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THE 
 
 GURNEYS OF EARLHAM 
 
 BY 
 
 AUGUSTUS J. C. HARE 
 
 AUTHOR OF 
 
 "'memorials of a quiet I.IFE," "THE STORY OF TWO NOBLE LIVES," 
 
 ETC. 
 
 VOL. I 
 
 LONDON 
 GEORGE ALLEN, 156, CHARING CROSS ROAD 
 
 1895 
 
 [A// rights re served ^^ 
 
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PREFACE 
 
 The Gurneys of Earlham were a Quaker 
 family, who — through their personal qualities 
 and their self-devotion — played a more con- 
 spicuous part than any other set of brothers 
 and sisters in the religious and philanthropic 
 life of England during the first half of the nine- 
 teenth century. The story of several members 
 of the family has been often told before. The 
 public are already more or less familiar with 
 the names of Samuel Gurney, Joseph John 
 Gurney, Elizabeth Fry, and their brother-in- 
 law Thomas Powell Buxton ; but of the united 
 family no record or memorial has been given, 
 telling the degree in which the wonderful har- 
 mony and unity, which no difference of mere 
 opinion could dim or alter, influenced all their 
 thoughts and stimulated all their actions ; show- 
 ing the way in which — living and working for 
 others — they ''were of one heart and of one 
 soul, neither said any of them that aught of 
 
VI PREFACE 
 
 the things which he possessed was his own, 
 but they had all things common." 
 
 The correspondence of each of the brothers 
 and sisters has been preserved, with the im- 
 mense mass of journals which tell the detail of 
 their daily life, especially of their spiritual life. 
 Amid such mountains of material, the editor 
 has endeavoured to select such passages as deal 
 rather with facts than thoughts, such as give 
 most insight into the personal characteristics 
 of the writers, or their loving labours for God 
 and man. 
 
 AUGUSTUS J. C. HARE. 
 
 O may I join the choir invisible 
 
 Of those immortal dead who live again, 
 
 In minds made better by their presence, live 
 
 In pulses stirred to generosity, 
 
 In deeds of daring rectitude, in scorn 
 
 For miserable aims that end v^^ith self. 
 
 In thoughts sublime that pierce the night like stars. 
 
 And with their vast persistence urge men's search 
 
 To vaster issues. 
 
 So to live is heaven : 
 To make undying music in the world." 
 
 — George Eliot. 
 
CONTENTS 
 
 VOL. I 
 
 I. THE HOME OF EARLHAM 
 
 II. DOUBTS AND RESPONSIBILITIES 
 
 III. SPIRITUAL CONFLICTS 
 
 IV. CHANGES 
 
 V. BROTHERS AND SISTERS 
 
 VI. THE SECOND PHASE OF EARLHAM 
 
 VII. NEWGATE . 
 
 VIII. THE REAPERS WERE THE ANGELS 
 
 PAGE 
 
 5 
 33 
 78 
 
 104 
 166 
 209 
 275 
 328 
 
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS 
 
 VOL. I 
 
 Edward and Prtscit.la Wakefield and Catherine Bell. 
 
 After Gainsborough ...... Frontispiece 
 
 Church of St. Hildevert, Gournay. {IVoodaW) Page 8 
 
 John Gurney, the Weavers' Advocate . To face page lo 
 
 Joseph Gurney of Keswick . . , . ,, „ 12 
 
 Hannah Middleton, the Fair Quakeress ,, ,, 14 
 Earlham Hall. From a sketch by Richenda Gurney. 
 
 {Woodcut) Page 35 
 
 Priscilla Gurney of Earlham. {Silhouette) To face page 40 
 The Meeting-House at the Gildencroft, Norwich. 
 
 ( Woodcut) Page 48 
 
 Norwich from Household, {Woodcut) . . . ,, 70 
 
 The "Sulkies" at Earlham. {Woodcut) . . . ,, 74 
 
 Richenda Gurney of Earlham. {Silhouette) To face page 76 
 
 Catherine Gurney of Earlham. From a sketch by JMrs. Opie 
 
 To fa ce page 80 
 
 Elizabeth Gurney of Earlham. {Silhouette) ,, „ 106 
 
 Rachel Gurney of Earlham. From a sketch by Mrs. Opie 
 
 To face page 118 
 
 Cromer. {Woodcut) . . . . . • . Page 127 
 
 Priscilla Gurney of Earlham. Fro7n a sketch by Mrs. Opie 
 
 To face page 1 34 
 ix 
 
X LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS 
 
 Samuel G URN EY. {From a immature) . . To face page 144 
 Hannah Gurney of Kari.ham. {Silhouette) ,, ,, 164 
 
 Ki.iZAKEiil GUKNKY OF 11 AM IIOUSE. {I'rotit a miniature) 
 
 To face page i86 
 John Gurney of Earlham (the Father). After Opie 
 
 To face page 204 
 The Gildencroft, Norwich. {Woodcut) . . Page 206 
 
 Pi.ASHET House. From a sketch by Kalherine Fry. {Wood- 
 
 cut) 
 
 Paze 220 
 
 ^.b 
 
 7 face page 242 
 258 
 'ichcnda Gurney 
 
 Page 264 
 
 Elizabeth Fry. After G. Richmond . 
 
 John Gurney (the Son) 
 
 RuNCTON Hall in 1816. From a sketch by Ki 
 
 {Mrs. Cunningham). {Woodcut) 
 " I was in prison and ye came unto ME." With figures re- 
 presenting T. Fowell Buxton and Elizabeth Fry. {Silhouette 
 
 by Miss Glover) To face page 276 
 
 The Door of Mrs. Fry's Ward, Newgate. {Woodcut) 
 Reproduced by permission from Major A. Griffith's '' Flistoty 
 
 of Newgate'' P'^g^ 285 
 
 " I was naked and ye clothed me." /// which Priscilla 
 Gurney is represented. {Silhouette by Miss Glover) 
 
 To face page 300 
 " I was thirsty and ye gave me drink." /// which 
 Catherine Gurney is represented. {Silhouette by Miss 
 
 Glover) To face page 316 
 
 Old Cromer Hall. {Woodcut) .... Page 331 
 
 Elizabeth Fry. From a Portrait by Leslie . To face page 340 
 
THE GURNEYS OF EARLHAM 
 
 VOL. 1. 
 
NAME 
 
 John Gurney . 
 Catiikkini-: Beli. 
 
 Their Children — 
 I. Catherine 
 
 2. John . . . 
 
 3. Rachel. . 
 
 4. Elizabeth, 
 
 5. John (second 
 
 the name) 
 
 6. RiCHENDA . 
 
 7. Hannah . 
 
 8. Louisa . . 
 
 9. Priscilla . 
 
 10. Samuel. . 
 
 11. Joseph John 
 
 12. Daniel . , 
 
 Born 
 
 Nov. 10, 1749 
 
 of 
 
 March 28, 1776 
 
 Oct. 28, 1777 
 Nov. 21, 177S 
 May 21, 1780 
 
 June 17, 1781 
 
 Aug. 5, 1782 
 
 Sept. 15, 1783 
 
 Sept. 26, 1784 
 
 Nov. 27, 1785 
 Oct i8, 1786 
 
 Aug. 2, 1788 
 . March 9, 179 1 
 
 BlKTHl'LACE 
 
 Magdalen St., 
 Norwich 
 
 do. 
 
 do. 
 
 do. 
 
 do. 
 
 do. 
 
 Bramerton, 
 
 Norfolk 
 
 MaKRIEI) 
 
 Joseph Fry 
 
 Eliiiabeth Gurney, s.p. 
 
 Rev. Francis Cunning- 
 ham, s.p. 
 
 Sir Tliomas Fowell Bux- 
 ton, Bart. 
 
 Magdnlen St., i Samuel Iloare, the HI. 
 Norwich 
 
 do. 
 Earlham Hall 
 
 do. 
 
 do. 
 
 Elizabeth Sheppard 
 
 (\. Jane Birkbeck 
 -! 2. Alary Fowler, s.p. 
 \l. Eliza Paul Kirk- 
 bride, s.p. 
 Lady Harriet Jemima 
 Hay 
 
Date 
 
 Place of Marriage 
 
 Date of Death Buried at 
 
 I 
 
 May 26, 1775 Tottenham 
 
 Aug. 12, 1800 , Meeting-house, Nor- 
 wich 
 I 
 
 Jan. 6, 1807 Northrepps Cliurch, 
 Norfolk 
 
 Jan. — 1816 
 May 13, 1807 
 Dec. 24, 1806 
 
 April 7, 1808 
 
 Tasborough ^^eeting- 
 house, Norfolk 
 
 Tasborough Meeting- 
 house, Norfolk 
 
 Earlham Church, Nor- 
 folk 
 
 Oct. 28, 1809 Gildencroft, Nor- 60 
 
 wich 
 Nov. 17, 1792 Gildencroft, Nor- 38 
 
 wich 
 
 Aged 
 
 Barking Meeting- 
 house, Essex 
 
 Sept. 10, 1817 
 July 18, 1827 
 Oct. 21, 1 841 
 
 Dec. 12, 1822 '■■ Lyndhurst, New Forest 
 
 Wells, Norfolk 
 July 18, 1827 Melksham, Wiltshire \ Jan, 4, 1847 
 Oct. 21, 1841 ' Darlington, Durham 
 
 June 16, 1880 
 
 } 
 
 June 26, 1850 
 
 Sept. 17, 1827 A 
 ^lay 24, 1778/ 
 Oct. 12, 1845 
 
 Aug. 9, 1814 
 
 Aug. 12, 1855 
 
 March 20, 1872 
 
 Aug. 1836 
 
 March 25, 1821 
 June 5, 1856 
 
 Lowestoft, Suf- 75 
 
 folk 
 
 I 
 
 Gildencroft, Nor- 50 ' 
 wich y 
 
 Gildencroft, Nor- j , i ^ 
 wich ! '^ 
 
 Barking, Essex ' 66 
 
 Gildencroft, Nor- I 33 
 wich I 
 
 Lowestoft, Suf- 
 folk 
 
 Overstrand, Nor- 
 folk 
 
 Hendon, Middle- 
 sex 
 
 Gildencroft, Nor- 
 wich 
 Barking, Essex 
 
 Gildencroft, Nor- 
 wich 
 
 Runcton, Nor- 
 folk 
 
 73 
 89 
 
 53 
 
 3^ 
 
 70 
 
 59 
 89 
 
THE HOME OF EARLHAM 
 
 *' Sweete home, where nieane estate 
 In safe assurance, without strife or hate, 
 Findes all things needfull for contentment meeke." 
 
 — Spenser. 
 
 After leaving the hollow where the beautiful 
 crochetted spire of Norwich Cathedral and the 
 square mass of its castle rise above the dingy 
 red roofs and blue smoke of the town, the 
 road to Lynn ascends what, generally called an 
 Incline, Is In Norfolk a long hill. After passing 
 its brow, at about three miles from the city, 
 the horizon is fringed by the woods — grey In 
 winter, radiant with many tints in summer — 
 which belong to Earlham. This delightful 
 old place has for centuries been the property 
 of the Bacon family, and they have never 
 consented to sell It; but since 1786 it has 
 been rented by the Gurneys, a period of a 
 hundred and nine years — perhaps one of the 
 oldest tenancies known for a mansion of the 
 size, though very frequent In the case of 
 
THE GURNEYS OF EARLIIAM 
 
 farmhouses. Thus, to the Gurney family, it 
 has become the beloved home of five genera- 
 tions ; to them, its old chambers are filled 
 with the very odour of holiness ; its ancient 
 gardens and green glades and sparkling river 
 bring thoughts of domestic peace and happi- 
 ness, which cannot be given in words ; its 
 very name is a refrain of family unity and love. 
 The litde park of Earlham is scarcely more 
 than a paddock, with its fine groups of trees 
 and remains of avenues, in one of which a 
 Bacon of old time is still supposed to wander, 
 with the hatchet in his hand which he was 
 using on the day of his death. Where the 
 trees thicken beyond the green slopes, above 
 an oval drive familiarly called "the World," 
 stands the house, stuccoed white towards the 
 road by the colour-hating Quaker second wife 
 of Joseph John Gurney, but infinitely beautiful 
 towards the garden in the pink hues of its 
 brick with grey stone ornaments, and the 
 masses of vine and rose which festoon its two 
 large projecting bow windows and white cen- 
 tral porch. Hence the wide lawn, to which 
 the place owes its chief dignity, spreads away 
 on either side to belts of pine-trees, fringed 
 by terraces, where masses of snowdrops and 
 aconites gleam amongst the mossy grass in 
 
THE HOME OF EARLHAM 
 
 early spring. The west side of the house is 
 perhaps the oldest part, and bears a date of 
 James First's time on its two narrow gables. 
 Hence the river is seen gleaming and glancing 
 in the hollow, where it is crossed by the single 
 arch of a bridge. From the low hall, with its 
 old-fashioned furniture and pictures, a very 
 short staircase leads to an anteroom open- 
 ing upon the drawing-room, w-here Richmond's 
 striking full-length portrait of Mrs. Fry now 
 occupies a prominent place amongst the like- 
 nesses of her brothers and sisters. Another 
 staircase leads to what was the sittine-room 
 of the seven Gurney sisters of the beginning 
 of the nineteenth century, with an old Bacon 
 portrait let into the panelling over the fire- 
 place. The dining-room is downstairs, and 
 was the latest addition to the house, a hand- 
 some, long, and lofty room, built by Mr. 
 Edward Bacon, long M.P. for Norwich, that 
 he might entertain his constituents. Close by 
 is the humble little study occupied by the 
 father of the numerous Gurney family of 
 three generations ago. But the pleasantest 
 room at Earlham is " Mrs. Catherine's cham- 
 ber," always occupied by the eldest daughter, 
 mother and sister in one, and in which in 
 her old age, with her beautiful intonation and 
 
8 
 
 THE GURNEYS OF EARLIIAM 
 
 delicate sense of fittinor emphasis, she would 
 assemble ihe young Norwich clergy to teach 
 them how the Scriptures should be read in 
 church. 
 
 The Norfolk Gurneys claim descent from the 
 ancient barons of Gournay in Normandy, where 
 
 m 
 
 I 1 l 
 
 
 rfiir 
 
 ■"-V^- 
 
 ■f^i^^^fV^^' 
 
 w^^^ 
 
 S. IIILDF.Vr:KT, GOURNAY. 
 
 the curious Porte Ibert, with many old towers 
 of the walls, and the twelfth-century church of 
 S. Hildevert, attest the wealth and power of its 
 ancient lords. Several members of the house 
 accompanied Duke William to England, and 
 fought at the battle of Hastings ; after which 
 
THE HOME OF EARLHAM 9 
 
 the valour of the aged Hugh de Gournay III. 
 was rewarded by the EngHsh barony of 
 Gournay (held by tenure of military service), 
 and by large grants of land, so that he has 
 left his name to Barrow-Gurney in Somerset, 
 and several other places in England. The 
 story of the " House of Gournay" is told in a 
 magnificent history by Daniel Gurney of Rune- 
 ton, which possesses historic interest and shows 
 much antiquarian research. 
 
 Yet the, real — the human — interest of the 
 history of the Gurney family begins, not with 
 its prosperity, but with its decadence, when, 
 after its members had fallen to the rank of 
 humble Norwich tradesmen, it held a front 
 rank in the battalions of those wdio were 
 willing to undergo all things for the faith of 
 Christ, and after which, by their strict integrity 
 and shrewd application to business, ever mingled 
 with the noblest generosity and beneficence, 
 they rose to highest eminence amongst the 
 merchant-princes ^ of England. 
 
 It is especially as the leading Quaker family 
 of England that the Gurneys of Earlham 
 have become celebrated. The Quakers, or 
 "the Society of Friends," as they are more 
 properly called, are guided, as to their religious 
 life, by rules drawn up about 1648 by George 
 
lO THE GURNEYS OF EARLHAM [1683-1721 
 
 Fox, who, born in very humble life at Drayton 
 in Leicestershire, and apprenticed to a shoe- 
 maker and grazier, had thought them out while 
 keeping his master's sheep. Eventually he left 
 his occupations to become an itinerant preacher, 
 " holding forth," without invitation, wherever he 
 went, and rebuking whatever of evil he came in 
 contact with, though frequently imprisoned for 
 so doing. Amongst his many disciples was John 
 Gurney, citizen and cordwainer, living in the 
 parish of S. Gregory in Norwich, who, in 1683, 
 having openly joined the " Society of Friends," 
 was committed for three years to the city gaol, 
 with fifteen others of his sect, the sole ground of 
 their imprisonment being a refusal to take the 
 oath of allegiance, which they declined doing 
 simply from religious scruple as to taking any 
 oath whatever. In April 1685 they petitioned 
 the representatives of the city and county to make 
 intercession in their behalf, "that their heavy 
 burden might be taken off, and the oppressed go 
 free ; " and they were eventually released during 
 the reign of James II., by whom the severe 
 measures against their Society were relaxed. In 
 the meantime, however, John Gurney 's mercan- 
 tile affairs had been well managed by his capable 
 wife, Elizabeth Swanton of Grundisborough, and 
 when he died in 1721, he was able to leave a 
 
JOHN GURXEY 
 
 The Weavers' Advocate an.i Woollen Mami/aclurers Glory 
 
1720] THE HOME OF EARLHAM I I 
 
 considerable fortune to his four survivinor sons. 
 The eldest of these, John Gurney, known as 
 ''the weavers' advocate," gained a considerable 
 reputation by the eloquence and clearness with 
 which he pleaded the cause of the woollen 
 manufacturers when examined (1720) before 
 the House of Lords as to the prohibition of 
 the import of calico and cotton manufactures,^ 
 "telling their Lordships that the case before 
 them was the cries of the poor for bread, and 
 that If they were not relieved by their Lord- 
 ships, many hundred thousand families must 
 perish." The talents which he displayed on 
 this occasion led to this John Gurney being 
 offered a seat in Parliament by Sir R. Walpole, 
 though he declined it, as incompatible with his 
 religious opinions. Horace Walpole frequently 
 stayed at his house at Norwich. His woollen 
 manufacture was subsequently turned into a 
 banking business, which became the origin of 
 the present Norwich Bank. 
 
 The second son of the John Gurney who 
 suffered for the Quaker faith in Norwich Castle 
 
 ^ The engraving of him is inscribed, "The Woollen Manufacturers' 
 Glory. To the immortal praise of John Gurney of Norwich, who by 
 his celebrated extempore speeches, Feb. 1720, before ye Honourable 
 House of Commons, turned the scale of the contention between the 
 woollen and linen manufacturers." Round the portrait is "Concedat 
 Laurea Linguae/' and below some doggerel lines on "the Norwich 
 Quaker.'' 
 
I 2 THE GURNEYS OF EARLHAM [1747 
 
 was Joseph,^ also a Norwich merchant, who 
 was early established by his father in an old 
 house surrounding a courtyard at the back 
 of Magdalen Street. Prospering in business, 
 in 1747 he purchased from Mr. Stackhouse 
 Tompson the estate of Keswick, near Norwich, 
 and founded the Keswick branch of the house 
 of Gurney.'^ In 17 i 3 he had married the beau- 
 tiful Hannah, daughter of Joshua Middleton, 
 a ''Friend" of Darlington, which has always 
 been the stronghold of Quakerism. By this 
 
 ^ For an interesting account of him see the "Testimonies of the 
 Society of Friends." 
 
 - As many of them are mentioned again, it is well to give the 
 descendants of the eldest son of "John Gurney, the prisoner. 
 
 John Gukney, == Elizabetfi Haddock, 
 of S. Augustine's, I d. 1757. 
 d. 1740^ I 
 
 i '. ; I .1 I 
 
 Henry, =Elizal)eth Lucy, = Jolui, = Ann Elizabeth, Mary, 
 
 d. 1777. 
 
 Bartlett. d. of d. 1779. 
 
 Edmund 
 
 Gurney. 
 
 Kendall. ;;/. Francis ;;/. 
 
 Freshfield. Edward 
 Pearce. 
 
 Elizabeth, Ann. Lucy, 
 
 m. S. Alexander. w. Thomas Kett. 
 
 Bartlett = i. Hannah 2. Mary Elizabeth, w. Joseph Cockfield. 
 
 of Coltishall. Chnpnian. Cockhill. Martha, w. John Birkbeck. 
 
 The first Sarah, ;;/. James Sheppard. 
 
 Gurney who Lucy, w. Thomas Aggs. 
 
 ceased to be a Maria, d. 1804. 
 
 Quaker. Henrietta, d. 1828. 
 
 Of the daughters of Henry Gurney, Mrs. Sheppard and Mrs. Aggs 
 lived to a great age. Mrs. Birkbeck, who had married a banker at 
 Lynn, continued, as his widow, to live at the bank-house, and had 
 also a villa at Hunstanton : she was a strict Quaker, of great piety 
 and benevolence. One of the unmarried daughters, Henrietta — " Miss 
 Gurney " — was especially active in the Norwich charities. 
 
JOSEPH GURNEY 
 
 OF KESWICK 
 
1760] THE HOME OF EARLHAM I 3 
 
 lady, known as "the fair Quakeress," ^ he was 
 the father of ten children, of whom four lived to 
 grow up — John, Samuel, Joseph, and Hannah. 
 The eldest son, John,- who succeeded his 
 father at Keswick and in the house in Mag- 
 dalen Street, added greatly to the worldly pros- 
 perity of the family by the introduction into 
 Norwich of the manufacture of hand-spun yarn 
 from the South of Ireland, and left a fortune of 
 i^ 1 00, 000. In all his mercantile ventures he 
 was aided by his brother Samuel,^ to whom he 
 
 ^ The engraved portrait of Hannah Middleton has the following 
 
 lines: — 
 
 " Nor Gold nor Gems are wanting to the maid, 
 
 In neat Simplicity, like this Array "d ; 
 
 Plain native Beauty more delights the heart, 
 
 Than all the glittering ornaments of Art." 
 
 "The Fair Quaker" is inserted between each pair of lines. 
 The portrait of her husband has the following lines : — 
 
 " Virtue unfeign'd, Simplicity and Truth, 
 
 These are the pride of Age, the Grace of Youth, 
 'Tis not the Hat, or Coat, the wise will scan 
 What dwells within, this recommends the Man." 
 
 " A Quaker "' is inserted between each pair of lines. 
 
 - This John Gurney was a very strict Quaker, and his journals of 
 religi6us reflection still exist — of the same introspective kind as those 
 which were so popular with his grandchildren. 
 
 3 Samuel, second son of John Gurney of Keswick, was lame from 
 his birth. In the sixteen summer-houses which adorned the grounds at 
 Keswick, there was always a vacant place left in the seat, where the 
 chair in which he was wheeled about could be placed. He died in 
 1770. His wife was Sarah Lawrence of Woodbridge, and by her 
 he had two daughters. The elder, Sarah, married Samuel Hoare, a 
 banker ; the younger, Hannah, married Thomas Kett of Seething. 
 Samuel Gurney's widow married Thomas Bland of Norwich, by whom 
 she had an only son, Michael. 
 
14 IHL GURNEYS OF EARLHAM [l773 
 
 was greatly attaclicd, and for whose use he 
 added a wing to the paternal house of Keswick, 
 a charming place, with delightful woods above 
 the river, in which, at that time, there was a 
 heronry as well as a rookery. He married, 
 c. 1739. Elizabeth, daughter of Richard Kett 
 of Norwich, by whom he had twelve children, 
 of whom four grew up — Richard, John, Joseph, 
 and Rachel. 
 
 The second son, John, was born in 1750. 
 As a boy he had bright red hair, and it is 
 amusingly recorded that one day in the streets of 
 Norwich a number of boys followed him, point- 
 ing to his red locks and saying, " Look at that 
 boy ; he's got a bonfire on the top of his head," 
 and that John Gurney was so disgusted that he 
 went to a barber's, had his head shaved, and went 
 home in a wig. He grew up, however, a remark- 
 ably attractive-looking young man. In May 
 1773 he was married at Tottenham to Catherine, 
 younger daughter of Daniel Bell of Stamford 
 Hill, and first cousin of his sister-in-law, Mrs. 
 Gurney of Keswick.^ Her great-grandfather 
 had been Robert Barclay, the famous ''Apolo- 
 gist" of the Quakers, who " bore the loss of all 
 
 ^ The Memoirs of the Bell Family were written by Jonathan liell 
 (Mrs. Gurney 's youngest brother) in 1851, when in his eighty-second 
 year. 
 
HAXXAH MIDDLETON 
 " The Fair Quakeress" 
 
1773] THE HOME OF EARLHAM I 5 
 
 things " for what he believed to be the truth, and 
 had been content to *'eat his bread with scarce- 
 ness," exchanging a Hfe of honour and luxury 
 for all the horrors which at that time attended 
 a convict's cell. Sewell, in his " History of the 
 Quakers," describes him as "a man of eminent 
 gifts and great endowments, expert not only 
 in the language of the learned, but also well 
 versed in the writino^s of the ancient Fathers 
 and other ecclesiastical writers, and furnished 
 with a great understanding, being not only of a 
 sound judgment, but also strong in argument." 
 His faithful friend and fellow- sufferer, William 
 Penn, says of him: "We often travelled to- 
 gether, both in this kingdom and in Holland, 
 and some parts of Germany, and were inward 
 in divers services from first to last ; and the 
 apprehension I had of him was this, he loved 
 the truth and the way of God, as revealed 
 among us, above all the world, and was not 
 ashamed of it among men, but bold and able 
 in maintaining it, sound in judgment, strong 
 in argument, cheerful in travels and sufferings, 
 of a pleasant disposition, yet solid, plain, and 
 exemplary in his conversation. He was a 
 learned man, a good Christian, an able minister, 
 a dutiful son and a loving husband, a tender 
 and careful father, an easy master, and a good 
 
I 6 THE GURNEYS UK EARLHAM [l773 ^i 
 
 and kind neighbour and friend." Released 
 under James II., Robert P)arclay enjoyed con- 
 siderable court favour during his later years. 
 He died in 1690 at his mansion of Ury in 
 Kincardineshire, leavinof seven children and 
 an immense number of o^randchildren, one of 
 whom was the mother of Catherine Bell and 
 her once well-known elder sister Priscilla Wake- 
 field/ authoress of volumes innumerable, but 
 best remembered from her delightful children's 
 books. 
 
 At the time of her marriao^e, which was lonor 
 opposed by the Gurney family on account of 
 her want of fortune, Catherine Bell was a 
 graceful and handsome brunette, and as such 
 she appears, at the age of twenty-one, in 
 a charming picture by Gainsborough,^ with 
 her sister Priscilla, and her brother-in-law 
 
 ^ Priscilla, elder daughter of Daniel Bell, born 1751 ; married Edward 
 Wakefield of Tottenham, a merchant, in 177 1, and died 1832, aged 
 eighty-one. She was well known by her contemporaries as the authoress 
 of " Excursions in North America," "The Traveller in Africa," " Per- 
 ambulations in London and its Environs," "An Introduction to the 
 Natural History of Insects," " Domestic Recreation," " Leisure Hours," 
 "Juvenile Travellers," "Family Tour." The name of Priscilla, after- 
 wards so frequent in the Gurney family, was derived from Priscilla 
 Wakefield. 
 
 - The picture, executed by Gainsborough just before the marriage 
 of Catherine Bell (1775), is in the possession (1895) of ^^^""s. Priscilla 
 Wrightson (great-granddaughter of Priscilla Wakefield), of the Old 
 Hall, Hurworth-on-Tees. 
 
1773] THE HOME OF EARLHAM I 7 
 
 Edward Wakefield. The three are depicted 
 in a garden. Catherine wears a brown gown, 
 an apron of clear muslin, and tan-coloured 
 gloves — a figure full of maidenly charm and 
 sweetness. John Gurney was himself esteemed 
 one of the best-looking young men in Norfolk, 
 and had a wonderfully animated countenance. 
 He was sincerely attached to the Society of 
 Friends, but most liberal to those of different 
 sects and opinions. He only wore the Quaker 
 costume to a certain extent, but he used the 
 ''Thee" and "Thou" — "the single language," as 
 it is called. The young couple are described in 
 an Epithalamium by Joseph Gurney Bevan : — 
 
 " Come all ye lads and lasses fair, 
 And listen to my ditty, 
 I sing a youth beyond compare, 
 Who comes from Norwich city. 
 
 His name, if right I read my song. 
 Is called 'the handsome Johnny,' 
 
 His parts are far above the throng, 
 He's proper, straight, and bonny. 
 
 And Fortune on his birth has smiled, 
 
 For wealth in store has he, 
 Though with the gift of wealth alone 
 
 He could not happy be. 
 • '.... 
 
 The nut-brown maid who caused his smart 
 
 Y'cleped 'the lovely Kitty,' 
 Reigning within his captive heart, 
 
 Has seen the youth with pity." 
 
 • 
 VOL. I. B 
 
I 8 THK GURNEYS OF EARLHAM L' 773-86 
 
 At the time of his marriage, and for many 
 years afterwards, the profession of John Gurney 
 of Earlham was that of a wool-stapler and 
 spinner of worsted yarn. It was not till 1803 
 that he, together with his brothers Richard and 
 Joseph, was admitted as a partner into the 
 fsforwich Bank by his cousin, Bartlett Gurney. 
 The Bank, which had been established in 1770 
 by Henry Gurney of St. Augustine's, Norwich, 
 was afterwards carried on by his son Bartlett. 
 
 During the first years of their married life, 
 John and Catherine Gurney always resided in 
 winter in the old "Court House" in Magdalen 
 Street, already inhabited by two generations 
 of the family, and which still was, as it had 
 always been, a very humble abode, though 
 convenient from its nearness to the woollen 
 yarn factory, which was John Gurney's place 
 of business. It was the birthplace of his six 
 eldest children — Catherine, John (who died in 
 infancy), Rachel, Elizabeth, John (the second 
 of the name), and Richenda. Their summer 
 home was a country cottage at Bramerton, 
 where another daughter, Hannah, was born. 
 The Norwich winters were full of quiet hap- 
 piness. One wing of the house, which sur- 
 rounded a quadrangular court, was inhabited 
 by the Gurney grandmother, Elizabeth Kett, 
 
1773-86] THE HOME OF EARLHAM 1 9 
 
 widow of John Gurney of Keswick, a kind, 
 affectionate old lady, with whom lived her 
 youngest son Joseph, always the favourite 
 uncle of the elder Earlham children, to 
 whom he was always especially attached, 
 because he had seen so much of them in 
 their childhood. The old lady (who lived 
 till 1788) needed some one to look after her, 
 as in her charities she was so lavish that 
 she alw^ays exceeded her very large income, 
 when her sons had to make up the deficit. 
 Molly Neale, her indulgent housekeeper, was 
 almost as great a favourite with the grand- 
 children as herself They always remembered 
 the charm of the two gardens separated by 
 a slight railing, and the comfort of the old- 
 fashioned town-house, to which it was a plea- 
 sure to retreat on the approach of winter. 
 
 But still more lively and endeared was the re- 
 membrance of the summers at Bramerton, where 
 the family life was as simple and rural as the 
 home, opening upon a well-wooded common, 
 with oak and walnut trees, and rough ground 
 covered with fern and abounding in wild-flowers. 
 The garden was full of all kinds of summer 
 fruit, and, with the cherry orchard beyond, was 
 so delightful in its season, that Mrs. Fry used 
 afterwards to say that the idea of Paradise and 
 
20 THE GURNKYS OF KARLIIAM [l773-86 
 
 that garden were always one in her mind. 
 Beyond the common was the village, where the 
 Gurney children were early taught to make 
 acquaintance with all the inhabitants and 
 visit the poor. Hemlin, the master of the 
 village school, came to teach them writing and 
 cyphering. On the opposite side, the common 
 ended in hills, sloping down to the river Yare, 
 which winds through green meadows, and is 
 navigable between Norwich and Yarmouth, 
 so that large boats, with their tall red or white 
 sails, often give life to the scene. 
 
 The retirement of Bramerton was delightful 
 to Mrs. Gurney, who was highly though self- 
 cultivated, and to whom the ordinary society of 
 a country town offered no attraction, though 
 all who had any scientific or literary attractions 
 to offer were cordially welcomed by her. In a 
 written memorandum found after her death she 
 thus spoke of her rule of life : " First, to pro- 
 mote my duty to my Maker ; secondly, my duty 
 to my husband and children, relations, servants, 
 and poor neighbours." To her many children 
 her maternal relation was the very happiest pos- 
 sible. She mentions in her journal that in her 
 daily walks with them she made a point of en- 
 deavouring to '* enjoy each individually." Truly 
 devout in her own heart, she gave them lessons 
 
I773-S6] THE HOME OF EARLHAM 21 
 
 in the Bible, though without dwelHng upon 
 its Gospel doctrines. She belonged, as well as 
 her husband, to the denomination of '' Friends," 
 but without any warm espousal of their prin- 
 ciples ; the " Public Friends," as they are called, 
 ministers who came from time to time to Bra- 
 merton, being at that time more objects of 
 fear and dislike than of reverence or love. 
 At Bramerton clerical society was unknown. 
 Mrs. Gurney's intimacies were rather sought 
 amongst the Unitarians, to whom, at this time, 
 all the culture of Norwich was confined. Her 
 most cherished friend and companion was a first 
 cousin of her own, Margaret Lindoe, at that time 
 a professed Unitarian. This Cousin Peggy had 
 an unrivalled power of attracting and attaching 
 the younger members of the family, who were 
 charmed with her overflowing humour and fun, 
 without observing that it was not always re- 
 strained from expending itself on very serious 
 subjects. John Gurney himself was a most 
 indulgent father, always wishing to give his 
 children pleasure, full of good natural abilities ; 
 and, though he had only received the most 
 commonplace education, quite beneath what 
 is usual in his rank of life, his quickness pre- 
 vented its being generally noticed, whilst his 
 kindness and sociabilities rendered him ex- 
 
2 2 thl: gurnkys ok i:arlham L'773-8o 
 
 tremely popular. A singular instance of his 
 public integrity recently appeared in the Nor- 
 folk papers. 
 
 " Though privateering was only abohshcd after the 
 middle of the nineteenth century by a treaty entered 
 into by the sovereigns of Europe, the term has already 
 almost lost its significance. It is necessary to state, 
 therefore, that a privateer was a ship, belonging to 
 private individuals, which sailed with a license in times 
 of war to seize and plunder the ships of the enemy. 
 Privateering was almost as old as the navy, and was 
 said to have been practised by Edward I. against the 
 Portuguese in 1295, and was general during the war 
 between Spain and the Netherlands in the seventeenth 
 century. When England was at war with France in 
 1778, privateering was again extensively indulged in 
 by both Powers. The method pursued by speculators 
 for the purpose of carrying on this legalised piracy is 
 explained by an advertisement which appeared in the 
 Norfolk Chronicle of November 14, 1778. It com- 
 menced by stating that a subscription was being 
 opened for the purpose of fitting out privateers at the 
 port of Yarmouth, and gentlemen who were willing 
 to encourage the scheme were invited to sign the 
 subscription papers, ' duplicates of which are lying at 
 Messrs. Gurney's, bankers, &c.' The shares were 
 fixed at £2^ each, and 'each subscriber to have his 
 money as he tliinks proper.' Not more than two 
 privateers were to be commissioned without the con- 
 sent of a general meeting of the subscribers ; a dividend 
 
I773-S6] THE HOME OF EARLHAM 2 3 
 
 was to be made as soon as there was ten per cent, to 
 divide. 
 
 '* Unfortunatel}^ for the promoters of the project, an 
 unlooked-for difficulty was at the outset placed in the 
 way by Mr. John Gurney, the Norwich banker. The 
 members of the syndicate, as we should call it in these 
 days, had apparently overlooked the fact that the 
 ruling spirit of the bank was a Quaker. 
 
 '^ As a man of peace, Mr. Gurney could not, of course, 
 lend the name of his firm to an enterprise of so warlike 
 a character, and he lost no time in issuing a manifesto 
 to that effect. ' Having observed an advertisement in 
 the Norwich papers/ he wrote, ' promoting a subscrip- 
 tion for the fitting out of privateers from the port of 
 Yarmouth, and signif^ang that the duplicate of the 
 subscription paper lies at Messrs. Gurne3^'s bank, 
 Norwich, I w^as not a little surprised. But, inquiring 
 the reason of it, I find that my kinsman, with whom I 
 am connected in business, upon its being unexpectedly 
 proposed to him, had inadvertently assented without 
 due consideration. I therefore esteem it incumbent 
 upon me hereby to declare that our firm was inserted 
 without my knowledge and consent ; and as it is in- 
 consistent wnth our religious principles for us to be 
 in any way activel}' concerned in aiding or assisting 
 towards the promotion of such measures as are of 
 a violent and destructive nature, we request that notice 
 may be taken that we cannot receive subscriptions 
 to such purpose, and we hope our refusal will not be 
 taken amiss by any.' No more was heard of Norwich 
 or Yarmouth privateers." 
 
2 4 THU: GUKNKYS OF EAKLHAM [ 1 773 86 
 
 Very interesting is the record which still re- 
 mains of the rules which Catherine Gurney drew 
 up for the management of her Bramerton house- 
 hold, the education of her children, and the re- 
 gulation of her own daily life, divided, as it was, 
 between visits to the nurseries and kitchen, and 
 ministrations to the poor. 
 
 " The introduction of the children after dinner gene- 
 rally affords my husband and myself an opportunity of 
 the united enjoyment of our domestic comforts. A 
 short afternoon may either be devoted to the company 
 of my dear husband, or to writing letters, reading, or 
 instructing the children alternately, particularly in the 
 knowledge of the Scriptures. Before tea, or immedi- 
 ately after, I should assemble the little ones, to take 
 particular and individual leave of each other, and the 
 remaining hours of the evening may be devoted to the 
 promotion of my husband's enjoyment, and, if possible, 
 to blend instruction with amusement for the elder 
 children, who are our constant companions till the 
 time of rest. Then, being quiet and uninterrupted with 
 my best friend, let me not be unmindful of the reHgious 
 duties of hfe ; which consideration may, I hope, lead 
 to that trust in Providence which gives spiritual tran- 
 quillity and spiritual support." 
 
 In I 783 we find Catherine Gurney writing to 
 her cousin Priscilla Hannah Gurney :^ — 
 
 ^ Their mothers were sisters, daughters of David Barclay. Priscilla 
 Hannah was also first cousin to John Gurney, their fathers being brothers. 
 
1773-^6] THE HOME OF EARLHAM 25 
 
 ^^ Jan. 1 8, 1783. — I am glad to find that thy thoughts 
 are sometimes engaged in my affairs, and that my children 
 are more particularly the object of them. ... I think 
 thou wilt not be pleased to find that I am so poor an 
 economist of time, that I scarcely make any progress 
 in the education of my elder girls, yet I console 
 myself — perhaps improperly — that although we make 
 no rapid advances, I endeavour, and I hope with 
 success, to secure their minds from injury. ... I can 
 scarcely resist now an inclination to introduce my 
 little ones. Kitty's good propensities by no means 
 fail her, and, I hope, increase. My lively Rachel has 
 an ardent desire to do well, yet cannot always resist 
 a powerful inclination to the contrary. But my dove- 
 like Betsy scarcely ever offends, and is, in every sense 
 of the word, truly engaging. Our charming boy has 
 a violent inclination to be master, but his extraordinary 
 attachment to me gives me a tolerable share of power : 
 which, be assured, I by no means mean to resign. If my 
 sweet Richenda were not so much teased by her eyes, 
 she would be, in my opinion, as lovely an infant as I 
 have ever yet reared. ..." 
 
 In 1786 the death of Mr. Edward Bacon, 
 the owner of Earlham, permitted Mr. Gurney 
 — whose family and fortunes had aHke outgrown 
 the Bramerton cottage — to hire the place from 
 its then owner, Mr. Bacon Frank of Campsall 
 in Yorkshire.^ The eldest of the children was 
 
 ^ John Gurney eventually purchased a considerable estate at Earlham, 
 on the opposite side of the road, connected with which was what had 
 
26 THE GURNEYS OK EARLHAM [1786 
 
 then only ten years old, and as the size and 
 importance of Earlham was quite unlike any- 
 thing to which they had been accustomed, 
 going thither was a great event in their history. 
 Mrs. Gurney now found a wider scope for the 
 various domestic cares, in the details of which 
 every Quaker woman delights, and as she 
 was by no means "a plain Quaker," — one who 
 puts aside all worldly enjoyments, especially 
 drawing, music, and dancing, as filled with 
 temptations, — she saw much more of society 
 than hitherto, not limiting her acquaintance 
 to members of the Society of Friends, but mak- 
 ing cultivated or pleasant Unitarians, Roman 
 Catholics, or Churchmen, equally welcome. 
 Her uncle, Mr. Lindoe, with his clever and 
 agreeable sons, was constantly at the house. 
 He used to read with and teach the children ; 
 though, while nominally a Friend, and once 
 celebrated as a preacher, he had quite given it 
 up, and was generally considered very lax as 
 to his faith. Dr. Alderson and his handsome 
 daughter, afterwards Mrs. Opie, were also 
 
 been a cell to Caron Abbey, then divided into a large farmhouse, and 
 a comfortable dwelling called the parsonage, from being usually the 
 residence of the curate of Earlham, the church being close by. This 
 estate, including Lower Earlham, is still in the possession of John 
 Gurney's descendants, who may therefore be designated the Gurneys 
 of Earlham, 
 
1786-91] THE HOME OF EARLHAM 2/ 
 
 among the intimate friends of the family, though 
 they took reHgious life very easily at this time. 
 There were many who remonstrated, thinking 
 such intimacies filled with danger for the younger 
 members of the household. But it was always 
 a fixed rule with Mrs. Gurney to leave her chil- 
 dren to judge for themselves as to the special 
 line of their Christian path, while inculcating on 
 them the opinions of no man or sect whatever, 
 but simply the divine truths as set forth in the 
 New Testament. She urged prayer upon them, 
 but at the same time advised them never to 
 attempt to pray unless they felt that they 
 could give their undivided minds to Him who 
 delighted to bless them, and she implored them 
 never to dwell upon trifles in prayer, in which 
 — being immediately before Him — she con- 
 sidered that they should be able to raise to 
 Him their undivided heart and soul in loving 
 adoration. 
 
 In the rules for education which she drew 
 up she says : — 
 
 " As it appears to be our reasonable duty to improve 
 our faculties, and by that means to render ourselves 
 useful, it is necessary and very agreeable to be well 
 informed of our own language ; of Latin also, as being 
 the most permanent ; and of French, as most in general 
 request. The simple beauties of mathematics appear 
 
28 THE GURNEYS OF EARLHAM [1786-91 
 
 to be SO excellent an exercise to the understanding, 
 that Ihey ouglit on no account to be omitted, and 
 are perhaps scarcely less essential than a competent 
 knowledge of ancient and modern history, geography, 
 and chronology. To these may be added a knowledge 
 of the most approved branches of natural history, and 
 a capacity for drawing from nature, in order to promote 
 that knowledge and facilitate the pursuit of it. As a 
 great portion of a woman's life ought to be passed in 
 at least regulating the subordinate affairs of a family, 
 she should work plain work neatly herself, and under- 
 stand the cutting-out of linen ; also, she should not be 
 ignorant of the common proprieties of a table, or de- 
 ficient in the economy of any of the most minute 
 affairs of a family. It should be here observed that 
 gentleness of manner is indispensably necessary in 
 women, to say nothing of that polished behaviour 
 which adds a charm to every qualification ; and to 
 both of these it appears certain that children may 
 be led, without vanity or affectation, by amiable and 
 judicious instruction." 
 
 At once, in their new home of Earlham, 
 the Gurneys became surrounded, as all Gur- 
 neys have been since, by troops of near rela- 
 tions, with whom they lived on terms of the 
 utmost fellowship and intimacy, and who 
 dropped in daily at the family dinner-hour of 
 three, four, and eventually five o'clock. To 
 say nothing of numberless others connected 
 with them by ties of blood and connec- 
 
1786-91] THE HOME OF EARLHAM 29 
 
 tion, Mr. Gurney's eldest brother, Richard — 
 "Uncle Gurney " — a country squire of the 
 old-fashioned type, very fond of sport of all 
 kinds, was then living in the old family house 
 of Keswick^ with his second wife, Rachel 
 Hanbury — the universally beloved " Aunt 
 Gurney" — her children, Richard (afterwards 
 of Thickthorn), Elizabeth, and Anna, and 
 Hudson and Agatha,'^ the children of his first 
 wife, Agatha Barclay,^ of Youngsbury. Nearer 
 still, at '*the Grove" — Lakenham Grove — a 
 pleasant house amongst trees, countrified though 
 only just outside Norwich, John Gurney's 
 younger brother, Joseph, had come to reside 
 with his wife, Jane Chapman, and several 
 
 1 He had also a shooting-box at Hampstead, near Holt, and a 
 cottage at Northrepps, to both of which he delighted to retire, as they 
 were free from the cares of business and had plenty of game. He 
 added much to the property of Keswick, and, in conjunction with his 
 father-in-law, David Barclay, and his brother-in-law, Robert Barclay, 
 he purchased Thrale's great brewery, which became a vast source of 
 profit to all concerned in it. Perkins, who had been Thrale's clerk, 
 was taken into the firm. 
 
 2 Agatha Gurney — " Gatty" — married Samson Hanbury of Poles in 
 Hertfordshire, brother to her father's second wife. She was very 
 beautiful. With her brother, she had been almost entirely brought up 
 by her maternal grandfather, Mr. Barclay of Youngsbury, the friend of 
 Wilberforce, a very strict and stern Quaker. 
 
 3 One of the sisters of David Barclay of Youngsbury was Catherine, 
 who married Daniel Bell : another, Christiana, married Joseph Gur- 
 ney, youngest son of John Gurney and Hannah Middleton, and was 
 the mother of Priscilla Hannah, often afterwards mentioned, and 
 Christiana: another was Mrs. Springall— " Aunt Springall." 
 
30 TIIF GURNEYS OF EARLHAM [1786-91 
 
 daughters.^ These formed at first the prin- 
 cipal associates of the Earlham household, 
 and the different members of the family so 
 closely associated always had much influence 
 upon each other : indeed, from their constant 
 and most harmonious intercourse, they were 
 like one large attached family dwelling in 
 three houses. In their great intimacy the 
 Barclays of Bury Hill participated, through 
 their summer visits, and by their having a 
 house at Cromer — Northrepps Hall, which 
 Mr. Barclay afterwards sold to Richard Gur- 
 ney of Keswick. Then, though he was a lax 
 Friend, it must not be thought that John Gur- 
 ney ever failed to receive '' Friends " with the 
 most patriarchal hospitality ; on the contrary, 
 their ministers were sure of the kindest wel- 
 come at Earlham, where one or other of them 
 was constantly staying, till, becoming more 
 intimate through habitual intercourse, these 
 visitors gradually gained more influence over 
 Mrs. Gurney's mind, — an influence most un- 
 
 ^ Of these, Hannah (frequently mentioned towards the close of these 
 Memoirs) married Jonathan Backhouse of Darlington, and became a 
 well-known preacher amongst Friends. Jane married Henry Birk- 
 beck, and died at the birth of her only son, Henry Birkbeck of Stoke 
 Holy Cross. The beautiful Elizabeth married Robert Barclay, a 
 banker. Emma married Joseph Pease of Darlington, for some time 
 M.P. for the county of Durham. Rachel died unmarried in 1816. 
 
1786-91] THE HOME OF EARLHAM 3 I 
 
 welcome to her children, from the greater strict- 
 ness they inculcated. 
 
 Each year added to the number of the Gur- 
 neys of Earlham, where three more sons — 
 Samuel, Joseph John, and Daniel — were born, 
 so that four sons and seven daughters filled 
 its nurseries and played under its old trees. 
 The youngest boy, Daniel, was born on March 
 9, 1 791. One of his sisters, Hannah, wrote 
 eighty years afterwards : — 
 
 ^'We, the younger girls, were spending the morn- 
 ing at the farther end of the kitchen-garden, old 
 nurse with us. Becky came to say a boy was born, 
 and I remember the party of children allowed to go 
 in to see the baby, holding on to each other's frocks 
 in an orderly line. Not two years after, I remem- 
 ber them in a similar hne walking past their dying 
 mother. 
 
 1 
 
 " Our grandmother, Elizabeth Kett, used to come to 
 Earlham with Molly Neale, and bring us finger-cakes 
 and sugar-plums. She was a stout old woman in a 
 Friend's dress. She gave her grandchildren a half- 
 crown each, engraved with their initials and the date 
 — October 12, 1786. Cousin Henrietta Gurney also 
 used to come — in a very stiff stately dress — and sit in 
 great formality on the sofa. She also always brought 
 her little box of sugar-plums." 
 
 When her youngest child, Daniel, was only 
 fifteen months old, Mrs. John Gurney died. 
 
32 THE GURNEYS OF EARLIIAM [l792 
 
 There were many days of wandering, during 
 which the sick lady would insist upon getting 
 up and kneeling upon the bed to pray for her 
 children, especially — frequently and earnestly — 
 for Catherine, John, and Joseph. Joseph she 
 spoke of as her '' bright morning star." During 
 this time her children were kept away from 
 her "in numb cloudiness and misery," with a 
 groverness — *' an uninformed Friend" — who 
 had no comfort to offer them. But just as the 
 mother's life was passing away, she rallied 
 sufficiently to try to console her heart-broken 
 husband, and with her last words to enjoin 
 upon her eldest girl, called, after herself, 
 Catherine, the care of her motherless little ones. 
 Her last words, repeated over and over again, 
 were, ''Peace: sweet is peace." 
 
II 
 
 DOUBTS AND RESPONSIBILITIES 
 
 " Lord, I believe not yet as fain I would ; 
 Dimly Thy dealings have I understood ; 
 Thy word and message yet to me have brought 
 Only a shadow of Thy wondrous thought. 
 
 Fain would I follow on to know Thee, Lord, 
 Fain learn the meaning of Thy every word ; 
 Truth would I know — the truth that dwells in Thee, 
 Setting the honest heart from doubting free. 
 
 Lord, I believe. Oh ! fan this trembling spark, 
 Lest all my hope be lost in endless dark ; 
 And when I yet believe not, lead Thou me, 
 And help my unbelief, which seeks for Thee." 
 
 — Elizabeth French. 
 
 Thus, at seventeen, on the 17th of November 
 
 1792, the eldest of the Gurney sisters, who, 
 
 at quite an early age, became known as Mrs. 
 
 Catherine Gurney, found herself suddenly at 
 
 the head of the Earlham household. There 
 
 was no relation, no kind aunt, to help her, as 
 
 Mrs. Barclay, her father's only sister, lived 
 
 too far off, and was too much occupied by 
 
 her own large family ; indeed, in another 
 
 year she had herself passed away. Only 
 VOL. I. 33 c 
 
34 THE GURNEYS OF EARLHAM [1792 
 
 what assistance faithful servants could give 
 she had in Hannah Judd, the admirable house- 
 keeper, and Sarah Williman, the devoted nurse. 
 
 " Here then we were left," wrote Catherine 
 Gurney long afterwards, " I not seventeen, at 
 the head, wholly ignorant of common life, from 
 the retirement in which we had been educated, 
 quite unprepared for filling an important station, 
 and unaccustomed to act on independent prin- 
 ciple. Still, my father placed me nominally at 
 the head of the family — a continual weight and 
 pain which wore my health and spirits. 1 never 
 again had the joy and glee of youth." 
 
 But most nobly was she true to her trust. 
 With great firmness, quick sympathy, and 
 entire disinterestedness, the elder sister ful- 
 filled a mother's part. Her rule was one of 
 love, in which no fear was mingled ; but her 
 word was law. The younger members of the 
 family were never known to rebel against 
 " Kitty's advice," which on serious questions 
 was generally given after conference with her 
 father, and sometimes with her sisters Rachel and 
 Elizabeth. She directed her sisters' educa- 
 tion, and heartily rejoiced when they outstripped 
 her powers. As, in after years, one after another 
 passed from their quiet home into a world 
 of action, her interest in them was always 
 
1792] 
 
 DOUBTS AND RESPONSIBILITIES 
 
 35 
 
 the same, and she never ceased to rejoice 
 in their faithfulness and its fruits, whilst 
 never deviating herself from her own quiet 
 course of unobtrusive usefulness. Through 
 the seventy-four years in which she was spared 
 
 EARLHAM HALL. 
 
 to be its blessing, she continued to be the axis 
 round which the whole family revolved, the 
 centre of the love, harmony, and unity which 
 she never ceased to inculcate. 
 
 ^ From a sketch by Richenda Gurney, afterwards Mrs, Cunningham 
 
36 THE GURNEYS OF EARLHAM [^9- 
 
 "My chief companions," writes Mrs. Catherine in 
 
 her old age, " were my two eldest sisters, Rachel and 
 
 Betsy. Rachel was fourteen when our mother died — 
 
 a lovely girl, full of native charm and attraction, very 
 
 sweet in her person, fair and rosy, with beautiful dark 
 
 blue eyes and curiing flaxen hair. She was all activity 
 
 and vigour, and of the most lively disposition, as well 
 
 in affectionate sympathies as in the brightness of her 
 
 mind. Full of playfulness, she had a great turn for 
 
 Immour and drollery. In outward fascinations she 
 
 was far the most attractive of the sisters ; her singing 
 
 was full of compass and expression ; and though she 
 
 had no opportunity of cultivating her great taste for 
 
 music, she would warble on in native simplicity. I 
 
 often felt no sounds were so touching as her voice and 
 
 Betsy's when they sang together ; for Betsy also had 
 
 an exquisite voice, and threw into it all the expression 
 
 that the heart can give. The remembrance of their 
 
 beautiful old songs is one of the pleasantest that I 
 
 retain. The two sisters, I think, sang with equal 
 
 power, taste, and feeling. 
 
 " Rachel was a most industrious girl, energetic and 
 persevering in all she undertook, full of purpose, and 
 liking to take a part in everything that passed. The 
 great susceptibility of her nature led to much suffering 
 as well as enjoyment in her future history. A sweet 
 and lovely creation, her natural qualities of mind and 
 heart, when matured and refined, as they afterwards 
 were, by religion, presented a rare combination of 
 enlarged judgment combined with the most attractive 
 manner in the world 
 
 "Betsy was more than a year younger. She had 
 

 
 1792] DOUBTS AND RESPONSIBILITIES 37 
 
 more genius than any one, from her retiring dis- 
 position, gave her credit for in her early days. She 
 had tender feehngs, especially towards her parents, to 
 whom she was the most loving and obedient of any 
 of their children. She was gentle in look and manner, 
 and pleasing in person ; though she had not Rachel's 
 glowing beauty, yet some thought her quite as attrac- 
 tive. She disliked learning languages, and -was some- 
 what obstinate in her temper, except towards her 
 mother. After we were left alone, her aversion to 
 learning was a serious disadvantage to her, and though 
 she was quick in natural talent, her education was 
 very imperfect and defective. Enterprise and bene- 
 volence were the two predominant features of her 
 character, and w^onderfully did these dispositions after- 
 wards unfold under the influence of religion. In 
 contemplating her remarkable and pecuHar gifts, I am 
 struck with the development of her character, and the 
 manner in which the qualities, considered faults when 
 she was a child, became virtues, and proved in her case 
 of the most important efficacy in her career of active 
 service. Her natural timidity was, I think, in itself 
 the means of her acquiring the opposite virtue of 
 courage, through the transforming power of Divine 
 grace, w^hich stamped this endowment in her with a 
 holy moderation and nice discretion that never failed 
 to direct it aright. Her natural obstinacy, the only 
 failing in her temper as a child, became that finely 
 tempered decision and firmness which enabled her to 
 execute her projects for the good of others. What 
 in childhood was something like cunning, ripened into 
 the most uncommon penetration, long-sightedness, and 
 
38 THE GUKNliYS OF KARLllAM ['792* 
 
 skill in influencing the mind of others. Ilcr disinclina- 
 tion to the common methods of learning appeared to 
 be connected with much original thought and a mind 
 acting on its own resources. There had always been 
 much more of genius and ready, quick comprehension, 
 than application or argument. The process by which 
 all her natural qualities became moulded into their 
 present form was a striking and instructive instance 
 of the gradual but certain and efficacious progress of 
 religion. She was about seventeen, I believe, when the 
 good impressions she had imbibed from her mother 
 in her earliest years began to revive. It seemed as if 
 the filial affection, still tender and lively, towards her 
 father, was the germ of love towards God, as if the 
 dependence and obedience of the one relation led to 
 the same feelings being brought out in the other. 
 There was more timidity and scrupulousness in her 
 early than in her mature religion, more of sectarian 
 and peculiar view, but as her experimental knowledge 
 of the Gospel advanced, her sympathies became en- 
 larged, and the line into which she was drawn by her 
 public engagements taught her in the most noble and 
 catholic spirit to acknowledge the Truth under every 
 form and modification. She became a living illustra- 
 tion of St. Paul's description of charity, few seeming 
 to partake so abundantly of the glorious liberty of the 
 children of God. 
 
 '' Next to these sisters came our eldest brother John, a 
 beautiful and affectionate boy, who, at twelve years old, 
 a short time before our mother's death, had been sent 
 to school at Wandsworth. Then came ' the four girls,' 
 as we used to call them — Richenda, Hannah, Louisa, 
 
1792] ' DOUBTS AND RESPONSIBILITIES 39 
 
 and Priscilla, who, at the time of my mother's death, 
 were charming and promising children. Richenda was 
 the most easy-tempered, active, happy child imaginable, 
 the leader of the four sisters in all their exercises and 
 amusements, with as fine a voice as her two elder 
 sisters ; and though my father was quite impartial 
 and equally kind to us all, he called her his favourite, 
 because she was so like my mother. Hannah's play- 
 fulness was combined with much sweetness and good 
 sense, and she had also a great deal of real beauty, 
 being considered the handsomest of the four. Louisa 
 had more talent than any of them, and an energy 
 which produced success in whatever she undertook. 
 Priscilla's gentleness and cleverness were less remark- 
 able than her absolute accuracy, and the tact and taste 
 of all her actions. 
 
 ''The three boys, Samuel, Joseph, and Daniel, were 
 all very young when m}'' mother died, and much under 
 the care of our valuable old nurse, who was a second 
 mother to them in attachment and affection. Samuel's 
 independent character and his resistance to the school- 
 room and learning, caused him to be sent to school at 
 Wandsworth when he was eight years old. He went 
 off by himself in the mail, and was a very resolute, 
 independent child. Joseph was very different, and my 
 mother on her death-bed called him her ' morning 
 star,' as if presaging the various gifts and graces of his 
 future. To his sisters he was the most delightful 
 of brothers, fond of their society, and uniting in their 
 pursuits, but always full of energy and taste for 
 acquirement, and always reckoned the first boy at 
 school, wherever he was placed. He was for some 
 
40 THE GURNEYS OE EAKLIIAM ["792 
 
 years with Mr. Browne, a clergyman who kept a school 
 in Norwich, and afterwards at Hingham, whither also 
 his brotliers went, having been moved from Wands- 
 worth. When Mr. Browne's school was in Norwich, 
 the boys used to spend Saturday and Sunday at 
 home. From Hingham they went to Wymondham 
 Meeting on a Sunday, and dined afterwards at Friend 
 Hart's, the farmer's. After Sam and Joseph were of an 
 age to leave his school, Mr. Browne recommended that 
 Sam should be put to business, and Joseph to a higher 
 kind of school. Accordingly Sam was placed with the 
 Frys in St. Mildred's Court under Betsy's care, and 
 Joseph was sent to Mr. Rogers, who lived at Oxford, 
 and took a few pupils quite independently of the 
 University, though within reach of some of its advan- 
 tages. Here Joseph made great acquirements. In the 
 holidays he always filled his days with some study 
 he could not pursue at school, and at all times showed 
 the utmost susceptibility of good, whether religious, 
 moral, or intellectual. His was indeed the good ground 
 calculated to bring forth fruit abundantly. 
 
 ^' Daniel was only a year and a half old when he 
 lost his mother, and his excellent nurse had his training 
 chiefly in her hands.^ He was afterwards educated 
 at the same school as his brothers, and, like Joseph, 
 was for some time with Mr. Rogers at Oxford. 
 
 " I often marvel at the fact that I had some power 
 given to me, through all my own discomforts, to be 
 rather a help to the younger ones. I am surprised at 
 the degree of authority I had over them, with no love 
 
 1 She died at Lynn in October 1809, having caught the scarlet fever 
 from Daniel, whom she had gone to nurse there. 
 
PRISCILLA GURXEY 
 
 OF EARLHAM 
 
1792] DOUBTS AND RESPONSIBILITIES 4 1 
 
 of power and no desire to exert it, but they always 
 did look up to me, and even obey me as a kind of 
 deputy mother." 
 
 "When," wrote John Gurney to Joseph Bevan, 
 " I see my children dehghting themselves in 
 those pursuits in which my dear Catherine led 
 them, and wherein she was chief companion, 
 my feelings are truly mournful. But I feel the 
 necessity of checking an indulgence of emotion 
 which may become injurious, and I am always 
 so afraid of throwing a damp upon my dear 
 Kitty and the elder children, that I endeavour, 
 as well as I can, to keep up the countenance of 
 comfort." 
 
 It was in 1793 that Samuel Gurney, then only 
 eight years old, was sent to school. His seven 
 sisters all accompanied him for the first stage, 
 and then the poor little child was put alone 
 into the coach, in which there were no other 
 passengers, to find his way to London, and 
 thence to Wandsworth. Self-reliance was the 
 first lesson which Mr. Gurney inculcated upon 
 his children ; but little Samuel hardly needed 
 any discipline. 
 
