treasure reduced
from sixteen millions to five or six millions, was not able to
meet the national and commercial embarrassment, and charg
ing discount, for some time eight per cent, (at this time,
3ist December, it is five per cent.)
The nation has been preserved in internal and external
peace, notwithstanding most heavy and extensive failures.
After a review of his family s health and his own
physical and spiritual state, fie goes on, "In no
preceding year have I passed through such a depth
of conflict and trial as during the past owing to the
extended trading and mining concerns " of his sons
during the scarcity of money, " such as to lead me to
fear from day to day that they might have to stop
payment." He describes how exquisitely he felt
though he believed in the soundness and solvency of
the family properties.
At this present the prospects of the family are
bright and prosperous as regards colliery matters, the monthly
income being very large and my own appears as if it might
exceed any former year, yet with this I desire to be very
humble and thankful not having my heart fixed on earthly
possessions, always liable to change, but fixed on my treasure
in Heaven ... a treasure that will never fade away.
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CHAPTER XII.
1848.
THE chief interest in these diaries has been the
picture of the writer s mind and the working
of his soul as far as words can draw it. The ups and
downs of his spiritual life surprise and perplex me.
One day apparently full of despair and condemnation,
another full of hope and confidence. Once in January
he lies " awake in the night with a sense of the un
searchable, illimitable, indescribable riches of Christ
extended to me beyond all description, His sovereign
mercy, His keeping, and His safe direction in Time.
His encouraging promises, the gift of faith in His name,
and heavenly inheritance in store. . . . Oh,
adorable unfathomable goodness/ And Sunday after
Sunday he is greatly tried with heaviness, or in no way
profited. Then in theory he cares little about outward
concerns, but in these anxious times he is often in
anguish and anxiety about pecuniary and material
things. The year is a very trying one, with revolu
tions abroad, Chartists at home, failures in business,
and what he dislikes extremely an inability, through
the tight place his sons have got into, to devote the
greater part of his income to good works. He is as
vigorous and healthy as ever.
Sat., Jan. 15. Left home this morning with my dear
Grandson, Jos. W. Pease, and was favoured to reach Bristol.
. . . . I felt a father s love met by all the affection of
251
252 EDWARD PEASE. 1848
a most affectionate daughter, R. F. Nothing of moment
occured on the journey, but I feel it would have been better
if I kept more inward and retired in spirit.
Tues., Jan. 18. My dear Grandson, J. W. P., (now 19)
left me for Leyton and Walden, thence home. My prayer is
that his affectionate mind and kind disposition may be sancti
fied by Divine Grace, so that his example to a lovely group
of brothers and sisters ....
On the 20th he attends a young men s meeting at
Edward Thomas s with S. Capper, Jos. Eaton, W.
Tanner, Thos. Chalk, etc. Haswell Home on the
"Truth and Excellency of Christianity" is read to
them, of which he remarks :
It did not carry the subject up to the Gospel standard,
but like all the doings of the Church of England, leaves the
Christian dispensation shorn of its glorious attributes of peace
on earth, the freedom of Christ unbought and not to be paid
for, freely given blessings.
Thurs., Feb. 3. Received the truly affecting account of
the death of Anna [nee Gurney] the wife of my Cousin Jno.
C. Backhouse, on board a ship at Palermo. Very sudden
and unexpected was her decease, not saying much more than
This is a strange place to die, but I am comfortable and
going to Jesus and my dear Papa." Fairer human prospects
could hardly open on any one for a happy settlement in life
than hers was.*
Thurs., Feb. 10. Agreed very reluctantly to sit for my
portrait,! at the instance of my dear Son Henry. My heart
does not fully approve the application of money for such a
purpose, all unworthy as I am to be kept in remembrance.
* Anna Backhouse, nee Gurney, died suddenly on the British gunboat
The Bulldog during the Sicillian Revolution. Her husband, John
Church Backhouse, was a nephew of General Sir Richard Church,
" the Liberator of Greece." I have given an outline of this remarkable
soldier s career in a note in Rachel Gurney of the Grove.
f This is the portrait reproduced as the frontispiece to this volume.
Act. 81 REVOLUTIONARY MOVEMENTS. 253
From Bristol he travels to Walden. One day he goes
to a "considerable party at cousin G. S. Gibson s," and
makes the pedantic entry " some innocent and amusing
oriental exercise of talent was called into action."
Sat., Feb. 26. Accounts received from Paris of the King
of France having abdicated and come to this country, that
insurrection had risen so high as to make complete revolution.
A republican form of government was the popular cry. That
there had been considerable bloodshed and the most affecting
results from the strength of the contending parties.
He goes on to Tottenham early in March. On the
way there he remarks, " how often in the few past days
have I been in danger of my naturally cheerful spirits
and been apt to be carried beyond the bounds of a
pious Christian cheerfulness," and while there he is
vexed at taking such an interest in " the very re
markable revolutionary events on the Continent,
which occupy more of my converse and observation
than I am entirely satisfied with," when I ought
" rather to keep in mind my pilgrimage nearly ended."
Wed., Mar. 8. Some riots in London and Glasgow, with
the publication of inflammatory seditious papers in Ireland,
are indications of unsettlement from the revolution in France.
Vain is that great strengthening of fleets and armies if it is
the will of the Omnipotence that this Country should be dealt
with as the Most High has dealt with France, and my appre
hension is, if revolution take place here, the fall of power
would be as rapid here as there.
He goes on to the Quarterly Meeting at Coggeshall
(Essex) and
Felt it consistent with my peace to caution Friends to be
the quiet unmoved spectators of that shaking there was
in most of the Continental Governments, and not to be so
excited by the revolution in France as to take part in any
254 EDWARD PEASE. 1848
demonstrations or public meetings, but as followers of the
Prince of Peace, in his peace to live.
He reaches home on the i8th, after visiting Bir
mingham and bringing with him, to stay, the youngest*
of " Cousin Mary Lloyd s three daughters." He is very
pleased to get home.
Yet there rushes into my mind the remembrance of that
precious countenance, that mutually heartfelt glow that once
so welcomed me union of happiness complete
the deep, the lasting impression of what the beloved had
not power to articulate, cheers me on my way, Cherish my
memory.
Wed., Mar. 22. Increasing accounts of the revolutionary
proceedings of the population in various kingdoms of Europe.
What they may foreshadow for our own is unknown, but my
hope and earnest desire is that a largely increased measure
of religious liberty may be the effect of all the overturnings
and the human mind set morally and civilly free and Kings
and Governors taught a lesson that seeking to increase the
happiness of the people they add stability and peace to their
Sway.
He sometimes fears that a " dark cloud charged
with confusion " will ere long " burst over this long
highly favoured land." He declares every M.P. must
know in his bosom that the sense of justice and equality
is violated, and that this and " unnecessary taxation
for the purposes of army and navy " be " recompensed "
by the overthrow of these. With this " that so-called
Church which is none of his [i.e. the Lord s] will be
rooted up." He adds " the day will come and sudden it
will be."
* Mary Lloyd, Jun., who married Henry Pease (Edward Pease s
son, then M.P. for South Durham) in 1859, and now, 1907, his widow,
living at Pierremont, Darlington.
Act. 81 DAVID SANDS. 255
Then he regrets he gave so much time and thought
to these things, which are " unsettling every Govern
ment in Europe except this highly favoured one,"
but here it seems " to hang as on a hair."
There are dissatisfactions among the lower class and all
we hear of Ireland is calculated to spread dismay and the fear
that much blood will be shed.
Tues., April, 4 . : , I heard the newspaper report
of my poor sadly erring nephew, Henry Whitwell, having been
shot accidently at Madrid, tis affecting to the close of life
after successive years of violation of every duty.
Elsewhere this year he speaks of Henry Whitwell
as " the youngest and most favourite son," " a most
graceful person with a fine attractive countenance . . .
his mental talents calculated to please might be said
to be the counterpart to his personal endowments "
and of his wife as " a very lovely partner."*
Fri., April 7. Cold, with a covering of snow. At one
time and another for the last four years, my attention has
turned on publishing the Life of D. Sands I received from
his daughter, Cath. Ring. The work is now complete through
the attention of Edward Harris, of Newington, copying the
whole MS., and George Richardson, of Newcastle, attending
to the printing of 2,500 copies, all sold and very favorably
received by Friends.
David Sands was an American and a great friend of
Edward Pease s parents (Joseph and Mary Pease), to
whom, in old eighteenth century letters I have of his,
he refers as the persons and friends particularly near
his heart, and with whom he loves to stay more than
with any others.
* Mrs. Henry Whitwell married the late Sir David Dale, Bart.,
then Mr. D. Dale, as his first wife.
256 EDWARD PEASE. 1848
Sat., April 8. The kingdom is at present in great alarm
from the anticipated meeting of 500,000 Chartists on Kenning-
ton Common, innumerable troops and companies of Marines
are drawn up to London with a very large number of
cannon, each furnished with 150 charges of ammunition. In
London, Manchester, etc., etc., tens of thousands of special
constables are armed with a short staff. All continental
kingdoms have effected some amelioration of the laws through
a spirit of turbulent rebellion a spirit that has much sway in
this land.
He finds the weather unusually cold on the loth
April. " The ice one-third of an inch thick," but
" sowing is going on." The entries this spring are full
of his distress and terror of his sons coming to grief in
the general bad state of trade, want of credit, and their
heavy losses in collieries and business.
Wed., April 19. A general satisfied and grateful feeling
may be said to exist in the minds of the people, who rejoice
that the immense multitude of Chartists recently assembled
near London, were so peaceably dispersed by the prudent
care of Government. Hitherto our favor d little Isle is
preserved in quiet, while all European nations are in great
unset tlement, with the apparent prospect of internal warfare
and bloodshed before order and government are established.
On one day his " resolutions are weak, not well
kept to some reading of interesting books," on another
he finds " the gooseberries just set (24th April) and
promise a full crop," and " plum blossom very abun
dant."
Things outwardly in trade, etc., not prosperous; how
good this for that mind which knows that to be fixed on
mutable things is greatly unwise.
Wed., April 26. Something of a longing to be done with
time fraught as it is with so much that makes life lovely,
Aet. 81 QUAKER MYSTICISM. 257
and which I may so often enjoy, but having one of the best
and sweetest companions with which man was ever blessed,
now with the God and Saviour whom she loved and served,
to enter into similar bliss
Thurs., April 27. It was very pleasant to me to receive
a call from Jas. Vickers, who brought 35 ios., the amount
a few Friends advanced to his father near thirty years ago.
Fri., April 28. Vicissitudes are more
or less marked in every mundane pursuit and possession. Led
into this train of thinking and solid meditation from seeing
my beloved Sons rather tried by an award made between the
S. & D. Railway and the owners of the Black Boy (colliery),
who obtain everything they contended for, contrary to all
equity as is believed : trying but very valuable such disappoint
ments are to that mind, etc. ... No swallows yet.
Quakers have often been described as mystics,
and there is some reason for it. Occasionally I find
entries in Edward Pease s diaries that support this
view, and he was described, perhaps not accurately,
after his death as " the most consistent Friend in the
Society." Here is one on May ist, " There was un
expectedly given me such a sense of that bliss into
which the spirits of those most near and dear had
entered, and with them the spirits of many more
beloved friends who in mental vision passed before me
with something of a glow of faith that with this rejoicing
number my spirit was to mingle/ and yet four days
after
While all looks cheering and bright in the outward creation,
all is chill, dreary, and icy within, no gleam of heavenly love
warms my poor soul.
Fri., May. 5. Associations are now forming in this and
other places with what appears to be laudable objects to
equalise taxation, to lessen all wasting expenditure, to prevent
258 EDWARD PEASE. 1848
the increase of the Army Laudable as may be
the intentions and efforts of these Associations, yet I have fears
of my dear friends taking any active share in these matters,
any degree of union with those who are not alive to, etc.
He delights in the uncommonly warm spring and
seeing " this beautiful earth clothed with the softest
verdure and blossom of the richest hue more abun
dant on the plum, the pear, and the cherry than I
remember to have seen it." On the loth May he
writes :
With what kindness and how gently my heavenly Father
has led me down this long slope of life. No poor health
the last thirteen years, yet the gradual monitions are
mercifully given a feeling of diminished powers of exertion
is in almost every movement. Walking, once my enjoyment,
very soon becomes a toil. The breathing is quickened to
some degree of inconvenience. . . My gait has ceased to be
active, the short steps and slow that belong to old age are now
mine.
Sat., May. 13. Very warm day. The country and gardens
clothed with uncommon beauty. Lilacs, etc., in full flower,
and all trees except the ash and acacia in beautiful Green.
Tues., May. 16. In reading the life of worthy T. F. Buxton
I am struck with his pious persevering character and the
magnitude of his mental endowments applied to lessen the
weight of woe in the inhuman slave trade. I see in this
instance how he who giveth to every one as He will, has given
talents and capacity far beyond my low but most thankfully
and unenvyingly possessed ones, and that however clearer
my Gospel views as more in accord with the letter and spirit
of the Gospel than his, yet He who said He had sheep not
of that fold, was the true Shepherd of this good and useful
man.
He tries to settle many affairs before starting for
London, among others the sale " of my west side of
Northgate tenements " to " my nephew J. B. Pease."
Act. 81 ROBERT FORSTER. 259
He also, owing to the depreciation of his property,
attempts to remodel his will so as to secure that " each
of my beloved daughters should possess a clear 1,000
per annum, and this I yet hope my property will bear
out, and leave my sons rather more advantageously
situated." The 2ist being Sunday, finds him at
meeting " at Hogstye End, otherwise Woburn Sands/
where they had not heard a minister (John was with
him) for upwards of eighteen months/ The same day
he goes on to Leighton Buzzard.
On the 3ist May he enters his 82nd year.
He is particularly happy visiting his " Cousins
R. and R. Forster/ * whose quiet dwelling and all their
proceedings, their piety, simplicity and hospitality
adorn their profession and honour their Creator,"
all of which is much to his mind, after wasting a day
" in the West End of London, the Park and the tawdry
House of Lords." After the Yearly Meeting he goes
to Earlham for a few days and gets home the I3th
June still very much distressed by his sons financial
difficulties. On Tuesday, 20th June, " Edmund Back
house and Wm. Fothergill presented their intentions
of marriage."
Tues., July 4. Left home for Ackworth General Meeting,
Son Joseph, daughter Emma, and their four daughters. I
was kindly received by Cousin t Thos. Pumphrey and lodged in
the Institution. . . . Over abounding attention and ex
pressions of regard of which I am utterly unworthy greet my
ear, driving me to a humbling sense of my own imperfections ;
may be useful and befriend right contemplation.
* Robert Forster, born 1772, died 1873 ; he married Rachel,
daughter of John and Sarah Wilson, of Kendal ; she died a few months
after her husband. Four of the Tottenham Forsters died in 1873
Mary, aet. eighty-seven, Rachel aet. ninety, Robert aet. eighty-one,
Anne aet. seventy-six. Josiah, a brother of Robert s, died in 1870, aet.
eighty-eight : all of these old Friends I remember.
f "Cousin" because "related" to Edward Pease s mother by his
marriage with Emma Richardson.
26o EDWARD PEASE. 1848
The following days are spent at Ackworth, and on
the yth April he writes " Went up to the Flounders
Institute, much pleased with the building and accom
modation, tis expected to receive pupils next month.
I ever shall retain an especial interest about this estab
lishment, which had its unexpected foundation from
an apparently unexpected result, viz., my call of con
dolence to B. Flounders on the death of his daughter."
Mon. t July 17. Busy with my hay, completed and well
got, and intervals spent over newspapers, to which
there is a peculiar temptation to read from the unsettled
state of Continental Europe.
Tues., July 18. Yesterday, accompanied by Cousin W.
Backhouse, with Joseph Sams, who acknowledged that while
in Egypt he had bought and kept a female slave: In vain
did we endeavour to set before him the atrocity of such
conduct, which he strenuously defended
Tues., July 25. Had an excursion to Staithes and
Kettleness and were sixteen in company. The day was
fine and the innocent enjoyment of the juveniles I hope
allowable, but desiring as I do to bear about a remembrance
of the dying of Jesus for me .... I fear the solidity
of my conduct did not evince it as it ever should do. Oh,
may my watchfulness encrease :
Wed., Aug. 2. Considerable preparations for a Flower Show
in which some of my dear descendants take much interest
and pleasure, not so my heart. The simplicity of Quakerism,
that which the spirit of the blessed Jesus would lead his cross-
bearing followers into is not in it ; either in the display or as
to the whole matter except in useful cottage cultivation,
all the rest tending to the increase of luxury and tending to
gratify the lust of the eye. To many of my beloved family
and friends a day will come in which I apprehend they will
see these occupations have not smoothd the way to heaven .
My charity is to all.
r.KORC.K STEPHENSON.
Aet. 81 FUNERAL OF GEORGE STEPHENSON. 261
Wed., Aug. 16. Left home in company with John Dixon
to attend the interment of George Stephenson at Chesterfield,
and arrived there in the evening. When I reflect on my
first acquaintance with him and the resulting consequences
my mind seems almost lost in doubt as to the beneficial results
that humanity has been benefited in the diminished use
of horses and by the lessened cruelty to them, that much ease,
safety, speed, and lessened expense in travelling is obtained,
but as to the results and effects of all that Railways have led
my dear family into, being in any sense beneficial is uncertain.
Thurs., Aug. 17. Went in the forenoon to Tapton House,
late G. Stephenson s residence, and received from Robert a
welcome reception ; had a serious friendly conference with
him, under a feeling expressed to him of my belief that it was
a kindness to him his father was taken, his habits were
approaching to inebriety ; his end was one that one seemed
painfully to feel no ground, almost, for hope. I fear he died
an unbeliever the attendance of his funeral appeared to me
to be a right step due to my association with him and his son.
I do not feel condemned in doing so, yet gloomy and uncon-
solatory was the day. In the church I sat a spectacle with my
hat on, and not comforted by the funeral service.
By reading between the lines in the published
life of Stephenson, one may find a little corroboration,
chiefly of a negative character, as regards this mention
of his irreligion and approach to intemperance towards
the end of his day. To us, such references may
seem to get near the judging of others, and better
left alone, yet the record is an illustration of the
attitude of a correct Friend with the warmest of
hearts. George Stephenson bore some of the fruits
of the Spirit at least, in his simplicity, honesty,
patience, industry, generosity and love of his fellow-
men, and who shall say that he did not work that
righteousness that is accepted of God.
Sat., Aug. 26. Looking round my pecuniary possessions
I see everything except the Forth Street concern sinking
262 EDWARD PEASE. 1848
and wearing an air of deep gloom, shrouding the mind with a
multitude of fears, so that contemplating a reduction of
property only creates anxiety that there may be enough to
fulfil all claims on me and my family, honourably as to the
truth. . .
Tues., Aug. 29 . . . Silvanus Fox came in the after
noon. ... In the exercise of his gift there is a frequent
brightness, and it appears to have aright evidence, yet its
power did not perhaps from the redundancy of words deepen
or much edify my spirit.
Thurs., Sept. 7. At Winyard, went with dear Joseph and
his three daughters. Our object was to induce the Marquis to
enter into some regulations to avert the ruinous consequences
of the coal trade. I felt it was late in my life to intermeddle
in such matters, the general state of the Suffering mining
interest and the interest of my family demanded the effort.
Our reception was good, but the effort not crownd with success
I fear.
Here is a curiously expressed criticism of a woman
Friend s preaching :
S. H. stood very long a more condensed delivery of the
exercise of her mind would conduce to the weight of that in
fluence which it is desirable her gift should yield.
Mow., Oct. 9. Attended my Cousin Edmund s bride s
visit agreeably, about thirty present. There is in this union
much to love and admire. My heart longs for their submission
to the humbling power of truth. While I fear there is not in
my living and in that in which I indulge, that true simplicity
which comports with the pure example of Jesus, I see and
lament that my dear young friends, as on this occasion,
depart wider and wider from simplicity ; the variety of
indulgent viands and the display after tea was beyond what
truth would permit me to suffer on such an occasion.
Fri., Oct. 27. Cousins Thos. Richardson and Thos. Pease,
of Leeds, with me. His (i.e. T. Pease s) piety and humility
Act. 81 A BUSY RECORD. 263
exemplary ; his perceptions of Gospel truth are not such as
to set him free from some faith in some elementary observance,
and his association with what are termed evangelical characters
is not unlikely to carry him into their land of bondage and
obscuration of the inshining of the Son of Righteousness. Oh,
my soul, endeavor to abide in the light without judging.
Early in November we find him staying at Malton,
and very much touched by the welcome given him
by his hostesses, Ann and Esther Priestman, but alas,
he has to take himself to task here for the " affecting
heaviness " which " assailed " him in meeting. On
the 3rd, as ever, he remembers the anniversary of
the most happy and the most blessed of unions, " now
fifty-four years ago " : " to her I owe, with the blessing
attendant on her sweet life ... all the happi
ness I possess." " Her constant anxiety was alike
directed to lessen my business pursuits, and to turn
my attention to the first great duty of life, to serve
my Creator/ On the 8th he notes that " J. W. P. 1
has gone to London, and adds as regards his " precious
grandson " that his " stability is a great comfort "
to him. He notes the prevalence of cholera. On the
I3th he is engaged in " winding up a long and very
troublesome Trust of twenty to thirty years standing,"
and says that out of twenty executorships only three
remain, viz., H. Richardson s, H. Masterman s and
J. Stephenson s, and he thanks God he has been enabled
to honourably and faithfully discharge his duties.
On the ist of December he visits four poor widows
in the Almshouses (founded by his mother, Mary
Pease), and finds them comfortable, and adds :
A little help handed : may I be more alive to the wants of
the poor, perhaps not constantly enough the objects of settled
or casual relief.
264 EDWARD PEASE. 1849
He spends an evening to meet Elizabeth P. Gurney,
and remarks that the company was a striking " tablet
of sorrow and change " :
All widowers and widows, viz., John C. Backhouse, myself,
H. C. Backhouse, Katherine Backhouse, E. Barclay (Mrs. R.
Barclay), Eliza P. Gurney and her sister Juliet Clark.
Mon., Dec. 25. Christmas Day not in any way kept by
me quietly within doors writing letters quiet mind, I might
say almost unhappily so, not having anxiety enough about
my Lord. . .
Wed., Dec. 27. . . . The accounts of worthy Henry
Birkbeck are of a most discouraging character. Great is the
doubt of his now being alive ; a blow on the skull by the
fall of his horse appears to make an irreparable injury, though
surgical skill has recently been exercised.
Thurs., Dec. 28. . . . Pecuniarily I have cause to
admire how an effort to serve a worthy youth, Robert, the
son of George Stephenson, by a loan of 500, at first without
expectation of much remuneration, has turned to my great
advantage. During the course of the year I have received
7,000 from the concern at Forth Street.
On the 29th December he notes that Joseph
and his daughter Jane have gone to " the interment
of his (Joseph s) brother H. Birkbeck s remains.
May the mourners receive consolation and instruction
from the death of this upright character ; there is to all a teach
ing lesson in such solemn events, but yet more strikingly so to
the rich. . . The man of extended and prosperous concerns
may be taken away in the midst of them. What avails
prosperity if it has not been held in godly fear.
At the end of this year s journal is a long account
of the Whitwell family, which I may use if I deal
with his wife s family in another volume.
CHAPTER XIII.
1849.
THIS year, Edward Pease is, if anything, more
active than ever, especially in his attention to
what he conceives his duty to his " little Church."
He visits all the meetings in Essex, goes to Bristol
and London and Manchester, and calls on some
hundreds of Friends families. His journal becomes
more and more a religious record, and the writing,
still clear and fine, at last betrays at times
the signs of age. He has rheumatism in his knees,
so that his walking is curtailed; otherwise he is hale
and hearty, and a wonder to himself and friends.
He begins the diary with a desire that this eighty-
second year of his life may be more spent in being
useful to his fellow-men, more faithfully filling up
my duty to my God, and then it will be to all." On
the nth January he goes to Bristol. There is not
much that is worth transcribing of the entries made
whilst with his daughter and son-in-law ; the follow
ing, however, is rather a good example of Quaker
caution in description.
Varied are the characters we meet with, and in some cases
where mental limited powers are met with, it is striking how the
few talents may work in the right direction. A Friend here of
the description I have hinted at has distributed to nearly all
the clergy in England a copy of Dymond s Essay on Peace,
and last year 3,500 copies of the Yearly Meeting Epistle of
265
266 EDWARD PEASE. 1849
1848. He has now in the press 1,000 of dear John s " Questions
for the Times," published in 1842, and 400 copies, etc., etc.
He calls on many Friends, thinking it " desirable
friendship should be kept alive by countenance shar
pening countenance." He frets over the distress
in Ireland. Here is a sample of his calls :
Tues., Feb. 6 Made some calls in which I en
deavoured to be as a tender pastor to a tried female elder
and her son and daughter, two tender spirited young people,
endeavouring to press on them in their trials from a wayward
parent to possess their minds in quietness and in confidence
that as they abode near the spirit of Christ he would be to
them a Good Shepherd.
On the I5th February, at the close of his visit to
Bristol, he says he has made " calls exceeding thirty
in this city."
He proceeds to Tottenham to attend the funeral
of his Cousin R. Stacey on the i6th, of whom he says,
" She was of most affectionate, pious dispositions ;
her agonizing sufferings " for years were " endured
with resigned patience and peace, and her hope was
full of immortality."
Wed., Feb. 21. . . . It is with some fear that I
venture to record a remarkable visitation of heavenly love
during the night season, in which my heart in a language I am
unable fully to describe did magnify and praise Him Who sitteth
on the throne . . . and I felt as it were the joy of leaving
this earth to enter into that bliss, that induced me to long to
depart. Oh that the God of my life at the last hour may
renew this blessed sense of his Love.
His son John s having felt " his long imprisoned
spirit free to visit the meetings in Essex," he decides
to go with him. An arduous undertaking is this.
They start with Chelmsford, " a large meeting of 200
Aet. 82 TRAVELS IN ESSEX. 267
Friends," on the 25th February, where it was " a
trying and laborious day," and " as regards hunting
and shooting, it appeared that many cases of both
existed." Then to Maldon, Witham, and again to
Chelmsford and Maldon, to the latter for a public
meeting, which was large, and where John
was enabled to preach the Gospel in much authority, and briefly
but clearly to trace to their spiritual origin the various
testimonies of Friends. A clergyman of the Establishment said
he was not only satisfied but edified. ...
Then to Layer Britten, a small meeting, " seven
or eight men, as many females," The 3rd of March
they are at " R. andD. Alexander s," at Ipswich; "his
wife Ann, a very intelligent, interesting woman,
much of an invalid, not having been at meeting for
about twenty years."
Came to attend the interment of an aged and valued disciple,
a friend dear to me, Dykes Alexander. Saw the remains
with some solemn thoughts about my latter end.
Then to Kelvedon and Coggeshall, Earls Come.
" Spent an evening of deep interest with Wm. Mathews."
At Colchester he is depressed, and begins to fear lest
" our Society " should " wear out, as I fear it will
with the next generation." Then to Halstead, where
John seems to have pointed out the middle road or a
" clear pathway between the works of benevolence,
and that regulated quietude in which the Spirit of
truth is the teacher and leader." Then to Stebbing
and Felstead meeting, Walden, Coggeshall (Quarterly
Meeting), Dunmow (small, six men and six women),
Bardfield. Here he was " entertained by my long
known and valued friend, Joseph Smith, in his eighty-
sixth year, a pious good man, valuable in his neigh
bourhood, abounding in dispositions to do good,"
268 EDWARD PEASE. 1849
but in delivering his sentiments, "abounds" also
"in a confusion of words and ideas."
On the igth March the labour in Essex is concluded.
While away from home, he hears that his cousin, H. C.
Backhouse, had a concern to go to Van Dieman s
Land and South Australia, with which, however,
the Monthly Meeting very properly " in the wisdom
of truth " " could not unite," and she gives evidence
of " the good fruit of the Spirit " in " sweetness of
feeling" and "acquiesence."
We next find him in London :
Wed., March 28. After many thoughts and feelings how
far it was right for me to spend two or three hours at the
British Museum, I concluded to go. The wonderful display
. . . awakened a reverential feeling of the greatness and
goodness of God
He is particularly pleased with the antiquities of
Egypt and the "proofs of what befell the Israelites."
At last, on the soth, he gets home again.
Fri., April 6. Called Good Friday. Shops more closed
than usual by Friends and others, the law having fixed this
day and Christmas Day shall be considered holy days, without
any reference to their popish foundation as saint days. When
will the day come when exterior observances, ordinances
and administrations shall cease and give way to the sublime
reality that what belongs to God and what He requires of
man is the homage of a humble contrite heart, and that His
invisible availing worship is in spirit and in truth.
Mow., April 9. Easter Monday, so called. A very
large cattle fair. . . .
Mow., April 16. Went to see the levelling and completion
of the new burying ground and fix about planting trees.
Contemplated the resting place of my entirely beloved
Act. 82 BARCLAY S "APOLOGY." 269
with some satisfaction as I saw that the removal of the wall
would admit of my last resting place being close by her
side
He visits Sunderland, Shields and Newcastle Friends
and meetings. About this time he is very much
worried and pained by a publication by Dr. Ash,
" Reasons for objecting to the republication and
circulation of Barclay s Apology," which promotes
scrutinising and speculation much more than devotion.
Later :
I co ntinue troubled with Dr. Ash s remarks respecting
" Barclay s Apology." Some of them are founded on truth and
right views, but a tendency to lessen the comforting strength of
the expressions of our Lord is apparent and as I believe it
is safer to believe , what if I say, in their overfulness, than not
admit His words in the utmost fulness, so I lament the
weakening tendency of the book.
He goes to the Yearly Meeting. Isaac Sharp
has a concern to address the Queen. Hopes of access to the
royal ear were entertained by application to Prince Albert.
May the way open for gospel truth in the pure love of it being
proclaimed to our valuable Queen.
W. Forster has a desire
to have an opportunity with the comedians at the different
theatres, and this evening he was about to enter on this trying
service to him and the dear friend accompanying him, Peter
Bedford.
He goes home via Bristol, and reaches Darlington,
Saturday, i6th June, and this day notes,
Strife, commotion and bloodshed have their highway very
remarkably in those countries where the Roman Catholic
Religion has its sway ; it seems as if ancient Rome would be
270 EDWARD PEASE. 1849
bombarded into ruins by the French. Italy, Austria, Spain
and Ireland are in suffering or war.
Fri., June 22. Very anxious and thoughtful about to
morrow as a day to be kept as my Grandson, J. Whitwell
Pease s birthday, everything that has in it a celebration
inconsistent with Christian gravity and simplicity stands in
my mind as condemned, and as unbecoming our profession of
the truth, and is a trespass against it. May all my endeavours
be to have the day spent becomingly. . .
Sat., June 23. Early aroused by the loud firing of Guns
and the din of music intended as the celebration of my Grand
son s birthday. Grieved and almost sick at heart with many
doings at utter variance with the advice to be " examples of
moderation in all things." Should it be in the permission of
divine wisdom that some disappointment or some circumstance
of family trial or distress should soon follow all this bustle and
celebration, how little of comfort could the spirit fall back
upon. . . Evening the day passed with more comfort
and quiet than I dared to hope. Innocently amusing to the
young.
Mon., June 25. I leave home with some anxious desire
that the assemblage of near 2,000 men at Adelaide s coal
pit in order to have a cold meal and dinner in consequence of
my grandson coming of age, may be conducted in much good
order and peace. . .
Tues., June 26. I was glad to learn that the dinner given
at Adelaide colliery to about 1,700 colliers was peaceably
conducted. . .
Wed., June 27. . . . To-day I have some cause
to lament. ... I feel something of an inward scatter
ing from reading some voyages and travels, in themselves not
wrong, but not so befitting as the accounts of those voyagers
and travellers who recite their way to the everlasting
inheritance.
