The Henson Journals

[161]

8th Sunday after Trinity, July 29th, 1928.

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A brilliant morning, & the air fresh, altogether beneficent to mind and body. I reflected that all my greatest predecessors died Bishops of Durham – Tunstall, Morton, Cosin, Butler, Lightfoot, Westcott. Why, then, should I wish to leave this great See? But do I wish it? I think, to be perfectly honest, that I desire the distinction of refusing a Primacy, and perhaps, I resent the loss of consequence which my being passed over must needs involve. The first is mere vanity: the last is probably slight & transitory. It is humiliating that the unreal & unwarranted chatter of newspapers & ''Society'' should be able to affect one's mind. And when I turn my thoughts in another direction, & consider not my possible ''preferment'', but my certain duty, how disgusting this concern about one shows against mu unconcern for the other! ''Who can tell how of the offendeth? O cleanse Thou me from my secret faults. Keep thy servant also from presumptious sins lest they get the dominion over me: so shall I be undefiled & innocent from the great offence. Let the words of my mouth, & the meditation of my heart be always acceptable in thy sight, O Lord my strength & my Redeemer.''

There is nothing like the Psalms to put us right.

[162] [symbol]

I celebrated the Holy Communion in the Chapel at 8 a.m. We numbered 14 communicants viz. our two guests, five of the household, the 4 Brydens, and ourselves. The Collect is wonderfully relevant to our actual situation, with its reference to God's "never–failing providence" and its petition that God will "put away from us all hurtful things, & give us those things which be profitable to us."

We discussed the American problems, Prohibition and Divorce, at breakfast with our American guests. They are opposed to both, but they do not perceive the gravity of either. The horrible mingle–mangle of family relationships which flows from the facility of divorce in America provides an endless series of comic & "spicey" narratives, which relieve the dullness of American conversation, and disclose both the deadness of American conscience & the poverty of American humour. Philistinism run to seed! Ella took the ladies to the morning service in the Cathedral, & left me in peace. I wrote to William, & sent him the Bishoprick, addressing my letter to Johannesburg. Also I wrote to Tony Chute, who had sent me a very interesting letter, mentioning inter alia the astonishing & perhaps unparalleled fact that in no less than 187 years, there had been only 3 Presidents of Magdalen.

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"I think you will enjoy this gem which appeared in the Examination for 'Divvers', which I was put on to last term. We had asked the candidates to give examples of parables illustrating the growth of the Kingdom of God. One genius quoted amongst others, 'the seed that grew secretly, and ended by covering the whole earth, thus illustrating the gradual contamination of all peoples by the persistent spreading o the word of God'!"

Rev: A. W. Chute. July 27th 1928.

Ella and her American guests accompanied me when I motored to Wolsingham in order to preach at Evensong. There was a fair congregation considering the fineness of the weather, which made the country & the open–air particularly alluring. I preached on the Apostolic Character of the Church, taking occasion to speak of the present crisis. The people listened with attention, but, I think, rather puzzled than edified. It is difficult to realize the slenderness of popular interest in ecclesiastical matters, & the inability of most people to follow any kind of connected reasoning.

Mr Page–Gourlay arrived during the afternoon, and stayed the night.