{"collection":"scripture-revelation","full_text_available":true,"graph_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/api/page/gutenberg_24984/graph","html_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/page/gutenberg_24984","id":"gutenberg_24984","license":"Public Domain (US)","rights_basis":"gutenberg_metadata_copyright_false","source":"gutenberg","source_url":"https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/24984","summary":null,"tags":["Bible. Gospels -- Harmonies, English","Category: History - British","Category: History - Early Modern (c. 1450-1750)","Category: History - Religious","Ferrar, Nicholas, 1592-1637","Little Gidding (Christian community)"],"text":"Transcribed from the 1903 S.P.C.K edition by David Price, email\nccx074@pglaf.org\n\n\n\n\n\nLITTLE GIDDING\nAND ITS INMATES\nIN THE TIME OF KING CHARLES I.\n\n\n                            WITH AN ACCOUNT OF\n                              THE HARMONIES\n                       DESIGNED AND CONSTRUCTED BY\n                             NICHOLAS FERRAR.\n\n                                    BY\n                            J. E. ACLAND, M.A.\n\n                                 LONDON:\n                SOCIETY FOR PROMOTING CHRISTIAN KNOWLEDGE,\n                       NORTHUMBERLAND AVENUE, W.C.;\n                     43, QUEEN VICTORIA STREET, E.C.\n                       BRIGHTON: 129, NORTH STREET.\n                                  1903.\n\n         [PUBLISHED UNDER THE DIRECTION OF THE TRACT COMMITTEE.]\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER I. {1}\n\n\n\"How happy a king were I, if I had many more such workmen and workwomen\nin my kingdom!  Their art and ability is excellent.  Let them know I will\nnot forget them.  God's blessing on their hearts, and painful hands.\"\n\nSuch were the words and opinions of King Charles I., when speaking of the\nhappy and industrious family whose life and labours at Little Gidding are\ndescribed in the following pages, a family entirely devoted to good\nworks, under the able direction of Mr. Nicholas Ferrar, whose history has\nhappily been preserved for us with great accuracy, and which can hardly\nfail to be attractive.\n\nAlthough Nicholas Ferrar and Little Gidding are names that are invariably\nassociated with one another, it must not be imagined that he spent his\nwhole life there.  It was not, indeed, till he was thirty-three years old\nthat he left the busy and stirring scenes for which he seemed so suited;\nand before describing the twelve years of seclusion with which he ended\nhis life, it is necessary to say something about his more active\nemployments as a young man.  They prove beyond doubt that he was endued\nwith abilities of the highest order, which might have led him to\npositions of great public importance had his inclinations so prompted\nhim.\n\nNicholas Ferrar was born in the year 1592, his parents being conspicuous\nfor their piety and charity, their conscientious discharge of every duty,\nand their careful training of a numerous family in every point of virtue\nand religion, special attention being paid to the study of the Bible,\nlarge portions of which were committed to memory.\n\nMr. Ferrar was a merchant, connected with all the great centres of\ncommerce, especially with the East and West Indies; and being given to\nmost generous hospitality, he was on friendly terms with many persons of\neminence, such as Drake, Raleigh, and Hawkins.\n\nNicholas was the third son, and his talents began to develop themselves\nvery early.  His memory, which was naturally very retentive, was\ncarefully cultivated, and he was at all times eager and diligent in his\nstudies.  At the age of fourteen he was admitted to Clare Hall,\nCambridge; four years later he took his degree, and was before long\nelected to a Fellowship.  But his health now broke down, and it was\nconsidered that the only chance of his recovery lay in a complete change,\nand in leaving England.  Just at this time the Princess Elizabeth was\nstarting for the Palatinate, after her marriage with the Elector\nFrederick, and Ferrar was fortunate in obtaining permission to be\nincluded in her suite.  They first went to Holland, but before long\nFerrar left the Royal party, as he had resolved on seeing some places not\nincluded in the Royal programme.\n\nWe must, however, hurry over this part of Ferrar's life, very interesting\nas it is, and it must suffice to say that in the course of five years he\nvisited many parts of Germany and Italy, then went to the south of\nFrance, by sea to Spain, where he had several startling adventures, and\nafter travelling five hundred miles alone, and on foot, reached Saint\nSebastian, from which port he took ship to England.\n\nThe advantage of these travels to Ferrar was great in many ways.  He\nthoroughly mastered the languages of the various countries; he studied\nclosely their forms of government, trade, and commerce, and acquired an\ninsight even into the handicrafts of the people.  He made himself\nacquainted with the doctrines and discipline of the Churches and\nreligious sects, and procured, whenever he could do so, the assistance of\nthe ablest scholars to instruct him.  Being well supplied with money by\nhis father, he was enabled to collect, besides other things, a great\nnumber of prints and engravings by all the best masters; in fact, it is\nstated that he let nothing of this sort escape him that was valuable; and\nbeing all relative to, or illustrative of, passages in the Bible, they\nwere utilized to great advantage when in his later years he compiled \"The\nHarmonies.\"\n\nOn his return home, his natural inclination was to settle at Cambridge\nand resume his work at Clare Hall; but, partly owing to his father's\nadvanced age, and partly on account of his elder brother having important\nwork in London in connection with the Virginia Plantation Company,\nNicholas Ferrar determined to settle there with them.  Here he soon\nattracted much attention for his many eminent qualities, reports of which\nhad, indeed, been received from abroad, and before long Sir Edwyn Sandys\nand Lord Southampton, both of them governors of the Virginia Company,\nhaving discovered for themselves his great worth, proposed him as King's\nCounsel for the Plantation.  He thus became deeply engaged in public\nbusiness; and as his work was continually produced in open court, his\nreputation increased more and more.  Two or three years later his powers\nwere still further tested, for the Spanish party exerted all their\ninfluence to overthrow the Company; and as Nicholas Ferrar was at this\ntime the deputy-governor, the chief burden of the defence fell on his\nshoulders.  His efforts were, however, all in vain, and before long the\npatent or charter was withdrawn, and the Company was dissolved, owing to\nthe false accusations brought against the managers and directors.\n\nFerrar was now elected Member of Parliament, and was able to bring before\nthe House and the public more fully the iniquity of these proceedings,\nand by his skilful management cleared the directors, and brought their\nopponents to justice and punishment.\n\nThis was the concluding act of Ferrar's public life, and we shall now\nturn to a scene of a vastly different nature.  But it has been necessary\nto say thus much to exhibit in its true light the force of character, the\nwonderful diligence and activity of the man, who (as we shall now see)\ndecided on devoting the rest of his life to religious exercises, to works\nof charity and usefulness, but living apart and without interruption from\nthe busy world.\n\nThere is evidence to show that this had long been his wish, in fact, that\nfrom his earliest years some such ideas had been in his mind; but until\nnow he had not seen his way to carry them out.\n\nThe first and most necessary step was to find a place suitable for his\npurpose, and hearing that the lordship of Little Gidding was for sale, he\nwent to inspect it.\n\nIt was in an obscure part of the county of Huntingdon, a large manor\nhouse and a cottage for shepherds the only buildings, with the exception\nof a dilapidated church used as a barn.  The air was healthy, and the\nwhole estate lay in pasture.\n\nThe spot seemed admirably adapted to his designs, and was accordingly\nbought; and after settling his own business and also his brother's, he\nmoved to Little Gidding in the year 1625.\n\nHe now gathered round him a very large family party.  His father was\ndead, but his mother, his brother, and his sister, who was married to a\nMr. Collett, with the children of both families, all joined under the one\nroof.  When the establishment was completed and in proper working order,\nit is said that they numbered forty persons, including schoolmasters and\nservants.\n\nThe meeting between Nicholas Ferrar and his mother, who was now 73 years\nold, is so characteristic that it must be related.  Within three or four\ndays of his arrival, and before the necessary repairs had been carried\nout, Mrs. Ferrar rides to Gidding from her daughter's home, no great\ndistance off.  Nicholas Ferrar meets her outside the manor house, and\nkneeling on the ground, asks and receives her blessing.  He then entreats\nher to enter his dwelling and repose herself after the journey.\n\n\"Not so,\" she says; \"yonder I see the church, let us first go there and\ngive thanks to God.\"\n\nShe is told she cannot even get inside the door, for there had been no\ntime as yet to clear out the hay which was in it.  