GURNEY, JOSEPH JOHN, was born August 2, 1788, at Earlham Hall, near Norwich, the country residence of his father, John Gurney, who was a member of the Society of Friends, and one of the part ners of the Norwich bank. He was the tenth child of eleven children left by Mrs. Gurney at her death, Elizabeth Gurney being the third. [Fay, ELIZABETH]. Joseph Gurney completed his education at Oxford under a private tutor, without becoming member of the university, of which however he enjoyed many of the advantages. He acquired the Hebrew and Syriao languages, as well as Greek and Latta, mathematics, and a large amount of general knowledge. After the death of his brother John in 1814, ha assumed his brother's Christian name in addition to his own. Joseph John Gurney in 1818 became a recognised Minister of the Society of Friends, and his preaching is described as having been very impressive. lie accom panied Mrs. Fry in her journey to Scotland in 1813, and to Ireland in 1827, to inquire into the state of the prisons, and of the reaults of this last journey he wrote a Report addressed to the Marquis Welles ley, lord-lieutenant of Ireland, which was afterwards published. In 1837 he visited the United States of America and the Canadas, and was absent about three years. The journal of his travels was printed, but only for private circulation. In 1841 be made a journey to Holland, Belgium, and Germany, accompanied by Mrs. Fry, and in 1842-43.44, another journey to France and Switzerland, in the earlier part of which he was again accompanied by Mrs. Fry. The object of these journeys was to introduce improvements in prison-discipline, and also to induce the French government to abolish slavery in the French colonies, for which purposes he had an interview with Louis Philippe, and much communication with M. Guizot.
Joseph John Gurney was the author of several works, religious and moral. His 'Obeervations on the Distinguishing Views and Practices of the Society of Friends' has been several times reprinted, as have also his ' Essays on the Evidences, Doctrines, and Practical Operation of Christianity,' a work intended for Christians generally. All his works are ably and judiciously written. He took an active part in many benevolent societies, such as those for the abolition of slavery, for the repeal of the laws inflicting capital punishments, in peace societies, temperance-societies, the British and Foreign Bible Society, and others. His donations to charitable inatitntions and for the relief of public distress were numerous and princely. His private gifts were only bounded by his judgment as to what was appropriate in each par ticular case. He died on the 4th of January 1847, at Earlham Hall. (Memoirs of Joseph John Gurney, with Selections front his Journal and Correspondence, edited by Joseph Bevan Braithwaite, 2 vole. 8vo.) GURWOOD, JOHN, an officer whose name will always be honour ably associated with that of the Duke of Wellington, must have been born in 1791, as it is incidentally mentioned that he ceased to be a ward of chancery and came of age in 1812. He entered the army as an ensign in the 52nd regiment in 1808, and served during the war in the Peninsula, where he was distinguished for his accurate know ledge of the French and Spanish languages. Ile first emerged into notice as Lieutenant Gurwood, by volunteering to lead the forlorn hope at the storming of Ciudad Rodrigo, on the 19th of' January 1812. Circumstances afterwards led him to print a minute account of all the transactions in which he was personally concerned on that night in a pamphlet, which is one of the most curious and instructive contributions in existence to the history of the Peninsular War, con taining a number of details which are eminently characteristic and suggestive. When he knew that his offer had been accepted, " I kept on eating," he tells us, "principally bread, but I carefully controlled my thirst, knowing how insatiable it becomes under nervous excite ment. On the concerted signal for the assault—three guns from the batteries—my heart beat double quick, and I applied my mouth to the calabash of Jack Jones, from which I swallowed a gulp of 'aguardiente.' On arriving at the top of the breach, I saw a musket levelled not far from my head, and a Frenchman in tho act of pulling the trigger. I bobbed my head in time, but was wounded and stunned by the fire. I found myself at the bottom of the breach ; I cannot tell how long I was there, but on putting my hand to the back of my head, where I felt that I had been wounded, I found that the skull was not fractured." Recovering from his trance, "we again set up a shout, scrambled up the breach, and gained the rampart of the bastion." Here his attention was attracted by seeing one of his men, Pat Lowe, in the act of bayoneting a French officer who resisted being plundered, and he saved the Frenchman by knocking down the Irish man. His prisoner guided him to a tower, where he found the French governor of the place, and some other officers, who had abut them selves up from the now victorious English soldiers. Ha summoned them to surrender, and the door was unbarred; but Pat Lowe, who had rejoined him, called ont, "Dear Mr. Gurwood, they will murder you I" and as be entered be was seized round the neck, and fully expected a sword in his body ; but his alarm ceased on finding himself kissed by the person who had seized him, who added that he was the governor, General Barri6, and that he yielded himself his prisoner. Ourwood carried him to Lord Wellington, whom he found in the ramparts, who said to him, "Did you take him?" and, on his replying in the affirmative, handed to him the governor's sword, which had just been surrendered, with the observation, "Take it, you are the proper person to wear it." Ho wore it ever after, and by special privilege when every other officer in the English army wore a regulation sword. From this time ha became a noted officer ; but though he served with distinction during the rest of the Peninsular war, and at Waterloo, where he received a severe wound, the rank of colonel was the highest that he attained, and he did not become full colonel till 1841. In
