startling brilliancy.

He was a superior disciplinarian,

enforcing obedience and order without austerity, and was equally feared and respected by the boys. On resigning his post, he removed to the north of Yorkshire, where he took charge of an educational establishment, and shared in certain ministerial work.

MR. WILLIAM GREAR, 1838-54.

Mr. William Grear succeeded the Rev. Joshua Wood as head master in 1838, and retained the position till 1854. He had been head master at Kingswood, when the fathers of some of the boys who were his pupils at the Grove were pupils under him at Kingswood. Amongst others Dr. Moulton's father was under him at Kingswood, and the doctor was also his pupil during his residence at the Grove. Dr. Moulton says of him that "he was both a gentleman and a Christian, to whom he was much attached. He was a good classic within a moderate range; he knew next to nothing of composition, but was good at translation; weak in mathematics, but with great enthusiasm as a teacher.” It was rumoured amongst the boys that he came from Ireland; and he was once visited by a son, who was said to have been a young clergyman from that country. The Rev. S. Simpson, jun., who was under him at the Grove, says: "He was a pious man, and, I believe, led a class in connection with the Society at Woodhouse Grove Chapel. He was a steady, regular, quiet, and respectable gentleman, and should have the credit of being a good teacher. When he left the Grove we understood he went to Rugeley, famous

at that time as the town where Palmer, the poisoner, lived. He was succeeded by Mr. Sharpe, who took the higher classes far back in mathematical subjects, and they proceeded to the point reached before. In classics they went on at once to more difficult classical authors. All who knew Mr. Grear will allow that he was a clever man, and a good man, as well as a good teacher. He was dismissed, I believe, because the committee had an idea of improving the system." He was nick-named by the boys "Miss Tarr," by which name he was invariably known amongst them— why, it is not stated. Mr. T. S. Cocking, now of Sittingbourne, speaks of him as one of the old school, having a stooping form and anxious expression as he walked the short distance from his private residence to the school. Anyone seeing him could recognise the schoolmaster. "Year after year he appeared dressed in the same fashion dark clothes; a dress coat, having the front fastened with jet links; a spotless frilled shirt-front, neatly brushed tall hat, and the inevitable umbrella. His manner when pleased was very winning. His captivating smile, sparkling eye, mobile sensitive mouth, soft and sweetly-toned voice, won the confidence of all. But when angry, or when he felt called upon to assume the air of the principal of a large school, his manner was not only firm, but frequently severe. Report hinted at the existence of some kind of domestic trouble which produced an unfavourable influence upon him." It is said that Mr. Grear has been dead some years. On his leaving the school a subscription of £20 was raised, and presented to him. The want of a good understanding between him and the governor has been already

:

mentioned. Mr. J. Lawson Strachan, who was at the Grove at this time, says: "In hay-time we used occasionally to have a scene. All at once Daddy Lord would enter the old schoolroom, pass through to the 'classical room,' and order out the senior boys to make hay. To this Mr. Grear used to demur, and we enjoyed hearing Daddy and Grear-the one asserting his right to order the lads out-Grear assuring Daddy that in school he was head master; and Daddy asserting that as governor he could take the lads when required."

MR. SAMUEL SHARPE, 1854-56.

Mr. Samuel Sharpe, generally known as Dr. Sharpe, was the son of the late Rev. William Sharpe, who entered the Wesleyan ministry in 1813, and died in 1871. He was educated at Kingswood School, and afterwards obtained the degree of LL.B. at the London University. Subsequently he was appointed one of the masters of the Wesleyan College at Sheffield, and, after leaving there, he kept a private school at Norwich. In 1854 he relinquished it, when he was appointed head master at Woodhouse Grove, which position he held until 1856. In that year a vacancy occurred in the office of principal of Huddersfield College, for which he applied, and to which he was appointed. In this office he worked hard and successfully, with honour to himself and advantage to his pupils, for nearly twenty years. He died at his residence at the College, aged fifty-two years, of heart disease. It was stated of him at his funeral that he brought to his work

no mean scholarship, but his work was characterised by great regularity, and conscientiousness, patient toil, and wise methods. He retained his connection with Wesleyan Methodism to the last, for nine years previous to his death filling the offices of circuit steward and chapel trustee. He was buried in the Huddersfield Cemetery, his body being followed to the grave by nearly a hundred pupils, a large number of old college boys, college masters, and other friends.

REV. DR. RABY, 1856-74.

Rev. Dr. Raby was head master at Woodhouse Grove from 1856 to 1874, and is the son of the late Rev. John Raby, who was born at Lancaster in 1790, and who entered the Wesleyan ministry in 1811. For five years he laboured in the West Indies, with such diligence and success that at the time of his death there were persons still living there who remembered him with lively gratitude. On returning home he undertook duty for two or three years in English circuits, and in 1822 he was appointed to be a missionary in the Zetland Isles, under the superintendence of Dr. Adam Clarke. For some years he entertained a premonition of being suddenly called away. On the evening preceding his death he was more than usually cheerful, but at midnight he felt indisposed, without being alarmed. At three o'clock, however, he became unconscious, and, after one or two deep groans, all was hushed in the silence of death. He passed away on the 22nd of October, 1858, in the sixty-ninth year of his age, and the forty-eighth of his

ministry. His son, John M. Raby, went as a scholar to Woodhouse Grove in 1835, and remained there till 1843, being granted an extra year as a reward. On his leaving the Grove he became a scholar at the Manchester Grammar School for several years. He subsequently became one of the masters at Kingswood School, which post he relinquished in 1851, when he undertook a similar position at Taunton. In 1853 he became a probationer in the Wesleyan ministry, but had to relinquish it on account of illhealth, and he became one of the masters at Wesley College, Sheffield. In 1856 he was appointed head master at the Grove, and retained the position, as has been stated, till 1874. He then became head master of Elmfield College, York; and in 1880 became the principal of Epworth College, Rhyl, which position he holds at the present time. He has been for many years a popular and exceptionally good preacher. When head master at the Grove, the most intelligent boys in the school used to enjoy his preaching. His life has been uneventful, and has been filled, as he himself says, with work and duty. He has not been signalised in the world of letters, having never written a book, printed a sermon, or even appeared as contributor to a review, magazine, or newspaper. He is, however, a scholar, and is B.A. and B.Sc. of the University of London, and had the repute of being a good teacher when at the Grove.

THOMAS GEORGE OSBORN, M.A., 1874-83.

Lord Beaconsfield has said, "Race is the key of history." This saying will be often illustrated in the notices of many