The Henson Journals

[95]

Thursday, November 27th, 1924.

I worked at the Baxter sermon, but not very successfully. Wilson came to lunch, and both he and old Canon Croudace went with Clayton and me to Westgate, where I instituted Perry to the vicarage. The weather was stormy, so that we got little advantage from our journey through some of the finest scenery in the diocese. On our return we were held up at Crook for more than an hour by a failure of our electric lamps. When we had been tinkered up sufficiently to permit of going, we went to Durham, and had tea with Wilson at the Club. Then we motored to Shotton, picking up Boutflower the Rural Dean at Sherburn Hospital, and instituted Rainbow to the Vicarage. There was a fair congregation, and some of the neighbouring incumbents were present. After the service we returned to Auckland dropping Wilson at Durham on the way.

The "Times" contains the letter in which Barnes declined to attend an "Anglo–Catholick" service, to which he had been impudently invited. It is well–expressed, but will certainly provoke rejoinders. This is unfortunate, but may well have been unavoidable: and at least the Bishop keeps himself free.

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