of many distinguished superior officers, who all of them predicted disaster for Sir Arthur Wellesley when pitted, as he was at that time of which my father spoke, against the most renowned marshals of Napoleon; and that Sir John Malcolm, who was present, was alone in maintaining that wherever Wellesley might lead, victory would ensue. It should be kept in mind that Malcolm had good reasons for forming this judgement, since Boy Malcolm,' as he was called, was the first secretary to the commission appointed to divide the conquered territory of Tippoo after Seringapatam had been stormed, when a young colonel bearing the name of Arthur Wellesley, who was in command of the Nizam's troops, greatly distinguished himself. What did the good people of Newport think in those days. about their member? The English people-neither Whig nor Tory, but independent men, holding their own opinions of right and wrong, and always great on great occasions—soon learned to understand that there could be no peace with Buonaparte. Probably the majority of the inhabitants of the Isle of Wight felt the same, and were hearty supporters of Wellington and his brave army. It was reserved for the illustrious poet whom the Isle of Wight may claim as her own -Lord Tennyson-to commemorate in English verse that will for ever live the great soldier who has kept us free.' Posterity has pronounced its verdict upon the Duke of Wellington 'Mourn for the man of amplest influence, Yet clearest of ambitious crime; Our greatest, yet with least pretence; May 21, 1887. WALTER FARQUHAR HOOK, D.D., AND HIS LIFE AT WHIPPINGHAM, A.D. 1821-1826. THE Isle of Wight may fairly claim Walter Farquhar Hook as one of her notable men. Although the island was not his birthplace, the 'great parish priest,' as he was called, had a stronger affection for the Garden Isle than most of her natives. When my friend and relative, the late Professor Freeman, Regius Professor of Modern History at Oxford, was on one occasion a visitor at the Vicarage, Carisbrooke, I remember his receiving a letter from the Dean of Chichester, in which occurred words to the following effect: 'So you are staying in the Isle of Wight. In earlier years it was my heart's desire to make my home in the island, and now in my old age I am within reach of my beloved island and can even see its outline from the windows of the Deanery. Few persons realize so nearly the dreams of their youth.' Such was Hook's uniform language about his former home in the island, both in conversation and in writing, as may be seen in the very well written biography of him by Mr. Stephens. My object is to confine myself to the few facts which may be gathered up of this good man's six years spent at his curacy of Whippingham. His father, who held other preferment, was also Rector of Whippingham. In the summer of 1821, at the prescribed age of twenty-three years and a half, Walter Farquhar Hook was ordained as his father's curate at Whippingham. He had received his education at Winchester School and at Christ Church, Oxford. At neither of these two famous seats of learning was he happy, nor did he achieve success. Winchester in those days, with its schoolboy code of tunding, and at top of hall,' was a very rough training for those manners' which, according to the admirable motto of William of Wykeham, the bishop-founder of the two Colleges of St. Mary, Winton, in Winchester and in Oxford, 'makyth man.' Oxford was much better in this respect, but young Hook, who through the influence of the Prince Regent had obtained a Christ Church studentship, was out of touch alike with its studies, pursuits, and amusements. He was an earnest student of Shakespeare especially, and of Walter Scott, and of Miss Austen's delightful novels. These sources of English undefiled, coupled with the devout reading of our version of the Bible, were in after years of the utmost service in strengthening his judgement and in contributing to the manly and dignified style of his writings, but at the time they did him no good in the examination schools. Like a man very different to himself both in disposition and in religious views, Mr. Mark Pattison, Hook's natural shyness and reserve stood in the way of his making college friendships. His university career had as little influence over him as over so many others. The ordinary undergraduate gossip about Oxford work, Oxford politics, Oxford amusements, finds no place in the letters he writes to his mother. The only Oxford honour he desired was the Newdigate prize for English verse, and in that he was beaten by Mr. Howard, afterwards Lord Carlisle. The real scaffolding upon which his character was to be raised was put up in a far humbler spot than Oxford. Whippingham, for the Royal Palace of Osborne was of course not then built, was only an ordinary Isle of Wight village. It was one of the old parishes given by William Fitz Osborn to the Abbey of Lyra, and was bounded on the north by the sea as far as King's Quay creek, by Wootton on the east, by the river Medina on the south, and by Arreton on the west. Of this widespread parish, which at that time included East Cowes, W. F. Hook was practically curate-in-charge, and was often the only inmate of the Rectory