Memoirs of the Rev. Samuel Parr
Ch XXIII.
CHAPTER XXIII.
Biographical notices of some of the more distinguished scholars of Norwich
School—Headley—Tweddell—Monro—C.
J.
Chapman—Maltby—Howes—Goddard—B.
Chapman—Trafford
Southwell—Sutcliffe, &c.
Of the pupils of Dr. Parr
at Norwich, who afterwards rose to honourable distinction in the literary world, tenderly
respectful is the mention due, in the first place, to the name of a young and an
accomplished scholar—the late Henry
Headley—in whom strength of understanding, refinement of taste,
extended and various knowledge, combined with amiable and virtuous dispositions, and with
correct and dignified conduct, to form a character, of which the intellectual and the moral
excellence admirably supported and adorned each other.
His father, an intelligent clergyman, the faithful pastor of a retired
village, who discerned the superiority of his son’s talents, sent him, at an early
age, to Norwich School. Here he became a good, if not a great scholar; and hence, with a
mind inspired with the love, and enriched with the stores of literature, he removed to
Oxford. He entered of Trinity College; and regularly proceeded to his degree of A. B. Young
as he was, he soon appeared as an author; and he had no cause, in the many pages which he
wrote, to implore, in consideration of his youth, the indulgence of his
readers. Even his first productions would stand the test of critical examination; and if
such he was, in his youthful bloom, what would he not have been in the full maturity of
age?
He was a contributor to a periodical work, on the plan of the Spectator, entitled, “Olla Podrida.” For several years he was a correspondent
of the Gentleman’s Magazine; and gained
much applause by an elegant volume of original poetry. But his fame chiefly depends upon
his two volumes of “Select Beauties of
Ancient English Poetry, with Remarks.” By these selections, he has opened
to his countrymen a source of pleasing gratification, in the unaffected simplicity and the
tender pathos of some of their earliest bards; and, in his own remarks, he has every where
exhibited proofs of a pure taste and a discriminatory judgment. The first of his admired
works he published, when he had just entered his twentieth year; and before he had
completed his twenty-third, he was no more!—a short life, if estimated by the number of its
days; but not so, if measured by progress in mental improvement and literary honour.
“Quantum ad gloriam longissimum ævum
peregit.”
He formed an attachment to a lady, in which his hopes were disappointed;
and he afterwards married very unhappily. Whilst grief, from this twofold source, preyed
upon his mind, he was attacked by pulmonary disease, to which he was constitutionally
disposed. All the symptoms of a rapid decline soon appeared, and he was advised to try the
effect of a warmer climate. He went abroad with the usual hope, and returned with the usual
disappointment. His last illness was long and distressing; but he
passed through the period of suffering, and closed it, with a happy tenor of mind—desirous
of life, yet not fearful of death. At length the deciding moment came; and with meek
submission of his own to a higher will, be resigned his mortal existence, November 16,
1788.
His memory has been fragrantly embalmed by the muse of Mr. Bowles; and the following sketch of his character is
feelingly drawn by the pen of Mr.
Beloe:—“Here let a tribute of the tenderest affection and respect
be paid to the memory of one of those ‘bright gems,’ whose lustre was too
soon (alas! how soon!) obscured in ‘the dark unfathomed caves’ of death.
He, who employs the pen, in delineating his character, knew him in his boyish days;
witnessed the earliest dawn of his genius; viewed his progress with delight and
astonishment; occasionally aided his literary labours; remarked, also, with no common
anguish, the approach of that incurable malady, which finally and abruptly hurried him
to the grave.”1
A name of no faint lustre next appears on the list of Dr. Parr’s pupils, in that of the accomplished
Tweddell.2 He was born,
June 1, 1769, at Threepwood, near Hexham, in Northumberland; and was educated under the
tuition, first of the Rev. Matthew Raine, at
Hartforth School, in the
1 Sexagenarian, vol. i. p. 172. 2 Pause on the tomb of him who sleeps within: Fancy’s fond hope, and Learning’s favourite child, |
|
North Riding of Yorkshire; and afterwards of Dr.
Parr, as the writer supposes, at Norwich. The rich endowments of the mind,
committed to his charge, were early discovered, and skilfully cultivated, by the first of
these excellent preceptors; and his plans were pursued and completed, with no less skilful
care, by the second. Perfected in all the preparatory learning of Greece and Rome,
Mr. Tweddell went to Cambridge, and entered of Trinity College.
