Appendix — Carus Wilson Memoir#
Brief memoir of the late Rev. W. Carus-Wilson, reprinted by permission from “The Christian Observer” … With extracts from letters to soldiers in India, etc. 1860, 32pp.
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BRIEF MEMOIR
OF THE LATE
REV. W. CARUS-WILSON.
THE late Reverend WILLIAM CARUS-WILSON was born 7th July, 1791, and was the eldest surviving son of William Wilson Carus-Wilson, Esq., of Casterton Hall, in the county of Westmorland ; a gentleman whose Christian character, cultivated mind, and generous hospitality, made his house the resort of a large acquaintance amongst the good and wise, and caused him to be often cited as a model of a Christian English gentleman. He had been amongst the first-fruits of the ministry of the late Mr. Simeon, of Cambridge, and always spoke of that faithful servant of God with the deepest reverence and gratitude.
The example and prayers of such a father were not lost upon the son. It is due also to his excellent mother to make mention here of the peculiar love and veneration with which he always spoke of her, as the instrument, in the hands of God, of untold blessings to his soul. Like many others, whose after-life has been distinguished by energy and excellence, he felt that he owed much to the early influence of his mother.
It was evident that he was “ taught of God,” even from his childhood. He has been heard to say incidentally of himself, that from the age of about eight years he was a distributor of tracts ; he was a composer also of tracts occasionally at a very early age. It was this habit which seems to have suggested to him the idea of publishing penny religious periodicals, of which he was the first to set the example ; an example subsequently followed to an extent and with an amount of success which strikingly shows the justness of the original conception.
After an attendance of some years at the grammar school in the neighbouring town of Kirkby Lonsdale, he was sent as private pupil to the Rev. John Fawcett, of Stanwix, near Carlisle. Here his early religious impressions were greatly deepened and matured. He found in his excellent tutor a friend to whom he could open all his heart ; and in one of the latest of his papers printed for soldiers in India he relates how, after a conversation with him in the course of a walk into the country, with a heart longing for the enjoyment of “ the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free,” he hastened to throw himself on his knees behind the nearest hedge, and there poured out his soul in prayer for pardon and peace.
Mr. Fawcett seems to have been such a friend to him as Staupitz was to Luther,-one who was the instrument, in the hands of the Spirit, to strike off from his soul the fetters of the law, and bring him forth from the prison-house of bondage under a sense of sin to the light and liberty of the Gospel.
At Trinity College, Cambridge, he was a fearless confessor of his principles, at a time when such principles were rare and ridiculed ; and it is related of him, that on one occasion his spirit was so stirred by the profaneness of a large party of military officers whom he met casually while waiting for a friend in the coffee-room of the hotel, that he boldly though modestly reproved them before all. The check was unexpected and startling ; but the manly bearing and evident earnestness of the young student enlisted their sympathies, and he was led on, by their invitation, to enlarge upon the necessity of vital godliness, with a force and feeling that made an impression not likely to be forgotten.
Having taken his degree at Cambridge, without aiming at any academical distinction, he applied for ordination to the Bishop of Chester, Dr. Law. It is little to the honour of the Church, and a signal mark of the temper of the times, that he was rejected on account of his “ Calvinistic opinions.” He was, however, shortly afterwards ordained by the Archbishop of Canterbury ; a fact honourable to both the prelate and the candidate.
In the year 1815 he was married to Anne, daughter of the late General Neville, a lady who proved a help-meet indeed, and became a zealous and most efficient coadjutor in all the works of faith and labours of love which subsequently formed the occupation of his life.
He now settled at Tunstall, about four miles from his paternal home ; of which place he was first curate and afterwards vicar.
It was thus early in life that he began those undertakings which will for ever be associated with his name. In the year 1819 the Friendly Visitor was commenced, and was followed, five years after, by the Children’s Friend. These two little periodicals, published monthly at the price of one penny each, were the first religious periodicals of their kind. They gradually attained to a very large circulation, and were carried on for nearly thirty years ; during which long period of time, as Mr. Carus-Wilson used to acknowledge with thankfulness, he was never once prevented from sending his sheets to the press at the proper time. He used also to say, that of all the means of usefulness he had been enabled to employ, none had produced more fruit than these “ humble little messengers. “
The year 1820 was marked by the establishment of the School for Training Servants and Teachers. It was removed afterwards to Casterton, where it still continues to flourish. Girls are here educated at £12 a-year (which sum also includes part of the expense of clothing) , and are trained for service of all kinds ; while those who show superior capacity are prepared to become teachers and schoolmistresses.