Act. 82 BIRTHDAY CELEBRATIONS. 271
Thurs., June 28. Dear J. W. P s birthday celebrations
thus end ; about 150 of the family servants have been regaled
much to their enjoyment with tea at Southend, and about
300 of the girls and young women from the mills at the Central
Hall with tea. The whole is more of mourning than joy to
my spirit. I can rejoice in the happiness and enjoyment and
comfort of my townspeople, but the celebration so large and
so public of anything pertaining to my family pains me,
being beyond the simplicity of Gospel limits according to my
feelings.
Thurs., July 5. Permitted some sweet feeling of approach
to the mercy seat and there asked for an increase of dedication
and spiritual strength, that stripped of all my wayward
straying and wicked disposition of pride, confidence, self-
esteem, self importance, I might be entirely as a little child in
all things. . . .
Fri., July 6. ... At home in this favored land we
have tranquility and advances in political care for health,
schools, etc., are advancing; the Church of England, so called,
is increasing the firmness of its insatiable greedy grasp in order
some day, for the day must come, when it shall have a
complete headlong fatal fall. May the sure foundation suc
ceed its fall, Christ Jesus the Lord.
He desires that the pain of his rheumatism " may
continue as something of a warning, like the creaking
of the timbers in an old far worn ship." He notes
the many improvements in his " dear native place "
" with pleasure/ " the laying of water pipes between
Bondgate and Cockerton to bring water from the
Tees," etc. Also that they are " destroying the
appearance " of the town bridge by reducing the height
of the central arch, but it is, he adds, a " real accom
modation."
On the i8th July he walks
into our recently purchased new burying ground,
and marked the spot by her side where I planted three box
272 EDWARD PEASE. 1849
trees, as the spot where I wish this poor frame to rest, and then
may my spirit be with hers.
Among Joseph s many cares he adds there is the
" application for their daughter R. (aged eighteen)
in marriage." His reading includes the " life and
letters of Wm. Ellis, a valiant in his day," and he
finds it more satisfying than " the reading of desultory
books and newspapers."
On the 25th July :
Called on my sinking cousin, Thomas Pease ; felt how needful
it was to endeavor while in health so to live that with a pre
pared and resigned mind the spirit . . might not have that
to do when bedimmed by disease or pain, which in health
ought to have been perfected.
He records his death on the i8th September.
He is interested in his grandson, Jos. W. Pease s,
and Henry Barclay s tour in " poor Ireland," makes
many references to the prevalence of cholera, especially
at Middlesbrough, where a Friend who is at meeting
in the morning, dies of the epidemic the same night.
Sat., Aug. 4. Paid 5 155. for a map of the premises
belonging to the Society of Friends, and a plan distinguishing
every Grave opened during the last fifty years with the names of
nearly everybody therein interred and that spot next to the
resting ashes of her, who, when living, was the nearest to all
earthly perfection, where my remains are to be deposited dis
tinctly marked. . . .
On the I4th August he parts " affectionately and
tenderly with my beloved, very amiable, talented
grandson, Edward,* going to Grove House School.
* This grandson, born 1834, died 1880, after leaving school, went
into the spinning and weaving mills, the oldest branch of the family
businesses. He married Miss Sarah Sturge, who died in 1877. His
health led him to abandon his business pursuits, and his share
of responsibility fell, as usual, on to the shoulders of his eldest brother
to whom he was deeply attached.
Aet. 82 EDWARD PEASE THE YOUNGER. 273
May the Lord preserve him, keep him, and preserve
him, and dedicate him to those purposes on earth in
which he shall glorify his Lord.
This grandson, Edward Pease, in spite of ill health,
devoted much time and labour to philanthropic work,
was a strong advocate of total abstinence, and a deeply
religious man. He was liberal and broad in his views,
charitable in his judgments, and had the kindest of
hearts. He travelled and resided a great deal on the
Continent with his wife and only daughter, and wher
ever he went, sought every opportunity of practical
service. He bought an estate at Bewdley, in Worcester
shire, in which he took a great interest, and gave much
time and money to horse breeding and mule breeding,
importing the best French and Spanish donkey sires
and using Thoroughbred, Arab, Hackney and Cleveland
sires and mares in his desire to prove to British
agriculturists the great possibilities and economic
value of mules of different types. He built a house at
Braemar, " Kindrochit," and spent a part of each year
in fishing and walking in the Highlands. Among
the objects provided for under his will was a free library
at Darlington. He left an orphan daughter, Mary
Beatrice Pease, now Countess of Portsmouth.
In September we find him at Liverpool and Man
chester with his daughter-in-law, Sophia Pease, who
has a " concern " to visit Friends families. This
" arduous service " is really remarkable ; day after
day is spent in the discharge of this duty. Ten or
twelve visits a day for some sixteen or seventeen
days besides attending meetings, of one of which he
says :
My feelings much spoiled by J. Jones saying it was time
to separate when we had been about one hour twenty minutes
assembled, and when I think religious exercise was rising.
20
274 EDWARD PEASE. 1849
In October he takes more notice of temporal things,
such as " the restlessness among various classes,
colliers, etc., for advance of wages, now high, and
bread uncommon cheap," that the Forth Street concern
is doing nothing, after great prosperity, and so on.
Fri., Oct. 12. . . . My cousin, Thomas Pease, of
Leeds, was with me for the night greatly cheered in his
prospect of being married to Martha Lucy Aggs I think
there is a prospect of happiness for them.
The next day :
Too much of my precious time ill spent over newspapers ;
how weak I am in being attracted to read them.
I don t know of any other occasion than the follow
ing which is mentioned of his saying anything in a
meeting for worship :
Exprest a few words at the close of the meeting under, I
trusted, a right reverential feeling, but in desiring that He Who
promised to be as dew to Israel, I said Nations and feel sorry
and condemned.
Wed., Oct. 24. The various turns and dispensations in the
lot of man have strikingly been before me the parents of my
late dear brother-in-law, John Hustler, were in point of honour
able standing in the world, and in the estimation of their
fellow professors equal to any family almost. After John
Hustler married my sister, his property rapidly increased,
their union was short and happy. Afterwards he married
Mary Mildred, they also lived happily, very open, kind,
hospitable and generous, he might then possess 100,000.
They had one son, thoughtless, the property melted away.
My brother died insolvent, his son also, and my dear Sister-
in-law [step] is entirely destitute !
In another self-condemning entry about " reading
very unprofitably," he says :
Act. 82 THE SPIRIT OF PRAISE. 275
I seem to abhor myself for that fluctuation from right into
wrong and that knowingly so the enemy gets hold of my mind
and robs it of some of that strength, etc.
He contrasts with his record on the 24th October
one he makes on the 26th of the great success of his
nephew, G. C., at Smelt House, from the " produce
of coal on his father s estate," the father s
walking power completely gone and equally so every mental
power, so that existence may be said to resemble vegetable
rather than animal life.
On the 27th October he mentions that Joseph
and Emma have gone to see
Margaret Leatham, probably the foundation of a connection
between her son and their daughter which were it not for
has quite the appearance of a suitable
union.
Wed., Oct. 31. I almost fear to note that on waking from
sleep a sweet sense of praise and extolling the name of my
Saviour and His wondrous mercy, it appeared that the book
of heaven was spread flat open before me, and I was surprised
to see the leaves clean and white, and it seemed that forcible
impression was made on my understanding that there was no
record against me, and that my sins were forgiven. I was
astonished at such marvellous mercy. Great as the comfort
is from what I believe to be unutterable condesc ension, yet
everything says be not highminded but fear.
Sat., Nov. 3. The fifty-third anniversary of my union, as
sweet as ever the Highest granted to His children. This blessed
gift has largely if not altogether conduced to make me love
righteousness and seek to stand approved in the divine sight.
I am now at Kendal, but every and all who were with me on
the above occasion are gone. . . .
Tues., Nov. 13. . . . I see a great depreciation of my
property in the S. and D. Railway, not less than thirty to
276 EDWARD PEASE. 1849
forty thousand, and in my annual income from that source
two thousand per annum and probably from Newcastle three
thousand per annum. May these reverses not restrain my
bounty to His creature man.
Thurs., Nov. 15. Appointed as a day of thanksgiving
by the Queen on account of the abatement of the wasting
Cholera which is said to have diminished the population 60,000
in this Kingdom. In the town of Hull the mortality is said to
be 4,000. Surely thanksgiving is due to the Most High for His
favour to this place where the pestilence can scarcely be said
to have entered.
At meeting on the igth November ; he goes to
Cotherstone to a public meeting. T. Arnett and R.
Jeffrey go with him, and they preach in the Wesleyan
Chapel.
T. A. s was a large and diffuse declaration of gospel truths
for ij hours ; the meeting was very quiet. R. Jeffrey in a few
clear (words) impressive short sermon.
Wed., Dec. 12. Left Cleveland Lodge and my worthy
cousin [T. R. Richardson] in a very weak state mentally,
unable to hold any converse beyond monosyllables ; memory
and all the powers of the mind very much gone.
Sat., Dec. 15. Being now 82 J years old I feel through
unmerited mercy it is my great privilege to say that I have
not found that a life extended beyond three score and ten
is labour and sorrow, for if it had not pleased to take from me
she that was dearer to me than my own existence such is the
kindness of my God, mine has as a whole been a life of happi
ness, yet chastened by Him Who is worthy of all my adoration
and with some useful sorrows.
He ends the year with a prayer that he may be granted
some return of that delighting prospect in which rejoicing as
a bridegroom going to meet his bride, I seemed to bid an
indescribably joyous farewell to all that was dear to me on
earth because the sweetness of heaven seemed to open on my
view.
CHAPTER XIV.
1850.
He anticipates that the year has come " when
the decree will be issued TIME TO THEE SHALL
BE NO LONGER." He begins the year at Newcastle
Quarterly Meeting, where
a proposition from York Quarterly Meeting to add Guisborough
(in Yorkshire) Monthly Meeting to this (Durham and Newcastle
Quarterly Meeting) was calmly reviewed and left for considera
tion for our next.
On the 4th January " nineteen of my happy good-
looking healthy descendants around my table to
spend the day with me," and a few days after he puts
his house in order and pays all his accounts, so as
"to leave nothing unsettled" during a two months
absence.
Mon., Jan. 7. As regards worldly things the gale seemed
blowing pleasantly and gently so that all appeared to have a
more than usually placid surface when suddenly there appears
a malicious attack on the safety, soundness and solvency of the
S. and D. Railway. . . . This causes my Sons some solici
tude. My hope is the position and the integrity of the Directors
will rise above the malevolence of the attack.
On the 24th January he arrives at the Grove,
Norwich, now the residence of Joseph John Gurney s
widow.
277
278 EDWARD PEASE. 1850
Almost every room brings with it the recollectings of the
who, the what, the joy and sorrow I have known in them.
Wed., Jan. 30 Having heard of Albert Leatham s appli
cation for my beloved grand-daughter, Rachel, and the pros
pect of his gaining her affections, I have wrote a thoughtful
letter to her ; her age, not yet nineteen, makes the care more
serious in my view.
Wed., Feb. 13 Pure charity does away with all jealousy,
distrust, coldness and distance. Assimilation and Love, so
far as principle admits, are some of its component parts.
This charity I feared was incomplete (in me), when I remem
bered Sarah Emlen s statement (a Friend who visited this
country) respecting J. J. Gurney. In her last illness I think
that she did twice dream that she saw this valuable and dear
friend in the Realms of Glory and heard him sing the song of
the redeemed.
This is written at Walden and then he goes on to
Bristol, and then to London to attend a Meeting for
Sufferings about Tithes, and remarks
the very varied bearings of the subject are but little understood
so I go as a learner and listener.
Mow., Feb. 25. Bristol. Exceedingly great and shameful
turbulence appears to be in some of the Wesleyan Chapels
here ; a refusal to let the President speak so great is the con
tinued uproar. Very reproachable to any Christian community.
. . . My heart says visit and spare Thy people, Oh Lord.
He is very low about his spiritual condition ; such
expressions about meeting as " passing through the
valley of Baca without finding a well," " drought equal
to that spoken of by the prophet Habbakuk when
there was no fruit in the vine," "a day of desertion
and death," are frequent in February and March.
Wed., Mar. 13. Called on five poor female Friends in the
Friends refuge here [Bristol] each clean,comfortable, thankful,
Act. 83 THE DIXONS OF STAINDROP. 279
a pleasing, interesting visit. . . . There is a quietude of
spirit I think more felt and better understood by the Society
of Friends than by other professors generally, and were it
more fully carried, would lead to that worship in spirit and in
truth that is acceptable to God.
On the i6th March he thinks he is saying " Fare
well " for ever to his daughter and son-in-law s home ;
he alludes to the happiness he has had in this " peaceful
abode " with reverent thankfulness. He sees his
dear children endeavouring to walk in the truth and in my
precious daughter, I see her feet more and more turning into
the path of the flock of the companions. My residence as to
affection, social and religious love, has been very sweet, yet
my soul has been rather sunk within me.
He travels from Bristol to Darlington [8 a.m. to
9.30 p.m.], and puts down the fare for himself and
his servant Charles, 5 45. On the 2oth March, " My
Cousin Thos. Pease s wedding day at Winchmore
Hill," and is pleased that his grandchildren, Joseph
W. Pease and Elizabeth P. Gibson are there.
Thurs., Mar. 21. Went with W. Matthews to Staindrop
meeting where he had good service, dining at Ralph Dixon s.*
* There is little doubt that this Ralph Dixon of Staindrop is
one of the Dixons of that place and Raby, and therefore related
to the ancestors of the very numerous Quaker family of this name,
from which sprung the Engineer Dixons, and Sir Raylton s and his
brother, Mr. Waynman Dixon s families. The Ralph Dixon alluded
to by Edward Pease had an extraordinary career : not a highly moral
character in his native village, he enlisted at a period in his life when
the " war with France was very hot," as he says himself. He volun
teered into the 3 ist regiment of foot for active service. At the battle of
Talavera he was shot through the shoulder, another bullet through his
hand, his cap shot off, and another bullet through his haversack. He
was, after an extraordinary recovery from a mortified shoulder in Lisbon
Hospital, invalided home and discharged as an out-pensioner of Chelsea
Hospital, and returned with his wife and son to his native village to
suffer from repeated hemorrhage from his lungs. He joined the
Methodists, but disliked the ostentatious display of religious experiences
in class meetings, and he turned to the Society of Friends, and said,
" This people shall be my people, and their God my God." He could
280 EDWARD PEASE. 1850
It was interesting to be with W. M. and R. D., two Friends who
from being soldiers with carnal weapons had laid these down
and become clad with the armour of Christ and with weapons
not carnal but mighty to the pulling down of strongholds of
Satan. . . .
The following illustrates the attitude of the Society :
Sunday, Mar. 24. . . . John (Pease) in the forenoon
was engaged in lively testimony ; truly Christian Catholicism
not, he felt, swear to his pension half-yearly before a Justice of the Peace.
The .first time he affirmed, but the pension burdened his mind.
" Friends were very tender over me, seldom mentioning it." Appear
ing before an Exciseman with his hat on as a Quaker, the Exciseman
was about to take the hat off, when another officer said, " Let him
alone ; he is a Quaker." The Exciseman said, " If he is, what business
has he with a pension," and this rebuke he felt keenly, and soon some
words from Jonathan and Hannah Chapman Backhouse, at a meeting
he attended, made him feel his inconsistency, so he wrote in 1830 to
the Duke of Wellington : " To the Duke of Wellington, Respected
Friend," recounted his service and wounds, and then proceeded,
" But having been long convinced that all war is anti-Christian, I
have felt at times uneasy under the persuasion that the receiving of
a pension was inconsistent with that belief, besides being a burden
to the public in these times of distress." He then returns thanks for
it, and goes on, " Next to Divine Providence, my thanks are due to
thee, O Duke, for the great care that was taken of the sick and wounded
in the Peninsula, otherwise my life could not have been preserved ;
a grateful remembrance of which, with the foregoing reason, is the
cause of my taking the great liberty of troubling thee with this letter.
Desiring thy present and everlasting welfare,
" I remain,
" Thy friend,
" Staindrop, " RALPH DIXON.
" 6th mo. 27th, 1830."
To which he got a reply saying that so long as he thought proper
to discontinue transmitting the usual affidavits, no pension could be
issued, but in consideration of his wife and family, their lordships
(Lords Commissioners of the Hospital) desired, in the event of an appli
cation at any future period, the same was to be paid as heretofore.
His life after this was not without troubles, but in peace of mind, and
in good service to the Soicety, he lived out his days and was among
Friends numbered as one of those " who had come out of much tribula
tion and had their robes washed and made white."
This Ralph Dixon, born 1785, died 1854, was the son of George
Dixon, a Quaker (but disowned for marrying out), of Staindrop, and his
wife Mary, daughter of Ralph Bowron. His (R.D. s) son, George
Dixon, of Great Ayton (born 1812, died 1904) was a great Temperance
advocate, and this George Dixon was the father of Ralph Dixon (living
1907), who was for thirty years the Superintendent of Ayton Friends
School.
Act. 83 DARLINGTON WATER WORKS. 281
was in it ; the universality of the grace of God and that
in every Christian Church and all sincere worshippers of
God everywhere are accepted of Him. Much excellent
and practical counsel was also in this communication.
Mon., Mar. 25. A time of great confusion and destruc
tion in what are termed Christian Churches ; the cause of the
great discord and personal mutual insults among the Wesleyans
arises from dissensions in the Conference being all priests (?)
and expelling some out of that body ; this excites a great
ferment, and threatens a division. Then the decision of the
Privy Council going far, in not admitting infant baptism
to be regeneration, is opposed to the judgment of the Bishop
of Exeter, who would not induct one Gorham to a living because
he did not admit baptismal regeneration.
He contemplates with " peaceful sweetness " the
" consoling union " when he is laid by the side of
one who was precious to him beyond all words, and
" very near [the adjoining graves] the resting-places
of dear Jonathan and Hannah C. Backhouse, having
during our pilgrimage wept and rejoiced together."
Wed., April 10. My dear son Joseph, not in strong health,
left home this morning at the instance of Rothschild, a Jew
whose right to sit in Parliament is questioned ; he thinks the
examination of Joseph and the difficulties he had to overcome
may be of some use in his case.
He notes that there is in this town a population
of 12,000, and barely 200 of them Friends, and that
six out of nine of the Guardians of the Poor are Friends.
He goes to Manchester Quarterly Meeting, and does
not like it ; the meeting sits from 10 a.m. till past
8 p.m., with but half-an-hour for refreshment. On
the 24th April,
Considerable stir in the town, occasioned by this being the
first day water was brought into the town from the new
Water Works.
He also looks for a speedy dismissal from time,
when his hour comes, by apoplexy or paralysis.
282 EDWARD PEASE. 1850
On the 25th he has
during the night, with vividness and force, accompanied with
solid and comforting impression the words presented to me,
Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness,
which the Lord the righteous Judge shall give me at that day
and not to me only but to all that love His appearing.
Mow., May 6. A day of lamentation and mourning. I
feel that I, my dear family and friends have lost one who was
exceedingly dear to us is the death of Cousin H. C. Backhouse,
in her sixty-fourth year ... in the course of last night
seized by partial paralysis and peacefully expired at 11.45 this
forenoon. She might be said to be one of the brightest
ornaments and most upright pillars in our Church
Happy, freed spirit, her reward and record is on high.
She is buried the following Sunday. He goes
soon after to the Yearly Meeting and is a good deal at
Tottenham. One Sunday he uses an old-fashioned
expression, " The meeting was large and the lofts
crowded," and here comes a great innovation ; the
Yearly Meeting has under consideration
the Norfolk proposals respecting Grave Stones . . . for a
while discussed, it was left for continued consideration when
we adjourned. It was resumed and largely considered, with
many varying sentiments, all in good brotherly condescension,
and finally agreed that small flat stones be laid on each grave,
bearing the name of the deceased and age on it only.
When he returns home and takes again his " wonted
seat " in the "gallery," he cannot " refrain from tears "
when Ann Barlow " takes that of Hannah C. Back
house," and he remembers his own dead.
Sat., June 8. With the exception of two or three interests
now exceedingly depressed, viz., the Agricultural and Iron
trade, this present time, I think, may be considered as a
season of greater general national quietude in a satisfied popu
lation than I ever knew before. Wages, except for the poor
Aet. 83
ACKWORTH SCHOOL.
283
tillers of the soil, are good and may be said to be fully equal
to all the wants of the poor, the necessaries of life and its
luxuries of many sorts as well in food as in clothing, are much
below the usual scale of former cost.
Wed., June 19. . . . Dear Joseph gone to
Manchester to promote peace and profit if he can between
the Leeds and Liverpool Canal and some railways. . . .
He plans to go to Ackworth School General Meet
ing and says :
My attraction to this turn-out may be chiefly to see the
Flounders Institute, its economy and working, having been the
permitted instrument in bringing this establishment into view,
in meeting with and associating with Benj. Flounders, and
bringing his intentions into operation.
On the same day (July ist) he records the death
of Catherine Gurney : " I feel my cotemporaries
taking the lead." He goes to Ackworth.
Received by many friends unknown and many dear friends
known to me with great kindness and marks of regard very
much unmerited by me. . . . The highest class evinced a
good deal of talent and information not exceeding what I
expected, their conduct and demeanour was good, and their
general happiness apparent , and it appears to me that in meeting
and out of meeting there were indications of improvement in
seriousness and subduedness to better feeling than I had
previously noticed.
Thurs., July 4. . . . Converse and Concern is general
in the death of that most talented statesman Sir Robert
Peel, by a fall from his horse ; whilst all his policy was far
from my entire approval I considered him as a powerful
regulating fly-wheel in what is the great engine of Govern
ment.
Fri., July$. Lodged last night at the Flounders Institute;
connected as I was with its springing into life and its infancy,
it was on many grounds deeply interesting to me to be there,
and I thankfully hope the foundation may be of real benefit
284 EDWARD PEASE. 1850
to our Society from that literary attainment that students
may there acquire, but yet what is of far greater importance
not only a grounding in our religious principles and testimonies
but a feeling and religiously abiding sense of them in regulating
and directing their conduct under the presiding influence of
the Spirit of Christ, the alone safe Guide.
He goes to Liverpool to say a last farewell to his
dear friend Eliza P. Gurney, who is going to
America, and the following is a typically Quaker record :
Thurs., Aug. i. Reached Liverpool this evening and found
my dear friend E. P. Gurney with her niece Harriet Kirk-
bride,* S. Gurney and her daughter, Frances Cunningham and
wife, f also S. Corder and W. Forster, an agreeable affectionate
company. After the Scripture reading F. C. [Rev. Francis
Cunningham, a clergyman] kneeled and was long in prayer.
According to my feeling the holy ear was not opened to
hear it or the spirit sufficiently baptised into Christ to draw
his overshadowing love into presiding dominion, but oh, for
that lively quickened spirit in which there is a measure of
true Judgment. . . .
Sat., Aug. 3. After our morning reading and a short
solemn pause Richenda Cunningham addressed dear Eliza
Gurney in terms of near and sweet affection. Her own love
and the love of every individual member of the family, the
great treasure she had been to her best of brothers (Joseph
John Gurney) and the great treasure and blessing she had been
made to all of them. Eliza, with tears and sobs, felt how
much she was giving up, how unspeakably dear all of them
were to her, how remarkable had been her lot, how unmerited
blessings and the deepest of trials had been the dispensation
for which neither her services nor thanks could bear com
parison.
Sat., Aug. 24. On reading the pious lives and experiences
of those who have been bright and powerful instruments,
* She married Theodore Fox, of Falmouth, afterwards of
Pinchinthorpe.
f nbe Richenda Gurney, of Earlham.
Act. 83 AT MARSKE. 285
especially in the early days of our Society; I have been struck
with their prospects, prophecies and foretelling of coming
events, very many of which do not appear to have been realised.
It appears to me that there is naturally in the human mind
apprehensions of the coming times being fraught with im
portant events and that the deeply seriously religious feeling
that the sinfulness of the times is worthy to be punished
but under Divine compassion and long suffering mercy He has
not permitted His judgments to fall as poor weak mistaken
servants dreaded.
He stays at Marske for the end of August ; enjoys
watching the " harvest ingathering " in beautiful
weather, and one evening,
after a serious reading of the testimony concerning Ann
Alexander, and a psalm, warm desires were awakened in my
mind for the progress of my beloved Grandchildren and us
all in the way of holiness. I ventured under some mental
solemnity to remind us that every new day presented to us
every one, a new day s work to be done, and my desire was that
our daily service and daily duties might be faithfully fulfilled
to our God.
He leaves Marske with Susan Fry, the Edmund
Backhouses, and James Cropper and his wife. I
think Mr. and Mrs. James Cropper were at this time
living at Thornton Fields, near Guisbrough.
Thurs.,Sept.$. Another awful monition to live prepared
for the final Audit in the presence of the righteous Judge.
Win. Kitching very suddenly died in his chair. He had been
but a little indisposed previously. I fear he might be but
little prepared for this sudden summons, having for years
neglected our religious meetings and all places of worship.
He was about fifty-two years of age. . . .
Fri., Sept. 13. This is the day for the Horticultural
Exhibition, which is said to be very beautiful. . . . I do
not feel it best to countenance it by my presence. I do not
286 EDWARD PEASE. 1850
condemn others herein, but I wish all I love with my own self
to possess a tender enlightened conscience, looking for the
coming of the directing spirit of the Lord Jesus.
Sat., Sept. 14. Very sweet is the contemplation of those
very precious Ones who were my joy on earth and now sanctified
in heaven. . . . My sainted, blessed Rachel, my pious-
minded, upright, just Edward, my talented, lovely, strong-
minded Mary, my very dear Isaac, apparently fated to be a
bright, fine talented man, in person comely. Oh, precious
Group !
Tues., Oct. i. Our Q. M., the first in which Guisbrough
Monthly Meeting was added to it. ...
He entertains among other visitors "two Foxes, of
Falmouth, daughters of Alfred Fox." On the i8th
October he remembers whilst enjoying " the beautiful
creation in all its richness" on a day spent at Stan wick
with the Fox girls and two of his grandsons, that it is
the " seventeenth anniversary of his bereaved state."
Wed., Nov. 6. General agitation may be said to pervade
the kingdom, especially amongst the Protestants and their
clergy, on account of the pope having appointed Bishops in
many of his own marked-out dioceses in England and Scotland.
The arrogance of the measure seems as if it would be indig
nantly repelled by the people and the Legislature. While this
ought to be done, I fear some concessions or powers may spring
out of this resistance which may fasten the present anti-
Christian hierarchy more firmly upon us.
He visits Osmotherly, Shildon, Staindrop and
other places.
Wed., Nov. 13. Having heard that Friends were about to
hold a meeting composed of our members for the promotion
of the cause of Total Abstinence and that Edw. Smith, of
Sheffield, and S. Bewley, of Gloucester, were to be here for the
Aet. 83 CHRISTMAS DAY. 287
purpose I addressed a letter to my Cousin Kath. Backhouse,
and expressed my fears that the holding of a meeting so con
stituted might endanger the unity, harmony and peace of
our Society, and I stand in awe of the ultimate results. There
in all the kindness of Christian love and charity I can leave it.
The death of his " ancient peaceable and worthy
friend, Jos. Neville," on the I7th November, in his
eighty-seventh year, leaves him " the most ancient
member of this large meeting." On the 27th he
leaves for London to attend the Tithe Commutation
meeting, and the next day " called to see the Glass
erection for the Exhibition, a great national work "
(afterwards removed to its present site, and known
as the Crystal Palace). Then he goes to Bristol, and
on the 4th December, to a meeting at Bridgwater,
where
the meeting was injured by an immoderate flow of words
for about three quarters of an hour.* On the Friend taking his
seat I may say, I think, I was moved to stand up and say
" now dear Friends, let us endeavour to let God arise that His
enemies may be scattered and flee before Him." The meeting
appeared then to settle well.
He then goes on to Gloucester and Cirencester. On
the 24th December there is a curious entry :
Intruding thoughts that I was unable, through weakness
and having too much indulged out of meeting, most lament
ably stole away my devotion, so that instead of worshipping
and honouring my God I came away with the sense that I had
dishonoured Him. O Lord, pity this the iniquity of thy poor
creature.
* Among the old Queries which had to be answered at Quarterly
Meetings, I find such as the following recorded in the Books of the
Guisbrough and Ayton Monthly Meeting drawn up at York the 3oth
of the 4th month, 1737: "Are ministers careful to deliver Testimonies
in a plain, sound, intelligible manner without any unbecoming Tones,
Sounds or Gestors, and not to misquote, miscite, or misapply the Holy
Scriptures. Are they free from being troublesome and uneasy to
meetings by too long and Tedious Testimonies when Life doth not
attend them, and do they give way to Strangers ? "
288 EDWARD PEASE. 1850
The next day he writes :
Christmas Day, a day conspicuous for attention to religious
duties and feasting ; how incompatible are these."
His last words on the last day of the year are :
My love to my Brethren as I sink in age rises with advanc
ing years and Love to the cause of truth as manifested in the
Gospel, and revealed in the Spirit that gave it forth as held
by our beloved truly Christian Society, has the fullest accep
tance in my bosom, and our testimonies valued beyond all
price. Three score and ten years of the working of these
principles in many gone to their heavenly home tends to con
firm my faith in none working better.
CHAPTER XV.
1851.
As age increases, Edward Pease s piety gains in
hope, though the same diffidence is always in evidence.
It is impossible to confine extracts to merely passing
events, and the reader who has tired of his religious
sentiments and his self-examination had better put
down the journal, or just glance over the pages to
pick out the items of local interest, or those which
touch on the history of his time.
The review of my position in this opening year . . .
finds me confirmed in the substantial truth of those principles
which, through the measure of mercy and grace granted me, it
has in the latter years of my life been my desire more con
stantly and more decidedly to live up to and thanks to my
God He has condescended to meet me and more, to guide me
by His eye, giving me at seasons, while under a very humiliating
sense of my great unworthiness to believe in those precious
promises made to those who love Him and in reverent
appeal I may use the words of the Apostle : " Thou knowest
Lord that I love Thee."
He alludes to the events of the past year and " its
pecuniary vicissitudes," from which he has been far
from escaping, " reduced in income and in capital,"
" not from any speculations as from them I have
been favoured to be free," but " accepts this great
change without any repining or any regard," certain
that it is " directed in infinite loving kindness " to
himself and his descendants.
289
290 EDWARD PEASE. 1851
January finds him at Walden, where he is surrounded
by all the care and attention that a daughter s love
and those around can bestow : " by day there is
abundance, the finest of wheat ; by night the softest
of downy beds and pillows," " always free from want,
misery and pain."
Fri., Jan. 10. Walden. The agricultural distress of this
district is very great, the low price of grain very much impover
ishing the farmers, and the general want of employ for the
labourers is the cause of much misery to them ; 100 persons
were taken into the workhouse one day this week they seem
driven to desperation and being without religious subjection,
wickedly burn down the premises and stacks of the farmers. It
was observed by one, that he had seen such a burning every
night last week.
M on., Jan. 20. . . . Much indoors ; read some parts
of the book of Common Prayer, as edited and published by
good, virtuous, fine-minded Judge Bayley, for whom I had a
strong friendship.
The following day he is anxious as to how his son
Joseph s " meeting with a considerable company of
disappointed Stockton and Darlington [Railway]
Shareholders " in London will go off, and expects
that he will have to bear " altogether unmerited
the brunt of it," " for his sacrifice of property, time
and talent, and unwavering patient integrity, has
ever been given to the interest of that concern."
He is " thankful that he has borne all with exemplary
patience and meekness." But the meeting goes off
" tolerably agreeably," and he hopes his sons will
take the chance of getting " free from all this turmoil,"
but " fears if Redcar Harbour is made, the cares
of my sons will increase, as they will be looked to."
