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YALE UNIVERSITY
LIBRARY From the
COLLECTION OF OXFORD BOOKS
made by
FALCONER MADAN
Bodley's Librarian

LETTERS AND MEMOIR

OF THE LATE

WALTER AUGUSTUS SHIRLEY, D.D.

LORD BISHOP OF SODOR AND MAN.

EDITED BY
THOMAS HILL, B. D.
ARCHDEACON OF DERBY.

LONDON:
J. HATCHARD AND SON, 187, PICCADILLY.
1849.

F7U5

LONDON :
PRINTED BY G. J. PALMER, SAVOY STREET, STRAND.

PREFACE.

Op those who knew the late Bishop Shirley there
are few, it may be presumed, who would not desire to
possess some memorial of one whom they at once loved
for his many personal excellencies, and honoured for
the services he rendered to the Church of Christ. But
the chief motive for collecting the materials of the
present volume has been the hope of extending the
benefits of his teaching and his example beyond the
period of his life, and the limits of his acquaintance. It
cannot be unprofitable to trace the progress of thought
ful boyhood and sober youth to the full maturity of
Christian manhood ; or to study the elements of a cha
racter in which firmness, energy, and zeal, were in no
common degree tempered with discretion, gentleness,
and charity.
His spiritual progress exhibits no unusual mental
phenomena. It was unmarked by sudden conversion,
or by any period of strongly excited feeling. The
child of pious parents and of many prayers, under the
guidance of the Holy Spirit he sought and found the
path of life ; and his course, unobstructed by those
obstacles which a misspent youth never fails to accu-

VI rREFACE.
mulate, knew no variation but that of the shining light,
" which shineth more and more unto the perfect day."
In this, the Editor conceives, lies the great moral of
Bishop Shirley's life. It would not be easy to find an
instance, which more strikingly manifests the advan
tages of early piety, or the strength and fulness with
which the Christian character is formed, where time
has not been wasted, nor opportunities thrown away.
His public life was chequered with no extraordinary
events, nor was it identified with the triumph of any
one great cause ; or rather, with any part of the great
cause to which all its energies were devoted. Con
strained by the love of Christ, he laboured assiduously
in every department of his sacred calling, and " con
tended earnestly for the faith which was once delivered
unto the saints."
If the day be at hand, when a prompt and resolute
decision will be required in all the servants of Christ,
between truth and error, between the Gospel of the
grace of God on the one hand, and Romanism or Infi
delity, variously modified, on the other ; a memoir of
one who never shrank from the avowal of what he
deemed to be the truth, and never spoke it but in
wisdom and love, may prove, it is hoped, a seasonable
offering to the church at the present eventful crisis of
her existence.
The materials for his life consist chiefly of his own
letters. Those written to his family have been pre
served from his earliest years ; and in after life, ex
cepting its latest period, notwithstanding the pressure
of his official engagements, he kept up a correspond
ence with a large circle of friends and relations.

PREFACE. VII
The narrative has been mainly supplied by his
family, who desire to express their obligations to the
friends who have so kindly contributed to it both by
the letters they had received from the Bishop, and by
valuable reminiscences of their intercourse with him.
To his pupils more especially, an acknowledgment is
due for the affectionate and honourable testimony which
they have borne to their late tutor. Of their letters,
one only could be inserted ; and the largest amount of
characteristic matter determined the selection.
In printing the letters, such passages as did not ap
pear likely to interest the general reader have of course
been omitted ; and the Editor thinks it right to men
tion that he has not indicated such omissions, where it
was clear that they could not affect the meaning of
the remaining context.
The narrative in general is given with little altera
tion, as it has been sent to the Editor.

CONTENTS.

CHAPTER I.
Birth and Parentage — Escape from Ireland — Death of sister — Early
education — Winchester — Election to New College . Page 1
CHAPTER II.
Life at New College  16
CHAPTER III.
Ordination— Curacy of Woodford . ... 27
CHAPTER IV.
Curacy of Parwich — Death of Mr. Dewe — Ashhourn Lectureship —
Curacy of Atlow — Essay on Moral Evidence . . .50
CHAPTER V.
Tour in_ Italy — Death of Lady Ferrers .... 74
CHAPTER VI.
Return from abroad— Engagement and marriage — Death of Earl
Ferrers — Sundays abroad  Ill

X CONTENTS.
CHAPTER VII.
Settlement at Shirley — Description of place and parish — Views on
Baptism — Roman Catholic Emancipation— Archdeacon Butler's
charge .......... 123
CHAPTER VIII.
Parochial plans — Irvingism — Political views — British and Foreign
Bible Society— Pupil  141
CHAPTER IX.
Parish Lawsuit — Visit to Yorkshire — Illness — Blackpool — Three
letters addressed to A. on religious subjects . . . 159
CHAPTER X.
Tithe suit — Revivals— Tour for British and Foreign Bible So
ciety — Illness and death of Dr. Bridges — Visit to France — Bibles
in Italy  189
CHAPTER XI.
St. George's Church — Offer of Whiston — Reasons for removal —
Pupils — Letter from S. H. Northcote, Esq. . . .211
CHAPTER XII.
Removal to Whiston — State of Church — Plans for its improve
ment — Beaumaris — Re-opening of Whiston church — State of
Parish — New School-room ..... 227
CHAPTER XIII.
Living of Brailsford becomes vacant^ Anecdotes of Whiston — Fare
well address — Presentation of plate .... 257
CHAPTER XIV.
Return to Shirley — State of Churches — Projects of improvement —
Church Missionary tour to Scotland .... 272

CONTENTS. XI
CHAPTER XV.
Signs Mr. Hull's petition for Church reform — Church Extension
meeting ......... 295
CHAPTER XVI.
Appointment to the Archdeaconry of Derby — Qualifications for the
office — Gives up the secretaryship of the British and Foreign
Bible Society  308
CHAPTER XVII.
Summer in France — Death of Dr. Arnold— Dean Milner — Lay
baptism ......... 329
CHAPTER XVIII.
Visit to Germany — Fleetwood and the Lakes — Health . . 352
CHAPTER XIX.
Excursion to Ireland — Order of deacons — Moravians — Mr. Ward's
Ideal of a Christian Church — Appointed Bampton lecturer — Visit
to France ......... 375
CHAPTER XX.
Summary of Mr. Shirley's labours as Archdeacon — Extract from
Archdeacon Hill's Charge — Accepts the Bishopric of Sodor and
Man — Serious illness ....... 439
CHAPTER XXI.
Presentation of plate at Osmaston — Address from clergy — Speeches
at Church Extension meetings — Farewell Sermon at Shirley —
Journey to town — Mother's illness — Consecration — Departure for
the Isle of Man — Residence at Bishop's Court . . . 45ti

Xll CONTENTS.

