VI. Coverley Hall
Motto. "Hence shall flow to the full for thee, from kindly horn, a wealth of rural honours."—Horace, Odes, I. xvii. 14-17.
[77]: 7. The nature of a chaplain. The religious influence of the clergy, especially of the country clergy, was doubtless very small in the Queen Anne time. For their condition and work, see Macaulay's famous Chapter iii. in his History of England; Lecky's History of England in the Eighteenth Century, Chap. ii; Ashton's Social Life in the Reign of Queen Anne, Chap. xxxii; Besant's London in the Eighteenth Century, chapter on Church and Chapel. Abundant confirmation of this low estimate of the character and influence of the clergy may be found in contemporary literature. For example, see Swift's Project for the Advancement of Religion, his satirical Argument against the Abolishing of Christianity, and Letter to a Young Clergyman.
Yet it must be remembered that the Whig prejudices of Addison inclined him, in his kindly satire, to belittle the attainments and the influence of the country clergy, who were, almost to a man, Tories.
[79]: 3. Bishop of St. Asaph may have been either William Beveridge (1637-1708) or his successor, William Fleetwood (1656-1723); both had, before this time, published volumes of sermons.
79: 4. Dr. South. Robert South (1633-1716), a very high churchman and a very eloquent preacher.
79: 6. Tillotson. John Tillotson (1630-1694), made Archbishop of Canterbury three years before his death.
79: 7. Saunderson. Robert Saunderson (1587-1663), Bishop of Lincoln.
79: 7. Barrow. Isaac Barrow (1630-1677) was eminent both as a theologian and a mathematician.
79: 7. Calamy. Edmund Calamy (1600-1666) is the only one in the chaplain's list of preachers who was not a Churchman; Calamy was a Presbyterian, though a liberal one, who served a little time as chaplain of Charles II.