He relates the same week that every " Friend " in
Walden attends the " week-day meeting " regularly,
Aet.84 DISCOVERY OF IRONSTONE. 291
and that " this is their very commendable practice
both on first-day forenoons and afternoons."
Wed., Feb. 29. Having read in Thos. Kimber, Jun s letter
to my son John, of a striking conversation he, T. K. had at
Lyons with Hughes, the roman catholic Archbishop of New
York, by which it was obviously the design of the Romanists
to limit all history and literature to their dark designs, I sent
a copy of the converse to the Archbishop of Canterbury with
a desire to place him in possession of their views and my wish
that the grant to Maynooth school might be discontinued.
On the ist of February he is once more at home,
and is " delighted to meet all my beloved children
and grandchildren in the course of the day." On
the 7th, " however innocent and amusing an evening
was spent in a private exhibition by Nephew Joseph
Whitwell of his magic lantern, I feel in measure
condemned . . , remembering the time is short ! "
Sat., Feb. 8. Great are the anticipations of advantage to the
railway and many parties connected with the iron trade from
the discovery of rich extensive veins of ironstone under Eston
Nab, and continuing to run South in the line of the Cleveland
Hills.
He goes to stay with his old friend and cousin, Thomas
Richardson, at Cleveland Lodge, to attend as usual
the Ayton School Committee, and finds him in a debili
tated state (" had not risen at 9.30 a.m."), but with a
" countenance kind, affectionate, and pleasantly
serene."
Sat., Feb. 22. My dear Granddaughter, E. P. Gibson, came
last evening. Great political changes the Prime Minister,
Lord John Russell, resigns. The prosperity of the kingdom was
great, and all seemed settled peace and safety when the plan of
abated taxes was brought in by a blundering Chancellor of
292 EDWARD PEASE. 1851
the Exchequer, which not being carried, of course the ministry
must be formed anew with or without a dissolution of
Parliament.
Mon., Feb. 24. The vast departure in our religious society
from the simplicity of the gospel and the example of Friends
in my early days, in language, in furniture, pictures and decora
tions, is such that should Friends proceed in deviation for
another generation as they have done, they will wear out
Quakerism.
Sat., Mar. i. Nothing settled as to our Government
Legislature, the alliance of all the papist Members for Ireland
bids fair for creating a troublesome opposition if any steps are
taken to counteract the arrogant pope s bull.
Thurs., Mar. 6. The marriage* of my granddaughter
Rachel [to Albert Leatham] this day solemnised was in a large
and crowded meeting very still and well behaved ; it felt to me
a peculiarly solid sweet feeling of peace on our first sitting down.
... I humbly ventured to hope it was the earnest of a union
that ere its close would have evident sanctioning evidences of
being marked with Divine approvance.
Sat., Mar. 15. Encreased feelings of rapid breathing in
walking and in ascending rising ground tell me the powers
of existence are rather rapidly diminishing and it may be some
accumulating water may be in my chest and, at some nearly
approaching day, close very suddenly my pilgrimage. . .
Mon., Mar. 17. Last year an income five times more
than my expenditure, this year not an income equal to its
worth. S. and D. Railway shares once deemed worth 360
have been sold at 30, so that this property, once deemed worth
60,000, now worth 3,000.
There are several allusions to " the retrograde
movement from the faithful support of our ancient
testimonies." He ascribes the fact that Friends
* Vide Appendix II.
Act. 84 FRIENDS AS MAGISTRATES. 293
do not now feel that they " are laid upon them to bear "
to the fact that there has not been " a yielding to the
still small voice, and new disobedience has closed
the eye." I had not realised that Friends of this
comparatively late date stood aloof from the Commis
sion of the Peace, but the diary records (2Qth March),
" My cousin, Edmund Backhouse, accepting a com
mission as a Justice of the Peace, gives me concern."
Note the reasons for the concern.
The wasting of his mind as a religious character, the opening
of a door to worldly entanglement, and the effect on his descen
dants likely to estrange all the family from Friends.
Sun., Mar. 30. This being the Government appointed
day for taking the numbers in dissenters meetings, the enu
meration in ours was in the forenoon 187, in the afternoon 167.
Tues., April i. Agreeable to the permission of the Yearly
Meeting, and accorded with by our Monthly Meeting, that
Grave Stones might be placed on the graves, I directed one
to be laid where the remains of her, my precious companion,
were laid, and the letters cut,
RACHEL PEASE.
JE 62, 1853.
How soon he who faithfully and inexpressibly affectionately
fulfilled his sacred, inviolable promise may require
EDWARD PEASE.
M 185 .
is known only to my Lord, whom I desire to serve and do
love.
The following illustrates the attitude of an elder
on the question of " marrying out " :
Sat., April 12. Tomoro with Is. Sharp to visit
who, in being married to a person not a member at a register
office has violated our rules, yet by this act he has violated no
moral law. Yet great would be that confusion and trouble if
294 EDWARD PEASE. 1851
such unions were sanctioned by meetings the way to un
suitable unions would be made easy neither would [it yield]
that discretion nor that religious solemnity by which the tie
for life would have their attendant solemnity, and that re
ligious bearing which is safe and desirable, and if there was
offspring the responsible care of them would not, probably,
be consistent with our profession.
One day this month he is
glad and thankful for the various checks to the natural liveli
ness of my disposition, and that over cheerfulness which so
often causes me much Regret.
He takes a very serious view of the losses at the
family collieries, and gives a list for certain months
of the losses at the various pits :
i
12 mo. Loss on Pease s West . . . . 2,029
1 mo. Ditto 973
12 mo. Edward Pit .. .. 333
3 mo. ,, Pease s West . . . . 1,490
3 mo. Edward Pit . . . . 594
2 mo. ,, Adelaide . . . . 381
3 mo. Ditto .. .. 457
1 mo. ,, South Durham .. 141
2 mo. Ditto . . . . 79
3 mo. Ditto . . . . 156
6,633
and gains . . . . 1,084
Wed., May 7. My beloved Joseph now busily engaged
in London on the Tees Conservancy Bill, and one regarding the
financial state of the Stockton and Darlington Railway, also
some cases about Redcar Harbour. I regret this load of
care. . . .
He goes to the Yearly Meeting in London.
Aet. 84 THE GREAT EXHIBITION. 295
Wed., May 21. A strenuous effort was made by Jos. Sturge,
Chas. Gilpin, G. Alexander, and others to have an epistle
addressed to our American brethren to stir them up and quicken
their zeal to address their Legislature on the Atrocity of the
fugitive slave law. The effort was over-ruled by a calm delib
eration of our relative position, how far we could constitu
tionally interfere with our brethren there ; our correspondence
being with Yearly Meetings.
Saturday, 3ist May, he enters his eighty-fifth year.
Little respecting his work at the Yearly Meeting needs
to be quoted, but this reference to John Bright may
be of interest :
One minute advising friends not to print anything that may
be left on the Yearly Meeting book for consideration was
warmly attacked by John Bright in a strain as unpleasant as
proving that he was not acquainted with the constitution of
the Society.
He visits the Great Exhibition, and exclaims, " And
a most wonderful exhibition it is : no description
could extend to its minutiae." He spends " four or
five hours " there, " greatly gratified " ; " yet on
laying my head on the pillow, and remembering how
the day had been spent, I thought one hour s com
muning with, and a feeling of my Saviour s confirming,
cheering love, was to me of more value than all my
eyes beheld."
He then goes to Bristol. On returning home
he records the general condition of crops and weather,
and his own hay occupies his care. On the 8th June
had the great comfort of having nineteen of my beloved chil
dren and grandchildren to spend a sweetly enjoyed and peace
ful day with me. How inexpressibly dear all my beloved
sons and daughters are to me. Greater affection sons and
daughters never evinced, and the comfort of their upright
walking exceedingly endears them to me.
296 EDWARD PEASE. 1851
He has this month " Some gentle dealing and affec
tionate brotherly interest with a dear young man,
now quite neglecting week-day meeting, and very
uncertain in attendance on First-days," which affords
him " some satisfaction as the discharge of a too long
omitted duty."
Sat., July 26. Marske. Observed the Consett Iron Works
Co. making a railway from the ironstone belonging to Lord
Zetland to the S. and D. Railway. The growing wheat had
a very beautiful regular appearance, with a yellowish tinge.
Three weeks of fine weather might advance it to fitness for the
sickle.
At the end of the month he goes to Ben Rhydding
to see " Cousins Thomas, Lucy and Rachel Fowler " :
I saw my valued Cousin, T. Fowler, with much concern
from the apprehension that his was an irremediable indisposi
tion, his active, lively, energetic frame had all the appearance
of the infirmity of old age, lame, languid, and slow in his pace.
Fri., Aug i. Ben Rhydding, an elevated, large, ornamental
house, is beautifully situated, making up a hundred beds.
The copious use of cold water, folding in wet sheets or in blankets
has much of human in it, and as a system or as declared effica
cious may go out of use, but its salubrious position will
remain attractive. . .
On returning home he travels
a little distance to see a poor friend, Thomas Harding. About
three weeks ago his leg was amputated ; since that time his
health has been sinking, and now, heavily panting for breath,
his close seems near ; he was in a pious disposition of mind ;
his solicitude was great to feel his Saviour near, and my trust
was that He was near and would be with him when he was
permitted to pass through the valley of the shadow of death.
His old wickedness besets him at times.
Act. 84 ILLUSTRATED LONDON NEWS. 297
Mon., Aug. ii. Condemned for time spent in looking over
the Illustrated London News, and reading some of its articles.
This work is one of the attractive fascinations of the present
times.
How this entry calls up memories of my boyhood.
The Illustrated London News was then the only illus
trated paper, I suppose, in the world ; it was consid
ered wonderful, and was generally found in Friends
families. My grandfather, Joseph Pease, as long as
he lived, sent my brother and myself this paper
regularly to school, with many other things, and many
tips. With his death we lost at least half our incomes,
half our provisions, and more than half our literature.
I can remember the incredulity with which the idea
of any possible competitor with the Illustrated News
was received, and the astonishment when a rival in
the shape of The Graphic appeared on the scene.
But the family remained faithful to the old paper
to the end.
He journeys to " Edinbro " in August, to join
the Yearly Meeting Committee, and receives a kind
welcome from his dear friend, Wm. Miller, and meets
Samuel Capper there : he does not forget the i6th
August as the " anniversary of precious Rachel s
marriage." He goes to " a Monthly Meeting " at
" Kinmuck," " a few substantial Friends here : some
of them very enterprising, energetic characters,"
shown " in the improvement of their large farms
and celebrated fine cattle," but would be glad to see
the things that exclude God s " righteous sway over
turned in them." Then to Aberdeen General Meeting,
" very small, nineteen men, about twenty-seven
women," but " an agreeable and satisfactory one,"
but he wished " truth had been felt to be more in
dominion." Then on to Edinburgh and Kendal.
At the latter place :
298 EDWARD PEASE. 1851
I received from my most worthily beloved Sister
Whit well, a welcome as warm as a long unbroken Sisterly
love could give. . . We were comforted in each other s
presence.
He then makes visits in Yorkshire.
Fri., Sep. 12. What proofs arise that we build too low if
we build beneath the skies ! Twelve months ago nothing could
exceed the depression of Stockton and Darlington (Railway).
Shares sold for 30, once deemed worth 300, and estimated
in my schedule three or four years ago at 250. The change
reduces my personal property about 35,000. At this I have no
repining, I accept it thankfully for my family and .
as permitted for the staining of human glory by a reduction of
my children and grandchildren s portions.
He desires to see
a reviving in our young friends, and in all a reverent solemn
abiding under the government of the Spirit of Christ . . .
but passing along as I fear our Society generally (is doing)
without sufficient heed to the Holy Spirit it will die.
His daughter Rachel Fry s condition causes him
constant anxiety now. He mourns on the 2Qth
September the death of " valued dear Cousin Thos.
Fowler, as a most kind-hearted, exertive friend of
great integrity " ; his widow, " dear Lucy " has his
sympathy. His next-door neighbour, Ann Coleman,
is dying, " long a fellow-member and valued friend."
He is tried one day by a number of " stranger Friends,"
who protract the meeting, and " ran into a multitude
of petitions too many for the Queen, etc., etc."
He says of Guisbro Monthly Meeting that there is
just now " weakness and want of love apparent."
Thurs., Oct. 16. Inconsequence of the interment of Ann
Coleman s remains to-morrow, the week-day meeting was not
Aet. 84 DEATH OF HENRY BARCLAY. 299
held. Heard of the death of Henry Barclay,* an agreeable
young man, a first cousin to my dear grandchildren at Southend.
May his decease in the bloom of youth be to them one of those
solemnly sealed lessons. . . .
On the occasion of the funeral of Ann Coleman,
there was granted me a visitation of heavenly love that I feel
in abject humility bound to record a sense of the nearness of
the Comforter and that it should be well with me in the end,
and that where He was and my dearly beloved was, I should
be also.
Sat., Oct. 18. This is the day of the interment of Henry
Barclay s remains at Winchmore Hill. May the removal of
this dear youth and first cousin to my Grandson J. W. P. have
a teaching effect in it which shall induce him with full purpose
of heart to seek first the kingdom of God, and largely staining
all that has this world s lure in it.
Fri., Oct. 24. My young friends, Ann Deborah Richardson
and Sarah Jane Wigham, left this forenoon after an agreeable
visit of about two weeks. In the afternoon my cousins Thomas
and Martha Lucy Pease came. I was pleased with their
simple friendly demeanor, exposed as his position in life has
been his three sisters have left the Society of Friends. The
present is a day in strong contrast to the earlier days of my
life ; during the first forty years of it such a thing as a resigna
tion of membership was rarely heard of, not one at Kendal ;
now all the numerous families ofCrewdson have left, several
Braithwaites, four Whitwells and several Wilsons.
Wed., Nov. 5. Now that there are prospects of great ad
vantage from the discovery of iron ore in the Cleveland range of
hills, I feel a great anxiety that none of my beloved family
may be caught in its enticings ; they have quite enough of this
world s engagements. . . . Whether it succeed or dis
appoint, its consequences are to be dreaded.
* Henry Barclay and Joseph Whitwell Pease were bosom friends
and companions in hunting, shooting and coursing.
300 EDWARD PEASE. 1851
Fri., Nov. 7. This morning I learn with surprise that
Edmund Backhouse has sold Polam to William and Robert
Thompson. How great, how rapid the change. So recently
was the mansion the very gratifying residence of his beloved
mother who, with her husband, had great pleasure in building
it and enjoyed its great accommodations and extensive grounds
sic transit gloria mundi !
Wed., Nov. 12. On considering the Excellency of the
Advices in our Book of Discipline first page, that the faith of
Friends is so correctly set forth in the first paragraph, and how
valuable the counsel is and the tenderness and affectionate
spirit in which each part of the advice is couched, I have
ordered 500 to be printed, believing that not only to our mem
bers but to others . . . they may not be void of some
use. . . .
Sat., Nov. 15. I see in the paper a Notice for a railway
near Guisboro ; the prompting cause is the abounding of
Ironstone in that vicinity. This prospective scheme introduces
my mind into many doubts and fears as to the inviting of my
family.
There is early snow this year ; he mentions Joseph
and Emma not being able to get to Castleton on the
i8th November without " much difficulty from the
depth of the snow drifts." He is tried much by Joseph
talking so much about " Coke, coal, ironstone, Forth
Street concern, Guisborough Railway, etc," and wishes
his " mind would seek for rest and refuge " elsewhere.
In a review of his own past life, he acquits himself
of ever having been anxious in pursuit of money, and
having never thought of being more than thoughtful of
necessary provision for my numerous family, and after
considering his many frailties, he adds :
It has been much the constant thought of my mind to keep
an ear open to the voice of heavenly instruction in the impor
tant engagements of my life, and since in mercy it pleased God
Act. 84 END OF THE YEAR. 301
to take my greatest earthly blessing to Himself, with a more
dedicated heart I have sought Him.
Sat., Dec. 27. Received the account of my dear brother
Coates having finished his (recently afflicting) pilgrimage about
one o clock this morning. . . ,
On Tuesday, 30th, he goes to Smelt House
to the funeral with his daughter-in-law, Emma,
and records the next day that the year " goes out with
much mildness and beauty from the clearness of the
atmosphere," and takes a more cheerful survey of
his behaviour and progress during it than is usual.
[The Diary for the year 1852 is Missing.]
CHAPTER XVI.
1853-
EDWARD PEASE begins the year with great anxiety
about his daughter Rachel, and the farewell on the
6th of January when he leaves Bristol is felt by them
both to be the last, and is accomplished in " tenderness
and tears." He goes on to Walden.
Fri., Jan. 14. The state of this part of the country differs
very greatly from ours, the wages of a labouring man not more
than one half of what we pay. The population in the Walden
Union is about 18,000 ; in the Darlington one it is much the
same. The number in the Union house here is 300 ; with us at
Darlington about 60.
Wed., Jan. 19. Almost every night I have between the
hours of three and five a considerably waking time, a time I
enjoy, because it is nearly always accompanied by a sweet
sense of gratitude and thankfulness for the blessings showered
upon me, and there is oft a sense that time to me may be
very short and an anxious desire that when the solemn hour
comes all things may be ready ! my peace made with my
gracious forgiving God, and that there may be nothing to do
but die.
Wed., Feb. 23. I am without any direct tidings from Bris
tol this morning. Since the above was written I have by my
dear John learnt, and by a few lines from beloved Elizabeth, that
my precious Rachel entered into rest with her Lord at quarter
Aet. 86 DEATH OF RACHEL FRY. 303
past two yesterday afternoon. In that which is gone there
is very much to lament ; fine in person, in talent, in character
and demeanour, filling her station in life with great religious
propriety, a blessing to her husband and many !
Each day this week he refers to his loss, his son-in-
law s bereavement, and to his daughter lying dead at
Gotham Lawn, and to the funeral, which other members
of the family attend. He tries to rejoice over the
life and death of his precious first-born daughter,
" but my stony heart is not so touched with tenderness
as to be able to rejoice. My peace is a small rivulet,
not a mighty stream."
Wed., Mar. 9. The accounts of the Forth Street works
were received and made it appear that I may be benefited
by the last year s work 2,000, after giving to R.
Stephenson and W. Hutchinson the profit which I cannot
touch as a profit resulting from making some war steamers
engines for the King of Sardinia. The profit in 1852 appears
to be 17,000.
The next day he goes to West Lodge. " The two
or three past days there has been bride-visiting going
on " (David and Anne Dale) and he " rather fears that
unless care be taken," there may be " departure from
stability. Here is an account of a visit to him by Friends
in the course of their religious visits to families :
Wed., Mar. 23. Cheered a little in feeling the sweet
spring of Gospel love, never at my command, rise into nearness
of love and fellowship with my beloved friends and cousins,*
R. Priestman, Eliza Barclay and E. Backhouse, jun., while
sitting with me. . . . Cousin R. P. addressed me in the
first verses of fourteenth of John, with a little consoling
addition. E. Barclay was in the same strain, " Light at even
* The Priestmans were connected through the families of Back
house, Robson and Richardson.
304 EDWARD PEASE. 1853
and to continue through the dark valley." E. Backhouse s
were words of encouragement. O Lord, render me worthy
of their hope and their Love.
Another visit soon after is paid him by two Ameri
can Friends, Eli and Sybil Jones ; the latter offered
words of consolation to my often doubting spirit, and she
spoke of my approach to that City whose walls were salvation
and whose gates are praise, with a measure of confidence to
which my heart was raised to trust.
Mow., April 27. My dear Cousin Thomas Richardson de
parted this life at Redcar at five o clock this morning in the
eighty-second year of his age. He was a man of great in
tegrity, having in his business life large transactions. He had
a kind, amiable, generous disposition, largely manifested in
founding the Agricultural School at Ay ton, and encouraging
education among Friends and others. His end was peaceful
and his dispositions of love and peace increased with age.
On the 4th of May he visits his grand-daughter,
Mrs. Albert Leatham, and takes his son-in-law, R. Fry,
to Middlesbrough, that
he might see the great preparations going on at Middlesbro
and to the cause of it, the number of furnaces building for
operations when the silent grave shall be the home of this
tabernacle. Interested as I am in progress and improvement
I have no desire that life should be prolonged to see accom
plishments.
On the i6th May he goes to Newcastle
to arrange about Thomas Richardson s share in R.
Stephenson s. We were most pleasantly met by R. S.,
who appeared to have a very sincere satisfaction in having
his (T. R s.) share transferred into Joseph s name, so after my
decease my three dear Sons will stand possessed of two-fifths
of that concern. . . .
Act. 86 ELIZABETH PEASE OF FEETHAMS. 305
On the 3ist May he enters his eighty-seventh
year, and goes as usual to Ayton School Committee.
The following is curious :
Wed., June I. I sometimes fear something like a feverish
philanthropic delirium may be becoming wastefully prevalent
over that life which is hid with Christ in God. Societies
for promotion of peace, for the use only of free grown
cotton, etc. An Olive Society, Ocean penny postage, Anti-
Slavery action, carried to great extent in the attentions to
Harriet Beecher Stow, author of " Uncle Tom s Cabin," and
total abstinence meetings, absorb many and drink up, I
fear, the life of God.
Wed., June 8. Considerable disappointment evinced by
many that the bill for a Railway from this town to Barnard
Castle was thrown out. ... It may be that the defeat
may result in something yet more advantageous. . . .
Fri., June 10. This evening of life to me is one of serenity
enjoyment, blessing and peace ; health is largely granted. .
Mon., June 13. Great disappointment at Barnard Castle
by the loss of the Railway Bill, in a public meeting called to
return thanks to dear Joseph.
Sat., July 2. In looking at the useful objects which claim
the attention of my dear Sons the growth and prosperity
of Middlesbro , that increase of the use of Ironstone im
portant to my Son Joseph, the completion of the Guisbro
Railway, the prosperity of the S. and D. Railway, the erection
of a bridge over the Were, the same or filling in Hounds Gill,
a Railway to Barnard Castle, all quite interesting to my mind
to see accomplished, yet to be detained here below to see any
of these effected is far from my desire or wish.
He over and over again objects to his niece Eliza
beth Pease s engagement to Professor Dr. Nicol,
of Glasgow, and apparently the match has the dis
approval of all her family ; he at one time thinks he
has succeeded in getting her to break it off, but at
22
306 EDWARD PEASE. 1853
last he records with great misgivings, and after some
pretty severe remarks about the " designing " man :
Wed., July 6. My niece Elizabeth Pease married at the
Independent Chapel at this place to Dr. Nicol, of Glasgow,
an union very much advised against and disapproved by all
her friends.
This lady was a very attractive personality and
is the subject of a biography in the " Saintly Lives "
Series.
Sat. , A ug. 20. The general plenty amongst nearly all classes
and the want of labourers so great a most remarkable unsettle-
ment prevails the rate of wages is enormously advanced and
unsettlement caused by ever wanting more turning out and
refusing to work at the Collieries, although my Son Joseph
says they can earn is. per hour. Something may soon be
looked to to change this novel and remarkable state of things,
which emigration may have caused.
He constantly refers to outbreaks of cholera
at this time. One day he says 102 died at Newcastle
and twenty at Gateshead. Later he records a total
of 2,000 deaths in Newcastle from this cause.
Sat., Sept. 24. John and Joseph left home to attend London
and York Quarterly Meeting in order to have a Friend appointed
by each of these meetings and one by Durham Quarterly
Meeting to distribute a legacy of 400 per annum, left by
cousin T. Richardson.
This is rather quaint, written at Harrogate, 7th
October :
. . . Thoughts very serious, most tender, affectionate
thoughts arise respecting my dearly beloved Joseph, with
earnest desires that the cumbering cares of this life may not
cover him as with thick Clay and so convert into an earthen
pitcher that which was intended for a vessel of honour and of
fine Gold.
Aet. 86 JOHN WILBUR. 307
In the middle of October he finds
a unity in the concern of John Dodshon to visit the families
of Friends in Middlesbro , Stockton and Osmotherley,
and after much self-examination and prayer to be
" kept in a weighty frame of spirit," he sets forth on
this very arduous work, and appears to visit about ten
families a day.
Sat., Oct. 29. Stockton. Heard this day of the sudden
death of Robert Barclay, ofLeyton, an upright man, a Friend,
but not in language, etc., closely adhering to our testimonies.*
Visited nine families this day.
Mon., Nov. 5. Anxious about my dear Grandson, J. W. P.,
in having heard of a gunpowder accident to him, which had in
some degree injured his eyes. The price of wheat is now 95.
a bushel ; was los.
Wed., Nov. 9. Great unsettlement prevails among the
colliers, at present they have ceased working at Adelaides and
Pease s West ; a similar unsettlement exists in the cotton
manufacturing districts and much distress from their remain
ing out of work. In many undertakings as in Iron there seems
a bloated prosperity, and so it is in the wages of the operatives,
they have more than their scale of morality can bear a
change may soon come ?
On the nth November he notes that " This day the
Middlesbro and Guisbro line of Railway was opened
for mineral traffic."
Wed., Nov. 16. Friends in some parts of the vicinity of
London are tried by the intrusion of John Wilbur f and his
* Vide Footnote, p. 207.
f John Wilbur (born 1774, died 1856), the founder of a sect of
Quakers in America, after he was disowned by the orthodox Quakers
for the part he took against Joseph John Gurney, whom he declared
to be unsound on account of his evangelical leanings. The differences
between the Wilburites and the Gurneyites were, I think, chiefly
that whereas the Gurneyites favoured regular religious instruction,
308 EDWARD PEASE. 1853
ministry. It must be the disguised transformation of Satan
which induces this man, disowned by the Yearly Meeting to
which he belonged, to come into this country and interrupt
the Peace of our Society.
Sat., Nov. 19. The character of this part of the county
and the opposite shore (Middlesbrough) is likely to change;
this day Joseph sold eight acres of land there for furnaces
and Robert Allan sold fifty near Hill House for the same
purpose.
This month he gives in an entry his reasons why
he leaves under his will more property to Joseph
than to his eldest and youngest sons. Because Joseph
has done most work, I gather is one motive, but the
main one is that Joseph has the much larger family
and he desires that his
grandchildren of this place, if it be so permitted, may be a little
nearer equal in possessions through dear Joseph s sons and
daughters.
He again enters on the duty of visiting the families
of Friends, and accomplishes the visits to sixty-three
persons in about a fortnight at Darlington, and the day
after finishing this task, he goes to meeting and
records :
A silent meeting. An unconquerable tendency to drowsiness
was my besetment. I strove against it. This infirmity of the
flesh, probably in some degree the effect of old age, I trust will
not by Him Whom my Soul Loves and desires reverently to
acknowledge in all my ways, be laid to my charge as Sin.
the Wilburites held that religious instruction should be only given
as prompted by the Spirit at the time, and that set teaching was done
"in the will of the creature." They held that the individual does not
know that he is saved, and they maintained that Gurney laid too much
stress on the Bible and outward knowledge of the temporal history
and facts of Christ s life on earth.
Act. 86 DEATH OF ALFRED PEASE. 309
Tues,, Dec. 20. Went with my three sons and Richard
Fry to Pease s West Colliery. John Brown, A. Jobson, Samuel
Hare and Joseph Sparks also. * Considerations about building
a school house and lodging house for forty to sixty young
men and the erection of forty cottages were paid attention to
at these very extensive Coal mines with upwards of 700 Coke
Ovens. Dined at Smelt House.
Wed., Dec. 21. . . . Invited to the Procters [three
sisters who kept the Friends Boarding School for Girls at
Polam] this evening to see what was called a Christmas Tree.
I did not feel inclined to go ; about seventy were
present. . . .
Wed., Dec. 28. After a very stormy night and considerable
fall of snow left Cleveland Lawn about nine ; the road was
rather difficult and the drifts deep, in no places cut, but was
favoured to be at my comforting abode about noon. Among
the dear friends at Ayton the perplexity and vexation which
defamation and detraction produces were by some keenly felt ;
so far as able I kindly counselled to pour Oil on the Wave.
In his summary for the year, after alluding to his
daughter Rachel s death, he adds :
and one darling grandchild of rich talent and promise, dear
Alfred, f has also been taken to his heavenly mansion ; the hour
is approaching in which it is my prayer, our circle, so affection
ate, so lovely to me, so mutually loving, may meet around the
throne of God.
* Of this party Mr. Alfred Jobson still survives in 1907 and is a
Director of Pease and Partners, Ltd.
J- Alfred Pease died of scarlet fever in 1852, aet. n.
CHAPTER XVII.
1854-
Fri., Jan. 6. Very cold frost with extraordinary deep
snow in the southern parts of the country. I fear many of the
poor in London are perishing for want of coals. The price has
recently been 403. per ton, and some report them as now 6os.
Mon., Jan. 9. The price of grain continues to advance
and tis becoming very serious to the poor. The price is about
eleven shillings per bushel. Except for masons and agricul
turists, wages are as equal and employment plentiful. A
subscription much too small is entered into and soup and coals
are provided for the aged and infirm and those of limited
parish allowance.
He continues his visits to Friends families ; as
usual, he names them and counts the adult individuals
he visits ; this month his total reaches 100.
On Thursday, igth, he mentions that his son Henry,
yielding to the desire of the Meeting for Sufferings goes along
with Robert Charlton and Joseph Sturge, with a memorial to
the Emperor of Russia, I suppose imploring him to put a stop
to the effusion of blood and human misery now affectingly
carried on with the Turks.
Sat., Jan. 21. Seeing that it hath pleased the Lord to
place me from my extreme age, my Son John from his favoured
gift, my Son Joseph from having been in Parliament, my Son
Henry as going to the Emperor of Russia in conspicuous
positions, my Soul longs that I and my descendants may be
310
Act. 87 HENRY PEASE AT ST. PETERSBURG. 311
preserved in great humility and watchfulness, that the Lord
may condescend to order all our steps and that we dishonour
not His name.
Tues., Jan. 24. At Ayton . . . On arrival at home
found a letter from beloved Henry there with A. Mundhenck,
at Dusseldorf, expecting to be at Berlin last evening. A
gentleman from Warsaw doubts their being allowed to enter
Russia. If all fail, hope they may have peace in having done
what they could.
Wed., Jan. 25. When I consider my sons and daughters,
my dear John and his Sophia with their two daughters, my
dear Joseph and his Emma, their seven sons and four daughters,
my dear Francis and Elizabeth, their son and daughter ;
my dear Henry and his son, words cannot convey the thankful
gratitude 1 feel. . . . The helpers of my infirmities,
the strengtheners of my faith, my support, my counsellors
and comforters.
Thurs., Feb. 2. This late, this long evening of life may
through Divine mercy be said to have a gently descending
slope and much of a peaceful quiet thankful mind in the midst
of innumerable blessings given me.
Fri., Feb. 10. Having long been uncomfortable in ob
serving the persons, mostly females, who bring poultry, butter
and eggs to market, standing exposed to storms and rain
without cover, I have caused one to be attached to the north
end of the Town House. It may cost me 100 to 130. If it
be found to be a protection and add to their comfort, this
little appropriation of a part of my blessings is well.
On the I2th February he hears of the safe arrival
of Henry and his companions at " Petersburgh."
He is very anxious about his grandson, John Henry
Pease, now aged eighteen, who is ill. On the 2ist
he mourns the death of "dear and most valuable Wm.
Forster," in Tennessee.
312 EDWARD PEASE. 1854
Mon., Feb. 20. Concluded to purchase for schools some
premises in Skinnergate for 1,600, expecting Friends will
liberally contribute to fit them up for First-day and other
schools.
Wed., Feb. 22. Grateful in heart for a good account
of my beloved Henry from Petersburgh. The object of their
visit, through divine favour, has been fulfilled in presenting
to the Emperor the address. Their reception was courteous,
the resulting effects of it rests with Him Who rules in the hearts
of the children of men. May He bless this endeavour to do
what we can to promote peace and Good-will.
