1804-24 PARSON ROWLEY 7 



as Owen's elder brother, was Higgin, late Bishop 

 of Derry. 



Richard Owen always spoke affectionately 

 of Mr. Rowley, or Parson Rowley as he was 

 called, and was also on good terms with two of 

 the other masters of the school, the Revs. E. 

 Morland and J. Beetham. How he got on with 

 his other tutors is not so certain. One of them 

 stigmatised him as ' lazy and impudent,' and 

 prophesied that he would \:ome to a bad end. 

 This gentleman gave instruction in caligraphy, 

 but in spite of his dismal predictions he managed 

 to teach Owen to write a remarkably clear and 

 neat hand, which hardly varied till within a few 

 years of his death. 



Between twelve and two o'clock the boys left 

 school for dinner. It so happened that the 

 gardens belonging to Mrs. Owen and to Mr. 

 Rowley adjoined each other, and on one occasion 

 the carpenter, Whe well's father, was engaged in 

 repairing the division fence. Mr. Rowley was 

 walking in his garden before school began 

 again, and there met young Whewell, who was 

 assisting his father in his work. In the course 

 of conversation Mr. Rowley, who had evidently 

 been putting a few professional questions to the 

 boy, was struck with the real intelligence of his 

 answers, and the evident knowledge of mathe- 

 matics which he displayed. He told Whewell's 

 father that he thought his son ought to be sent 



