CHAPTER XIX. 1859. AGED 40. SANITARY Work-First SermON AT BUCKINGHAM PALACE-Queen's Chap- ARCHIDIACONAL ENCROACHMENTS "What would become of mankind if the arena where must be fought out the great battle of right against wrong should be deserted by the champions of the good cause with-disguise it as we may-the selfish motive of rendering easier to their souls the struggle which all earnest men must wage to the end against their own infirmities? Rather did he emulate the heroism of those who, throwing themselves into the press of human affairs, strike with all their might, and to their last hour, against ignorance, folly, oppression, and are able to say with Sir Galahad,— 'So pass I hostel, hall, and grange, By bridge and ford, by park and pale; All armed I ride, whate'er betide, Until I find the holy grail.' And those who thus fight on to the end, content to die in their harness, and in the ranks of the faithful, will also be enabled to say with the pure knight— 'And stricken by an angel's hand This mortal armour that I wear, This weight and size, this form and eyes, LIFE OF SIR WILLIAM NAPIER. CHAPTER XIX. As years went on he devoted time, thought, and influence more and more to Sanitary science; the laws of health, and the enfranchisement of men's bodies from disease and dirt, and their inevitable consequences of sin, misery, and physical if not spiritual death, became more important in his eyes than any Political reforms. He lectured at the different institutes in the diocese of Winchester on the laws of health, rather than on literary and scientific matters, and attended the first public meeting in Willis's Rooms of the Ladies' National Sanitary Association, where he made a speech that was afterwards published under the title of "The Massacre of the Innocents." This year, 1859, was an altogether important one to him. On Palm Sunday he preached for the first time before the Queen and the Prince Consort at Buckingham Palace, and was shortly afterwards made one of Her Majesty's chaplains in ordinary. He now took his turn as Queen's Chaplain in the services at the Chapel Royal, St. James's, and preached in the autumn before the Court in the private chapel at Windsor Castle. On this occasion he had the honour of being presented to the Queen and the Prince Consort, and to the Crown Prince and Princess of Prussia, then staying at Windsor, and from that hour to his dying day he received marks of Royal kindness and condescension, the memory of which will be an heirloom to his children. To a man of his fine imagination and deep loyalty, who had sounded the depths of society, and whose increasing popularity as an author, and power as a preacher, had given him a large acquaintance with all ranks, this new phase in his life seemed to come just to complete the cycle of his experiences. But while its result was, in a certain sense, to establish his position and enlarge his influence, on his own character it had a humbling rather than exalting effect. From this time there was a marked difference in the tone of the public press, religious and otherwise, towards him and though he still waged war as heretofore against bigotry, ignorance, and intolerance, and was himself unchanged, the attacks on him from outside were less frequent and less bitter. The events of this year, uninteresting to the outside world, but each important to himself in giving colour to his daily life and leaving its own mark on his heart and imagination, are soon told. He sent his eldest son to Wellington College, which had opened in the winter, and where the scheme of education, due much to the wise influence of the Prince Consort, was more consonant to his own views for his son, being of a wider and more modern character than that of the older and more venerable public schools. He was present at the marriage of his friend Max Müller and a beloved niece,* who spent the first week of their married life at Eversley Rectory; and he preached them their wedding sermon, giving them their first communion in his own church. Dean Stanley (then Canon of Christ Church, Oxford) paid his first visit to Eversley. His acquaintance with Lord Cranworth and with Lord Carnarvon, to whom he became more and more attached as time went on, was made this year. In the autumn, with his wife, he spent a few days with Mr. and Mrs. Tennyson in the Isle of Wight, but having no curate, his holiday was short, and more than once he broke down from overwork; the excitement too of the Sundays, and his full church, overpowered him. He shrunk from the bustle of London, refused all sermons there, and withdrew from politics. "I have not been to town," he said, "for more than two days in the last nine months. I see no chance of preaching there, I am happy to say, for a long time, save next Sunday, when I preach to the Queen. As for politics, I heed them not. The only politician now living is the *The G. to whom the lines were written beginning "A hasty jest I once let fall, As jests are wont to be, untrue."-To G., Poems," p. 236. A Soldier's Testimony. 73 Lord of all; and He has principle and principles; whoever has not. It is a fearful look out when God has to govern a nation because it cannot govern itself. Notwithstanding fair prospects and outward distinction, he clung more and more passionately to his country home-the "far off look," and longing for rest and reality, and for the unfolding of the mystery of life grew stronger upon him, and he said more frequently to his wife "How blessed it will be when it is all over!" With his children, however, he was always bright and merry. To his friend, Mr. Tom Hughes, he writes this summer, on the 12th of June: "This is my fortieth birthday. What a long life I have lived! and silly fellows that review me say that I can never have known ill-health or sorrow. I have known enough to make me feel very old-happy as I am now; and I am very happy. · Among other valued friendships formed this year was that of Lieut.-Colonel Alfred Jones,* a hero whom he delighted to honour, who had won his Victoria Cross in India. While at Sandhurst he walked over constantly to Church at Eversley, and thus recalls his intercourse with Mr. Kingsley : FROM COLONEL JONES, V.C. ABENBURY COTTAGE, WREXHAM, February 23, 1876. "DEAR MRS. Kingsley, "In proposing so kindly to associate my unworthy name with that revered one of which you write, you are really doing me too much honour; but I wish I had preserved a letter or two of his which I could send in response to your request. Alas! I have not more of his writing than the words, 'from the author,' in two volumes of the Sermons which I associate with that earnest and melodious voice in the dear quaint little old church at Eversley. Long before I could hope to make the acquaintance of their author, I had read 'Alton Locke,' Colonel Jones won his Victoria Cross, when Lieutenant in the 9th Lancers, by gallantry in the field at the action of Budlee-ke-Serai during the Indian Mutiny, and at a later period, in the battle of Agra, when he was wounded by a shot, cut down, and afterwards received twenty-two sword cuts. |