 '*He was," wrote*his brother-in-law Mr. Fry after- 
 wards, ''manl}^, frank, and courageous, and, as such 
 boys usually are, at the same time gentle and kind- 
 
42 THE GURNEYS OF EARLHAM ['793 
 
 hearted; but, although easy to be entreated or per- 
 suaded, he was nevertheless capable of considerable 
 firmness and decision, and was sure to manifest a 
 suitable sense of wrong in case of anything unjust or 
 unreasonable. 
 
 " I remember hearing that, when about eleven or 
 twelve years of age, his father on one occasion took 
 him to task rather too strongly, and gave orders, as 
 a punishment, that he should be sent to bed before his 
 usual time. However, at a much earlier hour than 
 was prescribed, Samuel, on being inquired for, was 
 nowhere to be found, until, after much searching, he 
 w^as discovered in bed, and, on being questioned as to 
 the cause of his early retirement, declared he had gone 
 to bed from preference, as there was no place he liked 
 so well." 
 
 Hannah, one of the younger Earlham sisters, 
 wrote in her old age some notes describing her 
 brother Joseph at this time. 
 
 ** My first recollection of this dearest brother is of 
 a very lovely boy, who, from his great beauty and his 
 sweetness of disposition and manner, was a constant 
 dehght to his mother. He was so quick that he learnt 
 French words almost as soon as he could speak 
 at all, and so susceptible that I think before he 
 was two years old he refused to take sugar because 
 he had heard his sister say it was wrong to eat it 
 on account of the slaves — a very prevailing idea at that 
 
 time ! 
 
 " He was full of tender feeling, of love and gentleness. 
 
1793] DOUBTS AND RESPONSIBILITIES 43 
 
 and he had a perfect temper, which nothing could 
 irritate or render fretful. After the death of his 
 mother, he became closely attached to his sisters, and 
 very dependent on us, ever choosing to unite with 
 us, or follow us in our gardening, building, or other 
 employment. He was averse to the rougher pursuits 
 of his brother Sam, who would go with the men to 
 their work, ride the large farm-horses, or join Dunning 
 the carpenter in his shop. 
 
 " I taught Joseph reading, spelling, and geography. I 
 never remember his being naughty at his lessons with 
 me except once, when staying at Northrepps, when I 
 had to call in our sister Catherine to help me to 
 manage him, and punish him by shutting him up. He 
 was once whipped by my father, but most unjustly as 
 we afterwards discovered. We had found a lark's 
 nest in the long grass. When we went the next day 
 to visit it, it was gone. We all accused poor little 
 Joseph, who we did not doubt had taken it. He was 
 whipped by my father, partly for doing so, partly for 
 refusing to confess the fault. To our real sorrow 
 afterwards we found that the nest had been taken by 
 Mr. David Lindoe that he might draw and paint it. 
 
 ** Joseph had been nursed by a poor woman, the 
 gardener's wife, who lived in the park by the bridge. 
 He was very fond of ' Nurse Norman,' and, when four 
 or five years old, would escape to her cottage, to share 
 with her children their fare of meal dumplings with 
 apples inside. It amused us to follow him, and find 
 him seated with the poor family at the little table by 
 the cottage window. He was a nervous child, and 
 soon frightened and made uncomfortable. Louisa was 
 
44 ri^l^ GURNKYS OF EARLIIAM [l796 
 
 particularly tender and kind to liini, and always ready 
 to soothe and to care for him. Frequently he woke in 
 the evening much agitated and screaming; perhaps 
 this was from fear, but a mother's sympathy and 
 judgment were needed to discover the cause. When 
 this occurred, we were all much concerned for him, but 
 especially Louisa. 
 
 "As he reached the scliool-boy age, he became much 
 more manly, and, though it was at first an effort to 
 him, he learnt to ride and to play well at boys' games. 
 Mrs. Buxton invited him at this time to come to stay 
 with her spirited boys, and by these companions and 
 their servant Abraham he was made to swim. They 
 tied a rope round him, and would then encourage him 
 to cross the river, and, just as he reached the opposite 
 bank, would draw him back into deep water. 
 
 " He was always studious and fond of reading, and 
 had a real enjoyment in his lessons. Whether at 
 school or at home, he bore the character of a boy of 
 unsullied conduct, of good nature, and of excellent 
 talent." 
 
 In 1796 we find the youngest sister, Priscilla, 
 then ao^ed eleven, writing^ to Miss Enfield : — 
 
 ^^ August 20. — Thee can't think how well we go on 
 in lessons now. Dear Kitty is always with us, and 
 teaches us. We are always dressed by six, and get 
 as many lessons done before breakfast as we can. 
 After breakfast we finish all those that we have to 
 do, and then we seven girls get to our work, and 
 one reads history to us for two hours. We are now 
 
1796] DOUBTS AND RESPONSIBILITIES 45 
 
 reading Livy's Roman History, which is very interest- 
 ing, and I fully advise thee to read it. We are hard at 
 lessons and our own employments the whole after- 
 noon, and after tea we walk, if it is fine, for more than 
 an hour with Kitty. We then come in and write our 
 journals till supper — Kitty and Rachel and all. 
 
 "This is how we spend our day unless company or 
 going out interrupt us, which it seldom does. We 
 four are alwa3's together. We are much more intimate 
 with one another than we were, and love one another 
 even more than we did. Three are nothing without 
 the other of us four younger ones. We are entirely 
 like one, and nothing, I hope, will ever break the 
 strong chain which unites us. Still we are nothing 
 without Kitty ; everything we know, and all the Httle 
 good we can boast of, we owe almost entirely to her. 
 Then, how odd it would be if she were not everything 
 to us, and if we did not love her with our whole 
 hearts. I love her as much as I can ever love any- 
 body, and there is nothing I would not do to serve her. 
 Betsy and Rachel too I love more than I can say: 
 what should I do without them ? " 
 
 The Gurney family — with the outward char- 
 acteristics of meeting eyebrows and crooked 
 little fingers — had many terms of expression 
 which were almost peculiar to themselves. 
 When they were not quite up to the mark, 
 they were " off their centre ; " when nervous or 
 agitated, they ''had their hurries." The term 
 "a family settlement," In such frequent use 
 
4-6 THE GURNEYS OF EARLHAM [1796 
 
 at Earlham, began when Catherine Gurney 
 gathered her sisters around her to work whilst 
 she read aloud to them. Her rule, though 
 strict, was never severe. She was as president 
 in a commonwealth of absolutely harmonious 
 fellowship. She was never more than half a 
 Quaker, and no one was happier than Catherine 
 in playing at hide-and-seek with the younger 
 children in the winding passages and "eighty 
 cupboards " of the old house of Earlham ; in 
 arranging out-of-door amusements for her 
 brothers ; in encouraorinof her sisters in orlee- 
 singing, and in collecting small parties of 
 neighbours for the lively little dances in which 
 the whole family had then a healthy pleasure. 
 The sisters enjoyed themselves immensely. 
 They scoured the country on their ponies in 
 scarlet riding-habits. On one occasion it is 
 recorded that the seven linked arms, drew a 
 line across the road, and stopped the mail- 
 coach from ascending the neighbouring hill. 
 
 Outside their own home, the pleasantest in- 
 terests of the Earlham sisters centred around 
 their Uncle Richard's home of Keswick — Kis- 
 wick the Gurneys called it. This still is, as it 
 was, a large quaint white house with wings, 
 in a hollow amonorst tall Scotch firs and fine 
 
 o 
 
 evergreens. The river Yare (lows through 
 
1796] DOUBTS AND RESPONSIBILITIES 4/ 
 
 the low ground at the end of the long garden 
 walks, and has a bathing-house on its bank, 
 and islets bright with snowdrops and aconites 
 in spring."^ 
 
 To Catherine Gurney her younger sisters 
 confided everything ; nor was her beneficial in- 
 fluence with them lessened with her younger 
 companions when they found that she shared 
 — in a quiet and gentle fashion — their dread 
 of the Quaker Sundays, of the long dreary 
 silence, and even more dreary sermons of the 
 Meetings to which their father wished all his 
 children to go once, and generally twice on a 
 Sunday. These Meetings took place in Nor- 
 wich at the quaint Dutch-looking Meeting- 
 house, with high roofs and a many-windowed 
 front, approached by Goat's Lane— '' That dis- 
 gusting Goat's," we find the younger members 
 of the family calling it ; and to their Sunday 
 journals, wearisomely and laboriously written, 
 we often find appended ''Goat's was dis,'' 
 which only the initiated would translate into 
 "the Meeting was disgusting." 
 
 Betsy Gurney mentioned to Mr. Pitchford a 
 curious circumstance relating to herself in her 
 
 ^ A quarter of a mile distant, on higher ground, now stands New Kes- 
 wick Hall, which contains admirable portraits by Opie of Hudson 
 Gurney and his sister Agatha. 
 
48 
 
 THE GURNEYS OF EARLHAM 
 
 [1796 
 
 childhood. So much was she impressed with 
 horror at reading of the sacrifice of Isaac, that 
 she always dreaded going to Meeting lest her 
 parents should sacrifice her there. 
 
 THE MEETING-HOUSE AT THE GILDENCROFT, NORWICH. 1 
 
 The journals which have been alluded to 
 played a great part in Catherine Gurney's 
 
 ^ The Meeting-house, built by subscriptions of members of the 
 Society in 1679-80, retains all the quaint character of that date. It 
 will always be interesting from the persecution which attended its 
 opening, as described by licnjamin Bangs in his journal. 
 
 "Our first meeting in the house was on a Fourth-day in the year 
 
1796] DOUBTS AND RESPONSIBILITIES 49 
 
 system of education. Each of the younger 
 members of the family was expected to write 
 
 1680, which was pretly large and comfortable, for the Lord's blessed 
 presence was among us, and we parted peaceably. 
 
 "The First-day following, we met again in the morning, which 
 meeting also ended in peace, to our great satisfaction. In the afternoon 
 the meeting was much larger, but towards the conclusion thereof came 
 the Recorder, with old Parson Whitefoot, priest of the parish, and 
 several officers, soldiers, and others. I was at prayer when they came 
 in, and the Recorder and the priest stepped upon a seat, and there 
 stood till I had almost done ; then the Recorder cried out, ' Silence 
 there.' 
 
 "When I arose from my knees, he asked me my name, and what 
 trade I was of, and then ordered the constables to take me out into 
 the passage that goes to the street, and then went on taking the names 
 of Friends present ; but the old priest was quickly weary of staying, for 
 several told him it ill became him to appear there, to encourage a 
 spirit of persecution against his peaceable neighbours. The Recorder 
 answered, ' You meet in contempt of the law.' He was answered, that 
 we looked upon it as our indispensable duty to meet together to perform 
 that worship which we owe to Almighty God, and that we were no dis- 
 turbance to the Government, being peaceably met together, which they 
 themselves were witnesses to the truth of. 
 
 "The old parson, as aforesaid, quickly withdrew and went into the 
 street, but having stood there a while, he came in again, and stepping up 
 to me said, 'You are a stubborn people, and might prevent all this 
 trouble if you would come to church.' I, pointing to the steeple-house, 
 said, 'What, dost thou call that the church?' He said, 'Yes, it is a 
 church ; if it be not a church, what is a church ? I say it is the church ! ' 
 I answered, ' The church of God is the ground and pillar of truth.' 
 ' You talk ! ' said he, ' if I ask you one question of divinity, you cannot 
 answer me a word.' I answered, ' How dost thou know that ? Thou 
 hast not yet tried me.' And he went away into the meeting again 
 without any reply. 
 
 "He had not stayed long there but he came out again, and there 
 being several people in the passage, he began to tell them the Quakers 
 were an erroneous people ; they denied Baptism and the Lord's Supper. 
 I stepped up to him, and laid my hand upon his shoulder and said, 
 ' Thou assertest what thou canst never prove.' ' Oh,' said he, ' are you 
 
 VOL. I. D 
 
50 THE GURNEYS OF EARLHAM [1796 
 
 in them. A long time was set apart daily for 
 this. Catherine did not demand to see the jour- 
 nals, though they were always willingly shown 
 to her, and they sometimes enabled her — for 
 she exacted absolute truthfulness in them — to 
 follow^ the workings of conscience and character 
 in each of her younger brothers and sisters. 
 Masses of volumes written thus through life 
 remain from the pen of each of the brothers 
 and sisters, except John, who appears never to 
 have kept a journal. Gradually the habits of 
 self-examination and self-accusation thus en- 
 gendered became forced and probably injuri- 
 ous ; but earlier journals, whilst youth was still 
 natural, give a capital picture of the family life. 
 
 Louisa Gurney's Journal. 
 
 ^^ Earlhani, April 3, 1796. — I am eleven years old. 
 I love my father better than anybody except Kitty; 
 she is everything to me. I cannot feel that she has a 
 fault, and I am sure that I shall always continue to 
 
 there ? ' and so went into the street, and staying till the Recorder came 
 out, they walked away together. 
 
 *' Two Friends in the meeting having observed the Recorder's rigorous 
 proceedings, reminded him of the illegal proceedings of Empson and 
 Dudley ; at which he took such offence, that after he had done taking 
 names, he made their mittimus, and sent them to prison, where I think 
 they were confined till discharged by the following Quarter Sessions. 
 I expected likewise to be committed, being kept all this time under a 
 guard in the passage ; but when the Recorder came out, he looked upon 
 me, yet said nothing, but passed away, which the guard observing, they 
 also passed away, and left me at liberty." 
 
1796] DOUBTS AND RESPONSIBILITIES 5 I 
 
 love her as I do now. To dear Rachel I feel differently. 
 I should love her more if I thought she loved me half 
 as much as I love her. To Betsy I feel a particular 
 sort of attachment : her ill-health and sweetness draw 
 my heart to her entirely. John I love very much. 
 To Chenda, how odd I feel ! I often long to be inti- 
 mate with her, but can't ; I am so sharply repulsed. 
 I think Hannah a superior girl in many respects, but 
 she has some disagreeable qualities. I love the three 
 dear little boys heartily : they will be charming men. 
 I love dearest Elizabeth ^ truly, and am more intimate 
 with her than with an3'body in the world. I like 
 all the Enfields very much : I think they are a most 
 delightful family. 
 
 ^' I stayed at home from Goat's,^ which I was most 
 glad of In the morning I was very low, but seeing 
 Kitty quite revived me ; she alwa^^s brings joy into 
 my heart. She talked to us in the afternoon, and it 
 did me good." 
 
 ^^ April 5. — Stayed at home to-day and had a plea- 
 sant morning. I am always so happy to escape from 
 the claws of Goat's. We went on very nicely in our 
 lessons: this morning has really improved me, and 
 how nice it is to feel oneself improved." 
 
 " April 7. — Dear Kitty was poorly. All my thoughts 
 were centred on her. If she was to die, I think I 
 could not bear it ; we should lose a mother, for I am 
 sure she is one to us." 
 
 ^ Afterwards her sister-in-law, Mrs. John Gumey. 
 ' The Quakers' Meeting-house in Goat's Lane. 
 
5 2 THE GURNEYS OF EARLHAM [^79^ 
 
 " April 8. — I have done nothing to-day to please any- 
 body, nor the least good. I am really a most disagree- 
 able common character, and the reason why people 
 love me can be only from liabit." 
 
 ^^ April 12. — All the others set off this morning for 
 Goat's, leaving Joe, Danny, and me with the governess. 
 I was busy all morning at lessons and making a cake 
 to send to dear Sammy at school. The governess was 
 most disagreeable." 
 
 ^^ April 14.— I do not know what we shall do when 
 Betsy comes home, for we are all afraid of her now, 
 which is very shocking.^ . . . Dearest Betsy ! she seems 
 to have no one for hQY friend, for none of us are inti- 
 mate with her. I had a cloud over me in the evening, 
 but Kitty soon dispersed it : she is to my mind as the 
 sun on a rainy day." 
 
 ''April 15. — Kitty and Joseph and Dan went to 
 Cousin Freshficld's. We are never so comfortable 
 when Kitty is away. I am always afraid of doing any- 
 thing behind her back that I would not do before her, 
 and it is difficult to be steadfast to what we know she 
 would like when she is not constantly with us." 
 
 ''April 17. — How often Sundays do seem to come! 
 After breakfast I went to Goat's, not quite so disagree- 
 able as usual. It is astonishing how one can put up 
 
 1 Then, and for long afterwards, Betsy was subject to great fits of 
 depression. Her expression for this, being in a "valley"— a sinking 
 — was long used in the family. 
 
1796] DOUBTS AND RESPONSIBILITIES 53 
 
 with people and things. . . Kitty took us into the 
 garden and talked most sv/eetly to us : she told us 
 she thought we were all very much improved, particu- 
 larly me.'^ 
 
 ^^ May 30. — This morning I thought of nothing but 
 the election, I was so interested in it. At ten we all 
 set off to Friend Toll's in the market-place, and there 
 we looked out of the window all the morning. Nor- 
 wich was in the greatest bustle. We had blue cock- 
 ades, and I bawled out of the window at a fine rate — 
 ' Gurney for ever ! ' Hudson was tossed in the chair. 
 He looked most handsome, I never saw him look so 
 handsome or so well. In the afternoon I was in the 
 most dissipated mind. In the evening, as Eliza and 
 I were walking, Scarnell came home and told us that 
 Windham had got the election. I cannot say what I 
 felt, I was so vexed — Eliza and I cried. I hated all the 
 aristocrats : I felt it right to hate them. I was fit to 
 kill them." 
 
 ^^ J tine I, — I will write about Earlham. My father 
 is masier, Kitty is mistress. Governess, disliked by 
 most of the family, sits in the drawing-room almost 
 all day. Rachel and Betsy have their own employ- 
 ments. Rachel and Kitty sleep together in the Blue 
 Room: the closet is entirely Rachel's. The nursery 
 is where Betsy, Hannah, Cilia, and I sleep. The 
 night-nursery is the boys' room and nurse's. Chenda 
 sleeps with the governess. The first maid is Judd, a 
 convinced Friend and trustworthy old servant. Nurse 
 Sarah Williman comes next, and is very particular 
 
54 THE GURNEYS OF EARLHAM [1796 
 
 about US : her greatest happiness is to see us neat : she 
 often tires me by scoldings about keeping my clothes 
 neat. . . . ScarnelP is a worthy man, who has had 
 the greatest concern to be a Friend, and is now going 
 to be one. Mr. and Mrs. Driver and their baby live 
 at the lodge gate. . . . We have lived in this sweet 
 place ten years." 
 
 '^ Jime I. — Kitty and Hannah went to Goat's: we 
 three have been blessed with staying at home lately 
 because of our coughs. Governess is going away : I 
 am most glad she is, I dislike her so very much : I 
 think it must do harm to the heart to feel such dislike 
 as I do. Dearest Cousin Peggy (Lindoe) is coming to 
 stay. ... I have lately done scarcely anything that 
 Kitty has told me without grumbling : I can't say how 
 sorry I am : I intend to set out to-morrow with fresh 
 vigour, and to take the greatest pains with myself, 
 and I think I shall find the proverb true — ' Where 
 there's a will, there's a way.' " 
 
 ^^June 13. — In the afternoon we walked about instead 
 of lessons — I do so Hke my liberty.^ I think it most 
 silly to bring children up to be always at work. I 
 am sure I should be better and happier if I did not 
 learn much : it does try my temper so much." 
 
 ^ The butler, who afterwards married Mrs. Judd. 
 
 '^ In reference to the liberty of Catherine Gurney's rule, Daniel 
 Gurney's Reminiscences relate how his four younger sisters never wore 
 bonnets in the garden or park at Earlham, but put on little red cloaks, 
 in which they ran about as they liked. 
 
1796] DOUBTS AND RESPONSIBILITIES 55 
 
 ^^ June 21. — To-day is the great day of the Yearly 
 Meeting. All Friends come that like it. We had not 
 so many as usual, only twenty-seven. We went to a 
 long dis Meeting after breakfast. 
 
 ^* Rachel has begun to teach us our lessons. I like 
 her teaching very much, though not nearly so much 
 as Kitty's; she treats me as other girls are treated, 
 but Kitty treats us as though we were reasonable 
 creatures. I hate the common way of teaching chil- 
 dren; people treat them as if they were idiots, and 
 never let them judge for themselves." 
 
 ^^ July 27. — I have been at Keswick. Elizabeth and 
 I had a sweet evening. I do love her so much. I 
 love being at Keswick for Elizabeth's company, yet 
 in the parlour there is constant restraint; I am so 
 afraid of the Hanburys. I wonder that so charming 
 a person as Gatty^ should marry Samson Hanbury." 
 
 ^^ July 31. — After breakfast I picked most of the 
 servants some gooseberries, and Judd's mother a 
 whole basketful. How very good of me ! I have 
 the greatest pleasure in doing things to please others ; 
 it is one of my best qualities. . . . Another of my 
 qualities which people call most bad, but which I 
 think rather good, is that I cannot bear strict autho- 
 rity over me. I do from the bottom of my heart 
 hate the preference shown in all things to my elders 
 merely because they have been in the world a little 
 longer. I do love equality and true democracy." 
 
 ^ Agatha Gurney of Keswick. 
 
56 THE GURNEYS OF EARLHAM [1796 
 
 ^^ August I. — I got up early and wrote to Elizabeth, 
 who is rather dis to me now. I do not like her as 
 much as I did. I felt extremely cross in the morning, 
 so many little things came to cross me. I have been 
 quite struck lately with my own disagreeablencss. 
 We four did something in the afternoon which Kitty 
 had forbidden us, and my conscience pinched me the 
 whole time. I have also been rather selfish to-da3\" 
 
 ^^ August 6. — Rachel sang in the evening. Kitty stood 
 by me in the window. She took my hand and almost 
 said she loved me. How charming ! All my old 
 feelings of love to her returned. The evening was 
 so delightful and Rachel's singing so touching. I 
 went to bed in the most happy frame of mind and 
 body." 
 
 ''August 7. — Sammy and John went to school in the 
 afternoon. I pitied poor dear Sam, but I was not 
 very sorry. I was very good in the afternoon in 
 giving up my own pleasure and doing what I thought 
 Kitty would like." 
 
 '* August 10. — Betsy has talked to me, and quite 
 convinced me that we do not treat my father with 
 sufficient love ; but I really do love my father from 
 the bottom of my heart." 
 
 '^ August 14. — Betsy is so ill, I look forward with 
 the most gloomy ideas concerning her. ... A great 
 man}^ Friends came to tea. I did all I could to please 
 them. How charming it is to feel one is giving 
 
1796] DOUBTS AND RESPONSIBILITIES 57 
 
 pleasure ! though I never can say how stupid they 
 were to me. . . . After tea Kitty chose we should work 
 again ; this was rather a tug to me, but I bore it 
 pretty well, only Kitty did provoke me by making me 
 give up something to Chenda, merely because she was 
 the eldest ; there is nothing I hate so much as this sort 
 of partiality; it does provoke me so. We read a little 
 Sacred History ; I like the New Testament amazing!}'." 
 
 '^ Atigiist 19. — I was very angry with Rachel for 
 treating Chenda differently, just because she is a Httle 
 older than me; there is nothing on earth I detest so 
 much as this. I think children ought to be treated 
 according to their merit, not their age. I love demo- 
 cracy, whenever and in whatever form it appears." 
 
 ^^ Aiigust 24. — I got up early and made a pin- 
 cushion for nurse's sister. I think it is quite right 
 to pay these sort of attentions to servants, and if 
 we do it out of kindness, it is more virtue to give a 
 present to a person who has been rather ungrateful 
 to you. I hate Betsy's management of our lessons. 
 Now that Kitty is away at Northrepps, Betsy does it, 
 and is quite disagreeable, she is so soon worried." 
 
 ^^ August 2J. — After breakfast, Betsy, Madge, Danny, 
 and I went to the Herings'. We went in the chaise, 
 and as there was not room for us all on the seat, they 
 set me on the head of the chaise. I never had such 
 a jostling uncomfortable ride. We had a nice little 
 dinner, and afterwards went into the garden and 
 picked cherries and plums. At tea officers and 
 
58 THE GURNEYS OF EARLHAM [179^ 
 
 gentlemen came in ; they were most dis and flirta- 
 tious. At supper I ate so many brandy cherries that 
 I was half tipsy ; so Madge and Betsy took me into 
 their room and stuffed some salts and rhubarb down 
 my throat." 
 
 ^^ August 28. — I was in a melancholy mind; poor 
 Joe was so hurried at Goat's. I never did see such a 
 family for hurries as ours. The afternoon was most 
 dis. I felt out of humour amazingly ; how silly ! I 
 feel as in rather a bad mind, and Peggy and Betsy 
 increased it by saying 'Art thee well in thy mind, 
 dear ? ' and things of that sort." 
 
 '^ Sept. 19. — Rachel Barclay,^ Elizabeth, and I 
 dressed ourselves up and went begging : we deceived 
 a few persons, though most people knew me. I read 
 ' Paul and Mary ' till dressing-time ; it almost made 
 me cry, but I think it most silly to sit down and cry 
 at home. I have read it twelve times and like it better 
 every time ; I could always cry at it. Margaret sent 
 me to Judd to beg she would not forget something. 
 Judd's reply was in the crossest, proudest way — ' Go 
 away, child, I never forget anything ' (which was quite 
 a mistake). I think I have much less pride than most 
 people. Hudson spent the evening. I liked him, and 
 I think he likes me more than most girls ; how pleasant 
 it is to be hked." 
 
 1 Mr. Barclay and his family spent several weeks every year at 
 Earlham. He had eleven children, four sons and seven daughters, 
 exactly the same number as his brother-in-law, John Gumey, and each 
 boy and girl in the two families had his fellow. The great attachment 
 between the families, begun in infancy, continued through life. 
 
1796] DOUBTS AND RESPONSIBILITIES 59 
 
 " Sept. 31. — I was at Keswick on Sunday. Dearest 
 Elizabeth was quite charming. I do love her with my 
 whole heart. It flutters me to think such a charming 
 person should make me her friend. Rachel and Kitty 
 have come home. Rachel treats me as a baby, which 
 puts me in a passion with her, and yet I would do 
 anything in the world to serve her. ... As for dear 
 John, I love him truly as a brother, and consider him 
 generous, good-tempered, and sweet ; though I think 
 he has no real character: but dearest Sam will be 
 a most charming man." 
 
 " Oct. 1 5. — Kitty has forbidden us now to write more 
 than six lines in our journals. I entirely see that it is 
 now^ her plan to treat us as babies : I am very, very 
 sorry." 
 
 ^' Oct. 19. — Betsy had a talk with Kitty about me in 
 the evening ; she opened my eyes as to how much Kitty 
 does for us : so I love her more than ever, and intend 
 to do everything to please her. We had pleasant 
 dancing with Gatty and Anna.^ Nothing elates me so 
 much as dancing : I Hke it so much." 
 
 " Oct. 29.— In the morning Peggy told me she thought 
 I had lost all my talent of obliging. They all seem to 
 dishke me : how odd ! It is because I do not give 
 up to them entirely: I don't know whether I shall 
 or not." 
 
 ^^ Oct. 31. — A great deal of grand company came 
 ^ Agatha Gurney of Keswick and Anna Buxton. 
 
6o THE GURNEYS OF EARLHAM [1796 
 
 to-day. I do dislike all company except Pitchford. I 
 wrote to dear Sammy: I love him most: he is far 
 sweeter than Joe. The Barclays came in the afternoon 
 and were most disT 
 
 ^^ Nov. 8. — Gatty and Anna came. In the afternoon 
 we acted a play, which was most droll. I was ' Tom.' 
 I do like pleasant amusement. After tea, we all, great 
 and small, had the drollest meeting, and finished up 
 with a dance. I do like Gatty; I like Anna far less." 
 
 *' Nov. 9. — We eight went to Goat's and to the Grove 
 in the afternoon. Aunt Jane Gurney gave us two 
 guineas between us. How generous, and what a help 
 to us ! We have got four guineas, four shillings, and 
 four sixpences : how lucky ! We went to tea at the 
 Aggs' : a dis evening. I think prejudices are hardly 
 ever got over. I wish there was no such thing as 
 prejudice." 
 
 '^ Nov. 16. — We lighted a fire in the field this after- 
 noon, and roasted potatoes in the ashes. There was 
 company in the evening, and my father would have 
 Chenda and me dance a Scotch minuet — most d?s.'^ 
 
 "Nov. 25. — Uncle (Richard) Gurney brought me to 
 his house at Northrepps two days ago. I had a most 
 dis drWe. How amazingly dull being here, to be sure. 
 I was most uncomfortable all morning, and great was 
 my joy to see Chenda, Hannah, and my father arrive 
 in the evening." 
 
1796] DOUBTS AND RESPONSIBILITIES 6 1 
 
 " Nov. 26. — How glad I am to be at Earlham again. 
 We have romped most of the morning. In the after- 
 noon we read a novel. In the evening a blind fiddler 
 came, and we had a most merry dance, and ended with 
 a violent romp. I like Mrs. Freeman vastly. I do 
 think she will answer."^ 
 
 " Dec. 4. — I had rather a pleasant Goat's this morning. 
 In the afternoon we all talked together very charm- 
 ingly. I want to say that I think Kitty and the others 
 have behaved most kindly to me, as if they thought 
 me improved. How glad I am ! I will do all I can to 
 make them love me. Betsy and Kitty have just told 
 me my greatest fault is boldness. I must cure mj^self 
 of it. We generally dine at three, but to-day dined 
 at four, and had an immense deal of company. I 
 did so dislike one officer who was here; he was so 
 flirting." 
 
 ^^ Dec. 16. — We dined at Keswick to-day. I have 
 been reading the ' Vicar of Wakefield ' and Robertson's 
 'History of America.' How I do like a good romp. 
 Elizabeth dined with us to-day ; she is most sweet ; 
 how I do love her ! A fiddler came in the evening, 
 and we had a charming dance. How delightful it is to 
 dance to music ! 
 
 ''When I had a sore throat and was poorly on Fri- 
 day, Kitty nursed me most kindly : I never saw so kind 
 and sweet a nurse. Nothing particular has happened 
 
 ^ A Quaker lady-help, Mrs. Elizabeth Freeman, afterwards called 
 Grandmamma Freeman ; she came to Earlham for a lortnight and 
 stayed thirty years. 
 
62 THE GURNKYS OF EAKLHAM [l797 
 
 lately, but I have been most happy, most interested in 
 my own improvement. It is now settled that we are 
 to buy and take care of our own clotlies. I am very 
 glad of it, for 1 think it is a very good plan. I do 
 geography in the afternoon, which does not improve 
 me as much as my other lessons. I now spell, write, 
 and cypher as well as most children — very useful 
 things, but not very pleasant. All the dear boys are 
 home for the holidays. They are most sweet. We have 
 been out a great deal; we jumped in the barn, and sat 
 at the top of the high stack." 
 
 '^ Feb. 24, 1797. — I shall relate what has passed in my 
 mind lately. I think that I am improved altogether. 
 I have been extremely busy, and have got into a good 
 way of gaining knowledge, but I think I have grown 
 rather vain, which is a most disgusting fault. Rachel 
 has done me the greatest good. I admire and love her 
 more than I can say. Being parted from dearest Kitty 
 for some time has not the least abated my love, but it 
 has increased my fear of her. I do not feel in the 
 least intimate with her, which often vexes me. She 
 now and then takes us up, and does not allow us to 
 have any opinion. These things \vould not be ob- 
 served in any one else, but she is usually so kind, so 
 good, and so charming, that even a cool word seems 
 odd in her. And her present plan of treating us as 
 children rather hurts me, being of a somewhat for- 
 ward disposition. Pitchford has been here twice since 
 Kitty has been gone, and we have had most delightful 
 days. He brought us four a box of Portugal plums. 
 I never knew anything so kind. We had a most 
 
1797] DOUBTS AND RESPONSIBILITIES 6^ 
 
 charming walk in the afternoon, when we all quarrelled 
 for Pitch ford's arm ; we are so perfectly free with him. 
 I can't say how I admire him. After dinner we talked 
 very pleasantly till tea ; after that we acted pantomimes, 
 and then read poetry and enjoyed ourselves thoroughly. 
 After supper was the most delightful time of any; I 
 did feel so happy. They sang ' Come, ye lads and 
 lassies fair.' 
 
 ''My father has been to dine with the Prince;^ he 
 likes him very much, and is delighted that he is. coming 
 here on seventh-day week. Uncle Joseph, and Hannah, 
 and Jane have been here, and Uncle Joseph ^ spoke to 
 Rachel about going out to dances. He took her into 
 the study, and when he was gone she burst out crying. 
 I did pity her so much. I am afraid she must give 
 it up. All our hope is now laid upon her having a 
 pianoforte at home. They are trying this grand 
 point with my father : may they succeed, but I much 
 doubt it." 
 
 " April 26. — 1 have been but middling in mind lately. 
 I have not entirely dropt all my good resolutions, 
 but I do not keep up to them sufficiently. M}' 
 principal plan was industry and perseverance ; these 
 are virtues that I think it is almost impossible to 
 be anything without. . . . Prince William has been 
 here with a grer.t deal of company ; I like him vastly. 
 There was amazing fuss made about his coming. 
 He is coming again next Sunday to meet the 
 Gurneys, who have made a scolding about it. ... I 
 
 ^ William Frederick, afterwards 2nd Duke of Gloucester. 
 ^ Joseph Gurney of the Grove -a "plain Friend." 
 
64 THE GURNEYS OF EARLHAM [l797 
 
 never felt in so happy and comfortable a state as I do 
 now. I tliink I will write down how I spend my day. 
 *' 1 always get up at five or six, wliich I call late. 
 I read till breakfast, which I enjoy amazingly; the 
 breakfast is a little after eight. I am most busy 
 all the morning at lessons. I have about an hour 
 for play. We dine at three. In the afternoon I 
 write ni}^ French exercise and journal, and study 
 botany, which I think is a most charming employ- 
 ment ; to study nature in any way is delightful. 
 We drink tea about six, and have the most pleasant 
 evenings. We all sit and work while Kitty reads 
 to us. We have been reading Hayley's ' Triumph 
 of Temper,' which I only like tolerably. I went to 
 Keswick yesterday. Elizabeth and I had a large 
 syllabub, and sucked it through straws. I think 
 my mind has been in a very good state. I am 
 improving. It is very pleasant to think so some- 
 times. One of my chief faults is speaking unkindly 
 to Betsy : she does so provoke me. She behaves 
 in some things so aristocratically because she is the 
 eldest, and nothing makes me so angry as that. 
 How very pleasant is Pitchford's company! We 
 had a charming walk, and then we came in and sat 
 round the fire with Pitchford. He talked most 
 interestingly, principally about religion. I can't say 
 how much I admire what he said — the happiness he 
 had in prayer, and he showed what a 7nost delightful 
 thing real devotion is, and what a comfort and sup- 
 port religion is to the mind. He spoke so charm- 
 ingly and became so animated about it, it was enough 
 to make one religious. I am determined I will be 
 
1797] DOUBTS AND RESPONSIBILITIES 65 
 
 religious — really so, I mean. When Pitchford was 
 gone, I went to bed, and lay awake till Kitty came. 
 What Pitchford had said had got so completely into 
 my mind, that I thought about it the whole time, 
 and somehow Kitty and I fell into talk about it. 
 She said that it was only very lately that she had 
 felt real devotion, and that it had made her far 
 happier. I now intend to make it my aim to follow 
 Pitchford and Kitty: I never saw such perfect 
 characters as they. The last time I was at Keswick, 
 Elizabeth told me she wondered we were not all 
 more charming than we are, living with Kitty. It 
 rather hurt me : I don't know why, but it did. I 
 believe it was because I felt it was true. I am 
 determined I will try to make myself worthy of the 
 pains that such a person as Kitty takes with me. 
 
 *^ I really see and know my own faults. I know that 
 I have a great many, and that it will require time and 
 patience to cure them. I do not think I have a bad 
 temper, but, on the contrary, very good. I am very 
 affectionate, and my heart is open to warm impres- 
 sions. I can't bear restraint, and it is difficult to 
 govern me by strictness, though very possible to do it 
 by kindness and persuasion. I think I am not selfish, 
 but the contrary. I have a bold forwardness, which 
 is disgusting. I oppose all restraint with too much 
 vigour. I always tell my opinions and think them 
 better than those of other people who are wiser than I 
 am. I think I am self-conceited. I have no mildness 
 in my character, for I only see the virtues of a few, and 
 look down with contempt upon the general run. I am 
 wanting in real fortitude, though nothing is so useful." 
 
 VOL. I. j; 
 
66 THE GURNEYS OF EARLHAM [1797 
 
 " May 29. — We were told that we were to go in the 
 afternoon to the Rigbys' at Manningham, but the weather 
 was so bad we could not decide whether to go or not. 
 Betsy was for going, Kitty for staying. At last, after 
 scolding, rowing, bickering, fixing and unfixing, we all 
 agreed to go. Chenda and Betsy went first in the 
 chaise : Kitty, Rachel, Hannah, Cilia, and I in the 
 coach. We all got into good minds. When we 
 reached the common, who should we see but John and 
 Pitchford. We jumped out of the coach and I tore 
 to them. How I do admire Pitchford. We had a 
 delightful walk and a nice merry tea. At eight my 
 father wished us to go home : I felt truly sorry, but 
 every worldly pleasure must end. ... I never admired 
 any man so much as Pitchford : he is so truly virtu- 
 ous ; he is an example one should try to copy ; it does 
 one good to be with such a person." 
 
 '^ June 3. — We had a truly charming morning with 
 dearest Kitty. We so seldom have any talk with her, 
 that when we have, I value it more than ever. Darling 
 Kitty ! there is nobody I love half so much. I can't 
 think how I ever could do anything to disoblige her. 
 She told me that Cousin Margaret (Lindoe) was going 
 to marry Dr. Crawford.^ How odd ! I never felt more 
 surprised." 
 
 " Sunday, June 4. — I read half a Quaker's book 
 through with my father before Meeting. I am quite 
 sorry to see him grow so Ouakerly. I had a most dis 
 Goat's." 
 
 ^ This marriage did not take place. 
 
1797] DOUBTS AND RESPONSIBILITIES 6/ 
 
 ^^ June 5. — In the evening I dressed up in Quaker 
 things ; but I felt far too ashamed to sa^'- or act any- 
 thing." 
 
 ^^ June 6. — Hudson (Gurney) came to dine. I hke him 
 very much sometimes when he is in his natural humour 
 and when he is not at all dzs. We had great frolics 
 w^th him in the evening, for we locked him up in the 
 pantry and played a number of tricks. We had a very 
 merry supper, and I went to bed in a very happy mind, 
 which is truly pleasant." 
 
 " Oc^. 9. — Pitchford came this morning. He was 
 very charming, yet, I don't know how it is, I admire 
 his actions, thoughts, and sentiments more than I do 
 himself" 
 
 " Oct. 13. — I have been in a good mind all day. The 
 others have been truly disagreeable and idle. I was 
 much inchned to catch the contagion, but I would not. 
 I gave my mind entirely to my lessons. How far 
 better it is to give our minds to the things we are 
 about ; it is the only way to do them well." 
 
 '' Oct. ig.— I am afraid I shall be a flirt when I grow 
 up. I really do think I shall. It is rather odd for me 
 to begin talking about flirting; to be sure I am not 
 a flirt yet, but then I think I shall be.^ Flirtationing 
 arises from vanity and too great love of admiration, 
 particularly from men. Last night the Hoares and 
 
 ^ Louisa Gurney was now \2\. 
 
68 THE GURNEYS OF EARLHAM [l797 
 
 Ketts were here ; we had a fiddle ; it would have been 
 more delightful with a pleasant party, but I enjoyed it 
 thoroughly; nothing hardly can be disagreeable with a 
 dear^ darlings elating fiddle. I really am fit to jump 
 out of my skin at the sound of it. Young Sam Hoare ^ 
 was most disgusting ; we were on most good terms 
 for the first part of the evening, but at last he went 
 so far as to give me a kiss ; it was most disgusting. 
 Still I was very agreeable last night ; I felt so both 
 in mind and body ; how seldom can I say this of 
 myself." 
 
 " Sunday, Nov. 12. — 1 have had a bad day. To be 
 sure it is difficult to withstand Earlham Sundays, they 
 are so truly disagreeable. Sometimes I think I will 
 make better use of my time at Goat's, but when I get 
 there, I seldom think of anything else but when it will 
 be over, unless perhaps some little foolish circumstance 
 happily engages my attention." 
 
 ^^ Nov. 14. — On Monday Anna Enfield came. I think 
 I hardly ever felt so much as when the coach came to 
 the door : we four stayed in the little parlour. She went 
 up into Kitty's room, and we followed. There, on a 
 chair by the fire, sat a thin woman in a large bonnet, 
 completely dressed in black. I could not believe it was 
 our own Anna ; she looked inexpressibly interesting. 
 She took her bonnet off, and then I began to recognise 
 the features of our most dear Anna Enfield. She had 
 a mob-cap on with a black crape band round it, a black 
 
 ^ Her future hushand. 
 
1797] DOUBTS AND RESPONSIBILITIES 69 
 
 neckcloth, a coarse black muslin handkerchief, a black 
 cotton gown. She looked thin and white, but I never 
 saw any one look so charming. I thought I should 
 have cried, she looked so very unhappy, but she spoke 
 little. I marked all her actions and all her words, 
 because I thought, as I looked at her, *Ah, dear 
 Anna, I shall not see thee again for a long while.' 
 
 '* For years past I have had a jealousy about Chenda, 
 which circumstances now and then bring forth. She 
 is far the most pleasing character of us four, and 
 all those by whom I should most wish to be admired 
 prefer her ; Kitty amongst the number. She far prefers 
 Chenda, but she loves us all, and so I need not be 
 anxious." 
 
 ^^ Nov. 16. — Betsy went to the assembly last night, 
 and danced a great deal. How most droll ! quite a 
 new excursion ! 
 
 ** I am most vexed, for I have often lately been dis- 
 contented with what Kitty has fixed for me to do. How 
 wicked it is to treat a person, and sucJl a person as my 
 own dearest Kitty, with the least degree of unkindness 
 — and after all she has done for me. There is not one 
 in ten thousand that would have done the same in her 
 case. Has she not almost entirely devoted her life to 
 us four, and is it not the least we can do to treat her 
 always with the greatest affection, even if what she 
 wishes be disagreeable ? " 
 
 RiCHENDA GURNEY'S JOURNAL. 
 
 ^^ Dec. 23, 1797. — Went to the Hemings in the 
 evening to meet the Prince and a large party. It was 
 
70 
 
 THE GURNEYS OF EARLHAM 
 
 [1797 
 
 very entertaining seeing everybody flirt and look so 
 silly. There were a great many people, and our three 
 did look delightful and superior amongst them all, 
 especially dear Kitty. ... I could not help thinking 
 of it for some time after, and as Kitty says, 'red coats 
 and fine ladies glittered before my e^'csj 
 
 ) n 
 
 
 
 r^ 
 
 
 
 ^A^/v.. 
 
 ^^^S^ 
 
 -■--3-. 
 
 NORWICH FROM MOUSEHOLD. 
 
 " Sunday^ Dec. 24. — I shall not say much of this day, 
 as indeed it is not worth saying much about. It was 
 flat, stupid, unimproving, and Sundayish. I spent y^^r 
 hours at Meeting! I never, never wish to see that 
 nasty hole again." 
 
 ^^ Dec. 25. — I have a pleasant association towards 
 Christmas day; nice turkey and plum-pudding bring 
 a train of such pleasant ideas to my mind." 
 
1797] DOUBTS AND RESPONSIBILITIES /I 
 
 '' Dec. 28. — Yesterday was a day of glittering 
 pleasure. Such days are glowing for the time, then 
 they vanish hke a shadow. Though His Royal High- 
 ness was to come, we did not on that account neglect 
 the improvement of our minds, but worked hard at 
 lessons all morning. After dinner was most pleasant. 
 All of us eleven got round the Prince, and sang and 
 were very merry. The pleasantest part, however, I 
 think, of the whole was when the gentlemen came up 
 to tea, and we sang a good deal more. Then His 
 Royal Highness departed, after having kept his coach 
 two hours waiting at the door. I went to bed in a 
 most good mind, but very tired." 
 
 ** Dec. 30. — This morning Kitty would not let us go 
 to nooning till we had finished a lesson we were 
 about. I felt out of humour, and tried to show it 
 all I could. I did want my nooning, but after I 
 had attained the desire of my wishes, I saw the full 
 extent of my foolishness at being put out by so silly 
 and trivial a thing. When I went to Kitty after 
 eating m}^ nooning, I was ashamed to speak to her, 
 I felt so silly. Well, I will not be so weak another 
 time." 
 
 '' Dec. 31. — This is the last day I shall spend in 1797. 
 To this year, adieu for ever ! How pathetic ! 
 
 *' I had a truly uncomfortable cloudy sort of Meeting. 
 It was real bliss to hear the clock strike twelve. 
 What an impatient disposition is mine ! I sometimes 
 feel so extremely impatient for Meeting to break up 
 that I cannot, if 3^ou would give me the world, sit 
 
72 TIIK GURNKYS OF KARLHAM [«798 
 
 Still. Oh, how 1 long to get a great broom and bang 
 all the old Quakers, who do look so triumphant and 
 disagreeable. ... I rather enjoyed my afternoon, 
 Rachel played so sweetly and Betsy sang." 
 
 ^^ Jan. 5, 1798. — Earlham House is in a most dis- 
 agreeable state : the boys are so worriting, and I 
 have a nasty toothache, which has quite worn out 
 my patience." 
 
 ^^ Sunday, Jan. 7. — We walked to Meeting and 
 talked French the whole way, so that it was an 
 improving as well as a pleasant walk. I had then 
 a pleasant, though not a very useful Meeting, for 
 I only tried to entertain and not to improve myself. 
 I went to Meeting again in the afternoon, but the 
 rest of the day was flat." 
 
 ^^ Ja7i. 12. — The Prince has been here again, and 
 we have had a gay, p'leasant, bustling time. I really 
 don't know which of the days he was here was the 
 pleasantest. He had not been here long before he 
 insisted that Rachel should preach him a sermon. 
 He and a great many of us ran up to Betsy's room, 
 and Rachel gave a most capital sermon. I never 
 saw anything so droll as it was to see the Prince 
 and all of us locked up in Betsy's room, and Rachel 
 preaching to him, which she did in her most capital 
 manner, giving him a good lesson in the Quaker's 
 strain, and imitating William Crotch to perfection. 
 I longed for somebody to come and see us. The 
 rest of the day was truly pleasant. I never saw 
 
1798] DOUBTS AND RESPONSIBILITIES 73 
 
 the Prince so sociable and agreeable as this time. 
 Mary and he had a long talk at dinner, all about 
 religion. He does so admire Rachel. After dinner 
 we began to sing. Rachel sang delightfully: I don't 
 know when I have heard her sing so well. . . . Betsy 
 had an offer from one of the officers : I never knew 
 anything so droll as the whole thing was. After the 
 Prince was gone we had a dance; the finest dance I 
 ever had : all joined, single and married, old and 
 young, little and great. I had no idea that gay 
 company could be as pleasant as it was. I do like 
 the Prince for liking Kitty so much : I am sure it 
 shows his taste, and I don't wonder at it. Rachel 
 did look beautiful, and talked so cleverly all day, 
 and she enjoyed it as much as any of us, which 1 
 am very glad of, as she seldom enjoys those sort of 
 things. 
 
 " It was droll to have a dance on Wednesday night, 
 and Thursday and Friday, and on Saturday we 
 went to Dr. Alderson's and had a most pleasant 
 evening indeed. We danced from seven to twelve. 
 I don't know when I enjoyed dancing so much, there 
 were such beaux, so superior to the bank boys. 
 What a surprising difference rank and high life 
 make in a person's whole way and manner: it is 
 most pleasant being with people who have been 
 brought up in that way. I am very glad to have seen 
 a little of what high life is, for I think everybody 
 who can should be acquainted with all ranks in 
 society. We had a most merry time, I really did 
 enjoy it." 
 
74 
 
 TIIK GURNKYS OK EARLHAM 
 
 [1798 
 
 ^'January 17. — I had a good drawing morning, but in 
 the course of it gave way to passion witli both Cromc ^ 
 and Betsy — Cromc because he would attend to Betsy 
 and not to me, and Betsy because she was so pro- 
 
 voking." 
 
 •^mX/^' 
 
 
 
 THE "SULKIKS" AT EARLHAM.- 
 
 ^^ January 23. — I am sure nothing is so beneficial and 
 good for the mind as being and feeling truly indus- 
 trious and having your mind and all your powers 
 
 ^ "Old Crome," the Norwich drawing- master. 
 
 2 These seats, so well known to all Gurneys, in the garden at Earl- 
 ham, are made to turn on sockets, so that the occupants may sit face to 
 face, or back to back, as they are disposed. 
 
1798] DOUBTS AND RESPONSIBILITIES 75 
 
 employed. Sometimes I am gifted, as it were, with 
 one of these minds : I have been so this morning and 
 afternoon, and it has made me feel quite happy. Cilia 
 and I walked to Norwich, which I thoroughly enjoyed, 
 but the Meeting did not give me true pleasure, with 
 such a number round me ready to spy every word I 
 uttered. ... I am in a great measure conquering m}^ 
 dislike to speaking French : when any of us four and 
 Betsy speak to one another in English, we have to 
 pa}^ a farthing." 
 
 '^January 27. — I have been in one of my very best 
 minds : how I do enjoy being in those minds. We 
 were very happy walking together, Kitty and all of us. 
 I cannot help also just mentioning my dinner, which 
 was particularly delightful to me : I really felt true 
 pleasure while I was eating excellent apple-pudding 
 and partridge: how I did enjoy it." 
 
 ^^ February 5. — Friend Savery has been here, who 
 seems a charming man and a most liberal-minded 
 Quaker. Betsy, who spent all 3^esterday with him, 
 not only admires, but quite loves him. He appears to 
 me a truly good man, and a most upright Christian, 
 and such men are always loved. To me he is quite 
 different from the common run of disagreeable Quaker 
 preachers. In every society and sect there is always 
 something good and worthy to be found. I feel this 
 evenins: in a most comfortable mind." 
 
 '& 
 
 " February 6. — I spent part of my morning most 
 pleasantl}' — I may say most charmingl}^, for they were 
 
^6 THE GURNEYS OF EARLIIAM [179^ 
 
 all gone to Meeting, and I walked by myself about 
 the fields, with the most melancholy delightful feelings 
 reflecting on the future state. I came in full of these 
 thoughts and in a most comfortable mind, when they 
 came home cross and bordering upon disagreeable." 
 
 '■^February 7. — I am in Kitty's room all alone, 
 every one of them gone out. I think it a good habit 
 being alone ; it makes you depend on your own mind. 
 ... I have been in a good mind to-day, though the 
 others say I have been in a provoking one." 
 
 '^ Sunday^ Febniary 11. — I feel this evening Sun- 
 dayish and disagreeable : my whole day has been 
 rather so. I went to Meeting in the morning, and 
 I was very sorry to see that place again after a 
 separation from it of a whole fortnight. However, I 
 had a pleasanter Meeting than sometimes. We all 
 came home, however, rather goatified and cross." 
 
 " February 14. — I was in a very playing mood to-day, 
 and thoroughly enjoyed being foolish, and tried to be 
 as rude to everybody as I could. We went on the 
 highroad for the purpose of being rude to the folks 
 that passed. I do think being rude is most pleasant 
 sometimes. In the afternoon, over a difficult French 
 lesson, Cilia was very provoking. I do go on so 
 nicely in drawing, that it is quite charming." 
 
 '' Stai day, February 18. — Yesterday I had a truly 
 disagreeable visit. Uncle Gurney was in one of his 
 most disagreeable satirical minds, and made me the 
 
RICH END A GURNEY 
 
 OF EARLHAM 
 
1798] DOUBTS AND RESPONSIBILITIES 7/ 
 
 subject of ridicule to the whole company, because I 
 had a cap on to keep my head warm. I am sure 
 I wished both him and my cap a thousand miles off. I 
 was truly angry with him, disagreeable man. ... I went 
 to Goat's in the morning, and stayed at home in the 
 afternoon. Betsy is going to London for a month, and 
 I am very glad for her sake : I think she will enjoy it 
 so much." 
 
 " February 24. — We four have not gone on in a com- 
 fortable way for a week past : we have been so dis- 
 orderly and have given way to just what we felt at the 
 moment. This morning Kitty and us four had a talk, 
 which we almost always have after being in one of 
 these sort of states. I do not doubt we shall all be 
 the better for it. Kitty somehow showed us how weak 
 and faulty we were, so that I cannot bear to think of 
 us four. Indeed, I think entirely as Kitty does, that it 
 is almost impossible to pass through this world without 
 having a strict principle over your mind to act by." 
 
Ill 
 
 SPIRITUAL CONjaJCTS 
 
 ** How do those who have no happy home within their own hearts 
 become the prey of the external circumstances upon which they are 
 driven." — M. A. Sciiimmelpenninck. 
 
 "Whatever withdraws us from the power of our senses, whatever 
 makes the past, the distant, or the future predominate the present, 
 advances us in the scale of human beings." — Dr. Johnson. 
 
 The wave of infidelity which came into Eng- 
 land with the French Revolution took nowhere 
 a stronger hold than at Norwich. ''Cousin 
 Peggy" (Lindoe),^ the most intimate relation 
 and the prime favourite of the whole party at 
 Earlham, became increasingly affected by it. 
 " We elder sisters were ourselves in no small 
 deeree carried off our centre," writes Catherine 
 Gurney ; " our sense of duty became gradually 
 lowered, especially towards my father : of higher 
 duties still, we became indeed careless and 
 unmindful." The younger sisters were more 
 
 ^ In the Fry family are preserved seven letters full of tenderest 
 affection, written on the same day to "Dear darling Cousin Peggy" 
 by the seven (iurney sisters of Earlham, and enclosing long tresses 
 of their hair, for the most part bright glistening auburn hair. 
 
 78 
 
1798] SPIRITUAL CONFLICTS 79 
 
 sheltered than their elders, and went on very 
 tolerably in the routine of education under 
 their governess, Mrs. Berington. But where the 
 younger members of the house were always of 
 the party, they could not but hear many doubts 
 and difficulties discussed, and form their own 
 conclusions, and it must have given Catherine 
 Gurney rather a shock when she found that 
 her sister Richenda, of thirteen, had written — 
 
 ^^ February 25. — Kitt}^ read the New Testament to 
 us, which I was unusually interested in, but at this time 
 I do not believe ia Christ. I mean I do not believe all 
 that the New Testament says of Him . . . though I have 
 not yet brought the subject to any point in my own 
 mind. 
 
 Louisa Gurney was not troubled with the 
 doubts which beset Richenda, but the times at 
 which she " found religion " were unusual for a 
 Quaker. Thus in her journal we read : — 
 
 ^^ April 26. — Yesterday we had a most delightful 
 dance. John Taylor, Pitch ford, and F. Bevan came 
 here. I was in ecstasies after supper with dancing 
 Malbrook. Two things raise my soul to feel devotion 
 — nature and music. As I went down the dance 
 yesterday, I gave up my soul to the enchanting Mal- 
 brook. I thought of Heaven and of God. I really 
 tasted Heaven for a minute, and my whole heart 
 
So THE GURNEYS OF EARLHAM [1798 
 
 thanked God for the blessings 1 enjoyed. These 
 moments were deHcious." 
 
 Richenda was soon not the only Gurney of 
 Earlham who found "Goat's" the more un- 
 bearable because she doubted the main truths 
 of Christianity. The religion of almost the 
 whole family was rapidly becoming undermined, 
 and all external circumstances seemed to com- 
 bine in conducing to this. The eldest brother, 
 John, had been removed from Wandsworth, and 
 placed with a Dr. Enfield who took pupils in 
 Norwich, and whose family had begun to exer- 
 cise a great Influence over the young Gurneys. 
 Catherine wrote lonor afterwards : — 
 
 " Before I lost my mother I had attended some 
 lectures of Dr. Enfield's, and conceived a most enthu- 
 siastic admiration for the Misses Enfield, which I 
 never ceased to retain. One of my greatest desires 
 was to be better acquainted with them, and I lost 
 no opportunity of accomplishing it. My mother had 
 discouraged it, for, as she became more of a Friend, 
 she feared and disapproved any connection with 
 Unitarians, which the Enfields decidedly were. I 
 conclude this was the case, though I never recollect 
 lier expressing it. But the impulse in our minds, my 
 own especially, towards this family, now that the 
 occasion of further acquaintance was presented, was 
 too strong to be resisted by my father, and the 
 
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 CATHERIXE GURXEY 
 By Mrs. Opie 
 
1798] SPIRITUAL CONFLICTS 8 I 
 
 barrier was at once removed by our rushing with the 
 utmost impetuosity and dehght into each other's society. 
 
 " On looking back through the distance of years 
 upon our intercourse, I feel that there was a singular 
 congeniality of natural character between us, and I 
 always remember these friends of our youth with a 
 most peculiar love and interest. They were charming 
 young people, gifted by nature and much cultivated, 
 highly pleasing in person and manners. They had the 
 religion of sentiment, but no knowledge of Scriptural 
 truth. We never thought about that, but took a 
 romantic pleasure in the beauties of Nature, and in 
 sentimental enjo^^ments, intercourse with each other, 
 singing, and some few books. Rousseau, amongst the 
 few, soon came into fashion as the most interesting of 
 any, and I need not say how undermining this was to 
 truth, both in theory and practice. The foundations of 
 truth and duty, such as had existed for us before, 
 were shaken, and we were led astray in conduct. My 
 father in the meantime was very unhappy, and at a 
 loss how to treat the case. He had not the decision 
 or power to resist the stream of our affections, which 
 became more and more exclusively fixed on our own 
 friends and favourites ; and this was in no slight degree 
 strengthened by the intense affection which sprung up 
 between Rachel and Henry Enfield, and which was 
 carried on for several 3^ears in concealment from our 
 indulgent father, who had a painful and confused sense 
 of our going wrong, and yet could not prevent it. 
 
 "At length my father discovered the truth, and 
 insisted upon a separation, not only between Rachel 
 and Henry Enfield (whose distress caused him to 
 
 VOL. I. F 
 
82 THE GURNKYS OK KARLIIAM ['797-8 
 
 promise that they should be allowed to meet again 
 if they continued in the same mind after a separation 
 of two years), but from the whole Enfield family. 
 This was to us all a blow of no common pain and 
 trial, and hard did we feel it to be kept in such con- 
 straint, separated from our dearest friends. At the 
 same time our opinions, which began in sentiment, 
 had advanced to infidelity, for we were still thrown 
 amongst those who held these views, and the volumes 
 of Godwin, Paine, «&c., had fallen into our hands, so 
 that we w^ere truly in the wilderness of error. It 
 made me very unhappy. The others — except Rachel 
 — having more natural glee and spirits, were not de- 
 pressed in the same way. The people we now were 
 frequently with went far beyond our dear friends the 
 Enfields, who were never infidels." 
 
 The Influence first exerted in bringing back 
 the Gurney family to the paths of faith and 
 of orthodoxy was a very singular one. John 
 Pitchford, a Roman Catholic surgeon, had 
 settled in 1769 at Norw^ich, v^^here he lived 
 at No. 8 Tombland, till 1803. His learning 
 as a botanist led to his being welcomed as 
 a guest at Earlham, whither he was first ac- 
 companied, on January 24, 1797, by his son 
 John, also a Roman Catholic, educated at St. 
 Omer, who was working at Norwich in a 
 laboratory. The younger John Pitchford soon 
 became very intimate with the Gurney sisters, 
 
1797-8] SPIRITUAL CONFLICTS 83 
 
 and a fast friend of the family, and while 
 joining heartily in all their amusements, lost 
 no opportunity of urging upon them the truth 
 of the Christianity which he ardently pro- 
 fessed himself, whilst honourably and scru- 
 pulously avoiding everything like proselytism. 
 " He and Mr. Kinghorn, the Baptist minis- 
 ter," writes Catherine Gurney, ''were the only 
 two amongst the literary young men of Nor- 
 wich with whom we were acquainted who 
 steadily and consistently upheld the cause 
 of religion against the infidelity which pre- 
 vailed in the place at that time ; and he was 
 the first person after the dreary period I have 
 described who made us like relimon, or even 
 set up a standard of high principle, and he w^as 
 strictly honourable to my father in never lend- 
 ing us books he thought he would dislike, or 
 consenting to be a channel of communication 
 with the Enfields." 
 
 John Pitchford was for months almost daily 
 at Earlham, reading, singing, walking, boating, 
 and playing cricket, and finishing up the even- 
 ing with a dance. He thus describes one of his 
 visits : — 
 
 ^' July 27, 1797. — This is a day which I shall ever 
 remember with dehght. I have spent seventeen hours 
 with my seven most enchanting friends. I rose at 
 
84 THE GURNEYS OF EARLHAM [l797 
 
 4 A.M. and walked slowly to Earlham, as 1 did not 
 wish to disturb them too soon. 1 had partly made 
 up my mind not to throw pebbles at their windows 
 (the preconcerted signal of my arrival) till six, but I 
 found them already risen. The morning was clear 
 and brilliant. Rachel saw me first and knocked at 
 the window. Then Richenda and Louisa came down, 
 and soon all the rest except Betsy, who does not rise 
 so soon on account of her health. After a short walk, 
 the four were sent to the schoolroom to do their 
 lessons. Kitty, Rachel, and I seated ourselves in the 
 shade. I had brought ' Peregrinus Porteus ' in my 
 pocket, and read the beautiful description of the farm 
 at Pitane, and the glowing language in which the 
 Christian preacher enlarges on the character and manner 
 of our Blessed Saviour: they completely enjoyed it. 
 Rachel left Kitty and me alone together for a few 
 moments, when we talked of her brother,^ and con- 
 curred completely in our opinion of him — that he is 
 at present very amiable and interesting, but that he is 
 in great danger of receiving bad impressions. 
 
