Memoir of Hannah More

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Preface

TO

The author, in givingithis little work to the public, has only to say that it is designed chiefly for the young, and has been written with an especial reference to the readers of Sabbath school libraries. In presenting it to. the public, therefore, he hardly aspires to. the dignity of authorship. His object has been merely to imbody, in a concise form, such a sketch of Miss More's life as might be safely put into the hands of the young reader, without any regard to particular tenets of religion. If he has succeeded in doing this, he has accomplished all that was intended.

MEMOIR

OF

HANNAH MORE.

Chapter I

Opening remarks — Birth — Parentage — Education — Re moval to Bristol — Early literary taste — Matrimonial engage ment with Mr. Turner.

Among barbarous nations, where courage and strength are considered as the most prominent virtues, the condition of woman is always degraded : but in proportion as light and knowledge extend — as civilization and Christianityadvance — as the empire of mind rises above mere physical excellence ; in the same proportion does she emerge from obscurity and degradation, and take her place in that society which it is so eminently her province to polish, improve, and beautify.

It becomes us, then, as members of civil society, to cherish those illustrious examples of female excellence and high intellectual endowments which have so much contributed to ennoble the female character, while, at the same time, they have left their impress on the age. Among these none are more deserving of our attention than that gifted child of genius y MEMOIR OF HANNAH MORE.

and of song, the celebrated Hannah More, who, though comparatively obscure in her origin, has left behind her a name which may justly be quoted as an ornament to her sex, to the church, and to the world.

Hannah More was born at Stapleton, in the county of Gloucester, England, in 1745, and \^as one of five daughters, being the fourth in the order of time. Her father, Mr. Jacob More, was respectably descended, and received a liberal education with the view of fitting him for a minister in the Church of England : but by the unfortunate termination of a lawsuit in which he was engaged, he was so much reduced in his circumstances, that he abandoned his first intention, and, determining to devote himself to the business of teaching, became the master of a foundation-school near Stapleton. He married the daughter of a respectable farmer in the neighbourhood, who to a sound and vigorous mind united the advantages of a good education, and under whose forming hand her daughters imbibed those principles which afterward rendered them so conspicuous for their usefulness and virtue. Such being the circumstances of Mr. More, it was his design to educate his daughters accordingly, and knowing that they could comfortably provide for themselves by conducting a respectable boarding-school, the course of their studies was directed only to this end. Such, however, were his views of the required qualifications, that a knowledge of the mathematics, or the Greek and

Roman classics, did not enter into the course which he adopted, notwithstanding his own intimate acquaintance with these branches.

It was for this reason that Hannah, who had from her infancy manifested a wonderful facility in th%acquirement of all kinds of learning, and whose memory was so very retentive that she had obtained a considerable knowledge of the French merely by hearing her sisters recite their lessons, found much difficulty in persuading her father to become her tutor in the study of the Latin. She, however, finally succeeded, and afterward took great delight in cultivating an acquaintance with the Latin classics.

But the education of Mr. More's family was not merely literary. It had been the earnest desire of both parents to inculcate on the minds of their daughters such a reverence for religion, and such a deep and abiding love of virtue, as would secure to them both the favour of God and the respect of mankind. These endeavours were not in vain, and their good effects were abundantly evident in the subsequent lives of these amiable sisters. When the eldest sister was twenty years of age, a boarding-school was opened at Bristol under her immediate superintendence, which was conducted with that propriety and discretion which secured to it a measure of success beyond the brightest anticipations.

This was in 1757. Hannah was then in her twelfth year, and removed to Bristol with her sister, and under her care enjoyed much greater facilities for acquiring information, which she seized and improved with avidity. Two years after, the elder Mr. Sheridan delivered an able and interesting course of lectures, at Bristol, on eloquence, which was attended by the establishment of Miss More, and with which Hannah was so delighted that she made it the sjjjaject of some poetic lines which found their way to the lecturer, and induced him to seek hei acquaintance.

