435
weakness, and anxious about its future safety. Father
Clement at once became deservedly popular with
every class of readers, and the number of editions
through which it subsequently passed showed the
permanent hold it had established upon the public
favour. On the ensuing spring Miss Kennedy pub-
lished her religious tale called Anna Ross, of equal
interest but less pretension, being a "story for chil-
dren. " Two tracts from her pen followed soon after,
the first being Andrew Campbell's Visit to his Irish
Cousins, and the second The Word of God and the
Word of Man, a work addressed to Irish Roman
Catholics. At the end of the following year ap-
peared her largest production, Dunallan: or, Know
what you Judge. Although so late in its appearance
it should have been the first of her publications,
having been written several years before the rest; but
its equivocal form, which somewhat partook of the
appearance of a novel, was such an offence in the
eyes of the strictly religious, as might have sufficed
to extinguish her authorship at the outset. Even as
it was, it was condemned by many who had piously
abstained from reading it, notwithstanding its ad-
monitory title, Know what you Judge. The last
work of Miss Kennedy had for its title, Philip Col-
ville, a Covenanter's Story, and was a vindication of
the aspersed children of the covenant, against whom
the ancient odium was revived in double heat by Sir
Walter Scott's Old Mortality. The authoress boldly
entered upon her self-imposed task by selecting the
murder of Archbishop Sharpe as the principal event,
and some of the agents of the deed as the chief heroes
of the tale.
Such is the list of the writings of Grace Kennedy
during the short space of little more than three years
over which her authorship extended, and which,
since her death, have been published in six goodly
volumes. Independently, however, of the industry
which they indicate, their literary merits are of no
small amount, so that they deservedly held their
place as the most popular writings of their class, al-
though at the time such religious works for the young
employed not a few talented writers, and were pro-
duced in great abundance. The incidents they relate
are happily devised and full of interest; the char-
acters, besides being natural, are admirably deline-
ated; the dialogues in which they express their sen-
timents are given in natural every-day phrase, instead
of stilted declamation; while their religious teach-
ing, instead of being obtruded, arises spontaneously
from the actors of the scene, or the incidents de-
scribed. Such are their excellencies, not usually to
be found in that species of literature which may be
termed the religious novel, and the works of Grace
Kennedy show how well she was qualified to obtain
distinction in the more ambitious departments of in-
tellectual competition. But to the young her whole
powers and aims were devoted, independently of
literary fame, and it would be difficult to estimate
the number of youthful minds whom she thus trained
for a maturity of excellence and distinction. And
still her labours were conducted so unobtrusively,
that her name remained unknown till the last year
of her life even to her publisher, while his book-
shelves were laden with her productions, and his
shop with their purchasers, while every tongue was
ready with the question, "Who is the author of
Father Clement?'' It was only when laid upon her
death-bed, and a short time previous to her depar-
ture, that she absolved her family from their pro-
mise of secrecy in regard to her works—declaring
that the truths which she had endeavoured to urge
upon others, she now found sufficient to support her
own soul, and that she thought if this were known
it might tend to their being of more use to those who
read them. After a severe and tedious illness, she
died on the 28th of February, 1825. Her venerable
pastor, Dr. Jones, one of the ministers of Edinburgh,
who unexpectedly made her death the subject of a
funeral sermon, after describing with deep emotion
the many noble and amiable qualities by which her
life was distinguished, thus spoke of her last mo-
ments : "Fifty years and more I have been honoured
by being permitted to attend the dying beds of Chris-
tians, and many a calm, and many an instructive, and
many a peaceful, and many a joyful, and many a
dignified, and many a triumphant death have I seen
—but never have I seen one more placid, more edi-
fying, or more glorious than that of Grace Kennedy.
Full of faith and the Holy Ghost, nothing silly or
frivolous could fall from her; all her words were
words of wisdom, and all her actions were great and
good. On much better grounds than he did, we
may say with Addison, 'Come, see how a Christian
can die!' Let me die the death of the righteous,
and let my last end be like hers!"
KENNEDY, JAMES, Bishop of St. Andrews, was
the younger of the two sons of James Kennedy of
Dunure, and his wife, the Countess of Angus,
daughter of Robert III. King of Scotland. He was
born about the year 1405 or 1406. The earlier part
of his education he received at home, under the eye
of his mother, and was afterwards, agreeably to the
practice of the times, sent abroad to complete it.
Being early destined to the church, the only road to
preferment at that period, and the only profession
worthy his dignified descent, he devoted himself to
the study particularly of theology and the canon
law; but besides his acquirements in these depart-
ments of knowledge, he made a singular proficiency
in the languages and other branches of learning, and
was altogether looked upon as by far the most ac-
complished prelate of his day.
On his entering into holy orders, he was preferred
(1437) by his uncle James I. to the see of Dunkeld.
The good bishop was no sooner installed in his office
than he set assiduously to work to reform abuses in
the church, and to compel his vicars and parsons to
a faithful discharge of their duties. He enjoined
them to remain in their parishes, and to instruct their
parishioners in the knowledge of religion, to preach
to them regularly, and to visit, comfort, and en-
courage the sick. He himself visited all the churches
within his diocese four times every year, preaching
in each of them as he went along. On these occa-
sions he never failed to inquire of the people if they
were duly instructed by their pastors; if they had no
complaints against them; whether their poor were
properly cared for; and if their youth were brought
up in the fear of God. Such were the pious labours
of this excellent man at the outset of his career, and
he never deviated from them during the whole of a
long and active after-life. Finding his own autho-
rity insufficient to enable him to accomplish all the
good he was desirous of doing, in reforming the
abuses which had crept into the church, he went
over to Florence to procure additional powers for
this purpose from the pope, Eugenius IV. On this
occasion his holiness, as a mark of his esteem for the
worthy prelate, bestowed upon him the commendam
of the abbacy of Leone.
On the death of Wardlaw, Bishop of St. An-
drews, an event which happened on 6th April, 1440,
Kennedy was chosen as his successor in that see;
and to this new and more important charge he
brought all that activity and anxiety to do good
which had distinguished him at Dunkeld. He con.