 "We enjoyed a charming breakfast together, Betsy 
 having joined us, and then we went into the kitchen- 
 garden to eat fruit. After this, we selected a shady 
 spot on the lawn, where the whole party reclined upon 
 a haycock, while I read to them part of my journal, 
 omitting certain passages which avowed my attachment 
 to Rachel. Three or four times, however, I stumbled 
 on passages of this kind, and was obliged to interrupt 
 myself. I am not clear whether the sharp-sighted 
 
 1 John Gurney. 
 
1797] SPIRITUAL CONFLICTS 85 
 
 Rachel did not suspect the truth, but her behaviour 
 during the rest of the day was full as kind as ever. 
 They were all interested with my journal. ' Now we 
 really know you/ they exclaimed, ' let us join hands 
 and vow an eternal friendship.' This we did with 
 rapturous feelings and glowing hearts. Rachel now 
 read some of Henry Enfield's journal, which he regu- 
 larly sends her, and Betsy read part of her journal, in 
 which she acknowledges all her faults with the most 
 charming candour. Finall}', Kitty read part of her 
 journal, which consisted chiefly of reflections. We 
 talked afterwards of my visits. They thought I might 
 come once a week, but on consideration it was agreed 
 to limit it to once a fortnight. 
 
 '^ While they went to dress for dinner, I amused 
 myself with looking over Bowyer's splendid edition of 
 Hume's History. After dinner we went to the piano- 
 forte, and Rachel and I practised some songs. I 
 taught her the ' Stabat Mater,' which she much liked. 
 We then went in the boat, and had some most inte- 
 resting conversation, and after tea chose a delightful 
 spot in the garden facing the setting sun, where Kitty 
 read the poetry of ' The Monk,' and I ' The Deserted 
 Village.' Then we went to the village church, where 
 I read Gray's ' Elegy ' by twilight with great eftect. 
 Kitty said, ' We will be your seven sisters.' When 
 we got to the river-side, we again had enchanting 
 singing, finishing by ' Poor John is dead,' and, as we 
 returned, promised each other that any of us in danger 
 of death should be visited by the rest. Then we ex- 
 tended our views beyond the grave, and enthusiastically 
 sang till we reached the house ' In Heaven for ever 
 
86 THE GURNEYS OF EARLHAM ['798 
 
 dwell.' It was with difficulty tliat I tore myself away 
 after supper. It was a day ever to be remembered 
 with transport." 
 
 But the time soon, too soon, came when 
 Mr. Gurney was obliged to tell Mr. Pitchford 
 that Friends had spoken to him about his being 
 admitted as such a constant visitor at Earlham, 
 and to beg him to relax his visits. This he 
 did, but continued on otherwise intimate terms 
 with the whole party till the autumn of i 798, 
 when the friendship seems to have cooled. 
 This was after the return of the Earlham family 
 from a journey in which they had probably 
 learnt more worldly wisdom, Mr. Pitchford 
 being then twenty-seven, and Catherine, the 
 eldest of the Earlham sisters, twenty-two.^ 
 
 The influence of John Pitchford had been 
 equally extended to Mary Anne Galton,^ a 
 young cousin of the Gurneys, who was fre- 
 quently with them at Earlham, and who often 
 said in after life that she owed, under God, 
 the first distinct rays she received of spiritual 
 light to Mr. Pitchford. Of this cousin, Eliza- 
 
 ^ After he married, John Pitchford settled at or near Bow as a 
 manufacturing chemist. He frequently walked over with his wife to 
 Ham House on Sunday afternoons, and was always warmly welcomed 
 there by Samuel Gurney. 
 
 - Daughter of Samuel Gallon of Birmingham, married, 1806, Mr. 
 Lambert Schimiiielpenninck. 
 
1798] SPIRITUAL CONFLICTS 8/ 
 
 beth Gurney says, *' She was one of the most 
 interesting and bewitching people I ever saw, 
 and I never remember any person attracting 
 me so strongly." Her especial friend w^as 
 Catherine, but she was much beloved by the 
 younger sisters, and imparted her great love 
 of study to them, teaching them to make charts 
 of the various subjects which occupied them. 
 "On one occasion," Mary Anne Galton re- 
 cords in her Memoirs, "the Gurneys had all 
 gone to Meeting, and I remained at home. 
 In their absence, I walked up and down the 
 gallery at Earlham, where were a great many 
 portraits of the Bacon family, from the thir- 
 teenth century, and I began to think, ' What 
 w^as the purpose of the existence of these men ? 
 Where are they now that they have passed 
 from earth ? ' So, on my cousin's return, when 
 she joined me in the gallery, I said to her, ' I 
 am twenty, thou art twenty-five ; and what is 
 the end of our existence ? I am resolved 
 most thoroughly to examine and discover for 
 myself if the Bible be true, and if it is,' I 
 added in the folly and ignorance of my heart, 
 ' I shall instantlv do all that is commanded in 
 it ; and if not, I shall think no more on the 
 subject ; ' and I prayed, if there were a God to 
 hearken, that He would reveal Himself to me." 
 
88 THE GURNEYS OF EARLHAM [1798 
 
 But those who care for the family story will 
 like to re-open the journal of fifteen-year-old 
 Richenda : — 
 
 ^^ Sunday, March, 1798. — I have felt extremely un- 
 comfortable about Betsy's Quakerism, which I saw, 
 to my sorrow, increasing every day. She no longer 
 joined in our pleasant dances, and singing she seemed 
 to give up ; she dressed as plain as she could, and spoke 
 still more so. We all feel about it alike, and are truly 
 sorry that one of us seven should separate herself in 
 principles, actions, and appearance from the rest. But 
 I think we ought to try to make the best of it, and 
 reconcile it as much as possible to our own minds. 
 Betsy's character is certainl}^, in many respects, ex- 
 tremely improved since she has adopted these prin- 
 ciples. She is industrious, charitable to the poor, kind 
 and attentive to all of us ; in short, if it was not for 
 that serious manner which Quakerism throws over 
 a person, Betsy would indeed be a most improved 
 character." 
 
 ^^ March 11, 1798. — We have had a long letter of 
 advice from Betsy. I fully intend to profit by it. 
 Almost all the advice is about our behaviour to 
 each other, which I see and know too well is not 
 what it should be. ... I am determined henceforth 
 to conquer the foolish weakness I have when Master 
 Sammy begins to bellow, and I can hardl}^ keep m}^- 
 self in patience, I am so angry with the child ; and 
 when Cilia comes forward in her pert way, and T feel 
 the inclination to give her a good beat." 
 
179S] SPIRITUAL CONFLICTS 89 
 
 ^^ March 15. — Since I last wrote I have had a most 
 comfortable time, and have taken greatest pains to 
 keep up my good resolution. On Monday some young 
 men came, and we had a most pleasant merry evening. 
 We acted pantomimes, and Rachel was very droll. I am 
 sure such delightful evenings do you good ; they cheer 
 the mind, and you feel the happier. I am sure pleasure 
 carried to a certain degree does the mind good, and 
 makes you feel better." 
 
 ^^ March 16. — I have not been so cross I don't know 
 when as I was this morning. I totally gave way to all 
 the impatience which I felt, but luckily my ill-humour 
 fled when lessons were over. ... I see more and more 
 how impossible it is to keep your temper even with 
 good resolutions. I often am at a loss how to act when 
 the others come and worry me and appear to me to 
 behave most unfairly ; — whether tamely to submit or 
 oppose them and insist on what seems to me to be right. 
 If I act the latter part, it immediately creates a dis- 
 turbance ; and if I tamely submit, it seems spiritless 
 and silly ; so I must always do as appears best to me 
 at the time." 
 
 ^^ April 22. — Betsy is come back ; she has been a good 
 deal improved by her journey ; she has seen a good 
 deal of William Savery, whose whole soul seems 
 formed and made for true religion and perfect faith. 
 From the workings of her own mind and her acquaint- 
 ance with him, Betsy seems to be changed from a 
 complete sceptic to a person who has entire faith in a 
 Supreme Being and a future state, and I should suppose 
 
90 THE GURNEYS OF EARLHAM [1798 
 
 she feels all the delight which such a belief must bring 
 with it." 
 
 " Sunday, May 7. — Kitty and us four and the three 
 boys had rather a pleasant improving reading. Our 
 afternoon readings with Kitty are always the most 
 satisfactory improving moments we spend ; but how I 
 do dislike our Sunday evenings, and I am often sorry 
 that we spend Sunday so disagreeably and uselessly ; 
 it is really almost a sin to lose a whole day in the 
 week, but I think it is not our own fault. My father 
 will always have us go to Meeting once, sometimes 
 twice a day. Then we always read of an evening, 
 sometimes Friends' books, sometimes the Bible, but 
 it is always in such a disagreeable way, it never does 
 any good." 
 
 ^^May 20. — My powers of virtue are dormant, although 
 not wicked. I am not a strong virtuous character. I 
 wish, however, so imich to become so, that I cannot 
 remain long as I am. I cannot, however, expect to 
 attain the virtue I wish for without infinite pains and 
 the greatest perseverance. I may wish and wish for 
 ever, and think, and say, and hope to become virtuous, 
 and all without avail if 1 do not really exert myself 
 and use all the efforts of my mind to become so." 
 
 ''May 30. — My last expressed clearly the state of 
 my mind after I had written it. I felt so very happy 
 and good, and all the peace that the endeavour of 
 acting right and a heart big with resolution to be 
 virtuous afford. For a time I felt myself virtuous. I 
 
1798] SPIRITUAL CONFLICTS 9 I 
 
 longed to do everything to oblige everybody, and en- 
 joyed giving up my own pleasures to that of others. 
 I began the week with these sentiments, and whilst 
 they continued to have possession of my mind I was 
 happy ; but soon I began to have a less constant guard 
 over myself, and by the end of the week — though 
 I cannot say I quite forgot what I had written on 
 Sunday— I forgot it so far that it had little effect on 
 my conduct." 
 
 ^^ Sept. 10, 1798. — Now I am at home once more 
 (after a journey in the South of England), and feel all 
 the comforts of this sweet place, I am determined to 
 begin afresh with new ardour and new spirit in the 
 endeavour of improving myself, and being, if it is 
 possible, worthy of the many blessings and comforts 
 which surround me. Our journey has very much 
 humbled me in my own opinion. I have seen so 
 many people so extremely superior and more delight- 
 ful than myself, that I could not help often feeling my 
 own inferiority." 
 
 Louisa Gurney writes : — 
 
 ^^ Oct. 28.— On Thursday we took our famous ass- 
 ride. We were all dressed for the occasion, and I 
 never laughed more than when fifteen asses arrived 
 saddled and bridled for us. After a great deal of 
 noise and bustle, we seven, five Barclays, John, Joseph, 
 and Kitty Hanbury, were mounted upon fifteen 
 capital donkeys, with various sorts of saddles. During 
 our seven miles' ride various changes took place in 
 
92 THE GURNEYS OF EARLHAM [1798 
 
 our cavalcade. Sometimes we went all in a row, so 
 as to form an extremely long string, now and then 
 we went two and two, and then again we were all in 
 a bustle. Three men followed us on foot to pick 
 up those who fell, and indeed we had a bountiful 
 share of falls, which added to the extreme drollery and 
 merriment. We rode up the park with loud halloos 
 and everything that could show the success of our 
 ride, and the surrounding friends and neighbours were 
 assembled to see us arrive." 
 
 ^^ Oct. 30. — Hannah Judd (housekeeper) was married 
 to John Scarnell (butler) to-day, after fifteen years' 
 courtship. Gatty, Rachel, Luc}^, Anna, and Maria 
 Barclay, and Elizabeth (Gurney), besides some Friends 
 and my father, followed her into Meeting, and the 
 whole day passed off charmingly." 
 
 ^^ Nov. 17. — Kitty told us she preferred Chenda's 
 manner to that of us three, particularly mine; indeed, 
 by many little things I have lately felt that she prefers 
 Chenda's character. It is foolish, but I can't help 
 being a little hurt at this sometimes. She treats us all 
 exactly the same, but she admires Chenda far the 
 most, and so do Rachel and Betsy." 
 
 " Nov. 22. — How I have given way to passion to- 
 day ; I have not even tried to check myself. All bad 
 dispositions grow on us if they are not checked, and 
 it is time to conquer my faults. How I do love Kitty ! 
 I never saw so generous and noble a disposition. 
 
1798] SPIRITUAL CONFLICTS 93 
 
 She would give up every pleasure for another's, even 
 pretending she does not like things in order that others 
 may have them. However, I know her arts when, on 
 very cold mornings, she pretends she does not like 
 sitting near the fire, in order that others may take the 
 warm seats, &c. There is nobody like her. It is one of 
 my first wishes that I may never leave her as long as 
 I live. If I should marry, I must and will be near 
 her : should she marry, if it was onty to be her scullion, 
 I must go to live with her." 
 
 '^ Dec. 2. — Kitty is away, and I have been behaving 
 very badly to Bets}', thus doing what Kitty most dislikes; 
 but I am determined I will now behave in everything, 
 particularly in kindness to Betsy, as well as I am able, 
 till my darling Kitty comes home, for these are the 
 things by which I can best show my love to her. I 
 owe all the goodness I have to her, and it shall always 
 be one of my cares to copy what she has done for me." 
 
 " Dec. 4. — I quarrelled with Hannah and Chenda this 
 afternoon about their spoiling some candles. Hannah 
 sneered, and Chenda burst into one of her provoking 
 laughs. Her laughs are more than I can bear. I did 
 long to pull her ears, to show that I am not so very 
 contemptible as she seems to think me ; but now I am 
 writing my journal in a passion, so I will leave Chenda 
 with her ears, and go to my own conduct. I do blame 
 myself for my conduct to them. Bickering seems to 
 be the nature of children : how I do hate it." 
 
 " Dec. 7. — I observe that Betsy considers the feelings 
 
94 THE GURNEYS OF EARLHAM ['798 
 
 and pleasures of people indifferent to her, and does little 
 things for them, and takes pains to please everybody. 
 It is one of her most amiable qualities." 
 
 *^ Dec. 29. — Yesterday we had a great deal of com- 
 pany, and Mr. and Mrs. Ives, Amelia Alderson, Hannah 
 Walker of Catton, and various others arrived first, and 
 soon after five the Prince ^ with his three aides-de-camp. 
 The dinner was most elegant. Afterwards all of us 
 eleven, except John, went to the top of the table by 
 Kitty and the Prince. They all sang, and when the 
 ladies rose it was half-past eight. How late for us ! 
 We had an uncommon time in the drawing-room — 
 very new and entertaining — till ten. Everybody looked 
 cheerful, and we eleven stood round His Princeship, 
 and sang the Chapter of Kings, which pleased him 
 amazingly." 
 
 ^^ Dec. 31. — I see that I have pride, and it especially 
 shows itself among the Goat Lane girls. This morning, 
 when we were in the little room at Goat's, in came the 
 Aggs,^ and I directly felt proud and superior to them. 
 I went to Goat's again in the afternoon, and behaved 
 so badly, that my father spoke to me about it. I will 
 not give him any reason to find fault with me next 
 Sunday." 
 
 A picture by Opie, bought by the Lord 
 Cholmondeley of the day, and now at Hough- 
 
 1 William Frederick, of Gloucester. 
 - Quaker cousins in Norwich. 
 
1798] SPIRITUAL CONFLICTS 95 
 
 ton, is supposed to represent Rachel and 
 Richenda Gurney about this time, having their 
 fortunes told by a gipsy. Opie himself was an 
 intimate associate of the families at Earlham 
 and Keswick. He had first met in 1797 their 
 friend Amelia, only daughter of the well-known 
 Dr. Alderson, who prescribed at Norwich for 
 four or five hundred persons every week, and 
 for the poor always free. At that time he was 
 already married, but divorced. His appearance 
 is described by Allan Cunningham as that of 
 "an inspired peasant." When Amelia Alderson 
 married him in May 1798, her chief inducement 
 to do so was his promise that he would never 
 separate her from the father to whom she had 
 entirely devoted herself from the time of her 
 mother's death, when she was fifteen.^ But they 
 were an interesting couple. Mrs. Siddons said 
 of Opie, "When I am with him, I am always 
 sure to hear something which I cannot forget, 
 or at least which never ought to be forgotten." 
 Home Tooke said, " Opie crowds more wisdom 
 into a few words than almost any man I ever 
 knew ; " while of his love of his art Northcote 
 records, " Many artists paint to live, but Opie 
 lives to paint." 
 
 ^ See Amelia Opie's pathetic novels, "Father and Daughter" and 
 " Adeline Mowbray." 
 
96 THE GURNEYS OE EARLHAM [^79^ 
 
 To the Earlhcim sisters, Mrs. Opie's musical 
 talents gave her an especial charm. " She 
 was perfect as a musician," says Mrs. S. C. 
 Hall according to the simple perfecting of 
 those days, and sang with power and sweetness 
 the songs then in vogue — '' Sally in our Alley," 
 &c. In the open Boulevards at Paris she had 
 created the greatest sensation by singing " Fall, 
 tyrants, fall." She would practise for hours with 
 Rachel Gurney and her younger sisters, whom 
 Miss Martineau describes as — 
 
 "A set of dashing young people, dressing in gay 
 riding-habits and scarlet boots, and riding about the 
 country to balls and gaieties of all sorts. Accomplished 
 and charming young ladies they were, and we children 
 used to hear whispered gossip about the effects of their 
 charms on heart-stricken young men." 
 
 Not only the charms of its young ladies 
 attracted all the young officers quartered at 
 Norwich to Earlham, but the fishing and 
 shooting which their father was always willing 
 to bestow. For John Gurney was the most 
 good-natured and popular of men. A strict 
 preserver of his game, he had, however, an 
 intense repugnance to everything bordering on 
 poaching. Upon one occasion, when walking 
 in his park, he heard a gun fired in a neigh- 
 bouring wood. When he hurried to the spot, 
 
1798] SPIRITUAL CONFLICTS 9/ 
 
 his naturally placid temper was considerably 
 ruffled on seeing a young officer, with a phea- 
 sant at his feet, deliberately loading his gun. 
 Upon the young man replying to his rather 
 warm expressions by a polite apology, Mr. 
 Gurney's wrath was somewhat allayed, yet he 
 could not refrain from asking the intruder what 
 he would do if he caught a man trespassing 
 upon his premises. '* I would ask him to lun- 
 cheon," was the reply. The serenity of this im- 
 pudence was not to be resisted. Mr. Gurney 
 not only invited the offender to luncheon, but 
 supplied him with dogs and a gamekeeper, and 
 secured him excellent sport for the remainder 
 of the day.^ 
 
 It was in this year that the American Friend, 
 William Savery, came to Norwich on a mis- 
 sion. The diary of the young Roman Catholic, 
 John Pitchford, describes his going to hear 
 him : — 
 
 *' Feb. 7, 1798. — hi the evening I went to the Quakers' 
 Meeting. As there was a great crowd and no room to 
 sit down, I placed myself on the staircase, but Mr. 
 Joseph Gurney scon beckoned me thence, and placed 
 me amongst the preachers, one of whom, when the 
 sermon and prayer were finished, shook me by the 
 hand, which I believe is their n^ode of announcing the 
 
 1 See Memoir of Sir T. F. Buxton. 
 VOL. I. G 
 
98 THE GURNEYS OF EARLHAM [^79^ 
 
 conclusion of a Meeting. The name of the speaker 
 was Savery, and his sermon the best I have ever heard 
 among Quakers, so full of candour and liberality. My 
 only objection to it was its excessive length — two hours 
 and a half." 
 
 On his first visit to Norwich, William Savery 
 was much astonished at the worldly appearance 
 of the Quakers there. He speaks of it in his 
 printed journal, describing a Norwich Meeting 
 of February 4, 1798 : — 
 
 "There were about two hundred under our name, very 
 few middle-aged. I thought it the gayest meeting of 
 Friends I ever sat in, and was grieved at it. . . . The 
 marks of wealth and grandeur are too obvious in 
 several families of Friends in this place." 
 
 Betsy — Elizabeth Gurney — the third in age, 
 had hitherto been the gayest and the brightest 
 of the Earlham sisterhood. She was the one 
 who most enjoyed dancing, and who had always 
 an innocent pleasure in the admiration she ex- 
 cited. But her sisters' journals record how one 
 (lay — it was on the 4th of February 1 798 — when 
 she was in her twentieth year, the whole family 
 went to the Meeting at ''Goat's." The seven 
 sisters sat in a row in front of the gallery. Betsy 
 had on a pair of new ''purple boots, laced with 
 scarlet." They were a perfect delight to her ; 
 
1798] SPIRITUAL CONFLICTS 99 
 
 she intended to console herself with them for 
 the oppressive dulness she expected. Hitherto 
 she had often been excused from ''Goat's" as 
 her health was less strong than that of her 
 sisters, but her Uncle Joseph, in whom the 
 Quaker spirit was stronger than in her father, 
 had ureed that she ouQ^ht to make an effort 
 to attend, and had induced John Gurney to 
 insist upon it. So, most unwillingly, she had 
 gone. On this occasion, however, a strange 
 minister was present ; it was the American 
 " Friend " William Savery. 
 
 "At last," says Richenda, ''he began to preach. 
 His voice and manner were arresting, and we all 
 liked the sound, but Betsy's attention became fixed, 
 and at last I saw her begin to weep, and she became 
 a good deal agitated. As soon as Meeting was over, 
 she made her way to the men's side of the Meeting, 
 and having found my father, she asked him if she 
 might dine at the Grove, our Uncle Joseph's, where 
 William Savery was staying. He consented, though 
 rather surprised by the request. We others went 
 home as usual, and, for a wonder, we wished to go 
 again in the afternoon. As we returned in the car- 
 riage, Betsy sat in the middle, and astonished us all 
 by weeping most of the way home. The next morning 
 William Savery came to breakfast, and preached after- 
 wards to our sisters, prophesying a high and important 
 calling into which she would be led." 
 
lOO THE GURNEYS OK EARLHAM [l798 
 
 From that day Betsy's love of pleasure and 
 the world seemed gone. She began to lead a 
 life apart from the rest of the family, gradually 
 but firmly withdrawing herself more and more 
 from its daily interests and occupations. 
 
 By the little Richenda, for whom life still 
 sparkled with innocent enjoyment, this change 
 in Betsy was bitterly felt. It kept her awake 
 with grief and annoyance. 
 
 "At length," she writes, "I felt I ought to tell her 
 openly what my feelings were, and when we went to 
 bed together, I openly told her my mind, and how I 
 disliked the change which I saw was taking place in 
 her, and I asked her what influenced her to it. She 
 told me she felt it was her duty to be a Quaker ; she 
 was certain she acted from reason, and not from en- 
 thusiasm, and that she had felt far happier since she 
 had adopted the principles of Quakers than she had 
 ever done before. She said she knew it was her path to 
 tread in ; that every one has a different path to follow. 
 'To some,' she said, 'drawing and singing may be 
 innocent and pure amusements ; to me they are not, 
 therefore I give them up.' This has taught me how 
 necessary it is to bear with patience the sentiments of 
 others when they differ from your own." 
 
 Catherine Gurney writes — 
 
 " I have a clear picture of Betsy's appearance at this 
 time. It was peculiarly lovely. Her fine flaxen hair was 
 
1798] SPIRITUAL CONFLICTS 10 1 
 
 combed simply behind and parted in front. Her white 
 gown plainly fitted her figure, which was beautifully 
 proportioned. I remember her sitting on the window- 
 seat in what we then called the blue room, with her 
 feet up, in deep meditation. It appears curious to 
 have her form so written on my memory. But a 
 change became daily more evident in her, and appeared 
 more and more as a reahty, though at that time we 
 could not in the least understand it, and it was a very 
 great cross to me. I now see how much the expres- 
 sion of our feeling must have added to her difficulty. 
 When she told me she could not dance with us any 
 more (which was at that time my greatest delight), 
 it was almost more than I could bear, and I tried to 
 argue with her, and begged and persecuted her. But 
 it was all in vain. The firmness of her character was 
 called into play, and I never remember her to have 
 been shaken in one single point which she felt to be 
 her duty. The Bible became her study, visiting the 
 poor, especially the sick, her great object. We were 
 too ignorant ourselves to know what the workings of 
 her mind were, but we could discover the most marked 
 change in her. To us (who were tried by many things 
 in her which were great crosses to us) she was now 
 always amiable and patient, forbearing and humble. 
 And, in looking back upon the change in her life and its 
 great results, we may feel assured that God was at 
 work in her soul, and that she was at that time really 
 and truly awakening to a new life in Christ Jesus, and 
 called to a most important service. Yet it was after 
 she had received these powerful impressions that, with 
 my father's consent, she went to London, literally to 
 
102 THE GURNEYS OF EARLHAM [1798 
 
 see the world, being determined to prove all things, and 
 hold fast that which was good." 
 
 The request which Betsy — Elizabeth Gurney 
 -made at this time to her father, astonished 
 
 her sisters more than anything else. She 
 begged that she might be allowed to visit 
 London and examine for herself into all the 
 fascinations and amusements of the world, 
 before she left it. And to London, under the 
 care of Mrs. H anbury, she was sent. She 
 ''tasted London," as she called it, had dancing 
 lessons in the mornings, concerts and parties 
 in the afternoons, the theatre in the evenings, 
 and balls at night. 
 
 But the result was, that when she came 
 home, she was quite decided as to the course she 
 meant to follow. The narrowest way of religion 
 was chosen, and what are sometimes called 
 the pleasures of the world — literature, music, 
 science, cheerful companionship — renounced 
 for ever. With Quaker principles she began 
 to adopt Quaker peculiarities, at first with a 
 pertinacity which was most trying to her 
 sisters. The discussions, however, which fol- 
 lowed had perhaps the effect of leading them 
 also to consider the subject as they would 
 not otherwise have done. As a proof of her 
 
1798] SPIRITUAL CONFLICTS IO3 
 
 exaeeerated relloflous enthusiasm at this time, 
 it is remembered that she even refused to look 
 at the picture which Opie was painting of her 
 own father, though she pained him by doing 
 so, and in many other ways — most annoying to 
 those around — her judgment was at this time 
 blunted by shackles from which she was after- 
 wards emancipated. 
 
IV 
 
 CHANGES 
 
 "And the sign shall be mercifully given to the doubt of love which 
 shall be refused to the doubt of indifference." — Robertson. 
 
 "Truth, which doth only judge itself, teacheth that the inquiry of 
 truth, which is the love-making or wooing of it, the knowledge of truth, 
 which is the presence of it, and the belief of truth, which is the enjoying 
 of it, is the sovereign good of human nature." — Bacon. 
 
 Partly in the hope of giving a more whole- 
 some and natural tone to the thoughts of Betsy, 
 Mr. Gurney took all his seven daughters for 
 a tour through England and Wales in the 
 summer of 1798. In Colebrook Dale, he 
 purposely left Betsy alone for some days with 
 her cousin, Priscilla Hannah Gurney, a very 
 sensible and practical person, though a con- 
 firmed Quaker. 
 
 *' She was exactly the person to attract the young : 
 she possessed singular beauty and elegance of manner. 
 She was of the old school ; her costume partook of this, 
 and her long retention of the black hood gave much 
 character to her appearance." 
 
 During this journey Elizabeth was much 
 
 104 
 
1798] CHANGES 105 
 
 impressed by the prediction of one Deborah 
 Darby, an aged Friend, who told her that she 
 would be "a light to the blind, speech to the 
 dumb, and feet to the lame." "Can it be? 
 She almost seems as if she thouo^ht I was to 
 be a minister of Christ. Can I ever be one ? " 
 wrote Elizabeth Gurney in her journal. 
 
 After the return . of the family to Earlham, 
 one day, in walking up the park, Betsy Gurney 
 fell in w^ith a girl about her own age — Molly 
 Norman by name — carrying a bag of flour. 
 She talked to the girl, and asked her what she 
 thought it cost to clothe her. The girl replied, 
 she thought it cost ten shillings a year. Upon 
 which Betsy obtained her father's consent to 
 adopt this girl. She was admitted into the 
 house, and became her entire charge, pupil, 
 and attendant. This was the first of her direct 
 labours for others. But she soon enlarged her 
 views, and having obtained use of the laundry 
 for the purpose, she collected twice a week all 
 the children from the neio^hbourinor villaores. 
 The numbers soon amounted to seventy or 
 more, and they acquired the name of " Betsy's 
 Imps." She had no master or mistress for 
 them, and, of course, none of the helps of 
 books, boards, and pictures of the present day, 
 so that it is wonderful how she succeeded in 
 
I06 THE GURNEYS OF EARLHAM [l798 
 
 keeping any order, or imparting any instruc- 
 tion to such an undisciplined troop. She did, 
 however, produce a decided effect upon them, 
 and her memory is still regarded with gratitude 
 and affection by the children of her pupils. 
 This was the beginning of the Sunday-school 
 which was very long kept up at Earlham in a 
 many-sided chamber at the top of the house. 
 The next step was establishing a little day- 
 school — *' Nobbs " — of six girls at Norwich, 
 whence some of the best servants and most 
 faithful friends of families in that neighbour- 
 hood have emerged, and showed from the first 
 that a blessing rested upon her labours.^ 
 
 Still Elizabeth Gurney was not satisfied. 
 She felt that her home life, even with all the 
 fresh interests of her school, left a blank to her. 
 She became filled with the morbid fancies 
 which those who perpetually hunt for sins 
 learn to indulge in. She longed to wear a 
 more distinct outward badge of service to the 
 Master she had chosen. She pined for a 
 thornier path. To begin with, she announced 
 to her father, who received it with great pain 
 and distress, that she must become "a plain 
 Quaker," which implied a very different life 
 to that to which her family was accustomed. 
 
 ^ From notes by Priscilla Buxton, Mrs. Johnston. 
 
ELIZABETH GURNEY 
 
 OF EARLHAM 
 
1798] CHANGES 107 
 
 There must never be any further risk of her 
 attention wandering during Meeting to such 
 a vanity as purple boots. Dress must hence- 
 forward be only a covering, not an adornment. 
 She adopted the Quaker costume in its most 
 exaggerated form. She reasoned perpetually 
 with her sisters to persuade them to flee from 
 such temptations — for thus she considered 
 them — as music and dancing. Her position 
 at home became daily more difficult — almost 
 untenable.^ 
 
 Among the younger John Gurney's school- 
 fellows at Wandsworth had been a boy named 
 Joseph Fry, who was of an old family, which took 
 its name from Frie in Normandy. He was after- 
 wards placed with Robert Holmes, a " Friend," 
 in Norfolk, to learn farming, but chiefly spent 
 his time in coursing and other country pursuits, 
 which led to his introduction to the Gurney 
 family. In education, and in cultivation of his 
 natural talents, especially for music, he was 
 their superior. But their singular charms both 
 of mind and person, their joyous freedom and 
 ofeneral circumstances, delio^hted the voune 
 Londoner, whose heart was soon especially 
 
 ^ From this time she always entered or dated the months in the 
 Quaker fashion, as "7th day, 4th mo. 1799." The usual form is pre- 
 served here for convenience in these volumes, but is not that used in the 
 original letters. 
 
I08 THE GURNEYS OF EARLHAM [1799-180O 
 
 touched by Betsy. It was In an evening walk 
 beyond the bounds of the park, towards the 
 village of Colney, that he first became fully 
 conscious of his feelings towards her. It is 
 remembered that she was dressed that evening 
 in a brown silk gown, with a black lace veil 
 wound round her head like a turban, the ends 
 pendant on one side of her face and contrasting 
 with her beautiful light-brown hair. 
 
 Joseph Fry first proposed to Elizabeth Gurney 
 in July 1 799, when he was unhesitatingly refused. 
 He could not, however, be induced to relinquish 
 her, though Mr. Gurney wrote many wise and 
 kind letters to discourage his further attentions, 
 such as that of — 
 
 ^^ March i6, 1800. — I can do no less than recommend 
 thee, at least for the present, to waive all thoughts 
 of a visit to Earlham. I am of opinion it is in no 
 respect likely to further thy wishes, and if so, "then it 
 must have a contrary effect, because it must call upon 
 Betsy, if she cannot return thy affection for her, to 
 take a line of absolute prohibition as to casual inter- 
 course. She will have to consider that young women 
 suffer a disadvantage in character when there shall be 
 any appearance of allowing a young man to remain in 
 the character of a suitor when there is no inclination 
 or intention to give a future encouragement. . . . 
 For myself, I am vastly at a loss how to act, for unless 
 thou couldst summon resolution to relinquish thy 
 
l8oo] CHANGES I O9 
 
 views towards her, I feel it a hardship upon thee to 
 have her in the neighbourhood without holding inter- 
 course ; and with the sentiments which I am aware 
 she holds, I could not think an intercourse could be 
 allowed with satisfaction to thee, or propriety as to 
 herself." 
 
 Joseph Fry and Elizabeth Gurney, however, 
 continued occasionally to meet at " Cousin 
 Hoare's" and other places. On their return 
 from London in the spring of 1800, Mr. 
 Gurney, with his daughters Kitty and Rachel, 
 were invited to visit the Fry parents at 
 Plashet, and returned full of their kindness, and 
 in the following May Elizabeth was induced 
 to send Joseph Fry a note containing expres- 
 sions of friendliness. But she w^as terrified 
 w'hen she found that this immediately brought 
 him to Earlham, determined to obtain a definite 
 promise or refusal. The Gurney family were 
 divided about him. He w^as supposed to be 
 a rich man, and he had a good house in the 
 City of London, in St. Mildred's Court, near 
 his place of business. He was a remarkably 
 good linguist and sang splendidly. He bore 
 the highest character for probity, sagacity, and 
 benevolence. Above all, he belonged to a 
 family of "plain Quakers," the sect to which 
 Betsy had so firmly announced her intention 
 
IIO THE GURNEYS OF EARLHAM [180O 
 
 of uniting herself. And yet his appearance 
 was greatly against him, and his manners were 
 considered by the Earlham sisters to be most 
 uncaptivating. 
 
 By Mr. Gurney himself, Joseph Fry's suit 
 was now well received. The motherly heart of 
 Catherine — Mrs. Catherine she now began to 
 be called — ached for her sister, and yet she 
 thought that such a marriage might afford her 
 all she sought for the present, and that the 
 home duties it would impose would gradually 
 wean her from the exaggerations into which 
 she perceived her to be drifting at Earlham. 
 The gentle Rachel wept constantly, because she 
 thought, against her natural inclination, that 
 the proposal should be accepted. Richenda, 
 Louisa, and Priscilla expended reams of closely 
 covered paper in written prayers that Betsy 
 might be helped through her difficulties, and 
 guided to do what was best (though they had 
 great doubts whether this was best) for her 
 eternal welfare. Hannah tells in her journal 
 how she cried all night because she thought 
 that the marriage must be. 
 
 Mr. Fry had no intention of exposing him- 
 self to the possibility of a refusal. He bought 
 a very handsome gold watch and chain, and 
 laid it down upon a white seat — the white seat 
 
l8oo] CHANGES III 
 
 which still exists — in the garden at Earlham. 
 " If Betsy takes up that watch," he said, ''it is 
 a sign that she accepts me : if she does not take 
 it up by a particular hour, it will show that I 
 must leave Earlham." The six sisters con- 
 cealed themselves in six laurel-bushes in diffe- 
 rent parts of the grounds to watch. One can 
 imagine their intense curiosity and anxiety. 
 At last the tall, graceful Betsy, her flaxen hair 
 now hidden under a Quaker cap, shyly emerged 
 upon the gravel walk. She seemed scarcely 
 conscious of her surroundings, as if, *' on the 
 wings of prayer, she was being wafted into the 
 unseen." But she reached the garden seat, and 
 there, in the sunshine, lay the glittering new 
 w^atch. The sight of it recalled her to earth. 
 She could not, could not, take it, and fled 
 swiftly back to the house. 
 
 But the six sisters remained in their laurel- 
 bushes. They felt sure she would revoke, and 
 they did not watch in vain. An hour elapsed, 
 in which her father urged her, and in which 
 conscience seemed to drag her forwards. Once 
 again did the anxious sisters see Betsy emerge 
 from the house, with more faltering steps this 
 time, but still inwardly praying, and slowly, trem- 
 blingly, they saw her take up the watch, and the 
 deed was done. She never afterwards regretted 
 
112 THE GURNEYS OF EARLHAM [1800 
 
 it, though it was a bitter pang to her when she 
 collected her eighty-six children in the garden 
 at Earlham and bade them farewell, and though 
 she wrote in her journal as a bride, " I cried 
 heartily on leaving Norwich ; the very stones in 
 the street were dear to me." She could be a 
 ''plain Quaker" now without displeasing any 
 one. Her future husband had promised never to 
 hinder, but rather to aid, her efforts after the 
 hio-her life which is hidden in Christ. She 
 trusted to the integrity of his nature to keep his 
 vow, and she did not trust in vain. 
 
 Betsy was also to be separated as little as 
 possible from her family. It was promised that 
 she should pay long annual visits to Earlham : 
 one or other of her sisters was to be frequently 
 with her in London. Her young brother Samuel 
 — from childhood rather devoted to horses and 
 farm interests than literature, but now about to 
 start in business and be articled to her husband 
 — was to be a constant inmate of her house in 
 St. Mildred's Court, in the heart of the City, 
 where she could watch over his moral and 
 spiritual, as well as his physical well-being. 
 At fourteen he was to be employed in the 
 book-keeping department and in the money 
 affairs of his brother-in-law's house of business, 
 and into these he threw himself with the same 
 
l8oi] CHANGES 113 
 
 heartiness and whole-mindedness which charac- 
 terised all he did, and which constituted his 
 success in after life.^ 
 
 Rachel and Hannah were at St. Mildred's 
 Court with Elizabeth Fry when her first child 
 — Katherine — was born. Their seventeen- 
 year-old sister Louisa wrote to them from 
 Earlham : — 
 
 ^'August 24, 1 80 1. — Dearest Rachel and Hannah, I 
 don't think I can write much to you, I feel almost too 
 interested about the delightful news. . . . After Meeting 
 yesterday, we went into the market-place to wait for 
 letters, and there — between great fear and great joy — 
 Kitty read that the darling girl was born. I longed 
 to fly out of the coach and tell everybody that knew 
 us the news. Then we went round to tell Hannah 
 Scarnell. . . . How I do long to see it ! I think thee 
 (Rachel) must feel so satisfied in having been with 
 Betsy through it all, and I hope it has not been too 
 much for thee or Hannah. What Hannah must have 
 felt when she heard the sweet cries of the child ! I 
 long to hear far more — how dearest Betsy spends 
 every hour, and what she says, and what she feels, and 
 how you all do, now you have reaped the fruit of such 
 pain as you must have gone through." 
 
 A little later Richenda wrote from Earlham 
 to Hannah at St. Mildred's Court : — 
 
 ^ See Memoirs of Samuel Gurney, by Mrs. Thomas Geldart. 
 VOL. I. H 
 
IT4 THE GURNEYS OF EARLHAM [180I 
 
 ^^ Sept. 1 80 1. — We go on very comfortably with all 
 our visitors, but so soberly and quietly, that really I 
 have no news to tell thee. We spend our days as 
 busily as possible. At six we get up, and every 
 other morning I read ' Newton on the Prophecies,' 
 which I like much better than any book of the sort I 
 ever read. When we have all walked in the garden 
 after breakfast, we separate and go into our different 
 rooms, and scarcely see anything of one another all 
 the morning. But fixing the plan of practising takes 
 a considerable time. The instrument hardly ever 
 ceases for five minutes. I have, besides my own 
 practising, to sing with Cilia (Priscilla) half-an-hour, 
 sing with Gatty (Agatha Barclay) half-an-hour, and 
 also with Anna Buxton. . . . We generally walk for 
 an hour in the afternoon, oftener to the Scarnells than' 
 anywhere else. All the evening Rachel (Barclay), 
 Anna Buxton, and I read Tasso, which I constantly 
 admire more. . . . Almost the only reason I dislike 
 having people in the house is that I see less of Kitty. 
 There is no one who does me so much good. I think 
 she is quite a pattern to all young people." 
 
 Only a fev^ wrecks after this letter v^as 
 w^ritten, the Earlham family gathered on the 
 steps of the hall-door to watch a travelling 
 carriage approaching up the lime avenue. It 
 contained Rachel, Hannah, and Betsy, with 
 "the darling baby." Eager to display the 
 treasure, no sooner was the carriage - door 
 opened, than Hannah sprang out with the 
 
l8o2] CHANGES I 1 5 
 
 baby in her arms, and wondered who the tall, 
 and to her unknown, boy could be, standing 
 amongst the group. That boy was Thomas 
 Fowell Buxton, her future husband, who 
 looked on her then for the first time, and 
 said at once in his large strong heart : " She 
 shall be my wife." ^ 
 
 In the following year Fowell Buxton formed 
 one of the party when Mr. Gurney took his 
 six unmarried daug^hters and his son Samuel 
 to the Lakes, with Mr. Crome (Old Crome) as 
 their drawing-master. 
 
 Hannah Gurney ^0 Elizabeth Fry. 
 
 ^^ Ambleside y 1802. — To-day we could not get out 
 till rather late on account of the weather, which none 
 of us minded, as we were all busily employed in 
 drawing, Kitty reading to us. Chenda, Cilia, and Mr. 
 Crome were comfortably seated in a romantic little 
 summer-house, painting a beautiful waterfall. Pris- 
 cilla Lloyd ^ was with us, as she has frequently been 
 since we came here. Fowell and Sam have been shoot- 
 ing, and have been very successful. We generally get 
 up early and draw for the first two or three hours 
 in the morning before we set out on our excursions, 
 which are mostly walking ones, as we like it far 
 better than riding in this delightful country. Nothing, 
 
 ^ Seventy years after, Hannah, Lady Buxton, told this to her niece, 
 Katherine Fry, who was then " the baby." 
 
 ^ Who aftei wards married Dr. Wordsworth, Master of Trinity. 
 
Il6 THE GURNEYS OF EARLHAM [l8o2 
 
 I think, have we been so delighted with as Grasmere. 
 We three, Fowell and Sam, had a very pleasant and 
 droll ride home in a countryman's cart, which passed 
 us on our return to Ambleside, after we had been 
 climbing up a hill at Grasmere, and walking a long 
 way when there. We are all, even Kitty, capital 
 walkers. Plans are rather a stumbling-block to the 
 family's good minds, but after a rough hour or two, 
 calm ensues, and good minds reappear." 
 
 It was well for Rachel Gurney that she 
 had something at this time which demanded 
 her attention, and which could sometimes 
 withdraw her mind from dwelling on its own 
 sorrows. The Enfield family, who had for- 
 merly been the dearest friends of all the Earl- 
 ham sisters, were still under sentence of exile. 
 The separation lasted three years. All the 
 sisters had felt it, but to Rachel it had been 
 a bitter trial. During the interval, however 
 — partly through the influence, of young Mr. 
 Pitchford, but more perhaps as an effect of the 
 trial itself — her mind had undergone a great 
 change on religious subjects, and though her 
 knowledge of them was obscure, she had begun 
 to seek consolation in a form which she would 
 have joined Henry Enfield in ridiculing a few 
 years before. It had been promised that she was 
 to see him again when she should be twenty- 
 
l8o2] CHANGES I I7 
 
 one, in November 1799, and with the most 
 intense anxiety she had looked forward to the 
 interview which would decide her lot in life. 
 As the time approached, she wrote to beg him 
 to give her full notice before their meeting. 
 But he did not do this, and on the very day his 
 probation was ended he unexpectedly appeared 
 at Earlham. Rachel and Henry Enfield were 
 shut up together for a long time. She scarcely 
 spoke afterwards of what had passed between 
 them, but when he came out, he went away 
 without seeing any other member of the family. 
 The unsympathetic pride with which he had 
 scorned the change in her feelings had pained 
 Rachel bitterly. Henry Enfield had parted 
 with her coldly ; nothing was then said as to 
 the future. 
 
 Rachel was left in a state of the most ex- 
 treme disappointment and distress, and as day 
 after day passed by, and she heard nothing, Mr. 
 Gurney's tender heart was moved, till at last 
 he began to wish to bring about the union with 
 Henry Enfield w^hich he had opposed so long. 
 But then a strange report came to Earlham that 
 he was engaged to some one else. Mr. Gurney 
 sent his faithful servant Scarnell to Nottingham, 
 where the Enfields lived, to crather informa- 
 tion and find out if the report was true ; if not, 
 
Il8 THE GURNEYS OF EARLHAM [l8o2 
 
 to tell young Enfield that all his opposition was 
 withdrawn. But the report was perfectly true ; 
 Henry Enfield was not only engaged, but was 
 already married to another. From that day 
 Rachel's spirits were broken and her beauty 
 faded, hoivjr afterwards Mrs. Catherine Gur- 
 ney wrote : — 
 
 " Rachel's grief was most bitter, and she was long 
 in a state of great depression, but by degrees her fine 
 vigorous nature, aided by the increasing sense of the 
 power of religion, prevailed over her senses, and her 
 mind and affections were turned to other objects. 
 She did indeed work her way through many clouds of 
 sorrow and much darkness, with few outward helps, 
 but the diligence of her mind being once directed to 
 attaining a resting-place in religion, she gradually 
 became established in the habit of daily reading in 
 the Scriptures, and of a measure of religious retire- 
 ment. Her diligence in duty, however, her remarkable 
 cultivation of the gift of serving others that was in her, 
 was apparently one of the principal means of leading 
 her into higher light, and opening to her that rich field 
 of Christian experience and consolation to which she was 
 afterwards so abundantly admitted. Through all her 
 own conflicts, she never forgot others, she was most 
 disinterested in her services, and judicious and effec- 
 tive in the help she gave. Her sympathies were most 
 lively and affectionate, and under any trouble she 
 was the greatest comfort to all the family, and to 
 her brothers, especially Joseph and Daniel, the most 
 vigilant of sisters." 
 
RACHEL GURNEY 
 
 After Mrs. Opie 
 
l8o2] CHANGES 119 
 
 Meantime the religious movement amongst 
 the Earlham sisters continued. They were all 
 still nominally Friends, but the degree of their 
 Quakerism was very fluctuating and uncertain, 
 and varied according to circumstances. The 
 marriaee of their cousin and intimate friend 
 Margaret Lindoe with William Jones, the 
 Rector of Clare, in Suffolk, now also, when 
 they went to stay with her, made them for the 
 first time really acquainted with English Church 
 principles. In proportion, however, as the 
 sisters were impressed with the seriousness and 
 importance of religious subjects, they began 
 to be perplexed and uneasy as to their own 
 religious situation, and their great uncertainty 
 as to Gospel truth. This was especially the 
 case with Catherine and with Rachel, in whom 
 religious perplexities made a sad additional 
 trouble to that of her disappointed affection.^ 
 The younger sisters, according to their age 
 and character, reflected more or less the spiri- 
 tual condition of their elders. Louisa was of 
 the most thoughtful turn, and in consequence 
 she felt the most. Her ardent disposition was 
 very strongly affected by the changes which 
 seemed to be taking place in the character 
 
 ^ John Pitchford, who had been long so devotedly attached to her, 
 had proposed to Rachel Gurney after he knew that her engagement to 
 Henry Enfield was at an end, but entirely without success. 
 
I 20 THE GURNEYS OF EARLHAM [1802-3 
 
 of her ciders, though the other three younger 
 sisters still continued to enjoy the pleasures 
 of their youth, without very much thought of 
 the future. 
 
 Catherine Gurney writes : — 
 
 '^As for myself, I was working my way through 
 much obscurity, and difficulty, and discouragement, or 
 rather it was worked out for me, and I can best 
 describe my experience by Prov. xx. 24 — 'A man's 
 goings are of the Lord : how then can he understand 
 his own way ? ' I read and I thought, and I was 
 very grave, and my mind was deeply occupied by 
 religious subjects. I had very litUe taste or inclination 
 for anything else. I loved at that time some specu- 
 lative metaphysical books. Tucker's ^ Light of Nature ' 
 used to dehght me, and was, in many respects, very 
 useful to me. I cannot enumerate all the books that 
 occupied me in succession, but, above all, Butler was 
 the turning-point, and on my mind the most influential 
 of anything I ever read. It has had a very strong and 
 permanent influence on my mode in religion, if I may 
 so express it, and I trace to it many things in myself 
 which might appear to have no connection with this 
 kind of foundation-work. My own sense of it is that 
 I have always had more sound and comprehensive 
 views of religion, even in subordinate points, from my 
 study of Butler. Afterwards I came to Pearson and 
 parts of Hooker, which confirmed all that had gone 
 before. But these I did not read till after I knew Dr. 
 Wordsworth. Our acquaintance with him began soon 
 after his marriage with Priscilla Lloyd. Having the 
 
1802-3] CHANGES 12 I 
 
 living of Oby near Norwich, he came to take posses- 
 sion of it, and was invited by my father to Earlham, 
 owing to his wife being a relation of some of our family. 
 At the time of the Wordsworths' first visit, both Rachel 
 and 1 were absent : she'' was with Betsy and I was 
 staying with Mary Anne Galton^ at Bath. She was 
 lodged and boarded in a Moravian family, and I was 
 accommodated there with her. This also proved of 
 importance to me, and as my mind was then all alive 
 and open to Scripture truth, I gained much light from 
 the Moravians on the subject of the Atonement and 
 justification by faith, which I had understood most 
 obscurely before. Greatly in the dark as I had been 
 about these fundamental truths, I delighted in this 
 accession to my religious knowledge and happiness, 
 and, when I left Bath and sta^^ed for a short time with 
 Betsy at St. Mildred's Court, I was most earnest to go 
 to old Newton's church ^ and hear him preach, as his 
 writings had fallen into my hands, and fed me just in 
 the way I wanted. Accordingly I went one evening 
 and heard a most touching sermon from Isaiah liii. I 
 never can forget the enjoyment and encouragement 
 of that evening, and the delight of the whole church 
 service on that occasion. It was what I wanted. But 
 there it ended for a long time. 
 
 " On returning to Earlham, I found the sisters who 
 had been left at home greatly pleased with their new 
 acquaintances the Wordsworths, and Rachel and I soon 
 shared the enjo3^ment. They were highly pleasing, and 
 our connection with them was another influential link 
 
 * Afterwards Mrs. Schimmelpenninck. 
 2 St. Mary Woolnoth. 
 
122 THE GURNEYS OF EARLHAM [1802-3 
 
 in the chain of our religious history. I remember the 
 pleasure and the instruction of Dr. Wordsworth's family 
 reading and prayers, and he told me of books to read, 
 especially Pearson, Leighton, Barrow, parts of Hooker, 
 and others : so I was thoroughly set to work. But he 
 never talked about the Church, or any secondary point, 
 that I can recollect, in our whole intercourse, till I, some 
 years afterwards, applied to him for information. I 
 did not then care about the Church, but only about 
 getting hold of the Truth that I wanted to make me 
 happ}-, and for this I cared far more than for anything 
 else in the world." 
 
 After Mrs. Catherine's death, in an old edition 
 of Buder's "Analogy" belonging to her was 
 found written : — 
 
 " My first recollection of this valuable old book is 
 seeing my mother reading it in her early morning walks 
 on the Earlham lawn at the top of the little hill, just 
 opposite the south windows. 
 
 '* I don't remember that she ever mentioned or 
 recommended it to me, but several years afterwards, 
 when she was no more, and I was groping my way 
 to find the truth, and read many books in search of it, 
 and had been greatly perplexed ' by philosophy and 
 vain deceit,' I was led to take up Butler, which im- 
 mediately fastened me. My inquiring mind was met 
 by his just and comprehensive view of the Truth of 
 Religion. I was fully convinced, and my future course 
 became decided. 
 
 *' I no longer ' stumbled on the dark mountains ' of 
 
1802-3] CHANGES 123 
 
 error, but, as I became intimately acquainted with the 
 great principles so admirably unfolded in the work, 
 my happiness increased, and I experienced the secu- 
 rity and comfort of resting on the Truth of Religion. 
 Though my sentiments in many important points were 
 in great obscurity, the foundation was laid, and, by the 
 grace of God and the succession of providential events, 
 the superstructure was gradually raised. 
 
 '' I read Butler over and over again, and always with 
 profit, so that I have always considered it as one of 
 the marked providences of my life that I was first 
 instructed b}^ so sound and comprehensive a writer : 
 it has proved so great an advantage to me through life. 
 
 "Then, from my recommendation, the other members 
 of my family took to it, especially Louisa and Joseph. 
 He profited greatly by it, and infused much of its spirit 
 into some of his own writings." 
 
 All this time the great intimacy, which has 
 never since been relaxed, was drawing closer 
 between the families of Gurney and Buxton. 
 Mrs. Buxton, a sister of Mrs. Gurney of Kes- 
 wick, had been left a widow with five chil- 
 dren, and lived principally at Earl's Colne In 
 Essex, and occasionally at Weymouth. A kind- 
 hearted, original-minded person, of strong will 
 and intellect, she had taken a peculiar line in 
 the education of her children, setting the highest 
 possible standard before them, but leaving them 
 the fullest liberty of independent action — a 
 
124 THE GURNEYS OF EARLHAM [1802-3 
 
 method calculated to form character of unusual 
 decision, as was proved by the result in mature 
 life. Mrs. Buxton, who had become acquainted 
 with the Gurneys of Earlham during visits to 
 her sister at Keswick, now lost no opportunity of 
 promoting family intercourse, and, with her three 
 elder children — Anna, Powell, and Charles — ac- 
 companied the family from Earlham on a tour 
 in Wales. During this journey a close friend- 
 ship began between all the younger members of 
 the Gurney and Buxton families, and it was soon 
 after this that Powell Buxton began to show 
 the especial devotion to Hannah Gurney which, 
 beeun at first sioht, increased with time and 
 intimacy. His intense love for her became 
 henceforward a stimulus in all his pursuits. 
 He pursued university honours like a knight 
 pursuing a victor's crown that he might lay it 
 at his lady's feet, and at Dublin University he 
 obtained the utmost distinction. But to all the 
 brothers and sisters at Earlham he was as one 
 of themselves, and all alike watched his career 
 with eager interest. Rachel especially regarded 
 him with the same maternal interest which she 
 gave to her own brothers, while with Joseph 
 John he formed the closest friendship. Before 
 he left college, he was permitted to engage him- 
 self to Hannah Gurney, though they were not 
 
1803] CHANGES 125 
 
 allowed to marry till many months after he had 
 finished his career there. 
 
 '' He was indeed a most noble youth," writes 
 Catherine Gurney, ''full of well-directed ambi- 
 tion, and gifted with uncommon energy and 
 perseverance in the right use of his talents. 
 Both nature and education formed him to be 
 a great character, peculiarly fitted to move in 
 public life, and accomplish the difficult and 
 important objects to which he was afterwards 
 called in a remarkable manner." 
 
 While not actually Friends, the religious 
 training of the Buxtons had been not un- 
 like that of the Gurneys, as their mother, 
 when they were very young, had often taken 
 them to Meeting with her, though their habits 
 and society were more of the nature which 
 might be called ''worldly," especially when 
 they were living at Weymouth. 
 
 Elizabeth Fry to Hannah Gurney. 
 
 ''Jan. I, 1803.— I do hope and believe that through 
 all we shall feel the interest of our own family one of 
 the first interests we have. I often, very often, think 
 of you all, and love you with fresh warmth, and dream 
 of you of a night. If our affections may not so frequently 
 be drawn forth towards each other, yet if they still 
 exist, we shall find them equally warm when we are 
 again thrown together." 
 
126 THE GURNEYS OF EARLHAM [1803 
 
 To the Same. 
 
 " 1803. — It does not appear to be in our power to 
 feel our many blessings as we ought. But I think we 
 cannot help feeHng gratitude for the power itself of 
 giving thanks. Do not be surprised at fluctuating feel- 
 ings when mentally and bodily in weak health, which 
 also brings hours of tranquillity and peace not often 
 enjoyed at other times." 
 
 It was in the year 1803, i^ which his father 
 became a partner in the Norwich Bank, that 
 Joseph John Gurney first left home to go to 
 a tutor at Oxford, fortified by a long letter of 
 detailed advice from his sister Catherine, who 
 much dreaded his being **led away" when she 
 was not at hand to look after him. Hannah Gur- 
 ney writes on this occasion to Elizabeth Fry: — 
 
 ''Cromer^ Sept. 3, 1803. — I have truly felt Joseph's 
 leaving us, and his delightful behaviour before we 
 parted makes him a still greater loss. I never saw 
 any one behave so sweetly as he did to us all. But as 
 he must go, it is no use to give way to regret. I do not 
 the least wonder at Kitty's feeling it as she does, but 
 it seems to have cast a gloom over her, and she suffers 
 it to aftect her spirits in a way undesirable to herself 
 and others." 
 
 A picture of the summer family life at Cro- 
 mer, much like that of the present day. Is given 
 in the following letter: — 
 
1803] CHANGES 127 
 
 RiCHENDA GURNEY to ELIZABETH FrY. 
 
 '' Cromer, Sept. 8, 1803. — Our party is now complete, 
 as John continues with us, and the Buxtons arrived 
 yesterday; it was extremely pleasant to us, seeing 
 them both again, particularly Fowell ; their being here 
 will add very much to our pleasure, as there is a 
 suitability between us and the Buxtons, which always 
 
 CROMEK. 
 
 makes it pleasant for us to be together. Our time here 
 is spent in a way that exactly suits the place and the 
 party. All are left in perfect liberty to do as they like 
 all day, or to form any engagement. Yet the party is 
 so connected that hardly a day passes but some plan 
 is fixed for us all to meet. When all are met it is 
 an uncommonly pretty sight, such a number of young 
 
128 THE GURNEYS OF EARLHAM I1S03 
 
 women, and so many, if not pretty, very nice-looking. 
 I wish thee could have seen us the other afternoon. 
 Sally gave a grand entertainment at the Hall, where 
 everybody met — the ladies almost all dressed in white 
 gowns and blue sashes, with nothing on their heads : 
 after dinner we all stood on a wall, eighteen of us, 
 and it really was one of the prettiest sights I ever 
 saw. 
 
 *' To give thee an idea how we are going on, I will tell 
 thee how we generally pass the day. The weather since 
 we came has on the whole been very fine, so imagine 
 us before breakfast, with our troutbecks (hats) on and 
 coloured gowns, running in all directions on the sands, 
 jetty, &c. After breakfast we receive callers from 
 the other houses, and fix with them the plans for the 
 day ; after this we now and then get an hour's quiet 
 for reading and writing, though my mind has been so 
 much taken up witli other things, that I have found it 
 almost impossible to apply to anything seriously. At 
 eleven we go down in numbers to bathe and enjoy the 
 sands, which about that time look beautiful : most of 
 our party and the rest of Cromer company come down, 
 and bring a number of different carriages, which have 
 a very pretty effect. After bathing, we either ride on 
 horseback or take some pleasant excursion or other. 
 I never remember enjoying the sea so much, and never 
 liked Cromer a quarter so well. Some of us continu- 
 ally dine out, whilst the others receive company at 
 home. We always dine in the kitchen ; Nurse is our 
 cook, and makes a very good one. We have short 
 afternoons, and spend the evening with music, or some- 
 thing of that sort : with all these and other delightful 
 
1803] CHANGES 129 
 
 amusements, and this pleasant part}^, it would be very 
 odd if we did not enjoy ourselves. 
 
 '^John has been a great addition to our party. I 
 hope he has enjoyed himself; we have had two or 
 three most merry days since he came. The day before 
 yesterday we spent at Sheringham, wandering about 
 the woods, and sketching all the morning. Every one 
 met at a beautiful spot for dinner, with three knives 
 and forks and two or three plates between twenty-six 
 people. All manner of games took place after dinner, 
 which John completely entered into and seemed to 
 enjoy as much as any of the party. We completed our 
 day by a delightful musical evening. Miss Gordon, our 
 old Cromer friend, came to tea : she played and sang to 
 us all evening in a wonderful style. John goes away 
 on Sunday ; he stays over to-night to be at a dance 
 which some very agreeable people who are at Cromer, 
 Mr. and Mrs. Windham, are going to give, and which 
 I think must be very pleasant. I don't know whether 
 I have not enjoyed being here more than any of us, for 
 in such a party as this strong health and spirits are 
 really necessary to be able to enjoy it. 
 
 " It seems a long time since we heard anything of 
 thee. I have often and often thought of thee and thy 
 darlings, and longed to hear more of thy proceedings." 
 
 RiCHENDA GuRXEY to JOSEPH JOHN, at his Oxford Tutor s. 
 
 ^^ EarlJiam^ October 1 803. — We have passed this 
 week comfortably and pleasantly, and have been very 
 industrious, reading, drawing, &c. We have been up 
 every morning before six, except Saturday, having 
 plenty of time to ourselves before breakfast, which I 
 
 VOL. I. I 
 
130 THE GURNEYS OF EARLHAM [1803 
 
 think gives us a stimulus for the rest of the day. We 
 have a fire in the nursery before breakfast, and we 
 four, and sometimes Anna Buxton, assemble round it 
 wrapped up in greatcoats and red cloaks, and make 
 quite a picturesque group." 
 
 Whilst the younger members of the family 
 were thus amusing themselves, Mr. Gurney 
 w^as becoming filled w^ith the gravest anxieties, 
 by the French v^ar, the mustering of the volun- 
 teer regiments, and the apprehension of the 
 French landing^ on the coast of Norfolk. He 
 ordered that four carriages should be kept con- 
 stantly ready at Earlham to start for the Isle of 
 Ely at a moment's notice. 
 
 Priscilla Gurney to Elizabeth Fry. 
 
