William Croft

“ If the value of a gift may be measured by the joy and delight which it imparts, then may this donation be said to be priceless, for it is not possible to estimate the intense pleasure of which it has been the source to every succeeding generation of Lisbonians not only whilst in the actual enjoyment of its beauties and attractions, but perhaps even more by the pleasing recollections which even the very name of the Quinta brings crowding back to the memory in after years, and which never lose their zest by repetition. ”

“ Later he took charge of a large class of more advanced Humanists, whom he conducted through the Courses of Poetry, Rhetoric, and Philosophy. Father Allen acted towards his scholars more like a friend than a master, and he strove to contribute, by every means in his power, not only to their improvement, but even to their comforts and amusements. After he had finished the Course of Philosophy, he never held any official situation in the College, though he was always considered as one of the Superiors and, as such, was always admitted to the Councils of the House. ”

“ On entering the College Preston no longer considered himself master of his time, or the application of his talents; the good of the Mission and the will of his Superiors became the sole end of his conduct. Ever ready at his post where the necessities of the College seemed to require his exertions, he thought no labour too great which had for its ultimate object the advantage of religion and the conversion of souls. ”

“ In deciding to publish in a more permanent form the History of Lisbon College, I was influenced by a desire to make more widely known, the no small share which it took in the maintenance and defence of the Catholic Faith in England during the times of persecution.
From Lisbon came forth some of the most prominent and remarkable men who, during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, vindicated by their writings Catholic teaching against the attacks and misrepresentations of the keenest and most learned advocates of Protestantism ever produced by the Anglican Establishment. ”

“ Accordingly one day when the good priest was not at all expecting an attack on his faith, his scholar led him into the garden where, instead of repeating his task, he opened a conference on religion and began by expressing his astonishment that a man of such abilities, and so much apparent candour, should give his assent to the gross errors of the Church of Rome. ”

“ The fatal earthquake of 1755, the financial difficulties of the College, and the insubordinate spirit which had crept in among the students, offered a wide field for the exertions of all interested in the stability of the Establishment. As for Preston, in proportion as the wants of the College increased, his efforts and affection for it seemed to redouble. His talents and virtues caused him to be universally esteemed and beloved. ”

“ During his Vice-Presidentship and whilst the President was absent on business, at Madrid, the new Community was in danger of extinction by sickness, which prevailed to such an extent in the house, that the number of those who were dangerously ill was greater than of those in health. On this occasion the College lost two of the number of its first students, Antony Morgan and Richard Arundel, both remarkable for talents and virtue, and equally deserving of a more lengthened notice. ”

“ On the return of the Embassy to Portugal, King Charles made Dr. Russell the bearer of his own favourable sentiments, in a letter to the Queen, who received him with distinguished marks of honour.
To reward his services and at the same time to preserve for her kingdom a person of such talents and worth, she nominated him Bishop of the Cape Verde Islands, promising to promote him to the first See in Portugal that should become vacant. This dignity Dr. Russell declined, but still continued at Court in quality of Preceptor to the Infanta, whom he soon after accompanied to England. ”

“ By the Rules, the domestic economy of the house in its various branches is committed to the care and super vision of Prefects chosen from the more advanced students, a wise regulation which tends to produce in their minds a consciousness of responsibility, and develop an aptitude for management which, to some extent, prepares them for the more weighty duties which after wards they will be called upon to undertake on the Mission. For the direction of these Prefects Father Clarence drew up a variety of useful regulations calculated to prove very beneficial to domestic economy. ”

“ But if before the earthquake, and under the rule of Father Manley, the prospects of the Establishment were anything but cheering; under his successor they were still more gloomy. It has already been hinted that the management of domestic discipline and economy was not the province in which the talents of Dr. Barnard were calculated to shine, and the late calamity had rendered indispensable the incurring of several fresh and heavy monetary obligations. ”

“ For very many years before his death, Mr. Barlow was grand-vicar (or vicar-general) for the Lancashire district, and in this position was greatly respected. He was a zealous missioner, and worked inestimable good in the neighbourhood of Park Hall, Strangeways, and Hindley. The regularity of his life, his mortified appetite, and his com passion for the poor–to whom he conformed in his dress–were, indeed, truly apostolic. "Tho always poor," says Dodd, "he always found means to relieve those that were in necessity." ”

“ On this occasion was erected what is called "The Observatory." This is an elevated square terrace formed nearly in the centre of the building, and commanding one of the most magnificent views in Europe. The object proposed in its erection was to form an astronomical observatory in the strict sense of the term. It was intended, as soon as the work should be completed, to establish a fund for the support of one of the members of the House, who should be employed exclusively in astronomical studies and observations, and who might communicate with the various Astronomical Societies of Europe. ”