CONCLUSION.

Preaches Bampton Lectures — Visit to Northamptonshire — Attends
Pastoral Aid meeting — Preaches at Naseby — Journey to Liver
pool — Arrival with his family in the Isle of Man — Illness and
death  485

ERRATA.
Page 23, line 34, for ont read out.
35, — 10, full stop after vain, should be a comma.
99, — last line but four, page 100, line 17, and page 105, last line,/or Coloseum
read Coliseum.
119, — 8,for I read you.
120, — last line but four, insert being after than.
292,— 5,/ordreafulIy read dreadfully.
297, — 30, after book should be a comma instead of a full stop.
330, — 3, omit comma.
332, — 7, for farthing read fourth.
438, — 23, insert not after are.
481, — last line but one,/or ommunicated read communicated.
498, — 5, omit together.

LETTERS AND MEMOIR,
8fc.

CHAPTER I.

The subject of the present Memoir, Walter Augustus
Shirley, was the only son of the Rev. Walter and
Alicia Shirley, both of whom survive him. His grand
father the Hon. and Rev. Walter Shirley, grandson of
Robert, first Earl Ferrers, was Rector of Loughrea in
Ireland. He was well known for his talents and zeal
in the cause of religion, and took a conspicuous part in
the church controversies of his day. He was the con
temporary of Whitfield and Wesley, and the first
cousin of Lady Selina Shirley, afterwards so well
known as Countess of Huntingdon. He numbered
among his personal friends, Romaine, Venn, Berridge,
and many others, with whom he zealously co-operated in
reviving the spirit of evangelical religion.
His son, the Rev. Walter Shirley, married Alicia,
daughter of Sir Edward Newenham, a distinguished
member of the last Irish Parliament. He settled at
Westport in the north-west of Ireland, where he had
accepted a curacy; and there, on the 30th of May,
1797, was born the subject of the present Memoir. B

2 LETTERS AND MEMOIR
In the following year Mr. Shirley found it advisable
to quit Ireland in consequence of the rebellion which
had then broken out ; and accordingly, leaving his family
at Westport, he repaired to Dublin with a view to pro
vide for their removal and future residence. But so rapid
was the spread of anarchy, and so much did every day
increase the danger to which clergymen of the esta
blished Church were exposed, that he was strongly
urged by a friend, then a member of Government, to
avoid the unnecessary risk of returning to his home. In
compliance with this advice, he made arrangements for
conveying Mrs. Shirley and his infant son from West-
port to Liverpool ; and thither he proceeded by the
packet to join them.
But he waited long and anxiously for them in vain.
The vessel in which their passage had been secured
had been so long prevented putting out to sea by stress
of weather, that the stock of provisions was consumed ;
and Mrs. Shirley, exhausted by illness and hunger, and
deprived of common necessaries by the loss of her
baggage, resolved to return with her child in an open
boat to Westport. A boatman was hailed, who readily
undertook to land them in a few hours. Their course
lay through Clew Bay, which is dotted with small
islands ; and on one of these the boatman, alleging that
the tide was out and that he could proceed no further,
obliged them to pass the night. The next day, after
rowing for several hours, he again made the same
excuse, and telling them that they must cross the bed
of the river and proceed to Westport on foot, he landed
and left them on the nearest point of the beach. It
was not without considerable risk that Mrs. Shirley
struggled through the treacherous mud of the little
estuary ; and having with difficulty reached the solid

OF BISHOP SHIRLEY. •>
ground, she sank exhausted on a fragment of rock. In
this forlorn situation she providentially attracted the
attention of a gentleman, who, from the windows of
his house, had been watching, through a glass, the
arrival and departure of her boat.
He immediately sent down his car to the beach, and
having kindly supplied the party with the comforts of
which they stood so much in need, conveyed them to
Westport. From thence Mrs. Shirley, after having
procured a passport, which the state of the country
rendered necessary, proceeded in a post-chaise to
Dublin, which, after several harassing delays and many
alarms, she at last reached in safety. Here she was
enabled, for the first time, to write a letter to Mr.
Shirley, to relieve his anxieties ; and a few days after
wards she joined him at Liverpool.
For some time after his return to England, Mr.
Shirley frequently changed his abode. For two years
•he remained at Liverpool, where he had obtained a
chapel. He then removed to Orlingbury, in Northamp
tonshire, where he officiated as curate to the Rev. Dr.
Bridges, and first formed an intimacy with a family,
some of whose members will be frequently mentioned
in the following pages among the most valued friends
of his son. After four years he removed to Hull,
where he had accepted the situation of assistant to the
late Mr. Dykes.
From his earliest years young Walter received from
his parents that careful and constant religious instruc
tion which might be expected from their principles and
character. He also remembered, with affectionate
gratitude, his nurse, a young person of exemplary piety,
and of attainments superior to her station, who skil
fully seconded his parents' efforts to instil into his mind
b 2

