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nation seems to be in a state of infatuation in fact, we are no longer a Protestant country. What then must be the consequence? Shall we suffer with popery? This abominable system of anti-christianity will be destroyed at no very distant period; and destroyed with violence, by the providential agency of the Almighty, who has destined it to undergo his judgments, not for purification, but for destruction. Is it not then to be apprehended, that all united with it, either ecclesiastically or civilly, must, in measure and degree, partake of its plagues? But I must not prophesy, and will terminate disquisitions I had no intention of entering upon when I commenced this letter. God bless you, my dear daughter, and help you to live a life of faith upon his beloved Son, the great Mediator and Intercessor, and then all will be well with you, in time and in eternity."

In the year 1821, my father, and two of his clerical friends in the neighbourhood, were requested by the late Rev. Dr. Johnson to inspect a selection of Cowper's letters, with a view to their publication; and they soon afterwards appeared in a work of two volumes. This revision was made chiefly with reference to what it might be proper to omit, as being unsuited for the public eye. In this task my father was much interested, and he wrote several letters to his friend Dr. Johnson on the subject; but as the remarks generally refer to persons mentioned in the letters, who were still living, or once resident in Olney, they could not with propriety be introduced. One paragraph, however, will not be misplaced here.

66

Page 76.—I should not be willing to omit what is placed within crotchets at the beginning of this letter, and most certainly should not cancel the two or three lines at the bottom of page 77. This is not the time to spare popery; and Cowper's sentiments on it, in any point of view, ought not to be concealed or obliterated. The remark here is merely incidental, but may do as much good as a volume of controversy. Private feeling should, on all occasions, give place to public good; especially when the subject is religion. Do you think, my dear friend, there is any papist living that would not use a sentiment of Cowper's against Protestantism, if he had it in his power? And could you blame him? Let us imitate their zeal 'It is good to be zealously affected always in a good thing!''

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Some years previously (in 1813), thirty-eight of Cowper's letters came into my father's possession. They were addressed to Mr. Teedon, a schoolmaster in Olney, and a humble friend of the squire's; for so the poet was universally designated in that place. Mr. Teedon was himself a versifier, not without some sparks of genius; although Cowper wisely dissuaded him from the publication of any of his attempts. Intense feeling, the birthright of the poetic mind, rendered him an acutely sympathizing and affectionate confidant to his melancholy patron. And with him the poet indulged, in communicating reveries, which clearly indicated his mental hallucination; for in the early stage of his disorder, he appears to have been sufficiently aware of the

character of these delusions, to conceal them from his most judicious and intelligent friends. The enthusiasm of Mr. Teedon, contributed to encourage Cowper's belief in the verity of dreams and fancied notices from the spiritual world; as in these, Mr. T. not only himself implicitly relied, but was in his own imagination the subject; of his sincerity there can be no doubt. The letters in question were written after the removal of the poet to Weston Underwood; and they are chiefly interesting as they portray his state of mind, ere the subsequent progress of his malady plunged their sensitive writer into the depths of despair. At the death of Mr. Teedon, the letters he had received from Cowper, passed, with other original and curious manuscripts, into the hands of his assistant and relative, Eusebius Killingworth;* better known at Olney by the name of Worth or Worthy. This person still continued the old fashioned school, where boys and girls were for a trifling sum, taught reading, writing, and the elements of arithmetic; and in addition to this employment, he had qualified himself to bind books and manufacture letter-cases. But all his efforts did not produce an income sufficient to afford him a very comfortable maintenance. As the companion and relative of an individual honoured by the friendship, and frequently indebted to the liberality of Cowper, Dr. Johnson kindly allowed him a small pension, of which my father was the weekly almoner. Upon his discovery of these remaining

Mr. Killingworth resigned most of these letters to Dr. Johnson.

letters, in the covers that had been taken off from a bound book, where they had been preserved, he gave them to my father; who frequently expressed an intention of making them public. They are now appended to this work. Mr. Killingworth died at an advanced age, in the year 1828.

In the autumn of this year, my father paid a last visit to his native town. He had long been requested, and earnestly wished, to see once more the surviving friends of his earlier life; and as circumstances concurred to render the present season favourable to the accomplishment of this object, attended by one of his sons, he travelled into Wiltshire, whence he proceeded to Clifton. He then visited Reading; and returned to Olney, after an absence of four Sundays —a longer separation from his parish than had before occurred during the whole period of his residence in it. From Clifton he wrote

"MY DEAREST C.

"Belle Vue, Clifton, Sept. 26, 1828.

"We arrived here yesterday, where for the present we are very comfortably housed, in the hospitable family which I need not describe to you. I believe the date of my last letter was the 19th., in which I gave you an account of our arrival at Lavington. But before that letter left the post-office, I met with a sudden accident, which might have been of very bad consequence, had it not been prevented by the goodness of God. On this subject, however, have reason to say, 'He keepeth all my bones, so that not one of them is broken.' About six o'clock in the evening, I was going to the house of mourning, to visit a widow of four-score years old, whose husband was lying dead, at the age of seventy-seven; a man of God, whom I had known more than fifty years ago. The cottage is in a field at a little distance from the town, to which a narrow

MEMOIR.

path, pitched with pebbles and stones, led. In passing this path, I trod on a substance, which seemed to be more slippery than ice. I fell as if prostrated by a stroke of lightning, and the pain was so severe as nearly to produce fainting. I could not have arisen from the ground had I not been assisted by who was providentially with me. Leaning on his arm, I returned with difficulty. The next day I was under the necessity of using crutches; but since that period I have been gradually getting better, and can walk a little way at a time without much difficulty. Reflecting on the circumstance, I desire to say, 'Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits.'

"You will probably be surprised when I inform you, that notwithstanding this accident, I preached at Lavington twice on the Sunday to crowded congregations. In the afternoon not only the seats, but the aisles were completely thronged, and the large porch more than half filled. I preached on Tuesday night at Tilshead, where forty-two years ago on the 29th of this month, I officiated for the first time. Here too the church was crowded, many coming from a considerable distance.

Will

"I was very glad to be informed of the manner in which the services of the church were performed for the dear people of Olney. you be so good as to present my love to my kind friends, Mr. Fry and Mr. Westoby, and request them to take the church for the third Sunday (viz. Oct. 5th). I wish, while I am from home, to spend a little time on my return, at Bath, Westbury, Reading, &c.

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'Kiss my beloved A. and M. for me, and be assured that I love you all most affectionately. Present my kindest regards to all friends and inquirers. Our progress hitherto has been pleasant, and I hope and pray it may continue so to the end of our journey. May God be with you and bless you! I remain,

"Your affectionate father."

My father never perfectly recovered from the effects of the accident described in this letter, as he felt occasional weakness in the knee and ancle, and generally afterwards used a stick in walking. His

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