annual meeting will be, God willing, on Wednesday, August 25th, by which time, or rather a few days before, it will be necessary that your son be here. I shall receive him with the sincerest Christian affection; and sincerely wishing you increasing comfort in him, and that you may both be great and lasting blessings to the church of Christ, I subscribe myself, though unknown, Your affectionate friend and brother, C. EVANS. Mr. and Mrs. Kinghorn had, it seems, the pleasure of their son's company for two months, during which Mr. Pendered, in his wedding tour, paid them a visit. Joseph appears to have started on Tuesday, August 17th, for Bristol, and to have arrived there on the Friday following. He wrote as follows on Saturday. DEAR FATHER AND MOTHER, Bristol, August 21st, 1784. After I left you I got very well to York, but when there could not get an outside passage; however, there being no remedy, I took an inside place, and got well to Leeds, and was very civilly received by J. Hopper (who, with his wife and son, were very well). The coach that goes to Birmingham goes by way of Sheffield, and in the night. But I could only take a place to Sheffield, they told me some lies at the inn or else I should hardly have attempted what I thought of. I went by the coach from Leeds on Tuesday evening about seven o'clock, outside, and expected to reach Sheffield about the time the Birmingham coach set off, and so have gone straight forward, (being very fresh and not sleepy;) but it proved otherwise, for they had put in a horse at Barnsley who proved incapable of doing what they required, and about three miles off Sheffield, going down a hill, down he fell; we all got off and out, and walked to town; in number nine. By this means it was four o'clock in the morning when we got to the inn, and the Birmingham coach was gone. Here I was fairly nonpluss'd; I staid till six o'clock, considering the matter, then a coach from London came in with a single gentleman; he being very hungry wanted his breakfast; I being in the same case, we breakfasted together, I then entered my box to come by the Birmingham coach the next day, and taking my pack and wide coat, away I walked, thinking that better than staying there, and walked to an inn where the coach changes horses on the road, eight miles south JOURNEY TO BRISTOL. 67 of Chesterfield, and fourteen miles from Derby; about twenty miles from Sheffield. Here I staid all night, got a very good sleep, to make up for sitting up the night before, and took the coach in the morning (outside) and got to Birmingham that night; this was Thursday, and on Friday arrived here. As soon as I got to the inn I called a porter to take my luggage and conduct me to Mr. Evans'. I delivered your letter to him, he received me very kindly. We had not changed many words before Mr. Evans turned the conversation upon Mr. Pendered's marriage; he had heard of it from Mr. Langdon, and Mr. Hall asked me many questions concerning Mrs. P-, as, who was she? was it Miss Patten? was she pretty? was she gay y? had she fortune? was she younger than he? &c., &c. I answered in the best way I could. I desire to be thankful for the mercies received, which are very great; I was favoured with fine weather, and preserved safe, and am here very well. I found but two students here, and I am the first this season; and now I just offer a few remarks on the country. Derbyshire is a very pleasant county, excessively hilly; where it is fertile, uncommonly pleasant, where not so, very barren and worthless; and the roads through it are a scandal to the nation. A part of the shire is a flat country. Derby is a very good town; Litchfield is a very clean place, and so on, but lifeless.* Birmingham is a famous town; from Worcester to Gloucester is exceeding pleasant, abounding in fruit. Apples and pears grow all over, in fields and hedges and everywhere. The corn in general ripe, part cut, part standing, and part led away; a tolerable crop in general. My Expenses. Fare outside, (except from York to Leeds inside,) And I have now £6 2s. 1d. besides my aunt's crown-piece. I hope the above will give satisfaction. Wishing you every blessing for time and eternity, I rest your son in duty and affection, J. K. * Litchfield still maintains its character for cleanliness, as it is the custom for all persons to wash the pavement before their own houses every morning. The cathedral and close also, we noticed when passing through recently, are models of neatness and good taste. Thus at last, after all the uncertainty which attended the decision, we find Joseph Kinghorn safely arrived at Bristol; there to participate in the fatherly counsels of that truly amiable man, Caleb Evans, and in the valuable instruction of his able coadjutors, Robert Hall and James Newton; there to obtain that learning which did the tutors and the student so much honour, and there to reflect the brightness of the divine light which he had so freely received; to become an honour to the Academy, a bright example to his fellow-students, and a blessing to the church of Christ. CHAPTER V. 1784-1785. ET. 18-19. Bristol Academy-Its History and Tutors-Mr. Kinghorn's Friends and Daily Occupations there. No part of the ancient city of Bristol is more interesting, in our view, than that substantial, old-fashioned, perhaps somewhat gloomy building, (in the street called Stoke's Croft,) which has been for so long a period devoted to the education of those who have desired to become ministers of Jesus Christ. Edward Terrill, a ruling elder of the Broadmead church, left a large sum for this purpose, and Robert Boddenham, a deacon, followed Mr. Terrill's example. In about 1710 or 1711 Caleb Jope was appointed tutor, and was succeeded in 1719-20, by Bernard Foskett, who filled the office for forty years, and raised it to a high degree of importance. Many of the students educated by him became eminent and useful servants of the Lord. Amongst them may be mentioned Benjamin Beddome, for fifty-five years pastor at Bourtonon-the-Water, and well known by his sermons, hymns, and catechisms; John Ryland, the pastor at Northampton, the quaint and acute schoolmaster in that town, and subsequently at Enfield, whose son, Dr. Ryland, afterwards became tutor at Bristol Academy; Benjamin Francis, of Shortwood, near Horsley, a man of eminent talents, as a preacher of good ability, a Christian poet, and author of the Salopian Zealot; Dr. Ash, who assisted Dr. Caleb Evans in the compilation of the Bristol selection of hymns, and wrote an English dictionary, and other works on the language; Dr. Llewellyn, whose library, valued at about £1500, was left to the Academy; and Hugh Evans, member of an ancient, persecuted family of Welsh Nonconformists, who in 1758 succeeded Bernard Foskett in the tutorship of the Academy. Hugh Evans was much beloved and respected by his numerous pupils, and was succeeded by his son, Caleb Evans, under whose care the Academy was when Mr. Kinghorn entered it. One of the earliest friendships he formed at Bristol was with Mr. Jas. Hinton, since of Oxford, who entered the Academy at the same time with Mr. Kinghorn; and soon after, an incident occurred, which, though of little moment, was characteristic of them both. It became a matter of course that they should enjoy communion with the church at Broadmead, under Mr. Evans' pastoral care, and on the first opportunity which presented itself, it was arranged that he should invite the two young men to descend from the gallery, and take their places among the communicants. They were watching of course, and waiting the summons from Mr. Evans; but, after the marshalling had taken place as usual, they saw no signal from their reverend friend-no voice of invitation was heard; and it became too obvious that he had altogether forgotten them, and was on the point of commencing the service. Hinton gave himself up as lost, and was just getting up fortitude to bear the disappointment and sit quiet; but not so his companion, he was satisfied it was a mere omission, and saw no reason why he should not rectify it. With imperturbable composure, therefore, he rose up in the front of the gallery and said, "Mr. Evans, have you forgotten us?" Mr. Evans looked up surprised, and instantly confessed his omission, and called the two friends to come down and take their places. Mr. Hinton was perfectly startled at his companion's boldness, and felt, he said, (in relating the anecdote to me thirty years ago,) "as if he must have sunk to the earth.” |