oe " 
life, he obtained the respect and affection 
of those with whom he was connected. 
The duke, from an ardent attachment'to 
his talents and virtues, determined to 
jrocure him a high rank in the chureh ; 
bat an early death deprived Mr. Lind- 
Sey of his illustrious patron. For some 
time he remained with the duchess, till 
the health of her grandson, the present 
Duke of Northumberland, requiring a 
Change of climate, she prevailed upon 
him to accompany the young nobleman 
to the sduth of France. This» was about 
the year 1754, and the excursion proved 
as beneficial to the liealth of the tutor, as, 
it was favourable to that of his pupil. On 
their return, the late duke wished Mr. 
Lindsey to supply a temporary vacancy 
of a good living i the north of England, 
called Kirkby-Wisk. To this he readily 
acceded, as it called him to the discharge 
of the pastoral duty, which was peculi- 
arly acceptable to his mind, At Kirkby 
he became acquainted with Archdeacon 
Blackburne ; and being always a diligent 
reader of the Scriptures, and having an 
ardent thirst for theological truth, it was 
not surprizing that an intimate friendship 
shouldbe formed between them, Mr. 
Lindsey's residence in the borth was 
short. When he had been at Kirkby 
about’ two years, the living of Piddle- 
town, in Dorsetshire, becoming vacant 
by the death of Dr. Dawney, and being 
in the gift of the Earl of Huntingdon, it 
was presented to him at the desire of La- 
dy Anne Hastings, the aunt of Lord Hun- 
tingdon, and the original patroness of Mr. 
Lindsey. This was considered by that 
noble lady as introductory only to much 
higher preferment,* which she considered 
fully within his reach, through the inte- 
rest of Bishop Butler, and other persons 
éf great influence in the state. 
In the year 1760, during his residence 
at Piddletown, he visited his friend Arch- 
deacon Blackburne,} and formed a con- 
——$——_— ee 
* Thé future biographer. of this excellent 
man will be put into possession of facts that 
will unquestionably prove that be declined 
embracing offers which he -knew would 
Gnfallibly have lead to the very highest 
honours in the church. ‘ 
+ The archdeacon speaking of this event 
in the account of his’own Life, written in the 
third person, says: The friendship between 
Mr. Lindsey and Mr. “Blackburne was not 
néarly so much cemented by this family con- 
nection, 2s by a similarity of sentiment, in the 
cause of Christian liberty, and their aversion 
to eclesiastical impositions in matters of con- 
science. Inthe warfare on these subjects 
bles Se PY 
‘ afk ie? 
Vay OI 
46 Memoirs of the late Ree. Theophilus Lindsey, M.A. [Dae %, 
nection with, and married, his daughter 
‘in-law, who proved to him, as. we shall 
see, in the sequel, no common help-mate, 
and to whom, with respect to her pre= 
sent situation, may be applied, with strict 
justice, what was said of another excel- 
lent lady :—She “ whose masculine mind 
understood and was in unison with all his 
principles, is pre-eminently distinguished 
by her loss; she has the remembrance of 
his talents and virtues to console her, 
which none can enjoy but those who, like 
her, possess his spirit.”—See Jebb’s 
Works, vol. I. p. 288% ; 
In the year 1764, Mr. Lindsey was en« 
abled, through the interest of Lord’ Hunt- 
inydon, to exchange the living of Piddle- 
town for that of Catterick, in Yorkshire, 
in order that he might be near his friends, 
Here he resided nearly ten years an ex- 
emplary pattern of a primitive and most. 
conscientious pastor, instructing the young 
persons of a large parish; preaching or 
lecturing twice every Sunday; visiting 
the sick, admonishing, with paternal af. 
fection, the thoughtless and unwary, and 
superintending the schools for the poor, : 
Besides his various and highly impor- 
tant duties as a parish clergyman, Mr. 
Lindsey was ever alive, and heartily ac- 
tive, in every cause in which the princi- 
ples of truth and right reason were con- 
cerned. We accordingly find him, in the 
year 1771, zealously co-onerating with 
Archdeacon Blackburne, Mr, afterwards 
Dr. John Jebb, Mr. Wyvil, and other re- 
spectable characters, in endeavouring to 
obtain relief in matters ef sabscription to 
the Thirty-nine Articles. The business 
originated in’ the Confessional of Mr, 
Blackburne, who, afterwards, urged by 
his friends, drew up proposals for an ap- 
plication to Parliament. Many clergy- 
men, and gentlemen in the professions of: 
the civil law and physic, joined in the 
cause; but, perhaps, no one of them all 
was more active than Mr. Lindsey, who 
shall in this, and on other occasions in the 
sequel of this article, speak for himself.* 
Tn 
they went hand in hand, and when Mr, Lind- 
sey left Yorkshire, and settled in London, 
Mr. Blackburne used to say, ‘¢he had lost 
his right arm.”—See Blackburne’s Works, 
vol i. p. 48, 1804. 
* The gentlemen who united in support of 
the application were known by the denomi- 
nation of the Feathers’ Tavern Association, 
so called from the place at which their meet- 
ings were held: and'the object at which they 
aimed was to be permitted to hold their pre- 
ferments, upon condition of merely subscrib- > 
ing 
f 
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