Here academic honours gathered thick around him; and within the short period of four years,
he gained seven university, and three college prizes! The compositions, in Greek, Latin,
and English, thus marked with pre-eminence, by the literary judges of Cambridge, when
afterwards published, with the title of “Prolusiones Juveniles,” obtained the praises of all the eminent scholars,
both of his own and of foreign countries. Leaving Cambridge, Mr.
Tweddell entered himself a student of the Middle Temple; but soon
relinquished the study of law for other pursuits, more agreeable to his wishes; and in the
autumn of 1795, he set out on his foreign travels.
Having passed through several countries of Russia, Germany, and
Switzerland, and visited some of the islands in the Archipelago, he arrived in Greece, and
fixed his residence at Athens. Here, for four months, he was diligently occupied in
exploring and in delineating, both with his pen and his pencil, the remains of art or
science, to be found amidst its venerable ruins. It is impossible to look into the
correspondence, published under the title of his “Remains,” without seeing every
where displayed, the energies of a powerful, and reflecting mind,
united with the sympathies of a benevolent and feeling heart; exquisite purity of literary,
accompanied with no less purity of moral taste; an ardour panting equally after
intellectual and virtuous excellence; and an uncommon capacity at once for that close and
concentrated attention, which draws knowledge from books, and for that quick and varied
observation, which collects it from the survey of men and things. But the hopes, which so
much high promise had excited, were doomed to be mournfully disappointed. Returning to
Athens, from a tour in Northern Greece, Mr. Tweddell
was seized with a fever, common in that climate, which, on the fourth day, terminated
fatally. He died July 25, 1779, and was buried in the Temple of Theseus, now converted into
a Christian church.1 On a white marble stone, placed over his
grave, is inscribed a “beautiful epitaph,” written in Greek by the
Rev. Robert Walpole, of Canon Abbey, near
Norwich.2 It was known that Mr. Tweddell
had amassed large and valuable materials for publication; but, to the surprise and the
regret of his friends and the public, all these disappeared, in a way, which has never yet
been satisfactorily explained.
When intelligence of an event, so distressing to every lover of learning
and the arts, first reached
1 ——— Rest, loved youth, In thine own Athens laid! Secure of fame While worth and science win the world’s applause. |
2 See Tweddell’s Remains, p. 14. |
him, Dr. Parr was at Cambridge:
and in a letter to a common friend, dated November 19, 1799, he thus gives utterance to the
deep-felt sense of his own loss, and to his sympathy with the deeper sorrows of
others.—“Oh! Mr. Losh, my heart sank
down within me, when I read the melancholy tale in a provincial newspaper; and I was
quite unable to fix my thoughts steadily to the subject; and to believe an event,
which, if true, must blast so many of my fairest prospects, in that portion of
existence, which is reserved for me.”—“Soon after my arrival at
Hatton, I will write a letter of consolation to the afflicted father. You may assure
him, that no man ever esteemed his son more unfeignedly, ever respected him more
deeply, ever loved him more fondly than myself. I cannot calculate my own loss: and in
the sorrows of those, to whom he was so near, I sympathise with all my heart and all my
soul.”
An honourable name to be recorded among the pupils of Dr. Parr—though the writer is doubtful whether at Stanmore
or at Norwich—is that of Peregrine
Dealtry, Esq. of Bradenham, near High Wycombe: of whom the
following biographical Memoir was written by Dr. Parr
himself:—
“He was the son of the late Dr.
Dealtry of York, a physician highly esteemed by Boerhaave, to whom he had been pupil; and intimately
acquainted with the late Mr. Mason, by whom his
talents and virtues are recorded in a very elegant epitaph, which is engraven on
Dr. Dealtry’s monument in York Cathedral.
“Mr. Dealtry was educated
by the Rev. Dr.
Parr; and from the time of his leaving school to
the very hour of his death, lived with him, upon terms of the most sincere regard and
most unbounded confidence.
“This excellent man was at Ryde, in the Isle of Wight, at the
time of his decease, on the morning of Thursday, September I, 1814. He had complained
of a slight indisposition, on the preceding evening; not of such a nature as to excite
any serious concern in himself or his friends. But when his servant entered his
chamber, on the following morning, he found him a corpse.