But she persists in\nher resolve, and thrusting herself in a little way, she kneels and prays.\nThen sending for the workmen employed in the house, the hay is flung out\nof the windows, and the church is cleansed as well as might be for the\npresent, and till this is done she will not set foot in her new home.\n\nThe following year, 1626, Nicholas Ferrar returned to London for a short\nwhile to dispose of his house and bid good-bye to his friends.  He now\nwas able to carry out a resolution, which it is believed he had made long\nbefore, and was ordained Deacon by Dr. Laud, the future Archbishop of\nCanterbury.  Many people imagined that this was to enable him to seek\necclesiastical preferments, and several valuable livings were soon\noffered to him; but his sole object was that he might have the necessary\nauthority to carry on the spiritual work of his own home, and thus be of\ngreater use to his family.\n\nHe had doubtless by now worked out the general plan of life, and put his\nhouse and the church into proper order.  Certain glebe lands and tithes\nwhich had been alienated from their rightful owners were restored; and to\nprove the honesty of his purpose he even pulled down a very large\ndovecote upon the premises, which contained a great number of pigeons.\nThe reason for this was that all his property was laid out as pasture,\nand therefore the pigeons fed on his neighbours' corn-fields.  In the\nplace of the dovecote he made a school-house, and permission was given to\nthe people of the towns and villages within reach to send their children\nto be instructed under his supervision, and without payment or expense.\nFor this purpose he provided three resident masters; one was to teach\nEnglish to the poor children and Latin to his nephews and nieces, another\nsuperintended the writing and arithmetic, while the third was for\ninstruction in the theory and practice of music.\n\nThere was also especial inducement held out to all children of the\nneighbourhood to learn the Psalms by heart.  Each one was given a\nPsalter, and had to go to Gidding on Sunday mornings to repeat his\nportion learnt during the week.  There were sometimes more than a hundred\nchildren, and they were given a penny for each Psalm learnt, and a dinner\nserved in the great hall.\n\nIt will be as well now to describe in detail the \"particular and more\npunctual actions of each day in the week,\" which we get with great\nexactness from the records left us by John Ferrar.  To begin with\nSunday--early rising was encouraged on this day, as throughout the week,\nnamely, five o'clock in winter and four o'clock in summer.  The younger\nchildren first assembled in the great hall, where was always a good warm\nfire in the winter.  Here they found Nicholas Ferrar awaiting them, to\nwhom they repeated such chapters or Psalms as they had been given to\nlearn.  After this they returned to their rooms to make themselves \"more\ncomely in their best attires.\"  Breakfast, and private reading or\nconversation in their own rooms, went on till nine o'clock, when the bell\ncalled them together again.  They all met in the great hall, and, having\nsung a hymn, proceeded in decent order to the church.\n\nThe three schoolmasters led the way, wearing their black gowns, the\nyouths (also in gowns) following two and two, John Ferrar and Mr. Collett\ncame next, and then Nicholas Ferrar leading his aged mother; immediately\nbehind her came Mrs. Collett and the daughters, and the procession closed\nwith all the servants.\n\nEach as they came into church made a low obeisance, and took up their\nallotted places; Nicholas Ferrar, in surplice and hood, saying the\nservice.  This over, the \"Psalm children\" went to the manor house and\nrepeated their Psalms.\n\nAt half-past ten they went to the church again, when the minister of the\nneighbouring parish came for the Communion Service and to preach.  That\ndone, dinner was served in the house, first for the \"Psalm children\"--old\nMrs. Ferrar herself very often bringing in the first dish--and afterwards\nfor the rest of the family.\n\nRecreation or walking in the garden was permitted till two o'clock, when\nthe bell called them together again for evening service at the nearest\nparish church.  Supper-time was five or six o'clock, and while it was\nbeing prepared the organ was played in the great hall and an anthem was\nsung.  After supper each one could occupy himself as he wished, indoors\nor walking abroad, or \"passing the time with good discourse.\"  At eight\no'clock there was more singing to the organ, followed by prayers, and\nthen the children, after asking the \"old gentlewoman's\" blessing, all bid\neach good night.\n\nMr. Ferrar also made it his special care that no work in the house should\nprevent the servants attending church; there were none left behind; and\non the Sundays when the Holy Communion was administered, \"the servants\nthat had feasted with them in the church were not thought unworthy to eat\nwith them in the parlour,\" sitting at the end of the same table.\n\nIt would be tedious and uninteresting to attempt to follow the week-day\nemployments in the exact order in which they were carried out, but the\ngeneral plan may be given with advantage, as illustrating the principles\ninculcated at Gidding.\n\nThe day began early--at four or five o'clock--by the children repeating\nto Mr. Ferrar what they had learnt by heart the day before.  At six\no'clock the recitation of the Psalms began, and it was so planned that\n\"certain members of the family repeated certain Psalms at every hour of\nthe day, every one knowing his turn and hour of attendance; and thus,\nwithout undue interruption of other work, the whole book of Psalms was\nrepeated once in the twenty-four hours.\"  In addition to this, the\nchildren had to say one of the chapters of the Concordance, or Harmony of\nthe Four Evangelists, which was arranged purposely by Nicholas Ferrar, so\nthat it might be gone through once in every month.\n\nThree times during the day the bell rang to summon them for a short\nservice in the church, on each occasion the proceeding being as described\nfor Sunday.\n\nEvery hour of the day had some special employment, some of the children\nsitting in the great hall watched by Mrs. Ferrar, some in the new\nschool-house with the masters.  Their occupations were as varied as\npossible: English, Latin, and other languages, writing and ciphering, and\nlearning by heart being interspersed with singing, playing the organ, and\nother instruments, making the Concordances, bookbinding and gilding, and\nembroidery.  At stated times the boys were encouraged in active outdoor\nexercises, running, leaping, and archery.  As the girls grew up they were\nmade to perfect themselves in good housewifery.  A month at a time each\none had control of the housekeeping, all expenditure being carefully\nbooked; at the end of the month her accounts were looked over, and her\nduties handed on to the next in rotation.\n\nA room was set apart as an infirmary for any member of the family who\nmight require nursing, and another room for the reception of any poor\nperson who might be brought in sick or hurt.  The ladies were taught to\ndress their wounds, and to do all things necessary for their relief, but\nthe prescribing of medicines Mr. Ferrar kept for himself, as he had many\nyears studied this science.  They distilled \"cordial waters,\" and kept in\nthe dispensary a good supply of balsams, oils, and all things needful for\nthe cure of their patients.\n\nAt meal times the custom prevailed of reading aloud, the person whose\nturn it might be, first having some light food, and after the reading was\nfinished, \"in regard of his forbearance, always having the advantage of\nsome more food than his fellows!\"\n\nThe reading was to be something \"delightful and easy, such as stories of\nsea voyages, descriptions of foreign countries, their rise and fall, and\nillustrated by the particular actions of eminent persons.\"  And in order\nthat these stories might not be forgotten, it was further arranged that\nnotes (or \"a summary collection\") should be taken of everything worthy of\nattention, and that these notes should afterwards be transcribed, and put\ninto language fitted to the capacity of the children, who then had, in\nturn, to recite the stories.  This practice brought the boys into a habit\nof delivering any speech with assurance and good manner, and of\nexpressing themselves in a becoming and elegant style.\n\nThey also became thoroughly acquainted with ancient and modern history,\nand knew and understood the great affairs of life better than many who\nlived more in the world.\n\nAnalogous to this, and no doubt a development of it, were \"The\nmaiden-sisters exercises.\"  These were conversations or dialogues recited\nby the Miss Colletts, illustrative of some special virtue, and always\nenforced by examples taken from history.\n\nThe sisters, for this purpose, were known by such titles as The Patient,\nThe Cheerful, The Affectionate, etc., and formed themselves into what\nthey called \"The Little Academy,\" of which Mary Collett was \"The Chief,\"\nMrs. Collett was called \"The Moderator,\" John Ferrar \"The Guardian,\" and\nNicholas Ferrar \"The Visitor.\"\n\nThe subjects and the substance of the exercises were supplied by Nicholas\nFerrar himself, but the sisters were left to compile them in their own\nwords.  