The institution of the School for Daughters of Clergymen took place in 1823. It was first established at a place called Cowen Bridge, a locality recommended probably by its proximity to Tunstall, by the convenience of its being on the great road to Leeds and other populous towns and districts, and by the circumstance that some buildings were found there capable of being enlarged and adapted to the object in view at less expense than would have been otherwise necessary. The school was removed about ten years afterwards to Casterton ; Mr. Carus-Wilson having meanwhile been presented to the rectory of Whittington, a village three miles from Casterton, on the road to Lancaster ; where he continued to reside till the failing health of his venerable father, left alone by the decease of his wife and the marriage and dispersion of his family, pointed to the duty of taking up his abode at Casterton Hall.
In the following year was opened, in connection with the Clergy Daughters’ School, a Preparatory Establishment for thirty younger children, which was intended to effect the double purpose of relieving the larger school of its overflowing numbers, and of providing a training especially adapted to very young pupils, and calculated to fit them for a more advantageous entrance into the higher school. This institution is conducted in a separate building, but within the precincts of the Clergy Daughters’ School.
The village of Casterton by this time presented a spectacle of singular interest.
The Vale of Lune is well known as one of the most beautiful in the County of Westmorland ; and there is no spot in the Vale of Lune so picturesque as Casterton and its vicinity. The river, flowing between wooded cliffs and noble mansions, and spanned by a romantic bridge, where the torrent sometimes glides clear as crystal over grey and moss-grown rocks, sometimes, when swelled by mountain torrents, foams and chafes against them with a roar like thunder-the rich woods which line the valley —and the heathery mountains bounding the view-present varied scenes of beauty, which charm the eye of every traveller, and often attract the study of the artist. But all this natural loveliness was now heightened and crowned by the surpassing interest of moral beauty and Christian benevolence. A cluster of buildings, tasteful without extravagance, had grown up among the cottages which once alone formed the village. There was the family mansion, plain but well built, erected by the Rev. W. Carus-Wilson’s father ; higher up the road there was the pretty chapel, standing on a wooded bank, and surrounded by a churchyard, where every grave was a garden ; above this again were the buildings of the Clergy Daughters’ School and the parsonage, both embowered in trees, shrubs, and flowers. Returning to the left, down a shady glen stood the picturesque village school-house by the bridge, and the babbling brook which rushed from the mountains above ; then lower down the glen, the Servants’ School, with its appropriate motto painted on the gable, “ My Father, thou art the guide of my youth. “ Wherever the eye turned it was greeted by marks of the active benevolence and natural taste of the family of Casterton Hall. That family itself was one of the ornaments of the place. Though born to what the world calls “ good expectations,” the Rev. W. Carus-Wilson had been early led to devote himself and all he possessed to the service and glory of his Redeemer, and to count nothing honourable but that which might serve to honour God. His family, now for the most part grown up, were trained in the same principles . The daughters had each her own department of usefulness-in the Schools, the Sunday-school, the parish, and the clothing club ; the sons had continually before their eyes an example of laborious benevolence in their devoted father, which could not fail to stamp a deep impression on their minds for life. The venerable patriarch himself, who frequently saw four generations of his family seated at his table, found his happiest moments, as he had often declared, in his Sunday morning class, which he continued to teach till within a fortnight of his death, at the age of fourscore years and six .
Mr. Carus-Wilson was privileged to see abundant fruit springing from his labours. The Clergy Daughters’ School was a boon to the poorer clergy, of which they felt and appreciated the value. One hundred and thirty of their daughters were now educated, boarded, and in part clothed, at the low cost of £14 per annum ; and an additional payment of £6 secured them all the accomplishments requisite to enable them either to adorn and assist the home circle, or to fill the honourable and useful positions of governesses and teachers.
