THE LIBRARY OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LOS ANGELES I.UPTON BROS., Booksellers & Slalioner^, !;i;rxli:y. ^V^Z^a^ 4^ \^ BV THE SAME AUTHOR. FIVE GREAT OXFORD LEADERS. KEBLE— NEWMAN— PUSEY—LIDDON-CHURCII. Third Edition. With a 7iew Preface. Crown ivo. 6s. net. "Careful, sympathetic character sVelche?,"— Guardian. " The merit of the book before us is that it brings each of the five lives into a reason- able compass; sets them, by a careful and constant insistence on dates, m their true relation with one another and with public events : shows with sympathy and without partisanship the special sifts and performances of each man, and leaves on the mind a clear-cut impression of five very difi"erent personalities." — Sficalcer. "The author has succeeded in the very difficult task of giving in a short space a clear and accurate presentation, vivid though sober."— CAwrc/i Quarterly Review. " This attractive volume undoubtedly supplies a want, and its publication is, in some respects, singularly opportune We think that Canon Donaldson has e.\ecuted a task of real difficulty with judgment, tact, and ski\\."—Pi/o/. "Canon Donaldson has contrived in a book of less than four hundred pages to set before us in an admirable way what manner of men Mr. Keble, Cardinal Newman, Dr. Pusey, Dr. Liddon, and Dean Church really \ve.Tii."— Church Times. ' ' The facts contained in Five Great Oxford Leaders ar j necessarily common property, but the grace and ease with which they are presented, the skill with which _they are selected, and the reflections to which they give rise, are Mr. Donaldson's own." Church Gazette. "Canon Donaldson's terse and useful \o\\ime.."— Church Review. " Will be read with interest by those to whom it is addressed." — Scotsman. "His appreciations of the five Oxford leaders are very enthusiastic." Glasgow Herald. " The book is well written." — Literature. " Written in excellent style and temper, and are, from the High Churchman's point of view, a completely satisfactory account of the men who have been most prominentlybe- fore the public in the so-called 'Oxford Movement.' "—Manchester Guardian. "We gladly welcome this volume." — Angto-Catholic. LONDON: RIVINGTONS THE BISHOPRIC OF TRURO 1877-1902 ^ll/u/t, i^U44^*^ OiUi^'tU/UUj L UJi^tU/Uiu i r. /•///■/• ( //////■///■///. THE BISHOPRIC OF TRURO THE FIRST rWENTY-FIVE YEARS 1 877-1 902 BY THl", REV. AUG. B. DONALDSON, M.A. Canon Residentiary and Precentor of Truro Author of "'l-ive Great Oxford Leaders'''' M 7 TH IL L US TR A TIONS R I V I N G T () \ S 34, k'/XG STREET, COVEMT GARDEN LONDON 1902 •r/07 3n Kcbercnt ittcmoro OF EDWARD WHITE BENSON, D.D. FIRST BISHOP OF TRURO AND NINETY-SECOND ARCHBISHOP OF CANTERBURY THIS RECORD OF WORK INSPIRED BY HIS IDEALS, BEGUN BY HIS EFFORTS, AND CONTINUED AFTER HIS EXAMPLE, IS DUTIFULLY AND AFFECTIONATELY DEDICATED TO HIS SUCCESSORS IN THE CORNISH BISHOPRIC, GEORGE HOWARD WILKINSON, D.D. SECOND BISHOP OF TRURO AND FIFTY-FOURTH BISHOP OF ST. ANDREWS, AND JOHN GOTT, D.D. THIRD BISHOP OF TRURO Hi n'^AQ PREFACE TH E writing- of this volume has been a very real pleasure, but it would never have been under- taken except at the invitation of others. When the life of Archbishop Benson, by his son, Mr. A. C. Benson, appeared, it was welcomed everywhere as a worthy presentment of the personality, character, and life of a great man and eminent prelate, from his earliest days down to the moment when he was called suddenly away in Hawarden Church. The whole period of sixty-eight years was very fully dealt with, and carefully illustrated from letters, diaries, and other documents. No one could fail to realise, from so well-executed a biography, a very clear and definite portrait of the person there described, nor to follow the main outlines of a life, rich in great opportunities, nobly seized and faithfully dealt with. As one reads, and reads again, this fine biography, there is observ- able in the history an onward progress of personal development in the various stages of the Archbishop's career. Mr. Benson in exhibiting all this in clear and balanced method, endeavoured to do justice to each part of the life of his father. This he has ably and successfully vindicated in a published reply to certain viii THE BISHOPRIC OF TRURO criticisms, on the part of those who thought that the six years of remarkably active, and even unique, work in Cornwall mioht have received a fuller and more detailed treatment. But the present writer on the whole gives his judgment on the side of Mr. Benson's work, recognising the principles on which it was written and published. Still he could not withhold sympathy from those many lovers of Cornwall, and of the first Bishop of Truro, who had become very dear to them for his work's sake and for his own, in their desire to possess some larger and fuller record of his untiring and fruitful labours. Yet it never would have occurred to him to offer his services for the writing of such a record. He would have pre- ferred to see it done by some one more intimately and personally connected with Dr. Benson's Cornish episcopate. But when the writer's friend, the Rev. A. P. Moor, Honorary Canon of Truro, and formerly Vicar of St. Clement's, near Truro, assured him that he had failed to induce anyone else to take upon him the task, he consented to do so, on the understanding that he should receive assistance from those who were able to give it. His hesitation was also, to a large extent, removed by the wise suggestion of one whose judgment was of great value, the Rev. A. J. Mason, d.d.. Lady Margaret Professor of Divinity, Cambridge, and Canon Residentiary of Canterbury, that the book should take the form, not merely of a record of the Cornish work of Dr. Benson, but of an account of the Bishopric of Truro from PREFACE ix its foundation u[) to the present time.^ He desires to express his warmest gratitude for the kindly encouragement and friendly criticism of Canon Moor, who has greatly lightened the burden which his own hands laid upon the writer's shoulders. To no one, however, is he so much indebted as to Mr. Arthur C. Henson, who has, with the greatest generosity, placed at his disposal such large portions of his father's Cornish diary and letters, as have given to the book living pictures of persons, scenes, and work, without which it would have run the risk of being a merely dry chronicle of ecclesiastical events. It is not too much to say that, without Mr. Benson's generous co-operation, warm sympathy, and encourag- ing support, the writer would have shrunk from the publication of the book. He must also add his thanks to Mr. Benson for his permission (with the consent of Miss M orison. Head Mistress of the Truro High School) to print his ode, " Luce magistra." To Mr. A. T. Ouiller Couch he is under a similar obligation for the beautiful poem he has so kindly written for this volume. Mr. Couch is a true son of Cornwall : he is pre-eminently the exponent of the beauty of its scenery, of the pathos and quaintness of the character of its people, of the unrivalled interest of its historic past. He is not only a poet but a lover of other poets, and his anthology of ' The writer has to thank Dr. Mason for the very generous permission granted to him to make use of private diaries recording his mission work in Cornwall from 1877 to 1884. X THE BISHOPRIC OF TRURO English poetry is a valuable addition to our best treasuries of literature. His contribution to the present volume will assuredly help it to win its way to Cornish hands and hearts. The Bishop of St. Andrews, by his permission to allow the publication of certain letters, has added one more to the many acts of kindness received by the author from him, while he presided over the Diocese of Truro, and since. Chancellor Worlledge has greatly helped the writer by the loan of documents, letters, pamphlets, and newspaper cuttings. He has also given much time to the correction of the sheets, besides supplying other information which has secured greater accuracy and clearness to many parts of the narrative. Other writers have also kindly contributed valuable matter, which has been acknowledged in the body of the work, or in the notes. In the Appendices will be found certain tables and other documents, which may serve to illustrate or elucidate matters treated in the text. The writer cannot hope to send his book forth to the public free from all blemishes, nor can he have a confident assurance that he has succeeded in recordino- o everything of importance, in a period of Church life in Cornwall so remarkable and so full as that of the past quarter of a century. But he believes that his work will be received with kindlv interest and in- dulgent criticism by all who, with him, love Cornwall, PREFACE xi its Church, and its people, among whom he has spent seventeen years of his Hfe and ministry. He cannot perhaps say, with Dr. Benson, that he knows " Cornwall about as well as any Cornishnian can possibly do." I^ut there are not many parishes where he has not been invited to preach or speak, and he is glad to believe that he may be accounted, if not a Cornishman of Cornishmen, yet not altogether a " foreigner " to Cornish hearts and homes. Truro, Michaelmas, 1902. LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS The Choir of Truro Cathedral . . . Frontispiece Edmund Carlyon, Esq. .... Face page 23 Archbishop Benson . . • • r, 39 The Earl of Mount Edgcumbr . . . ,, 149 The Bishop of St. Andrews . . • ,, i95 The Bishop of Truro . . • . ,, 302 CONTENTS PAGE Chronological Tablk . . . . . xv E. W. B. In Memoriam. Poem by A. T. Quiller-Couch . xvii CHAPTER I Retrospect . . . • . . . i CHAPTER li Revival . . . • ... 23 CHAPTER HI The First Bishop of Truro . . • • • 39 CHAPTER IV Laving the Foundations . . ... 58 CHAPTER V Mission Work . . • ... 76 CHAPTER VI The Cathedral . • . . 103 CHAPTER VII Diocesan Work . . . • . . 129 CHAPTER VIII The Bishop and the Laitv . . • ■ '49 CHAPTER IX Changes . • . . 172 CHAPTER X The Second Bishop of Truro ... 195 xiv THE BISHOPRIC OF TRURO CHAPTER XI PAGE Preparation . . . ... 224 CHAPTER XII Fulfilment . . . . ... 245 CHAPTER XIII Efforts . . . . ... 269 CHAPTER XIV Trlvls . . . . . . . . 289 CHAPTER XV The Third Bishop of Truro . . ... 302 CHAPTER XVI Progress . . . . ... 320 CHAPTER XVII Last Efforts and Ultimate Success . . . 344 APPENDICES I. History of the Ancient Bishopric in Cornwall . 365 II. Religious Census, 1676 . . ... 372 III. List of the Rectors of Truro . ... 379 IV. Cathedral Offices and their Occupants . . 382 V. Scheme of Subjects for the Stained Windows IN Truro Cathedral . ... 387 VI. Scheme for the Statuary in Truro Cathedral . 400 VII. General Survey of Church Music in ihe Diocese of Truro . . ... 405 VIII. Men and Women from Cornwall who have laboured or are still labouring in the Foreign Mission Field ... 410 Index . . . . ... 413 CHRONOLOGICAL TABLE A.D. (?)45o (?) 520 654 (?)865 909 92S 937 (?)95o St. Gwithian, St. la . St. Piran ..... Cornish bishops assist in the consecration of St. Chad ' Bishop Kenstec of Cornwall submits to Canterbury . See of Crediton founded Cornish princes do homage to Athelstan at Exeter Bishop Conan of Cornwall attends Witenagemot First Saxon Bishop of Cornwall . Charter of Aethelred to Bishop Ealdrcd granting liberties to the Cornish See Cornish See merged in that of Crediton Lyfing Bishop of Crediton Leofric Bishop of Exeter (under charter of Edward the Confessor united See transferred to Exeter) Archdeaconry of Cornwall founded Bishop Bronescombe Bishop De Stapledon Bishop De Crandisson . Bishop Miles Coverdale Bishop Hall- . Bishop Sparrow" Bishop Trelawny Bishop Phillpotts First Bill for creation of Cornish See Offer of St. Columb Rectory by the Rev. Dr. Walker for endowment of See .... Bishop Phillpotts' offer of ^500 of income and patronage Deputation to Lord Palmerston Address to the Queen from Upper and Lower Houses of Convocation in behalf of new see Refusal by the Government Lord Lyttelton's Bill Death of Bishop Phillpotts Dr. Temple consecrated ' Bede, Ecclesiastical History, iii. 28. Haddan and Stubbs, Councils, etc., i. 124. - Author of Contemplations, etc. ' Author of A Rationale, or Practical Exposition of the Book of Common Prayer, 994 (?) 1026 1027 1050 (?) 1090 1258 1308 1327 155' 1627 1667 1688 1831 1847 1854 1855 1859 1863 1864 1867 1869 1869 XVI THE BISHOPRIC OF TRURO Great Meeting at Plymouth ; Bishop Temple's offer announced March ist . . . . . Lady Rolle's gift of ^40,000 . . . . Truro Bishopric Act, August i ith Order in Council founds See, December 15th Bishop Benson consecrated, April 25th Bishop Benson's enthronement, May ist . Truro created a city, August 17th First Diocesan Conference, October 25th and 26th First Honorary Canons installed, January 17th Truro Chapter Act, August 8th . . . . Archdeaconry of Bodmin founded Great Cathedral Committee at Truro Bishop Benson's Primary Visitation, July . Foundation Stones of Truro Cathedral laid. May 20th Old St. Mary's Church demolished, October Bishop Benson offered the Primacy, December i6th Bishop Benson's farewell to the diocese, Christmas . Canon Wilkinson offered the bishopric, January Dr. Benson enthroned at Canterbury, March 29th Dr. Wilkinson consecrated, April 25th Bishop Wilkinson enthroned, May 15th Internal Fittings Fund inaugurated, August 29th Two Residentiary Canonries founded by Order in Council, March loth ..... "Truro Cathedral and Chapter Acts Amendment Act" passed July 5th . . . . . . Truro Cathedral consecrated, November 3rd Twelve benefices transferred by Dean and Chapter of Exeter to Dean and Chapter of Truro, February 22nd Resignation of Bishop Wilkinson, May Election of Dr. Gott, August 3rd . . . . Consecration of Dr. Gott, September 29th . Enthronement of Bishop Gott, October 28th liishop Gott's Primary Visitation, June and July Death of Archbishop Benson, October nth Foundations of Nave begun, May 20th Revival of Women of Cornwall's Cathedral Association, October Death of Mr. J. L. Pearson, R.A., December nth . Building of Nave begun. May 29th Death of Queen Victoria, January 22nd Gift of Victorian Tower by Mr. Hawke Dennis, March Bishop Gott's Second Visitation, July A.D. ■875 :876 [876 [876 [877 1877 [877 [877 1878 1878 [878 [878 [880 [880 [880 1882 [882 [883 [883 [883 [883 [884 [885 [887 [887 (889 [891 1891 1891 1891 1896 [896 1897 [897 1897 '899 1 90 1 1901 [901 E. W. B. 3n /IDcmoriam 'T^HE Church's outpost on a neck of land — By ebb of faith the foremost left the last — Dull, starved of hope, we watched the driven sand Blown though the hour-glass, covering our past, Counting no hours to our relief— no hail Across the hills, and on the sea no sail ! Sick of monotonous days we lost account, In fitful dreams remembering morns of old And nights — th' erect Archangel on the Mount With sword that drank the dawn ; the Vase of Gold, The moving Grail athwart the starry fields When all the heavenly spearmen clashed their shields. In dereliction by the deafening shore We sought no more aloft, but sunk our eyes Probing the sea for food, the earth for ore. — Ah, yet had one good soldier of the skies Burst through the wrack reporting news of them, How had we run and kissed his garment's hem ! b' Nay, but he came I Nay, but he stood and cried, Panting with joy and the fierce fervent race, "Arm, arm '. for Christ returns ! " — and all our pride. Our ancient pride answered that eager face : " Repair His battlements — your Christ is near I" .And, half in dream, wc raised the soldiers' cheer. xviii THE BISHOPRIC OF TRURO Far, as we flung that challenge, fled the ghosts- Back, as we built, the obscene foe withdrew — High to the song of hammers sang the host Of Heaven— and lo 1 the daystar, and a new Dawn with its chalice and its wind as wine : And youth was hope, and life once more divine ! Day, and hot noon, and now the evening glow, And 'neath our scaftblding the city spread Twilit, with rain-washed roofs, and— hark ! — below, One late bell tolling. " Dead ? Our Captain dead ? " Nay, here with us he fronts the westering sun With shaded eyes and counts the wide fields won. Aloft with us ! And, while another stone Swings to its socket, haste with trowel and hod ! Win the old smile a moment ere, alone, Soars the great soul to bear report to God. Night comes ; but thou, dear Captain, from thy star Look down, behold how bravely goes the war ! A. T. QUILLER-COUCH THE BISHOPRIC OF TRURO THE FIRST TWENTY-FIVE YEARS 1877— 1902 CHAPTER I RETROSPECT THIS Cornul^ici is a land of wonderment — his- torical, physical, spiritual."^ So wrote the first Bishop of Truro within a few months of enter- ing- upon his office. Cornwall is indeed a strange and a fair land. Great towering" cliffs at Boscastle and Tintagel ; long stretches of sand at Newquay and Perranporth ; mysterious caverns at Mawgan Porth and St. x\gnes ; numberless coves and fine sweeping bays, both on the northern and southern coasts ; rocks of varied and unrivalled tints at Kynance ; wild moors near Bodmin ; lovely masses of wood round Liskeard and in the Vale of Lan- herne ; all these make up a very rich catalogue of its many beauties. Perhaps nothing strikes the visitor more than the deep blue colour of its sea, not inferior to the waters of the Mediterranean, and ^ Letter to Henry Bradshaw, August 17th, 1877, Life, vol. i. p. 42S. B 2 THE BISHOPRIC OF TRURO the splendour of its glowing sunset sky. It has well been named the " Delectable Duchv." And yet the face of its scenery has been greatly scarred by mines, many of whose deserted engine- houses and heaps of refuse are, not only blots upon the landscape, but signs of a decayed industry and of ventures that have failed. Vast yawning pits of glaring white china clay have cut deep into its downs, and opaque milky water has polluted its pleasant streams. Lines of railway penetrate some of its old-world solitudes, and their light wooden viaducts, that till recently spanned many a deep valley with airy and almost artistic grace, are now giving way to heavy granite arches and great iron girders. Some of its sweetest nooks and corners, primitive villages and sheltered coves, have been invaded by the builders of pretentious lodging-houses : big modern hotels stand on its headlands, putting to shame the simple, quaint old hostelries, that, up to a quarter of a century ago and even later, were the delightful havens of tired men and women, seeking for rest and refresh- ment for a short time, in a land unspoilt by smartness and fashion. But all these chancres and all this inroad of bustle and luxury, inevitable perhaps but none the less to be deplored, have not robbed Cornwall of any great measure of its fascinating attractions, nor quite obliterated the simple ways of its people. It is a land of old romance and legend. The story of King Arthur, the memories of Lyonesse, the loves of Tristram and Isolde, the last battles of British RETROSPECT 3 Christians against heathen invaders, are inextricably linked with its shores and hills. It is a land of real traoredies. Its coasts have been the scenes of number- less shipwrecks, of great Adantic liners lost among its treacherous rocks, of transports with gallant soldiers on board, going down when nearing home after successful campaigns; of fishing-boats lost in many a storm on northern and southern shores, of great cattle ships torn to pieces on its rugged head- lands ; and the land is without a harbour of refuge, into which a vessel mav run for shelter from the awful roll of the Atlantic billows. It is a land inhabited by a very distinctly marked race. Anyone who crosses the Tamar, travelling- westward, realises that he is passing into a region quite different from the one he is leaving, and is going among a people that, even at the beginning of the twentieth century, has by no means lost its special characteristics of speech and custom. The old Celtic Cornish tongue died out more than a century ago, but the soft accent and quaint phraseology of the Cornish fisherman or agricultural peasant have not yet been obliterated by the levelling monotony of Board School education. There is a kind of 1)reezy and saltlikc fresh- ness in the land and among the people, that is very attractive to the "foreigner" from "up the country." But Cornwall is also the "land of saints." From IMorwenstow, in the e.xtreme northern corner, right away to St. Sennen, at the Land's End, the map of Cornwall is dotted over with quaint names of 4 THE BISHOPRIC OF TRURO "' church towns " and parishes, bearing titles of old- world saintly men and women, whose lives and deeds lie hid in the obscurity of the past. It is very diffi- cult to trace, with any sort of clearness, the origin of primitive Cornish Christianity. It is not likely that it was brouo-ht into the land through Roman rulers or residents. The impression made on Corn- wall by the Roman occupation was probably but slio-ht. There are few indications of there havinor been anv organised Christian communities in this part of our island, during the first three centuries of the Christian era. It was from Ireland and Wales that, in all probability, the earlier evangelists of Corn- wall came. St. Piran, who is probably identical with the Irish Kieran, and whose memory has been pre- served in some three or four Cornish parishes, and notably at Perranzabuloe, where his rude oratory was discovered in the sands about seventy years ago ; and St. Buriena, whose name survives at St. Buryan, near the Land's End, in the church once served bv a college of dean and canons, are instances of Irish missionaries. St. David, St. Mewan, St. Teilo, and St. Issey brought the message of the gospel from Wales, with which county Cornwall long retained manv links, racial and relisfious. There was also much interchange of missionary enterprise between Cornwall and Brittany, as was natural, and St. Pol de Leon has perhaps left his name at the parish of Paul, near Penzance ; while St. Breock, St. Mylor, and St, Budock, who give their names to parishes RETROSPECT 5 in different localities, are believed to have been Armorican saints, still remembered in the Cornwall across the Channel. It seems likelv that, as with other Celtic countries, the ecclesiastical oroanisation of Cornwall was for many centuries inexact and incomplete, and far from sharini;- the regular order and discipline of the rest of Christendom, both in the East and West. Here, as in Ireland and Scot- land, Bishops had no fixed sees, and visited rather than ruled districts inhabited by clans or tribes. In 833 Bishop Kenstec, in makini^ his profession of obedience to Archbishop Ceolnoth of Canterbury, brought Cornwall for the first time into closer contact with the Eno-lish Church, and consequently with the organisation and discipline of the whole of Western Christendom.^ But it was not until the reien of Athelstan, in 931, that Cornwall under its native Bishop Conan became really an English diocese. In 1027 Lyfing Bishop of Crediton was appointed also Bishop of Cornwall. In 1046 the Western See, including both Devon and Cornwall, was transferred by King Edward the Confessor to Exeter, of which city Leofric became the first Bishop. From that time onward, for ei<>"ht hundred and thirtv vears, the two counties were ruled tooether as a single diocese. Towards the close of the eleventh century Cornwall ^ The act of obedience is sufficiently humble : " Eyo Kenstec, humilis licet et indignus . . . tibi tuisque successoribus, obredibilis servunculus supplexque clientulus usque ad terminum transeuntis vitit sine uUo falsitatis fiivoht; cogitationis scrupulo fieri paratus sum." — Councils, etc., Haddan and Stubbs, vol. i. p. 674. 6 THE BISHOPRIC OF TRURO was formed into a separate archdeaconry, the only- ecclesiastical mark of its individuality that remained. It has sometimes been said, that this absorption of the old Cornish bishopric into that of the Devonshire capital, had a very serious and detrimental effect upon the spiritual well-being and ecclesiastical ciiscipline of the more western county. Certainly the distance of the more remote parts of Cornwall from the ecclesi- astical centre, the imperfect means of communication all throuo-h the Middle Ao-es, and rioht on to modern times, may have prevented the development of the higher forms of spiritual culture, Church order, and o^eneral enlightenment. But, on the other hand, it is impossible to read the records of the great Bishops of Exeter, so admirably preserved in their Visitations and Registers, that have been recently carefully edited and given to the world by Prebendary Hingeston- Randolph, without perceiving that most conscientious efforts were made, on the part of these prelates, to do their duty as chief pastors of the remote western portion of their huge diocese. More than one Bishop of Exeter held high office in the State, and much of their time was necessarily spent on political affairs In the capital of England. But, nevertheless, they made long and toilsome journeys at great cost and with much fatigue, in the superintendence of their Celtic flock, In the preservation of ecclesiastical discipline, in the consecration of numerous churches, and in the administration of Confirmation. We do not wonder that a man like Bishop de RETROSPECT ^ Grandisson, accustomed to the culture of the Continent and especially of the Court of Rome, when he found himself in his rude diocese, surrounded by tempestuous seas, and inhabited by a people who knew no English, much less the French of the Court, should have oToaned at times under the burden of his lot, and of all that he was compelled to "endure daily at the hands of the wonderful people who inhabited this remote corner of the world. "^ But he, and others who occupied the See of Exeter, were indefatigable overseers of the llock. We hear of Bishop de Staple- don going down from Exeter to St, Austell and Penryn and thence to St. Burvan in the course of a fortnio-ht, after a long and busy tour in Devonshire. This latter prelate founded a hall which bore his name at Oxford, and afterwards became Exeter College. Of its twelve oricrinal scholars maintained bv his benefaction, tour were to be natives of Cornwall, not necessarily to be trained as clerics, and thus earlv the higher education of the laity by the Church was brought into this remote peninsula. In Bishop Stafford's time the same strenuous Church work was carried on, and in the days of his immediate successors most of the Cornish churches were rebuilt. These almost all follow a well-known type with low walls, without a clerestory, and with a waggon roof. They consist of nave and aisles, sometimes doubled, and one or two side chapels or quasi-transepts, but usualK" without any construc- ^ Episcopal Registers, Diocese of Exeter, John de Grandisson, Preface, p. XX. 8 THE BISHOPRIC OF TRURO tional chancel. They were in old days highly decorated with colour, and possessed rich rood lofts and screens. Frescoes of a quaint kind covered the walls.^ Numerous crosses marked sacred spots, or the church paths that traversed the downs and moors. In addition to the parish churches, there were monastic establishments at St. Germans, Bodmin, St. Stephen's-by-Launceston, St. Michael's Mount and Tywardreath ; collegiate churches at St. Buryan, Probus, St. Carantoc, Glasney, St. Keverne, Tresco, and Endellion. Of these latter, the college of Augustinlan Canons at St. Buryan, founded by King Athelstan, gave constant trouble to the Bishop by its assertion of the privileges of a royal peculiar, and its dean held office down to the middle of the nineteenth century, not always to the advantage or credit of the Church in Cornwall. There are still three Prebendaries of Endellion, without however any duties attached to the office they hold in that ancient church. A great many chapels and oratories were planted in every suitable spot throughout the county, and there are numerous tokens, still remaining, that a full provision was made for bringing the means ot crrace within the reach of the scattered inhabitants of this remote corner of England. A very full and interesting account of the rich provision made in ancient days for the spiritual needs 1 An interesting account of the remains of these is given in a paper entitled "Mural Paintings in Cornish Churches," by J. D. Enys, F.(;.s., Thurstan C. Peter, and H. M. Whitley, printed in the Journal of tlic Royal Institution of Cor^tivall, vol. xv. part i., 1902, pp. 141 seq. RETROSPECT 9 of the people in Cornwall, is contained in a paper on "Cornish Chantries," by Mr. If. Michcll Whitley, honorary secretary of the Royal Institution of Corn- wall, contributed to the Truro Diocesan Kaleiidar for 1883. The writer concludes his account with the following" words : — " The suppression of these chantries and chapels with their endowments was a serious loss to the Church's utiht}-. In many a Httle western combe where the heather and szorse flame in autumn, gold and crimson, on the hillsides a few crumbling walls o'ergrown with ivy, nettles and brambles, still mark the site of a little holy stead. PTowever expedient their dissolution may have become, chantry endowments were of great service in supplying additional priests to assist the parochial clergy; and it should be the aim of Cornish Church- men once more to restore more fully the daughter chapels dependent on the mother church ; and thus in large parishes to bring the services of the Church to the homes of her children in every outlying hamlet." Making all allowance for the Celtic superstitions that even now still linger among the Cornish people, their religious spirit throughout the Middle Ao-es, down to the time of Henry VHI.. was undoubtedly strong and keen in its devotion to the Church, and in its attendance on the means of erace. 1 o those who onl)- know Cornwall and its people after the lapse of three centuries and a half since that time, and after the wa\-e of W'esley's movement has so largely transformed the religious life of Cornishmen. it seems strange to read of the great uprising against the introduction of the English Prayer Book in the first days of Edward \I., when thousands of Cornish lo THE BISHOPRIC OF TRURO miners marched upon Exeter, full of resentment at the chanoes forced upon them by a distant government in London, exasperated at the destruction of their beautiful rood-lofts, and the introduction of a form of service strano-e and unfamiliar, less intellio-ible to many of them than the Old Latin prayers had by long- use become.^ The revolt ended in disaster, and, along with others, the rebellious mayors of St. Ives and Bodmin were hanged at Launceston. It is probable that the English Reformation, thus ushered in, was never received with much enthusiasm amonof this Celtic people. Certainly Puritanism had no hold upon this emotional race in the years that followed. Loyalty to the Sovereign was vigorous in this far-off land, and Cornishmen were on the side of the King in his Ci'reat struQfcrle with his Parliament, and foug-ht bravely and successfully in his behalf. His famous letter still retains its place in some Cornish churches, in which he speaks "of the merit of our county of Cornwall, of their zeal for the defence of our person, and the just rights of our crov/n." But Cornwall had its loyalty sorely tried, when King James II., forty years later, imprisoned Jonathan Trelawny, Bishop of Bristol, with the other six prelates who withstood his absolutism ; and they raised the cry long afterwards developed by Robert Hawker into the stirring ballad — ^ "We will not receive the new service, because it is like a Christmas yame ; but we will have our old service of Mattins, Mass, Evensong, and Procession in Latin, not in English.'' See Fifteen Articles of the insurgents (Strype's CTamncr^ Appendix xl.). RETROSPECT 1 1 "And shall IVelawny die? And shall Trelawny die ? Then twenty thousand Cornishmen Will know the reason why." Bishop Trelawny lived much in the county at his own place, Trelawne, where there are still preserved relics of him, personal and official.^ The reliti'ious and moral condition of Cornwall, during- the seventeenth century, was probably not much higher or lower than that of other parts of the kingdom. Carew gives the Cornish a good character, for being God-fearing, sober, and orderly. Some later writers, without much evidence, have described them as savage, drunken, and riotous. But there is too much ground for believing- that the influence of the Church in the middle of the eicrhteenth centurv had here, as elsewhere, ceased to be very effective as an elevating- power. The form of Anglicanism, pro- duced by the expulsion ot the Non-jurors and the patronage of Hanoverian Sovereigns and statesmen, was not very lovable and attractive. It is almost certain that the religious spirit of Cornwall, before the Wesleys began their remarkable movement, was trreatlv dulled and deadened. And vet this lamentable state of things was by no means universal. Samuel Walker, Curate-in-charo-e of Truro, is an ^ "Bishop Trelawny, who in 1707 was translated from Exeter to Winchester, in his first charge to the clergy of the latter diocese in 170.5, ' trusted that he might find a clergy of as deserved honour and estimation as he left in the diocese of Exeter [including Cornwall] for learning, pietv, incessant pains, exemplary lives, wholesome and instructive doctrine.'" — Canon Hockin \\\John Wesley and Modern MelJtodism, pp. 163, 164. 12 THE BISHOPRIC OF TRURO instance, and not a solitary one, of an earnest Churchman who revived spiritual religion in his parish, on different lines from those of John Wesley, and more in harmony with the discipline and principles of the Church. He was a man of profoundly earnest and lovino- nature, fearless in rebukino- vice, o-entle to sinners, and a wise guide of souls. He established a regular system of classes for young people and revived public catechising, sometimes having as many as five hundred persons present at his instructions.^ He paid careful attention to the appointed seasons of the Christian year, and Lent was always a very solemn time in his parish, as were also the great festivals of Christmas, Easter, and Whitsuntide. He maintained daily services and bestowed much time and thought upon the instruction of his communicants ; and, by patience and devotion, raised his parish to so high a level of spiritual earnestness, that his biogreipher states, " The town of Truro under the ministry of Mr. Walker presented a delightful example of the happy effects which may be produced on a Christian community by our Church's discipline and doctrines wisely enforced and spiritually explained.'"' He re- spected all the good qualities of the early Methodists, but distrusted some of the tenets of John Wesley, and was keenly eipprehensive of the latent schismatic ^ Two volumes of his sermons, numbering fifty-two in all, on the Church Catechism published in 1765 contain much \aluable spiritual teaching. "^ Life of Walker of Truro, by Edwin Sidney, 2nd edition, 1838, chap. iv. RETROSPECT 13 tendencies of the whole movement, and of the more serious dangers that lay close to some of their ways of working. There were, besides, in the county other parishes where the ministrations of the Church were valued and used, throughout the eighteenth century, and records sLill remain that bear witness to the large congregations, and surprising number of communicants, that were regularly gathered together. Borlase, the well-known writer, was Rector of Ludgvan and after- wards Vicar of St. Just ; at the latter place he exercised some very distinct Church discipline aniong an unruly and intemperate people : his congregations numbered one thousand in the morning and live hundred in the afternoon. Polwhele, another Cornish writer, notices the simple reverence of his congregation at Lamorran in 1780, and laments many years after- wards a o-reat declension in religion and morals.^ To these may be added the name of the Rew Thomas Fisher, Rector of Roche, who fostered all good and kept evil at bay.' The first Bishop of Truro has left the following testimony : — " It would be a mistake to suppose that when he (John Wesley) first began to preach in Cornwall, he found empty churches and godless parishes. Mr. Kinsman of Tintagel told me of an aged parishioner of higher rank, who died many years ago, that she used to tell how, before Wesley came, the church had been always crowded, how the monthly celebra- ^ Tradiiions and RecoUeciioits^ p. 1 39- 2 The reader should consult for the whole of this period, A Church History of Coi-tnvall, by the Rev. W. S. Lach-Szyrma, .M.A., F.K.H.S., formerly \'icar of Ncwiyn St. Peter, at present \'icar of Barkinyside, Essex. .14 THE BISHOPRIC OF TRURO tion of the Sacrament was most largely attended, and the children catechised every Sunday afternoon. So too a parishioner of Dr. IMartin's at St. Breward, who died at an advanced age, remembered her father's expression that, ' when he was young you might have walked a mile to church on the heads of the people in the lanes.'"^ A very interesting record, still extant, of spiritual work done in a Cornish parish, is to be seen in a printed paper containing " Rules to be observed by the Scholars of Veryan Sunday and Day Schools," dated January ist, 1817. The rules bear on personal behaviour and cleanliness, punctuality, obedience to teachers, reverence for parents and all in authority, reo'ular attendance at church. Alono- with the rules, is an excellent pastoral address on the religious educa- tion of children, addressed to the parishioners.^ But, nevertheless, the vigour and spiritual fire of Charles Wesley, who was the first of the two brothers to enter Cornwall, and of his greater brother John, swept through the county with almost irresistible force. There was, at first, much riotous opposition and violent treatment of the preachers, who were stoned and hooted at. But the enthusiasm of the first Methodists soon enkindled a corresponding en- thusiasm in the Cornish folk. The crowds, that came to hear the great evangelist, were vast in numbers, ^ Private Diary, July 29th, 1S77. '^ The late Canon Hockin, in his book on John Wesley and Modern Methodism (4th edition, 1878, Rivingtons), says : " I do not think that any part of Enjji'land can produce such a roll of Clerical worthies as Cornwall possessed during the early and middle part of the last [eighteenth] century" (p. 169). RETROSPECT 15 and were swayed as one man \)\ the l^urnin^'' eloquence of a preacher who spoke from liis heart of the thing's of God. The annual gathering at Gwennap Pit, every Monday in W'hitsun week, when some rising Wesleyan preacher is chosen to address the great assembly, is at once an image and a memorial of a Q-reat historic scene enacted in those early days. The great meeting at Gwennap loomed with an almost miraculous magnitude before the eyes of John Wesley, who declared that twenty-five thousand persons were gathered there, every one of whom heard him plainly. Bishop Benson has de- scribed the place, in language that somewhat limits the natural exao^w-eration of the oreat evancjelist. "Yesterday I rode with my boy Martin, in driving rain, to Gwennap Pit. The contradictory directions we received, as to where it was, were most puzzling even when we were quite near. . . , The Pit is in the midst of the tract devastated by mining. Vast heaps of mundic and other debris, condemned to everlasting barrenness. The miserable houses, lonely amid the desolateness, are so storm beaten that the slates are held in their places by large lumps of stone, mortared on to them over all the roof, or at the more exposed corners and edges. At last we reached it. I expected a yawning mouth like a Peak cavern, but it is a green funnel — that exactly describes it — like the section of the hifcrno in the frontispiece to Dante, only with twent}' times as many steps. It looked to me about thirty yards wide at top, and about two or three }'ards at bottom. Perfecth' circular, its grassy steps just giving room to stand or sit ; two stone posts, and a step between them, are (I conclude) the glorious old John's preaching place. But I was greatly disappointed with the size of it. . . . I cannot think that eight thousand could be so 1 6 THE BISHOPRIC OF TRURO placed as to hear or see, and there would be nothing surpris- ing in the fact that all who could be there should Jiear. John treats this as a miracle. . . . The miracle was John : John himself and his powers and his attractiveness. Martin and f sate on our horses and prayed over the place in the deluge."^ Later several friends of Dr. Benson went to the annual Whitsun preaching there. Between three thousand and four thousand persons were present, and the visitors were " decidedly impressed with the siofht and the sinqin"-."- Before John Wesley's death, Methodism was a power (as he said) "from Launceston to the Land's End." It has been stated, that the result of Wesley's work was to "persuade Cornlshmen to change their vices." This is a bitter and uncharitable verdict. There can be little doubt that, allowing for such re- deeminor instances as have been noticed above, the religious condition of Cornwall before Wesley's mis- sion was generally speaking stagnant." Apart from 1 I-'rivate Diary, January 6th, 1877. - Ibid. ^ An instance may be given by way of contrast between past and present, and illustrative of the Church's growth in the nineteenth century. One hundred years ago, the parish of Kenwyn was served along with that of Kea. The two have been long severed. Out of the former the following ecclesiastical parishes have been formed : — Baldhu (1847, church built 1848), Chacewater (church built 1828, separated 1837), Mithian (1846, church built 1847), St. George's Truro (1846, church built 1855), St. John's Truro (churchbuilt 1827-8, separated 1865) Where, at the time indicated, not more than four services were held on a Sunday, and scarcely any on weekdays, there are now, every Sunday, at least thirty, as well as numerous weekday services and meetings, in the above new parishes, and in Kenwyn, with its four mission churches in addition to the parish church. Among the Vicars of Kenwyn have been the Rev. G. J. Cornish, the friend of Keble, and the Rev. E. Harold Browne, successively Bishop of Ely and Winchester. RETROSPECT 17 the more serious moral scandals arisincr from the unworthy conduct of some of the clerLrv, the evils of plurality and non-residence, here as elsewhere, chilled religious aspirations. Earnest persons, as has been well said, had, in an absent rector, " want of access for advice about their spiritual state. "^ But, on the other hand, it would be a serious error to suppose, that, before the advent of the Methodists, Cornwall was a county wholly given over to vice and irreligion ; and, after it, has become a spiritual garden of the Lord. To a careful observer, the results of the Wesleyan movement are not as admirable as its great leader hoped for, and in no little degree merited. Among nearly all races, but especially, perhaps, among some branches of the Celtic, it is easy to arouse the emotional side of re- lio-ion, sometimes to the neijlect of the oblio-ations of morality. In Cornwall, as in other districts where Dissent prevails, the unity of the Church, the grace of the Sacraments, the apostolic ministry, are, not only neglected, but too often scorned. In many a small village, besides the parish church, two or three meeting-houses o{ rival sects divide and distract the spiritual life of the place. The condition to which Cornwall has been to a large extent reduced, is briefly and lucidly described in the words of one, whose natural gitt of keen spiritual insight was wonderfullv quickened by a full experience, but who was certainly ^ Griffith ap Jones in Canon Bevan's Essays on the Church in Wales, p. xxvi., quoted in Archbishop Benson's Seven Gifts, p 93, note. c 1 8 THE BISHOPRIC OF TRURO not biassed by any prejudice or lacking in large- hearted and kindly sympathy. " The principal Church doctrines (except the Atonement) considered as mere 'superstitions' — the Atonement not much dwelt on — the Last Judgment supposed to be intended for England, but not for Cornwall. Worship consists in singing hymns. For Sacraments we have the voice of the preacher (sometimes his meaning, but always his voice) ; it is through this that grace enters the soul. Calvinism (of which Wesley taught not a word) has pervaded nearly every place. Now in all such places Sacraments are simply abhorred."^ Some attempts were made at various times, w^ithin the pale of the Church of England, to meet the special religious sentiments of the Cornish, by adopting methods similar to those of the Wesleyans. Revival meetings, meetings for extempore prayer, and even class meetings, were tried. The most remarkable effort of this kind took place at Pendeen, a newly formed parish taken out of the large parish of .St. Just- in-Penwith, in which are situated the well-known Botallack mines, not far from Cape Cornwall and the Land's End. The Rev. Robert Aitken, who had previously worked in Leeds, was the first Vicar. He built a church, designed on the lines of the old cathedral at lona, near the wind-swept cliffs, among the purple heather and the golden gorse. Some of the granite masonry was laid by his own hands. He was a man of great earnestness of soul, of lofty stature and impressive bearing. He was, above all, a 1 Life of Archbishop Benson^ vol. i. p. 438. RETROSPECT 19 man of prayer. He spent long hours of the day, and often too of the night, wrestHng with God, alone in his church. His wife was a lady of ancient Scottish family, richly endowed with mental and spiritual gifts. Together they carried on for many years a very remarkable work. They lived in the most ascetic manner, denying themselves all luxuries and even the simplest comforts, that they might be able to help the sick and poor. Mrs. Aitken's earnest efforts for the welfare of the people, were as great as the preaching and pastoral labours of her husband. A deep and lasting impression was made upon the inhabitants of Pendeen and of the country round. The employment of some of the methods of Wesleyanism did not, in this case, tend to alienate Mr. Aitken's congregation away from the parish church and its services, even after his decease. Though his theology struclc many of his friends as very eclectic, and his books, designed to reconcile the tenets of Church and Dissent, puzzled most readers, he nevertheless held strongly to the Divine character of the Church and her ministry, and, to this day, his converts, and their descendants, are steadfast members of the Church of Enoland. Similar attempts were made in the parish of Baldhu, and much later on, in one or two other places, but not with any very conspicuous success. Mr. Aitken's influence was not confined to his own parish, and not a few great mission preachers of the English Church, whose theology differed widely from his own, cauo-ht 20 THE BISHOPRIC OF TRURO the sacred fire from the torch that he Hohted. His son, the Rev. \V. H. M. Altken, now Canon of Norwich, Superintendent of the Church Parochial Mission Society, inherits his father's gifts, and uses them over a far more extended sphere. The condition of the Church in Cornwall, up to the close of the first quarter of the nineteenth century, cannot have presented any very admirable features. Non-residence was only too common : the proportion of non-resident incumbents was about one in three. ^ With all that must be said about the disinteo-ratin"" results of Methodism upon Church life, it is only fair to express a belief, that the multitude of meeting- houses built, during these years, all over Cornwall, were largely, on the one hand, the result of the closed churches and cold and infrequent services, and, on the other, served to keep alive among the people some elements at least of Christianity ; imperfect in many ways, distorted perhaps and even perverted, but not altogether lacking in sincere spirituality, and simple earnestness. Not a few remarkable characters were nourished on this spiritual atmosphere, who, in their day and generation, prevented the light of personal religion from dying out in many a corner of the county. One of these was " Billy Bray," who was born at Kea near Truro in 1 794, and died at Baldhu in 1868, and lies buried in the churchyard there. He was, in his youth, like too many other Cornish miners of that time, wild, sensual, drunken, and godless. ^ See note at the end of chapter ii. RETROSPECT 21 After resistini>- all religious influences stubbornly for some time, he yielded himself to the call of God, and, ever afterwards, not only led a good and consistent life, but was most earnest and active in his endeavour to win souls. His methods and lan^^mage were not such as would commend themselves to cultured and well-trained Church people, but they were undoubtedly sincere, and bore no little spiritual fruit. His efforts for the oood of others have been thus described : — " At one time he might be seen in the midst of a group of pleasure-seekers, seeking to impress them with the idea that real and lasting pleasure was only to be had in religion ; at another time he might be found in the midst of an angry quarrelsome party, striving to conciUate them by kind entreaties and loving arguments, or, perhaps, on his knees asking God to be merciful and soften the hearts of the angry ones; calling them by name ; and, anon, you mJght have seen him accosting strangers, whom he met on his road or in the street . . . cheerfully and lovingly saying something about Christ and His salvation."^ No one who loves the Master can think otherwise than kindly and sympathetically of such a man ; nor, however just it may be to deplore the sad results ot religious separation, will refuse to listen to the counsel of an able religious writer, expressed in the following- words : — " Do not despise these little whitewashed chapels, which dot the bleak hillsides of Cornwall or cluster in the villages. Ugly and old-fashioned though they be, yet the>' are hallowed 1 The Kincfs Son; or, Billy Bray, by F. W. Bourne, pp. 125, 126, 35th edition. Simpkin, Marshall, and Co., London. 2 2 THE BISHOPRIC OF TRURO places, and man_\' in heaven look down and hold them dear and sacred, second only to that celestial city itself, paved with gold and with gates of pearl." ^ And the Churchman, while he mourns the failures of his own Communion, in the past dreary days, will be able to rejoice in the thought, that the Holy Spirit made good to many a soul, the grace that was sought in simple good faith. It is surely possible, in such cases, to repeat the prayer of Hezekiah : "The good Lord pardon every one that prepareth his heart to seek God, the Lord God of his fathers, though he be not cleansed according to the purification of the sanctuary" (2 Chron. xxx. 18, 19),'- ^ Daniel Onorm^ second series by Mark Guy Pearse, p. 94, edition 1884. Bishop Benson, in his Diary, May 31st, 1879, aUuding to the Wesleyan Methodists at Launceston, speaks of the "excellent Mark Guy Pearse, author of the admirable Daniel Quorin.'" ^ For a very excellent account of Church work and life in Cornwall during the period here described a book by Canon Hockin, Rector of Phillack, and Proctor in Convocation, should be consulted ; entitled Jo/m Wesley and iModer7t Methodism (fourth edition, 1887, Rivingtons), especially the Appendix, "Cornwall and Methodism," pp. 159 seq. Ju-s/L okr/rw- C nn^t-truj (.'■ ( V//// ////// ( ///'///'// , OyT-i //// 7" CHAPTER II RE VIVAL ANEW era of Church life and work began when Henry Phillpotts was consecrated Bishop of Exeter in iS;i. He was a man of crreat bodily and mental vigour ; an acute thinker, and an able writer. His work, as a politician and a controversialist, does not belonij to this r)resent historv. What he did for Cornwall, in the gradual restoration of discipline and removal of abuses, may be orathered from the com- parison of the number of clergy resident and non- resident in 1830 and those in 1869, when his episco- pate ceased.^ It was little less than an ecclesiastical reform of the most drastic kind. In those days not a few new churches were built. The ancient ones were in many cases restored, not always, alas ! without serious damaoe to some of their most interestinof features, and with consequent loss of much of their beauty. Education was increasingly cared for. Train- inor Colleoes for Schoolmasters and Schoolmistresses were founded at Exeter and Truro. The influence of the Tractarian Movement, beginning at the very time that Bishop Phillpotts came to the Western Diocese, very soon made itself felt, even in the ^ See note at the end of this chapter. 