They were prepared some time beforehand, and after they had been\nrecited were transcribed into books kept for the purpose.\n\nFour folio volumes of these \"conversations\" are still in existence, and\nare, no doubt, in the handwriting of Mary and Ann Collett.  They are\nbound in black leather, stamped with gilt lines, and with gilt edges, and\nhave been passed on from one member of the family to another to the\npresent owner, a Mr. Mapletoft Davis, living in Australia. {20}\n\nSome idea of the general plan of these \"exercises\" may be gathered from\nthe following notes taken from the manuscripts.\n\nThe first meeting of the \"Little Academy\" was on Ash Wednesday, 1630,\nwhen the subject was \"The Folly of Delaying Repentance.\"  The next\nmeeting was on Easter Monday, a speech being made on \"Happiness,\"\nillustrated by stories of King Philip of Spain, King Henry IV. of France,\nand Popes Marcellus and Adrian.  On other occasions the following\nsubjects were selected: \"Humility towards God, and moderation to equals\nand enemies is most beneficial,\" illustrated by stories of Charles V.;\n\"We must overcome evil with good,\" illustration, John of Alexandria,\netc., etc.\n\nAt first it seems that the recitations were given on five festivals,\nwhich days naturally provided suitable subjects, and afterwards it was\ndecided to increase the number to twelve days, and they pass the\nfollowing resolution: \"Every day must handle a new matter, that's the\ninjunction; and because the days afford not any special occasion, the\nparticular names imposed on us shall be the subjects successively of our\nseveral exercises.\"  The titles were (1) \"The Chief\" (who chose for her\nsubject \"Humility\"); (2) The Patient; (3) The Affectionate; (4) The\nCheerful; (5) The Submiss; (6) The Obedient; (7) The Moderate.  Generally\nthe conversations were enlivened by music and singing, but when the\nsubject was \"Patience\" this was omitted, and there was much less\nanecdote.  The discourse was also somewhat longer, so that the virtue\nwhich was being illustrated was at the same time practically enforced.\nIt is not quite clear how long the exercises were continued, but in the\nsecond volume of the manuscripts it is stated that many home troubles had\nhelped to break up the \"Little Academy,\" especially old Mrs. Ferrar's\ndeath, which was in the year 1634, and that the actors were reduced to\nthree, when their cousin, young Nicholas Ferrar, \"took upon himself to\nrevive their antient practises.\"  But after this the actors all appear\nwith fresh names.\n\nNot content with the most careful and minute regulations for the\nemployment of every hour of the day in some secular or religious matter,\n(for we read that \"every hour had its company for the performance of some\nspecial duty,\") Nicholas Ferrar further arranged that those so inclined\nshould pursue their devotional exercises also at night.  Two were to\nwatch together in a room set apart for the purpose; the womankind had a\nroom at one side of the house, and the men had one on the other side.\nThe watching lasted from 9 p.m. till 1 a.m., and during those four hours\nthe whole of the Book of Psalms was said over carefully, verse by verse,\nalternately.\n\nMr. Ferrar himself generally watched twice in the week, the others never\nmore than once; and in the winter special precautions were taken to\nprevent them suffering from cold.\n\nAt one o'clock, when the watch was finished, they lay down till six\no'clock, but did not actually go to bed at all, as on other nights.\n\nIt was apparently some account of the \"Harmonies of the Four Evangelists\"\nwhich first attracted King Charles' attention to the family living at\nGidding, and about the year 1631, being not far off with his Court, he\nsent a gentleman to ask for the loan of the book.  This was conceded with\nsome hesitation, and the King, having once got it into his hands, would\nnot part with it again, until he had obtained a promise that another\nsimilar volume should be made for him.  The work was promptly executed,\nand may now be seen in the British Museum.\n\nThe careful study of the Harmonies or Concordances is most interesting,\nand even in these modern times one at least is used daily as a means of\ninstruction for the children of the family where the book has an honoured\nhome, in much the same manner as the children at Little Gidding used it\ntwo hundred and fifty years ago.\n\nNo more need be said about the Harmonies here, as a full account of the\nmanner of their construction and the history and resting-place of all the\nspecimens that can be heard of at the present time will be related in\nanother chapter.\n\nBut in close connection with the making of the Concordances must be\nmentioned the art of bookbinding, and embroidered covers for books, as\nwell as embroidery for other purposes.\n\nThe Concordances are all bound in velvet or leather, and are nearly all\nstamped with designs in gold, on much the same plan.  The stamps chiefly\nused are _fleurs-de-lis_, acorns, sprigs of oak, etc., and the amount of\nornamentation appears to depend upon the rank of the person for whom the\nbook was intended, and also partly upon the date when the book was made,\nthe earlier copies being much less elaborate than the later volumes.\n\nIt is also evident that books printed in the ordinary way were bound, or\nre-bound, at Gidding.  One of the most remarkable of which there is any\nauthentic account is a large folio Bible, printed by Barker, of London,\nin the year 1639.  It now belongs to the Marquis of Bute, and, as a rule,\nis in his library at Cardiff; but he is most kind in allowing it to be\nexhibited, and it has recently been shown at Bath, and before that at\nGlasgow.  The binding is of blue silk, elaborately decorated with designs\nin gilt and silver thread, and in the centre are the royal arms and\ninitials C. R., which prove clearly enough for whom the work was\noriginally done.  A competent authority, one of the great professional\nconnoisseurs, has declared the binding to be one of the most magnificent\nspecimens with which he is acquainted.\n\nIt would ill-befit one of the ruder sex to attempt to write critically\nabout the needlework of the maidens of Gidding, but we may sing their\npraises for the skill, the industry, and the artistic results exhibited\nby this branch of their daily occupations.\n\nThe specimen most easily examined by any one wishing to do so, is a cover\nfor a dressing-case in the South Kensington Museum; another similar piece\nof work was lent by a gentleman in London to an exhibition in Dublin a\nfew years ago; he kindly supplied the information afterwards that he had\nbeen for many years a collector and admirer of the Gidding needlework,\nand had one or two Bible covers and some other pieces of their embroidery\nin his possession.\n\nA gentleman at Brighton has also a small 32mo New Testament, printed by\nR. Barker, of London, A.D. 1640, which has a Gidding embroidered cover.\nThe design is a simple floral pattern worked in fine close stitches on\nwhite silk, with a foundation of coarse canvas or holland, which was\nperhaps glued on to the original boards.  He has also a portrait of\nCharles I. made in the same kind of stitch on a satin ground, but it is\nnot certain whether this was worked at Gidding or not.  A great deal of\nneedlework of that date is wrongly attributed to the Miss Collets.\n\nAn altar cloth, shown at Dublin in 1888, was also stated to be their\nwork, and it is extremely probable that they would have done such things,\nfor it is mentioned \"that they were expert with their needles, and made\nthem serve the altar and the poor.\"\n\nIn making the embroidery it would appear as if the pattern was first\ndrawn on paper, then cut out, and finally worked over, the designs being\nfor the most part in somewhat high relief.\n\nIt is worthy of remark that, almost invariably, whenever this embroidery\nis put up for sale or is exhibited, it is marked as the work of the \"Nuns\nof Little Gidding.\"  Now, it may be said that all those who at the\npresent day take any interest in the life, methods, or work of Nicholas\nFerrar and his nieces, do so with feelings of admiration, and are, at\nleast, not to be numbered amongst their detractors.  Yet it is curious\nhow the one name which helped more than anything else to work their ruin\nis even now, as a rule, attached to them.  Within a few years of Nicholas\nFerrar's death, some of his enemies had a pamphlet printed and\ndistributed \"not by hundreds, but by thousands, and given into the hands\nof the parliament men as they went daily to the House of Commons.\"  The\ntitle was, \"The Arminian Nunnery; a description of the newly erected\nMonastical Place, or the Arminian Nunnery at Little Gidding.\"  The books\nwere also given to the Puritan soldiers when near Gidding to excite them\nto offer violence to the family.  But why should the title \"Nuns of\nLittle Gidding\" be still the name most often given to the Miss Colletts?\nFew persons can realize that it is the name invented by their enemies,\nearnestly repudiated by themselves, and entirely devoid of truth.\n\nThis may be proved in several ways.  The house at Little Gidding\ncontained two _married_ families, the boys and girls all growing up\ntogether.  The girls were purposely trained in such domestic matters as\nwould fit them for _good wives_, and five of them did eventually marry.\nThe two eldest alone, having reached the ages of thirty and thirty-two,\nresolved to remain unmarried, but in no way took vows.  