Fri., Feb. 24. The public paper The Times* exceedingly
derides and ridicules the Society of Friends for sending the
deputation to Russia. So far as yet appears, we have cause
for thankfulness; the kindness of its reception by the Emperor
has been quite remarkable. His offer to make them presents
was declined that no venality might be ascribed to them.
His sending one of his messengers to help and haste them on
the way was striking. . . .
Mon., Feb. 27. An interesting evening at East Mount,
the Southend ones present, and we heard with gratified
pleasure dear Henry recite the varied Russian and other
experiences in his travels. ... I planted the new part
of the burying ground on three sides with Box and Holly trees.
Beautiful weather.
Wed., Mar. I. The address to the Emperor of Russia
which the three friends presented, now generally appears in
the periodicals. It is couched in respectful and beautiful
language, expressed with much feeling, and is said to have
moved the Emperor to tears of tenderness. I trust the whole
matter in every part has been conducted as becomes the
Society of Friends.
* A cartoon representing the Quakers as a braying ass standing
in front of the muzzle of a cannon, and articles making fun of their
mission and efforts for peace, may be seen in Punch.
Aet. 87
PREPARATIONS FOR WAR.
313
Sat., Mar. 4. . . . The prospects of war increasing
and mighty preparations making. Madness and folly, to be
rewarded by disappointments; disasters and frustrated
counsels, I think will some day be manifest. Tens of
thousands of soldiers, sailors and militia to be raised to
demoralise this country and impoverish it. May Heaven
forbid it All.
Tues., Mar. 7. Opposition is raised in Parliament
against an improved Reform Bill, and parties we had
deemed to be Liberal appear against it, Lord H. Vane, etc.
My belief is that from the encreasing intelligence of the people
various improvments in the legislature and constitution of the
kingdom will take place and an advance in gospel principles
will be more operative and practical.
Sat., Mar. n. This forenoon in part occupied by dear
John and myself conferring with Cousin J. R. [Richardson],
on some little painful, petty, defaming, detracting differences
which had got in amongst a few of the families of Friends
there [Ayton]. I trust a little of the softening influence of
persuasive love may have some effect, but nature and grace
are opposites and quite different. The last seeketh not its
own, the first seeketh its own and more ; one suffereth long
and is kind, the other is cold and contemptuous. . . .
Wed., Mar. 15. . . . My Grandson J. W. P. just
returned from a visit to his chosen friend. My nephew,
John Beaumont Pease, writes me from Stamford Hill a poor
sinking account of his uncle, my valued friend William
Beaumont. . . .
He watches his garden and fruit trees with the
same pleasure as of old, and on the 22nd March he
notes " the walls begin to look white with apricot
and plumb blossom/ and other such things. He
records this month the journey of his son, John and
S., to Allonby, to dismantle
my late Cousin Thos. Richardson s dwelling house. A
long life sees the desolating of many habitations
314 EDWARD PEASE. 1854
The kindest hospitality has been experienced under this roof.
. . . All must now be left desolate and bare. May its
owner through mercy rest in blessedness and peace where
no change nor any cares can come.
Wed., Mar. 29. I hear that War with Russia is declared!
Very affecting it is to think of the misery that is in store for
thousands Surely Nations, Rulers and legis
latures, have much to be accountable for, and neither those
in power nor those out of power can form an idea what the
calamity will produce or when it will end. . . .
Wed., April 5. An unsettled day in receiving calls, setting
off my visitors at several different times, and providing refresh
ments it entirely accords with my disposition . . .
to extend to my beloved friends a full measure of kindness and
hospitality, and should it not be permitted that I live to
repeat similar attentions, I may record that I have comfort
in having hitherto done what I could
Tues., April n. I have added a note to the memoranda
for the executors of my Will, proposing they shall endow
the almshouses my dear and honoured mother built
for four widows, that a Sum be invested which shall yield
43. weekly to the said widows. This settlement seems entirely
due from me, etc. . . .
He continues his visitations of Friends families,
and totals over 140.
Tues., April 18. This morning received the intelligence
of dear John Henry [Pease] having departed this life about
2 o clock yesterday, at Clifton; his end was peaceful, and
with a blessed hope, as would appear from answers to questions.
. . . This is our Monthly Meeting day at Staindrop.
I was most easy to stay at home with Charles and Francis
Richard [John Henry s brothers] who are now my inmates.
Jos. Whit well and Edward [two more brothers] will join us
at dinner.
Act. 87 LONDON AND BIRMINGHAM. 315
The next evening he calls on
Joseph and Emma, just returned from Clifton, bringing
lifeless John Henry with them, another interesting and
lovely branch reft from the parent Stock.
Sun., April 23. The interment . . . of my dear Grand
son John Henry took place at half past ten. The attendance
was very numerous. The meeting was a very quiet and
I trust instructive one. . . . My dear John ministered.
In the evening about seventy friends, relations, and the young
men of John Henry s acquaintance assembled, and the even
ing seriously and becomingly spent.
Thursday, 4th, he travels to London with Joseph
and Emma and his own servant, " Charles " :
Our train, thirty or more carriages with two locomotives,
travelled the 240 miles without one minute s delay from an
accident, so marvellously complete is mechanical power and
arrangement.
Fri., May 5. Attended the Meeting for Sufferings. . . .
Eli and Sybil Jones recounted their labours, dangers, and
exercises in Norway, Germany, and long detentions in Switzer
land and the South of France, where they met with marvellous
openness among the people. A company of serious soldiers
who held religious meetings were much attracted to these
dear friends, and also the Clergy, eleven of whom assembled
to confer with them, etc. Jos. Forster gave up the Certificate
granted to his brother [William, deceased].
The next day he travels to Birmingham to attend
the funeral of his " dear Cousin Rachel Lloyd/
and on the day of the funeral, the yth, he remarks
on the large number present ; 100 relatives assemble
in the evening. " It was," says he, " an opportunity for
Robert Howard to give some dry repetitions and allusions
to the exemplary virtues (acknowledged by all) of
the beloved deceased." He then journeys to London,
316 EDWARD PEASE. 1854
stays at Tottenham with Josiah Forster, and on the
loth goes to Walden, till the i8th, and so home in
good health.
Tues., May 23. Showery, fine weather, bearing the
promise of a fruitful year. Grain has been advancing in price
from the devastation of foreign exporting ports, and the
wicked waste of a wicked and cruel war.
On the 3ist he enters his eighty-eighth year.
An important interesting day of many considerations,
retrospective, present, and prospective. Surely a life so
prolonged ought to have yielded more fruit. . . .
He gets very anxious about his grandson.
Dear J. W. P. thin and not quite so well. Sometimes my
fears are quickened respecting him in the thought that he has
never looked so well since a violent fall in the stable yard
at Edmund Backhouse s, at Middleton (Lodge).
On the 7th June :
Very thougthful in the night about my beloved Grand
son, Jos. W. Pease, seeing him look so thin and delicate
yesterday. Should it be in the Counsel of the Omnipotent
Will that he should be taken, (but O, that it may not be so)
what a dissolution of flattering prospects as to this world, to
himself and all his family and to me during my remaining
short life ! . . . . Some feelings in my heart, perhaps
nervous, have awakened seriousness.
Wed., June 14. This evening was passed at William C.
Parker s, with other thirty-six or thirty-eight Friends, paying
a bride s visit to him and his Bride Margaret. Very striking
is the difference in the outset in life amongst Friends in contrast
with that simplicity which then was felt to be needful and
consistent, it now seems as if consistency with our religious
principles but very little bounded the newly married the
care is to have plenty of litter, decorative beauty and niceties.
Aet. 87
UPLEATHAM MINES.
317
Fri., June 23. My dear Joseph and Emma got home this
forenoon. I am comforted in seeing them look so well after
the toil and tugging arising from having to defend the Bills
in Parliament, which he and his associates did successfully :
The Barnard Castle Railway.
The S. & D. Junction from St. Helens to the Tunnel.
And the Tees Conservancy.
He finds that, as always is the case, the endeavours
to serve friends needs the sacrifice of time and trouble,
and the " constant engagement with visitors and
Friends deprives of time for mental introversion,"
and adds
You must both time and money spend
To lay an obligation on a friend.
Wed., July 12. Purposing to go to Cleveland Lodge,
Ayton, to attend my cousin Caroline Richardson s marriage
to-moro. I wish the union may be a happy one, the prospect
is not the very brightest. The consideration pressing on my
mind is that I may be preserved in that watchfulness by a
sense of the indwelling presence of the spirit of my Saviour,
that in word and deed I may minister to those present a good,
becoming example.
Tues., July 18. . ... At Middlesbro . ... In the
afternoon at Albert Leatham s. After dinner the Company was
much interested in seeing the long descending column of a
Waterspout, which damaged some houses near Eston.
He records on the igth the death at Waterford
of his " beloved cousin, Rachel Priestman," with
a eulogy of her character as a wife, mother and minister.
He stays at Marske a good deal, and visits Ayton this
month.
Sat., June 22. Marske. To the Ironstone diggings,
with upwards of twenty sons, daughters, grandchildren and
servants. The day was beautiful, the elevated mountain
scenery very interesting, the toil of cart travelling over
318 EDWARD PEASE. 1854
rough or constructed roads rather fatiguing, but the enjoy
ment outweighed. The digging for ore and removal of the
superincumbent soil also beyond expectation. Large profits
probable, but not equal to expectations, it is apprehended
will arise.
He goes to the funeral at Newcastle of Rachel
Priestman, lodging at Bemsell House, the burial at
Jesmond, and 100 Friends to tea.
Fri., Aug. 4. A very full town on account of a floral and
agricultural Show ; the former of these, in my apprehension,
has an excess of vanity and expenditure in it, which I doubt
a most tender conscience, feeling to the full the distresses and
wants of the poor, could not allow themselves to indulge in.
I condemn no man, but happy is the man of tender conscience
that does not condemn him in the thing that he allows.
The following are the sort of items still sprinkled
over the pages :
Aug. 7. Observed with grateful Joy a fine field of very
fine thick standing wheat, looking as if the sickle might soon
enter it.
Aug. 9. To-moro my Bees go to the Moors as annually.
Aug. IT. Observed a field of Barley cut near Marske,
the first one this season.
The i gth of August finds him in Scotland after
sundry visits.
Sat., Aug. 19. Aberdeen. Reached this place this even
ing in time to attend the meeting for ministers and elders;
present, Anthony Wigham, Lydia Barclay, etc.
He sticks to his duty in Scotland, and thereby gives
up the pleasure of being at his eldest grandson,
Joseph Whitwell Pease s, wedding. On Saturday,
26th August, he says :
Aet. 87 MARRIAGE OF HIS ELDEST GRANDSON. 319
In some respects it has been an important week to my
precious family. Dear Joseph W. Pease s marriage with Mary
Fox. My mind often visited them, their beloved parents and
the family ; my desire and trust is that this union has the Divine
sanction, and will be blest.
Fri., Sept. i. Purchased a house on Cleveland Terrace
(4) "that I might accommodate Ann Elizabeth Dale.
Went to Stapleton to see Christopher Johnson, reduced, weak
and feeble The season continues most beautiful,
near Cleasby, several stacks of wheat. The Cholera yet con
tinues in Middlesbro . My Son and daughter Gibson and
daughter left me for Balder Grange.
Wed., Sept. 13. When I ask myself what is my Lord
Jesus Christ to me, I say my Hope of Salvation through His
offices and all sufficiency.
My Atonement. My Bishop.
My Mediator. My Shepherd.
My Intercessor. My Sacrifice.
My Advocate. My Judge.
My High Priest. My King.
What more could I desire, what more can I require in order
to obtain the bliss of eternal life. . . .
Fri., Sept. 15. . . . . The day of the flower-show,
a matter in which I take no further interest than to encourage
the Cottagers to cultivate Gardens for useful vegetables,
or to keep Bees. . . . Mine is permitted for years past to
be a calm, peaceful descent to a similar narrow cell where my
dearest is laid, after, may my God grant my spirit be where
hers is. ...
He addresses a note to Joseph, " bearing upon the
additions and adorning of Southend," and " its effects
on his own mind and on his dear descendants," and
adds :
In endeavouring to keep another s vineyard, may my
vigilance be ever on the stretch to keep my own.
320 EDWARD PEASE. 1854
Wed., Oct. 4. Early part of the day much occupied with
callers whom I had not seen before. . . . The after part
of the day it was my grateful employ to have to celebrate
my Lov d Grandson J. W. P. s marriage by a bride s visit.
A day of rejoicing to many, and of mourning, I hope,
to many on account of the intelligence of the taking of
Sebastopol. The carnage and consequent misery deplorable ;
probably more than 20,000 killed and wounded, Russians and
allies
Sat., Oct. 7. . . . . Accounts are received of a
most alarming destruction by a conflagration having taken
place at Gateshead and Newcastle by the explosion of several
tons of Gunpowder, Brimstone, etc., very many houses burnt
down, the glass in hundreds of houses broken, many lives lost,
and the infirmary rilled with those who are injured. [He
sends 20 for the relief of sufferers.] Dalias all killed by frost.
Tues., Oct. 10. The accounts from the seat of war are of
dreadful slaughter of English, French and Russians near
Sebastopol, and the aqueducts to that city being cut off
I fear an intense and wasting misery to the innocent and all
inhabitants is bitterly felt. Oh, for the Reign of the Prince of
Peace.
Wed., Oct. ii. My dear Grandson (J. W. P.), his
bride and cousin E. Howard, paid me their first visit, I deem
it a favour. I desired, if right, that I might live to see this
happy union solemnised, and my heart is grateful therefor.
Our company was about twenty-two, and a very pleasant easy
agreeable evening we spent together, such as was without
much of condemnation, and I trust not in more cheerfulness
than was consistent with the joyous occasion.
Fri., Oct. 13. Received an account of the loss of the
Arctic, on board of which were upwards of 300 persons,
only about fifty saved. On board this vessel, an American
steamer, was my dear friend Mahlon Day, his wife and
daughter, so recently, so very agreeably with me. His
loss will be lamented and keenly felt by the Friends of New
Act. 87 S. SMILES AND ROBERT STEPHENSON. 321
York, of which meeting he was a truly valuable member. A
mournful calamity permitted by Infinite Goodness.
Thurs., Oct. 19. On this day in the year 1833 (twenty-one
years ago) the most precious gift of my heavenly Father
as my chief comfort, delight and treasure, was taken from me.
Inexpressibly dear to me is her memory, and now from heaven
it seems her call was to me " cherish my memory, follow
me as I endeavoured to follow Christ, and as thou hast wit
nessed, in dedication and devotion."
Fri., Oct. 20. S. Smiles was with me to obtain particulars
for a memoir of the life of George Stephenson. It appears to
me that Railways will be a favour to the world, and I do not
regret, but far otherwise, that my time, care and attention
was so closely occupied for many months. Except with the
help of a faithful secretary, R. Oxley, the care and charge
of providing all materials and all the costs for the waymen s
wages rested on me. If I have been in any way made a humble
instrument of use in the creation, all the praise, and I render
it, is due to my God.
Sat., Oct. 21. A tendering sweet feeling of being united
to my precious ones gone before into the Realm of Joy and
peace, my treasures already there. The blessing of my
existence, my precious wife, my daughter Mary, my son Isaac,
my son Edward, my daughter Rachel. Sweet, affectionate,
obedient, loving, pious children.
Mon., Oct. 23. My friend, Robert Stephenson the engineer,
to spend two or three days with me a man of most highly
gifted and talented power of mind, of benevolent, liberal,
kindly, just, generous dispositions, in company most interest
ing. My dear Sons John and Henry dined with me. At tea
at my son Joseph s, a considerable and interesting company.
At home to sup, and after it some social interesting subject
occupied us to near eleven.
Tues., Oct. 24. At breakfast with dear Henry; present,
Robert Stephenson, John Dixon, T. McNay, F. Mewburn,
David Dale, Beaumont Pease, J. Pryor Hack, and Thomas
Booch. After breakfast, Robert Stephenson and four more
23
322 EDWARD PEASE. 1854
went up the S. & D. line as far as Hounds Gill, and enjoyed
their day. The evening pleasantly spent nearly alone,
expressing to Robert Stephenson my anxious desire that
smoking and taking wine might be carefully limited. Free,
open converse. Oh my soul, be upon the watch. . . .
Thurs., Oct. 26. Robert Stephenson, after a pleasant social
visit, left me this morning. . . .
Fri., Oct. 27. . ... In the evening I had the
company of the three sisters Procter and twenty of their pupils.
To entertain them and see them in pleasant health and spirits
is very grateful to my mind. A present of a book was made
to each Girl.
Mon., Nov. 6. Affecting account of misery in Sebastopol,
and devastation in the bombarded City ; the cruel want of
water, the misery and wretched state of the English soldiers
by the want, it may be said, of efforts to make existence
anything but one of great privation and distress, and among
my countrymen added to their misery great numbers
slaughtered and far more suffering by wounds. When
shall horrors cease ? May the Highest hasten the day.
Fri., Nov. 17. Wrote to E. P. Gurney. Is the sword, so
destructive in this sad war, to devour for ever ? Surely in the
favoured but lowly and despised Society of Friends that day
which is foretold of bending the sword into a ploughshare has
dawned. Oh, that the accomplishment of this prophecy
might soon be fulfilled, that the earth might enjoy its Sabbath.
Sat., Nov. 18. . . . Accounts of great slaughter
among the troops in the Crimea ; very many of the finest men
in the English army, the Guards.
Mon., Nov. 20. There is at this time great exertions
making in every part of the kingdom to raise a very large
sum called a Patriotic Fund, for the widows and orphans of
those who may be slain in battle or die of disease in the
Crimea or elsewhere. In this movement Friends feel they
can take no share or mix themselves in anything connected
Act. 87 THE CRIMEA. 323
with war, yet if poor sufferers come under their notice the
law of kindness must be fulfilled.
Thurs., Nov. 23. The Essay meeting held at my house
this evening was a very pleasantly interesting one, sixty-
five were present. This Fair-day (cold and snowy) was very
thinly attended, once a very busy one, seems now to be
wearing out, while the fortnightly fairs have very much
increased.
Mow., Nov. 27. Gratitude clothes my mind when I think
of my blessing and privilege of being a member of the Society,
and that all my dear descendants are members. To us
and our beloved Society is the enjoyment of that great serenity,
peace, and comfort we are all so graciously permitted to
enjoy. None of that suffering death and dying so prevalent
in the Crimea, none of the bemoaning of parents over their
wounded sons, no sorrow or wailing of our widows, no
crying of our Orphans.
Wed., Nov. 29. The 500 we [Robert Stephenson & Co.]
have given for the establishment of schools at Newcastle on the
broadest and most tolerant religious principles, seems to me
will be got hold of by the never satisfied grasp of the Church
of England, doomed some day, I do believe, to melt away,
it may be by political strife ; but a day of more light and truth
will follow.
Wed., Dec. 13. Accounts from that scene of bloody
warfare are on every ground discouraging and very affecting.
Suffering and slaughter very great. Parliament met yesterday,
and I am sorry to observe, however angrily anyone may
speak of the neglect of many essential things, a warlike spirit
prevails in the nation. Oh my soul, be mindful and careful
about thy own business.
Mow., Dec. 25. This day having a Popish designation,
Christ s Mass, may well be thankfully remembered by the
pious Christian, if it is the day on which the Saviour of men
was ushered into the world gladdening good old Simeon
324 EDWARD PEASE. 1854
and every one in measure who rightly thinks of this great
event but to what an extent this day is spent in riotous
banqueting and forgetfulness !
The following day he entertains all his descen
dants about Darlington and others, " twenty-one in
all." On the 3oth December, he records, " The first
Iron drawn from the two newly erected Furnaces."
This was the birth of the great Cleveland iron trade.
Considering his soul s progress during the year,
he puts certain queries to himself, and in " great
reverence and humility," can say that he trusts he
is nearer " in preparation and fitness " for his change.
The love of my Lord and the more constant sense of His
presence and overshadowing abiding with me, being more
preciously as well as more generally felt, with supplication for
complete purity and sanctification.
CHAPTER XVIII.
FROM now till the end of 1857 the writing gets
gradually more shaky, but it is in this year easily read.
His religious entries breathe more hope. He watches
agriculture and Nature with the same keen interest,
struggles to keep awake in meeting, and as of old, to
keep down his naturally too cheerful disposition, re
members his lost wife, and travels to visit relations,
Friends, meetings, and regularly to Ayton to look after
the Agricultural School. He notes the signs of his old
age, " some feeling of trembling in walking," and " a
tendency to stagger in stepping."
Tues., Jan. 9. Cheering tidings of peace being near are
currently believed.
He refers in January to the pleasure of his visits to
Woodlands, to see his grandson " J. W. P. and his
Mary," and throughout the year continues a habit of
spending every " seventh-day evening " with his
r< beloved descendants " at Southend.* With his usual
hospitality his house seems to be generally full of
visitors. In regard to one party of relations from a
distance who settled down on him he makes the only
* The day I was writing this I had a visit from his great-grand
daughter, Mrs. Theobald Butler (nee R. M. Leatham), and she, in answer
to a question of mine as to how much she could remember of Edward
Pease, said she had a very distinct recollection of him, and especially
of going to Southend always on Saturday evenings, and of being given
gingerbreads and Pomfret cakes (a liquorice sweetmeat) by him, and
taken on his knee.
325
326 EDWARD PEASE. 1855
remark that betrays that he ever is tried by the con
tinual arrivals and departures of his guests, and it is
rather a good one :
While I feel thankful for being enabled to exercise a
kind hospitality to my friends and relatives, yet the social
comfort varies greatly between those who come to partake
and share the enjoyment of pure friendship and those who
come solely for their own convenience, it is a difference between
a sacrifice that costs something and enjoyment.
On the I7th he says there are no more tidings of
the approach of the blessing of peace, but thinks
apparently the fall in the price of wheat 6s. per quarter
in London, a good sign and " a cheering change for
the poor."
Wed., Jan. 31. Great political changes anticipated by
Lord John Russell s resignation. Ministry outvoted by 257
majority. To me it appears gloom is continually spreading
over the prospects of this kingdom, and it maybe in the counsel
of Infinite Wisdom that ere the troubles of Europe and this
wicked war cease, that the great parent of all who once
said, " I will overturn I will overturn," may execute the
like sentence on this and other lands.
Tues., Feb. 6. Received an account of the death of my
cousin William Aldam, the only surviving descendant of my
uncle Thomas Pease. W. A. s character as a very honourable
merchant and man stood high, with good dispositions and
kindness without a (? very) tender conscientious attachment
to the principles of Friends, it may be said he walked with
them. . . .
He is glad that it was in the hearts of his dear Sons
" to give half-a-ton of coal to innumerable poor
widows and families" this month. He refers at times
to the war, but sees " little abatement in the sad
infatuated spirit which has so lamentably prevailed,"
and remarks that " confusion seems to stand at the
Act. 88 THE PUBLIC FAST. 327
door of all War proceedings abroad, and in all legis
lative proceedings at home. The last four weeks has
seen Lord Aberdeen s ministry quite overturned ;
Lord Palmerston formed a new one, it soon dis
located itself and again for a week or two we were
without a Government."
Sat., Feb. 24. Lord J. Russell gone to Vienna to endeavor
to make peace. May he be able to effect a measure
which seems fraught with so many blessings to this greatly
misguided country. John Bright, with a temperate manly
boldness, expresses his earnest sentiments on the war and
all the measures of Government. It appears to me he is
teaching Parliament and men in power more correctly to
act, to think, and to speak, and that there is truth of great
utility generally in his declarations.
He alludes on the 5th March to the death of the
Emperor of Russia, and hopes peace may be among
the changes caused by the event.
Wed., Mar. 4. Went with dear John to call on Henry
Pascoe Smith, at Hall Garth, a worthy magistrate, and very
useful in this vicinity. H. P. Smith is a man of buoyant spirits
and uncommonly facetious, with good sense. Apprehending a
day of solemn consideration through divine mercy might yet
be his, in a few words I adverted to it, and gave him J. J.
Gurney s valuable work on Love to God. Do I sufficiently
Love God ?
Sat., Mar. 17. At Southend this evening, the Dean of
Ripon present, a learned liberal Priest. . . .
Wed., Mar. 21. This a day appointed by Government
for a general fast, and it may well be a day of humiliation
for all who, by their maladministration, added inexpressible
cruelties and sufferings to all the dreadful cruelties of war.
[Allusion to the shameful conduct of the authorities in their
neglect of providing necessaries and clothes to the troops
during this terrible winter.] There is a general natural con
tempt and dislike to the fast, which gives me some hope
this Popish proceeding may not be resorted to. ...
328 EDWARD PEASE. 1855
Fri., Mar. 23. Government having ordered that no
interments shall take place in our burying ground nearer
than twenty feet of the Meeting-house, or any other dwelling
house, I have planted Lauristinus, Box, and Chinese Arbor-
Vitae near the Meeting-house, and a yew hedge across the
burying-ground at the west end of the Meeting-house.
He feels much a visit from his son-in-law, " Richard
Fry and his niece Sally," who come to spend three
weeks ; the former arrives for the first time without his
wife, and awakes memories of " our enjoyment of the
past." He is anxious about his " fine minded, valuable
nephew, Thomas Whit well," who is ill with scarlet
fever. He approves of the zeal in subscribing to the
" Famishing in Scotland." He refers to Miss Fry
as " Sally, a pleasant, dear, lively, interesting girl,"
and takes her a drive on Friday, 6th April, which
day, he adds, is " in the town an idle day, being one
of those popish mass days called Good Friday." The
next day he takes her to " spend the day " with his
" grandchildren, C. Albert and Rachel, and my three
great-grandchildren " [Leathams, of Gunnergate,
Middlesbrough]. He is interested in Henry s " one
first step towards obtaining a companion for life ;
the choice has my appro vance, and is, I think, judi
cious," the only element to render it in any way
" dubious, is disparity of years."
This disparity of years has been a great gain to
my generation and all Edward Pease s descendants.
As I write his choice still survives amongst us, a link
between the old order and the new, and combining
the best in both.
Mow., April. 1 6 Beautiful mild weather, heavenly good
ness allows all around me that is visible to smile. But, oh
for this poor sinful kingdom, while destruction and horrid
slaughter is going on by the fierce bombardment of Sebastopol,
by the English and French, the Sovereigns of both are now
Aet. 88
THE WAR.
329
revelling in the waste and splendor of our national resources
in London. Surely the Most High will be avenged if such
doings and such a Nation as this, etc.
Wed., April. 18 Watchman, what of the night ? Eternal
day must be near at hand, art thou prepared for the brightness
of its arising ? Having watched for its dawning with more
frequent constancy, than the opening morning, may my feeble
efforts to be ready, to love and serve my Lord, find acceptance.
Thurs., April, 19 At Ayton to attend the interment of
worthy Hannah White, the once faithful nurse of my beloved
Mother and Sister Mary until the close of their days. She
was two years younger than myself* ....
Amongst his references to the War :
All yet seems dark ; it may be that this transgressing king
dom may have to feel that which is reported regarding Russia,
the revolt of the Serfs against the Nobles. . . The Emperor
of the French has had two pistol shots aimed at him.
He goes to Hartlepool early in June to see Cuthbert
Wigham, " a sweet character," and on to Seaton
" to see my Meeting-house and little property there/
He is " thoughtful " about " his son Joseph s name
being brought before the meeting as suitable for the
station of an elder/ and very much as he loves him,
and much as he is satisfied that there is " some religious
mindedness and that there is a useful discerning spirit
in him," he feels he could not have proposed such a
thing, for " there is about his dwelling some approach
to an outward greatness," and in his life " a largeness
of engagement not consistent with the simplicity
of the Gospel." On the 8th of June, with the ex
pression of doubt from J. C. B., and perhaps one or
two more, the sense of the meeting was in his favour.
* His mother Mary Pease, nte Richardson, b. 1736, d. 1821. His
sister Mary Pease, b. 1764, d. 1820 umarried.
330 EDWARD PEASE. 1855
He notes on the 25th May the birth of an eldest child,
a daughter, to " dear Mary J. W. Pease."*
On the 3ist May he completes the eighty-eighth
and enters the eighty-ninth year of his " pilgrimage
in this vale of vicissitudes." He describes his night s
thoughts and states : " Vocal prayer in a low voice
on retiring to rest with my head on the pillow has
at times comforted me."
On June 25th, " My Grandson, Edward, at age
yesterday." In July he goes to Ackworth, and has
his grandson for his companion. He makes this month
his " annual balance " of his accounts, and from the
advance in value of railway shares, discovers " a
large increase of his property," and prays he may
dispose of it
in useful gifts and almsgiving, for all my Lord gives, it is yet His
own, and oh that He may condescend to instruct in all respects
in its use.
Sat., July 21. For the last week or two I have found
my walking powers diminish so that to walk hence round the
orchard requires two or three rests, but how gently and kindly
my Heavenly Father deals with me in leading me through
life. . . .
In August he has " beloved E. P. Gurney (J. J.
Gurney s widow), with her niece, Harriet Kirkbridef
"as his inmates." He notes at the beginning of the
month that
For weeks past rain has fallen that I do not remember
equally destructive hay weather in many places it has been
gathered to the dunghill instead of the Stack.
* This child was Emma Josephine, who married Vincent Waldo
Calmady-Hamlyn, of Leawood and Paschoe, and who died in 1888,
leaving an only daughter, Sylvia Mary Calmady-Hamlyn.
f Afterwards married Theodore Fox, of Falmouth, brother
to his grandson Joseph W. Pease s wife, Mary, nte Fox.
Act. 88 BRITISH MERCENARIES IN THE CRIMEA. 331
On Friday, loth August, he goes to Newcastle,
and has an " agreeable meeting " with " Robert
Stephenson respecting admitting W. Weelans into
partnership in the Forth Street Concern," and stays
at " Cousin Geo. Richardson s, much to my comfort."
He stays at Marske, where Joseph s seaside residence,
Cliff House, still meets with some disapproval :
There is a nice point distinguishable by the sensitive mind
as to using this world and not abusing it ; the swift witness
will unfold what is right in my beloved Joseph s dwelling, and
in all he does my heart s earnest desire is that he would consult
this witness and if so I think some fittings would be different.
This seems rather an anti-climax to us now-a-days.
The day after this entry he visits Hutton Low Cross,
where his grandson, J. W. P., has his shooting, and
stays in the autumn.
Wed., Aug. 22. Accounts of great slaughter of the poor
Russians in the Crimea, 4,000 or 5,000 ! Surely the wickedness
of this country is great in not insisting on our Government
to make peace, but how increased is the wickedness of this
kingdom in hiring the innocent Swiss, Germans, and Sardinians
to fight in the Crimea. If national crimes are to be repaired
by national punishments, heavy is the scourge we may receive,
but man s great transgressions are oft passed over by a gracious
God, whose mercy is greater.
Sat., Aug. 25. The poor manX , of , who by
everyone is suspected of having by slow degrees poisoned his
wife, and who has been repeatedly examined by a bench of
magistrates has this day been committed to Jail to
take his trial on most strong circumstantial evidence.
X , who has been several months in Gaol,
. . . . and believed to be guilty by nearly every person,
returned home to this evening amid hoots and hisses,
proof having failed to fix the poisoning on him.
My father told me that one J.D., a man he knew
who had a dislike to this Mr. X., talking about the
332 EDWARD PEASE. 1855
crime for which he had been acquitted, said, " I
couldn t resist the temptation one day when I was
alone with him after the trial of speaking to him
about it." What did you say," said my father.
" Oh, I just said Now, Mr. X., there is a thing I m
very curious to know, and now you and I are alone
together I want you to tell me something just between
you and me. He said, Well, Mr. D., what is it ? I
said, I want to know just to satisfy my own curiosity
whether you poisoned your wife or you did not.
