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Edward Knight's Family John Morland Rice. [3] 'Probably his father discerned that his physique was unsuited for the life of either the Navy or Army, and he must also have recognized that he was a boy of great ability. Accordingly he was sent to Eton, and fulfilled all hopes, being Newcastle Scholar in 1842. It is customary for such Etonians to pass on to Trinity College, Cambridge; but Morland matriculated at Merton College, Oxford, as an Exhibitioner, in 1843. Doubtless Oxford was the choice as his father was an Oxford man. Here, sad to say, just before his final Schools in 1846, he had a disastrous accident which affected not only his immediate future, but the whole of his subsequent life. He was thrown from his horse, and a serious illness ensued, grievously effecting his head. He was ready for Greats, and either could not sit for the examination at all, or only attempted one or two papers. He was awarded an 'honorary' 3rd Class, a matter of which he spoke in after years with bitter mortification. 'It should have been an 'aegrotat', he said. But an 'aegrotat' is only given if a certain number of papers are written, a fact of which he must have been unaware, or had forgotten; and at any rate the Honorary Third was a recognition of his work hitherto, and enabled him to take his B.A. and M.A. in the following years – and so become a member of his University. The accident, however, limited his life as he was never again capable of any sustained intellectual effort. Later, as Rector of Bramber, he could not even preach without unbearable headaches ensuing, and came to leave all preaching to his curate. Thus ended the high hopes which both his father and Morland himself must have entertained of a brilliant future in public life, Law or the University itself.There was some immediate consolation however, for Magdalen College came to his rescue. He was made a Demy of the College in the year of the accident, and became a Fellow of Magdalen in the following year. This Fellowship he held for seventeen years, and they were certainly among the happiest of his life – he made many friends, and was wont to tell many a story of the good fellowship that existed. In 1848 he took Holy Orders, being ordained Priest in 1849; five years later he left Oxford to become 'Perpetual Curate of Wye', near to his home in Kent. The climate and work did not suit him however, and a knock on his head entering a low cottage further incapacitated him. After four years he resigned, and 'for years', so his niece, Evelyn Templetown, once wrote to me, 'lived with us at Haverholme'. It cannot have been so long really, as in 1860 he was Bursar of Magdalen – and there he remained in residence until his marriage in 1864 obliged him to resign his Fellowship. The Archbishop of Armagh, Archbishop Alexander, 'one of the lights of his day', who was at Oxford with Morland, described him to Lady Templetown as 'the most brilliantly clever delightful fellow he had ever known'. He always spoke of him as 'dear Morland Rice'. In the year of his marriage to Caroline York, daughter of Edward York of Wighill in Yorkshire, he was presented to the Magdalen living of Bramber cum Botolph. Bramber is an attractive rambling village lying at the foot of the Sussex Downs, not far from Brighton – and in this pleasant country, of which he became exceedingly fond, Morland settled down as Rector for thirty-three years. He was still Rector when he died. Caroline York was well endowed with fortune, and was a most agreeable, lovable woman. She made an ideal wife for a husband of variable moods and he depended entirely upon her. During all his years as Rector, Morland Rice devoted himself to his Parish, carrying out the duties of his office faithfully in the fashion of his day. His inability to preach must have been a handicap both to himself and to his people in their relationship to him; but he visited assiduously. His Church views were of his day. His time at Oxford coincided with that of the Tractarians' later days and he was well acquainted with their views and writings. They certainly affected him to some extent intellectually, but it would seem in no way as regards his doctrines, as expressed in the regulation of his Services. He came of a family influenced by the Evangelical Revival, but he was in no sense at a low Churchman. The Services of Bamburgh Church were quiet, dignified and reverent. The organ was beautifully played by Mrs. Rice, who trained the choir. The Rector wore a Surplice; no black gown – the choir were unsurpliced. The Rector read the Services on alternate mornings and evenings, the Curate preached. On Sunday afternoons one or other of them walked across the fields to Botolph, a tiny Church attended by a handful of labourers. There Mrs. Rice played a small harmonium, and her husband was able to say a few homely words to the small congregation. As regards their social life both Mr. and Mrs. Rice thoroughly enjoyed themselves. They kept a carriage and pair in which they drove about the County, were entertained, and themselves gave delightful little parties. Morland remained all his life a brilliant conversationalist, a most agreeable companion and an excellent host. Over his drawing-room mantelpiece hung in the portrait of Jane Austen by Zoffany – it was his great pride. Often did he relate the story of how Dr. Newman of Magdalen used to say to him, 'you ought to possess the portrait of your great Aunt, I shall leave it to you.' He had never the slightest doubt as to its authenticity, nor to the fact that Zoffany was the painter, to mar his joy in its possession. On his death it passed to his brother, Admiral Ernest Rice, and upon the Admiral's daughter, Lady Northbourne, inheriting it, she gave the portrait to her cousin, Henry Rice of Dane Court, that it might remain in the custody of the Rice family. Morland Rice was well acquainted with all Jane Austen's novels, though he was not wont to dilate upon them as were her sisters. Therein we may leave him, much loved by the nieces who were his constant visitors, especially in his old age after his wife's death: the judgment of his niece, Evelyn Templetown, remained true to the last, though the qualities she mentioned were naturally somewhat tempered by old age: 'One of the most brilliantly clever, charming and attractive people I ever knew'. He died, after a few days illness, while on a visit to his brother Ernest in Portsmouth Dockyard, on August 5th 1897. He was buried in Bramber Churchyard, beside his wife.' (Epitaph page 231) previous page [69-74] |