“Mr. Dealtry, who was
usually mentioned among his numerous friends by the name of Perry
Dealtry, was a gentleman of very amiable character. His manners were
simple and unassuming, without the smallest foppery or parade. None of the varied lines
of affectation, or of vanity, ever discoloured any part of his conduct. The good which
he did, and he did much, was done without any view to publicity, or any of the common
stimulants of ostentation. His mind had not been very laboriously cultivated; but he
was far from being wanting in discrimination; and he possessed much sterling good
sense, without any of the glitter of superior illumination. He never made any
pretensions to literature; but in fact his knowledge was more extensive than it
appeared to a casual observer; and his remarks often indicated sagacity, and
reflection.
“He was a steady friend to civil and religious liberty; and in
earlier life had mingled a good deal with men, whose politics were of a less sober
temperament than his own. Mr.
Dealtry loved liberty, as a practical good; in the enjoyment of which
all orders of the state had a common interest. He could think for himself, and had
opinions of his own; but he never evinced any narrow-minded antipathy to persons, whose
sentiments were opposite to those, which he espoused. He could bear and forbear; hence
his company was uniformly acceptable. His fortune was ample; and he knew how to observe
the right medium between parsimony and extravagance. There was one virtue in which he
particularly excelled, and it is not of every day’s occurrence in these
times—this was hospitality. But he was not hospitable by fits, or for the occasional
gratification of his own pride. His table, which was emblematical of his beneficent
disposition, was never scantily supplied. There was always an abundance of viands, and
of the best quality, without any profuseness or ostentation. No man was ever more happy
to see his friends; no one entertained them, with more unfeigned cordiality. The
stranger saw the good-humoured complacency of his host and soon felt himself at home,
in his house. In short, he was a man made up, not of showy ingredients, but of all the
bland elements. The several good qualities, which constitute a gentle master, a kind
neighbour, a warm friend, and a tender relative, were his in no ordinary degree. And
the tears which will bedew his grave, are those which are the constant homage of the
heart to a character of genuine worth.”
Among the pupils of whom Dr. Parr
often spoke
with much affectionate esteem, was the Rev. Thomas Monro, nephew of the
late and cousin of the present eminent physician of that name;—a name, the honours of which
he has himself well supported, though in a different profession,1
by his attainments and his virtues. “He was an admirable scholar,” says
Mr. Beloe, “and the delight of all who
knew him.”2 After completing his course of study,
under his learned preceptor at Norwich, he went to Oxford, and was admitted of Magdalen
college. He greatly distinguished himself, whilst at Oxford, by the share which he took in
the “Olla Podrida,” a periodical
work of considerable merit, before alluded to: of which a second edition appeared in 1788.
His coadjutors in that work were Bishop Horne,
Mr. Greaves, author of the Spiritual Quixote, Mr.
Headley, Mr. Kett, and some others.
With the ardent love of literature, it may seem strange to tell, that he united an almost
equally ardent love of fox-hunting. To this last circumstance he probably owed his
introduction to the friendly notice of Lord Maynard: by
whom he was presented to the valuable rectory of Eyton Magna in Essex. Here he constantly
resided; intermingling with the duties of the sacred office, and those of private tuition,
the pursuits of useful and elegant literature.
Besides the contributions to the “Olla Podrida,” Mr.
Monro is the author of the following works—“Essays on Various Subjects”—“Modern Britons”—“Spring in London”—and, in
conjunction with Mr. Beloe, he
gave to the English public a “Translation of the Epistles of Alciphron;” an ancient writer, of whom
little is known; but whose work Mr. Monro pronounces to be “the production of an
elegant mind and a vigorous imagination.”1
It is darkly and insidiously hinted, rather than fairly stated, by the
“Sexagenarian,”2 who was then Dr. Parr’s assistant teacher at Norwich, that one of
his pupils, in consequence of something in the treatment, which he received from his
master, “at which his generous and manly mind revolted,” suddenly
disappeared from school. The insinuation, there is too much room to apprehend, was
“set down in malice:” it is, at least, entirely unsupported by fact,
if the following statement, given on the high authority of Dr.
