Part 4

There had been several changes taken place since I left the family at Oulton Hall in 1835, the mistress having died, and in the following year the master was borne away, consequently the brother, B. Skepper, Esq., before mentioned, agreed with Mrs. Clarke, his sister, to change residences, the brother having previously, with his family occupied the smaller house, the “Cottage.” It was at the cottage, by the river side where I was to be located during the approaching winter, and soon became initiated in my new duties. The two ponies were old acquaintances, as also the superiors, but I had to make the acquaintance of the housekeeper and a furious-looking dog. This was soon accomplished, and we professed to be a family desirous of serving the Lord, the God of our fathers. There was another cottage near, occupied by John Adams, his wife, and family. They were people who for many years had been walking in the ways of the Lord, and they felt anxious that my hand should strengthened in this important matter. They belonged to the denomination called Baptists, exhibiting and illustrating the doctrine of our inability to do works meet for repentance by reason of Adam’s transgression, we must first have a good will, which is the gift of God, and then must have divine grace working in us when we have that goodwill. And these good works of ours, yea! our very best performances, are taken to go for nothing in the matter of our salvation. This must be accomplished entirety by the imputed righteousness of our Saviour Jesus Christ. That our inability to repent and believe it by reason of that spiritual death in which we are by nature so fearfully involved.

My superiors were members of the Church of England, and the housekeeper, although having lived in a clergyman’s family, yet she had been led to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and also to receive the ordinance of baptism by immersion, as the only scriptural mode on a profession of faith in God’s beloved eternal Son. Here, again, we compared these sentiments with God’s word, searched the Scriptures daily, whether things were so; many of these truths, which before had been obscured by blindness and prejudice were now like beacons shining brightly in a dark place. We, one and all, under the teaching, the comforting, the illuminating, and instructing power and guidance of the Holy Spirit went on our way rejoicing.

Mr. Charles Fisher, rector of the parish, having died in the early part of this year, a new rector Edwin Proctor Dennis, came to reside in Oulton, but as there was no rectory house suitable, a new house was, after a little time built, and it was also arranged there should be two services at the church instead of one, as formerly. We usually attended those services at least three of the four, one staying at home for a little protection to the house, and on Sabbath evenings we drove off to Lowestoft—superiors to St. Peter’s, while the servants were allowed to go to the Baptist Chapel, and to be down with the carriage in time service was over. This was the general routine: occasionally we posted off to St. Peter’s, on a Sunday morning, but not often.

We were generally very quiet and unmolested. Now and then, the mistress was somewhat annoyed by hearing the report of a gun, and used to send me to look after the intruder, and, if possible, obtain his name and authority, and bring in his statement, but they were not proceeded against, only warned to keep off the estate. I had here to attend to the garden, and walks, as also carriage road through the meadow; carriage and harness to keep in order; and many jobs indoors, so that, with going out, my time was pretty well occupied. We had evening and morning reading and prayers, and, on the whole, I had not much to complain of. There was great regularity; each evening and morning brought its work, and attention to be given at the proper time. Winter being over, and the smiling spring having arrived, the pleasant month of May, a relative of the mistress had arranged to be married. My ladies were invited to the wedding, and I was asked if the ponies could do the journey—52 miles. I thought it could he accomplished in two days, by stopping at Norwich (a distance of 24 miles) the first night, and by terminating the journey on the second day. It will be remembered that, in the days to which I am alluding, there were no railroads in these parts. Next came the necessary preparations—it was essential that the ponies should be in good health, their shoes must be strong and good, harness must not be defective, and the carriage in trim, and everything placed in readiness for the long journey.

At the appointed time, we took our departure, the weather being fine and the country charming; and, there being no necessity for fast travelling, we were enabled to admire the beauties of Nature, and to scan the various operations which were being carried on in the fields and roads as we passed. Norwich, in due time, was reached. My mistress and her daughter were driven to the residence of their friends, and I received instructions to proceed with the vehicle to a livery stable, situate in St. Giles’, where the ponies were fed and rested, I afterwards proceeding to my lodgings. The next morning we were all astir, and, after having partaken of breakfast, we again proceeded onwards. Mr. Pilgrim, coroner—whose duties might have led him thither—accompanied us to Dereham, and for the purpose of placing him down, and also for feeding the ponies, we pulled up at the Eagle Hotel. Resuming our journey, the great coach passed us as we were nearing our destination, and the Manor House, at Swaffham, was soon reached.

The nuptials were celebrated, Mr. William Clarke and his bride left for their honeymoon. I don’t think that I have ever seen them since. During our visit, of a week’s duration, in the day time I was at the Manor House, but at night I slept at the house of the farm bailiff, at the neat little lodge.

