where beauty was not conspicuous, and here the true artist would invariably seek to supply what was needed for perfection. And he was right in doing so. The mind was imperial, and no artist was called upon to be the indiscriminating slave even of nature herself. It might be some apology for this somewhat long digression on art, if he said he believed what had been said was equally applicable to literature considered as an art. The music and recitals followed, and at the close Sir Henry H. Howorth, M.P., conveyed the thanks of the gathering to Mr. Milner for his address and to the entertainers for their services. MEMORIAL NOTICES. WILLIAM ISAAC WILD. It is with sincere regret we announce the death of Mr. William Isaac Wild, a Stockport gentleman known not only to all residents in the borough, but to many outside its borders. All who had the slightest knowledge of Mr. Wild will have been pained at the sad news, but the tragic circumstances of the occurrence have added to the shock. Mr. Wild resided at 130, Shaw Heath, and it was there that on Thursday, September 2nd, 1897, he passed away in his 55th year. On Thursday morning he complained of feeling unwell, and returned to his home, meaning to rest, as he was much troubled with sleeplessness. It seems that he was in the habit of taking a narcotic known as chlorodyne, and in order probably to induce sleep he took a quantity of the narcotic. He told the servant that he feared that he had taken too large a dose, and that he felt "dizzy" in the head. However, he spent some time at his desk, and saw two of his friends who called. Later in the day he retired to his bedroom, and was found by his son in the evening to be asleep. No attempt to awaken him was made, and it was felt the rest would be beneficial to him. When Mrs. Wild did try to arouse her husband she failed, and Dr. Bale was sent for, but he could not be restored to consciousness, and died during the night. In this sad manner passed away a scholar and a gentleman of a type not often met. His was a cultured mind, ever at work, and his favourite occupation was that of the few. It was as an archæologist that he was chiefly famed, but he was a litterateur of a high order. His retentive memory made his wide reading of great value to him, his knowledge upon an inconceivable variety of subjects being amazing. He was a man who hovered on the brink of popularity, and while his name and powers are known only to the select few, they might, had he not been of so retiring a nature, have been wellnigh household words. He possessed none of that needful quality of the day-push; he did his work quietly and well, and the honours which have been bestowed on him were quite unsought. W. I. Wild first saw the light of day in 1842 in the old house in the Market Place, Stockport. This ancient structure was formerly the town residence of the Wrights, of Mottram, and a quaint and beautiful old place it is. Mr. Wild's father was the late Mr. George Wild, a gentleman who was Mayor of Stockport in 1869 and 1870. As a boy Mr. W. I. Wild attended the Stockport Grammar School, but, though a painstaking worker, gave no promise of brilliancy. As a youth he was sent to reside in London with an uncle, and he remained there for some years, during which time he became acquainted with many men engaged in the pursuit of literature. Already he was taken with a desire to write, and we hear of various of his contributions being published. After a short stay in Stockport, Mr. Wild was sent to Nantwich about the year 1868, in order to manage the shoe manufactory there. In 1870 he became a member of the Cheshire Literary and Archæological Society, an organisation founded by Charles Kingsley when a curate in the cathedral town. He took the deepest interest in antiquarian matters, and found in that neighbourhood plenty of material for research. In 1873 he married Miss Goddard, daughter of the late Mr. Adam Goddard, and this lady survives him. On the death of his father, in August, 1880, Mr. W. I. Wild returned to Stockport, where his home has since been. At that time the business in Nantwich was given up, and Mr. Wild made his home at the old house in the Market Place, but some few years since he removed to the house where he died at Shaw Heath. Mr. Wild was a Methodist. In politics he was an ardent Liberal, but took no active part in the work. Mr. Wild, as a writer, will long be remembered in this district. His most important published work was his "History of the Stockport Sunday School," which came from the press in 1891. He has also published many and various pamphlets, a number of clever and telling skits, while the annals of the Manchester Literary Club and the Stockport Literary Club contain many of his papers, as full of information as a