Butler, is to be believed:—“The boy’s disappearance from
school was owing to no previous cause of complaint whatever; but entirely to the
persuasions of another, who was disposed to run away, and who wanted a companion. He
soon returned; confessed his fault; was restored to his place without the slightest
punishment; and ever afterwards proved himself a diligent, dutiful, and grateful
pupil.” This youth, seriously wrong only in this one act, grew up into the
wise and the virtuous man, and subsequently became the amia-
1 Another learned and sagacious critic seems to have
estimated the merits of this work at a lower rate. “As an ancient writer,
Alciphron deserves to be
perused,” says Dr. Jortin;
“but whoever expects much entertainment, will be
disappointed.” 2 Vol. i. p. 180. |
ble and exemplary clergyman. He respected and loved his master, as
long as he lived; and owed to him, through the whole course of life, many important
obligations, which he always felt and acknowledged. It can be no discredit to his memory,
to add the name of the Rev. Thomas Monro.
Another of Dr. Parr’s
much-esteemed pupils, and afterwards his friend and correspondent, was the late Rev. Charles John Chapman,
B.D., who, for twelve years was the under minister, and for twenty-two years the upper
minister of St. Peter’s Mancroft in Norwich. Benevolent in his heart, and upright in
his conduct, mild in his temper, and amiable in his manners, he obtained, and he deserved,
the respect blended with the love of all those, with whom he associated, or to whom he was
known.
Faithful in the discharge of his clerical duties, he entitled himself to
the esteem and the gratitude of his parishioners; who testified the just sense they
entertained of his merits, by the unanimous choice, which raised him from the lower to the
higher station in their church. Besides pecuniary contributions, his beneficence took the
nobler form of personal services, directed to the interest of all the great public
charities, established in the ancient city of which he was a denizen. All these owe to him
obligations, which cannot easily be estimated, and will not soon be forgotten.
After finishing his studies, under the care of his learned preceptor, whom
he ever revered as his friend, as well as his tutor, he went to Cambridge, and was admitted
a member of Corpus Christi
college. He took his degree of B.A. in
1789, and regularly proceeded M.A. and B.D. In 1792 he entered on the duties of his sacred
office in Norwich; and to the good opinion of his fellow-townsmen he was indebted for the
only preferment which he ever obtained. He died April 28, 1826, in the fifty-eighth year of
his age.
On the list of Dr. Parr’s
pupils, a distinguished name next occurs in that of he Rev. Edward Maltby—eminent as a scholar and as a
divine; who has deservedly obtained high preferment in that church to which he belongs, and
which be adorns. Of those, who have received the benefit of Dr.
Parr’s instructions, it would be difficult to name any one, who has
reflected upon him greater honour; and it will not be thought surprising that the mutual
attachment of such a tutor and such a pupil, should have ripened into a sincere friendship,
and constituted the source of mutual happiness through the course of life. Their views on
all the great subjects of literature, morals, and theology, and of civil and ecclesiastical
polity, very nearly assimilated; and, in the same noble spirit of religious liberality,
both alike participated. Honoured with a token of remembrance, he is characterised in the
“Last Will” of Dr. Parr, “as his beloved pupil
and friend, the very learned Dr. Maltby.”
Of the valuable works, by which Dr.
Maltby has already benefited the learned, and instructed the religious
world, the principal are the following: A new edition, corrected and enlarged, of
“Morell’s Lexicon Græco-Prosodiacum”—“Illustra-
tions of the Truth of the
Christian Religion”—“Sermons,” in 2 vols. 8vo.
Of the first of these, Dr. Parr
often spoke in terms of high approbation, as a work of profound erudition, and of laborious
investigation; in all respects worthy of his pupil, and which would not have been unworthy
of himself.—Of the second, Dr. Parr once conveyed his opinion to the
writer in nearly the following words: “What! have not you read Maltby’s Illustrations? Then get the book. You will be
delighted with it. It is replete with sound learning, strong sense, and just reasoning.