1830 ha was placed on the unattached list, and shortly afterwards became private secretary to the Duke of Wellington. This appoint ment led to very remarkable publication. In 1834 he commenced the issue of ' The Despatches of Field-Marshal the Duke of Wellington, K.G., during his various campaigns in India, Denmark, Portugal, I Spain, the Low Countries, and France, from 1799 to 1818, com piled from and authentic documents, by Lieutenant-Colonel Onrwood. The work extended, with a volnme of index, to thirteen volumes; the publication of it occupied the colonel for a series of years, and its popularity was nnexpected and unexampled. No collection of official documents of any length has ever found its way into so many libraries and so many hands. A second edition was called for, and an abridgment in one volnme was issued to satisfy the curiosity of those who could not purchase the complete edition. The reputation of the Duke of Wellington appears to have been mate rially raised by the publication, and most of his popularity in later life wag based on the Despatches.' Colonel Garwood urged him to give his consent to other publications bearing ou his military career, but did not always succeed. The colonel was in the habit of showing his friends a paper by the duke on the battle of Waterloo, in answer to the observations on the subject by the Prussian general Clauseeritz, and was mach surprised at finding that one of those to whom he showed it was guilty of a breach of confi dence. The whole appeared in print in 'Fraser's Magazine' as a portion of a review of Captain Siborna'a History of the Battle.' The reader who is curious to see what Wellington had to say on Waterloo may be assured that he will find it word for word in that magazine for Jnly 1844, without the slightest intimation from whose pen it proceeds—a fact which would indeed never be conjectured by any one perusing the article without previous information as to its authorship: The duke also enpplied to the present Earl of Ellesmere some observa tions on the battle which are interwoven with his article on Alison 'a 'History of the War' in the Quarterly Review.' In return for the colonel's services the duke appointed him deputy-governor of the Tower of London. He again visited Spain in company with Lord Eliot, the present Earl of St. Germans, to endeavour to mitigate the cruelties of the civil war between the Carliata and Christinos, in which neither party gave quarter, and their mission was partially successfuL From the time of the publication of some portions of Napier's History of the Peninsular War' in 1840, Colonel Gurwood was involved in a disagreeable controversy respecting the circumstances of the capture of the governor of Ciudad Rodrigo. An officer of the rank of major, who had commanded one of the storming parties, made a statement in October 1833 to the effect that he (the major) had accepted the surrender of the governor ; that a sword, afterwards found to be that of an side-de-eamp, had been presented to him in token of surrender ; and that while he was engaged with two officers who laid hold of him for protection, one on each arm, Lieutenant Gurwood came up and obtained the sword of the governor; on seeing him present which on the ramparts, the major, according to his own account, "turned on his heel and left the spot." The major died in 1839, and this statement was made public in the following year io a second edition of that portion of Napier'e history relating to the events of Ciudad Rodrigo, the first having stated that " Mr. Durwood, who though wounded had been amongst the foremost at the lesser breach, received the governors sword." Colonel Gurwood had been in garrison with the major In 1834 at Portsmouth, and always wore the sword when in uniform ; but this circumstance had not produced any remark from that officer. A long end vexatious discussion ensued on the point, which was brought to a close by a very singular incident. Gurwood did not know the name of the French officer whom he had rescued from Pat Lowe, and whose evidence would of course be most important to show the justice of his claims, as the Frenchman had guided the Englishman to the tower where the governor was found, and witnessed what thou took place. In turning over the duke's papers in 1844, the colonel found a letter addressed to Lord Wellington in 1812 by a captive French officer named Bonfilh, who might, he Inferred, be the person he was in search of. He made inquiries in Pans to ascertain if M. Bonfilh was still alive, found that he was, wrote off to him, and received a letter dated the 1st of Dley 1844, in which M. Bonfilh informed him that he was indeed the officer whose life be had saved, and gave a statement of all that he remembered of the night of the storm, which differed in some few unessential parti culars from the recollections of the colonel, but in all essential onee confirmed his statement, and was irreconcileable with that of the major. The colonel read it with feelings which he declared it impos sible to describe. lie visited IL Bonfilh at his residence in France, and embodied the history of the whole affair In a pamphlet, of which he printed only fifty copies for private circulation, from one of which these particulars are taken. The preface is dated on the lath of June 1845, and it was his last literary effort. On the 25th of December in the same year, in a fit of temporary insanity, which was attributed at the Inquest to the effects of the wound he had received so many years before at Ciudad Rodrigo, he terminated his life by his own hand at Brighton, leaving a widow, a French lady, and three daughters.