them." 23 In the week following,24" Mrs. Unwin has the satisfaction of informing Mr. Teedon, that Mr. Cowper is tranquil this morning, and that with this which Mr. Teedon receives, a letter by the post, decisive of his undertaking the important business, will go by the same messenger. May the Lord speed it! His glory, the good of many, and our comfort, form the basis of his determination. Mr. Cowper and Mrs. Unwin are agreed that it was hardly possible to find out a reference to the great point in Mr. Teedon's first letter; his second favor elucidated the whole, and removed all doubts. They hope Mr. Teedon will continue to help them with his prayers on this occasion; and wish that every blessing bestowed upon them may be doubled to him." Another note, which must have been written soon afterwards, says, "Mr. Cowper desires Mrs. Unwin to acquaint Mr. Teedon, that his anxiety did not arise from any difficulties he apprehended in the performance of his work, but his uncertainty whether he was providentially called to it or He is now clearly persuaded, by Mr. Teedon's experiences and gracious notices, that he is called to it, and is therefore perfectly easy. Mr. Cowper and Mrs. Unwin thank Mr. Teedon for the interesting part he takes in this affair, and hope the Lord will continue to enable him not only to persevere, but also to feel a blessing in it, to his own self, spiritually and personally. Mr. Cowper begs Mr. Teedon will be very earnest in prayer, that the possession of peace he now enjoys may be continued to him." 25 not. These notes were written some three months before Mrs. Unwin had that first fit, which was followed in the course of the spring by a paralytic stroke. But her health had for some time been declining, and her mind had been impaired with it, so that she confirmed Cowper in a delusion from which her influence might otherwise have preserved him. He who had formerly regarded Teedon with as much derision as was compatible with real kindness to the poor creature himself, and with his own compassionate nature, consulted him now on his hopes and fears, his dreams, his 23 Sept. 1, 1791. 24 Sept. 7. 25 Appendix to Gauntlett's Sermons, vol. ii. pp. 387, 8 waking impressions, and his engagement, and carefully wrote in a book the oracular responses which he received, till he had filled volumes. When he told Mr. Newton that their intended visit to Hayley had been made the subject of much prayer, and that it had pleased God to satisfy him in some measure concerning it, there can be no doubt that he alluded to the encouragement which Teedon had given him. July had far advanced when Cowper wrote to Lady Hesketh,26 saying they had not even yet determined absolutely on their journey to Eartham," but shall (he added) I believe, in two or three days, decide in favor of it. Hayley interests himself so much in favor of it, and I am persuaded that it bids fair to do us both so much good, that I am sincerely desirous of going. A thousand lions, monsters, and giants, are in the way, but perhaps they will all vanish, if I have but the courage to face them. Mrs. Unwin, whose weakness might justify her fears, has none. Her trust in the providence of God makes her calm on all occasions." On that day, however, the determination was made, and Cowper announced it in the gayety of excited spirits to his host expectant. TO WILLIAM HAYLEY, ESQ. Weston, July 22, 1792. This important affair, my dear brother, is at last decided, and we are coming. Wednesday se'nnight, if nothing occur to make a later day necessary, is the day fixed for our journey. Our rate of travelling must depend on Mary's ability to bear it. Our mode of travelling will occupy three days, unavoidably, for we shall come in a coach. Abbot finishes my picture to-morrow; on Wednesday he returns to town, and is commissioned to order one down for us, with four steeds to draw it; "hollow pampered jades of Asia, That cannot go but forty miles a day." Send us our route, for I am were in a strange country. as ignorant of it, almost, as if I We shall reach St. Alban's, I 28 July 21. suppose, the first day; say where we must finish our second day's journey, and at what inn we may best repose. As to the end of the third day, we know where that will find us, viz. in the arms and under the roof of our beloved Hayley. General Cowper, having heard a rumor of this intended migration, desires to meet me on the road, that we may once more see each other. He lives at Ham, near Kingston. Shall we go through Kingston, or near it? For I would give him as little trouble as possible, though he offers very kindly to come as far as Barnet for that purpose. Nor must I forget Carwardine, who so kindly desired to be informed what way we should go. On what point of the road will it be easiest for him to find us? On all