James Crossley was a man of fixed habits, from which he
seldom deviated. In 1850, he divided his time between his legal practice and
antiquarian matters, chiefly those of the Chetham Society, over which he
presided until his death thirty-three years later. He rarely travelled outside
the environs of Manchester and his visits to London were few and far between.
The person Mrs Gaskell was addressing about Watts's picture would have needed
to have been, if not a resident, then a frequent visitor to the capital. Mrs
Gaskell assumes that her reader is acquainted with Tom Taylor, which narrows
the field to a person who moves in certain specific circles in London society.
Crossley could not possibly have had access to such precisely defined company,
which would only have been open to someone with a fixed residence in the city,
whether temporary or permanent. Similarly, Mrs Gaskell expects the addressee to
be able to call at Watt's studio in Berkeley Square to inspect the painting; an
impossible task for a Manchester resident. It is inconceivable that the author
would request such a visit from James Crossley, with whom she is unacquainted,
and has not previously corresponded. Furthermore, she is writing to a person
who is on friendly terms with Salis Schwabe, to 'call his attention' to Watts's
address and the fraternity of Taylor and Bunsen. Middle class Manchester at
that time was riven with deep divisions in politics and religion: on the one
side Liberal and Unitarian and on the other Tory and Church of England.
Prominent in the former were the Schwabes, Richard Cobden and the Gaskells.
James Crossley was firmly in the opposite camp, active in the Conservative interest
and associated through the Chetham Society with high churchmen like Canons
Parkinson and Raines and the Rev. Thomas Corser. There are exceptions to every rule,
especially in the area of charitable works, where political and sectarian distinctions
could become blurred. Mrs Gaskell's friendship with Bishop Lee is
one example of this, but his involvement only makes Crossley less likely to be
associated with the scheme, as his contempt for the Bishop was well known.
STILL MORE TO FOLLOW
