THE ISLE OF WIGHT OF LEGH 

 RICHMOND'S NARRATIVES 



The Victoria History of the counties of England 

 mentions four clergymen, closely connected with 

 Hampshire during the nineteenth century, whose 

 writings exercised an influence far beyond the range 

 of the Diocese of Winchester.. These four are John 

 Keble, Charles Kingsley, Richard Chevenix Trench, 

 and Legh Richmond, whose narratives of The Dairy- 

 man's Daughter and The Young Cottager were, it 

 rightly says, " at one time the most popular religious 

 works in England." Indeed, it is difficult to exagger- 

 ate the favour with which these works were received. 

 With the Bible and the Pilgrim^s Progress they 

 became the Sunday reading of numberless Christian 

 households. Appearing originally in the columns of 

 the Christian Guardian during the years 1809-1811, 

 they were afterwards published separately in the 

 form of tracts, and finally issued, together with The 

 Negro Servant^ in one small volume under the appro- 

 priate title, taken from Gray's Elegy, of The Annals 

 of the Poor. The little book at once became immensely 

 popular. Within a few 3'ears it was translated into 

 almost all the European languages, and successive 

 editions were published in America. Altogether it 

 has been estimated that millions of copies have been 