Oh, Mr. D., he replied, how could you think I
could do such a thing ? I wouldn t have done the poor
woman any harm for worlds. Thank you, Mr. X --
I says, that s all I want to know, I was curious to hear
the truth, because folks say you did. He was very
uneasy and uncomfortable at this turn of the con
versation, and soon got up and left me."
Fri., Sept. 31. My son and daughter Gibson and theirs,
come this day from Balder Grange. . . An obvious and
striking improvement has taken place with Irish reapers. They
are not nearly so numerous as formerly and their appearance
wonderfully changed. Instead of that great wretchedness
and being clothed as in a bundle of dirty, despicable rags,
they are now generally neat and clean.
He has his " dear Irish Friends Ellen and Lydia
Pike and daughters Louisa and Mary, with Ann Bewly
of Dublin," to stay with him for a week. At parting
" tears were shed in the feeling that we could not
expect to see each other s faces any more." On the
September :
The news from Sebastopol is a description more horribly
wicked and cruel than I believe history has ever told : the burn
ing of a hospital with 1,000 wounded soldiers raving mad with
thirst and agony !
Act. 88 A CHRISTMAS TREE. 333
Thurs., Oct. ii. At York. . . . and present at the
interment of a Friend, James King. His predecessors for two
generations known to me. This burial was the first in a new
graveyard neatly laid out not far from the Retreat. . . .
The meeting was favoured with the ministry of Thomas
Pumphrey and Priscilla Green. But oh, I was so oppressed
with heaviness, to me it was a profitless time how sad !
Fri., Oct. 19. A beautiful fine, mild day, after a very severe
frost two or three days ago which killed the dalias, etc. Fruit
exceedingly abundant. Apples, Pears and Plums very cheap,
potatoes good and very little disease but very high priced,
2s. gd. per bushel. Wheat IDS. 6d. and Oats 45. per bushel.
Monetary matters in France and England much convulsed,
discounts now seven per cent.
Among his visitors and callers this month are
Josiah Forster, "Cousins J. and R. F." and Lord
Henry and Lady Vane ; he talks with the latter for
two hours. She is an agreeable woman, and he an
intelligent, well-informed man ; gave her J. J. Gurney s
Love to God/ He has taken an interest in a Poly
technic Exhibition, to advance the funds of the
Mechanics Institute, but at the conclusion he cannot
reflect on it with unmixed pleasure, considering that
young Friends had made the arrangements, and they
had " introduced singing and music, calculated to
give a taste for such and to destroy that mental peace
much sweeter than sounds."
Wed., Dec. 26. Burning letters and papers that my dear
executors might have less to do when that solemn duty falls
upon them which has occupied much of my time and attention.
My hope is they will find very few of my accounts troublesome
or intricate.
Fri., Dec. 28. At Southend. The evening spent less to
my comfort than usually, the levity etc., of what is termed a
Christmas Tree was below that which belongs to those who
have attained to maturer years.
334 EDWARD PEASE. 1855
The review of the year includes his own " unin
terrupted good health," no " distressing event "
among any of his " precious descendants," " enough
of prosperity," etc. He ends :
Surely I must be drawing near the end of my long life.
May He condescend to be with me at the most aweful hour,
. . . and in mercy, all of mercy, receive me into his
Heavenly Garner. Amen.
CHAPTER XIX.
1856.
ON the fly-leaf of his diary is written, " Often
and much alone, this book may be called my com
muning Companion/
He begins this year by wanting to go, as usual,
to the Quarterly Meeting at Newcastle, but feels it
will be too much for him, and that " the feebleness of
my limbs and my pace makes me too much a care
to my too affectionate relatives and friends " ; it is
a comfort to him that " eighteen of my precious
family " go. He enjoys entertaining his relations,
and spends one evening having letters read to him,
" which my dear departed mother wrote, then in her
eightieth year." The same day he hears the " cheering
news " that the basis of peace has been agreed on.
As an example of the deliberation and care taken in
little matters in those days, I give the following :
Fri., Jan. 22. Very thoughtful in hearing my dear son
Henry was contemplating a trans- Atlantic tour, affectionately
depending on my conclusion. May we be assisted to deter
mine aright.
Wed., Mar. 5. Burning a great number of letters from
my beloved sons and daughters and grandchildren. All proofs
of their most comforting kindness and affection are strongly
expressive of this and many matters and thoughts of enduring
interest.
335
336 EDWARD PEASE. 1856
He enjoys having thirteen of his grandchildren
with him, and in a beautiful sort of prayer for their
future ends, " May we love Him to the end : then
He will love us at the End."
Sat., Mar. 15. I was brought very low on hearing that an
association of young Friends at Bradford had agreed to give
up the use of simple and plain language. I lament it. Is
not this a time which we may as of old say the Tents of Cushan
are in affliction. Is not such a combination comparable in
disposition to those who formerly broke down the carved work
of the Lord s house with axes and hammers.
He goes to sit by his " dear sinking Anna s "
death-bed ; it reminds him of the days when he sat
by the " same bed when my dear languishing brother
[Joseph Pease, of Feethams] was laid thereon." She
dies the 2nd April. It is curious to note his pleasure
in simple things : he attends " an interesting lecture
on geology "
in which was a large display of the inhabitants of the earth
and water when all was chaos. Figures of huge animals of
the former creation, etc. . .
He still watches his garden : notes when the
first asparagus is cut (26th April), when the goose
berries set, when the lilacs come into leaf and are
" showing for flower," and when the Plum and Jargonelle
trees are in blossom. He never forgets his lost Rachel,
and says, " If it is permissible to enjoy that which is
not revealed and is hidden ; then he may note " the
sweet, indescribable sense of endearment which visits
his spirit when he " thinks of his precious one in bliss
and his beloved children, loved all far beyond all words
can tell."
Wed., April 30. At Southend with the Trustees of Thomas
Richardson s Legacy Fund, dear Henry and Samuel Gurney
Act. 89 SAMUEL GURNEY. 337
not present. It was a pleasure to see the distribution of many
donations . . . encouragement for pupil teachers, Friends in
low circumstances, for schools, and the blind such as I appre
hend would be approved had T. R. being living.
Sat., May 17. . . . In looking to spend the afternoon
with my seven grandchildren at Southend (their parents being
in London) I compare myself to the stem of an old rough
barked Oak quite staghorny in its branches, with a few green
worn leaves upon them, incapable of being to them what I
would, a gratefully refreshing shade.
Wed., May 21. Swallows first noticed this Season.
Fri., May 30. . . . My health as to all personal
feeling is perfect. Stiffness of limbs, limited powers of action
and walking more completely confirm my old age than any
other senses. Sight is imperfect, taste, touch feeling and hearing
unimpaired. Great is the longing of my soul to return to my
gracious Creator, thanks and praises due.
The next day he notes, " This my natal day, enter
ing my ninetieth year." On Sunday, 8th of June,
he " heard of the death of dear Sam. Gurney, at Paris/
and the next morning writes :
On reflecting on beloved Sam Gurney, I see the man beyond
all others I ever knew, the accumulator of vast wealth, in
talent conspicuously pre-eminent, kind, generous, beloved, a
Friend sound in principle, bound to the Society, in candour and
counsel remarkable. In the Meeting for Sufferings I have
admired his clear directing views, and also in our Yearly Meet
ing often dropping wise, just, good opinions. His end was in
blessed peace.
On the loth he goes with about fifty young people
and others "to Hutton Ironstone diggings," "delighted
with the mountainous scenery, and dining on the
heather covered hills under a wall " ; then to Cleve
land Lodge and a " bountiful tea on the Lawn in front
of the house," and on the I4th he adds,
24
338 EDWARD PEASE. 1856
Joseph left home to attend the burial of Sam. Gurney s
remains, and this forenoon the mourners (very sincere ones
they will be) may be standing round the Grave of this almost
unequalled man.
And then contemplating those assembled in heaven,
he desires to be there too.
He circulates " 2,000 testimonies " concerning
S. Grellet to his friends. He pays a visit to " Middle-
ton Tyas with my cousins Edmund and Juliet Back
house, and accompanied there by son Joseph and
Joseph W. P., his Mary and babe.* For a month he lives
at Southend, " perfect loving-kindness from beginning
to the end."
Wed., July g. The Barnard Castle Railway was opened
yesterday ; it was wet.
On the J-7th, " Got up all my hay in good condition.
Little of summer warmth has yet been felt, and very
late are all the products of the earth :" and on the 22nd,
" The first hot day this season " ; he spends it in
" tranquil delight," seated with his grandchildren
" on the terrace at Marske," and adds, just like him
self, " I fear my mind was more at ease and peace
from my nature rather than of Grace." On the 2Qth
he dines with 130 at the " annual school meeting "
at Ayton.
On the ist August, Friday,
went up the Barnard Castle Rail Way with my dear son
Joseph. The day very warm but no change of colour, as of
approaching harvest, yet perceptible.
In the evenings of these hot days he drives out
and records the appearance of crops, and the first
" harvest tints in the cornfields." On considering
all he has given away to his family and sons, he looks
*The babe Emma Josephine Pease, born 1855.
Aet. 89 JOHN FOWLER. 339
forward to being " rather straitened and limited in my
annual income." He says " I am now much alone,
except when my dear Grandsons come in to dine,"
all the family being away at Marske and Ayton. It
is not till the 20th August that he first can record
corn cut. " Two fields of Barley cut near Gainford;
the price of grain rises."
Fri., 22. My cousin J. B. Braithwaite, his Martha, sister,
nurse and three children came, their company pleasant and
instructive. As Friends in consistent principles and demeanour
truly exemplary, it is a comfort to see and entertain such
strangers.
On the 2nd September he is " informed that my
beloved Elizabeth Lucy was yielding to John F. ;
she is a lovely, sweet child." John Fowler, whom she
married, was the inventor of the steam plough ; he
died from the results of a hunting accident, when I
was a small boy, and the big weight-carrying grey
horse that fell with him, was at our stables after the
accident, at Hutton. When my Uncle John died, my
father ordered the horse to be shot, and I went to say
good-bye to him as he stood with his head over the
gate of a paddock before he was executed. I can
remember my indignation at the deed, and my thoughts
as I saw his limbs hanging in the kennel larder, and
my disgust at being told his skin would fetch ten
shillings or a pound. John Fowler left one son, John
Ernest, who died at Algiers, at the age of twenty-one.
In September he again entertains the
Braithwaites, seven in number. . . . He is a most intelligent
man, sound in judgment, with a well stored mind, in valuable in
his position and station as a minister to his friends in London
and elsewhere.
He also enjoys meeting " Sarah Fox, of Falmouth,
was a Hustler," and talking over with her the " by
gone days at Undercliff."
340 EDWARD PEASE. 1856
Thurs., Oct. 2. A very impressive good exhortation
in sweet gospel affection from Mary Waterhouse, chiefly
addressed to the young. Oh, that it might be as a nail fixed
in a sure place. . . .
Tues., Oct. 7. An unusually large meeting . . . yet
a little tried in mind by a Friend speaking on a text in Proverbs
often not literally and practically true. Difficult texts not
clearly explained should be shunned as unsatisfactory and
disappointing.
On Monday, I3th October, he records a beautiful
day, and remembers the date as always :
This day, twenty-three years ago, was the time of my
great loss and most heavy affliction, when my precious Rachel,
the true partner of my Joys and sorrows, was taken away.
My counsellor, my blessing, my helper heavenward. Ah,
there in the fulness of Joy her spirit rests.
The next month, among his many visitors are
Wilson and Mary Crewdson and family."
It vividly revived their most affectionate kindness at that
sorrowful time, now upwards of twenty-two years ago, when
all that was most worthily loved on earth was taken from me,
expiring at their house in Plymouth Grove, near Manchester.
Fri.,Dec. 12. Much converse about a railway to Kendal,
etc. . . . Henry at Ulverstone respecting it. ...
Mon., Dec. 22. Two of the girls from the Procters
Boarding School, Mary Allan and . Webb, from Mullen are
with me during the major part of their vacation.
Sat., Dec. 7. At Southend, and the two Irish girls,
Webb and Allan, now with me. The Emperor of Russia has
signified that he designs to admit a Constitution to the Finns,
treated with so much cruelty by the Baltic fleet. Friends
have ever been against war and piracy.
There are other allusions to the wanton wickedness,
etc., of the Baltic fleet earlier in the year.
Act. 89 REFLECTIONS. 341
Wed., Dec. 31. . . . . The past year and bygone
years have found me, especially since my precious companion
was taken to heaven, more and more anxious to acquaint
myself with God, who in His great mercy has condescended
to draw near to me, visited me in His love and granted me,
blessed for ever be His Holy name, a good hope that through
the intercession and advocacy of His son, who laid down His
life for my complete redemption, I may be an heir of Immor
tality in His kingdom. I should be short of that gratitude
which is due to my gracious Creator if I do not commemorate
the past year as one of abounding mercy every way. The
blessings of a happy and entirely healthy existence. . . .
surrounded by descendants of three generations ....
all having my prayers that they may be more faithful and far
more useful in their generation. . . . What the unfoldings
of the coming year may be is known only to Him Who doeth
all things right and well. M. 89 and 7 months.
CHAPTER XX.
1857-
AND now we have got to the last year of the diaries,
the writing betrays evidence of a hand shaking and
eyes dim with age. In this volume is a slip :
These books, kept for a notice of passing events and often
giving rise to a self review and seriously useful reflections,
sometimes personal, may at once be destroyed.
Sat., Jan. 17. A subject of general converse and greatly
condemned is the Bombardment of Canton ; the destruction of
the City and Forts is deemed a harsh and cruel revenge for
some misdoing of the Governor. . . .
He alludes with gratification to the proposed "rail
way across the Kingdom to unite this county with
Westmoreland and Lancashire," but has no desire
to live to see this and many other works of utility
accomplished.
Sat., Feb. 7. Heard of the decease of my cousin George
Stacey in the evening of last 5th day. Years have passed
over since his powers of mind and body were almost entirely
(the latter especially) prostrated. In middle life he was an
active and truly valuable member of our Society, for
several years Clerk to London Yearly Meeting.
On the 27th February he receives "my widowed
cousin Jane B. Fox, of Falmouth, very sweet and
tenderly affectionate."
342
Act. 90 HENRY PEASE S ELECTION. 343
Wed., Mar. 4. The news this morning is very interesting
and acceptable. The House of Commons have condemned
that approvance which the Ministry has given to the cruel
bombardment of Canton majority against Lord Palmerston
sixteen. In the House of Lords the conduct of Sir John
Bowring and Admiral Seymour was approved, and nine Bishops
voted in favour of this cruelty and bloodshed ! !
Sat., Mar. 7. I find the conclusion of a public town meet
ing is to grant my earnest request that no Testimonial
be presented to me on account of my persevering efforts to
perfect the first public Railway ever thought of. In this
undertaking I had a good helper and warm coadjutor in my
cousin Jonathan Backhouse, yet his cares and attention
were much more remitting (sic) than mine.
Mon., Mar. 23. A day of some trouble and anxious care,
for my beloved Henry having consented to offer himself
as a candidate for South Durham, has issued his address and is
to expose his political opinions, etc., etc., before the assembled
freeholders this evening. He has my near and very affection
ate sympathy in this great voluntary trial he has brought
upon himself. I think he will not be disappointed ; if he is,
I am ready to believe it may be a blessing to him. . . .
Fri., Mar. 27. The day of Caroline Doyle s interment at
Bristol, a day of mourning to the families of Fry. Dear Henry
with his brother Joseph at the Hartlepools to-day. I am
anxious about their reception there, prejudiced as the people of
West Hartlepool are by Ward Jackson, a bottomless man.
The next day at Southend he finds his " cheerful
grandsons greatly interested and bustling about their
Uncle Henry s election."
Fri., April 3. The Parliamentary struggle was over this
evening. Pease 2,568, Vane 2,533, Farrar 2,089. This result
proves this section of the county is not in the dictation of the
Duke of Cleveland. Yet the decision as regards my precious
Son yields me no comfort, my fears and forebodings are in some
344 EDWARD PEASE. 1857
degree those of apprehension that it will not be for his soul s
peace or that this dear Son may be exposed to temptations and
discomforts. . . .
He himself remains " thankfully free from every
excitement as regards " the result.
Mon., April 6. Considerable excitement in the town, the
Sheriff declaring the election of Pease and Vane. My mind
does not derive comfort from dear Henry s election, but as an
increase of virtuous right-minded men in the House of Com
mons is greatly to be desired, so I desire that merciful over
ruling goodness may permit some enduring good to spring out
of what my dear Son does consider to be his right and important
station.
A day or two later, after a " fluctuating forenoon "
from Friends leaving him and calling at his house,
he writes :
It may be well to record one pleasing circumstance, possibly
to the good result of the efforts in the Temperance cause, that
from the evidence and inquiries I have made, not one inebri
ated person was seen on the day of dear Henry s return.
Thurs., April 9. A small, silent week-day meeting. . . .
From age and circumstances it has devolved upon me to break
up our meeting. It is always a very serious thing to me. At
times in the meeting and in my own spirit there is such a
sense of precious worship I hardly dare to do it, at other times
some impatience from no worship being felt.
Fri., April 24. My friend Robert Stephenson came in
about noon, he accompanied me to my nephew John B. P.
to meet all my sons, daughters, and their descendants in this
place who were present. The evening was pleasantly and
gratifyingly spent in converse. But oh, my leanness in feeling
at home in the body. . . .
Sat., April 25. R. Stephenson left this forenoon ; his repre
sentation of the Forth Street concern bright and encouraging.
Aet. 90 BIRTH OF A GREAT-GRANDSON. 345
He handed a Hitchin Railway bond to the amount of 5,000
for dear Joseph and myself ; the bonds are at par, being four per
cent, bonds. Cold.
Mon., April 27. A pleasant assemblage at my dear Grand
son J. W. P., and his Mary and her sister, socially, I hope
allowably spent. . .
Wed., April 29. Prolonged and how long has been my
voyage on this boundless Ocean of time, how large and manifold
have been my blessings and preservations through the un
merited mercy of God. Ah, and how have I seen them that
had forsaken Him blasted and blighted and obviously sink,
whilst those who live near to the blessed instruction of his
Spirit had in all respects a prosperous voyage and at last
anchored where there were no more storms.
On the ist of May Henry joins him at breakfast,
" having yesterday taken his seat and been present
at the choice of Speaker, etc., and returns home for
the week s recess/
Fri. y May 8. Planted the West yard of the Meeting-house
with cuttings of Ivy with the expectation that some day (not
one that I shall live to see) it will be clothed with green and
add to the agreeable appearance of the Grave Yard. My
beloved daughter Gibson and her Francis came this evening,
much to my comfort.
When they leave on the igth he settles in at
Southend.
Tues., June 2. Deprived as I am of the power of reading
the Holy Scriptures except the Book of Psalms and the
New Testament which I greatly value, as having these in
large type, I often lament that my memory does not supply
me with the recollection of a larger number of instructive
passages from the Bible.
Mon., June 29. My dear Grandson Joseph W. P. announces
to me that this morning a Son is born to him. It interests me
346 EDWARD PEASE. 1857
to have a male representative of my family in the third genera
tion. May he, like Samuel, if favored to live, be a blessing
and comfort to his parents. May they dedicate him to the
Lord and train him for a dedication so holy !
He continues, though now ninety, to go to Ayton ;
even attends the General Meeting there, " accompanied
by Lucy Fowler and Wm. Ball " ; " 120 dined at the
school " (4th August).
Thurs., Aug. 6. This day the marriage of my beloved
Grand-daughter Elizabeth Lucy to John Fowler. The meeting
very large the ministry of John Dodshon, John Pease and
the supplication of Isaac Sharp . . . pertinent to the
occasion and instructive.
He records the instantaneous death of Thomas James
Backhouse at Seaton. He goes to Barnard Castle
with Rachel Fowler, and throughout the autumn
makes his observations on the crops and weather,
as of old.
Fri., Sept. 18. . . . Accounts are still received
from India of fresh revolts and sad details of most cruel
murders of hundreds of men, women and children, of officers
and civilians, that hundreds of Europeans have fallen before a
savage, infuriated people and the rebellious Sepoyz.
Sat., Oct. 3. . . . While I think there is a Christian
liberty as to the use of liquor that can intoxicate, so I believe
the Christian may use these liquors without abusing them
or being abused by them. The Christian now, as the Apostle
formerly, can do all through Christ strengthening him.
Wed., Oct. 14. Parted with dear, pious, intelligent cousin
J. Bevan Braithwaite. His eye and intent seems whilst
attending to claims upon him as a useful Barrister to be
fixed on the business of his Lord and Master, his life and
conduct is a lesson and teaching for me.
Aet. 90 PRESENTATION OF AN ADDRESS. 347
Thurs., Oct. 15. Informed of the death of my dear honoured
valuable friend Sam Tuke, a man dignified by uncommon
talents, most useful to the community and the Church in
writing, and otherwise accomplishing much. A course well
run, a day s work well done. I seem to shrink into merely
nothing when I look at the man, his work and worth, and mine.
. . . Friend after friend departs ; surely I ought to
consider the messenger at my door. How shall I feel on
his arrival ? I trust with a humble resigned spirit, with
some blessed hope, some faith in Divine mercy. . . .
There was a day when through infinite compassion in a time
of great downbreaking it was given me to see that a door was
open which no man should be able to shut, and whilst that
doorway was narrow [writing here illegible].
Wed., Oct. 21. Great commercial difficulty and pecuniary
distress is reported from America. . . . Overtrading is
the cause, so that nationally and individually it is true that
they who make haste to be rich pierce themselves through
with many sorrows.
Friday, Oct., 23. Morning. I leave the record of this to
me eventful and rather trying day until it is closed. Noon.
Called upon by twenty, mostly my fellow [townsmen ?] to
present me with an address commending my early exertions
respecting Railways and Engineering, also my Sons. While
to be useful in our day and live in their esteem is to be gratified,
yet the Address presented is quite too full and above all our
services.*
The autumn is most " genial " ; late in November
there has been " no frost to injure Dalias and late
flowers." He notes " the pecuniary troubles and
difficulties which many opulent and highly respected
houses are severely tried, and some compelled to close."
He hears of relatives and friends affected by this
calamity, and is very much concerned, " especially
for all those concerned pecuniarily in the Shotley
* Vide p. 100, et seq.
348 EDWARD PEASE. 1857
[? Shirley] Iron Works," and he does not see how they
can " escape being swallowed in the Gulph." He attends
regularly the " select meeting."
On the 3ist December, in a longer entry than usual,
he sums up the year. He says among other things,
that
Winter has proceeded thus far without almost any appearance
of it, the mildness, the afterwarmth of the day has been, and
yet is quite remarkable ; grass has continued to grow, and
greenness is universal ; primroses and similar evidences of
spring from the swelled buds on the trees. . . .
He records his own and descendants good health :
the troubles resulting from the failure of the North
umberland Bank. Then come in writing I cannot
decipher some remarks in regard to his " precious
family," and then the last sentence of these
records :
Then as regards my precious Sons and daughters, inex
pressible is my comfort in them and in believing that the divine
life within continues and does encrease weaning them from
this perishable world.
The love of family and solicitude for his descen
dants mark him to the last. We now say " Good-bye "
to the good old man. He lived to the end of July,
1858, and then, having done justly, loved mercy,
walked humbly, and loved God to the end, He was
with him at the End.
For him the warfare is accomplished in the fight
he thought right to fight. The victory is won. Who
will say, who has smiled at the pedantry of his " plain
speech," or when he sat " a spectacle " with his hat
on in Church, or when he called himself to task for
looking at the Illustrated London News, or for betraying
Aet. 90 THE END. 349
his " naturally too cheerful disposition," that it was
not a brave fight ? Think of the old man standing
many years ago over the snow-clad mound, in the
night wind, where rests the " once lovely form " of
his " precious Rachel, and of something else which
has not entered into the heart of man to conceive,
which God has laid up for those that love Him."
APPENDIX I.
Vide p. 20.
A PLEA FOR A PEACEABLE SPIRIT.
Addressed by the Yearly Meeting of the Religious Society of
Friends, held in London, $th Month, 1901, to its members
and to the Christian Churches.*
The continuance of the terrible struggle in South Africa
has made our hearts heavy under a sense of the feeble witness
which we and other churches have borne to the gospel of peace.
War has laid its spell of hate even upon the Church of Christ,
in strange discord with her message of redeeming love. The
political origins of the conflict are beside our present purpose.
The avalanche has fallen, and now it is the ruin in its path that
compels consideration. Confronted with war s aftermath, the
Christian conscience is ill at ease, and the way is open for the
peaceable spirit of the gospel to re-assert itself in mind and
heart.
Many who at first supported the war with honest conviction,
recognise the moral deterioration that has marked its progress.
Individuals have made heroic sacrifice for a cause which they
believed to be just : many have borne with resignation the
heaviest sorrow which can darken the home ; but, in the
nation as a whole, the merciless logic of war has induced the
suppression of the noble impulses, and has shut the door
* For a general statement of the views of Friends upon the subject
of War, see the Address on "Christianity and War," issued by the
Yearly Meeting in 1900, to be obtained at the offices of the Society,
12, Bishopsgate Without, London, E.G., where copies of this appeal can
also be supplied.
352 EDWARD PEASE.
on the promptings of love. As passion has risen, the old
story has been repeated ; and once more the malice of man
has trampled on the life of Christ. How lurid is the scene
before us, in Africa the long-drawn struggle with its roll
of disease and death, the devastation of the land, the burning
of homesteads, the driving of destitute women and children
into vast camps, the widening gulf of hate and bitterness
between the two races ; and in England the reign of
prejudice, the fever of passion, the riots, the orgies in our
streets, the preaching of vengeance by the press and even
from some pulpits. Had men seen these things when yet
they deemed war a remedy, surely the conscience of both
peoples would have recoiled from the conflict as from a
crime. It is under this burden of the realities of war that
we would press the question, " Can such strife be consistent
with the spirit of Christ ?"
The defamation of our foes, which has denied the columns
of our secular and even of our religious press, cannot by any
jugglery of logic be accommodated to the sublime command,
" Love your enemies." The unchristian spirit which de
nounces " magnanimity" and insists on a " fight to a finish,"
has swept like a parching desert wind through the church s.
Conceal it as we may, we have been betrayed into
inconsistencies which stand exposed to a scoffing world,
and weaken our testimony to God s redeeming love. In
condoning militarism the Christian church destroys with
one hand the edifice of love which she seeks to build with
the other. It is her call to purify the national conscience,
to build up national character, and to insist that in corpor
ate as in individual life the one standard of conduct must be
the standard of Christ. As an apologist for war she abdi
cates her function. The fellowship of mankind in Christ over
steps the narrow limits of any exclusive patriotism, while it
preserves and cherishes the finer elements of national life.
The platform and the press to-day proclaim aloud the
false doctrine of force, and men will scarcely brook the slower
methods of peace. But in South Africa force has not solved
but complicated the racial and political problem. And in China
the barbarism of the allied intervention, with its atrocities
APPENDIX I. 353
in the name of Europe, must for long years retard mission
ary effort, and stamps with hypocrisy a civilisation which
professes brotherhood, but practises revenge.
The issue lies plain before the Christian church. On
the one hand we see a growing reliance on military power
for material ends, on the other the ideal of righteousness
and love as the bond and foundation of empire. The ideal
tarries through want of faith in the practical efficacy of the
spirit and teaching of Christ.
We appeal to the churches to wake to their high task
of maintaining a faith which shall make no compromise
with evil, but penetrate life with the Master s spirit of peace.
He who came to heal the broken-hearted and to proclaim
liberty to the captives requires from us that we should bid
the slaughter cease, and bind up the wounds of war with hands
of mercy.
Signed, in and on behalf of the Yearly Meeting,
JOHN MORLAND,
Clerk.
APPENDIX II.
Vide p. 27.
A " FRIENDS " WEDDING.
(From the Darlington and Stockton Times of March 8th, 1851.)
In recording the proceedings in connection with the
solemnization of matrimony according to the usages of the
Society of Friends we feel some hesitation in so far invading
the sanctities attaching to a rite so sacred, by entering into
a detail of the minutiae of the ceremony ; in deference, however,
to the, perhaps, pardonable curiosity of the gentle reader,
we so far lay aside that hesitancy, as to present an outline of
the proceedings.
The wedding of Miss Rachel Pease, third daughter of
Joseph Pease, Esq., to Charles Albert Leatham, Esq., of
Cleveland Lawn, Middlesbrough, took place on Thursday
morning last. At an early hour the Friends Meeting-house
was crowded to excess in every part, by an assemblage which
included the beauty and influence of the town, and, to a
considerable extent, of the district. At ten o clock, a number
of carriages arrived, containing the bridal party, who entered
the ante-room or vestry ; and at a quarter past ten, Joseph
Pease, Esq., and Mrs. Pease, entered the chapel, followed
by the bride and bridgeroom elect ; Mrs. Leetham, his mother ;
Wm. Henry Leatham, Esq. ; John Bright, Esq., M.P., and
Mrs. Bright ; Mr. Joseph Whitwell Pease, and Miss Birkbeck,
of Norwich ; Mr. Wm. Birkbeck and Miss Gibson ; Mr. F. E.
Gibson and Miss Hustler ; the three Misses Pease, sisters of
354
APPENDIX II. 355
the bride, accompanied by Messrs. Fowler, Edward Leatham,
and H. Barclay, Mr. Edward Pease, jun., and Miss Sophia
Pease, of East Mount, and Mr. H. Fell Pease and Miss M. A.
Pease, of East Mount. As we are not skilled in describing
the mysteries of a lady s toilet, the curiosity of our fair readers
must be contented with the simple statement that the lovely
and accomplished bride was attired in a dress of white silk,
surmounted by a paletot (we believe that is the word), and
bonnet of similar materials ; and the seven bridesmaids
appeared in dresses of pale lavender-coloured silk, with paletots
of white cashmere, trimmed with swans down : the bonnets,
with one exception, were of white silk ; the appearance of the
whole being in a high degree unique, chaste, and elegant.
Prior to the entrance of the bridal party, we noticed the
presence of a party of the relatives and friends of the family,
among whom were Mr. Edward Pease and Mrs. Anna Pease,
Mr. and Mrs. John Pease, Mr. and Mrs. Fry, Mr. H. Pease,
Miss Coates, of Smelt House, and Mr. and Mrs. Edmund Back
house. Amongst those present besides those we have named,
we noticed Mrs. John Backhouse, Mrs. Wm. Backhouse, Mrs.
Whitwell, Mrs. Isaac Wilson, of Middlesbrough, Messrs. Isaac
Sharp, Wm. Backhouse, Isaac Wilson, Edgar Gilkes, J. G.
Barclay and others.
After sitting for some fifteen minutes in solemn silence, the
bridegroom arose, and taking his bride by the hand, said :
Friends, I take this my friend, Rachel Pease, to be my wife,
promising by divine assistance, to be unto her a faithful and
affectionate husband, until it shall please the Lord by death to
separate us.
The bride then said : Friends, I take this my friend, Charles
Albert Leatham, to be my husband ; promising, by divine
assistance, to be to him a faithful and affectionate wife, until
it shall please the Lord by death to separate us.
After a further pause of some minutes, Mrs. John (Catharine)
Backhouse engaged in prayer.
Mr. John Pease then rose and addressed the assembly.