23 24 THE BISHOPRIC OF TRURO remotest corners of Cornwall, as had been the case already in the most unexpected quarters elsewhere/ His vigorous enunciation of Church principles, and his strong" commanding championship of Catholic doctrine, won him many enthusiastic supporters amon^ the Cornish clercry. He was a steadfast friend of Dr. Pusey and many of the great Oxford leaders ; though, in the face of his strong opposition to papal claims, no one could justly accuse him of any undue sympathy with Rome, The presentation of the Vicar of a Cornish parish, the Rev. G. C. Gorham, of St. Just-in-Penwith, in June, 1847, by the Lord Chancellor, to the Vicarage of Brampford Speke, a livino' in Devonshire, o-ave rise to the famous con- troversy, which bore bitter and disastrous fruit in the secession of not a few devout and learned men from the Encrlish Church to the Communion of Rome. Bishop Phillpotts, after examining Mr, Gorham as to his tenets and belief, especially on the doctrine of Baptismal Regeneration, refused him institution. - The case was carried finally before the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council and given in Mr. Gorham's favour, though the propositions, on which that decision was based, w"ere not identical with the original statements made by Mr. Gorham to which ^ Dean Burgon speaks of "that great revival in the EngHsh Church, which the Rt. Hon. Thomas Grenville (1755-1846) characterised, as by far the most remarkable phenomenon which he had witnessed through- out his long career." — Lives of Twelve Good Men^ vol. ii. p. i. - The details of the examination and of the subsequent correspond- ence were given by Mr. Gorham in a volume published by Hatchard and Son, 1848. REVIVAL 25 the Bishop had objected. K\cn after the decision Dr. Phillpotts resolutely |)ersisted in his refusal to institute, and when the official of the Archbishop of Canterbury performed that ceremony, the Bishop of Exeter entered a solemn protest in the Court of Arches against the proceedings. The Synod of Exeter, summoned by Bishop Phillpotts with charac- teristic boldness and ecclesiastical independence of spirit, reaffirmed the ancient doctrine of the Catholic Church on Holy Baptism, and to some extent re- assured troubled minds. The synod was the precursor, and to some extent the cause, of that revival of synodical life in the Anglican Communion, not yet fully realised, which, fruni the year 1852 when Convocation met for discussion after a Ion"' silence of one hundred and thirty-five years, has been slowly but surely winning its way, both in the Church at home and in the Colonies. During Bishop Phillpotts' episcopate much interest- ing spiritual work was begun in Cornwall. The Devotional Conference for the Clerov, instituted in 1S69, mainly Ijy the efforts of the Rev. E. N. (now Prebendary) Dumbleton, met first in January, 1S70, and has been maintained with two annual o'citherino-s ever since, with excellent results. Education and Church endowments funds were started and eener- ously aided by the Bishop. In 1S63, through his munificence, the very fine theological library, now housed in Truro and largely augmented by later gifts from various donors, especially Prebendary Eord and 26 THE BISHOPRIC OF TRURO the Rev. F. Parker,^ was given to the clergy of Corn- wall. The inscription carved on the episcopal throne in Truro Cathedral, presented by clergymen ordained by him, expresses very well all that the Church owes to his faithful and vigorous rule. " Ad Dei gloriam cum pia memoria prassulatus Reverend! in Christo Patris Henrici Phillpotts S.T.P., Exoniensis Episcopi noni quinquagesimi, tarn in cura pastorali quam in doctrinae Catholicai defensione indefessi, Presbyteri, qui sacrum minis- terium sub ejus regimine exercuerant, banc Cathedrani in usum Truronensis Episcopi exstruendam curaverunt. "A.D. MDCCCLXXXVII." His interest in Cornwall showed itself in anxious forethouo-ht for the future establishment of a new bishopric in that county. The retention of a fifth endowed residentiary canonry at Exeter, when the new Ecclesiastical Commission was reducing all capi- tular establishments to the dead level of four residentiary canonries in each cathedral, is believed to have been the result of his advice and influence. He had in view the application of the endowment of this canonry towards the establishment of a Cornish bishopric, or else, what has since actually taken place at Truro, the foundation of one or more canonries in a future cathedral. He lent the aid of his great abilities to the first efforts that were made in the direction of the revival of a Cornish see, after the lapse of more than eight centuries. He had a full experience of the great difficulties of so large a diocese, with so many serious impediments in the ^ The bequest of the latter, who was Rector of Luffington, more than doubled the library. REVIVAL 27 way of trcivelliiiL;', at a time when the standard of episcopal duties was rapidly changinc:^ from that of scholarly leisure and dignified repose, to vigorous activity in every branch of Church work and admini- stration. He, ahnost as much as IJislKjp vSamuel Wilberforce of Oxford, deserved the title of " Re- modeller of the Episcopate";^ and, when he began his first work in Cornwall, soon after his consecration, with a visit to the Isles of Scilly, he was compelled to realise the extent of that orreat diocese which later on he endeavoured to subdivide. The foundation of the Cornish bishopric cannot be considered as an isolated event in the historv of the modern Church of England. The older bishoprics of England had had their origin within the boundaries of the earlv Enolish kino-doms. This will account, in the main, for the discrepancy in the size of many of the dioceses, as for instance, the small territory of the old See of Rochester, and the vast reo-ions ruled by the Bishop of Lincoln, at one time stretching from the H umber to the Thames. Some subdivision was made in the davs of Hcnrv \T1I., when the Sees of Gloucester, Bristol. Westminster, Oxford, Chester, and Peterborough were founded, out of the spoils of sreat monastic establishments. Crannicr wished for a still laro-er number, but did not succeed in ■ loosening the grasp of the royal spoiler upon other lands and possessions of the Church. Bodmin had indeed been named as the seat of a Cornish bishopric ' Dean Buigon's Lives of T^uclve Good Mm. 28 THE BISHOPRIC OF TRURO at that time, but the funds for its foundation were wanted for some royal favourite. W^estmlnster soon ceased to be an episcopal see, and it was not until the years 1836 and 1840, when drastic ecclesistical legislation took place, that any addition was made to the number of the bishoprics of England. Even then a proposal w^as made, though happily defeated, to combine the See of St. Asaph with Bangor, to suppress the See of Llandaff and that of Sodor and }ilan, in order that the Bishoprics of Manchester and Ripon might be founded. Bristol, however, was actuallv removed from the list of Eno'lish sees, to regain more than half a century later its separate existence, mainly through earnest and generous efforts of a noble band of Churchmen, lay and clerical, amone whom will never be forootten Archdeacon J. p. Norris, for some years Vicar of St. Mary's Redcliffe. Even after the foundation of the Sees of Manchester and Ripon, such jealousy of the influence of the Church was felt, that, in order to prevent any increase in the number of prelates who had seats in the House of Lords, the rule was made that, with the exception of the two Archbishops and the Bishops of London, Durham, and Winchester, the rest of the Bishops should receive a seat in rotation, according to the date of their consecration. But, under the inspiration of the great revival that resulted from, or was at all events contemporaneous with, the Oxford Movement, Churchmen everywhere were be«"inninor more and more to feel the q-reat REVIVAL 29 importance of r.aking the episcopal office a practical reality ; less of a desirable position of honour and emolument, and more of an apostolic ministry and labour. In India and the colonies bishoprics were being founded ; at first in Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa, and then in other and less prominent places ; and it was felt that England herself needed some serious reform in the episcopal oversight of the Church. In 1S47 a ])ill was introduced for the foundation of four new sees, and among these Bodmin was named as the seat of a new Cornish bishopric. This town is acrreeablv situated, has lono- been the Assize town, and includes several large and important public institutions. It has, moreover, an ancient ecclesiastical tradition, not only of its noble fifteenth- centurv church and the old Priorv that once stood close by, but in the records of the oriirinal church of St. Petroc, which was in all probability used as a cathedral by some of the earlier Cornish Bishops. But for practical purposes Bodmin was not a con- venient centre for the whole county. It lies far away from the o-reat mass of the minino- and seafaring- population, and for many years it had no railway station within several miles, while its population was much less than that of several other towns in Corn- wall. But, at all events, the I) ill for the formation of these four new bishoprics, introduced by Lord John Russell, came to nothing ; and so the question of the choice of an episcopal city was postponed. 30 THE BISHOPRIC OF TRURO Some years later, Bishop Phillpotts received an offer from Dr. Edmund Walker, Rector of St. Columb Major, of the advowson of that wealthy benefice, for the endowment of a new see in Cornwall or for the foundation of canonries. The Bishop was himself willing to resign ^500 a year of his income to further the scheme. The Cathedral Commission recommended the plan, and the Ecclesiastical Commissioners, at the suggestion of the Dean and Chapter of Exeter, were approached with the view of assigning an income out of old capitular property which included valuable lands in Cornwall. The names of two earnest men deserve to be remembered in connection with this effort. Prebendary Tatham and the Rev. Reginald Hobhouse, afterwards the first Archdeacon of Bodmin, wrote able pamphlets, held enthusiastic meetings, and actively stirred up a great and increasing interest. A memorial, largely signed by the clergy and laity of the diocese, was presented to Lord Palmerston in i860 by a deputation headed by the Earl of St. Germans. The Prime Minister of the day, popular as he was with the multitude, never had any deep interest in Church matters, nor much knowledge of the Church's needs. As is well known, he practically delegated to Lord Shaftesbury the task of selecting nominees for vacant bishoprics. Certainly he treated in a somewhat light and airy manner the proposal for satisfying the legitimate desires of Cornish Churchmen. Bishop Benson has recorded some recollections of this occasion. REVIVAL 31 " Sir M. S. had been one of the original deputation which waited on Lord Palmerston to urge a bishopric for Cornwall. He kept them long waiting, and came down unshaved, un- buckled, almost unwashed. To stop their mouths he said, ' First, gentlemen, you must have a church, a house, an estate. Where would you place him? Have you thought of that?' ' Oh yes,' one of the members broke out, ' all is ready. St. Columb, beautiful house built by Dr. Walker on purpose — large nucleus of endowments.' ' Gentlemen,' said Lord Palmerston, 'you must do what Mrs. Glasse said, first catch your hare ; you must first catch your Bishop.' "^ Perhaps the attempt to utilise St. Columl) and its revenues was not a very wise or practical one, and its defeat not greatly to be deplored. The situation was rather remote ; the church, though very interesting, quite inadequate for cathedral purposes. The rectory and its grounds would have made a charming episcopal residence ; but the little town could scarcely expect to rise to the dignity of a city. And so, for years discouraged but not in despair, men waited till better times, when a more enlightened appreciation of the growing requirements of the Church, should compel a proper solution of the difficulty. The "good Earl of Devon " was a prominent leader of these persistent efforts. There was also one faithful friend and counsellor, who himself was an earnest advocate for the increase of the home episcopate, who often cheered and encouraged the distressed and baffled Cornish Church- men, Dr. Christopher Wordsworth, Canon, and after- 1 Private Diar)'. 32 THE BISHOPRIC OF TRURO wards Archdeacon, of Westminster, and subsequendy Bishop of Lincohi. In his sermons, and even in his commentaries, he never lost an opportunity of pointing out the need of making the office of a Bishop more of a reality, by a wise subdivision of dioceses. To one who wrote to tell him of one of the above-mentioned failures, he replied from his vicarage of Stanford-in- the-Vale, " Let us not despair : fxera^v dijplow, fxera^u eeod." And then he went on to speak of " consolation and hope," through faith in "an heavenly Master, through the thorns and briars of contradiction and blasphemy to His heavenly grace. Our faith in Him is now being tried, and through His strength it will conquer." In 1 86 1 Lord Lyttelton made another earnest, but unsuccessful effort ; and in the following year the Cathedral Commissioners again urged the foundation of a Cornish see. The Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr. Longley, lent the aid of his personal influence and that of his hioh office to the cause, and took the trouble to visit Cornwall, that he might be able to press upon the Government, by his own experience of what he had seen and heard on the spot, the pressing necessity for a subdivision of the Western Diocese. But matters remained as before, until the year 1869, when Bishop Phillpotts died. The occasion was at once taken to urge upon the Government the need of separating Cornwall from Exeter, and so break up what had lono- been felt to be a most unwieldy diocese. Fresh petitions were signed and fresh REVIVAL 33 pamphlets written, but without avail ; and Ur. Temple, Head Master of Rugby, was appointed to the undivided Diocese of Exeter. Of the storm of feeling aroused at this appointment, on account of his authorship of one of the papers in the notorious volume, called Essays and Reviews, published nine years before, this is not the place to speak. He came into the West in the midst of much ecclesiastical resentment, but he won the hearts of the clergy and laity alike by his vigorous personality, his untiring energy and his Christian manliness. They were, as time went on, to learn the earnestness and truthfulness of his character, and to find in him a strongly-rooted faith that seemed to grow and expand more and more as the years passed by. Later on, he quite disarmed all suspicion of the soundness of his orthodoxy and the strength of his Church principles. Nothing can exceed the firm faith in the fundamental truths of Christianity, lucidly ex- pressed in his Bampton Lectures ; nothing could be more outspoken in defence of the Divine origin and character of the Church, than the sermon that he preached, many years later, at the evening service on the day of the consecration of Truro Cathedral. ^ The verv vigour of his administration soon made him realise the absolute necessity of a division of the diocese. The effort to bring this about, which had been so ably m:ide by Prebendary Tatham, was on his death in 1874 warmly renewed by Mr. Edmund 1 Catholictty ivid Ifuiivuiualistn, twelve sermons preached at the consecration of the Cathedral Church of Truro, pp. 14-22. D 34 THE BISHOPRIC OF TRURO Carlyon of St. Austell, to whom the whole Church in Cornwall owes a debt which it is almost impossible to estimate, not only on account of all that he accomplished for the foundation of the bishopric, but for equally valuable labours as Secretary of the Diocesan Con- ference of the new diocese, and later still of the Building Committee of Truro Cathedral. One of the happiest results of the foundation of the new see has been seen in the awakening of zeal, liberality and hard work for the Church, among a very large number of Cornish laymen. Dr. Temple saw that there was no hope of per- suading the State authorities to recognise the just claims of Cornwall to a share in ancient episcopal endowments for the purposes of creating a see in that county. " What do you want to do ? " he wrote. " To convert the Legislature, or to get the bishopric ? The former will, I can answer for it, take twenty years at least, even if you could do it in twenty years." But he not only gave good advice, but made a very important contribution towards the foundation of the Cornish bishopric by his surrender of ^800 of his episcopal income, and by his promise to hand over the episcopal patronage in Cornwall to the Bishop of the new see. This generous offer was announced at a meeting held at Plymouth on March 1st, 1875, and proved to be a great stimulus to further efforts on the part of those who were anxious to bring the matter to a successful issue. Once more a memorial, largely signed, was presented by a great deputation REVIVAL 35 of Cornish Churchmen, under the leadership of Dr. Temple, and was far more favourably received by Mr. Disraeli than a similar one had been twenty years before by the Prime Minister of the day. But it was not until a noble benefaction by Emily Lady Rolle, amounting to ^40,000, had been promised, that the committee appointed for the purpose was able to take definite steps to complete the scheme. Few, if any, of the wealthy sons and daughters of the Church have made so splendid an offering as this West-country lady consecrated to the service of God's Church. It perhaps can only be paralleled, or ex- ceeded, in modern times, by the foundation of several colonial sees by another generous Englishwoman, Lady Burdett-Coutts. It is interesting to note that there was a pleasant friendship and intercourse be- tween the first Bishop of the new see and its generous benefactress. In Dr. Benson's diary, on June 17th, 1882, it is written : — " Went and sat with my ancient foundress for half an hour, Lady Rolle. Very clear and very clever, and interested about all things ; full of old knowledge of Cornwall, and of horror at the people like X. Y., who (as she said) think the Bishops the last people who ought to have any authority." An instantaneous and enthusiastic response to this o-reat act of oenerositv was made bv manv private individuals, and by the Council of the Additional Home Bishoprics Endowment Fund. ^3,000 being ofiven from this last-named st)urce. On Au^'ust 1 ith, 1876, the patient faith and strenuous efforts of the 36 THE BISHOPRIC OF TRURO earnest Churchmen of Cornwall were at length re- warded, by the passing of the Bishopric of Truro Bill by which the see was founded. For thirty years the attempt had been made, again and again, to reverse the act of union of Cornwall with Devon under one Bishop, so far back as the eleventh century, and had at last been crowned with deserved success. Even then the resources of the new see were somewhat scanty and meagre. There was no cathedral, no collegiate church, as at Manchester, or Ripon, or Southwell ; no splendid abbey church, as at St. Albans, that could, at once and without question, become the central church of the diocese. Truro, for sufficient reasons already indicated above, com- mended itself as the most suitable town for the setting up of the " Bishop's stool." Situate on the main line of railway, easily accessible to the popula- tions of the chief minino- districts, as well as the sea- port of Falmouth ; besides being the most ancient municipal borough in Cornwall, and the seat of the then existing Stannaries Court, it had, for many years, been growing into something like a county town. Since that time, the holdino- of the meetings of the County Council at Truro has impressed upon it still more the character of the civil capital of the Duchy. But its church, the ancient sanctuary of a venerable municipality, with a history reaching far beyond the actual date of the existing fabric, which was erected in 1 518 on the same site as two previous churches had occupied, had no pretensions to any- REVIVAL 37 thing more than those of a fairly good specimen of an ordinary Cornish town church. There were no parochial resources that could form a nucleus for a cathedral establishment. The rectory was miserably endowed. There was no residence in the city that could be assigned as a "palace" to the new Bishop. The only prospective provision for the endowment of a residentiary chapter was the income of the fifth Canonry of Exeter of the value of /i,ooo a year, which did not, however, become available for several years afterwards. Nevertheless, the great achievement had been accomplished. Henceforth a Cornish Bishop was to rule the Cornish Church, and to give undivided attention to the oversight of that most important, interesting, and, at the same time, exceedingly difficult portion of the "Vineyard of the Lord." o S THE BISHOPRIC OF TRURO NOTE COMPARATIVE STATE OF THE DIOCESE IN REGARD TO NUMBERS AND RESIDENCES OF INCUMBENTS AND CURATES 1830 1850 1869 1876 1885 Incumbents Resident In Glebe House 85 ... 150 ... 178 ... 183 ... 195 In Licensed House, or in Parish. Incumbents No7i-Reside7tt By Exemption Otherwise ... Of Non-Resident Incumbents there\ were performing duties ... ...J ^ Curates of Non-Resident Incumbents "]■}) Curates of Resident Incumbents ... 14 Number of Clergy serving — Incumbents ... ... ... 104 Curates of Non-Resident In-\ cumbents ... ... ...J-^ Curates of Resident Incumbents 14 4 •■ . 25 ., • 00 •■ ,. 25 . .. 24 89 175 211 208 219 31 •• 61 .. . 8 .. . 17 .. • 7 •■ • 5 •• . II . ,. 14 . • • 7 .. 6 93 25 12 25 13 19 .. . 4 ■• . 14 .. . 5 47 •• . 50 .. . 51 .. . 78 80 .. . 217 .. . 215 .. ono 19 .. . 4 .. . 14 .. • 5 47 •• . 50 .. . 51 .. ,. 78 191 246 271 280 305 Parsonage Houses 150 ... 171 ... 190 ... 198 ... 210 ■"//} (.:/fi/-^LC C'v CHAPTER III THE FIRST BISHOP OF TRURO IT has already been noticed, that the position of the first Bishop of the newly created diocese had very few attractions to offer, beyond those of a new and interesting sphere of labour, with great oppor-tunities, and not a few obstacles. In spite of all the previous good work carried out by the last two Bishops of the undivided diocese, there was large scope for new organisation, fresh reforms and venturesome enter- prises. A large portion of the Cornish people still held the attitude of distrust and suspicion towards the Church, disbelieved in her spiritual character, and held aloof from her ministrations. To regain a hold for the Church, first on the respect, and then on the affection, of the people of Cornwall, was the great task laid upon the new Bishop. To extend, and in some degree to create, the machinery of Church work ; to seize upon the best elements of Cornish religious sentiment ; to direct strong emotionalism into sane directions ; to dissipate prejudice ; all this demanded a leader, wise, sympathetic and skilful. No hard parti- san, anxious to push a cut-and-dried scheme of Church work, no dreamy idealist, no man of mere shibboleths, 39 40 THE BISHOPRIC OF TRURO would have had a chance of success. What was wanted was one who could appreciate the individuality of the Cornish race, and take a real delight in its unique history ; who could make himself at home in the midst of new and quaint customs, strange and incongruous, very often, to the mind and taste of persons trained elsewhere under very different con- ditions. A great opportunity might have been lost, if the first Bishop of Truro had been a mere scholarly pedant, or a hard-and-fast organiser, or a rigid cham- pion of one narrow school of thought. To those who know anything of Cornwall it must always be a matter of great thankfulness, that so happy a choice was made, in the person of Edward White Benson, for the first Bishop of Truro. Born in the neighbourhood of Birmingham, he was educated at Kine Edward's School under Mr. Prince Lee, and had amonof his schoolfellows and intimate friends Joseph Barber Lightfoot and Brooke Foss Westcott. The great Midland hardware town held a high place in his affections. Late in life he thus spoke of it : — " How can any— how can I — look on this strong city of the Midlands and not feel the enchantment? How was it grow- ing when I knew it for fifteen years of happy life near it, and all the keenest interest of school life within it ! The dark haze of countless industries ever hanging over it, pierced by spire and dome ; the solemn music of its great hall and the noble roofs from which the look and memory of scholarly wisdom and aspiration will never be parted. Even so long ago we were ' citizens of no mean city.' " ^ '' Church Congress sermon at Birmingham in Fishers of Men, p. 140. THE FIRST BISHOP OF TRURO 41 Of the debt that he owed to the Head Master, whose memorv he cherished, and whose character and work he defended with a strong; affection, and sometimes with a passionate indignation, to the end of his life, he has left a touching record. " I know how ill my own boyhood it was the dissociation of labour from vexation, the unfailing kindly wit, the rapid illustration, the endless happy allusion to men and books and thincrs, the bricrhtness which flashed a cheer into a difficulty and made every knotty point of scholarship into a pleasure of the mind, only waiting to be realised : above all, it was never presenting to our minds the standard of an examina- tion ; the keeping before us that, if a subject was worthy of intense study, it was worthy in itself for its own sake. This was the spirit which took us all captive, and enamoured us of the eloquence, the knowledge, the insight of the ancient masters, and of the acutcness and precision of the Scholar- critics." ^ His career at Cambridge was marked by great self- denial, under the stress of very narrow means. He was a Subsizar of Trinity College, and held a small exhibition from Birminoham. That he was enabled to complete his course was due to the wise generosity of Francis Martin, Bursar, and afterwards Vice-Master of the College. His degree. Senior Uptime and Eighth Classic, was a disappointment to himself and to others, but his success as Senior Chancellor's Medallist made up for everything, and gave him his true place among the ablest men of his year. He was ordained Deacon in 1S53 and Priest in 1857. ^ "The Teacher's Freedom" in Liiing Theology^ by Archbishop Benson, 2nd edition, 1893, p. 47. Cf. Fishers of Mcti, pp. 72-4. 42 THE BISHOPRIC OF TRURO • His fellowship at Trinity did not keep him long in residence, and he went to Rugby as a Master, where he first was brought into contact with Dr. Temple, whose strong character greatly attracted and influenced him. In 1S59 he was elected first Head Master of the newly founded Wellington College. Here, his creative genius found ample scope for successful organisation and development of the new school, which has ever since held a high place among the great public schools of England. He made many friends among masters and boys, and favourably impressed Queen Victoria and the Prince Consort, who felt a keen interest in the prosperity of the College. The impression thus made was not without its influence in his selection for the successive offices of Bishop of Truro and Archbishop of Canterbury. One who knew him well, both at Rugby and Wel- lington, bears testimony to his ability as a teacher, and his success as an orijaniser. At the former school, he is said, in teaching the upper forms, to have united " two sfreat 2fifts, beino- clear and vio-orous in his style of teaching, and giving a general stimulus to the minds of his pupils. He taught and in the true sense of the word educated. . . ." At Wellington "difficulties were unusually great, but Dr. Benson, by clearness of purpose and by unfailing courtesy and teict, made them disappear. During his tenure of office, a marvellous change took place in the sandy waste which at first surrounded the College. The THE FIRST BISHOP OF TRURO 43 wilderness literally blossomed as the rose ; houses were built, L;'ardens laid out, roads were made. . . . The distino;uishino- mark of Dr. Benson's Headmaster- ship was his earnest desire to produce and fasten a reliGfious tone in the school." In describino' "the beauti- ful and striking' Chapel " and its services, the writer records the great attention paid to the hymns used and the book compiled for the College by Dr. Benson, and adds, "The effect of the whole was to feel — certainly, this College is meant to be a place of religious education, a training place, not only for this life, but for the higher life which is to come."^ The fifteen years spent at Wellington were to him (to use his own words) a time of "ever-increasing happiness."" The work was very congenial. He loved the very uphill labour that made his head- mastership something' of a leadership in a warlike conflict. He had to meet, from time to time, not a few difficulties arising out of questions of discipline and relioious teachincr. He was attacked from one side, as too extreme a High Churchman, and from another, as a Latitudinarian. There were perhaps some superficial grounds for these two contradictory impressions concerning him. While he never was in close sympathy with the Tractarian School, and had a singularly inadequate opinion of the great powers and commanding character of Newman, he was, nevertheless, from his earliest days, an enthusiastic ' "The Bishop-Designate of Truro," a paper by W. J. Tait, in The Church in Corfiwall, January, 1877, PP- -'S> -'9- - /.//f, p. 56r. 44 THE BISHOPRIC OF TRURO admirer of all that was great and noble in the history of the Catholic Church. He was possessed by an ever - increasino- interest in ^reat Churchmen, their lives, characters, and achievements. Men, like St. Cyprian and St. Hugh, fired his imagination, and compelled his veneration. He was passionately devoted to ancient cathedrals and everything con- nected with their constitution and worship ; he fully appreciated careful and reverent ceremonies ; was particular about the cut of a rochet, and indignant at unworthy heraldic details in the design for a seal.^ Very early in life he prayed for the revival of cathedrals. In early manhood he began to recite the canonical hours ; and, from a careful study of ancient Liturgies was led to see the beauty of prayers for the departed, and the authority for them in very early primitive days." But, on the other hand, the influence of such minds as Maurice and Kingsley moulded his character to a very considerable degree. The memory of the personality of the latter remained fresh and keen to the very end of his life. He thought the strong feeling roused by Dr. Colenso's writings needlessly exao-aerated and unbalanced, and even subscribed to a fund raised for the defence of the Bishop of Natal. This act, that has received strong adverse criticism, was probably inspired by his great natural sense of fairness, and not from any sympathy, either with ^ See note at the end of this chapter. - See Prayers Public and Private, by the Most Rev. E. W. Benson, sometime Archbishop of Canterbury, pp. 214, 223, 227. THE FIRST BISHOP OF TRURO 45 Dr. Colenso's views, or with the manner in which they were laid before the world and the Church. He criticised freely, and even severely, the now almost forgotten volume Essays and Reviews, but considered that Dr. Temple had been, without reason, implicated in the charge of unsoundness of doctrine, brought against all the seven writers, whose essays had been included in the book. He was never in sympathy with " Evangelicalism " as a party, or even as a school of thought, but at Wellington he adopted one of its modern innovations, Evening Communions, curiously combined, however, with language and ritual derived from a very different source. In later life he diverged altogether from this particular usage. And yet he could thoroughly understand and value much that the Evancrelicals held dear. He knew very well the great importance of that spiritual awakenine, which is involved in the word " conver- sion," however much it has become perverted and misused. He certainly came to realise, that, no clergyman had any chance of accomplishing any real spiritual work among the Cornish, who had not some true, real, inward experience of the soul, such as is often called by that name. At the same time, the shallow and merelv emotional excitement, that too often passes for a true "change of mind," met with no sort of encourao^ement from him. It was the next stage in his life that, beyond all the previous epochs in proportion to its length, moulded and trained his character. His appointment as 46 THE BISHOPRIC OF TRURO Chancellor and Canon Residentiary of Lincoln by Bishop Christopher Wordsworth, who had, in 1869, shortly after his consecration made him his Examining Chaplain and Prebendary of Heydour in his cathe- dral, brouo-ht him into close contact with one who was not only an accomplished scholar, biblical com- mentator, and learned theologian, but a Bishop whose ideal of his high office and admirable discharge of his episcopal duties have seldom been equalled. He has been well described " as a Churchman in every fibre of his beino- • he was also the soul of chivalrous honour, and of undoubted faith, with the touch of a Prophet upon him. ... It was a splendid type of consecrated scholarship."^ Benson came under the spell of this strong but sanctifying personality, and was greatly influenced by it. It is not too much to say, that, at Lincoln, he received a fresh kind of inspiration that restrained something of the strong impetuosity of his nature, and elevated and refined the whole tone of his character. It was here that, more fully than ever, there was developed in him that romantic love for cathedrals which had shown itself in his boyhood, which led him to take exultant delifrht in the noble buildings at Rheims and Amiens, and now in the glorious Minster crowning the hill of the old Roman city. Later on it showed itself in the absorbing keenness with which he gave himself to plan every detail of his "own dear Cathedral at 1 Canon Scott Holland, Journal of Theological Studies, October, 1900, vol. ii., No. 5. THE FIRST BISHOP OF TRURO 47 Truro." At Lincoln he studiecl, with reverent care ;ind intelligent historic insight, the statutes of the ancient Minster. He made these the basis and model of those statutes at Truro which, though even now possessing no actual legal force, have been ever care- fully studied and obeyed, by those who worked with him and followed him in the Cornish Cathedral. It was at Lincoln that he learned to understand and value the all-important place that the cathedral once occupied in tlie ancient Church, and gathered material for his plans for the revival, in our own day, of the influence that the Mother Church ought to exercise throughout the diocese, which he developed in his book The CathedTnl, and in his visitation charges and conference addresses, first at Truro and afterwards at Canterbury. It was at Lincoln, too, that he had his first actual experience of pastoral work in a city, for which his previous life at Cambridge, Rugby, and Wellington had given him little or no opportunity. Now he threw himself into the work of night schools, temperance meetings, special missions. He had close intercourse, and even friendships, with lads and men, artisans, and others ; and in his afternoon sermons, in the nave of the Minster, preached gener- ally from slight notes, he attracted and impressed large congregations of people of the middle class. By some short remarkable expositions of St. John's Gospel at early morning prayers, twice a week, he touched other classes. Two important features of 48 THE BISHOPRIC OF TRURO his life at Lincoln, both of which trained him for his future work in Cornwall, were the restoration of the Scholcr Cancellarii, and the formation of the Society of Mission Preachers, afterwards known from its motto, taken from the Vulgate of Hosea x, 12, chosen by himself, as the " Novate novale,' " Break up your fallow ofround." The Scholce Canccllarii was an ancient institution for the training of candidates for Holy Orders, that had existed in old times as a part of the foundation of many cathedrals, both on the Continent and in England, the head of which had generally been the Chancellor of the Church. Benson, holdins: this office at Lincoln, felt impelled to revive the ancient Chancellor's school. He threw himself into it with ardour and delight. He took great pains with the preparation of his lectures, and drew up an admirable little manual on reading and prayers, called Vigilemus et Orennis, for the use of the students. The " prac- tical hints" on "how to begin and end a subject," "how to prepare for lectures," contain excellent advice, not only for theological students, but also for clergymen of all stages of experience. He laid great stress on "reading aloud," and recommended the reading of Greek and Latin writers in this way, as well as the great masters of English. It is charac- teristic of him to give the advice, " read authorities whom you love." He endeavoured to foster the life of prayer and meditation, and his counsels on "orderly devotions," and "a sense of God's loving presence," THE FIRST BISHOP OF TRURO 49 made it quite clear that, in his opinion, these were " conditions " without which study would prove barren and useless. In the development of the Scholae he was happy in hnding sympathetic colleagues in Canons Crowfoot and Worlledafe. The Society of Mission Priests, which was founded in 1876, had the advantage of his guiding hand as first Warden. The first fruit of the society was a ofeneral mission throuQfhout the citv of Lincoln earlv in 1876, The Chancellor took a prominent part in it. The effect upon the people was great, but not greater than the effect upon himself Dr. Mason, afterwards so closely connected with him in his work in Cornwall, has described this as "a oreat cominor out into the directness and freedom of spiritual ministrv, which was so much needed for success in Cornwall." This was indeed a time when he, and those closely connected with him, came under special influences of teaching about personal religion that are usually called "evangelical." There was opened out that side of spiritual truth, which must be the complement of dogmatic and ecclesiastical ortho- doxy, if the Christian is to be truly "perfect" and "throughly furnished," There were those at Lin- coln who were able to contribute towards the realisation of this most valuable and precious side of truth, which, instead of contradicting the reality of sacramental grace, enables the soul to use ev^ery ordinance of the Church with a keener and more fervent desire to become increasingly united with £ 50 THE BISHOPRIC OF TRURO the beloved and adorable Person of the Incarnate Lord and Saviour. This side of truth belongs not to a sect or school of thought, but is the heritage of the saints and a priceless element of the Catholic Faith ; it finds its expression in the devotions of Thomas a Kempis, as well as in the hymns and sermons of St. Bernard. And so he and his, thus illuminated and enlarged, were all the better fitted for that great opportunity and work, that was awaiting him among those people of warm religious instincts, over whom he was so soon to be called to rule. This life at Lincoln has been described "in years a very short one ; but, like his life as a whole, it was a very full one." And it certainly formed a most admirable time of preparation and training for what was, perhaps, the most striking and characteristic epoch of his life, the six years of his episcopate in Cornwall. " He never got nearer to the flesh and blood of average men than he did in those few years at Lincoln. And this told on him. It opened fresh doors. It taught him his powers. It softened and enheartened him . . . the spiritual transformation that was begun at Lincoln was completed at Truro." The announcement that Dr. Benson had received the offer of the Bishopric of Truro aroused great interest everywhere, and in Lincoln was received with no little regret. His stay there had been only too short, and he had begun many things that, perhaps, another Chancellor might not be able to THE FIRST BISHOP OF TRURO 51 carry out. He himself hesitated at first, but the opinions of his nearest friends were unanimous in favour of his acceptance of the office. And so he prepared himself to take the next great step in the advancing progress of his life's work. Before he left Lincoln, the students and tutors of the Scholcc Cancellarii presented him with a hand- some pastoral staff of Celtic design, which he used for nearly twenty years in his dioceses of Truro and Canterbury, and which now occupies a niche in the southern or "Benson" transept of Truro Cathedral. Underneath is a brass with the following inscription, composed by his son, Mr. A. C. Benson : — " This pastoral staff was presented to Edward White Benson, first Bishop of Truro and ninety-second Archbishop of Canterbur)-, by the Tutors and Students of the ScholcB Cancellarii at Lincoln, Wednesday, 21st March, 1877, and borne by him for a sign, that he should, as a Father in God, rule with diligence and guide with love. It comforted his ministries for nearly 20 years, and was by him bequeathed to his own most dear Cathedral Church, a.d. 1896." He received also a pectoral cross and a ring, now deposited in a case with other memorials in the chapter room of Truro Cathedral, from the Society of Mission Clergy ; a service of silver plate from the city of Lincoln, and a set of dessert dishes of bronzed metal from a Bible-class of mechanics. When the third Bishop of Truro was about to be enthroned, and the pastoral staff which he now uses in the diocese was not yet ready. Dr. Benson was 52 THE BISHOTRIC OF TRURO asked to lend his staff for the occasion. His charac- teristic and humorous letter, granting a somewhat reluctant permission, is given in his Life.^ The first Bishop of Truro was consecrated by Archbishop Tait in St. Paul's Cathedral on St. Mark's Day, April 25th, 1877. This festival has, in later days, gained for English Churchmen a fresh significance as the birthday of John Keble and the foundation day of the great college at Oxford that commemorates his name and holy life. For Cornish Churchmen it will long possess a special and sacred interest. For on this clay Cornwall once more re- gained its ecclesiastical individuality, when the first of a new line of Cornish Bishops was consecrated to his office. Six vears later, this interest was renewed afresh, when, on the same festival, the second Bishop of Truro was sent forth to fill the throne, left vacant by the elevation of the first to the Primacy of All England. Dr. Benson was presented by two Bishops specially connected with himself and his work, Bishop Wordsworth of Lincoln and Bishop Temple of Exeter. That the former should have undertaken this office was the natural sequence of their fellowship in Church work at Lincoln : and it was very fitting that the latter should do the same, as the Bishop of the undivided Western See and as his old Rugby friend. That the two should thus act too'ether was a happy circumstance and symbol of unity, when it is remembered that, eight years before. Dr. Words- ' P- 434- THE FIRST BISHOP OF TRURO 53 worth felt it to be his duty to oppose the appoint- ment of Dr. Temple to the See of Exeter. Canon Licrhtfoot, his schoolfellow and lifelong friend, preached the sermon, remarkable for its eloquence, "in a voice broken with emotion." After the consecration Dean Church sent the new Bishop on his way with sanguine words of happy augury : — " I hope you may be permitted to add in Cornwall another to the many victories, which the revived English Church has achieved, and which, in spite of disasters, and man\' troubles, make it the most glorious Church in Chdstendom."^ The Bishop's enthronement at Truro, on the festival of St. Philip and St. James, May ist, was the occasion of oreat rejoicing. Finis coronat opus was felt to be the true expression of many a Cornish Churchman's joy at the fulfilment of long-deferred hopes. The authorities of the county and the city, the Lord Lieutenant (the Earl of Mount Edgcumbe), the High Sheriff (Mr. Jonathan Rashleigh), the Mayor of Truro (Mr. J. G. Chilcott), and a great company of leading laymen, united with the clergy of the diocese, in orivinof a true Cornish welcome to their new Bishop, introduced by their tried and well-beloved friend and pastor, the Bishop of Exeter. The service of enthrone- ment in St. Mary's Church was dignified and stately. The new Bishop was received by the Rector, the Rev. C. Fox Harvey, the churchwardens, and other officials. The Bishop of Exeter enthroned him, and 1 Dean Church's Life and Letters, p. 257. 54 THE BISHOPRIC OF TRURO then he celebrated the Holy Eucharist and preached his tirst sermon from the text, St. John xvii. 21, "That thev all may be one." It was a strikino- setting- forth of the power of Christian unity, and an affectionate call to Cornish Christians to consider the disastrous results of religious separation, and to work and pray for a restoration of the unity that had been lost. He summed up the plan of his work as follows : " Perfect Life, positive Teaching, fearless Labour. These three words sketch the chart of our spiritual campaign. The weapons God Himself pro- vides — daily grace and growing knowledge." At Evensong the preacher was Archdeacon Earle, of Totnes,^ Vice-Chairman of the Bishopric Committee, who commended the Bishop and his great work to the Church in Cornwall, and to the affectionate and willing obedience and co-operation of those who were now his flock. And so, if in one sense a great work had been accomplished by generous sacrifice and hopeful per- sistence, yet, in another, a great and serious responsi- bility was laid upon him who had been given to Cornwall as its chief pastor, to gather together in disciplined order, and lead onward, the forces of the Church in faith and patience, towards a victorious triumph of truth over error, and holiness over sin. ^ Afterwards Bishop Suffragan of Marlborough and Dean of Exeter : his efforts, at a peculiar crisis, were of invaluable service in securing funds for the See of Truro. THE FIRST BISHOP OF TRURO 55 NOTE ON THE ARMS OF THE BISHOPRIC OF TRURO. The Arms of the See of Truro involved 1 )r. Benson, immediately upon the publication of his nomination, in a long and intricate correspondence. Through the Earl of Devon, Mr. Stephen 'I'ucker, who was at the time Rouge-Croix Pursuivant of the College of Arms, expressed a desire " to design and pass the Patent for the Arms of the new Cornish Bishopric." At St. Germans, on a carved oak fragment of a thirteenth-century bench-end, there is a shield charged with key and sword in saltire with wards and hilt upward, which was supposed to be the Arms of the old Cornish Bishopric, but, as Rouge Croix truly observed, " Whether the seat of that See was at Bodmin or St. Germans, 1 think we may safely assume that it was extinct before the time when any heraldic cognisance could have been associated with it." The saltire ^///i?5- on a field argent was even- tually adopted to signify, as it is St. Patrick's Cross, the Early Irish, or more correctly Scotic Christianity, which gave rise to the Cornish Episcopate, but it does not seem to have occurred either to the Heralds' College, or anyone else, at the time, that the key and sword also most fitly introduced into the Truro Arms are far more likely to have had some connexion with the Arms of Exeter^ than to have been even a medieval sign of the old Cornish Bishopric. Into all the details of the Arms, Dr. Benson entered with the utmost minuteness, but certain suggestions appear to have caused quite a disturbance in the corporation of the Heralds' College. Prebendary J- F. Wickenden put all his accurate know- ledge into the discussion; Professor Westcott, in a singularly interesting and characteristic letter, offered his suggestions. Garter King-at-Arms took alarm at any representation of the Blessed Virgin Mary — the dedication of the Cathedral Church— finding a place in the coat, so apprehensive was he of any Romanising tendencies, while a long discussion ensued on the impaling of the Benson family Arms {argent, a quatrefoil between two trefoils slipt • sable, between four bendlets gides). Prebendary Wickenden desired a simpler coat, and illustrated his arguments by an amusing descrip- tion of the Arms of the Bishopric of Worcester (as they might have • The position of the key and sword is peculiar, and not unlike the coat of the Priory of Plympton, of which it may be an inaccurate representation. That great priory was near St. Germans. 56 THE BISHOPRIC OF TRURO been) in "the historico-Victorian style," in contrast with the Arms of that See "as they are happily." However, at last, after a correspondence of more than three months' duration, the coat was completed, and the following description from the pen of Bishop Benson will be read with interest : — "The following bearings have been assigned by the College of Heralds under the warrant of the hereditary Earl Marshal to the Bishopric of Truro. ^Argetit on a saltire gules, a key ward upwards and a sword hilt upwards salterwise or, in base a fleur-de-lys sable} The whole within the bordure of Cornwall, viz. sable, fifteen bezants.' Such regard as was possible has been had to the high antiquity of the Cornish See. From primitive centuries British Bishops ruled in Cornwall. . . . The saltire gules is the earliest heraldic symbol of the Celtic Church, and as such is borne on the cross of Saint Patrick. The bordure sable with its fifteen bezants is the oldest form of the famous cognisance of Cornwall, and was thus borne by the King of the Romans in the thirteenth century. More recently the Princes of Wales have borne the bezants on a sable shield. The cross, sword, and key are from a unique shield in the church of St. Germans, traditionally indicating the seat of the Bishops there, in a fashion not unusual after the general adop- tion of heraldic devices. The fleur-de-lys, as a difference, symbol- ises the transference of the Cathedral to St. Mary's, at Truro. It has a corresponding reference in the Arms of the City of Lincoln." The Bishop afterwards summarised the correspondence in an amusing dramatic sketch entitled, " How they made him a coat of many colours," in which the many distinguished personages involved in the controversy all figure, and the variety of opinions expressed are skilfully hit off. With equal care the design of the Episcopal See was elaborated in correspondence with Messrs. J. S. and A. B. Wyon and Preb- endary Wickenden, and within a few months of the Bishop's arrival in Truro, when in September, 1877, by Letters Patent, the town Avas raised to the rank of a city, the Mayor turned to him for counsel as to a motto for the City Arms. A draft of his reply, written, corrected, and re-written with his usual care remains. ^ The Rev. W. Jago, f.S.a., of Bodmin, has explained that the lily of the Blessed Virgin Mary is depicted sable, because the field of the shield of Cornwall was of that tincture, and the lily had to be placed on the argent ground of the entire composition. THE FIRST BISHOP OF TRURO 57 "I thought," he wrote, "we ought to have in our motto an allusion (i) to the elevation of the town into the city; (2) to the religious feeling with which we regard the city and its duty (most old mottoes have a touch of ancient piety in them) ; (3) if possible, a verbal allusion. It is quite the character of our older mottoes. I venture, therefore, to submit to your consideration, before it goes to your committee, words from 1 Samuel ii. i, Exaltatum Cornu in Deo— Hannah's Song, 'Mine horn is exalted in the Lord.' The Cornu giving an allusion to Cornubia, and is by some people thought to be the origin of the word (in some Celtic co-relative) Horn being used for a cape or promontory. Perhaps, too, it is craceful for Truro to wish to share her honour with all Cornwall, as if she felt that all Cornwall would rejoice with her."^ ^ This note has been supplied by Chancellor Worlledge. CHAPTER IV LAYING THE FOUNDATIONS AS has already been stated, there was no episcopal L palace provided in the city of Truro, and the residence of the Bishop was fixed at Kenwyn Vicarage, surrounded by ample grounds about a mile out of Truro, with a very agreeable aspect, and conveniently situated. During one of his visits to Cornwall, John Wesley was a guest at Kenwyn Vicarage, and de- scribed it in his Journal as "fit for a nobleman."^ This, though perhaps not untrue of the environment and the grounds, is, as regards the house, an exaggerated and misleading description ; for, before it could be made suitable for an episcopal residence, a fund had to be raised out of which a library and some additional rooms and offices were built. But even now, the house is inadequate for its purpose ; there is no real chapel, and quite insuf^cient accommodation for re- ceiving candidates for Holy Orders and other guests. But the place has many charms, and the Bishop and his family spent many happy days there. The view 1 "Sept. 1787, Mon. loth. I went to Mr. Mill's, the Rector of Kenwyn, half a mile from Truro ; a house fit for a nobleman ; and the most beautifully situated of any I have seen in the zo\x\\\>j'P— Wesley's Jourtial, edition 1864, vol. iv. p. 382. 58 LAYING THE FOUNDATIONS 59 of the Truro river, the pleasant walks and rides, and above all the cjuict and peaceful services " in the dimly lighted silent church," had great attractions. Dr. Benson called the house " Lis Escop," the old Cornish equivalent for " Bishop's Court." The name has been reproduced in a far-off Queensland diocese, just as the Cathedral of Truro, its services and its statutes, have served as models to more than one colonial bishopric at the Antipodes. The Bishop and his family entered warmly into the work of the parish where they lived ; he, Mrs. Benson, and their children worshipped at Kenwyn Church more often than at Truro, where his Cathedral w^as, though he himself, when not eno-aored elsewhere in the diocese, was generally present at St. INIary's Church in the city once on a Sunday. He has recorded that he had preached, on each Friday in the Advent of 1878, a course of sermons "on pre- paration for the Christmas Communion." His sub- jects were, "The way and the tree of life"; "The pure offering"; "The One Altar [Hebrews] of the Cross"; and adds, "I had some of Wesley's Sacra- mental Hymns printed to be sung."^ A year or two later he gave a well-remembered series of addresses on his favourite St. Cyprian. But he felt the somewhat anomalous position of a Bishop in relation to a cathedral, which was to all intents and purposes still a parochial church. The difficulties of the situation are, to some extent, ex- ' Diary. 