LETTERS AND MEMOIR

the first lessons of religious truth. At his home reli
gion was not a matter kept for stated occasions, and
brought out only at certain periods. He was accus
tomed to live with persons who habitually " walked by
faith and not by sight ;" and subsequently, in his early
school-boy letters, it is touching to observe the per
plexity with which he admits the notion, that there are
others, not considered bad men, who have adopted
another and lower standard of duty.
The subject of early religious education is beset with
difficulties. Unskilful diligence is often as mischiev
ous in its effects as careless neglect ; and it was with
not less admiration than gratitude that he, in after life,
used to look back to his parents' instructions at this
time. In a journal dated many years subsequently,
reviewing the dangers and temptations of boyhood, he
writes. If I have been in any measure preserved from the evils
which surrounded me, it has been owing to the prayers and
the constant, affectionate, and judicious advice and direction
of my beloved parents. They never disgusted me with reli
gious reading, by forcing it upon me ; and every day adds
to my conviction of how much esteem and gratitude I owe
them. In the year 1806 he was placed under the care of
the Rev. Legh Richmond, Rector of Turvey, as the
tutor best qualified to continue the religious education
begun so happily at home.
In the following year Mr. and Mrs. Shirley, while
residing at Hull, lost their only daughter by an attack
of typhus fever. This interesting child was blessed
with that early view of spiritual things, which seems
to be sometimes vouchsafed to those whom God

OF BISHOP SHIRLEY. O
designs to call early to himself. Mrs. Shirley wrote
to her son, now her only child, an account of his sis
ter's illness, and " of the blessed evidence she gave on
her deathbed of being a child of God, and an inheritor
of the kingdom of heaven."
This letter has been found among his papers, care
fully preserved. It concludes thus :
And now, my dear boy, while you sorrow for your sister,
remember she is not lost, but gone before ; the dead in a
Redeemer do not die. We are hastening to that world
where death shall have no dominion. We were not born
to have an inheritance here. Oh, may your's be among the
saints ! Let a blessed hope that you shall go to her animate
your soul. Set the Lord always before you ; live as in his
presence. Think often, should you like to languish on a
dying bed, insensible to the comforts of God's love ? Let
your mind and memory be stored with divine truth; and
whether you live may you live unto the Lord, or whether
you die may you die unto the Lord ; so that living or dying
you may be the Lord's. To him I commend you, and am,
with much affection, Your afflicted mother,
A. Shirley.
This was his first and only domestic affliction. He
never again witnessed the visit of death at his own
fireside. It was long before his home recovered its usual
cheerfulness; and his parents have ever remembered
with affectionate gratitude his childish efforts, during
this period of gloom, to beguile their sorrow.
After some time it became evident that young
Walter's stay at Turvey did not contribute to his ad
vancement in the ordinary business of education. His
health was delicate, and his tutor was too much occu-

6 LETTERS AND MEMOIR
pied to give more than a general superintendence to
his studies. He was accordingly removed to a school
at Linton, near Latchingdon, in Essex where his
parents then resided.
At this time Mr. Shirley received an intimation of
the strong wish entertained by his kinsman, Robert
Earl Ferrers, to renew an intercourse which had been
interrupted for many years. This overture he thought
it a duty to accept ; and accordingly, after one pre
vious interview, he brought his wife and son to pay a
visit at Ratcliffe.
This meeting was important in its consequences to
both parties. Lord Ferrers was much pleased with his
young relation, whom at that time he looked upon as
the probable heir of his honours and estates ; and hence
forward continued to take a paternal interest in his
progress and welfare. Young Walter, on his part,
always showed Lord and Lady Ferrers the duty of a
son ; and cheerfully devoted himself to them when in
after years weighed down by infirmity and sorrow they
toiled down the descent of life together to quit it
almost at the same time.
It was during this visit that Lord Ferrers proposed
to obtain for his relation a nomination to Winchester
College, where the Shirley family were supposed to
possess the privileges of founder's kin.
By the interest of a friend the nomination was
secured, and with it, as was supposed, a provision for
life. For to those who can claim kindred with the
founder, William of Wykeham, the succession to a
fellowship at New College (which to others is the
reward of merit and seniority) is a matter of right and
of routine. At the election of 1809, Walter was ad
mitted a scholar of Winchester College ; but soon

OF BISHOP SHIRLEY. /
after the opening of the following half-year, it was
discovered that his claim to the kindred of William of
Wykeham was unfounded. Pedigrees were drawn up,
and family archives searched by his father in vain, and
thus his hopes of obtaining the desired fellowship were
nearly destroyed ; for another disappointment, not less
heavy than the first, had overtaken him. The pro
gress he had hitherto made proved on trial so unsound,
that he was unable to keep the place which had at
first been assigned to him. At twelve years old he
found himself turned down to the bottom of the
school ; and, in order to gain the desired prize, he
must toil his way to the top before he reached eigh
teen. The prospect was sufficiently dispiriting — and that
he was not dispirited, is one of the earliest proofs he
gave of energy of character. His parents appear to have
been deeply mortified, and his first letters are full of
attempts to cheer them. He details with exaggerated
glee all the little comforts his lot of junior in college
afforded, and asks in triumph, " Am I not a happy boy ?"
If his cheerfulness was not assumed, it must be attri
buted rather to the sunshine within, than to the bright
ness of the prospect without. Though the days of "bully
ing" were even then gone by, Winchester was certainly
a " hard " school. Although in reality the smallest of
the great public schools, as its numbers are strictly
limited, it is practically the largest, for the " common
ers,'' instead of being dispersed in different houses, are
all collected under one roof, and placed under the im
mediate superintendence of the head-master. By this
arrangement the personal comforts of the boys, espe
cially of the juniors, are diminished ; but on the other
hand important advantages are secured. A degree of