The indirect influence of this excellent institution has been not one of its least important benefits . The example thus given was followed by the establishment of similar institutions at Brighton, Clifton, Warrington, and Dublin ; the Brighton school founded and still directed by Mr. Carus-Wilson’s intimate and valued friend, the Rev. H. V. Elliott, having ever since offered to the clergy in the south of England similar advantages to those of Casterton in the north, by the education on the lowest possible terms of one hundred of their daughters. In the hope of furnishing important aid to persons of all grades engaged in religious teaching, Mr. Carus-Wilson, about this time, undertook a third monthly periodical, called The Teacher’s Visitor, which contained more matter than the two already mentioned combined. And afterwards again—as if his elastic energy could never weary of doing good-finding the Christian Guardian likely to drop for want of an editor, he added to all his existing labours the conduct of a magazine requiring nearly as much time and toil as all the other three together. The Teacher’s Visitor was continued for several years with considerable success ; and the Christian Guardian likewise, till it was at length, on his failing health, transferred to other hands.
In addition to all these arduous undertakings, Mr. Carus-Wilson was continually engaged in promoting, by his influence and exertions, various other good works. The building and endowment of several churches, besides parsonages and schools, in neighbouring districts, were mainly encouraged by his aid. And it will never be known till the great day how many private individuals were assisted and comforted by his sympathy, his purse, and his pen. No case of destitution within his reach, whether public or private, temporal or spiritual, could come to his knowledge without kindling his benevolent ardour and engaging his interest and efforts.
But such labours could not be long continued without telling even upon a constitution as vigorous as that which he possessed. His time was incessantly occupied in writing, to the neglect of the exercise and rest necessary for health. The direction of the schools, which he worked single-handed for more than twenty-five years, the conduct of four monthly periodicals, the never-ceasing claims on his bounty and sympathy, besides his ordinary duties of preaching and parochial visiting, filled up every day, and almost every hour, with a pressure of work which literally left him hardly time so much as to eat. In the year 1845 he began to show symptoms of suffering . In the spring of that year he was summoned by alarming illness to the bedside of one of his daughters, who was absent from home ; and with his wonted devotedness he watched her night and day for five or six weeks, never retiring to rest for more than a short time during the day. This effort seemed to add the last straw to a burden which was already almost overwhelming ; and his family remarked, that from that time he never seemed to feel the same elastic vigour as before. The painful complaint sciatica fastened itself upon him, and for many years caused him constant suffering. After trying various changes of air and modes of treatment, he was at length induced, by the urgent advice of his medical attendants, as well as the entreaties of his family, to relieve himself of labours which were evidently crushing him ; and he made arrangements to transfer the care of his schools and periodicals to other hands, and try the effect of a sojourn abroad with comparative rest of mind. The climate of Westmorland was especially prohibited by his medical advisers, and he was recommended to spend his winters in the dry warm air of Nice.
While travelling through Switzerland, his love of flowers and botany was richly gratified in the new treasures presented by every valley and mountain, and a large collection of dried plants was the fruit of his summer tour. Finding a pasteur who was burdened with a debt upon his newly-erected church, he determined to turn this collection to his benefit. The plants were made up into sets, named, and bound up in portfolios, which were sold amongst friends. In this way a sum of not less than eighty pounds was collected , which not only paid the good pasteur’s debt, but left a surplus for his other works of beneficence. During a stay at Lausanne, observing the constant resort of boats across the lake from the opposite Savoyard coast, he was led to profit by this circumstance for the purpose of introducing Bibles and tracts into that then priest-ridden country. In conjunction with a friend he contrived by this channel to send over a large number of books and tracts from time to time, and to scatter seed which may yet be found after many days. At Nice, where he spent three winters, his ever-watchful zeal was again conspicuous. Some few words of kind interest, spoken to the donkey driver who used to accompany him in his daily rides, proved the germ of a great work. At first a few, afterwards considerable numbers of poor Italians were induced to come to his lodgings for weekly exposition of the Scriptures and prayer, conducted by a friend who spoke their language ; and there is reason to believe that many were brought to a saving knowledge of the truth. Plans were also organized for the circulation of the Scriptures, not only in the town, but in the neighbouring country, as opportunities could be found.
The result of these efforts was the sale or distribution of several thousand Bibles and Testaments both far and near ; especially amongst the Sardinian soldiers, into the knapsacks of most of whom portions of the sacred volume found their way.
Nothing indeed was more conspicuous in his character than his large-hearted, ever-wakeful zeal and activity for the good of others. Whether at Ramsgate, Lausanne, Nice, or Ventnor, whether journeying or sojourning, he was always alive to the one great object.
