Notes On Literature, Science, And Art.

country town revered , without taking into consideration that its Church of St . Thomas is one of the oldest and most interesting in the Worth of England . Stanhope is situated on the banks of the river Wear , ancl is said to be the prettiest place in western Durham . It gave name to an illustrious family , has its Castle , its Hall , the seat of the Eetherstonhalghs , its historical associations , and can boast of rich scenery in its immediate vicinity . Weardale was intimately connected with powerful

Bishops , from Hugh Puclsey down to Anthony Bee , and onward to Hatfield , Wolsey , and Ctithbert Tnnstall . Here were situated the great hunting fields of these kings of the Palatine , ancl here they repaired , followed by numerous trains of county landowners , to hunt the fallow deer in the forest . "

The late Bishop Philpotts , writing to the Archdeacon of Lincoln ( Dr . Goddard ) , January 25 th , 1855 , says ol : Butler , to whom ho had " been accustomed to look up as the greatest of uninspired men , " that when , " after an interval of eighty years , " he became his successor iu the rectory of Stanhope , one of his " earliest employments there was to search for reliques of " his " illustrious predecessor ; " ancl he adds : — " I examined the parish books , not with much hope of discovering anything worth recording of him , and wasunhappilyas unsuccessful as I expected . His name

, , , indeed , was subscribed to one or two acts of vestry , in a very neat ancl easy character ; but , if it was amusing , it was mortifying to find the onl y trace of such a man ' s labours , recorded by his own hand , to be the passing a parish account authorizing the payment of five shillings to some adventurous clown who bad destroyed a ' foumart , ' or wood-marten , the marten-cat , or some other equally unimportant matter . "

One other thing , of more importance to the character of Butler , Dr . Philpotts did find , viz ., a tradition that he was " very kind " to his parishioners and benevolent to the poor , as one can easily believe of him , who , when translated from the See of Bristol to that of Durham , could write : — "If one is enabled to do a little good , and to prefer worthy men , this indeed is a valuable of life , ancl will afford satisfaction in the close of it ; but the change of station in itself will in no wise answer the trouble of it ; " andagain : — " I foresee difficulties in the station I am coming

, many into , ancl no advantage worth thinking of , except some greater power of being serviceable to others ; and whether this be an advantage entirely depends on the use one shah make of it . I pray God it may be a good one . It would be a melanchol y thing , in the close of life , to have no reflections to entertain one ' s self with , but that one had spent the revenues of the Bishoprick of Durham in a sumptuous course of livingand enriched one ' s friends with the promotions of itinstead of having

, , really set one ' s self to do good , ancl promote worthy men . Yet this ri ght use of fortune and power is more difficult than the generality of even good people think , and requires both a guard upon one ' s self , and a strength of mind to withstand solicitations , greater , I wish I may not find it , than I am master of . " Good Bishop

¦ c utler was no hoarder of " filthy lucre , " but is recorded to have said to his undersecretary , Mr . Emm , " I should feel ashamed of myself if I coidd leave ten thousand pounds behind me . " " On being solicited to support a project which he approved , " says Bartlett , " he made inquiries of bis house-steward how much money he had then in possession , ancl on being told five hundred pounds , he exclaimed , 'Eive hundred pounds ! What a shame for a Bishop to have so much money ! Give it awaygive it all to

this gentleman for his charitable plan . '" Although not a native ( Dr . Butler having been born on the eighteenth of May , 1692 , at the aneient town of Wantage , in Berkshire , where bis father was a retired draper ) ' yet he was most intimatel y connected with the county of Durham ; being presented by -Bishop Talbot , in 1721 , to the living of Hougbton-le-Skerne , near Darlington , ancl rear afterwards he transferred from there to that of niWeardale

years was Stanhope-- , one of the richest in England , having at the same time a prebend ' s stall in Durham ' uithedral . On the twenty-seventh of July , 1750 , he was nominated by Kino- George wie Second ( then in Hanover ) to the bishopric of Durham ; elected at Durham September 7 th ; and installed , by proxy , November 9 th . He died at Bath , June 16 th '