Swaffham church is possessed of a very handsome tower, the bells of which rang out beautifully on that happy occasion. It was a joyful season—the whole town seemed as if they must be real joy birds, as the bridegroom was the only child of his aged parents.

I attended church on the Sabbath morning, there being a large congregation assembled within its walls; and in the afternoon visited the Baptist Chapel with Alice (one of the servants at the Manor House) and heard a very solemn discourse, delivered by Mr. Hewitt, the minister at that place. The Union House was then being built, and I have not seen it since it was completed. We drove round several villages—Sporle, Castleacre, and Southacre. Thus the time passed on, until the period arrived for us to make our return journey. In doing so, we again stayed a night in Norwich, and subsequently, thanks for the mercies of our God, we arrived safe at Oulton.

During the same year, 1837, Mrs. Clarke’s only brother was borne to a cold grave, being only 42 years of age. He had just been altering the house and premises to his own mind, when he was called away from this transitory state. My youngest brother also sickened and died in this year, at the age of 22, having been born in the month in which the battle of Waterloo was fought. Seeing our days are as a vapour, every sorrow cuts a string and urges us to rise. Thus we are called to experience the various scenes of light and shade through which we have to pass in prosecuting our journey to our final home.

Having had many opportunities of discussing the subject of regeneration and the new birth, and as God, in His boundless mercy, had granted unto me the presence of His Holy Spirit to witness with my spirit that He was indeed in earnest with me, and thus I was brought to feel the weight of this question, “and now, why tarryist Thou, arise and be baptised.” I stated my convictions unto the church worshipping at Lowestoft, opposite the Vicarage (now a school,) and was baptised in June of that year by William Garwood, “in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost,” as an answer of an obedient and quickened conscience towards my Lord and my God. I did not very much enjoy the preaching of Mr. Denniss, our rector. He was rather a domineering steward, contending that the Church of England, the church of his fathers, was the only true church; that it honours the bible, and was one of the oldest branches of Christ’s Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church, while dissenters and their creeds and ordinance, were erroneous and misleading and would in the end prove destructive to body and soul. I came into collision with that gentlemen more than once, for in those days I read the bible in search of truth, and sometimes I felt I had aid and enlightenment given me from on high, and I concluded that there were those apart from the Church enjoying unspeakable happiness.

This eventful year rolled on with its multitude of joys and sorrows, hastening us on through all life’s varied stages, continually seeking after happiness, our being’s end and aim, and labouring, working with our hands, the most important method of obtaining the bread which sustains the body, as well as being directed to that which endureth unto eternal life, which shall be inherited and enjoyed by everyone of God’s dear children. I used to think that the entire little band who resided at that remote corner of the vine-yard, at least all who were come to years of maturity, were amongst that happy number, we read good books, prayed that the Lord would be our director, and felt that we were journeying to the place which the Lord had prepared for those that love and serve his name. I had often heard Mr. Adams express himself, that Mr. Breame Skepper was to him a guide, a counsellor, and friend, but now he was taken away no more to counsel, and to comfort, and direct. These are some of the mysterious dispensations of a wise and loving Father, and although we are not now permitted to know the whys and the wherefores, yet we shall know hereafter, enough is for the present revealed, that we may trust in the Lord, and stay ourselves upon his gracious assurances, and surely “All things work together for good to them that love God.”

I ought to have observed that one of the first acts performed by Mr. Denniss was to build a gallery at the west end of the Church, for the accommodation of the working men; in this he was assisted by others, as the subjoined inscription witnesseth—

“This gallery was erected at the expense of the patron and some of the principal landowners of the parish, A.D., 1836.”

EDWIN P. DENNISS, B.C.L. _Rector_.

HENRY YOUNGMAN, BREAME SKEPPER, _Churchwardens_.

Next he had to superintend the building of a Rectory House, this took place 1837–8; it was accomplished, and a very handsome and convenient house it looks, but it was not for the enjoyment of its builder very long, and while I am writing it has been the residence of three rectors beside Mr. Denniss, who was a working clergymen, and no doubt felt whilst he was industriously promoting habits of thrift and economy among the working classes, and founding what was called a clothing club, he was doing the work of the Lord, yet it was thought and said that too much of it was transacted on the day of the Lord; in other respects it was a means of drawing the common people to church, where much of this business was transacted, and carnal things took the place of spiritual.

Other great events occurred during that memorable year 1837. Our King William IV. whose health had been for some months in a precarious state, died at Windsor, on the 20th of June, after a short reign of seven years. There was a large gathering at St. Peter’s Chapel on the day of the funeral, a solemn service was conducted by Mr. Cunningham, the vicar, the text was from _Micah_ vi. 9, “The Lord’s voice crieth unto the city, and the man of wisdom shall see thy name, hear ye the rod, and who hath appointed it.”