6o THE BISHOPRIC OF TRURO pressed in a letter addressed by Bishop Benson to the Cathedral Establishment Commissioners,^ where he makes certain suo-o-estions for the reconciliation to be effected between the conflicting interests of cathedral and parish, which eventually formed, through the report of the Commissioners (1883), the basis for the Act of Parliament" which established the present condition of things at Truro. It cannot be denied that, in those early days, and indeed for some time after- wards, the situation was a very perplexing one. On the one hand, the Bishop and the Canons were eager to evolve and develop the capitular system, and make the cathedral a real and vigorous diocesan centre. On the other hand, the parochial authorities felt it in- cumbent on them to protect the individuality and rights of an ancient parish, with interesting character- istics, and long-standing traditions. These circum- stances, however, perhaps only acted as an additional stimulus to that ardent desire of Bishop Benson to found a true cathedral, which happily he was able to accomplish with so much success, with so little opposition, and within so comparatively short a time. Dr. Benson was particularly fortunate in the friends and companions who came with him into Cornwall ; or perhaps it would be more just to say, that he possessed, in a remarkable degree, the gift, so neces- ^ " Her Majesty's Commissioners for inquiring into the condition of Cathedral Churches in England and Wales," appointed 1879. ^ Truro Bishopric and Chapter Acts Amendment Act, 1887 (50 and 51 Vict. ch. 12). LAYING THE FOUNDATIONS 6i sary to a ruler and a statesman, of choosing able and congenial fellow-workers. Arthur J, Mason, Fellow of Trinity, Cambridge, served him as a son with a father, and, like G. H. Whitaker, Fellow of St. John's, had been an assistant master at Wellington under him. John Andrewes Reeve, afterwards successively Vicar of St. Just and Addington and Rector of Lambeth, became his intimate friend and close neigh- bour as Curate of Kenwyn. Later, George Howard Wilkinson, Vicar of St. Peter's, Eaton Square, was appointed one of his Examining Chaplains, and eventually became his successor as second Bishop of Truro. How great was the value to the new Bishop of these able and earnest men, may be gathered from one of his early letters from Kenwyn. " What brave helpers He bestows upon us, as it were direct from heaven ! Mason to spread the fire, Whitaker to broaden knowledge, Wilkinson to deepen and deepen us all without stopping." ^ How much spiritual power he recognised in him who became his immediate successor may be learned from the followino- extract from a letter : — " The candidates for Orders are here now, and Mr. Wilkin- son, of St. Peter's, Eaton Square, is staying with us, and is, oh ! such a holy man of God. He made us all not merely have, but keep tears in our eyes. Not by anything particular, but by simply making us feel the truth and greatness of the work to be done for Jesus Christ, and the poor creatures we are, in working out the Kingdom of God, though God Him- self gives us such storehouses of power if we will only draw ' Life^ abridged edition, p. 1 84. 62 THE BISHOPRIC OF TRURO from them. 'Nothing impossible waits you,' he said. And he brought out wonderfully the power of one single soul for good on the society about it, if it's really in simple earnest, and sees things as they arc. He made the next world seem (as it is) all ready to burst in on this, and the separation so slight." But it must not be supposed that the new Bishop was compelled to import able and enthusiastic workers, because there were no men among the existing Cornish clergy who were worthy of being called to his coun- sels, or of becoming fellow-helpers with him in his great work of organising the newly created diocese. There had been, as Bishop Benson always recognised and repeatedly said to Dr. Mason, for many years excellent Priests, appointed to their benefices either by private patrons like the Rev, W, P, Chappel, Rector of Camborne (who for more than forty years did an excellent work in a very difficult parish), or the Rev, R. F. Wise, Rector of Ladock, or the Rev. R. H. K. Buck, Rector of St. Dominic ; or appointed by colleges, like the Rev. Paul Bush, successor to Dean Scott (Master of Balliol and Dean of Rochester). There were earnest workers like Saltren Rogers, the amiable cultured Vicar of Gwennap ; the Rev. G. Martin, d.d., of St. Breward ; the Rev. R, Martin, of Menheniot ; the Rev. A, Mills, at St, Erth ; the Rev. J, Balmer Jones, at St, Ives; the Rev. F, Hockin, Rector of Phillack with Gwithian for nearly half a century, a man of learning, generous in gifts to the Church and the poor, an excellent Parish Priest, Proctor in Convocation, and Dean Rural of Penwith, LAYING THE FOUNDATIONS 63 afterwards Canon of Truro, author of many useful pamphlets and books ; the Rev. C. R. Sowell, at St. Goran ; the Rev. T. Lockyer Williams, at Porthleven ; to name only a few, who held up a high standard of clerical life and work with excellent results. The new-comers brought fresh zeal and fervour, which quickened these older labourers, and cheered them in their difficult work.^ There were three principal spheres in which the new Bishop planned his schemes of activity, (i) Education, and specially the training of the clergy. (2) Awakening of the spiritual life of the people in Church-like fashion, through parochial missions and kindred agencies. (3) Organisation of the diocese, by the unifying and inspiring influences of a cathedral. Without attempting to follow out a stricdy chrono- logical history of the way in which each of these parts of the new Bishop's great plan of a spiritual campaign was oro-anised, set on foot, and carried out, some slight sketch of each will now be laid before the reader. It was not lono- after his arrival in Truro, that the first steps were taken to form the Theological College, ' Among the clergy of Cornwall who have been distinguished for scholarly and literary work during the last quarter of a century should be mentioned, besides Dr. :Mason and Canon Whitaker, the Rev. A. J. Worlledge, Canon and Chancellor of Truro Cathedral, author of Prayer in the " Oxford Library of Practical Theology" ; Canon C. E. Hammond, Vicar of Menhcniot, author of Outlines of Textual Criticism, and Liturgies, Eastern and \Vester7t; Canon J. Hanmiond, \'icar of St. Austell, author of Church and Chapel, and other works ; the Rev. Dr. Eagar, Vicar of Manaccan, author of Butler's Analogy and Modern Thought; the Rev. G. H. S. Walpole, author of Daily Teachings of the Christian Year, a Commentary on Joshua, and other valuable works. 64 THE BISHOPRIC OF TRURO or Scho/(r Canccllarii, on very much the same plan as had been followed at Lincoln, though under far less favourable conditions. There was none of the pres- tige of an old cathedral city, no endowments for a Chancellor or Tutor, no buildino- of a suitable character in the city. But Dr. Benson was not deterred by any difficulties, nor discouraged by any lack of re- sources. Canon Mason was selected to becrin the work of instruction. Of him one of the earliest students thus writes : — " I remember the impression produced by Canon Mason on me when I first saw him in the Hbrary of the Hostel, and the way in which he pointed out the need of whole-hearted consecration to the service of the Church. In a letter written to me at Christmas 1877, I remember his defining personal faith as ' the sober, serious, responsible way of regarding unseen things, which the Bible calls faith.' This definition has never been forgotten by me. ... His sermons were ' town talk,' especially a course on the Holy Catholic Apostolic Church. ... I do not suppose that there ever was in Truro, so outspoken an advocate for the distinctive doctrine and practice of the English Church, as Canon Mason in those early days. He did not scruple to speak openly and plainly of the differences between Church and Dissent, yet I doubt if any man has ever been so respected, and even beloved, by Nonconformists, ministers as well as people."^ Another early student states that, in those days, " some of the men thoucrht it the correct thinor to copy Mason in everything — the tone of his voice, his walk, and even made vain attempts to wear their 1 From a letter sent by the Rev. F. W. Newman, Vicar of St. George's, Truro. LAYING THE FOUNDATIONS 65 hair in tlie same way." The same correspondent writes that, in the early part of the year after the opening of the College, " Mason told me that they had secured the best Chancellor in England for Truro, and when W'hitaker came he at once won all our hearts."^ I am indebted to the Re\'. j. Isabell, formerly Rector of St. Sennen, for the following; interesting reminiscences of the early days of the Scholce Cancellarii : — " I saw Dr. Benson in the room behind the S.P.C.K. depot in the summer of 1S77, and was, to all intents and purposes, admitted then and there as the first member of the projected Scholcs Cancellarii. The Scholce was actually inaugurated in October of that year, by a celebration of the Holy Com- munion in the old St. Mary's Church, followed by a solemn address by the Rev. A. J. Mason. The service was held at 7.30 a.m. on a very dark morning. The church was dimly lighted, and I believe the congregation consisted only of the above-named, together with Mrs. Benney and Jackson the Verger. The somewhat weird scene has left an indelible impression on my memory. " Lectures were given, during the first term, in a little back room of the Hostel (lo, Strangways Terrace), by Mason and Walpole ; the first-named taking as his subjects the Gospel of St. Matthew, the Apostles' Creed, and Earl}' Church Histon,', and the second dealing with the Psalms, The gospel was treated with microscopic minuteness, the whole of the first term being taken up with the first two or three chanters. " After Christmas Whitaker came, and Mason ceased to take part in the training of the students. Under W'hitaker's rule students came rapidly ; and at the beginning, I think, of the third term, there were about twenty in residence. ' The Rev. J. J. Murlcy, \'icar of St Day. F 66 THE BISHOPRIC OF TRURO "At the beginning of 1878, Canon Moor of St. Clement's formed a small class for Hebrew, attended by Newman, Behenna, and Isabell. "Weekly sermons on prescribed subjects were required from the beginning ; the first text given by Canon Mason being ' The Gospel of, the Kingdom,' suggested probably by his lectures on St. Matthew's Gospel. Westcott's Introduc- tion to the Study of the Gospels was used at an early date, but was afterwards abandoned as being too stiff for the average man. " Whitaker's early subjects included St. Cyprian's De Oratiofie Dominica, a very able summary of Hardwick's History of the TJiirty-jiine Articles, -axx^ lectures on the Gospel of St. Matthew in a less concentrated form. " Beyond having the students to dine with him once or twice, the Bishop rarely came into contact with them, though he was kept well informed of their doings. I do not remember seeing him in the lecture-room more than once or twice. "The first four men to complete the full two years' training were Behenna, Isabell, Lock, and Newman. They took ' the Preliminary Examination for Holy Orders ' in October, 1879, and all passed, two obtaining firsts. "Just after the death of Martin White Benson,^ Bishop Wordsworth gave Bishop Benson his Commentary on the New Testament for one of his students, in memory of the lad, and Dr. Benson offered it to the man of the ScholcB Cancellarii who should pass the best examination in Priest's Orders. The book is now in the possession of John Isabell, and bears the inscription, ' In memoriam Martini White Benson, tov juuKupiTou,' together with the signatures of both Bishops. " Parish work was undertaken by the students, almost from the first, together with services and- addresses at St. Mary's Mission Chapel. Whitaker extended this work to Kenwyn, St. Clement's, St. John's, etc., himself preaching the first sermon in the Fairmantle Street Schoolroom." ' Sec chapter ix. pp. 172 seq. LAYING THE FOUNDATIONS 67 The writer of the above interestini;- statement was doubtless accurate in his remarks on the infrequent presence of Bishop Benson at the lectures, or indeed at the whole daily routine of the Scholar Cancellarii. But it must not be inferred that his interest in its work was slight, or his knowledge of its progress superficial. He felt that he was able thoroughly to trust those to whom he had committed its discipline and teaching ; and, like a wise ruler, he knew that it was his place to watch over it and pray over it, unseen and unheard as far as possible. But, from time to time, he showed himself keenly, and even passion- ately, alive to the merits and also the faults and defects of the students. And he could praise and rebuke with his well-known justice and generosity when occasion required. It was like himself, with all his large grasp of great principles combined with a careful attention to details, to devise the Colleofe hood of black stuff trimmed with grey fur, and keenly to resent, years afterwards, a suggestion to alter it for some ambiguous type with a coloured edging. What were Dr. Benson's own feelini:s towards the Truro Scliolcc Cancellarii may be gathered from the letter of farewell, addressed to its members on his departure from Cornwall. "Lambeth Palace, S.E., ''July 20th, 1 88 3. " Mv DEAR Friends, Students of the Chancellor's School at Truro, " I have just received and worn for some days the noble engraved sapphire signet, which you have, with so 68 THE BISHOPRIC OF TRURO much love, given me. It is my wedding ring to my new See ; and I rejoice to think that you, as it were, constitute yourselves to be ' The Bridegroom's Friend,' and have marked his wedding by this most perfect gift. . " I cannot attempt to describe it, except by saying that it incessantly reminds me of ' the body of heaven in his clear- ness,' like the sapphire which the elders saw ; and that the engraving of it is exquisite in execution and design — but an}^ of }'ou who will come to see it in digito annulai'i will be indeed welcome. " I feel how little I did, or could do, for you while at Truro, save by my poor prayers, which you had and have frequently still ; but I know that you share with me a dev'oted love for the Chancellor, and my real help to you is, that I have placed you in contact with a character and gifts, which must always bind together those who have lived and worked near him. " Once more thanking you most affectionately, and feeling sure that you will always do what I have most at heart, viz. that you yourselves should keep the love of your College, both whilst you are in it, and by personal interest in it when you have left it, pure and high and bright with all the associations which it is in your power to invest it with, and praying that every one of you may in His time prove himself 'an able minister of the New Testament' in Christ Jesus, " I remain, " Your devoted friend, "Edw: Cantuar:" The work of the Scholcc Cancellaidi continued for many years with considerable though varied success. After Bishop Benson succeeded to the primacy, Canon Whitaker remained at its head for a year or two longer, till 1885 ; but being recalled to Cambridge to take up duties at St. John's College, of which he was LAYING THE FOUNDATIONS 69 Fellow, the Rev. J. F. Keating (now Pantonian Pro- fessor of Theology, and Chancellor of St. ?^Iary's Cathedral, Fdinburgh) acted as Principal for nearly two years, until the appointment of the second Chancellor, the Rev. A. J. Worlledge, formerly Canon of Lincoln and Tutor at the Lincoln ScJiolcc Cancel- larii, and afterwards Principal of the Clergy School at Leeds. The Theolooical School at Truro has had some able tutors: the Rev. G. H. S. Walpole, first Suc- centor of Truro Cathedral, and at present Principal of St. Bede's Training College, Durham ; the Rev. H. O. F. Whittinostall, first Vice-Chancellor of Truro Cathedral, afterwards Vicar of Great Marlow and now Rector of Chalfont St. Giles ; the Rev. C. H. Robinson, now Honorary Canon of Ripon and Editorial Secretary of the S.P.G. ; and the Rev. H. R. Jennings, at present Vicar of Millbrook, Cornwall. In spite of several earnest efforts to revive interest in the College at the Universities, and other places, by the third Bishop of Cornwall, the Archdeacon of Cornwall, and others, various causes combined to brincr the work of the ScholcE Cancellarii of Truro to a conclusion in 1900. The growing sense of the importance of a stricter entrance examination, as well as the increasing desire for a previous university , training, have seriously diminished the number of persons entering the smaller non-graduate colleges. Moreover, the alarming decrease of young men pre- senting themselves as candidates for Holy Orders 70 THE BISHOPRIC OF TRURO everywhere has made itself felt in the case of colles^es such as that of Truro, more than anywhere else. It is also very probable that the remoteness of the Cornish diocese, its distance from all the great centres of intellectual culture, the absence of any large parishes in Cornwall, with teeming populations, where young curates can have wide and varied experience and manifold training, are potent factors in the dying down of the earlier enthusiasm that marked its first beginnings. Nevertheless, in the early days of the newly formed diocese, and indeed through the whole period of its existence, the College supplied a real w^ant, and many excellent clergymen have received their training there. From 1878 to 1900 about 145 clergymen, mostly non-graduates, but some graduates, were trained for their future work at Truro. ^ Dr. Benson was not only anxious about the train- ing of the younger clergy, but, as was natural from his own experience and work at Rugby and Welling- ton, very desirious of raising the whole standard of education so far as his influence extended. In Truro, with the co-operation of Mrs. Benson, Miss Bramston, Miss Hedley, to whom many parents and children owe a debt of gratitude, and other friends, he laboured hard and successfully in the foundation of an excellent High School for girls, which now possesses its own admirable buildings, and ' One of the two houses, rented as a hostel, is at present (1902) retained, and occasionally candidates for Ordination are received there for private instruction by the Chancellor. The Library and Oratory are preserved, and the examinations for ordination are held in the building. LAYING THE FOUNDATIONS 71 under three very capable Head Mistresses — Miss Key, Miss Arnold, and Miss Morison— has estab- lished itself as a place of solid teachin,!:,^ and culture for a laro-e number of the girls of Truro and else- where. His efforts were also directed towards making the ancient foundation of Truro Grammar School, dating from 1549, as good and efficient a secondary school for boys as the High School has proved to be for girls. He was ably seconded by the Head Master, the Rev. Lewis Evans, and a scheme was drawn up and approved by the Charity Commissioners for the starting of a school of the foundation in its own build- ino-s, with the existin' The following letter was written by him, after leaving Truro, in reply to a farewell communication sent to him by the authorities of the Training College : — -"Lambeth Palace, S.E. " To iJie Committee of the Truro Diocesan Training College. "Mv VERY DEAR FRIENDS, — It is a little difficult to thank you, as I ought, for the kindness and reality of your farewell words to me. " I beg you to receive, and also to convey to the subscribers, at whose annual meeting your report was passed (as you kindly tell me), the assurance of the gratitude with which I accept this pledge of their regard, " But my little difficulty arises from this, that you thank me so affectionately and trustingly for doing what not only cost no trouble to do, but for what was so very much less than I meant to do, when I first had the happiness of being added to your body. But the fact was that the constant success, and the admirable condition, of the College called for no exertion. The accuracy and the harmony with which the committee worked, the skill and the loving energy of the officers, the bright relations with the clergy of the parish, moved my affection and my respect, but gave me nothing to do. " The kindness with which they several times granted me favours, the pleasure which a visit to the College always in- LAYING THE FOUNDATIONS 75 spired, the happiness of the few devout services which I enjoyed with the staff and the pupils, and all my intercourse with yourselves, will always place my recollections of the College among the brightest of my Cornish life — and for this and for all you are contributing through teachers, so well trained and of such high character, to the instruction of the poor and their education in all that most concerns for this life and for that which is to come, I beg you to accept my most grateful respect. " I trust that you may have ever increasing support, and rejoice that a practical connection will still subsist between myself and what must ever be almost the most important of the diocesan institutions of Cornwall. " I am ever " Your loving and grateful servant, "EdW: CanTUAR:" CHAPTER V 2MISSION WORK IN Cornwall perhaps more than in any other county, what is commonly spoken of as "mission work " in distinction from ordinary parochial minis- trations, is an essential element in successful Church life. First, because of the widely scattered popula- tions that so often in the larger parishes live far away from the "church town" and ancient parish church. Secondly, because of the great alienation of many persons from the doctrines and practices of the Church, arising from the insufficient care for them in times past, resulting from non-residence and other causes, combined with the distinctly hostile opposition that has grown out of the Wesleyan movement, which was meant by its founders to supplement and not to rival, the work of the Church. Bishop Benson saw that there was need not of any spasmodic effort here and there to awaken dead souls and quicken indi- vidual parishes, but of a thoroughly well-organised and sustained effort to send throughout the diocese a band of trained and earnest preachers, who would come to the help of the parochial clergy, refresh and revive them and their people by visits and efforts 76 MISSION WORK 77 that should. In- God's providence, be marked by un- mistakable sions of spiritual awakening, and be followed by solid results in the strengthening and building up of the Church of God. From the first he contemplated the foundation of a body of preachers similar to the society called the Novate novale inaugurated by him at Lincoln. But at Truro he was very desirous to link the work defin- itely and closely with the Cathedral as the centre of the life and work of the whole diocese. He there- fore appointed the Rev. A. J. Mason the first Canon Missioner, not only of the Diocese of Truro, but the first who has held this office in the Church of Eno-land. At the Diocesan Conference held in October, 1877, some months after his arrival in Truro, Bishop Benson thus explained his purpose : — " The work anciently expected of the old Prebendaries who preached up and down the diocese, seconding, aiding, and enforcing the work of the Parish Priest, at his own request, is no less required than ever. The tired and weary and often lonely clergyman asks it ; the people ask it ; their condition asks it. I should be no true shepherd here did I veil the truth from such an assemblage as this. And sure I am that the chaotic religious beliefs and the inexplicable severance and gulf which in some places exists between moral practice and fervent religionism, do absolutely need this identical work to be done. One missioner attached to the Cathedral will be Units pro viultis, will stand single- handed to represent the many mission preachers of the old idea. But I bcHeve he will not want for helpers ; I believe that the mission chapels, fast multiplying, with their lay readers, who will need some help, some caution, some train- jS THE BISHOPRIC OF TRURO ing, will be deemed by us all to offer great scope for such work — to say nothing of parochial missions which have so happily affected the well-being of many parishes." An important paper read by Canon Mason at the same Conference dwelt on the distinction between a " Mission " and a " Revival." " No late hours, no setting of young persons of opposite sexes to pray or reason with each other, no groaning or crying out to arouse (like Dervishes) fictitious enthusiasm ; no shaking or striking of persons as I have known in revivals. . . . " The ' Revival ' expects the conviction or conversion to take place in the meeting itself, and the persons who show signs of yielding are detained, prayed at, goaded on. . . . We expect the main struggle with God, which ends in the soul's daybreak, to take place, as Jacob's did, when all the company is departed, and the soul feels itself alone, in the closet with the door shut to, face to face with the living God." He laid great stress on realising diocesan unity in Cornwall in connection with the mission work. " As a rule, the missioners should 7tot be strangers to the diocese." Everything should be done "authorita- tively under the eye of the Bishop." The missioners when at home should be "incessantly engaged in study and in prayer and in the training of others." Canon Mason has recently published some very important results of his experience in mission work ; and, speaking of "the cause of a great many failures in evangelistic work," puts it down to the fact that " Excitement has been too much relied upon, and it has been allowed to push beyond its proper place. A little MISSION WORK 79 experience of the development of this method in Cornwall would be enough to undeceive any who were inclined to favour it. " In one place, a Methodist said that he preferred the revivals at the Bryanite Chapel to those at the Wesleyan (or vice versd, I forget which), because at the one place you could sometimes hear a little of what was being said, while at the other you could hear nothing, the uproar was too great. I myself have seen, in a revival which was supposed to be going on under Church control, a room in similar uproar, and a poor body rocking backwards and forwards in intense effort, surrounded by persons of experience clamouring to her, as they swayed with her swayings, ' Say, I yield ; only say, I yield ' ; and at last she said it, and rose up and made the round of the room with smiles to receive the congratulations of her friends. There seemed to me, looking upon it with eyes which desired to be as sympathetic as possible, to be no difference between this and the religious methods of the Dervish."^ It was on the sober and Churchlike lines indicated in both the addresses above quoted that the mission work of the diocese was begun and carried on. " Among the early missions held in the diocese after Bishop Benson's coming to Truro was one at St. Erth. The Bishop came down and remained during the service unknown to the congregation, but at the after-meeting joined the other clergy in speaking to those who remained, and gave a few words of counsel and his blessing on the work. This parish included the Hayle Foundry, and three hundred men employed assembled daily for an address by one of the missioners. At the daily evening mission services and after-meeting on the north side of the Church might be seen men touched ^ The Ministry of Conversion^ pp. 67-8. (In the series " Handbooks for the Clergy," Longmans, 1902). So THE BISHOPRIC OF TRURO by the Holy Spirit, kneeling in humble, earnest prayer, guided, helped, and wrestled for by some devout laymen ; while on the south side a band of women prayed as earnestly for the souls of their own sex, who were touched by the same gracious influence. The clergy in the meantime, either in the vestry or in the quieter corners of the Church, saw any who specially wished for counsel and advice."^ But the first reeularlv authorised " diocesan " mission was held in January, 1879, at Veryan, of which the Rev. J. R. Cornish was the Vicar, who was afterwards so well known as Canon Cornish, Vicar of Kenwyn and Archdeacon of Cornwall. Canon Mason, the Diocesan MIssioner, and the Rev. F. E. Carter, Prebendary of Endelllon, were the principal missloners, assisted by the Rev. R. E. Trefusis (now Bishop of Crediton) and the Rev. G. Perrin, late Vicar of St. Mawgan-In-Pydar. The services were well attended and the addresses listened to with close and Intense Interest. The following recollections of the mission have been kindly supplied by Archdeacon Cornish : — "There were two main centres — the parish church and the mission chapel at Portloe, with occasional services at Port Holland, Reskivers, and other places. I well remember entering the church on the first Saturday evening about five minutes before service began, and the little start Canon Mason gave when we found it quite empty. About seventy or eighty, however, came a few minutes later. The special characteristic of the mission was its extreme quietness. We were at first almost afraid of it. But it was not indifference. An old Wesleyan, now gone to his rest, said to me of one ^ Church in Cor/nifall, January, 1878, p. 5. MISS/ON WORK 8t of the services. ' I never felt the Spirit of God so clearly present before.' This was the more striking as shortly before there had been a revival in two chapels in the parish, and a man who had attended both expressed his preference for one, because in it }Ou could hear when the preacher was preach- ing, though \'ou could not when he was praying ; whilst at the other )'OU could not hear him at either time. Large congregations were present at the services, and a consider- able impetus was given to religious life in the parish, which was subsequently maintained by a monthly prayer-meeting after Evening Prayer in the church. During the three or four years that I remained in the parish, the number that stayed for this averaged about fift^^ A considerable amount of house-to-house visitation took place ; and, although at first none came, and then a few, to seek advice, before the end several came to the room at the Vicarage, where Canon Mason saw all who wished to see him. As ever the good old fishermen were most hearty in responding to all efforts made to help them. A useful feature of the mission was the use made of the Vicar, when it was possible to do so, so as to identify him with the mission, and strengthen his hands in carrying on the work, after it was over." This mission was shortly afterwards followed by one at Launceston, inaugurated by a quiet day for Church workers with addresses by the Bishop. The Rev. V. S. S. Coles was the principal missioner, assisted by Canon Mason and Mr. Carter. The im- pression made upon the parish was remarkable, and a great many Nonconformists, who were present at the services, showed the deepest interest and sympathy. A mission which was held at Kilkhampton. in March of the year 1879, where the Rev. Canon A. C. Thynne has been Rector for over forty years, is G 82 THE BISHOPRIC OF TRURO described as " very quiet without noise or excite- ment. . . . Every evening, for sixteen days, the church was occupied by numbers of earnest Hsteners and devout worshippers. The Rev. J. Andrewes Reeve assisted the Canon Missioner." In July of the same year a mission was held at a small agricultural parish in North Cornwall, with a population of four hundred. In spite of drawbacks good results were produced. The following extracts from Canon Mason's diaries give some interesting particulars of the work carried on by iiim and his fellow-workers : — "Callington, February 2\st, i8So. — We held our first meeting at 7.30, and the church was full— though the first, and on Saturday ; and we hardly know what we shall do later on. The St. Dominick people (where a mission had been held a year before) are threatening to come in waggon- loads, and I have been obliged to send over a message with a letter to the people there beseeching them not to come. '^February 2^th. — Preached this evening on Judas. . . . At the beginning, many of the people seemed in the highest spirits, laughing and talking, and I had to speak very sharply. I saw one young woman afterwards crying, who began with great levity, and the congregation were remarkably still after the first few minutes. We made an attempt at a second sifting to-night : after the instruction we sang a hymn, and then held a prayer-meeting, which caused several to stay, and give us opportunities of speaking with them then and there. " Wednesday, February 2^th, 1880. — ... In the afternoon, Evensong ended, the missioners sallied out, with four or five M/SS/OJV WORK 83 others, and sang a hymn at the entrance of the market, and then I spoke for a few minutes, and invited them into church, and preached on ' Buy the trutli and sell it not.' It was a strange sight and they were much affected. . . . We were able to get hold of several people at the end. ... In the prayer-meeting we adopted Aitken's and the dissenting plan of moving about from one to another, but none of us liked it, and though we got several names of persons to come and see us, I do not think we shall try it again. " Thursday, February 26th, 1880. — Heard that there was a sort of missionary meeting last Friday at CI think) the Bible Christian Chapel here, at which the superintendent got up and inveighed against the coming mission, and told how bad and what a failure the St. Dominick mission had been ; whereupon the superintendent of one of the other sects who was present, said that he believed the mission would do a lot of good, and that, if he were permitted he would help it all he could ; and one of the St. Dominick local preachers rose and spoke most warmly of the mission there, how the people had flocked to it, and what good had been done. ''Monday {St. David), 1880.— Mr. Mann (Vicar of St. Issey) preached a noble sermon yesterday morning with the utmost fire and eloquence. " Thursday, March 4th, 1880. — I have had a grand thanks- giving service to-night. . . . During the last few days there has been a most marked wave among the people, and several — especially men — have taken a step forward. One whom I visited this morning stooped down and kissed my hand as I left his house. Poor dear X thanked me again most kindly to-day and said . . . ' You have both lifted me up and brought me down,' " The results of this mission may be craus^'ed to some extent by the followini; later entries : — ''April yd, 1880. — Heard from C that the number of communicants at Callington was larger than ever before. 84 THE BISHOPRIC OF TRURO " Sunday, March 6th, i88i. — . . . Left Truro yesterday at 2.8 for the anniversary of the mission here [at Callington]. Very few people last night, as was natural ; but very good con- gregations to-day at all the services — to-night crammed to suffocation. The most striking feature, however, hitherto was the afternoon gathering. It was supposed to be chiefly intended for the members of adult Bible classes. They occupied the nave — men on the south, women on the north — and completely filled both sides. They say that these are entireh' the fruit of the mission. Blessed be God ! " The following relate experiences at another mission : — ''April i6th, i88o. — Found this morning that a good deal of blasphemy had been going on, and bitter cavilling, which had caused sad grief to some of the devout old people. To-night the church was rather fuller than ever ; and though I had felt all abroad during the dav, and distracted with the thought of the opposition raised, when it came to the preach- ing and after-meeting; God helped me so much, and the people seemed deeply impressed. The last night or two I have ventured in the after-meeting to catechise the people, and they have answered very readily, and to-night I have heard that they have been much pleased with it I have long wished to do so, but never had the courage before. " Third Sunday after Easter, April I'ith, i88o. — . . . Preached to the men in the afternoon upon the adulteress, (St. John viii.), and to-night upon the necessity of an effort in religion and in prayer. The people were extremely attentive, and in five minutes we might have had a revival, if we had wished, with the people leaping and shouting. " Wednesday, April 2ist, i88o. — . . . Have had several visitors to-day; one dear man of about fifty told me that he 'passed all Tuesday night as Jacob did': and he could do nothing but laugh very quietly and happily, when he tried to express MISSION WORK 85 what it had ended in ; he had been quite surprised at what he found. . . . I'reached to-night on St. Paul's conversion, as compared with Saul's in the morning's lesson ; and it was very noticeable how the dear people's countenances fell when we got to the subject of Baptism. Up to that point they had been as light and sympathetic as possible, and, all of a sudden, it was like lifting lead. ''Friday, April 2yd.— . . . The people wept much at the evening sermon on the Crucifixion, but was very dry myself. " Tuesday, April 2yth, 1880.— Last night we had a really erand thanksgiving service. The church was nearly as full as on Sunday, and not so many strangers, and the feeling was one of real joy through the whole congregation. Several very interesting interviews. . . . This morning a beautiful Communion." The characteristics of Cornish fishermen, and their relieious enthusiasm, are recorded in the account of a mission at Sennen. '' Sunday, January jih, 1883.^ Beautiful celebration at eight, the dear fishermen coming in a row, with many groans and heart-deep cries of ' O Lord ! ' " And the following days were spent amid a "tremendous gale from the west all night and day," followed by "floods of rain; . . . the Longships sometimes completely lost in solid spray." Here a warm-hearted man called the missloner back into the church after Evensong one day, saying, " I've something to tell you," and then with loud voice and waving hands, told the joyful news of his having "found Christ," being as the missioner said "quite intoxicated" in the spirit, "but quite real." And the mission closed "on a most glorious morning" after all 86 THE BISHOPRIC OF TRURO the violence of the storm, quite a type of the peace that comes to troubled souls when the Sun of Right- eousness shines upon them in love and forgiveness. Bishop Benson has noted one or two reminiscences of the earlier missions. At St. Issey, which he visited, and where he found "a crowded church and most devout service from the whole congregation, the churchwardens told me afterwards, with tears in their eyes, of the mission work of ' dear Canon Mason ' and the number of people who had been affected by it, coming on the top of the long preparation. Fancy Cornishmen talking of ' Canons ' in this way ! " Later on he savs : — " Carter's mission to Endellion has been very happy. At first they refused him the Board school to have service in. Then when he went away to St. Issey for a day or two, a young farmer rode thirteen miles to tell him they had found him a larre boat-house. Then the Bible Christians offered him their chapel ; then the Wesleyans said ' It would never do for hirn to have such a shabby room at Port Isaac, they must give them their new chapel.' His simplicity, faith, and resolution won all hearts soon." ^ And so the missionary work began, and was carried on with much zeal and earnestness and love. Some- times, in a fishing village, the mission would be prolonged for three weeks or a month : sometimes the mission took the form of itinerant work, the missioners passing from parish to parish, holding outdoor services at different centres. At other tim.es the Canon Mis- sioner would stay in a parish, and visit from house 1 Uiai-y. MISSION WORK 87 to house : and now and a'-ain lake charLTc oi a (lock, in the al^sence of the pastor or during' a vacancy. In the early days of the newly formed diocese, there was no lack of readiness to hear the message, and welcome the messengers. Apart from the comparative freshness of the efforts that were being made, the strangeness, to some at least, of the Cornish people, of such aggressive spiritual work on the part of what they had deemed a dead Church ; the singularly at- tractive natural gifts and personal piety of the first Canon Missioner and his assistant, won great accept- ance evervwhere. The warm-hearted and emotional Cornish folk recognised, not without surprise, in the cassock-clad preachers who came amongst them, the unmistakable tone of "converted men," and were even willing to listen to teaching that previously had not formed part of "the gospel" received by them. Canon ?vIason's labours as missioner were very arduous. Bishop Benson in his Diary records that " the Canons have worked well. Mason will have eio'ht or nine lone missions this year." A little later he says : — " In the year 1879 Mason had two remarkable missions — Torpoint and St. Dominick. At the latter, where there is a very High Churchman, the local preachers helped with all their power. The crowds were surprising, and (most strangely) they proposed themselves to commemorate the mission by a beautiful cross, which they solemnly placed on the altar in time of service, with a special hymn and sermon. This is beautiful when it rises spontaneously out of the people thus." 88 THE BISHOPRIC OF TRURO Canon ]\Iason continued to act as niissioner until 1884, when he was appointed to All Hallows, Barking, near the Tower of London, by his friend and chief. Dr. Benson, then lately translated to the Archbishopric of Canterbury. Canon Mason accepted the post, after long and painful heart -searchings. He had already refused more than one important office both abroad and at home. Cornwall was very dear to him. and it was not until he was persuaded that it was his dutv to obey the call of his friend and Father in God, that he made the sacrifice of long-cherished schemes for his life and work in Cornwall. At All Hallows he gathered a band of clergy, living together in a kind of community, going out from time to time to preach, conduct missions, and hold " quiet days " and retreats, wherever invited. Canon Mason was succeeded by his friend the Rev. F. E. Carter, for many years his companion and fellow -worker, who was appointed Canon of St. Cybi and Diocesan Missioner in 1885. He carried on the admirable traditions of his predecessor, in his laborious work and excellent methods, till he was appointed Tait Missioner and " Six - Preacher " at Canterbury Cathedral. After five years' work in that diocese he was invited to go out to South Africa as Dean of Grahamstown. Canon Carter will long be remembered for his deeply spiritual discourses, and for what was once well described as his "cultured eloquence." His place was taken by the Rev. B. G. Hoskyns, MISSION WORK 89 Vicar of St. Denys, Southcimpton, under whom the diocesan mission work has grown in various ways.^ Canon Carter was able to organise what Bishop Benson and Canon Mason greatly desired — a society of mission clergy on the lines of the Novate Novale at Lincoln ; but Canon Hoskyns largely increased the numbers of the clergy belonging to it, and added a useful band of lay associates, including men of all ranks and positions in the diocese, some of them very well qualified to take an active part in mission services. In addition to this, a very useful and pro- mising society for men, called "The Brotherhood of the Cross," has been formed. It numbers several hundreds of members, organised into branches in some of the principal parishes of Cornwall. It has a simple rule of life and of prayer ; and, without making too great a demand upon the time of its members, gives much support and encouragement to men anxious to become earnest Churchmen, and to persevere in their good resolutions. As time went on, the regular and systematic "paro- chial missions " held by the first missioners, lasting as a rule for ten days, and sometimes even longer, were not so frequently held. "Itinerant missions" were attempted from the very first, and continued to be held from time to time. In these a body of missioners was o-athered at a centre, and went out, dav after da^^ to villages and hamlets in a fairly wide circuit, passing ' He was appointed Vicar of Brighton in 1902, and was succeeded by the Rev. Gerald \'ictor Sampson of the Gloucester Diocesan Mission. 90 777^ BISHOPRIC OF TRURO from one parish to another, for Sunday and weekday services in church, as well as holding outdoor meet- ings at china-clay pits, or quays and harbours of fishing villages and "porths," or in the streets and open places of "church towns." "St. Issey, Saturday, August '^th, 1882. — Arrived here to-day from our first itinerant mission, which began this day three weeks, July 15th. It embraced the three parishes of Endellion, St. Minver, and St. Kew. We proceeded ac- cording to a fixed plan, which Francis made out in advance, and had printed and circulated in the district. We aimed at and fulfilled, as nearly as we could in modern life, the in- structions given to the Seventy. On Sundays we preached at the parish churches, but on weekdays, every afternoon and evening, at one of the scattered hamlets, never twice con- secutively at the same, and making pretty nearly the circuit of the three parishes thrice in the three weeks. Two young laymen — George Scantlebury, of St. Winnow, and Fred Thomas, of Helston — ^joined us for the last ten days : though I sent Thomas back on Tuesday. We walked everywhere in our cassocks and capes, and carried our bags, no one seeming to think it anything but ' fitty.' On ' St. James', Wednesday,' we preached at Polseath races, and the people were perfectly respectful, though we had been told beforehand that there would be a disturbance. We stayed about in various farm- houses, and sometimes smaller houses as well, meeting every- where the greatest kindness, not less from Dissenters than from Catholics ; indeed, three times I stayed at Lower Amble, with Mr. Charles Menhinnick, the leading Dissenter of that part. It is an experiment in missions which has not been tried before, but bids fair to be very useful, in popularising Church ministrations at any rate, c|uite apart from the con- version of souls. The Parish Priests have been most kind, and deeply interested. On arriving at any hamlet we selected our station, and then went round to each house to invite the MISSION WORK 91 people ; then, after a hymn and short invocation, came a lesson and a sermon, another hymn and prayer, and then one or two more addresses with hymns and prayers, kneeling down wherever it was dry enough. We visited the sick- wherever we went, and tried to go to all the houses by the wayside on our journeys. Mr. Mann helped us several times, Townend once, and Magor, of Lamellyn, once. The substance of our teaching (almost entirely taken from the daily lessons) was chiefly repentance and holiness." The followincr interestino- details of this mission, vi'ritten for The Church in Cornwall (a periodical that for several years recorded the work of the diocese monthly) : — " Nothing could exceed the hospitality and kindness of the people. . . ." The missioners " were never reduced to paying for lodging and board, or to going without. It was not only in the houses of the clergy, nor even only in those of professed Churchmen, that they were warmly received. Poor people and well-to-do farmers received them with equal cordiality; and everywhere they were told that they ' must look for no compliments.' It would be difficult for them to express their eratitude for the innumerable kindnesses shown them for their work's sake. " One scene deserves special mention. On the Wednesday after St. James' Day, it has long been the custom for the parishioners of St. Kew to picnic in great numbers on the lovely beach of Polseath, near the mouth of Padstow Harbour, together with friends from all the country-side. For some years past the old family character of the day has been a good deal spoilt, by the introduction of racing and a canteen. The missioners had hoped to visit Polseath that day without their intention being known before; but the people got wind of it, and man\' persons tried to dissuade them from going, lest some insult should be offered to religion in their persons. 92 THE BISHOPRIC OF TRURO When the da}- came, however, and they presented themselves, in company with the much-loved Vicar of the parish, they were as kindly received as anywhere. Two services were held at 2.30 and 6.30 p.m. The preachers stood on the slope of the low cliff, and gathered the people round them in the usual wa^• — in the evening to the number of seven or eight hundred at least. It was a sight worth remembering — perfect weather, the green waves breaking crisply on the broad beach, and the fine headlands of Stepper Point and Pentire, and the happy crowd, as respectful and attentive as could be. Even some of the jockeys rode up in their gay costume, and listened quietly among the rest. It was magnificent when the company took up the hymn ' All hail the power of Jesu's Name ' to its noble old tune." ^ The results of such efforts are not easy to o'auo-e or tabulate. Impressions are made, that do not always manifest themselves on the surface at the time ; but there can be no doubt that the Church missions of Cornwall have had an excellent effect in various directions. They have largely dissipated prejudice, and removed the deeply rooted belief that the Church is not a spiritual body at all. The Cornish have at least been led to see that the Church cares for their souls, and desires their salvation. Perhaps the self- restraint of the missioners of the Church has been sometimes unfavourably compared with the fervour (not to say noisiness) of the Methodist revivalist. "Ah! sir," once said a warm-hearted man to a missioner from Truro, "just let me and one or two praying men have our way at the after-meeting, and ^ The Church in Cornwall^ No. I. vol. i., new and enlarged series, July, 1882, pp. 47, 48. MI SSI ox WORK 93 you will soon sec a grand sight." The missioner declined to let the reins go from his own hands. The preaching of repentance, eminently necessary as it is where sometimes lofty profession is not followed by moral obedience, has been not infrequently criticised as dwelling too much on "sin," and not enough on "the gospel." 1 By this is implied a somewhat one-sided aspect of the mercy and forgiveness of God, which errs in the direction of not insisting sufficiently on the need of a very deep contrition or thorough confession of sins, and is too apt to rest satisfied with a somewhat shallow emotionalism, that never leads to any true or lastino- chano-e of heart and life. But a considerable alteration of feeling has taken place even since those days ; and, after twenty years or more, among the more thoughtful, cultured, and enlightened Wesleyans, the strong and coarse methods of the old "revivals," with all the serious dangers that accompanied them, are being less and less approved and used. It is, however, greatly to be hoped, that the erowth of reverence and of self-restraint, will not be followed bv a loss of real earnestness, religious sim- plicity, and spiritual fervour. A very great deal of help is given to the parishes of Cornwall outside the regular lines of " Parochial 1 On the uilier hand Dr. Mason gives wise counsel when he says : "An evangelist not only commits a theological mistake, but throws away an important opportunity, and is in danger of actually repelling and alienating souls, if he begins his work by dwelling upon sin and its consequences. Ii is more profitable in most cases, as well as more true, to begin with that which is inviting, and attractive, and hopeful."— J/////i-/r>' of Conversion^ pp. 79, 80. 94 THE BISHOPRIC OF TRURO Missions." Courses of sermons in Advent and Lent, quiet days for clergy and lay people, " Sunday visits," are planned by the Canon Missioner, and undertaken by himself and the members of the Mission Society of Clerev, year after year, throughout the diocese. The first Bishop of Truro was particularly anxious, in connection with the mission work of the diocese, to found a Society for Holy Living. This had been begun in one or two places some years before by the Rev. A. Mills, Vicar of St. Erth, and the Rev. J. Sidney Tyacke, Vicar of Helston, afterwards Canon of St. la in Truro Cathedral. Canon Mason and Mr. Tyacke were selected by the Bishop to inaugurate it on a new footing. He preferred, as he recorded, a "single society" "ramifying through the diocese, to having a variety of guilds united more or less loosely, but wholly dependent for continuing on the clergyman for the time being in the parish, and liable to be extinguished, all at once, if ever a time of deadness comes." " We want a closely bound religious society, which shall incorporate the clergy of the Established Church, each in their parishes ; and which, while he is a holy man, shall work under him, but, il he is a careless man, shall not cease to exist." ^ A manual of prayer and work was drawn up, the Bishop was to be the head, with two general wardens for the diocese, and the parochial clergy to be invited to become local chaplains. He strongly recommended the newly confirmed to enrol themselves for mutual ' Diary. MISSION JIOA'A' 95 help in this society. Very many did so, and there were instances where young persons suffered ridicule and persecution for membership in it. The Canon Missioner made use of it to gather up the fruits of his work in many parishes. This " Church Society," as it came to be called, has lived on in the diocese, in some places with a con- tinuous and vigorous existence ; in others in a more languid and fitful manner. If it has not altogether answered the expectation of its founders throughout the diocese, it has, in not a few places, supplied a greatly needed spiritual means of help. Much mii^ht be recorded of the blessings that came to individual souls, through the spiritual re\'i\al that was manifested in many parts of the diocese. Godly fishermen and earnest miners, and simple souls in agricultural parishes, were moved by the Spirit of God, and became joyous and consistent followers of Jesus Christ, and loyal and ardent children of His holy Church. Tales like the following might, without difficulty, be multiplied, illustrating the blessed results both of earnest mission and faithful pastoral work at this time : — " I was told of two girls, sisters, living in an ungodly farmhouse, miles away from the church, who since their Confirmation have never missed a Communion. It is their business to milk the cows ; and when the Communion is early, they get up at half-past four, and the elder milks five cows, and the younger three, and then they dress and go to church." ' ^ Canon Mason's Diary, January 22, 1880. 