LETTERS AND MEMOIR

discipline is maintained that would be otherwise im
practicable, and a much greater latitude is given for
the choice of society. At this time, Dr. Williams, the
present warden of New College, was the second master,
and to his charge the boys of the foundation peculiarly
belonged. For his kindness and judicious encourage
ment, the subject of this memoir ever entertained the
warmest feelings of gratitude. No master was ever
more deservedly popular ; just and impartial, he was
kind without ceasing to inspire respect, and indulgent
without relaxing the discipline of the school. The
head-master, Dr. Gabell, was a very remarkable man ;
his power of imparting scholarship was the theme of
Dr. Arnold's admiration, and can never be forgotten by
those who have witnessed it. Under such masters it
is not surprising that the school was in the most effi
cient and flourishing state.
On first joining his class, young Shirley felt deeply
the inconvenience of a trick of stammering which he
had acquired in his childhood, and had hitherto done
nothing to overcome ; but it may be worthy of note
that this habit, inveterate as it seemed, was completely
cured by the slowness and distinctness as well as loud
ness of utterance which the Winchester method of
" saying lessons," required.
At Winchester his health rapidly improved, and an
ague which had obstinately hung upon him for some
time, yielded to change of air, without any further
recourse to medical aid.
It often happens that the early years of eminent
men are so marked by peculiarities of circumstance or
disposition, that each case seems to stand alone, and to
convey no lesson of general practical utility. But
young Shirley had little to distinguish him from the

OF BISHOP SHIRLEY. "
generality of boys of his age; his talents scarcely
exceeded the average, his attainments fell greatly be
low it ; his tastes, habits, and amusements, were those
of any other high-spirited boy. He was not distin
guished by any precocious developement of religious
feeling. His spiritual progress was slow, but it was
direct. His example may moderate the impatience of
pious parents who cannot be satisfied unless they see
at once the matured fruit of their labours ; and on the
other hand may quiet the apprehensions of those who
fear that early religious impressions will prevent their
sons being " like other boys," and weaken the health
of the mind or body by premature excitement.
All his letters to his parents have been preserved,
and give a faithful portrait of the workings of his mind.
They are perfectly artless and unaffected, and in all
that regards his own feelings open and confidential.
On all other points they are reserved. They mention
no names, except of one or two boys personally known
to his parents ; they speak of no event ; they contain
few particulars even of his own progress and studies.
In this general character of reserve all school-boys' let
ters, whether unseasonably childish or precociously
clever, will be found to agree. It is suggested by the
instinct of the situation, and though to very anxious
parents it is a source of uneasiness, it is probably,
on the whole, advantageous to both parties. As re
gards the boy, it is necessary for the formation of his
character that he should be thrown at once upon his
own resources; as many would never have learnt to
swim, had they not been roughly taught by being
thrown at once into deep water. Much is borne and
borne well, because it is unavoidable, and because
there is no one to listen to complaints. For the pa-

10 LETTERS AND MEMOIR
rents' sake it is desirable that the petty adversities and
temptations of a school-boy's life should be concealed
from them, and that their anxieties should not be in
creased by hearing of distresses they cannot relieve,
and dangers they cannot avert. These early Winches
ter letters, though childish in style and manner, ex
hibit on serious subjects a tone of earnestness which
raises them far above the compositions of cleverer and
better-instructed boys. It is remarkable that his
moral progress far outstripped his intellectual attain
ments ; and in many of these letters there may be ob
served a tone of considerateness and a vein of deep
and serious thought, which contrast oddly with the
feeble and inaccurate expression.
On first going to Winchester his efforts did not
satisfy his parents or himself. In after years he was
often heard to accuse himself of idleness at that time,
and his early letters are full of answers to this charge ;
but it seems probable, however unusual such a case
may be, that his self-defence is nearer the truth than
his subsequent self-accusations. Backwardness in
learning is the least of the evil consequences of neg
lected education : the powers of the mind are uncul
tivated, and in such a case the will to work does not
immediately convey the ability to work with effect.
Idle, in the common sense of the word, he could not
have been ; for in spite of all disadvantages he obtained
a remove every year, then the usual routine of the
school, and an average place in each.
Notwithstanding the labour which it cost him to
keep up with the ordinary work of the school, he
found time for much private reading, and he fre
quently mentions books which he has received from
home or bought with his own pocket-money. Among

OF BISHOP SHIRLEY.

11

these none seems to have made a stronger impression
than "Kirke White's Remains." The perusal of this
work appears to have produced a lasting effect in
strengthening his religious feelings, and many of
his friends have heard him speak, in later life, with
admiration, of the gentle earnestness of the young-
poet's character, and dwell on his writings with the
fondness which only a book admired in boyhood
can inspire.
He probably found in it the expression of thoughts
which had been silently working in his own heart;
the realization of that Christian boyhood the half-
formed idea of which had presented itself to his
own mind, and of which the school did not offer
any visible type.
Among the circumstances which contributed to
deepen his early religious impressions, must be men
tioned a visit to Lady Mary Fitzgerald *, to which he
often recurred with interest in later life. Her advanced
age, her reputation for virtue and piety, and above all,
the kindness with which she received him, deeply
affected his feelings; and this effect was no doubt
heightened by her tragical death, which occurred not
long afterwards, and to which he thus refers in a letter
from Winchester. College, Winchester, April 19th, 1813.
I am very much grieved to hear of the death of Lady
Mary Fitzgerald ; it had been inserted in the papers before
the arrival of your letter. Dear woman ! I shall never forget
the last words she spoke to me ; " Young man, love the
Lord Jesus ; love him, young man." I hope I may love him
here, until with her, I shall love and praise him for ever.
* Lady Mary Fitzgerald was the daughter of the first Earl of
Bristol ; she was unfortunately burnt to death in 1813, at the great
age of ninety-three.