Its piety is pure, and its charity perfect. You will find your own friends treated, as
they ought to be, with great respect, as good scholars and good Christians. Even the
infidels are refuted, but never abused.”—Of the “sermons,” Dr. Parr
considered the theology to be that of the English church, in its best times. There is in
them, he said, no “evangelical mysticism”—no “methodistical
jargon;” but all is pure Christianity, as it appeared to him, exhibited in
all its beauty and all its energy. As compositions, he thought the style clear, vigorous,
and impressive; though not often touched with pathos, yet always animated with the fervour
of strong feeling, and with the eloquence of deep and solemn conviction. Upon the whole, it
was his opinion, that the church has produced no sermons of superior, and few of equal,
merit, since the days of Clarke, Sherlock, Jortin,
and Balguy.
With the following short enumeration of some respectable names, which have
come to the writer’s
knowledge, the present account must close.
The Rev. Francis Howes, author of a “Translation of Persius,” and of a
volume of “Poetical Translations from
various Grecian and Roman writers;” Rev. B.
Chapman; Rev. L. Robinson; Rev. —
Hasnall, Rev. — Sutcliffe, Sigismund Trafford Southwell, William Dalrymple, Thomas Norgate,
Philip M. Martineau, and John Pitchford, Esqrs. Most of these are mentioned in
Dr. Parr’s “Will,” “as
his excellent pupils and friends,” to whom he bequeaths rings, “as a small
token of his affectionate regard.”
Alciphron (200? fl.)
Greek sophist and letter-writer; nothing is known of his life.
Thomas Balguy (1716-1795)
The son of John Balguy (1686-1748); educated at Ripon and St John's College, Cambridge,
he was archdeacon of Winchester (1759) and a friend William Warburton and Richard
Hurd.
William Beloe (1758-1817)
Educated under Samuel Parr and at Corpus Christi College, Cambridge, with Robert Nares he
conducted of
The British Critic, and was author of
Anecdotes of Literature and Scarce Books (1806-12) and
The
Sexagenarian (1817), an autobiography containing portraits of his contemporaries
under concealed names.
Herman Boerhaave (1668-1738)
Professor of botany and medicine at the University of Leiden from 1709.
William Lisle Bowles (1762-1850)
English poet and critic; author of
Fourteen Sonnets, elegiac and
descriptive, written during a Tour (1789), editor of the
Works
of Alexander Pope, 10 vols (1806), and writer of pamphlets contributing to the
subsequent Pope controversy.
George Butler (1774-1853)
Educated at Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge, he succeeded Joseph Drury as headmaster at
Harrow after a contentious election (1805) and was dean of Peterborough (1842-1853).
Benedict Chapman (1770 c.-1852)
The son of Charles Chapman of Norwich; after study under Samuel Parr at Norwich he
attended Caius College, Cambridge where he was fellow (1792-1820). He was rector of Ashdon,
Essex (1818-52)
Charles John Chapman (1770 c.-1826)
After study under Samuel Parr at Norwich he attended Corpus Christi College, Cambridge
and was minister of St Peter Mancroft, Norwich (1792-1804, 1805-26).
Samuel Clarke (1675-1729)
English theologian and Newtonian philosopher whose
Scripture Doctrine
of the Trinity (1714) provoked the charge of Arianism.
William Dalrymple (1772-1847)
English surgeon educated at Norwich under Samuel Parr; he practised at the Norfolk and
Norwich Hospital from 1812. He was the father of the surgeon John Dalrymple (d.
1852).
John Dealtry (1708 c.-1773)
A York physician; William Mason wrote an epitaph to his memory: “Here o'er the tomb
where Dealtry's ashes sleep....”
Peregrine Dealtry (1762 c.-1814)
Of Brandenham House, the son of John Dealtry, MD, of York; he was a pupil and friend of
Samuel Parr, a man of means, and a political radical.
Richard Graves (1715-1804)
Educated at Pembroke College, Oxford, he was a clergyman, poet, translator, and author of
the popular novel,
The Spiritual Quixote (1773).
Henry Headley (1765-1788)
English poet and critic educated under Samuel Parr at Norwich and at Trinity College,
Oxford, where he was a friend of the Wartons; he published
Select
Beauties of Ancient English Poetry (1787).
George Horne, bishop of Norwich (1730-1792)
High-church clergyman educated at University College, Oxford where he was vice-chancellor
(1776-80); he was bishop of Norwich (1790). His commentary on the Psalms was reprinted into
the nineteenth century.