96 THE BISHOPRIC OF TRURO But there are two lives, that have been written, that deserve some special notice in any account of Church work in Cornwall, in the times that are now under consideration. One is that of Mary Ann Davies, whose spiritual history has been published in a litde book, prefaced with a short notice by Canon Mason, who knew her well, and valued her truly Christian character,^ She had a somewhat broken and varied experience in her soul's life. Much illness and sorrow through the loss of children, hard work and penury, were among her trials, cul- minating in the death of her husband, and finally her own broken health ending in paralysis. In the parish where she came to live, St. Mawgan-in-Pydar, with its lovely wooded vale of Lanherne, is a convent, formerlv the manor house of the Cornish Arundells, afterwards the property of Lord Arundell. Here in the days of the great French Revolution, a com- munity of Carmelite nuns took refuge. Ever since that time there has been a resident Roman Catholic Priest, and a eood deal of influence exercised by the community and their chaplain among the people of the village. But Mary Ann, though in her early days a member of the Bryanite or " Bible Christian " body, came to feel the restfulness and comfort of the teaching of the Church of England. " She entered into its public services and private rules of life so fully ; following the daily Psalms and Lessons, enter- ing deeply into the spirit of the Christian seasons ; 1 Told for a Memorial. Third edition. James Nisbet, etc. M/SSIOA' WORK 97 and valuin![(, above all, the Holy Communion, which, when unable to come to church, she especially desired to receive on her birthday, as well as at the time of special Christian festivals."^ Her quaint cottage is described, with its " furniture painted by her own hands a bright 1)1 ue colour, . . . the walls covered with pictures, many of them having a history. Placed just where she could see them were two portraits, the Archbishop of Canterbury (Dr. Benson), and the black Bishop of the Niger (Dr. Crowther), character- istic of M;iry Ann's two special interests, the Church at home and in the mission field; while, put under these pictures, stood her missionary box, wonderful in shape, of her own making, but such an unspeakable treasure to her, that when it went away for a few days to be emptied, she would speak of herself as being 'fine and wisht ' without it.""' For the last ten years of her life she only went to church twice, "brought down a very steep hill in a wheelbarrow." She lived a life of patient resignation and constant intercession, that was greatly valued by her Bishop, who, when leavino- for Canterburv, sent her the following message written on a card : — "Mary Anne, — I doubt not your quiet lonely prayers have helped me many a time, when I knew it not. Go on praying, and send me, from time to time, one of your kind messages. God grant we may see each other in Paradise, if not before. <« E. \v. TruR0N:"=^ 1 Ibid., p. 86. - Ibid., pp. I2 and 13. 3 Ilud., p. 27. H 98 THE BISHOPRIC OF TRURO She valued greatly the friendship of Canon Mason and Canon Carter, and helped the interesting work at Port Isaac, carried on by the latter with her fervent intercessions ; and contributed by generous offerings, out of her poverty, towards the mission church in that place. The former was "the last person to whom she spoke intelligently ; and she passed away on May 1 8th, 1884." She is described as of singularly tender conscience, of great calmness and self-possession, with much quaint and shrewd wisdom and spiritual insight, due " to her constant study of God's Word and direct communion with Himself."^ Another life, equally interesting in its spiritual earnestness and depth of character, is that of Mrs. Benney, also written by the same author that has given us the one already alluded to. Sarah Pollock Benney was the wife of a steamboat proprietor and skipper, plying on the River Fal between Truro and Falmouth. At one time an attendant at Wesleyan places of worship, she came under the influence of Canon Mason, the missioner during the early days of Dr. Benson's episcopate. The teaching of Canon Whitaker, and, later on, of Canon Carter, greatly moulded her devotional character and life. Her full surrender to the Church's Lord and Master in her own soul's life, was accompanied by a singularly loyal and constant devotion to the interests of His Holy Church. The worship of the sanctuary, the daily offices of Mattins and Evensong, the Holy Eucharist ^ Ibid.^ p. 90. MISSION WORK 99 on Sunckiys and weekdays, were her never-endinj^ joy and satisfaction. Her bright, keen countenance, as she sat in her place in the Cathedral, was in itself an inspiration to the preacher, while she followed the unfolding- of his subject, and gave evident signs of delight in all that concerned her dear Lord and Saviour, and 1 lis blessed Person and redeeming work. Nor did she rest satisfied with her own spiritual privileges and blessings, received in the ministry of the Word and Sacraments. When first she oave her adhesion to the Church's rules and order, she asked what " [private means of grace " were provided for Christian souls. Her delight was great when she found that, not only might she herself have the "benefit of absolution together with ghostly counsel and advice," but that God would use her, if she so willed, to work with Him and for Him, in winning and building up the souls of others. Hence- forth she became quite a centre of spiritual activity. She held a Bible-class in her own rooms, and some- times in the vestry of the wooden church ; cottage meetings for reading and prayer in more than one humble house in Truro ; and, by her vigorous spiritual life, infiuenced a large number of persons among her neighbours and friends. Grace softened a naturally strong and vehement nature, which yet never lost its natural cjuick alertness ; and the change that came over her character, in gentleness and courtesy, was so remarkable as to attract much notice from her early friends. She was a keen business woman, and the loo THE BISHOPRIC OF TRURO steamboats, navigated by her husband and sons, owed, to a great extent, their financial success to her excel- lent management. She was a generous giver, as became one who had " first given herself to the Lord," and no good and deserving object failed to receive her cordial support. She entered with all her heart into her Bishop's great idea of the Cathedral, and con- tributed quite a large sum towards its erection. When the site of the present nave was being laid out with grass, before any hope of the foundations being put in had as yet been conceived, she said one day, as she passed two members of the Building Committee in the High Cross, "Gentlemen, you ought to be sowing it with building stones." Not lono- before she died, after her speech had become greatly affected, she met one of the secretaries near the Cathedral, and put into his hand a packet of sovereigns, pointing signifi- cantly to the place where she hoped the walls of the nave would soon be rising. When the second Bishop of Truro started the Cornish Women's Association for supplying the " internal fittings " of the Cathedral, Mrs. Benney undertook to collect the money required to purchase the chairs ; and, with indomitable energy and perseverance, raised sufficient to purchase one thousand of these. She was moreover very generous in her private benefactions. " She never could pass over any distress that came under her notice, without ministering to body and soul."^ She treated one in trouble "like a mother, taking her to her house at ^ A Mother in Israel^ p. 86. MISSIOiY WORK loi a time of trial and bereavement, and keeping- her there for nearly a year, and afterwards niakinjr her feel she had a friend she could always turn to for comfort and advice." ^ She was devoted to Bishop Benson, whom she looked up to as a "prince of the Church, grand and simple.'"" Canon Mason and Canon F. E. Carter valued her friendship, and have borne willing testimony to her many spiritual gifts. Bishop Wilkinson used to say often " We should like to hear what ]\Irs. Benney has to say upon the subject." The Mother of the Community of the Epiphany found that, "in all her intercourse with the Sisters, she was so perfectly natural." When her clerical friends left Cornwall she still kept in touch with them, and went to missions at Croydon and Hackney, conducted by Canon Mason, saying, " It's niy holiday, and going to church is a rest for both soul and body " ; "' for, as Canon Carter said, she was "satisfied with the pleasure of God's house." She visited Archbishop Benson at Addington and Lambeth, There was no obsequiousness of any kind in her ; she could, as she said, accept the Arch- bishop's courtesy in the name of her ]\Iaster, and sit down at his table "without embarrassment. Her features are portrayed in the window erected to her memory in Truro Cathedral, where Eunice is present at the consecration of Timoth\' ; and the legend ' Fac opus Evangelistce' ('Do the work of an evangelist ') 1 Ibid., p. 87. - Ibid., p. 30. 3 Ibid., p. 54. 102 THE BISHOPRIC OF TRURO may indeed be taken to represent the message which, both by word and example, she urged upon clergy and laitv alike." ^ NOTE The accomplished authoress of the two little books quoted in this chapter, Mrs. Perrin, wife of the Rector of St. Mawgan-in-Pydar, who met with a fatal accident in the Engadine, August, 1901, laboured with the most untiring zeal and energy in her husband's parish for twenty-seven years. Her work was only ended by her departure from Cornwall after his decease. ^ Ibid., Preface by Canon Mason, p. xii. CHAPTER \T THE CATHEDRAL DR. BENSON'S life at Lincoln, as well as his early love for cathedral institutions, led him, very soon after his appointment to Truro, to direct his mind to the formation of a capitular body. At tirst, there were no endowed stalls, but he was not deterred by this lack of monetary resources, which, however desirable, were, as he always maintained, by no means essential to the existence of a real Cathedral Chapter. He had already given to the world, in an article in the Quaj'ierly Revieiv (vol. cxxx. No. 259), and in an essay in a volume edited by Dean Howson of Chester, his views on the place that the cathedral ought to occupy in the Church's system. In 1878 he developed his ideas still further in the volume called The Cathedral : its necessary place in the life a?td ivork of the Churchy^ He niade the best of the material ready to his hand, and having appointed ^ John Murray, 1878. The Dedication prefixed to this book is quite charming and altogether characteristic: "Viris venerabihbus, P'ratribus suis, Dominis Canonicis Honorariis Cathedrahs B.V. Mariee Truronensis, una cum adpropinquantiuni Amabihbus Umbris, Cancellariorum, Pnocentorum, Cicterorum, qui. niodo faxit Deus, Rei Christiana; famulabuntur, Istud opuscukun d. Episcopus." 10? I04 THE BISHOPRIC OF TRURO certain Honorary Canons, the first eight of whom were installed on January 17th, 1878,^ he gave to several of them definite offices and assi""ned to them distinct duties. Canon Whitaker was appointed Chancellor, with charge of the Divinity School ; Canon Mason, Diocesan Missioner; Canon Phillpotts of Porth- gwidden, nephew to Bishop Phillpotts and a generous benefactor of the see and Cathedral, was made President of the Chapter of the Honorary Canons ; Canon Thynne, who had resigned his prebend at Exeter to take his place in the new chapter at Truro, was appointed Treasurer. In accordance with Bishop Benson's ideas, the Canons not only met, from time to time, in chapter and formed an Episcopal Council, but gave much time to the delivery of lectures throughout the diocese, on theological and ecclesiastical subjects. But the Bishop looked far ahead to the foundation of a complete capitular body in the future, and prepared, with great care and research, a body of statutes for its o-overnment and reo-ulation. In his Diary, dated Saturday, December 31st, 1881, he writes: — " I am very busy all my spare time, which is very little, ^ Dr. Benson notes in his Diary, January 25th, 1878 : ''On the 17th I installed eight Canons as the beginning of a chapter. . . . Above the first is Canon Thynne, transferred by his own desire from Exeter. I have named the Rector of St. Mary's and the Vicar of Kcnwyn, because one has given a church, the other a house to the see ; then three busy Chaplains; and then three out of honour to age-principle, and the remoter regions of the county." The following were the first eight Canons : A. C. Thynne (St. Neot), R. Martin (St. Corentin), T. Phillpotts (St. Aldhelm), R. Vautier (St. Germans), S. Rogers (St. Piran), J. R. Cornish (St. Buriena), C. F. Harvey (St. Carantoc), A. J. Mason (St. Cybi), G. H. Whitaker (.St. la). THE CATHEDRAL 105 with framing the statutes for the Cathedral which the Com- missioners have committed to me, with the hint that they will be the basis of the statutes of the other new sees." He took as his model a cathedral of the Old Foundation — Lincoln — whose history he had closely studied, and which he had learned generally to under- stand, and thoroucrhlv to value. He not only made himself well acquainted with the Laudtuii or Award of Bishop Alnwick and his Novum Reo-istriiiu^ a body of draft statutes, a.d. 1439, and also with the earlier and, as is now clearly discovered, more nnportant chapter register of customs and statutes, the celebrated Liber Niger, or the " Black Book," and some of the other interesting and full records, which, owing to the labours of his old friend Canon Wickenden, Canon Maddison and others, have since been published under the joint editorship of the late Henry Bradshaw, and Canon Christopher Wordsworth (Cambridge Uni- versity Press, 1892-7) ; but, during the years that he held the offices of Canon Residentiary and Chancellor, he did all that kiy in his power to give lile and reality to the ancient traditions, and existing practice of the Cathedral at Lincoln. In recalling those investigations ^ In tlie Life of Bishop Chris /op her Wordsivorth, p. 526, Archbishop Benson gives an illustration of that prelate's quaint humour. An ancient copy of the Cathedral Statutes, and a fairer one of the Lauduni and Novum RegistniDi were placed on a dish at the dinner-table at Rise- holme. " I wish," said the Bishop to Dr. Benson, who had, shortly before, been talking of them, " you would carve some rather old venison, which has been sent me. Everyone will take some. Tut the venison before Dr. Benson." The cover was lifted, and there was in the dish a folio manuscript in very bad condition. io6 THE BISHOPRIC OF TRURO in a letter, written a few months before his death in 1896, to Canon Christopher Wordsworth, the Arch- bishop said, "What a piece of work 'x was! It was then my eyes began to go ! " The statutes that Dr. Benson framed for the Cathedral Church of Truro are very full and complete, and provide for every possible requirement of a cathedral ; both as regards the life and work of the chapter and the officials, greater and lesser, connected with such a body. There are added, besides, all the forms of service for the enthronement of a Bishop, installation of a Dean and Canons, even down to the admission of a chorister. Throughout, ancient pre- cedent is carefully, though not servilely, followed. Provision was made for the special needs of a modern cathedral, and for the local requirements of Cornwall. For instance, the office and work of a Canon Missioner, for the first time, had an important place in the con- stitution and statutes of an English cathedral. Dr. Benson's solicitude for the Cathedral and its crovernment did not end with his resio-nation of the Cornish see. When it was found necessary to amend the Bishopric of Truro Act (1876), and the Truro Chapter Act (1878), the Archbishop's advice was gladly o-iven. On a confidential memorandum as to the Truro Bishopric and Chapter Acts Amendment Act, passed in 1887, the little docket pinned on to the printed papers in the Primate's own handwriting, tells its own tale. " These should now be bound up with the mass of Truro Cathedral papers at Addington, THE CATHEDRAL 107 ;incl deposited in the Cathedral Library." If the Cathedral stands so long, it may be, that on this "mass of Cathedral papers," all of which are now catalogued and indexed as the founder wished, anti- quarians may be at work, five centuries hence, with the same reverent care as Archbishop Benson, Canon Wickenden, and Canon Christopher Wordsworth studied Le Black Book at Lincoln, or the famous Award and draft statutes of Bishop Alnwick. Residentiary Canons were ordered to keep a real residence of eight months ; and, above all, to have actual duties assigned to them of a practical nature, useful, not only within the Cathedral itself, but in the diocese at large. A special point was insisted on, that the Bishop should have a distinct position both in the Cathedral and chapter, and should preside, when present, both in the residentiary and general chapters. The Honorary Canons were to have a real status in the Cathedral, not only the right to preach in turn in the Cathedral pulpit, but a voice in the business of the general chapter ; they take part in the election of the Capitular Proctor, and (according to the intention of the Draft Statutes) of the Bishop also, although under legal advice they decided, on the first occasion of electing a Bishop, in 1891, to refrain from the exer- cise of their right, which may, however, hereafter be fullv asserted. Later leoislation has secured to them a share in the exercise of the patronage of the chapter benefices. The statutes were written in quaint and archaic language, but their meaning was perfectly free io8 THE BISHOPRIC OF TRURO from all ambiguity. The Bishop explained in very felicitous diction, in his " Proem " to the statutes, the reasons for careful minute attention to the details of the capitular constitution : — " And if to any man it shall appear, that of these statutes some things be left out which might have been well defined, and others definitively laid down w^iich are of small moment, let him remember first, that in some matters, of even grave concern, laudable custom ought to grow to have power of law, provided it be not contrariant to what is writ, (and the Canons shall do well from time to time to record and keep in a customary book such uses as, from time to time, shall be found convenient for their guiding), and that, diversely, in certain very small matters, experience hath taught that, if such like be not early defined, discrepancy doth lead to needless discussion, and vexation, to hindrance in most weighty concerns, touching even the safe keeping of the flock of souls. Wherefore we have noticed how many antient statutes in their preamble set forth the moment of peace and love, in such-like corporations and religious companies." At the end of the section concerning " Order in Divine Service and of precedency," in which are laid down the rules for reading Lessons, and for the pro- cessions on great occasions, it is stated, with charac- teristic common sense and quaint phraseology, " all which is here set down that none may trouble them- selves or others of small matters, when they would be about oreat thinors." The Bishop inserted in the statutes the custom of certain cathedrals of the Old Foundation, for the recitation of the Psalter daily by the Canons ; the Psalms being divided for this purpose among the THE CATHEDRAL 109 Bishoj), the Dic^nitaries, and the Honorary Canons. Dr. Benson consulted his friend Mr. Henry Bradshavv about the compilation of these statutes, and the most important parts of them have been printed in the volume of the statutes of Lincoln Cathedral, above referred to, published by the Cambridij;-e University Press. ^ Through the kindness of Mr. A. C. Benson, a scries of documents and memoranda connected with the Truro Chapter Act (1878), and the gradual evolution of the Draft Statutes, and their final adoption by the Cathedral Establishments Commission, has been de- posited among the muniments of the Truro Chapter. They extend from the date of the issue of the Com- mission, July 4th, 1S79, to the adoption of ** the Report upon the Cathedral Church of Truro," embody- ing " the Draft of Statutes," with appendices and corre- spondence, on February 26th, 1883. Few persons, probably, except those immediately associated with the Bishop, could have formed any conception of the minute care involved in this work ; while the mere task of studying many Acts of Parliament and Orders in Council, transcribing' and retranscribinLi' drafts of the statutes, resolutions respecting them, and proposals affecting the relation of the Cathedral to the parish church of Truro, must in itself have been most laborious. In the work, besides Mr. Henry Bradshaw, 1 Lincoln CatJicdral Statutes, Bradshaw and Wordsworth, part ii. pp. 748 scq.; and see A Mt-inoir of Henry Brads/iaw, by G. W. Prothero (1888), pp. 345 and 282. no THE BISHOPRIC OF TRURO Archbishop Temple (then Bishop of Exeter), the Bishop of Winchester (then domestic chaplain to Archbishop Tait), Lord Ashcombe (then Mr. George Cubitt, M.P.), Mr. Godfrey Lushington, Mr. Arthur Burch, Canons Mason and Whitaker of Truro, Christopher Wordsworth and Wickenden of Lincoln, the Right Hon. A. J. Beresford Hope, M.P., and Mr. A. B. Ellicott, the secretary of the Commission, gave, in different ways, assistance and advice to the founder of our Cathedral ; but his own hand is everywhere im- pressed on its code of government. Nothing escaped his attention and supervision, hi a series of large note-books three successive drafts of the statutes were made, chiefly in the Bishop's own hand. When in type, they again underwent successive revisions for the Commission. They were, at last, finally confirmed on St. Andrew's Day, November 30th, 1882, and on February 20th, 1883, Bishop Benson, then Archbishop- elect of Canterbury, signed the Commissioners' Report. Parts of the Truro statutes have been embodied in Acts of Parliament affecting the chapter, but they have not as yet received, as a whole, any legal sanction or authority, nor was Bishop Benson at any time particularly anxious that this should be given to them. He always quoted other capitular codes, as having nothing more than the authority of custom and use, and recommended that the Truro statutes should be tested by experience and practice, and by custom p-row into law. As a matter of fact, allowing for THE CATHEDRAL xii certain modifications rendered necessary by Parlia- mentary legislation, the statutes have, as a whole, and in most particulars, been faithfully observed, and portions of them are read aloud annually at one of the three principal meetings of the general chapter. It has been found that their author, not only devised an exceedingly interesting body of regulations, faithfully reproducing the spirit of the best times of ancient cathedral life and work, but has handed down a thoroughly useful and practical working code. Until the residentiary chapter was constituted legally in 1887 by Act of Parliament, the statutes could not be fully obeyed ; and, up to that date, an abridged form of them, called " Regulations," was printed and put in use. The building of a cathedral seemed to the Bishop to be, not merely a desirable embodiment of a true ecclesiastical idea, but an essential instrument for the successful carrying out of a vigorous diocesan life and work. The present writer, some years before he had any idea that he would be called to work in Cornwall, heard Dr. Benson preach in St. Paul's Cathedral in behalf of the building fund that had recently been started. His text was "One Body and one Spirit." and the needful existence of the outward and visible organisation of the Church to enable it to put in action its spiritual powers, was ably laid down. He went on to maintain the great importance of the visible symbol and framework of a church, to be the perpetual reminder of the Spiritual Society in every 112 THE BISHOPRIC OF TRURO parish. From this he naturally passed on to show that the true ecclesiastical unit, the diocese, ought also to possess its outward embodiment and symbol in the cathedral. The impression made by his sermon on the present writer's mind is still, after many years, strong and vivid ; as is also the characteristic story which he told on the occasion, and which he used as an incentive for the cono^reQ^ation at St. Paul's to assist in the buildincr of the far-off cathedral in the West, After the Great Fire of London in 1666, collections were made, all over the country, towards the rebuilding of St. Paul's ; and Dr. Benson quoted the records of an obscure sea-coast parish in Cornwall, which showed that the poor fisher-folk there had contributed a few shillings towards the rebuilding of the cathedral in the Metropolis. " To-day," he said, "we ask for the return of this kindness." The whole sermon was an admirable summary of the oft-repeated teaching of Dr. Benson, to be found in his diocesan addresses, letters, and books. At the first Diocesan Conference in 1877, the subject was brought forward in a paper read by the Rev. Thomas Phillpotts, and a committee appointed to consider the subject. A few weeks after, the Rector and churchwardens of St. Mary's Church pointed out to the Bishop, that the condition of the building was insecure, the roof being in a most dangerous state. A considerable amount of money had been collected for the restoration of the parish church, but all action was suspended on the part of THE CATHEDRAL 113 the parochial authorities until the wishes of the Bishop and of his advisers were known. In January, 1878, the Cathedral Committee met, under the presidency of the Lord Lieutenant, the Earl of Mount Edgcumbe, who, from that time forward, has shown himself, not only a wise and considerate chairman, but a warm and generous advocate of the Cathedral, and subscriber to its funds. Certain differences of opinion were expressed as to the kind of buildin<'- it was desirable to erect. Some considered that an enlarged church, of the parochial type, would suffice for all the needs of so small a diocese as that of Cornwall. But the Bishop, and others who appreciated his views, pleaded earnesdy, and, in the end, successfully, for the erection of a true Cathedral, with all the dignity of height and length that such a building involves. Some were of opinion that it would be better to begin with the nave, and let the choir and transepts follow in a succeeding generation. But, here again, the foresight of the Bishop was justified in pressing for the completion of a noble choir, with an east end that would impress worshippers ; believing that, when the need of further space was felt, the nave, and other portions of the building, would follow. The event has proved the wisdom of this view, and the trial of having to face the ugliness of a blank temporary wall has not been inflicted on the congregation, but on the clergy, who, for fifteen years, have had to endure it when turning towards the people. Canon C. Fox Harvey, the Rector of the parish, had generously, in the previous I 114 THE BISHOPRIC OF TRURO summer, made over to the Bishop the advowson of the rectory of which he was patron ; and thereby had removed some possible chfficulties of a serious char- acter in the way of the future status of the Cathedral. The money already collected for the restoration of the church was now, by the consent of the subscribers, handed over towards the new building. The question of the site had of course occasioned some discussion. But it was determined, mainly, by the fact that St. Mary's Church was named as the Cathedral Church, in the Act of Parliament constituting the see. By some an entirely new building, visible far and near, on some lofty spot in the outskirts of the city, was suo-orested. i\orainst this, amono' other difficulties, was objected the creation of a new ecclesiastical centre, in addition to the already numerous parish churches of Truro. It was, indeed, thought inex- pedient by many to plant a splendid architectural pile low down in the city, with little space about it, with houses and shops clustering around. But, on the other hand, the desirability of identifying the Cathedral with the old ecclesiastical centre of Truro, of linking it with the many associations and historic memories of a most ancient municipality and parish, prevailed. On the whole, this cannot be regretted. The narrow streets and lanes, by which the Cathedral is approached, remind those who visit it of many an old French town, with its ancient minster, hemmed in by humble dwellings in the heart of the population, close by its market, town hall, and other daily resorts THE CATHEDRAL 115 of the inhaljitants. What was wanted was, not a show-place for visitors, with a pleasant, trim environ- ment, but a mother-church and working ecclesiastical centre. The agreeable " amenities " (as a Scotch gardener would say) of a cathedral close, with the peaceful retirement of a deanery and its garden, quiet canonical residences and the like, thino-s verv desir- able in themselves, are necessarilv wantinij under existing circumstances, or at least indefinitely post- poned. But, on the other hand, it is a real advantage that Truro Cathedral is not altogether new. It has incorporated into itself a substantial portion of the parish church, and retains much of the old associa- tions of the past ; it stands in the old *' High Cross," and is reached through the old "Church Lane." Underneath its crypt and nave lie the buried remains of many a citizen and worthy of olden times : their monuments are preserved, and their history not alto- gether forootten. Those who worshii) in the old parish aisle, and even in the new Cathedral, are kneelino- on the ground consecrated bv at least six centuries of prayer and praise. The old church contained some interestinu' monu- ments, among them a fine Jacobean tomb to John Robartes and his wife, of the year 16 14. This had been fairly well preserved, but had sufi'ered from the figures being periodically black-leaded as the most effective way of cleaning them, according to the notions of the officials of eighteenth and earlv nine- teenth centuries epoch. It has been admirably ii6 THE BISHOPRIC OF TRURO restored by Lord Robartes. There was also a group of memorials of the Vivian family, including the first Lord, better known in history as Sir Hussey Vivian, cavalry commander at Waterloo. A former Rector, named Phippen or Fitzpen, who suffered for his prin- ciples in the days of the Commonwealth, is commemo- rated in a brass ; and his brother by a tombstone, relating his marvellous escape from captivity on board a Turkish galley, which he succeeded in capturing by aid of his fellow-prisoners, and bringing into a Spanish port, as a prize worth ^6,000. Some fragments of stained elass coeval with the buildinor, which was erected in 15 18 on a site where two earlier churches had successively stood ; a fine specimen of the carved was'o'on roof so usual in Cornwall, lono' hidden by a plaster ceiling ; a sweet-toned organ by Byfield, built for the Chapel Royal, Whitehall, but never placed in that building; a quaint- inlaid wooden pulpit, and some later stained glass of unequal merit; all these make up the details of what was a typical Cornish church. These have been, so far as possible, carefully retained in the portion of the old church now remaining ; the principal monuments, after judicious and conservative repair, being placed in the north transept of the Cathedral. In the autumn of 1880 the old church was pulled down, with the exception of the south aisle ; the north side of the buildingr and the western tower were not of either sufficient age, beauty, or interest, to rescue them from demolition. But the portion thcit has been preserved, with its external carving similar to that THE CATHEDRAL 117 which maybe seen at St. Austell, St. Mary Magxlalene, Liiunceston, and elsewhere, not only gives an element of antiquity to the youngest of English cathedrals, but has proved, under the skilful treatment of the architect, an occasion for adding special constructional beautv In the internal arrancrements of the arcades of the aisles and ambulatory. It must, however, be recorded that Dr. Benson was never at all anxious to preserve this portion of the old building. He would have been better pleased if the new Cathedral had been unrestricted in its design, and unhampered by beine linked to an old fragment, left, as he said, " in our mistaken deference to the ignorant London anti- " 1 quaries. There was not a litde pathos surrounding the final act of worship in the old parish church, where, for so many centuries, Truro Churchmen had met for worship. At an early celebration of the Holy Communion, Canon Fox Harvey being the officiant, held on Monday, October nth, 18S0, more than one hundred communicants received the Bread of Life, for the last time, in the time-honoured sanctuary endeared by many memories of joy and sorrow." The choice of an architect lay between Messrs. Bodley and Garner, Mr. Piers St. Aubyn, Mr. G. E. ' Diary, July 15th, 1882. 2 Seven years later, when the time came to leave the temporary wooden building that served for a church, during the erection of the Cathedral, a touching sermon, entitled " New and Old," was preached by Canon Phillpotts on October 30th, 1887, ''the last Sunday in the wooden church.'" ii8 THE BISHOPRIC OF TRURO Street, r.a., Mr, Pullan, Mr. Burgess, Mr. J. O. Scott, and Mr. J. L. Pearson, a.r.a.^ The last was eventually selected, his previous work in churches in Red Lion Square (St. John's), Kilburn (St. Augustine's), and elsewhere, winning much approval. In a letter accepting the appointment as architect of the new Cathedral, Mr. Pearson wrote : — " I shall have very great pleasure indeed in undertaking the work at Truro. At the same time, I much fear that I may not be able to realise all that may be expected of me, and all that I myself would desire. I feel it a great privilege to have to design and build such a work, and I had scarcely dared to hope that the chance of doing so would ever come to my lot. But, as I presume that there is every chance of the General Committee approving the report of the Executive, and that therefore this building will be placed in my hands, I can only say that I will endeavour to do my best, with the means you may anticipate being able to lay out upon it." The events connected with a new cathedral founda- tion in England are so remarkable, that it is not to be wondered that every effort was made to mark the occasion. The laying of the foundation stones took place on May 20th, 1880, and was surrounded with every possible circumstance of dignified ceremony and public rejoicing. The city of Truro was elaborately deco- rated, and to it flocked all the leading- people of the Duchy to do honour to their Duke and Duchess, the Prince and Princess of Wales, who, with their two 1 Afterwards R..-\. THE CATHEDRAL 119 young sons, came into Cornwall to take part in the trreat ceremony. Processions of Freemasons were formed at the Town Hall, and of clergy in the old church ; and a great inclosure, erected in the High Cross, was filled with a dense throng of people. The Archbishop of Canterbury (Dr. Tait) was too ill to take his appointed place on an occasion truly historic. The Bishop of Truro was filled with joy and gladness, at the sight of so hopeful an inauguration of his great ideal, and took part in the proceedings with much enthusiasm. He thoroughly appreciated the kindness of the Prince and Princess of Wales in taking so deep an interest in the Cathedral, and the noble hospitalities of the late Lord Falmouth in entertaining them and their suite at Tregothnan. He was pleased with the part taken by the PVeemasons, under their Provincial Grand Master, Lord Mount Edgcumbe, though some Churchmen were not particularly keen about the introduction of that ceremonial element into the pro- ceedino-s. He admired the diqnified manner in which the Prince performed his share in the laying of the two memorial stones, one of which was on the site of the nave, and, surmounted by a portion of a shaft, which for many years stood there, a solitary and pro- phetic token of the extended building that was to be. Besides the royal personages and the great ^Lisonic Brotherhood, there were present the Bishops of Exeter (Dr. Temple) and I\hidagascar (the Right Rev. R. Kestell-Cornish, son of a former Vicar of Kenwyn) ; the body of Honorary Canons, and a large assembly I20 THE BISHOPRIC OF TRURO of the clerev of the diocese : while a choir, feathered from all parts of Cornwall, sang the appointed Psalms and hymns. Dr. Benson thus spoke of that " really happy day " : — " The weather was gorgeous. When the ceremony was at its height, the sky was more beautiful than I ever beheld it. One deepest lustrous blue over the whole heaven above the great inclosure, and right above us, and in view, the tiniest, most delicate white clouds flecked it all over in the most symmetrical arrangement." ^ How highly he appreciated the enthusiastic help of his laymen, will appear from the following letter written to the honorary treasurer of the Building Committee, who had oro-anised a band of collectors : — "Truro, 2^tJi May. " My dear Mr. Nix, — Thank you very much. The amount was, I think, most satisfactory. Poor people and Dissenters must have given freely. We might have continued the singing more immediately, if we had known how many would be giving. " I cannot tell you how immensely everyone feels indebted to you for the arrangements made both times for collecting. They were very difficult to make, and were most skilfully organised. You had a charming and obedient troupe of croupiers, who will always be proud of having served under you that day. - Yours sincerely, "E. W. Truron:" On the Sunday after the stone-laying, a very re- markable service was held, at which the Bishop ^ Life, abridged edition, pp. i8i, 1S2. THE CATJ/EDKAL 121 preached from the words " Not by mij^ht nor by power, but by My Spirit, saith the Lord of Hosts." Many walked miles to come to it. The stands, erected for the great ceremony of the 20th, were still remaining, and about four thousand people were present, mainly of the working classes. The singing of the hymns led by two cornets was most impressive. A spectator has thus described the scene and the central fioure : — " The Bishop stood, his face pale with emotion, and yet irradiated with the tenderest smile of hopefulness ; he seemed like a man who had won a victory by prayer : his place was by a pillar base ; as he gave out hymn after hymn, which were taken up and sung with the most moving intensity by the crowd, his hair waving in the sharp gusts which whirled the dust and shavings of the inclosure about, it was as though we were translated out of the nineteenth century into some strange chapter of mediaeval religious life." ^ From that day forward the work proceeded steadily. A large sum (^10,000) had to be expended on the purchase of the site and the adjacent property, and the foundations were of necessity deeply laid and costly. But Cornish men and women were generous and energetic, the /^ 15,000 subscribed in the room, at the first meeting held in 1S78 to promote the building of a cathedral, had already swelled to a large amount, and contributions flowed in unceasingly from all parts of the kingdom, as well as from Cornwall. ^ Li/L\ abridged edition, pp. 183, 184. 122 THE BISHOPRIC OF TRURO The design was a very striking one, and worthy of the architect's reputation. In addition to other features, the baptistery (by some considered the gem of the whole building) was built as a memorial to Henry Marty n, a son of Truro, the distinguished Senior Wrangler, devoted missionary, and learned linguist, who died at Tokat in Pontus in 1S12. Canon Phillpotts of Porthgwidden gener- ously gave the beautiful south porch, by some critics considered too ornate for the severity of the style of architecture adopted for the Cathedral ; but justi- fied as serving to blend the more florid portion of the old Perpendicular south aisle with the new Early English building. Advantage was taken of the slope of the ground to build a crypt under the lofty choir. The principal features of the building are its height, its fine oroined roof, and the absence of a too exact and mechanical symmetry in its parts and details. The architect has won great praise for the very successful way in which he has solved the problem of uniting the old St. Mary's aisle with the Cathedral by an ambulatory, so designed as to become the support of the vault over the choir ; the steady ascent from St. Mary's aisle to the centre of the church by successive flights of steps is a fine achievement. A great variety of mouldings, inequality of span of arches, and other designed departures from uniformity, relieve the building from a hard and dull monotony. Cornish materials have been largely used in the building. The walls are, externally, of the hard grey THE CATHEDRAL 12 v) St. Mabe granite ; internally, of St. Stephen's china clay stone, a species of soft granite. ^ The dressings are of Bath stone, but the detached shafts of grey polyphant frcjni I'^asL Cornwall. The Lizard has supplied serpentine, of various shades of colour, for a considerable part of the steps to the choir and baptistery, as well as for the shafts of the arcading of the latter-named portion of the building. Cornish copper has been employed for the roofing of the spire of the clock tower : and, had not the cost been too great, would have been used for the other roofs as well. It is acknowledged, on all sides, that the architect has succeeded in his efforts to build a real cathedral ; that, not only from an artistic point of view, has he produced a beautiful specimen of Gothic architecture of the purest style, but that his creation has a peculiar power to impress those who enter it, with a sense of reverence as well as of admiration. Bishop Benson looked forward to the time when Cornish Churchpeople would realise, and resort to, the Cathedral as their mother-church. Nor has his anticipation been altogether disappointed. Annual gatherings of choirs, Sunday-school teachers, temperance societies, G.F.S. members and associates, assemble within its walls, c'uid prove that it is to them something- more than a mere ecclesiastical 1 Great trouble was taken about the choice of building materials. Colonel Cocks of Treverbyn devoted a great deal of time and anxious labour to the matter. Seventy-two varieties of stone were reported on. The oolite was shown to be superior to all others. (Cf. Journal of the Royal Inslitution of Cornwall, vol. ii. pt. ii. p. 86, April, 1882.) 124 THE BISHOPRIC OF TRURO or architectural show-place. On these occasions, surprising efforts are made by the more distant parishes to send up their representatives to the cathedral city. If choristers or Church - workers from the rugged cliffs by Tintagel and the north coast, or the Land's End, or from the moorland parishes between Bodmin and Launceston ; from the porths and coves of the Lizard district and south coast, or from the borderland of the Tamar banks, desire to take their place, along with the miners of Redruth and Camborne, and the townsfolk of Fal- mouth and Penzance, in some great Church gather- ing, it often involves rising with the sun and returnino- home after midnio-ht, tired out with a long day's journey, but cheered and refreshed by a great act of common worship, and a joyous sense of fellow- ship. The Cathedral, in fact, has in fifteen years become a real centre and rallying-point for Cornish Churchpeople. They have learned to realise, more than ever, their unity and strength, and the memories of old Cornish Churchmen have helped this. As they walk about its aisles, they cannot fail to see that it is their own Cathedral. They remember that the second Bishop of Truro has in his possession a book containing twenty - three thousand of their names, as contributors to the building and its fittings ; and that, though there were indeed some large and splendid gifts, yet the Cathedral was built by the many, not the few. An inscription on a monument or in stained glass recalls to them, that this deanery THE CATHEDRAL 125 or that parish gave a screen or a window, a marble pavement or a Canon's stall ; that a Robartes, a Pole- Care w, a Fortescue, a Willyams, a Bolitho, is here or there commemorated ; that a famous Cornishman like John Couch Adams, of Laneast, the astronomer, or Henry Martyn the missionary, or Hussey Vivian the soldier, have their renown recorded within its walls. Indeed, the Cathedral already promises to become a kind of Westminster Abbey for the worthies of Cornwall of all times. Those who first planned it had some thouoht of this in their minds. It was a statesmanlike stroke of policy, though the matter may appear trifling-, to give historic or local associations to the Honorary Canons of the Cathedral, and link them with the names of ancient saints. Ecclesiastical commissioners, and other officials, sel- dom rise above the prosaic level of entitling cathedral stalls as " canonry number one," "number two," etc. Bishop Benson added a touch of poetry and quaint- ness to his Cathedral, by affixing- to the stalls the names of St. Piran, St. German, St. Germoc and others. This example has since been followed at Wakefield and Newcastle, where the leaders of the ancient northern Church are now commemorated on the Canons' stalls. Dr. I'enson also very rightly pressed for certain alterations in the proposed figures on the altar screens in the sanctuary, by which are now recorded the names of the early Cornish Bishops and missionaries, as Bishops Kenstec and Conan, St. Petroc, and others. Moreover in the elaborately 126 THE BISHOPRIC OF TRURO planned scheme of subjects for the stained -glass windows, illustrating the sacred history of the world under the Old and New Testaments, and the varied gifts of the Holy Spirit in all the ages of the Christian dispensation, notable Cornish saints and worthies are o-iven a prominent position. Some of them, like St. Constantine, St. Winnow and others, are already to be seen in the lancet windows of the baptistery.^ A somewhat humorous story may be told in con- nection with these Cornish saints. A rather timid friend of the Church in the north of England, who was interested in Truro Cathedral, was attacked by a person, keenly alive to the smallest indications of supposed Popery, on the ground that at the Cathedral there were images of extraordinary saints, quite unknown to the Anolican Calendar. The informa- tion sent by a Truro Canon that, neither were they to be found in the Roman Calendar, apparendy relieved the distressed friend and silenced the critic. Bishop Benson followed every step of the building- operations with keen interest and delight ; and, as it o-rew, its graceful form seemed to present a "singular and beautiful picture, in the tall slender columns in advance of the east window ; and all the pillars of the choir, standing, as it were, balanced on the mighty piers of the crypt." ^ He took a deep interest in the workmen, and drew up a form of prayer to be used daily at the close of the day's work. When the nave was in course of erection, prayer was said at the 1 See Appendix. ^ Diary. THE CATHEDRAL 127 beginning of eacli week, and thanksgiving offered at the close. On the whole, this was a better plan and secured a far larger attendance. There were no serious accidents during the progress of the work, but all connected with the Cathedral and the liuilding Committee were distressed at the death of the first clerk of the works, Mr. Bubb. Not only did the architect feel greatly the loss of one devoted to him- self and his work, but he had won the respect of Cornishmen, who are slow to take to a "stranger." He was of the greatest value in carrying out the erection of the crypt, before the appointment of a contractor ; and to his skill is owing, in a great measure, the successful restoration of the south aisle. He had a wide experience in building materials ; and, toeether with Colonel Cocks, visited a large number of quarries for the purpose of selecting suitable stone. " Certainly a remarkable man ; and not one friend did he lose by plain rough speech, not one did he make by withholding a fact."^ This is the estimate of one who was his friend as well as Bishop. Dr. Benson proceeds to describe the funeral, on the second anniversary of the foundation (May 20th). carried out in accordance with Mr. Bubb's own wishes. A procession was made to the foundation stone : the sinoino- of the hymns '' AiiQulaj'C Fundamentuni" and " Brief life is here our portion " by the choir and clergy was taken up by the workmen, i 10 in number, "the stonemasons wearinor according to the custom 1 Diai-v. 128 THE BISHOPRIC OF TRURO of the trade, over their black clothes white working aprons tied with black riband." He was laid in St. INIary's Burial Ground "in the earth he had himself removed from old St. Mary's Church. The Rector bec^an the service, the Missioner who had prayed day and night beside him, and the Chancellor, took part. I never saw so still and large a funeral crowd. He was a gentleman of the Nature which makes o-entlemen at her will." Mr. Bubb was succeeded, as clerk of the works, by Mr. Robert Swain, who remained in charge of the building operations until after the consecration of the choir and transepts in November, 1887.