It may be proper in this place to observe that Hannah had early manifested a taste for poetry, which she seems to have cultivated almost from her cradle. Every scrap of paper which she could lay hands on was put under contribution for recording her poetic effusions, and a great portion of her leisure time, even from her childhood, was occupied in writing sonnets, and prose essays, which are represented as having possessed much merit.

Such a mind could not long remain unnoticed or unappreciated. Accordingly we find her, while yet a mere girl, attracting the attention of the learned and the great. A physician of eminence, who attended her through one of her alarming attacks of illness, to which she was occasionally subject during her whole life, in one of his calls during her convalescence, was so captivated with her conversation that he entirely forgot the object of his visit. A Mr. Peach, who had been a particular friend of Hume, the celebrated historian, and who possessed a highly cultivated mind, was among her most intimate acquaintance. In 1760, when she was fifteen years of

MEMOIR OF HANNAH MORE. il

age, she was first introduced to Ferguson, the astronomer, and a friendship was formed which lasted through life. Soon after this she became acquainted with the accomphshed Dr. Langhome,* and for many years maintained with him an interesting correspondence. She was also about this time on terms of intimacy with Dean Tucker and Dr. Ford, besides many other individuals of eminence.

In 1762, when she was in her seventeenth year, she first appeared as an author. Observing that a custom was prevailing among her juvenile acquaintance, of committing to memory parts of plays not always sound in principle or pure in morals, she wrote her " Search after Happiness," a pastoral drama, with the hope of giving to this custom a safer direction. The attempt succeeded remarkably, and in a few months the work passed through three editions.

* Langhome was aft accomplished scholar and gentleman, and the correspondence between him and Miss More is marked by great sprightliness and wit.

In one of the summer vacations, Miss More was walking with him on the sea-shore at Uphill, some miles from Bristol, when he wrote with his cane in the sand as follows : — " Along the shore

Walk'd Hannah More : Waves, let the record last.

Sooner shall ye.

Proud earth and sea, Than what she writes, be pass'd. Miss More smiled at the compliment, and with her usual readiness wrote underneath with her riding-whip : — " Some firmer basis, polished Langhome, choose, To write the dictates ->( thy charming muse ; Her strains in solid characters rehearse. And be thy tablet lasting as thy verse.

In her twentieth year she formed an intimacy with the excellent Dr. Stonehouse (afterward Sir James Stonehouse) who was the founder of the Northampton Infirmary, and had been for twenty years its physician. He had now, however, relinquished his profession, and taken orders in the Church of England. Miss More entertained for him the highest regard, and during his life seems to have trusted herself much to his judgment and counsel. No friend could have been better chosen. Besides his high reputation as a scholar, Dr. Stonehouse was a man of deep piety, cool discretion, an even and sober temper, and a heart so tender as to make his friendship almost paternal. Miss More was particularly fortunate in her friends, but in none more than in Dr. Stonehouse. She lived to write both his own epitaph and that of his lady.

Although we know little of Miss More's acquaintance with the other sex, yet it would be too much to suppose that a young female of her accomplishments, both of mind and person, should not have been the theme of admiration, and the subject of attention. When she was in her twenty-first year she had an offer of marriage, which, though apparently not very well suited to her taste and pursuits, she thought proper to accept, though the marriage was never consummated. The circumstances of this connection are as follows : —

A gentleman of fortune residing on an estate near Bristol, by the name of Turner, had two nieces at the establishment of the Misses More, who frequently spent their holydays at Belmont House with their uncle, who had given them permission to invite any young ladies they might wish as companions.

Availing themselves of this permission, they invited the two younger sisters of the Misses More, Hannah and Patty, to accompany them on a visit to Belmont House, and Mr. Turner was so much pleased with the appearance of Hannah, and so much delighted with her conversation, that he soon after offered her his hand, which, on the part of Miss More, was accepted.

