a

can only be rectified by a female franchise is established, the question has to be considered, whether all the rights of woman cannot be secured without her personal participation in the suffrage. We believe that woman will secure all her real rights far more easily without than with it. It is said "It seems sound principle of legislation that taxation and representation should be co-extensive," and looking at the matter in this abstract form "where woman occupies the position of householder and is, either as widow or maiden, taxed by the State, we see not on what principle of equity the suffrage can be withheld. Those who contribute directly to the State's funds ought to have, through their representative, a voice in the expenditure, and as opposed to this principle we know of no argument which would deprive woman of the right of voting, which is not equally applicable to men. If an arbitrary line be drawn beneath which the suffrage shall not go, it should apply alike to both sexes; if a certain amount of intelligence be required, the conditions ought to be demanded of both alike." This language supposes two things: first, that property is the same thing in a political aspect, whether in the hands of man or woman; and second, that the exercise of the franchise is the ultimatum of this agitation.

As to the first supposition, the great majority of the wisest statesmen of this land are not prepared to admit it; and as to the second, it is idle to conclude that no further demands will be presented. How can the woman of to-day assure us with any degree of certainty that her sister of to-morrow will be satisfied with her decisions? But supposing her right to the suffrage conceded on the conditions before stated, is it

on the arena of national politics? "Woman has a mission," ay, even a political mission, "of immense importance which she will best fulfil by moving in the sphere assigned to her by Providence, not, cometlike wandering in irregular orbits, dazzling indeed by her brilliancy but terrifying by her eccentric movements and doubtful utility. That the sphere in which she is required to move is no mean one, and that its apparent contraction arises only from a defect of intellectual vision, is (though a woman) my deep and growing conviction." We do not sympathise with the sentiment that women should be passive and indifferent spectators of the great political questions which affect the well-being of the community. Neither can we repeat the old adage that "women have nothing to do with politics." "They have, and ought to have, much to do with politics. But in what way? It has been maintained that their public participation in them would be fatal to the best interests of Society. How then are women to interfere with

politics? As moral agents, as representatives of the moral principle; as champions of the right in preference to the expedient; by their endeavours to instil into the other sex the uncompromising sense of duty and self-devotion. The immense influence which woman possesses will be most beneficial if allowed to flow in its natural channels, namely, domestic ones.'

"It is by no means affirmed that woman's political feelings are always guided by the abstract principles of right and wrong, but they are surely more likely to be so if they themselves are restrained from the public expression of them. Nothing tends to give woman's opinions such weight, in her private capacity, as the certainty that she is free from all

petty or personal motives. The beneficial influence of woman is nullified if once her motives, or her personal character, come to be the subject of attack, and this fact alone ought to induce her patiently to acquiesce in the plan of seclusion from public political affairs."

Woman's actual influence is after all a greater and more precious thing than woman's supposed political rights. And if her participation in politics is to weaken that, if by entering the political arena in conflict with man, she is to lose or lessen her power to move and to mould him, then, far from us be the day when female orators shall appear in public to address election-mobs, or rush to record their votes in opposition to the angry man, whom by the influence of love she may so powerfully sway. We had rather preserve the harmony and felicity of home than draw our women into public action, in opposition to the other sex. The concession of her legal and political rights would be too dearly purchased by interference with the peace of home. Woman herself would not profit much by the barter; and Society at large would suffer incalculably. With every disposition, therefore, to secure for woman all

that she can wisely claim, we have not much sympathy with, and do not augur much good from, a great deal of the agitation which is now raised for the purpose of obtaining for woman a more direct and prominent part in the politics of the nation. Nay, more, as we listen to some of these female elocutionists pouring forth their eloquence in boldly proclaiming their equality with the other sex, we are disposed to ask, Is not this a philosophy of political life which, if carried to its full and logical extent, would lower incalculably the influence of woman, introduce a discordant element into social life by putting her into political competition with man, and do much to destroy that reverence with which her person and character have hitherto been treated? We humbly believe that for the benefit of Society at large these claims should be resisted with all that gentleness and forbearance which the nature of the subject and the character of its advocates require.*

*We have been indebted for some suggestions in this article to an admirable Work by Dr. Landells: "Woman, her Position and Power."

THE statement that John Crickett came out under the immediate auspices of Wesley himself* is confirmed by the interesting fact that during the whole period of his service as a Local-preacher, he was supported by Mr. Wesley. Crickett's first sermon was delivered on Saturday,

* See this Magazine, 1875. P. 402.

Jan. 1st, 1774, from the words "Necessity is laid upon me; yea, woe is unto me, if I preach not the Gospel." This discourse was heard by Mr. Wesley. But the apostolic injunction "lay hands suddenly on no man" was not violated in Mr. Crickett's case. He underwent five years' probation before entering on the itinerancy.

