F.C.BLAND was born in 1826 at Derriquin, upon the Kenmare
River, County Kerry, where his family hact been settled for generations. His
early life was spent in Ireland, and in due course he entered Trinity College,
and received his degree in Arts from the University of Dublin. At the
comparatively early age of twenty-three he married the lady who was in no mere
conventional sense his companipn and friend and fellow-helper through all the
vicissitudes of five-and-forty years. On his marriage Mr. Bland settled at
Derriquiri, devoting himself in part to the management of the estate, which,
under his care, emerged from the barbarism in which many parts of Ireland were
sunk at the time of the potato famine, and in part to the amusements and
hospitalities of an Irish country gentleman in a county as noted then for its
social pleasures as it is famous at all times for its extraordinary natural
beauties. A man of commanding presence and charming address, Mr. Bland was a
special favourite with his fellows, and among the tenantry his word was law.
Throughout the estate, indeed, his rule was a "benevolent despotism." In 1859
he served the office of High Sheriff for Kerry, and at the time of the revival
in the south of Ireland he held a prominent position among the gentry of the
county.
Dromore Castle (where lived the well-known Christian gentleman,
Mr. R. J. Mahony) and Derriquiri were neighbouring estates. F. C. Bland and R.
J. Mahonyhad known each other from infancy, and their mutual affection was like
the love of brothers. Early in the year i86r some earnest words spoken by Mr.
Mahony at a gathering of parochial school children at Dromore Castle made such
a deep impression on some of the adults present that meetings for prayer
followed. One and another became deeply anxious about eternal things, and soon
an increasing company of the peasantry were rejoicing in new-found blessing.
The Ulster revival of 1859, and the Dublin awakening of i86o, had failed to
make any sensible impression upon the people of the south. But God was about to
work among them in His own way. A friend from a Midland county, hearing of the
work, paid a visit to Dromore, bringing with him C. H. Mackintosh, whose
ministry by word and pen has helped so very many. A meeting was arranged, and
the closing passage to the znd chapter of the Epistle to Titus was his subject.
Among the number who attended were Mr. and Mrs. Bland, and both of them were
brought to Christ by the Word. In those bright days of the early revival there
was a striking freshness and power about the testimony. As in apostolic times,
the convert not infrequently became a witness and a minister at once, seemingly
as the natural outcome of the blessing received. Boon companions and bosom
friends in recreations of their boyhood, and in the pleasures and pursuits of
their early manhood, Bland and Mahony now became united in preaching Christ to
their friends and neighbours. The blessing spread among the gentry, and at the
summer assizes at Tralee eight members of the grand july took part in public
meetings for the preaching of the Gospel. And the fruit of that work still
lives. Many Christian homes there are in Munster where "the Kerry revival" is
reckoned as the epoch of their spiritual blessing.
Towards the close of
that year Mr. and Mrs. Bland visited London, intending to return for the
coming-of-age festivities of the eldest son of one of the principal noblemen of
the county. But God had lessons to teach them, and work for them to do. Mrs.
Bland fell seriously ill, and a prolonged sojourn in the south of England
became a necessity. Settling in Plymouth, Mr. Bland at once set himself to seek
opportunities for evangelistic work. He invited T. Shuldham Henry to join him
in this effort, and during the winter a series of crowded meetings, held in the
Mechanics' Institute, resulted in blessing to untold numbers of the hearers. At
this time Mr. Bland was brought into contact with some of the most honoured and
eminent of the leaders of the old revival. From them he learned the secret of
Bible study, and by their ministry he was grounded and established in the
faith. When, therefore, Mrs. Bland's recovery enabled him to return to his home
in Ireland, he was already a mature and steadfast Christian, deeply taught in
the Scriptures.
Many who will read these words will be ready to speak
of help received from him, and vastly greater is the number of those who,
though perchance they never even heard his name, have profited indirectly by
his ministry, some of his addresses being preserved in "Twenty-one Prophetic
Papers" and smaller booklets. During D. L. Moody's well-remembered meetings at
the Opera House in London, scarcely a day passed that he did not spend an hour
with I'. C, Bland over the Bible. "Mighty in the Scriptures" might well be
written in his epitaph. Not that he himself would have tolerated the
suggestion. In a conversation with the writer many years ago, he indicated what
he would wish to have recorded on his grave.
"Just my name," he said,
"and this one word, 'obtained mercy' (i Peter 2. 10). It is but one word in the
original," he went on to say. "What a pity it is we can't render it simply
'mercied."
Mr. Bland's was a singularly interesting personality.
Naturally haughty, intolerant of opposition, and quick to resent an injury or a
slight, grace so changed him that not a few who think they knew him thoroughly
would describe him as one of the gentlest and humblest of men. Though intensely
practical, impatient of mere hair-splitting, and intolerant of new-fangled
doctrines, no examination of Scripture seemed too minute. The manner of his
communicating the truth to others was thoroughly characteristic of the man.
There was neither effort nor artifice in any address he ever gave. If
addressing a thousand people he spoke in the same natural, unaffected manner as
when talking with a friend at his own fireside. There was nothing whatever of
oratory about his speaking; nor of eloquence either, save that sort of
eloquence which is never wanting when in apt and simple words a man gives out
what he believes and feels. Pathos there was certainly, and it added a special
charm to his words. And above all there was an intense reverence about him. He
had great thoughts as to what was due to God. Possessed with a keen sense of
humour, and a mind as playful as a child's, anything of levity in divine things
was utterly repugnant to him. And yet there was no austerity about him to
repel, nor a trace of asceicism. All his dealings with God were in the spirit
of a man who loved and trusted Him implicitly, and who knew he was beloved. And
he loved His people too. Unswerving in his devotion to truth, and keenly alive
to the importance of the minutest detail of Christian doctrine, his heart was
with all who loved God, however widely they might be separated from him
ecclesiastically. 'l'he testimony of his life might have found expression in
the words of the o 19th Psalm, "I am a companion of all them that fear Thee,
and that keep Thy precepts."
Mr. Bland's last illness seized him at
Weston-super-Mare, where he had spent the winter. From there he was removed to
South Kensington, the residence of his son, Dr. Bland, under whose care he
remained until he "entered into rest" upon 5th April, 0894. His strength failed
so rapidly that even the visit of a friend was generally more than he was able
for. But the word of Christ "dwelt in him richly," and with the full
consciousness that he was dying, the calm confidence of faith never forsook
him. He was a man greatly beloved.