The Henson Journals

[176]

Monday, May 4th, 1914.

The "Times" reports the death of the Duke of Argyll, & of Silvester Horne. The first was expected: the last was tragically sudden. He had just been seeing Niagara, & was found dead in his chair. Apparently he had given the Lyman Beecher Lectures on "Preaching" at Yale.

I wrote a brief & hostile review of Wickham Legg's new book on 'English Church Life from the Restoration to the Tractarian Movement', & sent it to the 'Manchester Guardian'.

I attended Evensong in the Cathedral.

Ella & I motored to Mrs Soltau Simmons & met there Major & Mrs Fishbourne. Then we went on to call on the Salvins , & spent the rest of the afternoon in seeing their house & gardens. They are Papists, & have lived on that property since the 15th century.

[177] [symbol]

On Tuesday, May 5th 1914, my wife and I went to York for the Convocation, and were entertained by the Archbishop at Bishopthorpe. The Bishops of Durham, Manchester, Newcastle, Liverpool, Carlisle, Sodor & Man, & Sheffield were also staying at the Palace, & of ladies Mrs Knox, Mrs Moule, & Mrs & Miss Burrows. The conversation was, perhaps, rather more serious than usual on such occasions, for all the bishops were laden with numerously signed petitions against "modernism". I did my best to make them see that they ought to do nothing, and rather snub than encourage the busy–bodies who are trying to work up a 'heresy–hunt'. Certainly, their Lordships would like to do nothing, but they are mortally afraid of their clergy.

Lang and I had a long talk on Thursday night. He expressed himself very fairly, & assured me that he was resolved to resist any attempts at 'heresy–hunting'. I pressed him to take his courage in both hands, & rebuke the petitioners. The Upper House at the Archbishop's bidding adjourned sine die any discussion on the petitions, thereby showing itself wiser than the Southern Bishops, who passed a long series of question–begging resolutions.

On Friday, May 8th, Ella went to London, & I returned to Durham.

[178] [symbol]

The Bishop of Newcastle told me that Gore's personal intervention at the last moment hindered the Lambeth Conference from agreeing to a recognition of Presbyterian Orders. The circumstances added force to his words: for Gore was recovering from an operation at the time: he was carried into the assembly on a litter, and jerked out a threat that he would resign his see if any recognition of a non–episcopal ministry were made. To that threat the Conference immediately surrendered. The substance of all this accords with what I was told by the American bishops, but the dramatic circumstance of his entrance was new.

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