On his journey homewards from Nice, opportunities were found of speaking words in season, and giving Bibles and tracts at several places in France, and especially among the troops then assembled in the camp at Boulogne.
After his return to England, it became manifest that Mrs. Carus-Wilson’s state of health was such as to make it his duty to remain with her for the future, and from that time his purpose was fixed to go no more abroad, though his own health would have led him still to seek a foreign climate. His warmest interests also had become concentrated in the work at Nice, and thither accordingly both health and his Master’s work would have directed his steps.
But as duties of another nature required his presence at home, so another field of labour was speedily opened up, which eventually seemed to bear a richer harvest than any in which he had previously sown the precious seed. His work among the troops at Nice seemed to have touched a chord of which the harmonies were soon heard among our own too much neglected soldiers.
The advice of his medical attendants had pointed out the Isle of Wight as the locality most favourable to his health in England, and his residence was accordingly fixed at Ventnor from that time forward.
Here it was that his energetic spirit, always casting about for opportunities of doing good, was ultimately absorbed in one of the greatest works of his life -that of leavening the British army with the Gospel of salvation to an extent and by means previously unknown. The constant departure of transports from Portsmouth with the brave fellows who so nobly vindicated British honour in India, was a spectacle which stirred his inmost soul. He could not bear that they should leave their native shores, most of them probably to return no more, without some efforts being made that they might carry with them not merely a Bible in their knapsacks, but also the love of Christ in their hearts. He used to watch for the expected sailing of the troop ships , and go on board each, provided with Bibles, Testaments, and tracts, which were freely distributed, and, in general, most gratefully received . He took these opportunities of addressing the men, with the permission of their officers, in words which fell warm from his own heart upon hearts which, though brave as lions’ , were then thoughtful and tender. Many a heart-rending scene of sorrowful partings between husband and wife, parent and child, was witnessed at these times ; and many a manly and weather-beaten cheek was moistened with a tear, while he proclaimed the Gospel message of pardon and peace, and dwelt on the touching invitations of the loving and forgiving Saviour.
He now frequently made excursions to Portsmouth for the purpose of preaching, either in the churches, the barracks, or the circus -a large building which had recently been opened for public worship. He was heard with marked interest, and it may be hoped with abiding effects, by crowded audiences. But there was one result of his largehearted benevolence and practical wisdom which will be remembered, together with the Friendly Visitor and the Clergy Daughters’ School, as the offspring of a mind gifted with the originality of genius. This was the establishment of the Soldiers’ Institute at Portsmouth. He saw that the poor soldier was beset by a fearful temptation in the total want of mental occupation for his long intervals of leisure from duty. The natural resource was to drown the weary hours in the drunken and noisy revelry of the ale-house. He rightly judged, that as long as there was no way of escape from this temptation, all efforts to raise the moral and spiritual condition of the soldier would be in a great measure paralysed.
It struck him that a remedy might be found in an institution resembling the Mechanics’ and Literary Institutes which have become so general in large towns for other classes. The attempt was forthwith made. A house was taken and suitably furnished, and in a very short time the first “ Soldiers’ Institute “ was opened, with a reading-room, supplied with useful magazines and other books ; a coffee-room, where tea and coffee were supplied at very moderate prices ; and rooms where little parties could meet for the purpose of reading the Scriptures and prayer. The plan succeeded well : the Institute was hailed as a boon by numbers of the men ; and , while many contented themselves with the coffeeroom and the papers, there were not a few who were induced, by the influence and encouragement employed, to meet for reading and prayer.
The example thus held out was soon followed in other places ; and Mr. Carus-Wilson’s aid and influence were repeatedly sought for the establishment of similar institutes in other garrison and barrack towns.
These efforts for the spiritual good of the soldiers, and the numerous individual acquaintances which Mr. Carus-Wilson was led to make among the men, opened a new and most important field of labour. The interest he had felt in his humble friends at Portsmouth did not cease when they more than ever needed his counsels and prayers amidst the din and dangers of the Indian mutiny. He followed them with his letters, and with little tracts written expressly for their benefit, which were sent over by tens of thousands, to be forwarded to all the regiments on service in Bengal and North-west India. In this way a correspondence was set on foot with about two hundred men, in different regiments, to each of whom Mr. Carus-Wilson regularly wrote every month. The letters received in reply were often such as to fill his heart to overflowing with joy and praise. Many of the poor fellows he had befriended and counselled looked upon him as their spiritual father ; and, while tasting in their own souls the power and sweetness of the grace of God, they delighted in recounting to him the signs of a saving change among their comrades, and of their progress and growth in grace.