He said the occasion on which they were met was doubtless
one of exceeding interest in having the opportunity of mark
ing those whose progress they had observed from their birth
356 EDWARD PEASE.
in having the opportunity of observing those, if he might so
speak, of a fresh generation entering into that covenant which
was so marked throughout with events, and which death only
could dissolve. He thought that the language of that cove
nant must have fallen very solemnly on the ears of many present
as a promise, made in the presence of that large company, of
faithfulness through life a promise of union that should con
tinue until the messenger on the pale horse should dissolve the
tie a covenant made on earth, but heard, as he hesitated
not to believe, and recorded in heaven ; and with all the
love that he bore towards those who had entered into that
covenant, and with all the love which filled his bosom towards
their progenitors and friends, his heart went along with the
prayer, that in heaven, His holy habitation, the Almighty God
of heaven and earth, might not only have heard this covenant,
but that in days to come, those who lived to see them might
witness His blessing upon it. They as a religious society
professed that marriage should be solemnised in a religious
assembly, and that therefore it was meet that they should own
and seek for the presence of Him, who although He had prom
ised to be with two or three met together in His name, never
once declared His absence from any assembly gathered in His
fear and asking His counsel. And during the time of their
solemn silence he had remembered that for the untold and
inestimable blessing of a righteous marriage, as well as for all
other religious blessings, they were indebted to that glorious
Lord, who left the bosom of His Father and took upon Him our
flesh ; and died and rose again for us, for it was not unknown
to them that even at this day, in nations where His name
was not named, the marriage tie did not exist, and the greatest
degradation and confusion was the result. It was also known
to them that under the law (of man) that tie could be easily
dissolved ; but under that glorious gospel dispensation, under
which it was their privilege to live, and which constituted so
much of their accountability, that sacred tie was one that,
as no man could make it for another, so no man could break
it when once made ; henceforth the man and woman were one
flesh, and any separation short of death was sin before the
majesty of heaven. It was at once consonant with the doctrine
APPENDIX II. , 357
of holy scripture and known to all intelligent Christians that
the Lord made us and not we ourselves ; it was known that
with the circumstances of our birth and first location in this life,
we had nothing to do ; it was known that in many incidents
of their infancy and younger years, the unseen hand of provi
dence watched over them ; and as their steps tended towards
man s estate, he thought it must be allowed that their account
ability was gradually increasing. In such measure as they
duly became more and more acquainted with His holy will
their accountability increased ; and as in the earlier stages of
life they had little to do with the circumstances in which they
were placed, so when they came to the period of life at which
their young friends had now arrived, they came to the point
at which they could no longer remove from themselves any
part of the awful responsibility belonging to them. In pro
ceeding to the solemn covenant of marriage, the man in some
sort took the responsibility upon his own shoulders, unless as a
praying Christian he acknowledged the government should
be on the shoulders of Christ. Whatever might have been
the measure of responsibility in days past, when about to enter
into this covenant, a due sense of responsibility ought to have
been felt. As the marriage covenant was the most sacred, so
it was the most important step of a man s life ; it would affect
him every subsequent day and hour, and not only himself
would it affect, but perhaps, through him, immortal souls
not yet in the world, and it would doubtless have an effect
on the life to come. He thought, then, that every true-hearted
Christian, every praying man and every praying woman, having
the prospect of such covenant would find the time preceding
it one for prayer, and asking of divine counsel. The more
they were acquainted with their own hearts, and with those
who had trodden life before them, the more satisfied they
would be that this view was true. In speaking of account
ability in the divine sight, they still held that that account
ability was only in proportion to the light received ; if a man
had not received knowledge, his Heavenly Father did not call
upon him to act according to knowledge; if our Heavenly
Father did not offer to man His guidance and strength, He did
not expect him to act upon it ; but if it were true that not a
358 EDWARD PEASE.
hair of their heads fell to the ground without His knowledge,
could they doubt His care in things which should in all prob
ability effect them and theirs in time and in eternity ? Could
they question for one moment that that ear which was always
open to the cry of the poor and the complaints of His children
should be closed when they were about to enter on a step like
this ? Mr. Pease proceeded at some length further to enlarge
on the true spiritual nature of the union, and the solemnity
of the responsibilities it involved, and, after referring to the
temporal blessings it conferred, concluded by deprecating the
disposition to rest satisfied with these blessings, as there
remained for those who should be accounted worthy, blessings
transcendently more glorious than any in this world which
should perish, but the treasure in heaven had the sure title that
it should endure for ever.
Mr. J. F. Clapham then read a document, certifying that
the proper preliminary announcements of the intention of the
parties to the contract had been made, and that they had that
morning publicly entered into the contract. The document
was then signed by the bride and bridegroom, and afterwards
by Margaret Leatham, Wm. Henry Leatham, Joseph Pease,
Emma Pease, and Edward Pease.
Mrs. John Pease then engaged in prayer ; after which Mr.
Edward Pease invited all who were disposed so to do, to
sign, as witnesses, the certificate of the due performance of the
marriage an invitation which was responded to by a goodly
number of the family and friends. This terminated the pro
ceedings.
Early in the morning, and at intervals throughout the day,
the bells of St. Cuthbert s and St. John s sent forth their
merriest peals : to these were added the best efforts of the
Central Hall brass band ; and occasional salvos of artillery
ever and anon booming forth, all contributed to lend to the
town the aspect of a holiday, in honour of the occasion.
APPENDIX III.
Vide p. 46.
Edward Pease s mother must have been something of a
character, and her influence on his mind can be traced. She
kept her eye on her sons and let them know when she thought
they were not doing the wisest things in their business. For
instance, she advises them as to how they may economise
room in their weaving sheds, combing rooms, and mills, she
suggests that more attention should be given to the comfort
of those employed. " It is pleasant," she says, " for masters
and servants to Love and value each other," and for masters
" to show it by a proper regard to the conduct of servants,
incouraging the sober and orderly, by labouring to reclaime
the disorderly and if not recoverable to free them from such
bad Company and make their work shops convenient and
comfortable ; in this way valluable Servants will settle with you
and be in your interest." She tells them to serve their friends
when they want to buy ; that to do so " at a faire market price
Obliges them and keeps them from going to others " and that
it is " ungenerous to desire to have the whole advantage
of a rising market if it was in ones power . . . persons
of this cast are not esteemed generous nor Friendly."
In 1805, some fifteen years or more after this, she says in
a letter to Edward :
Now to say what has wounded my feelings Is when anything
willfull or obstinate, not thought to be accessable to reason is
remarked It is saide He, Shee, or we are Richardsons ; Its true
I have a Brother that has caus d much sorrow and for Him and
His I have nothing to say though I have had some satisfaction
concerning Him of late which I am thankful for. As to my
359
360 EDWARD PEASE.
forelders on my mother s side my Grandfather was a respectable
Honist Friend and his Wife much esteemd as a Woman of superior
abilitys and a Religious Woman, shee educated her Daughters
three of whome were Ministers in good esteem. They had
12 Children 9 married with their consent to respectable Friends.
No blemishes among them. And as to the succeeding generations
both on my Fathers and Mothers side I think their is as much
veracity and integrity amongst them as in most Famalys in our
Day. I cannot blame myself for Obstinacy for I have ever
esteemed others so much wiser and cueter, that I esteemed it
a favour to hear the sentiments of my Friends. . . . Whether
thou know it or not Thy Father is much Improved and come
nearer to the truth than in the early part of His Life. He wou d
sometimes say to me " I see natural propensitys in Our Famaly
which I endeavour to guard against." But had those propensitys
been remarked in His Father s House and he or any of his Brothers
replyed " We are Coateses " how would it have been relished ?
This reference to the " obstinacy " and " willfullness " in
the Richardson family is amusing for I often heard in my
youth my elders mention the quality, and " a bit of Richard
son " was used to express approval or the reverse of some
stubbornness, or a refusal to be convinced or persuaded. In
another letter she tells her sons (Edward and Joseph) :
I was never a Friend to any project for great Trades or
prospects of getting Wealth. ... I often found our business
too large and combersome. ... I always wished old Friends
in Trade served if their was a reasonable profit, feeling more
satisfaction in that than in great gain, but I think you two incline
to a way in which I have remarked several disagreeable events.
In 1812 she writes to Edward and presses on him the
need of being careful to keep the things of this world in
their proper places and even in business preferring others
before themselves ; she says :
It is often a source of sorrow to me, when I consider how
great a part of my fellow-creatures are spending their time in
mines and pits to gaine the nessasary support of life and how
many more whose lives are sacrificed to avarice and ambition
by the professors of Christianity which will certainly draw down
the Divine displeasure on this highly favoured land.
APPENDIX IV.
Vide p. 47.
It appears from old Account Books in my possession that
Edward Pease the elder and grandfather of the Edward Pease,
the subject of this memoir, and his son Joseph besides being
Combers, Weavers, and Wool-buyers did a considerable Banking
Business, of a kind, for a small town like Darlington. In the
oldest Interest Book I have, 1765-1799, there are 109 accounts.
The deposits are small and the interest allowed on them
generally 4^ per cent. Among the depositors who hold Bonds
from Edward and Joseph Pease are, Mary Newby, Martha
Richardson, several Turners, Jas. Rodger (and other Rodgers
of Selkirk), Geo. Flintoff, Isaac Robinson, John Myers, John
Kemp, Thos. Couldwell, George Pease, Lydia Richardson,
(900 of her money is lent on mortgage " on my land at
Haughton Moor " at 4 per cent.) Hannah Walker, Jeremiah
Henderson (and other Hendersons), Christo. Richardson, Wm.
Richardson, The Rector of Hurworth (an account in respect
of 4 fields sold to Thos. Pease, circa 1777) Jno. Weatherall,
Wm. Jackson, Lancelot Lewis, Benning (of Bd. Castle),
John Calvert (Nr. Dalton), Dorothy Milburn, Jno. Parnaby,
Ingram Chapman (also Thos. and Ingram Chapman " Juner "
and " his son John "), Jeremiah McLain, Robt. Morton, Molly
Dixon, Henry Robson, Robt. Smith of Greatham, Thos. Rudd
(also John and George Rudd), Jane Jorden, Hannah Davenport,
Jno. Heslop, Hannah Pease (account closed by payment of
cash " Principall to John Frank and Ann Frank." A note to this
account " 1786 i mo., 19. By Cash in Bond To Thos. Couldwell
at 4J per cent. Han. Pease to have the Intrest for her Life and
361
362 EDWARD PEASE.
to be divided amongst Her children," v. Ed. Pease s will 1785),
John Carr, John Baker, Jno. Scott, Henry Mason, Wm.
Holmes, Geo. Simpson, Hy. Lamb, Jos. Oswald, Christo.
Harrison (also Jacob and Philip), Ann Allison, Ralph Briggs,
Thos. Richardson, Antho. Reed, Tho. Thirlanay, James
lanson, Susa. Singleton, Robt, Morrel, John Elgie (" How-
worth "), Thos. Bowman, of Darlington, John Sowerby,
John Benley of Darlington, Jonathan James Backhouse,
John Lyon, Thos. and Mathew Nayler, John Cook, Thos. Moss,
Mary Knight, Eliz. Revely, Hy. Dunning, Eliz. Parkin, Geo.
Blakeston, Ed. and Francis Hall, John Olliver, etc.
APPENDIX V.
Vide p. 52.
ITEMS ABSTRACTED FROM RACHEL PEASE S
ACCOUNTS.
I s. d.
3 Muslin Handkerchiefs . . 7
3 Pocket 86
Mode for a bonnet . . 3
A pair of shoes . . . . 63
A pair of gloves and mits . . 4
Gown making and altering . . 3 T i
Russet skirt . . . . TT 6
Cloth for shifts . . . . . . 2 6 ij
A pair of shoes . . . . 5
A muslin apron . . 47
A printed gown . . 19 o
A gown making and lining 2 gj
3 Pocket Handkerchiefs . . 22
A Muslin Handkerchief . .
A pair of Pockets 28
Firret .. 02
Silk and galloon . . 06
Cambrick . . . I T
A pair of mits
6 pair of stockings . . . . i o 8
Ribbon, silk and worsted . . 04
A pair of shoes . . . . 5 2
A pair of Gloves . . . . ..022
Shoes and pattons mending . . 13
363
364 EDWARD PEASE.
I s. d.
A black Coat . . . . . . i 10 6
Serge for a Cloak . . . . 14 o
A silk bind Petticoat . . .. 17 8 J
A pair of Stays . . . . ..176
1795 A pound of pins . . . . 26
2 Aprons . . . . . . 12 4j
Muslin for Caps . . . . . . 29
A Petticoat quilting and silk . . 34
A Duffle Cloak .. ... ..152
A Gingham gown . . ..102
3 Shifts .. .. . ii 7
2 Muslin Aprons . . . . 12 9
Hair Powder . . . . . . 9^
A Whip . . . . . . 20
1796 Journeys and Presents . . . . 37 i 7
Presents and Vales . . . . 6 12 5
A Sarcenet Bonnet . . . . 40
Drab Persian . . . . ... 9
3 pair of Shoes . . . . . . 18 9
Gowns making and lining . . . . i i 6
6 Shifts .. .. ... i 19 10
etc., etc.
APPENDIX VI.
Vide p. S3-
Edward Pease in 1801 draws a neat plan of his three
gardens (one beyond the other), and attaches an index to it
of the fruit trees. The following is a list of " wall trees planted
2 mo. 9, 1801 " :
Newington Nectarine
Early Avant Peach
Violet Native Nectarine
Vanguard Peach
Black-heart Cherry
Moor Park Apricot
Magnum bonum
May Duke
Red Magdalen Peach
Orleans
Old Newington Peach
Orange Apricot
Parcours de Cour
Fotheringham Plum
Noblesse Peach
White heart Cherry
Drap d Or plum
Winesour Plumb
Violet Pedrigon
Imperatrice Plum
Almond Greengage
Chaumontel Pear
ESPALIERS
Standard Almond
Wheelers Russet
Golden Rennet
Gold Russet
Kentish Pippin
Nonsuch
Kentish Fillbasket
Summer Pippin
Red Juneating
White ditto
Ribston Pippin
Monstrous Rennet
Mindria Crab
Nonpareil
Dutch Codling
Margill
Royal Rupert
Jean Hative
Violet de Tours
Catherine
Cheston Plum
365
366 EDWARD PEASE.
ESPALIERS STANDARDS
La Mirabelle Scarlet Crab
Brignole Plum Fox-whelp
Monsieur George Apple
Wentworth Red and White Calvil
Red Magnum Summer Pearmain
Green Magnum Summer Queening
Damzun Silver Pippin
La Reinette-grise
La haute bonte
STANDARDS Wheelers Russet
Barnards Baker Sharps Russet
Frank Rambour Holland Pippin
Stripe Beaufin Winter Queening
Aromatic Pippin Pits Russet
Flowery town Pippin John Apple
Dwf. Kentish Pippin Brussels Apricot
Stone Pippin White Magdalen Peach
Golden Pearmain Mignonne
Beaufin Italian Peach
London Pippin Montauban
T. Priestman Violet Peach
Court of Wick Pippin Pavie Royale.
Among other trees mentioned in this list of fruit trees planted
out of doors are Figs for walls and Mulberry, Medlars and Almonds
in the open.
APPENDIX VII.
Vide p. 60.
PAPERS RELATING TO THE EMPEROR
ALEXANDER, 1814-1815.
(i.) A short account of the commencement of religious im
pressions on the minds of Alexander Emperor of Russia and
Prince Gallitzin, between whom a great degree of friendship
had subsisted for many years.
The Office of Minister of Religion having become vacant,
the Emperor was desirous of bestowing it on an individual
whom he esteemed, but understanding that the person he
had in view was attached to the Bible from principle, he
altered his intention, and with some difficulty prevailed on
Prince Gallitzin to accept the situation. The Prince very
early felt himself in an awkward predicament, not knowing
how to execute his trust with propriety ; he therefore sent for
the Bishop of the Diocese to ask his advice ; the Bishop
referred him to a certain book which he entreated him to
study, and assured him if he did so faithfully, he would find no
difficulty in proceeding rightly in his new situation : this
book was the Bible. The Prince made some opposition to
the proposal, being prejudiced against the Bible ; but in a
short time he secretly obtained one, and read it with great
attention, the more he read it the better he was satisfied and
his understanding became much enlightened. This occurred
a short time previous to the entrance of the French Army
into Russia : when the account of that event reached Peters
burg, it produced great consternation in the Russian Court,
367
368 EDWARD PEASE.
and terror seemed to sit on every countenance, the Prince
alone appeared calm and serene, which circumstance caused
universal surprise, and was noticed by the Emperor, who was
too well assured of the serenity of the attachment of his friend
to suppose him capable of being a traitor, or insensible to
difficulties which seemed to threaten the ruin of the Empire.
He took an opportunity of calling on the Prince and inquired
of him how it was that he was so composed when every one
else was in dismay ? The Prince replied that he had of late
read the Scriptures, and that they had fortified his mind
against every danger and given him a firm trust in Divine
Help and protection : the Bible was lying on the table and he
urged the Emperor to peruse it, believing it would have the
same calming influence on his mind as he himself had been
favoured to experience : the Emperor was displeased and
pushed the Bible with some violence on to the floor : the
Prince took it up open as it was and entreated the Emperor
to permit him to read the part which was then open ; this
was assented to, and the gist Psalm being read the Emperor
was much struck with the appropriate and consoling language
it contained.
The Russian Army being about to leave Petersburg, to
meet Bonaparte, the Emperor with his Officers went to church
as is usual on such occasions : on that part of the service of
the Greek Church being read, which is a portion of the Scrip
tures, the Emperor was greatly surprised to find it to be the
gist Psalm, he apprehended that it was Prince Gallatzin
who was with him had desired this, and questioned him on the
subject ; the Prince declared that he had not either directly
or indirectly had any communion with the person who read
the service, since the conversation he had had with the
Emperor about the Bible. The Emperor became satisfied
that the Scriptures were truly valuable and when in the camp
with his army sent for one of the chaplains to read the Bible
to him, when to his great astonishment the portion chosen
was the gist Psalm, he asked the clergyman who had told
him to read that Psalm ? he replied, God, for when he was
told on what account the Emperor had sent for him, he had
most earnestly prayed to be instructed, what part of the
APPENDIX VII. 369
Scriptures he should read in order for the spiritual improve
ment of the Emperor, and that it was from a divine impulse
he had read that Psalm. The Emperor now became more and
more delighted with the Bible, and his subsequent conduct
prov d the influence that real Religion had on his mind.
While he was in the Southern part of Europe he ordered that
a woman to whom he had been for some years attach d,
should leave Russia, giving her for a reason, that it was in
compatible with religion that he should continue the society
of a person who had become a means of great temptation to
him, he at the same time granted her a sufficient pension for
life. He also made arrangements for the Empress to be
introduced to him again on his return to his Capital, with a view
to their honourable union, which has since taken place much
to their comfort and satisfaction.
(ii.) MINUTE OF THE MEETING FOR SUFFERINGS
RESPECTING FRIENDS INTERVIEW WITH
THE EMPEROR OF RUSSIA.
When the Friends appointed presented the address to the
Emperor, he received them with a look of benignity as Friends
rather than strangers.
He was evidently desirous of employing the time in con
versation on the doctrine and practices of the Society, on which
subjects he put many judicious questions, and appeared well
satisfied from the answers he received. He inquired whether we
suffered from government on account of our religious principles,
and seemed to be pleased when informed that we were protected
and even favoured, and that tho still under some suffering on
account of tithes &c., they were comparatively light. He inquired
whether we were admitted to employments under government,
and seemed surprised when told that we were excluded by the
Oaths and Tests, remarking however that we were thereby
excused from the trouble attending such stations.
Among these interesting topics the general education of the
poor, and the Slave Trade, were introduced ; on those subjects
he gave proof of possessing the genuine feelings of a Christian.
He asked why none of our friends had come into his dominions
26
370 EDWARD PEASE.
on a religious account ; and said in an affectionate manner,
" If any of them should go into my country on that ground,
do not let them wait for an introduction, but come directly to
me at Petersburgh."
He remarked, on the Friends withdrawing, that he should
never forget the opportunity ; and, taking them by the hand,
said, " I part from you as Friends and brethren." The interview
lasted about an hour : it was a memorable one to the Friends
who had the privilege of waiting on him ; their hearts were warmed
by it, and they cannot but desire his preservation in the divine
fear, and that a life so valuable may be long continued.
(iii.) T. CLARKSON S ACCOUNT OF HIS INTERVIEW
WITH THE EMPEROR OF RUSSIA, AT PARIS.
AN ACCOUNT OF T. C s. INTERVIEW WITH THE EMPEROR OF
RUSSIA AT PARIS, ON SATURDAY, 23 SEPTEMBER, 1815.
When I arrived at Paris, the Emperor had just left it to re
view his armies, on the plains of Vertus, which journey occupied
some days.
On his return to Paris I wrote him a letter. I stated in this
in substance, that having heard that when he was in London,
from the Duke of Glocester, from Mr. Wilberforce, Sir Robt.
Wilson, and from those three good men of the Religious Society
of the Quakers, viz Mr. Grillette, Wilkinson, and Allen (to whom
he granted an audience for three hours) of the interest which he
(the Emperor) had taken in the cause of the unhappy Africans,
I had sent him a complete set of my works through the hands
of Lady Warren which she delivered to Count Nesselrode, as a
small Testimony of the esteem and respect I felt for him on that
account but that on a further consideration of the subject I
had not felt satisfied with myself, and knowing that he was at
Paris (which was comparatively but a small distance) I had deter
mined to go thither in person to thank him for all his efforts in
behalf of this injured People, and to implore (should any future
opportunity offer) a continuance of his favour towards them.
This letter I carried to the Baroness Krnderer, a Russian Lady
of Quality and sat and conversed with her on the subject for
nearly an hour. The Baroness is a Lady of the most exemplary
APPENDIX VII. 371
piety. She devotes her time to religion. The Emperor of
Russia generally calls upon her every evening at 7 o clock, to
converse on Spiritual subjects.
It was on this account I carried my letter to her, together
with one from the Duke of Glocester to the Emperor, which was
intended as an introduction of me to the latter personage. The
Baroness assured me that she would deliver them both into his
majesty s hands, as soon as she should see him.
In the course of two days I received a message from the Baron
ess, that the Emperor had received and read both of the letters
in her presence and that he was apparently much pleased with
them. He desired her to instruct me to thank the Duke of Glocester
for his letter of introduction of me to him ; and with respect to
my own letter, that part of it gave him peculiar satisfaction,
wherein I had mentioned the names of those three good men,
whose conversation had so much interested him when in London.
He desired her to add, he was then exceedingly occupied but that
in a short time he would make an arrangement to see me. On
Friday 22nd, of September I received a message from the Lady
Krnderer, that the Emperor desired my attendance at her house
the next day at n in the morning. Accordingly I attended,
expecting to find him there ; but it appeared that he had sent there
one of his domestic servants, to shew me the way to him. This
servant I followed closely to the Palais des Bourbons. When
arrived there he conducted me through several rooms, and at
length left me in a spacious apartment, in which were two or
three Prussian Officers, on guard for the day. Here I remained
some time, when another of his domestics came up, and desired
me to follow him ; he led me through three other rooms, into a
fourth, in which was a gentleman who said in French, " The
Emperor is in the next room, and expects you," and immediately
opened the door.
At this time I felt a little embarrassed as to what I should
say, but was instantly relieved from this feeling by the affability
and condescension of the Emperor. He came to meet me to the
very Door. He then took my hand into his own and led me
into the room, and immediately broke silence, by addressing me
in English. He said (still continuing my hand in his own) that
he considered I had done him honour, by coming from England
expressly to visit him. He was not in the habit of making
compliments ; he meant what he said ; he should not easily
forget my visit ; I had only done him justice when I considered
372 EDWARD PEASE.
him to be the friend of the poor Africans. He had always been
an enemy to the Trade ; he had indeed known nothing more of it
than other people : he knew only that the Africans were taken
from their country against their wills and that they were trans
ported to the colonies of Foreigners, for whom they were made to
work under a system commonly reputed cruel ; but this was
an outrage against nature ; and this alone made him a determined
enemy to the traffic. But when in after time he had read those
books, which furnished him with particulars on the subject, and
when he had seen the print of the Slave ship, he felt he should
be unworthy of the high station which he held, if he had not done
his utmost in all the late political conferences on that subject to
wipe away such a pestilence from the face of the earth.
After this he left go of my hand, and we stood talking together
face to face ; there was not any other person in the Room. I
told him I had long ago understood (as I had had the honour of
informing him in my letter) that his disposition towards the
oppressed Africans had been such as I had now the satisfaction
of learning from his own mouth ; that this kind disposition
towards them was generally known, and duly appreciated by the
friends of the cause in England ; and that it had given them
pleasure beyond measure to find that this injured people had so
powerful a Protector and Friend ; and that I did not doubt but
he (the Emperor), should any future opportunity offer) would
continue to advocate their cause. He replied he would never
desert it. In the original treaty with France he had taken a very
active part in their behalf, but the obstacles were so very great
on the part of the French Government, which at that time had
great and extravagant colonial systems in prospect, that he found
it impossible to realize his wishes. In a period succeeding this,
viz. during the congress at Vienna, he had exerted himself again ;
he had united with the British minister in their favour, and
though new and great obstacles had risen up on the part of other
nations, concerned in this infamous traffic, he trusted that some
farther advantage had been gained then, something like the
foundation of a new treaty had been laid there ; and at a sub
sequent period, viz., since his last arrival in Paris, he had again
taken up the cause and in conjunction with the British minister,
he had been so successful, that France had agreed to give up the
remaining term of four years continuance of the Trade ; so that
another nation had been added to the list of those who have
abandoned the infamous Trade.
APPENDIX VII. 373
I replied that we were all of us sensible that great things had
been done, for which we could not be too thankful, and that he
(the Emperor) had been a most powerful instrument under
Providence in accomplishing them ; but those in England who
had been the means of developing and bringing to light the mass
of Crime and suffering contained in the Slave Trade, and whose
feelings had been more than ordinarily excited on the subject, and
which feelings perhaps had led them to be too sanguine in their
expectations, had been disappointed (I hoped his majesty would
excuse the freedom with which I was going to speak) I then
resumed, had been disappointed at finding that the allied Sover
eigns at the Congress of Vienna had not proclaimed the Slave
Trade to be Piracy ; this would have been a noble declaration,
in the face of the whole world, in favour of Justice and Religion,
and it would have accorded with their principles as governors,
which all of them were obliged to confess in the daily administra
tion of their respective governments, they were all of them obliged
to punish, and thus to try to put an end to Robbery and Murder.
This was essentially necessary, or their governments could not go
on ; but the slave Trade was a complication of Robbery and Murder ;
and it was deeply to be lamented in my opinion, under this and
every other view of the subject, that such noble Decree had been
overlooked.
The Emperor with great condescension admitted the truth of
what I had said. He admitted that it would have been more
worthy of the Congress to have passed the decree now mentioned ;
and moreover that the continuance of the Slave Trade by the
Allies was at variance with their principles as governors. But we
could not cure great and inveterate evils at once. Besides, the
difficulties at Vienna were much greater than I had any notion
of. The Decree which I had suggested might have passed if
some of the most powerful of the Sovereigns had agreed upon it,
and if at the same time they agreed upon it to use force. But the
Congress of Vienna consisted of Sovereigns united and in alliance
for one great object, the future safety, peace, and Tranquillity of
Europe, where harmony was essentially necessary, as far as it
could be obtained. This harmony must have been broken, if
such a Decree had been persisted in. He trusted that, however,
our great object would be finally accomplished, in consequence
of what had already taken place. Indeed he did not doubt it.
Great progress had already been made. A new nation (France)
had come fully into the measure. He did not doubt, from what
374 EDWARD PEASE.
he had seen and heard, that Spain and Portugal would follow.
If any other exertions were necessary on his part, it was only for
us to point them out, and he should attend to our suggestions
on the principle of Duty. I might return to England with the
assurance that he would never desert the injured Africans. He
would never disappoint our hopes, and if I myself as one of the
individuals who had laboured in that glorious cause, should be
disposed to write to him, I was at liberty so to do : but I must
write to him freely, and as a friend acting in union for the same
great cause. He added, " I trust we have so laboured in Con
gress, that the result will be very satisfactory to all Christian
people." This last sentence was uttered after a pause, as if it
had come out unexpectedly, so that I was at a loss to determine,
whether it related to the Slave Trade, or to some arrangements
in the Congress at Paris, respecting religious toleration, or any
other religious subject.
While I was reflecting upon it, the Emperor turned to another
subject, and asked how Mr. Allen, Mr. Wilkinson, and Mr. Grillette
were, and where they now were. I replied that the two former
were in England, and were well when I last saw them, but that the
latter had gone home to America, to the Bosom of his Family.
The Emperor then said, that the two hours conversation
which he held with them in London, were among the most agree
able hours which he had spent in England. The religious oppor
tunity which he then had with them had made a very serious
impression upon his mind, such an one he believed that he should
never forget it. And he could not but have a high regard for the
society to which three such good men belonged. With respect
to the Society itself, it seemed as if its members (taking in the
plainness of Dress and appearance, and the simplicity and yet
independence of their manners) approached nearer the primitive
Christians than any other people. He might say the same of their
Doctrine. The first great doctrine of the influence of the Holy
Spirit was the very corner stone of Religion. Here he abruptly
asked me if I myself were a Quaker : I replied I was not in name
but I hoped in Spirit. I was nine parts out of ten of their way of
thinking. They had been fellow-labourers with me in our great
cause, and the more I had known, the more I had loved them.
The Emperor (putting his hand to his breast) said, " I embrace
them more than any other people, I consider myself as one of
them." I told him that as he had such a predilection for the
Quakers, I could furnish him with one or two anecdotes which I
APPENDIX VII. 375
had no doubt would please him to hear ; but more particularly
if he had not heard them before. His predecessor, Peter the
Great, had professed an attachment to the Quakers, similar to
what he had just expressed. He was acquainted with the great
Wm. Penn, and others of the first founders of the Society, and
when he worked in the Dockyards at Deptford, in order to learn
practically the rudiments of naval architecture, he frequently
attended the Quaker s meeting house there, where he conducted
himself with all due Solemnity and Decorum. The Emperor
said he had heard this anecdote before. I said that with his
permission I would relate another. This same Peter the Great,
about sixteen years after he had left England, went with an
army to Fredericks tad t. On his arrival there one of his first
Questions was whether there were any of those good men the
Quakers in the place ; and being told there was, he signified his
intention of attending one of their meetings. He accordingly
attended accompanied by his suite. He heard the discourse
which followed with great attention and interest, and bestowed
his commendations upon it. He (the Emperor) might remember
this was precisely his own case, when he attended the Quakers
Meeting house in St. Martin s Lane, so that he had probably,
without knowing it, trodden in the footsteps of his great pre
decessor.
The Emperor thanked me for this anecdote, which was new to
him, and said he could not follow a better example than Peter the
Great, and desired to follow him in whatever he had done that was
good. He then asked me if Mr. Wilkinson were of any profession.
I replied Mr. Wilkinson was a minister of the gospel and devoted
himself to his religious profession, but Mr. Allen was in trade, but
he spent his time usually in doing good. Here I could not resist
the impulse I felt to do justice to the character of my friend, by an
eulogium which however high it might appear it did not exceed the
bounds of truth ; after which I said that of the many objects
which occupied Mr. Allen s attention that of forming public
schools was among the foremost ; and that I knew he wished
similar establishments might be formed in his (the Emperor s)
Dominions.
He replied abruptly that he supposed I knew that there were
schools in Russia. But perhaps they were not on so improved a
plan as those in England.
I answered him by saying the Difference laid there. I then
said a few words on the mechanism of the English schools, and
376 EDWARD PEASE.
that in consequence of the great number of Boys, which one
master could teach, education became cheap ; so as to be even
within the reach of the Poor.
I then enlarged on the benefit of education. I observed that
his own empire was great and powerful but what would it be if his
subjects were improved by a wise and universal education ? his
empire would be more powerful, more happy, and more permanent.
Nothing would so much contribute to make his subjects useful,
virtuous, and happy, as an acquaintance with the Truths of the
Gospel, and education, in as much as it taught them to read, was
one of the outward means of enabling them to know these Truths.
In this point of view, these schools were of inestimable value.