 " Earlham^ November 14, 1803. — My feather is going 
 to Lynn this afternoon. From Lynn he will continue 
 his journey to Liverpool, and, I suppose, will not return 
 for a fortnight. I think we shall be in a very unpro- 
 tected state if the French should land whilst my father 
 is away, without a single man, or even boy, to take 
 care of us. We had quite a serious conference about 
 it yesterday morning : thee would have been entertained 
 to have heard the various plans that were proposed. It 
 is, however, now finally settled that as soon as ever we 
 hear the news of their arrival, we six (the six sisters), 
 Danny, and Nurse, and, if we can manage it, Molly and 
 Anne, are immediately to set off in the coach-and-four 
 for Ely, where we are to take up our abode, as my father 
 
1S03] CHANGES 131 
 
 thinks it is a very safe place, being so completely 
 surrounded by marshes. I hope, as soon as ever you 
 hear of the French being landed in Norfolk, that you 
 will imagine us setting off post-haste for Ely. Mrs. 
 Freeman is to stay to take care of the house, as it will be 
 necessary for somebody to be here. My father intends 
 to write down directions for every individual of the 
 famil}^, so that there may be no confusion or bustle 
 whenever the moment of danger arrives, if it ever does 
 arrive." 
 
 During this time, Mrs. Fry had become 
 increasingly established in her life in St. 
 Mildred's Court, where her husband Joseph 
 (youngest son of William Storrs Fry) v^as a 
 partner in his father's house of business. That 
 father, a very strict Quaker, lived in a hand- 
 some country-house at Plashet in Essex, and 
 both there and at St. Mildred's Court the Fry 
 family kept open house for all who belonged 
 to the denomination of " Friends." Many of 
 the clerks, both of the banking-house and the 
 tea business, which Mr. Fry had united with 
 it, lodged in the house in St. Mildred's Court. 
 Children were born there in rapid succession, 
 repeating, in their names, those of the sisters 
 in Norfolk, and in the same order ; but the 
 ever-increasing claims of her large household 
 never prevented Mrs. Fry from keeping up 
 an intimate correspondence with her sisters at 
 
132 THE GURNEYS OF EARLHAM [1803 
 
 Earlham, to which also she never failed to 
 pay lono' annual visits. Her sisters were also 
 very frequently with her in London. Rachel 
 was greatly troubled in her early visits by 
 the distractions of a town life, but quieted her- 
 self with this text, which simplified everything, 
 "What doth the Lord thy God require of thee, 
 O man, but to do justly, to love mercy, and to 
 walk humbly with thy God ? " 
 
 To the young Samuel Gurney, the life of 
 the counting-house and the residence with his 
 sister Elizabeth in St. Mildred's Court had 
 proved equally a complete success. Katherine 
 Fry wrote long afterwards : — 
 
 " He took to business and liked it ; in the counting- 
 house, as well as in domestic life, he was extremely 
 reliable and cheerful, and was liked and beloved by 
 the whole establishment. 
 
 " When at work, he was thoroughly industrious, and 
 though no one more enjoyed to break off from it for 
 a drive into the country with my father, or to get up a 
 game of cricket in the fields at Plashet ; yet in the 
 evening, on returning to town, he would cheerfully 
 go down after supper into the counting-house, and call 
 over the books for an hour or two. He was popular 
 everywhere, and the family were seldom invited to 
 any friend's house without being requested to bring 
 Samuel Gurney with them. 
 
 " During all his intercourse with him in youth, man- 
 
l803] CHANGES 133 
 
 hood, and age, my father never remembered to have 
 heard an improper word from his lips, or an expression 
 that he would wish recalled ; nor did he ever recollect 
 detecting or suspecting him of an untruth. He was 
 candid, manly, and virtuous. Although not brought up 
 in strict conformity to the costume or speech of the 
 Society of Friends, he showed no propensity to follow 
 fashions or gaiety of appearance, beyond a respectable 
 and suitable neatness in his attire. He was, in other 
 words, superior to the folhes and frivolities so preva- 
 lent with young men of the world." 
 
 Priscilla to Hannah Gurney. 
 
 ^' St. Mildreds Court, Feb. 1803. — I think I never 
 knew Sam in so sweet a mind as he is in now : it is 
 quite dehghtful to be with him. His present situation 
 seems completely to suit his taste, and he shines in it 
 more than he has ever done before. His partiality for 
 Mildred's Court and Joseph and Betsy seems hkely 
 to increase, and he seems more attached to them than 
 ever. He has quite gained the affection of all the Frys 
 by his sweet and attentive behaviour to them, and I 
 often wonder whether he will be a plain Friend or 
 not : as far as we can foresee things there appears to 
 be some probability of it. Joseph and Betsy have a 
 great influence over him in that respect, and at present 
 he seems to have little temptation or inclination to 
 follow any other path. It is difficult, I think, to be 
 here long without feeling the influence of Friends, and 
 Betsy is so very nearly connected with us, that it 
 is now and then painful not to be able to feel as 
 she does. Chenda and I have now and then a few 
 
134 THE GURNEYS OF EARLHAM [1804 
 
 friendly hints about it, especially from my Uncle Joseph 
 and Cousin J. Bevan, who seem rather to watch over 
 us, and always make very particular inquiries if we are 
 absent from Meeting; but they are all truly kind to us. 
 
 " On Tuesday morning Chenda and I set off after 
 breakfast in a glass coach by ourselves for the West 
 End. We took a walk in St. James's Park, but when 
 we wished to return to the coach, we found that we 
 had entirely forgotten by what gate we had entered, 
 and we wandered about for nearly two hours in a 
 great fright, almost despairing of ever again reaching 
 home ; but at length recovered our carriage, and joyfully 
 re-entered it. 
 
 " Chenda and I wear our dark gowns every day, and 
 our aprons in the evening." 
 
 Louisa to Hannah Gurney. 
 
 ''St. Mildred's Courts 1804. — We have had a 
 regular Mildred Court day, poor people coming one 
 after another till twelve o'clock, and then no quiet; 
 and each day I have been here we have had the Frys, 
 or my uncle, or some one else at dinner. Dear Betsy 
 gets through her bustles by letting them pass without 
 teasing herself about them ; she does feel them, but 
 knows they must be borne. 
 
 ''On my first evening I went with Gatty to Willis's 
 Rooms, where we had a pleasant evening. The room, 
 I think, is the most elegant I ever saw, and the com- 
 pany was no little amusement to us. The music was 
 capital. Braham sang to perfection; but of all the 
 singers I ever heard or people I ever saw, I never, 
 I think, was so much struck by any one as by Grassini, 
 
l 
 
 
 PRISCILLA GURNEY OF EARLHAM 
 From a sketch by Mrs. Of>ie 
 
1805] CHANGES 135 
 
 the new actress. She is most fascinating, and as soon 
 as you see her, you feel her effect ; every movement 
 and every look has something in it perfectly different 
 from any I ever saw in any one before. She has a 
 beautiful and fine figure and a handsome face, but it 
 is more the finished grace of all she does that makes 
 her so conspicuous. I do wish you could have heard 
 her singing ; I can only say how delighted I was with 
 it. It is wholly different from the high clear notes of 
 Mrs. Billington, but she has a depth of something like 
 hoarseness of voice, with an expression that is most 
 interesting." 
 
 Louisa Gurney to Elizabeth Fry. 
 
 ^^ Earlhavi, Juji. i, 1805. — How difficult it is to me 
 sometimes to keep my mind alive all Sunday ; for the 
 day's occupations are of such a nature that there is a 
 great danger of its falling into a kind of inactivity, 
 from not having the outward employment of the rest 
 of the week. I have often thought of thee lately, 
 and imagined thee in thy different offices ; and amongst 
 the many other pleasures of having been with thee is 
 that of knowing exactly how thy time goes. I often 
 seem to see thee in thy pink acorn gown attending 
 to all thy flock in the dining-room, drawing-room, 
 and — as I imagine — in the parlour, alternately running 
 after thy servants, children, and poor. In short, I 
 never felt before the kind of home interest in all of 
 you in St. Mildred's Court which I feel now. 
 
 ** I think the family here are going on remarkably 
 comfortably, and all feeling the enjoyment of being 
 again settled with my father and all the four boys. 
 
136 THK GURNEYS OF EARLHAM [1805 
 
 Jolin has taken his old place at home more than he has 
 done for a long while. It requires, however, some time 
 to find one's level after having been away for a long 
 time from one's usual course of action ; and, having 
 been so long in a small party with those older than 
 myself, I often feel the difiiculty of acting as I wish 
 under the numerous little rubs of clashing petty inte- 
 rests which there must always be in every family of 
 equals. To learn humility seems one of the hardest 
 of lessons, and I do believe you cannot teach it your- 
 self, though I hope, when there is a desire to learn it, 
 it will in time be taught." 
 
 Catherine to Joseph John Gurney. 
 
 '' Earlham, April 1805. — Hannah is in excellent 
 spirits, much happier than before Powell's last visit; they 
 correspond constantly, and he writes charming letters. 
 How very pleasant it will be to have thee at home with 
 us. Having one brother there, adds a cheerfulness 
 and a sort of stimulus to a family. I often think how 
 blessed we arc in our external circumstances, so much 
 leisure and liberty, and various other things that greatly 
 conti-ibute to the enjoyment of life. Almost the first 
 blessing is the pleasure that we have in each other's 
 society. Rachel and I find all the girls, according to 
 their different characters, such delightful companions. 
 Chenda soothing and engaging, and more pleasing 
 than ever; Hannah full of life and spirit and acute- 
 ness; Louisa noble and strong, and brimming with 
 generous sympathy ; and Priscilla most amiable, wath 
 all that feminine sweetness which adorns a woman's 
 character. Does not thee think this is very much what 
 
1805] CHANGES 137 
 
 they all are, only that in so small a compass one cannot 
 half do them justice ? " 
 
 Rachel Gurney to Elizabeth Fry. 
 
 ^^ Earlham, March 16, 1805. — Had thee been with 
 us, thee would have felt the same interest about 
 Fowell and Hannah which has prevailed amongst us 
 sisters. I had told Fowell how great a satisfaction 
 openness would be to us all ; for considering the situa- 
 tion that both himself and Hannah had for some time 
 been placed in, it had become a serious anxiety to 
 us, especially to my father. So on Thursday, as soon 
 as the family was dispersed, Kitty and I settled them 
 together in the dressing-room. They both looked a 
 little miserable on the occasion, but we stayed with 
 them a minute or two, and laughed at the extreme 
 difficulty they both seemed to feel in speaking, and 
 then shut the door upon them. 
 
 '' Great was our anxiety, but we recovered our com- 
 posure when we found an hour and a half had elapsed, 
 and no effort made by either to disengage themselves, 
 and we were almost surprised as well as comforted to 
 see them walk off into the garden arm in arm, off into 
 the park, and into the meadows beyond the pond, as 
 if they wished to get out of everybody's way. I 
 should think they walked at least an hour. The 
 weather was beautiful, calm and sunshiny', and truly 
 symbolical of the happy events of the morning. They 
 at length joined the others, and I lieartily wish thee 
 could have seen the sunshine that prevailed on every 
 countenance when they came in. Fowell looked like a 
 person who had been condemned to be hanged and 
 
138 THK GURNEYS OF EARLHAM [1805 
 
 had gained a reprieve. Hannah quite easy and cheer- 
 ful, as if her mind had cast off all its burdens. Anna^ 
 cried for joy. All the others looked almost as relieved 
 as Hannah. Fowell and Anna went off together, and 
 then we all sat with Hannah on the sofa in Chenda's 
 room to hear her history. 
 
 '' She said that after they were left alone, almost all 
 the difficulty vanislied, and they felt at once at ease 
 with each other, and by degrees very much unfolded 
 the state of each other's minds. Fowell fully expressed 
 to her the strength of his attachment to her, which by 
 his own account has long been the principal object of 
 his heart. He also particularly told her what a pre- 
 servation it had been to him against all the excesses 
 common in a college life, and how afraid he had felt 
 of being unable to gain her affection. She told him, 
 in her turn, how much she had of late felt upon the 
 subject, and those doubts that have arisen from his 
 youth, but also told him what confidence and comfort 
 his virtuous principles had afforded her. She says 
 that when they had once broken down these barriers, 
 they felt really happy together, and even enjoyed being 
 alone, both when they spoke and when they were 
 silent. 
 
 "On their return, we all assembled again in the 
 music-room, and continued reading the Life of Hooker 
 most peacefully and pleasantly. There did not seem to 
 be one painful drawback in the mind of any individual, 
 and yet there was nothing like enthusiastic pleasure or 
 violent feehng on the part of any one concerned. They 
 
 1 Fowell Buxton's eldest sister, who afterwards married William 
 Forster of Bradpole. 
 
1805] CHANGES 139 
 
 had before fixed to dance in the evening, and as it hap- 
 pened, it turned out very pleasantly. Several gentle- 
 men, Mr. Pitchford, Ives, a Mr. Turner, and Miss Day 
 dined here. We had quite a quiet and pleasant company 
 day, and in the evening a remarkably pleasant dance, 
 in which, though I know it cannot quite excite thy 
 sympathy, it will be a satisfaction to thee to know 
 that neither Fowell, nor Hannah, nor the girls seemed 
 to be the least thrown off their centre; while as a 
 divert from the cares of the morning, it was of use 
 to the whole party. We could not help looking with 
 feelings of great pleasure on Fowell and Hannah, 
 both appearing to no small advantage in our eyes, 
 who could read the expression of their countenances. 
 Hannah was by no means merry, but seemed to be 
 softened in feeling by her circumstances being so 
 particularly interesting. 
 
 ''We have not yet unfolded the present state of 
 things to my father, but Kitty and I are to tell him 
 everything, that Fowell may afterwards speak with 
 more ease. . . . They both seem to feel it essential to 
 be a good deal alone, that they may more fully enter 
 into the state of each other's minds, and every inter- 
 view of this kind has hitherto been attended by very 
 satisfactory results. Instead of making Hannah un- 
 comfortable, it more and more confirms her confidence 
 in him. This morning she sat at work, and he by her 
 side, and they looked as calm and comfortable as an 
 old married pair : to me surprisingly so, for I had no 
 idea that the course of Hannah's mind on the subject 
 could have been so remarkably smooth. Personally I 
 am so free from any misgiving, that I have felt it to be 
 
I40 THE GURNEYS OF EARLHAM [1805 
 
 an essential blessing that the way is so far opened for 
 a continuance of their attachment." 
 
 " Sunday Morning. — We have been very quietly and 
 comfortably to Meeting this morning, and yesterday, 
 after I wrote to 3'ou, spent a quiet day entirely alone, 
 which was really delightful. We spoke to my father 
 this morning, and he treats the affair with the greatest 
 sympathy and indulgence. I am sure Joseph and Sam, 
 as well as thyself, will sympathise with us." 
 
 Rachel Gurney (0 Fowell Buxton, at College. 
 
 ^' May 14, 1805. — I cannot easily tell you how 
 heartily we all rejoice in your successes at college, and 
 it is delightful to know how much value you set on our 
 approbation. You have it, my dear brother, in full 
 measure, and, with it, the heartfelt love of our family 
 circle. You and Anna have so much increased the 
 happiness of our family, and are become so like members 
 of it, that I do not know how we should bear the loss 
 of either of you. I love you partly for Hannah's sake, 
 but I can truly say that I now love her also for yours, 
 as well as so dcarl}' for her own. I hope that, from 
 your wish to marry, you may not do anything pre- 
 maturely. I heartily wish you may stay at college 
 till 3'ou are of age, and then, if there should be any 
 opening in 3'our circumstances, we should none of us 
 be sorry to let you take Hannah away from us, 
 though I can assure 3'ou we do not undervalue her 
 at home. 
 
 *' Joseph continues to be very industrious in his 
 studies, but I fear my father will have him in business 
 
l8o5] CHANGES 141 
 
 this autumn, which I cannot but regret, though his 
 
 Uving 
 
 fort." 
 
 Uving with us will be such an addition to our com- 
 
 Catherine Gurney to Elizabeth Fry. 
 
 ^^ Earlham, Monday, August 6, 1805. — I wish I 
 could write to thee more, for I should like thee to 
 know my daily concerns more than I can make them 
 known to thee. Yesterday I particularly wished both 
 for thee and Joseph to join our happy party, we had 
 such a remarkably quiet, happ}^, satisfactory day. We 
 all went to Meeting in the morning, dined at four, and 
 read together in the drawing-room before dinner, my 
 father, John, and all of us, and we thought how pleased 
 thee and Joseph would have been could you have seen 
 us. However, do not suppose by this, we have pro- 
 fited more than we have by all your late conversa- 
 tions, as I think we are really much the same as we 
 were, only that I hope we all desire more and more to 
 seek for what is good, wherever it may be found. The 
 rest of the day was spent sweetly and harmoniously, 
 and we only wanted thee to complete our family circle. 
 Fowell and Hannah go on delightfully; they are just 
 what thee would wish to see, so much true intimacy and 
 love, without the least flirting or vanity excited. How 
 much thee would admire them together. In their usual 
 manner, they are most like a very affectionate brother 
 and sister, but she is getting so dependent upon him, 
 that it would not at all do to have him here very long, 
 and this they both think : so I suppose he will leave 
 us in about a week. He is on the most happy terms 
 with all the rest of the family, very attentive to my 
 
142 THE GURNEYS OF EARLHAM [1805 
 
 father, and quite a brother to us. A real friend and 
 valuable adviser I believe he v^ill prove to Sam and 
 Joseph. ... I am sure Joseph (Fry) need not be the least 
 anxious about Sam : Rachel has had conversation with 
 him, and very satisfactory. To-day they are all play- 
 ing cricket with a party of gentlemen. . . . Dan is going 
 to take this to the Eton turnpike." 
 
 Catherine Gurney to T. Fowell Buxton. 
 
 ^^ Earlhaviy Dec. 15, 1 805. — I must tell thee what 
 perhaps will amuse thee, — that I have just left a 
 pleasant party in the anteroom, consisting of Rachel, 
 Chenda, Hannah, and Dan, employed in music and 
 drawing, to come and sit in the dressing-room with 
 Joseph, who is studying by the sofa while I am writ- 
 ing to thee. 
 
 " Now I daresay thee wishes me to tell thee about 
 Hannah. She is, in the first place, quite well and in 
 very good spirits. It seems to me that her attachment 
 to thee is of the strongest, and consequently most 
 durable nature. One of the strongest proofs of this 
 is its effect on her character, which has, in my opinion, 
 been highly beneficial; so that if thee has derived 
 advantages from her influence, thee may also have the 
 satisfaction of knowing that thy influence over her has 
 had a similar tendency. 
 
 "Thee knows without my repeating it here the 
 great satisfaction and pleasure thee has hitherto 
 afforded us all, and how much thee art, dear Fowell, 
 after our own heart, and exactly what pleases both 
 our judgment and taste. I like and love everything 
 thee says and does. However, I do not like to give 
 
l805] CHANGES 143 
 
 way to this kind of partiality ; for, after all, how im- 
 perfect the best of us -are, and how frail are all our 
 virtues, unless they are derived from the only source 
 of true strength, a principle of religion in the con- 
 science. I have no faith in any virtue which arises 
 merely from natural impulse, because, though frequently 
 amiable and excellent in appearance, w^e are sure to 
 find that it partakes of the variabihty of our present 
 weak and corrupt nature, and on this account can 
 never stand the test of trials, as that virtue will which 
 has its basis in Christian faith. Now I have some- 
 times thought, from thy natural impulses being remark- 
 ably good, there is some danger of thy depending too 
 much on thyself, and not sufficiently seeking for 
 assistance and direction in thy conduct from that 
 Source of light and strength which alone can ensure 
 thy continuance and progress in the best things. I 
 know Hannah's happiness is completely dependent on 
 thee. I know, too, how deeply and increasingly she 
 feels the importance of religious principle; therefore, 
 for her sake as well as thy own, I am most anxious 
 that thy mind should be equally impressed by the 
 importance and the necessity of seeking to possess it, 
 as the foundation of all 3^our future comforts. I am 
 quite sure that Hannah, with her feelings on the sub- 
 ject, never would be completely happy unless it were 
 the constantly regulating principle of action in thy 
 mind, in preference to any particular affection. 
 
 ^' Don't suppose, dear Fowell, I mean to lecture 
 thee. I only mean to advise thee not to depend too 
 much on the gifts of nature, but to look to the Power 
 from whom these gifts are derived, and by so doing 
 
144 THE GURNEYS OF EARLHAM [1805-6 
 
 learn the true means of turning both the one and the 
 other to thy own and dear Hannah's ultimate advan- 
 tage. 
 
 " Our dear friend and favourite, Mr. Wordsworth, 
 has been paying us a visit of two days ; we have 
 enjoyed his company exceedingly. How beautifully 
 the influence of religious principle, united with deep 
 learning, appears in his character. Such examples 
 ought to be encouraging, and stimulate us to act ac- 
 cording to the talents bestowed on us. 
 
 "This morning we had some delightful hours, sitting 
 with him all together in the dressing-room, talking on 
 different subjects, and then he read to us in Taylor's 
 ^ Life of Christ.' What wilt thee say to this long letter ? 
 Thee must excuse it, and believe me, dearest Fowell, 
 thy truly affectionate 
 
 "Catherine Gurnev." 
 
 Samuel to Hannah Gurney. 
 
 ^^ Mildred's Court, March 21, 1806. — The great 
 change to Mildred's Court after our large and cheerful 
 party during my pleasant w^eek at Earlham, made it 
 appear at first thoroughly dull. But by entering with 
 spirit into business, and a determination to conquer 
 the unpleasant sensations which leaving all of you 
 brought, I have become tolerably comfortable. I have 
 had a good deal of a certain gigantic young man's 
 company, which I have enjoyed very much indeed ; the 
 more I am with him, the more I like him." 
 
 Meantime Joseph John Gurney, though not 
 allov^ed, as a Quaker, to become a member of 
 
SAMUEL GURNEY 
 
1805-6] CHANGES 145 
 
 the University, was spending two years at 
 Oxford, working very vigorously under the 
 tutorship of Mr., John Rogers, a most eccentric 
 man, but described as "a pleasant and learned 
 gentleman " by the young student, who did not 
 at all mind reading with him for fourteen hours 
 a day, and being made in a single day to trans- 
 late the whole of Longinus. 
 
 Joseph John to Rachel Gurney. 
 
 '^ Oxfordj Feb. 23, 1805.— I have read this week 
 almost half through one of ^schylus' plays, a great 
 deal of Thucydides and Josephus, two or three acts 
 of Plautiis, a great part of Caligula's reign in Suetonius, 
 four cantos of Dante, and a proportionate quantity of 
 Davila; a tolerable number of verses in the Hebrew 
 Bible, some Euclid, and a great deal of algebra ; a 
 crowd of German grammarians, with portions of Locke, 
 Gregory, and Ferguson. Besides these things, I have 
 been employed by exercises of all kinds, Latin verses, 
 chemical lectures, and, to conclude the whole, the com- 
 position of a long dissertation in Greek : — rather a good 
 week's work." 
 
 In his holidays Joseph John learnt Italian 
 with his sister Priscilla, and worked at Greek 
 and Hebrew by himself He studied every- 
 thing to its very bones. In July 1805 we find 
 him writing to his brother Daniel : — 
 
 VOL. I. K 
 
146 THE GURNEYS OF EARI.HAM [1805-6 
 
 " Unless you know the grammar perfectly, you will 
 always find Greek difficult. Never let a word pass 
 without knowing every circumstance belonging to it. 
 You will find this method tedious at first, but it will 
 soon smooth down your difficulties." 
 
 Like his sisters, the young student had the 
 closest habits of self-examination. In his jour- 
 nal we find the list of questions v^hich he seems 
 to have put to himself every evening : — 
 
 '' Have I to-day been guarded in conversation, saying 
 nothing inconsistent with truth, purity, or charity ? 
 
 " Have I felt love towards my neighbour ? 
 
 '• Have I done my part towards my own family ? 
 
 " Have I been temperate, free from unlawful desires, 
 habits, and anxieties ? 
 
 '' Have I been diligent in business ? 
 
 " Have I given full time to effectual study ? 
 
 " Have I admitted any other fear than that of God ? 
 
 " Have I passed the day in deep humility, depend- 
 ing constantly upon, and earnestly aspiring after, divine 
 
 assistance ? 
 
 " Have I in everything acted to the best of my know- 
 ledge according to the will of God ? 
 
 " Have I worshipped Him morning and evening?" 
 
 In proportion as Joseph John Gurney fixed 
 his mental gaze upon the great example set 
 before us in the Gospels, his judgment on his 
 own thoughts, words, and actions became in- 
 
l8o6-8] CHANGES 147 
 
 creasingly severe. He became more anxious to 
 show unshrinkingly under what banner he had 
 enHsted. '* I must bear steady testimony to the 
 truth in this world," he wrote in his private diary. 
 " I must bow with resignation to the will of my 
 God in all temporal and spiritual trials. In 
 short, I must draw near unto Christ, and, if need 
 be, take up my cross to follow Him. 
 
 ' Bid me beneath Thy parent wing, 
 Lord, in such peace remain. 
 That every charm the world can bring 
 May tempt my soul in vain. 
 
 So shall that soul to heaven above, 
 
 To Thee in heaven aspire, 
 And Thy celestial light and love 
 
 Be all that soul's desire.' " 
 
 {August 19, 1808.) 
 
 The Rev. Edward Edwards, Rector of Lynn, 
 who began to have a great part in the religious 
 life of several of the home party at Earl- 
 ham, writes (1808) of Joseph John, then aged 
 twenty : — 
 
 '' He was an extraordinary young man, about twenty, 
 actively employed in the bank at Norwich, yet in the 
 habit of devoting so much time to study early in the 
 morning, as to have read nearly the whole of the Old 
 Testament in the original Hebrew. 
 
 ''He was enabled to get through so much by the 
 
148 THE GUKNEYS OF EARLIIAM [1806-8 
 
 exemplification of his favourite maxim — * Be a whole 
 man to one tiling at a time.' " 
 
 Of the " Meeting-s of Friends" Joseph John 
 had, unlike most of his sisters, already the 
 strongest appreciation. In his twentieth year 
 we find him writing : — 
 
 " Their quietness, the seriousness of those Friends 
 who are in the regular habit of attending them, the 
 sweet feeling of unit}^ in our worship, and the liveliness 
 of the ministry on these occasions, are all hallowed in 
 my mind and feelings ; and were I asked what has been 
 the happiest portion of my life, I believe I should not 
 be far wrong in replying, the hours abstracted from 
 the common business of the world for the purpose of 
 public worship." 
 
 After John Gurney — the eldest brother of 
 the family— had lett his tutor. Dr. Enfield, he 
 was for some time in the Gurney Bank at 
 Norwich, until an opening occurred in the 
 branch bank at Lynn, which he was consi- 
 dered the right person to fill. He had watched 
 with some sorrow, whilst living at home, the 
 growth of extreme sectarian views in his family, 
 which narrowed, as he believed, their powers 
 of usefulness, and seemed clouding the inno- 
 cent pleasure of several young lives. It was 
 impossible also that he could be otherwise 
 
l8o6-8] . CHANGES 149 
 
 than amused at their constantly deplo7'ing his 
 extreme good looks and engaging manners 
 as likely to lead him into temptation — i.e., in 
 other than Quaker language, to make him a 
 favourite with the society from which they were 
 daily more and more withdrawing themselves. 
 Many were the convocations in which his seven 
 sisters discussed the best means of secluding 
 their handsome brother from outside influences; 
 many the conferences in Mr. Gurney's study 
 in which the watchful Catherine urged her 
 easy-going father to put as strong a restraint 
 upon him as possible. Samuel at St. Mildred's 
 Court, under the ever-close guardianship of 
 Betsy, was not considered to be in any danger; 
 but the snares of the world, the flesh, and 
 the devil were too surely waiting at Lynn to 
 devour John If he should go there alone. 
 When eventually he took his place in the bank 
 there, it was decided that one of his sisters— but 
 oftenest the gentle Rachel, as likely to influence 
 him most — should live with him and watch over 
 him in turn. 
 
 Already, however, have Louisa's journal and 
 her devoted friendship made us acquainted with 
 her pretty attractive cousin Elizabeth Gurney 
 of Keswick, so much and devotedly liked by 
 all the family at Earlham. We have also a 
 
150 THE GURNEYS OF EARLHAM [1806 
 
 description of her charms in Mr. Pitchford's 
 diaries : — 
 
 ^^ August 6, 1798. — Elizabeth of Keswick is a most 
 sweet girl. Her manners are uncommonly elegant : 
 her beautiful hair between flaxen and auburn ; her 
 lovely blue eyes beaming with intelligence and full of 
 inexpressible sweetness ; her complexion exquisitely 
 fair, and her whole countenance full of the glow of 
 youth."! 
 
 In the summer of 1806, when a family tour 
 to Scotland on a large scale was projected, 
 Fowell Buxton, Sam Hoare, and John Gurney 
 being of the party, Elizabeth Gurney of Kes- 
 wick was invited to join them. 
 
 Hannah Gurney to Elizabeth Fry, 
 
 '' Cambridge^ July 16, 1806. — Surrounded by almost 
 our whole party, I sit down to write to thee. We 
 have had a most comfortable and pleasant day's 
 journey, and we have all much enjoyed ourselves, 
 none more, I think, than my father, who was quite 
 delighted with the remarkably sweet party which I 
 must say we are. We set off in three chariots, with 
 Sam and Louisa in a whisky behind us; and most 
 completely equipped for travelling we looked in every 
 respect. Elizabeth Gurney enjoys our cheerful party. 
 We arrived here to dinner about six, where we met 
 
 ^ Daniel Gurney's Reminiscences say — "She was striking and very 
 handsome — a profusion of rich auburn hair, a regular and intelligent 
 countenance, and beautiful and simple manners." 
 
l8o6] CHANGES 151 
 
 John, who appears determined to be as agreeable 
 an addition to our party as he can. We are sorry 
 to part from Sam to-night, and wish he was to be 
 our companion all the way; his visit has been most 
 satisfactory and highly interesting ; to have him and 
 Fowell with us together has been more so to me than 
 I can well say. . . . Fowell and I had a most com- 
 fortable ride in our chariot the first stage, and I have 
 much enjoyed the quietness of travelling with him 
 to-day. We are all very well and comfortable, and 
 if our good minds do but last, we shall have a very 
 uncommon journey ; but in travelling with so numerous 
 a party, there is much to try the patience, and great 
 forbearance is necessary. To-morrow we see Burleigh 
 House and sleep at Grantham." 
 
 The family spent some time at Ambleside, 
 where Samuel Gurney and Fowell Buxton, under 
 the supervision of Mr. Crome, occupied a sepa- 
 rate lodging to the rest of the family. This 
 enabled the future Lombard Street banker 
 and the embryo statesman and philanthropist 
 to dress up as widows and come to beg the 
 assistance of the Miss Gurney s for themselves 
 and their numerous children. 
 
 During their travels, John Gurney, who was 
 at that time smarting under a refusal by another 
 young Norfolk lady, Miss Susan Hamond of 
 Westacre, by whose family his fortune was not 
 considered sufficient, poured forth his sorrows 
 
152 THE GURNEYS OF EARLHAM [1806 
 
 to his sympathetic cousin Elizabeth. The 
 vicissitudes of the tour threw them constantly 
 together, and before their return they were 
 engaged — an engagement of first cousins, much 
 deplored by John Gurney of Earlham, and 
 vehemently opposed, at first absolutely pro- 
 hibited, by Richard Gurney of Keswick. His 
 feeling was stronger because marriages between 
 first cousins are also strictly forbidden by the 
 rules of the " Society of Friends," who disown 
 from their Society all those who contract them. 
 
 Louisa Gurney to Fowell Buxton. 
 
 ^^ Little Parlour, Oct. 1806. — I have been wavering 
 for some time between spending the evening with 
 Hudson and the family in the Great Parlour, or retiring 
 here to enjoy your company. ... I cannot make out why 
 I do not find it easier than I do to converse with you 
 in a letter, when it would be so great a pleasure to be 
 placed by your side over some snug fire, with time to 
 talk over all that has happened since you left us. I 
 believe, however, the cause is that I feel as if Hannah 
 told you everything, so that I am only treading in a 
 dull beaten track, but this is better than having no 
 communication with you. 1 imagine you now poring 
 over your books in your comfortable room. I long to 
 take a peep at you. As the examinations approach, 
 our interest will be doubly excited in all the accounts 
 we have of your proceedings. I do not at all like to 
 be so much separated from you as I have been for the 
 
l8o6] CHANGES 153 
 
 last month, as naughty Hannah has only favoured us 
 poor sisters with two sentences out of the last, I think, 
 of these letters, and been very silent as to their contents, 
 except in expressing her own enjoyment of them. I 
 think her journeys to Dublin are more frequent than 
 ever, and often, when we are both gravely seated at 
 our History, with every appearance of the profoundest 
 attention, I am obliged to rouse her, at certain in- 
 tervals, by asking who she is thinking of, and where 
 she has wandered to. 
 
 '' But you must hear of the family, and not of Hannah 
 now, so I will tell you something of the transactions 
 of last week — a very gay one for the sober six, and, 
 for a gay one, unusually pleasant. On Monday we 
 had a stupidish dinner at the Fellowes'. On Tuesday, 
 Rachel and we four went to a great concert at the 
 Glovers', which very much pleased us, and rather put 
 us in mind, from the number of Norwich faces, of our 
 evening at the Hortrays', which our going to in a body 
 made so pleasant. I wish you could always join us in 
 those expeditions, for they borrow pleasure from the 
 party who unite in them, and no people make our gaiet}^ 
 so agreeable as you and Anna. The following day the 
 Hoares arrived, and became our chief object for the 
 rest of the week, and a very pleasant one too, as we 
 never enjoyed their company, I think, as much. How 
 foolish and wrong it is to discolour absent people in 
 your own mind ! I think we are all apt to do this, and, 
 when we meet people, as apt to repent of it and be 
 pleased with them. This has often been our case with 
 regard to the Hoares, but they have much heart, and 
 are so very agreeable as companions, that they excite 
 
154 THE GURNEYS OF EARLHAM [1806 
 
 very sincere regard as well as liking, and their visit 
 has quite inclined us to give them their full due. On 
 Thursday they dined out, but Friday was such a rout 
 from morning to night, that even Weymouth could not 
 exceed it ; except that all was done orderly and plea- 
 santly. We had a large party at breakfast, a larger 
 at dinner, and largest in the evening, so that at supper 
 the table extended from the top of the bow to the side- 
 board in the Great Parlour. Such a flow of company 
 was partly from design and partly from chance. We 
 had music, and Miss Gordon's delightful singing for 
 about the first hour in the evening. Dancing suc- 
 ceeded till nearly twelve, when we supped : after 
 which, for a wonder, the whole party migrated to the 
 anteroom, and the farewell boulanger was not over, I 
 suppose, till past one. I did not individually enjoy 
 the party so much as more intimate parties ; but every- 
 thing passed off remarkably well, and all the company 
 seemed thoroughly to enjoy themselves. 
 
 '^The Hoares were all struck with Hannah's im- 
 provement — the agreeable confidence she has acquired, 
 and which they had the strange idea of attributing to 
 you. I did not, however, much differ from them. I 
 liked them the better for being so warm about you, 
 and so pleased with the connection. 
 
 " Chenda is just come in, saying that she is charmed 
 with herself, and has done to her gown what Mrs. 
 Freeman, with all her abilities, could never do. I 
 wish I had a little of her delightful view of things, and 
 that I was as much charmed with my letter as she is 
 with her work. ... I often wonder, or rather think others 
 must wonder, to see how busy I am, and yet how little 
 
l8o6] CHANGES 155 
 
 I do ; but striving to do much always with me defeats 
 its own end. The Httle Bells have been one of our 
 objects, as we wish to send them away loaded with 
 all the family accomplishments : do you not pity them 
 with their six mistresses ? Joseph goes on as well as 
 we could wish, and is a great addition to our party. 
 John is with us, but we are, as usual, too much sepa- 
 rated. The clock has struck nine, and the tray has 
 just rattled through the hall, so I think it is time to 
 put an end to this letter, which has brought me very 
 pleasantly near to you, dear Fowell." 
 
 Rachel Gurney to Fuwell Buxton (at College, 
 after the return of the family from Scotland). 
 
 ''Earlham, Dec. 9, 1806.— We have had a very 
 pleasant little dance, contrived chiefly for the pur- 
 pose of bringing Mr. Pitchford here. Dr. Southey 
 came with him, quite a new personage on our stage, 
 full of Hfe and spirits, and remarkably handsome. 
 Pris, our little rosy Pris, has quite enjoyed a litde 
 flirtation with this fascinating 3^outh. Happily he 
 leaves Norwich in a few weeks, or I fear Cupid would 
 again be making inroads amongst us. George Kett 
 was in a very agreeable mind, flirted — who do you 
 think with ? — thy Hannah ! They were quite merry 
 together. I do love to see her with other young men 
 in your absence ; she has all the ease that arises from 
 having the heart wholly secured. How I longed for 
 you, and how you would have added to the enjoyment 
 of the evening ! I hope it is not wrong to be a little 
 proud of you. Mr. Pitchford was most agreeable, so 
 truly kind and sympathising about Louisa, and so 
 
156 THE GURNEYS OF EARLHAM [1806 
 
 affectionate to us, yet so inflexibly steady in the for- 
 bearance and self-denial that he has prescribed to 
 himself.^ I earnestly hope he may find his reward in 
 that which can never fail, and I hope that we all (I 
 include my brothers) shall be real friends to him 
 through everything. ... I doubt not Hannah has told 
 you how valuable our mornings have been lately to 
 us. We have spent the greater part of them together 
 (we six girls) in the dressing-room, and have enjoyed 
 each other's company. It is wonderful to think how 
 nearly the separation approaches. We greatly rejoice 
 in having spent so many quiet and happy years 
 together as have fallen to our lot since Betsy's 
 marriage. It has so cemented that union which 
 exists amongst us, and has given so much time for 
 our minds and sentiments to grow together, which 
 could not have been the case had we sooner dispersed. 
 If I had married when I wished to do so, I should 
 hardly have known the girls in their present state. 
 Thus there is generally a mixture of good and evil in 
 all things. Louisa's heart is very full, and she is at 
 times oppressed by the near approach of so great a 
 change, and she has often lately been drowned in tears. 
 "To-morrow Hannah and I go to Northrepps for 
 a few days, to see our new sister-elect. John's last 
 visit to her seems to have been a very happy one, and 
 our uncle a little more favourable to him towards the 
 close of it. Elizabeth writes as if she became more 
 and more dependent on him." 
 
 Readers will gather from the last letter that 
 
 ^ i.e., towards the writer, Rachel Gurncy,, herself. 
 
l8o6] CHANGES 157 
 
 Louisa Gurney now had her own especial in- 
 terests and anxieties. Sam Hoare, a second 
 cousin of the Gurneys, and a banker of good 
 fortune, had become a constant visitor at 
 Earlham and a great favourite with old and 
 young. He had also accompanied the family 
 on their Scotch tour. From Louisa, who had 
 charmed him in childhood, his preference had 
 never wavered, and his attentions were warmly 
 welcomed by Mr. Gurney, who had been an 
 attached and intimate friend of his father. 
 Samuel Hoare and Louisa Gurney were mar- 
 ried in December 1806, at the Friends' Meet- 
 ing at Tasborough, not far from Norwich. 
 
 Rachel Gurney to Fowell Buxton. 
 
 ^^ Earlham, Dec. 31, i8c6. — Louisa and Sam re- 
 turned yesterday from Cromer, where they have been 
 spending nearly a week in retirement, so that they 
 have now the effect of married people who have begun 
 their career together. Louisa looks sweetly and Sam 
 truly happ3^ I never saw a greater mixture of dignity 
 and sweetness than in our bride. How we did long 
 for thee, dear Fowell, to be with us. The love that 
 prevailed amongst all deeply concerned was delightful, 
 and the uncommon solemnity and yet sweetness of the 
 Meeting seemed to sanctify their union in a manner 
 never to be forgotten. It was a most pleasant sight to 
 have so long a train of brothers and sisters in wedding 
 garments. The whole day was without a cloud — so 
 
158 THK GURNEYS OF EARLIIAM [1807 
 
 seriously and quietly conducted, and yet so truly 
 cheerful. The troops of young people were very 
 enlivening, and the old most kind and sympathising. 
 Our greatest regret was not having our dearest Fowell 
 with us." 
 
 Rachel Gurney to Fowell Buxton (at College). 
 
 ^^ St. Mildreds Court y Jan. 14, 1807. — Hannah will 
 have told thee all about Louisa's visit to Earlham after 
 her return from Cromer, and of her finally leaving 
 home, and how much she felt it, which is not to be 
 wondered at, considering what a happy home she 
 leaves, though her prospects are bright. She has 
 in Sam almost all that she can wish, yet the pain of 
 entering a new circle and leaving all those she is so 
 very closely united to, must be expected to take at 
 least from her present enjoyment. I have no doubt she 
 will become happier and happier in proportion as she 
 is familiarised to the change. Thee must be prepared 
 for a few tears when thee runs off with Hannah, 
 though I do not think that she or any of us will feel 
 it so much as Louisa's marriage. Thee has been too 
 completel}'^ one of the family, and for my part, I look 
 forward to thy wedding with pleasure, as uniting us to 
 thee more nearly." 
 
 Louisa Hoare to Hannah Gurney. 
 
 '^ Jan. 25, 1807. — I have a great deal to say, but do 
 not know whether to begin with myself or thee. . . . 
 I am at last beginning to feel the pleasure of our quiet 
 establishment and the happiness of a union with my 
 
l8o7] CHANGES . 159 
 
 dearest Sam. In that and in all other things there 
 are feelings of flatness which you will not misunder- 
 stand, for you know how happy I feel in him, and how 
 affectionately and dearly I love him. Housekeeping 
 and servants are still a weight, but I have advanced 
 gradually, and am much encouraged by what I now 
 imagine my own cleverness. With experience, however, 
 I may prove the fallacy of this imagination. I have 
 much wished, dearest Hannah, that thee would have 
 persevered in thy housekeeping and cutting-out plans 
 in spite of all discouragement, for I should have been 
 far more painfully at a loss had I not attended the 
 little I did, and it is no small relief to be pretty free 
 from these cares just after marrying, when the mind is 
 ever occupied ; indeed, I strongly feel what an inestim- 
 able advantage it is for every one to be well prepared 
 in things both great and small before marrying. See- 
 ing how much the little I have is now called into use, 
 and how much what / want is seen and missed, makes 
 me feel the importance of perseverance and vigilance, 
 even when I do not perceive the immediate good effects 
 from them. It also makes me more earnestly wish that 
 thee may not give way to discouragement in anything 
 till thee marries ; but pursue with spirit all thy good 
 and useful plans, even if thee seems to thyself going 
 on but poorly in them. I have at times felt more, I 
 think, than any one of us imagined I should, entering 
 a new family, and having to act as Sam's wnfe before 
 them all. How I wish I may endeavour to obtain a 
 right independence of them, together with a sincere 
 wish to consult their real happiness and wishes, as far 
 as I reasonably can. 
 
l60 THE GURNEYS OF EARLHAM [1807 
 
 *'We dined at the Heath ^ on Wednesday, and 
 though I was nuicli depressed in the mornin^'^ after 
 a fatiguing expedition to London, the day was the 
 easiest I have yet spent, and I felt cheerful and com- 
 fortable amongst tliem all. Engaged as we now are, 
 few days indeed fall to our share to be spent quite 
 alone, but 1 hope this now will subside. At times, 
 however, I am a little discouraged by the multiplicity 
 of the mw calls upon us, as if we should have so very 
 little time quite to ourselves ; and I do not think this 
 reasonable. Yesterday was my first full company-day 
 at home, and it was highly interesting to me, and many 
 parts truly pleasant ; but being so unused to it, I was 
 a little confused by the number of interesting persons 
 and having to entertain them all. It was Sam's day 
 out, so I determined to enjoy dear Betsy and all her 
 darling and noisy flock. They arrived in a hack 
 about one, with dear Chenda, and before dinner we 
 four rode up to see our house, which I liked better 
 than before, and with which they were all much 
 pleased. Fowell walked in with Dan at his side a 
 little before three, and soon after that we dined, the 
 children in the drawing-room and we in the dining- 
 room; I quite ' mistress,' anxious about my dinner and 
 the nice entertainment of all my dear guests. It was 
 so very strange to me to find myself in this capacity 
 with all of them. We chatted pleasantly in the after- 
 noon, and, after an early tea, Betsy, Catherine, and 
 brats left us three to a truly snug and happy evening. 
 But I must first tell you how very sweet the darling 
 children w^ere, and what a treat it was to me to have 
 
 ^ With her husband's parents, who were also her father's cousins. 
 
I So;] CHANGES l6l 
 
 them routing about the house. They all seemed 
 thoroughly to enjoy the novelty, and were quite happy 
 with their exalted ideas of 'Aunt Hoare ' and her 
 house, which little Rachel said was almost as fine as 
 the King's house. But now for our evening. Imagine 
 dear Fowell stretched on the sofa, which was wheeled 
 close to a cheerful bright fire, and Chenda and me 
 sitting by him. After a little very pleasant and in- 
 teresting conversation, I read thy letter to Betsy to 
 him,^ and determined to talk as well as I could on the 
 subject, feeling so earnestly desirous that it may not 
 be put off, but effectually thought of and acted upon. 
 He seems, certainly, very desirous of being a member 
 of the Society from approving their doctrine in great 
 measure, but still more, I think, from admiring and 
 valuing the effects of it upon their conduct. His 
 sentiments on some of the chief points seemed, how- 
 ever, unfixed. We advised him not to perplex himself 
 so much to settle them, but seriously to weigh what 
 he thought best, considering the present state of his 
 mind ; to exert himself about it, and to remember 
 the most important consequences of his being in the 
 Society, and how far he would like to submit to them, 
 even if there were temptations to the contrary — as to 
 oaths, arms, &c. 
 
 ''About eight dear Sam came in, looking most sweet 
 and cheerful, rejoicing to be at home and delighted to 
 see Fowell. I think I never saw them on more happy 
 or brotherly terms. We all sat round the fire, talking, 
 laughing, and easy and happy, Fowell looking truly 
 
 ^ As to Fowell Buxton's formally becoming a member of the 
 §ociety of Friends. 
 
 VOL. I. L 
 
1 62 THE GURNEYS OF EARLHAM [1807 
 
 one of US again. I told him a good deal about our 
 wedding, and pictured him through the different scenes 
 of the same transaction. We longed for thee, dearest 
 Hannah, to share the pleasure, and felt it was almost 
 unfair that we should have it first. After a snug 
 supper, and a little more comfortable sitting over the 
 fire, we went to bed. This morning we met again at 
 breakfast, and then Chenda and I walked with Fowell 
 and Sam part of the way towards London. 
 
 " We rather hope we may see Fowell on Monday 
 to breakfast, but this is uncertain. I think I never 
 saw him look more sweet and innocent in manners 
 than he does now; indeed, I do think thee has got 
 a delightful husband. I did think what two prizes 
 they were when I saw him and Sam walk ofif arm in 
 arm this morning, both looking so very agreeable, 
 handsome, and delightful. 
 
 " One more hint about marrying. I trust thee will 
 not have thy wedding clothes begun without telling 
 me, as, from experience, I think I could give thee 
 some useful hints. I rather long for the complete 
 regulation of thy mind, which I could now do to a 
 nicety ! . . . I walk out constantly, sometimes round 
 and round the gardens, sometimes part of the way to 
 London with Sam. I enjoy Chenda's company, and 
 Catherine's company too is increasingly valuable to 
 me. I am fully convinced that her coming was the 
 wisest plan : it is so great a help to me. When we 
 are quite undisturbed, we generally get up about 
 seven, and read very comfortably till breakfast, after 
 which Sam goes off to London. Then I go into the 
 kitchen, order dinner, and devote myself for a time to 
 
iSoy] CHANGES 163 
 
 thinking of household concerns; an hour or two of 
 quiet reading and thinking follows this, after which I 
 walk, and often read a little later — for the good of my 
 mind — till dressing-time. I am almost always ready 
 to receive my dearest Sam on his return, and to attend 
 on him while he is in his little dressing-room. Cathe- 
 rine — except at dinner and tea — often leaves us most 
 of the afternoon and evening, which are more than 
 filled up in talking, enjojdng the rest of being to- 
 gether, and reading lighter books, such as 'Walton's 
 Lives.' 
 
 *' I do hope you are careful about mad dogs (for the 
 number of people bitten is shocking), and that 3^ou 
 will make Joseph go out in boots, for they generally 
 bite men's legs." 
 
 On January 6, 1807, ^^^ marriage of John and 
 Elizabeth Gurney had taken place, though, as 
 the parents of Quaker first cousins are strictly 
 forbidden to approve their marriage, Richard 
 Gurney was compelled to show himself osten- 
 tatiously walking in an opposite direction with 
 his son-in-law Samson Hanbury, so as to avoid 
 all chance of his being said to witness, or even 
 to countenance it. 
 
 Then, on the 7th of May 1807, Powell Bux- 
 ton's marriage with Hannah Gurney, so long 
 deferred, was solemnised at the Quakers' Meet- 
 ing-house at Tasborough. Rachel's journal 
 tells us about it : — 
 
164 THE GURNEYS OF EARLHAM [1807 
 
 ^' Earlham, May 7, 1807. — We all rose in good 
 time, the weather mild and summerlike; our bride 
 composed and cheerful. Many collected to read as 
 usual before breakfast, and after it we dispersed till it 
 was time to equip ourselves in bridal array. The house 
 was overrun with bridesmaids in muslin cloaks and 
 chip hats. We led our sweet bride to the stairs, where 
 our men joined us, and we had all a pleasant drive 
 to Tasborough. To me the Meeting was solemn in its 
 beginning, and striking from sucli a circle of brothers 
 and sisters so united in affection; it might well recall 
 a verse in the Psalms, ' Behold how good and pleasant 
 it is for brethren to dwell together in unity.' Our dear 
 couple spoke with much feeling, and Fowell with his 
 usual dignity. Preparing for dinner took up the rest 
 of the morning, and nothing could be prettier than the 
 train of bridesmaids dressed alike in white, with small 
 nosegays, except the bride, who looked lovely, who was 
 still more white, and was distinguished by one beautiful 
 rose. At dinner were my father's fifteen children and 
 four grandchildren. Afterwards the whole party dis- 
 persed in different parts of the house. Hannah sat 
 with Elizabeth in her room. At tea all reassembled. 
 Our dearest Fowell was most affectionate and sweet to 
 us all ; I think there was scarcely ever such a brother 
 admitted to a family." 
 
 From a v^orldly point of view, Hannah Gur- 
 ney's marriage had seemed to be far from a bril- 
 liant one. When he was first intimate with the 
 Gurneys, Fowell Buxton had expectations of 
 succeeding to a large property in Ireland, but 
 
HANNAH GURNEY 
 
 OF EARLHAM 
 
I So;] CHANGES , 165 
 
 these had been disappointed, and he had been 
 glad to accept a situation as clerk in the large 
 brewery of Truman & H anbury, with a pros- 
 pect of partnership after three years' probation. 
 The life was by no means what he would have 
 chosen, but he took into his w^ork the wholeness 
 of mind, the fixity of purpose, which always 
 characterised him. Whatever his hand found 
 to do, he did it \\ith his might, and this was the 
 secret of the success which always attended him. 
 Of himself he said, " I could brew one hour, do 
 mathematics the next, and shoot the next, and 
 each with my whole soul." 
 
 A fortnight after the marriage Rachel Gurney 
 writes : — 
 
 ^^ May ig, 1807. — I accompanied my father to North- 
 repps to visit our three dear pairs. The sight of them 
 all so happily married — John and Elizabeth, Sam and 
 Louisa, Fowell and Hannah — was delightful, particu- 
 larly to see the sweet and happy looks of my dearest 
 Fowell and Hannah." 
 
V 
 
 BROTHERS AND SISTERS 
 
 " Good, the more 
 Communicated, more abundant grows ; 
 The author not impair'd, but honour'd more." 
 
 — Milton. 
 
 "A renewed nature is the very image of God, it is a beam from the 
 face of God." — Baxter. 
 
 A FEW days after their marriage, Richard Gur- 
 ney wrote to the Buxtons : — 
 
 ^^ Earlham^ May 22, 1807. — I daresay, dearest 
 
 Fowell and Hannah, you do not wonder that, in 
 
 certain moods, the past should rise up mournfully 
 
 before me. The sight of you all happily married 
 
 brings some sad regrets, but happily their acuteness 
 
 is very much gone, and in the awful and blessed 
 
 moments when I am enabled to wait at the footstool 
 
 of my Great Lord and Master, my murmurings are 
 
 hushed, and the storm becomes a calm, and I can 
 
 kiss the hand that chastens me. . . . How beautiful 
 
 and affecting was the reproof of our Saviour to 
 
 Martha — 'Thou art cumbered about many things, 
 
 but one thing only is needful ! ' I am persuaded that 
 
 it is only by waiting upon Him for the deep and 
 
 166 
 
l8o7] BROTHERS AND SISTERS I 6/ 
 
 inward communion of His Spirit that a great and 
 glorious work can be effected in us. ... I would, then, 
 have you every morning, after reading a small 
 portion of the Scriptures, make a solemn pause for 
 a few minutes, and, either in kneeling or sitting, to- 
 gether unite in the sincere endeavour to come into 
 His presence who mercifully accepts the least offering 
 of the heart, and will bless you with the hundred- 
 fold in this present life. I have often thought that 
 the benefits of true silence are far too little sought 
 after, even by those religiously disposed ; and this 
 I do not say as a Quaker, but as one who has some 
 little experience of the necessity of having the 
 human nature brought into subjection before God, 
 in order to render Him acceptable worship. It is * in 
 the stillness of all flesh ' that we must approach the 
 Father of spirits. ' God is a spirit, and they that wor- 
 ship Him must worship Him in spirit and in truth.' 
 And wherever you may be in future, or however 
 circumstanced, you will feel the comfort of some- 
 times uniting in this solemn silence, if it were only 
 for a very short time. Knowing m}^ great love for you 
 both, you will not wonder that I have longing feelings 
 to unite with you a little in these things at the be- 
 ginning of your career. I wish to love thee, to cherish 
 the tenderest sympathy for thee, my dear Hannah, 
 my closely beloved sister, under whatever circum- 
 stances may await thee, and to feel the full value 
 and delight of having such a brother, one to whom 
 I can intimately confide my thoughts and feelings 
 and whose love is a real support and encouragement 
 to me." 
 
I 68 THE GURNEYS OF EARLHAM [1807 
 
 Hannah had been perhaps, of all the sisters, 
 the one who loved Earlham most. To break 
 her parting from home, the bridal pair had 
 stayed there a few days after their marriage. 
 The day after they left, Catherine Gurney had 
 written to T. Powell Buxton: — 
 
 " 1807. — Your going has been deeply felt, dearest 
 Fowell, and nothing can make up fully for the loss of 
 our dearest Hannah but beheving that she is happier 
 with thee than she could have been with all of us. We 
 therefore depend upon thee for making her so, and 
 knowing thy love for her and for us, as well as thy 
 principle, we have the firmest reliance upon thee. 
 This is by far the greatest earthly consolation in the 
 pain of separation, and I have every hope that your 
 mutual happiness will more and more reconcile us to it. 
 Yet I wish you to know, my dearest brother, how imicJi 
 we feel we give up for thy sake. Do feel for dear 
 Hannah in the sacrifice she makes of such a happy 
 home as hers has been, and the trial of entering 
 amongst new scenes and people ; all these things affect 
 a woman's feelings more than men are always aware of; 
 so do be very watchful over her, and never let her be long 
 without thy company and soothing, supporting influence, 
 for who can do her half as much good as thee can ? 
 Not one of us can have the same power to cheer and 
 comfort her. I hope thee will not dislike my writing 
 a little to thee now and then in my letters to her ; I feel 
 you both so very near my heart." 
 
 And a^ain a little later to Hannah Buxton:— 
 
 o 
 
l8o7] BROTHERS AND SISTERS I 69 
 
 ^^ Earlham, 1807. — I have just seated myself in my 
 own room immediately after breakfast, whilst the others 
 are taking their turn round the garden this beautiful 
 morning. Nothing can look more bright and cheerful 
 than the place, and everybody seems in a happy mind. 
 ... I am far from thinking that the pleasure of being 
 together again will be in any degree lessened by our 
 separation. It seems to me as if nothing cotild lessen 
 it, but, on the contrary, as if the variety of circumstances 
 in which we shall each have been placed would make 
 it more delightful. I am almost surprised at myself for 
 being now satisfied in leaving thee at Weymouth, and 
 so little impatient to have thee within reach. Thy 
 being treated with so much respect and kindness in thy 
 husband's family is a blessed proof of thy own prudence 
 and principle, and in this light particularly valuable to 
 me. Thy being enabled also to be so contented and 
 usefully employed in thy solitary house is another 
 source of real satisfaction to me, and the capability of 
 happiness between you and dear Fowell when you are 
 undisturbed is more than either of these perhaps. . . . 
 My father always enjoys hearing parts of thy letters 
 which we read to him, and I like that his interest 
 about thee should be kept alive constantly. If it is only 
 on this account, I hope that thee will always write and 
 inform him of thy plans." 
 
 In June the Buxtons paid Earlham a long 
 visit. After they left Rachel Gurney wrote : — 
 
 ^^ Earlham^ J tdy 8, 1807. — I must give you the his- 
 tory of those you left behind you, as it concerns you 
 
170 THE GURNEYS OF EARLHAM [1807 
 
 to know how much tenderness and affection has been 
 excited on your behalf. After you drove off on Tuesday 
 evening my father and Joseph and I walked tlirough 
 the garcfen and along the path towards the violet-grove, 
 all deeply impressed by parting with you. At last my 
 father burst into tears, which, you may be sure, affected 
 us not a little. Upon recovering himself, he opened 
 his heart to us in the sweetest manner about you. He 
 expressed how deeply he felt giving Hannah up, and 
 her quitting this sheltered home in order to occupy a 
 new post of greater importance and perhaps of greater 
 difficulty. He felt that she might be exposed to some 
 trials and some anxieties, but he said that he felt a 
 secure ground of hope from his confidence in Fowell's 
 principles and attachment to Hannah; while the 
 thought of Hannah's amiable and virtuous disposi- 
 tion made him believe in her having every blessing 
 requisite for her peace. Indeed, though the way in 
 which he spoke of all his children drew tears from me, 
 it has left a peaceful impression on my mind. After 
 this intimate disburdening of our feelings, we became 
 more comfortable, and on our arrival by the river-side, 
 found some boys fishing, whom we brought in for a 
 feast of strawberries; and in the evening we endea- 
 voured to amuse ourselves with the little Scarnells. 
 
 " The nearness of harmony we have felt has made up 
 for the melancholy which an empty house incHnes us 
 to. The next morning we read, and after breakfast 
 went to Meeting. I felt the comfort, as I do continu- 
 ally, of dear Joseph's uniting with us in everything. 
 We three were the only Gurneys at Meeting. After- 
 wards Richard drove me over to Keswick, and the 
 
l8o7] *BROTHERS AND SISTERS I7I 
 
 rest of the day was devoted to my Aunt and Anna, 
 who stood in need of it. The servants have been 
 much affected by your going. Thee hath the satis- 
 faction, dear Hannah, of knowing that the love of the 
 whole household attends thee. Judd was quite enthu- 
 siastic in her lamentations, saying ' thee wert a lady 
 she could Jive and die with.'" 
 
 Owing to Mrs. Buxton's youth, and her 
 extreme feeling of desolation in being sepa- 
 rated from all her own family while her hus- 
 band v^as so often absent all day on business, 
 her sister Priscilla remained with her till Sep- 
 tember, when she went to Mrs. Fry. 
 
 Priscilla Gurney to Hannah, Mrs. Buxton. 
 
 ^^ St. Mildred's Court, Sept. 1807. — Thee knows 
 how dull Mildred Court can be, so I need not describe 
 it to thee. The children have been my only comfort. 
 Little Rachel, Johnny, and I have been drinking tea 
 together, and they have made me quite cheerful and 
 happy. Now Johnny is playing by my side : he is 
 most sweet. I wish he could spend an hour or two 
 with thee, thee would so much enjoy it." 
 
 To the Same. 
 
 ^^ Sept. 29, 1807. — I think of thee constantly. . . . 
 I have had a pleasant visit to dear Sam and Eliza- 
 beth at Upton, and truly was I pleased with them 
 as a pair, so sweet and unaffected are her manners 
 to him, and he is as much in love with her as any 
 
1/2 THE GURNEYS OF EARLHAM [1807 
 
 person can be. When I returned to Mildred's Court, 
 I caught a little of dear Betsy's company at inter- 
 vals. She was so interested about you, but she is 
 never as warm about people as we are, which arises 
 from her very superior principle, and yet is per- 
 haps a little damping where your feelings are highly 
 interested. She is, to be sure, a most uncommon 
 person, and one is almost surprised to find any one 
 so exemplary in conduct, so entirely under the right 
 subjection as she is. ... I can hardly say, too, how 
 sweet I think her conduct is to all of us. I went 
 on Sunday to both the Gracechurch Street Meetings, 
 which were unusually impressive to me. I have a 
 good deal felt being with Friends again, which is per- 
 haps owing to having been so long away from their 
 influence, but on the whole it was more encouraging 
 to me than uncomfortable. . . . The way for dear 
 home now seems completely to be opened, and not 
 a little do I long to be there in the rest and tranquillity 
 which home alone affords." 
 
 Catherine Gurney to Hannah, Mrs. Buxton. 
 