The wedding-day was fixed, but when the time approached, Mr. Turner deferred it. Another day was appointed, but on the eve of its arrival Mr. Turner again put it off. The elder sisters now interfered, regarding his conduct as dishonourable. Mr. Turner, however, declared that his attachment was unchanged, and desired to fix another day. Hannah requested time to consider the matter, and, having consulted her friend Dr. Stonehouse, at his advice she calmly, but firmly, refused the alliance.

The parties separated in friendship, and Mr. Tiurner offered to settle an annuity- on Miss More for life, which, however, she declined to accept. Subsequently the annuity was settled through her friend. Dr. Stonehouse, without her knowledge, and at his death Mr. Turner left her by will one thousand poimds, about four thousand five hundred dollars.

There can be little doubt that Miss More took the wisest course in the settlement of this affair. Mr. Turner was more than twentyyears her senior, and besides fickleness and irresolution, which he manifested in postponing from time to time the celebration of the nuptials, he is represented as having a temper little suited to the promotion of domestic happiness. That his intentions were entirely honourable there can be no doubt ; but there is still little excuse for the manner in which he trifled with the delicate feelings of an amiable friend.

For a lady in the situation of Miss More the match was eligible, and had she possessed another cast of mind, might have presented powerful attractions. Mr. Turner was a gen^ tleman of great wealth and respectable literary attainments : his estate was tastefully laid out and delightfully situated : his house elegantly furnished and surrounded with all the attractions which money could procure.

How far such considerations as these may have influenced the decision of Miss More in accepting Mr. Turner's offer, we have no other means of knowing than what we glean from the general character of her mind : but that it required a struggle to yield up all these pleasurable anticipations in connection with him who had won her esteem, there can be no doubt. The surrender was, however, made with the same firmness which marked the acts of her whole life, and was coupled with a resolution never more to form a similar engagement, a resolution to which she most faithfully adhered. Her hand was subsequently solicited by another person worthy of her regard ; but in conformity with her resolve, she at once refused. The refusal, however, resulted in no breach between the parties, but ended in a respectful friendship, which continued through life.

Chapter II

Remarks — Studies — Love of the drama — "Visit to London — Introduction to Garrick and Johnson — Fashionable society — Publication of "Sir Eldred of the Bower" — Attentions of the great.

Having attended Miss More to the threshold of that society which she was so admirably fitted to adorn and beautify, we are now to introduce her to the young reader from the midst of those gay scenes of wit and fashion which have so often proved the grave of virtue, and which were to try the strength of her character, and put her principles to the severest test of experience.

There is a charm in the allurements of fashion against which the uninitiated are seldom proof. In these circumstances, next to the direct influences of religion, a moral and religious education is the surest safeguard ; and this, fortunately for her and for the world. Miss More possessed. One of our poets has well observed,

"Vice is a monster of so frightful mien, That to be hated needs but to be seen,"

but in the alluring circles of fashion, vice is so disguised by the flowers and gems which genius and wit have showered around it, that we require a vision enlightened by the word of God to divest it of its guilty trappings and lay it open to the view in all its naked deformities. Miss More, though at this time not under the direct influences of religion, seems to have been so guided by the principles which she had imbibed under the instructions of her pious parents, as to see some of the false covering in which the vices of fashionable life were enshrouded, and thereby to pass through the ordeal with less injury than has generally attended similar trials.

The affair with Mr. Turner being finally terminated, Miss More resumed her literary labours with new zeal. She cultivated with great assiduity a knowledge of the Italian, Spanish, and Latin languages, exercising her genius and polishing her style in making translations, which she executed with great facility and with an ease and spirit which were often the subject of Just commendation.