Nicholas Ferrar\nhimself was once taxed with having started a \"nunnery,\" and replied that\nthe name of \"nuns\" was odious, and declared himself against such vows of\nsingle life with great earnestness.\n\nAgain, a visitor to Little Gidding, describing the place and the family,\nsays, \"I saluted the mother and daughter _not like nuns_, but as we\nsalute other women.\"\n\nProbably when the phrase \"Nuns of Little Gidding\" is used at the present\ntime, it is used in no reproachful sense; but the name is misleading, and\nshould be avoided, if for no other reason, because it was invented by the\nenemies of Mr. Ferrar's family and objected to by themselves.\n\nThe family, as a matter of fact, were by no means recluses; they went\nabout amongst their neighbours, and were \"very well reported of by all\nwho knew them.\"  They purposely selected a quiet part of the country to\nlive in, that they might not be interrupted in their manifold\nemployments; but they appear to have been always ready to receive\nvisitors, and to treat them with hospitality.\n\nFerrar's rules for his own life were certainly somewhat austere, and as\ntime went on he increased its rigour, more especially after his mother's\ndeath; but he never enforced on others what he did himself, and every\nhour of the day appears to have been spent usefully and happily.\n\nIt may be interesting to give here the opinions of some of his more\nnotable friends.  Mention has already been made of the important persons\nhe lived amongst in his public life, and besides them at this time there\nwas Dr. Laud the Archbishop, who was so delighted to ordain \"such a man\nas he never had before nor believed he ever should again.\"  There was Dr.\nWilliams the Bishop of the Diocese, who often went to Gidding and \"much\nmagnified all that Nicholas and Mrs. Ferrar had done;\" and not to mention\nothers, there was George Herbert, \"his very dear brother,\" who, \"seeing\nhe could not draw Gidding any nearer to him, he would draw nearer to his\nbrother Ferrar,\" and was endeavouring to exchange his living merely to\ncarry out this wish.  These two good men were indeed very similar in\ntheir religious views; they \"loved and trusted one another most entirely,\nand drove a large stock of Christian intelligence together,\" and when\nGeorge Herbert died, he sent his manuscripts to Ferrar to publish or to\nwithhold, as he thought right.  Chief amongst them were the poems now\nsuch favourites in many a house.  These, when Ferrar had many and many a\ntime read over, he kissed and embraced them again and again, saying,\n\"they were most worthy to be in the hands and hearts of all true\nChristians that feared God and loved the Church of England.\"\n\nThe words of the Royal Friend who once or twice visited Gidding in person\nstand at the commencement of this sketch, and sufficiently prove what was\nhis estimate of Ferrar and his works.\n\nIt may be easily conjectured, however, that this unusual life, conducted\nby a man so well known as Ferrar, attracted a great deal of\nattention--and that in the days when religious differences prevailed to a\nsad extent, there were many persons eager enough not only to find fault,\nbut to misrepresent what was done by this family; who, to say the least,\ndid a great deal of good to their poorer neighbours, and did harm to no\none.  But a closer acquaintance with Mr. Ferrar generally dispelled the\ncalumnies which report had spread of him and his ways.  And one gentleman\nwho went to Gidding purposely to make out their case as bad as possible,\ncame away full of their praises.\n\nIn the end, however, their enemies prevailed; for the Puritan soldiers\n(about the time of King Charles's death) did drive the family away,\nransacked the church, plundered the house, and destroyed many very\nvaluable books and manuscripts, and, in fact, everything that had been\nleft behind in a somewhat hasty flight.  It is related that the organ\nexcited their anger more than anything, and that they relieved their\nfeelings by breaking it up, setting it on fire, and then roasting some of\nMr. Ferrar's sheep over it.\n\nBut he was not spared to see these distressful times himself, as he died\nin December, 1637, having lived at Gidding about twelve years.  The\naccounts of his last illness are very interesting, as throwing a strong\nlight on his intensely religious character.  In November, 1637, on his\nreturn from the little church, he had an attack of faintness, and never\nafterwards left the house.  He knew from the first that he would not\nrecover, and said to those around him, \"In former sickness I have had a\nstrong desire to live, and an earnestness to pray to my God to spare me,\nwhich He hath to this day done, when all hopes of life were past by the\njudgments of the most skilful physicians; and I may further say to the\nGlory of His great name, I never earnestly set myself to beg of God\nanything, but He fulfilled the petition of His most unworthy servant.\nBut now and of late, I have not, nor do not find in my heart any\ninclination to beg longer life.\"\n\nDuring his illness he continually exhorted the family that they should\n\"constantly adhere to the doctrine of the Church of England, and to\ncontinue in the good old way;\" he forewarned them of coming oppositions\nand of danger and trouble, and urged them to shrink not to rely on God,\nto serve Him with soul and body, for \"He made both, and both must worship\nHim in sincerity of devotion.\"  \"He will have both inward love, and\noutward reverence of body and gesture.\"\n\nAbout three days before his death, he made John Ferrar mark out the place\nfor his grave seven feet from the west end of the church, leaving space\nfor his elder brother's grave nearest the church.  He then directed that\nall the books of comedies, tragedies, love-hymns, etc. (three great\nhampers full, which had been locked up for many years), should be burnt\non the place marked for his grave.  There were many hundreds in various\nlanguages, which he had collected when a young man, but which he had\nabjured as dangerous, full of idolatry, and apt to undermine the\nChristian religion.\n\nHe retained full power of mind, and suffered no pain throughout the whole\nillness, and passed away at one o'clock on the Sunday night, the very\nhour that he constantly rose up every morning to praise God, and to pray\nunto Him.\n\nThe family carried on all the good works in the which they had been\ninstructed, until they were driven away by the military zealots of the\nPuritan party; but in later and more peaceful times they again assembled\nin the old home, though there is no authentic account of the date, nor of\nthe particular members of the family that returned; but their exile does\nnot appear to have been of long duration, as there are entries in the\nregister of Gidding church, and inscriptions on brasses or tombstones,\nwhich record events in the family history of the Ferrars and Collets\n(such as baptisms and burials) as early as the year 1650--and at frequent\ndates afterwards.  The Gidding estate, which had originally been bought\nby old Mrs. Ferrar, passed to her eldest son John, which is proved by his\nbeing described on his tombstone as \"Lord of this Manor,\" and he was\nsucceeded by his eldest son, who was resident there in the year 1715, as\nstated by Dr. Mapletoft in one of the Concordances.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER II.\nTHE CONCORDANCES OR HARMONIES.\n\n\nOf all the work carried on at Gidding, nothing attracted more favourable\nnotice at the time, than the Concordances of the Four Evangelists, and of\nother portions of the Bible, and at the present day they are also highly\nvalued by those who possess them, partly no doubt from a feeling of\nadmiration for Nicholas Ferrar himself, who designed them, but no less\nfor their intrinsic worth, and for the skill and industry employed in\ntheir making.\n\nEven in the books which treat of Ferrar's life with the greatest\nexactness, reference is made to some six or seven Harmonies, but several\nof these have been either lost or destroyed, or cannot now be traced;\nwhile within the last few years, several not mentioned in the printed\nbiographies have been discovered, and in the following pages much\ninteresting matter will be brought forward about them, and the histories\nof the various volumes will be given. {35}\n\nThe notoriety attaching to the Concordances can be easily accounted for\nby the great interest shown in the work by King Charles I.  There does\nnot appear to be any evidence to show that the King knew Nicholas Ferrar\npersonally, before he first heard of the Concordance which was in daily\nuse at Gidding.  The family had settled there the very year King Charles\nI. began to reign, but in Ferrar's early life, as already stated, he was\na distinguished public servant and Member of Parliament, and had,\nmoreover, travelled in the suite of the King's sister; so that in all\nprobability Ferrar's name and character were not unknown to him.\n\nBut in order to prove the real value of the work, not only as a clever\ncontrivance, but as an aid to religious instruction, and to the study of\nthe Gospel history, it is necessary to put on one side the prestige of\nthe royal patronage, and to give an accurate description of some one\nvolume.