Our good Queen Victoria was proclaimed on the day following, as sovereign of these realms, and on the 28th of June, in the following year, 1838, the coronation of Her Majesty took place amidst great rejoicing.

My affianced still resided at Yarmouth, and during that summer she came on a holiday to see her parents, and I obtained leave of absence to meet her there, that we might talk over our present affairs and also the future, as to continuing in service or declining that position and commencing a boot and shoe business on our own account, and ultimately the latter was decided on, and we returned to our homes to complete our engagements, and to apprize our superiors that we declined to remain in their service after the coming Michaelmas, things were thus far plain and understandable.

As a beginning to make preparations for the change in my condition, I hired a cottage and garden of Mr. Johnson George, miller of Oulton, at £6 per year, and on the 16th day of October, 1838, was married to Hannah Cox, whose parents resided in the village. Mr. Denniss was the clergyman and Mr. John Osborn was clerk of the aforesaid parish.

I am now arrived at something like the middle of my journey, and will just take a retrospect, all the way the Lord my God hath led me, to guard me, to try me, to prove me, and to see what is in mine heart. Now let me just ask myself am I thankful?

“When all thy mercies, O my God, My rising soul surveys.”

Is my heart filled with gratitude for all those supports and deliverances? And then again as to the prospect here, I stand as it were on a narrow neck of land with boundless seas on either side, if God preserves I am perfectly safe, but if left to follow the devices and inclination of my corrupt and stubborn heart, shall be weighed down with perplexing cares and sorrows, out of which it is no easy matter to be delivered, except by divine interposition, then looking onward I must labour, working with hands and mind, to obtain the bread that perisheth, as also that which endureth unto eternal life, being identified with and living in Him who is the bread of life which came down from heaven.

I may just say in passing, that the housekeeper, Marianne Rous, was soon after married to Christopher Leman, a cooper of Lowestoft, the mistress, also, after a little while went forth from her residence, and during her temporary absence was married to Mr. George Borrow. That gentleman having visited several times while I was in Mrs. Clarke’s services, although, by the way, I knew not the secret.

I had now to look out for employment. Mr. Winyard promised to give me some, so after it I went, and soon got up a little connection at home; all wanted boots and I wanted to work and obtain the money, although in this I was often disappointed. I soon taught my wife to work in the boot trade, the work was all performed by hand in those days, machines had not come into use, and although I could not undertake to bind women’s boots, yet I knew the method by which they were done, as also the materials required for the purpose, the difficulty was soon overcome; she was blessed with good eyesight as well as with very pliant fingers, and after a year or two she would do neater work in even men’s boots and shoes than I could: there was a willing mind and thus obstacles were overcome; customers were accommodated, the little business obtained an impetus, and the earnest and humble promoters received encouragement.

When harvest arrived, my wife prepared to go out in the fields gleaning, and gathered up two or three bushels of good wheat, which was a great help, as during first year of housekeeping flour was two shillings and ninepence per stone, even that was trying to young beginners, for there was in reality a good number of things wanting, and our little trade seemed to absorb the cash in the purchase of materials, so that we had but little left for food and other necessaries. However, under the blessing of God we made progress, having more than a handful of meal in a barrel, and more than two sticks to refresh the languishing fire, the Lord did provide.

There was a large pear tree in our garden, two nice apple trees, and a cherry tree, all bringing a little delicious fruit; we had not many pears the first year, but the second year there was a good crop, and we sold more than twenty shilling’s worth, beside what we gave away and used ourselves. I built a pigsty and put a pig in, that my wife might have something to look at when she walked in the garden, the pig settled and did nicely, and when it was killed it weighed 13 stone; we were cheered as the pig prospered, we felt we prospered also, and no doubt we did begin to get on nicely while we occupied the cottage and premises of Mr. Johnson George, at Oulton.

We bought and put in the front room of our cottage, a register stove, three-feet square, the selling price was one shilling per inch, costing £1 15s., landlord supplying a new chimney piece, and we put up an iron oven in the back room, but we did not continue in that occupation very long, we spent four seasons of Christmas there, when, their son Henry being about to be married we had to leave and make room for the old people, who, by the way, had to make room for the younger ones. We agreed to go, and leave behind the stove which is still in the room, after forty years use. We took away the iron oven to another cottage, which I engaged of Mrs. Pleasance Knights at the rent of £4 10s. per year; at that time standing empty, the next tenement being also empty, they would not stand empty now if owners wished them occupied. This was rather a convenient old cottage, it supplied a room on the front side, which I could use for a workshop, which was a great accommodation, and at Christmas, that is on the 6th of January, 1842, we left Mr. George’s cottage, as requested, and took our goods and chattels to Mrs. Knights’s cottage, on the hill, and although it was sometimes a sad place for smoking, yet we had a good share of employment, and on the whole, although we met with some who were not at all times inclined to act uprightly, yet there was a good preponderance of honesty in the neighbourhood, men and women on whose acts and promises we could rely.