^ The following prayer was composed by Bishop Benson and authorised for use during the building of the choir : — Lord God of our Fathers, Who of old time hast accepted them that offered willingly and gave for the House of God ; and Who hast filled men with Thy Spirit to devise skilful works in all manner of workmanship for the service of the Sanctuary ; W^e beseech Thee to prepare the heart of Thy people unto Thee, of Whom all things come and are all Thine Own ; Remember them that shew kindness for Thy House, and for the Offices thereof; and put wisdom into the hearts of men that are wise-hearted to make all after Th\' Will ; that in a holy and beautiful house our children may praise Thee, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. ^ Some portions of the description of the Cathedral given here are taken from an article contributed by the author to the first number of the Cornish Mii' lecture at Hayle to the artisans and others. A large body of able men who never go to church, and few of them an)-\vhere. A. Mills (the Vicar of St. Erth) has had afternoon lectures for them on Sunday afternoons, on any sort of subject with a religious turn any way capable of being introduced. They have been popular, and a few of the men have actually begun to come to church. The Town Hall was full and crowded. We began at once without prayer or any apparent introduction, I took for my subject ' Visible Beginnings,' showing them how life, ' biologically considered,' was external to the body, which had powers beyond anything that could be considered mechanical, and which recorded its own results, for what ? Then to their own work, which, in every feature, from its intricacy in arithmetic, or in any manner of skill, led on to perfectibility. And how trifles turning up in nature were endlessly the seeds of science, and how it was the very character of science to look on endlessly, and all to what ? Everything, the motive power, the instrument, and the things achieved, all were plainly 'beginnings' for an Individual quite as much as for Society, and where was the end and what ? " As I came away they formed into a lane, quiet, motion- less, and without any further demonstration, but just that they formed^ It was natural that, not only men like the artisans of Ha)le should appreciate the manly words of a man of intellect, who appealed to their higher reasoning 156 THE BISHOPRIC OF TRURO powers, and called out their noblest aspirations, but that the men of the most advanced culture in the county should enlist his aid in behalf of their undertakino-s. He was elected in 1S80, President of the Royal Institution of Cornwall, a society that has for its scope. Science in many of its branches, Archceology, Architecture, and other kindred studies/ Bishop Benson, without any claims to be called a man of science, was well able to appreciate the lives and achievements of Cornish men like John J ope Rogers, Edward Hearle Rodd, Sir John Maclean, and Dr. Barham, who united (as he said) "minute mastery of detail," "sweetness of disposition," and "manly influence," in their pursuit of knowledge. " Peace," he said in his presidential address, "be with the holy, manly, memories of men like these. Religion and science, all social honour, all domestic affection, keep their graves open, and may we be worthy of having known them." - And, on the other hand, with his accurate knowledge and keen observation, he was able to contribute not a little information on such a subject as the proper mode of " naming places " in Cornwall. He deprecated the indiscriminate use of the prefix "Saint" to all Cornish parishes named after some hermit, preacher, or missionary. He invited ^ Of Bishop Benson's term of office the late Dr. Barham testified (November i6th, 1881): "His lordship has been a most valuable and indefatigable president, and has introduced us to a sphere of useful- ness which we could not have followed half as well under any other chief." — Journal of Royal histitidioii of Cornzuall, vol. vii. p. 82. ^ No xxiii. oi /otcr?7al of Royal Institution of Cornwall. THE BISIIOr AND THE LAITY 157 co-operation in the compilation of a complete chronicle of the details of "the whole of our Cornish churches from St. Levan to IMorwenstow," on the plan so admiraljl}' carried out by Sir John Maclean in the case of Trigg- Minor Deanery. He was a vigorous opponent of that kind of church restoration in which "we and our architects" are "sj)()iling" "interesting features as fast as we can, and trying to make them like the Devonshire churches or Lincolnshire churches our architects have got books about, and which we have admired without reflection, and imitate without intellieence." ^ The closincr words of this address are worthy of being preserved. " I would appeal to higher enthusiasm, in whose train lower results for good never fail to grow even unsought, unbidden. Be free, be liberal, be generous, and men ' will give good measure, pressed and trodden, and running over,' in return, without your calculating on it. " Let us make ' This our city a little Academe, Still, and contemplative in living art ' ; and very soon you will find the bus)- and the practical develop themselves alike, a material body round the essence spiritual. And the architecture of your Cathedral, if you fling your hearts into it, and the science and the literature which you pursue, if you pursue it as nobly enamoured of ' that angel knowledge ' (as Shakspere calls her) ; all, all if it is indeed ' living art,' will live itself into .solid greatnes.s. What is true of righteousness is true of all that God has given for the consolation and the elevation of man out of his depression and his low-thoughtedness. ' Seek }'e first the Kingdom of » Ibid. 158 THE BISHOPRIC OF TRURO God,' ' seek the regions in which hes the law by which He reigns,' and all these things, all that man really needs, ' shall be added unto you.' " ^ Among" the many laymen who, in the days of the first Bishop of Truro and since, have nobly given of their time, their substance and personal service to build up the Church of God in Cornwall, must be named, first and foremost, the Earl of Mount Edgcumbe, who in every branch of Church work, philanthropy, and social effort, has won himself a name for Christian courtesy, untiring industry, and unstinted generosity. To mention only a few of the spheres of his labours it is sufficient to say that, in the buildine and maintenance of the Cathedral, and the improvement of the financial position of the clergy, he has taken such a lead as none else could have done. The names of Lord Robartes (whose title has been merged in that of Viscount Clifden), Colonel Tre- mayne, Mr. Edmund Carlyon, Mr. A. R. Boucher, Mr. A. C. Willyams, Mr. A. P. Nix, Mr. J. C. Daubuz, Messrs. R. and L. C. Foster, and Mr. T. R. Bolitho stand out prominently among a large company of faithful and earnest laymen, who welcomed and rallied round the episcopal leader whom God sent to them, after so many prayers and laborious sacrifices. It is one of the brightest and most encouraging tokens of Church revival and progress in Cornwall, to reckon up the numbers of Christian men, gentle and simple, who from the ranks of the laity serve on the com- 1 Ibid. THE BISHOr AND THE LAITY 159 mittees and attend the conferences of the Cornish diocese with so much wilHng perseverance and con- stant devotion, or as Readers minister in llic many mission chapels that have of late years been so greatly multiplied. Sometimes Bishop Benson had a public opportunity of expressing his thanks for the valuable services rendered by the laymen of Cornwall. Such an one was offered to him when a portrait of himself was presented to Sir Philip Protheroe Smith, of Tre- morvah, Truro. The Bishop has recorded in his Diary, May 22nd, 1877, his interview with Mr. Smith (as he then was) and Lord Kimberley, whose agent he was, on the subject of the " Rector's rate " at Falmouth. (He again referred to this matter in his Diary, P^ebruary loth, 1878.)^ "Mr. Smith's appear- ance," as Dr. Benson said in his speech, ''gready took his fancy," and the reputation he bore, as well as that of his wife for many years so well known and so deservedly beloved and respected for her devoted Christian life and work as Lady Protheroe Smith, was that of one " upon whom in every good work every one could depend." He was Mayor of Truro, at the time of the laying of the foundation stones of the Cathedral by the Prince of Wales, and received the honour of knighthood in connection with that event. Bishop Benson ended his panegyric with a Latin couplet, sent to him by Canon Phillpotts, who ^ This very thorny question has been happily set to rest in the days of the third Bishop of Truro. i6o THE BISHOPRIC OF TRURO was unable to be present, inscribed under a portrait of " another very different Philip :■ — ' Viventis potuit Durerius ora Philippi, Mentem non potuit pingere docta manus.' which put into plain English means — ' Here Durer Philip's living face designed, But all his cunning could not paint his mind.'" On another occasion, Dr. Benson bore witness to the sterling good qualities of English working men, in an address given at the opening of a club in Truro, and o-ave sound counsel on readino- and on home life. The working man ought to say, " I will not go to the club to-night simply for my own enjoyment, but I must find out something to carry home to my wife in which she will be interested, and make the wife, more than was the custom in England, a participator in his intellectual pleasures." Speaking of working men he said, " I was taught as a boy a great many things which I ought not to have been taught, but never by a working man. My father trusted me to go out and in amono^ them, and never once can I recollect a single instance of a working man using in my presence words, or talking about things, which I ought not to have heard." ^ During his episcopate there came a time of serious distress through the decay of the mining interest. Dr. Benson was very active in co-operating with 1 "The Bishop . . . told us how his father had made him learn, among working men, when he was a boy, carpentering and Ijricklaying and stone-cutting."— Canon Mason's Diary, July 27th, 1881. THE BISHOP AND THE LAITY i6i those who were devising means of relief. He had a high regard for the patience and endurance of the working people. "Under distress," he wrote, "the Cornish miner is noble." The following letter indicates how his interest and sympathy were aroused : — " Kenwyn, lyth March, 1879. " To-day wc have a meeting of the County Central Com- mittee on the Cornish distress. It is very severe. The sad thing is that so many of the very best men are in utter distress — people who never were near to distress before. Now they have lost shoes, food, clothes, and savings, and have to receive charity. " A pretty little coincidence quite raised the spirits of the people at Mousehole— just the very day that the first ;^ioo was voted to them, a new boat came in from its first voyage brincfine two thousand mackerel — the first-fruits of the year's fishery. And things do look a little brighter." ^ One, who was in his service, has told the present writer much of his bright and kindly ways with poor people and working men. He would stop, again and again, on his way up or down Pydar Street, between Kenwyn and Truro, to speak a pleasant word. At a railway station his quick eye would at once fasten on a fisherman or miner among the crowd, whom he had seen at a Confirmation or other occasion, and he would shake hands, and leave a sense of friendliness that won many a heart. When he visited fishing villaees like St. Ives, he delighted to go in and out among the cottages, and make acquaintance with the 1 Letter to his son. M 1 62 THE BISHOPRIC OF TRURO seafarino- folk and their families. And all this was done without any sort of affectation of patronage or condescension. The brightness of Bishop Benson's manner, his wide reading, his genial disposition made him a very acceptable person in general society. He was recog- nised by all classes as a favourite and as a leader of men. But he never allowed himself to descend to the level of a seeker after popularity ; nor, though of broad sympathies, would he ever sacrifice principle to gain any man's favour. He could, if occasion required, speak out in very plain and trenchant laneuaee on the shortcominQ-s and failures of duty on the part of laymen, as well as of clergymen. When preaching, on one occasion, in behalf of religious education, he dwelt on the great duty resting on landed proprietors in this matter. "Very heavy," he said, "is the responsibility of those who suffer schools to pass out of religious management ; for very great is the blessing upon those who rear children for the kingdom of heaven. By every prin- ciple of the Church, by civil principles w^iich lie at the root of English polity, this maintenance of the best education devolves, in towns, upon the Christian liberality of the inhabitants; and, in the country, on the occupancy of the soil. Time was when the tenure of land was distinct. The Count or Earl for the county, the Duke for his dukedom, the Marquis for the marches, was responsible for justice to be done, forces to be raised, defences to be maintained. As THE BISHOP AND THE LAITY 163 time went on, some public duties merged in other duties, requirements grew less rigid, but they became more moral ; demands, and the response to them, grew less constrained, but more generous. But still the tenure of so special a kind of property ever retains obligations of a special character to those poor, who dwelling on it and cultivating it, or by niany indus- tries and trades enriching it, give land a value quite its own. in which they do not participate. But now, sometimes, we hear it said that land is like any other possession, saleable and purchaseable without any such obliofation, and that the children of the soil are like any other merchandise or cattle, valuable for their work, and creating for their employers no other responsibilities. If ever that doctrine were established everything else would be cast into the melting-pot." Then, as in after years, he was deeply interested In all social problems, especially those that affected "suffering populations." While disapproving of violent revolutionary measures, he could not regard " non-interference " as Christian. These difficulties are "phenomena of the very world in which Christ is now livino." ''His 'kingdom of God' was not the reign of private interests." "Christianity must then have a distinct relation to poverty, and an encouraging one." "The principles . . . mapped out by Christ, make essential reference to social problems now before us. The Christian Fathers never doubted that they did, and indeed give some- 1 64 THE BISHOPRIC OF TRURO what alarming point to those which bear on rights of acquisition, tenure and expenditure." " But one spinal cord there is which animates all the humanitarian words of Christ. One principle de- ducible from 'all these sayings.' Every one of them is directed not to a mere amelioration of conditions, but to the elevation of the man — the improvement of the receiver, and coincidently of the giver. "It is impossible to make the man happier, (no, nor even permanently richer) by any act or scheme, unless you make him better. . . . The most coveted social changes work nothing but confusion, unless they are the accompaniments of enlightenment, of habits governed by judgment, and of religious temper. . . . There is no ameliorating of condition, which is not worked through the building up of character."^ With all his sympathy for the democracy he could take a very real pleasure in cultured society, and in the pleasant environments of old houses, with their historic associations and artistic treasures. The fol- lowins" letter illustrates his tastes in this direction : — " CoTEHELE House, " Calstock, Tavistock, " \A,th October, 1878. " My dearest Arthur, — I must write from here to you. How I wish you were here with us ! You would enjoy this wonderful old house. It is where Lady Mount Edgcumbe lives — the old Dowager Countess. I am writing in my bed- room all hung with tapestry. On one side a noble group of 1 Christ atid His Times, ■^•^. bi\-'] I. THE BISHOP AND THE LAITY 165 old hounds, large as life, standing under Renaissance arches and fruit festoons, with blue-green forests behind, waiting for orders. There ' ROMELUS CUiM viciNOS AD Tragedias VIDENDAS INVITASSET INBET AUFERRIE VIRGIN ES,' a splendid scene of confused drapery and trumpets while ' Romelus ' and his queen are settling their wedding in a staid and princely manner. Over the fireplace with its logs and dogs, a melancholy Roman is sacrificing ' ignoto Deo,' as the altar says, and the jewels on his shoulders are as bright as ever — and so it goes on. My windows look into a square court, which would make you dance ; fifteenth century and some much older ; a gateway opposite with the bloodstains visible in wet weather ; where some old Sir Richard killed the porter, and in the corner of my room a retired closet, which has a window opening into the chapel, for the ancient dame to pray in. The chapel below, lovely with old glass and old screens — and green encaustic tiles. It is like living in a story, and the old lady is worthy the old house." Amono- the various movements for social and spiritual reform, Temperance has always held a prominent place in Cornwall. Less than thirty years ago a Bill for "Sunday Closing" in the county very nearly passed into law. Dr. Benson, without adopting an extreme attitude, warmly supported this measure, and other useful schemes, for checking an evil recognised by all, but strangely failing to secure strong and vigorous support among leading politicians of the first rank. Cornish people have for many years been remarkable for their persevering efforts in this direction. Dr. Benson clearly recognised this, and gave all the weight of his office and his personal sympathy in aid o[ the movement. The following 1 66 THE BISHOPRIC OF TRURO letter addressed to the Rev. F. E. Gardiner, Vicar of St. Paul's Truro, (now Sub-Dean and Rector of Truro) on the occasion of an important C.E.T.S. meeting- in favour of Sunday closing, expresses his mind on the question : — "Lis Escop, ''July yd, 1882. " My dear Sir, — If you would read this letter for me to the meeting of the Church of England Temperance Society, I should be very much obliged to you. I want, not only to apologise, but to express my strong feeling of disappointment on the present occasion, I am more sorry than I can say to be compelled to be absent from the festival, in which I had hoped to share, and which had been fixed as well as could be, with a view to my being present, and taking part in it — though, at this time of year, hindrances are unavoidable. I have received a summons to business in London, have tried in vain to obtain an alteration, and am compelled to be absent. "As to the great part which Cornwall is taking in promot- ing public measures on the subject, I trust nothing will defeat the Bill. " It is said that legislation will never make men sober. I daresay that is true enough. I am equally sure it is true that, without legislation, men will not find it possible to be sober. With so little of self-restrained habit prevailing, with such temptations on every side abounding, the average work- ing man, in average circumstances, has not a fair chance. Let legislation, imposing a little restriction on the diffusion of liquor, give people, so situated, the same liberty of choice which social restrictions upon temptations impose on other classes, and the habits will change below, as they have changed above. Few of the middle and upper classes are exposed to the ceaseless temptation, ' Drink ! drink ! Drink here ! THE BISHOP AND THE LAITY 167 Drink there ! Drink of my drink ! Give me drink ' ; which custom thrusts on a far larger body of men. " Legislation will, at an>' rate, check the customs which are worst on the best da}-. Let men be bold against evil customs everywhere, whether they choose to abstain, or choose to be temperate only (which some find harder), all can contribute to break the neck of evil custom. Let them. " A good tone is more potent than legislation. One of the most important aims we can have, is the providing, and helping to provide, occupation and recreation good, innocent and thorough. " At the same time I trust that the religious basis of all true life will not (among all our little pleasant devices) be lost sight of. Many are the stories of people becoming Christian because the>' had become temperate, I wish there was more thought of the number who become so, and are temperate, because they become and are Christians. It is not in the nature of religious hearts to assert themselves. But it would help the causes both of temperance and of the Church (which are one), if we were more ready to observe how temperance, as a principle of life and not merely a bye- law about one article, is set down by St. Paul as ' a fruit of the Spirit.' " Your faithful servant, "E. W. Truron:" But, with all this ready sympathy with the temper- ance movement, he was quite alive to the mistakes and exaeeerations of many of its advocates. On one occasion he attended a meeting, where he was astounded at the statements of " a fanatic, who told us, that the Nazarites of the Old Testament were the true patterns of the New Testament Christian, and that, while they were pledged to drink no strong drink, others were allowed to do so, provided it was 1 68 THE BISHOPRIC OF TRURO unintoxicating. And, that of John the Baptist it was predicted, ' that he should be a mighty man before the Lord, for he shall drink no wine nor strong drink.' This brought thunders of applause, for what he called 'the direct teaching of the Holy Ghost.'" It is scarcely to be wondered, that the Bishop adds, "I see many indications that the Cornish are very ignorant indeed of their Bibles."^ He strongly desired to oppose to the public-house a counter attraction. Speaking at the opening of a workine man's institution, he said: "There is no cause more fraught with good for the future than the cause of temperance. But, much as my own feelino-s are enoao-ed on that side, earnest as I am that every possible motive should be brought to bear upon this great question, yet I feel, wherever I go, that, when one has to speak about temperance, or listen to others, I always want to show what there is to be said on the other side. Solomon said, ' The leo-s of the lame are not equal," and there is a world of good sense in that quaint proverb. It is what I think must rise in the heart of many a poor fellow, who goes to hear temperance speeches. He knows it will be eood for him if he does what he is told, and keeps out of the public-house ; but he asks ' Where am I to oro ? ' . . . The answer ought to be given by the erection everywhere of institutions like this." But there were occasions also, when direct a.nd important results from temperance meetings came to ^ Diary. TUB BISHOP AND THE LAITY 169 his notice, as he has himself recorded. " On Monday nioht a crowded meeting- for the Church of h^n''land Temperance Society, at which they had to desist from enrolHng- members, simply because it li^revv so late at night, and they could not write down the names fast enough." ^ There is another and far more prevalent evil in Cornwall than drunkenness, w4iich appalled Dr. Benson. He mentions it in his Diary, as "a very widespread immorality of a very dark character, . . . This is summarising what thev tell me of them- es J selves. Thev attribute it to the Celtic character, with a smile. But we know the beautiful chastity of the women in Ireland."- He was shocked at the prevalence of illegitimacy, and anticipation of marriage intercourse. Amonsf the causes that contributed to these unhappy results, he was constrained to believe that not the least important were "the inflammation of sexual passion, induced upon the awful sensuous agitation " of certain hysterical " Revivals " ; the defective teaching on the Incarnation, and an "un- sacramental view of all things. The marriage tie, the human temple, the birth of a child into the world, having nothing mystic or mysterious in them. They resent the very word ' mystery ' in a sermon ; and until the idea can be borne in upon them again, and the Society of Christian men be recognised as a Unity not to be sinned against, this frightful e\il will not be diminished."^ ' Diary. 2 /^/,^, 3 /^/,/. ITO THE BISHOPRIC OF TRURO In after years the Church of England Purity Society was founded, and was warmly supported by him. The painful subject of incontinence was care- fully dealt with by him, in his Visitation Charge at Canterbury, published under the title Christ and His Times. He considered in detail the supposed causes of impurity, which was " the despair of science " ; overcrowding, bad literature, evil example of the upper classes, the public school system, imperfect legislation. For him the hope lay " in Christianity alone." There is none in mere " publicity," such as had been attempted in the notorious pages of a magazine by a certain writer. "It has been said," he proceeded, "'sewers must be cleansed.' But sewers are not shot into market-places. It has been said 'a cannonade can spare neither women nor children.' But Christ's words on Purity are very unlike can- nonading. Publicity leads to shamelessness." ^ He had no great confidence in the "confessional," as a potent or permanent remedy. That, he believed, lay in "the inner life." As to how the White Cross League should work, he proceeded to show : — " Meetings rare. Language measured and delicate. No sensationalism. The individual taught, not to fix his thought on his own evils, but to divert it: helped to the reality of the ' inner life ' ; to what his faith can do for him ; to the feeling that, in a purer air, his own strength becomes the strength of ten, and that companionship for good is the knighthood of our time. Let no one fancy that our trust is in organisations. They are but ways of coming face to face, of bringing face to ^ Christ and His Times, p. 93. THE BISHOP AND THE LAITY 171 face. Some such \va}'s there must be, when men are real, when men have real purposes." ^ In Cornwall, as elsewhere, excellent work of the kind above indicated, has been done by Lieutenant- Colonel Everitt, late Secretary of the White Cross League (Church of England Purity Society), and his successor Lieutenant-Colonel Bourne. The Diocese of Truro owes a orreat debt to the Rev. C. F. Eraser O Erizell, formerly Vicar of Chacewater, to Dr. Hammond of Liskeard and to Mr. W. G. N. Earthy of Truro, ("a succourer of many," in all branches of Church work), for their patience and zeal, in maintaining the work in Cornwall, under difficult and almost dis- heartenino- circumstances. And not a few Cornishmen have learned to pray, with all their hearts, the prayer composed for the Church of England Purity Society by Edward White Benson : — " O Lord Jesu Christ, sinless Son of Man, Who art ever- more ready to succour them that are tempted ; Grant unto us. Thy servants in this league, both valour and constancy, that we may keep undefiled our own purity, fight manfully against the corruption that is in the world, and shield and rescue those that are in peril and sore beset. Restore the fallen, O Lord, to themselves and Thee ; and, in garments white through Thy Blood, bring us all unto the home where the pure in heart see God. " These things we ask, of the Love of the Father and the Power of the Holy Ghost, in Thy Name, Who, with Them, livest and reignest, one God world without end. Amcnr ' Ibid., pp. 115, 116. CHAPTER IX CHANGES THE years passed swiftly by. The home at Kenwyn was "idyllic." "No sweeter place could well be imagined than Lis Escop." ^ The spiritual work done in the parish, in which Mrs. Benson took a deep interest, and indeed an active and earnest part, was watched over and greatly in- spired by the Bishop, whose "dear and valued friend" the Rev. J. A. Reeve, Curate of Kenwyn, laboured with loving enthusiasm among a receptive people. But a great sorrow had broken in upon that happy life, early in the days of his episcopate. His eldest son, Martin White Benson, scholar of W^inchester, "a boy of the most singular gifts of thought and expression," died at school in February 1878. The Bishop's grief "was perfectly tragic." The wound was an open one throughout his life — "an inexpli- cable grief" His diaries reveal, again and again, the secret anguish of his soul. " Nearly every year on the anniversary of his death " the Bishop with his wife and daughter " visited Winchester ... to pray ^ Life^ abridged edition, p. 162. 172 CHANGES 173 beside the erave."^ Amono; his ])rivate devotions, are found the followino- : — Ntu, Kt'/3/e, KiXL avairavaov toj' Mapruor (xov av tottc/' (j)()iTeLVw, oTTOv eiricTKOTrec to ^a'f Toiy TrpocrwTrov aov, evoa airaopu Ai/7r»7 /ca/ crTevayfxog. [Yea, Lord, and give rest to my Martin in a place of light where he may behold the light of Thy countenance, where sorrow and sighing is fled away.] - and these Hnes : — IN PACE MARTINUS. O Amor, o Pastor, ([ui, (|uem tibi legeris agnum, Vitali tingis morte, sinuque foves, Nos, qui tarn dulces per te reminiscimur annos, 1 )uc ubi non caeco detur amore frui. [MARTIN IN PEACE. O Love, O Shepherd, who dost touch with life-giving death the lamb whom Thou hast chosen for Thyself, and dost cherish him in Thy bosom. Lead us, who by Thy mercy look back upon such happy years, to that place where it may be granted us to enjoy a love without blindness.] ^ His son, l\Ir. A. C. Benson, says, "The home-Hfe was here, as always, the bright background of his work ; and my brother's death, though he could not speak of it to us for a long time, seemed to draw out his tenderness for his children more than ever, and to increase his constant desire for their society."* 1 Lt/c, abridged edition, p. 274. ' Prayers Public and Private^ edited by the Re\-. Hugh Benson, p. 169. ^ Ibid; pp. 240, 241. * Life, abridged edition, pp. 196, 197. 174 THE BISHOPRIC OF TRURO One very interesting and touching token of the Bishop's constant thought of his eldest son, remains in three school note-books, unused by the boy, in which his father sketched the drafts of various offices for the Admission of a Missioner (Missionariorum Capitis), of Members and Associates of the G.F.S., of the Rules for the Church Society, "to be submitted to Com- mittees "; of the Order for laying the Foundation Stone of the Cathedral, and of the Dedication of the Oratory at Lis Escop, "• Cuin pia memoria Alartini viei^ in beatis cujus fiiit hie libellus, M. W. B., Winton. Jan. 1878." Beyond the circle of his home, he had many friends, and his correspondence with his clergy reveals the affectionate relations that existed between them and their Father in God. The following letter, addressed to a clergyman to whom he was greatly attached, shows how lovingly he could administer rebuke. It was an answer to a letter, in which the Catechism had been described as difficult and unintelligible, and in some respects unsuited for young children. There were other questions dealt with, which are omitted, as not being of sufficient present interest to record. ''November ^th, 1879. " Dearest Son, — Of course I put that to show this is to be a very unpleasant letter. X. is not to be blamed : he wanted me to write, or enter into, or prescribe to him to ^ " Libellus Martini" so are the books inscribed. The offices, written and revised, are all compiled with equal care, the most private ones as well as the most public. CHANGES 175 write, long disquisitions on each point. But I said, theologians composing a catechism of divinity, need to have attention directed by only one word to an>-thing requiring one. And I must hold to that now. / am not composing a catechism, and I do not think it necessary. What is wanted is, the living intelligent bright explanation, in word, of clergy, who really themselves understand the Church Catechism ; those who do not understand, because they have never worked hard at it, are many. I mean, who have never themselves mastered its theology, in such a way as to bring it home in talking. Its merit, as a theological work, is far beyond that of any other catechism of any other Church. (Trent not excepted, which seen in the peculiar figments of the Church of Rome, is a very wonderful statement.) But what you say of the children having begun almost to forget it, to call it ' Prayers,' and, as they grow up, to have been let slip into ignorance of its meaning, is the worst thing I have heard of the Church in Cornwall. It reveals a new danger, and explains the Methodism of the people more than anything. I am certain that, if the Catechism were steadily explained on a Sunday afternoon to children, in presence of parents, it would do more for the Church than anything we have thought of. The clergyman wants help in drawing out his own thoughts into clearness, and illustrating them copiously from the Bible ; and, for Jiiin, Bishop Overall's or Bishop Nicholson's (especially) Exposition of the Church Catechism are ad- mirable. Anyone who knew it would be a shepherd indeed, and would find no difficulty in making children know and believe it. Whose f^mlt is it, if it 'might have been as well written in Latin ' ? I know plenty of villages where it is known and understood and loved. ... I am very hard driven, and you must pardon brevity. When you complain that theologians don't write simple catechisms, it is because no human task could possibly require so much theolog}-, and such power of expression. But it is within anyone's power to get up one catechism, and teach it vivd voce, which is what 176 THE BISHOPRIC OF TRURO the Church orders to be done. Of course we know better than to obey and have not faith enough to trust. Why do you not trust me, my affectionate son ? " Your ever loving " Edw: TruRON:" In another letter it is possible to gather something of the careful, but wide-minded, view he took of difficult questions referring to Dissent, and the best way to uphold Catholic doctrine and practice, without hard and repellent treatment of individuals. " Truro, November ^th, 1881. " My dear Mr. Moore, — Mr. Body preferred speaking to writing, and only yesterday had a talk with me. He advises the postponement of the mission, and I have quite agreed, feeling the full force of what I know yoti felt, but I think we might look forward to January 1883 as a good time for a mission. This would give us Advent 1882 for the more immediate preparation ; and, before that, full time for getting all our cords into order, and moulding the Church workers. " As to the baptism of c/nldre?t, who are at Dissenting schools and attend Dissenting meetings with their parents : (i) the nature of the baptismal grace; (2) the 'opening of the door ' through the interest and affections of both parents and children, would seem to make it right to give, or not withhold, what is (3) 'generally necessary' to their salvation. Confirmation, not being thus ' necessary,' is a different thing. I would not give that to young persons, who meant to go on in Dissenting habits, under most circumstances. " Great hostility to the Church on the part of the parents (though wishing to receive the Sacrament for their children), would seem to be a reason for postponing even Baptism, and endeavouring meantime to soften hearts. " The Church's commission to baptise seems so general, CHANGES 177 that to require more than the prescribed conditions, or even to put the closest construction on ' Dost thou believe in the Holy Catholic Church?' seems not right. But here, as in so many things, the characters and circumstances seem necessary to be reviewed, by the prayerful judgment of the priest on individual cases, with only very general principles such as I have touched on. I should like however to talk with you, on your own views of the case and learn them. " Yours sincerely, "Edw: TruRON:" The Bishop was very particular about details of business, especially those that concerned the Cathedral, its services, and their attendant expenses. Scarcely a week passed without his spending some time in going through the accounts, in suggesting economies, or better distribution of funds. Mr. T. H. Hodge, formerly of the Cornish Bank, was invited by him to act as Honorary Sub-Treasurer of the Cathedral. He spent many laborious, but agreeable, hours with Bishop Benson in the transaction of such business ; and, from that time up to the present day, he has been the faithful adviser of those who have had charge of die funds available for the main- tenance of the fabric and services. There was much kindly, and even loving, intercourse between the Bishop and his family on the one side, and not a few of the residents of Truro and the neighbourhood, and of all parts of Cornwall also, on the other. The following is only a specimen of letters that passed between him and his Cornish corre- N 1 78 THE BISHOPRIC OF TRURO spondents, years after he left Truro, and which show that the friendships then formed were deep and lastino-. "Addington Pai^k, Croydon, " \st January, 1891. " My dear Mrs. A., — My New Year's note in answer to your Xmas card bears back, — if it were only possible, — with interest of affection, your most affectionate wishes and assurances that we are all bound up in your great love for my dear wife. You know all we feel ; but we know also that God alone knows what Happiness is for any of us. We wish you the brightest He has to give, and your P. and all, and Mr. A. especially « yours affectionately, "EdW: CantuaR:" In the midst of all these ceaseless activities, busy schemes and plans for his diocese ; while he was leading a very busy but pleasant life, always returning to a happy home — came the call to the great and responsible office of Primate of all England. That he was likely to succeed to this high place some at least of those, who knew the mind of those with whom the appointment rested, were well aware. The dying Archbishop, Dr. Tait, himself said, " The Bishop of Truro will come forward and do a great work. For me twenty-six years is long enough." ^ Dr. Benson was summoned to his death-bed, a month before he passed away, and the visit was to him "like a patriarchal benediction."^ Dean Church also indicated him as a suitable successor, when he himself * Life of Archbishop A. C. Tait, vol. ii. p. 592. 2 Life, abridged edition, p. 228. CHANGES 179 tacitly declined the appointment, and when it became known that Dr. Harold Browne, on account of his advanced years, would not be called to bear so heavy a burden. Members of his own family were prepared for the news, especially Mr. A. C. Benson, who "had been told at Cambridge that many people believed it would be offered to him."^ But, that he himself had any definite expectation on the subject does not appear. Less than ten days before Mr. Gladstone's offer was sent, Dr. Benson in a letter, dated Truro, December 7th, 1882, wrote to a friend: "The noble sweet Archbishop rests well. . . . There is no one to come after him. — Your lovinc^ Edw. Tr." And then there came the actual definite call, con- tained in the letter, given later on, from the Prime Minister, and the still more strikino- and remarkable letters from the Queen ; the original autographs of which have, by the kindness of Mr. A. C. Benson, been deposited in the Chapter Room of Truro Cathe- dral, together with seals, rings, pectoral cross and other personal belongings of Dr. Benson. It is scarcely possible to give any adequate record of the feelings of Cornish Church people, when they heard that their Bishop was to be removed. They were proud that the first Bishop of Truro should be called to the highest office in the Church of England, and indeed of the whole great Anglican Communion. But it was a sore trial to them to part with him, after scarcely six short years of his presence among them, ^ Life^ abridged edition, p. 216. i8o THE BISHOPRIC OF TRURO during which time they learned, not only to appreciate his remarkable gifts as a ruler of men and an organ- iser of Church institutions, a teacher and a guide, but to love him for himself, for his gracious manners, kindly sympathy, and benevolent character. That he himself felt the wrench of the separation greatly is well known. "My heart is with you, and it always will be " ; he said at a public meeting held at Truro on January 22nd, 1883. "Dear Cornwall shall ever be in my daily morning and evening prayers." And his farewell address to the Diocese expressed this still more plainly. MR. GLADSTONE TO THE BISHOP OF TRURO. " ID, Downing Street, Whitehall, ''December i6th, 1882. "My dear Bishop of Truro, — I have to propose to your lordship, with the sanction of Her Majesty, that you should accept the succession to the Archbishopric of Canterbury, now vacant through the lamented death of Archbishop Tait. " This proposal is a grave one, but it is I can assure you made with a sense of its gravity, and in some degree pro- portioned to it ; and it comes to you, not as an offer of personal advancement, but as a request that, whereas you have heretofore been employing five talents in the service of the Church and realm, you will hereafter employ ten, with the same devotion in the same good and great cause. " I have the honour to be, my dear Lord Bishop, with cordial respect, « Sincerely yours, " W. E. Gladstone. " Were not this letter sufficiently charged already, I would ask what information can your lordship give me concerning Mr. Wilkinson (of St. Peter's, Eaton Square)." CHANGES i8i the bishop of truro to mr. gladstone. " Tkuro, ''December \?>th, 1882. " My dear Sir, — I am sure that you will be ready to believe that I cannot, and ought not to, do more to-day than simply acknowledge a letter which — with Her Majesty's gracious sanction — seems to be a call so momentous. May I beg for a few days' interval, in which I may see one or two friends, who both know my affairs and will counsel me as Christian men, with no eye to anything but the service to be done and the burden to be borne for the Church and her ^^^^' " I remain, etc., etc., "E. VV. Truron:" from her majesty the queen. " Osborne, ''December 22nd, 1882. " The Queen wishes to express to the Bishop of Truro her earnest hope that he will accept this offer which she has made to him through I\Ir. Gladstone, of the very important and high position of Primate — as she feels that he will thereby conduce greatly to the well-being and strength of the Church — and be a great support to herself. " The Queen, and her dear husband in byegone days, always had a high opinion of, and sincere regard for, the Bishop of Truro." to her majesty the queen. "Truro, "December 22,rd, 1882. " Madam, — Your Majesty's writing was a most gracious act for which I am deeply thankful. With extreme dread of failing in so high a trust, I was nevertheless drawn to the conclusion, under the ad\-icc of the few whom I could trust iS2 THE BISHOPRIC OF TRURO to warn me, that I ought to obey the call of Your Majest}% made to me through Mr. Gladstone. The immediate arrival of Your Majesty's letter has dispelled the last doubt, and especially the most deeply kind assurance of personal con- fidence gives me a fresh and real hope. " I ask of God, and hope, that worthier prayers than mine may obtain for me, the grace to fulfil for the Church and country what Your Majesty expects from me, and to be the most faithful servant of your throne. " Your Majesty's " Most devoted servant and subject, "E. W. Truron:" the bishop of truro to mr. gladstone. " Truro, '' December 2T,rd, i^Z2. "My dear Sir, — I hope that I have not exceeded the time that I might properly be allowed. " I have now received the judgment of those from whom I most wished to hear — whom I most trusted to speak out to me with perfect sense of their responsibility — and specially from some of the Bishops. " Advised by them all in one way — and nevertheless with all awe which would, if it were suffered, degenerate into fears — I accept the Primacy — or in words of your own which are far more serious and inspiring, 'the succession to the Archbishopric of Canterbury.' " God give grace. God give all that I only can know to be so fearfully wanting. I will give all that He gives to the service of the Queen, and people, and Church. " That Her Majesty herself approves it, knowing almost better than anyone some earlier work, is a thought full of strength. " May I say — God forgive me if I ought not — how much I feel its coming through you, with your heart-deep love of the English Church, and your devotion to her work and her life." CHANGES 183 from her majesty the queen. " Osborne, ''December 28///, 1882. "The Queen has received with much gratification and pleasure the Bishop of Truro's kind letter accepting the high and responsible office of Primate. " P'rom all sides she hears such expressions of thankfulness at this decision, and such confidence expressed in the Bishop. Her best and most earnest good wishes will attend him in his arduous and high calling ! "The Queen has heard with great satisfaction that Mr. Davidson is (for the present at any rate) to give him his valuable assistance, in the same position which he held with his beloved father-in-law. " The Queen has just had a letter from the Dean of West- minster, in which he speaks of the Bishop and Mr. Davidson in the warmest terms. "When it is possible for the Bishop to get away for a nisht, the Queen would be most anxious to see him." TO THE CHURCH IN CORNWALL. "My dear Brethren and Friends, — It is with heavi- ness of heart, and still with that trust which must at last overcome heaviness, that I speak of parting. " But I must speak — and speak at once, or I shall cause you inconvenience. "The circle of Confirmations, which through the grace of God I have found ever fresh and reanimating, the Con- ferences brimming with strength and hope, which have bound me to all the clerg)- and to such numbers of the laity in more than friendship, and all the other appointments made and looked forward to with zest, must, this )-ear and henceforth, be held by another ; I had planned to begin them so early that many may have to be postponed. " Of m}'self few words. I believe you think it was right 1 84 THE BISHOPRIC OF TRURO to accept this call to the Primacy, I could never have thought so, but for the constant prayers offered far and wide ere it came, and for strange concurrences of circumstance which preceded and attended it. " I consulted the chief layman of the county. His judg- ment was, that, whilst it would have been wrong to exchange this for any other see, however distinguished, I had no right to decline a leadership, full of labour and anxiety, and not wholly detaching me from the hope of working with and for you still. This judgment concurred with what I seemed to see right. " Dear Brethren in God's Ministry, you have worked with me untiringly, and admitted me to your intimacy ungrudgingly, and I have learnt to love every Home and Church and School of yours. " Your Rural Deans have been my wise and constant coun- sellors ; and Canons have been like brothers, as if the old Cathedral idea were once more to spring into bright activity. " To the Laity I would speak in terms of deepest respect and gratitude. Some, from elevating perceptions of what the Church is in Her Divine Master's view ; some, from experience gained in bodies which honestly endeavoured to make up what was left undone in the past ; some, from practical insight into the grievous needs of the actual present ; have recognised the fact that they are the Church of God in its power and in its obligation. " As holding its ancient offices of Churchwardens and Sidesmen, as members of conference, ruri - decanal or diocesan, as Readers, as Churchworkers, as Managers and Teachers in every rank of life, as helpers with worldly means of good, or as responsible before God for the godly education of His little ones in the knowledge of His will, the Laity of our day have opened a fresh era in the Church. "All this is not the fruit of a few years. It has been preparing for a long time past, and the far greater works which remain, God will also bring to perfection. CHANGES 1 8 3 "Little justice should I do to my creed or my feelings if I did not yet once again, as often in the past, acknowledge with love and gratitude that activity for Christ's sake, that openhandedness, that kindness towards all good works, that favour at beholding growing activities in the Church, which have been shown by the Wesleyans and by many others, who nevertheless have, and use energetically, organisations of their own. " Where I go I have a noble holy example before my eyes — my great predecessor in the Archiepiscopal See. But how hard to follow! The greatness was God's gift of nature. But the holiness and the sweetness of his charity — for that I am bound to strive as I may. You (I know it) will pray for me often (for I shall belong to you still) and specially in that Holiest Communion, where we are together unsevered by time or by space, that I may not strive in vain. I bless God for some little knowledge of the strong dignity of his work, and yet more for the sight of his fervent love to all men, and of his dying yearning for peace among Christians, which by God's special goodness was allowed to me, from time to time, in his weeks of ebbing life. " For my successor here I pray with you, while it is known to God only who he shall be. I scarce think you can have one who will love Cornwall better than I— her primeval Church and warmhearted children, and her vestiges of old story, her shores and shrines, and the fair House of God which is rising in the midst ; but I will beseech you to pray for one, who will work in the Spirit of Christ more faithfully, more zealously, more intelligently. " For her prosperity, both temporal and spiritual, I and mine shall never cease to pray ; for her enrichment in every grace, in hope and love and generosity, in purity of faith and purity of life, in perfect truth and perfect peace. " I subscribe myself for life, " Your devoted servant, " Christmas, 1882." " E. \V. TrURON: 1 86 THE BISHOPRIC OF TRURO No sooner had Dr. Benson been deslcrnated for the Primacy, than a small committee was formed at Truro to devise means whereby he might be presented with an archiepiscopal cross. Canon Thynne acted as secretary, and the committee was enlarged by members of Convocation, for each diocese of the southern province. The gift was a very beautiful and costly cross of silver gilt, glittering with pearls, sapphires, and clusters of diamonds and rubies, for which the Rev. Dr. Finch raised a special fund ; and other offerings were made. It was designed by Messrs. Bodley and Garner and executed by Messrs. Hard- man, under the direction of the late Canon F. H. Sutton. The niches include the ficfures of the four Evangelists together with St. Peter and St. Paul ; and those of St. Augustine of Canterbury, his conse- crator, St. Vigilius of Aries ; Archbishop Theodore of Tarsus, St. Hugh of Lincoln ; and St. Piran and St. Petroc for Cornwall. The cross was presented to the Archbishop at the Library, Lambeth Palace, on April 29th. 1S85. At the enthronement in Canterbury Cathedral of their first Bishop on March 29th, 1883, the Cornish clergy were well represented by the two Proctors in Convocation, Canons Thynne and Hockin, Chancellor Whitaker, Canons Bush, Coulson, Mason, Du Boulay and Rogers, and Prebendary F. E. Carter. In spite of his overwhelming work, there was a constant inter- course between himself and his old diocese. At Lambeth garden - parties a visitor from Cornwall CHANGES ' 187 would be sure to meet many old friends, lay and clerical, men and women, from the Western Duchy. "Ah ! Mason," said the i\rchbishop one day, half in earnest, half playfully, to Canon Mason, as they were talkini^- over old days and old work, " depend upon it, it was a great mistake when you and I left Cornwall. " But, thoutjh his heart was with Cornwall and its Church, his opportunities of revisiting the scene of his great work there were very rare. There was the great and glorious day, the fulfilment of his dream, when the Cathedral was consecrated, and he preached the first sermon within its walls. There was a later visit in 1894, when he stayed at Port Eliot, and was present at the reopening of the noble church of St. Germans by Bishop Gott ; and when, after seeing several other old friends, he spent a quiet Sunday at Truro, taking a simple part in the services of the Cathedral, reading the Lessons, while his ini- mediate successor, Bishop Wilkinson of St. Andrews, preached the sermon. And then, two years afterwards, came the great shock of his departure. The news of the Arch- bishop's death was known in Truro just before Even- song, on that memorable Sundav in October. The Canon in course, out of consideration for the feelings of not a few, who would have been quite over- whelmed if the announcement had been made without some kind of preparation, quietly, at the close of the service, said the [)rayer for All Saints' Day ; and. after the congregation had dispersed 1 88 THE BISHOPRIC OF TRURO during- a solemn voluntary, the startling news had quickly spread. At the funeral at Canterbury, Chancellor Worlledge was among the pallbearers, and there were also present from Cornwall, the Archdeacon of Bodmin (the Ven. H. H. Du Boulay), Canons Bush, Chappel, Flint and Whitaker, and the Worshipful R. M. Paul, Chancellor of the Diocese, and several Cornish ladies. It is interesting to note, that the Rev. F. E. Carter (Tait Missioner and afterwards Hon. Canon of Canter- bury Cathedral), Dr. Benson's fellow-worker and friend at Truro, was the one who arranged the company of watchers round his coffin, and acted as ccrevwniarius at his funeral. At Truro Cathedral a o-reat Memorial Service was held, attended by a vast congregation, including the Mayor and Corporation, many laymen from all parts of Cornwall and a large number of the clergy. In an article on "The Funeral of the Archbishop" the Guardian said : — "The great influence on the life of the Church which is exercised by the Primacy, in the hands of a strong man, was fitly represented by the vast numbers of clergy that attended the funeral . . . Laud, Tillotson, Tait have, each in their way, left their mark on the history of the Church. Archbishop Benson will be reckoned in the same rank. The famous judgment, which has spread peace over the land, will stand as a lasting memorial to his rule." ^ But, to Cornish Church people, and perhaps even 1 Guardiiut, October 21st, 1896. CHANGES 189 to others who knew him before he was called to Canterbury, his work at Truro will always remain the most valued, the most interesting-, and certainly the most picturesque. To have had the unique and great opportunity, of guiding a new diocese into ordered ways and wise disciplined action, is not often given to any man. But he, by his own initiative, grasped and used with enthusiasm, tact and judgment, another opportunity ; that of founding and building a new cathedral, which, in its fabric, organisation, and work, should realise, in these later days, the great ideals that he had himself learned to appreciate, in the ancient and venerable ecclesiastical foundations of the past. His greatest and most conspicuous monument will, as the years pass by, be recognised to be, not chiefly the beautiful canopied effigy that covers the actual place of his burial in the great Metropolitical Cathedral at Canterbury, nor even that which marked in so significant a way a new era in the administration of the Primacy, the written memorial of his lucid, wise and tolerant " Lambeth judgment" ; but in that well- ordered diocese of the western peninsula of Cornwall, and the noble cathedral that is the centre of its Church life. The following is a very true estimate of his work a I Truro : — "... When all has been said, it remains that the spiritual value and significance of the Cornish period were unique. Never again, in the after-years, weighted by measureless responsibilities, was he able to give full fling to the joyous I go THE BISHOPRIC OF TRURO outbreak of all the strength and beauty that he had it in him to give to the Kingdom of God. Down there, on that hidden headland, he could allow his exuberant energy of work free play, unhindered by the anxieties which encumber a great position under incessant criticism. His buo}'ant idealism was kindled by the poetic contrast between the thing that he found to hand, and the thing that he meant to do. All his creative faculty of organisation was evoked, with its equal delight in the depth of the foundations to be laid, and in the perfection of the smallest detail to be foreseen. His warmth of feeling responded to the imaginative emotion of the Cornish. Strange memories, archaic visions, hovered mistily over uplands and hollows : the past, in its fascinating shadowiness, in its weird oddities, met him at every turn of the road, in the quaint form of suggestive aloofness which most appealed to his swift curiosity. Everything that he undertook went through with enthusiasm. He had all the joy of multitudinous beginnings : and he left, before the drag had begun of seeing to the continuance of what had been begun, among a people who are quicker to welcome than they are stable to sustain."