wood, "Let us proportion our alms to our incomes, lest God should proportion our incomes to our alms."

In the spirit of this maxim he always appointed a certain portion of his income for pious uses, and at various intervals we find him increasing the sum thus appropriated. The following is one of his memoranda of this kind. "Bishop's Court, Feb. 18, 1718.

"To the glory of God; I find by constant experience that God will be no man's debtor. I find that I have enough and to spare; so that for the future I dedicate four tenths to pious uses, one tenth of the demesnes and customs which I receive in monies, and of my English estate as above. And the good Lord accept his poor servant in this service, for Christ's sake. Amen."

His charity to the poor was so enlarged that the destitute never came to his door in vain. Being told that unworthy persons were often the objects of his bounty, he replied, "I would rather give to ten unworthy, than that one deserving object should go away without relief." Mr. Moore says in the sermon preached at the bishop's funeral, "His charity and beneficence to the poor and needy shine the brightest and most distinguished of all his other numerous virtues and graces. Feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, comforting the afflicted, administering to the distresses of all, the stranger, the fatherless, and the widow these acts of humanity and christian charity were the joy, the delight, the great employment and pleasure, of his soul. And to this it was owing, that during his episcopate, no country in the christian world had fewer public beggars to be seen therein; for he kept the poor from almost every body's doors but his own."

In order to supply the poor with clothing, he kept tailors and shoemakers in constant employment at his own house. And as his pecuniary means were small,

he commonly procured the materials for that purpose by bartering the produce of his farm. It is related that one day, giving orders to his tailor to make for him a cloak, he desired that it might be quite plain, and have merely a button and loop to keep it together. "But my Lord," said the tailor, "what would become of the poor buttonmakers and their families if every one thought in that way? they would be starved outright." Do you say so John ?" replied the bishop, "why then button it all over, John."

Some occasions of a most trying nature occurred to draw forth all the energies, as well as to awaken the most tender feelings, of this generous mind. A small duty was paid by all vessels putting into the ports of the island, and, as the contraband trade increased, a portion of this was employed in rendering the harbours more convenient and secure. Thus many hands were drawn away from agricultural labour to carry on these works, and many more were employed about the shipping in various capacities. The neglect of the land was a necessary consequence; the consumption of corn became greater than the produce; and the Manksmen were dependent upon England for the supply of their wants. Hence in dear or scarce years they were in the greatest distress, and sometimes even experienced the miseries of famine.

Such was the wretched condition of the people in the year 1740. Their crops, never sufficient, were in the preceding harvest remarkably light. The bishop writes to his son (July 15, 1739) "The severest drought that I ever knew. A great deal of corn will never be mowed or reaped; and the poor farmers, not being able to dispose of their cattle, will many of them be ruined, I fear." England had equally suffered by this unpropitious weather. The

dearth produced high prices, and an embargo was laid upon the exportation of corn. It was a wretched winter to the poor people of Man, and the bishop's heart was with them in their misery. He distributed all his own corn, he then purchased to the extent of his means, and sold it out at a low rate in small proportions, so as to economise to the utmost. In February 1740, he writes again, "Never was such a scarcity of corn! A ship laden with barley was put in by bad weather. I would have bought fifty pounds' worth, but it could not be sold, the master having given large bonds to land it at Whitehaven, but he was cast away going thither. What this poor place will do, God only knows. I shall give as long as I have any; and money, if any be to be bought."

Disease is generally the companion of famine, and it visited the island with much severity on this occasion. The bishop, who had acquired some knowledge of physic at the University, and had exercised it for the relief of his poor neighbours all his life long, now attended the sick and prescribed for them. They had fresh proofs of the goodness of God in sending a man of such an excellent spirit to dwell amongst them.

In their greatest extremity, when the corn of the island was nearly exhausted, the inhabitants despatched a letter to the duke of Athol, (who had succeeded to the lordship of the isle, by the death of the earl of Derby,) and to Dr. Wilson, in London, representing their appalling situation, and beseeching them to use their earnest endeavours and their interest to effect the removal of the embargo which withheld from them the very means of existence.

The application was made, but without success, and as the case admitted of no delay, the duke and Dr. Wilson immediately contracted for two ship-loads of corn from

Holland. Meanwhile a small vessel, bound to Dumfries with a cargo of Welsh oats, was driven into Douglas by a contrary wind, where the cargo sustained considerable injury; and the people of the town, urged by famine, and knowing that the means of relief were actually perishing before their faces, boarded and took possession of the vessel without resistance. The action, though riotous, was conducted with good order, for they measured out the corn with great exactness, stored it in the schoolhouse, and compelled the churchwardens to take the care and custody of it, and to sell it out at prime cost, reserving the money for the proprietor of the cargo.

Thus a temporary relief was afforded, at least for that part of the island, until the ships arrived from Holland just time enough to save the inhabitants from starving. Further supplies were afterwards obtained, by the embargo being removed for a certain time and to a certain quantity, in consequence of another pressing appeal to the King from Dr. Wilson, in which he says, "Your petitioner's father, and the inhabitants of that place, labour under the inexpressible want of provisions, especially bread-corn; so that, if not speedily relieved, many thousands are in imminent danger of being starved; and what adds to their melancholy circumstances is, that it has pleased God to afflict them with a pestilential flux, owing in a great measure to the want of wholesome food."

The supply now sent saved the whole people from destruction, yet still the poor would have been very scantily provided but for the help of their good bishop. He writes thus to his son; "What I give at home to pocr people, I give gratis; having, through God's blessing, about one hundred and fifty Winchester bushels to spare.

my method in the four towns has been to buy it at

the market-price, (which is high enough indeed,) and to order it to be sold, but only to poor people, and not above two pecks to any one body.”

In another letter it is stated, "I have given this year about five hundred bushels of barley, which have been the support of very many families, as well as private persons, which otherwise must have perished, I verily believe."

The year 1745 was another time of great want and suffering amongst the poor. The circumstances of their distress, and the bishop's help in their time of need, are sufficiently shown in the following extracts from his letters to his son.

"June 14, 1745. Our harvest last year was so difficult to be saved, that it has reduced us to as great straits as we were in four years ago, only we have the liberty of having corn from England and Wales brought to us, but at an excessive price; and, which is still worse, there is amongst the people very little monies to be had to purchase it. I have already given most of my own stock of all sorts of grain, and I believe I shall be obliged to lay out twenty or thirty pounds more before August. Ten pounds worth of barley Mr. Murray has promised me this week, which is coming from Wales, and I hope for as much more. It is generally sold for twenty-four shillings our boll: but before this came in, some of our wicked farmers sold it for upwards of thirty; or five or six shillings a Winchester bushel.

"We have also had a very great loss of black cattle and sheep through the whole country, occasioned by the badness of the fodder, and the cold and wet season, having had scarce three days together without rain or snow since September last. In short, I can foresee nothing but distress of one kind or other."