for weeks and months together. Here he began to expand and grow intellectually and morally. His constitutional aversion to social intercourse was gradually rubbed off. His quick, choleric temper, his fits of melancholy, his tendency in many ways to impulsiveness and eccentricity, were kept in check by the wholesome restraint of a settled occupation and work in life. While thoroughly enjoying this seclusion and independence, he availed himself of the hospitality of the neighbouring houses, and was a welcome guest, more especially at Northwood, the residence of Mr. Ward, and at Norris Castle, the seat at that time of Lord Henry Seymour. Quiet English country scenery had always a charm for him, and he enjoyed it to the full in the Isle of Wight. An early bath in the Medina, which flows at the foot of the hill on which the pleasant Rectory-house and its picturesque grounds are situated, study from the early morning till the beginning of the afternoon, visits to his parishioners, evenings spent with his kind and friendly neighbours, or in the society. of his dearly beloved Shakespeare, or Walter Scott, or Miss Austen; rambles prolonged on summer nights till almost early dawn to listen to the nightingale, or to watch the silvery light of the moon on the river or the sea; these formed the ordinary incidents of his daily life. They formed a marked contrast in their calm and sweet repose to the turmoil and excitement in smoky manufacturing cities that were in store for him in his after life. Often in later years did he pine for the tranquillity of his Whippingham days, and look forward to the time when he might retire to some peaceful home in or near the Isle of Wight. A letter to his mother, dated Whippingham, May 2, 1822, will give a better picture of his feelings than any words of his biographer: 'My dearest mother,-This is not Whippingham, it is Paradise. I think all the birds of England are on a visit to the island; at least, I will be bound to say that you never heard such a choir as we have here.' During all these six years at Whippingham he was an industrious student, laying up vast stores of knowledge, which were of the utmost value to him throughout the rest of his life. In order to ensure complete privacy he had a little wooden hut erected near the corner of the churchyard, in which he used to read, according to an elaborate course of study which he had laid down for himself, and which may be read in Dean Hook's Life, by Stephens, vol. i. pp. 64-65. He once asked his uncle, the well-known Theodore Hook, what he should call this study. I should call it "Walter's Cot" was the not very brilliant reply of that ever-ready punster. 'As,' writes his biographer, 'he always looked back on Whippingham with gratitude for the leisure it had afforded him to lay deep the foundation of his theological and historical learning, so also did he regard his residence there as the period in which, more than any other, he had acquired 'I the pastoral tone of his mind, and formed the pastoral habits of his life.' His own testimony confirmed this statement of Mr. Stephens. I say without hesitation,' he writes, long after he had been Vicar of Leeds, 'that the very worst training in life which a man can have is that which he receives if appointed early in life to a town parish. The strong pastoral feeling is generated in the country, and I attribute what little success I have had entirely to my country breeding.' How well his pastoral duties were performed at Whippingham may be shown by a single fact. No direct and separate provision had been made for ministering to the wants of the people of East Cowes. Here Hook obtained the use of a sail-loft, in which he held an evening service on Sundays. His zeal was happily well supported by his youthfulness and considerable bodily strength, and he seldom, if ever, complained of fatigue. One very hot evening however in June, 1825, he arrived at Northwood rather weary and exhausted after his service in the sail-loft. His friend, Lord Henry Seymour, happened to be there and proposed that a chapel of ease should be built at East Cowes-a practical suggestion, which not long after, though not in Mr. Hook's time, was carried into effect. The friendship of Walter Farquhar Hook with the Ward family continued long after his departure from Whippingham, and indeed was unbroken till the end of his life. To that intimacy I am indebted for my own personally slight acquaintance with this excellent specimen of a true-hearted Englishman and clergyman of the National Church. When in midsummer, 1874, Northwood Church was restored, mainly by the liberality of Miss Ward and her generous, large-hearted sisters, it was proposed to Miss Ward that no fitter person could be asked to preach the sermon at the opening service than her friend of early days, who was then Dean of Chichester. The mistress of West Hill, with her accustomed promptness and willingness to oblige, at once wrote to him. The result was his compliance with her request that he should be her guest. A large party was invited to meet the Dean at dinner on the day before the opening services at Northwood were to take place. My wife and I were among those who had the honour of an invitation, |