^ It is true that the whole Cathedral at Truro is his monument, but there are not wanting special memorials of him, within and without its walls, in stained glass, statue, carved inscription. Chief among them are the words cut in stone of the south transept, now called by his name : — " To the glory of God this transept was erected to com- memorate the restoration to Cornwall of its ancient bishopric and the episcopate of Edward White Benson, D.D., first Bishop of Truro. A.S. MDCCCLXXVH — MDCCCLXXXIII, afterwards Archbishop of Canterbury." ^ Canon H. Scott Holland, Journal of Theological Studies, vol. ii. No. 5, October, 1900, p. 34. CHANGES 191 Another is the fi^-ure, engraved in brass, near the baptistery, given by clergymen ordained by him at Truro and Canterbury ; with the following inscription : — "►p Reverendissimum in Chri.sto patrem Edwardum White Benson Cantuar: Archiepum, apud Cantuar: sepultum,funda- torem hujus Eccline et epum primum summa pietate Clerus ab ipso ordinatus commemorat. AIDCCCXCVI." too-ether with the words selected bv himself for his epitaph : — ^ " Miserere mei Deus. Per crucem et passionem tuam libera me Christe." On July Sth, 1899, the noble monument, designed on lines similar to that erected to the memory of Archbishop Peckham, standing under the north-west tower of Canterbury Cathedral close to the Arch- bishop's grave, was unveiled by H.R. H. the Duchess of Albany. The Dean of Canterbury and the Lord Chancellor (Lord Halsbury) paid fitting tribute to the greatness of his life and work ; but Cornwall was once more in evidence near his tomb, when Canon Gardiner, Sub-Dean of Truro Cathedral, represented the Chapter of his old Cathedral, and the Earl of Mount Edgcumbe, Lord Lieutenant of the county of Cornwall, bore witness to the deep affection ever felt towards him by the laymen of the West, and commended to the Church people of England the completion of Truro Cathedral, as his most appropriate memorial. ^ In a private memorandum found among his papers he wrote : " I would have these words put abo\e my grave and no others." 192 THE BISHOPRIC OF TRURO Whenever hereafter men shall recall the memory of the first beoinninors of the Diocese and Cathedral of Truro; when they shall inquire, When was this o-ood tradition in orcranisation or work or worship betrun ? Who was it that first inspired this noble i(iea, that has grown into form and beauty in- creasingly, as the years have passed ? Who first gave us this or that form of prayer or stately ceremony, this or that wise rule for conference or chapter? Most often, if Cornish Churchmen are faithful to his great example and leadership, the answer will be found in the history of the episcopate of Edward White Benson, first Bishop of Truro and founder of its Cathedral. At a meeting of the General Chapter, held on the festival of SS. Simon and Jude, 28th October, 1896, in the Chapter Room of the Cathedral, the following resolution with reference to the death of the Most Reverend Edward White Benson, Lord Archbishop of Canterbury, was unanimously passed : — " That we, the Bishop and Canons of Truro, in General Chapter assembled, desire to express our deep sorrow at the removal from the Church on earth of our late Archbishop, so honoured, trusted, and beloved, some time the first Bishop of this reconstituted diocese. "While recalling, with gratitude to Almighty God, all the Archbishop's unwearied service to the Church and the nation, and the varied gifts so reverently offered in that service, we feel that it is our especial privilege to record our sense of the wisdom which planned the foundation of this Cathedral, the skill with which its statutes were drafted, and the hopeful CHANGES ' 193 energy which communicated to many hearts a determination to continue what had been so happily begun. " That we desire further to express to Mrs. Benson and her family our deep s}'mpathy with them in a sorrow in which man)- have most truly shared, and an assurance of our continued pra}-ers that, together with him who has now entered into his eternal rest, they may evermore be guarded by the peace of Christ." The resolution was signed by the Bishop, as presi- dent of the Chapter, and by Chancellor Worlledge, as secretary, and was forwarded to Mrs. Benson. To the above resolution, the following reply was received :— " Eton College, Windsor, "■November i6t/i, 1896. '•' Dear Mr. Chancellor, — My mother had hoped to be able to acknowledge the kind resolution of condolence, forwarded to her by the Bishop and Chapter of Truro, but she has not been able to do so yet. She therefore asks me to express her sincere gratitude for the affectionate sympathy expressed, and for the touching allusions to my dear father's work in Cornwall. " May I add one word ? Of all the various positions that my father held, though he threw himself with equal zeal and interest into the work of each, yet I am sure, from many things he has said to me, that his work at Truro was nearest to his heart : he felt the stimulus of Wellington, he loved the antiquity of Lincoln ; and the historical traditions of Canter- bury, combined with the sense of the hourly growing energies of the Church, ga\e him a deep sense of solemn responsi- bility : but the Truro time was what touched his affections most. To hear him speak of Truro, and Truro people and Cornish folk was alwa}-s a delight ; he thought that they o 194 THE BISHOPRIC OF TRURO loved him, and his own love for them was peculiarly tender and eloquent. Even in times of sadness and anxiety, it always brightened him to think and speak of Cornwall. " Will you kindly convey to the members of the Chapter our sincere thanks for the resolution, and believe me, dear Mr. Chancellor, " Most sincerely yours, "Arthur C. Benson." cJiT/'r/// .yj'fJ'/u'p 17 /r//ri' . .ifei/utn a* A%':'j^ CHAPTER X THE SECOND BISHOP OF TRURO GEORGE HOWARD WMLKINSON was born in the county of Durham, and educated at Durham under Dr. Henry Holden. He was elected to a scholarship at Oriel College, Oxford, and graduated in Honours (Literae Humaniores, Class H.) in 1855. He was ordained to a curacy at St. Mary Abbot's, Kensington, under Archdeacon Sinclair the elder, and held the livings of Seaham Harbour and Bishop Auckland in the Diocese of Durham from 1S59 to 1867. His experience as an active Parish Priest, among the mining population of the North, was en- larged by his transference to London in 1867, when he was appointed Vicar of St. Peter's. Great Wind- mill Street. Here he laboured, for three or four vears. among a poor and sadly depressed population, which afforded only too sufficient material for rescue and penitentiary work. In 1870 he was appointed to the large and important parish of St. Peter's, Eaton Square, the inhabitants of which include some of the wealthiest residents in London, and some of the most cultured of "Society" families. The history of his thirteen years' ministry in that parish cannot be 195 196 THE BISHOTRIC OF TRURO told here, in any sort of adequate manner. All that can be said is, that nothing less than a constant spirit of missionary effort was kept alive, that instructions in the " Wav of Salvation," and the " Devotional Life " ; teaching about the need of true conversion and real vital religion, created the deepest impression on multitudes whose antecedents and environment made it far from easy to escape the deadening in- fluence, and exhausting excitement, of fashionable Societv and of the London Season. The fervour, that niight easily have taken the form of mere Methodist Revivalism, was held in check, not only by a cultured refinement, but by a reverent regard for "the proportion" of the Faith: and the stirring of the emotions was balanced, both by appeals to the understanding, and by a careful regard for the authority of the Church. And so, the results achieved were, in no little degree, a successful combination of Evangelical piety and Catholic devotion. The sub- jectivity of the prayer-meeting did not prevent those who came to it from estimating the Sacraments at their true value, nor from duly usinsf them. Interest was awakened in all kinds of Church work ; vast sums were freely given by those who had "first given themselves to the Lord " ; the great ugly church was transformed and glorified ; the services were well ordered and the music beautifully rendered : a centre of spiritual life and light, in the very heart of London, spread its influence far and wide. Mr. Wilkinson's powers as a mission preacher were exercised, not THE SECOND BISHOP OF TRURO 197 only in his own parish, but in very many parts of Enj^Iand. Perhaps his most remarkable effort In this direction was at the great mission held at Leeds in 1875- He was associated with Bishop Benson, as one of his Examining Chaplains, very early In his episcopate, and was appointed Honorary Canon of St. Petroc in Truro Cathedral in June 1878. He not only gave most moving addresses at many of the Ordination Retreats, but greatly Impressed the clergy of the diocese at the Devotional Conference. Of one of these occasions Dr. Benson has recorded : — "Wilkinson told me, that he himself was quite carried away with the possibilities that opened out before him of the Church in Cornwall ; and, that at his first Communion in our homely little Cathedral, the text, ' The glory of the Lord shall be revealed,' was borne in upon him, with such a divine force, that he changed all the outline of what he meant to say into this theme, and gave up the plan of what he had prepared." ^ Dr. Wilkinson was thus in close touch with many of the Cornish clergy over whom he was called to preside. He had, from the first, enthusiastically entered into Dr. Benson's ideas about the building of the Cathedral ; he was present at the great event of the laying of its foimdation stones on ^Lly 20th, 1880; and it was noticed how carefully he looked after the Bishop whom he loved so much, leaving his own head bare that he mioht screen his master's neck O ^ Diary. 198 THE BISHOPRIC OF TRURO from the fierce rays of the sun. He had bright and sanguine hopes of progressive and united Church work in Cornwall ; and, in a sermon preached in London after one of his visits to Truro, "in pro- phesying good for the English Church, he said, ' There is one diocese where parties seemed to have died under the sense of common duties.' "^ It was not surprising that such a man should be marked out for promotion to the episcopate ; and, when, in a postscript to the letter that offered the Primacy to Dr. Benson, Mr. Gladstone asked, "What information can your lordship give concerning Mr. Wilkinson ? " he was answered with words that en- larged upon the "deep inner devotion and marvellous tact" of his friend, and with the assurance that "the religious heart of Cornwall, where the social and religious separations are so great, would be (as I have seen it so) remarkably susceptible of his influence." The announcement of the selection of their Vicar for the vacant Bishopric of Truro, called forth mingled feelings among the parishioners of St. Peter's, Eaton Square. Both they and he felt the summons to be "a call from God," but " this did not lessen the pain " of the coming separation ; of which however he could say, " God helping us, nothing will ever really break the link which binds us to each other."" This certainly proved to be true, in the constant help given by his friends in London to the new Bishop of Truro; ^ Bishop Benson's Diary. ^ Letter to his parishioners, January 26th, 1883. THE SECOND BISHOP OF TRURO 199 in personal work, liberal offerings for the building and adornment of his Cathedral, and the generous support of many Church works and enterprises. At once a remarkable movement took place, to raise a " Wilkinson Testimonial Fund," of which Lord Col- ville, Sir James McGarel Hogg (M.P. for Truro, and afterwards Lord IMagheramorne) were the leaders. A sum of about ^4,000 was collected, which was expended in the purchase of a handsome book signed by all the subscribers, a carriage, and other personal gifts ; a ring, a pastoral staff, and a pectoral cross were pre- sented by the ladies of the congregation and the assistant clergy of the parish. At the presentation of these gifts the donors spoke thus : — " For all that you have done for us we desire, first of all, to bless God's Holy Name, and then, to offer our grateful thanks to you." The Vicar was able to say in his reply : — " Every man, woman, and child, could feel that they are part of a great family, and bound to do what they can to help on the work of the Church. It has not been by ones or twos, or by tens and twenties, but by fifties and hundreds, that the Church-workers, thank God, can be counted." ^ Dr. Wilkinson was consecrated on St. Mark's Day, April 25th, 1883 (the sixth anniversary of his pre- decessor's consecration), in St. Paul's Cathedral, together with the Bishops-elect of Llandaff and Tas- mania, Drs. Lewis and Sandford. The Archbishop 1 St. Petct's Magazitie^ ^-lay, 1883, pp. 12 seq. 2 00 THE BISHOPRIC OF TRURO had a peculiar interest in consecrating, as his successor, one so loved and trusted by him as his Chaplain and a Canon of the Cathedral ; while the Bishop of London (Dr. Jackson), and the Bishop of Lichfield (Dr. Maclagan, formerly Vicar of Kensington), had the pleasure of presenting for consecration to his high office, one closely united with themselves by friendship and common work in the great city. On May 15th, the new Bishop was received in the city of Truro with a thorough Cornish welcome by a very large gathering of the clergy and leading laymen. Dr. Temple, the Bishop of Exeter, commended him to the "attachment" and "loyal respect" of the Church people of Cornwall. The friendly w^ords of the Mayor of Truro, Mr. Martin, a Nonconformist, gave Dr. Wilkinson the opportunity of speaking of Dissenters In a kindly strain, and of declaring his intention to carry on the work of his predecessor ; he determined to have as his ideal "the highest that a Bishop of Truro . . . can put before his mind, to be ... a father in God, to be on earth a representative of what the great Father is, to be a father, as He is Father, The ceremony of enthronement took place in the little wooden church, that had been erected after old St. Mary's Church had been demolished, with such ceremonial as was possible under the homely conditions, of which Dr. Wilkinson had said some years before, that the beofinninofs of the new Diocese of Truro ' .5"/. Peter's Magazine, June, 1883, ])p. 133 scq. THE SECOND JUSIIOP OF TRURO 201 reminded him of the primitive simplicity of the Acts of the Apostles. The new Bishop preached from the words "Jesus Christ, the same, yesterday, and to-day, and for ever." W^ith such a happy inauguration Bishop W^ilkinson entered upon his work. Great expectations were raised of what he might be able to accomplish, especially as he had already for some years past proved himself to be in full sympathy of spirit with earnest men of widely different convictions. He thoroughly entered into the aspirations of those who loved a well-ordered service, and who, loyal to the teaching of the Prayer Book, valued the grace given through the Sacraments of the Church. But he was an "Evangelical," in the best sense of the word. Personal religion was, to him, as essential to the well-being of the individual soul, as corporate religion is to the spiritual stability of the Church, and every member of it. It had been his great aim, as Vicar of a London parish, to bring the two into true co-ordination, and he set before himself the same object, in his new and far more difficult position as Bishop of so unique a diocese as that of Truro. The position of the Church in Cornwall, owing to the causes referred to in the first chapter of this book, is that of a Church, supposed to be "established," face to face with a great body or bodies of professing Christians, outside her pale, rendering her no alle- giance, and very often deriding her claims and oppos- ing her work. A faithful Churchman looks at the 202 THE BISHOPRIC OF TRURO situation as, for instance, Bishop Benson regarded it. He cannot fail to recognise the spiritual power of the "great John," the "complete manner of the work done by him in Cornwall," It cannot be denied that he "kept a living though insufficient religion alive." Bishop Benson says w^ith great truth, " As a logician he [Wesley] is something like J. H. Newman. But his moral power — the beauty with which he delineates what he sees with such intense accuracy, both of faults and of graces, is marvellous — and, except for the witchery of Newman's language, I should place Wesley above him as a heart-reader." But, on the other hand, Dr. Benson, with all his eager desire to appreciate the work of John Wesley and his followers, was unable to deny that a " deterior progenies " had succeeded to his work. The doctrine of "assurance and perfection," however guardedly taught by the early Methodists, had results too often unsatisfactory. Apart from the special evils already mentioned in a previous chapter, the whole idea of the Christian Faith had been lowered. "It is a religion in which Repentance is minimised, pressed indeed into minutes, while Assurance, and the con- viction of Self-perfection reached, are as attractive as Repentance is to nobler minds." And all this system has been organised and entrenched in every town and villaQ-e, sometimes with its hug-e barrack- like meeting-house, at other times its little wayside whitewashed chapel. Bishop Benson, early in his ministry, was accused of insulting the Methodist THE SECOND BISHOP OF TRURO 203 minisLcrs, bcciiusc he had used ihc phrase "a lei^nti- mately descended ministry" of those in the Holy Orders of the Church of England. He was said, in "furious letters," to have branded Wesleyan preachers as belonging "to a bastard ministry." They started, it is thought, a Wesleyan College for boys in Truro as a counter movement to the bishopric and the Cathedral, and all the Church educational asrencies connected with those institutions. So crreat a man as John Bright, in a speech at Rochdale, accused Dr. Benson of having "charged the Cornish clergy and laity to ' contend with and, if possible, suppress Dissent in Cornwall.'" The Bishop, in a public speech at Truro, said, " I will never contend with Dissent with any weapons save those of faith and holiness — my message is one of peace and good will only : my object is to urge Churchmen to work their own work and live holy lives, and all else I leave to God."^ From all this it is (juite evident, that any Bishop, coming into Cornwall, however con- ciliatory his character, however tactful his language and conduct, must be prepared to face a great amount of misapprehension, if not downright opposition, when he delivers, in all its fulness, his message as a Chief Pastor of the Church. Whether, if Dr. Wilkinson's episcopate had con- tinued for many years unbroken by the sad interrup- tions of repeated ill health ; whether, if he had been 1 This and other statements on this subject are quoted from Dr. Benson's Diarv. 204 THE BISHOPRIC OF TRURO able to show, as he began to do, in his own attractive and inimitable manner to the more spiritually minded Wesleyans the spectacle of a "truly converted man," holding at the same time quite firmly the doctrines of Apostolic Succession and Sacramental Grace, the Divine oriein and constitution of the Visible Church ; and yet able to sympathise tenderly with their deeper religious experiences, and even to adopt some of their methods of speaking and acting; any great results towards the reunion of Christians in Cornwall would have been achieved, it is not possible to say with any degree of certainty. Dr. Wilkinson, with a most loving and tender yearning for souls, and an ardent longing for unity, went very far to meet those who were separated from the Church. Some of the clergy and the laity of the diocese were, perhaps, apprehensive, on one or two occasions, lest the principles of Church order, if not Church teaching, should be in danger of being- compromised. But no real risk was run, at the hands of one so loyal to the Prayer Book and so deeply attached to the Catholic faith. But it may be doubted whether, then or now, any definite approach towards corporate reunion between the Church and Methodism is possible, until some very great and radical changes take place in the minds of the leaders of thought among the latter. The Anglican Communion has declared its own mind in the definition of principles of unity laid down in the Lambeth Conference of THE SECOND BISHOP OF TRURO 205 1888:^ it is impossible to imaoine that any further reduction of terms can l)e offered without stultifying the whole ecclesiastical and dcjctrinal position of the Anglican Church. Those terms were (i) the Holy Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments as "containing all things necessary to salvation," and as being the rule and ultimate standard of faith ; (2) the Apostles' and Nicene Creeds ; (3) the two Sacra- ments of Baptism and the Supper of the Lord, and (4) the Historic Episcopate. - Until Dissenters grasp what it is that Churchmen understand bv the Catholic Church, no advance is possible. The idea which fills the mind of the average Dissenter is that of a number of denominations of which the Church is one ; with no special spiritual claim upon his allegiance beyond an interesting history and certain State -given privileges, without any divinely ordained authority, or venerable con- stitutions resting on apostolic foundations. So long as this idea prevails, as it certainly does in Cornwall, there is naturally no reason why the average Dissenter should submit to anv claim made to him on behalf of 1 The Lambeth Coiifcrc7ices of 1867, 187S, and 1SS8, edited by the Bishop of Winchester, pp. 280, 281. - In 1897 the fourth Lambeth Conference passed a group of resolutions on promoting "visible unity amongst Christians," indicating the duty of special intercession for the unity of the Church, in accordance with our Lord's own prayer ; and suggesting other methods for en- couraging any tendencies in this direction, not only with "different Christian bodies" at home, but with the churches of the East, the Unitas Fratruin or Moravians, and the "Church of Sweden" abroad. — Report of the Lambeth Conference, 1897, pp. 42, 43. 2o6 THE BISHOPRIC OF TRURO the Church. On the other hand, the spiritually minded Methodist is not likely to surrender his inde- pendence at the call of the most cleverly reasoned arguments, that convince the understanding but do not touch the heart. The truly devout Wesleyan, who loves his Lord and Saviour with all his soul, will not be moved by dry arguments about Church government or organisation, or appeals to antiquity however un- answerable. He will only be brought to love the Church and delight in the Sacraments, when he realises that, the Church is the dear Spouse of Christ, and the Sacraments the very means that his Lord has, in tender love, ordained for the needs of his soul. Some of them have learned, and are now learning, all this. Dr. Benson records : — " I was shown an old man aged eighty-two, who had been always an earnest man about religion, and had been a member of every sect. One evening he broke out of a brown study to a friend who was sitting with him, in these words : ' Why be I to chapel now ? All the good I ever got was to church.' His neighbour sagely replied, ' Well I'm sure I don't know why ye be to chapel.' The next Sunday he came to church and has done so ever since. This old man's unmeant alienation for so long from the Church, is a sort of parable of the Cornish people. They are, in very many cases. Dissenters without meaning it : they will come in crowds to church and sing ' We love Thine Altar, Lord,' with endless fervour, and listen to the highest doctrine, without remonstrance, and subscribe to the restoration of the churches freely. By-and-by they will inquire ' Why be I to chapel ? ' " And again under the date May 7th, 1S78 : — " An old bright woman came to Mason and told him she THE SECOND BISHOP OF TRURO 207 and her husband had broken out together over their dinner, ' Why shouldn't we do something for the Cathedral ? ' And they had resolved to give ten pcjunds or fifteen pounds, at the rate of two pounds a year. ' .And here are our first two sovereigns. We say, we were born in the Church, baptised in the Church, married in the Church, and only been Methodists for some years since, and why shouldn't we belong to the Church still, and come back to it? for after all it's the Church—///^ Church— it's the Church.' " ^ Down at the bottom of their hearts, in spite of long years of alienation, the claims of the Church still keep a place. Dr. Mason has recorded in his Diary : — "September 20th, 1881. — . . . Old Caroline Pascoe, a beautiful and devout old woman whom I visited for the first time, I asked if she belonged to the Wesleyans. ' No,' she said, ' I don't like pride; I like to meet with a humble little people. So when I came here twenty years ago I joined the Bryanites, for they was a little humble people then. I've been with them ever since, but now they'm got so proud as the Wesleyans.' I told her I thought that the old Church was after all ' the humble little people ' she wanted. ' Ah ! ' she said, ' that's of it ; the Church is the mother of us all." What is wanted to revive or recreate loyalty for the Church is an earnest ministry. Once more Dr. Mason's Diary speaks for itself. "■October \^th, 1881. — In the evening my Bible-class, and then a visit to poor Ann Bluett, in bed again. . . . ' A woman,' she said, ' asked me the other day, " Where do you go now ? " " To church," I said. " To churcJi ! " said she. " Why, how's that ? Did you ever hear of anyone being saved under the parsons ? " I advised her to tell them, the next time, that St. Peter and St. Paul were ' parsons.' " 1 Diary. 2o8 THE BISHOPRIC OF TRURO A priesthood full of spiritual vigour may surely win this people. So far as Dr. Wilkinson was able to exhibit a friendly, and even an affectionate, attitude towards Nonconformists, and certainly always to think and speak of them in a most loving spirit, he did not a little to soften the bitterness of religious controversy. But it would be misleading to let it be supposed that, so far as can be seen, any definite breaking down or even any loosening of the barriers has taken place. Indeed since Wesleyanism has claimed, by some occult process, to develop itself from a Society into a Church, i since its chapels more and more provide elaborate musical services of the cathedral type, the spirit of rivalry has increased, and the desire for unity proportionately diminished. There are still too many indications of a tendency to use persecuting methods, to deter young persons from offering themselves for Confirmation ; and the cry for " Religious Equality " too often really means the denial of the just rights of the Churchman. Refusals to provide consecrated o-round in public cemeteries, and appoint Chaplains in workhouses,- have been notoriously general. Any- thino- like the spirit of compromise between Church and Dissent is doomed to failure in Cornwall ; to some extent it has been tried in the past and been 1 See note at the end of this chapter. 2 In not one l^'oor Law Union in Cornwall is the workhouse provided with a chapel or with a chaplain appointed, as required by law, by Boards of Guardians ; everything is left to voluntary effort. THE SECOND BISHOP OF TRURO 209 found wantinc]^. In the early days of Methodism, there were undoubtedly excellent persons who were staunch members of the " Society " and regular com- municants of the Church.^ But, as time went on, the " Society " drifted further and further till it adopted the attitude of a rival "Church." The combination of mornincr attendance at church, with evenine attendance at "chapel," very common indeed through- out Cornwall up to recent times, did not tend to produce a very satisfactory or wholesome type of religion, and certainly not one that built up a strong kind of Churchmanship. Cornish people like a decided form of religion ; they can delight in a " red- hot " revival, and in some places at all events have become enthusiastic adherents of teaching on the Sacraments, private confession, and ceremonial, which, by some, might be deemed extreme. A thorough- going and consistent "Evangelical" parson will be ' I am indebted to the Rev. A. H. Malan, Vicar of Altarnun, for the following very interesting inscriptions on tombstones in his churchyard, that illustrate, vfery well, the original intention and practice of the first Methodists in Cornwall, (i) "Sacred to the memory of Digory Isbell, who died in the Lord 23rd June 1795, i^^ the 77th year of his age, and of Elizabeth his wife, who exchanged earth for heaven 8th of October 1805, in the 87th year of her age. They were the first who entertained the Methodist preachers in this county, and lived and died in that connection, but strictly adhered to the duties of the Established Church. Reader, may thy end be like theirs." (2) " This stone is erected by Henry Harris to the memory' of his father, Jonathan Harris, who departed this life, May 19th, 1805, aged 84 years. Also to the memory of his mother, Susanna Harris, who departed this life, June 9th, 1S3S, aged 66 years. He was for seventy years one of the Methodist Society, and died in that connection, yet strictly adhered to his duty as a member of the Estab- lished Church." 2IO THE BISHOPRIC OF TRURO sure to make his nicirk. But the colourless and so- called " safe " form of religion that aims principally at avoiding offence, will not strike fire from the Western Celt, nor leave any definite result behind it in a Cornish parish. After all, the best means to promote unity is not controversy or compromise, but prayer ; such prayer as Bishop Benson wrote in his Diary, February 12th, 1871 :— " Grant, Lord, that Thy Church may war without carnal weapons. Grant simplicity and godly sincerity, to preach Christ without contention and to advance Thy Church without party, or faction, without animosity, without disputation." As might have been expected from his antecedents, Bishop Wilkinson was keenly interested in the special mission work in his diocese, as the following letters indicate. Bishop Wilkinson was always very particular in sending out a missioner with his own personal blessing and, if possible, after private conference and prayer. Nor did his own share in the work then cease. He was glad to receive, when time permitted it, accounts of the spiritual progress of a mission, and was always ready to encourage the missioner, and the incumbent of the parish with inspiring messages and wise counsels. The following extracts from letters sent to a missioner will illustrate this side of his character : — THE SECOND BISHOP OF TRURO 211 " Lis Escop, Truro, ''December ^th, 1886. " My dear ... I must send you and the Vicar and all workers a word of blessing for your first Sunday. We have been day by da}' remembering the work. I am thankful to have been in the church on a Sunday and so to be able better to realise the mission. May the God oi hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, and enable missioner and Vicar and workers to abound in hope (however discouraging may be the aspect which Satan presents) by the power of the Holy Ghost. . . . "... Do not take the trouble of writing a regular letter, but send me a mem. if there be any special need. Be very careful about your health, food, sleep, etc. I have often found it a blessing to make an act of faith m our blessed Lord, when over-tired, and even to miss a Celebration, so as to have the needed rest. He knows whereof we are made. " With kind love to them all, " I am, my dear . . . " Affectly. yours, "GeORG: H. TrURON:" " Lis Escop, ''February "Jth, 1889. "... We are not failing to remember you, day by day, in our chapel, as well as privately. The mission was also . remembered the da}' that I was at the Cathedral for Holy Communion. " ' Be strong and of a good courage, for the Lord your God, He it is that goeth before }-ou.' . . . ' I will guide thee with mine eye.' " Ever affectly., "GeORG: H. TruRON:" 2T2 THE BISHOTRIC OF TRURO And two davs later : — " Lis Escop, '' February gth, \Z^g. "... Thank you for your letter, with its cheering account of answered prayers and breaking Hght and comfort for your own soul. . . . May He continue to bless you in your own soul and in the work. " Ever, my dear . . . " Affectionately yours, "Georg: H. TruroN:" The following letter was sent to a Priest, conducting a mission at a sea-coast parish in beautiful scenery, with cloudless moonlight at night and sunlight by day. just a week or two before the " Great Blizzard " of March 1891 :— " Lis Escor, " February 2\st, 1 89 1 . "... I am thinking much of you, and hope that the glorious weather and beautiful light of that ' pale empress of the night ' (as someone calls the moon) have been to you outward and visible signs of blessing, given to the Church at large and to your own individual souls. What an illustration the pathway of the moonbeam on the waters gives for a mission ! " The dark waters on either side — the bright pathway of the moonlight. " The solitary ship — like a separate soul — comes into the beautiful light— as doubtless many are now coming at R. The tiny vessel pauses awhile in that glittering light. For a moment every sail and rope and spar is irradiated. Well for it — if it let down its anchor and abide in the light — for often — even as we gaze — the vessel moves — so THE SECOND BISHOP OF TRURO 213 slowly and silently but so surely — out of the light into the deep unutterable darkness. " And for the dear people, whether belonging to church or chapel, who love our Lord, what echoes are sounded in their ears from last Sunday. The Grace of God. The Grace of the Incarnation, the Atonement — their Baptism, their Con- firmation, their Holy Communion — received in vain to no purpose — e/V Kevov — that solemn ' Jiow ' (2 Cor. vi. 2). And for ourselves, \\hat searching questions arise from each word of the epistle. " My love to X. and to Y. The almighty and merciful God bless, preserve and strengthen and guide you. " Ever affectionate!)', "GeoRG: H. TruRON:" After his departure from the diocese, and while still in precarious health, he continued to remember in his prayers the mission work of Cornwall, and wrote to the same missioner about a parish in which he was greatly interested, and the Parish Priest. "He is such a good fellow. . . . Repentance, peace and joy ; perfect surrender to our Lord ; these are the needs of a Parish Priest." There was in the place a poor suffering girl who wrote books. The Bishop added that the Parish Priest and others would be sure to tell the missioner about her, and wrote : " Will you call and give her the Blessing /7'om me, with niy love. Ask one of the B s to write and tell me how the mission prospers." With reference to an allusion to their "late dear Bishop" in the preparatory letter sent by the missioner, 2 14 THE BISHOPRIC OF TRURO he said, " I know how vou will miss me. I was touched by words in your letter." On beino' told of the o-ood fruits that followed the distribution of some of his books — Break up your Fallow Gi'oiind, The Way of Salvation, and others — " I was much touched by the way in which you o-ather too-ether the indications of God's blessino- on my books." Certainly a Bishop like this was a wonderful support to his mission clergy. Dr. Wilkinson took up the threads of episcopal work, just where his predecessor had dropped them. He had several of Dr. Benson's fellow-workers who were also his own friends, to assist him — Canons Mason and Whitaker, the Rev. F. E. Carter, and the Rev. J. A. Reeve. He brought with him as Domestic Chaplain, the Rev. John Maxwell Lyte, one of the Curates of St. Peter's, Eaton Square, a clergyman of singularly attractive personality and gifts, whose premature death early in 1887, deprived, not only his Bishop of a valued friend and helper, but the diocese of a bright example of clerical character and high ideals. He called to his aid, as Examining Chaplain, the Rev. H. Scott Holland, Senior Student of Christ Church, and now Canon Residentiary and Precentor of St. Paul's Cathedral. He was Honorary Canon of Truro from 1883 to 1884, and still acts as P^xamining Chaplain to the present Bishop. THE SECOND BISHOP OF TRURO 215 The new Bishop, as was to be expected from his antecedents, made every effort to set before his clergy a lofty standard of pastoral work, as well as to deepen in them by every means the inner spiritual life. He was, as has already been mentioned, greatly interested in the Devotional Conference of the Clergy of Corn- wall while he was Chaplain to Dr. Benson ; and, Irum the beginning of his episcopate onwards, he helped it by his presence and by addresses delivered at its meetings. Of these conferences his predecessor had formed a high opinion ; they " were full of life and energy and spirituality too — and as M said to me privatel}-, ' there was a wonderful sense of fellowship ' throughout all — of course they are the cream of the clergy, but the cream was Cornish cream." ^ After Dr. Wilkinson's arrival as Bishop, in addition to the Devotional Conferences, an annual Diocesan Retreat for the Clergy was established ; mainly through the care and devotion of the second Canon Missioner, the Rev. F. E. Carter. This has been maintained ever since, and some of the greatest masters of the spiritual life in the Church of England have come to Truro for the purpose of conducting these retreats. Among them may be mentioned the late Bishop Bickersteth of Japan, Archdeacon Hutchings, Canons Body, Bodington, Gore, and Newbolt, Fathers Benson and Puller, the Revs. \\ S. Stuckey Coles, H. Bromby of All Saints', Clifton, and J. Wylde of St. Saviour's, Leeds. Bishop Wilkinson himself conducted the retreat ' Dr. Benson's Diary, April 25th, 1882. 2i6 THE BISHOPRIC OF TRURO in 1 886, which was held at St. John's Church, Truro. The addresses were mainly on "The Pastor dealing with Individual Souls," and were characterised by the spiritual insight that was the fruit of the speaker's own long experience and devoted labours. Since the Cathedral was built and consecrated the services of the retreat have always been held within that noble sanctuary, in view of the beautiful reredos. The preparations for Ordination had under the first Bishop of Truro always been most careful. The peaceful surroundings of the grounds of Lis Escop, the quiet churchyard and impressive dimness of the church at Kenwyn ; the services in the little chapel of the Bishop's house : the earnest addresses given by some well-known spiritual guide, form elements of a memory that will live long in the hearts of many clergymen ordained for work in the Truro diocese. There was always one very helpful part of the week's work, and that was the conversation, or rather con- ference, after dinner when some chosen subject was passed round the table for all who wished to contribute a share in the discussion and finally summed up by the Bishop in wise and fatherly words. The Ordination services continued to be held in various parochial churches, until the consecration of the Cathedral, where (with the one exception of the Trinity Ordination at Bodmin in 1895) they have ever since taken place. THE SECOND BlSJlOr OF TRURO 217 The new Bishop had liis hands more than full of work inaugurated by Dr. Benson. But he did not shrink from the breaking fresh ground and undertaking new responsibilities. One of these was connected with women's work in the Church. Besides the ordinary work done by Christian women in the Church, such as that of district visiting, Sunday- school teaching and the Hke, Bishop Wilkinson had a great appreciation of organised Community Life, and was very anxious to foster it in his diocese. Indeed the idea of such a reli^'ious communitv of women for Cornwall had already occupied the mind of the first Bishop of Truro, who has recorded in his Diary an interestino- discussion at the Ruri- Decanal Con- ferences on this subject. "At every one of them clergy and laity have unanimously been of opinion that some distinct organisation of women into Sister- hoods or Deaconesses' Institutions, with distinctive dress and vows, at least temporary, and solemn episcopal sanction, are become now absolutely necessary in the Church of England. I am surprised to find the feelino- what it is." Nor must it be for- gotten, that, for very many years a branch of the Community of St. Mary the V^irgin, Wantage, had been established near Lostwithiel, where a House of Mercy dedicated to St. Faith, has received many penitents, whose lives have been changed and their future well-being furthered. Bishop Benson and his successors valued this work hiixhlv. The Sister-in- Charge, Sister Anna, was a great favourite of his. In 2i8 THE BISHOPRIC OF TRURO his Diary he speaks of her as "an ever grand old lady. Brown as a nut. and wiry and bright-eyed." He approved of the methods of the community, as not having too "precise rules and many silences, easy for the Sisters and hard for the girls." The Sisters were called by the people of the neighbourhood " Mercy Ladies," The Rev. W. F. Everest, during a lengthy period, was the pious and faithful Chaplain, and his services were greatly appreciated and duly recognised by Bishop Wilkinson, who appointed him to an Honorary Canonry in the Cathedral in 1890. Nor must it be forgotten that a notable example of a consecrated life had many years been seen in Cornwall in the person of " Mother Charlotte," widow of the Rev. W. Broadley, Vicar of Carnmenellis, After twelve years' devoted work with her husband in that newly formed and lonely Cornish parish, she devoted herself after her husband's death, to ministering to the needs of the orphan children of her sister, and went to reside in London. Here she became known to the Rev. G, W. Herbert, founder and first Vicar of St, Peter's, Vauxhall. After a time, she became a Probationer of the sisterhood formed in that parish, and in 1866 was chosen first Mother Superior. After eleven years of untiring labour among the poor of Kennlngton, she was compelled, after her third period of ofiice, to retire from active work and returned to Carnmenellis in 1877. Here she lived a life of devotion guided by strict rule, and with her nieces established many agencies for the spiritual well-being of the THE SECOND BISHOP OF TRURO 219 people. In 1SS2 she was called away, leaviiiL;- behind an example of "a life of prayer and loving ministry that will not easily be forc{otten."^ But the second Bishop of Truro desired to see at work in Cornwall a Diocesan Community under his own immediate g-uidance and control, strengthened by his episcopal sanction, and (as he hoped) increasing in such numbers, as miorht make it available for various kinds of work in all parts of the diocese. The materials for the first nucleus of such a community were already to hand. The following account has been supplied by the Communitv, and is inserted without alteration : — THE FOUNDATION OF THE COMMUNITY OF THE EPIPHANY In the years between 1876 and 1880, when Vicar of St. Peter's, Eaton Square, he felt the great need of the work of consecrated women in his parish. He therefore gathered together a band of ladies, with a view of foundint^ a Religious Communit}', which he intended should be established in the Parish of St. Peter's, for the purpose of carrying on the various parochial and mission w^orks. These ladies took up their residence in Hobart Place, close to the Church of St. Peter's, in 1880; but, finding the need of more quiet preparation for their future life, they went to Boyne Hill in 1881, where they took charge of an Indus- trial School for committed children, in compliance with a request from the Committee of the School, who were members of the St. Peter's congregation. At Bo>-nc Hill they were close to All Saints' Church, ' P'or further details, her life by Louisa Herbert (published by Long- hurst, Kcnniny ton) should be consulted. 2 20 THE BISHOPRIC OF TRURO where they had the advantages of the daih" Celebration and frequent services, while the Vicar of St. Peter's visited them fortnighth- for teaching and ministerial help. During this time, the Constitutions and Rule having been drawn up, the Community was established, and the Novitiate duly inaugurated. In 1883 when the Vicar of St. Peter's was appointed to the See of Truro and enthroned in the month of May — on the following July 5th, the Sisters came to Truro— taking up their abode at Alverton, which has become the Home of the Community. On November ist of the same year all the Sisters were professed by the Bishop— and the Mother installed in her office.^ At the present time there are seventeen professed Sisters and three Novices. Since the foundation of the Community the works have grown considerably, so that the Sisters have to refuse many calls. The works consist now of: — The Mother House, the centre of the life and work of the Community. There are three Branch Houses : — («) A Laundry Home for penitents. {U) A Convalescent Home for w^orking men at St Agnes, {/) A Mission House in the town, where the Sisters hold classes, etc., for factory girls. In addition they have — Charge of the Rosewin Training School for Servants, The care of the altars in the Cathedral and St. Paul's Parish Church. District work in the parishes of St. Mary's, St, George's, and St, Paul's as far as their numbers allow. A Church Needlework Society. The supply of altar breads to churches in the diocese. The Community of the Epiphany is diocesan, under the ^ Over the door of the House is inscribed : " There they dwell with the King for His work" (i Chron. iv. 23). THE SECOND JUS HO I' OE TRURO 221 control of the Bishop. On the resignation of Bishop Wilkinson, the present Bishop became Visitor. Canon Body, D.D., of Durham is Warden, and the Rev. D. E. Young holds the office of Sub- Warden, for man\- years filled by Canon F. \\. Carter. The following sentences are inscribed on the ebony cross bearing a silver Epiphany star, worn by the Sisters : — "We have seen His Star, and are come to worship Him." " Behold Thy servants are ready to do whatsoever M\' Lord the King shall appoint." " Fear not. I have called thee b}- th)- name. Thou art Mine.' The Bishop himself e.xplained the objects and principles of the sisterhood in his first address to his Diocesan Conference in 1883 : — " The value of sisterhood life has long been felt in the diocese, and the self-denial and patient work of the Sisters at Lostwithiel is well known to many here present. The history of this new sisterhood may be quickly told. The need of women, entirely devoted to the work of God. was pressed upon mc in my London parish, and I was fortunate enough to secure the assistance of five of the most earnest of those who had helped in our parish. The plan of the sisterhood is very simple. The Bible as interpreted by the Prayer Book in its obvious meaning is their standard. Loyal submission to their Bishop is their guiding principle. While it is my dut>-, as their Father in God, to guard them from all mere idle curiosity, every detail of their rule will be gladly shown to any who are interested in their life. At present they are working in the schools, visiting the sick, and helping, so far as they are able, all who need their assistance. The special object, however, which I hope to accomplish by their in- strumentality, is the developing and deepening of woman's work in the diocese. If it be God's will that they remain in Truro, and if it be God's will that their numbers increase, and 2 22 THE BISHOPRIC OF TRURO that the}- succeed in winning the confidence of the diocese, I hope that the}- will be invited to stay for two or three weeks at a time in our towns and villages, to strengthen the hands of the Church, and to render any help, which they are able, to the clergy of the parish. I hope also that women will be sent to the sisterhood in order to be trained in the various branches of parochial work, and then go back to their homes better able than before to help their clergyman, better acquainted perhaps with the deeper laws of the spiritual kingdom." Reference has already been made in a previous chapter to the excellent help given by the community, in parochial and mission work : and the thoroughly loving and perfect manner in which they care for the Cathedral building, its altars and ornaments, is the admiration of all who visit it. Not only are a number of carefully selected women employed by them to clean the building, but a band of lady volunteers assist in taking charge of the choir and sanctuary, arranging the flowers and changing the frontals. They meet regularly for prayer and occasionally for instruction. The following prayer has been provided for their use : — Collect for Cathedral Workers. O Lord Jesu Chrlst, Who when Thou wast on earth didst cleanse Thy Father's house from all defilement ; Bless us Thy servants in the work belonging to us in this holy and beautiful house, and enable us to do it faithfully as in Thy sight. Give us more love for Thee and Thy service. Make us kind and forbearing towards those with whom we work ; and grant that we, who minister in Thy temple on earth, may hereafter see Thee face to face, where, with the Father and the Holy Ghost, Thou livest and reignest, one God world without end. Amen. THE SECOND B I SHOE OE TRURO 223 NOTE— "THE WESLEYAN SOCIETY" On the front page of the Minutes of Conference, up to very recent years (a.d. 1891), the title ran, "Minutes of several Conversations at the \}iumber\ Yearly Conference of the People called Methodists in the Connexion established by the late Rev. John Wesley, a.m., begun in \toivn'\ on [dale foliotvs]." At the top of this page there has of late appeared " Wesleyan Methodist Church " with a line beneath. The explanation is given under " Standing Orders, part ii. i " printed in Section V. of each volume of Mmuies of Conference. " Title of the Connexion. — Having regard to the terms used in our Trust Deeds and other legal documents, it is not possible for the Conference to alter the title of the Connexion as it appears on the front page of the Minutes of Conference. The Conference declares, however, that the title hitherto used is not, and never has been, inconsistent with the assertion for ' the People called Methodists ' of a true and proper position as a church, with all the authorities, privileges, and responsibilities belonging to the New Testament Church ; and in this view of our principles and of the facts of the case, the Conference, so far from discouraging, distinctly approves of the general and popular use of the term, ' The Wesleyan Methodist Church'" {Minutes, 1891, p. 321). From the Annual Address of the Conference (1892) to "the Methodist societies," it appears that "we might have remained content with the simpler title which the circumstances of our origin imposed, if it had not been made necessary by arrogant gainsayers to assume explicitly what we have always claimed" {Minutes, 1892, p. 367). In the same address it is stated (p. 366) that "John Wesley, in the living portrait of his Journals, is a perpetual source of inspiration to his spiritual children." In Wesley's Journal, under January 2nd, 1787, we read the following : " I went over to Deptford, but it seemed I was got into a den of lions. Most of the leading men of the society were mad for separating from the Church. I endeavoured to reason with them, but in vain ; they had neither sense nor even good manners left. At length, after meeting the whole society, I told them, ' If you are resolved, you may have your service in Church hours ; but, remember, from that time you will see my face no more.' This struck deep ; and from that hour I have heard no more of separating from the Church." ( IVeslefs ]Vorks, third edition, with the last corrections of the author, vol. iv. jx 357.) CHAPTER XI PREPARATION IT would obviously be impossible in a work, like the present volume, to attempt to give any adequate account of Bishop Wilkinson's inspiring ministrations throughout the diocese. Spiritual fer- vour, and the magnetism of a character and per- sonality rarely met with, affected greatly all who came within the sphere of their influence. In public, whether at a great Church gathering, missionary meet- ing, or conference, his appearance on the platform was sure to attract a large audience. At the Cathedral, the announcement that he would preach was sure to bring a congregation, too numerous for the incomplete buildinof to accommodate with convenience. At Con- formations. Church dedications, and other special occa- sions, crowds of people, not by any means all members of the Church, flocked to listen. What did they see } A slight figure, a pallid face, raven black hair, an eager look dashed by a shade of melancholy. What did they hear? A voice of strangely vibrating quality, not perhaps musical in tone, but thrilling and penetrating. But there was much more. The look and the voice were the expression and the 224 J'REPA RA TION 2 2 5 vehicle of ei message sincere, convincino-, affectionate ; sometimes almcjst terrifying. Men, and not women only, felt sure that before them was one, who had a Divine message to deliver, to which even against their will they were bound to listen. In private, with all who sought his advice, whether on matters directly spiritual or ecclesiastical, or on secular business, there was felt to be round them an atmosphere, created by a life of devotion and communion with God. It must not be supposed that, with all this spiritual fervour, his temperament was so highly strung or overwrought as to make him unpractical, or dreamy in matters of e\-eryday life, or lacking in the business- like qualities, so necessary to the administration of a diocese, and the government of men and affairs. On the contrary, he was always recognised by the laity, as well as the clergy, as an excellent chairman in committees, conferences, and every kind of meeting. He organised his diocesan work, his Confirmation tours, and other visits to all parts of Cornwall, with no little method and systematic care ; and, while he spent much of his time at Lis Escop, and was fre- quently present at the Cathedral services, he was, so long as his health permitted, constantly moving about in the outlying parts of the diocese, carrying with him to many a clerical home that warm sympathy and tender encouragement, which he knew so well how to give, to those isolated and often disheartened clergy, who minister under tr\ing conditions, and, too often, among an uns\ mpathetic, if not an estranged, people. -> -> 6 THE BISHOPRIC OF TRURO The followino- o-ives an admirable idea of his character and disposition : — " His own native character combines in one, two tempers, which look so opposite to one another, and yet which are so constantly united in the typical Celt. He is at once mystical and practical. Is there anyone in the world more shrewd and thrifty, when thrift is the word, than your Irish peasant with all his religious intensity? And the Bishop, rapt and intense as he is on the spiritual side, has the most curious regard to the smallest practical details : he loves minute and exact method ; he keeps his affairs in the most absolute order ; he has an enthusiastic belief in punctuality ; he is a first-rate chairman at a business committee ; he has a strict eye for the use of every minute of time ; he takes positive pleasure in the careful scheming of details. His note-book of engagements is a miracle of precision. And moreover, his eye, in detecting and noting down what is happening all about him, is unexpectedly rapid, and even alarming. He misses nothing, when you least imagine him to be observing — a passing expression in a man's face, a tiny faux pas or lack of tact, a touch of difference in a tone of voice, a jarring phrase. And be it observed that this combination of mysticism with practical shrewdness is no mere alternation of rival moods. Far from it. The Bishop never slackens the tension of the spiritual exaltation. The religious point of view is sustained without break or interval. It would be impossible for him to abandon it and then resume it. He cannot conceive life, except in its mystical significance. Yet, without any sense of contradiction, without any drop in the spiritual level, his practical instincts are at work with shrewd precision, with exact observation of details, at the very moment and within the same impulse in which he is putting out his spiritual energies. Has this not been a trait in many of the good mystical teachers? Was not St. Teresa herself remark- able for her keen common sense in the management of PREP A RA TION 2 2 7 affairs? The combination is, in reality, more normal than we are apt to fancy. No one would understand the Bishop fully who had not appreciated both sides of his character." ^ In addition to all the other duties of his office there was pressing- upon him daily the task of the building of the Cathedral, and making it in all respects fit for worship. The departure of Dr. Benson from Cornwall might have been supposed to be the signal for the slackening of the interest aroused by his enthusiasm in the foundation and erection of the Cathedral ; were it not that, in his successor, there was found, not only a similar enthusiasm and a perfectly loyal purpose of carrying on all the great tasks he inherited ; but a remarkable powerjof influencing men and women, to give generously to the many objects of Church work, which he placed before their notice. Besides, there was a strong desire to commemorate permanently the great initiatory work of the first Bishop of Truro, in the building he ^ had so successfully founded. It was therefore determined to add to the choir and aisles, the south transept as a monument to the founder. Lord Mount Edgcumbe once more took the lead in this fresh effort, and was vigorously supported by the laity of the diocese. That part of the building, now known as the Benson transept, was accordingly begun. Later on, it received as memorials, the stone tracery ' W. Scott Holland in the Cornish Mai^azine, vol. ii., January, 1899, PP- 4, 5- 2 28 THE BISHOPRIC OF TRURO of its rose window as a gift from the masters and scholars of his old college at Wellington ; ^ and, in after years, his episcopal staff, left in his will to his "own dear Cathedral"; besides family monuments, and a brass effigy of himself, given by clergymen ordained by him at Truro and Canterbury. The erection of the baptistery as a memorial to Henry Martyn ; the north transept, the central tower as far as the lantern stage, the clock tower of the parish church, followed each other in comparatively rapid succession : and proved how strong was the desire, in the hearts of Cornish Churchmen, to follow the lead of their first Bishop, and remove the reproach, that so long lay on the Anglican Church, that she had so little real belief in her principles, and so little real enthusiasm for the worship of the Almighty, on a scale of real dignity, as to have shrunk from the task of building a single new Cathedral for many centuries. Mr. A. P. Nix, Major Parkyn, and Mr. R. Swain, clerk of the works, were among the most energetic of those who raised funds for these successive addi- tions to the buildino-. Moreover, under Bishop Wilkinson's rule, not only was a noble fabric built, but it was filled with beautiful decorations, and furnished with rich and abundant ' A brass commemorates this gift with the following inscription : — "Ad majorem Dei gloriam, Reverendissimum Edwardum White Episco- pum Truronensem amore et pietate prosecuti hanc rosam fenestralem Wellingtonenses sui ponendam curaverunt. A.D. MDCCCLXXVII." PRE PA RA TION 2 2 9 ornaments and furniture, worthy of the architectural desiiin.' That this was possible, was clue to the achiiirable efforts of Cornish women, who, in the space of about a year, raised nearly ^16,000 for the internal fittings. When it is remembered that, in after years, at a time when efforts were being made to complete the nave, about ^5,000 more was collected by the same agency, it will go down to history as a great achievement, that, more than ;/^20,ooo for the ornamentation and completion of a cathedral, was collected in the last sixteen years of the nineteenth century, by the earnest and persistent work of devoted Churchwomen of the West. Stained-glass windows, a complete organ, a noble reredos, marble pavement, all the stalls and woodwork of the choir, the font, the splendid altar plate and magnificently embroidered frontals, form part of these rich and noble offerings. Nothing poor or mean was permitted to find an entrance into so fair a sanctuary, and the architect exercised a thorough and careful supervision over the details of every separate gift. The utmost care and reverential exactness was ^ Canon Mason had, at the Diocesan Conference in October, 1883, humorously alluded to the lack of provision made for any ornaments or furniture. " With the exception of a noble lectern and a few books, the Cathedral is (so far as I know) as yet unprovided with a single article of furniture. Perhaps, however, we might, like our brethren of the Eastern rite, bring crutches with us to lean upon, and dispense with seats and hassocks which arc ordered by no rubric, and therefore might even be considered as prohibited ornaments." From that time attention was specially directed to the subject. 