“ It speaks well for the sturdy self-denying spirit of those generations of students, who during all the years of their course were contented to live within the narrow precincts of the College grounds with no other break in the monotony of their surroundings save what was afforded by an occasional walk in the city or its suburbs, and the recreation so keenly prized of "the fortnight at Pera."
But the pleasures and benefits of Palma were not confined to the summer months; it offered facilities for a "day in the country" on the Thursdays of each week which by rule is always a free day. ”

“ Towards the close of the eighteenth century, the College at Donay, and most of the other Continental establishments, having been swallowed up in the vortex of the French Revolution, the Superiors resolved to make every exertion to enlarge the house in Lisbon entrusted to their care, with the view to counteract, in part at least, the evils which might accrue to Catholicity from the suppression of the parent foundation. ”

“ He taught successively for many years the Philosophical and Theological Classes, and his chief efforts as President were directed towards raising the standard of proficiency in all the branches of study throughout the College. He was a devoted son of Alma Mater to whose interests from the time of his appointment as Superior he had devoted thirty-three years of his life, and by the services he had rendered to all classes in Lisbon and by his own personal high character, preserved for her that esteem from the public in general which she had hitherto enjoyed. ”

“ Innumerable white cottages are scattered on its gently inclining sides, whilst on the summit of the hills may be seen to the south-west a church and convent now, alas, in ruins and serving the purposes of a barn, which until the suppression of the religious houses was occupied by Friars of the Order of St. Francis. On the south, in front of the Quinta, the scene is varied by hamlets, wind mills, and small plantations of pine trees, whilst on the north and lying behind the Quinta are the two villages of Pera, each with its wind mill. ”

“ The clerical persons in the Queen s suite met with every mark of respect, and Dr. Godden had apartments allotted to him in the royal Palace of Somerset House. Here he found abundant opportunities of exercising his zeal and talents in religious and charitable works, and the reputation which he enjoyed brought him to the notice of the King.
It was during this period that he engaged in the celebrated controversy with Dr. Stillingfleet, which perhaps, owing to the great reputation of his opponent, has contributed more than any other event to perpetuate his memory. ”

“ After some time the Community returned from the country residence, and entered again on the regular duties of the College, but without venturing for the present to reside within its walls. In the meantime many of the poor families of the neighbourhood who had, by the late calamity, been deprived of shelter took possession of the ground apartments, which were arched and strong, of the deserted edifice, and after the lapse of three quarters of a century there existed in the vicinity many a venerable sire who owned for his birthplace the lower corridor of the English College. ”

“ Preston was the son of an ironmonger of the City of London, and was born October 28, 1712, of Protestant parents. At an early age he was sent to the Merchant Taylors School, where he had for his master a clergyman of the Established Church, a person as remarkable for his animosity against Catholics, as for his attachment to the declining Cause of the House of Stewart. In quality of Head Master of the school he possessed the right of nominating two students to the University of Oxford, who were to receive a college education at the expense of the school over which he presided. ”

“ Father Fryer was possessed of good, but not shining, talents; an extraordinary piety was the leading feature in his character and this he incessantly laboured, both by word and example, to instil into those entrusted to his care. He was a strict economist and, notwithstanding the expensive improvements carried on during his administration, he left the funds of the Establishment in a very flourishing condition. ”

“ Among all the sons of the College who flourished at the close of the seventeenth century, and who, by their great talents and zeal in the cause of religion, have rightfully a claim to special notice, stands forth pre eminently and conspicuously John Gother. He was born of Presbyterian parents at Southampton in Hampshire, and was educated by them in sentiments of hostility to the Catholic Faith. Of the immediate occasion of his conversion there is no record, but soon after that event he was sent, probably by Dr. Godden, to Lisbon College, where he arrived on January 10, 1668. ”

“ It will have been noticed that the six years of Dr. Ilsley's Presidentship, which had intervened from the death of Dr. Winstanley, had been marked by various changes conducive to the intellectual and material well-being of the Establishment. By the introduction of additional subjects in the curriculum, both of the lower and higher departments of the House, the course of studies throughout had been brought more abreast of the requirements of the time, while the health of the students had been consulted for, and their material comforts thus greatly promoted. ”

“ Dr. Barnesley s reputation stood very high, and in the public disputations over which he presided, many of which were on the most abstruse and difficult subjects of Philosophy and Theology, he was always most successful. But if his talents excited admiration in strangers, his mildness and condescension, won the love and esteem of all the members of the Community.
He held the Presidency till the year 1672, when he returned to England, where he won from his brethren the same high opinion which he had ever enjoyed at the College. ”