For several years I took out work from Mr. Winyard, so that there was no want of employment. Here again I must build a pigsty by the roadside, and it was soon inhabited, and by some thought to be too near the house, but we received no harm among the boots and wax and other materials; customers would talk and pigs would shriek the while, so that we were not always silent and sorrowful. The garden here contained several nice fruit trees, but no pear tree, another drawback was there was no water to the house, but we could have as much as we wanted by fetching it from Mrs. Knights’s across the road, and we could catch some in rainy weather. We purchased a shop stove, and made a hole through the brickwork into the chimney, so that we could often live on that side when the other room was smoky, we found the comfort of this as an impediment was removed. In the year 1840, I was appointed steward of an institution called the “Pakefield Friendly Society,” the duties of which was to receive the contributions of the members in my district, and also the applications for membership, and bring them up to the monthly meetings held at Lowestoft, on the first Tuesday evening of each month, from six to eight.

I was very successful in obtaining employment, worked closely, and began to have what might be said to be a good connection, so much so that I could not get through with it myself, and as customers’ patience began to wear out I set on James Jacobs as journeyman. My wife done a good part in helping on with the uppers, so that we went fairly into business and made long days of work. About this time there was a poor woman in Lowestoft, a Mrs. Parr, who was afflicted with insanity, and had become sometimes violent and almost unmanageable, we were asked if we would take the charge of her, and do our best to keep her from harm for a time, as they were afraid lest she might do harm to herself or to some other persons: my wife, after an interview with her medical attendant, Mr. Worthington, came to the conclusion that she would make the trial. The terms were fixed for board and attendance, and the money was duly paid at the house of Mr. B. Edmonds, a chemist, at Lowestoft. She came as arranged, my heart was overwhelmed to witness such a spectacle of human infirmity, of one whom I had known and who always appeared to be so cheerful and clever, but afflictions, though severe, are designed to bring about the purposes of Infinite Wisdom and Love; neither my wife nor myself rested much the first week: she sung, concocted rhymes and comparisons, for three days and three nights without sleep, we were supplied with a heavy chair for her use during the day, and an appliance called a muff, to secure her hands during the time she was in bed, otherwise she would have been gone when those in charge were taking a little rest in sleep, we many times wished we had not taken her, but being there she had to remain until other arrangements could be made. Her friends visited her and appeared satisfied though sorrowful, and after being with us one year, her friends arranged that she should be an indoor-patient at St. Luke’s Hospital, an institution in London, for the treatment of such cases; she was there for one year, and ultimately was removed to Melton Asylum, her last earthly residence.

Now is coming on the construction of a new railroad from Lowestoft to Reedham. Great preparations are being made, materials, and men, and horses, and implements, are deposited in the locality, besides temporary dwellings for the overlookers and gangers; we in this neighbourhood never having seen the like. It was a marvellous undertaking, but day by day we witnessed the skilful operations of the workmen, several of whom made their place of rest with us during the time the work was in progress, my wife cooking for them day by day, and otherwise preparing their food and making their beds.

Mr. Denniss, having built the rectory house, the school, appointed teachers, removed old buildings and various other things by way of improvement in our parish, to him assigned. In 1845, his effects were sold by public auction, and the man and his family took their departure after a brief stay of nine years. He was succeeded by Chas. Henry Cox, an earnest, solemn clergyman, whose aim was to “point us to brighter worlds, and lead the way.” He was the father of a large family, but his gentle and kind christian bearing told powerfully upon the minds of the people under his charge.

The dangerous operations of making the railroad was carried on, one of my lodgers was killed while making the road. I made a note of it at the time of the occurrence, which is this: Inquest held at Mr. Beaumont’s, Mutford Bridge, before J. E. Sparrowe, Esq., August 20th, 1846, on the body of John Smith, my esteemed lodger, who was unfortunately killed by a railroad waggon accidently passing over his body, on Tuesday, the 18th, a sad and painful event to those who witnessed it. In February of the following year, my wife’s mother was taken suddenly ill, and after a few hours expired, leaving a sorrowful family to mourn their loss, a mysterious dispensation of Divine Providence, unfathomable to us short-sighted mortals, but loudly speaking to all who have ears to hear, “Arise, depart, for this is not your rest.”