2 30 THE BISHOPRIC OF TRURO exercised In making- every part of the building, not only artistically harmonious and in o-ood taste, but to minister to the devout influence that should be helpful to worshippers. " The portion of east window" (so the Bishop wrote) " which is done, requires some alteration ; but it is, I think, quite glorious. The prayers, so far, have been answered." He had been with the sculptor of the reredos, and prayed with him, that the figure of the crucified Lord, in the centre, might be a worthy one, and helpful to all who should hereafter see it. Even small details, such as the type and binding of books for the altar and Canons' stalls, were carefully considered. The women of Padstow collected ^loo for the purchase of books. The design for the binding, and other particulars, were submitted, as had been done in the case of all the rest of the ornaments, to the architect. The Bishop wrote as follows : — "■'September \st, 1887. "... I eave Mr. Pearson instructions about the books and had a long interview with him. The enck)sed has just come. Will you compare it with the list which you have and write me a line by bearer to say if it is correct, and also to answer Mr. Pearson's question about the Bible." Many of the smaller gifts offered to the Cathedral had interesting personal associations ; none perhaps more touching than the embroidery of a fair linen chalice veil mentioned in the followino^ letter : — PRE FA RA TION 2 3 1 " Lis Escop, ''All Saints Day, 1888. "... I send herewith a gift for our Cathedral, not unworthy to be placed by the side of the Alabaster Box. It is the work of a poor governess, who has sat uj) man\- a lone!}' hour, in order to make it ready for the anniversary of the consecration at the 8 a.m. celebration of Holy Communion. Could you send me a short note of acknowledgment which I can send to cheer her in her lonel}' life? " I'^ver sincerely yours, " Georg : H. Truron : " The following instances were given by Bishop Wilkinson in his address at the Diocesan Conference of 1884:— " A letter written by a husband from the deathbed of his wife contains these touching words : ' My wife wishes me to tell you, that she is doing her best to get her card for the Cathedral filled up.' ' I send you,' says another, ' the proceeds of a book written b\- one who is now, we humbly believe, in Paradise rejoicing over the work which is being done for God's Cathedral.' ' I have thought,' said a young girl, when she parted with a beautiful trinket, ' what there was I cared for more than anything else I possessed,' and the best was freely given, unasked, to beautify the house of God." After he had left Cornwall, the Cathedral and all its services held a large place in his affection as the followino- letter will show : — " Eastbourne, "October 26t/i, 1 89 1. " Thank )'ou ver\- much, my dear Precentor, for your affectionate letter and the copy of the service [the order for THE BISHOPRIC OF TRURO -o the enthronement and installation of his successor as Bishop and Dean]. " How beautiful the Cathedral will look. How God's help in raising that 'holy and beautiful house,' and furnishing it in all its wonderful perfection, is a pledge to >-ou all, for ever, that His blessing shall rest upon the diocese, and His help for it never be invoked in vain. God bless you all. " Yours affectionately, "George H. Wilkinson, " Bishop." One ornament must be singled out for special mention, and that is, "the Bishop's chalice." It was made from a large number of beautiful jewels, given to Bishop Wilkinson, which have, as far as possible, been retained in their original settings ; six hoop rino-s beincr mounted on the band of the knop and six roses on its upper lobes. It is of considerable in- trinsic value, and of excellent design and workmanship. The following is engraved beneath the foot : — " 1887. All Saints' Day. This sacred vessel is a memorial before God of the spirit of devotion, which, in these latter days. He has quickened in the Church of England. The gold, and ' precious stones for beauty,' are the gifts of a large number of persons, who have severally offered that which they most value, for the glory of God and the service of His Holy Table." An eminent Nonconformist leader, when he saw it, said, "It is a beautiful symbol, in gems and gold, of loving self-sacrifice." Bishop Wilkinson stirred up this great effort by his enthusiasm, he fanned it by his eloquence, and con- PREP A RA TJON 2 3 3 secrated it with prayer. It was Inaugurated in May. 1884, by a great gathering in the temporary Cathedral at a celebration of the Holy Eucharist, and followed by a meeting in the Public Rooms. Queen Alexandra, then Princess of Wales, was in- vited to be president, Miss S. Thornton was the first secretary, and was succeeded by Mrs. Arthur Tre- mayne of Carclew, who for many years, by her per- severing devotion, has led the women of Cornwall to emulate her own enthusiasm, and bring their work to a successful issue. When their work was being com- pleted, the Bishop issued the following letter : — "Truro, August 31^-/, 1887. "My dear Friends, — It is alike my duty and m\- pleasure, before our Cathedral is consecrated, to thank you for the way in which you have responded to your Bishop's appeal, when he asked you to provide the internal fittings for the house of our God. "Your work, by the power of the Holy Spirit, was done heartily, unitedly, quickly, and thoroughly. "You bore cheerfully the various difficulties, which, from time to time, arose in connexion with this great effort. " Old and young, rich and poor. Nonconformists and Churchwomen, united, with one accord, to give their pence, and silver and gold. " In a very short time you collected more than fifteen thousand pounds. "You have given an example of devotion to God's Church, which has been followed in other dioceses. "You have, to an extent which }-ou will never know on earth, gladdened the heart of the Bishop, and strengthened his faith in the power and goodness of God. 2 34 THE BISHOPRIC OF TRURO "You have, I humbly beheve, done much to set forward the kingdom of our blessed Lord and to manifest His glorious Name. " God bless you, dear people, in }-our own souls — your hearts — your parishes. Believe me, " Yours ever sincerely, " GeoRG : H. TrURON : " All these efforts were entirely in accordance with the mind of his predecessor, who warmly seconded Bishop Wilkinson's desire for a beautiful and well- furnished cathedral, as the following letter shows : — "Lambeth Palace, S.E., ''April 25///, 1884. "My dear Bishop of Truro, — When I was in Corn- wall I was anxious for the Cathedral to be built, fitly pro- vided, and used as the great Central Agency for doing all those things which the parochial clergy see and say must be done centj-ally ; as well as for enabling the parochial clergy to take their part in organisations for effecting equably and economically those spiritual purposes which cannot be sus- tained dispersedly. " Now that I am away from Cornwall I see the necessity for it more strongly still for that dear Cornwall's sake ; and I see it moreover now as the necessary bond by which all the centralised work of dioceses may in turn be knit together in the still greater unity of the province and of the Church. " One great means of unifying laity, clergy. Bishops into federal work for God's Church, and for carrying out objects which can never be adequately attempted in isolation, is by a living use of the cathedral system. Some cathedrals of course have not the least idea of their powers, others have, and I trust in God to see Truro grow into its fulness of use- fulness and service. " I earnestly hope that your appeal will meet with a hearty response. " Yours affectionately, " EUW : CaNTUAR : " PRE PA RA riON 2 3 5 As the time approached for the completion of the Cathc(h-al, it became necessary to review the whole ecclesiastical position of the parish in which it stood, and adjust the relations between the somewhat compli- cated ri(;hts and privileges belonging to both Cathedral and parish. On the one hand, it was important to guard and maintain, in its entirety, a very ancient parish ; to prevent it from being unduly overshadowed, or even absorbed, by the Cathedral with its capitular body, and its central diocesan dignity and authority. Bishop \\' ilkinson was able to bring, not only his tact and courtesy, but his sympathy, as an old Parish Priest of long standing, to the aid of the Rector and churchwardens ; while, on the other hand, his strong appreciation of the great value of a true cathedral, with its central position as the mother church of the diocese, and his perfect loyalty to his predecessor's ideals, made it impossible for him to consent to any compromise, that would sacrifice that position. Long and anxious discussions took place between the Rector and churchwardens on the one hand, and representa- tives of the Cathedral on the other, under the presi- dency of the Bishop ; and the result was, that a Bill was drawn up, embodying the recommendations arrived at. which eventually, through the care and watchfulness of the Right Hon. W. H. Smith, passed into law as " The Truro Bishopric and Chapter Acts Amendment Act" (50 and 51 \'ict. c. 12). By this Act. the old south aisle of the Church of St. Mary was recognised as the parish 236 THE BISHOPRIC OF TRURO church, and secured in full parochial rights and privi- leges without interference by the capitular body ; and only subject to a special regulation as to hours of service by the Bishop, to prevent collision with those of the Cathedral. The newly erected Cathedral was, on the other hand, delivered from any possible danger from being hampered by the intrusion of parochial ratepayers into its internal government ; and its Chapter legalised, with all the rights and privileges belonging to other similar capitular bodies. So Truro secured its position with its Residentiary and General Chapters — its right to elect a capitular Proctor, as well as its Bishop under the congd-cCdlire; and to hold property as a corporation. To the new Chapter were afterwards transferred twelve benefices in Cornwall previously held by the Dean and Chapter of Exeter. Under the provisions of the Act above mentioned the office of Sub- Dean is held in conjunction with that of Rector of the parish ; and, so far as could be, every- thing was done to secure unity of action, between parish and Cathedral ; and the existing parochial officials were, quietly and without a break, attached to the Cathedral, in the same or similar positions hitherto occupied by them. The office of Dean was, for a time at least, to be held by the Bishop ; and residence was not required such as would interfere with episcopal work in the diocese. While it is very important, in new founda- tions, to secure for the Bishop a recognised position in the Cathedral, and to make it impossible that the PREP A RA TION 2 3 7 scandalous spectacle, that has sometimes been seen, abroad and at home, should be ever again repeated, of a I)ishop being excluded from the pulpit of the church where his Cathedra is set up ; yet, it may very well be fiuestioned, whether, as a rule, the union of the two offices is politic or desirable. The duties of a Dean, as resident head of the Chapter, lie mainly within the cathedral city, and the mother church ; the office of the Bishop is exercised, far and wide, throuohout the length and breadth of the diocese ; and it is almost impossible for the same person to give complete attention to the demands of both. ^ In new foundations it might, perhaps, be well to revive the precedents of Llandaff and St. David's, where, until the monotonous levelling Act of 1840, in the former, the Archdeacon, and, in the latter, the Precentor acted as President of the Chapter : or, possibly, it would be better still, to have a Provost elected by the Canons themselves, as in early days Deans were chosen. At Truro, after the legal establishment of the Dean and Chapter, the Honorary Canons were by no means relegated to the mere shadowy position, occupied by such dicrnitaries in manv cathedrals. Thcv were, bv the Acts, recognised as having a share in the patronage of the Chapter ; and, in practice, they exercise their vote in the election of the capitular Proctor; besides being summoned, at least three times a year, along with the Residentiaries for business and deliberation. In actual practice, as in theory, by the draft statutes, ^ Cf. Bishop Benson, The Cat/wdral, p. 43. 238 THE BISHOPRIC OF TRURO the Cathedral Chapter acts as the Bishop's Council, which, indeed, according to Canon Law, is its essential idea. They also preach in turn, ordained by statute, at least once annually, in the Cathedral pulpit. In fact, they occupy a position very similar to that held by Prebendaries or non-residentiary Canons in Cathe- drals of the "Old Foundation." Bishop Wilkinson, as might have been expected, was not content to exercise every possible care to provide his new Cathedral with all beautiful and necessary furniture, and to secure for the capitular body as complete a contribution as possible ; he was also especially anxious to prepare the minds of his people, to make a due use of the noble Cathedral that was soon to be consecrated in their midst. Some months before the date fixed for the dedication, he com- missioned the Rev. F. E. Carter, the Canon Missioner, to organise and carry out, at several centres, a number of quiet days for prayer and devotion, by way of preparation for the great event. The addresses were mainly directed to impress upon people's minds the true principles of worship ; and the devotional acts were largely made up of intercessions for the diocese and its needs, and for the Divine blessing upon the services that should be held within the Cathedral walls, and the work that should centre round and emanate from its staff of clergy. Throughout his episcopate, all who knew Bishop Wilkinson felt how much he depended upon such days or seasons of prayer. Whether it was the starting of the women's PR EPA RA TION 239 association for providing internal fittings, or the intro- duction of the Cathedral Hill into Parliament, or the commencement of some new diocesan society; nothing was ever entered upon without a special celebration of the Holy Eucharist, or a largely attended service of intercession when some deeply solemn and fervid address would stir the hearts of men and women, and inspire them to go forward in some new enterprise. Then, when the success was gained, or the peril passed, sometimes beyond all expectation, the secret of it all was felt to lie hid, in the prayers and inter- cessions that had been offered with so much united earnestness and faith ; and then, there would follow a service of thanksgiving, a special Eucharist, or a Te Deum. The Rector of St. Mary's, Canon J. H. jMoore, Sub- Dean of the Cathedral, arranged for a series of devotional services to prepare the worshippers at the Cathedral and his own parishioners, for their entrance into their new and greatly enlarged sanctuary, with proper dispositions of heart. The services were conducted by the late Rev. E. Steele, Vicar of St. Neot, and made much impression — especially the chanting of the Litany in the main streets of the parish. The following letter was issued by the Rector to his parishioners : — " St. Mary's Rectory, Truro, '• September 26th, 1887. " Dear People, — The time for consecrating the Cathedral to the worship of God is fast approaching, and I am very anxious that this event should be a blessing to all of us. 240 T^E BISHOPRIC OF TRURO " Besides its Beauty and Glory, which strike all who enter it, the consecration of the Cathedral is something even more than this to the people of St. Mar}-'s parish, and to those who have sacred memories of the old church. " The Cathedral is the Mother Church of the Diocese ; many from distant parts of Cornwall will come, we hope, from time to time, and feel at home there, and find a welcome from us, and a blessing from God. But that, which to others in the diocese can only be an occasional help and blessing, will be to you a constant privilege ; for Sunday by Sunday, at least, you will be invited to worship there, where there is room for all, using our south aisle and its altar for lesser occasions, or when found more convenient. " So the consecration of the Cathedral has for you all the interest and solemnity of your parish church opening. " One principal thought on the reopening of a church is — that we must enter it with hearts and lives prepared for worship. " To help us in this, the Rev. E. Steele has very kindly consented to come here on Sunday, October i6th, until Thursday the 20th, to help us, as God may give him power, by sermons and addresses suited to the occasion. Full particulars will be given you of the hours, etc., and I hope to have an early opportunity of giving you further details of the arrangements for November 3rd and following days. " Further I wish to say : — " This Cathedral Consecration is a call to all of us : those who have learnt best how to worship, know best how hard it is, and will gladly use this further help. " But this is a call also to that large number whom I long to see awakened to a higher and truer life, especially a large number of men who are strangers to worship of any kind. To these also I send this appeal. Here is a blessing offered to them ; for the Cathedral opening is, in part a fulfilment of our blessed Lord's parable which shows the responsibility both of the messenger and of the people,—' A certain man made PREPARA TION 241 a great supper and bade many ; and sent his servant at supper time, to say to them that were bidden, Come, for all things are now ready.' And then a second time, — ' Go out quickly into the streets and lanes of the city, and bring in hither the poor, and the maimed, and the lame, and the blind : and the servant said, Lord, it is done as thou hast commanded, and yet there is room.' And yet a third time ' the lord said unto the servant, Go out into the highways and hedges and compel them to come in, that my house may be filled.' " Your faithful Pastor, "James H. Moore. " Here is a prayer for all of tis to use : — " Almighty God, Who wast pleased to show a pattern of heavenly worship to Thy servant Moses, teaching us thereby with what reverence and holy care Thou wouldest be worshipped on earth ; Grant to us, we beseech Thee, such a right understanding of earthly worship, as may fit and prepare us for a place in Thy Church Triumphant, through the merits and intercession of Jesus Christ our Lord. Avieny The Bishop issued the following Pastoral Letter, which was sent throughout the diocese. He called attention to certain arrangements that would be made for the Day of Consecration, and invited his people to prepare their hearts for so great an occasion. " CONSECRATION OF TRURO CATHEDRAL. " November yd, 1S87. " ' This is the day which the Lord hath made : We will rejoice and be glad in it.' " ' O come, let us worship and fall down : And kneel before the Lord our Maker.' " ' Ye shall reverence My sanctuar}-. I am the Lord.' R 242 THE BISHOPRIC OF TRURO " Dearly Beloved in the Lord, — The circumstances of this day are exceptional. Directions therefore given, with reference to the services, are not to be regarded as precedents for the future use of the diocese — or as, of necessity, expressing the mind of the Ordinary. " It is requested : — " I, That, those, who can conveniently do so, communicate at one of the Early Celebrations ; in order to reduce the number of communicants at the Consecration Service. St. Mary's 7.0 St. Paul's . ... 7.30 St. George's . . .7-30 St. John's . ... 7.30 Kenwyn . ... 8.0 "II. That, those, who desire to communicate at 11 a.m., forward the enclosed paper to Chancellor Worlledge, 4, Strangways Terrace, Truro, not later than October 31st; so that due provision may be made for the administration of the Holy Communion. "III. That, in order to avoid confusion, the congregation remain through the entire service, and until the Prince of Wales, the Archbishop, Bishops, and clergy have left the church. " IV. That, all who worship in the Cathedral, carefully attend to the rubrical directions as to standing, kneeling, etc. " V. That, above all things, each member of the congrega- tion so prepare his heart by prayer and study of God's Word, that he may be kept by the Holy Spirit from wandering and unworthy thoughts, and be enabled to offer, this day, a Holy Sacrifice of Praise and Thanksgiving. " The blessing of God Almighty, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost be upon you, and remain with you always. Amen. " Your affectionate Father in God, (Signed) Georg : H. Truron : ''Truro, October, 1887." PREP A RA TION 243 Every care was taken to prepare a dignified service for the consecration of the Cathedral. For some months previous to that great event, Bishop Wilkinson had been in comnuinication with the Archbishop, who with his keen love of a correct ritual, and his wide liturgical knowledge, entered with enthusiasm upon the task. The Bishop of Truro laid before the Residentiary Chapter the oudines of the service, which received ereat care and attention from several com- petent authorities, before it took final shape. The Cathedral committees held frequent meetings, to prepare and carry out plans for the proper representa- tion of every class of person, at the services of the Dedication. As the time drew near, the building presented, within and without, signs of the great beauty of its architecture, and the perfection of every detail of its decorations and furniture. But, up to the last moment, workmen were seen hurrying to and fro, giving a touch here and there, finishing a piece of carving, smoothing a rough edge, fixing a piece of marble pavement. The night before the consecration, there were assembled at the Rectory, the Archbishop, the Bishop of Truro, the Residentiary Canons and others, to review carefully all the details of the coming cere- monies. Here it was that some of the special gifts of the Archbishop were manifested. At one moment he pointed out a llaw in the Precentor's plans for the procession to be corrected ; at another a bright 244 THE BISHOPRIC OF TRURO sueeestion or tellinor addition was offered, for the improvement of the order and dignity of the whole service. The time went rapidly by, the hour of the dinner-party, at which the Archbishop was expected, had long passed ; and still the litde company sat on, until all was arranged, and every possible emergency provided for. It is by such care and trouble that disorder and confusion are avoided, on occasions when orderly arrangements maintain the reverence and dignity of a great act of worship. CHAPTER XII FULFILMENT AT last the long-expected day arrived. Seven years had passed since the foundation-stones were laid, in hope and faith — seven years of patience and of prayer, which were to be crowned by success, and happy realisation. In the early morning — at 7, 7.30, or 8 — quiet celebrations of the Holy Communion were held in every parish church in Truro; when thanksgivings for the past were offered, and prayers sent up for blessings upon the services of the day, by companies of com- municants, composed not only of inhabitants of Truro, but of others, who had already come from distant places for the great solemnities of the day. At half- past nine the streets were filling with numbers of persons, who were either making their way to the various doors of the Cathedral, or taking up posts of observation to witness the outside procession, and the arrival of the Prince of Wales. The streets and Hioh Cross were gay with flags and decorations, and the closed shutters of the shops and places of business proclaimed that Truro was keeping universal holiday. 245 246 THE BISHOPRIC OF TRURO The Duke of Cornwall, on arriving from Falmouth, where he had, on the previous afternoon, amid a storm of wind and rain, laid the foundtition-stone of All Saints' Church, was received at the Truro station by the Lord-Lieutenant, and the Mayor of Truro (R. M. Paul, Esq.). In the course of his reply to a loyal address, presented by the Mayor and Corporation, His Royal Highness said : "It affords me the most unfeigned satisfaction to be able to attend the great religious service which is held here to-day, and to be present at the consummation of the important ceremony in which I took a leading part more than seven years ago." After expressing the unabated interest taken by the Duchess of Cornwall as well as by himself in the progress of the work, the Prince added : " I join most heartily in the expression of your hope, that the western part of the building may ere long be completed, and I trust that circumstances will then allow me once more to visit a town, which can boast of having been mentioned in the Domesday Book eight hundred years ago." Within the Cathedral all was bright, and in perfect order for the approaching service. On the retable were four vases filled with white flowers, flanked by the candlesticks with their tall wax tapers. The splendid altar cross glittered with its silver gilt and jewels ; and the festal frontal, with its varied em- broidery, made a central point of rich magnificence. There was a mass of gold and silver on a side table, at the south side of the altar. This was FULFILMENT 247 the Communion plate, soon to be solemnly con- secrated, which was carefully guarded by the Sacrist (the Rev. J. J. Agar-Ellis), who stood, in surplice and stole, at the entrance of the sanctuary. Now and then a gleam of sunshine lit up the tiers of figures on the reredos, and touched the warm colours of the crimson draperies of the Prince's seat, and the purple hangings over the Archbishop's chair. The southern and north-west and south-west doors were now opened, and the worshippers flowed in ; and were silently conducted to their places by the numer- ous and efficient band of laymen, told off for this service ; consisting of Mr. A. P. Nix, the Treasurer of the Cathedral Building Fund, the churchwardens and sidesmen of St. Mary's parish, and others. The wide space under the tower, the transepts, the south aisle, or parish church of St. Mary's, were all soon thronged with an orderly multitude. There were two spacious, but temporary, galleries, one above the other, at the west end of the building, from which a commanding view of the ceremony could be obtained. These, and the permanent gallery in the north tran- sept, were rapidly filled ; while, through the arcades of the triforium, could be seen a lanre bodv of the workmen, who had raised the walls and arches of that structure, whose consecration they were now assembling to witness. About 2,500 persons were accommodated in the building, besides those in the choir, choir aisles, and triforium. In this number were included representa- 248 THE BISHOPRIC OF TRURO tives of all classes : the subscribers, the general, executive, and ladies' committees ; Church workers of every kind, working men, as well as magistrates, churchwardens, school teachers, widows of clergy who in olden days had laboured in the diocese : in short, every one who had done any kind of work for the Cathedral and diocese was either present, or was represented by one of those with whom he or she had worked. The seats were assigned by ballot. At I0.20 all were seated, and as the organ com- menced a triumphal march, the first act of the great ceremony began. A procession was seen to enter the Cathedral from the wooden building, that so long had served as a pro-cathedral. It was that of the great body of the clergy of the diocese, and passed, in two divisions, through the north-west and south-west doors, up the church, into the north and south aisles of the choir. Each division was headed by a cross- bearer. That on the south consisted of the students of the Divinity School, the Readers of the diocese, and the junior clergy; that on the north of the senior clergy of the diocese. The two divisions were under the ofuidance and direction of the Rev. J. Brown, Vicar of St. John's, Truro ;^ and the Rev. F. E. Gardiner, Vicar of St. Paul's, Truro (afterwards Rector of Hackney, and now Sub-Dean and Rector of Truro). And now could be heard from without the ancient hymn, Urbs Beata, according to the version translated ^ Now the Rev. J. Gardner Brown, Vicar of St. James', Clapton, N.E. J'ULFILMENT 249 by Dr. Benson, as the Bishops and others passed out of the crypt in the following' order : — Cross Bearer and Attendants. Instrumentalists, two and two. Choristers, two and two. Lay Clerks and Vicars Choral, two and two. Precentors of Cathedrals, and of St. Peter's, Eaton Square. Diocesan Inspector of Truro, Vice-Chancellor of Truro Cathedral. Rural Deans of the Diocese, two and two. Prebendaries of Endellion, two and two. Honorary Canons of other Cathedrals, two and two. Prebendaries of Exeter, two and two. Canons Residentiary of other Cathedrals, two and two. Archdeacons. The Dean of Chester. Canons of Truro, two and two. Archdeacons of the Diocese of Truro. Bishops, two and two, each attended by his Chaplain. The Registrar of the Diocese, and the Architect. The Pastoral Staff, borne by the Bishop's Private Chaplain. The Lord Bishop of the Diocese. Chaplains. The Apparitor-General of the Province (Sir John Hanham). The Mace Bearer. The Archbishop's Cross, borne by His Grace's Domestic Chaplain. The Lord Archbishop of Canterbury. Train Bearers. Chaplains. Provincial Registrar (Sir John Hassard). In the procession of Bishops were, the Bishops of Argyle and the Isles and Aberdeen, Bishops Mitchin- son and Blyth of Jerusalem, the Bishops of Bedford, Nottingham, Colchester, Trinidad, Ely, Salisbury, Exeter, Southwell, Newcastle, Lichfield, St. Asaph, Bath and Wells, Bangor, Winchester, and London ; besides the Bishop of Truro and the Archbishop of 250 THE BISHOPRIC OF TRURO Canterbury, The procession of Bishops was under the special direction of Canon Thynne ; that of the dignitaries was ordered by Canon Mason ; that of the diocesan clergy by Canons Harvey and Du Boulay ; JVIr. Sinclair had charge of the choir ; while the Pre- centor, Canon Donaldson, was responsible for the whole. The Precentor gave the signal, which was taken up by Mr, Sinclair, and passed on to the scarlet-clad musicians of the Royal Marines, who headed the procession, and to the stately tune " Oriel," the solemn hymn was sung by the choir and clergy in unison. The procession, having passed out of the Cathedral- yard and round the eastern and southern sides, entered the covered way at the west end of the Cathedral. Here the choir and clergy formed into two double lines, reaching from the ante-room to the west door ; while the Bishops with the Primate and the Bishop of the diocese, awaited, in the ante-room, together with the Mayor and Corporation of the city and the representatives of the Cathedral Committee, the arrival of the Prince and his attendants. This was not long delayed ; punctual to the appointed time the Duke of Cornwall drove up, amid the applause of the crowd and the salute of the ist Volunteer Battalion of the Duke of Cornwall's Light Infantry. When all was ready, the Bishops led the way through the lines of surpliced choristers and clergy, and were followed by the Primate and the Bishop of FULFILMENT 251 the diocese, who preceded the Prince, attended by the Earl of Mount Edgcumbe (Lord Lieutenant of the county), Lord Suffield, and Colonel Stanley Clarke, and accompanied by the General in command of the Western District and his aide-de-camp, in scarlet and o-old, and the commander of H.M.S. Osborne in the blue and gold of the Royal Navy. And now beean the solemn service at the door. The prayer of deprecation " Remember not, Lord," with its response, was said, sine notd, and the Bishop, takincr his staff, struck thrice at the door, and said, " Lift up your heads, O ye gates." This the choir outside repeated, in simple harmonised cadence, and the clerks within sang, '' Who is the King of Glory?" and then, when both Bishop and choir had answered " The Lord of Hosts," at the consecrating prelate's command, the door was thrown open by Mr. R. Swain, clerk of the works, and the procession entered. The Diocesan, the Primate, with their Chaplains, cross and pastoral staff, passed up the church, followed immediatelv bv the Prince and his attendants, the Mayor and civic authorities ; and then the Bishops, after whom followed the choir and clergy, headed by the silver processional cross carried by Mr. Kendall. In the open space under the tower the procession halted, while the Lord Lieutenant prepared to present the petition ; the Prince of Wales and suite standing on the south, with the Bishop of the diocese to his left, and on the north the Archbishop and his 252 THE BISHOPRIC OF TRURO attendants, with Lord Mount Edgcumbe to his right. On the steps of the choir were grouped the Bishops in their scarlet Convocation robes, the whole forming a most striking scene, with bright masses of colour and quaint varieties of costumes ; the rich furred robes of the Mayor, and the uniforms of the military and naval officers, the lawn and fine linen of episcopal and priestly robes, the bright scarlet cassocks and caps of the little acolytes, who held the Primate's train (sons of the Precentor and the Treasurer of the Cathedral). The petition was now read by the Registrar (Mr. Arthur Burch, Mayor of Exeter) ^ in a clear voice, and then onwards came the choir of ninety men and boys, composed of the Truro Cathedral choristers and lay clerks, reinforced by contingents from St. Paul's, Bristol, Exeter, Gloucester, Hereford, Lichfield, Christ Church (Oxford), and Wells Cathedrals, and the parish of St. Peter's, Eaton Square ; who, by the generosity of their respective Chapters or other authorities, had been sent to sing the service, and showed how widespread was the sympathy of the whole Church with the day's great service. The organ gave out the chant (Hayes in A) and the well-known Psalm xxiv., Domini est terra, was sung by the men and boys alternately, with an occasional burst of full unison or harmony, and the whole procession passed into the choir. The choristers were marshalled by their conductor, Mr. Sinclair, organist of Truro Cathedral ; the clergy and Bishops filled the stalls ^ At the time Mr. Burch was actually Deputy-Registrar. FULFILMENT 253 and other seats prepared for them, while the Prince of Wales was conducted to the canopied seat on the south side of the presbytery. Standing- near him, as he knelt at the faldstool, were the Archbishop and the Diocesan with their Chaplains ; four Canons of the Cathedral ascended the steps of the sanctuary,' where the Precentor intoned the suffrages for the Queen, to which the choir responded ; and the Bishop then said the prayer for the Queen, and after some special suffrages, a prayer for the Prince of Wales and Duke of Cornwall, "his wife, his sons and daughters, and all who are near and dear to him." Then, when all had taken their places, there followed a solemn silence before the commencement of the great act of con- secration, which was ushered in by the singing of Veni Creator, to Attwood's familiar and sweet- toned phrases. The clear voices of some forty well- trained boys crave out the first verse with almost thrilling power. Presently the Lord Lieutenant came forward, and reverently kneeling, presented the in- strument of donation which was placed on the altar by the Bishop, who first addressed the congregation ; and then, accompanied by Staff-bearer and Chaplains, and preceded by the Chancellor, Sub-Dean, Missioner, Treasurer, passed out of the choir to the baptistery, while the organ pkiyed soft and appropriate music ; one after another the various parts of the building — font, lectern, pulpit, place of marriage, and of Con- firmation — were solemnly hallowed, the great con- gregation standing, silent, as the litde company passed 2 54 THE BISHOPRIC OF TRURO onwards ; ever moving eastwards, as the organist (!\Ir. Lloyd, of Christ Church, Oxford) skilfully played suitable strains in the intervals between the reading of the lections (by Canon Mason), and the prayers offered up by the Bishop. At length the altar was reached and solemnly blessed, and the choir and organ burst out into the full "Amen" at the prayer of the consecrating Prelate. Now came a very solemn moment, as the Bishop turned to the west, and, with uplifted hand, said, " Behold a ladder set up on the earth," after which the Archbishop offered a prayer of benediction derived from ancient sources. Then the Chancellor of the Diocese (the Worship- ful and Ven. W. J. Phillpotts, Archdeacon of Corn- wall) came forward from his stall, and read at the altar the sentence of consecration. This was signed by the Bishop ; and, as he did so, the Bishop of Salisbury passed from the Archbishop's side across to the Prince's seat, and requested the Duke of Corn- wall to sien the document as a witness. This done, there followed the solemn celebration of the Holy Communion, admirably sung by the united choir to Smart's service in F, with Stainer's arrange- ment of the Stirstim Coi'da and Lord's Prayer. The Bishop of Truro was celebrant. The Epistle was read by the venerable Bishop of Winchester, formerly Vicar of Kenwyn ; the Gospel by the Bishop of London, to whom, when Bishop of Exeter, Corn- wall owed so much. The grand strains of the Nicene Creed over, the Bishop, with his Chaplains, conducted FULFILMENT 255 the Prince of Wales and his attendants to the Dean's stall and seats at the south side of the choir, where they remained for the rest of the service. The Arch- bishop, preceded by his cross bearer, ascended the pulpit and delivered the sermon. It is not difficult to imagine, but impossible to describe, the feelings of joy that must have been in the heart, both of the preacher and those whom he addressed, at the wonder- ful realisation of that grand idea which he conceived, and which they helped so zealously to carry out — the rearine in Cornwall of a Cathedral, as a visible emblem of that revived diocesan life which he was first called upon, in the providence of God, to guide and develop. The subject of his sermon was " Unity through Truth," from the text, " In due season we shall reap, if we faint not" (Gal. vi. 9). One passage which greatly impressed all who heard it must be given :- '' ' Respondete natalibusl was the cry of Cyprian to the Church of Carthage—' Rise to your birthrights.' How it would ring from his lips to-day, if he saw the Bishop of an unbroken line, in the presence of the Royalty of England, receive and offer His Church material, and his Church spiritual, in one offering before the King of Kings, and knew all that is needed outside. " ' Rcspondete natalibus', would he echo the word to you — that old second Bishop of the newly-united dioceses — who, held by the hands of Edward the Confessor and Queen Edith, paced up the fresh-built Cathedral Church of Exeter, and received it as their gift. Would he not say, rejoicing that 256 THE BISHOPRIC OF TRURO the Church in Cornwall is her own again, ' Rise to your birth- right ' — your English, Catholic, Apostolic, Christ-given birth- right — help, comfort, strengthen, revive, found ?"i The sermon ended, the offertory followed. The choir sang two appropriate hymns, while the alms were collected, and presented ; and the holy vessels and ornaments were brought, in succession from the side-table, by the Chancellor and Missioner, and solemnly offered by the Bishop, together with a parchment record of other gifts ; the organ, in the quaint old-world English of the rubric, "playing a still verse the while." And then, the choir sang the words of David, "Who am I, and what is my people?" etc. (i Chron. xxix. 14), to a composition by Mr. C. H. Lloyd; after that, in silence, each piece of plate was blessed by the Bishop, and a solemn prayer of consecration completed the dedication of the sacred vessels. The Communion Service pro- ceeded, the Confession was said in quiet monotone ; the Sursum Corda and Sanctus rang out grandly ; and, after the Consecration Prayer, the " Sevenfold Amen " was sung with perfect reverence and delicate crradation of " liofht and shade." And then followed the Communion. The reception of the Sacrament by the Archbishop and then by the large company of Bishops, in their scarlet robes, kneeling across the Sanctuary at the altar rail ; the solemn carrying of the Sacred Elements to the altar in the south aisle, to 1 Twelve Sermons preached at the Consecration of the Cathedral Church of Truro ^ p. 12. FULFILMENT 257 communicate those who were kneeling there, were striking episodes in the service. During the Communion time, Cowper's lovely hymn, "Jesus, where'er Thy people meet," was sung with a quiet feeling, that moved many hearts, perhaps more than any other part of this beautiful service, and made them feel that "God was with them of a truth." There were, in spite of the letter circulated by the Bishop advising as many persons as possible to receive at any early Celebration, four hundred and fifty communi- cants ; and this pcirt of the service was consequently much prolonged; but there was great quiet and order all the time ; and it was, doubdess, a great satisfaction and happiness to so many of the clergy and laity, who had come up from distant places, to receive the blessed Sacrament of Christ's Body and Blood at the newly consecrated altar of their mother church. The Lord's Prayer was solemnly sung to the old plain -song arranged by Stainer ; and the Gloria in Excelsis, to Smart in Y , made a glorious act of thanksgiving at the close of the Celebration. The Archbishop gave the Blessing, after offering two final prayers, one in behalf of benefactors, and the other for God's acceptance of the service. The Prince and his suite, preceded by the civic authorities, and followed by the Archbishops and Bishops, left the church and went down to the western door of the covered way, through the lines of the diocesan clergy, who had previously filed out of the choir aisles, in the same order in which they entered ; s 258 THE BISHOPRIC OF TRURO while the hymn, " Hark, the sound of holy voices," was triumphantly sung. The procession of dignitaries and others then passed out from the choir, and the vast congregation quickly melted away. When the service, which had occupied nearly four hours, was then brought to a conclusion, the Duke of Cornwall was driven to the Public Rooms, where some four hundred of the principal residents of Cornwall, with the Archbishop and most of the Bishops, and other dignitaries, both clerical and lay, were as- sembled at luncheon. The streets were packed by cheering people, while the roadway was kept by de- tachments of the I St Volunteer Battalion of the Duke of Cornwall's Light Infantry. The Lord Lieutenant presided at the luncheon, and in replying to the toast of his health, the Prince said that among the different visits which he had been able to pay to his ancient Duchy, "none had given me greater pleasure and satisfaction than that which I am paying at the present moment. . . . The most interesting service and religious ceremony, at which we have assisted to-day, are not likely to be forgotten by me nor by any of you. It is the event of a lifetime, and I con- gratulate you, the Duchy, the county, and all concerned with it, on the erection of so noble an edifice, and I trust that, before long, we may see the completion of the building. It is a real sorrow to me that the Princess of Wales and some of my children should not have accompanied me on this occasion, as they did when the foundation-stone was laid. Although FULFILMENT 259 they are far away, you may feel sure that they take a great interest In what is being done here to-day." The Prince concluded by proposing, in hi-hly eulogistic terms, "the health of our Lord Lieutenant," who then spoke of the admirable work of the architect of the Cathedral. In the afternoon Evensong was sung at four. There was a procession from the west door to the choir, singing, "At the Name of Jesus." The " preces and responses" were rendered with the full five-part harmonies of Tallis ; the '^ service" was Stainer in E flat, and the anthem, "Great is the Lord," by Ouseley. The Lessons were read by the Bishops of Aberdeen (Dr. Douglas) and Newcasde (Dr. E. R. Wilberforce), and the sermon was preached by the Bishop of London (Dr. Temple). It was a powerful discourse, and delivered with great vigour, and made a deeper impression than any other of the sermons preached during the Consecration and Octave services. The subject was " Catholicity and Individualism"; and the preacher set forth the true idea of the unity of the Church, as declared in the New Testament, and especially in the Epistle to the Ephesians from which the text was taken. One passage must be quoted. " We are sometimes asked to think that the Church only exists in the union of believers, and has no reality of its own. Now, it is perfectly clear that, in the New Testament, the idea of the Church is not that. Men talk sometimes as if a Church could be constituted simply by Christians coming 26o THE BISHOPRIC OF TRURO together, and uniting themselves into one body for the purpose. Men speak as if Christians came first and the Church after ; as if the origin of the Church was in the wills of the individual Christians who composed it. But, on the contrary, throughout the teaching of the Apostles, we see that it is the Church that comes first, and the members of it afterwards. Men were not brought to Christ and then de- termined that they would live in a community. Men were not brought to Christ to believe in Him and in His Cross, and to recognise the duty of worshipping the heavenly Father in His Name, and then decided that it would be a great help to their religion that they should be united in the bonds of fellowship for that purpose. In the New Testament, on the contrary, the Kingdom of Heaven is already in existence, and men are invited into it. The Church takes its origin, not in the will of man, but in the will of the Lord Jesus Christ. He sent forth His Apostles ; the Apostles receive their commission from Him ; they were not organs of the congregation ; they were ministers of the Lord Himself,"^ At the close of the service, which was excellently rendered by the choir, the Precentor intoning the prayers, before the Blessing was pronounced, the " Hallelujah Chorus " from the Messiah was sung. The congregation at Evensong, was, to a very great extent, a different one from that which was present in the morning ; and, in order to give to others still one more opportunity of taking part in the services of the day, an evening " Service of Praise " was arranged. This was held at 7.30, and the con- 1 Twelve Sermons preached at the Consecraiio7i of the Cathedral Church of Truro, p. 17. For some similar thoughts on the Church, cf. The Ascension and Heavenly Priesthood of our Lord. Baird Lecture, 1891, by the late William Milligan, D.D. FULFILMENT 261 gregation were quietly ushered into their seats by a company of stewards organised by Mr. Mack, for many years a devoted member of the Cathedral choir. The choir entered in procession, while Mr. Sinclair played on the organ Sterndale Bennett's " Barcarole." Then followed "The old hundredth psalm," sung by the vast congregation as well as the choir, with most impressive effect. The Precentor then said some collects and the Lord's Prayer, after which was sung, "Now we are ambassadors" (by two lay clerks from Oxford), and the chorus, " How lovely are the messengers." Mr. Sinclair then played a " Sonata in D Minor" (Guilmant), which gave him full opportunity for displaying the rich capabilities of the splendid organ. Perhaps the most striking vocal performance of the evenine was the solo in Hear my Prayer (Mendelssohn) by Master V . Thomas, leading treble in the Truro Cathedral choir ; 1 which, with its motet and chorus, was followed by the recitative and aria from the Elijah "Ye people, rend your hearts," etc., by Mr. C. W. Fredericks, of Lichfield Cathedral. This concluded the first part. During the singing of the hymn " O worship the King," the alms of the people were gathered. The conductor of the first part was Mr. C. H. Lloyd, who now changed places with Mr. Sinclair, and gave a fine performance of a " P'inale Fugato," by M. Smart, and a " P^antasia in F Minor" by Mozart. The other items in the second part being, "Why do the heathen" (Handel), finely ' Now organist of St. Austell parish church. 