She seems to have early imbibed a love for the drama, and the transcendant genius of Shakspeare always excited her warmest admiration : as she became conversant with fashionable life, her curiosity was excited, by the fame of Garrick, to attend the theatre* and witness his extraordinary powers, as an actor, in repre-

* The theatre at this time, under the management of Mr. Garrick, was a very different affair to what it soon became after his death and continues to be, which perhaps may form senting the prominent characters of this great poet. Accordingly, in 1773 she visited London, where she was introduced to many persons of distinction, and where she appears to have spent some time, mingling with the circles of fashion and gayety.

She returned to Bristol to assist in the management of her sisters' flourishing school, in which she now took an active part, and to continue her literary labours : but she soon made another visit to London, accompanied by two of her sisters. At this second visit she had the gratification of being introduced to Garrick and Johnson, two persons whom she regarded almost with veneration.

Garrick and Johnson were intimate friends, and so pleased was the former with the wit and sprightliness of his new acquaintance, that he soon brought about a meeting between her and the doctor, which was mutually pleasing. Dr. Johnson was doubtless the greatest literary man of the age in which he lived, and in the circles which he frequented in London, was sometimes as brilliant as the meteor which for a moment excites our wonder, and then passes away: while at other times he was moody, silent, and abstracted.

The interview took place at the house of Sir Joshua Reynolds, with whose family Miss More had become quite intimate, and Sir Joshua had

some faint excuse for her attendance ; but whatever it has been, or might be, it is now most unquestionably "the vestibule of hell," and the direct road to everlasting ruin. — Ed. 2 prepared her for the possibility of his being in one of his moods of sadness and silence. It, however, proved otherwise. The doctor met her with the* greatest warmth, accosting her with a verse from a morning hymn which she had written at the request of Sir James Stonehouse. In the same pleasant humour he continued during the whole evening, and they parted mutually gratified and mutually edified.

During this visit she was also introduced to Barrett and Burke, and several other characters of distinguished eminence. She was thus brought into constant intercourse with persons of the highest order of intellect, by which her thirst after knowledge was increased, and her taste and capabilities improved. No society could have been more congenial to her feelings, or better calculated to enlarge and strengthen her mind.

After remaining about six weeks in towTi, she returned to Bristol to pursue her unambitious career in her sisters' school, and does not appear to have visited London again until 1775. x\t this visit she spent most of her time at Hampton, and at the house of Sir Joshua Reynolds, where she frequently enjoyed the company of Garrick, Johnson, and many other literary characters, among whom were the celebratef^ Mrs. Montague, Mrs. Carter, and Mrs. Bobcawen.

She was now fairly introduced to the first literary circles in the metropolis, and was everywhere received with cordiality and esteem.

Though not decidedly pious, yet the habits of virtue in which she had been trained, the importance which she attached to external religious worship, the regard which she had for the word of God, and the correct principles which she had early imbibed from her pious parents, saved her, through the divine blessing, from being dazzled and ensnared by the fascinating scenes in which she mingled. Her conscience seems still to have proved a faithful monitor, and prevented her from indulging in many of the excesses of fashionable life. On one occasion having been induced to attend the opera, a theatrical representation in which the different parts are rehearsed in music, she was thoroughly disgusted, and on coming out exclaimed,

" Bear me, O God, O quickly bear me hence, To wholesome solitude, the muse of sense,"

and in a letter to a friend she declared it to be the last opera which she should ever attend ; a promise which she faithfully kept.

In this time of need her ever watchful friend Sir James Stonehouse took every occasion to guard her against imbibing the spirit and vices of the fashionable society in which she was mingling. Learning that she had attended some Sunday parties, he wrote to her an affectionate letter, in which he pointed out in kind terms the error which she had committed, and also dropped her a seasonable word of advice, which seems to have produced its desired effect. Writing to me of her sisters soon after, she says : — " Thank my deai Dr. S for his

kind, seasonable admonitions on my last Sunday's engagement. Conscience had done its office before ; nay, was busy at the time ; and if it did not dash the cup of pleasure to the ground, infused at least a tincture of wormwood into it. I did think of the alarming call, * What dost thou here V "