 *^ Oxford, Sept. 1807. — I have felt Priscilla leaving 
 thee not a little, but believe it may be best, for I think 
 thee and dear Fowell may, in some respects, be more 
 happy and completely united by being left to yourselves, 
 and I trust to thy wisdom to be as cheerful as thee can 
 during thy entire separation from us, though I depend 
 on thee telling me exactly how thee goes on. ... I often 
 feel comfort about thee, though separation is painful 
 to me, and my principal comfort is that I do believe 
 both dear Fowell and thee have it at heart to make 
 
l807] BROTHERS AND SISTERS 1/3 
 
 what is good your first object, and this will in time lead 
 to true prosperity. 
 
 " I cannot tell thee, love, how much I sympathise 
 with thee in giving up Priscilla, but I hope and trust 
 thee will endeavour to be as cheerful under it as 
 thee can, and thee must remember how often some 
 in the family have had to be a good while without 
 a sister." 
 
 ^^ Oct. 3, 1807. — I am feeling much more resigned 
 to thy absence, which I found very difficult to bear on 
 first coming home. I can feel now as well as think 
 that thee art in thy right place, as well as those that 
 are at home, and this makes me easy as well as cheer- 
 ful about thee. I have such comfort, too, in believing 
 that our union can only be corifinned by these changes 
 and circumstances. I believe they are calculated to 
 exercise and draw forth our principles in the highest 
 sense, and our affection for each other, and that in the 
 end we shall be all the happier for them. This is the 
 time for the pains which must naturally arise from the 
 family dispersion, though we may trust it will produce 
 ^<9^<i fruits, and that by-and-by we shall have to rejoice 
 in it. I have all along endeavoured to believe all this, 
 but I think I have not at all felt it so encouragingly as 
 I did yesterday, when, though I fancied thee alone most 
 of the day, I had very little pain in the idea of it, and 
 scarcely wished thee to be with us, from the strong sense 
 in my mind that all will be well with us if we do but 
 endeavour to do our parts in our different situations. 
 Thus my clouds have been dispersed, and when once 
 we begin to have our minds set in order by the influence 
 
1/4 THE GURNEYS OF EARLHAM [1807 
 
 of religion, we are able to see secondary motives of con- 
 solation, as well as those of the deepest nature. I have 
 been thinking that we ought to be very thankful that 
 thee and dear Fowell have not been disappointed in 
 your affections, for what sad work it frequently is when 
 this happens ! Though thee has had much suffering 
 from the change, how much more desolate a disappoint- 
 ment to all thy prospects would have made thee, and 
 how far less, I think, would a single life have suited 
 thee than the duties and emplo3^ments of a wife and 
 mother. This applies to thee more than to most in the 
 family, for we all agree that thee art quite formed by 
 nature for the married woman. Supposing thee had 
 always remained at home, thee would be sure to have 
 been spared some suffering and many cares thee hast 
 now had, but how much more stagnant thy mind would 
 have been, and how far less thy character and virtues 
 would most likely have been called forth. Taking in 
 the long-run of life, how much more desirable does it 
 appear for thee to have so important a sphere of action 
 as thine now is, and will be more and more in all 
 probability. My great wish for thee now is that thy 
 heart may be devoted as it ought to the high duties 
 thee hast to perform, and that thee may more and more 
 be enabled to transfer dependence^ as far as human 
 dependence goes, from us to Fowell. This, as I have 
 said before, can never in the least degree lessen our 
 union or intimacy, but, on the contrary, must increase 
 it by the exercise of principle it will be to thy mind. 
 I am convinced that in proportion as religious prin- 
 ciple is exercised, real union is confirmed. How much 
 this has been the case with both Betsy and Louisa, 
 
l8o7] BROTHERS AND SISTERS 1/5 
 
 how far more united we have been with Betsy since 
 she married, and I think I never felt such harmony 
 opened with Louisa as now. I have no doubt, dear 
 Hannah, that this will be the case with thee too, if 
 thee makes thy present important duties thy first object. 
 I was quite delighted with what thee said in thy letter 
 to Priscilla on this subject, expressing thy desire to 
 correct thy own quickness and irritability towards dear 
 Fowell. This is certainly most desirable, for it is a 
 very serious thing to begin anything approaching to a 
 bickering habit. What a prodigious disadvantage that 
 has been in some instances we know, even where people 
 are reckoned to be on good terms, and have perhaps a 
 fundamental regard for each other ; it seems entirely 
 to spoil the happiness of married life, to make people 
 at last quite dislike each other's company : my Uncle 
 and Aunt Gurney are such an instance. What seems 
 a nothing in the beginning becomes at last mutual 
 unhappiness. What an example of the contrary my 
 father and mother were. I remember it was quite a 
 shock to my feelings, when I was a child, if they differed 
 at all in opinion, it was what I was so unaccustomed 
 to. What a high standard we have before us in this, 
 as well as in other things, in our mother's character, 
 and how good it is for us often to recur to it. Thee 
 hast very much the same sort of mind she had, and 
 I believe, by constantly aiming at the same degree of 
 excellence, thee ma}^ very closely follow her footsteps. 
 She attained so much by always having a high standard 
 about everything. I think there is not one in the 
 family so like her in most things as thee art. 
 
 "I have no doubt but thy mind will be much im- 
 
1^6 THE GURNEYS OF EARLHAM [1807 
 
 proved by having had to feel so deeply as thee hast 
 the last few months : it vi^ill, by degrees, I believe, 
 stimulate thee increasingly to seek the best things, 
 and by this thy natural character will become softened, 
 humbled, and harmonised ; many latent powers will be 
 called into action and unfolded; and thee will love us 
 all just as much as ever, without that degree of depen- 
 dence which, under any circumstances almost, must, 
 from the nature of things in the course of life, be 
 shaken. It is a good thing to have true dignity of 
 character, by which I mean a superiority over even our 
 best affections. This my mother had most eminently. 
 I scarcely ever saw it more conspicuous in any one. 
 
 *' I advise thee to be particularly watchful about 
 what appear to be mere trifles with reference to dear 
 Fowell. Louisa is an example in things of this kind, 
 for she says as Sam gives up so much to her in great 
 things, she feels it a duty to yield to him in all that 
 does not concern her conscience, and she does it 
 delightfully. Now, by gentleness of manner, giving 
 up thy own inclinations to his in Httle things, being 
 amiable, in short, thee might gain increasing influence 
 over him. Also thee ought to do all thee can to make 
 thyself pleasing to him in dress, manner, &c. All this 
 is the more important from his being so young, and 
 having given up so much to thee in very great things, 
 and being really such a help and support to thee in the 
 most important matters, where thy conscience is con- 
 cerned. From the entire ease and familiarity of your 
 terms, and from thy having a sort of playful teazing 
 manner with thy equals (if thee knows what I mean), 
 1 think thee may not always be guarded enough in such 
 
l8o7] BROTHERS AND SISTERS 177 
 
 things as these. Now Louisa always seems to have 
 the right thing uppermost towards Sam, and she says 
 they are much happier with each other than they were 
 the first two or three months after they married. I 
 beUeve that being sometimes in a state of mental suf- 
 fering about us and other things may really be a gain 
 to thee, love, and by curbing thy spirit a little, and sub- 
 jecting thy will, will soften thee and unite thee, first 
 to God, and then to thy husband. This consoles me 
 very much for thy pains, for I sometimes think I feel 
 them for thee almost as much as thee can do for thy- 
 self. I am truly encouraged about thy conduct, and 
 often feel how good and patient thee has been under 
 trials, and what an example thee may become to others. 
 We must not be discouraged by a sense of our own 
 weakness and deficiencies, for we are told that the 
 strength of Christ is made perfect by our weakness, 
 or something to that effect. Therefore the weaker we 
 feel in ourselves, the more our affections ought to be 
 fastened and centred on Him. How often we see 
 characters, not very strong by nature, gain a power not 
 their own, which seems to give them a new existence. 
 
 " It is very interesting to us to hear every particular 
 of your life and to have a sketch of your cottage. I long 
 to have you more within reach to supply you with a 
 number of good things. I do not think, love, I shall 
 write to thee again at present, as I am afraid of taking 
 the place of the others, though I feel as if I could write 
 almost every day." 
 
 ''Oct. 9, 1807. — Though I had not at all intended 
 writing again so soon, thy long letter to Louisa has 
 
 VOL. I. M 
 
178 THE GURNEYS OF EARUIAM [1807 
 
 drawn forth so much fcehng for thee in my mind, that 
 I must express to thee the encouragement and comfort 
 it has given me with respect to thy present state. I 
 do not want to praise thee, love, but I must tell thee 
 how very highly I approve thy exertions to be what 
 thee ought to be in thy present situation. Hearing 
 such an account of thee gives me satisfaction of the 
 best kind, and I cannot help admiring as well as loving 
 thy efforts to fill up thy station with dear Fowell and 
 his family so wisely and admirably. However, I do 
 not wish to send thee an eulogium, but to encourage 
 thee to persevere in doing thy part, and to express my 
 sense of the blessing I feel it that thee hast been 
 enabled to feel and to act, in the main, so very much as 
 we all could wish ; for after all, the merit is not to be 
 ascribed to ourselves, — of that I hope we are all deeply 
 sensible, so that I do not praise thee, but I sympathise 
 with thee in the comfort of having been thus far so 
 preserved and assisted. 
 
 " What a comfort it is, too, that thee hast been able 
 to feel cheerfully about our present separation. Our 
 feehngs on such subjects do appear to be but little in 
 our own power ; still I believe that every real endeavour 
 to attain the right disposition of mind is blessed in its 
 consequences, and that this has been thy case ; we are 
 all disposed also to feel it cheerfully and submit to 
 it willingly, which I hope, love, will be a help and 
 strength to thee. Even at a distance, how very much we 
 may assist each other, and how pleasant it is to feel 
 this. As to often feeling weak in thyself, and very im- 
 perfect both in thy inward and outward actions, this thee 
 must expect ; and I believe that the greater advances we 
 
1807] BROTHERS AND SISTERS 179 
 
 make in Christianity, the more alive we shall be to our 
 own great infirmities, but the less cast down by them. 
 This I wish thee would bear in mind for thy encourage- 
 ment, and endeavour not to mind a weak state when it 
 besets thee. It is much more to thy real good than to 
 have thy confidence unduly placed in thyself, confidence 
 which must be shaken in us all. The state of thy 
 spirits will vary. This thee must be prepared for, and 
 learn to commit thyself in all states to that God who 
 never fails to protect and bless, even in trials, those who 
 place their whole dependence upon Him. What a good 
 thing it is to learn thus humbly to commit ourselves, 
 and also those who are dear to us, to Him : and how 
 it helps us to bear many painful circumstances of our 
 own and of those we love, and we must learn to bear 
 the pains of others as our own. Thee sometimes speaks 
 of feeling obscurity and deadness of mind about 
 religious subjects. Of this most religious characters 
 complain, and 1 fully believe it is no real cause of 
 discouragement, but rather the reverse. Whatever 
 experimentally teaches us our natural state of dark- 
 ness and poverty is of use to us in the end : this I may 
 say from what I have so deeply felt mj^self. 
 
 "As I said in my last letter, it comforts me to 
 believe thee will be the better for the portion of suffer- 
 ing, under whatever form it may come, that thee may 
 have to pass through. Rachel was saying yesterday 
 she thinks in one way thee may know as much, if not 
 more, about us individuall}^, who are together, as we 
 may of each other. It is so easy sometimes to com- 
 municate one's inmost thoughts in writing, more so 
 than in conversation, and by our all writing so fre- 
 
I 80 THK GURNEYS OF EARLHAM [1807 
 
 quently, nothing of any importance can pass without 
 thy knowing of it : this is a real pleasure. My father 
 was quite pleased with some parts of thy letter to 
 Louisa which we read to him. . . . Intellectual pursuits, 
 now that thee hast time for them, are in my opinion 
 of greater importance for tliee than music or drawing, 
 especially as Fowell has more taste for reading than 
 for objects of taste. In other things, too, it is well to 
 consider his mind as well as thy own, and the more of 
 a companion thee can be to him the better. 
 
 *' I hope, love, thee continues to take good care of 
 thy body as well as mind, and does not over-fatigue 
 thyself. For our sakes, as well as thy own, thee really 
 nmst. I do not like to hear of thy taking such long 
 walks, and waiting so very late for dinner; it is too 
 exhausting for thee. Does thee alwa3^s have a very 
 good nooning ^ when thee art likely to wait so late ? I 
 do desire thee wilt for my sake. Pray do not neglect 
 thyself in any way ; the idea of thy doing so is very 
 painful to me. Tell me thee always has a good noon- 
 ing, and art very careful not to overtire thyself, and 
 does thee take care of tJie fire? I wish thee would 
 have a guard. I do not know that I have at present any- 
 thing more particular on my mind about thee : I almost 
 always have something I could write to thee every day. 
 
 " Rachel wrote so fully 3^esterday that there is not 
 much narrative. Yesterday afternoon Rachel went with 
 my father and our Sam to dine at Keswick with my 
 uncle and GattyH anbury. Sally and Sophy arrived here 
 to dinner and to go to the ball. Joseph wished so 
 much to go with them, that we all thought it best he 
 
 ^ Luncheon. 
 
1807] BROTHERS AND SISTERS 181 
 
 should : so they set off about nine, and left Louisa, 
 Cilia, Chenda, and me to enjoy thy sweet and interest- 
 ing letter over the drawing-room fire till the party 
 returned from Keswick. Our Sam did not care about 
 the ball the least. I admire to see his steadiness : he 
 is now in a sweet mind, and seems to enjoy being 
 here, and is far more open than when he came. This 
 morning everybody except me and my father went to 
 church with William and Anne,^ both looking very 
 bridal, and every one else very nicely. I was not in 
 the mind for going, as I wanted quiet at home. Anne 
 looks very neatly in a very pretty gown we gave her. 
 We are all going to dine at the Grove, and shall leave 
 the Great Parlour to them and their company, and I 
 think they will have a very pleasant day, and they will 
 have a dinner-party of about thirty. 
 
 "We are going, when I have done this, to spend 
 the morning together as usual in the dressing-room. 
 Dear Louisa and Priscilla go to Cromer to-morrow with 
 the two Sams. Their visit is principally to John and 
 Elizabeth. I regret parting with dear Louisa very 
 much, but I think it quite right she should go. Uncle 
 Joseph has been here this morning. I will now bid 
 thee farewell, dear Hannah, as I want to go to the 
 others. I am sitting by the nursery-fire alone, and 
 they are all, I believe, in the dressing-room. We had 
 a comfortable letter from dear Betsy yesterday, where 
 she expresses very encouraging feelings about thee 
 and Fowell." 
 
 ''October 1807. — I am longing very much to hear 
 
 ^ Old servants. 
 
I 82 THE GURNEYS OF EARLHAM [1807 
 
 of thee again. . . . Indeed, love, thee must write very 
 often, or else I get into such an anxious state about 
 thee, it is quite painful. I think about thee continually, 
 and the personal separation from thee can only be light- 
 ened by hearing of thee all the particulars thee can 
 possibly write. Writing to us ought for our sakes to 
 be one of thy daily duties, and if thee has Httle time, 
 thee might write a little every day, and in the course of a 
 few days thee would fill a large sheet. I have been in 
 rather a cloudy state of mind since I came home, but I 
 am now getting more comfortable, and I daresay shall 
 soon be quite cheerful again. I would not pass many 
 more weeks without seeing thee again for a great deal. 
 I set my mind on thy coming either to London or 
 here before very long. I hardly know what to write to 
 thee about thyself, not knowing exactly thy state of 
 mind, but I hope and trust that by this time thee art 
 getting a little above the pain of Priscilla's having left 
 thee, and that thee and dear Fowell are enjoying being 
 by yourselves whenever you can at any quiet time, 
 which I fear is but rarely. Though thee must at times 
 feel thy separation from us all, yet I think thee may 
 always keep in view xSx^ far higher ties that are owing 
 to a husband, and for his sake, as well as thy own, 
 endeavour to have thy heart open to all the enjoyment 
 thee can derive from thy present circumstances. This 
 does appear most important, for how often we see that 
 wives lose their influence, and at last a portion of their 
 happiness, by indulging an anxious dissatisfied turn ot 
 mind. I am not much afraid of thy doing so, because 
 I know thy principle against it, and I beHeve thee are 
 both too wise and too fond of dear Fowell to do so, or 
 
iSo;] BROTHERS AND SISTERS I 83 
 
 perhaps to feel any disposition to it. I believe thee hast 
 done perfectly right in being left alone with him, and 
 though to me all the present effect of separation must 
 be painful, yet I believe, if we all take it as we ought to 
 do, v/e shall be rewarded for it in the future. It is a 
 comfort to feel that it cannot in the least degree dimi- 
 nish our sympathy and real union with each other, but, 
 if possible, confirm them by putting them to the proof. 
 This is a real consolation as respects ourselves, and 
 then, as regards thee and Fowell, it is so highly desir- 
 able that thee should be devoted to \i\mfirst^ and make 
 him more habitually thy first object, and it is so long 
 before this sort of dependence can be fully transferred 
 from one's own family to a husband, that it is most 
 essential — as it is according to nature and religion — 
 that it should be so. The love of a husband is diffe- 
 rent from any other friendship that might in any degree 
 divide us from our own family. How many virtues are 
 brought into action by married life ! I am sure, if we 
 make the right use of the occasion, we may become 
 better and stronger by it. I recollect Betsy once saying 
 how it had led her far more than she could have sup- 
 posed possible almost, to subjection of will ; this she 
 said who appears so much the mistress in everything, 
 and what an important lesson this is to learn ! It is 
 encouraging sometimes under the trials we meet with 
 in every situation to be able to see in some degree the 
 end and benefit of them, but there are many in which 
 we must live entirely hy faith ^ and not by sight. 
 
 ** Yesterday we had a really comfortable day. My 
 father dined out, and we four enjoyed being together 
 at dinner. Dear John then came in on his way from 
 
184 THE GURNEYS OF EARLHAM [1S07 
 
 Nortlirepps to Lynn, coming round that he might see 
 Hudson, who is ill. I long to send thee eatables and 
 other useful articles, but I doubt if it would answer on 
 account of the expense of carriage." 
 
 This was to be a year of rapid Increase of 
 the Gurney family and its connections, for in 
 November 1807 Joh^^ Gurney of Earlham wrote 
 to his cousins James and Sarah Sheppard of 
 Upton to ask permission for his son Samuel 
 to address their daughter Elizabeth, an ex- 
 ceedingly pretty and attractive young woman. 
 Mrs. Sheppard was by birth a Gurney, being 
 one of the daughters of Henry Gurney of 
 Norwich,^ and sister of Bartlett Gurney, the 
 founder of the Norwich Bank. Mr. and Mrs. 
 Sheppard resided at Ham House In the parish 
 
 ^ These daughters were — 
 
 Elizabeth, wife of Joseph Cockfield of Upton : had issue — Henry 
 Cockfield, who died unmarried, and Sarah, wife of Joseph Dinisdale. 
 Her son, Joseph Cockfield Dimsdale, afterwards owned the Upton 
 estate. 
 
 Sarah, wife of James Sheppard : had issue — ^James, Anna, and 
 Elizabeth. 
 
 Martha, wife of John Birkbeck, who was a partner in the Lynn Bank, 
 and lived at the old bank-house : had issue — Henry Birkbeck, after- 
 wards a partner in the Norwich Bank, and Jane, first wife of Joseph 
 John Gurney of Earlham, and mother of John Henry Gurney and of 
 Anna, who married John Church Backhouse. 
 
 Lucy, wife of Thomas Aggs of Norwich : had issue —Thomas, Lucy 
 (an intimate friend of Catherine Gurney), Hannah (wife of John Bright- 
 wen of Yarmouth), and Eliza (wife of John Geldart of Norwich). 
 
 Henrietta, died unmarried. 
 
 Maria, died unmarried. 
 
l8o7] BROTHERS AND SISTERS I 85 
 
 of West Ham, Essex, and Samuel Gurney had 
 become intimate with them from being with the 
 Frys at Plashet. 
 
 "Samuel Gurney was charming in his attachment to 
 Elizabeth Sheppard, and exceedingly in love with her, 
 yet almost afraid to look at or be near her. She was 
 an uncommonly pretty girl, and showed a tender, 
 serious spirit, which was extremely winning. His 
 attachment probably existed two or three years in 
 secret." — Family Letters. 
 
 "There was a sweet unselfishness in the natural 
 disposition of Elizabeth Gurney, peculiarly endearing 
 and instructive, a lowly estimation of herself, a charity 
 to others, a faithfulness to duty, a power of sympathy 
 most uncommon, which, as one of her children remarks, 
 often led her into great trial, so truly did she suffer 
 with those who wept, and whom she was ever ready 
 to help and comfort. 
 
 " It is also beautiful to see how little, as riches 
 increased, she set her heart upon them, how entirely 
 free from a spirit of ostentation and display was her 
 daily walk and conversation, and how her loving gentle- 
 ness threw a beauty about her daily path." — Mrs. T. 
 Geldart, '' Memoir ^ 
 
 The marriage of Samuel Gurney and Eliza- 
 beth Sheppard took place at Barking Meeting- 
 House on April 7, 1808, and the joyful welcome 
 given to the bride in her husband's family was 
 
I 86 THE GURNEYS OF EARLHAM [1808 
 
 cordially reciprocated by her. Elizabeth Fry's 
 Journal says : — 
 
 " I was unable to attend the wedding, which I had so 
 particularly desired. We had a very striking Meeting, 
 and I did deeply feel for dear Samuel and Elizabeth, 
 and desire that they might be blessed. 
 
 ^'The fat of the land was not my desire, but the dew 
 of Heaven. They both felt most dear to me." 
 
 Hitherto Samuel Gurney had only been a 
 diligent apprentice or plodding clerk in his 
 brother-in-law's counting-office. 
 
 " He was now about to enter life at a peculiar period 
 in the history of the monied world. For, a very little 
 time prior to Samuel Gurney's marriage an important 
 branch of business had been commenced in the city of 
 London, and one which had a marked effect on the 
 commercial and banking interests of the country at 
 large. 
 
 " Before the formation of the firm in Lombard 
 Street afterwards well known under the name of 
 Overend, Gurney & Co., there had been nothing at all 
 analogous to the system pursued by money-dealers at 
 present. 
 
 "At this time the city of Norwich carried on a 
 very lucrative trade in woollen goods with India and 
 China, under control of the East India Company ; and 
 this may have been the means of introducing a con- 
 nection between the Norwich Bank and Mr. Joseph 
 Smith, a member of the Society of Friends, then 
 
ELIZABETH GURXEY 
 
l8o8] BROTHERS AND SISTERS I 8/ 
 
 engaged as a woollen factor in the city of London. 
 The result of this intercourse was that Mr. Smith, 
 having extensive dealings in his trade, was able to 
 employ a large amount of the surplus money of the 
 Norwich Bank in discounting the acceptances of his 
 connections and others, for which he charged the bank 
 the reasonable commission of one quarter per cent, on 
 the amount of money thus negotiated. This business 
 in course of time so increased, that a clerk of Mr. 
 Smith's, John Overend, a North-Countryman of the 
 greatest perseverance and considerable acuteness and 
 shrewdness, proposed to Mr. Smith that he should be 
 taken into partnership, and that they should establish 
 a separate business as bill-brokers. This proposal 
 being rejected, the clerk left the firm, and suggested 
 to Mr. Thomas Richardson, then the principal clerk of 
 the*^ house of Smith, Wright & Gray, that they should 
 start this new business on their own account. The 
 principle on which it was to be conducted was some- 
 what novel, and its difference between this and the 
 former mode was, that instead of charging the commis- 
 sion of one quarter per cent, to those who supplied 
 the capital, they should charge it to those whose bills 
 were discounted. This plan meeting with the approval 
 of the Norw^ich Bank, one of the clerks, Simon Martin, 
 subsequently a partner in the concern — a man of much 
 practical knowledge, high principle, and steady perse- 
 verance in all that he undertook — was sent to London 
 to assist in the formation of the new and untried 
 business. And thus from so small a commencement 
 arose the great concern of Overend & Co. It was in 
 the year 1807, being the one previous to the marriage 
 
1 88 THE GURNEYS OF EARLHAM [1808 
 
 of Samuel Gurney, that his father, Jolin Gurney of 
 Earlham, having ah'eady placed his eldest son in the 
 branch bank at King's Lynn, with the prospect of a 
 future partnership, embarked his second son, Samuel, 
 in business on his own account ; and as an indication 
 of the well-deserved trust of the father, we may notice 
 the fact that, at the early age of twenty-one, Samuel 
 Gurney took no inconsiderable share in the concern of 
 Richardson & Overend. How much of the safety and 
 success of that vast establishment was due to his firm, 
 clear, bold business talent from early youth, through 
 a long course of years, through many anxieties and 
 shocks, not a few brokers and bankers in London can 
 testify." — Memoir. 
 
 After the marriage and establishment . of 
 Samuel had done much to v^ithdrav^ him from 
 Norfolk interests, Joseph John became more 
 than ever the home brother of the Earlham 
 sisterhood. His sister Hannah writes of hov^ 
 he had become increasingly one v^ith the family 
 circle : — 
 
 " As he grew older, he became more and more de- 
 lightful to his father, and brothers, and sisters. His 
 return home in the vacations was always a welcome 
 event. His life and playfulness, his spirit and zeal 
 in every pursuit, rendered his company most enliven- 
 ing. He spent his holidays with great method, allotting 
 much time to study, reading Latin with Louisa, books 
 on serious subjects with Rachel, and would join with 
 
l8o8] BROTHERS AND SISTERS I 89 
 
 our whole circle for amusing reading, drawing with us 
 whilst listening. Greatly did he enjoy the various re- 
 creations of home ; especially our simple evening dances 
 in the autumn, when it was our greatest pleasure to 
 have our four brothers dancing with the four younger 
 sisters. He would unite in forming a party for a 
 cotillon, as well as in our many other projects for play 
 or amusement. 
 
 " Catherine and Rachel also found in him one who 
 could respond to all the pains they bestowed upon him, 
 one full of deep affection for them, gladly accepting their 
 care, their counsel, and their instruction. In no com- 
 mon degree did he appear to be free from temptation, 
 and natural^ inclined to all that was lovely and of 
 good report. Ever on the right side, he had held and 
 maintained the highest standard in conduct, and I may 
 truly say that, as he grew in stature, he grew in grace, 
 using all diligence in w^atching over his own heart, 
 whilst pursuing the attainment of know^ledge with 
 unremitting diligence." 
 
 In the early spring of 1808 the Buxtons were 
 a long time at Earlham, and there, in " Mrs. 
 Catherine's chamber," on February 25, their 
 eldest child, Priscilla, was born. 
 
 The happiness of John and Elizabeth Gurney 
 was unclouded, but of very short duration. In 
 little more than a year, on the 12th of May 
 1808, the lovely and engaging wife died of 
 decline. '' Never," writes Joseph John, ''can I 
 forget the solemn summer evening when our 
 
190 THE GURNEYS OF EARLHAM [1808 
 
 sister's remains arrived at Earlham, the hearse 
 slowly advancing- to the house through the 
 avenue of lime-trees. Never can I forget the 
 overwhelming woe of our brother." John 
 Gurney indeed never recovered the shock. 
 Henceforward he found his only comfort in 
 religion, in which he was helped by Edward 
 Edwards, the friend of Charles Simeon and 
 Henry Venn, who was a clergyman at Lynn. 
 
 Katherine, eldest daughter of Elizabeth Fry, 
 wrote afterwards of this family sorrow : — 
 
 " Elizabeth Gurney was cut off at a period in which 
 the large circle of brothers and sisters and cousins 
 were very remarkably in the enjoyment of this world's 
 highest prosperity — a circle brought up in intimate 
 connection with each other, many just married or 
 about to be so, and little acquainted with the trials 
 of life. It suddenly arrested the stream of prosperity 
 and earthly happiness of the family, in which such was 
 the union, that if one of the members suffered, all the 
 members suffered with it." 
 
 After this, Edward Edwards was frequently 
 at Earlham, first as the friend of John, then as 
 the friend of the whole family. We find him 
 writing of Catherine Gurney : — 
 
 ** Having been left, when only seventeen, to take 
 care of this large family of four sons and seven 
 
l8o8] BROTHERS AND SISTERS I9I 
 
 daughters, she had been a mother to them all, feeling a 
 maternal solicitude for their temporal and spiritual wel- 
 fare. Her truly Christian spirit might constrain even 
 the most bigoted to acknowledge that God is not con- 
 fined to any of our forms and parties. Even a little 
 acquaintance with such excellent characters out of our 
 own pale must take off the edge of intolerance and 
 assuage all bitterness of party spirit." 
 
 Rachel Gurney s journal tells how : — 
 
 ^^ Earlhain^ Jtme 1808. — Mr. Edwards has been 
 spending a week with us, and it is certain that his in- 
 fluence, his company and conversation, have had the 
 effect of truly comforting and encouraging us in the best 
 way. He has been the means of drawing forth all our 
 hearts into some degree of religious communion. I could 
 not have hoped before that people brought up with such 
 different associations could have met so nearly both 
 in judgment and feehng as we do. It may well be 
 called the fellowship of the Holy Spirit, which we 
 believe will be perfected in heaven." 
 
 Such, at one time, was Mr. Edwards' admira- 
 tion of Catherine, that — with extreme diffidence 
 — he was tempted to send her a proposal of 
 marriage. It so happened that, being much 
 engrossed with other things when it arrived, 
 she slipped the letter into her pocket unread 
 and forgot all about it. It was no sooner 
 written than Mr. Edwards longed to recall it. 
 
192 THE GURNEYS OF EARLHAM [1808 
 
 Much as he admired Catherine, mature con- 
 sideration made him feel sure that in many 
 ways they were unsuited for a hfe-companlon- 
 ship. At last he thought himself bound to 
 communicate his change of feeline to her. 
 One day she was walking down the drive at 
 Earlham, when she saw Mr. Edwards ap- 
 proaching, looking very crestfallen and miser- 
 able. Suddenly she remembered the letter, 
 was filled with remorse and told him so, and 
 greatly was she surprised by the energy of his 
 "Oh, then pray don't read it: pray destroy it 
 unread." He married soon afterwards, and his 
 wife fully shared his affectionate regard for the 
 Earlham family. Mr. Edwards told Catherine 
 Gurney years after, when they were very old 
 friends, what the letter she never read had 
 contained. It was always a great amusement 
 to her. 
 
 It was, however, under the influence of Mr. 
 Edwards that both Catherine and Richenda 
 Gurney were, ere long, received into the Church 
 of Eno^land, thouQ^h Rachel herself remained for 
 some time longer in the tenets of her fathers. 
 As rules for her self-euidance at the Friends' 
 Meeting she wrote about this time : — 
 
 *' Let me go to Meeting in as collected a mind as 
 possible, and, when there, let me humbly endeavour 
 
l8o8] BROTHERS AND SISTERS 193 
 
 to offer up my whole mind and heart to the Lord my 
 God, by whose grace alone our worship can be made 
 profitable. Let me not strain my mind to catch exalted 
 or sublime thoughts, but in a lowly, contrite, penitent, 
 broken spirit, prostrate myself before the Father of 
 Mercies and seek His forgiveness and blessing. 
 
 ^' After Meeting, if I feel a blank, let me dwell upon 
 some passage in Scripture with a devout heart. In 
 this manner I think our silent Meetings may be blest 
 to me. May I be temperate in everything and at all 
 times, but more especially so after religious exercises, 
 lest their good effects become scattered." 
 
 During these years, Elizabeth Fry had been 
 feehng painfully how the cares of a household 
 and the births of many children withheld her 
 from the more oreneral ministrations after which 
 
 o 
 
 her heart longed ; but on August 30, 1808, we 
 find her writing from Earlham : — 
 
 '^ I have been married eight years yesterday. Various 
 trials of faith and patience have been permitted me ; 
 my course has been very different from what I expected, 
 and instead of being, as I had hoped, a useful instru- 
 ment in the Church militant, here I am a careworn wife 
 and mother, outwardly nearly devoted to the things of 
 this life. Though at times this difference in my desti- 
 nation has been trying to me, yet I believe those trials 
 that I have had to go through have been very useful, 
 and brought me to a feeling sense of what I am ; and 
 at the same time have taught me where power is, and in 
 
 VOL. I. N 
 
194 '^^^E GURNEYS OF EARLHAM [1808 
 
 what we are to glory — not in ourselves, nor in anything 
 we can be or do, but only to desire that He may be 
 glorified, either through us or others, in our being some- 
 thing or nothing, just as He may see best for us." 
 
 The letters of Catherine Gurney continue 
 to show how the home influence which she 
 had exercised at Earlham was carried on 
 with her sisters when they had homes of their 
 own. 
 
 Catherine Gurney to Hannah Buxton 
 (with illness in her family). 
 
 ^^ Earlham, 1808. — I do not at all wonder at thee 
 being tired. I trust thee art learning more and more 
 to cast thy care upon the Lord, who will sustain thee, 
 and who, no doubt, is watching over you all for good, 
 even in the midst of the trials He is pleased to appoint 
 in order to bring thee nearer to Himself I have 
 earnestly desired that the pains you have lately suf- 
 fered may have this most happy effect, that they may 
 strengthen thy dependence upon God, quicken thy faith 
 and diligence, and unite thee and Fowell more than ever 
 to each otlier. How desirable it is that we should con- 
 stantly keep in view the eiidoi God's chastisements, let 
 them come under whatever form they may ; that we may 
 regard life more and more as only a state of discipline 
 to improve and mature us for the better inheritance 
 that passeth not away. When these thoughts of life 
 and eternity become habitually impressed on the mind, 
 sorrow loses its sting, and though nature may suffer, 
 Grace will make us rejoice ever more under all the 
 
l8o8] BROTHERS AND SISTERS 195 
 
 dispensations of Providence. The real difficulty seems 
 to be to gain this continual sense of God's presence 
 and government over us, so that we may \xv\y feel that 
 we are constantly upheld and protected by Him. And 
 this can only be done by actual devotion, setting apart 
 as much time as we possibly can for retirement from 
 the world and prayer to God — not only for meditation 
 and self-examination, but prayer. Thus the truth as it 
 is in Jesus will become fixed in the heart, and bring fyrth 
 fruit to His glory and to our own unspeakable con- 
 solation : we shall then be enabled to run with patience 
 the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the 
 Author and Finisher of our faith : our affections will be 
 set on things above, not on things on the earth. Oh, 
 if thee art oppressed with care, leave all things and 
 cast thyself at His feet." 
 
 ^^ Anteroom^ Earl/iaj/i, 1 808. — I cannot say how I long 
 to see thee and dearest Louisa again, yet I am not the 
 least disconcerted about the possibility — I fear pro- 
 bability — of thy not coming. I am determined to 
 submit with patience if it should be necessary, and to 
 look on the good side about thy present confinement 
 to London. I do hope, love, thee wilt follow my ex- 
 ample. When I compare my own feelings about thee 
 now, dearest Hannah, with what they were last year, 
 I feel how much reason I have to be thankful, though 
 we may perhaps be crossed in this instance. Yet 
 what a blessing it is to have thee settled in London, 
 within reach of us if anything important should 
 happen, and close to dear Betsy and Louisa. When I 
 compare the past about thee with the present, I cannot 
 
196 THE GURNEYS OF EARLHAM [180S 
 
 but rejoice in spite of some privations, and especially in 
 thinking that dear Fowell has a secure prospect, one that 
 on the whole suits him. Indeed, love, we ought none 
 of us to complain, but, on the contrary, to be thankful. 
 What a blessing it is that thee art as happy and as 
 wanted as thee art, that thy little darling is restored to 
 thee. If we sometimes considered how unworthy we 
 are of all our comforts, it would enhance their value, 
 and teach us to submit more willingly than we do to 
 the privations that are no doubt sent to us for our 
 chastisement. Let us endeavour to look upon them as 
 merciful dispensations rather than as causes of discon- 
 tent. Having the best things of this world sometimes 
 withheld from us leads us to place our hope on that 
 which is still beyond them. If we were not crossed in 
 those things which appear to us to be the best, what 
 exercise would there be of the principle of submission ? 
 
 " However, after all, perhaps we may meet for a 
 short time in the course of the autumn. I do not by 
 any means despair of it. I long for the refreshment 
 of seeing thee, love, and dearest Louisa, and your very 
 dear husbands (for so they both are to me), and the 
 darling babies. I feel the greatest interest in you all 
 six, and if thee cannot come, love, thee may be sure I 
 shall not be long without coming to thee : so thee may 
 console thyself a little. 
 
 " How I do wish, dearest Hannah, thee may be pre- 
 served against that over-carefulness I mentioned to 
 thee. It appears to me almost thy first duty to guard 
 against it. Dear Fowell has it not at all in his compo- 
 sition, and I think thy giving way to it may be a 
 serious inroad on your mutual happiness. It is a 
 
l8o8] BROTHERS AND SISTERS 197 
 
 thing he never could enter into, and would, I have no 
 doubt, both dislike and disapprove. Indeed, love, thee 
 art rather too fond of us and Earlham. Thee does not 
 sufficiently decidedly prefer dearest Fowell and all his 
 interests, your mutual objects and your own home. I 
 do earnestly wish thee to give up thy heart to him 
 more and more in preference to any of us. What very 
 high duties are those of a married woman ! how 
 strongly they are set forth in Scripture! — do bring 
 this home to thy mind. I beheve many pains would 
 sit lighter upon thee. I feel thy real and lasting 
 interests, my love, and dearest Fowell's too, so very 
 far beyond any present gratification about having 
 thee with us, and so should thee, and I believe thee 
 will more and more. I long to encourage and confirm 
 thee in thy duties as wife, mother, and mistress of a 
 familv, and let us endeavour to leave the rest to Him 
 who knows well how to provide for us all according to 
 our various necessities. We may be sure of His mer- 
 ciful protection if we sincerely endeavour to do our 
 part — that 'hard things will be made easy to us, and 
 bitter things sweet.' How glad I am that I can still 
 be a comfort to thee, my beloved sister. There is 
 hardly anybody in the world I feel such a tender 
 interest for as for thee individually; thee comes as 
 near my heart as any human thing can possibly do, 
 and more constantly near than almost any one. I do 
 hope it may often be my lot to comfort and help thee, 
 and be with thee whenever thee really wants me. 
 How earnestly I do desire and pray for thy good! 
 You four are equally dear to me, but I have a parti- 
 cular feeling of tenderness for thee, and it is very 
 
198 THE GURNEYS OF EARLHAM [1808 
 
 much awakened at this moment in consequence of thy 
 letter. 
 
 ** Dear John has been all the better lately for a neces- 
 sity to exert himself. His horses and tandem are quite 
 a pleasure to him. It is wonderful to see him in tJiat 
 room, tying on that very sofa, in a state of calmness, 
 and not near so low as you might suppose, but — 
 his weakness still continues. 
 
 " Pray, dears, all four of you, do get Dr. Paley's 
 Sermons and read them : they are j«/^r-excellent, and 
 would just suit you." 
 
 After receiving this letter we find Hannah, 
 Mrs. Buxton, writing in her journal : — 
 
 ^^ August 1808. — A letter from Catherine has im- 
 pressed my mind, and made me consider the necessity 
 there is that I should encourage a cheerful and easy 
 state of mind and not give way to anxiety. I believe 
 that I and all I love are under the immediate and 
 most merciful providence of God, and that His allot- 
 ments for us are all wise and good, and that must, if it 
 become a principle in my heart, be a sure foundation 
 for contentment and cheerfulness. I have often strongly 
 felt how wrong it is to allow the least murmuring and 
 discontent, and to give way to a gloomy and careful 
 state is carefully to be guarded against. ' Rejoice 
 evermore. Pra}^ without ceasing. In everything give 
 thanks.'" 
 
 '^ Dec. 31, 1808. — The clock is now striking the end 
 of 1808. Oh, that we may all be led more devoutly 
 
l8o8] BROTHERS AND SISTERS 199 
 
 to seek the glory of God, and that above everything. 
 I feel an inexpressible love for my dearest father and 
 all my most beloved brothers and sisters : for each I 
 am almost overwhelmed with deep affection this evening. 
 Oh, that our union may be in Christ, that it may be 
 sweet and everlasting ! I feel my separation from them, 
 and the loss to us all which this year has brought with 
 it,^ and I have not often been more feelingly sensible of 
 it than to-night ; but my desires for the good of none 
 have been equal to what I have felt for my own dearest 
 husband. His welfare is indeed near to my heart. 
 How earnestly do I desire that our union may, during 
 the new year, become strengthened by an increase of 
 grace in us both." 
 
 In January 1809 the Buxtons settled in a 
 City of London home, near their brewery in 
 Brick Lane. Dull as it was in situation, it soon 
 became another pleasant family centre. When 
 the Earlham sisters visited London, Catherine 
 and Priscilla usually stayed with Hannah in 
 Brick Lane, Rachel and Richenda with Eliza- 
 beth Fry in St. Mildred's Court. 
 
 Catherine Gurney to Hannah Buxton. 
 
 '' Lyn7i,Jan. 7, 1809. — How sweet thy affection to me 
 is, love, and how I could long to have thee more under 
 my wing. Thee and I, as far as I can see, ought to hve 
 near together; but that all is ordered for us aright I 
 
 1 Of her sister-in-law, Elizabeth. 
 
200 THE GURNEYS OF EARLIIAM ' [1809 
 
 have not the smallest doubt, however much I should 
 enjoy having thee always with or near me. There is 
 not one of the family from whom I regret absence so 
 much as from thee. How I should like once more, 
 dearest Hannah, to be a support and comfort to thee. 
 I often feel very painfully being so much occupied with 
 my own concerns, and long to be at liberty in mind to 
 enter more fully into all your concerns and to be more 
 active amongst you. I may often say, ' I groan, being 
 burthened,' by the w^ork that is going on in my own 
 mind. Still 1 ought not to say that this has been the 
 case lately, for I have been so sweetly and encourag- 
 ingly helped along in the midst of all my infirmities 
 since 1 came here,i that my faith and hope are, 1 trust, 
 confirmed by what I have lately experienced. I think 
 you all fancy me more unsettled than I am. It is true 
 my mind has undergone some considerable change on 
 secondary points within the last few months, but the 
 root of faith and dependence is, I beheve, unshaken 
 through all, and even confirmed by the great pain I 
 have at times passed through. You ought not to be 
 at all anxious about me. I feel, I am thankful to say, 
 secure as to the foundation of hope, though now and 
 then tried upon secondary points. I could long to tell 
 thee, dearest Hannah, every particular about myself, 
 and to hear as much of thy concerns. I am in some 
 respects happier here than at home, for I have plenty 
 of time for rest both of body and mind. Rachel is 
 such a help and comfort; she and John and I are 
 much united, and though dear John is often a good 
 
 1 By the Rev. E. Edwards and others, who were leading her from 
 Quakerism to the Church of England. 
 
1809] BROTHERS AND SISTERS 20I 
 
 deal shut up, he is at others sweetly open and affec- 
 tionate. He is certainly more reconciled to Lynn than 
 he was. Our union with our friends (the Edwards) 
 is very strong and sweet, different in kind as well as 
 degree from any friendship we ever had before. I 
 never was in any place that satisfied me so completely 
 as their house ; we are so perfectly easy with each 
 other. She is all sweetness and kindness and gene- 
 rosity to us ; how much thee would love them both 
 if thee knew them as we do. Our own house is very 
 snug and comfortable. 
 
 '' I wonder when thee will be settled in Brick Lane. 
 I think I must come to see thee there before long. I 
 dread entering London, or else I am sure I could not 
 keep away from thee." 
 
 Rachel Gurney adds : — 
 
 *' Our intercourse with the Wordsworths through 
 Priscilla's letters has been a great source of enjoy- 
 ment to me ever since I left them. Our love for the 
 Edwards does not the least interfere with this tie, though 
 our connection with them is closer natured. It is close 
 indeed, which thee and dear Louisa would most fully 
 unite with and enter into, could you be with them as 
 
 we are." 
 
 Catherine Gurney fo Hannah Buxton. 
 
 ^^ Lynn, MarcJi 7, 1809. — It does seem very long to 
 be separated a year, but perhaps, love, we may meet 
 sooner, though we do not expect it ; and if not, time 
 glides away even before we are aware of it ; and so, as 
 
202 THE (iUKNKYS OF EARLHAiM [1809 
 
 we are both going on happily, we ought to be thankful 
 and contented. Thee must have felt Louisa's coming 
 into Norfolk, but I am glad she is at Earlham for my 
 father's sake. I rather hope thee will not go to the 
 opera with Martha ; it is so much better not to begin 
 in a family any habit of the kind for all your sakes ; 
 though it might not do thee individually harm for once, 
 it is very difficult to draw the line. However, thee and 
 Fowell are full}^ equal to judge what is best. 
 
 " The days here are never long enough, there is so 
 much to fill them. The society we are in exactly suits 
 my mind and taste. Our Monday evening parties are 
 quite a treat to me — the Edwards, Hankinsons, Win- 
 cups, and ourselves. Mr. Edwards and Mr. Hankinson 
 are the chief persons in our society, and it is pleasant 
 to me to hear them talk on interesting subjects, and in 
 the whole party there is no affectation or unmeaning 
 profession. I am on easy terms with them all, and 
 never felt so much at home with people I have known 
 so short a time. They satisfy me more than any I 
 ever was with — intellect, cultivation, and religion all 
 united, and a view of religion which 1 am enabled once 
 more to enter into. What a blessing this sometimes 
 is to me I cannot express. It is my earnest and 
 constant prayer that I may be enabled to devote my 
 whole self to the one thing needful, and to possess it 
 in that way which appears to me most according to 
 the ivhole truth of the Gospel. The standard in the 
 Church is so enlarged, comprehensive, and scriptural, 
 none I think can know fully what it is but those who 
 have really entered into it as I have done lately. . . . 
 To see any glimpse of light after the clouds I have had 
 
l8o9] BROTHERS AND SISTERS 20 3 
 
 is to me so cheering that I am perhaps apt to deHght 
 in it more than I ought. I hope that my now seeing 
 something that you at present do not may not be a 
 discouragement to any of you in your own path ; per- 
 severe as far and according to what you see, and more 
 will be shown you in time somehow or other, and, while 
 they last, bear clouds and discouragements from the 
 imperfection of outward means, with patience and re- 
 signation." 
 
 ^^ Earlham, Jime 24, 1809. — I strongly recommend, 
 dearest Hannah, thee keeping th}^ mind at rest about 
 the future. Nothing can answer less than the needless 
 perplexity we are all apt to feel about future plans in 
 which we are much interested. We seldom accomplish 
 our point at all the better for harassing ourselves be- 
 forehand ; on the contrary, we only weaken ourselves 
 b}' it and often lose the object we wish to attain by 
 over-carefulness. I have no doubt but that thy Nor- 
 folk visit will be managed satisfactorily when the time 
 comes, and I ad\dse thee by all means to divert thy 
 attention from the subject as much as thee can, and to 
 enjoy the present. 
 
 '■'■ We are going on very comfortably. My father is 
 better than when he first came home, and it is a com- 
 fort to have Rachel back, and I have been remarkably 
 happy lately in my own mind. A good deal of my 
 time is spent in teaching the P.'s, who are still at 
 Earlham. French and Natural History are my two 
 branches, and it often puts me in mind of teaching all 
 of you, they are so much of the same age, and about 
 the same cleverness. I have not much time for any 
 
204 THE GURNEYS OF EARLHAM [1809 
 
 readinf,^ except the Bible, which perhaps is quite as 
 well for me. 
 
 " Now I must give thee a lecture. As thee are likely 
 to have children to educate, I really think it is of con- 
 sequence for thee to take more pains with writing and 
 spelling. Two words are spelt wrong in thy last letter, 
 and the style is most inelegant, and even incorrect. 
 Pray profit by these hints." 
 
 The beloved father of the Gurney family 
 died at Earlham, from the effects of ao opera- 
 tion, on October 28, 1809. He had always said 
 that he regarded the harmony v^hich existed 
 between himself and his numerous children as 
 the greatest of his earthly blessings, and he 
 was deeply loved by them. On the last day 
 of his life he fell asleep, and awoke saying 
 that he had been to heaven in a beautiful 
 dream, and that he had seen all his children 
 there with him/ When his life was despaired 
 of, all the absent members of the family had 
 been summoned. Mrs. Fry, who hurried with 
 Richenda Gurney from London, writes : — 
 
 " Hearing at the different stages on the road that 
 my dearest father was Hving, we proceeded till we 
 arrived at Earlham about twelve o'clock on the night 
 of the 26th, and once more we saw him who has 
 been so inexpressibly dear to me through life, since I 
 
 ^ Rachel's journal. 
 
JOHN GURXEY OF EARLHAM 
 FfOin portrait by Opie 
 
1809] BROTHERS AND SISTERS 20 5 
 
 knew what love was. He was asleep, but death was 
 strongly marked on his sweet, and to me beautiful face. 
 Whilst in his room all was sweetness, nothing bitter. 
 He frequently expressed that he feared no evil, but 
 believed that he should be received through the mercy 
 of God in Christ. He spoke in the most affecting 
 manner of his dear Catherine, who was gone before 
 him. He encouraged us, his children, to hold on our 
 way, and sweetly told us of his belief that our love of 
 good (in the way we had it) had been a stimulus and 
 help to him. 
 
 " The next morning he died, quite easily. T was not 
 with him, but on entering his room soon after it was 
 over, I could hardly help uttering my thanksgiving and 
 praise, and also what I felt for the living as well as the 
 dead : my heart was so full that I could hardly hinder 
 utterance." 
 
 Rachel writes in her journal : — 
 
 '' I cast myself on my knees by the bedside of the 
 departed, and was deeply engaged in the conflict of 
 prayer for us all, but at this time more closely for 
 myself, that I might be enabled at this awful period 
 to renew the solemn covenant with m}'- God, afresh 
 to dedicate myself to His service, and that I might 
 be passive in His power, bowing with full submis- 
 sion of soul to His dispensations, and that I might 
 never be influenced to flinch from any burden that 
 might now be cast upon me, either from within or 
 without. Having been thus exercised in prayer, I 
 found some relief." 
 
206 
 
 THE GURNEYS OF EARLHAM 
 
 [1009 
 
 The whole family collected at Earlh^im for 
 the funeral, where, kneeling by her father's 
 open grave, his daughter Elizabeth gave public 
 
 THE GILDENCROFT, NORWICH. 
 
 thanks for the merciful manner of his re- 
 lease, this being her "first public offering in 
 the ministry." An eye-witness describes the 
 scene in the old Quaker burial-place of the 
 Gildencroft — a green oasis in the heart of the 
 
1809] BROTHERS AND SISTERS 20/ 
 
 densely red-roofed town, where the grave- 
 stones of the Gurneys and their connections, 
 all exactly alike, have now gathered rank 
 upon rank, like the lines of an advancing 
 army: — 
 
 " Nearly all the family were present, Catherine 
 composed throughout, but Richenda sobbing audibly. 
 It was truly affecting to see Dan in the Meeting- 
 house, scarcely able to support himself, leaning on the 
 coffin with one arm, and holding up his sobbing sister 
 Priscilla with the other. I cannot express how touch- 
 ing Mr. Joseph Gurney's simple address was. . . . 
 Just before the first earth was thrown into the grave, 
 Mrs. Fry threw herself forward in the attitude of prayer, 
 and, supported by her husband and sister, and almost 
 choked by emotion, loudly prayed to be endued with 
 thankfulness under affliction." 
 
 To the Quaker mind such a ceremony was 
 inexpressibly touching. But the publicity, the 
 almost worldliness, of such funerals in the 
 Gildencroft made a painful impression upon 
 the youngest member of the family, Daniel, 
 who had now gone to work in the bank at 
 Lynn, where he lived with his brother John 
 at a small house in Dallinger's Row. Daniel 
 Gurney writes : — 
 
 " Particularly painful and devoid of religious com- 
 fort were the funerals — the multitudes attending — the 
 
208 THE GURNEYS OF EARLHAM [1809 
 
 exhibition, as it were, of the family — and the preach- 
 ing of men and women. These made a strong and 
 early impression on my mind, and they contributed — 
 perhaps not rightly — to estrange me from the Society 
 of Fiicnds." 
 
VI 
 
 THE SECOND PHASE OF EARLHAM 
 
 "The past of mankind does not now seem a black ocean covered 
 with fog and storm and wrecks drifting everywhere, but a long wake 
 of light crosses it, coming from the Light that lightelh every man in the 
 world, the Pharos of humanity — the vSpirit of God. In that gleam the 
 nations have steered their barks and made towards haven. He hath 
 not left Himself without a witness." — Charles Loring Brace. 
 
 So much of the habits of Friends still lingered 
 in the Gurney family, that most of the sons and 
 daughters of John Gurney do not appear to 
 have worn mourning for their father. Cathe- 
 rine Gurney, who, with her father's full consent, 
 had been baptized in Bocking Church two 
 months before his death (Sept. 5, 1809), i'g- 
 cords the pain it gave her to be the only one 
 of the family "in deep mourning" for that 
 occasion. She had decidedly united herself to 
 the Church, as had her sister Richenda. On 
 the other hand, Priscilla and Joseph were 
 now more than ever " Friends," while Rachel 
 was not inclined to espouse decided outward 
 forms in either direction, though most earnestly 
 
 VOL. I. =^9 o 
 
2IO THE GURNEYS OF EARLHAM [1809 
 
 seeking "the better part." We find her 
 writing — 
 
 " Nov. 1807. — I have lately felt no good or sufficient 
 reason for appearing, as a Quaker, so different from 
 other people, and have doubted whether it is v^^orth 
 while to adopt any further singularity than true mode- 
 ration and perfect modesty would lead to." 
 
 Very vividly did the memory of the beloved 
 father remain with his children : — 
 
 RiCHENDA GURNEY tO ELIZABETH FrY. 
 
 ^^ Nov. 30, 1809. — It is surprising how all things 
 pass away, one scene so quickly succeeding another 
 that there seems little trace left — such a stamp of 
 mortality rests upon everything here ! I was almost 
 present with my beloved father last niglit, so clearly 
 did I see him in my sleep. I dreamt that I was going 
 down Magdalen Street, and met him with his quick 
 walk and thoughtful yet cheerful countenance, as we 
 have so often seen him. I could scarcely afterwards 
 bring to my mind the painful reality that he was gone, 
 and that we could never enjoy again the happiness of 
 being with him, or seeing that countenance which has 
 so often inspired comfort and delight to his children. 
 His image is so often before me in so lively a manner, 
 that it is almost hke being with him. There is a 
 comfort in dwelling on every little particular about 
 him. How inexpressibly dear will the recollection of 
 him ever be to me ! He was indeed the most beloved 
 of parents ! " 
 
l8lo] THE SECOND PHASE OF EARLHAM 211 
 
 Catherine Gurney to Hannah, Mrs. Buxton. 
 
 ^^ May 21, 1810. — Alone in my own room as usual. 
 I cannot but rejoice that thy heart is as thee describes 
 it to be, so much in thy present important scene of 
 action : it can hardly be too much so if thy first hope 
 and consolation are fixed on things above. This we 
 must all seek in the first place — ' Seek ye first the 
 kingdom of heaven, and all other things shall be added 
 to you.' And, in proportion as we feel the extreme 
 imperfection of all earthly objects, surely we shall 
 make this our grand aim, and remember that for the 
 attainment of this end we are to give all diligence. 
 Then, that our hearts may be more effectually weaned 
 from the world, we must prepare ourselves to meet 
 with suff'ering as we pass through this wilderness — 
 ' Forasmuch then as Christ hath suffered for us in 
 the flesh, arm yourselves likewise with the same mind, 
 for he that hath suffered in the flesh hath ceased from 
 sin, that he no longer should live the rest of his time 
 in the flesh, and to the lusts of men, but to the will of 
 God.' In this light we ought to view all the trials and 
 vexations of the present life, let them come under what 
 forms they may ; and I wish, dearest Hannah, thee 
 mayst be enabled to do so. 1 do not at all wonder at thee 
 having melancholy feelings about Earlham ; consider- 
 ing the impressions under which thee left us, it would 
 be strange if thy mind was not frequently filled by 
 sorrowful recollections and a painful sense of separa- 
 tion in our present objects. I believe these pains 
 would be very much removed could thee see how com- 
 fortably we are going on, and how great a degree of 
 
212 THE GURNEYS OF EARLHAM [1810 
 
 cheerfulness is restored to the house. I wish thee 
 could endeavour to look upon us in this point of view, 
 rather than dwell on the mournful side ; and as to 
 separation, I do not think there can be any real separa- 
 tion where we are all united, as I believe we are, under 
 one great Head, who will preserve our union for us. 
 If we were ever so much separated in person and in 
 earthly pursuits, I consider that we are in fact indis- 
 solubly united by the only tie which can last, or which 
 can have any security. And the more we can cling to 
 the spiritual tie, and that only, the more peace we shall 
 have, and the less disturbance from outward circum- 
 stances of any kind. Therefore I would have thee 
 take comfort, dearest Hannah, from the solid grounds 
 of faith and hope, which cannot be shaken except by 
 our own fault or folly. If we fix our attention on the 
 events of life, without considering them only as the 
 means of trial and discipline through which it is the 
 appointment of God that we should pass, we can never 
 obtain that rest which, even here in measure, is pro- 
 mised to the people of God. How beautiful is that 
 Collect in which the Church thus expresses itself — 'O 
 Almighty God, who alone canst order the unruly wills 
 and affections of sinful men ; grant unto Thy people 
 that they may love the thing which Thou commandest, 
 and desire that which Thou dost promise ; that so, among 
 the sundry and manifold changes of the world, our 
 hearts may surely there be fixed, where true joys are 
 to be found, through Jesus Christ our Lord.' 
 
 " As I long to be of some help to thee, love, and to 
 cheer thee if I can, I must open to thee a little on what 
 I am sure is the only source of strength and consola- 
 
l8lo] THE SECOND PHASE OF EARLHAM 2 I 3 
 
 tion, for it is quite in vain to look to the creatures to 
 comfort us — * Every creature is that to us, and no more 
 than God makes it to be ; ' therefore in whatever way or 
 degree the creatures are the cause of disappointment 
 to us, we may beheve that it is a means of fixing us 
 more firmly on the Creator. There are many stages 
 in our Christian progress in which we may have much 
 suffering to pass through in order that by degrees our 
 whole trust and confidence and dependence may be 
 placed on God. We are to ' lean only on the hope of His 
 heavenly grace ' — His grace in Christ Jesus to pardon 
 and accept us, as undeserving and unprofitable servants, 
 and the grace of His H0I3' Spirit to cleanse us from un- 
 righteousness and make us ' meet to be partakers of 
 the inheritance of the saints in light.' 
 
 " Altogether, I like my church here quite as much as 
 that at Lynn, and feel it best for me to learn not to 
 depend on an}^ individual. I have generally ver}'^ com- 
 fortable Sundays. I usually feel quite taken out of the 
 cares of life for the day. As I become more accus- 
 tomed to the Church Service, I find it lead to much 
 collection of mind; but for this and all other good things 
 I am sensible that I am wholly dependent on the daily 
 supplies of Divine grace, and that unless ' the Lord 
 vouchsafe to build the house, their labour is but vain 
 that build it.' And I have still many valleys and many 
 clouds to pass through, but my Heavenly Master guides 
 me through them all, and will, I trust, keep me to 
 the end. 
 
 '' I had not intended to say anything about myself, 
 for I alwa3^s am afraid of unsettling your mind, but I 
 hope it will not have this effect, and I can truly sa}' 
 
2 14 THE GURNEYS OF EARLHAM [1810 
 
 my only wish for you is that you may be strengthened 
 to hold fast to that which appears to you to be the 
 right path. Various are the ways and means by which 
 the hearts of men are brought to God, but if we are 
 only brought to devote ourselves to His service, we 
 ought not to be over-anxious about the means, but 
 leave this to Him in implicit faith and confidence that 
 the disposals of His Providence cannot but be good. 
 
 " Chenda now lives more than half her time at the 
 Wordsworths', but she is so useful that we cannot 
 regret it." 
 
 Rachel Gurney to Hannah, Mrs. Buxton. 
 
 ^^ Eaj^haniy June 22, 18 10. — Catherine's mind seems 
 to be quite at rest now, and she appears to me to be 
 very much confirming and confirmed in her present 
 path, which is a very decided one. I have a firm and 
 perfect trust that while we both and all faithfully strive 
 to walk with and follow our God, according to our 
 measure of knowledge and light received, performing 
 His service in truth, and dead to all the allurements of 
 the world, we shall still be helps rather than hindrances 
 to each other. If dear Catherine's feelings should at 
 any time be in opposition to my own, which must 
 sometimes be the case, I hope as much as possible to 
 bear in mind and to follow my father's tender and 
 liberal conduct towards her. It is my prayer to be- 
 come more subjected and less self-willed, for most true 
 it is that the 'poor in spirit' even here partake of the 
 kingdom of heaven. I have now and then the sweet 
 experience of being brought to the feet of my Lord 
 and Master, and then I could wish never to busy myself 
 
l8lo] THE SECOND PHASE OF EARLHAM 215 
 
 in the various interests of the present life, which are 
 too apt to engross and perplex one. 
 
 " It is dehghtful to see Chenda so dihgent in the 
 pursuit of her duties, and her heart so united to what 
 is good, and yet without pain or conflict from within 
 or without. Dear Joseph's course is not entirely cloud- 
 less, though it is rare to see a young man so truly 
 seeking and preferring the Christian path as he does. 
 I often think of him and Sam together as peculiar 
 comforts and helps, and scarcely know which to re- 
 joice over the most; only that Sam has secured so 
 desirable and sweet a wife, and much may yet depend 
 upon Joseph's further choice in this respect. John 
 and Dan, equally dear, are rather more sources of 
 tender care as well as of affection. 
 