His entire receipts from 1st

January, 1774, to 1st January, 1779, are entered as 66 received from Mr. Wesley." They amounted altogether to £85 10s. 2d., or little more than £17 a year. In that period, his personal expenses only reached the sum of £81 11s. 9d., so that he contrived to save out of this pittance, nearly £4. During the next four months his economical triumphs were even greater. His receipts from Mr. Wesley amounted to £6 6s. 6d.; his disbursements, to exactly half that sum. So he started on his ministerial career with £7 in pocket. It appears that he had two brief English appointments before he went to Ireland. First in Staffordshire; then "in the Birstal Circuit, with Mr. Thos. Taylor, Yorkshire."* Mr. Taylor, sixth President of the Conference, must have also conceived a good opinion of him, since he was accepted as a probationer at the next Confer

ence.

Crickett began his struggles after improvement before he "began to travel." This is indicated by two catalogues which occur very early, first, "A List of some Great Men in Britten," and second, "A Table of the Kings and Queens." The former is subjoined. It is curious as indicating the names which had attained celebrity in the "Seven Dials," a century ago:

"Robertus Nelson, in 1714, aged 58,
Gulliemus (sic) Nichols,
Johannes Bergerman,

The Most Learned Hart Rabby, aged 81, 1751,

The Prince and Princess of Brunswick,
Sir Robert Ladbrooke,
Sir Peter Warren,
Captain James Cooke,

Warren Eastings (Hastings), Esquire, The Hon. Lord Macartney, Governor of Madras,

* There was a great revival at that time in the Birstal Circuit; nearly six hundred were added to the Society during the year; so, although that comparatively small Circuit had already four ministers, a fifth was required.-ED.

Sir John Bernard,

Sir Isaac Newton,

The Hon. John Adams, Ambassador for the States of Amerake, Sir Walter Raleigh,

Benjamin Franklin, LL.D., F.R.S.,
Joseph Addison, Esquire,

Mr. Edward Bright, of Maldon, Essex,
Mary, Queen of Scots, and

George Nelson, Esquire, Lord Mayor of London."*

The foregoing list of British notables is quite as instructive as it is amusing; since it shows with what eagerness he must have picked up every scrap of information that fell in his way ! And how few, then, must have been the opportunities at

*Several of the names given in the above catalogue owe their place in it to the fact that they were fellow-citizens as well as contemporaries of Mr. Crickett. Robert Nelson, F.R.S., was an eminent London merchant, son-in-law of the Earl of Berkeley, one of the few laymen who have produced religious works of great popularity and wide influence. His best known is "Fasts and Festivals of the Church of England." He devoted himself to the diffusion of charitable relief, education, and Christian knowledge. The next name is obviously a confusion of those of two distinguished Londoners of the time, John Nichols, the celebrated printer and author of "Literary Anecdotes," etc.; and William Nicholson, the most famous London schoolmaster of the day and the leading scientific journalist and popularizer of science by means of dictionaries, etc. The fame of the erudite Rabbi Hart must have reached Mr. Crickett through the Jews of St. Giles's; his reputation being very high in the ragshops and old clothes stores of Monmouth Street. Sir John Bernard was an exLord Mayor of London, M.P. for the City, for nearly forty years. "Edward Bright, Esq., of Maldon, Essex," who finds himself so strangely fixed between Addison and Mary, Queen of Scots, was a popular gentleman-farmer whose fame had floated up Thames as high as Westminster. His portly effigies might be seen a few years ago in the farmsteads of Essex. The List must have been written whilst Mr. Crickett was in Ireland, probably soon after Lord Macartney's appointment, December, 1780. Johannes Bergerman must be Sir T. Bergman, the great Swedish chemist and natural philosopher.-ED.

the command of a London artisan of acquiring any store of general knowledge! It is often said that modern primary education deals too much in mere names and dates; but what an advantage a few historic names and dates would have been to a man so desirous of self-improvement as simple-minded, serviceable John Crickett! He must have gathered some of these names from hearsay and copied others from print, as is plain from the marvellous inaccuracy of his spelling in some instances and its as marvellous accuracy in others. Mr. Crickett's efforts at self-improvement, it is only fair to say, were far from being altogether unsuccessful. A marked progress in both orthography and penmanship is apparent in his memorandum-book. Notwithstanding the straitness of his pecuniary means, John Crickett was very charitable. A considerable proportion of his scanty income was devoted to the relief of distress. On the expenditure side of his account often appear such entries as these: "To sick man, 1s." 66 To pore woman, 2s. 6d. ; " which were plainly his personal gifts, as he regularly recorded all his receipts from whatever source. Thus we find that the recommendation of the Grimsby District * that the Conference should vote brother Crickett £3 for horse-hire was granted; that sum being duly entered in his cashbook. He also religiously registered all occasional presents in cash. These amounted, in the course of his ministry, to forty guineas. The times of Circuit testimonials had not yet arrived. Whilst it is borne in mind that the purchasing power of £19 19s., the amount of Mr. Crickett's annual "allowances much greater towards the close of the last century than now, it should

a

was

See this Magazine, June, 1874. P. 268.

also be remembered that the relative value of money was rapidly changing, to the grave disadvantage of men of a small fixed income. It is evident from the Parliamentary Blue-Book that the cost of living nearly doubled during the thirty years-1776-1806 -over which Mr. Crickett's cash account extends.