In June, 1775, she composed and published a legendary tale, " Sir Eldred of the Bower," together with a small poem, written before, entitled the " Bleeding Rock." She was about two weeks in composing " Sir Eldred," and having completed it sent it to Cadell, a London publisher, asking him to give her what it was worth. The sum which he offered far exceeded her expectations ; but, in addition to this, he assured her that if she would ascertain how much Goldsmith had received for his " Deserted Village," he would allow her the same. Miss More at this time had no personal acquaintance with Cadell, but the kindness which she received at his hands was the beginning of a friendly connection which continued until his death.

This publication found a ready sale, and fully sustained the author's reputation. It was for some time the subject of conversation among the literary circles of London, and was much praised by Garrick, Johnson, Burke, and other of her friends. It seemed to be the general opinion that it was only the first fruits of an abundant harvest, which happily proved to be the case.

MEMOIR OF HAx\NAH MORE. 21

Early in 1776 Miss More again visited London, and continued there until late in June. The publication of her poem had spread her reputation over the kingdom, and she found new admirers wherever she went. One of her sisters, writing from London, says : — " If Hannah's head stands proof against all the adulation and kindness of the great folks here, why then I will venture to say that nothing of this kind will hurt her hereafter." But " Hannah's head" was not made of materials to be turned by adulation. She seems to have always had but a poor opinion of her own abilities, and the flatteries of her friends, however gratifying they might have been for a time, made no impression upon the solid bulwark of her well-balanced mind.

In a letter in which she describes a dinner which she attended, and at which both Johnson and Garrick were present, she narrates a little anecdote respecting the reading of " Sir Eldred," by Garrick, which is not only amusing, but which shows alike the excellence of the poem and the powers of Garrick. " I think," she says, " I never was so ashamed in my life ; but he read it so superlatively that I cried like a child. Only think what a scandalous thing to cry at the reading of one's own poetry ? I could have beaten myself; for it looked as if I thought it very moving, which I can truly say is far from being the case. But the beauty of the thing lies in this, Mrs. Garrick twinkled as well as I, and made as many apologies for crying at her husband's reading, as I did for crying at my own verses. She got out of the scrape by pretending that she was touched at the story, and I by saying the same thing of the reading-."

Chapter III

Remarks — Visits Suffolk, Norfolk, London, Hampshire, and Bristol — Visits London again — Illness and its effects — Death of Garrick — Effect on the mind of Miss More — Increased seriousness.

Miss More's protracted stay in London, amidst the flatteries and attentions of the wise and great, neither inflated her pride nor excited her vanity, and she returned to Bristol in June, 1776, after an absence of six months, quite unchanged, and with all her original simplicity, to renew her labours in the establishment of her sister, where she continued during the remainder of the year ; when she took a tour through the counties of Suffolk and Norfolk to visit some relatives. During her absence she spent several days at the residence of the talented Mrs. Barbauld.

From Norfolk she proceeded to London sometime in July, where she spent several weeks with Garrick, whom she accompanied in his visits among the nobility and gentry about town. She also made an excursion with him into Hampshire, to the seat of Mr. Wilmot, with whose family she was from that time intimate Toward the end of August, after an absence ox about five months, she returned to Bristol, and in November again visited London.

Shortly after making these excursions she was attacked with a severe turn of illness, and as soon as she was able to be removed, accepted an invitation from the Garricks to pay them a visit at Hampton Court, where she remained until 1778, employing herself as her health would permit in literary pursuits. Here she seems to have devoted more of her time to serious studies than she had formerly done, and the Bible especially was her frequent companion. The death of several friends about this time also made a deep impression upon her mind. One of these was the wife of her excellent friend Dr. Stonehouse, which called forth from her pen some beautiful lines, ending thus : —

" O ! if thy living excellence could teach. Death has a loftier emphasis of speech ; Let death thy strongest lesson thertlimpart, And write prepare to die on every heart."

