Introduction
As secretary to the Chancellor of Oxford University, William King moved among elevated but sometimes tactless company. He remembered one dinner-time conversation in 1715 during which Sir William Wyndham, former Chancellor of the Exchequer, joked about prayer right in front of Lord Atterbury, Bishop of Rochester.
DURING the dinner there was a jocular dispute concerning short prayers. Sir William Wyndham told us,* that the shortest prayer he had ever heard was the prayer of a common soldier just before the battle of Blenheim, ‘O God, if there be a God, save my soul, if I have a soul.’* This was followed by a general laugh. I immediately reflected that such a treatment of the subject was at least very improper where a learned and religious prelate was one of the company. But I had soon an opportunity of making a different reflection.
Atterbury,* applying himself to Sir William Wyndham, said “Your prayer, Sir William, is indeed very short: but I remember another as short, but a much better, offered up likewise by a poor soldier in the same circumstances, ‘O God, if in the day of battle I forget thee, do thou not forget me!’* This, as Atterbury pronounced it with his usual grace and dignity, was a very gentle and polite reproof, and was immediately felt by the whole company.
Abridged
Sir William Wyndham, 3rd Baronet (1687–1740) served as Chancellor of the Exchequer from 1713 to 1714, and as MP for Somerset from 1710 to 1740. The first acknowledged Prime Minister, Robert Walpole, rose to power in 1721.
The Battle of Blenheim took place on August 2nd, 1704, during The War of the Spanish Succession. Victory for John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough, saved Vienna from invasion by the armies of Louis XIV of France and removed France’s ally Bavaria from the war. Marlborough subsequently named his palatial new residence near Oxford ‘Blenheim Palace’.
Francis Atterbury (1663-1732), Bishop of Rochester from 1713 to 1723. Atterbury gradually came to share William King’s enthusiasm for restoring the Stuarts to the throne, which led to Atterbury’s arrest in 1721 and a subsequent lifetime banishment. He spent it in Paris at the court of James Stuart, son of the late King James II of England, who had unwillingly abdicated in 1688.
This was the prayer of Sir Jacob Ashly, a major-general under the command of the Earl of Lindsey, before the Battle of Edgehill in 1642, which was the first major engagement of the English Civil Wars. As quoted by Sir Philip Warwick in his ‘Memoirs of the Reign of King Charles I’ (1701), Ashly prayed: “O Lord! thou knowest how busy I must be this day; if I forget thee, do not thou forget me.” See also The Ghosts of Edgehill and The Love of the Lindseys.
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Word Games
Spinners Find in Think and Speak
For each group of words, compose a sentence that uses all three. You can use any form of the word: for example, cat → cats, go → went, or quick → quickly, though neigh → neighbour is stretching it a bit.
This exercise uses words found in the accompanying passage.
1 O. Forget. Indeed.
2 Hear. Same. We.
3 Jocular. Learn. Save.
Variations: 1. include direct and indirect speech 2. include one or more of these words: although, because, despite, either/or, if, unless, until, when, whether, which, who 3. use negatives (not, isn’t, neither/nor, never, nobody etc.)
Subject and Object Find in Think and Speak
Use each word below in two sentences, first as the subject of a verb, and then as the object of a verb. It doesn’t have to be the same verb: some verbs can’t be paired with an object (e.g. arrive, happen), so watch out for these.
This exercise uses words found in the accompanying passage.
1. Offer. 2. General. 3. Make. 4. Common. 5. Felt. 6. Company. 7. Usual. 8. Battle. 9. Save.
Variations: 1.use your noun in the plural (e.g. cat → cats), if possible. 2.give one of your sentences a future aspect (e.g. will, going to). 3.write sentences using negatives such as not, neither, nobody and never.
Verb and Noun Find in Think and Speak
Many words can serve as noun or verb depending on context: see if you can prove this with the examples below. Nouns go well with words such as the/a, or his/her; verbs go well after I/you/he etc..
This exercise uses words found in the accompanying passage.
1 Concern. 2 Offer. 3 Laugh. 4 Battle. 5 Make. 6 Save.
Variations: 1.if possible, use your noun in the plural, e.g. cat → cats. 2.use your verb in a past form, e.g. go → went. 3.use your noun in a sentence with one of these words: any, enough, fewer, less, no, some.
High Tiles Find in Think and Speak
Make words (three letters or more) from the seven letters showing below, using any letter once only. Each letter carries a score. What is the highest-scoring word you can make?
Your Words ()
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