The Project Gutenberg eBook, Little Gidding and its inmates in the Time of
King Charles I., by J. E. Acland

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Title: Little Gidding and its inmates in the Time of King Charles I.
with an account of the Harmonies

Author: J. E. Acland

Release Date: April 3, 2008 [eBook #24984]

Language: English

Character set encoding: ISO-646-US (US-ASCII)

***START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK LITTLE GIDDING AND ITS INMATES IN
THE TIME OF KING CHARLES I.***

Transcribed from the 1903 S.P.C.K edition by David Price, email
ccx074@pglaf.org

LITTLE GIDDING
AND ITS INMATES
IN THE TIME OF KING CHARLES I.

WITH AN ACCOUNT OF
THE HARMONIES
DESIGNED AND CONSTRUCTED BY
NICHOLAS FERRAR.

BY
J. E. ACLAND, M.A.

LONDON:
SOCIETY FOR PROMOTING CHRISTIAN KNOWLEDGE,
NORTHUMBERLAND AVENUE, W.C.;
43, QUEEN VICTORIA STREET, E.C.
BRIGHTON: 129, NORTH STREET.
1903.

[PUBLISHED UNDER THE DIRECTION OF THE TRACT COMMITTEE.]

CHAPTER I. {1}

"How happy a king were I, if I had many more such workmen and workwomen
in my kingdom! Their art and ability is excellent. Let them know I will
not forget them. God's blessing on their hearts, and painful hands."

Such were the words and opinions of King Charles I., when speaking of the
happy and industrious family whose life and labours at Little Gidding are
described in the following pages, a family entirely devoted to good
works, under the able direction of Mr. Nicholas Ferrar, whose history has
happily been preserved for us with great accuracy, and which can hardly
fail to be attractive.

Although Nicholas Ferrar and Little Gidding are names that are invariably
associated with one another, it must not be imagined that he spent his
whole life there. It was not, indeed, till he was thirty-three years old
that he left the busy and stirring scenes for which he seemed so suit