In the following winter she had another attack of illness, and was scarcely recovered when she was summoned to London by Mrs. Garrick, to mourn with her the loss of her gifted husband.

Poor Garrick had been suddenly called to his account. He was only a little complaining for some days previous to his death, and on Sunday was in good spirits and free from pain. On Monday his physician became alarmed, and called in aid. On Tuesday he was worse.

Mrs. Garrick attended him through a part of the night, and every time she administered his medicine, he spoke to her with pecuHar tenderness and affection. Toward morning, immediately after taking his medicine, he softly said, " Oh ! dear," and yielded up his spirit without a groan on the 20th of January, 1779.

The death of Mr. Garrick made a deep impression on the mind of Miss More, and may be said to have constituted a new era in her life. Her admiration of him was very great. He was her warm and fahhful friend, and had probably done more to bring her into notice than any other person. She had witnessed his amiable deportment in his family, his strict morality^ his wonderful graces of person and manner, and above all, had deeply participated in his literary tastes, studies, and friendships. He formed the link which connected her with fashionable life. This link was now severed, and the genius anfl talents of this gifted lady were henceforth to flow only in a channel for the benefit of mankind.

It is quite probable that the reflections of Miss More on this solemn occasion led her to inquire into the probable condition of her friend in

** That undiscover'd country, from whose bourn No traveller returns."

And if so, she must have felt that there was little evidence of his preparation for that greai change which must sooner or later come upon all men ; that the life of gayety and fashion which he led, and the round of pleasures in which he was engaged from day to day, were but a poor preparation for that place into which nothing unholy can possibly enter. She must have felt that his talents had been misemployed, that his great powers had but little conduced to the good of mankind, that the moral influence of his life, even allowing him to have been strictly upright in his conduct, was opposed to virtue and religion. In the light of the gospel he is an unprofitable servant, be his moral conduct ever so jjonsistent, who employs his time and talents to no useful purpose.

The remains of this gifted child of genius were deposited in Westminster Abbey, among the ashes of the great, with much pomp and solemnity. Miss More attended. Sheridan was chief mourner, and ten noblemen were pall bearers. " The choir sung," as she says in one of her letters, " in strains only less sublime than will be the archangel's trump," — every eye was suffused with tears.

Her time was now divided between her friend Mrs. Garrick, at Hampton, and her sisters, at Bristol ; her winters being spent with the former, and her summers with the latter. From the time of Garrick's death she manifested an increasing dislike for the pleasures of fashionable society, among which she had so freely mingled, and devoted herself more to serious studies. She was impressed with a deep sense of the value of time, and composed the follow iHg lines on this subject, breathing the devout wishes of a pious heart : —

"Soft slumbers now mine eyes forsake, My powers are all renew'd ; May my freed spirit, too, awake. With heavenly strength endued !

Thou silent murderer. Sloth, no more

My mind imprison'd keep ; Nor let me waste another hour

With thee, thou felon, Sleep.

Hark, O my soul, could dying men

One lavished hour retrieve, Though spent in tears, and pass'd in pain,

What treasures would they give !

But seas of pearl, and mines of gold,

Were ofFer'd them in vain, Their pearl of countless price is lost,

And where 's their promised gain ?

Lord, when thy day of dread account

For squander'd hours shall come, O, let them not increase th' amount.

And swell ihe former sum !

Teach me in health each good to prize,

I, dying, shall esteem ; And every pleasure to despise,

I then shall worthless deem.

For all thy wond'rous mercies past,

My grateful voice I raise, While thus 1 quit the bed of rest,

Creation's Lord to praise."

It was becoming evident to all her friends that Miss More was desirous to withdraw herself from society merely worldly, and to devote her talents to some useful purpose. In her studies she preferred the Bible to all other books : it was her daily companion, and the