\n\nThe Harmony selected for this purpose is one of the earliest, and least\nelaborate; it was made for a private friend of the Ferrars, and is no\ndoubt almost an exact reproduction of the volume which was used every day\nby the children at Little Gidding; for it was a part of their daily duty\nto repeat portions of the Harmony to Mr. Ferrar--the book being so\ndivided that \"beginning still at the first day of the month, and ending\nat the last day of the month, all the heads or chapters were said over in\nevery month's time.\"\n\nThe principle of the work was this--to make one continuous history of all\nthe actions and discourses of our Lord wherever related, and this to be\nso arranged that the Gospel of any one Evangelist could be read straight\nthrough from first to last.\n\nTo do this without confusion was no easy task, for every word of all four\nEvangelists is in the Harmony, and yet in reading them as one connected\nstory there is no repetition.  The whole of the Gospel history is divided\nfor this purpose into one hundred and fifty heads or chapters, each\nchapter containing some special subject, and being made complete by the\nbringing together the words of each Evangelist treating of that subject.\n\nThe following selection will show the manner in which the subjects were\nchosen--\n\n54.  Christ's second going about Galilee and sending the Apostles.\n\n55.  John's beheading.\n\n56.  The five loaves.\n\n57.  Jesus walking on the sea.\n\n58.  Discourse of the Bread from Heaven.\n\nThe method adopted throughout the work was very simple and ingenious.  It\nwas this: the words of each Evangelist were marked in the margin by a\ndistinguishing letter, viz. St. Matthew, by A; St. Mark, by B; St. Luke,\nby C.; St. John by D, so that to read any one Gospel straight through, it\nwas only necessary to read all the passages marked by the same initial\nletter, omitting all the others.  But when, as often happens, two or more\nwriters use identical language, the words which had been inserted before,\nwere put in different type.  The body of the work was given in ordinary\nRoman type, but the words which occurred a second time and were,\ntherefore, unnecessary for the continuous history were given in old\nEnglish lettering.\n\nTo make this contrivance quite clear the following directions were\nwritten at the beginning of the concordance--\n\n\"If you would read the Evangelical History keepe on still from one of the\nmarking letters to another, reading onely that which is in the Roman\nletter.  But if you would read the Evangelists severally, then you must\nkeepe still from section to section in the same letter with which you\nbegin, reading both context and supplement, that is the Roman letter and\nthe Inglish letter annexed.  Where you find any one word or more streaked\nunder, you are to omit it in the reading of the context to make the\nclearer sence; but it is necessarily left remaining for the reading of\nthe Evangelist severally.\"\n\nTo carry out this scheme in the first instance required a complete\nacquaintance with the text, a clear idea of the sequence of events, an\ningenious head to plot out the work, and no small amount of purely\nmechanical skill to bring it to a successful result.\n\nNicholas Ferrar himself planned the whole Concordance, and also\nsuperintended his nephews and nieces while they did the work; but the\nsystem adopted may well be given in the words of the old manuscripts.  A\nlarge room was set apart purposely for the work, and called \"the\nConcordance room,\" which was all coloured over with green, pleasant\ncolour, varnished for the more pleasure to their eyes, and round the\nupper part of the walls were sentences written, suggested by each person\nof the family and some good friends, such as \"Glory be to God on high,\"\n\"Prosper Thou, O Lord, the work of our hands,\" \"Innocency is never better\nlodged than at the sign of labour,\" \"The industrious man hath no leisure\nto sin; and the idle man hath no power to avoid sin.\"\n\nIn this room Mr. Ferrar \"every day spent one hour in contriving the\nConcordance, and directed his nieces that attended him in what manner\nthey should cut the pieces out of the Evangelist, and so, and so, to lay\nthem together as to make and perfect such a head or chapter.  When they\nhad first cut out those pieces with their knives or scissors, then they\ndid neatly and exactly fit each verse that was so cut out, to be pasted\ndown on sheets of paper; and so artificially they performed it, that it\nlooked like a new kind of printing, when it was finished; so finely were\nall the pieces joined together, and with great presses for that purpose,\npressed down upon the white sheets of paper.\"\n\nEven this description scarcely conveys an adequate impression of the\nlabour involved, for in many cases only two or three words are taken out\nof one Evangelist, and added to the account given by another.\n\nAnd, besides the letterpress, every page is supplied with engravings,\nrelating to the subject in hand; and when, as often happened, they could\nnot find an engraving to suit exactly, parts of different prints were\ncombined, so as to make a suitable illustration; and so cleverly is this\n\"splicing\" carried out, that it is almost impossible to be sure where the\npictures join.\n\nIt will give some idea of the work if a few details are given from the\nvolume under consideration.  In one place the narrative is composed of\nfive verses from St. Matthew, seven from St. Mark, and four from St.\nLuke; but there are forty-four separate cuttings pasted in; in another\ncase seventeen verses required fifty-three cuttings, and in another,\nfifteen verses from the four Evangelists are inserted with thirty-four\ncuttings.\n\nBut even when whole verses, or perhaps whole chapters, could have been\nput in entire (as would occur in the discourses related only by St.\nJohn), the Miss Collets did not save themselves trouble if the appearance\nof the page could be improved.  Some of the most attractive sheets are\nthose where each line has been cut out, and pasted in again in the\noriginal sequence, but with open spacing, so as to occupy the full page.\nIn one case fifty-six lines have been treated thus, in another\nfifty-eight, in another fifty-one, where each passage might have been\ninserted entire.\n\n                                * * * * *\n\nSome instances may now be given to show the clever compilation of\nconnected sentences out of the accounts of different Evangelists,\n_e.g._--\n\n    \"And came into the coasts of Judea, beyond Jordan, into the place\n    where John at first baptized, and there He abode, and great\n    multitudes followed Him, and He healed them there, and as He was wont\n    He taught them again\" (_vide_ St. Matt. xix. 1; St. John x. 40; St.\n    Mark x. 1),\n\nwhich reads as if it was one sentence, but is in reality four extracts\nfrom three Evangelists.\n\nAgain--At the supper at Bethany--\n\n    \"She annointed the feet of Jesus, and wiped His feet with her hair,\n    and she brake the box, and poured it on His head, and the house was\n    filled with the odour of the ointment\" (_vide_ St. John xii. 3; St.\n    Mark xiv. 3).\n\nOr this:\n\n    \"Ye shall find an ass tied, and a colt with her, whereon never man\n    sat; loose them and bring them unto me\" (_vide_ St. Matt. xxi. 2; St.\n    Mark xi. 2).\n\nIn both these extracts a little incident supplied by St. Mark is\nintroduced into the main narrative of another Evangelist, who had not\nmentioned it.\n\nThe following also is interesting, taken from the gospels of St. Matthew,\nSt. Mark, and St. Luke--\n\n    \"Is not this Joseph's son?\"  \"Is not this the carpenter's son?\"  \"Is\n    not this the carpenter, the son of Mary?\" (_vide_ St. Luke iv. 23;\n    St. Matt. xiii. 55; St. Mark vi. 3).\n\nIt must not be thought that in the Concordance these extracts are printed\nstraight off, as they read here.  If that were the case, it would be open\nto objection that something like a new Gospel history was being compiled;\nbut in every case, without exception, wherever words are introduced from\nanother Evangelist, a space is left, a fresh line commenced, and the\ndistinguishing letter placed in the margin.  One short extract, printed\nas in the original, will make this quite clear.\n\nC. 8.  23.                But as they sailed He fell asleep.\nA. 8.  24.                And behold there arose a great\n                          tempest in the sea.\nC.                        And there came down a storm of wind\n                          on the lake.\nB. 4.  37.                And the waves beat into the ship, so\n                          that it was now full.\nC.                        And they were filled with water, and\n                          were in jeopardy.\n\nThus far the instances have been given to illustrate the plan of making\nthe Gospel history continuous.  One or two examples may now be selected\nto show how the two distinct types of print were used, which became\nnecessary for the reading of any one Evangelist alone.\n\n                          THE TRANSFIGURATION.\n\nC. 9.  28.                And it came to pass about an eight days after\n                          these sayings, he took Peter and John and James.\nA. 17.  1.                And after six days Jesus taketh Peter, James,\n                          and John his brother and bringeth them up into\n                          an high mountain apart.\nB. 9.  2.                 