 ''Thou mayst imagine me sitting in the Blue Room ; 
 my retired hours are spent there or in my closet. I 
 feel a peculiar attachment to this room, and something 
 like a solace in being here. The study-green, and 
 indeed all the garden, look in great perfection. The 
 visit from our dear friends the Edwards was, as 
 usual, a cordial to us all. I think, with the exception 
 of my earHest attachments, no one beyond my nearest 
 connections was ever so dear to me as they are, and 
 if I mistake not, the love I feel for them would outlive 
 almost any, perhaps any^ changes of circumstances." 
 
 Catherine Gurney to Mrs. Buxton and Mrs. Hoare. 
 
 ^^ Earlham, August 20, 18 10. — We have been en- 
 deavouring, dearest Hannah and Louisa, to get settled 
 into our usual places against you all come to us. I 
 expect you will feel very much coming here again, but 
 
2l6 THE GURNEYS OF EARLHAM [1810 
 
 I hope you will stay long enough to get over the pain 
 in a great degree. The place looks delightfully, and 
 when you have been here long enough, you will be 
 able to feel it still cheerful as well as comfortable. I 
 do not feel as if I could write much. We want being 
 togi'tJier for communication. I spend my time very 
 comfortably. The first two or three hours of every 
 morning I am shut up in my own room over the Bible, 
 then I endeavour to be as active as I can for the rest 
 of the day. I read much to myself in my leisure hours, 
 but I do not make any point of it, as I no longer feel 
 the want of the sort of study I used to be occupied by, 
 except the Scriptures." 
 
 Hannah Buxton's Journal. 
 
 ^^ Nov. 18, 1810. — Nothing can be more striking than 
 to recur to the days of our childhood, which I have 
 done this afternoon. Now to have father, mother, and 
 nurse all taken from us, and to be ourselves occupy- 
 ing the situations they then held, and to have children 
 coming on, who are in the same way to succeed us, 
 how I desire that we may follow their footsteps. My 
 most beloved and honoured father, how inexpressibly 
 dear is thy memory to me ! My mother, too, what 
 tenderness, indulgence, and care I received from her. 
 How sweet it is to consider they are again united. It 
 is indeed delightful to have had such parents, and 
 what a stimulus I feel to become like them. . . . 
 
 '^The death of our most dear friend and nurse ^ was 
 an acute sorrow, taken so suddenly from amongst us. 
 
 1 Sarah Williman, who died at Lynn in 1809 of scarlet fever, caught 
 in nursing Daniel Gurney through the disease. 
 
l8lo] THE SECOND PHASE OF EARLHAM 2 17 
 
 Her heart was overflowing with affectionate zeal for 
 us and our children, and her whole life devoted to the 
 promotion of our immediate comfort. We knew not how 
 to part with her, but great was the consolation which 
 the thought of her sweet, useful, innocent life gave to us. 
 She was indeed a shining example to all about her." 
 
 Catherine Gurney to Hannah, Mrs. Buxton. 
 
 ^^ Northrepps, Nov. 29, 18 10. — I am writing in 
 Anna's room at Northrepps, while she is busy on the 
 floor as usual. I very much enjoy being here. I had 
 a comfortable ride here on Sunday with my uncle and 
 aunt, and found Sarah and Anna very glad to see me, 
 and it has been a great pleasure to see both my pupils 
 going on so well. Sarah now makes the study of the 
 Scriptures her first object, and besides this she is hard 
 at work at Greek with Anna.^ I should never be sur- 
 prised at her becoming a very superior character ; there 
 are no common materials to be turned to account in 
 her. She and I spend two or three hours together in 
 the first part of every morning, and I have scarcely 
 ever enjoyed so much reading with any one else, and 
 in the latter part of the morning she and Anna and 
 I read something else together. I scarcely ever had 
 two pupils so rich mentally, or so interested in all our 
 pursuits ; it is quite a treat to me to be with them. 
 
 " It is a real comfort to me also to be with my uncle 
 and aunt. My uncle declines perceptibly, and is in a 
 sweeter state of mind than I have ever seen him in 
 
 ^ Sarah, sister of Fowell Buxton, had come to live with her mother's 
 sister, Mrs. Gurney of Keswick, and her lame daughter Anna. After 
 Mrs. Gurney's death the cousins remained together at Northrepps 
 Cottage, where they were known as "the Cottage Ladies." 
 
2l8 THE GURNEYS OF EARLIIAM [1810 
 
 before — so contented under his infirmities, though fully 
 aware of the decline of all his powers. My aunt's con- 
 duct to him is quite an example." 
 
 In the spring of 1809, ^^^^^ ^^e death of her 
 father-in-law, Elizabeth Fry had removed with 
 her family to Plashet, a change which was very 
 delightful to her. Here her enjoyment was great 
 of all the natural beauties of her home, and in 
 showing her children how to make the happiest 
 use of them. She began at once to devote her- 
 self to the establishment of schools and the 
 systematic help of the poor around her. Her 
 daughter Rachel wrote long afterwards — 
 
 "Would that I could bring before 3^ou our mother 
 as she was when we first lived at Plashet. The gentle 
 firmness of her rule; the sober gracefulness of her 
 carriage; her exceeding love and tenderness towards 
 her little children, especially during their infancy; the 
 cheerful invigorating influence she maintained over 
 us ; her care of her domestics, mental and bodily ; her 
 systematic attention to the poor. 
 
 "There was our school-room, where we were with 
 the kind governess who laboured in succession with us 
 all. Then our brothers set forth upon their ponies to 
 the vicarage, whither for some time they went daily 
 for instruction, and after that plan was abandoned, to 
 their tutor, at the cottage by the end of the green walk. 
 The nursery came next, controlled by those whom our 
 mother had herself first taught and trained at Earlham, 
 
l8lo] THE SECOND PHASE OF EARLHAM 2ig 
 
 thus in the care taken of her children, and in their 
 singularly happy childhood, reaping the fruit of her 
 own early labours. Household matters, correct account- 
 keeping, the oversight of East Ham School, regular 
 visits to the poor, and social duties all followed in suc- 
 cession. Happy were we when summoned to accom- 
 pany her into the village, but happier still if ' Irish 
 Row ' was to be our destination. Whether it was the 
 noise and dirt and broad Irish accent, or the little 
 ragged sunburnt children who crawled before the 
 doors, I know not, but charming it certainly was. 
 
 "Invocations to * Madame Fry' to 'step in here,' 
 beseechings to go elsewhere ; requests, petitions, wants, 
 desires; whilst children, pigs, and poultry joined their 
 voices to the general clamour, formed a never-to-be- 
 forgotten scene, and all this contrasted with her gentle 
 voice and quiet decision, either granting, or refusing, 
 or promising to consider what was asked. Her ready 
 sense of the droll was often excited on these expedi- 
 tions. I can see her now, with a look of irresistible 
 amusement, seated in Molly Malony's room, on a 
 pail reversed for the occasion, dusted with the last 
 remnant of Molly's apron, who meanwhile, with black 
 dishevelled locks, chased children and chickens, scream- 
 ing and fluttering, from the potato-heap in one corner 
 to the pile of straw in the other, in the vain hope of 
 dislodging them from her apartment. 
 
 " By degrees, our mother's influence amongst her 
 poor Irish neighbours became apparent. The Roman 
 Catholic priest was won over to many of her plans. 
 Bibles were circulated freely, several learned to read, 
 and, without interference with their peculiar faith, they 
 
220 
 
 THE GURNEYS OF EARLHAM 
 
 [1810 
 
 gradually discovered that good conduct and sobriety 
 had their reward. 
 
 "About the time of Fairlop Oak Fair, the gypsies 
 attracted into the neighbourhood by it encamped in the 
 green lane. Our mother generally visited them ; gave 
 clothing to some of the old people and children, medi- 
 
 '^:^-^mM 
 
 
 PLASHET HOUSE. 1 
 
 cine and advice to the weakly, tracts and Bibles to 
 those who would accept them. She would press upon 
 the tawny mother her duties towards her children even 
 in her wandering life, till, as some chord was touched 
 in a heart that still responded to instincts of natural 
 
 ^ From a sketch by Miss Katlierine Fry. 
 
l8lo] THE SECOND PHASE OF EARLHAM 22 1 
 
 affection, she would weep as she Hstened to the plead- 
 ings addressed to her. For the scowling hard-visaged 
 man our mother had also a grave, gentle word, and 
 w^ould conclude by reminding her hearers that the ear 
 of God was as fully open to receive a prayer from a 
 hedgeside as from the house of a rich man. 
 
 *' Another pleasure of those happy days was helping 
 our mother to plant primroses and violets in the shrub- 
 beries and plantations at Plashet. Whether a cart-load 
 of roots had been brought from the forest, or some 
 of her seedlings were seady for transplantation, the 
 occasion was a joyful one for us. Our mother ; Sally 
 Atterton, whose Norfolk love of primroses almost 
 equalled her own ; Denis Regan, with his spade, basket, 
 trowel, and watering-pot, and our party was complete. 
 
 *'Our mother's skilful though uncultivated touch in 
 drawing added much to the pleasures of our winter 
 evenings, providing us with little copies or subjects of 
 design, whilst our father read aloud. Then came the 
 parting word, and with it the Bible and the evening 
 psalm before we separated." 
 
 Another of the family writes : — 
 
 ''One of the servants told me that Mrs. Fry once 
 lent a poor woman her own cow, when the woman 
 wanted extra milk for sale; and when her husband 
 saw it driven out of Plashet Gate he said, ' My dear, 
 what zvill be lent next ? ' " 
 
 When Ehzabeth Fry paid a cottage visit, 
 she would take the baby on her knee and 
 talk to it as only mothers can. She had the 
 
222 THE GURNEYS OF EARLHAM [1810 
 
 pleascintest way of conversing with children. 
 She once asked one of them, " Who makes your 
 bread ?" and the child answered, "The baker's 
 man," and then she led the child on step by step 
 until she said, " And who made the seed ? " 
 
 Her brother Joseph John Gurney has written 
 of her : — 
 
 ''After all, those loved my sister Elizabeth best who 
 knew her most in her private^ life. She was truly an 
 attached and devoted wife, a cherishing and cherished 
 mother, a loving and grateful sister, a dispenser of the 
 true balm of Christian comfort in every hour of need to 
 her intimate associates and friends. Her love, which 
 flowed so freely towards mankind in general, assumed 
 a concentrated form towards the individuals of her own 
 immediate circle. There was not one of them who did 
 not live in her remembrance ; not one who would not 
 acknowledge her as an especial friend, a helper and 
 sustainer in life. Delightful was her conversation in 
 the family group, whether at her own dwelling, or in 
 those of her relations ; always fixing the attention, 
 always soothing the feelings ; always tending to virtue 
 and happiness, to love, peace, and union. 
 
 '* She was an ardent lover of the beauties of nature, 
 and observed them with delight in their smaller as 
 well as in their larger features. A shell by the sea- 
 side, a feather, or a flower, would fill her heart with 
 joy and tune her tongue to praise, while she gazed on 
 it as an evidence of Divine wisdom, skill, and goodness. 
 It was, indeed, a remarkable feature in her character 
 
l8lo] THE SECOND PHASE OF EARLHAM 
 
 J 
 
 that she was as complete in the little as in the great 
 things of life ; as successful in matters of a subordinate 
 nature as in those of higher moment. She cared for 
 the bodies of her friends as kindly and skilfully as for 
 their souls. She was the refuge of those around her 
 in eve}'y trouble, whether more or less important, and 
 knew how to satisfy all who came to her, and all to 
 whom she came." 
 
 In Mrs. Fry's eyes perhaps the greatest charm 
 of Plashet was its close neio^hbourhood to her 
 brother Samuel — son and brother in one — and 
 to his wife and children, to whom she was most 
 tenderly devoted. 
 
 ''All who knew Upton and its surroundings — plea- 
 sant beyond belief of those who never saw" it — and 
 think only of its proximity to the busy world of Lon- 
 don, will readity enter into the pleasures of the little 
 colony, which, in process of time, formed around Ham 
 House, an unpretending dwelling in the small park at 
 Upton, and possessing a home-like old English beauty 
 of its own. 
 
 " There was not an approach to grandeur, or even 
 stateliness in the mansion. It was just such a place 
 as a weary traveller would feel a longing to enter, sure 
 of comfort within its walls; and as he peeped through 
 the park gates, and saw groups of children playing 
 freely under the shadow of a spreading tree, or per- 
 haps a little band of Sunday-scholars, blanched and 
 sickly, as children from Stratford and Bow are likely 
 to be, seated in quiet enjoyment of the milk and buns 
 
2 24 '^^^ GURNKYS OF EAKLHAM [1810 
 
 provided for their school-treat within the enclosure, 
 and merry boys playing cricket on the grass, he would 
 feel tempted to enter too, and would be sure that the 
 owner of Ham House was no churlish inhospitable 
 man, but a thorough-going ' old English gentleman.' 
 And then the quaint, irregular building of the house 
 looked so inviting, with its many chimneys sending 
 up their wreaths of curling smoke ; the walled-in kit- 
 chen gardens, with all their tempting abundance ; the 
 friendly tone of the door-bell ; the peep of the fine 
 cedars and sloping lawns; the conservatory, opening 
 out of the familiar green-house parlour; the dining- 
 room, neither too large and dreary, nor too small and 
 cramped ; the drawing-room, furnished with the simple 
 elegance characterising the homes of Friends ; the 
 warm, snug, curtained bedrooms, with their pleasant 
 look-out on to garden and park ; the nurseries, seldom 
 silent — all spoke a welcome. 
 
 "A bright centre was Ham House, around which 
 other members of the family instinctively gathered, as 
 though for protection and shelter. Close by was the 
 dwelling of Mrs. Gurney's only brother, to whose 
 children, early left motherless, the kindly watchfulness 
 of that judicious, tender-hearted aunt must have been 
 an inestimable blessing. Then, a little farther still, 
 amid fine trees, and overlooking a beautiful and exten- 
 sive lawn, stood Plashet House." 
 
 PVom Plashet, Mrs. Fry wrote to her elder 
 daughters, who had been spending a year under 
 the care of their Aunt Rachel at Runcton : — 
 
l8lo] THE SECOND PHASE OF EARLHAM 22 5 
 
 » 
 
 " Oct. 27, 1 8 10. — I anxiously hope that you will now 
 do your utmost in whatever respects your education, 
 not only on your own account, but for our sake. I 
 look forward to your return with much comfort, as 
 useful and valuable helpers to me, which you will be 
 much more if you will get forward yourselves. I see 
 quite a field of useful service and enjoyment for you, 
 if we are favoured to meet under comfortable circum- 
 stances in the spring. I mean that you should have a 
 certain department to fill in the house, amongst the 
 children and the poor, as well as your own studies and 
 enjoyments. I think that there was not often a brighter 
 opening for two girls. Plashet now looks sweetly, and 
 your little room almost tempts me to take it as a sit- 
 ting room for myself, it is so pretty and snug, newly 
 furnished, and looking very pleasant indeed. The poor 
 and the school, I think, will be glad to have you at 
 home, for help is wanted in these things. Indeed, if 
 your hearts are but turned the right way, you may, I 
 believe, be made the instruments of much good, and I 
 shall be glad to have the day come when I may intro- 
 duce you into prisons and hospitals. ' Therefore gird 
 up the loins of your mind and be sober.' It appears 
 to me to be your present business to give all diligence 
 to your studies, and then I cannot help hoping that the 
 day will come when you will be brought into much 
 usefulness, and I also hope that what follows the text I 
 quote will be your blessed experience. Read i Peter i. 
 from verse 13." 
 
 Joseph John Gurney had nov^ completed his 
 course of studies and — John being estabHshed 
 
 VOL. I. P 
 
2 26 THE GURNEYS OF EARLHAM [181I 
 
 m 
 
 at Lynn, and Samuel in London — had returned 
 to take his place in the family Bank at Norwich, 
 while living at Earlham with his sisters. In 
 
 o 
 
 every spare hour at home he continued to study 
 furiously, adding to a knowledge of the Old 
 and New Testament in Hebrew and Greek 
 that of Jewish history and antiquities, the Syriac 
 version of the New Testament, the Chaldee 
 Targums, the writings of Philo and Maimonides, 
 as well as those of Justin Martyr, Clement of 
 Alexandria, Irenaeus, Tertullian, Eusebius, and 
 Athanasius, together with the Commentaries of 
 Chrysostom and Theophylact. On December 
 I, 1809, he writes : — 
 
 ^^ We are going on remarkably comfortably. Cathe- 
 rine, Rachel, Richenda, Priscilla, and I, form a most 
 harmonious party, and are entirely united in all our 
 cares, pleasures, and pursuits. I am sure that our loss 
 has had a powerful effect in bringing us more closely 
 together." 
 
 Catherine Gurney to Hannah Buxton 
 and Louisa Hoare. 
 
 ^^ Earlham, Jan. 7, 181 1. — I hardly ever felt so 
 occupied after my own heart as I am now, at least not 
 since you were all grown up. My circumstances seem 
 exactly suited to me, and I am so much interested in 
 them all. How thankful I ought to be for my present 
 blessings, temporal and spiritual, and how diligent in 
 
l8ll] THE SECOND PHASE OF EARLHAM 2 27 
 
 endeavouring to turn them to account. Dear Dan is 
 here in a very amiable, sweet mind, and busy studying 
 most of the day : Joseph almost burthened with busi- 
 ness. We rather long to have Chenda at home, but 
 she is going on so happily at Lynn, we do not Hke to 
 persuade her to come." 
 
 The self-introspection which had been incul- 
 cated upon her brothers and sisters by Cathe- 
 rine Gurney had now, to an unnatural and 
 unwholesome extent, become the rulino- habit of 
 Joseph John's life. Once a quarter, in what he 
 called his " quarterly review,'"' he indulged in a 
 grand self-examination and self-condemnation 
 or acquittal ; but every night, in his '' qicaestiones 
 nochcrnae,'' he examined the action and spirit of 
 each day. 
 
 As Miss Thackeray says, *'a kind of" natural 
 priesthood " existed in the Gurney family for 
 helping and sympathising. Thus in his religious 
 course Joseph John was greatly helped by his 
 uncle, Joseph Gurney, his father's younger 
 brother, a minister in the Society of Friends, 
 and with this uncle he was in the habit of 
 dining every week, and talking openly of the 
 thinofs nearest his heart. 
 
 Under the influence of his uncle, and his 
 sisters Elizabeth and Priscilla, Joseph John 
 became every day increasingly in bondage 
 
2 28 THE GURNEYS OF EARLHAM [181I 
 
 to the principles of the Society of Friends. 
 *' It will be difficult to the outward man to 
 become more of a Friend," he wrote, " but 
 it is the path of the cross, and of those who 
 had the Father's name written on their fore- 
 heads, St. John heard a voice from heaven 
 saying, * These are they which follow the 
 Lamb whithersoever He leadeth them.' " On 
 July 14, 181 1, he wrote : — 
 
 ^* I think that Friends have reason on their side with 
 respect to the ministry ; because I can hardly conceive 
 any other authority for the ministry than the direct 
 gift of the Holy Spirit. . . . Their testimonies about 
 oaths and war put them, I think, upon a very high 
 ground, and their ecclesiastical discipline is very ad- 
 mirable. I also think there is some reason in their 
 minor testimonies about plainness of speech and dress. 
 Indeed, 1 have felt so much about the former, that I 
 have adopted their modes in some degree. ... If it 
 be the Lord's pleasure that I should adopt these things, 
 may I be enabled to do so with all Christian boldness. 
 Let me not be afraid of approaching my Saviour in 
 solemn waiting to know His will." 
 
 Whilst, however, Joseph John Gurney was 
 being drawn into a narrower outward path in 
 connection with the Society of Friends, his 
 inner sympathies with all Christian work 
 seemed constantly enlarged. One of his in- 
 terests at this time was the establishment of 
 
l8ll] THE SECOND PHASE OF EARLHAM 2 29 
 
 an Auxiliary Bible Society at Norwich. For 
 the meetings of this Society the large dining- 
 room at Earlham Hall was annually given up 
 from this time till 1836. It was on the oc- 
 casion of its' Inaugural meeting (October 19, 
 181 1) that Joseph John made his first public 
 speech ; then also his sister, Mrs. Fry, who had 
 come down from London, startled those around 
 her by solemnly kneeling and calling aloud for 
 the Divine blessing on the work, thus publicly 
 showing that she had become a minister in 
 her Society. She speaks of this as ''awful to 
 her nature, terrible to her as a timid and deli- 
 cate woman," yet she received it with thankful- 
 ness, inasmuch as she considered it a token 
 of being owned by Christ and employed in 
 His service. Joseph John Gurney wrote after- 
 wards : — 
 
 ** N'orwich, Sept. 181 1. — Nothing could be better 
 contrived than our Bible Society meeting. Understand- 
 ing that considerable numbers would attend, we were 
 obliged to transfer ourselves to St. Andrew's Hall. 
 Everything was prepared, scaffolding for the orators 
 and seats for the company, which was most respect- 
 able, unexpectedly clerical, and mustered about six 
 hundred in number. The Mayor looked magnificent, 
 with his gold chain, in the chair. The Bishop first 
 harangued, and admirably well, upon the excellence 
 of the British and Foreign Bible Society, its objects, 
 
230 THE GURNEYS OF EARLHAM [iSlI 
 
 constitution, and effects. He tlien introduced the 
 secretaries. Steinkopf, a most interesting German and 
 Lutheran, and, as far as I can judge from an ac- 
 quaintance of tliree days, a remarkably simple and 
 devoted character, first came forward. He told the 
 tale of what the Society had done in Germany and 
 other parts of Europe, in broken but good English, 
 and by degrees he warmed the meeting into enthu- 
 siasm. He was followed by Hughes, the Baptist secre- 
 tary, an eloquent, solid, and convincing orator. The 
 company was now ready for the resolutions. The 
 Bishop proposed them, I seconded them ; and after I 
 had given a little of their history and purport, they 
 were carried with acclamation. This was a great 
 relief, as we trembled at the idea of discussion. The 
 Bishop w^as thanked for his liberality. It was really 
 delightful to hear an old Puritan and a modern Bishop 
 saying everything that was kind and Christian-like 
 of each other. The Bishop's heart seemed quite full, 
 and primitive Kinghorn, when the Bishop spoke of 
 him so warmly, seemed ready to sink into the earth 
 with surprise and terrified modesty. Owen closed the 
 meeting with an unnecessarily splendid, but most effec- 
 tual address. More than £jOQ was collected before the 
 company left the hall. 
 
 " We had a vast party at Earlham, and a remark- 
 able day, a perfectly harmonious mixture of High 
 Church, Low Church, Lutheran, Baptist, Quaker! It 
 was a time which seemed to pull down all barriers 
 of distinction, and to melt us all into one common 
 Christianity. Such a beginning warrants us to expect 
 much." 
 
l8ll] THE SECOND PHASE OF EARLHAM 23 I 
 
 John Tulwin Sherwell of Ipswich to a Friend. 
 
 " Oct. 13, 181 1. — The opening of the Auxiliary Bible 
 Society at Norwich has been delightful. ... At five 
 we adjourned to Earlham Hall to dinner, where we sat 
 down thirty-four in number — a mixture of different 
 sects and persuasions. Words fail to express the 
 delightful harmony of our feehngs. Soon after the 
 cloth was removed, our dear friend Elizabeth Fry 
 knelt down, and in a most sweet and impressive man- 
 ner implored the Divine blessing upon the company 
 present, and for the general promotion of truth upon 
 earth. On her rising, the secretary, Joseph Hughes 
 (a Dissenting minister), observed in a solemn manner, 
 ' Now of a truth I perceive that God is no respecter 
 of persons, but that in every age and nation those 
 who fear Him and work righteousness are accepted 
 of Him,' and the conversation becoming general, 
 flowed on in a strain which assuredly had less in it 
 of earth than of heaven. . . . Amongst those present 
 was Priscilla Gurney, who is nearest to Hannah More's 
 ' Lucilla ' of any one I ever saw in person and man- 
 ners, benevolence and piety." 
 
 The Rev. Joseph Hughes, secretary of the 
 British and Foreign Bible Society, also writes 
 in this year to a friend : — 
 
 "After the meeting at Norwich, we adjourned to 
 Earlham, where w^e had passed the preceding day, 
 and where we witnessed emanations of piety, gene- 
 rosity, and affection in a degree which does not often 
 meet the eye of mortal. Our host and hostess w^ere 
 
233 THK GURNEYS OF EARLHAM [181I 
 
 Quakers, but, willi tlic most cordial concurrence of 
 the family, a clergyman read a portion of the Scrip- 
 tures morning and evening, and twice we had prayers 
 — I should have said thrice, for after dinner on the 
 day of the meeting, the pause encouraged by the 
 Society of Friends was succeeded by a devout address 
 from a female minister, Elizabeth Fry, whose manner 
 was so impressive and whose words were so appro- 
 priate that none present can ever forget them. The 
 first emotion was surprise : the second, awe : and the 
 third, pious fervour. . . . We seemed generally to feel 
 like the disciples whose hearts burned within them as 
 they walked to Emmaus." 
 
 It was not long after the Bible meetings at 
 Norv^ich v^ere begun that Joseph John formally 
 united himself to the strictest sect of the Society 
 of Friends, though to a young man, handsome, 
 lively, and sought after, their rules must have 
 seemed to present peculiar embarrassments, if 
 not terrors. 
 
 " I was engaged long beforehand to a dinner-party. 
 For three weeks beforehand I was in agitation from 
 the knowledge that I must then enter the drawing- 
 room with my hat on. From this sacrifice, strange 
 and unaccountable as it may appear, I could not 
 escape. In a Friend's attire, and with my hat on, I 
 entered the drawing-room at the dreaded moment, 
 shook hands with the mistress of the house, went 
 back into the hall, deposited my hat, and returned 
 home in some degree of peace. I had afterwards the 
 
l8lo] THE SECOND PHASE OF EARLHAM 23 3 
 
 same thing to do at the Bishop's ; the result was that 
 I found m3^self a decided Quaker, was perfectly under- 
 stood to have assumed that character, and to dinner- 
 parties, except in the family circle, was asked no 
 more." 
 
 The Gurneys of Earlham at this time drove 
 out with four black horses, which used to be 
 lent to Bishop Bathurst, as more pompous, 
 when he required horses for state occasions, 
 the episcopal roan horses then taking the Quaker 
 family to Meeting. 
 
 Friscilla Gurney to Hannah, Mrs. Buxton. 
 
 ^^ January 6, 1810. — It has given me pain to leave 
 dear Earlham, though only for a short time. There is a 
 serenity and peacefulness there which I think is not 
 to be met with anywhere else. Whatever our circum- 
 stances may be, there is something there that makes us 
 happy." 
 
 Priscilla to Samuel Gurney. 
 
 '^ Earlhaiiiy {Aug.) 18 10. — I have lately been in- 
 clined to feel encouraged about all our family, married 
 and single, believing that we have but one great object 
 in view, though our outward profession may be in 
 some things a little different. I do earnestly desire 
 that leading a rehgious life ma}^ become more and 
 more the chief object with every one of us : that all 
 things may be subservient to it, and may we, in this 
 great attainment, be truly a help and a stimulus to 
 one another, allowing no little outward differences 
 
2 34 '^"^ GURNEYS OF KARLHAM [181I 
 
 even in the least to separate us ! . . . We three and 
 Joseph are going on most comfortably and cheerfully." 
 
 ^' Earlham, i8i i. — I hope we shall always hold it in 
 view to help one another as much as we can on our 
 way, but I am more and more convinced that the best 
 way of helping those dearest to us is by looking home 
 to ourselves, by diligently and perseveringly watching 
 over our own conduct, that we may encourage by 
 example rather than precept." 
 
 With the same feeHng as Priscilla's we find 
 Hannah Buxton writing in her journal :— 
 
 '' EarlJiaiii, Sept. 30, 181 1. — I wish to remember the 
 last day or tw^o. All eleven of us, brothers and sisters, 
 have spent them together. I esteem it a great mercy 
 that we should have been allowed once more to meet, 
 and I earnestly desire that it may stimulate each indi- 
 vidual so to live, that we may together inherit the 
 promises, and be one in Christ, in whom our union 
 with each other may be perfected. There does indeed 
 subsist the utmost outward harmony. We had a very 
 delightful hour yesterday evening, John reading to his 
 thirteen brothers and sisters an excellent sermon of 
 Cecil's upon ' Patience,' and also in the Bible, 2 Cor. 
 iv. 5 : it came with peculiar force, circumstanced as 
 w^e were, just met, and just going to part. I believe 
 every heart was called forth to the Giver of all 
 our comforts, the Author of all our pleasures; and 
 this was delightfully expressed by Betsy, who knelt 
 down at the conclusion of our reading, and prayed 
 that the mercies which had so abundantly over- 
 
l8ll] THE SECOND PHASE OF EARLHAM 23$ 
 
 shadowed us might be continued to us and our chil- 
 dren's children." 
 
 In this year the Buxtons had been much 
 attracted and touched by the sermons of Josiah 
 Pratt, minister in Wheeler Street Chapel, Spl- 
 talfields, to whose preaching Fowell Buxton 
 attributed his first real acquaintance with 
 the doctrines of Christianity. Thirty years 
 after he said, In writing to Mr. Pratt, "What- 
 ever I have done In my life for Africa, the 
 seeds of It were sown In Wheeler Street 
 Chapel." Soon after the strong religious im- 
 pression thus created, Fowell Buxton had a 
 very severe illness, of which he wrote to a 
 friend, '' No one action of my life presented 
 Itself then as any sort of consolation. ' I 
 know that my Redeemer llveth ' was the senti- 
 ment uppermost in my mind." 
 
 In this summer Richard Gurney of Keswick 
 — "Uncle Gurney" — died. After his funeral 
 Catherine Gurney writes to Louisa, Mrs. 
 Hoare : — 
 
 ^^ Earlham, July 24, 181 1. — We passed through 
 yesterday more comfortably than might have been ex- 
 pected ; indeed, the whole of it was very solemn and 
 affecting, without being painfully oversetting. Nothing 
 passed at Meeting calculated to give pain, further than 
 what must necessarily be experienced on such mourn- 
 
236 THE GURNEYS OF EARLHAM [181I 
 
 ful occasions. Dear Betsy's company has been most 
 acceptable to all ; she did not speak at the Meeting or 
 grave, but in our own solemn sitting in the drawing- 
 room at Keswick she prayed most sweetly, and, I should 
 trust, to the consolation and edification of all present. 
 There were very few there except the very nearest re- 
 lations, and her prayer was either in thanksgiving for 
 the mercies that have been vouchsafed to us as a family, 
 with a fervent petition for their continuance, especially 
 for the increase of spiritual blessings, or an expression 
 of humble confidence in the blessedness of the departed. 
 Not another word was said at Keswick, nor could any 
 one desire an addition, for this seemed to contain all 
 that could be most wished for. 
 
 " When we arrived at the graveyard, numbers were 
 already assembled. Ann Burgess only knelt down in 
 prayer, quite in a general way, and we stood there but 
 a short time. At the Meeting, Henry Hull stood a 
 long time exhorting all (and the Meeting was crowded 
 with people) to profit by the solemn occasion for which 
 we were met together, and to examine our most impor- 
 tant accounts and how they stood, and how far we were 
 prepared to meet our Judge. I thought there was much 
 life and power in his preaching, though it was full of re- 
 petition. Two of the women Friends spoke, and I think 
 Henry Hull finished the Meeting by prayer. Consider- 
 ing who were the relations most concerned, the crowd of 
 people that were gathered together, and the number of 
 ministering Friends assembled, it was got through with 
 admiration, and, I trust, with profit. If such occasions 
 do not benefit us and leave a fresh stimulus in our 
 minds, what can ? 
 
l8ll] THE SECOND PHASE OF EARLHAM 2 3/ 
 
 " My dear aunt was an example of meekness, forti- 
 tude, and resignation the whole day; she was up in 
 the morning giving all the orders; perfectly tranquil 
 through the whole meeting ; and dined at the head of 
 the table with the greatest composure afterwards. Gatty 
 Hanbury and dear Anna only sat with us before Meet- 
 ing; they did not go there. John has been most atten- 
 tive to my aunt and all of them. Joseph and Betsy 
 were obliged to go away in the afternoon, which we 
 were sorry for, but their coming has been most satisfac- 
 tory ; we were thankful also to have dear Sam, though 
 for so short a time." 
 
 It was in the same year of i8i i that Priscilla 
 Gurney became a decided " Friend" — a ** plain 
 Quaker " both in language and dress, and in 
 1 813 she became a minister, and from that 
 time she constantly preached.^ Her selection 
 
 ^ The famous John Locke (with King William III. incognito) 
 attended a Meeting of Friends in London, and heard one Rebecca 
 Collins speak with such power, that it removed his objections to a 
 female ministry. He sent her some sweetmeats afterwards and wrote : — 
 
 '■'■ Gray's hin, Nov. 21, 1 696, — My sweet Friend, a paper of sweet- 
 meats by the bearer to attend your journey comes to testify the sweetness 
 I found in your Society. I admire no converse like that of Christian 
 freedom, and fear no bondage like that of pride and prejudice. I now 
 see acquaintance by sight cannot reach the height of enjoyment which 
 acquaintance by knowledge arrives unto. Outward hearing may mis- 
 guide, but internal knowledge cannot err. We have something here of 
 what we shall have hereafter, to ' know as we are known.' This we, 
 with other friends, were at the first view partakers of, and the more 
 there is of this in this life, the less we need inquire of what nation, 
 party, or persuasion our friends are, for our own knowledge is more 
 sure to us than another. Thus we know when we have believed. 
 Now, the God of all grace grant that you may hold fast that rare grace 
 
238 THE GURNEYS OF EARLHAM [181I 
 
 of hymns, now known as " Gurney's Hymns," 
 have had a wide circulation, especially in 
 Quaker circles. 
 
 Her brother-in-law, Fowell Buxton, after 
 describing the loveliness of her person and 
 manner, says : — 
 
 " No less remarkable were the powers of her mind. 
 I have seldom known a person of such sterling ability ; 
 and it is impossible to mention these mental powers 
 without adverting to that great, and, in my estimation, 
 that astounding display of them which was afforded 
 by her ministry. I have listened to many eminent 
 preachers and many speakers also, but I deem her as 
 perfect a speaker as I ever heard. The tone of her 
 voice, her beauty, the singular clearness of her concep- 
 tions, and above all her own strong conviction that she 
 was urging the truth, and truth of the utmost import- 
 ance — the whole constituted a species of ministry which 
 no one could hear, and which I am persuaded no one 
 ever did hear, without a deep impression." 
 
 Mrs. Opie addressed to Priscilla Gurney the 
 lines : — 
 
 of charity, and choose that unbiassed and unbounded love, which, if it 
 decay not, will spring up mightily, as the waters of the sanctuary, 
 higher and higher, until you, with the Universal Church, swim together 
 in the ocean of Divine love. Woman, indeed, had the honour first to 
 publish the resurrection of the Lord of Love— why not again the re- 
 surrection of the Spirit of Love? And let all the disciples of Christ 
 rejoice therein, as doth your partner, John Locke." 
 
l8ll] THE SECOND PHASE OF EARLHAM 2 39 
 
 "Go, child of charity, pursue thy course, 
 Like a lone sunbeam traversing the waste ' 
 To want's pale victims go, a sure resource, 
 And let the sufferer pity's luxury taste. 
 
 To thee what boots it that across the plain 
 Sweeps the chill wind with desolating sway? 
 To thee what boots it that the wintry rain 
 Beats on thy bosom thro' the dreary way ? 
 
 Within that bosom glows such holy zeal. 
 Nor winds nor storms can check thy firm career ; 
 Thou goest, sweet soother, every wound to heal, 
 Hereafter's terrors and each sorrow here. 
 
 For while thy hands the needed food impart 
 To the faint husband and the suffering wife, 
 Lo ! thy pure lips, that speak thy pious heart, 
 Will also offer them the Bread of Life." 
 
 In November Mrs. Fry was at Earlham, 
 when Priscllla was to be received as a minister. 
 After her return she wrote : — 
 
 ^^ Plashet, Nov. ii, 1811. — I had felt great weight 
 respecting the Norwich Monthly Meeting, not knowing 
 what I might be expected to do there. But I felt quite 
 relieved of going, as I expected, into the Men's Meet- 
 ing, for they came into the Women's Meeting on account 
 of dear Priscilla being acknowledged a minister, which 
 gave me an opportunity of fully relieving my mind 
 towards men and women/ and also we had a sweetly 
 
 ^ The very quaint mode in which the Society of Friends speak of their 
 own ministering is best understood by reference to one of their leading 
 doctrines — that the immediate influence of the Holy Spirit is needful in 
 a true Christian ministry, and that such exercises as prayer and preaching 
 are not at the command of man. 
 
240 THE GURNEYS OF EARLHAM [l8l2 
 
 favoured time as concerned Priscilla, for which my soul 
 was thankful. 
 
 " Dear Priscilla, before we parted, prayed for my 
 safe and peaceful return home, which prayer has been 
 remarkably granted." 
 
 Priscilla and Joseph John Gurney now took 
 a prominent part in, if they did not from this 
 time originate, the movement to improve the 
 scriptural instruction in the Friends' schools, 
 which some old-fashioned stiff Quakers did not 
 like. It in no way affected the indescribable 
 harmony which united the family that just as 
 Priscilla was being drawn into the strictest 
 bonds of Quakerism, her sister Hannah re- 
 ceived baptism in the English Church. She 
 had written to her sister Rachel Gurney : — 
 
 '^ Hampstead, July 11, 181 2. — It is sweet indeed to 
 live in love, and I write truly in the desire that this 
 love may be strengthened and confirmed among us, and 
 that each individually may so do their part, that there 
 may be progress in the whole united body. I do wish to 
 obtain a spirit of true charity and forbearance towards 
 each in the various paths in which we walk, and not to 
 limit the proceeding of any one to my own standard. 
 Well do I know how much I need a portion of this en- 
 larged spirit, especially as I require it in my turn, of 
 
 others. 
 
 " I have felt it best of late to be much more decided 
 in my own path, and have found help and strength 
 
l8r2] THE SECOND PHASE OF EARLHAM 24 I 
 
 from it. I have believed it right for me to give up 
 attending Meeting at present. The time seemed come 
 to make a full trial of attending church, and to examine 
 the effect of it on my mind. Also I believed that it was 
 most for my good to continue without a break to hear 
 Mr. Pratt till I go into Norfolk. It appears to me that 
 I am drawing more and more towards a union with the 
 Church. I do not feel that it is in my own hands, but 
 it is my daily prayer that He who knows what is right 
 for me will lead me to a conclusion, and will bless it to 
 me, whatever it may be." 
 
 And a little later, to her sister Catherine, 
 herself already a member of the Church of 
 England, she wrote : — 
 
 ** I should be very glad to consult thee on my pro- 
 ceedings with regard to the Church. I have of late 
 felt bound to submit to baptism, as the means offered 
 me of making an avowed declaration of my earnest 
 desire to be a servant of Christ, and through His 
 grace to endeavour to renounce and oppose all sin 
 unto my life's end; and I believe that in His hands 
 it would be a means of confirming my faith and 
 strengthening my rehance upon Him. It has been a 
 subject of serious meditation and consideration. What 
 I have most acted upon was the simple recommen- 
 dation of our Saviour, and the plain practice of the 
 Apostles in regard to baptism. This has of late had 
 great weight in my mind. I have felt it a comfort 
 that such an ordinance was instituted as a seal to this 
 spiritual work. Unless the work was begun in my 
 
 VOL. I. Q 
 
242 THE GURNEYS OF EARLHAM [l8l2 
 
 heart, which I think it is, I could not enter into this 
 ordinance; but I think it right for me to take advan- 
 tage of it as a seal to a covenant with Him, and in it 
 to avow my intention and desire to serve God." 
 
 In the same year Richenda Gurney had written 
 to Elizabeth Fry : — 
 
 ^^ April 4, 181 2. — I have thought of thee often, 
 dearest Betsy, and with much interest, since we parted ; 
 yet not a word have I heard of thee since thee left 
 Dereham. I hope by this time thee are comfortably 
 established again at home, and are enjoying thyself 
 with thy dear husband and children. It will give me 
 much comfort to hear that thee are now well in health. 
 But more than all this, I hope thee are permitted to 
 enjoy that peace of mind which is often graciously 
 given to us here as the sweet reward of faithful 
 labours, and such I believe thine to have been, to the 
 comfort, and benefit, and encouragement of many. It 
 should indeed excite us to gratitude that thee should 
 thus be made an instrument of good to others, and 
 should be thus called to stand forth conspicuously 
 amongst the labourers in our great Master's vineyard. 
 I can with sincerity acknowledge that the desire of my 
 heart is, that thee and others may be abundantly 
 blessed in this thy high calHng. It was to me a 
 comfort, and a pleasure, and a privilege to be with 
 thee ; I felt near to thee in heart, and bound to thee 
 far more closely than ever in Christian fellowship. I 
 felt no desire to talk upon religious subjects, or to 
 bring forward any of the grounds upon which we may 
 
_J 
 
 ELIZABETH, MRS. FRY 
 After G. RicJunond 
 
l8l2] THE SECOND PHASE OF EARLHAM 243 
 
 in some measure differ, but rather to act and feel with 
 thee, and, as far as I was enabled, to unite with thee 
 in thy rehgious and spiritual exercises. Though not 
 a Friend in the general sense of the word in respect 
 of the Society, what a privilege and comfort it is to 
 me that I do not feel any wall of separation between 
 us, but that I am permitted to taste something of the 
 *■ unity of the spirit and of the bond of peace ' with thee. 
 *' I long for thee to know my religious course out- 
 wardly, as well as I know thine. My circumstances 
 and feehngs are, to be sure, very peculiar. I am 
 brought so near two rather opposite modes or sys- 
 tems of religion (I hardly know what to call it), 
 the privileges of which seem in some measure both 
 open to me : the good and the defects of each, from 
 being thus intimately acquainted with both, I am per- 
 haps rather unusually sensible of. In as far as I have 
 been blessed with a love for what is good and an 
 interest in the cause of religion, I can rejoice to see 
 that flourish, let it be where, and how, and under what 
 form it may ; and from understanding the language and 
 mode of different sects of Christians, I can see and 
 understand the good in them, whereas, without this 
 acquaintance, it might be difficult, and I think is difficult, 
 to perceive their motive and principle of action, which 
 will differ a little even amongst very sincere Christians. 
 I have thus learnt to understand and value what is 
 good among Friends, and this is the cause of my attach- 
 ment to them. I love them as a rehgious and sober 
 body, standing up, as so many of them faithfully do, 
 for the cause of religion and morality. Their modera- 
 tion is truly becoming to the spirit of Christianity; 
 
244 TJ^'^ GURNEYS OF EARLHAM [l8l2 
 
 their general strictness of conduct, and especially with 
 respect to speech, I so approve that I hope in these 
 points to be more and more a Friend as long as I live. 
 Their reverence for religion and quietness and peace are 
 very admirable, and very valuable to me, as tending to 
 habituate the mind to reflection and serious thought, and 
 to beget habits of composure and quietness. In these 
 and many other points, I can in some measure unite, 
 and would wish to unite more closely with Friends ; so 
 I should think any Christian of any denomination might ; 
 and for the encouragement and example of these virtues 
 I value my privilege of still belonging to the Society, 
 as far as I do. On the other hand, I believe it has 
 been of the greatest importance and benefit to me to 
 have become intimately acquainted with other religious 
 characters, especially in the Church. I have found 
 there a knowledge and an expafision of the truths of 
 religion, a power in bringing forward the important 
 articles of our faith, and an enlarged view of the whole 
 Christian dispensation, setting forth the doctrine of 
 the Atonement as the grand foundation of Christian 
 faith and practice. Though I increasingly believe the 
 same truths are acknowledged by Friends, yet I cannot 
 deny that there is to my mind a far greater fulness 
 and satisfaction in the way in which they are brought 
 forward and built upon, in the first place in the Articles 
 of Belief and Liturgy of the Church, and then by many 
 of its present ministers in their preaching. I feel the 
 value and importance of this so very much, so in- 
 creasingly, that I can hardly keep my mouth shut with 
 respect to them. And I believe, my dear Betsy, that 
 thee would much rather that I should freely speak my 
 
l8l2] THE SECOND PHASE OF EARLHAM 245 
 
 mind than keep anything back. I feel sure that many 
 Friends, who have been entirely excluded from this 
 means of instruction, can have no idea of the power and 
 importance, and enlargement and spirituality of the mode 
 of preaching in the Church. So sensible am I of its 
 value, that I could not help feeling as I came out of church 
 yesterday morning, ' Oh, that Betsy could have been 
 with us ! ' — the important event of the resurrection of 
 our Lord, and the consequences of it to us, had been 
 so impressively enlarged upon and so feelingly brought 
 home to the hearts of those present. I have felt it a 
 very important privilege in the Church (though I know 
 it is rather objected to by Friends) that there are 
 appointed seasons for bringing forward these momen- 
 tous articles of our belief Is not this one proof amongst 
 many that when our minds have been differently 
 trained, it is hard for us to conceive how we derive 
 benefit from opposite administrations ? 
 
 " I have mentioned some of the benefits which the 
 Church offers, but that of the Sacraments I feel is yet 
 more important. With the view and feeling on the 
 subject which I have now, I believe I should not have 
 been justified in acting otherwise than I have done. 
 I never, that I am sensible of, have experienced a 
 feeling of misgiving with respect to this subject ; it 
 has uniformly appeared to be my duty. So in faith 
 and simple obedience I have wished to follow the dic- 
 tates of my conscience, and hitherto I may acknowledge, 
 and I hope without presumption, that my having 
 taken this step has been blessed to me. Every time 
 I approach the Table of my Lord, I wish to do it in 
 humble obedience to what has appeared to my mind a 
 
246 THE GURNEYS OF EARLHAM [l8l2 
 
 command. I have not expected great things, or to 
 have my feehngs worked upon, but I have desired to 
 partake of this heavenly feast in faith, humbly seeking 
 (though the action alone could not sanctify) that the 
 spirit of dependence in which I have desired that it may 
 be done might make it acceptable and bring with it a 
 blessing. And I trust it has been so, as I think I feel 
 an increasing comfort and strength from this ordinance. 
 Though satisfied with respect to others when it is re- 
 jected from conscientious motives^ and though I believe 
 that God, who seeth the heart, will be w^ell satisfied 
 with the spiritual communion of the Body and Blood 
 of Christ, I regard the outward participation of it as 
 an appointed means, which, if made use of in the right 
 ' spirit and frame of mind, will bring the Divine blessing. 
 Thus Naaman was appointed to make use oi means to 
 obtain the Divine blessing; it was not that the waters 
 of Jordan had an intrinsic power to heal, or that God 
 was not able Himself to heal in a moment without any 
 such instrumentality, but a faithful obedience to God's 
 commands in the use of this simple means restored 
 him to health. 
 
 '' I hope, my dearest Betsy, it will not be uncom- 
 fortable to thee that I should thus enlarge on these 
 subjects. I have done it chiefly for my own satisfac- 
 tion, and it seems to me more Jionest to tell thee a little 
 how I am going on in these respects. As I am still 
 able in many ways to unite with thee and other Friends 
 so very nearly, it seems more desirabte thee should 
 know how I stand, and how it is I love thee so much, 
 and I may say look up with so much reverence to thee, 
 while I do not remain entirely amongst you. The 
 
1 8 12] THE SECOND PHASE OF EARLHAM 247 
 
 same great interest in the Society which makes me 
 rejoice in its excellence, and feel desirous for its spiri- 
 tual prosperity, also makes me feel its defects and long 
 to have them remedied. It seems to me that one of 
 its great temptations ifi religions matters is to separate 
 its members from all other Christians, wholly cutting 
 them off from ever attending other places of worship, 
 causing them to have little communion with others on 
 these subjects, and not to be in the habit of reading 
 much, except in their own particular line, till their 
 ground becomes a little narrowed, and I do not think 
 many of them have an idea of the privileges enjoyed 
 by other Christians. I mention this now, as thy cir- 
 cumstances in this respect are, as those of most in the 
 family, rather peculiar, and it seems to me, in conse- 
 quence, that thee may be a particular blessing to the 
 Society. I therefore cannot help encouraging thee, for 
 the advantage of both parties, to continue to cultivate 
 free intercourse and intimacy with those who differ 
 from thee. I can assure thee how much satisfaction 
 and comfort it gives me to find thy heart so open to 
 all ; thy desires so lively for their advancement in their 
 different ways, and thyself so disposed meekly to learn 
 from others. This is the spirit of charity and Christian 
 fellowship that we should all endeavour more and more 
 to cultivate, and I must think thee sets us a sweet 
 example in it. 
 
 '* Before I conclude, there is one little thing I should 
 feel more satisfied to mention ; this is with respect to 
 the days that are solemn occasions with us, but are 
 not felt by Friends. Though they may be days set 
 apart by man only, yet they are to commemorate events 
 
248 THE GURNEYS OF EARLHAM [l8l2 
 
 of such serious importance, and are felt so much by 
 the general body of Christians, that it gives me pain to 
 have them violated, and to hear the remarks which are 
 made in consequence. I have felt this especially since 
 these days have been of some consequence to myself. 
 Though we cannot entirely unite in what we feel 
 sacred, yet we cannot be too careful in showing respect 
 to one another in these things. If Friends were rather 
 more scrupulous on this head, though attended per- 
 haps by some inconvenience, I cannot but think that it 
 would be a great improvement. Farewell, my dearest 
 Betsy, with renewed affection, 
 
 "RiCHENDA GURNEY." 
 
 In 181 2 the rash speculations of William Fry 
 -Joseph Fry's younger brother — had brought 
 
 the family in St. Mildred's Court to the verge 
 of that bankruptcy v^hich fell upon it later. 
 The catastrophe was for the time v^arded off 
 by the intervention and more than generous 
 help of Elizabeth Fry's two brothers, Samuel 
 and Joseph John Gurney, but the utmost tem- 
 porary economy became necessary ; the Lon- 
 don household was broken up for the time, and 
 the Fry children — delighted to escape into the 
 country — were sent to make a long stay with 
 their willing aunts in Norfolk. 
 
 Katherine Fry,^ writing long afterwards, 
 says : — 
 
 1 Mrs. Fry's eldest daughter — always unmarried. 
 
l8l2] THE SECOND PHASE OF EARLHAM 249 
 
 " I will endeavour to recall Earlham as I remember 
 it during our long visit there in 1813. Our aunts 
 Catherine and Rachel wore no caps, but a head-dress 
 of crape folded turban-wise. Both were brown in the 
 morning, in the afternoons Aunt Catherine's were dark 
 red. Aunt Rachel's, white. Aunt Rachel also frequently 
 wore white muslin dresses. They had few or no orna- 
 ments. Aunt Catherine always wore dark or black 
 silk, but often with a red shawl. Aunt Priscilla, as a 
 Friend, was dressed in a dark silk or popHn gown, 
 exquisitely neat, finished and refined : finish and re- 
 finement characterised all she did — drawing, needle- 
 work, or whatever it was. 
 
 *'The dinner was at four or five, for which every 
 one dressed. We, with our governess, were admitted 
 to the table. After dinner, employments were in a 
 degree resumed — drawing, work, or reading aloud. 
 We had our drawing lessons in 'the eleven-sided 
 attic,' with Aunt Priscilla or old Crome, or sketched 
 with the latter in the park. In the evenings we walked 
 with our governess, and Mrs. Freeman, beyond the 
 limits of the park, often to the Scarnells' farm, to Lower 
 Earlham, or to a ruined chapel called Beauthorp, from 
 which the bell is said to have been removed at the 
 suppression to Earlham Hall, and to be the same 
 whose pleasant tones so often recalled us from our 
 rambles. 
 
 ''Tea was a substantial meal, the table spread 
 with white and brown bread, varieties of cake and 
 biscuits, with Mrs. Freeman making tea. In those 
 summer evenings it generally took place in the dining- 
 room, then still called by its old name of 'the great 
 
250 THE GURNEYS OF EARLHAM [l8l2 
 
 parlour.' How pleasant it was, with the windows 
 open, and the setting sun gleaming across the study 
 lawn : then the noble lawn itself, how everybody used 
 to walk upon it, or sit in groups under the surrounding 
 trees. The life at Earlham was a very out-of-door life 
 in those days. 
 
 "On Sundays we went to Norwich Meeting, and 
 between the morning and evening Meetings used to 
 accompany our Aunt Priscilla to an adult Sunday-school 
 she had estabhshed for the poor. We used to dine in 
 the school-room, before the scholars arrived, on the 
 cold contents of a basket brought from Earlham in the 
 morning. 
 
 "At that time Dr. Valpy, a relation of the famous 
 Dr. Valpy of Reading, was master of the Grammar 
 School at Norwich. Being a good scholar, he had 
 brought it into reputation for gentlemen's sons. Robert 
 Hankinson, afterwards Archdeacon of Norfolk, young 
 Edward Edwards, and the sons of others of our aunts' 
 friends, were then there, and always spent from Satur- 
 day till Monday at Earlham. Aunt Catherine laboured 
 for their improvement by reading theology with them 
 in her room, from the windows of which they too often 
 watched the parties on the lawn. These lads, not much 
 older than ourselves, were our great friends, and (as 
 far as I can remember) our only young associates. 
 From them we caught the whooping-cough, and, I be- 
 lieve, also through them we acquired a more easy style 
 of language than that usual amongst strict Friends, 
 at which, at that time, we began to laugh. A poor 
 slight sketch this is, but it is sixty years ago, and when 
 Lwas a child, I understood as a child." 
 
1813] THE SECOND PHASE OF EARLHAM 25 I 
 
 It was in 1813 that Mrs. Fry's attention was 
 first called by William Forster to the condition 
 of the female prisoners in Newgate. 
 
 '*At that time all the female prisoners in Newgate 
 were confined in that part afterwards known as the 
 untried side. The larger portion of the quadrangle 
 was then used as a state prison. The partition wall 
 was not of a sufficient height to prevent the state 
 prisoners from overlooking the narrow yard and the 
 windows of the two wards and two cells of which 
 the women's division consisted. These four rooms 
 comprised about one hundred and ninety superficial 
 yards, into which, at this time, nearly three hundred 
 women with their numerous children were crowded, — 
 tried and untried, misdemeanants and felons, without 
 classification, without employment, and with no other 
 superintendence than that given by a man and his son, 
 who had charge of them by night and by day. In the 
 same rooms, in rags and dirt, destitute of sufficient 
 clothing, sleeping without bedding on the floor, the 
 boards of which were in part raised to supply a sort 
 of pillow, they lived, cooked, and washed. 
 
 *' With the proceeds of their clamorous begging when 
 any stranger appeared amongst them, the prisoners 
 purchased hquors from a regular tap in the prison ; 
 spirits were openly drunk, and the ears were assailed 
 by terrible language. Beyond that necessary for their 
 safe custody, there was little restraint over their com- 
 munication with the world without." 
 
 Into this scene, accompanied by Anna Buxton, 
 
252 THE GURNEYS OF EARLHAM ['S'S 
 
 Mrs. Fry first entered only as the bearer of 
 some of the warm clothing of which she had 
 heard the prisoners were greatly in need. The 
 impression which the degradation of the women 
 and children in Newgate then made upon her 
 was never effaced, though for several years 
 family cares pressed upon her too much to 
 admit of the possibility of any outside work. 
 
 Mrs. Fry to her Sons, staying at Earlhatn (1813). 
 
 " I cannot help longing to see you, my very dear 
 little John and Willy, and give you each a kiss. I 
 am so very fond of my little children, and often feel 
 thankful I have so many ; and if they grow better and 
 better as they grow older, they will comfort and please 
 their parents. I have lately been twice to Newgate 
 prison to see after the poor prisoners, who had little 
 infants almost without clothing. If you saw how small 
 a piece of bread they are allowed every day, you would 
 be very sorry, for they have nothing else to eat, unless 
 their friends give them a trifle. I could not help 
 thinking when in the prison, what sorrow and trouble 
 those have who do wrong; and they have not the 
 comfort of feeling amidst all their trials that they have 
 endeavoured to do their duty. Good people are, no 
 doubt, often much tried, but they have so much to 
 comfort them when they remember that the Almighty 
 is their Friend, and will care for them. We may also 
 hope that if the poor wicked people are really sorry 
 for their faults, God will pardon them, for His mercy 
 
1813] THE SECOND PHASE OF EARLHAM 233 
 
 is very great. If you were to grow up, I should like 
 you to go to visit the poor sad people, to try to comfort 
 them and do them good. I hope you will endeavour 
 to be very useful, and not spend all your time in 
 pleasing yourselves, but try to serve others and prefer 
 them before yourselves. How very much I love you. 
 Let me have letters written by yourselves. Farewell, 
 my darling children. Remember the way to be happy 
 is to do good. — Your tender mother, E. F." 
 
 The Rev. C. B. Tayler writes : — 
 
 " Four gentlemen, prompted by a spirit of Christian 
 benevolence, had visited the great London prison. 
 One of them, the well-known and benevolent William 
 Forster, described to Mrs. Fry tlie state of the wretched 
 and abandoned women he had seen there. She felt 
 deeply the shame and misery of so many of her own 
 sex herded together. What was to be done, she 
 knew not. But she felt that the first thing was to 
 see with her own eyes the degraded condition of the 
 guilty and wretched women. She found that the more 
 violent and depraved were not contented to beg from 
 strangers, but scrupled not to thrust their hands 
 through the bars, and to clutch at anything they could 
 snatch from their persons. Mr. Newman, the governor, 
 entered that portion of the prison with reluctance, for, 
 half-frenzied by the spirits which were openly drunk 
 there, many of the depraved women took a pleasure 
 in yelling, screaming, and using the most vile, filthy, 
 and terrible language. The governor advised Mrs. 
 Fry and her companion, though without avail, to leave 
 
2 54 I'HE GURNEYS OF EARLIIAM [1813 
 
 their watches in his house, lest they should be snatched 
 from their sides, before he conducted them to that 
 part of the prison. After her first visit Mrs. Fry left 
 Newgate deeply shocked and depressed by all that she 
 had witnessed, her heart filled with the deepest pity 
 for the unhappy women and their young and helpless 
 children." 
 
 Mrs. Fry's diary says : — 
 
 ''Feb. 16, 18 1 3. — Yesterday we were some hours 
 at Newgate with the poor female felons, attending to 
 their outward necessities ; we had been twice before. 
 Before we went away, dear Anna Buxton had a few 
 words in supplication, and, very unexpectedly to my- 
 self, I had also. I heard weeping, and I thought they 
 appeared much tendered. A very solemn quiet was 
 observed. It was a striking scene, the poor people 
 on their knees around us, and in their deplorable 
 condition." 
 
 At this time, however, with her numerous 
 and increasing family of children, it was im- 
 possible that Mrs. P>y could devote herself to 
 other duties than those of her own home. 
 She sent frequent gifts of clothes to the poor 
 women in Newgate, but she could do no 
 more. 
 
 "She quietly devoted herself during the next few 
 years to her young children. She delighted to watch 
 over them by night as well as by day. She herself 
 
l8l3] THE SECOND PHASE OF EARLHAM 25 5 
 
 attended to their least ailments, and was always in a 
 state of distress when she saw them suffer. She had 
 the gentlest touch with little children. She would 
 win their hearts, if they had never won hers before, 
 almost at the first glance, and by the first sound of 
 her sweet voice. As the mistress of a household, she 
 loved a simple liberality and an unostentatious comfort. 
 Her element was hospitality; and whilst Christian 
 moderation was observed, her taste was gratified by 
 an open, generous mode of living. She was always 
 most correct in account-keeping. The distinct heads 
 of house, garden, farm, charity, with many others, 
 marked the painstaking care with which she performed 
 her self-imposed task. In her treatment of her servants, 
 if she erred, it was upon the side of indulgence ; she 
 was willing to make allowances, and was careful not to 
 provoke their tempers nor hurt their feelings, yet ' a 
 firm hand with a household ' was among the maxims 
 she impressed upon her daughters as they advanced 
 in life. ' She opened her mouth with wisdom, and in 
 her tongue was the law of kindness ' towards all with 
 whom she was associated. God had given her large- 
 ness of heart ; and, while she was strictly watchful 
 over her own heart, and unsparing in her censure and 
 severe in her judgment of herself, she was as watchful 
 in her solicitude not to distress others, nor to blame and 
 pass judgment upon them." ^ 
 
 Concerning the great variety of opinions nov^ 
 held at Earlham Mrs. Schimmelpennick says : — 
 
 1 Rev. C. B. Tayler, "Personal Recollections." 
 
256 THE GURNEYS OF EARLHAM [1813 
 
 " It is remarkable that their differences of opinion 
 in minor points never produced the sHghtest degree 
 of disunion in the members of the Earlham family. 
 They agreed perfectly on every fundamental doctrine, 
 and uniformly enjoyed complete religious harmony." 
 
 Katherine Fry writes : — 
 
 '^The family harmony was in no way disturbed by 
 differences of opinion on religious points. For in one 
 thing they all agreed — to love one another. When 
 some very strict Friends visited Earlham, people with 
 whose opinions and habits Catherine could have no 
 sympathy, her behaviour towards them is thus de- 
 scribed by Priscilla in a letter — ' Nothing can exceed 
 dear Catherine's kindness, and sweetness of mind 
 towards them.'" 
 
 To many it was especially touching that 
 when the commercial brother, the great City 
 merchant, Samuel, visited Earlham, he, more 
 than any other, showed humility and teach- 
 ableness in holy things, meekly listening to 
 and reverently accepting the "ministry" of 
 his brother Joseph John and his younger sister 
 Priscilla, even as, in his own home and through 
 life, he had bent to the ministry of his sister 
 Elizabeth Fry. 
 
