All the preferment, which Dr. Parr had hitherto obtained, consisted of the rectory of Waddenhoe, worth about 120l. a year, and the prebendary of St. Paul’s, at that time of only nominal value. But in 1801, he received an offer from Lord Chedworth of the living of Winterbourne, in Wiltshire, entirely without any solicitation on his part, and accompanied with the most respectful and obliging expressions, on the part of his Lordship. As that living was of no higher value than Waddenhoe, and not tenable with it, after due consideration, he thought proper to decline the generous offer. In a letter, written on this occasion, he thus gave utterance to the feelings of a grateful heart:—
“My Lord—I tell you the real sentiments of my soul, when I declare
to you, that scarcely any event of my life gave me such exquisite delight, or so much
honest pride, as I felt from the perusal of your Lordship’s letter. To the last
moment of my existence, I shall remember your Lordship’s
| 422 | MEMOIRS OF THE |
But whilst he thus declined for himself the offered gift, at the same time, he ventured to propose, to the benevolent consideration of his noble friend, the case of a neighbouring clergyman—by whom, indeed, the intended patronage was scarcely less deserved, and by whom it was even more needed. Thus he continues:
“It is with mingled feelings of reluctance and confidence, that I
venture to throw myself upon your candour, for excusing the very great and very
| LIFE OF DR. PARR. | 423 |
| 424 | MEMOIRS OF THE |
The writer is delighted to record that he was himself honoured with a place in the friendly regards of the excellent clergyman, the late Rev. James Eyre, whose case is here so feelingly described; and he is gratified to bear his testimony to the merits which are here, with so much fond affection, depicted. But the strength of understanding, the integrity of principle, the ardour in the pursuits of useful learning, and the activity in the discharge of laborious duties, ascribed in this letter to Mr. Eyre, were accompanied, it may be truly added, with fervour in a high degree of conjugal and parental affection, with a noble candour of sentiment towards those of differing opinions, and with an uncommon warmth of kind and generous feeling towards all men. Nor is it the least part of his due praise to add yet further, that, under straitened and trying circumstances, he always maintained that independence of spirit, and the dignity of deportment, which mark the gentleman, and adorn the clergyman.
| LIFE OF DR. PARR. | 425 |
It will give pleasure to the reader to be told, that the appeal so delicately and so forcibly urged, in the above letter, proved successful. Early in July, 1801, Mr. Eyre was inducted into the living of Winterbourne; and the kindness of the patron was properly and gratefully acknowledged in a letter, from which the following is an extract:—“Be assured, my Lord, that to the last hour of my life, I shall remember with joy your intended patronage of myself, and your noble protection of the man whom I recommended to your favour. He, his wife, his children, his relations, his well-wishers, and eminently among them the writer of this letter, will often recollect, and often pronounce with heartfelt satisfaction, the honoured name of Lord Chedworth.”
By this generous act of seasonable and well-directed patronage, Mr. Eyre found the path of life considerably smoothed; and
yet it was still to him a rugged and difficult path. With a family of ten children, he
possessed no adequate means of providing for their suitable maintenance during life, and
none of making provision for their support at his death. It is deeply to be deplored that,
whilst enormous revenues are assigned to the higher and the dignified clergy, of which the
influence must be seriously injurious to their character as ecclesiastics; the laborious,
and by far the most useful and important members of the clerical body are, in too many
instances, left exposed to all the hardships of abject poverty. A more equal distribution
of its ample funds would be a most wise and happy measure for the church,
| 426 | MEMOIRS OF THE |
Early in 1813, Mr. Eyre died,1 and was soon followed to the grave by his beloved wife, and, within no long time, by several of his children. Those that survived were, with his usual ardour and activity-of benevolence, received by Dr. Parr into his protection; and were all of them furnished by him, or through his intercession, by his friends, with the means of gaining an honourable support. In his will he has bequeathed to them legacies to a considerable amount.
The late Lord Chedworth, whom from this time Dr. Parr proudly regarded as his patron and his friend, possessed very considerable powers of mind, happily cultivated by early education and subsequent study; and with these were united many of the best qualities of the heart. But his conduct was marked with so many strange peculiarities, as
1 “On Friday last, March 13, 1813, died, in his 65th year, the Rev. James Eyre, master of the free-school at Solihull. This most respectable man was equally distinguished by the solidity of his understanding and the benevolence of his heart. In his death, society has sustained a very great, and his numerous family an irreparable loss. S. P.”—Warw. Advertiser, &c. |
| LIFE OF DR. PARR. | 427 |
On an issue from the Court of Chancery, the question was tried, and the
validity of the will confirmed, by the verdict of a jury, with the full concurrence of
Lord Ellenborough, the judge. Subsequently,
however, a new trial was moved for, before the Lord Chancellor
Erskine, on the ground of an affidavit, sworn to by Dr. Parr, declaring his firm belief “that the late
Lord John Chedworth, with great talents,
attainments, and virtues, united an understanding, not completely sound; and that an
hereditary propensity to insanity was increased by some unfortunate events of his
life.” But the affidavit produced no effect; the motion for a new
| 428 | MEMOIRS OF THE |
In the course of these proceedings Dr. Parr was exposed to many severe reflections, in consequence of some letters, written by himself to Lord Chedworth, and produced and read at the trial, which contained many complimentary expressions on his Lordship’s intellectual powers and literary acquirements, and which were supposed to give a direct contradiction to the statements of the affidavit. In reality, however, there was no inconsistency in the case; since it is well known that the finest minds are subject to the saddest derangements; and that mental obliquity, in one respect, is often found to be compatible with the full and vigorous exercise of the understanding in others.