His time was fully and delightfully occupied during his residence in Ventnor in these labours of love. The composing, abstracting, and printing of tracts were pressed forward with his characteristic energy and rapidity, till the “ Portsmouth and Isle of Wight Series “ had reached to no less than seventy numbers. Besides these, there were “monthly letters” and various other addresses and circulars printed, all bearing upon the object so near his heart-the making known among Britain’s brave defenders the unsearchable riches of Christ.
His exertions were not, however, confined to the benefit of the soldiers. His spirit was stirred by witnessing the fearful demoralization which met his eye. Early in his residence at Ventnor a tract was printed, and left on New Year’s-day at every house in Newport ; and some time afterwards another, entitled “ Portsmouth in Flames,” was distributed in like manner at Portsmouth. In these tracts the crying sins of drunkenness, debauchery, and ungodliness were attacked with unsparing vigour but overflowing kindness ; and all who were engaged either in committing or abetting these iniquities were exhorted to earnest and immediate repentance.
The effects were visible ; for though, in a few instances, anger and opposition were aroused against the uncompromising preacher of righteousness, temperance, and a judgment to come, yet, for the most part, the results were more happy.
One of the largest brewers in Portsmouth wrote to announce his conviction of the iniquities fostered by the sale of beer, and his determination to abandon his lucrative business for ever. Other persons wrote under various feelings of conviction and desires of amendment ; and it was reported by the police of Portsmouth that there was a visible decrease in the amount of drunkenness, vice, and disorder in the town.
About the beginning of the year 1858, Mr. Carus-Wilson’s state of health had become so much worse as to awaken serious anxiety in the minds of his family and numerous friends. Early in that year he was induced to take a journey into Westmorland. It was a time much to be remembered. The change which had passed upon that noble form and countenance struck sadness into the hearts of all who had known him. Notwithstanding his weak and suffering state, he gave lectures and addresses both at Casterton and Kirkby Lonsdale on the subject which then chiefly filled his heart and mind. “The Soldier’s Friend,” as he used to be called, never lost an opportunity of enlisting allies and helpers in their cause ; it will not soon be forgotten how, during two hours, in the public room at Kirkby Lonsdale, he held the crowded audience suspended in breathless interest upon the details of his work among soldiers, both British and foreign, and the touching letters of gratitude, love, and spiritual rejoicing which he had received from so many of them.
He preached at Casterton on both the Sundays he spent there. It was an affecting sight to see him occupying once more, and, as it proved, for the last time, the pulpit which had for so many years been the scene of his faithful testimony. The chapel was crowded to excess. Many were there who had seldom before been seen in the house of God ; and scarcely an eye was dry while, with labouring voice and in evident pain, he urged the Gospel invitation and promise : “ Come now, and let us reason together, saith the Lord,” &c. All felt that he spoke as a dying man, and all probably were impressed with the foreboding that they should see his face no more. And so, as far at least as his appearance in public was concerned, it proved. He never preached again. His last appeal to sinners was delivered in his own pulpit to his own people.
Once afterwards he did indeed visit Casterton, in the summer of the same year ; but he was then so much enfeebled that nothing but a great emergency would have enforced upon him so long a journey.
After this trying effort, though he continued his monthly correspondence with the soldiers, and other labours with his pen, his strength rapidly declined ; and in the summer of 1859 it was thought advisable that he should seek the best medical aid that London could supply. A house was taken, to which it was also intended that Mrs. Carus-Wilson, who was herself an invalid, should be removed. But it was otherwise ordered. Immediately after his arrival in town, she was seized with an illness that proved fatal ; and the tidings of her peaceful departure to her rest were communicated to him when he was already brought so low as to render it doubtful which of the two were the most likely to be the survivor.
