The Press.
London, England, 1853-07-30 00:00:00

X ittraturt.

Memoirs of Dr. Bathurst, Bishop of Norwieh.
By Mrs. Thistletwayte. London : Bentley.
THE art of writing memoirs requires vivacity
of sentiment, artistic skill, and knowledge of
human nature ; but even Plutarch would fail
to interest without good subjects for his pen,
and we doubt whether the late Bishop of Nor-
wich merited the posthumous honours due
only to marked services or great talents.
Dr. Henry Bathurst was a member of the
noble family whose name he inherited, and to
whose influence he owed his advancement in
life. From a variety of causes he was what is
commonly called "quite a character" in his
way. He lived to be the survivor of thirty-six
children by one father and two mothers. When
a young man he acted in the capacity of pri-
vate secretary to Lord Bathurst, the friend of
Pope, at whose house he used to meet some of
the most celebrated literary characters of the
last century. His strongest mental faculty
was his memory, and he had a large share of
scholarly attainments ; but he had not one
spark of genius, nor di.l he ever write or speak
a sermon or a speech deserving more than a
week's fame. He was made a bishop by Mr.
Pitt, and he rendered himself conspicuous by
the inordinate zeal with which he used to ad-
vocate what were culled "the Catholic claims."
His name was ever on the tongue of Irish
"agitation," and he was held up by the (Moo
nellites us a model bishop. We believe that
he wits very sincere, and we know that he was
very shallow, in his political views ; and, while
we cannot credit him with any profundity, we
do not impute to him any guile in his public
life. The fervour with which he espoused the
cause of the Papists gave him that singularity
which his admirers mistook for original
thought. Whimsical and amiable, eccentric in
his politics, a favourite of Whig lords, and
with several platform panegyrists amongst
Dissenters, he enjoyed the notoriety which he
gained. He lived to great old age, and his
venerable aspect, as lie tottered into the
House of • Lords to support Lord Melbourne's
Government, attracted much observation ; and
it wits a fashion amongst the Whig aristocracy
of the day to hold him up as a patriarch in
their party. It is one thing, however, for
party to extol, and another for history to com-
memorate, and a high place amongst the cele-
brities of the English Church will not be as-
signed to Dr. Bathurst. In theology his
attainments were not remarkable ; in scholar-
ship his reading was more various than exact,
more miscellaneous than scientific. The manner
in which he describes his own tastes displays
" the bounded level of his mind," and that he
wanted the powers of large appreciation. Of
the evils of Popery he seemed not to have any
suspicions; and, though his anecdotes of cele-
brated persons might have been interesting in
conversation, he has left no literary records
illustrative of the society in which lie moved.
It is only just, however, to recollect that his
kindness of heart and amiability of manners
were well calculated to endear him to society.
With great zeal himself on particular ques
tions, he was always ready to make allowances
for the opinions and prejudices of others ; he
mingled in political controversy without the
passions of a polemic ; and in all his speeches
there was the presence of zeal and the absence
of acerbity. It is very possible that if his life
were written by one of the clergy its con-
tents would be more solid. The lives of pro-
fessional persons are best entrusted to those
whose occupations give them facility in seizing
all the points of character in their subject. To
the affection of an accomplished daughter we
owe the present volume, and, while her share
of the work is pleasing and graceful, we may
still say that her book testifies rather to the
personal character than to the public conduct
of the late Bishop of Norwich. As a general
rule we think that the pens which record the
lives of great lawyers, heroes, or divines ought
to he held by male fingers. Lucy Hutchinson
or Madame do Steil may be exceptions, but
such instances confirm rather than confute the
rule.
There are several pages occupied in this
volume with " Chalmeriana," from the pen of