The Henson Journals

[98]

Sunday after Christmas, December 30th, 1917.

1245th day

I went to the Cathedral at 8 a.m., & celebrated the Holy Communion. There was a good muster of canons & minor canons, but otherwise a mere handful of communicants. The thought of my approaching departure weighs heavily on my spirits.

The post brought me a very kind letter from the Bishop of St David's. He has been reading my volume, "The Creed in the Pulpit", and, though he dissents, he does not think my errors disqualifying! Also a letter from the Vicar of Leominster telling me that "the opposition is everywhere dying out". He appears to have written to the Archbishop of Canterbury, and received "a very kind & generous reply". He encloses a printed post–card which has been sent to the clergy of the diocese announcing that the protest meeting has had to be abandoned, & that on Jan. 2nd "a Celebration of the H.C. will take place at All Saints, Hereford, at 11 a.m. with special intention for the peace of the Diocese"!!! This sounds like a very nauseous piece of quite gratuitous hypocrisy.

Also the Rural Dean sends me a resolution passed at a Meeting of the Chapter of the Rural Deanery of Christianity Exeter:

That this Chapter protests against raising to the Episcopate Dr Hensley Henson or any person unsound in the Faith: & claims for all clergy beneficed or licensed in any diocese when the See is vacant the right to exercise a direct voice in the appointment of their Bishop (carried by 11 to 4)

[99]

Silvesterabend

The mists are gathering in the nave,

They creep from bay to bay,

Column and arch and architrave

Fade in the dust away.

The mists are gathering in the nave,

The choir lights struggle dim,

The year is tottering to its grave,

We sing a funeral hymn.

We sing a dirige for it,

We sing for me and you:

We write feliciter explicit,

And turn the page anew.

The chanter chants the service out,

And ere he shuts the tome,

Challenges Little Faith and Doubt,

To pray with Chrysostom.

From East to West, from North to South,

Wherever prayers are said,

[100]

This Wisdom of the Golden Mouth

For epilogue is read.

Through all the years, in age, in youth,

Grant us with Chrysostom,

In this world knowledge of Thy truth,

Life in the world to come.

J. Meade Falkner

I copied the above lines from "The Spectator" of Dec. 30th 1911, which Meade Falkner lent me himself, explaining that he had written with reference to Durham Cathedral.

I attended Mattins, & heard a quaint little sermon from the Bishop of Jarrow from the text: Isaiah 38.8: "Behold, I will cause the shadow on the steps, which is gone down on the dial of Ahaz with the sun, to return backwards ten steps. So the sun returned ten steps on the dial where it was gone down". The discourse might have been preached by a medieval Franciscan.

Commander Noël A. Marshall, R.N., came to see me with a letter of introduction from Newsom. He lunched and dined here. We had much talk, but I found it difficult clearly to understand what he was driving at. He is extremely hostile to the Church of Rome, which he accuses of an active & unceasing hostility to Great Britain.

I attended Evensong. We went in procession round the Cathedral, & were preceded by the Processional Cross.

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