“ Barnard, who came from Paris about the year 1740 to the College to take the office of Vice-President used to say: "That the College at Lisbon never had a morning, but shone out at once in all the splendour of meridian day."
Blacklow after holding the office of President for two years, came to England for the purpose of obtaining a fresh supply of students, but principally to procure the means to enable him to place the College in such a position that it might be of greater utility to the Mission. ”

“ In all of them Gother preserves the dignified character which he had assumed in his first work. To an invincible strength of reasoning he unites a becoming and generous regard for his adversaries personally, and never indulged, as did his opponents, in those offensive reflections which may embitter, but can never terminate religious controversy. ”

“ But at length the anxieties of a busy and laborious life, began to tell upon his health. For some years he had suffered from occasional slight epileptic attacks which did not, however, materially interfere with the discharge of his duties, but in 1859 the disease suddenly assumed a very grave character, and while preaching in the College church he was seized for the first time with a fit of such a violent nature that it seemed to endanger his life. ”

“ The frequent visits made in the season to the orange groves where visions of the golden fruit either still hanging on the branches or strewn in profusion on the ground whetted the young appetite, which, at the cost of a few pence only, might be indulged to satiety ”

“ After holding the Presidency for twenty-three years with such credit to himself and benefit to the College, for some unexplained reason he was superseded in the office by the Rev. Father Manley who was sent from England for that purpose by Bishop Giffard in 1729. Though thus deposed from the highest position in the house Father Jones did not withdraw from the College, but with admirable simplicity and humility was content to occupy an inferior position amongst those whom, for so many years, he had governed. Father Manley thus became the twelfth President. ”

“ Many of the poor were induced by the advantages offered to frequent this school. The grave danger to which they were exposed of losing their faith, aroused the zeal of many, and the President of the College earnestly impressed upon Father Ilsley the urgent necessity of counteracting these efforts. He accordingly vigorously set to work, opened a free school and in a short time saw his efforts crowned with such success, that almost all the Catholic children were withdrawn from the Protestant school. ”

“ The Quinta lies about a mile from the western extremity of this tongue of land, and almost at an equal distance from the Tagus and the Atlantic. The name of Pera was given to it from the abundance of pears formerly produced in its neighbourhood. The house was neither handsome large nor commodious, but some twenty years ago it was considerably enlarged by the addition of another story, which was made by the late President, the Right Rev. Monsignor Baines, and at present is large enough to accommodate all the inmates of the College under its roof. ”

“ The valley is cooled during the heats of the summer by the sea breeze which enters at the opening on the west, and the spot is so salubrious that its inhabitants generally arrive at an extreme old age. The lands of the College which consist almost entirely of vineyards lie round the house, extending from the summit of the northern hill, upon which it stands, to the road on the south which runs through the middle of the valley. From time to time as opportunities offered additions of land by purchase have been made to the original property. ”

“ Peter Goodin, also a native of Lancashire, companion at College with Barlow, went to Lisbon in 1661. After going through his studies with great applause, he was sent on the Mission in company with Barlow, and was soon after nominated to the Chaplaincy of the regiment of the Duke of Berwick. To eminent mental endowments he united all those exterior accomplishments, which so powerfully contribute to give them effect. ”

“ The President was desirous of availing himself of the remarkable talents of the Rev. James Yorke Bramston who had been ordained priest two years before, and whom he considered well fitted to occupy the Chair of Theology. To this, however, the other Superiors, supported secretly by Father Allen, were opposed, as they considered him much more fitted for Missionary work than for the duties of the College. Their reasons were, that during his Course he had never attended the schools, and consequently was unacquainted with the scholastic method adopted in the College ”

“ No man," says Dodd, "was better qualified to come off with reputation in a personal conference than Mr. Goodin. He was naturally bold and intrepid; had a strong voice, a ready utterance, and generally made choice of such topics, as afforded him matter to display his eloquence and make an easy conquest." The Revolution of 1688, obliged him to withdraw from the public advocacy of his religion, but did not prevent him from continuing assiduously to labour in the same sacred cause. He died in Audcliffe in Lancashire, in the year 1695. ”

“ It would be difficult indeed to imagine a discipline more effective for preparing men to encounter the hardships and privations of missionary life in those days, than the severe regime to which the inmates of Lisbon College were subjected. ”

“ The memory of this pleasing act of respect on the part of the captain of the San Caetano is perpetuated in those words of the College Song so familiar to all Lisbonians:
Remember, too, Gother, great champion of Faith,
Whose toils for religion ceased only with death ”