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The Philander Chase letters were written in the 18th and 19th century and therefore may contain language that we understand today as harmful or offensive. You may encounter paternalist descriptions of Native Americans, racial slurs, or sexism. For more information, see our policy page.
Description
Marriott tells Chase that Mr. West is uneasy about sailing to America when he does not know where he stands with Chase, and requests that the Bishop send a letter confirming whether West will be accepted in Gambier. He reiterates his support for Mr. West and encourages Chase to accept his help in Ohio.
Date
6-7-1829
Keywords
William N. Lyster, Sir H. Lees, Trinity College, Mr. West, Lord Kenyon, St. Mark's Church, Liverpool
Recommended Citation
Marriott, G.W., "Letter to Philander Chase" (1829). Philander Chase Letters. 795.
https://digital.kenyon.edu/chase_letters/795
Rights Statement
Transcript
K.Ch.290607
L.Sq. 7th June
1829
My dear & venerated Bishop
I am induced to take up my pen once more, the Bearer of this (the Rev’d WIlliam N. Lyster) a Relation by marriage of your steady friend Sir H. Lees, and otherwise very well connected, being about to sail for Ohio. He is a regular Graduate of Trinity College Dublin, and was ordained Deacon on the 20th inst’o: by the Bishop of Dromore, expressly for Ohio. The Bishop so entirely acknowledges the identity of the two branches of the Church, that he refers Mr Lyster to you for Priest’s Orders. He is, I am authentically informed, a most amiable young man, & will be, with your leave, Mr West’s substitute till his arrival.
I find that Mr West, who arrived in Town yesterday, is still quite uneasy from not knowing your mind as to the time of his return. You can calculate what it must be to undertake a sea voyage, without knowing that your arrival will be acceptable at the end of it. And this feeling he has, because you have hitherto left him in the dark as to the effect of the calumnies which reached you first thro’ myself, or of the explanations (entirely satisfactory to Lord Kenyon and myself) which I afterwards sent you. If you shall have written any letter to him, in answer to his of the 29th Feb’y (a Copy of which will accompany this, lest any accident should have befallen the original) before this is delivered to you, he will instantly obey it. But if not, I must beg that you will not suffer him to remain one moment longer in a painful suspense on the subject of his letter. You desired him to be guided by me, and I know no instance in which he has not been so guided, and therefore feel it but justly due to him that now, at his request, I should interpose to obtain for him a clear notification of the terms on which he will be received by you. He has been eminently faithful to his obligations, & is calculated to be a very extraordinary instrument of good to the College, the Town, & the District. I know that, if his object had been earthly interest he would never have thought of Ohio, & might have expected very reasonably to pursue that end with success in his own Country, and even yet might have that opportunity. I have no doubt that, if life be continued, he has before him the highest satisfactions a Minister can have, under your guidance. But it is indispensibly [sic] necessary that he & you should fully understand each other. He has been true to Ohio, & to you, & nothing can make him swerve. If it could, there has been more than enough to do it. Either in England, or in Ireland, he might have had both employment and preferment, not by his own solicitation, but that of those who have the will, and power in their own hands, to himself. I am writing very shortly when I could at great length, but that I am setting out upon a journey. I shall get Mr Lyster to carry to you one of the Narratives I mentioned in my last, together with a Copy of Mr West’s Sermon preached in St. Mark’s Church, Liverpool.
With our united best regards & wishes, I am, my dear & venerated Bishop, yr ever affectionate & devoted friend.
G.W. Marriott