And after six days Jesus taketh with him Peter\n                          and James and John,\n                          And leadeth them up into an high mountain apart\n                          by themselves,\nC.                        And went up into a mountain to pray.\n\n                          THE TEMPEST STILLED.\n\nA. 8.  25.                And his disciples came to Him, and\n                          awoke Him saying\nB.  4.                    Unto him, Master, carest thou not\n                          that we perish.\nA.                        Lord save us, we perish.\n26.                       And he saith unto them, Why are ye\n                          fearful, O ye of little faith.  Then\n                          he arose and rebukes the winds and\n                          the sea, and there was a great calm.\nC.  8.                    Then he arose and rebuked the wind\n                          and the raging of the water, and they\n                          ceased and there was a calm.  25. And\n                          he said unto them\nB.  39.                   And he arose and rebuked the wind and\n                          said unto the sea, Peace, be still;\n                          and the wind ceased, and there was a\n                          great calm.  40. And he said unto\n                          them, Why are ye so fearful?  How is\n                          it that ye have no faith?\nC.                        Where is your faith?  And they being\n                          afraid, wondered, saying one to\n                          another, what manner of man is this?\nA.  27.                   But the men marvelled, saying, What\n                          manner of man is this that even the\n                          winds and the sea obey him?\nB.  41.                   And they feared exceedingly, and said\n                          one to another, What manner of man is\n                          this that even the winds and the sea\n                          obey him?\nC.                        For he commandeth even the winds and\n                          water, and they obey him.\n\nIt is interesting to read these passages in the various ways intended by\nthe compiler, first taking the Evangelists separately, and reading all\nthe verses marked with the proper letter, in both sorts of type, and then\nreading only the common type, straight on, irrespective of the marking\nletters.\n\nThere is still another way in which the value of the Harmony may be\ntested.  It is of course well-known that the historical sequence of\nevents varies greatly in the records of the different Evangelists.  To\nreconcile these discrepancies, is often a very difficult matter, and when\ncombined with the other principles on which the Harmonies were\nconstructed must have caused a great deal of trouble, and required much\nskilful adaptation.  This part of the work can be tested by examining\nsome one chapter of the Authorized Version, and we can then discover how\nthe subjects are treated.  The eighth chapter of St. Luke's Gospel will\nbe a good example--\n\nVers. 1-3: \"A general account of Christ's ministry and followers,\" appear\non p. 102 of the Harmony.\n\nVers. 4-15: \"Parable of the Sower, and explanation,\" come on pp. 90-93,\nbeing composed of the narratives of the other two Evangelists\ninterpolated with St. Luke's.\n\nVers. 16-18 follow in natural order, but\n\nVers. 19-21: \"Christ's mother and brethren,\" are found on p. 90, _before_\nthe Parable of the Sower; while\n\nVers. 22-25: \"The Storm on the Lake,\" come still earlier in the Harmony,\non p. 45.\n\nVers. 26-39: \"The herd of swine drowned,\" following on p. 47.\n\nVer. 40.  Stands by itself on p. 50, preceeding the events recorded in\nSt. Luke's fifth chapter.\n\nVers. 41-56: \"The raising of Jairus' daughter,\" come prior to the events\nnarrated in St. Luke's sixth and seventh chapters, and appear on p. 56 of\nthe Harmony.\n\nIf we may take Nicholas Ferrar's chronology to be correct, it is clearly\nseen that the Harmony is a most valuable aid to the study of the Gospels.\n\nMention has been made already of the engravings with which the\nConcordances are nearly all supplied.  On the title-page, after\ndescribing the contents of the book, these words always occur: \"to which\nare added sundry pictures, expressing either the facts themselves or\ntheir types and figures, or other matters appertaining thereunto.\"\n\nThese \"pictures\" are in many cases delightfully quaint, and are probably\nof considerable value, having been collected by Nicholas Ferrar on his\njourney through Holland, Germany, Italy, and Spain in the years 1613 to\n1618, it being expressly stated that they were by the best masters of\nthat time, and that he let nothing valuable of this sort escape him.\n\nUnfortunately, many of these prints have been cut, to make them fit into\nthe pages, but on others there are the names or monograms of the artist\nand engraver.  On one the date 1564 appears after the name M. Heern,\ninvent.  Other names occurring are M. de Vos, Joannes Strada, Th. Galle,\nPhl. Galle, Crispin Van de Passe, Brvegel, etc., etc.\n\nThe most usual arrangement is for the engraving to occupy the upper half\nof the page, and the letterpress to be put in two columns underneath; but\noccasionally there are two or three prints in the same page.  In the copy\nunder consideration now, being one of the smaller volumes, there are 138\nfolio pages, and about 220 prints, varying in size from 12 inches by 8,\nto small delicate engravings of about 2.5 inches by 1 inch.\n\nIt would be useless to attempt to describe the pictures, so as to give an\nadequate idea of their interest, but some of the subjects may be\nmentioned.\n\nThere is a series of small engravings of the eleven Apostles (a blank\nspace being left in a conspicuous manner for Judas), which represent each\none with his proper emblem, and in the background of each picture a very\nsmall illustration of the manner of his death; for instance, St. Peter on\na cross, upside down; St. Thomas being killed by the spears of savages;\nSt. Simon being sawn asunder.  Near the beginning of the volume is a\nprint of the Blessed Virgin with a sword piercing her body, and\nsurrounded by seven medallions, showing \"the seven griefs.\"  The parable\nof \"The mote and the beam\" is quaintly depicted by two men standing near\ntogether, one with an enormous log of wood, equal in length to a third of\nhis height, projecting unsupported from his own eye, attempting to pull a\nsmall bit of straw from the eye of the other.\n\nIn the pictures of the Resurrection is one with a small representation in\nthe background of our Blessed Lord appearing to his mother, \"who had\nremained at her own home.\"\n\n                                * * * * *\n\nPerhaps enough has now been said to give a general description of the\ndesign of the Concordances.  They were all made on one plan, but no two\nwere exactly alike.  The actual sizes vary considerably, and the number\nof pages also, from sixty-five up to four hundred.  By far the greater\nnumber deal with the Gospels of the four Evangelists, but in addition to\nthese there are Concordances of the Books of Kings and Chronicles, and\nthe five Books of Moses.\n\nSome slight account may now be given of all the volumes known to be in\nexistence at the present time.  With the exception of the original book,\nmade for the instruction of the home family, which was in daily use at\nGidding, the splendid copy made for Charles I. is the earliest of which\nthere is any authentic history.\n\nAs stated on a previous page, it was at the King's urgent request that\nthis was put in hand, and, after twelve months' hard work, was safely\ndelivered to his Majesty, who declared it to be a \"rich and rare jewel,\nand that there was no defect in the skill, care, and cost used in it, but\na superlative diligence in all about it.\"\n\nThis fine volume is now in the British Museum, having been sent there\nfrom Windsor by George II.  It is a large square folio, measuring 1 foot\n7 inches by I foot 2 inches, and has 287 pages, bound in leather, with a\ngreat deal of gilding on the sides; the date on the title-page is 1635.\n\nThe Concordance described on pp. 36-47, and from which the extracts were\ntaken, has the same date on the title-page, and the words \"done at Little\nGidding\" added also.  It is much smaller than the Royal copy, with less\nthan half the number of pages.  Its history is not quite so clear, but on\nthe inside of the cover appear the arms of Sir R. Cotton, who commenced\nthe library given by his grandson to the nation.  The Cottons were near\nneighbours of the Ferrars, and nothing is more likely than that a lover\nof books should have procured one of the earliest of the works which were\nrapidly becoming famous.  From the Cottons it passed to the family of\nBowdlers, one of whom married a daughter of the last baronet; and the\ngrandson of this Mr. Bowdler left the book to the father of the writer of\nthis sketch, now living in Dorchester, who still makes use of the book in\nthe religious instruction of his children.\n\nThe next volume made was a Harmony of the Kings and Chronicles, the idea\nbeing originated by Charles himself.  He is reported to have asked for it\nat the very time he received his first Harmony, saying, \"I would gladly\nhave these skilful persons to make me another book that might be so\nordered, that I might read these stories of Kings and Chronicles, so\ninterwoven by them, as if one pen had written the whole book, and to make\nit a complete history; yet so ordering the matter that I may also read\nthem severally and apart.