The Henson Journals

[6]

Tuesday, March 13th, 1917.

953rd day

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The Bishop of Durham sends me the following from the Bishop of St Albans (Dr Jacob) in a letter dated March 1917:

"My Bishop Butler story has never been in print, & is simply a case of oral tradition, dating from, I suppose, about 1750 (but I cannot give the exact date, & forget the year when Bishop Butler died.) It refers to a Scotch literary nobleman who called upon Bp. Butler (as Bishop of Durham), and expressed his great interest in the "Analogy", but doubted if he had grasped thoroughly the whole argument: on which the Bishop said "How many times have you read the Analogy?" The literary peer (I cannot remember his name) said "One". And the Bishop replied "I do not expect anyone to grasp the whole argument at the first reading".

This literary peer told his son & successor, who told the story about 1825 to a brother peer whose son my father was then coaching during an Oxford vacation not long before his own Ordination. My father heard the story told, and never forgot it, & told it to me more than once. Now in 1917 I tell it to you, & it can only have passed through three men between Bishop Butler & myself – the literary peer, his son, & my father who was born in 1803, and died in the end of 1884".

Was the Scottish peer Henry Home, who published "Essays on the Principles of Morality & Natural Religion" in 1751, & became Lord Kames in 1752 as a Lord of Session?

[4]

Tuesday, March 13th, 1917.

953rd day

A beautiful, spring–like day. I completed copies of the two C.T. sermons, and despatched them to "The Christian Commonwealth" as requested, taking the precaution of registering them. I attended Mattins & Evensong: & walked in the country with Logic. I wrote letters &c, & read aloud to Ella.

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