12

LETTERS AND MEMOIR

From his first arrival at Winchester he was an
attentive and critical listener to the many sermons
which he was called upon to hear in the chapel and
cathedral ; nor is it easy to over-estimate the benefit
which (besides the obvious religious improvement) he
incidentally aud unconsciously derived from this men
tal exercise.
It does not seem to be fully perceived in general,
how intimate is the connexion between spiritual
progress and the general improvement of the men
tal powers, and how surely the neglect of one duty
enfeebles the mind for the performance of another.
Thus by inattention to the general business of educa
tion, many seem to think they are risking their chance
of worldly distinction rather than their spiritual
interests ; and though they would not deny that
the improvement of the understanding, like that of
every other talent committed to their charge, was
a duty not to be neglected, they do not feel how
powerfully and immediately it affects their religious
advancement. They are apt to misapply the assurances
of scripture, that great capacity and high attain
ments are not necessary to love and serve God. They
seem not to perceive that the peculiar favour with
which the simple-minded are regarded, is intended to
comfort those who have no great opportunities, and not
to encourage to negligence those who have. The poor
and simple who have made religion the absorbing in
terest of their lives require no cultivation of the under
standing to command attention to her services; but
the youth of our schools and universities, distracted as
they are by various calls on their attention, a variety of
worldly interests and duties, pleasures and passions,
would do well to consider what need they have to cul-

OF BISHOP SHIRLEY.

13

tivate the faculties of attention and reflection ; and
how surely in the giddiness and thoughtlessness (which
appears so venial) of extreme youth, is to be traced the
origin of that torpidity and hardness which in after
life paralyse the soul in its communion with God.
At the election of 1813, young Shirley was re
moved, together with the majority of his class, into
the upper part of the fifth form. At this point of the
school there is no further taking of places, and hence
forth the object of the college boy's ambition, the
fellowship at New College, depends much less on his
own exertions, than on casualties which are beyond his
control. According to ordinary calculations Shirley's chance
of a fellowship was lost ; but just at this moment, when
theobvious motive for exertion was withdrawn, and when
many would have relaxed all further effort, his energies
seemed awakened to fresh activity. Foremost among
the secondary motives mentioned in his letters, is his
desire to prove that the kindness of the friends who
placed him at Winchester was not thrown away, and,
since New College seemed beyond his reach, to obtain
at some other college a scholarship or exhibition, which
might lighten to his parents the expense of an univer
sity education. But the most powerful stimulant to
exertion was his lately awakened desire for knowledge
for its own sake, a desire (such as it generally shows
itself in early life) ardent, vague, and indiscriminate.
His letters are full of inquiries on several abstruse
subjects, and various branches of knowledge. He longs
to be acquainted with the principles of different
sciences, and to learn the elements of several lan
guages. It is fortunate, perhaps, that at this period the ap-
8

14 LETTERS AND MEMOIR
proaching examination obliged him to confine his
attention to a narrow compass and a definite object.
To the study of the appointed subjects he applied him
self with unremitting ardour. His schoolfellow, Sir
George Robinson, who continued through life a valued
friend, mentions among other reminiscences of those
early days, the following plan of reading, which was
attended with complete success. " During the summer
months which preceded the public examination for the
New College fellowship, it was usual for the senior
boys to give up almost entirely the common amuse
ments of the play-ground, in order to prepare them
selves for the trial in the election chamber ; but this
in his case was dispensed with. He and I read our
election business together, and that we might not lose
our cricket in the middle of the day, we resolved to
rise some hours before the usual time in the morning
to make up for what we thus sacrificed to amusement."
Among the many books sent to him from home
to assist his studies, one is mentioned which con
tributed in a remarkable degree to his success ; it was
T. Warton's edition of Milton's minor poems.
The study of this volume improved his taste for
modern Latin composition, and seemed to give him a
new insight into its mechanism. For on the same
principle, that it requires less effort to copy a piece of
mimicry, than to observe in the first instance and re
produce the peculiarities of the original, he found it
easier to catch the classical turn of thought and expres
sion from a modern imitation than from an ancient
model. In the summer of 1815 the long-expected day of
election arrived. It may be proper to acquaint the
reader that, after the nomination of two of the

OF BISHOP SHIRLEY. 15
founder's kin each year, the rest of the vacancies are
filled up according to merit ; but as the place obtained in
the school is itself the result of merit, it seldom happens
that much alteration is made in the order of seniority. It
was therefore a proof of extraordinary success in the exa
mination when Shirley's name was advanced by eleven
places on the election list. He had been compli
mented by the electors, especially on his composition,
but had not ventured to hope for this favourable
result ; and it was with hardly less surprise than
pleasure that he found his nomination to New College
secured.

lb' LETTERS AND MEMOIR

CHAPTER II.
Soon after the termination of young Shirley's career
at Winchester, his father was presented by Lord
Ferrers to the living of Shirley. This circumstance
permanently fixed the family in Derbyshire, which
they henceforth began to look upon as a home, and
whence, early in the following year, young Walter went
to reside at Oxford. Great as were the worldly advan
tages of New College, it was not in many respects the
college he would have chosen. There are imperfec
tions which necessarily belong to the plan of the foun
dation, and which can only partially be remedied..
As it is recruited from the same school almost ex
clusively, it offers no change of society ; but a much
greater evil is, that the majority of the elected come
up, after a period of exertion, with the prospect of
relaxation and enjoyment. The fellows of New Col
lege have already secured those prizes which excite the
ambition of other young men ; and as at that time they
did not go into the schools to compete for honours
with the rest of the university, the stimulus of emula
tion was withheld.
The society at the period in question was not dissi
pated, but it was not generally studious or thoughtful.
There was much of listlessness and idleness, joyless and
unprofitable, indulged in at first from weakness, con-

OF BISHOP SHIRLEY. 17
tinued by habit, and leading to helpless prostration of
mental vigour.
This state of things was well known at Winchester ;
and at the time when a fellowship seemed a prize be
yond his reach, Walter frequently declared himself
contented to miss the advantages of a place so full of
deadly temptation. He came up to reside, fully aware
of the danger, and prepared to meet it with resolution.
From the first he determined to adopt a plan of
regular study; but it might be said, rather that his
application was constant, than that his course of read
ing was systematic ; in the religious part of it, how
ever, he seems to have observed a certain method.
He began at this time to keep a journal, the. only
one which he ever kept in his life ; and in this the
employment of his time is carefully registered. Every
day is marked by the study of some portion of scrip
ture ; an entry is made of a text peculiarly applicable
to himself, or in some way containing the key-note to
his meditations of the morning. In other respects his
reading was more general, and at times more desultory,
than could be safely recommended for general imita
tion. As yet he had had but little time to give to
general literature ; he now eagerly devoured many of
the great English classics, which he had hitherto left
unstudied, and read, for the first time, many of the
books which usually form the delight of studious boy
hood. But though his studies were not limited nor directed
by the requirements of university examinations, he ex
acted from himself a rigid account of their bearing on
his general progress ; and in that progress he steadily
bore in view his great object of fitting himself for that
service to which he purposed to devote the energies of
c