He replied that there was no sure means of foundation for
Peace, order, and happiness among men but the Christian Reli
gion, and added " that is quite as necessary for Kings as for
people."
I then informed him that Allen and those who laboured with
him on this subject were not labouring for a private and partial
good. Their views extended to the whole world, and for this
purpose they were educating foreigners of different nations to
qualify them to carry the British system of Education into the
Countries to which they severally belonged. They had lately
educated one from Denmark, and another from France, and they
would be very glad to educate one from Russia with the same
design.
On hearing this the Emperor seemed well pleased and said
" you may be sure that I should be glad to promote the system
in Russia."
He said he was sorry to take his leave of me so soon, but he
had more engagements than he feared he could perform while he
staid in Paris. He added, " remember me kindly to Mr. Allen
and his good friends the Quakers, and tell Mr. Allen that I wish
him to write to me on the subjects of his schools. He may depend
upon my countenance in Russia. He then took hold of my hand
again and said, " my best wishes accompany you to England,
and if I can at any time, be useful to the cause of the poor Africans,
you may always have my services by writing me a letter."
APPENDIX VIII.
Vide p. 83.
GROWTH OF THE PORT OF MIDDLESBROUGH.
1805. Meeting held at Stockton for considering the im
provement of the River Tees.
1808-1828. Acts obtained by the Tees Navigation Company
to shorten the channel from Stockton to the Tees.
1828. Act for a railway extension from Stockton to Middles
brough for shipping coals nearer the sea and in deeper
water.
1829. The Middlesbrough Estate purchased by :
Edward Pease, of Darlington.
Joseph Pease, of Darlington.
Thomas Richardson, of Great Ayton.
Henry Birkbeck, of Norwich.
Francis Gibson, of Saffron Walden.
Simon Martin, of Norwich.
1830. The first house built at Middlesbrough by George
Chapman [an old farmhouse was there already,
belonging to the Parringtons].
1831. The Railway opened to Middlesbrough. Population,
154-
1832. The ship Sunniside loaded the first cargo of coals at
Middlesbrough.
1834. The first steamer on the Tees, The Majestic, commenced
running between Middlesbrough and London.
377
378
EDWARD PEASE.
1841. Population 5,463.
1842. The first dock (eleven acres) built.
1851. The first train of Eston Cleveland Iron Stone loaded
to be smelted at Witton Park Works, near Bishop
Auckland. Population, 7,631.
1852. The Tees placed under a Commission.
1853. Middlesbrough Incorporated. Middlesbrough and
Guisbrough Railway opened. Rail connection com
pleted between the Ironstone Mines of Cleveland and
the Durham Coal Field.
1854. Ironstone shipped from the Tees to the Tyne.
1861. Population, 18,892.
1871. Population, 39,284.
1881. Population, 55,288.
1891. Population, 75,516.
APPENDIX IX.
Vide p. 97.
In connection with the commencement of the first
railway, and starting No. i Locomotive, the following
is a quaint letter giving the history from a labourer s
point of view :
To henry Pease esq. in 1822 thomas Law Robert
Peacock james Wade edward Bainbridge and Robert
Metcalfe myself comence making the line from Stockton to
shildon we started off below Earlynook I continued on with
them untill a disunt relation on mine took a contract from
whiley hill to heighten lane it came on wet on friday night
and rained all day Saturday Myers flat batery was a 4 foot
metal on monday morning battery went down and blow pete
earth mountain high company men was many week levying
(? leveling) as we were going through codling cut there was a
slide came down and broke both my legs and collar bone
old Mr fothergill was company docter and he attended me at 8
week end I was out then and upon works but was not able
to work at that time I was ganner for my cousin when I was
weary of standing I sat down and could look after the men
the company aloud 2d a yard premen money he never could
get out a thousand yards untill he engaged me he used to
work hard himself I told him if it would not pay him to let
the working alone and look after men job was good for nothing
well he said I cannot help I must be working he said I wish
you would look after men I said I will but I must have some
money we started off at monday morning after pay I begun
to lie men on there was a certain man from Hayselby he used
379
EDWARD PEASE.
some ill discurse to me I ask him to come this way we could
do without such men as him I payed him off it then made all
the other men take notice of what I said company payed every
fortnight at fridays Mr Dixon was a second engine here from
Stockton to heighton lane Mr Story was a second ingin here
from heighton lane to shildon Mr Stephenson (i.e. Geo. Step
henson) was the head ingine here over the whole line the first
fortnight that I comenced gannership we got 2 thousand
yards that first fortnight I dare say you have your books to
fore that explain that ours was the last cut but of being
finished Robert Hutchinson contracter was 2 days after us
they had a deal of rock to go through between timpasters and
thickley . No. i came to heighton lane by road we had to get
her on the way when we got her on the way we pump water
into her we sent John taylor for a lantern and candle to
acliffe when we done that I thought I would have my pipe it
was a very warm day though it been back end of the year I
took me pipe glass and let me pipe I thouhgt to myself I would
try to put fire to Jimmy ockam it blaaze away well the fire
going rapidly lantern and candle was to no use so No. i fire
was put to her on line by the pour of the sun 8 waggons was as
many she could trail Mr. Dixons contractor and labours on
the open out day dine at the three tuns Darlington James
Stephenson and Wm. creed firemen and James Stephenson
engine driver Robert Morrer did not come for a month or two
after line was open out when Manchester and liverpool line
was open out Wm Creed whent to run Mr Hackforth engine
and he never came down here more when No I Engine was
put on to yon Mount afront the station * there was a great
deal discushion about her I could condicked them in many
words but I thought it was not my place to do so she all in a
original state excepting the tender it was a water barrel put
on to top on an end on a muck waggon and she travled as nigh
as I can tell for 2 years before she got a proper tender I left the
railway and whent to old Mr Listers I was 20 years under him
and then he died and the shop stood for a year and then I
* No. i. Locomotive now stands on the North Eastern Railway Go s,
platform at Darlington, it formerly stood outside the Darlington North
Road Station on a pedestal.
APPENDIX IX. 381
went to Mr Kitching Esq I was ther a year and then James
Lister started and I went back to him I was 3 year with him
and he died and then Mr Harris Esq took the shop for 15
years I was 7 year with Mr Harris Esq that makes me 30 years
at that shop and a year with Mr Kitching Esq that make me
31 year of that branch thomas Sumerson was the manager
man for Mr Harris esq should you fall in with Thomas sum-
merson I belive that you find all right what I said I am now
in my 77 years
I remain yours truly
ROBERT METCALF
ii church st
Darlington
APPENDIX X.
Vide p. log.
In the old days before tailors had shops in the provinces it
was the custom among country people to buy the materials
and have a tailor in the house till he made the suits required.
The following may be of interest, as showing what went to
make a quaker coat for Edward Pease in the year of grace
1809 :
Sup. fine
Calico
Black hold
Padding
Fustion
Shalloon
Canvass
Facing
Buckm.
3
3
4
12
24
Metal Buttons
Dozen Silk
Dozen Twist
Oz. Thread
Kntts. Tape
Large Modes
Small Modes
Nail (vd-s) ?
382
SAMUEL CAPPER.
From the original silhouette by S. .Met ford.
APPENDIX XL
DR. JOHNSON S ATTITUDE TOWARDS QUAKERS.
I received this year from Mr. David Richardson, of
Newcastle-on-Tyne, the following curious account of a
conversation between Dr. Johnson and Mrs. Knowles, which
he discovered amongst some old family papers, left by George
Richardson (b. 1773). Since this came into my hands I have
seen another version of this contention published in " The
Lloyds of Birmingham " from which it appears that the Miss
Harry, the object of the Doctor s uncharitable denunciation,
was acting as governess at " Farm " to the Lloyd family.
The version in "The Lloyds of Birmingham" is taken from the
Gentleman s Magazine for June, 1791. That supplied me by
Mr. D. Richardson is sufficiently interesting in where it differs
from and where it confirms the earlier published one as to
deserve attention.
EXTRACT OF A LETTER FROM Miss SEWARD TO MR. BOSWELL
ON THE SUBJECT OF DR. JOHNSON.
You ask me for the minutes I once made of a certain conversa
tion which passed at Mrs Ditty s in a literary party and in which
Dr. Johnson and Mrs Knowles disputed so earnestly. As you
seem to have an idea of inserting this dispute in your future
meditated work (the Life of Johnson), it is necessary that
something should be known concerning the young person who was
the subject of it.
Miss Jenny Harry was (for she is no more) the daughter of a
rich planter in the West Indies. He sent her over to England, to
383
384
EDWARD PEASE.
receive her education in the house of his friend Mr.
where
the ingenuous Quaker lady, Mrs. Knowles, was frequently a
visitor. He affected wit, was perpetually rallying Mrs. Knowles
on the subject of her Quaker principles in the presence of this
young, gentle and ingenuous Miss Harry, who, at the age of
eighteen, had received what is called a proper and polite education,
without being much instructed in the nature of grounds of her
religious belief. Mrs. Knowles was often led into a serious defence
of her devotional opinions upon these visits at Barn-Elms. You
know with what clear and graceful eloquence she speaks on every
subject. Her antagonists were shallow Theologists and opposed
only idle and pointless raillery to deep and long studied reasoning
on the precepts of Scripture, delivered in persuasive accent and
harmonious language. Without any design of making a proselyte
she gained one. Miss Harry grew very serious, and meditated
perpetually on all which had dropped from the lips of her Quaker
friend, till it appeared to her that Quakerism was true Christianity.
Believing this she thought it her duty to join, at every hazard
of worldly interest, that class of worshippers. On declaring
these sentiments several ingenious clergymen were employed to
talk and argue with her but we all know the force of first
impressions in Theology, and Mrs. Knowles arguments were the
first she had listened to on this important theme. This young
lady was reasoned with and threatened in vain she persisted in
resigning her splendid expectations for what appeared to her the
path of duty. Her father, on being informed of her changing prin
ciples, informed her that she might choose between an hundred
thousand pounds and his favour if she continued a Church woman,
or two thousand pounds and his renunciation if she embraced the
Quaker tenets. She lamented her father s displeasure, but
thanked him for the pecuniary alternative, assuring him that it
included all her wishes in point of fortune. She soon after left her
guardian s house and boarded with Mrs. Knowles, to whom she
often observed that Dr. Johnson s displeasure (whom she had often
seen at her guardian s house and who had always been fond of her)
was amongst the greatest mortifications of her new situation,
and once she came home in tears and told her friend she had met
Dr. Johnson in the street and ventured to ask how he did, but
that he would not deign to answer her, but passed scornfully on.
She added " You are to meet soon in a literary party, plead for
me." You remember all our dining together at Mr. Ditty s and
the conversation after dinner, which began with Mrs. Knowles
APPENDIX XL 385
saying, " I am to in treat thy indulgence, Dr., towards a gentle
female to whom thou usest to be kind and who is unhappy in the
loss of that kindness. Jenny Harry weeps at the consciousness
that thou wilt not speak to her." " Madam, I hate the odious
wench and desire that you will not talk to me about her." " Yet
what is her crime, Dr. ? " " Apostacy, Madam apostacy from
the community in which she was educated." " Surely, Dr., the
quitting one community for another cannot in itself be a crime if
it is done from motives of conscience. Hadst thou been educated
in the Romish Church I must sup pose thou wouldst have abjured
its errors and that there must have been merit in the abjuration."
" Madam, if I had been educated in the Romish Church, I believe
I should have questioned my right to quit the religion of my fore
fathers : well, therefore may I hate the arrogance of a young
wench who sets herself up for a gauge of Theological points, and
deserts the religion in whose bosom she was nurtured." " I hope
she has not done so. I hope the name of Christian is not denied
to the sect." " If the name is not, madam, the common-sense
is." "I will not dispute that point with thee, it would carry us
too far. Suppose it granted that, in the eyes of a simple girl, the
weaker arguments appeared the strongest, her want of better
judgment demands thy pity, not thy anger." " Madam, it has
my anger, and always will have it." " Consider, Doctor ! she
must be sincere, consider what a noble fortune she has sacrificed."
" Madam, madam, I have ever taught myself to consider that
the association of folly cannot extenuate guilt." " Ah, Doctor !
can we suppose the Deity will not pardon a defect in judgment
(if such it should prove) in the breast, where the desire of serving
Him according to its desire, in Spirit and in Truth, has been a
preferable consideration to that of worldly interest." " Madam,
I pretend not to set bounds to the mercy of the Deity, but I hate
the wench and shall ever hate her ; I hate all impudence, but the
impudence of a chit s apostacy I nauseate." " Alas, Doctor,
Jenny is the most timid creature breathing, she trembles to have
offended her parent, though so far removed from his presence ;
she grieves to have offended her guardian, and perhaps
she grieves yet more to have offended Dr. Johnson whom she
loved, admired and honoured." " Why then, madam, did she
not consult the man she pretends to love, admire and honour,
upon her new-fangled scruples ? If she had looked up to that
man with any part of that respect she professes she would have
supposed his ability to judge of fit and right, at least equal to that
27
3 86
EDWARD PEASE.
of a raw wench just out of her primer." " Ah, Doctor ! remember
it was not among the wise and learned that Christ selected his
disciples. Jenny thinks Dr. Johnson great and good, but she
also thinks the Gospel demands a simpler form of worship than
that of the Established Church ; and that it is not in wit and
elegance to supersede the force of what appears to her a plain and
regular system, which cancels all typical and mysterious ceremonies
as fruitless and idolatrous and asks only simple obedience and the
homage of a devout heart." " The homage of a fool s head you
should have said, Madam, if you will persist me about this
ridiculous wench." " Suppose her ridiculous, she has been
religious and sincere, will the gate of heaven be shut to ardent
and well-meaning folly, whose first consideration has been that
of apprehended duty ? " " Pho ! pho ! who says it will, madam ? "
" Then if Heaven does not shut its gate shall man shut his heart ?
If the Deity accept the homage of such as sincerely serve Him
under every form of worship, Dr. Johnson and this little humble
girl will, it is to be hoped, meet in a Blessed Eternity, whither
earthly animosities must not be carried." " Madam, I am not
fond of meeting fools anywhere, they are detestable company, and
while it is in my power to avoid conversing with them I shall
certainly exert that power ; and so you may tell the odious wench
whom you have persuaded to believe herself a saint, and whom
soon you will, I suppose, convert into a preacher : but I will take
care she does not preach to me." The loud and angry tone in
which he thundered out these replies to his calm but able antagonist
frightened us all except yourself, who gently, not sarcastically,
smiled at Injustice. I remember you whispered me, " I never
saw this mighty Lion so chafed before."
APPENDIX XII.
QUAKERIETIES FOR 1838.
BY AN EMBRYO HARVESTMAN.
[Joseph John Gurney.]
1. Joseph John, Joseph John
Thou sine qua non.
Of a certain religious Society;
Thy bolts thou has hurl d
At a sceptical world,
And won what thou loved notoriety.
Joseph John,
And won what thou loved notoriety.
[Samuel Tuke.]
2. Sam T . . ., Sammy T . . .
I have read thy rebuke
Of Wilkinson s strange resignation,
And I own thou hast track d,
With astonishing tact,
The cause of his alienation,
Sam T,
The cause of his alienation.
[fames Backhouse
3. James B . . . . James B . . . .
Dispensations* still rack us,
And many their birthrights have sold.
Yet we count it no loss
To get rid of the dross
While we keep all the purified gold,
James B,
etc.
* Dissentings.
387
388 EDWARD PEASE.
[Elizabeth Fry.]
4. Betsy F . . . . Betsy F . . . .
Where the fatherless lie
And the widows, we find them, tis there
In the prison-house cell
That thy soft accents dwell
And the culprit exults in thy prayer
Betsy Fry,
And the culprit exults in thy prayer.
[Samuel Capper.]
5. Sam C Sam C .
In person so dapper,
Yet bold as a lion in heart,
There are few in thy city
Like thee more s the pity,
A true moral hero, thou art.
etc.
6. Ann Tweedy, Ann Tweedy,
Thou friend of the needy,
I have oft heard thee preach and admired.
Yet learn from a friend
It is safest to end
When the people begin to grow tired.
etc.
7. James Ireland Wright
Like the pale orb of night,
How mild and how gentle thou art,
Like the serpent thou rt wise
And yet, dove like, there lies
Nor venom nor sting in thy heart,
etc.
8. Friend Forster, Friend Forster,
Thou foe to imposture,
And Knight of the Yearly Epistle,
Fame s a very fine thing
If it happiness bring
And we pay not too dear for our whistle,
etc.
APPENDIX XII. 389
9. Ann Grace, Nanny Grace,
Thou art out of thy place
In the high ministerial ranks.
Thy cicero resign
For retailing whine
And the meeting will vote thee their thanks,
etc.
[A sea captain.]
10. Billy Moyse, Billy Moyse,
Thou dost make a great noise,
But I fear thou art out of thy track !
Be a little more brief,
And just take in a reef
Or the next squall may take thee aback.
etc.
11. Luke Howard, Luke Howard
Why fretful and froward ?
Why leave us ? We miss thee and thine now
And then, what is worse,
We miss thy long purse,
For Friends have an eye to the rhino !
etc.
12. And Crewdson ! Tu Brute f
Is it fame ? is it duty ?
That calls thee thus strangely away ?
If the body s unsound,
Thou shouldst comfort the wound
And not leave it all to decay,
etc.
13. Clare Smith, John Clare Smith,
There s a vast deal of pith
In the riches that fall from thy tongue.
Thy satire is keen
Yet thy kind heart I ween
Would wound neither aged or young
Clare Smith, etc.
390 EDWARD PEASE.
14. Joseph Gillet attend
How dost thou as a friend,
Embossed in broad brim and straight coat,
Like an orthodox saint
Suffer church rate distraint
Yet give to the church men thy vote ?
Eh, Joseph, etc.
15. Billy Jones, Billy Jones
In thy plain simple tones,
Much of true human kindness is blended,
And though some may smile
At too humble a style
We all own them sweetly intended,
etc.
16. Joseph Price, Joseph Price,
Thou are mighty precise,
Methought t other night in a dream
That thou really walked,
Slept, ate, drank, and talked,
And prayed every Sunday by steam.
etc.
17. Gawen Ball, Gawen Ball,
When delinquencies pall,
The heads of our grave orthodox,
Who like thee, can extend
The advice of a Friend
To the sons and the daughters of Fox ?
etc.
18. Harry Bath, Harry Bath,
The wild weary path
Of life thou hast happily trod,
Thou has opened thy door
To the child of the poor,
And given thy talents to God,
etc.
APPENDIX XII. 391
19. Ikey Brown, Ikey Brown,
Relinquish that frown,
And teach thy young heroes more suavity ;
Boys cannot forever
Be straining the liver
In proving the centre of gravity,
etc.
20. Bob Eaton, Bob Eaton,
Thou hast a fine seat on
Fair Cambria s Halcyon shore.
How I wish I could play
At " I promise to pay "
I would build such a fine Bryn-y-mor !
etc.
21. Jim Gilpin, Jim Gilpin,
My muse must be limping
If ever she leaves thee astern.
When some heresy brews
Thou wilt gather the news
And spin us a glorious yarn !
etc.
22. John Bailey, John Bailey,
Thou rt going it gaily !
But mind ! keep thy weather eye open !
For wedlock grows stale
Like a bottle of ale,
And brides will in time begin moping !
etc.
23. John Bell, Johnny Bell,
The system works well
Though bitter as gall to the pill.
The mixture and lotion
They favour devotion
If they bring but the grist to the mill,
etc.
392 EDWARD PEASE.
24. Billy Hughes, Billy Hughes,
Mind thy Fs and thy Q s,
And give the dear ladies no quarter !
We are some of us winning
The good by our linen,
And some by the pestal and mortar,
etc.
25. Ive Huntley, Ive Huntley,
They ve treated thee bluntly,
Yet, sometimes these trials are given
To gather poor mortals
From flattery s portals
And bind them the closer to Heaven,
etc.
26. Hail ! Hail to thee Peace !
Little Jonathan Rees
Thou multum in parvo displayed
Although rather little
A hero of metal
And quite an ironical blade !
Friend Jonathan
Quite an ironical blade.
27. Joel Lean, Joel Lean,
All acknowledge thy sheen
Yes, nemine contradicenti
And many an urchin
Hath learnt from thy birching
The force of his as in presenti,
etc., etc.
[?Redland,]
28. Ikey Redwood, thy fame
Often makes us exclaim
APPENDIX XII. 393
quantum mutatus db illo !
There s nothing like leather
For holding together
And making a man of a fellow,
Ikey Redwood,
And making a man of a fellow.
In the printed pamphlet no names were given only
initials, though the names of well known friends were easy
enough to insert.
APPENDIX XIII.
EXTRACTS FROM A LETTER FROM EDWARD PEASE,
WRITTEN FROM MINDEN, AUGUST 15, 1842.
Minden 8 Mo. 15, 1842.
My dearly Lov d Jane and Joseph,
From landing at Ostend on the morn g of 4 day to reaching
this place on 7 day at n, we had close and hot travelling,
the distance about 360 miles and such is the size of continental
kingdoms in this part of the world we were in 3 or 4 of them
or close on the borders of them,* Hanover we were very
near, and shall pass through a part of it on our route from
this place to Pyrmont which I expect will be on 6 day, it
was your dear Uncles desire to have been at meeting there
yesterday, instead of this place, but with all our exertions
and Styleish travelling in an old Lumbering carriage with
3 and often 4 horses we could not reach Pyrmont. We
passed thro or into many interesting cities, celebrated in
history for its seiges, fortifications, fine churches, pictures
or the residences of the learned in bygone days I mean
Bruges, Leige, Aix la Chapelle, Brussells, Cologne, but so
quick a transit left us no time to explore them or their beauties,
there was either in their curiously built antique houses
standing with their Gables to the street with ancient inscrip
tions and in some cases a great deal of fantastic carveing
on them much to admire or attract attention, many a door,
doorstead, window head or house corner I should have wished
* Belgium, Prussia, Hanover, and in Bonapartes time, this
Westphalia was his Brothers Kingdom.
394
APPENDIX XIII. 395
I could possess to send to enrich your Uncle Gibson s assem
blage, and I have told Augustus M, if he sees such pulled
down to see if he can make any purchases and send in a
Wool pack to Engld. Many fine ancient churches were
attractive en passant, often in a style of architecture quite
difnt to that class of buildings in this country. We saw
the most of by hiring a voitrine and driveing about for an
hour or more, on a hot evening, to use your Aunt Backhouse s
expression, a heat of 84 kept us mopping our faces.
We had very little of paved road, such as you feel so
tiresome in France, nearly all is completely Macadamized,
and kept in excellent order, a fine breadth, always margined
with trees, interminable avenues of Lombardy poplars
similar in magnitude but taller than those near the Mill.
One German mile is equal to 5 English, and at every quarter
mile there is a large solid well cut stone rather Urn-shaped
marked J \ f , and spaced between the quarters there are well
painted division posts devidg. each mile into one hundred,
so at the end of the first mile the mark is i : 01 : 02 : till
the centimes are passed, and at each i mile end (5 of ours)
is a pedestal, on which the spread Eagle is well cut and painted
black. Poplars are not the universal margin of the road
in some places miles of Mountain ash make it look as far
as the eye can see as if lined with scarlet, in others miles
of cherry trees, plums and Apples, fully loaded (the two
latter) apples gd. p. Bushl. The trees are planted on the
turnpike road and not in hedgerow, the fruit goes to the
magistrates or commissioners.
The cultivation of the country is good, being in many
places in innumerable small patches, growing many descrip
tions of plants we seldom see cultivated, flax, hemp, Buck
wheat, and Gardiners seeds. Some endless fields of potatoes,
they seem much more cultivated than with us, to make
Brandy from, a sad purpose for such an invaluable root.
Some land is cultivated with the Sugar beet, but that trade
is said to be declineing, sugar is so very low, 4jd. to 5d.p. Ib.
for good lump sugar. The Wheat is completely gathered
in, but I should suppose millions of acres of Oats and Barley,
generally dead ripe not cut some districts are all pasture
396 EDWARD PEASE.
land, and I am surprizd to see all so verdant, no parched
appearance alt ho the heat seems great, it is now 4 OClock,
and a grateful breeze comes into the room, yet 82 is the
temperature in a shady part where no sun has been since
morng fine large windows fully open and dear John writg
by me, and also without his coat We have not seen much
of this town, but it is the oldest looking place I was ever in,
the houses some very large and high, nearly all stand with
the Gable to the street and being full of windows to the
very top with curious immagery and carving have a singular
effect the town is walled, many ditches and bridges, I think
we came through 5 archways of town walls and before we
reached this Inn ; the people are very civil, the beds little
low things are good and clean, the house moderately so,
the table d hote good not excelling what I have seen, we
were upwards 20 to day, but as they all spoke German we
formed no acquaintance with any one, there was an intelli
gible civility towards us and that was all this house is situate
in a narrow street, but the rooms are lofty and commodious,
opposite to it is a wide Gateway which from day break to
breakfast time was ocupied most annoyingly to me, 3 or
4 men and I woman were thrashing in it with a discription
of flail very difnt to that in use with us, and from the swinge
ing end of it being a peice of board about 3 inches broad,
and beating the grain in unison, as boiler makers strike in
unison makes a very sleep destroying noise we are not
far from the margin of the Weiser, it is a very fine river,
yet after seeing the Rhine seems unimportant, it seems
about twice the breadth of the Thames at London bridge,
but not navigable for such large vessels, the views from the
bridge looking to the vast woods of Westphalia are fine-
but we see no large timber trees any where tis probable
the extreme cold of their winters which seems to prevent
their having Laurels Rhododendrons etc may be unfriendly
to timber Common fruit seems plentiful, some Grapes and
immense melons have been noticed by us having endeavord
my precious Grandchildren to give you an outline of what
eyes have seen, and mind has thought on some points, I would
hope you have some interest in your beloved Uncles mission
APPENDIX XIII. 397
and I wish that interest to increase, so I will give you a general
view of our proceedgs the kind and invaluable helper Augustus
Mundick who met us at Cologne is so essential to us, I know
not how we could have got on without him, is our interpreter,
he speaks English with fluency and correctness, and answers
your uncles purpose in meetings and families admirably.
We meet with a kind and welcome reception from all
frds as their cheerful countenances indicate, and their ex
pressions through our interpreter, but it is disappointing
beyond what you can conceive to be in companies and unable
to express a word I hope my dear children you will keep
and increase your German, that when you make the tour
of the Rhine you may not experience the want we feel ;
who knows but it may be your or one of your Lots to come on
an errand similar to your dear Uncles who I believe has daily
a reward of heavenly peace, a peace which I desire above
all things concerning you, and in order to your gaining this
inestimable treasure let me entreat you my dearly loved
Ones to be obedient to the witness for truth in your own
bosoms, it is no other than the blessed influence of the spirit
of our Lord it may and will point out to you things contrary
to your own wills, but this taking up the daily cross and daily
watching unto prayer will crown you with peace here and
win for you the eternal heavenly Crown May you loved
Jane and Joseph keep this holy highway in view Your
dear Uncle who proposes to write my dr Sophia is well and
I think I have not seen him (John Pease) look clearer or better,
his soup and 2 large glasses of wine to dinner appears to suit
him well, and though our table d hote here to which about
20 sit down has some delicacies of continental cookery, yet
I think our preference to a joint, a pudding and a tart con
tinues.
Our meetg on first day was agreeably held about 30 present,
and Augustus always performed his interpreting well in
the aftnoon we had a solid good number present not members
Yesterday morng commenced the family visits, we got
through 7 this morng we went to a 9 OClock meetg at
Edenhausen 5 members and about 10 not members assembled
we had aimed to miss the heat of the day, and perhaps
398 EDWARD PEASE.
it will be hotter this aft noon, but the very Gale was hot,
and the thermor. on the carg. seat, it was an unopen one, was
109 that garments next the back felt like sticking plaster !
On my coming to this house I thought the head waiter
looked on me with much complasence, and after a while
enquired of August why I have not brought my Sister (E F)
taking me for S. Gurney Elizabeth Fry is considered to
have been an instrument of great good here there being no
poor Laws cases of neglect and distress were not wanting,
she established a visiting Ladies committee, and now that
the tenderness of some, and such committees becoming
fashionable, they are very much spread in the country We
look to going to a small meetg tomoro (4 day) morng and
hope we so conclude the visit to families here as to able to
leave for Pyrmont on 5 day noon frds here seem now settled
and I hope generally making a liveliehood which was not
the case at one time and they seemed on the point of emigra
ting to America, but this we have not heard named, there
are 3 or 4 large families of Childn The females who I think
generally are extraordinary ordinary looking, wear curious
dresses, I mean the bourgeois, and farmers wives, a full
crimson skirt or peticoat, with a blue apron before, the front
and waste of some tasteful embroidered work, set thick
with gilt buttons or similar ornaments, the cap like black
cloth fits the head close, some gay needle work on it with
floating Scarlet Ribbons from each side of it whilst its plain
forhead part is arched over the eye brows, and a pique or
pointed peice ending in quite sharp point comes down between
the eyes the hair much in quantity is often beautifully
platted the arms are bare to the elbows this an attempt
at a description, and if I describe the frds house we were at
this forenoon in may be considered the model only differing
in size of the general farms of the Country, the entrance
is large enough to take in and conveniently hold an 8 horse
waggon it is one large barn 54 feet wide 81 feet long, on each
side, are the domicile of horses, Cows, pigs and Goats, above
them the nests, and roosts of fowls and pigeons, ducks and
Geese enjoying the lower story towards the far end but
not fenced of is the pump scullery etc and then fenced of
APPENDIX XIII. 399
with windows on one side looking into this Ark and on the
other side looking into the Garden, is the other end of the
barn A neat little meetg house was near, and good Counsel
was handed, to the few, the females were remarkable figures
I will not venture to describe their appearance.
We have some fears of getting along from Pyrmont to
Cologne, as we understand the King of Prussia has order
70 horses to be ready here on 2d day next on his Route to
review 54,000 of his army at Cologne next week.
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INDEX.
ABBOTT, John, 51.
Abbot, Sarah, 510, 5211, 196, 202.
Aberdeen, Lord, 327.
Ackworth School, 187, 259, 260, 283, 330.
Addison, Robert, 99.
Adelaide Pit, 270.
Aggs, Martha Lucy, 274.
Albright, John, 154.
Albright, Nicholas, 154.
Aldam, William, 326.
Alexander, Ann, 267, 285.
Alexander, G., 295.
Alexander, R. and D., 267.
Allan, George, 84n.
Allan, John and Robert H., 177, 308.
Allen, Sarah, 133, 155.
Allen, William, 57, 72, 74, 115, 165, 374.
Alnwick Colliery, 90.
Alsop, Christine, 242n.
American Friends, 226, 228, 253.
Amiens, 126.
Anti-Slavery Cause, 75, 82, 175.
Arctic, loss of, 320.
Arnett, T., 276.
Arnold, Dr., i62n.
Ash, Edward, M.D., 181, 269.
Atherton family, 21511.
Atkinson, John and Margaret, 131, i8sn.
Auckland Mine, 152, 175.
Auckland and Weardale Railway, 198,
199.
Aylesbury, 209.
Ayton School, 107, 173, 178, 183, 184,
189, 194, 201, 203, 227, 239, 291,
304, 305, 325, 346.
BACKHOUSE family, 65, 73, 84, 89, 103,
133, 136, i8sn, 213, 303, 338, 346,
Backhouse, Edmund, 76, 230, 259, 262,
285, 293, 300, 316, 338.
Backhouse, Edward, 62, 232.
Backhouse Frederick, 210.
Backhouse, Hannah Chapman (nee Gur-
ney). Vide Mrs. Jonathan Backhouse.
Backhouse, James, 199, 387.
Backhouse, Jane G., 201, 204. Vide
Mrs. R. Barclay Fox.