\"\n\nThis was faithfully carried out.  The date on the title-page is 1637, and\nthe book is now at the British Museum.  It is bound in leather, curiously\ngilt, rather smaller than the first volume, and without any\nillustrations; but a great deal of care was taken in its compilation,\nespecially in the construction of three tables relating to the contents\nand to the various passages related in the Books of Kings and Chronicles\n\"severally or jointly.\"\n\nA third volume was also sent to the British Museum by George II., as\nbeing a Little Gidding work; but it is not, strictly speaking, a\nConcordance, being in many ways different to all the other Gidding works.\n\nIt contains merely the Acts of the Apostles and the Revelations of St.\nJohn.  The title-page is very fully and curiously decorated; there is no\ndate, and the form of title which occurs with very little alteration in\nevery other specimen is also absent.\n\nAs the King took so much interest in these works, and valued them so\nhighly, it followed as a very natural result that the young Princes\nshould demand similar volumes for themselves; though it is perhaps\ndoubtful if they would have appreciated a Concordance without any\npictures.\n\nPrince Charles asked the King to give him the first Harmony, but was met\nwith the reply \"that he might not part with it, as he used it daily.\"  A\nrequest was therefore sent to Gidding that a Harmony might be prepared\nfor the Prince, and Mr. Ferrar being dead, the Miss Colletts and their\ncousin, Nicholas Ferrar (junior), decided to complete a Concordance\nsimilar to the first, but in four languages, English, Latin, French, and\nItalian.  The book was ready and taken to London by young Ferrar just\nbefore Easter, 1640, which date is affixed to the title-page.  It was\nfirst submitted for the King's approval, and, being greatly admired, was\nthen taken to Prince Charles at Richmond, who was intensely delighted\nwith his new acquisition.  It is, indeed, a splendid volume, containing\nover 200 pages, bound in green velvet, with designs of _fleurs de lis_\nand sprigs of oak stamped in gold.  The book measured 2 feet by 1 foot 5\ninches, and has \"a store of rare pictures to delight the eye.\"  The four\nlanguages are arranged in four parallel columns in each page.\n\nIt is now in Lord Normanton's library at Somerley.  The name by which it\nis commonly known is \"Monotessaron,\" which word, in Greek characters,\nstands at the head of the title-page.\n\nOne work led on to another; and no sooner had Prince Charles become the\nhappy owner of an illustrated Harmony, than the young Duke of York, who\nwas with his brother at Richmond, must needs want one for himself.\nNicholas Ferrar assured him that he should have one \"with all good\nspeed.\"  \"But how long will that be?\" said the Prince.  \"I pray you tell\nthe gentlewomen at Gidding I will heartily thank them if they will\ndispatch it.\"\n\nAnd, in accordance with the promise, another work was no doubt taken in\nhand; but young Ferrar did not live to see it completed, dying (as he\ndid) at the early age of 21, within a very few weeks of his visit to\nRichmond, and it is almost certain that the Duke of York never had it\ngiven to him.  But the Marquis of Salisbury has at Hatfield a Harmony of\nthe Four Gospels, there being no record of the person for whom it was\nmade.  Now the appearance of the binding and the evidence of considerable\ncare being taken in its preparation would lead to the conclusion that it\nwas originally intended for a member of the Royal family.  It is bound in\npurple velvet, sprigs of oak and _fleurs de lis_ being prominent in the\ndecoration of the outside.  There is no date on the title-page, and the\nearliest authority as to the owner is the book-plate of \"the Right Hon\nJames Cecill, 1704.\"  In all essential points it is identical with the\ncopy made for Charles I., and may be considered as the book intended for\nthe Duke of York.\n\nThe King and his suite visited Gidding in the year 1642, and while there\nwas shown another splendid Concordance, which he had heard was being made\nfor Prince Charles' use, but which was not quite ready for presentation\nat the time.  If the conjecture is correct (and there seems very little\ndoubt that it is so), that this is the volume now in the possession of\nCaptain Gaussen, of Brookmans Park--near Hatfield, it is no wonder that\nseveral years were occupied in its completion.  One of the King's\nattendants remarked at the time, it was the \"gallantest greatest book in\nthe world,\" adding, \"I never saw such paper before.  I believe there is\nno book of this largeness to be seen in Christendom,\" and as the Royal\nparty were at this time making a somewhat hasty journey northwards on\naccount of the disorders prevalent in the country, the book would have\nbeen a very unsuitable addition to their baggage.  The writer can vouch\nfor the fact that it is quite as much as a man can do to carry it\ncomfortably across a room.  It is magnificently bound in purple velvet,\nwith the usual gilt stamping, chiefly in patterns made of small crowns.\nThe measurements are 2 feet 5 inches by 1 foot 8 inches, and there are\nnearly 450 pages of the thickest paper, besides which every page is\nprofusely illustrated by the pasting on of engravings, in the same manner\nas the other Gidding works.\n\nThe contents of this volume are, however, different to any yet mentioned.\nThe first part deals with \"the whole law of God as it is delivered in the\nfive Books of Moses\" methodically distributed into three great\nclasses--moral, ceremonial, and political--and each of these again\nsubdivided into several heads, etc.  There follows an \"harmonical\nparallel between the types of the Old Testament and the Four Evangelists'\nrelations of our Lord and Saviour;\" also a \"discourse of the estate of\nthe Jews,\" by Dr. Jackson, \"The destruction of Jerusalem,\" and long\nextracts from a work entitled \"Moses unveiled,\" besides other matter.\n\nThe history of this book is very obscure.  The account from which the\nabove is taken concludes with these words, \"This book hath been preserved\nat Gidding, and attends the happy hour to be delivered into the right\nowner's hands.\"  This was probably written about 1653.  The next piece of\nevidence is a note made in the book itself, that the Rev. J. Bourdillon\nbought it in the year 1776, but did not then know who had compiled it.\nThere is then another break in its history, until the beginning of the\nnineteenth century, when it was found walled up in a cupboard at the\nhouse now belonging to Captain Gaussen.  But within the last few years\nthe \"gallant book\" has had another interesting and dangerous experience,\nas its home was burnt to the ground.  The Concordance was, however,\nrescued from an untimely fate.\n\nA somewhat similar volume, but much smaller, is to be seen in the library\nof St. John's College, Oxford.  It is dated 1640, and contains only the\n\"Five Books of Moses,\" treated in the same manner as that last described.\nThere is good reason for saying that it was made for the Archbishop of\nCanterbury (Laud), and sent by him to Oxford.  It is illustrated\nthroughout, and is handsomely bound in purple velvet.\n\nThe late Bishop of Bath and Wells, Lord Arthur Hervey, had another\nspecimen of Gidding handywork.  It is one of the smaller volumes,\ncontaining only 66 pages, bound in leather, and with the usual style of\nengravings.  It is a Harmony of the Four Gospels, and the different\nnames, or book-plates, of the various owners show that it has been in the\nHervey family from the first.  The last line of the title page is as\nfollows: \"Done at Little Gidding, A.D. 1640, by Virginia Ferrar, age 12.\"\nIt would be interesting to know how much was actually \"done\" by this\nyoung lady.  She was daughter of John Ferrar, and sister of Nicholas\nFerrar, junior, and was given her name \"out of affection to the\nremembrance of the plantation of Virginia, and that they might daily have\nthe memorial of it, as not to cease praying for the prosperity of it, and\nthat looking upon her they might think upon both at once.\"  This book is\nnow in the possession of Lord Bristol, at Ickworth, Bury St. Edmunds.\n\nMention has now been made of nine Concordances; and of the two that still\nremain to be noticed there is this interesting fact to be stated--that in\nall probability they were originally made for members of the family, and\nthat until a few years ago they belonged to their descendants, who, for\nthis very reason, regarded them with special affection.  They are both\nHarmonies of the Four Gospels; one, dated 1640, is a small work, and\nbelonged to Miss Heming, of Hillingdon, a descendant of a Mr. Mapletoft,\nwho married one of the Miss Colletts, it is now in the possession of\nColonel Garrat, Bishop's Court, Exeter.  The other is a somewhat larger\nbook, now in the British Museum, recently in the possession of a Mr.\nMapletoft Davis, living in New South Wales, who also had the four volumes\nof the \"Exercises of the Little Academy\" previously described; all these\nworks, and some other relics of the Ferrars, having passed on through\ndifferent branches of the family to the late owner.  