the church in England, strictly
belongs to the general subject; and I here make my acknowledgments to my
American friends, Bishop Doane, and Mr. Henry Reed of Philadelphia, for
having suggested to me the propriety of adverting to it, and pointed out
the virtues and intellectual qualities of Bishop White, which so
eminently fitted him for the great work he undertook. Bishop White was
consecrated at Lambeth, Feb. 4, 1787, by Archbishop Moor; and before his
long life was closed, twenty-six bishops had been consecrated in
America, by himself. For his character and opinions, see his own
numerous Works, and a 'Sermon in commemoration of him, by George
Washington Doane, Bishop of New Jersey.'

356. _The Clergyman_.

'A genial hearth----
And a refined rusticity, belong
To the neat mansion.' [Sonnet XVIII. ll. 1-3.]

Among the benefits arising, as Mr. Coleridge has well observed, from a
Church Establishment of endowments corresponding with the wealth of the
country to which it belongs, may be reckoned as eminently important, the
examples of civility and refinement which the Clergy stationed at
intervals, afford to the whole people. The Established clergy in many
parts of England have long been, as they continue to be, the principal
bulwark against barbarism, and the link which unites the sequestered
peasantry with the intellectual advancement of the age. Nor is it below
the dignity of the subject to observe, that their taste, as acting upon
rural residences and scenery often furnishes models which country
gentlemen, who are more at liberty to follow the caprices of fashion,
might profit by. The precincts of an old residence must be treated by
ecclesiastics with respect, both from prudence and necessity. I remember
being much pleased, some years ago, at Rose Castle, the rural seat of
the See of Carlisle, with a style of garden and architecture, which, if
the place had belonged to a wealthy layman, would no doubt have been
swept away. A parsonage-house generally stands not far from the church;
this proximity imposes favourable restraints, and sometimes suggests an
affecting union of the accommodations and elegances of life with the
outward signs of piety and mortality. With pleasure I recall to mind a
happy instance of this in the residence of an old and much-valued Friend
in Oxfordshire. The house and church stand parallel to each other, at a
small distance; a circular lawn or rather grass-plot, spreads between
t