Backhouse, John Church and Anna (nte
Gurney), 200, 252, 264.
Backhouse, John and Katharine, 149,
227, 287.
Backhouse, Jonathan and Mrs. J., 65,
82, 98, 128, 134, 169, 171, 190, 198,
199, 201, 207, 209, 264, 268, 281,
282, 343.
Backhouse, Maria, 199; Vide Mrs. Isaac
Bigland.
Backhouse, Thomas, 209.
Backhouse, William, 202, 260.
Bailey, John, 391.
Bainbridge, Edward, 379.
Ball, Gawen, 156, 390.
Ball, Wm. and Ann, 181, 346.
Baird, Dr., 146.
Barclay family, 73, 78, i8sn, 2o7n, 237,
238, 264, 303, 307, 318, 355.
Barclay, Abram Rawhnson, 207.
Barclay, Emma Lucy, 246.
Barclay, Henry, 272, 299.
Barclay, Jane Mary, 237, 238.
Barclay, Jane, 78.
Barclay, John, 115, 207.
Barclay, Robert, the Apologist, 12, 31,
269.
Bardfield, 267.
Barlow, Ann, 282.
Barnard Castle Railway, 317, 338.
Barnard, S., 211.
Bath, Henry, 390.
Beale, Abraham, 244.
Beaumont, Elizabeth, 45, 158 (Mrs.
Joseph Pease, of Feethams).
Beaumont, Wm., 313.
Bedford, Peter, 177, 229.
Beezeley, Samuel, 154.
Bell, J. J., 158.
Bell, John Hyslop, 223, 391.
Bell, Mercy, 156.
Bell, Sheppard, 153.
Benington family 18511.
Bevan, J. Gurney, 115.
Bevan, Dr. Thomas and Hannah (n6e
Bennet), 240.
Bewdley, 273.
Bewley, Ann, 332.
Bewley, Henry, 210.
Bible Society, 82, 117 et seq., 198,
243.
Bigland, Isaac and Maria (nte Back
house), 199.
Birkbeck family, 27n, 58, 200, 208,
233n.
Birkbeck, Alice, 233.
Birkbeck, Henry, 233n, 241, 264, 377.
Birkbeck, Mary, 58.
Birkenhead, 213.
Birmingham 165, 254, 310.
Booch, Thomas, 321.
Bootham School, York, 67, 143.
Botcherby, John, 217.
Bousfield, John, 45.
Bowley, Samuel, 286.
Bowring, Sir John, 343.
Bowron, Ralph, 28on.
Bowes, , 178.
4O2
EDWARD PEASE.
Brady, Jervas, 153.
Bradshaw, Anna, 46, 159, (Mrs. Joseph
Pease, of Feethams).
Bragg, Hadwen and Margaret, 51, 54,
57, 58, 62, 150, 165, 166, 172.
Braithwaite, family, 233n, 299.
Braithwaite, George, 51.
Braithwaite, J. Bevan, 239, 339, 346.
Bridgwater, 287.
Bright, John, 295, 327.
Brindley, Mr., 84.
Bristol, 181, 200, 207, 221, 237, 251,
263, 278, 302.
Broglie, Due de, 126.
Brown, Caleb, 194.
Brown, Isaac, 391.
Brown, John, 309.
Brunswick, Duke of, 70.
Broadhead, Henry and Eliza (nee Back
house), 133, 136.
Brougham, J. Rigg, i62n.
Brus, Robert de, 2i5n.
Bull Wynd, 4 sn.
Buonaparte, Josephine, 124.
Burgess, Thomas, 153.
Burton, Jas., 242.
Butler, Mrs. Theobald (nee Leatham),
325n.
Buxton, T. F., 258.
Buxton, 55.
CALMADY-HAMLVN, Vincent Waldo and
Emma Josephine (nie Pease), 33on.
Capper, Samuel, 207, 252, 388.
Castelbajere, Le, Vte. de, 122.
Chalk, Thomas, 252.
Chapman, Abel, 173.
Chapman, William, 85.
Char 1 ton, Robert, 310.
Chartists, 151, 251, 256.
Chelmsford, 266.
Cholera, 272, 276, 306, 319.
Church Rates, 163.
Church, Sir Richard, 252.
Clapham family, 131, 377.
Clark, Juliet, 264.
Clarke, D. and A., 203.
Clarkson, Thomas, 370.
Clay, Joseph and Jane, 135, 220, 245.
Clay, Travis, 135.
Cleveland, Duke of, 204, 243, 343.
Coates family, 44n, 149, 194, 206, 301.
Cockin, Richard, 152.
Colchester, 267.
Coleman, Ann, 298, 299.
Coggeshall, 174, 253.
Coggeshall, Eliza, 61.
Collins, Wm., 153.
Consett Iron Works, 296.
Conyers family, 2isn.
Conybeare, Rev. J. W. E., i62n.
Cook, Charity, 226.
Corbierre, Le Comte, 122.
Corder, S., 284.
Corder, S., 75.
Corn Laws, 187, 195.
Cotherstone 133.
Couldwell family, 43n, 440.
Crewdson, family, 299, 340, 389.
Crewdson, Isaac, 161, 167.
Crewdson, Wilson and Margaret, 66, 246.
Cropper, James, 162, 189, 285.
Cropper family, i62n.
Cunningham, Rev. Francis and Richenda
(nee Gurney), 284.
DALE, Ann Eliza, 171, 172, 218, 228,
23on, 303, 319.
Dale, Sir David, i68n, 17 in, 2i8n,
23on, 303, 321.
Darlington, 45, 61, 84, 88, 91, 105,
129, 144, i72n, 178, 202, 213, 227,
245, 281.
Day, Mahlon, 320.
Deane, M. A., 58.
Denman, Lord, 132.
Deralois, M. Soyer, 126.
Dilworth, Sarah, sin.
Dixon, family, 27gn, 28on.
Dixon, John, 87, 99, 261, 321.
Dixon, Ralph, 195, 279, 280.
Dodshon family, 307, 346.
Dover, 69.
Doyle, Caroline, 343.
Driver, Rolles and Sarah, 180.
Dublin, 164, 210.
Dudley, Mary, 56.
Dumont, Louis, 123.
Dundas family, 2isn.
Dunmow, 267.
Duobortisi, the, 61.
Dymond, J. J., 265.
EATON, Jos., 252.
Eaton, Robert, 391.
Edinburgh, 170, 240, 297.
Edmonds, Thos., 154.
Ellis, Bakewell, 153.
Ellis, Wm., 272.
Emlen, S., 210, 278.
Essex, meetings, 266, 267.
Evans, Thomas, 236.
FARRAR, 243, 343.
Fauconberge, Lord. 2isn.
Fell, Jane, 46n.
Fell, John, 130, 154.
Fell, Mary (Margaret), 79.
Fell, Richard and Mary, i28n, 192,
211.
Flounders, Benjamin, 54, 98, 205, 217, 228,
260, 283.
Forster family, 259, 296, 298, 315,
316, 333, 388.
Forster, Josiah and Rachel (nee Wilson),
115, 116, 117, 177, 198, 259.
Forster, Robert and Rachel (nee Wilson),
Forster, W. E., M.P., n6n.
Forster, W., 176, 241, 269, 284, 311,
Ford, John, 67, 143.
Forth Street Works, 94, 147, 168, 213,
217, 230, 238, 249, 261, 264, 274,
303, 304, 323, 33i, 344-
Fossick, Sarah, 158 (Mrs. J. Beaumont
Pease).
Fothergill, John, 187, 379.
Fothergill, Wm., 259.
Fowler, family, i8sn, 2i8n, 22in, 339, 346.
Fowler, John 218, 221, and Elizabeth
Lucy (nee Pease), 339, 346.
Fowler, Robert and Rachel (nee Wilson),
121, 125, 189, 2<>I, 222, 223H, 226,
227, 346.
Fowler, Sir Robert N., 193.
Fox, family, 204, 339, 342.
Fox, Alfred, 286.
Fox, Charles, of Trebah, 460.
Fox, Elizabeth and Charlotte, 181, 204.
Fox, George, 22, 31, 79.
INDEX.
403
Fox, George, of Cornwall, 193, 195.
Fox, George Croker, 204.
Fox, Mary, 319. Vide Pease, Lady,
wife of Sir Joseph Whitwell Pease.
Fox, Robert Barclay and Jane G., 201,
204, 207.
Fox, Silvanus, 262.
Fox, Theodore and Harriet (nee Kirk-
bride), 284, 33on.
Fry family, 133, 328.
Fry, Sir Edward, i2gn.
Fry, Elizabeth, 56, 74, 77, 147, 165, 212,
216, 388.
Fry, Francis and Matilda, 213.
Fry, Lewis, M.P., i2gn.
Fry, Richard and Rachel (nee Pease),
128, 130, 132, 133, 145, 155, 199,
221, 244, 252, 279, 298, 302, 304,
309, 328.
Fry, Sophia (nee Pease), 246.
Fry, Susan, 285.
Fry, W., 1 80.
Fryer, Joseph Jowett, 221.
Fryer, Rachel, 220.
GARTHS, family of, 27.
Gatenby, Joseph, 128, 193, 217.
Gibson, Francis and Elizabeth (nee
Pease), i2gn, 133, 241, 279, 291,
3!9> 332, 345-
Gibson, G. and D., 208.
Gibson, George S., 253.
Gibson, Jabez, 128.
Gillet, Jos. A., 154, 390.
Gilpin, Charles, 295.
Girado, Baron, 118.
Grace, Ann, 389.
Grame, Sir Jas., 194.
Grant, John, 154.
Great North of England Railway, 176, 188.
Great Britain steamship, 211.
Green, Priscilla, 333.
Green, Widow, 154.
Grellet, Stephen, 55, 57, 58, 338, 374.
Grove House School, 272.
Grubb, S., 74, 165.
Guisbrough, 135 ; rector, 178 ; 203, 245,
286, 298, 300, 305, 307.
Gurney, Catherine, 283.
Gurney, Eliza P., 79, 264, 284, 323,
330.
Gurney, Elizabeth, 2O7n.
Gurney, Emma. Vide Pease, Joseph
and Emma.
Gurney, Jane, 233n.
Gurney, John, of Earlham, 78.
Gurney, Joseph and Jane (nee Chap
man), of the Grove, 54, 65, 66, 76,
7gn, i73n.
Gurney, Joseph John, of Earlham, 18,
2in, 22n, 55, 56, 78, 79, i6sn, 169,
170, 177, 180, 183, 189, 200, 203,
208, 228, 235, 236, 238, 277, 278,
284, 307, 327, 387.
Gurney, Rachel (Mrs. Richard Gurney),
of Keswick, 2in.
Gurney, Richenda, 284n.
Gurney, Samuel, 75, 183, 284, 336, 337,
338.
Gurney s Bank, 60.
HACK D. Prior, 155, 180, 321
Hadwen, J., 147.
Halstead, 267.
Ham House, 77.
Hare, Samuel, 309.
Harewood, 56.
Harris family, i8sn.
Harris, John, 99, 133, 200.
Hardy, Heywood, 108.
Harding, Thomas, 296.
Headlam, 27n.
Henderson family, 118, 361.
Heron, Ralph, 7in.
Hewitson, John, 206.
Hitchin Railway bond, 345.
Hodgkin, John, 204, 216, 228, 239.
Hollingsworth s Bank, 103.
Holme family, 131.
Hopkins, John Castell, 99.
Horner, Benjamin, 233.
Home, Haswell, 252.
Horsnaill, R., 116.
Howard, E., 320.
Howard, Luke, 54, 115, 389.
Howard, Robert, 315.
Hows, W. T., 154.
Howson, J. S., 162.
Hudson, Deborah, i85n.
Hudson, Thomas Jay, 36 et seq.
Hughes,, 392.
Huntley, Joe, 392.
Hustler, John, 46, 63, 186, 274, 339.
Hustler, Mildred, 233, 274.
Hustler, Sarah, 61.
Hutchinson, Henry, 99.
Hutchinson, Jonathan, 6.
Hutchinson, Robert, 380.
Hutchinson, W., 213, 303.
Hutchinson (historian), 45n.
IANSON, i8sn.
Irish famine, 249.
Illustrated London News, 297.
JACKSON, Elizabeth, 137.
Jackson, Ward, 343.
effrey, R., 276.
obson, A., 309.
ohnson, Christopher, 319.
ohnson, Dr. Samuel, 383 et seq.
ones, Eli and Sybil, 304, 315.
ones, J., 273.
ones, Rev. W., 1620.
owett, R., 229.
owitt family, i8sn.
owitt, Mary Ann, 135.
KEIFER, Professor, 118, 120, 121.
Keridal, 168, 245.
Killingworth Colliery, 86, 91.
Kimber, Thomas, 291.
King, James, 333.
Kirkbride, E. P., 170 i8sn, (Mrs. J. J.
Gurney), 180, 183.
Kirkbride, Harriet, 284, Vide Fox,
Theodore.
Kitching, Alfred, 99.
Kitching, Deborah, 217.
Kitching, William, 285.
LAMBERT, MR., 86.
Langford, Eleanor, 125.
Law, Robert, 379.
Lean, Joel, 392.
Leather, Mr., 84.
Leatham, Albert, 272, 275, 278, and
Rachel (nee Pease), 292, 304, 317,
328, 354 et seq.
Leatham, Margaret, 275, 358.
Leatham, Rachel, 2i8n.
Lecky, Mary, 147.
404
EDWARD PEASE.
Leeds Canal, 283.
Lessart, Baron de, 126.
Liddel, , 132.
Liverpool, Lord, 116, 120.
Liverpool, 199, 273, 283, 284.
Longridge, Michael, 95.
Lowther family, 215.
Lunardi (ballonist), 7in.
Laseire, De, 122.
Lloyd family, 381.
Lloyd, Jse., 149.
Lloyd, Mary, 254, Vide Pease, Mary.
Lloyd, Samuel and Rachel, 124, 136,
165, 189, 207, 315.
MACNAY, Thomas, 99, 321.
Majolier, Lydia, 242.
Malton, 263.
Manchester, 273, 281, 283.
Martin, Henry, 134.
Martin, Simon, 377.
Marske, 214, 231, 238, 243, 285, 296,
3i7, 33i, 338.
Mason, George, 99.
Mason, Mary Ann, 133.
Masterman, H. 263.
Matheson, Thos., 162.
Matthews, William, 267, 279,
Maude, Anna, 135.
Meeting for Sufferings, 115, 190, 278, 310,
3 I 5-
Melbourne, Lord, 8 in.
Melksham, 221, 222, 226.
Melrose, 171.
Messer, Josiah, 51, 115.
Metcalf, Robert, 380.
Mewburn, Francis, 85, 97 et seq., 321.
Meynell, Mr., 84, 98, 99, 103.
Miller, William, 297.
Middlesbrough, 83n, 137, 162 ; pottery,
I94n ; 204, 205, 234, 304, 305, 308,
319,377.
Minden, 190.
Minit, , 121.
Montmorency, Due de, 121, 122.
Mounsey family, i8sn.
Moyse, Wm., 389.
NEVILL, Thomas, 194.
Neville, Jos., 287.
Newcastle, 134, 136, 210, 218, 221, 248,
320.
Nichol, Elizabeth Pease, 223, 305, 306.
North of England Railway, 188.
Northallerton, 138.
Norwich, 49, 173, 208, 238, 259.
OLDENBURGH, Duchess of, 57, 58.
Oliver, Daniel, 187.
Ord, S., 220.
Ornsby, H. W., 99.
Osmotherley, 139, 307.
Overend, John, 183.
Overton, Mr., 98.
Oxford Movement, 155.
Oxley, Edward, 241.
Oxley, R., 321.
PALMERSTON, Lord, 327, 343.
Palmer, Barbara, 147.
Pardoes, 122.
Paris, 117 et seq.
Parker, Charles, 58.
Patterson, , 118.
Payne, Geo., 154.
Peacock, Dr. Bedoes, 159.
Peacock, John, 216.
Peacock, Robert, 379.
Pease, Alfred, 309.
Pease, Sir Alfred Edward, 345.
Pease, Arthur, 2i$n.
Pease, Claud Edward, 2isn.
Pease, Edward, family history, 4311 ;
birth, 44 ; parents, 45 ; education,
46 ; enters business, 47 ; recreations,
48, 53 ; marriage, 50 ; an Elder,
54 ; the Emperor of Russia, 58 ;
panic of 1815, 60 ; destruction
of Darlington Mills, 61 ; death of
children, 63, 64 ; opposes his son s
entry to Parliament, 65 ; travels
in Wales, 68 ; visits Dover, 69 ;
a balloon ascent, 71 ; coronation
of 1837, 71 ; at the Grove, Norwich,
79 ; hotel bills, 80 ; politics, 81 ;
slavery, 82 ; money making, 83 ;
first railway, 83 et seq. ; part
nership with Stephenson, 87, 94 ;
" Neddie Pease," 88 ; tree planting,
89 ; the Quaker s Line, 89 ; loyalty
to Darlington, 91 ; firmness, 98 ;
proposed memorial, 99 et seq. ;
Mewburn s reminiscences, 103 ;
Hollingsworth s Bank incident, 103 ;
funeral scenes, 105 ; cheerfulness,
106 ; fatigue, 107 ; last days, 107 ;
portrait, 108 ; journals, 112; be
reavements, 113.
Pease, Edward, Diaries, etc. Journey
abroad, 115, 190; in Paris, 117, et
seq. ; Bible Society, 121 ; travels
in ministry, 128, 153-4, 166, 169 ;
on jury, 130, 167 ; hospitality, 145 ;
interest in Jamaica, 146 ; church
rates, 147, 163 ; death of son Edward,
150 ; Oxford Movement, 155 ; in
Cumberland, 166 ; in Scotland, 170
et seq. ; slavery, 175 ; Corn Laws,
J 87, 195 ; at Birmingham, 189 ;
the Mills, 189 ; opposes Factory Bill,
194 ; a long walk, 197 ; revises will,
197 ; Bible Society, 198 ; health
drinking, 199 ; total abstinence
cause, 201, 205 ; accumulation of
wealth, 202 ; pictures, 203 ; Com
mon Prayer Book, 214, 290 ; at
Marsk, 214 ; deplores speculations,
217 ; criticises British Friend, 218 ;
trade depression, 219, 247 ; eightieth
year, 220 ; illness and death of
brother Joseph, 222 et seq. ; Darl
ington Meeting, 227 ; birthright
membership, 229 ; a trotting match,
230 ; on matrimony, 237 ; grave,
245 ; Bank collapse, 248 ; Irish
famine, 249 ; Chartists, 251, 256 ;
sits for portrait, 252 ; David Sands,
255 ; cholera, 263 ; Quaker caution,
265 ; in Essex, 267 ; Good Friday,
268, 328 ; Barclay s Apology, 269 ;
grandson s birthday, 270 ; religious
dissensions, 281 ; total abstinence,
286, 290, 305, 346 ; agricultural
distress, 290 ; Romanists, 291 ;
loss of income, 292 ; Magistracy,
293 ; pecuniary losses, 294, 298 ;
Great Exhibition, 295 ; in Scotland,
2 97, 318 ; resignations, 299 ; profit
from war steamers, 303 ; scarcity
of labour, 306 ; Russian war, 310,
314, 320, 322, 323, 329, 331 ; Skinner-
INDEX.
405
gate Schools, 312 ; Reform Bill,
313 ; grandson s wedding, 318 ;
Christmas Day, 323 ; Government
crisis, 326, 327 ; National fast,
327 ; a case of poisoning, 331 ;
end of war, 335 ; the simple language,
336 ; reflections at ninety, 341 ;
testimonial, 343 , 347 ; Henry
Pease s election for South Durham,
343, 344 ; Indian Mutiny, 346 ;
death, 348 ; his mother, 359, 360 ;
account books, 361, 362 ; fruit
trees, 365 ; letter from Minden,
394-
Pease, Edward (son of Edward), 113,
130, 132, 139, 140, 141, 148, 149,
150, 155, 217, 286.
Pease, Edward (grandson), 272, 273,
330.
Pease, Elizabeth (sister of Edward), 45,
46, 63.
Pease, Elizabeth (daughter of Edward),
129, vide Gibson, Mrs. Francis.
Pease, Emma (granddaughter), 78, 80.
Pease, Emma Josephine (afterwards
Calmady-Hamlyn), 330.
Pease, Gurney and Katherine (nee Wil
son), 145.
Pease, Henry (son of Edward), and
Anna ((nee Fell), 128, i2gn, 145, 146,
150, 152, 174, 181, 190, 201, 211,
212, 217, 228, 237, 241, 246, 248,
252, 254, 310, 311, 312, 321, 335,
34. 343, 344, 345-
Pease, Henry Fell, M.P., 128, 192, 228.
Pease, Isaac, 63, 64, 113, 155.
Pease, Jane Gurney, 76, 77, 78.
Pease, John, 2in, 27, 53, 64, 74, 80, loon,
109, 128, 131, 135, 137, 148, 153,
159, 162, 176, 189, 191, 192, 196,
203, 205, 207n, 210, 212, 217, 220,
244, 259, 267, 268, 280, 291, 306,
310, 313, 321, 327, 346.
Pease, John Beaumont, 158, 159, 258,
313, 321.
Pease, John Henry, 311, 314, 315.
Pease, Joseph, of Pease Hall, 43n.
Pease, Joseph, of Feethams, 45, 46, 48,
158, 193, 195, 223, et seq., 227,
336.
Pease, Joseph A., 27.
Pease, Joseph, M.P., and Emma, 64,
6 5, 72, 73, 81, 106, 109, 137, 145,
151, 153, 162, 163, 166, 172, 173,
176, 179, 181, 188, 191, 192, I93n,
194, 198, 201, 204, 209, 212, 213,
214, 217, 231, 232, 235, 238, 241,
242, 243, 246, 248, 259, 262, 264,
272, 275, 281, 283, 290, 294, 297,
300, 301, 304, 305, 306, 308, 310,
3 r 5, 3 J 7, 319, 32i, 325, 329, 33i,
336, 338, 343, 377-
Pease, Sir Joseph Whitwell, 45n, 48n,
67, 94, 143, 145, 155, 230, 245, 251,
252, 263, 270, 272, 279, 299, 307,
313, 316, 318, 319 ; and Mary
nbe Fox), 309, 320, 325, 330, 331,
338, 345-
Pease, Martha Lucy, 299.
Pease, Mary (mother of Edward) 45, 263,
329, 359, 360.
Pease, Mary (sister of Edward), 45,
46, 329.
Pease, Mary (daughter of Edward), 63,
113, 155, 286.
Pease, Mary Beatrice, Vide Countess
of Portsmouth.
Pease, Mary Lloyd (Mrs. Henry), i2gn,
254, 328.
Pease, Rachel (nee Whitwell), wife of
Edward, 49, 50, 51, 52, 113, 114,
132, 135, 136, 169, 196, 199, 241,
271, 272, 286, 293, 321, 336, 340 ;
her accounts, 363.
Pease, Rachel (daughter of Edward),
128, 129, 130, 133. Vide Fry,
Mrs. Richard.
Pease, Rachel (granddaughter), 272, 275,
278, 292, 354 et seq. Vide Mrs
Albert Leatham.
Pease, Sophia, 181, 191, 227, 244, 246, 273.
Pease, Thomas and family, 194, 195,
229, 262, 272, 274, 279, 299.
Pease, William, 199.
Pease family, 2n, 430, 45n, 46, 158, 180,
i8sn, 204, 2i8n, 255, 264, 305, 311,
314, 326, 328, 329, 339, 355, 358, 359.
Peel, Sir Robert, 8in, 219, 230, 245, 283.
Penington, Isaac, 20.
Penn, William, 31.
Pennett family, i8on.
Penney, George, i8rn.
Pennyman, Sir Wm., 2isn.
Peto, , 242.
Pike family, 137, I38n, 210, 332.
Plews, Nathan, 104.
Polam Hall, 300, 309, 340.
Poole, 181.
Portsmouth, Countess of, 273.
Pounder, Mary and Sarah, 193.
Preston, 220.
Price, Anna and family, 68, 156.
Price, Catharine, 115.
Price, Joseph, 390.
Priestman family, 303.
Priestman, Ann and Esther, 263.
Priestman, J. and R., 150, 166, 303, 317,
318.
Proctor, John R., 241.
Procter, Misses, 309, 322, 340.
Prussia, King of, 187.
Plymouth Brethren, 156, i62n.
Pumphrey, Thomas, 187, 259. 333.
QUAKERISM, i ; the Trinity 6 ;
inward light 7, n ; immortality,
9 ; conduct, 10 ; the Scriptures,
ii ; ministry, 12 ; worship, 14 ;
ordinances, 15 ; civil government,
19 ; war, 20, Appendix I. ; dress,
20 ; speech, 22 ; hat testimony,
23, 4gn ; marriage, 26, Appendix II.;
funerals, 27 ; occupations, 28 ;
the poor, 29 ; music, 30 ; dancing
and sports, 31 ; discipline, 32 ;
decline, 34 ; austerity, 35 ; evolu
tion of, 39 ; " Public Meetings," 131 ;
" Presentations," i33n ; perfection,
141 ; testimony, 167 ; wedding
rings, i72n ; simplicity of, 260 :
queries, i87n ; Dr. Johnson, 383
et seq.
Quakerieties, 389.
Quimper, Bishop of, 119.
RABY Castle, 243.
Railway, first, 83 et seq., 97, 176, 315.
Raisbeck, Mr., 85.
Redcar, 290, 294.
Redwood, Isaac, 392.
4 o6
EDWARD PEASE.
Rees, Jonathan, 392.
Rennie, John, 84.
Reynolds, Jane, 154.
Rhodes, Samuel and Ann, 202, 243.
Richardson family, 44, 89, 136, i8on,
228, 241, 255, 259, 299, 313, 32gn,
33 1 . 359-
Richardson, Caroline, 317.
Richardson, David, 383.
Richardson, Henry, 175, 263.
Richardson, Isaac, 175.
Richardson, Jonathan, 244.
Richardson, Lydia, 241.
Richardson, Mary, Vide Pease, Mary
(mother of Edward).
Richardson, Thomas and Martha, 86,
95. 153, 173. l8 3n> 184, 200, 213,
227, 228, 235, 238, 242, 262, 276,
291, 304, 306, 313, 336, 377.
Richardson, William, 186.
Rickman, Nathaniel, 58, 59, 60.
Rickman, Mary, 59, 60.
Rickman, William, 116.
Ring, Cath., 255.
Roberts John, 141 et seq.
Robson, Anne Backhouse, 135, 168 (vide
Mrs. Henry Whitwell and Mrs.
David Dale).
Robson, Eliza, 147, 199.
Robson, N., 221.
Robson, Rachel, I44n.
Robinson, Gervas, 129.
Rochester, 116.
Rodeymoor, 242.
Rose, George, 165.
Rothschild, , 281.
Russell, Lord John, 72, 219, 230, 291,
326, 327.
Russia, Emperor of, 57 et seq., 310 et
seq., 327, 340, 367 et seq.
Rutty, Katherine, 222.
SAFFRON WALDEN, 78, 129, 156, 165, 174,
253, 290, 302.
Sams, Joseph, 260.
Sands, David, 46n, 255.
Sanders, Jos., 135.
Satterthwaite, Michael, 220.
Scattergood, Thomas, 211.
Seaton, 163, 167, 168, 177, 184, iSsn,
195, 197-
Seebohm, Louise, 194.
Sewel s History, 5, 207.
Seymour, Admiral, 343.
Sharp, Isaac, 269, 293, 346, 355.
Shildon Tunnel, 188.
Shillitoe, Thomas, 115, 116, 120, 207.
Shout, Major, 191.
Sidmouth, Earl, 62.
Smales, Francis, 103.
Smelt House, 198, 275.
Smiles, Samuel, quoted, 83, 87 et seq.,
105, 107, 320.
Smith family, i8on, 187, 201, 286, 389.
Smith, Henry Pascoe, 327.
Smith, Joseph, 51, 267.
Smith, Sir S., 118.
Snowden, Thomas, 99.
Southampton, 169, 180.
Sparks, Joseph, 309.
Squire, Thos., 154.
Stael, Baron de, 126, 223.
Stacey, G. and M., 58, 180, 241, 342.
Stacey, R., 266.
Staindrop, 194, 279.
Staithes, 260.
Stapner, 121.
Stephenson, George, 83, 86 et seq. ;
letter from, 91 ; 97, 213, 261, 264, 321.
Stephenson, Isaac, 54.
Stephenson, J., 263.
Stephenson, Robert, 95, 96, 97, 213,
221, 230, 261, 264, 303, 304, 321,
322, 331, 344.
Stow, Harriet Beecher, 305.
Stockton, 83, et seq., 131, 172, 180,
215, 307.
Stockton and Darlington Railway, 88,
89 et seq., 205, 215, 275, 277, 290,
292, 294, 298, 305, 317, 322.
St. Helens, 130.
Sturge, Joseph, 295, 310.
Sturge, Sarah (afterwards Mrs. Edward
Pease), 272n, 273.
Surtees, family of, 27n.
Sussex, Duke of, 137.
Swet, Mary, 226.
Sykes Records, 90.
TANNER, W., 252.
Tapton House, 261.
Tatham, Joseph, 457.
Tennant, C., 84.
Thorpe, Abigail, 128, 144, 193.
Thompson, Robert, 99, 300.
Thompson, Silvanus, 144.
Thompson, William, 300.
Tonnerre, Count Severin, 122.
Tornoux, , 122, 123.
Total Abstinence, 205.
Tottenham, 208, 241, 266.
Toulmin, P., 213.
Tuckett, Francis, 207.
Tuke, S. and family, 208, 347, 387.
Tweedy, Ann, 388.
UNTHANK, Joseph, 175.
VANE, Lord Henry, 178, 179, 243,
313 ; and Lady, 333, 343.
Ventress, Sarah, 193.
Versailles, 124, 125.
Vickers, Jas., 257.
Victoria, Queen, coronation, 71 et seq.,
130, 162, 190, 269, 276.
Villele, , 123.
Villeneuve, , 126.
Violette, Jas., 118.
WADE, James, 379-
Wakefield family, i62n, 222.
Walker, Elizabeth, 115.
Walker, Robert, 233.
Waring, Charles, 68.
Waterhouse, Mary, 340.
Weardale Railway, 198, 199.
Weelans, W., 331.
Weston, R. L., 116.
Wheeler, Daniel, 147, 207.
White, Hannah, 329.
Whiting, Samuel, 154.
Whitwell family, 51, 135, 168, 232, 246,
264, 291, 299, 328; 355.
Whitwell, Henry and Anna, 168, 209,
23, 255.
Whitwell, Rachel. Vide Pease, Rachel
(wife of Edward Pease).
Whitworth, Mr., 84.
Wigham, Anthony, 318.
Wigham, Cuthbert, 329.
INDEX.
407
Wigham, Sarah Jane, 299.
Wigton, 1 66.
Wilbur, John, 207.
Wilkinson, John, 57, 154, 374.
Wilks, Mark, izi, 126.
Willink, Rev. Arthur, i62n.
Wilson family, 131, 135, 145, 167, I96n,
200, 222, 299, 355.
Wilson, Caleb, 65.
Wilson, Isaac, 99, 194.
Wilson, John, sin, 145, 246.
Wilson, Sarah, 2isn.
Windsor, 56.
Winyard, 262.
Wishart, Dr., 148.
Woburn Sands, 259.
Wood, Nicholas, 86, 92.
Wright, Francis, i62n.
Wright, James Ireland, 388.
Wurtz, printer, 126.
YARM, 205, 217.
Yearly Meetings, 73, 128, 129, 164, 165,
190, 195, 210, 211, 228, 241, 259,
269, 282, 293, 295,
York, Retreat, 198, 242.
ZETLAND, Earl of, 2isn, 296.
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Pease, Edward
7795 The diaries of Edward
P3A3 Pease