18 LETTERS AND MEMOIR
his life. He does not always seem satisfied with the
wisdom, or even the lawfulness of his miscellaneous
reading. In describing a visit to a friend, he expresses
his admiration at finding on the table only books of
theology. But later in life he took a larger view of
the studies befitting a Christian minister, and heartily
concurred in the opinion which Dr. Arnold expresses,
that the man will be a miserable divine who confines his
reading to divinity.
He also found time to give to the study of modern
languages, the knowledge of which in after years proved
of great service to him, and materially enlarged his
sphere of usefulness. Nor can it be doubted that the
refined taste and extensive knowledge which he thus
acquired enabled him often to make a deep impression
on hearers who would have received with coldness the
lessons of a less accomplished teacher.
In the prosecution of his studies he was much in
debted to the encouragement and advice of some of
the senior fellows, especially Mr. Shuttleworth, after
wards warden of the college, and subsequently Bishop
of Chichester. From Mr. Shuttleworth's accomplished
scholarship and various knowledge he derived the
greatest assistance in his classical and philosophical
reading; and in the taste of the same kind friend
he found his best guide in the wide field of general
literature. Among the undergraduates of his own college he
formed some profitable intimacies, and gradually ex
tended his acquaintance in the university among those
whose congenial dispositions and agreement in reli
gious opinion attracted his regard. As in the vegetable
world plants extend their roots wherever the requisite
nourishment is to be received, he seemed instinctively
7

OF BISHOP SHIRLEY. 19
to seek and find those whose religious feelings might
impart fresh strength to his own.
The even tenor of his Oxford life furnishes no events
for the biographer. A scholar of New College succeeds
to a fellowship after certain probationary terms, and
takes his bachelor's degree after the usual residence as
a matter of course. Little change or interruption was
occasioned in his studies by this event. At Mr. Shut-
tleworth's suggestion he applied himself each year to
write an English essay for the bachelor's prize ; and
though in following this advice he was stimulated less
by the hope of obtaining distinction than by the desire
to cultivate his mental powers, he was ultimately for
tunate enough to obtain the prize.
He continued to reside at Oxford during the term-
time, and spent the vacations generally With his
parents. As the time for his ordination drew nearer,
his diligence in his studies redoubled, and the serious
ness of their character became more marked. The
following extracts from his journal and letters will
give a specimen of the manner in which his time
and thoughts were engaged.
EXTRACTS FROM JOURNAL.
June, 1819.— Joined my father and mother, who were in
lodgings at Daventry, for the sake of serving Woodford ;
lived very retired, and spent the greater part of my time
reading and writing, except one week, in which I attended
several Bible Society meetings, and spoke for the first time
in public. I met on these occasions several excellent and
sensible men ; the two secretaries of the parent society, Mr
Hughes and Dr. Steinkopff: the latter, a man of great'sim-
plicity and fervent piety. The former showed me very par
ticular kindness, and gave me much useful advice ; he is
c 2

20 LETTERS AND MEMOIR
much better informed on literary subjects than is usual with
Dissenters, and, as might be expected, is more liberal to
wards the Establishment. He recommended to me Foster's
Essays ; a book from which I have received more new ideas,
and a greater insight into my own mind, than from almost
any other I ever read. The first essay induced me to write
a memoir of myself ; and though such an employment is,
perhaps, apt to make a man occupy too much room in his
own imagination, yet the retrospect it obliged me to take
was far more calculated to excite humility than pride.
Mr. L. Richmond was there also, and recognized his old
pupil in a very affectionate manner. I saw a good deal
of Dr. and Mrs. Bridges, who were at Willoughby ; and
of Mr. Jones, the curate of Creaton. He has lived the
greater part of his life at an inn, doing a great deal of
good with very slender means, and highly respected,
though never possessed of more than two hundred pounds
per annum. He is of a warm, cheerful, contented dispo
sition. When I saw him he expressed his gratitude that
he had never been without the comforts, much less the
necessaries of life. " My wants," he said, " are few, and I
have always been able to supply them within my income. I
have never even been without a horse, and that is a great
comfort. Those are truly poor who create wants and cannot
supply them ; and our imaginary wants are much more
craving than our real ones. Had I been richer, T should
perhaps have married, and been plagued with a dozen
children crying for bread." Having lived so long by him
self, and written several publications, I expected to have
found him possessed of a pretty good library ; but no, — " I
might have collected a library, but I have no room for books
here ; so 1 read them, and then pack them off to poor curates
in Wales." He gets clergymen's old coats for the same
benevolent purpose.
In answer to a question I put to him about the reason
of so many of Dr. Doddridge's pupils having turned out
Socinians, he observed, that the mildness of Dr. Doddridge's
character led him to hold very latitudinarian principles. He