 Many Quakers came forward about this time 
 with eligible offers of marriage for Priscilla, but 
 
l8l4] THE SECOND PHASE OF EARLHAM 2 57 
 
 she always remained firm in her refusal to leave 
 her brother John, who greatly needed her sup- 
 porting care. He had received some strain in 
 lifting his dying wife, from which he walked 
 lame ever after, and in 1813 his health and 
 mental powers seemed alike to fail. He became 
 a complete wreck. Priscilla spent the spring 
 of 1 8 14 with him at Clifton, where Rachel and 
 Mr. Edwards joined them. In the summer 
 they returned to Earlham, knowing that nothing 
 could be done ; and on the 8th of September, 
 when he was only thirty-three, John Gurney 
 died in the anteroom chamber, as his father 
 had done five years before. On the last day 
 of his life all his mental powders seemed re- 
 stored. He said that morning, surrounded by 
 his brothers and sisters, was the happiest he 
 had ever spent, adding, ''How delightful is 
 our being together, and loving one another 
 as we do." Mrs. Fry was present to pray 
 by the deathbed "in near unity" with all her 
 brothers and sisters. " Oh, may our children 
 love as w^e love ; this has been the prayer of 
 my heart," she wrote as she left the family 
 circle. 
 
 After attending John Gurney 's funeral, and 
 witnessing the happy spirit of thanksgiving 
 which pervaded his family, Mrs. Opie wrote :— 
 
 VOL. I. R 
 
258 THE GURNEYS OF EARLHAM [1814 
 
 •' Friend long beloved ! on thy untimely bier 
 I came to drop the tributary tear, 
 Of weeping relatives to join the train, 
 And heave the bitter sigh which mourns in vain. 
 But not the scene that boding fancy drew, 
 On night's deep gloom or morning's orient hue, 
 My eyes beheld when to thy darkened dome 
 'Twas mine with restless, tearful haste to come ; 
 No weeping relatives subdued by grief 
 In sobs of anguish seemed to seek relief; 
 Nor wan despair nor woe-worn silence bowed 
 O'er the last hour affection's hand bestowed, 
 A lovelier sight my hushed attention draws. 
 Checks my deep sigh and into calmness awes : 
 I see exalted human ills above. 
 Firm faith triumphant over tortur'd love ; 
 For while fond memory's power the past restored, 
 And other virtues showed the dear record, 
 Showed thee well fitted for a nobler sphere, 
 By suffering purified and hallowed here ; 
 Then thy last hour's instructive scenes recall'd. 
 How pious hope each human fear enthrall'd, 
 And bade before thy mourning kindred's eyes 
 Thy image brighter from probation rise. 
 
 Away mortality's weak sorrow fled — 
 
 They hailed thee living, not deplored thee dead, 
 
 And, to thy Christian end alive alone. 
 
 They made thy parting triumphs all their own, 
 
 To glad thanksgiving changed repining voice. 
 
 And learnt like thee in trials to rejoice. 
 
 Who can forget beside thy simple bier 
 
 The soothing sounds that charmed our listening ear, 
 
 When thy loved sisters ^ poured on bended knee 
 
 Their touching tribute to their God and thee. 
 
 When faith made firm the tones which feeling shook, 
 
 And sorrowing love devotion's breastplate took. 
 
 1 Elizabeth and Priscilla. 
 
f 
 
 / 
 
 JOHN GURNEY 
 After Of>je 
 
l8l4] THE SECOND PHASE OF EARLHAM 2 59 
 
 Wlien holy truths thy honoured uncle ^ taught, 
 And thy rapt friend the sacred ardour caught, 
 Till selfish sorrow could no longer stay, 
 Borne on religion's soaring wing away. 
 
 Oh, may the truths that solemn hour imprest 
 Still spring eternal in my conscious breast. 
 Still urge my prayer thro' faith's uplifted eye, 
 Like thee to live, that I like thee may die." 
 
 Mrs. Opie had travelled all night from 
 London to be present at the funeral of John 
 Gurney, and ever after she attended the Quaker 
 services, though not finally received into mem- 
 bership till August 1825. Up to this time she 
 had lived in full enjoyment of her wonderful 
 natural charm. *' Her countenance was ani- 
 mated, bright, and beaming ; her eyes soft and 
 expressive, yet full of ardour ; her hair was 
 abundant and beautiful, of auburn hue, and 
 waving in long tresses ; her figure was well 
 formed, her carriage fine, her hands, arms, and 
 feet well shaped ; and all around and about her 
 was the spirit of youth and joy and love." " 
 After this we find Southey writing : "I like 
 her in spite of her Quakerism— nay, perhaps the 
 better for it. It must always be remembered 
 
 ^ Joseph Gurney of the Grove. 
 
 2 See "Memorials of Amelia Opie," by Cecilia Lucy Brightwell, 1854. 
 John Opie had died April 9, 1807, and was buried near Reynolds in 
 St. Paul's. 
 
260 THE GURNEYS OF EARLHAM [^815 
 
 amongst what persons she had lived, and that 
 reHgion was never presented to her in a serious 
 form until she saw it in cirabT 
 
 One of the clerical friends who was now fre- 
 quently at Earlham was Francis Cunningham, 
 Rector of Pakefield near Lowestoft, and in 1 8 1 5 
 he became engaged to Richenda Gurney. 
 
 Hannah Buxton to Richenda [before her marriage). 
 
 ^^ Brick Lane, Jan. 27, 18 16. — It would be parti- 
 cularly delightful to me to be with thee. I much wished 
 to go through this interesting time with thee, dearest 
 Chenda : such times are uniting and beneficial. It 
 has come over me as the time approached, but my 
 sweet baby has not been well, and so I have suffered 
 Fowell to go witliout me. 
 
 " You may suppose how our hearts are engaged in 
 you. Each individual excites my warmest sympathy. 
 I do not doubt that thee will feel composed and com- 
 fortable, but at times thy mind and time will be almost 
 too full. What a pause thee will come to at first, after 
 thee gets to Pakefield. I hope thee will not too soon 
 engage in much business; a few weeks' real quiet 
 would have such a happy effect. How I do desire 
 that a real blessing may attend thee, my dearest 
 Chenda; that thee may experimentally feel the Lord 
 a present help at this juncture. I remember feeling 
 the comfort and pleasure of Christ's attendance at a 
 wedding when I married ; it gives a cheering encourage- 
 ment to the whole day. I am glad to have Fowell witli 
 thee on Sunday ; it will be an interesting day to all. 
 
l8l6] THE SECOND PHASE OF EARLHAM 26 I 
 
 ''Well, I here take my leave of thee, dear Chenda, 
 as a single sister. I do believe that as a married one 
 our hearts will be as nearly united. I do not feel that 
 we could be separated, so thoroughly true and deeply 
 grounded is the affection we have one for another. — 
 Thy tenderly attached sister, H. BuXTON." 
 
 Francis Cunningham and Richenda Gurney 
 were married at Earlham Church, the bride 
 being given away by her cousin Hudson Gur- 
 ney. Like her other married sisters, she never 
 ceased to have a close and loving share in the 
 family life at Earlham, but in her happy home at 
 Pakefield, and afterwards at Lowestoft, she was 
 the most spirited and devoted clergyman's wife, 
 throwing all the energies of her ever-light figure 
 and bright spirit into its duties with the same 
 enthusiasm with which she continued to enjoy 
 her drawing and other home employments. 
 
 Mrs. Opie sent her a ''Thomas a Kempis," 
 with a long copy of verses ending in the truly 
 prophetic lines — 
 
 " As yet thy griefs have been but summer showers, 
 Thy greatest ills but crumpled leav^es of flowers ; 
 Still, tho' thus blest thy fonner hours have been, 
 Thy happiest days, I trust, thou hast not seen, 
 But still more blest, as runs the sand of life, 
 Than child or sister was, will be the wife." 
 
 A few years later, her brother-in-law, the 
 
262 THE GURNEYS OK EARLIIAM [1816 
 
 Rev. John Cunningham, writes of Richenda 
 Cunningham to Fowell Buxton : — 
 
 o 
 
 " I look at her with amazement — always kind, never 
 foolishly indulgent ; always busy, and never in a hurry ; 
 always clever, and never cunning ; always most sensi- 
 tive in conscience, but never scrupulous. I thank you, 
 dear Buxton, for first thoroughly opening my mind to 
 excellences, for first fixing the nail which she has since 
 driven." 
 
 In August 1 8 16, when Mrs. Fry was visiting 
 her sister Richenda at Pakefield, she wrote : — 
 
 " Our situation is very peculiar, surrounded as we 
 are with those of various sentiments, and yet I humbly 
 trust each seeking the right way. To have a clergyman 
 for a brother-in-law is very different to having one for 
 a friend, a much closer, and yet stronger call for pre- 
 serving sweet unity of spirit, that we should meet him 
 as far as we can, and offend as little as is possible by 
 our scruples, and yet — for the sake of others as well 
 as ourselves — faithfully maintain our ground, and keep 
 very very close to Him who alone can direct safely." 
 
 Meantime Rachel Gurney was living entirely 
 with her young brother Daniel at Lynn. She, 
 as well as her sister Priscilla, had now become 
 a regular ''minister" amongst Friends, and was 
 often ** moved" to "bear testimony" even in 
 her family circle at Earlham, which was wel- 
 comed by her Church of England sisters, 
 
l8l6] THE SECOND PHASE OF EARLHAM 263 
 
 Catherine and Richenda, as well as by her 
 Quaker brother. In 1815 she accompanied 
 Daniel on a six months' tour to Switzerland 
 and Italy, though it was an effort to her peni- 
 tential spirit to do anything so pleasant. From 
 Rome she wrote : — 
 
 ''December 17, 181 5. — I have frequently closely exa- 
 mined myself with regard to the lawfulness of our 
 present objects and enjoyments, and have been upon 
 the whole encouraged to believe that, if our minds be 
 preserved in the fear of God, the knowledge and 
 experience to be gained may be blessed to us. On 
 first looking to this journey, I endeavoured in some 
 poor measure to seek to know the will of God with 
 regard to my duties before I looked to the pleasure of 
 it . . . but I feel no securities except that the will of 
 God must be sought from day to day, and that we 
 must truly wait upon Him. The English Church 
 services are some degree of help and comfort to me 
 in this desolate land." 
 
 In 1 8 16 Daniel Gurney moved his residence 
 to a small old-fashioned house at Runcton near 
 Lynn, which, much added to and altered, still 
 belongs to his descendants. Rachel wTOte :— 
 
 " Riiucton^ Nov. 3. — We entered upon this new abode 
 on October 31, with feelings of pleasure, and I trust 
 with strong desire for the blessing of God to rest upon 
 us. Before coming here we spent ten days at Earl- 
 ham with our dearest brothers and sisters. Francis 
 
264 
 
 THE GURNEYS OF EARLHAM 
 
 [1816 
 
 and Chcnda were there ten days; Fowell and Hannah, 
 Sam and Louisa. Joseph was unusually shining. My 
 heart has overflowed with thankfulness and true con- 
 tent in our family union : may the only sure element 
 increase amongst us." 
 
 RUNCTON HALL, 1834.^ 
 
 *^ Earlham, August 25. — I was much struck with 
 Joseph's ministry yesterday. His prayer in the morn- 
 ing was powerful, and full of substantial Christian 
 doctrine, and in the afternoon he quoted the Prophet 
 Jonah — ' What meanest thou, O sleeper ? ' and apphed 
 it to our carelessness of our eternal interests. His 
 
 ^ From a sketch by Richenda, Mrs. Cunningham. 
 
l8l6] THE SECOND PHASE OF EARLHAM 265 
 
 strong views of the necessity of prayer, and habitual 
 simple dependence upon God, come home as a reproof 
 to myself. 
 
 "Yesterday Catherine went to Meeting with us. It 
 was a time of true refreshment and religious solemnity. 
 Dear Priscilla spoke, and in a most striking manner, 
 on one day being with the Lord as a thousand years. 
 Our dear uncle Joseph spoke also on living in the 
 spirit of the cross of Christ and in subjection to the 
 Lord." 
 
 In 1 8 16 Priscilla was at Nice with her in- 
 valid cousin, Rachel Gurney of the Grove, who 
 died there soon after the deaths of her two 
 young brothers, which had been a great sorrow 
 to the whole Gurney family. As she returned 
 through France, Priscilla visited the colony of 
 "Friends" at Congenies, and was able to ad- 
 dress them in their own language. It was a 
 pretty sight to see her, surrounded by young 
 and old, all delighted with her, her own lively 
 countenance, in the midst of the group, beaming 
 with Christian affection and sweetness. 
 
 " Did such a mind beam through a homely face, 
 Beauty was not required to lend a grace ; 
 Did such a face veil an unworthy mind, 
 Our partial eyes would be to error blind. 
 Sweet minist'ring spirit, with delight we see 
 Inward and outward graces joined in thee." ^ 
 
 ^ Mary Leadbeater. 
 
266 THE GURNEYS OF EARLHAM [1816 
 
 Meantime the attention of the whole family 
 was frequently concentrated upon their young 
 brother-in-law, Fowell Buxton, and his efforts 
 for the emancipation of slaves. With these was 
 mingled an anxiety to ameliorate the condition 
 of prisoners in England, to which he had been 
 drawn by his sister-in-law, Mrs. Fry, whose 
 heart was more and more devoted to that work. 
 With her he united in forming a society for the 
 reformation of juvenile criminals. His speech 
 on behalf of the distress amongst the Spital- 
 fields weavers attracted universal attention. 
 
 T. F'owELL Buxton to his Wife Hannah. 
 
 ^^ Nov. 2a, 1 8 16. — I am utterly astonished at the 
 impression which my poor speech ^ has produced : all 
 quarters send me congratulations. 
 
 *' The committee voted that it was worth the ;^2000 
 already produced by it. One tells me it produced a 
 kilderkin of tears, good measure : another, that he saw 
 the whole bench of turtle-fed aldermen whimpering. 
 
 " In short, I am surprised at the general notice it 
 has obtained, and cannot imagine why or wherefore I 
 write to thee in this way, as it looks like vanity ; yet as 
 thee are part of myself . . . However, I may truly say 
 that I do not feel at all elevated, and really, if others 
 had seen it as I did, it would be generally considered 
 as very inadequate to the occasion." 
 
 ^ On the distress in Spitalfields. 
 
l8l7] THE SECOND PHASE OF EARLHAM 267 
 
 ^^ HaiJipstead,Jaii. 5, 1817. — I went to Newgate with* 
 Charles and Peter Bedford. I was in some degree 
 interested by the boys, forty-four little wretches, some 
 of them under sentence of death, though the certainty 
 that none of them will be executed rather took off 
 from the awfulness of their situation. I saw, however, 
 four other poor creatures who are to be executed on 
 Tuesday next. I did not speak to them — in fact, it 
 was hardly possible, but the sight was enough. 
 
 '' I felt no further inclination to examine the prison. 
 It has made me long much that my life may not pass 
 quite uselessly, but that, in some shape or other, I 
 may assist in checking and diminishing crime and its 
 consequent misery. Surely it is within the power of 
 all to do something in the service of their Master ; and 
 surely I among the rest, if I were now to begin, and 
 endeavour to the best of my capacity to serve Him, 
 might be the means of good to some of my fellow- 
 creatures. 
 
 " This capacity is, I feel, no mean talent and attended 
 with no inconsiderable responsibility. I must pray, 
 and thee, love, must pray for me, that I may at length 
 stir myself up, and be enabled to feel somewhat of 
 the real spirit of a missionary, and that I may devote 
 myself, my influence, my time, and above all my 
 affections, to the honour of God and the happiness of 
 men. 
 
 '* My mission is evidently not abroad, but it is not 
 less a mission on that account. I feel that I may 
 journey through life by two very different paths, and 
 that the time is now come for choosing which I will 
 pursue. I may go on as I have been going on, not 
 
268 THE GURNEYS OF EARLIIAM [1817 
 
 •fibsolutely forgetful of futurity, nor absolutely devoted 
 to it. I may get riches and repute, and gratify my 
 ambition, and do some good and some evil, and at length 
 I shall find all my time on earth expended, and, in 
 retracing my life, I shall see little but capacities mis- 
 applied. 
 
 ''The other is a path of more labour, and I may 
 become a real soldier of Christ. I may feel I have no 
 business on earth but to do His w^ill and walk in His 
 ways, and I may direct every energy I have to the 
 service of others. Of these paths, I know which I 
 would most gladly choose. Yet ' what I would, that 
 I do not, but what I hate, that do I. ' " 
 
 In 1 81 7 we find Joseph John Gurney writ- 
 ing in his journal : — 
 
 " I have paid a visit to Ackworth school in Yorkshire, 
 the great seminary for the children of Friends not in 
 opulent circumstances. I think it was there that I was 
 enabled to institute the system of religious education, 
 which has since worked so well there, and has spread 
 to Sidcot, Croydon, and other schools under the care 
 of the Society. I proposed to the General Meeting of 
 Friends convened on the occasion, that every child in 
 the school should be furnished with a Bible for his or 
 her own use. The mind of the Meeting was in favour 
 of my views. To the children I gave a proposition, in 
 which they were invited, as volunteers, to study the 
 Scriptures for themselves, and I entered into an en- 
 gagement to return, if permitted, in a year's time, to 
 examine and reward them according to their pro- 
 
l8l7] THE SECOND PHASE OF EARLHAM 269 
 
 ficiency. All the children received Bibles, which were 
 well thumbed by the end of the year. They had taken 
 them to bed with them, read them by the early morning 
 light, and pored over them during leisure-time in the 
 day, and especially on First days. 
 
 "I am persuaded that true religion, and therefore true 
 Quakerism, will never flourish on the soil of ignorance. 
 Yet instruction should be made rather a pleasure than 
 a task. A taste for Scripture should be cultivated, and 
 above all, the practical nature of the issue of true reli- 
 gion should ever be held up to view, and a reverent 
 dependence on the influence of the Holy Spirit should 
 be inculcated." 
 
 In April 1817, Joseph John Gurney, now, by 
 the death of his brother, the master of Earl- 
 ham, had gone to pay a long visit at Runcton 
 to Daniel and Rachel, his secret object being 
 that he might pay his addresses to his distant 
 cousin, Jane Birkbeck, whose mother was one 
 of the many daughters of Henry Gurney, and 
 sister of the mother of Elizabeth Sheppard, 
 Samuel Gurney 's wife. Joseph John writes : — 
 
 '*We had known each other from early childhood; 
 our pursuits were similar, and she, like myself, had 
 become a decided Friend from conviction. In some 
 other respects our characters were different. Generous, 
 steadfast, and lively, she had one of those hardier souls 
 on which weakness is prone to lean, but her feelings 
 were nevertheless warm and acute. She knew and 
 
2/0 THE GURNEYS OF EARLHAM [1817 
 
 adored her Saviour, and remarkably walked by that 
 rule, ^Whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in 
 the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks unto God 
 and the Father by Him.' 
 
 > »> 
 
 Joseph John Gurney and Jane BIrkbeck v^ere 
 married, September lo, 1817, at the Friends' 
 Meeting-house at Wells in Norfolk. Rachel 
 Gurney wrote : — 
 
 " The Meeting on dearest Joseph's wedding-day was 
 very solemn and sweet. The silence was first broken 
 by the declaration of marriage, followed by a comment 
 on it from Uncle Joseph, and then dear Priscilla spoke 
 on ' What shall separate us from the love of Christ ? ' 
 Betsy then prayed beautifully for them and for all, and 
 Joseph concluded all by a prayer that they might be 
 enabled to walk in the fear of the Lord ; and under a 
 most sweet impression of love and rejoicing the Meeting 
 broke up." 
 
 Joseph John's journal says : — 
 
 *' We lodged at a nice country inn about seven miles 
 from Hunstanton, and arrived at Earlham to dinner on 
 the following day. The sun shone sweetly upon us, 
 and that dear place received us with open doors in all 
 its brightest colours." 
 
 To Richenda Cunningham Elizabeth Fry 
 wrote after the marriage : — 
 
 *' P/as/iet, Sept. 19, 181 7. — It is my anxious desire 
 
1 8 17] THE SECOND PHASE OF EARLHAM 2/1 
 
 we may all find Earlham the same sweet hom.e it has 
 ever been to us, although the mistress has changed ; 
 and that the same refreshment, comfort, and liberty of 
 spirit that we have enjoyed there may be continued." 
 
 The change at Earlham was, however, really 
 very great. Catherine had governed for twenty- 
 five years rather as one occupying the presiden- 
 tial chair of a republic. Now all was altered. 
 Jane Gurney was determined to rule, and would 
 rule alone. Still she was generous and kind, 
 and though they had no share in her govern- 
 ment, her husband's three unmarried sisters 
 were welcome guests in her home. Descended 
 through her mother from Gurneys, she had 
 herself an easy conformity with Friends, and 
 especially with the Gurney family. But she 
 was, though a Friend, also accustomed to much 
 society in her own circle, and did not scruple 
 to enjoy all the habits of luxurious affluence. 
 
 Nevertheless from this time the "Friendly" 
 element became far more pronounced at Earl- 
 ham than before, especially as, after his mar- 
 riage, Joseph John Gurney became himself ''a 
 minister." The fact that the Bible Society was 
 now one of his chief interests took him, soon 
 after his marriage, to Paris, accompanied by 
 his wife, his brother Samuel, the Buxtons, and 
 the Cunninghams, that they might establish a 
 
272 THE GURNEYS OF EARLHAM [1817 
 
 branch Bible Society in the French capital. 
 Another object was to obtain information as to 
 the systems of prison discipline adopted in the 
 prisons of Antwerp and Ghent. It was on this 
 occasion that, surrounded by a dense fog be- 
 tween Dover and Boulogne for two days and 
 two nights, the boat in which the family were 
 crossing drifted helplessly about in considerable 
 danger, and very great discomfort for want of 
 food : they are said to have given a guinea for 
 a basin of groats — from which gruel had been 
 made for an invalid on board — and that they 
 were only warned of their dangerous proximity 
 to the French coast by the braying of an ass on 
 the cliffs. After his return, Joseph John writes 
 to his sister-in-law Elizabeth at Ham House : — 
 
 ^^ Earlham, December 9, 18 17. — We arrived late on 
 Seventh day evening. A hearty welcome and a warm 
 bright home awaited us. Dear Catherine and Priscilla 
 were looking charmingly, and all the household in good 
 order. What a blessing there is in such an arrival at 
 home. It was very comfortable yesterday to find our- 
 selves once more seated in Goat Lane. Our morning 
 Meeting was solemn. The afternoon Meeting was also 
 comfortable, and a satisfactory reading at Earlham and 
 a cheerful evening over the great parlour fire concluded 
 the day. Yesterday brought the usual round of bank- 
 ing, writing, &c. How pleasant is the settlement into 
 regular domestic life." 
 
I8l7] THE SECOND PHASE OF EARLHAM 2/3 
 
 Now all the different branches of the Gur- 
 ney family had settled homes. Joseph John 
 with one Church of England sister, Catherine, 
 and one Quaker sister, Priscilla, at Earlham ; 
 Samuel and his family at Ham House, to which 
 he had succeeded on the death of his wife's 
 father, Mr. Sheppard, in 1812 ; Daniel and his 
 sister Rachel at Runcton, both still professing 
 Quakerism, though in its mildest forms ; Eliza- 
 beth Fry, with her already numerous family, 
 
 fervent Quakers at Plashet ; Richenda Cunnine- 
 1 ^ 
 
 ham and her clerical husband in their rectory 
 
 of Pakefield ; Hannah and Powell Buxton, 
 
 now of the same Church, in Brick Lane, near 
 
 his work in the Brewery ; and Louisa Hoare 
 
 and her family, also members of the Church 
 
 of England, at the Hill House at Hampstead, 
 
 which continued to be their life-long home, 
 
 though they also owned Cliff House at Cromer, 
 
 and passed the autumn months there almost 
 
 as one family with the Buxtons. In the autumn 
 
 of 181 7 Priscilla Gurney, now no longer needed 
 
 at Earlham, went on ''a visit of gospel love" 
 
 to Ireland, visiting the whole of the Friends in 
 
 the north of the island, and not returning till 
 
 May 1818. 
 
 Katharine Fry writes — 
 
 "Thus, in the course of nature, the descendants of 
 
 VOL. I. g 
 
2 74 "^^^ GURNEYS OF EARLHAM [iSl? 
 
 John Gurney of Earlham had branched off into distinct 
 famines, dwclHng in their various homes, either in 
 Norfolk or in the neighbourhood of London, differing 
 in some respects, yet united b}'^ a common bond of 
 strong family affection, tender sympathy, and unbroken 
 harmony. Truly it might be said of them ' if one 
 member suffered, all the members suffered with it.' 
 The numerous cousins were brought up in habits of 
 great intimacy and unrestricted communication, although 
 their parents did not belong to the same rehgious com- 
 munities. 
 
 " The two brothers, Samuel and Joseph John Gurney, 
 with their sisters Elizabeth and Priscilla, had become 
 decided ' Friends ;' their famihes were therefore brought 
 up in conformity with the doctrines and practice of 
 that body of Christians. The other members of the 
 Earlham family had all united themselves with the 
 Church of England, and trained their children in the 
 same." 
 
VII 
 
 NEWGATE 
 
 ** She held that place of high respect which those always will hold 
 who act firmly upon the love and fear of God, and whose bearing 
 reaches the inward testimony in the .heart of the beholder ; that in 
 nothing do they come forward from self-will, and in nothing do they 
 hold back or compromise the divine teaching ; and that, neither deluded 
 by their own voice nor that of others, they know and sedulously follow 
 the voice of the Good Shepherd," — M. A. Schimnielpeiininck. 
 
 The thought of what she had seen in Newgate 
 in 1 813 had always remained present to Mrs. 
 Fry's mind, and she had longed to do something 
 for the poor prisoners there. This now seemed 
 possible. 
 
 In the winter of 18 16-17, Mrs. Fry — ''the 
 more than female Howard," as Sir James 
 Mackintosh called her — with eleven compan- 
 ions, entered upon a systematic course of visits 
 to the prisoners in Newgate. The change 
 they were enabled to effect soon began to 
 attract, far more than she wished, the sym- 
 pathy and interest of the public. 
 
 ^Her brothers-in-law, Samuel Hoare and 
 Fowell Buxton, had begun to labour in the 
 
 275 
 
2/6 THE GURNEYS OF EARLHAM [1816 
 
 same field. One day when they were walking 
 together past Newgate, their conversation had 
 turned upon the exertions of their sister-in-law 
 and her companions for the improvement of the 
 prisoners within its walls, and this suggested 
 the idea of employing themselves in a similar 
 manner. It led to their entering into communi- 
 cation with Mr. Peter Bedford, Mr. William 
 Crawford, Dr. Lushington, the Hon. E. Har- 
 bord, and others interested in improving the 
 condition of the English jails; and the '' Society 
 for the Reformation of Prison Discipline " was 
 formed in 1816. 
 
 On her second visit to the prison, Mrs. Fry, 
 at her own request, was left alone amongst the 
 women for some hours, and on that occasion 
 she read to them the parable of the Lord and 
 the vineyard, and made a few observations on 
 the eleventh hour, and on Christ having come 
 to save sinners, even those who might be said 
 to have wasted the greater part of their lives 
 estranged from Him. Some asked who Christ 
 was ; others feared that their day of salvation 
 was past. 
 
 Filled with pity for the almost naked children 
 of the prisoners, puny and pining for want of 
 proper air, food, and exercise, Mrs. Fry pro- 
 posed to their mothers to establish a school for 
 
M 
 
 o 
 
 a 
 
 < 
 u 
 
 > 
 
 < 
 
 o 
 
 C/3 
 
 7j 
 
 < 
 
l8l7] NEWGATE 277 
 
 them, which was welcomed with tears of joy. 
 A young woman named Mary Connor, recently 
 committed for stealing a watch, was chosen by 
 universal consent as the first mistress of the 
 school, and fulfilled her duties to perfection. 
 Many of the women entreated to be allowed 
 to attend the school themselves, but owing to 
 the small size of the room, only those under 
 twenty-five could be admitted. Mrs. Fry's 
 friend, Mary Sanderson, who accompanied her 
 on one of her first visits, described afterwards 
 ''the railing crowded with half-naked women, 
 struggling together for the front situation with 
 the most boisterous violence and begging with 
 the utmost vociferation."^ She felt as if she 
 were going into a den of wild beasts, and long 
 recollected the horror of hearine the door closed 
 upon her and knowing that she was "locked in 
 with such a herd of novel and desperate com- 
 panions." 
 
 Mrs. Fry wrote : — 
 
 ^^ Feb. 24, 1 8 17. — I have been lately much occupied 
 in forming a school in Newgate for the children of the 
 poor prisoners, as well as the young criminals, which 
 has brought much peace and satisfaction with it. But 
 my mind has also been deeply affected in attending a 
 
 ^ A beautiful picture by Mrs. Ward depicts this savage crowd of 
 women, and the rapt serenity of Mrs. Fry as she faced them. 
 
278 THE GURNEYS OF EARLHAM [1817 
 
 poor woman who was executed, I suppose, this morning. 
 I visited her twice. This event has brought me into 
 deep feeling. 
 
 't>' 
 
 ^^ March 3, 18 17. — My mind and time have been 
 much taken up with Newgate and its concerns, and I 
 have felt encouraged about our school. ... I have 
 had to visit another poor woman before her death, but 
 was permitted to be more upheld, and not to be so much 
 distressed as the time before. May I in this important 
 concern — for so it appears to me to be — be enabled to 
 keep my eye single with the Lord, that what I do may 
 be done heartily unto Him, and not in any degree unto 
 
 man." 
 
 *' My mother had three great gifts," w^rites 
 Katharine Fry, "her dignified and stately pre- 
 sence, her exquisite voice, and her constant and 
 unruffled sweetness of expression — the same to 
 crowned heads and poor prisoners." As a small 
 band of lady w^orkers gradually collected around 
 Mrs. Fry, the little school in a cell at New- 
 gate became their daily occupation. In her 
 evidence before the House of Commons Mrs. 
 Fry said : — 
 
 " It was in our visits to the school, where some of 
 us attended almost every day, that we were witnesses 
 to the dreadful proceedings that went forward on the 
 female side of the prison ; the begging, swearing, 
 gaming, fighting, singing, dancing, dressing up in 
 men's clothes ; scenes too bad to be described, so that 
 
l8l7] NEWGATE 279 
 
 we did not think it suitable to admit young persons 
 with us." 
 
 Gradually the little band of prison visitors 
 began to look beyond the saving of the children 
 to the reclaiming of their mothers, and to this 
 they were encouraged by the women them- 
 selves, who soon began clamorously to entreat 
 not to be shut out from the chance of im- 
 proved habits, and from the benefits which 
 might follow. At first, the prison officials, as 
 well as the friends of the visitors themselves, 
 treated the idea of reclaiming female prisoners 
 as an idle dream. It was also urged that if 
 materials for employing them were found, they 
 would soon be stolen or destroyed. But Mrs. 
 Fry was not to be deterred. In March 1817 we 
 find her writino- : — 
 
 *' My mind is tossed by a variety of interests and 
 duties. ... I hope I am not undertaking too much. It 
 is a Httle like being in the whirlwind and the storm ; 
 but may I be enabled quietly to perform that which 
 ought to be done; and may all be done so heartily 
 unto the Lord, and through the assistance of His 
 grace, that, if it is consistent with His holy will, His 
 blessing may attend it." 
 
 And it did. Already, in the following Decem- 
 ber, she was able to write : — 
 
2 80 THE GURNEYS OF EARLHAM [1817 
 
 '* I have found in my late attention to Newgate a 
 peace and prosperity in the undertaking that I seldom, 
 if ever, remember to have felt before. A way has been 
 opened for us beyond all expectations to bring into 
 order the poor prisoners ; those who are in power are 
 so very willing to help us — in short, the time appears to 
 be come to work among them. Already, from being 
 wild beasts, they appear harmless and kind. ... Oh! if 
 good should result, may the praise of the whole be 
 given where it is due, by us and by all, in deep humilia- 
 tion and prostration of spirit." 
 
 The clergyman's wife v^ho, v^Ith eleven mem- 
 bers of the Society of Friends, had already 
 formed themselves into an "Association for 
 the Improvement of the Female Prisoners in 
 Newgate," stated as their object : — 
 
 "To provide for the clothing, the instruction, and 
 the employment of the women ; to introduce them to a 
 knowledge of the Holy Scriptures, and to form in them, 
 as much as possible, those habits of order, sobriety, 
 and industry which may render them docile and 
 peaceable whilst in prison, and respectable when they 
 leave it." 
 
 The Sheriffs and City magistrates continued 
 to doubt if the women would be themselves 
 induced to submit to the restraints which it 
 would be necessary to impose upon them to 
 effect this change ; but when the assembled 
 
l8l7] NEWGATE 281 
 
 women were asked, one and all declared them- 
 selves willing to abide by the rules. Still Mrs. 
 Fry felt that more than this was needed. 
 She had a room cleaned and whitewashed, in 
 which she assembled all the female prisoners 
 who had been tried, and after describing to 
 them the comforts which might be derived 
 from a sober and industrious life, and the 
 misery which must result from such a life 
 as they had hitherto led, she dwelt upon the 
 motives which had brought their visitors to 
 mingle with those from whom all others fled. 
 She assured them that they came armed with 
 no authority, that they required no obedience, 
 and that no rule should be made, no monitor 
 appointed, without the unanimous consent of 
 the women themselves. The rules for employ- 
 ment, those forbidding all swearing, begging, 
 gaming and quarrelling, and those enjoining 
 cleanliness and attention, were then read to the 
 women, and, after each was heard, every hand 
 was held up in joyful acceptance. When the 
 new state of things had continued for some 
 time, the Lord Mayor and several of the Alder- 
 men visited the prison, and from its quiet and 
 orderly cheerfulness could scarcely believe 
 themselves within the same walls which, a few 
 months before, had exhibited "the very utmost 
 
282 THE GURNEYS OF EARLIIAM [1817 
 
 limits of misery and guilt." They marked 
 their sense of the importance of the change 
 by adopting the whole of the new plan as part 
 of the regular system of Newgate. Six months 
 later the Committee received from the untried 
 prisoners an earnest petition, entreating that 
 the same benefits might be conferred upon 
 them, and promising strictest obedience. Their 
 petition was acceded to, though with less defi- 
 nite good result, as prisoners who could still 
 flatter themselves with a hope of release were 
 not Inclined to work. A visitor describes 
 what he saw in the prison at this time : — 
 
 " I obtained permission to see Mrs. Fry, and 
 was taken to the entrance of the women's wards. 
 On my approach, no loud or angry voices indicated 
 that I was about to enter a place which had long 
 been known as * Hell above ground.' The court- 
 yard into which I was admitted, instead of being 
 peopled with beings scarcely human, blaspheming, fight- 
 ing, tearing each others' hair, or gaming with a filthy 
 pack of cards for the very clothes they wore (which 
 often did not suffice even for decency), presented a 
 scene where stillness and propriety reigned. I was 
 conducted by a decently-dressed person, the newly 
 appointed yards-woman, to the door of a ward, where, 
 at the head of a long table, sat a lady belonging to the 
 Society of Friends. She was reading aloud to about 
 sixteen women prisoners, who were engaged in needle- 
 
l8l7] NEWGATE 283 
 
 work around it. Each wore a clean-looking blue apron 
 and bib, with a ticket having a number on it suspended 
 from her neck by a red tape. They all rose on my 
 entrance, curtsied respectfully, and then at a given 
 signal resumed their seats and employments. Instead 
 of a scowl or ill-suppressed laugh, their countenances 
 wore an air of self-respect and gravit}^, a sort of 
 consciousness of their improved character, and the 
 altered position in which they were placed. I after- 
 wards visited the other wards, which were counterparts 
 of the first." 
 
 The Rev. C. B. Tayler writes : ^ — 
 
 " I accompanied Mrs. Fry on two occasions to 
 Newgate, and I was present when she read a portion 
 of the Word of God to the women in the room which 
 was then appropriated to that purpose. Tier above 
 tier rose the seats at the end of the room, a gallery of 
 wooden steps many feet high, and extending from wall 
 to wall ; and on that gallery the female prisoners, many 
 of them the very refuse of society, were seated ; and 
 as the e^^e passed from face to face, different as the 
 features were, the expression of almost every counte- 
 nance was, in one sense, alike, for they wore the 
 unmistakable stamp of boldness, degradation, and 
 vice; on some the bleared flatness of face, from 
 whence all trace of womanly feeHng had disappeared ; 
 on others the vulgar snivel, seeming from time to time 
 to twist the lips and nose together. It was indeed 
 a shocking and most distressing spectacle, that range 
 
 ^ " Personal Recollections." 
 
284 THE GURNEYS OF EARLHAM [1817 
 
 of about a hundred women's faces, with the various 
 types of vice and crime written on the hues of almost 
 every one. But there they sat in respectful silence, 
 every eye fixed upon the grave sweet countenance of 
 the gentle lady who was about to address them. A 
 table was before her, on which lay the Holy Bible. 
 She seated herself in the chair placed for her, and 
 after a pause for silent prayer of some minutes, she 
 quietly opened the inspired volume. She turned to the 
 Prophet Isaiah, and read aloud the fifty-third chapter, 
 that wonderful and most affecting portion of the Word 
 of God, in which the prophet realised and depicted as 
 an eye-witness the mysterious and unspeakable suffering 
 of the Divine Redeemer. Never till then, and never since 
 then, have I heard any one read as Elizabeth Fry read 
 that chapter — the solemn reverence of her manner, the 
 articulation, so exquisitely modulated, so distinct, that 
 not a word of that sweet and touching voice could fail 
 to be heard. While she read, her mind seemed to be 
 intensely absorbed in the -passage of Scripture, and in 
 nothing else. She seemed to take in to her own soul 
 the words which she read, and to apply them to her- 
 self; and then she raised her head, and, after another 
 pause of silence, she spoke to the wretched women 
 before her. 
 
 " Her address was short, and so simple that it must 
 have been intelligible to the capacities of her hearers ; 
 and it was soon evident that it had come home to the 
 hearts of many there by the subdued expression of 
 their countenances, and by the tears that flowed freely 
 from eyes which perhaps had never shed such tears till 
 then. She set forth clearly, forcibly, though with a 
 
i8i7] 
 
 NEWGATE 
 
 285 
 
 mild persuasiveness, the wonderful love of God in 
 sending His own Son to die in the place of sinners, and 
 in accepting the sacrifice of Himself as an atonement 
 for their sins. She told them that it was He who was 
 
 THE DOOR OF MRS. FRY'S WARD, NEWGATE. 
 
 led as a sheep to the slaughter ; He who was despised 
 and rejected of men ; He who has borne our griefs and 
 carried our sorrows; and then most impressively she 
 added, * And the Lord hath laid on Him the iniquity of 
 
2 86 THE GURNEYS OF EARLHAM [1817 
 
 US all.^ What struck me as most remarkable in her 
 speaking, and no doubt that which won its way so 
 powerfully to the hearts of those abandoned women, 
 was, that she always seemed to class herself with them; 
 she never said 'you,' but ' us,' when speaking of those 
 who were lost, giving them to understand, though not 
 in distinct words, that in the sight of God they were all 
 alike sinners, all alike lost, if not washed in the precious 
 blood of Christ, which alone cleanseth from all sin. 
 Ah ! it was indeed in the spirit of Him who never broke 
 the bruised reed nor quenched the smoking flax that 
 she spoke to these degraded women. I have heard 
 many eloquent preachers, but I have never, before or 
 since, listened to one who had so thoroughly imbibed 
 the Master's spirit, or been taught by Him the per- 
 suasive power of pleading with sinners for the life of 
 their own souls. 
 
 " The effect of her teaching and of her very presence 
 was not confined to that assembly ; but, as I passed 
 with her through the different rooms of the prison, 
 where the women were occupied with the various works 
 she had been the means of procuring for them, the 
 looks of tender reverence <hey cast on her as she 
 moved among them, and the way in which some whis- 
 pered a blessing after her, testified to the influence she 
 had obtained among them." ^ 
 
 The " Chronicles of Nev^gate " says : — 
 
 ^ The frontispiece of the second volume of these Memoirs, from a 
 picture by Barrett, represents Mrs. Fry reading to the prisoners in 
 Newgate. Behind her stand her brothers Samuel and Joseph John 
 Gurney, her brother-in-law Sir T. Fowell Buxton, and Dr. Ryder, 
 Bishop of Gloucester. 
 
l8l7] NEWGATE 287 
 
 "What Mrs. Fry quickly accomplished against 
 tremendous difficulties is one of the brightest facts in 
 the history of philanthropy. How she persevered 
 in spite of predictions of certain failure, how she won 
 the co-operation of lukewarm officials, how she pro- 
 vided the manual labour for which those poor idle bands 
 were eager, and presently transformed a filthy den of 
 corruption into clean whitewashed rooms, in which 
 sat rows of women, recently so desperate and degraded, 
 stitching and sewing, orderly and silent, was indeed 
 extraordinary." ^ 
 
 " Alone, with none to aid, 
 Like the old seer among the ravening jaws, 
 Or that Diviner Figure which beamed hope 
 To the poor prisoned spirits waiting long 
 The Beatific End, she passed, and brought 
 The light of fuller Day, with mild eyes filled 
 With gentle pity for their sin, with voice 
 So clear, so soft, so musical, the tongue 
 As of an angel. 'Mid the noise, the din 
 Of blasphemy and rank offence, she spake, 
 And hushed all other sound, except the noise 
 Of weeping from repentant hearts, and told 
 How, even at the eleventh hour, the Lord 
 Was strong to save, telling of Him she served. 
 Whose name they knew not yet ; and on the depths 
 Of those poor rayless souls, sunk deep in ill, 
 Shone with some pure reflected light of Heaven, 
 And touched — a mother herself —the mothers' hearts 
 With pity for the children who should come 
 To ill as they did, till the spark Divine, 
 Which never dies out quite, shone out once more, 
 And once again, from out the sloughs of sin. 
 Uprose toward Heaven some faint fair flower of good. 
 
 1 A. Griffiths. 
 
288 THE GURNEYS OF EARLHAM [1817 
 
 Thus she, and with her a devoted band 
 Of women, strove for God. With instant prayer 
 She pleaded with them ; clothing, shelter, food 
 She gained for them, and tidings of the Word. 
 And for those hapless childish lives she found 
 Fit teaching ; those poor souls the pitiless law 
 > Doomed to the felon's end, she fortified. 
 As did of old S. Catherine, with her prayers, 
 Even at the gate of Death." ^ 
 
 Gradually the Ladies' Committee was en- 
 couraged to introduce a matron into Newgate, 
 to be paid in part by themselves, in part by the 
 Corporation ; but till this time, some of the 
 ladies spent the whole day in the prison, taking 
 their provisions in a basket, or remaining with- 
 out any ; and, for long afterwards, one or two 
 of them never failed to spend some hours daily 
 with the female prisoners. 
 
 During this eventful year Mrs. Fry had been 
 set the more free to her work because her boys 
 were at school, and her girls absent on a very 
 long visit to their uncle Daniel Gurney and his 
 sister Rachel at North Runcton. 
 
 Mrs. Fry's brothers and sisters helped her, 
 not only with sympathy, but with funds. In- 
 deed, far beyond any other pecuniary assistance, 
 was that which Mrs. Fry received from her own 
 brothers Samuel and Joseph John Gurney, who 
 not only entered warmly into all her objects 
 
 ^ Lewis Morris. 
 
l8l7] NEWGATE 289 
 
 of interest, but were unfailing in the generous 
 support they afforded them. From that time 
 until her labours of love were ended on earth, 
 not one year elapsed in which they did not 
 liberally, even magnificently, contribute to her 
 various purposes of benevolence. Perhaps this 
 was more especially the case with her brother 
 Samuel, who, as he advanced in life, appeared 
 more and more in the character of the philan- 
 thropist, ever at hand when duty called to pro- 
 mote any object which he considered would 
 tend to the benefit of mankind. His was a 
 direct mission no less than that of other mem- 
 bers of his family more prominently before the 
 public eye ; and in much of the benevolent 
 machinery so beautifully worked by them he 
 might be called the mainstay.^ 
 
 In the following winter, the story of the re- 
 formation of Newgate having gone abroad, Mrs. 
 Fry was beset by letters of inquiry from all parts 
 of the country, chiefly from ladies who wished to 
 imitate her example in the country towns, and 
 who deserved lengthy and careful answers. In- 
 numerable petitions also reached her from those 
 who thought her purse as inexhaustible as her 
 good-will, "humbly praying "for assistance, whilst 
 others besought employment or desired advice. 
 
 ^ See Memoir. 
 VOL. I. T 
 
290 THE GURNEYS OF EARLHAM [1817 
 
 "These letters required to be read and considered, 
 and, although far the greater number were laid aside, 
 others were of a nature that Mrs. Fry could not feel 
 satisfied to pass unnoticed. Time was necessary to do 
 any real good in extricating deserving families from 
 difficulties. But her benevolence was of that cast that 
 she could hardly endure to know others were wanting 
 the necessaries of life, whilst she was herself sur- 
 rounded by superfluities and luxuries, and she never 
 refused the request of any of these applicants with- 
 out pain. The cases of many of the prisoners also 
 demanded much time and attention." 
 
 The executions — for theft and arson as well 
 as murder — tried Mrs. Fry most of all. Thus 
 she v^rites : — 
 
 ^^ March 1817. — I have suffered much about the 
 hanging of the criminals, having had to visit another 
 poor woman before her death. This again tried me a 
 good deal, but I was more upheld, and not so much 
 distressed as before." 
 
 And again, after seeing a woman condemned 
 to death for being accessory to a robbery : — 
 
 '* I have just returned from a most melancholy 
 visit to Newgate, where I have been at the request 
 of Elizabeth Fricker, previous to her execution to- 
 morrow morning, at eight o'clock. I found her much 
 hurried, distressed, and tormented in mind, her hands 
 cold and covered with something like the perspiration 
 
l8l8] NEWGATE 291 
 
 preceding death, and in a universal tremor. The 
 women who were with her said she had been so 
 outrageous before we came, that they thought a man 
 must be sent for to manage her. However, after 
 a serious time with her, her troubled soul became 
 calmed. But is it for man thus to take the prero- 
 gative of the Almighty into his own hands ? 
 
 '' Besides this poor young woman, there are also six 
 men to be hanged, one of whom has a wife, also 
 condemned, near her confinement, and seven young 
 children. Since the awful report came down, he has 
 become quite mad, from horror of mind. A strait- 
 waistcoat could not keep him within bounds : he had 
 just bitten the turnkey — I saw the man come out with 
 his hand bleeding as I passed the cell." 
 
 During the following spring there vv^ere con- 
 tinual executions ; there were no data by which 
 to form any conclusion, no reasons to be dis- 
 covered for the selections made ; every one 
 knew^ he might suffer, though every one hoped 
 to escape. 
 
 '^ Among the rest was a woman named Harriet Skel- 
 ton; a very child might have read her countenance, 
 open, confiding, expressing strong feeling, but neither 
 hardened in depravity nor capable of cunning : her 
 story bore out this impression. Under the influence 
 of the man she loved, she had passed forged notes. 
 
 " She was ordered for execution ; the sentence was 
 unlooked for, her deportment in the prison had been 
 
292 THE GURNEYS OF EARLHAM [1818 
 
 good, amenable to regulations, quiet and orderly; in- 
 deed some of her companions in guilt were heard to say 
 that they supposed she was chosen for death because 
 she was better prepared than the rest of them. Her 
 case excited the strongest compassion. Mrs. Fry was 
 even vehemently urged to exert herself in behalf of 
 this unfortunate woman : there were circumstances of 
 extenuation, but they were not of a nature to alter the 
 letter of the law. Still, on Mrs. Fry's entreaty, the 
 Duke of Gloucester made a noble effort to save Skelton 
 by an application to Lord Sidmouth, and with the 
 same view he accompanied Mrs. Fry to the Bank 
 Directors. All, however, was in vain ; the law took 
 its course, and the woman was hanged." 
 
 Mrs. Fry's daughter, Rachel Cresswell, 
 writes : — 
 
 '' The successive executions of two women for 
 forgery led to our mother's becoming intensely inte- 
 rested in the question of capital punishment. 
 
 " In those days the system of prosecution and 
 punishment for forgery was horrible. There was a 
 sort of juggle by which a prisoner pleading guilty to 
 the minor count escaped death. Then, out of those 
 who had been chosen as the more guilty, and not 
 allowed this privilege, one was here and there selected 
 to be hanged, when the time had arrived for another 
 example to be made. 
 
 "The two women I have alluded to had neither 
 of them committed forgery in any aggravated form; 
 against one of them no kind of crime was alleged, but 
 
l8l8] NEWGATE 293 
 
 that under the influence of the man she loved she had 
 in an evil hour put her name to documents she scarcely 
 understood. 
 
 ''To the dark dismal cell where her last hours on 
 earth were spent, our mother's sense of duty took her. 
 Every exertion to obtain a reprieve had been in vain. 
 Nothing remained but to endeavour to strengthen its 
 wretched inmate to endure, and to exhort her even 
 at that eleventh hour to seek for pardon through 
 Christ. 
 
 "At that time an opinion was very prevalent among 
 the lower orders, that the extreme disproportion of 
 the punishment to the crime in all cases of forgery 
 or fraud, unattended by personal violence, placed the 
 transgressor in the position of the injured party, so 
 that more sinned against than sinning, he became a 
 sort of martyr, and would no doubt be received into 
 heaven. Grievously did this idea operate when these 
 victims of a harsh and uncertain law found themselves 
 under sentence of execution. It hardened their hearts 
 against repentance, because their sense of the sin was 
 lost in their belief in the far greater sinfulness of the 
 punishment. 
 
 "Our mother went to bid Harriet Skelton farewell 
 the afternoon before her death. She felt it acutely. 
 There was something terrible to her in life being taken 
 from one in the full possession of mental and physical 
 vigour. One woman had said to her the day before she 
 was hanged, ' I feel life so strong within me, that I can- 
 not beheve that this time to-morrow I am to be dead.' 
 
 " It was a matter of no small interest to us to know 
 how our mother would deal with the difficult state of 
 
294 THE GURNEYS OF EARLHAM [1818 
 
 mind I have endeavoured to describe. She dwelt but 
 hghtly on the individual crime for which Harriet was 
 about to suffer, but she drew a strong picture of her 
 former mode of life, her vicious habits and depraved 
 conduct, her sinfulness against her fellow-creatures, 
 but still more her sinfulness against God. Having 
 thus convinced her reason, she appealed to her heart ; 
 she described the compassion, the long-suffering of God, 
 the heinousness of sin in His sight ; that it pleased Him 
 to permit her crimes to be punished in this awful death, 
 but that the Son of His love had endured a far more 
 awful death, far more intense sufferings, ' though with- 
 out sin.'^ Tears flowed abundantly; the heart of the 
 poor woman seemed melted within her. And then rose 
 the thrilling tones of our mother's voice, with exquisite 
 tenderness, with holy fervour, commending her to Him 
 who was willing and able to deliver her ' soul from 
 death,' to support her through the last conflict of mortal 
 agony, and to receive her for ever to Himself. 
 
 " The execution of these unhappy women, and that 
 of some ignorant young persons, about the same time, 
 roused public attention. Various opinions were 
 broached ; the newspapers were filled with para- 
 graphs ; pamphlets were published ; discussions con- 
 tinually arose in society whether under the Christian 
 dispensation man had the right to take the life of his 
 fellow-man for offences solely connected with pro- 
 perty. Into this question our mother entered with 
 intense interest ; she was decided in her opinion that 
 so doing was warranted neither by reason nor Scrip- 
 ture. Many whose names have since figured as 
 
 ^ Heb. iv. 15. 
 
l8l8] NEWGATE 295 
 
 Statesmen, men of letters, and philanthropists united 
 with her in those views." 
 
 A writer in the Christian Penny Magazine^ 
 says : — 
 
 " Time, distance, and crime may deaden the best 
 feelings of nature; but let some unexpected occasion 
 recall vividly to the mind the acts of a good mother 
 or friend, and the feelings which were supposed to be 
 extinct will be powerfully awakened. A striking in- 
 stance of this nature was related to me in the bush 
 by a woman who had been confined with several 
 hundreds of others in the Female Factory near Sydney. 
 This woman was a Catholic, and when in England was 
 under the care of Mrs. Fry. ... In speaking of that 
 lady she said, ' We true Roman Catholics looked upon 
 her with doubt, and this fear prevented her doing as 
 much good amongst us as she otherwise would ; for bad 
 as we were, we looked upon it as the last fall to give 
 up our faith. But Mrs. Fry had a remarkable way with 
 her — a sort of speaking that you could hardly help 
 listening to, whether 3^ou would or no ; for she was 
 not only very good, but very clever. 
 
 '^'Well, just to avoid listening when she was speak- 
 ing or reading, I learnt to count twelve backwards and 
 forwards, so that my mind was quite taken up. It was 
 a pity we had such a dread. Mrs. Fry had a way of 
 speaking to one of us alone, and I was very anxious to 
 shuffle this lecture : the fact was, I expected she would 
 put many questions, and as I altogether respected her 
 
 ^ For April 1850. 
 
296 THE GURNEYS OF EARLHAM [1818 
 
 character too much to tell her a He, I kept away from 
 the sermon, as we in derision used to call it. 
 
 "'But when she was taking leave of us, she just 
 called me on one side, saying she would like to speak 
 a few words to me. So, says I to myself, '' I'm caught 
 at last." 
 
 '' ' Well, she came close to me, and looking at me in 
 a very solemn sort of a way, she laid her hands upon 
 my shoulders, and yet her very fingers seemed to have 
 a feehng of kindness towards me, and she gave me a 
 pressure that told she felt for me; her thumbs were 
 set firm and hard upon my shoulders. But it was no 
 lecture she gave me : all she said was, ' Let not thine 
 eyes covet.' No other words passed her lips, but then 
 her words were low and awful — kind as a mother, yet 
 like a judge. Well, when I got to the colony, -I went 
 on right enough for a time, but one day I was looking 
 into a work-box belonging to my mistress, and a gold 
 thimble tempted me. It was on my finger and in my 
 pocket in an instant; but, just as I was going to shut 
 down the box-lid, as sure as I am telling you, I felt 
 Mrs. Fry's thumbs on my shoulders — the gentle plead- 
 ing touch of her fingers — and I gave one look about 
 me, threw back the thimble, and trembled with terror to 
 find I was alone in the room.' " 
 
 One of the subjects w^hich occupied the atten- 
 tion of the '' Ladies' Nevv^gate Association " v^as 
 improving the arrangements for the removal 
 of female convicts for transportation. 
 
 " It was a practice amongst the female transports to 
 
l8l8] NEWGATE 297 
 
 riot previous to their departure from Newgate, break- 
 ing windows, furniture, or whatever came within their 
 reach. They were generally conveyed from the prison 
 to the water-side in open waggons, went off shouting 
 amidst assembled crowds, and were noisy and dis- 
 orderly on the road and in the boats. Mrs. Fry pre- 
 vailed on the Governor to consent to their being moved 
 in hackney coaches. She then promised the women, 
 if they would be quiet and orderly, that she and other 
 ladies would accompany them to Deptford, and see 
 them on board. Accordingly, when the time came, 
 no disturbance took place ; the women in hackney 
 coaches, with turnkeys in attendance, formed a pro- 
 cession, which was closed by her carriage, and they 
 all behaved well upon the road. When on board the 
 ship, the ladies were distressed to see so many women 
 and children huddled together below deck. They were 
 to be divided into messes of six each, and as each 
 woman must of necessity associate the most with those 
 of her own mess, it seemed to be a good opportunity to 
 class and number them. This was no sooner proposed 
 than accepted b}^ all concerned in the arrangement : 
 they were divided into classes of twelve, including 
 the monitor, chosen from the number by the women 
 themselves. As far as possible those whose ages or 
 criminalit}^ were similar were placed together. Each 
 class contained two messes. The superintendence thus 
 became as complete as the nature of the case would 
 permit. There were one hundred and twenty-eight 
 convicts, besides their unhappy children. 
 
 " Employment and instruction were still wanting ; the 
 women complained of having nothing to do. To pro- 
 
298 THE GURNEYS OF EARLHAM [1818 
 
 cure work for a hundred and twenty-eight persons, 
 during so long a voyage, appeared to be a hopeless 
 endeavour; and even if it could be obtained from 
 Government or individuals, it would have been useless 
 to give it to them, with no responsible person to take 
 charge either of its execution or appropriation. The 
 ladies were told that patchwork and fancy-work found 
 a ready sale in New South Wales. They accordingly 
 made it known that they required little pieces of 
 coloured cotton for this purpose, and, in a few days, 
 so many were sent from the different Manchester houses 
 in London as, aided by some knitting, fully supplied 
 the women with work. The time and ingenuity required 
 in patchwork rendered it a particularly suitable occu- 
 pation; and as the convicts were to have the things 
 when done, to sell for their own profit on arrival, it was 
 evidently their interest to turn their skill to the best 
 account. By this means another important good was 
 effected, for at that time no factory or barrack of any 
 description existed for the reception of the women 
 when landed in the colony, not so much as a hut in 
 which they could take refuge, so that they were 
 literally driven to vice, or left to He in the streets. 
 Now, the proceeds of their industry on board ship, 
 though small, would enable such as desired it to obtain 
 shelter until engaged as servants, or until they could 
 find some respectable means of subsistence. A fact 
 that occurred the following year, in the Wellington 
 female convict ship, showed the correctness of this 
 opinion, and how well patchwork had answered the 
 intended purpose, for when the ship touched at Rio de 
 Janeiro the quilts made by the women were there sold 
 
l8l8] NEWGATE 299 
 
 for a guinea each. Under the care of each monitor, 
 Bibles, Prayer-Books, and religious tracts were placed 
 for the use of her class ; arrangements were also made 
 to enable those who could not read and wished to learn 
 to have the opportunity of doing so. 
 
 ''Still, though some provision was thus made for 
 the necessities of the women, the poor children were 
 in misery and ignorance. Fourteen of these were of an 
 age to receive instruction. With some difficulty a small 
 space towards the after part of the vessel was set 
 apart as a school. There, during the greater part of the 
 day, they were taught to read, knit, and sew. One 
 of the convicts undertook to be schoolmistress, and a 
 reward for her was placed in the hands of the captain, 
 to be given if she persevered in her duties to the 
 end of the voyage. During the five weeks that the 
 ship lay in the river, some of the ladies engaged in the 
 prison-work devoted much of their time to making 
 these arrangements. At an expense of £^2, los., 
 working materials and aprons were procured for the 
 women, and additional clothing for the most destitute. 
 The good effects of these regulations were speedily 
 seen, though few were sanguine as to their continuing 
 in force after the ship had fairly put to sea, when there 
 would be no longer any stimulus or inducement to 
 persevere. 
 
 ''The last visit that Mrs. Fry paid to the Maria^ 
 whilst she lay at Deptford, was one of those solemn 
 occasions that leave a lasting impression on the minds 
 of those who witness them. Great uncertainty had 
 prevailed as to whether the poor convicts would see 
 their benefactress again. But now they saw her 
 
300 THE GURNEYS OF EARLHAM [1818 
 
 standing at the door of the cabin, attended by her 
 friends and the captain. The women on the quarter- 
 deck faced her. The sailors, anxious to see what was 
 going on, had clambered into the rigging, upon the 
 capstan, or mingled in the outskirts of the group. 
 But the silence was profound when Mrs. Fry opened 
 her Bible, and in a clear audible voice read a portion 
 from it. The crews of the other vessels in the tier, 
 attracted by the novelty of the scene, were leaning over 
 the ships on either side, and seeming to listen with 
 great attention. When she closed the Bible, after a 
 short pause, she knelt down on the deck, and implored 
 a blessing on this work of Christian charity from that 
 God who, though one may sow and another water, can 
 alone give the increase. Many of the women wept 
 bitterly, all seemed touched. As Mrs. Fry left the 
 ship they followed her with their eyes and their bless- 
 ings, until her boat having passed within another tier 
 of vessels, they could see her no more." 
 
 " Oft, in some frail skiff, 
 Daring the wintry Thames, ere the sad ship 
 Sailed with its load, her soft imploring voice 
 Rose high for all, commending them to Heaven. 
 And pleading with such gentle words and pure. 
 Their hard hearts melted, and the flowing tears 
 Relieved their pain ; and on the deck around 
 The rude rough seamen heard, without a word. 
 The saint's high message and the sweet clear tones. 
 And grew ashamed to scoff; while as she knelt 
 The helpless women checked their gathering tears 
 In silence, till the dark boat on the stream 
 Was lost in night, that took their only friend." ^ 
 
 ^ Lewis Moms. 
 
Q 
 
 > 
 
 i— I 
 
 < 
 Q 
 
 < 
 
l8l8] NEWGATE 301 
 
 Innumerable are the instances recorded of 
 the peculiar influence which Mrs. Fry's innate 
 powers of sympathy gave her over those she 
 met with. A friend narrates how — 
 
 "Walking with her one morning down Lombard 
 Street, we met a woman decently dressed, but who 
 appeared to be very sorrowful. She asked no relief, 
 nor did she seek to attract attention. Yet Mrs. Fry, 
 as if prompted or impelled by some superior powder, 
 let go my arm, and turning to the woman, said, ' Thou 
 appearest to be in trouble ; tell me, I beseech thee, the 
 cause of thy sorrow, for perhaps I can assist thee and 
 afford thee relief.' The woman hesitated; but Mrs. 
 Fry, perceiving her burdened spirit, led her to the house 
 of her brother in the same street ; and there, by her 
 kind solicitude, was told of her trouble. She needed 
 no pecuniary assistance, but only the counsels of a 
 wise and kind friend, whom she had thus most un- 
 expectedly found. The unlooked-for sympathy she 
 received saved her from misery and self-destruction, 
 for she afterwards show^ed how, when met by Mrs. 
 Fry, she was on her way to drown herself in the 
 Thames." ^ 
 
 Joseph John Gurney says : — 
 
 " The law of love, which might be said to be ever on 
 her lips, was deeply engraven on the heart of Elizabeth 
 Fry; and her charity, in the best and most compre- 
 hensive sense of the term, flowed freely forth towards 
 
 ^ See T. Timpson's " Memoirs of Mrs. Fry." 
 