An inscription in\nthis Concordance is worthy of reproduction here; it runs as follows:\n\"This was the book of my honoured aunt, Mrs. Mary Collet, compiled at\nLittle Gidding by the direction of her uncle, Mr. N. Ferrar, and bound, I\nbelieve, by herself.  It was given to me by my good and dear cousin, Mrs.\nElizabeth Kestian.  I give it to my son, and if he dies without issue, to\nmy daughter Eliz. Gastrell, and I desire it may be preserved in my family\nas long as may be.  There were never above two more of the form that I\never heard of--one was presented to Charles the First . . . the other to\nKing Charles II., 1660, by John Ferrar, who is now owner of Little\nGidding.--John Mapletoft, Jan., 1715.\"\n\nIt is certainly a curious fact that this Dr. Mapletoft should have\nthought that there were only three Concordances made; and the same\nmistaken idea was entertained by the owner of Colonel Garratt's copy,\nwords almost identical being written in that work by another Dr.\nMapletoft in the year 1764.  The John Ferrar referred to as giving the\nConcordance to Charles II. must have been the son of John Ferrar, brother\nof Nicholas; so it is evident that the estates of Gidding were enjoyed by\nthe family for many years after their return from the flight caused by\nthe Parliamentary soldiers.\n\nIt is not known how long the business of making Concordances was\ncontinued at Gidding.  There is a letter from John Ferrar printed, in\nwhich occurs a remark that perhaps if \"noble or learned personages knew\nof them, they would desire to have some made for their own use, or for\nsome library, as rarities in their kind.\"  He also says that this work,\n\"which costs much time and labour, might be an answer to the libel that\nno work was done at Gidding, but all the time spent in contemplation, as\nit would make the world believe.\"  There is also a request to a Dr.\nBasire for two copies each of various editions and translations of the\nNew Testament in many different languages, so it is certain that the work\nwas to be carried on and developed as far as possible; and in all\nprobability it only ceased when the \"handy workwomen\" went away from\ntheir united home to marry, and devote themselves to more serious, and\nperhaps less pleasant, occupations.\n\nIn the library of Magdalen College, Cambridge, may be seen all the\nmaterials for a Concordance similar to that at St. John's, Oxford, viz.\n\"The Five Books of Moses.\"  There are two big bundles of folio sheets,\ndesigned and plotted out for engravings and letterpress; but no progress\nhad been made with the work, except (curiously enough) the title-page,\nwhich was completed, and finishes with the words, \"Done at Little\nGidding, A.D. 1641.\"\n\nThis method of bookmaking is not exactly in accordance with modern ideas,\nbut it may throw a little light on the fact that although we know the\nKing's Concordance took a whole year to complete, there are no less than\nfour volumes dated 1640, and one of these is the great Harmony in four\nlanguages.  Until this unfinished Concordance was brought to light, it\nwas always difficult to explain why four works were dated the same year.\n\nBefore we leave this subject, a few words must be said on some wonderful\nproductions of the younger Nicholas Ferrar, which are reported to have\nbeen shown to the King when \"the Monotessaron\" was presented to Prince\nCharles; but they were afterwards taken back to Gidding.\n\nThere was, first, \"The Gospel according to the holy Evangelists in eight\nlanguages, viz. Hebrew, Greek, Latin, French, Spanish, High Dutch, Saxon,\nand Welsh, interpreted with Latin or English, word for word, and at one\nview to be seen and read.\"\n\nSecond: \"The New Testament in twenty-four languages,\" each language\nwritten in its proper characters;\n\nThird: \"The Gospel of St. John in as many languages as there are chapters\n(_i.e._ each chapter in a different language), and interpreted word for\nword into Latin or English.\"\n\nThese were not printed books, but all in the handwriting of young Ferrar,\nwho at the early age of twenty-one had apparently mastered twenty-four\nlanguages.\n\nThis brief sketch must now be brought to a close, with the hope that it\nmay prove interesting to some who are unable to peruse the longer\nnarratives on the same subject, and which are, indeed, very scarce at the\npresent time.  Should the writer's hopes be fulfilled, it will surely be\nto them, as it is to him, a matter of great satisfaction that at least a\npart of the work carried on at Little Gidding should have been of such a\npermanent nature that, after 250 years, the result can still be seen and\nenjoyed almost in its original freshness, and can, indeed, be actually\nused for its original purpose.\n\nThe workmanship of the Concordances was so excellent in every detail,\neven to the paste used for their construction, that the volumes may well\nlast for another period of 250 years.  And as we turn over their pages\nand admire the method, the neatness, and the skilful design therein\nexhibited, our thoughts are carried back to the days and the scenes of\ntheir creation, and we picture to ourselves more vividly the happy and\nreligious family which day by day met in the great Concordance room, the\nwell-ordered procession wending its way to the little church at their\ngate, the meals in the great hall, enlivened only by the \"historical\nanecdote, easy and delightful,\" the daily repetition of David's Psalms,\nand the frequent singing to the organ, which was tuned so low as to be a\ndisturbance to no one, and the words of the hymn which was frequently\nsung every day--\n\n    \"So angels sing, and so sing we,\n    To God on high all glory be,\n    Let Him on earth His peace bestow,\n    And unto men His favour show.\"\n\nBut though our fancy naturally dwells on the younger and more active\nmembers, we must by no means forget the mother of the family, the source\nof all the virtues exhibited in her children and grandchildren.\n\nLiving to the age of seventy-nine, Mrs. Ferrar \"at her dying day had no\ninfirmity and scarce any sign of old age upon her.\"  \"There were few\nwomen, as all that knew her can testify, that exceeded her in comeliness\nof body and excellent beauty; of fair, modest, and sober deportment,\ngrave in her looks, humble in her carriage towards all people,\nsuperlative in discretion; of few words but when she spoke (as occasion\noffered itself) no woman passed her in eloquence, in judgement, and\nwisdom.  Great was her devotion to God, and her love to God's word,\nconstant her reading of the Scriptures, and her singing of the Psalms,\nwhen she sat at work with her children and maids about her.\"\n\nAn inscription in the great parlour, written by her in the last year of\nher life, may well be given here as a fitting conclusion to this\nimperfect narrative:--\n\n                               I. H. S.\n\nHe who by reproof of             And            He who, by a cheerful\nour errors, and                                 participation and\nremonstrance of that                            approbation of that which\nwhich is more perfect                           is good, confirms us in\nseeks to make us                                the same is welcome as a\nbetter, is welcome as                           Christian Friend.\nan Angel of God.\n                                 But\nHe who any ways goes             And            He who faults us in\nabout to disturb us                             absence, for that which\nin that which is and                            in presence he made show\nought to be amongst                             to approve of, doth by a\nChristians (tho' it                             double guilt of flattery\nbe not usual in the                             and slander, violate the\nworld) is a burden                              bands both of friendship\nwhilst he stays, and                            and charity.\nshall bear his\njudgement, whosoever\nhe be.\n                           Mary Ferrar, Widow,\n                          Mother of this family,\n                     and aged about fourscore years,\n           who bids adieu to all fears and hopes of this world\n                      and only desires to serve God,\n                            set up this Table.\n\n     PRINTED BY WILLIAM CLOWES AND SONS, LIMITED, LONDON AND BECCLES.\n\n\n\n\nFootnotes:\n\n\n{1}  The details of the life at Little Gidding contained in the following\npages are derived chiefly from \"Two lives of Nicholas Ferrar, by his\nbrother John, and by Dr. Jebb,\" Baker's MSS., edited by Dr. Mayor, of\nCambridge, and from \"Life of Nicholas Ferrar, by Dr. Turner,\" Bishop of\nEly.  Both these works are now out of print.  The accounts of the various\nHarmonies or Concordances are derived entirely from personal examination\nof the separate volumes, or from direct communication with their owners.\n\n{20}  Three of these volumes are now in the British Museum.\n\n{35}  The most accurate accounts are those in \"Nicholas Ferrar,\" edited\nby Canon Carter, published 1892, and in a paper by the present Author,\nprepared for the Society of Antiquaries, and printed in _Archaeologia_\nfor 1888.  Even these accounts are not quite accurate at the present\ntime, some of the volumes having changed hands in the last few years.--J.\nE. A.","title":"Little Gidding and its inmates in the Time of King Charles I.: with an account of the Harmonies","tradition":"scripture-revelation","translated_text":null,"word_count":12566}