He survived, however, about six weeks, which were passed in great suffering. During the intense exhaustion under which he laboured, his mind wandered much, and his body was harassed with incessant restlessness. But to the great subject of his soul’s salvation, and his Saviour’s work for him, his mind was always clearly and joyfully alive. He never lost sight of his Saviour’s love, but was supported by this, and the hope of a glorious immortality, through many a weary hour. He derived the greatest comfort from the promises of Scripture, which he would often keep repeating to himself, and loved to hear others repeat to him. Often, when medicine had failed to quiet his harassed system, a verse or two whispered into his ear would produce an immediate and almost miraculous effect ; showing to those who witnessed it, in a most remarkable degree, the power of the word of God upon the hearts of His servants.
After many weeks of painful watching, during which time his friends often thought that his end had approached, he at length succumbed to the power of his disease, and entered the joy of his Lord on December 30, 1859.
It was discovered that he had been afflicted with an immense internal tumour, which had slowly but surely eaten away the strength of his life. It was evident also that the disease must have been of many years’ existence ; and it fully accounted for all his morbid symptoms, which had long perplexed the various medical men whom he had consulted.
Such a life as that of the Rev. William CarusWilson should be reviewed, not for the purpose of unduly honouring man, but for that of rendering to God the honour due unto His name, and ascribing to His praise alone all that was noble, admirable, or useful in the creature of His hand. No one could be more sensitively alive to this feeling than Mr. Carus-Wilson himself. Others must feel that a great man has fallen in Israel ; he himself never could bear any mention to be made of his labours, and desired only to be thought of as the chief of sinners. Yet nothing would be more in accordance with his heart’s desire than that anything he had been enabled to do might be the means of stirring up others to live and labour for the same great objects to which his own life was devoted.
If it be inquired what was the secret of his great success in his widely-extended and various efforts to do good, the answer will be found chiefly in two causes—a heart devoted to God, and an indomitable energy of mind.
It is true that his birth, position, and connections gave him an amount of influence which cannot be possessed by all ; but it is surely one of the most signal proofs of the grace given to him, that from his earliest youth he was led to consecrate to the service of God all these advantages, and to regard them as but so many talents intrusted to his stewardship to be used for the glory of the Giver and the good of his fellow- creatures, and thus to verify, as he so remarkably did, the heraldic motto of his family, Non nobis solum.
Nothing was more striking, to those who had the opportunity of witnessing his daily life, than his indefatigable industry. Not a moment of time throughout the day seemed wasted. Early, punctual, and rapid in all his habits, he seemed intent upon crowding into the day the utmost possible amount of work. Even his meals were taken with a degree of haste which was probably not without its effect in undermining, during a long course of years, his iron constitution ; and no sooner was the meal concluded, than he again hastened to his desk.
His only recreation was in his garden, which always presented a scene of beauty and fragrance that might well charm and gratify even his ardent love of flowers. His only exercise was found in his necessary walks while visiting his schools, parish, or neighbours.
His preaching was characterized less by profound thought or doctrinal argument, than by a fervent warmth, a depth of feeling, and (as it was once described) a “round good sense” which at once carried with him both the understanding and the hearts of his hearers ; while his noble countenance and deep musical voice gave full effect to his words by arresting both the eye and the ear. His sermons, after the earlier years of his ministry, were never written ; and the remarkable readiness and facility with which he preached could arise from nothing else but the constant and devoted occupation of his whole heart and mind with the one great object of his life—the saving of immortal souls. He seemed always ready ; and whether he had come to his pulpit from the hurry of a journey or the retirement of his closet, could never have been argued from any difference in the depth and fervour of his preaching. A course of labour so various, so complicated, and so obnoxious to the advocates of cold orthodoxy and worldly wisdom, was not likely to be exempted from much misrepresentation. The principles of evangelical truth were far more singular, even thirty years ago, than happily they have become since ; and in proportion to their rarity was the odium cast upon those who held up the light amidst the surrounding darkness. Mr. Carus-Wilson was assailed at various times and in various ways ; but the surf-beaten rock abides, while the breakers which dash against it shiver themselves to atoms. Mr. Carus-Wilson’s works remain as standing monuments of his zeal, and faith, and love to God and man. His name is affectionately cherished by numbers who regard him as their greatest benefactor for time and eternity. The institutions for which he laboured so assiduously and so long, remain to this day nurseries for heaven and pillars of the truth ; and his memory will long be dear to many who have “ owed to him their own selves also,” and embalmed by the blessings of the poor, and of those “who had none to help them. “
Several letters from W. Carus Wilson to soldiers in India in the latter part of his life are then included.