Francis Howes (1776-1844)
Classical scholar educated at Norwich grammar school under Dr Samuel Parr and at Trinity
College, Cambridge. He published
Miscellaneous Poetical Translations
(1806) and a translation of Persius (1809).
John Jortin (1698-1770)
English divine, philologist, and critic; he published
Remarks on
Spenser (1734); his essays were collected as
Tracts,
Theological, Critical and Miscellaneous (1790).
Henry Kett (1761-1825)
Educated at Norwich grammar school and Trinity College, Oxford, he was a college fellow,
poet, Bampton lecturer, and author of textbooks.
James Losh (1763-1833)
Educated at Trinity College, Cambridge, he was a barrister on the Northern Circuit,
philanthropist, editor of Milton's
Areopagitica, and friend of
Wordsworth. Southey described him as “coming nearer the ideal of a perfect man than any
other person whom it has ever been my good fortune to know.”
Edward Maltby, bishop of Durham (1770-1859)
Educated under Parr at Norwich and at Pembroke College, Cambridge, he was preacher at
Lincoln's Inn (1824-33), bishop of Chichester (1831) and of Durham (1836-56). Sydney Smith
described him as “a thoroughly amiable, foolish, learned man.”
Philip Meadows Martineau (1752-1829)
Of Bracondale Lodge; a wealthy Norwich surgeon and member of the Octagon Chapel, he was
the uncle of Harriet Martineau. Henry Herbert Southey studied medicine with him.
William Mason (1725-1797)
English poet, the friend and biographer of Thomas Gray; author of
Odes (1756),
Elfrida (1752), and
The
English Garden (4 books, 1772-81).
Thomas Monro (1764-1815)
Educated at Colchester and Norwich under Dr Samuel Parr, and at St Mary Hall and Magdalen
College, Oxford (where he edited
Olla Podrida), he was a clergyman,
essayist, and translator.
Thomas Morell (1703-1784)
Educated at Eton and at King's College, Cambridge, he was a clergyman, poet, classical
scholar, and librettist for Handel.
Thomas Starling Norgate (1772-1859)
Educated at Norwich under Samuel Parr, New College, Hackney, and Lincoln's Inn, he was a
Norwich acquaintance of the Aikins and William Beloe who wrote for the
Monthly Magazine and
British Critic.
Samuel Parr (1747-1825)
English schoolmaster, scholar, and book collector whose strident politics and assertive
personality involved him in a long series of quarrels.
John Pitchford (1772 c.-1839)
The son of the botanist John Pitchford (1737–1803), he was educated at Norwich under
Samuel Parr and at St. Omer, and was a chemist and political radical in Norwich where he
contributed to
The Cabinet (1795).
Matthew Raine (1760-1811)
Educated at Charterhouse and Trinity College, Cambridge, he was a clergyman, book
collector, and headmaster of Charterhouse where he succeeded Samuel Berdmore in
1791.
Sigismond Trafford Southwell (1762-1827)
Of Wroxham Hall, Norfolk, the son of Sir Clement Trafford (d. 1786) and Lady Jane
Southwell; he was educated under Samuel Parr at Norwich, at Emmanuel College, Cambridge,
and at Lincoln's Inn; he was high sheriff of Norfolk in 1817.
Robert Sutliffe (1768 c.-1840)
Educated at Norwich under Samuel Parr and at Corpus Christi College, Cambridge, he was
rector of Lambourne, Essex (1815-40).
John Tweddell (1769-1799)
After study under Samuel Parr he was educated at Trinity College, Cambridge where he was
an acquaintance of John Wishart and John Heys; he was a radical acquaintance of William
Godwin who died in Athens, where Byron afterwards laid a stone at his grave.
Robert Walpole (1781-1856)
Educated at Charterhouse, Merton College, Oxford, and Trinity College, Cambridge, he was
a classical scholar, Greek traveler, and author of
Comicorum Graecorum
fragmenta (1805). Maria Edgeworth described him as ”a tall, dark-eyed, fine,
fashionable-looking man.”
The Gentleman's Magazine. (1731-1905). A monthly literary miscellany founded by Edward Cave; edited by John Nichols 1778-1826,
and John Bowyer Nichols 1826-1833.
The Spectator. (1711-1714). Essays from the
Spectator, conducted by Addison and Steele, were
collected in five volumes and frequently reprinted.