302 THE GURNEYS OF EARLHAM [1818 
 
 her fellow-men of every class, of every condition. Thus 
 witli a peculiar grace she won her way, and almost 
 always obtained her object. One of the qualities which 
 tended powerfully to this result was her patience — her 
 indomitable perseverance. She was never one of those 
 who embraced a philanthropic project warmly, and as 
 readily forgot it. But month after month, and year 
 after year, she laboured in any plan of mercy which 
 she had thought it her duty to undertake, and she 
 never forsook it in heart or feeling, even when her 
 health failed, or other circumstances, not under her 
 control, closed the door for a time on her personal 
 exertions. With this spirit of perseverance she com- 
 bined a peculiar versatility and readiness for seizing 
 every passing occasion, and converting it into an 
 opportunity of usefulness. She was not only always 
 willing, but always prepared, always ready (by a 
 kind of mental sleight of hand) to do good, be it ever 
 so little, to a child, a servant, a waiter at an inn, a 
 friend, a neighbour, a stranger ! " 
 
 On the occasion of the annual general meet- 
 ing of the Society of Friends, the Frys' house 
 in St. Mildred's Court always welcomed Priscilla 
 Hannah Gurney, the now aged Quakeress 
 cousin,^ who had much influenced Elizabeth 
 Fry in her early life. Katharine Fry describes 
 her as " small in person, beautiful in counte- 
 
 ^ Priscilla Hannah and her sister Christiana were daughters of Joseph 
 Gurney and his wife Christiana Barclay, and were first cousins of 
 Elizabeth Fry's father. The " Memoirs of Priscilla Hannah Gurney" 
 were published, edited by Sarah Allen. 
 
l8l8] NEWGATE 303 
 
 nance, elegant in manner, dressed in the old- 
 fashioned black silk hood then still retained by 
 Friends, delicate in health, and, notwithstand- 
 ing her having become a plain Friend and a 
 minister, almost fastidiously refined in habit." 
 Daniel Gurney speaks of her as a strict 
 Quakeress and preacher, rarely beautiful, small 
 in person and features, singularly refined, and, 
 in her black hood, like a fine portrait by 
 Cornelius Jansen.^ 
 
 Mrs. Fry now frequently spoke as a minister 
 
 ^ " Priscilla Hannah Gurney was one of those persons whom no one 
 having once seen could ever forget. The remembrance of her became 
 enshrined in one's memory. She combined the expression of holiness and 
 purity with that of the greatest delicacy of perception and intelligent 
 flexibility both of mind and heart. Her stature was small, but perfect 
 in symmetry ; her features were chiselled with exquisite delicacy ; her 
 countenance announced the deep peace and sensibility which arise from 
 a finely perceptive intellect, combined with placid and serene affections. 
 She had what is called a helmeted eyelid, and a beautiful and serenely 
 arched eyebrow, which contributed to the devout and tranquil expres- 
 sion, whilst her dark intelligent eyes, her well-developed eye-bone, and 
 beautifully formed nose, indicated at once strength and acuteness of 
 intelligence and great delicacy of taste. 
 
 "Her costume was that of the strictest Friends of that day. How 
 well I remember her coarse stuff gown contrasted with the exquisite 
 beauty and delicacy of her arms and hands, her snow-white handker- 
 chief, and her little grey shawl, her dark brown hair divided after the 
 manner of a gothic arch over her fair forehead. Then she wore a black 
 silk hood over her cap, and over all a black beaver bonnet, in the shape 
 of a pewter plate, which was then esteemed the official dress of (acknow- 
 ledged ministers in) the gallery. Her voice was most musical and en- 
 chanting ; sweetness and flexibility was its characteristic. Her words 
 descended like dew on the soul, penetrating and abiding there, and 
 after many days bringing forth fruit." — M. A. Schimvi elpenninck. 
 
304 THE GURNKYS OF EARLHAM [1819 
 
 in the Friends' Meeting-house in Gracechurch 
 Street, which she regularly attended, where, 
 according to her Quaker expression, '' way was 
 often made for her to declare publicly the 
 goodness of our gracious and holy Helper." 
 Occasionally, also, she preached at the larger 
 Meeting-house at Devonshire House, Bishops- 
 gate Street,^ generally with fluency and ease, 
 and with a wonderfully touching manner and 
 expression. She recounts one occasion there, 
 however, when — 
 
 " In pra3''er I was in a few words much helped. 
 And when first engaged in testimony [preaching], for 
 a short time all did well ; then the enemy came in like 
 a flood to overwhelm me, and, without any apparent 
 want of sense or clearness, I sat down." 
 
 James Sherman, Minister of Surrey Chapel, 
 writes^ of ''the silver tones of Elizabeth Fry's 
 voice, and the majestic mien with which she 
 delivered the message of God," which could 
 never be forgotten. 
 
 But Mrs. Fry's winning and musical voice 
 
 ^ This great establishment, occupying the site of the old Dolphin Inn 
 and of the mansion of the Earls of Devonshire, comprises three Meeting- 
 houses — that used for the great yearly meetings, that for special meet- 
 ings, and that known as the Women's Meeting-house. There is a 
 gallery at Devonshire T louse filled with Quaker portraits of consider- 
 able interest. 
 
 2 Life of William Allen, p. 462. 
 
I8l8] NEWGATE 305 
 
 was in later days most frequently heard In 
 the Meeting-house which she generally attended 
 near her country home of Plashet. This was 
 the "old Meeting-house" of Plaistow, which, 
 built in 1 8 19, had a stone portico and pillars, 
 from Wanstead House, added to it in 1832. 
 No less than twenty carriages then brought 
 Quaker families resident in the neighbourhood 
 to the meeting at Plaistow. John Bright was 
 often amongst them. 
 
 The Rev. C. B. Tayler writes : — 
 
 " Finding, while I was visiting her at Plashet, that 
 Mrs. Fry had to attend a meeting of Friends in the 
 neighbourhood, I begged to be allowed to accompany 
 her, saying that I did not ask from mere curiosity, but 
 that I felt a real interest in all that concerned the body 
 of Christians to which she was united, and wished to 
 see for myself how their meetings were conducted. She 
 kindly took me with her in their family coach. Little 
 was said as we drove along, but before we arrived at 
 the place of meeting, Mrs. Fry turned to me and said, 
 ' Perhaps not a word will be spoken at our meeting 
 to-day ; but thou must not suppose that, though we 
 sit there in silence, our thoughts are not occupied with 
 Divine things. We are waiting on the Lord till He 
 enables us to speak.' After entering the building, and 
 taking our places, so long a silence prevailed that I 
 began to think that we should depart as we had come, 
 without hearing the sound of a human voice. But 
 after a very long pause a Quaker gentleman rose up, 
 
 VOL. I. u 
 
306 THE GURNEYS OF EARLHAM [1818 
 
 and spoke of the great comfort lie had received in a 
 time of deep domestic affliction from certain portions 
 of Holy Scripture, which he repeated, believing that 
 they might, with the Divine blessing, afford much con- 
 solation to any of the Friends who were present, and 
 who might be in like distress with himself. He said 
 no more, but resumed his seat ; and then so long a 
 pause of silence followed that I thought the meeting 
 would indeed break up without another word being 
 spoken. Thus, I can hardly express the satisfaction I 
 felt when Mrs. Fry herself arose to speak. After the 
 remark she had made to me in the carriage, my thoughts 
 had been constantly occupied with those few affecting 
 words which our Lord had spoken to His three disciples 
 during His agony in the garden of Gethsemane, ' Could 
 ye not watch with Me one hour ? ' and when I saw her 
 about to speak, I could not help saying to myself, ' I 
 hope she will speak on those same words.' But it was 
 a pleasant surprise when, in the clear and solemn voice 
 which was so peculiar to her, she said, * One portion 
 of Scripture has much occupied my mind during our 
 meeting here : the words of the Lord Jesus in His hour 
 of suffering, those words which He addressed to His 
 disciples at that season of darkness, "What, could 
 ye not watch with Me one hour ? '" I could not at- 
 tempt, even if my memory did not fail me, to record 
 the words she spoke, so full of solemn and tender 
 emotion, so touching a commentary on those never-to- 
 be-forgotten words of gentle remonstrance from Him 
 who was about to undergo all the mysterious anguish of 
 the cross for guilty sinners. But I have frequently felt 
 that if such edifying instructions were to be often heard 
 
l8l8] NEWGATE 307 
 
 at a Quakers' meeting, I should feel it a high privilege 
 to be present." 
 
 Mrs. T. Geldart writes : — 
 
 " I have seen Elizabeth Fry in my childhood, have 
 felt her soft touch, and heard the sweet tones of her 
 melodious voice, sweet always, but doubly so to the 
 little ones, and I have been conscious of breathing an 
 atmosphere of love. I have seen and heard her in 
 large assemblies, soothing, in a manner so peculiarly 
 her own, all that was adverse, and smoothing all that 
 was ruffled, until her own spirit seemed to rest on those 
 to whom she spoke. I have seen her in the house of 
 sorrow and of mourning, when hearts were ready to 
 break from sore bereavement, and the loving look was 
 a balm, the tones were as delicious music; so soft, 
 so compassionate, so thriUing, that one could scarcely 
 tell whether it was the words she spoke or the manner 
 of those words that entered the heart, and there spread 
 peace and calmness."^ 
 
 In August 18 18, Mrs. Fry, accompanied by 
 her brother Joseph John and his wife, and one 
 of her own daughters, went to the north of 
 England and to Scotland on the affairs of the 
 Society of Friends, visiting the prisons in the 
 towns they passed through. A niece of Dr. 
 Stewart, who saw her in the prisons at Glasgow, 
 thus describes her : — 
 
 1 (( 
 
 The Pathway of Love." 
 
308 THE GURNEYS OF EARLHAM [1818 
 
 '' She is about forty, tall, sedate, with a physiognomy 
 gentle but very observing, at first not giving or 
 calHng for much sympathy. Her manner is free and 
 unembarrassed. She met, by appointment, several of 
 the magistrates and a number of ladies at Bridewell. 
 She told them with simplicity what had been done 
 at Newgate, proposing something similar for Glasgow. 
 She entered into pleasant conversation with every one. 
 All were delighted when she offered to speak a little 
 to the poor women ; but the keeper of Bridewell said 
 he feared it was a dangerous experiment, for that they 
 never but by compulsion listened to reading, and were 
 generally disposed to laugh and turn all into ridicule. 
 Mrs. Fry said she was not without fear of this happen- 
 ing, but she tliought it might give pleasure to some. 
 The women, about one hundred, were assembled in a 
 large room, and when we went in, were misdoubting 
 and lowering. Mrs. Fry took off her little bonnet, 
 and sat down on a low seat fronting the women. She 
 looked round with a kind conciliating manner, but with 
 an eye that met every one there. She said, ' I had 
 better tell you what we are come about.' She described 
 how she had had to do with a great many poor women 
 — sadly wicked, more wicked than any one present — 
 and how they had recovered from evil. Her language 
 was often Biblical, always referring to our Saviour's 
 promises, and cheering the desolate beings with holy 
 hope. 'Would you like to turn from that which is 
 wrong; would you h'/ce it,' she said, Mf ladies were to 
 visit and speak comfort to you, and try to help you to 
 be better ? You could tell them your griefs, for they 
 who have done wrong have many sorrows.' As she 
 
l8l8] NEWGATE 309 
 
 read them the rules, asking them if they approved, she 
 asked them to hold up their hands if they acceded. From 
 the first many hands were upraised, and as she spoke 
 tears began to fall. One very beautiful girl near me had 
 her eyes swimming in tears, and her lips moved as if 
 following Mrs. Fry's words. An old woman who held 
 a Bible we saw pressing upon it, as she became more 
 and more impressed. The hands were now almost all 
 read}^ to rise at every pause, and these callous and ob- 
 durate offenders were with one consent bowed before 
 her. In this moment she took the Bible, and read the 
 parables of the Lost Sheep and the Piece of Silver, and 
 of the Prodigal Son. It is not in my power to express 
 to you the effect of her saintly voice. In speaking such 
 blessed words, she often paused and looked at the 
 * poor women ' (as she named them) with such sweet- 
 ness as won all their confidence, and she applied differ- 
 ent parts of the story with a deHcacy and beauty such 
 as I never heard before. ^ His father saw him when 
 he was yet afar off.' The reading was succeeded by a 
 solemn pause, and then, resting her large Bible upon 
 the ground, we suddenly saw Mrs. Fry kneeling before 
 the women. Her prayer was beyond words — soothing 
 and elevating, and I felt her musical voice in the pecu- 
 liar recitative of the Quakers to be like a mother's song 
 to a suffering child. 
 
 ''We found sixteen women in the prison. She had 
 only time to read the rules to them and to converse a 
 little. Her proposal of work was in general greedily 
 received. We saw much more varied emotions there 
 than at Bridewell — astonishment, repugnance, and, in 
 one or two cases, obstinate resistance, whilst others 
 
3IO THE GURNEYS OF EARLHAM [1818 
 
 we saw listening with anxious desire to accept her 
 aid. One old woman, with very hardened features, 
 said, ' Na, na, nae work ' — but even her rugf^ed features 
 afterwards relaxed, and I saw a tear fall upon her 
 brown cheeks. Not only the prisoners were touched. 
 Not a man present was unmoved. . . . Now Mrs. Fry is 
 hastening back to her eight children, and she has not 
 a thought, nor time, nor strength to give away to any- 
 thing but the object of prison discipline." 
 
 Joseph John Gurney's journal describes a 
 visit which, during this tour, v^as paid by the 
 party to Knowsley. 
 
 " Oct. 3, 1 81 8. — Lord and Lady Derby, with others 
 of the family, met us at the door, and received us most 
 heartily. Lord Derby is an elderly man with a very 
 kind manner ; Lady Derby, somewhat younger, is very 
 interesting and pleasing, quite free from affectation — 
 rather like Catherine. Her disinterestedness becomes 
 perceptible in the little occurrences of the day, and her 
 conversation is attractive from the force of her mind, 
 which is evidently under the power of religion.^ She 
 lost her only son about a year ago, and this seems to 
 have had a great effect upon her. It happened that 
 my person reminded her of her lost boy — at once 
 an introduction to her good graces. Lord and Lady 
 Derby were surrounded at Knowsley by a large and 
 patriarchal family, consisting chiefly of Stanleys and 
 Hornbys. The most conspicuous individuals are Lord 
 
 ^ Miss Eliza Farren, the well-known actress, married Edward, 
 twelfth Earl of Derby, in 1797. 
 
l8l8] NEWGATE 3 I I 
 
 Stanley, his daughter Charlotte/ and his son Edward," 
 a clever and respectable youth. Lady Mary,^ a most 
 sweet girl, remarkable for her elegance and simpli- 
 city, is Lady Derby's onl}^ remaining child. The mother 
 of the Hornbys, Lord Derby's sister, a stout good- 
 natured old lady, is surrounded by several pleasing 
 well-principled daughters, besides sons, and sons' 
 wives. 
 
 " I have seldom, if ever, seen so much apparent love 
 and harmony prevailing without any form over a large 
 family circle. The afternoon and evening were agree- 
 ably spent in not trifling conversation. A crowd 
 thronged around Elizabeth Fry, whose tales were 
 thoroughly relished. For myself, I spent part of the 
 evening in a very interesting conversation with Lady 
 Derby on religious subjects : she is not without mis- 
 information and prejudice about religious people, but 
 I fully believe she possesses the principle. 
 
 '^ Before breakfast the next morning Lady Mary and 
 Charlotte Stanley took us in a carriage to their girls' 
 schools, which are in excellent order. They seem to 
 take great pains with their neighbours — Lord Derby 
 gives prizes annually to those of his cottagers who 
 most excel in neatness and propriety. After breakfast 
 we ventured to propose the whole family being assem- 
 bled together. Elizabeth Fry had felt a strong concern 
 for this object, and I was willing to bear the burthen 
 with her. The proposal was most readily acceded to, 
 and nearly the whole family, including servants — about 
 
 ^ Afterwards Lady Charlotte Penrhyn. 
 
 ^ Afterwards 14th Earl of Derby — the Prime Minister. 
 
 * Married, 1821, Thomas, second Earl of Wilton. 
 
3 I 2 THE GURNEYS OF EARLHAM [1818 
 
 seventy persons in all — assembled in the dining-room. 
 After a short pause, I began by reading the third 
 chapter of St. John's Gospel. I can hardly describe 
 how strange I felt my situation to be. The religious 
 opportunity which followed, and which lasted nearly 
 an hour, was truly very sweet and very" solemn. I 
 have scarcely ever known a time of such apparent 
 baptism of the Spirit. Dear Elizabeth Fry prayed 
 almost as soon as I had done reading. Much power 
 attended her. I afterwards felt unusual power in 
 preaching the Gospel to this interesting party, from 
 one of the verses we had been reading — 'As Moses 
 lifted up the serpent in the wilderness/ &c. Elizabeth 
 Fry afterwards spoke, and I was enabled to pray in 
 conclusion. We may thankfully acknowledge that our 
 Blessed Master was pleased on this occasion to send 
 us help from the sanctuary'. I have seldom known 
 more of the flowing of love, and this in the unity of 
 the Spirit. Almost all present, old and young, appeared 
 to be brought to tears, some to many tears. As soon 
 as our meeting broke up. Lord Derby came up to 
 me and kissed our hands, and then turned to the 
 window and wept. . . . They were all truly loving 
 and affectionate, quite clinging to us, and unwilling to 
 part from us." 
 
 In this year Mrs. Fry, by royal desire, vv^as 
 Invited to meet Queen Charlotte at the Mansion 
 House. 
 
 " It was a subject for Hayter — the diminutive stature 
 of the Oueen, covered with diamonds, but her counte- 
 
l8l8] NEWGATE 313 
 
 nance lighted up with an expression of the kindest 
 benevolence; Mrs. Fry, her simple Quaker's dress 
 adding to the height of her figure, though a little 
 flushed, preserving her wonted calmness of look and 
 manner; several of the bishops standing near her; 
 the platform crowded with waving feathers, jewels, 
 and orders; the noble hall lined with spectators, 
 and in the centre, hundreds of poor children brought 
 there to be examined, from their different schools. 
 The English nation may be slow in perceiving the 
 beauty of a moral sentiment, but when perceived appre- 
 ciates it the more highly. A murmur of applause ran 
 through the assembly, followed by a simultaneous clap 
 and a shout, which was taken up by the multitude 
 without, and died away in the distance. They hailed 
 the scene before them ; they saw in it not so much the 
 queen and the philanthopist as royalty offering its 
 meed of approval at the shrine of mercy and good 
 works." 
 
 Katherine Fry to her Aunt Mrs. Buxton. 
 
 '' Plashet, May 3, 1818. — My Aunt Catherine has 
 commissioned me to write thee a description of our 
 day at the Mansion House— it was the 19th of last 
 month. . . . With infinite difficulty we got into the 
 ante-room. In a few minutes some men in very grand 
 liveries came in a great hurry to clear the way and lay 
 down a piece of scarlet cloth ; the cry was, ' The Queen 
 is coming.' We looked through the entrance-door, and 
 saw mamma (!) with the Bishop of Gloucester (!), and 
 Lady Harcourt with Alderman Wood. Silence had 
 been previously ordered as a mark of respect, but a 
 
314 THE GURNEYS OF EARI.TIAM [1818 
 
 buzz of 'Mrs. Fry, Mrs. Fry/ ran through tlie room. 
 It was to our utter astonishment that we saw tliem 
 come in and walk along those spread carpets, Lady 
 Harcourt in full court-dress, on the arm of the Alder- 
 man in his scarlet gown, and secondly the Bishop of 
 Gloucester (Ryder) in lawn sleeves, leading our dar- 
 ling mother in her plain Friend's cap, one of the light 
 scarf cloaks worn by plain Friends, and a dark 
 silk gown — I see her now ! her light flaxen hair, a 
 little flush on her face from the bustle and noise she 
 had passed through, and her sweet, lovely, placid smile. 
 In a few minutes the Queen passed, followed by the 
 Princesses, the Royal Dukes, the Lady Mayoress, and 
 other official personages. . . . 
 
 ''The Lord Mayor placed us behind the hustings on 
 which the Queen was. We asked him for mamma, 
 lie burst out laughing : ' There she is, on the bench of 
 Bishops. There were eight of them there. We heard 
 people pointing her out one to another : ' That is she 
 with her hair over her forehead.' — ' That must be Mrs. 
 Fry with the Bishops.' — ' Look now ! you may see Mrs. 
 Fry; she rises to receive the Queen's salute.' 
 
 " Towards the close, after ' God save the King ' had 
 been sung, everybody began to clap violently, and 
 we asked the cause. ' Why, the Queen is speaking to 
 Mrs. Fry.' When Queen Charlotte rose to go, she 
 paused and passed to the side where the Bishops sat 
 — of course all had risen — and Lady Harcourt pre- 
 sented our mother. 
 
 " The Queen, who is so short, courtesying, and our 
 mother, who is so tall, not courtesying, was very 
 awkward. Her Majesty asked our mother if she were 
 
l8l8] NEWGATE 3 I 5 
 
 not afraid of going into prisons, how far she hved from 
 London, how many children she had, &c. 
 
 "The shouts in the hall were tremendous, and were 
 caught up by the crowds outside ; it was told why they 
 shouted, and it was repeated again and again, till it 
 reached our father, sitting in his office at St. Mildred's 
 Court, that 'the Queen was speaking to Mrs. Fry.'" 
 
 Of this time Joseph John Gurney's journal 
 says : — " Betsy's example, conversation, deport- 
 ment, and ministry, have been most teaching ; 
 but even more particularly striking Is her 
 deep humility amidst the love and applause of 
 her fellow-creatures, who now eather round 
 her on all occasions." Mrs. Fry wrote at this 
 time : — 
 
 ^^ Plashet, October 28, 18 18. — Entering my public 
 life again is very serious to me, more particularly my 
 readings at Newgate. They are, to my feelings, too 
 much like making a show of a good thing, yet we have 
 so often been favoured in them, to the tendering of 
 many hearts, that I beheve I must not be hasty in 
 preventing them, or hindering people coming to them ; 
 and it is the desire and prayer of my heart that a way 
 may rightly open about them, and that when engaged 
 in them, I may do what I do heartily unto the Lord, 
 and not unto man, and look neither to the good or evil 
 opinion of men. The prudent fears that the good have 
 for me try me more than most things, and I find that 
 it calls for Christian forbearance not to be a little put 
 
3l6 THE GURNEYS OF EARLIIAM [1818-I9 
 
 out by them. I am confident that we often see the 
 Martha spirit enter about spiritual things; I know by 
 myself what it is to be over-busy. O Lord, enable 
 us to keep our ranks in righteousness, and pardon the 
 iniquity of even our holy tilings, of our omissions and 
 commissions, and be pleased to enable Thy poor un- 
 worthy child and servant to cleave very close to Thee 
 in spirit. And if it should please Thee that she should 
 again be brought forth to be as a spectacle amongst 
 the people, be pleased to keep her from ever hurting 
 or bringing discredit upon Thy ever-blessed cause. 
 Oh, enable her to do justly, love mercy, and walk 
 humbly before Thee and all men, and so to abide in 
 the light and life of Christ, her Saviour and Redeemer, 
 that many may be led to glorify Thee, her Father 
 who is in heaven. 
 
 ^* Thou, Lord, who alone knowest the heart, knowest 
 the desires of my heart after Thyself, and the pre- 
 servation that Cometh from Thee. All the rest is 
 comparatively small in my view." 
 
 Whilst the path of EHzabeth Fry, the Bux- 
 tons, and Hoares lay amid such heart-stirring 
 scenes, we must return to Rachel Gurney's 
 journals for glimpses of the quiet family life 
 in Norfolk.' 
 
 ^^ EarlJiam^ October 5, 1818. — Simeon, on arriving in 
 the evening on a visit, commented on the attributes of 
 
 ^ Seventeen closely written quarto volumes of Rachel Gurney's 
 journals — chiefly religious — remain in the family, written between 1802 
 and 1826. Before 1802 her daily journal was sent to Henry Enfield. 
 

 
 < 
 
 I— ( 
 
 c/3 
 
1819] NEWGATE 317 
 
 God. Betsy encouraged him to feel the most entire 
 hbert}^ of speaking when he thought it right : she said 
 the liberty of the Spirit should be the motto over her 
 door. Joseph prayed, and they sang hymns in the 
 evening." 
 
 ^^ Earlhaniy October 22. — Priscilla spoke at meeting 
 on the Peace of God, only to be obtained through the 
 knowledge of Christ. She now preaches constantly." 
 
 ^^ Runcton, March 7, 1819. — A visit from Priscilla 
 has been delightful. Surely she is an instance of the 
 powers of a devoted life, and an eminent example of 
 the beauty of a meek and quiet spirit." 
 
 ^^ August 21. — Several days at Earlham with dearest 
 Priscilla. Her purified and devoted state is most 
 striking and affecting." 
 
 In the spring of 18 19 the health of Priscilla, 
 the youngest of the Gurney sisters, began to fail. 
 Rachel passed the winter of 1819-20 with her 
 in the Isle of Wight. After her return to Earl- 
 ham, it became evident that she was sinking 
 in decided decline. The constant agitation of 
 mind, *' the travail of spirit " in which she lived, 
 had worn out her delicate frame. Living^ on 
 the portals of heaven herself, she ever had 
 sympathy with all, even with those whose opin- 
 ions most differed from her own. She would 
 sometimes say smilingly that one of the things 
 which had been most instructive to her was 
 "the biography of the irreligious." 
 
1 
 
 3l8 THE GURNEYS OF EARLHAM [1820 
 
 Most of all was her spiritual communion un- 
 broken with her sisters Hannah and Louisa, 
 now, with their households, members of the 
 Church of England. " More of heaven I 
 never saw," wrote Charles Simeon to Joseph 
 John Gurney in 1820, "than in the two 
 families at Hampstead." For the Buxtons 
 and Hoares were then livinor close to each 
 
 o 
 
 other in ever-increasing unity, both religious 
 and social. Louisa Gurney had brought the 
 bright influence of her natural charm into 
 the Hoare family, which was naturally gloomy 
 and morose, but the Buxtons were sunny and 
 charming by nature. Indescribably tender was 
 the relation which existed not only between 
 the sisters, but between their now numerous 
 children, who formed, as it were, one great 
 family. In her journal we find Mrs. Buxton 
 writing : — 
 
 " My little flock are a source of great delight to me. 
 My lovely boys are all I could wish. O Lord, make me 
 willing to part from any of these precious treasures, 
 if it be Thy pleasure to deprive me of them. I feel too 
 great a dread of such a trial" 
 
 But in the spring of 1820, whilst they were 
 living at Hampstead near their sister Louisa 
 Hoare, this trial came to Mr. and Mrs. Buxton — 
 
l820] NEWGATE 3I9 
 
 came with a bitterness seldom sent — four of 
 their children being taken from them in the 
 short space of five weeks — Thomas Fowell, on 
 March 28; Hannah, April 17 ; Rachel Gurney, 
 April 27 ; Louisa, May i. Amelia Opie, re- 
 ferring to the loss of the four children, wrote 
 to their mother : — 
 
 " I remember and see so perfectly every feature and 
 expression of these lost darlings that, were I an artist, 
 I could draw them all four. Little did I think when 
 they amused and interested me so much when I was 
 last at Earlham, that I should never see them again. 
 Dear friend, what a comfort, what a blessed balm in 
 brotherly love must you all feel." 
 
 During the sorrows of this time Mrs. Fry 
 had written : — 
 
 ^^ Plashet, April 26, 1820. — My dearest sister 
 Buxton has been most deeply afflicted in the loss, 
 first, of her eldest boy, little Fowell, about ten years 
 old ; then, less than three weeks after him, a little girl 
 nearly two years old, besides dangerous illness of 
 most of her other children. Two more are in a most 
 critical state. Oh, I trust that the Almighty will stay 
 His hand upon them, and that the little lambs who 
 are now ill may be restored." 
 
 ^^ May I. — Since last writing little Rachel Buxton 
 died, about five years of age — a most comely and 
 
3 20 THE GURNEYS OF EARLHAM [1820 
 
 deliglitful cliild. Slic appeared even in her illness 
 particularly clothed with all the graces of the Spirit 
 — so mild, so obedient, so affectionate. The giving up 
 this sweet Rachel was peculiarly hard to us, and we 
 all perhaps too much set our hearts on her life." 
 
 ^^ May 3. — Since I last wrote, on the evening of 
 the same day, poor little Louisa died also. . . . Her 
 subjected spirit in her illness marked her having been 
 trained to the discipline of the cross. It has been an 
 awful and instructive lesson thus to see what was so 
 beautiful in these darling little girls taken out of our 
 view, and dearest Fowell too, that delightful boy, and 
 all in less than five weeks." 
 
 ^^ May 5. — My state on entering the Yearly Meeting 
 was a very low one, though, generally speaking, I find it 
 a time of encouragement. Much good and sweetness 
 appears to exist among us, and I thought altogether 
 that I had rather remarkably the sympathy and unity 
 of the Church. I accompanied dear Mary Dudley into 
 the men's meeting, which was a very awful service, 
 but best help was very near; and I believe 'the word 
 in season,' proved to the peculiar comfort and edifica- 
 tion of the meeting, at least so we understood from 
 others. Since Yearly Meeting I have been much 
 driven, much to do, many after me. 1 think I never 
 have been made so much of in large companies, while, 
 if brought into pubHc on account of benevolent objects, 
 the utmost attention has been paid to me from all in 
 authority — from princes, archbishops, &c., to people 
 of almost every rank, ' the righteous compassing me 
 
l820] NEWGATE 32 1 
 
 about.' As far, however, as I know my own heart, I 
 never was less disposed to exaltation, having my own 
 deep, inexpressibly deep causes of humiliation." 
 
 Joseph John Gurney to Hannah Buxton. 
 
 ^^ Earlham^ May 2, 1820. — My tenderly beloved 
 sister, though I feel that I can do nothing to help 
 thee (unless it be to continue watchful in prayer for 
 thee and thine), yet I must again write to say how my 
 heart bleeds with thine and thy dearest husband's. It 
 seems that we must be brought to give up our darling 
 love also.^ But our sorrow may be a little checked 
 (as I feel mine to be at this moment) by the inquiry 
 'to whom do we give her up?' The answer is plain. 
 We are not giving her up to the prince of the power 
 of the air, we are not giving her up to darkness and 
 death, or to a grave over which there is no victory. 
 We are giving her up to the Lord Jesus, who 
 bought her with His blood, whose own she is, who 
 loves her with even a deeper and sweeter love than 
 ours, and who can alone make her perfectly and 
 everlastingly happy. How comforting it is to think 
 of the union of thy little ones before the throne of 
 glory. Truly may we say ' Of such is the kingdom of 
 heaven.' 
 
 " Let us, dearest sister, endeavour under these severe 
 losses to dwell more constantly upon this delightful 
 thought, which is presented to us by no cunningly 
 devised fable, but of which the real existence rests 
 upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, 
 
 ^ A child who died the same day. 
 VOL. I. V 
 
322 THE GURNEYS OF EARLHAM [1820 
 
 Jesus Christ Himself being tlic cliicf corner-stone. 
 When we reflect on our Lord's stupendous miracles, 
 on the fulfilment of prophecies, on the unequivocal 
 evidence of the authenticity and inspiration of Scrip- 
 ture, on the blessed fruits of faith, on the internal 
 power of the religion we profess to cleanse the heart 
 and to bring man into true conformity with his 
 Maker, we must acknowledge that both the outward 
 understanding and the spiritual mind are most satis- 
 factorily convinced that Christianity is true. Now, 
 as certain as it is that Christianity is true, so certain 
 does it appear to me to be that the translated ones 
 are enjoying pleasures unspeakable and eternal at the 
 right hand of God. Ah ! my love, if these things be 
 so, art thou not more than willing to suffer all thy 
 sorrow for the increase of their ]oy ? My most hearty 
 desire is that we may all be brought into this state of 
 little children, which is so acceptable to our Creator, 
 into that simplicity, purity, sweetness, and dependence 
 of spirit which thou hast been permitted to behold so 
 eminently brought forth in thy own dear children as 
 they were ripening for heaven and advancing through 
 their short tribulation into glory. My dearest, deepest 
 love is with thee and Fowell." 
 
 In the autumn of 1820 Mr. and Mrs. Buxton, 
 with their four remaining children, left H amp- 
 stead, and went to reside at Cromer Hall, near 
 many of their family. 
 
 An interesting account remains by an eye- 
 
l82o] NEWGATE 323 
 
 witness of Mrs. Fry's teaching in Newgate 
 during this year of 1820/ 
 
 '' Mrs. Fry entered the room, and having courteously 
 spoken to those whom she knew, and pohtely noticed 
 all, a table was placed and a Bible laid upon it ; and 
 when she had directed the first bell to be rung, she 
 and her friends took their seats, having the visitors 
 behind and around them, and rows of forms in front 
 (rising like an amphitheatre), for the prisoners to sit 
 upon. The first bell was to give notice to the prisoners 
 to get ready. On the second ringing they began to 
 enter, and were directed by the matron of the prison to 
 sit as closely as possible. They came in in a very 
 orderly manner, quietly and respectfully, and took 
 their places with great decorum. All were tidily 
 dressed, in a close and neat manner, their caps clean 
 and well put on, and some of them with an air which 
 showed that they had been accustomed to pay atten- 
 tion to their apparel. When all the prisoners were 
 assembled, their appearance rendered some effort neces- 
 sary to recollect that these were convicts ; but remem- 
 brance was aided by the strong iron bars which 
 guarded the windows, and which reminded us that we 
 were in Newgate. The prisoners were of all ages, 
 from eighteen to sixty, and in number about seventy. 
 
 " The visitors, and the ladies who generally accom- 
 panied Mrs. Fry, were together about fort}^, and the 
 great majority of them females. 
 
 ''When the little bustle occasioned by seating and 
 
 ^ " An Hour in His Majesty's Gaol of Newgate on Friday the 22nd 
 December 1820." 
 
324 THE GURNEYS OF EARI.IIAM [1820 
 
 endeavouring to close still more, to make room for all, 
 had subsided, there succeeded a short, but an almost 
 awful silence. The eyes of the prisoners were fixed 
 on Mrs. Fry. Those of the visitors were fixed on the 
 prisoners, but all seemed waiting in the stillness of 
 anxious expectation. Doubtless the feelings of the 
 visitors were greatly heightened during this silence by 
 the contemplation which the mind could not avoid on 
 seeing a collection of persons convicted of transgres- 
 sions, condemned by the law, under forcible restraint, 
 and awaiting their further punishment, the sentence 
 pronounced on some of them being deaths on others 
 banishment from the land of their nativity. 
 
 " The silence was at length broken by that mild voice 
 which the prisoners had often heard. Mrs. Fry began 
 to read from the Bible. She had selected the twelfth 
 and thirteenth chapters of the Epistle to the Romans. 
 While, with distinct articulation, she dwelt upon the 
 more important words, every hearer appeared affected. 
 Tiie convicts showed their interest by their eyes fixed 
 upon the reader, and their anxiety by their heads bent 
 forward to meet the sound. When she had finished 
 the chapters, which she read slowly, she remained for 
 a few seconds perfectly silent, and the silence was as a 
 silence which might be felt. 
 
 " She then addressed them. She told them that 
 though the apostle addressed the chapter to his 
 brethren, yet in that word their sex [pur sex, she said) 
 was included. Females were equally besought to pre- 
 sent themselves a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable 
 unto God, and such sacrifice was a most reasonable 
 service. And, lest the word sacrifice might not be 
 
l82o] NEWGATE ^2$ 
 
 understood by some, the apostle had made it clearly 
 intelligible when he told them in the following verse 
 that this sacrifice so acceptable to God was presented 
 when they were not conformed to this world, but were 
 transformed by the renewing of their minds. When 
 that was the case, humility would prevent any from 
 thinking more highly of themselves than they ought to 
 think, and would teach them to think soberly, accord- 
 ing as God had dealt to each their measure of faith. 
 It would show itself in love without dissimulation ; in 
 abhorring that which is evil, in cleaving to that which 
 is good ; by diligence in the performance of personal 
 duty ; by fervour of spirit when serving the Lord ; by 
 rejoicing in hope ; by patience in tribulation, and by a 
 persevering constancy in prayer. She urged upon those 
 present the Divine precepts — 'Bless them who persecute 
 you, bless and curse not. Recompense to no man evil 
 for evil. Provide things honest in the sight of all men. 
 If it be possible, as much as lieth in you, live peace- 
 ably with all men.' 
 
 '' She added, with a tone of persuasion which I shall 
 not easily forget — 
 
 " * Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather 
 give place unto wrath ; for it is written. Vengeance is 
 mine, / will repay, saith the Lord. Therefore if thine 
 enemy hunger, feed him; if he thirst, give him drink; 
 for in so doing thou shalt heap coals of fire on his 
 head. Thus shall your kindness melt them from their 
 anger to kindness in return. '' Be not overcome there- 
 fore of evil, but overcome evil with good." ' 
 
 '' She touched upon the duty as well as advantage 
 of ' every soul being subject unto the higher powers. 
 
326 THE GURNEYS OF EARLIIAM [1820 
 
 which arc ordained of God to be ministers of God for 
 good to those who do good, but to execute wrath upon 
 them that do evil.' She showed them the comprehen- 
 siveness of the saying, ' Love worketh no ill to his 
 neighbour, and that therefore love is the fulfilling of 
 
 the law.' 
 
 *' She reminded them, and included herself in the 
 acknowledgment, that all had partaken of the tender 
 mercies of that God, who, like as a father pitieth his chil- 
 dren, pitieth those who fear Him. ^ We are all/ said 
 she, ' receiving constantly of His mercy ; we have bread 
 to eat, and raiment wherewith we are clothed ; nor are 
 spiritual mercies and provisions sparingly dealt out to 
 us ; we have line upon hne, and precept upon pre- 
 cept, here much, and there much. God's love is over 
 all, for He has so loved the world that He gave His 
 well-beloved Son to die for our sins. Thus there is 
 hope for ally even for the greatest offenders, for those 
 who have gone the greatest lengths in iniquity. 
 Through gratitude, therefore, should all present to God 
 the living sacrifice, which is the most reasonable ser- 
 vice.' 
 
 " In the most plain and affecting manner, she stated 
 how much, during the reading of the latter verses of 
 the last chapter, her own mind had been impressed 
 with the words, ' Knowing the time, that it is high time 
 to awake out of sleep ; for now is our salvation nearer 
 than when we believed.' She again pronounced with 
 striking emphasis—' The night is far spent, the day is 
 at hand ; let us therefore cast off the works of dark- 
 ness, and let us put on the armour of light. Let us 
 walk honestly, as in the day; not in rioting and 
 
l820] NEWGATE 327 
 
 drunkenness, not in chambering and wantonness, not in 
 strife and envying ; but put on the Lord Jesus Christ, 
 and make not provision for the flesh to fulfil the lusts 
 thereof.' 
 
 " ' What a dreadful thing it would be,' she continued, 
 whilst many of her audience were in tears, ' to continue 
 sleeping this sleep of death till roused to agony by the 
 moment of dissolution, the day of judgment ! ' She 
 reminded them that indeed the awful day was at hand, 
 and urged them even now to put on the Lord Jesus 
 Christ. 
 
 "At the moment when she ceased her exhortation, 
 the solemnity of the scene became touching beyond 
 any power of description. The visitors, absorbed in 
 reflection on their personal interest in these great 
 truths, forgot the circumstances of the convicted ; and 
 it may be well believed that the prisoners forgot visi- 
 tors. It became a silent meeting for some time, only 
 interrupted by sobs. 
 
 " Mrs. Fry then read the whole of the thirty-ninth 
 Psalm, and again permitted a little time to elapse that 
 the minds of her hearers might receive the impression 
 which that Psalm is calculated to make respecting the 
 precariousness of life and the true importance of the 
 Divine blessing. 
 
 '* Mr. Sheriff Williams then addressed the prisoners, 
 and then the women retired in as quiet and orderly a 
 manner as they had entered." 
 
VIII 
 
 THE reai'e:ks were the angels 
 
 '* Jcsu, spes poenitentilnis, 
 Quam pius cs petentibus ! 
 Quam bonus te quaerciilibus ! 
 Sed qtiid iiiveuieiitibiis ! " 
 
 Latin Hymn, 
 
 Rachel Gurney was much with the Hoares at 
 this time, and attended the Rev. Josiah Pratt's 
 Church of England service, to which her mind 
 became daily more conformed. In the summer 
 of 1820 she was privately baptized in Harrow 
 Church by Mr. John Cunningham ; a step she 
 never regretted. Elizabeth, Mrs. Fry, and 
 Priscilla Gurney were now the only members of 
 the Earlham sisterhood who continued to be 
 " Friends." 
 
 In the spring of 1821, though greatly occu- 
 pied in a time of strong mercantile excitement, 
 Samuel Gurney found time to watch personally, 
 with Mrs. Fry, over the removal of his fading 
 sister Priscilla to the Buxtons' house of Cromer 
 Hall. To his wife he writes : — 
 
 " Thou wilt have heard from Rachel of our safe 
 
 328 
 
l82l] THE REAPERS WERE THE ANGELS 329 
 
 arrival here. We had been a Httle doubtful whether 
 it might not have proved too great an excitement to our 
 dear Priscilla. The contrary proved the case, and I 
 think it rather tended to revive her. As far as the 
 circumstances of the case admitted, Betsy and I had a 
 very pleasant journey. 
 
 '^ Thou wilt have heard that Priscilla has a good deal 
 revived from the very low state in which she was a 
 few days ago, which has enabled her, and us also, to 
 value being together much more than we could have 
 done a short time since. She appears to enjoy our 
 sitting with her quietly, and occasionally reading or 
 entering into conversation among ourselves. 
 
 " Notwithstanding the uncommon calmness that per- 
 vades her mind, she has many deep baptisms to pass 
 through : not that she has any apprehensions as to the 
 future, but more, I think, as to the close and near ties 
 she has to leave. She told Louisa the other day that 
 the prospect of a return to Hfe was attended with much 
 more conflict than that of death. For myself, I have 
 felt refreshed and have slept well, although having left 
 London at a critical moment has given me some pain ; 
 not that I doubt the propriety of my coming under the 
 information I then had ; and I must, therefore, leave 
 matters to take care of themselves. Indeed, it some- 
 times happens they do best by themselves, and work 
 their own way better than we can for them. 
 
 ''Dear Priscilla continues very calm and peaceful, 
 and much values my company, which is generally of the 
 quiet sort, as she prefers it and it suits her." 
 
 Rachel Gurney joined Priscilla at Cromer 
 
330 THE GURNEYS OF EARLHAM [1821 
 
 Hall, and from that time entirely devoted her- 
 self to her suffering sister, of whom Amelia 
 Opie had written, '' I hope that warm weather 
 and great care will make this faint bird of 
 paradise tarry amongst us some time longer," 
 while she depicted her in the lines — 
 
 " That hazel eye, to whose soft beams was given 
 To charm on earth by looks which spoke of heaven ; 
 That firm, full lip, with glowing crimson fraught, 
 Which shed new beauty on the truths it taught ; 
 The auburn hair, which, parted on thy brow, 
 Bestowed new whiteness on its lurid snow." 
 
 From Cromer Rachel wrote : — 
 
 ^^ Jati. 14, 182 1. — This has been a day of no common 
 value in a visit from dear Joseph. We had a little 
 meeting in Priscilla's room, in which the spirit of 
 prayer was poured forth. Joseph prayed for all of us 
 as a family, going through the different members ac- 
 cording to their estate. It was an occasion of deep 
 solemnity in drawing near to God and to each other, 
 and much thanksgiving was mingled with our supplica- 
 tions, especially for the varied mercies bestowed upon 
 dearest Priscilla in the various steps of her pilgrimage, 
 in which her hght has been made to shine for the good 
 of others and the glory of God. Joseph prayed that, 
 having been as a family so bountifully dealt with in 
 spiritual and temporal things, we might all be kept 
 humble and singly devoted to our Lord. He afterwards 
 spoke to us upon the nature and efficacy of the work 
 
I82l] 
 
 THE REAPERS WERE THE ANGELS 
 
 331 
 
 of grace in the soul, and Priscilla concluded these 
 ministrations by a most affecting but encouraging 
 address and exhortation to Fowell, now again entering 
 upon his parhamentary duties. . . . Priscilla said that 
 she had never been more sensible than at this time of 
 the voice which said ' Peace, be still ! ' To her doctor 
 
 H .-2 ' 
 
 
 OLD CROMER HALL. 
 
 on his last visit she said that she had all that Hfe 
 could give in the wa}^ of outward blessings, and ifiuch 
 more than life could give y 
 
 Priscllla's only earthly anxiety had seemed to 
 be that she miorht live till the return of Richenda 
 
332 Till-: GURNKYS OF KARLHAM [182I 
 
 and Francis Ciinnini^liani from the Continent. 
 Mrs. Cunnino-Ham writes : — 
 
 ^^ Feb. 20, 1 82 1. — Priscilla wished to see us imme- 
 diately on our arrival. During our separation of ten 
 months she had been sinking more and more, and I now 
 found her in the last stage of decline, with scarcely 
 a trace of what she was. Yet the precious life was 
 spared to us for six weeks after our return, during 
 which I was able to unite with my sisters in ministering 
 to her comfort." 
 
 Joseph John Gurney writes : — 
 
 " {Majxh 31.) — Seventh day was indeed a memorable 
 one. Priscilla was evidently herself the whole day, 
 seemed to enter into what was read to her, and received 
 the ministry of her brothers and sisters, especially that 
 of Powell. The thirteenth of the ist Corinthians was 
 read, and the enduring nature of true love dwelt upon. 
 She in vain endeavoured to address Powell, but could 
 not speak. She offered her hand to different individuals 
 repeatedly, in token of love, to me sweetly, amongst 
 the rest. About half-past nine in the evening, we were 
 all summoned into the room, as there were increased 
 appearances of approaching death. Solemn and sweet 
 was the time we then passed together. Prayer and 
 thanksgiving were offered. Our dear sister Fry, won- 
 derfully strengthened in faith and empowered by the 
 Spirit, addressed the dying beloved one in a strain of 
 confidence and assured encouragement, as it were, 
 
l82l] THE REAPERS WERE THE ANGELS 33 3 
 
 helping her over the waters of Jordan.^ In the course 
 of the opportunity Priscilla c-learly smiled, and repeat- 
 edly and distinctly pronounced the word ' Farewell.' . . . 
 I sat up with her during the night. It was a night 
 of dying. About nine, we were all again assembled 
 with her, and whilst our sister Fry was in the act of 
 commending her into the hands of her God and Father, 
 one gentle sigh closed the awful yet peaceful scene ! " 
 
 Mrs. Fry narrates : — 
 
 "We were all by her when her prepared spirit left 
 the body, and a sweet time it was. After commend- 
 ing her to the Lord, my brother Joseph quoted these 
 words : — 
 
 ' One gentle sigh the fetters breaks, 
 We scarce can say they're gone 
 Before the willing spirit takes 
 Its station near the throne.' 
 
 "Catherine expressed her firm behef that she was 
 one of the blessed who died in the Lord. Rachel, 
 after a time, uttered a few words in thanksgiving for 
 her, and prayed for us who remain." 
 
 A relation present wrote to one of Mrs. Fry's 
 dauorhters : — 
 
 " I never can lose sight of that group, the cluster of 
 sisters, the perfect stillness, the sacred and assured 
 peace — not a sob reached the ear, but exquisite ten- 
 derness pervaded the whole. Your mother prayed, 
 
 1 Joseph John Gurney's Journal says :—" Her elevated spirit was 
 indeed teaching and uplifting, to the glory of her God, who alone has 
 made her what she is." 
 
3 34 'T^'^- GURNEYS OF EARLIIAM [1821 
 
 returned thanks to the Saviour, and committed her dying 
 sister, and then the family, fervently and unreservedly 
 into God's keeping." 
 
 After Priscilla's death Amelia Opie wrote the 
 lines beginning — 
 
 " There is a spot in life's dark scene 
 Which oft with willing steps I tread ; 
 It is yon still, sequestered green 
 Where sleep the nameless, tombless dead. 
 There, underneath that elm's soft shade. 
 Now waving in the zephyr's breath, 
 Beloved Priscilla, thou art laid. 
 Within the grassy home of death. 
 I would not call thee back again, 
 To this dark world, unworthy thee ; 
 Faith bids my heart that wish restrain. 
 Yet, oh, how vast thy loss to me ! " 
 
 Formerly, the Quaker graves in the Gilden- 
 croft had no tombstones or epitaphs, but a 
 record was preserved in the Meeting-house of 
 the exact spot where each member was buried ; 
 but about twenty years since the family placed 
 tombstones to all the different members of the 
 house of Gurney who lie there — seed sown to 
 immortality from many generations, about sixty 
 in number. Gildencroft is a wide oblong field, 
 with an avenue of limes down the middle, and 
 closely surrounded by the dingy houses and 
 red roofs of the town. The Gurney family 
 
l82l] THE REAPERS WERE THE ANGELS 33 5 
 
 occupy the farther end of the burial-ground, 
 and their tombs, like those erected to their 
 connections the Aggs, Geldarts, and Birkbecks, 
 have no ornaments, and merely their names 
 with dates of birth and death. Outside the 
 wrought-iron gates of the burial-ground is 
 the Meeting-house, a handsome brick build- 
 ino- with hio-h roof and lar2:e windows, which 
 looks as if it had been transported bodily from 
 Holland. 
 
 We find Rachel Gurney writing : — 
 
 ^^ Rtincton^ March 29, 1821. — How solemn is the 
 pause that succeeds the last breath of the departed. 
 As I think of our dear Priscilla, I fervently desire to 
 attain a further resignation of her to God, and a more 
 realising faith in her blessed change, mindful of her 
 bright example in life and conduct, and stimulated to 
 follow it, according to the measure of the gift of God." ^ 
 
 Catherine Gurney to Hannah, Mrs. Buxton. 
 
 " Earlham, May 20, 1 82 1 . — I need scarcely say to 
 thee how much I have felt parting with you all. Your 
 going has been a true pain to me for some time past. 
 My strongest affection and interest has been excited 
 for you all, and the separation is much more than tem- 
 porary separations usually are to me. I have always 
 thought that life separations are more trying in many 
 
 ^ A Memoir of Priscilla Gurney by Susannah Corder appeared in 
 1856. 
 
3 36 THE GURNEYS OF EARLHAM [182I 
 
 respects than those of death — the exposure to all pains 
 and sorrows of life aggravating every loss. I cannot 
 say how very truly I sympathise in all thy pains, my 
 dearest Hannah, nor how sorrowful it really makes me 
 to have thee exposed to suffering, of whatever kind it 
 may be. All this passes within me far more than I 
 can express to thee. No affliction ever came quite so 
 near to me as thine, or dwelt so long in my heart. It 
 has cast the most of a damp for me on earthly enjoy- 
 ment of anything that has ever happened to us. 
 
 '' In the case of our recent loss (in Priscilla) I feel the 
 gain infinitely beyond the privation. Read her whole 
 history ; it is impossible to my mind not to be sensible 
 of this — the infinite gain to her, and the loss, compara- 
 tively light, to each individual — a loss divided amongst 
 numbers, and not overwhelming in its nature like those 
 in married life. 
 
 " My thoughts have followed thee continually, my 
 dearest, and I trust London does not look and feel very 
 oppressive. Let me hear as often as it is comfortable 
 to thee to write. I think our last fortnight, since 
 Tacey's visit, and during Powell's, except from being 
 on the eve of 3^our going, the happiest we have ever 
 had here. It has been a particular comfort to me to 
 feel so happy with Fowell and have a very lively sense 
 of his kindness and great generosity to us. I always 
 say he is one of the very few whose generosity, in all 
 respects, meets our very highest expectations ; and his 
 whole character delightfully displays the progressive 
 work of religion in his heart." 
 
 On returning to London from her sister's 
 
l82l] THE REAPERS WERE THE ANGELS 33/ 
 
 death-bed, Mrs. Fry continued to labour un- 
 ceasingly for the reformation of prisons and the 
 abolition of capital punishment. Of the former 
 she wrote : — 
 
 " I am anxious that a few things which would greatly 
 tend to the order and reformation of these poor women, 
 and protect their little remaining virtue, should become 
 established practices, authorised by Government, and 
 not dependent upon a few individuals, whose life and 
 health, and everything else, are so uncertain." 
 
 On the 23rd of May 182 1, Sir James Mackin- 
 tosh brought forward his motion " for mitigating 
 the severity of punishment in certain cases of 
 forgery, and the crimes connected therewith." 
 Sir Samuel Romilly had, with the exception 
 of Lord Nugent and a very few others, stood 
 almost unsupported in the Lower House ; now 
 the contest had become nearly equal, and Sir 
 James Mackintosh's Bill was lost by a very 
 small majority. It was on this occasion that 
 Mr. Buxton delivered his famous speech upon 
 capital punishment. 
 
 Maria Edgeworth describes a visit to New- 
 gate in the following year : — 
 
 *^ Jlfarc/i 1822. — Yesterday we went by appointment 
 to Newgate. The private door opened at sight of our 
 
 VOL. L Y 
 
■t 
 
 38 THE GURNEYS OF EARLllAM [1822 
 
 tickets, and tlie great doors, and tlic little doors, and 
 the thick doors, and doors of all sorts, were unbolted 
 and unlocked, and on we went tlirough dreary but 
 clean passages, till we came to a room where rows 
 of empty benches fronted a table on which lay a 
 large Bible. Several ladies and gentlemen entered 
 and took their seats at either side of the table, in 
 silence. 
 
 " Enter Mrs. Fry in a drab-coloured silk cloak and 
 plain borderless Quaker cap ; a most benevolent coun- 
 tenance — Guido-Madonna face — calm, benign. * I must 
 make an inquiry — Is Maria Edgeworth here ? and 
 where ? ' I went forward ; she bade us come and sit 
 beside her. Her first smile as she looked upon me 
 I can never forget. 
 
 "The prisoners came in, and in an orderly manner 
 ranged themselves on the benches. All quite clean, 
 faces, hair, caps, and hands. On a very low bench in 
 front little children were seated ^nd were settled by 
 their mothers. Almost all these women, about thirty, 
 were under sentence of transportation, some few only 
 were for imprisonment. One who did not appear was 
 under sentence of death. Frequently women when 
 sentenced to death become ill, and unable to attend 
 Mrs. Fry; the others come regularly and volun- 
 tarily. 
 
 " She opened the Bible, and read in the most sweetly 
 solemn, sedate voice I ever heard, slowly and distinctl}^, 
 without anything in the manner that could distract 
 attention from the matter. Sometimes she paused to 
 explain, w^hich she did with great judgment, addressing 
 the convicts, ^ ive have felt; we are convinced.' They 
 
1 822] THE REAPERS WERE THE ANGELS 3 39 
 
 were very attentive, unaffectedly interested, I thought, 
 in all she said, and touched by her manner. There 
 was nothing put on in their countenances, not any 
 appearance of hypocrisy. I studied their countenances 
 carefully, but I could not see any which, without know- 
 ing to whom they belonged, I should have decided was 
 bad; yet Mrs. Fry assured me that all these women 
 had been of the worst sort. She confirmed what we 
 have read and heard, that it was by their love of their 
 children that she first obtained influence over these 
 abandoned women. When she first took notice of one 
 or two of their fine children, the mothers said that if 
 she could but save their children from the misery they 
 had gone through in vice, they would do anything she 
 bid them. And when they saw the change made in 
 their children by her schooling, they begged to attend 
 themselves. I could not have conceived that the love 
 of their children could have remained so strong in 
 hearts in which every other feeling of virtue had so 
 long been dead. The Vicar of Wakefield's sermon in 
 prison is, it seems, founded on a deep and true know- 
 ledge of human nature — 'the spark of good is often 
 smothered, never wholly extinguished.' 
 
 " Mrs. Fry often says an extempore prayer ; but this 
 day she was quite silent while she covered her face 
 with her hands for some minutes : the women were 
 perfectly silent, with their eyes fixed upon her, and 
 when she said, * You may go,' they went away slozvly. 
 The children sat quite still the whole time, and when 
 one leaned, the mother behind set her upright. 
 
 " Mrs. Fry told us that the dividing the women into 
 classes has been of the greatest advantage, and putting 
 
340 THE GURNEYS OF EARUIAM [l822 
 
 thcni under the care of monitors. There is some little 
 pecuniary advantage attached to the office of monitor 
 which makes them emulous to obtain it. 
 
 *' We went through the female wards with Mrs. Fry, 
 and saw the women at various works — knitting, rug- 
 making, &c. They have done a great deal of needle- 
 work very neatly, and some very ingenious. When I 
 expressed my foolish wonder at this to Mrs. Fry's 
 sister, she replied, ' We have to do, recollect, ma'am, 
 not with fools, but with rogues. 
 
 } » 
 
 Elizabeth Fry's Journal. 
 
 ^^ Plashet, Dec. 14, 1822. — I yesterday for the first 
 time since my lying-in went to London and visited 
 Newgate. My greeting there w^as warm from the 
 prisoners. Friends of the committee and I felt peace- 
 ful there, and I think I may say afresh sensible that 
 the work was not ours, that in tender mercy we had 
 first been brought there, and I had to crave a blessing 
 on our labours, and also to acknowledge the tender 
 mercy of our God as our Saviour and Deliverer. But 
 a fear arose, and I think not without ground, that 
 when on my knees, sobbing and tears of those present 
 excited in me the natural part, and diverted me in a 
 measure from the pure gift, so that thus pouring forth 
 my soul in prayer was neither so much to my comfort 
 nor relief as sometimes." 
 
 Joseph John Gurney, outwardly engrossed 
 throughout the week by business concerns, had 
 
ELIZABETH, MRS. FRY 
 After Leslie 
 
1822] THE REAPERS WERE THE ANGELS 34 I 
 
 been often absurdly reproached by ''Friends" 
 with the "want of unity " existing between this 
 and his ministerial life (of public preaching), to 
 which he had fancied himself ''called" in 1818. 
 He had written : — 
 
 ^^ {J Illy 8, 1 82 1.) — I suppose my leading object in 
 life may be said to be the bank. It sometimes startles 
 me to find my leading object of such a nature, and 
 now and then I doubt whether it is quite consistent 
 with my religious pursuits and duties. I remember, 
 however, that it has been the allotment of Providence ; 
 that I was introduced into the business in obedience 
 to my father in early life ; that my religious pursuits 
 have found me in this situation, and that hitherto the 
 two things have not proved incompatible. It is, how- 
 ever, a very serious thing to be so largely engaged in 
 the cares and transactions of money matters. It calls 
 for real watchfulness against avarice, against a careful 
 spirit, and against worldliness in various forms. It is 
 much my desire that, should it be the will of my 
 gracious Leader and Commander entirely to divert my 
 attention at any time from this object, that will may 
 be made known to me and some opening for escape 
 given. While I am a banker, the bank must be 
 attended to. It is obviously the religious dut}^ of a 
 trustee to so large an amount to be diligent in watch- 
 ing his trust. 
 
 *' My ' overseership ' in Norwich Meeting ; my 
 ministry' ; both are interesting to me. It is a great com- 
 fort, inexpressibly- so, that this ministry is not at my 
 
342 THE GURNEYS OF KARLHAM [l822 
 
 own command ; tliat it comes and goes ; that 1 can 
 neither stop it, nor set it going." 
 
 ** A Letter to a Friend on the Authority, 
 Purpose, and Effects of Christianity, and especi- 
 ally on the Doctrine of Redemption," was pub- 
 lished by Joseph John Gurney, and obtained 
 a wide circulation, several hundred thousand 
 copies being distributed. 
 
 In June 1822, his wife, Jane Gurney, died 
 after a very short illness. To the Bishop of 
 Norwich he wrote : — 
 
 ^^{Jiine 10, 1822.) — I have this morning parted with 
 my dearest earthly treasure, and have bid her God 
 speed to the heavenly regions, where Christ dwelleth 
 in His glory. One short week has marred my fond 
 and pleasant pictures. My dearest wife on this day 
 week was attacked by violent pleurisy, and is now 
 numbered with the dead — may I not rather say with 
 the living? — with those who, like her, have placed a 
 firm trust in their omnipotent Redeemer, and who 
 have faithfully endeavoured to serve Him — ' Therefore 
 are they before the throne of God.' It has been to 
 me a time of the deepest anguish and conflict of 
 mind, but at times the storms have all been hushed 
 by that Divine power of which I have indeed experi- 
 enced the healing virtue, and on which it will, I 
 humbly trust, be my endeavour to wait all my life 
 long." 
 
1822] THE REAPERS WERE THE ANGELS 2)43 
 
 Jane Gurney ^ was buried in the Gildencroft, 
 where Joseph John had lately laid her two 
 sisters-in-law, his own sister, Priscilla Gurney, 
 and his first cousin, Jane, wife of her brother, 
 Henry Birkbeck. 
 
 1 The fine old copy of BufFon at Earlham, which belonged to 
 Mirabeau, was left by Bartlett Gurney to his cousin Jane Birkbeck, 
 afterwards the first wife of Joseph John Gurney. 
 
 END OF VOL. I. 
 
 Printed by Bali.antyne, Hanson & Co. 
 Editiburgh and London 
 
929.2 
 G966 
 
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 COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY LIBRARIES 
 
 0315023672 
 
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