We have said that Mr. Crickett's memorandum-book records all his texts with the date and place of preaching. Goldsmith's Vicar of Auburn, who "ne'er had changed his place" would have found it hard to realise the fact that one man should have had occasion to preach no fewer than two hundred and thirty times from 2 Cor. xiii. 11, " Finally, brethren, farewell, etc."! At one place in Ireland, Mr. Crickett preached from it twice; the "last words" doubtless being encored. The names of hosts or hostesses, too, at the various stations on his rounds are faithfully registered. For the purposes of local Methodist history, these long lists would not be barren details. The names of some hundreds of worthies in England, Ireland and Wales, who were not ashamed to be identified with Methodist evangelism in the days of persecution, are here preserved.*

He spells the names of places according to the popular pronunciation. In this, so far as our own topographical knowledge extends, he is felicitously accurate. Thus the Bedfordshire village which Bradshaw and the Methodist Circuit Plan agree in writing Leagrave, he designates by the name Liggruff, whereby it was then known to itself.

*It is pleasant to note in these lists some honoured names which still belong to Methodist homes, such as the Armstrongs, of Ireland; the Chopes and Dingleys, of Cornwall; the Boltons and Pikes, of Oxfordshire; the Farmers, of the Gainsborough Circuit, and the Partridges and Darleys, of Bedfordshire.

In fact, he must have had a remarkably quick ear, as well as a high respect, for local pronunciation.

The lingering traditions in the neighbourhood of Luton, the half-remembered episodes and the still surviving reminiscences of his preaching prove that when John Wesley called John Crickett into "the work," he did not send into Methodist families and pulpits a feeble man either as to character or intellect. Mr. Crickett was a noble-hearted, self-denying, considerate and kindly minister of Christ. As an offset to the familiar tale about ducks becoming geese if allowed to live long enough, we may give an incident which, little as it was, produced a permanent and most favourable impression upon perhaps the only one now living who has any personal recollection of him -an octogenarian of Luton. A

couple of the name of Quick, resident in Luton, in humble circumstances, invited Mr. Crickett to dinner. He heartily assented. The worthy people, with a Martha-like homage, put before him "duck and green pease," a luxury which he knew they could not have procured except at the expense of personal pinching. He therefore most gravely, but most tenderly and earnestly, reproved them for extravagant hospitality, even to a preacher of the Gospel, declaring that he could not be again their guest unless they would let him share with them their ordinary fare.

The few of his pulpit sayings which are still preserved show that his style was pointed, weighty and sententious. We subjoin three specimens:

"If a man would live well, let him fetch his last day to him and make it always his company-keeper."

"He that lives in sin, and looks for happiness hereafter, is like him that soweth cockle, and thinks to fill his barn with wheat or barley."

"He that forgets his friend is ungrateful unto him. But he that forgets his Saviour is unmerciful to himself."

Best of all John Crickett was very successful in the conversion of souls, as well as in the building up of believers. Several obituaries in the "Wesleyan-Methodist Magazine" testify to the fact that many who finished their course with joy were led to begin it by his preaching. He seems to have been peculiarly owned of God in bringing young females to religious decision. That devoted woman Mrs. Iredale, of MarketStreet (a place into which Mr. Crickett introduced Methodism), always affectionately, almost proudly, claimed him as her spiritual father. We may also instance Mrs. Mary Watson, of Hoxton, converted under his ministry in the Isle of Wight (See "Wesleyan-Methodist Magazine" for 1836. P. 239); Mrs. Thorp, of Leigh; and Mrs. S. Humphreys.

Some of the ablest Methodist ministers of the day were amongst his correspondents, such as Benson, Thomas Taylor, G. Story and J. Crowther.

Mr. Crickett died of dropsy, at Market-Street, Herts, on Sunday, December 14th, 1806, in the seventieth year of his age. He had preached twice on the preceding Sunday, with great pleasure and profit to his hearers, though in much physical distress. "When a friend asked whether medical aid should be called in, he replied 'It is of no use; I tell you I am going home; my work is done.'' (Minutes of Conference, 1807.) It must not be assumed from this that Mr. Crickett had any fanatical objection to professional help. On the contrary, his cash-book shows that medical expenses had for some time been a severe drain on his small resources. Besides his doctor's bills he had paid a physician a guinea and a half.