In Depth:  Marylynn Rouse

The River Ouse meanders peacefully behind the church of St Peter and St Paul in Olney, Buckinghamshire. It bids a pleasant walk along its river banks as swans glide gracefully by while a watchful heron keeps an eye on a troop of Canada geese on the opposite side of the bank. This tranquil scene was the refuge of the local minister, newly ordained, who fled there in a state of panic.

Before coming to Olney the Reverend John Newton had published six sermons. He had just preached from the last one! A friend explained many years later, "he thought he had told them his whole stock, and was considerably depressed."