OF BISHOP SHIRLEY. 21
was not very angry at any thing ; and always taught his
pupils to doubt and inquire before their minds were strong
enough to answer the cavils they might meet with, or suffi
ciently well instructed in the school of Christ, to learn that
there are many things, in the investigation of which faith,
not reason, must be our guide. Perhaps one of the most
striking features in his character is its simplicity. His coun
tenance is open, and has an expression of much good sense
and benignity, while his hoary locks give him altogether a
truly patriarchal appearance.
I take the greater interest in Mr. Jones, as he and Dr.
Bridges are the earliest friends I remember with any affec
tion ; they used, both of them, to play with me at Orlingbury.
But Dr. Bridges is a very different man. He was talking to
me, as we walked to church, of the difficulty be found, not
withstanding all the exertion he could make, and that is
not inconsiderable, of arresting the attention of the lower
orders. One would think his manner sufficiently extraordi
nary to keep his hearers from going to sleep ; but he judges
otherwise, and sometimes adopts expedients in his sermons
of the strangest kind to prevent it.
After some very beautiful observations on the friendship
of our Lord for the family at Bethany, he said, " Now I am
going to ask you a most important question — it is the most
important that ever was put to you; and I shall make a
pause before I ask it — now I pause. Does Jesus love you ?
perhaps you will say, How can I tell ? I will inform you.
Do you love Jesus ? for depend upon it if you love him, he
first loved you."
In conversation he is entertaining and instructive ;
having seen a good deal of the world, and been much in the
eompany of literary men, he has a large collection of ana,
particularly of Dr. Parr, who is his curate. He is certainly
an eccentric character, but a clever and well-informed man,
an affectionate friend, and a sincere and fervent Christian.
Passing through Leicester, I had the infinite satisfaction of
hearing Robert Hall ; never did I enjoy a higher intellectual
treat. T went from mere curiosity, expecting to witness a

22 LETTERS AND MEMOIR
brilliant display of eloquence, but was very agreeably sur
prised to find his sermon addressed full as much to the heart
as the head ; that in the morning was particularly spiritual
and awakening. " I know you, that ye have not the love of
God in you." It is truly astonishing to see such ideas clothed
in the most beautiful, chaste, and energetic language, de
livered, to all appearance, with such perfect unconsciousness
of his great talents. He is afBieted with a dreadful pain in
his back, to relieve which he leans over his pulpit, and I
think he scarce ever changed that position ; there was no
noise, no starts, gesticulations, or thumping of the cushion ;
but he was calm, dignified, and composed ; so little did one
see of the man, that it appeared like the communication of
ideas from one mind to another without any medium.
April, 1820. — It is distressing when we find that a pas
sage in any book, a scene in nature, an individual character,
&c, which impressed us with the most lively emotion, does
not excite in our friend the same interest ; his judgment is
probably the most correct, and our partiality will, perhaps,
be found to have originated in some pleasing association, or
in the coincidence with the feeling of our own minds ; all, in
fact, depends on sympathy, and the great master-key of the
human heart is the ability to tune it to that pitch which we
think proper. It is in this that the power of delivery con
sists. From this source was derived a considerable portion
of that astonishing influence which Whitfield exercised over
his audience. His sermons are indeed forcibly written, but
there is nothing which can at all account for the effect
produced. In some instances no doubt the Spirit of God,
quick and powerful, gave an extrinsic energy to his exhorta
tions; but in most, it was the mere effect of natural
eloquence, which appears from the transitory and superficial
nature of that effect.

OF BISHOP SHIRLEY. 23
TO THE REV. CHARLES BRIDGES.
New College, Feb. 1st, 1820.
My dear Charles,
I returned about a week since to this place, for my last,
term's residence, and should have answered your kind letter
sooner, but fear it must have been left in Derbyshire. So
the poor king is gone to his rest at last — I hope and believe
he is gone to that rest which is prepared for the people of
God. This is a cold atmosphere ; literature informs the head
but it rather chills the heart, and I sometimes fear that the
sacred flame will be altogether extinguished. What a
beautiful and encouraging figure is that of the lamp in the
Temple, which continually received fresh supplies of oil
from the golden vessel ! I wish I were like you, my dear
Charles, thrown ashore somewhere far from the dangerous
influence of a heartless and compromising Christianity.
There is, I think, much truth in your remarks on Foster's last
essay ; it is the character of the religion of the day, to sacri
fice too much to a false idea of refinement ; perhaps I may
not have escaped the contagion, but certainly I have been
sometimes tempted to smile, by the strange jargon which
religious people occasionally make use of. There is not,
perhaps, a more interesting class of individuals, or one which
requires greater delicacy of treatment than that of inquirers,
particularly if they have had a liberal education ; anything,
therefore, which might give unnecessary disgust to such
characters shoidd, if possible, be avoided. But by far the
most formidable evil arising from the abuse of language
alluded to, is the substitution of words for ideas, which is
apt to follow the adoption of ready-made expressions, which
do not always convey any very determinate idea. But I
think Foster has gone much beyond the mark in his stric
tures on the heathen poets ; his principles would hand over
ninety-nine books ont of a hundred to the hangman, and
indeed lead to monachism. Our Lord did not direct his
people to pray that they might be taken out of the world, but
that they might be preserved from the evil of it. The essays

24. LETTERS AND MEMOIR
are well calculated to promote a habit of reflection ; and I
am persuaded that, as far as human means are concerned, he
will have the readiest access to the hearts of others, who is
most accustomed to study his own. Leighton, in one of his
admirable exhortations, insists much on the duty of dwelling
at home, and remarks, that the greater part of mankind can
not be prevailed upon to pay themselves even an occasional
visit ; reflection distinguishes men from the brutes, and it is,
I believe, that which makes the principal difference between
man and man. It is a lazy idea which attributes the supe
riority of one man over another to that indefinite thing called
genius ; I do not mean to say that the distribution of talents
is not originally, for wise purposes, unequal ; but certainly
we differ far more in the application of them. Farewell, my
dear friend. Believe me,
Yours very affectionately, W. A. Shirley.
In a letter addressed to his parents from New
College, March 4, 1820, after speaking of his prepara
tion for holy orders, and making inquiries respecting
the books which his father would recommend, he adds,
After all, the most important preparation is that of the
inner man; pure streams will flow from a pure fountain, and
he who has himself drunk of the water of life will best satisfy
the wants of those who hunger and thirst after righteousness.
I have just read "The Force of Truth"— a forcible picture of
the wanderings of a strong and honest mind in the midst of
error ; but what struck me particularly was the necessity of
personal experience in one who has the cure of souls ; it is
one thing to point out the danger, the more important duty,
however, is to direct to a means of safety, to comfort those
whose souls are cut down like grass and withered, and to en
courage the trembling inquirer who scarce dares to believe.