these points you must be my oracle. My friend and brother, we shall overwhelm you with our numbers; this is all the trouble that I have left. My Johnny of Norfolk, happy in the. thought of accompanying us, would be broken-hearted to be left behind. In the midst of all these solicitudes, I laugh to think what they are made of, and what an important thing it is for me to travel. Other men steal away from their homes silently, and make no disturbance; but when I move, houses are turned upside down, maids are turned out of their beds, all the counties through which I pass appear to be in an uproar. Surrey greets me by the mouth of the General, and Essex by that of Carwardine. How strange does all this seem to a man who has seen no bustle, and made none, for twenty years together! Adieu. W. C. A second letter informed Hayley that the purpose held good, though he had once been on the point of abandoning it. VOL. II. 19 TO WILLIAM HAYLEY, ESQ. Weston, July 29, 1792 Through floods and flames, to your retreat I win my desperate way, And when we meet, if e'er we meet, You will wonder at the word desperate in the second line, and at the if in the third; but could you have any conception of the fears I have had to battle with, of the dejection of spirits that I have suffered concerning this journey, you would wonder much more that I still courageously persevere in my resolution to undertake it. Fortunately for my intentions, it happens, that as the day approaches my terrors abate; for had they continued to be what they were a week since, I must, after all, have disappointed you; and was actually once on the verge of doing it. I have told you something of my nocturnal experiences, and assure you now, that they were hardly ever more terrific than on this occasion. Prayer has, however, opened my passage at last, and obtained for me a degree of confidence, that, I trust, will prove a comfortable viaticum to me all the way. On Wednesday, therefore, we set forth. The terrors, that I have spoken of, would appear ridiculous to most; but to you they will not, for you are a reasonable creature, and know well, that to whatever cause it be owing, (whether to constitution, or to God's express appointment,) I am hunted by spiritual hounds in the night season. I cannot help it. You will pity me, and wish it were otherwise; and though you may think there is much of the imaginary in it, will not deem it for that reason an evil less to be lamented. So much for fears and distresses. Soon, I hope, they shall all have a joyful termination, and I, my Mary, my Johnny, and my dog, be skipping with delight at Eartham. Well! this picture is at last finished, and well finished, I can assure you. Every creature that has seen it has been astonished at the resemblance. Sam's boy bowed to it, and Beau walked up to it, wagging his tail as he went, and evi dently showing that he acknowledged its likeness to his master. It is a half-length, as it is technically, but absurdly called; that is to say, it gives all but the foot and ankle. To-morrow it goes to town, and will hang some months at Abbot's, when it will be sent to its due destination in Norfolk. I hope, or rather wish, that at Eartham I may recover that habit of study, which, inveterate as it once seemed, I now seem to have lost, lost to such a degree, that it is even painful to me to think of what it will cost me to acquire it again. Adieu! my dear, dear Hayley; God give us a happy meeting! Mary sends her love. She is in pretty good plight this morning, having slept well, and, for her part, has no fears at all about the journey. Ever yours, W. C. Eartham, where Hayley then resided, is about six miles from Chichester, and five from Arundel, a little to the left of the road. His father had, in the year 1743, purchased a small estate in the village, and the ruins of a mansion which had belonged to a certain Sir Robert Fagg, once celebrated in provincial song for having stood for the county and polled two votes. "A sequestered spot, Hayley calls it, peculiarly embellished by nature." The purchaser removed the ruins, and built a diminutive villa, on higher ground, as a kind of summer-house, to which he occasionally sent his children from Chichester, for the benefit of better air. Five years after the purchase, his remains were deposited in Eartham churchyard. This little establishment was censured as an act of extravagance in one who had considerably impaired his patrimony; to his son, however, it proved, in process of time, a singular source of health and delight. It had remained untenanted for some years, and of course had suffered considerably, before Hayley rendered it habitable for a tenant; and when he went to reside there, in 1774, it was with the intention of enlarging and decorating it, and making it his chosen abode for the |