The Rev. G. Kingsley 83 



babies than almost any other work originally meant^for children. 

 I seldom see a stream in flood without thinking of the wonderful 

 description of a spate in " Water Babies," when all the living 

 things of the river awake to the call of the sea, and rush down- 

 stream crying, " Down to the Sea, Down to the Sea ! " Salmon, 

 eels, and the evil otters forget all their fears and jostle one 

 another in the flood, among the sticks and stones and other 

 flotsam of the spate, all intent on getting down to the sea. It 

 is very clever, and thrills me, making me feel that I want to 

 jump in and go down to the sea too — just as I am sure Kingsley 

 felt when he wrote it. 



I like reading his fishing letters, and am glad he was too busy 

 a man to fish as often as he liked. It would have been too sad 

 if he had grown blase, 



Kingsley often had correspondence with strangers who had 

 heard of his skill as a naturalist and wrote to him for information 

 or advice. There was an interchange of letters with a Mr. 

 Stainton over some wonderful caddises the latter possessed, and 

 which they both became quite excited about. 



As Kingsley grew older he became less and less revolutionary 

 in his views, as is so often the case. In the course of time his 

 clerical wild oats were forgotten or forgiven, and he was ap- 

 pointed chaplain to Queen Victoria, and Canon of Westminster. 

 The Prince of Wales (King Edward VII.) was probably instru- 

 mental in getting him the former appointment, as he was very 

 fond of Kingsley, and sent down Sir William Gull from London 

 to attend him in his last illness ; while the Royal children tried 

 to amuse their kind old friend by sending him pictures they had 

 drawn for him. Not long before his death he was fiUing West- 

 minster Abbey with vast crowds to hear him preach, but it was 

 noticed that his strength was failing, and shortly afterwards he 

 took to his bed at Eversley, where he died on January 23rd, 

 1875, aged fifty-six. 



Pneumonia was the immediate cause of his death, but he 

 had been reckless of his health from the day that the doctors 

 had told him that his wife, who had been ill for some time, could 

 not hope for ultimate recovery. He said : " Then my own 

 death-warrant is signed." His devotion to his wife was touching 

 and picturesque. She was lying ill in bed in one room of the 

 rectory while her husband was dying in another ; he managed 



