Chapter VII 



The Rev. Charles I^ngsley — Highly Strung — Writes Poetry and Sermons at 

 the Age of Four — Preaches to tlie Chairs — Night-shirt Surplice— Not Popu- 

 lar at School — A Gentle Reproof — His Opinion of District Visitors — Inward 

 Struggles — Boxing under a Negro Tutor — A Lengthy Walk — More Settled 

 Convictions — Letter to his Mother — A Great Preacher — Crowds at his Church 

 — Becomes Vicar of Eversley — His Love of Hounds — Author of " Tom 

 Brown's School-days" — His Great Friend — A Good Run — His Enthusiasm — 

 Occasional Conflicts with other Clerics — Dallying with Socialism — Reconciling 

 Science and Religion — His Views on Women's Rights — An Angry Incumbent 

 — The Bishop of London Interferes — Cardinal Newman and Kingsley — 

 Newman Scores — Restless Habits — " Water Babies " — Clerical Wild Oats 

 Forgiven — Devotion of his Wife — His Death — A Picturesque Funeral. 



THE REVEREND CHARLES KINGSLEY, who was born 

 at Holne Vicarage on Dartmoor, is an outstanding 

 figure in English hterature, which, as everybody 

 knows, he enriched with " Westward Ho ! " and " Water 

 Babies." 



He was a dehghtful and interesting man whom I always 

 regret not having met, as he died just before I was launched 

 from the dry-dock of the schoolroom into the deep waters of 

 the world. He was one of those highly -strung, emotional people, 

 with the rare faculty of doing his thinking for himself, who are 

 always arresting and often have the power of imparting some of 

 their enthusiasm to others. As in the case of Jack Russell, 

 much has been written about Kingsley, with his deep erudition 

 and gift of golden writing, but his love of sport, especially 

 fishing, has never received the attention it deserves, for he 

 certainly comes within the category of sporting parsons, and 

 was, moreover, a sporting cleric of the very best sort, who never 

 laid himself open to the charge of neglecting his duty to make 

 time for his pleasures. His letters show that if he had turned 

 his attention to writing of sport he would have made it live in 

 his pages as Whyte Melville did. 



He must have been a precocious child, as we hear of him 

 writing sermons and poetry at the age of four, and improvising 