text-book. Hundreds of his private letters will be dearly prized by friends in all parts of the country, and many a humorous couplet will be lovingly learned now that their author is gone. As a dramatist Mr. Wild had gained considerable fame, and a number of his plays were produced and taken on tour by the late C. H. Melville. "The Red Cockade" was one of his most noted dramatic efforts, and was really a fine play. He had also written a number of other plays which have been produced by amateur histrions. His latest to be so acted was "The True Woman." The charm of 66 Mr. Wild's work lay in the brisk dialogue and the situations brought about. As a writer on old Stockport, Mr. Wild probably had no equal at the time of his death. He was a great friend and fellow-worker of the late Mr. Heginbotham, author of The History of Stockport," and his biographical sketch of that gentleman is still fresh in our mind. Mr. Wild was a frequent contributor to the local papers, and from 1879 to 1885 he wrote a weekly letter for the London Globe, while other papers and periodicals looked for help from him. As the father of the Stockport Literary Club Mr. Wild will never be forgotten by his grief-stricken disciples. Up to last year he was the club's one and only president, but at his own wish he was succeeded by Mr. Reginald Barber. At their annual dinner the club was this year about to confer the highest honour in their power upon Mr. Wild, that of inviting him to be the guest of the evening. He had accepted the invitation, and had no doubt commenced his address for the great occasion. It was for his splendid services as an archæologist that the Royal Historical Society made Mr. Wild a fellow of that learned body. He spared no trouble to make the results of his researches perfect successes, and he would spend hours with ancient documents and musty deeds. As a genealogist Mr. Wild was most successful, and he had the pleasure of recently tracing back to a very early period the family tree of a great English ducal house. To make this search complete Mr. Wild had to spend some months in Normandy. His knowledge of the topography of Stockport, and indeed the whole of the county of Cheshire, was very extensive. His library contains many rare and valuable books, but the most interesting portion of the collection is a group of books published in Stockport, and, as this is a unique set of books, it is to be sincerely hoped that it will not be broken up. At one time, too, Mr. Wild possessed a fine museum of ancient arms. Mr. Wild was a member of many learned societies in the district; he became a member of the Manchester Literary Club in 1883, and very few members had a wider circle of friends at that Club. The news of his untimely death must have been almost as great a shock to his Manchester Literary friends as to those in Stockport.-Stockport Chronicle. Mr. J. P. O'Callaghan, the Irish novelist, has just written to Mr. R. H. Minshall, Hon. Secretary of the Stockport Literary Club, as follows: "Few men attracted me as Wild did, and I know that every one of you can say exactly the same. He was a noble, generous man. Few could penetrate the cloak of modesty he invariably held so close around his varied and immense store of knowledge. We are all the poorer by his death, and yet his memory will ever be cherished amongst us as a sacred link. Every man who knew Wild' will have a passport to the heart of every other who also knew him. This is a great legacy for a man to leave to his fellows, and it is one that is very seldom left. Already I would rather think of him than write or speak." The following poem, written by Mr. W. I. Wild, was published in Mr. O'Callaghan's novel, "The Prince of Tyrone": "Hail to thee! chieftain, from valley, from mountain, Welcome, thrice welcome, from castle, from shieling, Nothing could harm thee; no rank, wealth, or station, Hail to thee! Health to thee! pride of our nation, The succeeding lines were written by the late Mr. W. I. Wild in January, 1893, on the occasion of a friend leaving the town after a short visit: "Farewell, we say, a word so often spoken, A sort of epilogue that ends the play; Could we but keep our friendships all unbroken, Our lives would pass, just like sweet Summer's day. Full is your mind with many a worthy treasure, Think of us all in years now fast advancing, When right, not might, shall triumph through the world, We part to-day, yet in the coming morrow Hope's cheery presence shall bright thoughts beget. -Cheshire County News. MORGAN BRIERLEY. It is with deep regret that we have to record the death of Mr. Morgan Brierley, a name if not a personality very familiar to readers of the City News in the past. Mr. Brierley, who was in his seventy-fourth year, was found dead near his residence, |