OF BISHOP SHIRLEY.

TO THE REV. CHARLES BRIDGES.

25

New College, May 3rd, 1820.
Your letter, which was directed to Derbyshire, found me
here. I have been for some time intending to take my
leave of this place, but have hitherto been unable. At
length, however, I have summoned courage, and am now in
the midst of that most disagreeable of all occupations,
packing up. There is something in rooting up oneself from
a place with which many pleasing recollections are asso
ciated, that sinks the spirits, although the change of situation
will probably be, on every account, for the better. I begin
to feel a fondness for Oxford of which I am almost jealous,
since I fear it arises from a preference of literary society and
leisure to the more important duties of life. Nothing, I am
persuaded, would so completely unfit me for that office for
which I am preparing myself, as a continued residence in
college; and on that account particularly it is, that I am
hurrying away into Derbyshire. My father is there to direct
my studies, and to advise with me, and there is a curacy in
the neighbourhood which he wishes me to take. It is within
six or seven miles of Ashbourn, to assist a very pious and
zealous young man about thirty-two, whose health prevents
him from performing the whole of his own duty ; so that I
should not have the entire charge of the parish, and should
be in statu pupillari; both the circumstances incline me
to take it, feeling vastly incompetent to minister to the
spiritual necessities of a parish from my meagre stock of
divine knowledge ; indeed, when I consider how little I
know of the things of God, how superficial is my acquaint
ance with my own heart, and how immense the value of im
mortal souls, I am surprised at my own boldness in
presuming to undertake such a charge; but the message I
have to deliver is a simple, though it is an important one ;
and, if indeed I am called to be an ambassador of Christ,
the Spirit will help my infirmities, and give me in that hour
what I ought to speak. I spent the week before last at
Winchester, indulging in VVykehamical recollections; and

26 LETTERS AND MEMOIR
during my stay dined with the Bishop of Hereford. He
holds an Ordination at Hereford on the 6 th of August, at
which time I think of presenting myself as a candidate ; I
am sure your thoughts and prayers will go with me. Feeling
that I have in you one to whom my present, and still more
my eternal interests are a concern, is indeed a great source
of comfort to me. The experience of every day convinces
me more and more of the worthless and precarious nature of
those friendships which are not cemented by the sacred
bonds which the service of the same master affords. I have
seen boys, for whom I had the warmest affection, gradually
become cool, distant, and reserved; old impressions wear
out, whilst those which we receive in their place, unless
they are derived from the same source, only tend to remove
us still farther from each other : but of all things, mere ac
quaintances are in general the most troublesome and sense
less things; and on this account I am not sorry to leave
Oxford, since it breaks off my intercourse with one or two
whom I was obliged occasionally to visit, but whose society
occupied time without being either profitable or interesting.
My best friends, Brodrick and Barber, are leaving the
University at the same time with me.

OF BISHOP SHIRLEY.

CHAPTER III.
It was Mr. Shirley's intention to quit the University
on taking holy orders, nor did he ever reside after
wards at New College, except for a short time some
years later, when he accepted the office of examining
master for the responsions. It was arranged that be
fore he proceeded to Parwich, the curacy to which he
alludes in the preceding extracts, he should do the
duty for a few weeks at Woodford, in Northampton
shire, a small living to which his father had been pre
sented by the Chancellor, but on which he could not
reside from the want of a house.
Mr. Shirley's fellowship gave him a title for orders,
which he was to receive at the hands of the Bishop of
Hereford, Dr. Isaac Huntingford, then warden of
Winchester. The following letters were written in the course of
his journey to Hereford : —
TO HIS FATHER. Worcester, Aug. 3rd, 1820.
As I have been riding along, I have often thought how
stupendous the work to which I am about to devote myself,
and how scanty the resources which I am bringing to it —
how slight my knowledge of scripture — how superficial my
acquaintance with my own heart, too ignorant for the
lettered gainsayer, and without that simplicity of style and

28 LETTERS AND MEMOIR
manner which is suited to the simple inquirer after divine
truth. I have indeed great need, my dear father, of your
prayers that the Spirit would take of the things of God and
show them unto me, and that he would enable me rightly to
communicate to others the word of truth. If you talk to any
of your good people at Woodford, whom I should treat " as
fathers," tell them to bear with me, and instead of expecting
much from a young man, to pray that more grace may be
given to me. TO HIS MOTHER. Worcester, Aug. 3rd, 1820.
The road between Bromsgrove and this place is very
magnificent. On the top of some high hills, I got a view of
the Malvern range, with a very fine country on every side of
me. I always find my mind gets vigour as it takes in a
large bold view of the glories of nature ; and in this instance
as I stood up in my stirrups and looked around me, I forgot
my fatigue, and felt as if I could ride a hundred miles with
out resting. I wandered this morning to the cathedral, and
had the enjoyment of hearing the service performed. The
building is very flat outside, but there were several objects of
interest within. King John is buried there, the weakness of
whose government was of more real service to the liberties
of Englishmen than were the wisdom and vigour which we
are so fond of admiring " in the days of good Queen Bess."
But two things struck my fancy wonderfully. The one an
old woman, stooping over a bench in the choir, her hands in
a praying attitude, moving upwards with her heart towards
heaven, while her tremulous frame just tottering over the
grave, formed a beautiful contrast with the energy of her
soul, which seemed to be totally absorbed in devotion — this
was the work of God. What I am going to describe, was a
copy of that noblest work of God, " an honest man," by
Roubilliac ; what I refer to is the monument of John Hough,
Bishop of Worcester ; but I have not room, and must tell
you more about it in my next, in which I will also give you
more particulars about myself. May he, who gave the

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