The Henson Journals

[62]

Advent Sunday, December 2nd, 1917.

1217th day

Twenty–nine years ago I was publicly instituted at Barking as Parson of that great parish by Bishop Blomfield, the Suffragan of Colchester.

I went to the Cathedral at 8 a.m., and received the Holy Communion. The Archbishop celebrated, & it was from his hands that I received the Sacrament. After breakfast I went into the Nave, where a parade of troops was proceeding. The preacher would have been heard if he had not turned himself about in the pulpit. I did not go to Mattins, but sate by the drawing–room fire, & had a long talk to Ruth.

I lunched with the Archbishop and Mrs Davidson, and afterwards took his Grace for a walk. We had much interesting conversation. I told him how annoyed I have been by the newspaper references to my going to Hereford. "I hope when you become a Bishop, you will go to a much more important bishoprick than Hereford. That is a poor little country place". Now what can I make of that, except that the Abp. is opposed to my going to H., & has probably advised the P.M. accordingly? On the other hand, I noticed with some surprise the asperity which marked his references to Lloyd–George, a circumstance which might be explained by the latter's contempt of his advice in rebus ecclesiasticis. Clearly there is nothing to encourage any expectation in my mind. He told me that Gee would probably go to Gloucester as Dean, that the Deanery was worth hardly more than £800: so that private means were indispensable. We talked of Lord Lansdowne's letter, which, the Abp. thought, could hardly have been written [63] without consultation & information of a specific & weighty kind. Lansdowne stands so high in the estimation of serious men, and Northcliffe stands so low: that the attempt of N. to destroy the effect of L.'s action can but increase its importance. We agreed that the outlook was so dark that agitation about Church Reform seemed almost ludicrous. He agreed that Ingram's incapacity had created a very serious situation for the bishops, & said that the Bishop of Chelmsford had written to him (Ingram) in very outspoken language. He agreed that Ingram had behaved very badly in Bristol by preaching in All Saints, Clifton, just at the time when the Bishop of Bristol had been compelled to take decided action against the Vicar. I said that Ingram was an attractive boy who had never grown up. The Abp. agreed, and added that he had lost influence with everybody of any sort of importance. At tea–time there came five Canadian soldiers, all from Winnipeg. I had some talk with the eldest of them, who was an Irishman from Dublin & had been settled in Canada for five years. He said that he had voted for Prohibition, but now regretted doing so, as the system was at once inquisitorial and ineffective. He agreed that the drug–habit was stimulated by the arbitrary cutting of alcohol, & that it was widely spread in Canada. I attended the Evening Service, and heard an excellent discourse, excellently delivered, from Mr Bell, the Archbishop's Chaplain. His text was, "Thine eyes shall see the king in his beauty".

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