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Bedford  hindered. In an essay on 'The Constitution and Discipline of British Methodism' he showed his mastery of the principles of church government. Althougn Bedford's ministry was afterwards mainly exercised in Manchester and adjacent towns, he also laboured with conspicuous success for a period of three years in each of the towns, Birminghan, West Bromwich, and Derby.

In 1860 Bedford was appointed by the conference secretary to the general chapel committee, and thenceforward lived in Manchester. His orderly habits were of immense service in administering the chapel affairs of the connection. He would tolerate nothing loose or irregular, and spared no pains to place the trust property of the methodist church on a secure basis. At the same time he kept abreast of the thought and theology of the day. His sermons were logical and impressive, and he especially excelled as a debater.

At the conference of 1858 he was elected into the legal hundred to take the place vacated by the death of Dr. Bunting. From that time to the end of his life Bedford was one of the foremost men in his own denomination, and his breadth of sympathy enabled him to exert a powerful influence upon the religious world in general. After being one of the secretaries of the conference for several years, he was in 1867 unanimously elected to the presidency of that assembly. A partial failure of health in 1872 led him to retire from the more onerous duties of his secretaryship, but he continued to give valuable counsel on chapel affairs and in other departments till his death. He died at Chorlton-cum-Hardy, near Manchester, 20 Nov. 1879, aged 69.

He published some occasional sermons and speeches, and also a controversial correspondence with the Rev. William Sutcliffe on the doctrine and system of the Wesleyan methodists, which he very ably defended.

He married Miss Maria Gledhill of Brighouse, in 1835, who, with two sons, survived him.

[Minutes of the Methodist Conference, espcciaily for the year 1880; Dr. Osborne's Outlines of Wesleyan Bibiography.]

 BEDFORD, PAUL (1792?–1871), comedian, states, in his gossiping book of 'Recollections and Wanderings,' that he was born in Bath, and entered upon the stage through the customary portal of amateur theatricals. His first appearance was made at Swansea. After playing at Southampton, Portsmouth, and other towns in the south of England, he obtained an engagement in Bath. The first printed mention of him in connection with this city which can be traced is 19 May 1819, when for his benefit he played Don Guzman in 'Giovanni in London.' At this period he had probably been a member of the company four or five years. A reference to his playing with Kean in 'Richard III' which appears in his 'Recollections,' points to the spring of 1815 as the time of his first appearance. He then proceeded to Dublin as one of a company engaged by Henry Harris of Covent Garden to play in the new theatre in that city. Among the company was Miss Green, an actress of little reputation, who subsequently made her first appearance in London with Bedford as Mrs. Bedford. The period of the Dublin migration appears to have been 1820. Two successive tours in Scotland with Madame Catalani followed, without breaking the Dublin engagement, which only ended when Bedford accepted an offer from Sir Henry Bishop for Drury Lane. Bedford's first appearance at this theatre took place as Hawthorn in 'Love in a Village,' 2 Nov. 1824, Mrs. Bedford, late Miss Green, playing Rosetta. The occasion was also signalised by the first appearance of Terry, who took the character of Justice Woodcock. On the lOth of the same month Bedford played Bernhard, head ranger of the forest, in Soane's version of 'Der Freischütz,' the fifth and the most successful adaptation of Weber's great opera which that year had achieved. Soon afterwards he was promoted to Caspar in the same opera. Through successive managements of Elliston, Price, Polhill and Lee, and lastly Bunn, Bedford kept a position chieflv due to his vocal capacity. In 1833 he joined, still as a singer, the company at Covent Garden under Macready, appearing in 'Fra Diavolo,' 'Gustavus III,' and other operas. With his engagement at the Adelphi, then (1838) under the management of Yates, the later and better known phase of Bedford's popularity commenced. Blueskin, in 'Jack Sheppard,' 1839, added to a reputation which attained its climax in Jack Gong in the 'Green Bushes,' 1845, and the Kinchin Cove in the 'Flowers of the Forest,' 1847. During many years he played second low-comedy parts at the Adelphi, with Edward Wright first, and after his death with Mr. Toole. Memories of his portly figure, and his deep and portentous voice uttering his favourite sentence, 'I believe you, my boy,' are still current. Bedford was a sound and trustworthy actor of the rollicking sort. His figure and his voice formed a conspicuous portion of his stock in art. Recalling his singing in Adelphi farces, in a whole series of which he appeared, one is apt to forget that he obtained 