Among the letters produced on this occasion, was one in which Dr. Parr expresses to Lord
Chedworth his desire of possessing some memorial of his friendship;
suggesting that a piece of plate, with a suitable inscription, would be such a memorial as
would be most of all acceptable to him. For this letter he became, though with little
reason, the object of ridicule to some, and of censure to others. It is, indeed, certain
that he was delighted to receive such testimonies of the esteem
| LIFE OF DR. PARR. | 429 |
On occasion of Lord Chedworth’s gift, Dr. Parr was charged with another offence—that of
1 These, from their late learned possessor have passed, by his gift, into the possession of another learned divine, Dr. Butler, of Shrewsbury. |
| 430 | MEMOIRS OF THE |
But though Dr. Parr could not avail himself of the kind intentions of Lord Chedworth, by accepting the living of Winterbourne, another proposal soon followed, from Sir Francis Burdett, which led to happier results. This was the generous offer communicated in the subjoined letter:—
|
1 “Condignum donum quali st qui donum dedit.”—Plaut. 2 “Condignum donum qual st cui dono datu est.”—Plaut. 3 Appendix, No. VI. |
| LIFE OF DR. PARR. | 431 |
“Sir,—I am sorry it is not in my power to place you in a situation which will become you—I mean in the episcopal palace at Buckden; but I can bring you very near to it. For I have the presentation of a rectory, now vacant, within a mile and a half from it, which is very much at Dr. Parr’s service. It is the rectory of Graffham, at present worth 200l. a year; and, as I am informed, may soon be worth 270l. a year; and I this moment learn that the incumbent died last Tuesday.”—“Dr. Parr’s talents and character might well entitle him to a better patronage than this, from those, who know how to estimate his merits. But I acknowledge that a great additional motive with me to the offer I now make him is, that I believe I cannot do any thing more pleasing to his friends, Mr. Fox, Mr. Sheridan, and Mr. Knight; and I desire you, Sir, to consider yourself as obliged to them only. I have the honour to be, with the greatest respect, &c.
The grateful acceptance of a gift so entirely unsolicited and unexpected, is conveyed in the following letter:—
“Dear Sir,—After rambling in various parts of Norfolk, I
went to Cambridge, and from Cambridge I yesterday came to the parsonage of my
most respectable friend, Mr. Maltby, at
Buckden, where I this morning had the honour of receiving your letter.
Mrs. Parr opened it last Friday at
Hatton; and I trust you will pardon the liberty she took in desiring your
servant to convey it to me in Huntingdonshire, where she knew that I should be,
as upon
| 432 | MEMOIRS OF THE |
| LIFE OF DR. PARR. | 433 |
In November, 1802, Dr. Parr went to take possession of his new rectory; of which, writing to his friend, Mr. J. Parkes of Warwick, he gives some account in the following letter:
“Dear Sir,—I thank you for the trouble you have, with
your usual kindness, taken in adjusting matters with Colonel
P—; and I am sure that you were very right in not writing for my
approbation or opinion—approbation, dear John, you could not fail to deserve and to obtain; and as to
opinion, any I might form would have been of little value, in opposition to
your own.”—“Last week I knelt before a bishop for institution; I
rang a bell upon induction; I read the Morning and Evening Services, with the
salutary appendages of Articles, &c. &c. Having now
| 434 | MEMOIRS OF THE |
But the possession of this new benefice did not induce Dr. Parr to think of leaving his favourite residence at
Hatton; nor did even the offer of a still more valuable preferment, which occurred a few
years afterwards. This was the living of Buckingham, which, in the summer of 1808, was
tendered to his acceptance, by his kind and faithful friend, Mr.
Coke, of Holkham. It is a living of much higher value than either that of
Waddenhoe or Graffham; and might have been held in conjunction with one, but not both of
them. The writer well recollects Dr. Parr’s making a long
morning visit at Leam, for the express purpose of conversing on the subject of this new,
and in many respects alluring, offer: when all the reasons which, after much deliberation,
determined him to decline it, were carefully examined and weighed. These
| LIFE OF DR. PARR. | 435 |
In a pecuniary point of view, indeed, further preferment was now become less necessary to Dr. Parr, as, about the year 1804, he was entitled to the full profits of the prebendal estate, to which he had been so long looking. Thus exulting in the prospect of a happy independence, during the closing years of his life, he wrote to Lord Chedworth, in a letter, dated from Cambridge, March 18, 1803:—“You will be glad, aye, my Lord, you will be very glad to hear that part of my errand to London, was to make arrangements about a prebendal estate, which, next year, will come into my possession, and which will add considerably to the comfort of my declining life. I am much harassed by business, and sorely afflicted with a cold. I am vexed at not having seen you here, during my stay. It is an awful time; but I have not abandoned all hopes of peace,” &c.
Though, at a subsequent period, the value of this prebendal estate was much
increased by the sale of land, at a high price, to the Regent Canal Company, as already
mentioned; yet, in consequence of allowing the tenant the large sum of 400l. a year for buildings and improvements, the whole amount was received by
Dr. Parr, only during about the five or six last
years of his life. By a
| 436 | MEMOIRS OF THE |
| ≪ PREV | NEXT ≫ |