262 THE BISHOPRIC OF TRURO sung by Mr. Sunman, of Christ Church, Oxford ; and the duet, " Love divine," from Stainer's DatLghter of Jairus, exceedingly well rendered by Master F. Thomas and Mr. C. W. Fredericks. The whole concluded with the " Hallelujah Chorus," and the Blessing. And so ended a long but happy day, that will certainlv live in the memories of all who took part in its services. In the evening also the Mayor and Mayoress of Truro gave a brilliant reception at the Town Hall, and the city was extensively illuminated.^ The Octave Services The consecration of the Cathedral was meant to be an era in diocesan life. Numerous and representative as the congregation on November 3rd was, they only formed a portion of the people in Cornwall who wished to share in the great event. It was therefore a happy idea, that took form in the Bishop's mind, to hold a series of services throughout the octave, at which the country parishes might send up their representatives of clergy, choirs, and church workers in large numbers, and claim the Cathedral as their own great mother church. The plan was very successfully carried out. The twelve rural deaneries of the diocese were grouped and arranged for the various days as follows : — ' For the benefit of a large number of residents and visitors who could not find room in the Cathedral at any of the services, concerts of high-class music were provided at the Public Rooms in the afternoon and evening. FULFILMENT 263 Friday . Nov. 4th . Penwith and Stratton. Preacher, The Bishop of Winchester (Dr. E. Harold Browne). Saturday . Nov. 5th . Powder.^ Preacher, The Rev. C. Gore. Monday . Nov. 7th . P>dar, Bodmin, and Trigg Minor. Preacher, The Bishop of Newcastle (Dr. E. R. Wilberforce). Tuesday . Nov. 8th . Kirricr, P2ast and Trigg Major. Preacher, The Rev. Canon A. J. Mason. - Wednesday Nov. 9th . Carnmarth. Preacher, The Rev. C. Bodington. Thursday . Nov. lOth . St. Austell and West. Preacher, The Rev. Canon A. J. Mason. There were assembled throughout the octave prob- ably no fewer than 10,000 people, from all parts, of whom 2,000 were singers of the diocese, some 700 of these being in surplices. Each day the white-robed company came in procession to the choir, marshalled in due order by the Precentor, headed by the Cathedral choristers and cross-bearer, and singing " Blessed city, heavenly Salem." On several occa- sions it oversowed the limits of the choir, and added one or more white lines to the body of singers out- side. Each day the great central space was filled with unsurpliced singers, men and women, girls and lads. Each day large congregations filled the whole available spaces. The fishermen, miners, agricul- 1 ((' ' The undesigned coincidence " of the combination of " Powder " (the name of a hundred and rural deanery') with November 5th caused much amusement. - In the place of Canon P>asil Wilberforce. 264 THE BISHOPRIC OF TRURO turists of Cornwall were there, among the Sunday- school teachers, members of the Church Society, parochial guilds, etc. ; while the parochial clergy filled the chairs at the eastern end of the choir. Each day a Rural Dean read the Lesson, and one or more of the clergy of the deaneries intoned the appointed prayers. The service itself was simple but solemn, a few versicles with the Lord's Prayer, the Dedication Psalm xxiv., a lesson, a hymn, collects, and prayers; hymns before and after the sermon, and on entering and leavino- church ; the Te Deuni after the collection of the alms. The chants and hymn tunes were easy and melodious, and were sung with most impressive power, revealing, if it was not known before, what a force of musical gifts is treasured up in the Church choirs of Cornwall. Archbishop Benson, who was present at the services on two of the days of the octave, wrote thus after he had left : — , , .. ^ " Addington Park, Croydon. "My dear Mr. Precentor, — Your glorious work is over. I wish I could have gone on as a member of each rural deanery in turn. " I congratulate you on the extraordinary unity of your choirs, and every detail of arrangement. " Blessing was upon all things. " Yours sincerely, " Edw: Cantuar:" And in another letter he adds : — " I wish I could express to the Precentor how beautifully I thought all his plans came out. " I shall never see anything which can touch or impress me more than these services.'' FULFILMENT 265 Notice must not be omitted of the services on the Sunday in tlic octave, with the sermons by Canon Scott Holland and the Chancellor of the Cadiedral, who filled, at a short notice, the place of Canon Knox Little ; and the solemn choral celebration of the Holy Communion, which, to many, was one of the not least impressive services of the whole octave. The most striking- feature of this Sunday's services was, however, the great gathering of men in the afternoon, to hear the Bishop of Newcasde (Dr. E. R. Wilberforce). It is calculated that a thousand men, of all ranks and stations, met to^jether on this occasion. Evening Meetings It was felt that the consecration of the Cathedral was an event that touched the life of the Church as a whole, and not the Diocese of Truro only ; it was also the opinion of those who were mainly responsible for the consecration services, that the Church's work, as well as the Church's worship, should be prominently set forth on so important an occasion. Two evening meetings were, therefore, arranged in the Public Rooms, under the presidency of the I)ishop : the one held on Friday, November 7th, the subject of which was entitled, "The Church's witness to her Lord abroad " ; the second on Tuesday, November 8th, when the subject was, " The Church's witness to her Lord at home." The Concert Room was, on both occasions, filled with an audience, to a great extent composed of working people. Simple and stirring 266 THE BISHOPRIC OF TRURO hymns were sung, such as "Rock of Ages," "The Church's One Foundation," " Allehjia ! sing to Jesus," "From Greenland's icy mountains," "Through the nioht of doubt and sorrow." The speakers were carefully selected, and they delivered most earnest and able addresses. The Bishop of the diocese spoke affectionate words of welcome, and the Archbishop struck the keynote of "joy " at the happy consummation of the work of raising the Cathedral, which contained the Henry Martyn Baptistery, as a perpetual witness for foreign mission work. The Bishop of Winchester, with much emotion, alluded to his old parish of Kenwyn, saying, "If you have forgotten me, I have never for- gotten you," and called upon all in Cornwall to unite in spreading the gospel throughout the world. Lord Nelson and the Bishop of Bedford (Dr. W. Walsham How) spoke of the need of spiritual discipline and self-sacrifice, and the Bishop of Newcastle (Dr. E. R. Wilberforce) urged the necessity of zeal and en- thusiasm ; while the Bishop of Salisbury (Dr. J. Wordsworth) gave some account of the Church of England's relation to the Old Catholics of Europe, and the Rev. Charles Gore ^ of mission work in India, both of these speakers drawing from their own personal experience. On the second occasion, Canon Scott Holland delivered an address on " Purity " and the need of some oreat national reforms in this direction ; the o 1 Now Bishop of Worcester. FULFILMENT 267 Rev. C. Bodington^ laid down the true principles of Temperance ; and Canon Mason concluded with an address on "Truth and Loyalty to our Lord Jesus Christ " ; showing how personal devotion to the Head of the Church involved love for, and obedience to, the laws of His mystical Body, the Church. These two great meetings proved very interesting and profitable elements in the proceedings of the octave. On November [3th, the Sunday following the octave, there was a kind of " after-glow " of en- thusiasm evoked by the teaching of the Rev. R. W. Randall, then Vicar of All Saints', Clifton," in his sermon, and his sympathetic address to the assembled children of the five parishes of Truro, when a hymn specially written for the occasion by the Bishop of Exeter (Dr. E. H. Bickersteth) was sung, beo-innine " Great God of our salvation " ; and by the solemn baptism of seven infants in the afternoon by the Bishop, who preached, in the evening of that day, his first sermon in the new Cathedral, on "The Earthly ' Temple, the symbol of the Heavenly." There remains only to be added that the sum of i^2,oo5 was collected, of which ^i,735 was given on the consecration day itself In the week following November 13th was held the first Confirmation, to be followed a few weeks later by the first Ordination ; and so Truro Cathedral was given up to God and His Church, for the great work of maintaining the ^ Now Canon and Precentor of Lichfield. - Afterwards Dean of Chichester. 2 68 THE BISHOPRIC OF TRURO constant worship of the Ahiiighty, and the edifying of His people.^ The following prayer, compiled by Archbishop Benson, and used in a fuller form in the actual consecration service, was adopted as "the Collect for the Cathedral," and has become the regular prayer for anniversaries, as well as for societies specially connected with Truro Cathedral. Collect for the Cathedral O Lord, Who, by the prayers and hands of Thy servants, hast raised high in so fair sanctity this House of Thy doctrine and service ; We humbly beseech Thee to build and bind Thy people, one and all, into one spiritual, fitly framed temple ; and so to manifest Thyself in this Thy sanctuary, that Thou, Who workest all Thy will in the sons of Thy adoption, mayest continually be praised in the joy of Thine heritage ; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. ' Some portions of the account given in this chapter of the consecra- tion of the Cathedral are reproduced (by the kind permission of the owners of the copyright, the Sisters of the Community of the Epiphany) from the Appendix written by the author for the volume entitled Twelve Serfiions preached at tJie Coiisec7-atioii of tlie CatJiedral Church of Truro. 1888. CHAPTER XIII EFFORTS THE services held in the Cathedral on the day of its consecration, and during- the octave, gave the Churchmen of Cornwall a very vivid and inspiring sense of their Unity in one Body. This was exacdy the result desired, and hoped for, by the founder of the Cathedral and those who furthered his efforts. Some immediate fruit followed. The following typical communication was sent to Truro by the Rev. E. Douglas Jones, Vicar of Looe and Rural Dean of West, being a resolution passed by his synod, held at Liskeard : — "That the Dean Rural convey to the Bishop, the Pre- centor, and Cathedral Committee, the thanks of the clergy of this deanery, for the great trouble they have taken in enabling the choirs and parishioners of the different deaneries in the diocese to attend the octave services in the Cathedral, in connection with the consecration ; and to express a hope that similar services may be annually held in the Cathedral." The result of this, and similar communications, was the formation, a year later, of the Diocesan Choral Union ; and the commencement of a series of annual 269 2 70 THE BISHOPRIC OF TRURO gatherings of choirs and Churchworkers at the Cathedral, which has continued, with unbroken regu- larity and no slight measure of success, up to the present time. For fourteen years there has been each year a great festival, at which a body of singers varying in numbers from six hundred to a thousand has taken part, in a carefully rehearsed service for which a diocesan book is annually published. One deanery after another heartily took up the scheme ; until, in 1 90 1, each of the twelve deaneries in the diocese, either held its local festival or sent up its choirs, according to a triennial cycle, to take part in the diocesan service at the Cathedral. At the outset the organist of the Cathedral, Mr. G. R. Sinclair, gave very valuable help as diocesan choirmaster ; and, for twelve years past, his successor Dr. M. J. Monk has bestowed ungrudg- ing labour upon the work of training the choirs of the diocese with conspicuous success. One great value of these gatherings lies in the fact, that they are not only musical festivals ; but, that, on each occasion, a large contingent of Churchworkers and parishioners accompany the choirs ; and a very great number of Cornish folk from remote parishes, on either coast and in distant villages, visit their mother church, learn to appreciate its beauty, and claim it as their own possession ; besides realising their member- ship in the unity of the Church, on a greater scale than is possible in the limited sphere of a small parish. Soon, other gatherings of Sunday-school teachers, temperance societies, the G.F.S., and kindred EFFORTS 271 organisations, followed, until it has become a familiar idea to gather each branch of Church work, in its members or at least through its representatives, round the central altar of the diocese. Nothing can be more stimulating- and invicjoratinfr than this. When the question came up for consideration as to how the ordinary services of the Cathedral were to be maintained, a difficult situation had to be faced. It was, of course, quite within the reach of the Bishop and the Chapter, to establish and maintain, without serious outlay, simple daily services, including the daily celebration of the Holy Eucharist. It has been a source of the ofreatest strenoth, comfort, and blessincr that, from the first day on which the altar of Truro Cathedral was dedicated, on November 3rd, 1887, up to the present time, every morning of the year has it been prepared and ready for the celebration of the " Holy Mysteries," and for the communion of the faithful. Not only has this blessed privilege been a source of united strenoth to those, who throuoh lon^r years have striven to uphold and extend the useful- ness of the Cathedral for the welfare of the diocese, as well as for the glory of God ; but it has proved to be an inestimable and ever-ready blessing to great numbers of communicants and worshippers. To be able to feel sure that, when in Truro on any day in the year, it is possible to unite the gratitude of the individual soul, for mercies received, with tlic Divine Eucharist ; to plead for blessings, spiritual and temporal, in behalf of others or for one's own needs. 2 72 THE BISHOPRIC OF TRURO in union with the great Memorial Sacrifice, offered once on Calvary and perpetually pleaded in heaven, and mvstically presented at the earthly altar ; all this has been, and is, an unspeakable consolation to many a Christian man and woman. Not only has a regular scheme of subjects for intercession, at the daily Eucharist, been drawn up by the Dean and Chapter, but constantly requests for prayer and praise are sent up, from many parts of the diocese, and even from beyond its borders. For this alone the Cathedral has proved worthy of the cost bestowed upon it, and has fulfilled a great ministry. It was possible to secure the services of an efficient set of choirmen, from those who had been voluntary members of the old parish choir, and were glad and willino to continue their free-will services in the Cathedral. But the cost of the maintenance of the fabric, the ordinary expenses of Divine service — -as heating, lighting, and other matters — would have, it seemed, to depend upon the somewhat precarious support of collections in church. Several generous friends of Bishop Wilkinson came forward, and o-uaranteed some hundreds a year to tide over the difficult crisis. But it was felt, that a serious effort should be made to obtain some permanent and de- pendable income for the very necessary objects above indicated. It was determined to make an appeal to Parliament, for powers to enable the Ecclesiastical Commissioners to assign certain endowments, to which Cornwall ap- EFFORTS 273 peared to have some equitable claim, for the mainten- ance of the Cathedral and its staff. In order to understand the position of affairs, it will be necessary to give a brief summary of legislation carried out, or attempted, in connection with the Truro Bishopric, Chapter, and Cathedral. Plrst there was the Act of 1876 (39 & 40 Vict, c. 54), by which the Bishopric was founded after so long a period of patient working and waiting, and by which Cornish Churchmen at last received the permis- sion of the State to have a Bishop for themselves, supported b\- an endowment provided by their own strenuous effort and self-sacrifice. The last clause of the Act (following precedents) jealously prohibited the Ecclesiastical Commissioners from applying "any portion of their common fund towards the endow- ment of the Bishopric of Truro, or of the Dean and Chapter thereof." Secondly, in 1878 was passed, not without difficulty and opposition, the Truro Chapter Act (41 & 42 Vict. c. 44). By its provisions, the fifth canonry of Exeter Cathedral was transferred to Truro ; out of it to be founded two endowed canonries ; power was given for the formation of a Truro Chapter Endow- ment Fund (not out of endowments held by the Com- missioners, but from private sources). Provision was made for the creation of a Dean and Chapter, (a Dean and not less than four Residentiary Canons) as a body corporate, with the same powers and privileges as other similar bodies. But residentiary canonries T 2 74 THE BISHOPRIC OF TRURO might be formed, as soon as funds permitted, before the complete Chapter was created. It was a serious mistake that the annual income of the Dean was fixed at a minimum of ^i,ooo. A smaller sum, as in some of the Welsh cathedrals, would have sufficed. Bishop Benson recorded in his Diary under June loth, 1878, some account of this Act. "The passing of the Chapter Act was singular in its circumstances." After recounting how the Bishop of Exeter and the Dean and Chapter of that cathedral, and the Ecclesias- tical Commission hadassented,and the Home Secretary, Mr. Cross, afterwards Viscount Cross, was ready to intro- duce the Bill as a Government measure, he states : " The Bill having passed the House of Lords, the second readinsT was to come on in the House of Commons, o w^hen for some unknown reason, in the very thickest of the work in July, Mr. D. and Mr. C. [two well-known members of Parliament] had given notice that they would oppose the Bill." The Bishop received a hint that it miofht be advisable to see Mr. C. " But of course," said his informant, " it's possible that it might do more harm than good to interfere with him." ^ Bishop Benson quite accidentally met Mr. C. in the street. " Something withheld me from saying to him, as we stopped to chat with mutual astonish- ment at the odd meeting, ' Why can't you let our little Bill alone ? ' I thought it would be rather an unfair ' It has been lately said " There is no surer way of securing Mr. C.'s opposition than by getting him on your own side." EFFORTS 275 thrust just then, but did not doubt that the Httle cordiality would be a help to me within thirty-six hours." The foundation of two canonrics, from the fifth Exeter canonry, authorised by this Act, was not actually completed till March loth, 1885, when an Order in Council announced their creation. Thirdly, there was the Truro Bishopric and Chapter Acts Amendment Act, 1887 (50 & 51 Vict. c. 12.) This has already been referred to in a previous chapter, and it is sufficient to say here, that, the provisions of this Act legalised the present status of the Chapter, as a corporate body composed of the Bishop holding the office of Dean (until further provision can be made), two Residentiary Canons with endowed stalls, and the Sub- Dean and another Canon holding either of the offices of Missioner, Treasurer, or President of the Honorary Canons. The limits of the Cathedral and the parish church (the present south aisle of the choir) were defined ; the transfer of capitular patronage in Cornwall, before held by the Dean and Chapter of Exeter, to the new body at Truro was authorised ; ^ and powers were given to that body to hold and manage a " Truro Cathedral Endowment Fund." But no transfer of any endowment by the Ecclesiastical Commissioners to the Cathedral at Truro was permitted. ' This was carried into effect by an Order in Council dated February 22nd 18S9, after the consent of the Dean and Chapter of Exeter had been 2 76 THE BISHOPRIC OF TRURO Bishop Wilkinson always felt that a special Provi- dence had watched over the successful passing of this Bill throueh Parliament, in answer to earnest and persevering prayer. It was felt by him, and others, that, in the then condition of politics, and in the attitude that many took up in Parliament towards Church questions, it would be exceedingly difficult to carry such a Bill. He therefore "fell back," as he said, "upon the supernatural power of the interceding Church, linked with the Great Intercessor, the Lord Jesus Christ, before the Father's throne in heaven." And the answer came. The Bishop, sitting one day in the Atheneeum Club, in much perplexity about the measure, unexpectedly met, first one, and then another friend, members of both Houses, who by advice, counsel, and action, removed difficulties, improved clauses, and at length secured its passage. As he said, " A very influential person, when he looked back upon the great difficulties which beset the passing of the Bill, confessed, in a simple-hearted way, that, to his mind, there was something more than mere human influence and human power at work ; for he could not otherwise explain how it passed so smoothly and easily." And the Bishop added "when he was in the Home Office, in the House of Lords, or in the library of the club, he called upon God, and the Lord 'did not cast out his prayer,' but 'led him by the ric^'ht way ' and delivered him out of all his difficulties." It was in accordance with the Bishop's usual custom that, not many months afterwards, a special service EFFORTS 277 of thanksgiving, for these and other great blessings, tosrether with intercessions for the future work of the Cathedral, took place at Truro Cathedral on the Feast of the Puritication, February 2nd, 1888. While the Bill wiis being prepared Bishop Wilkinson wrote from London : — ''February Zth, 1887. " God is raising up many old friends to help me with the Cathedral Bill— but I think of dear Lyte's text : ' O God the Lord, in THEE is my trust.' " I have been analysing it to-day, so that the short analysis ma)- be printed and sent round the Cabinet, that they may decide whether to help us or not. You will, I know, pray." A local circumstance, surrounded with certain difficulties, is referred to in the following letter : — ''September ist, 1887. "Yesterday was a difficult da\- ; but it is happier when we feel that all these hindrances and difficulties are only the translation into the nineteenth-century life of the great law of limitation, which so pressed upon the Spirit of our blessed Lord." A further attempt was made, in the same year, to obtain some endowment for Truro Cathedral, from funds at the disposal of the Ecclesiastical Com- missioners. A Bill was drafted intituled, " An Act to provide a Fund for the Repair and Services of the Cathedral Church of Truro." In the preamble refer- ence was made to large estates held by the Com- missioners, originally given for Cathedral and capitular purposes to the old Diocese of Exeter, out of which 278 THE BISHOPRIC OF TRURO the Truro Diocese had been taken ; it was noted that much of this property was situate within the present Cornish Diocese ; it recalled a previous Act (29 & 30 Vict. c. 3, s. 18), by which the Commissioners were empowered, under certain circumstances, to make provision for the stipends of officials, choristers, and others ; it proposed to extend these powers to Truro, and to assign, out of the common fund (and particularly out of estates situate in Cornwall), ^3,000 a year towards the repair of the fabric, and the maintenance of Divine service in Truro Cathedral. A memorandum was drawn up, giving full information about the Truro bishopric and Cathedral and the requirements of the latter, which was circulated among members of the two Houses of Parliament and other influential persons. ^ Lord Mount Edcrcumbe, with his accustomed zeal for Truro and its Cathedral, introduced the Bill into the House of Lords. In an able speech he called attention to the sacrifices made in Cornwall for the foundation of the see and Cathedral : and Bishop Wilkinson seconded the measure, expressing his belief that, in the end, the granting of the sum asked for would not have the result of depriving any of the poorly endowed clergy (with whom he had the deepest sympathy) of what they might justly claim : it would stimulate generosity, and make the Cathedral an ^ It was stated that the Commissioners received, or would very shortly receive, from estates in Cornwall, a 7iett balance of nearly i^5,ooo a year after deducting local grants made. EFFORTS 270 efficient centre of diocesan work, and therefore would be heli)ing- those who were, and had been, helpin;^- themselves. Earl Stanhope, as representing the Ecclesiastical Commission, opposed the measure ; on the grounds of the diminution of funds through the agricultural depression, as well as on the general principle that, to make this grant would trench upon the Common Fund, and be contrary to the whole original intention of the Commission and its work. Lord Grimthorpe objected to the creation and endow- ment of capitular bodies. "They get on," he said, "very well without them at St. Albans. It seems to be an annual puzzle what to do with Deans and Chapters; their chief function is now said to be to quarrel with the Bishop." Viscount Cranbrook supported the Bill, and it was read a second time ; but later on it was referred to a Select Committee. Evidence was taken before the Committee from Mr. De Bock Porter, then financial secretary to the Ecclesiastical Commission, the Dean of Exeter (Dr. Cowie), and the Chapter Clerk of Exeter Cathedral (Mr. \V. J. Battishill). Finally, the Committee decided against proceeding with the Bill, but carried a resolution, by seven votes to six, in favour of the following resolution : — ■ " That, in the opinion of the Committee, any money to be granted for the maintenance of the fabric and services of the Cathedral of Truro, should be obtained from the money paid to the Dean and Canons of Exeter, on the occurrence of vacancies, and should not exceed iJ" 1,000 a year." Twelve years have elapsed since that resolution 28o THE BISHOPRIC OF TRURO was carried, but no further action has been taken in the matter. Yet another attempt, on a much smaller scale, was made in the following year to obtain aid towards the fabric and services fund. Once more Lord Mount Edgcumbe gallantly brought forward the " Arch- deaconry of Cornwall Bill." The object of this measure was a very simple one. When the fifth canonry of Exeter was transferred to Truro its income of ^i,ooo, in accordance with a long-standing rule, was charged with the payment of one-third of that sum to the Archdeacon of Cornwall. It had been then provided that, at the next vacancy of the Archdeacon's office, the stipend should be reduced to ^200 instead of ^333: giving ^400 each to the two Residentiary Canons of Truro. The Bill proposed that the Arch- deacon of Cornwall's stipend should be paid (as in many other cases) from the common fund of the Ecclesiastical Commission, and ^200 set free ; so that the whole income of the fifth Exeter canonry might go, as it was legitimately urged, to Truro Cathedral. This ^200 a year was, however, to be devoted, not to any clerical stipend, but for the main- tenance of the fabric and services, as part of the "Truro Cathedral Endowment Fund." Looking back, it is difficult to believe that men, who had no personal interest in the question which was a purely local Church one, should year after year have persistently blocked the Bill, supported as it was by every ecclesiastical authority ; including the Arch- EFFORTS 281 bishop of Canterbury and the Bishop of London, who were of course personally acquainted with the local needs, as well as bv the Ecclesiastical Commissioners themselves. It required not less than nine years' patient and persevering advocacy, on the part of the Earl of Mount Edgcumbe and those who helped him, to bring the matter to a successful issue. On June 3rd the Archdeaconry of Cornwall Act, 1897 (60 Vict, c. 9), was passed. It will be probably agreeable to the reader to pass, from these somewhat dry parliamentary details, to the more interesting subject of the generous and freewill ofiferings of faithful Church-people ; upon which, after all, the maintenance of all the chief enterprises of the Church in our day must mainly depend. There were received, at this time, such helpful bequests as that of a house left by Miss Nankivell, which eventually came into the hands of the Dean and Chapter ; a sum of money from a legacy by Miss Field for the education of the Cathedral choristers. Later on a large and noble bequest came from Miss Anne Pedler of Liskeard, who, in her will, signified her wish to carry out the in- tentions of her brother Edward Hoblyn Pedler, who for many years had desired to benefit the Cathedral at Truro. Mr. Pedler was a Churchman of the old type, self-denying, generous, and loyal. He was greatly interested in archaeology and Church history, and wrote a volume on The Anglo-Saxon Episcopate of Coj'nwalL which contains valuable information, and shows much painstaking research. By the will ot his 282 THE BISHOPRIC OF TRURO sister the large sum of ^15,000 was received by the Cathedral, or rather by trustees appointed to distribute the amount for certain specified objects. Part was set aside for the Building Fund ; part for the formation of scholarships for the choristers ; part for the main- tenance of the services ; part for the creation of a bursary in the Divinity School ; ^ and between ^4,000 and ^5,000 towards the endowment of a third residentiary canonry. This last-named object is likely, before very long, to be realised ; for, in addition to certain other sums, the above amount has, for some years, been accumulating at compound interest, and will soon produce the required minimum income of ^300 a year. But, in spite of these large gifts, the responsibility of maintaining the fabric and services was a serious and anxious one. The liberal promises of the two or three friends of Bishop Wilkinson in London, already mentioned, could not be expected to be continued for more than two or three years ; and some Cornish Church-people, among whom were conspicuous Canon Phillpotts (already a generous benefactor of the see and Cathedral), Lord Mount Edgcumbe, Colonel Tremayne and others, determined to make a special effort to raise an annual sum for the main- tenance of the services and the repair of the fabric. On May 20th, 1889, a considerable subscription list ^ By a slight modification in the scheme, the usefulness of this Bursary, as a help in the cost of training a candidate for Holy Orders for work in the Diocese, has been recently (1902) extended. EFFORTS 283 was started, collectors in each rural deanery were appointed, and collections in parish churches asked for. For the last thirteen years, "the Cathedral Union," as this new association was called, has done a work without which it would have been well-nigh impossible to carry on the Cathedral services. An annual income from ^450 to ^500 has been raised, to meet the large deficiency that would otherwise have overwhelmed the Chapter, had they been left to depend upon the slender resources at their disposal from their very small endowments and the collections at the services — generous indeed when the means of most of the congregation are considered, but small enough, in actual amount, to meet the necessary ex- penses.^ Dr. Benson, then Archbishop of Canterbury, was very pleased to hear of this effort and referred to it, in one of his visitation charges, as an example which might have to be followed in some of the older cathedrals, whose revenues have of late become so seriously diminished. His words are : — " It gives me pleasure here to note, that a Cathedral Union proposes to raise over ^500 a year towards the maintenance of the Service and Fabric of Truro Cathedral. This was an ancient plan elsewhere. And so disastrous, through unfore- seen legislation, is the position of some of our Mother Churches, that wc must almost expect it to be resumed." - ' Through the etiforts of the Cathedral Union, since 18S9 to 1902, the sum of ;/^8,678 15^-. 4^/. has been raised within thirteen years for these purposes, very largely within the Diocese. - Fishers of Men, j-). 11, note. 2S4 THE BISHOPRIC OF TRURO With such hmited resources, the services at Truro Cathedral have not been able to attain any high degree of elaboration, or lofty standard of musical excellence. As has already been noticed, the choir was the old parochial choir, transferred from St. Mary's Church to the new Cathedral. But the first organist, George Robertson Sinclair, was a man who knew how to make the best of existing material ; and, with undaunted courage and consumincr enthusiasm, to attempt and to succeed in noble ambitions. He was a pupil at Sir Frederick Gore Ouseley's College of St. Michael's, Tenburv, and had worked under Dr. C. H. Lloyd at Gloucester Cathedral (after- wards organist at Christ Church, Oxford, and now precentor of Eton). Coming as a youth to Truro, he attracted Dr. Benson by his ardent love for his art and his untiring energy.^ Step by step he led on the choir, until he succeeded in making them fit to render the best cathedral music ; and later on to execute works like Mendelssohn's Hymn of Praise, Spohr's Last Jttdg- vient, and Stainer's Daughter of Jair2is and St. Mary Magdalene? After nine years' work at Truro, where in addition to his Cathedral duties he was conductor of the Phil- harmonic Society and musical teacher at the Training 1 Canon Mason records in his Diary: "Saturday, Oct. 8, 1881, was to have returned at midday, but Walpole left me to hear the boy Sinclair, who had come to try for our organistship— a wonderful young fellow." 2 Mr. Ivor Atkins, the able organist of Worcester Cathedral, was for several years a pupil of Mr. Sinclair at Truro. EFFORTS 285 Collec^e, he was appointed organist of Hereford. As conductor and ori^ranist of the " Festival of the Three Choirs," and also as conducted- of the Birminc^ham Musical Festival, he has gained a very high reputa- tion. He received several years ago the honour of the Lambeth deoree of Doctor in Music, from the present Archbishop of Canterbury (Dr. Temple), and was appointed " Grand Organist" of the Grand Lodge of Freemasons of E no-land. Dr. .M. f. INIonk, who succeeded him, has maintained the good traditions set by his predecessor ; and, as a musician of refined taste, has been able to train the choir to do justice to a repertoire of high-class Church music, pronounced by the late Dr. Troutbeck, of Westminster, to be unusually large and varied, con- sidering the number of choral services rendered. For it must be remembered, that the revenues at Truro only suffice to provide a choir for the principal Sunday services; for Evensong on Wednesdays, Saturdays, and holy days ; and certain other special occasions. Competent critics have, from time to time, judged favourablv of the music at Truro, a small citv of eleven thousand inhabitants, and consequently con- taining a very limited area from which to draw voices, where there are competing parochial choirs and no such financial resources as enable other cathedrals to attract singers from afar. The ceremonial, in use at the Cathedral, cannot be called in any sense "extreme." It aims at dignity and stateliness ; and those who are responsible for 2 86 THE BISHOPRIC OF TRURO the ordering of the services have striven after simpH- city and reverence, taking the use of St. Paul's, London, as a pattern to follow. When the "Lincoln Judgment" had been pronounced, the following statement was issued by the Dean and Chapter, after a few additions had been made to the ritual of the Holy Communion at the Cathedral, which were introduced for the first time on Easter Day. These included the use of two lights at the early celebrations (afterwards extended to all celebra- tions) and of stoles of the colour of the season at the altar services ; the ablutions taken at the altar instead of in the vestry ; the singing of a hymn (now almost always the Agnus Dei) during the Communion of the people. "In n:iaking these changes the Dean and Chapter desire to meet the feeHngs and wishes of various classes of wor- shippers ; and to make the Cathedral services minister, more and more, to the glory of God and the edification of His people. The additional enrichments of the ritual are in harmony with the exquisite beauty of the building and all its fittings. They are, moreover, in conformity with the law of the Church, as stated in the ' Ornaments Rubric,' and have been declared, by the recent judgment of the Archbishop's Court, to be not contrary to the mind of the Church of England. It is believed that they will be proved to be instru- mental in giving increased expression to the reverence and devotion of the worshippers." It would be impossible to find space for any detailed notice of some of the great services that have been held in Truro Cathedral during the last fifteen years. EFFORTS 287 Solemn memorial services for the late Queen Victoria, the Duke of Clarence, Mr. Gladstone, Archbishop Benson. I ntercession services during- the recent war in South Africa ; thanksgivings after victory, as when Mafeking was relieved. Impressive Advent and Lent courses of sermons and instructions ; addresses to men, Sunday-school teachers, Church workers, lay readers. Perhaps one of the most striking of all is the annual service, held on Christmas Eve, when a " Service of IX. Lessons," drawn up by Dr. Benson, is used. The lessons are read by a series of readers, beginning with a chorister, and ending with the Bishop. Carols and anthems follow each lesson. The catalogue of special services is a long one, and space fails the writer in any attempt to enumerate, or describe them in detail. It must not be supposed that it is only great cere- monies and stately functions that have been conducted within the walls of Truro Cathedral, or in connection with the work of its Chapter. Many have been the efforts made to reach souls by simple methods, as well as by unusual and special means. One great spiritual attempt was made in November, 1892, by a general Mission throughout the city, in- cluding all the parish churches as well as the Cathedral. to awaken souls and invigorate Church life. Bishop Wilkinson had greatly desired that during his episcopate such a mission should be held ; and Bishop Gott did all he could to ensure its success. The Canon Missioner (Canon F. E. Carter) worked for many months beforehand indefatigably, together 288 THE BISHOPRIC OF TRURO with the citv clero-y, with Sub- Dean Bourke at their head, to make thorough, prayerful, and earnest prepara- tion. A very impressive day of solemn intercession, at which nearly all the churchworkers, with many other communicants in the city, were present, was held in the Cathedral, shortly before the Mission took place. Canon Georo-e Bodv o-ave the addresses. Without pronouncing that the effort failed to produce the results desired, it nevertheless did not make so stronof an impression as had been expected. No doubt indi- vidual souls received much blessing, but the visible fruits were not discernible, in any general advance in Church life and work in the cathedral citv. Perhaps it may be said, with some approach to truth, that in a place where there is so constant a round of frequent services, and so many sermons delivered by a succession of different preachers, including not a few men eminent for learning and eloquence in the Church at home and abroad ; an effort, like a ten days' mission, does not so greatly strike the imagina- tion, or arouse the interest, as in the case of less favoured places. But then, the favoured place ought to take heed concerning its privileges. CHAPTER WV TRIALS IT was the habit of Bishop Wilkinson to receive, from time to time, at Lis Escop, eminent Church- men ; and especially members of the Home, Colonial, and American Episcopate. Among these were Bishop Scott of North China, formerly his Curate at St. Peter's, Eaton Square. Bishops Edward Churton of Nassau and Kennion of Adelaide.^ Bishop Doane of Albany visited Truro, during the absence of its Bishop, while endeavourinor to obtain restoration to health in Switzerland. He preached in the Cathedral, was much struck by its services, and enchanted with its architecture. "This time," he said, " I have seen the shrine, next time I hope to see the saint." Since then, he has had the satisfaction of erecting a very substantial part of his own cathedral at Albany, to the dedication of which he invited several of the clergy of Truro Cathedral. Bishop Webb, formerly of Bloemfontein and afterwards of Grahamstown, who was always in Cornwall when he visited England, was an old friend o{ Bishop Wilkinson, and had preached at St. Peter's, Eaton Square, those discourses on the ' Now Bishop of Bath and Wells. U 289 290 THE BISHOPRIC OF TRURO Holy Spirit, which have since been pubHshed in that most instructive volume, entitled The Presence and Office of the Holy Spirit. He was able to give efficient help to his friend, by taking Confirmations during times of illness ; and once, at very short notice, undertook an Ordination ; himself giving the addresses to the candidates, during the previous days of retreat. These addresses were afterwards pub- lished, under the title of The Minister of the True Tabernacle ; and, among other valuable instruction, contain a very striking statement of the Anglican position, as regards doctrine and worship. It is not surprising that Bloemfontein and Grahamstown have, since then, always held a place in the affections of Cornish Churchmen ; who have been glad, by the support they have given to these South African dioceses, to express the gratitude they felt for one who showed much brotherly kindness to their Bishop and his diocese. When Dr. Wilkinson's illness made it necessary for him to prolong his absence from home for a considerable time, in Egypt, Italy, and Switzerland, he was able to obtain the services of an episcopal commissary, whose name will not easily be forgotten by Cornish Church-people. Dr. Speechly, for many years a missionary in Southern India, was first Bishop of the Diocese of Travancore and Cochin, from 1879 to 1889. On his retirement, he found not a few opportunities of assisting English Bishops, who re- quired occasional episcopal help, and came to Truro TRIALS 291 in i.SSq, to supply the place of the absent Bishop. His kindly and simple manners, and amiable disposi- tion made him a welcome Li'uest in the houses (){ the clergy, among whom he exercised an admirable over- sight, during his temporary term of office. Without possessing any remarkable gifts of oratory or acquire- ments of learning, he had a very true episcopal faculty of insight into character, and a power of gauging work ; and when, some years later, he passed away at his livinij' in Kent, there were manv in the Diocese of Truro who lamented his death, and respected his memory. During these years, and later, many visitors from a distance entered the doors of Truro Cathedral, to be greatly impressed by its beauty, and the complete- ness of its details : Roman Catholic dignitaries and eminent Nonconformist leaders, royal princes and princesses, politicians of different opinions. The Rioht Hon, W. H. Smith, who, bv noble "ifts for the rebuilding of the parish church at Portsea, and for the restoration of two remote but beautiful Cornish village churches, proved his generosity, as well as his interest in church architecture, greatly admired the Cathedral. His (juiet, and almost silent, appreciation was in remarkable contrast with that of Mr. Gladstone, who, when on a political tour in the West during June 1 889, snatched, with some difficulty, a hurried quarter of an hour for the inspection of the building. "What a surprise! I was quite unprepared for this! It is the most beautiful modern Gothic buildino- I have 292 THE BISHOPRIC OF TRURO ever seen ! " was his exclamation as he entered the south porch, and looked up at the groined roof. And then, as he walked through the aisles and the choir, he left to the Canon in residence, who acted as his guide, nothing to say or do, but to listen with admira- tion to his own description of the architect's skill, and the beauty of the building. In many cases, the admiration thus aroused, has borne fruit in the deter- mination of Churchmen elsewhere, far away in the Colonies or the United States of America, to obtain for themselves a worthy cathedral, as nobly designed and beautifully furnished as that at Truro. Not once or twice, have Bishops, at the ends of the earth, written home for copies of its statutes, or of some of the forms of services used on great occasions ; to be reproduced or adapted in those new lands, where England's Church has planted its offshoots, and where the sister or daughter Churches, that long to have in their midst all the ancient usasfes and time-honoured institutions that cathedrals have preserved, have been encouraged by the example of the latest born of Enpflish Cathedrals at Truro. As has already been indicated. Dr. Wilkinson's health began, only too soon, to show signs of serious failure. Early in 1888, not many months after the consecration of the Cathedral and the Diocesan Conference that followed it, he was compelled to leave home for a prolonged rest ; and henceforth, for about three years and a half, he maintained a pathetic, but brave, struggle against weakness of body, TRIALS 293 and its still more tryini^ accompaniment, depression of spirit, 'i'he causes of this breakdown are not to be sought, merely or chiefly, in the arduous duties of his episcopate, in the anxiety and strain of carrying out the plans for building the Cathedral and providing for its future, in his sympathetic sharing of all the trials, and even failures of his clergy, or in the enervating influence of the damp warm climate of the West ; but, in that previous exhaustion of every part of his nature, through the almost unparalleled efforts made by him in the great work, carried on for thirteen years, in the parish of St. Peter's, Eaton Square. There were, besides, other exhausting trials, anxieties, and heart-wounding troubles, from time to time, connected with one or two painful scandals in the diocese, the details of which need not be referred to ; which, to a nature sensitive to a degree, and strained between the two conflicting duties, of assert- ing discipline and dealing mercifully with individuals, were beyond measure trying. Something of what he felt about such niatters may be read, "between the lines " of words uttered by him, in a sermon preached in a parish, where some unhappy circumstances had occurred. " The history of the Church in this parish has been an instance of God allowing Satan to triumpli u[) to a certain point. When some man in this church first came to me about the Church's shame at X., it seemed that we could do nothing — we could but pray. My children prax'ed, and my servants prayed, and I got about eight hundred people in 2 94 THE BISHOPRIC OF TRURO the diocese, who were bound together in the Church Society for the purpose of intercession, to pray for X. Weeks and months passed, and no deHverance came ; until it came within an hour when I might have been obhged to pubhsh the scandal all through Cornwall, and might have done irreparable injury to the work of God ; and then, from a source I knew nothing of before, came a letter, and the way was opened up from that minute for all that happened after." There w^ere times of partial recovery and return to work, alternating with compulsory departures from home and the employment of an Episcopal Commis- sary. At length, to the great grief of Cornish Church- people, by whom their Bishop was greatly beloved, and who had hoped great things from a personality so specially gifted for the work of this particular diocese, it was announced, after Easter in 1891, that he had felt it his duty to resign his See, On Ascension Day he celebrated the Holy Communion for the last time at the Cathedral altar, and bade farewell to the Residentiary Chapter and his Chaplains assembled at Lis Escop. The following parting address was presented by leading representatives of the clergy and laity of the diocese: — " To the Right Reverend Father in God "George Howard Wilkinson, D.D. " By Divine Permission " Lord Bishop of Truro. "My Lord Bishop, — As representatives of the Cathedral, the Diocesan Conference, and various departments of the work of the Church in the diocese to which, eight years ago, your lordship dedicated, in whole-hearted devotion, every TRIALS 295 power of body, soul, and spirit ; we have felt that we might venture to express, before you leave us, the sense of deep regret at \our departure, of abiding gratitude for your self- sacrificing work, and of affection never stronger than at this moment for your person, felt throughout Cornwall, since your intention to resign the See of Truro became known. " This is not the occasion to place on record what the diocese owes to its second Bishop, nor could we presume to speak in its name. But, on behalf of the various organisations through which it is our privilege to offer service to God, we desire to thank Him for the faith which you have been enabled to strengthen in many hearts, the hope which you have so often rekindled, and the charity by which ' \-ou have maintained and set forward quietness, love and peace among all men.' The courage with which you have led us, the unselfishness which has marked every action, the ungrudging care bestowed upon each detail of work, and the delicate consideration for every worker, will always remain among the most cherished recollections of the people committed to your charge". " To one great event that has marked your episcopate we may allude. In the annals of the Cornish See the name of Bishop Wilkinson will ever be linked with the consecration of the Cathedral Church, as the name of Bishop Benson will be associated with its foundation. In days to come, as in those that are past, man\' a worshipper in our Cathedral will still thank God for the Bishops who taught them amidst ' the ceaseless supplication for Grace, the perpetual Intercession, the endless Praise,' to ' stir their souls from sluggish sloth, to reach forth behind the veil into the presence chamber of the King of kings and the Lord of lords — the Presence Chamber where He lives, surrounded by the angels and archangels and all the company of heaven.' " The works which \-ou have entrusted to us in the Cathedral and in the diocese we will, with the help of the Lord, Who in His risen and ascended life is 'still working 2 96 THE BISHOPRIC OF TRURO with' His Church, and ' confirmini^ the Word with signs following, endeavour — one and all — loyally to maintain. We look forward to many opportunities of receiving you, strengthened anew for the service of God and His Church, in a city and county where a real welcome will ever await yourself and those nearest and dearest to you, who have so completely shared your hopes and fears, your sorrows and your joys. We assure your lordship of our heartfelt sympathy in this hour of present trial, and of our constant prayers for every future blessing, as we bid you in the Name of the Divine Master, at whose command you obeyed the call to accept the charge, which in ready submission to His will you now unselfishly resign, an affectionate and respectful farewell. " Signed, on behalf of the clergy and laity assembled at Lis Escop, Ascension Day, May 7th, 1891, " Mount Edgcumbe, JopiN R. Cornish, J. C. Daubuz, Aug. B. Donaldson, R. :\I. Paul, Cecil F. J. Bourke, Arthur Tremayne, James H. Moore, Edmund Carlyon, A. R. Tomlinson, Arthur P. Nix." The members of the General Chapter drew up and presented the follow^ing address : — " To the Right Reverend Father in God, "George Howard Wilkinson, D.U., " By Divine Permission " Lord Bishop of Truro, and Dean of the Cathedral Church. " My Lord Bishop, — We, the Canons Residentiary and Honorary of your Cathedral Church assembled in the General Chapter, ask your permission to assure your Lordship of our deep regret at your resignation of the See of Truro, of our heartfelt sympathy with you in so searching a trial, and of our abiding gratitude for the services, which, by the Grace TRIALS 297 of God, you have rendered, during the eight eventful years of your episcopate, to the Cathedral and the diocese. " It is largely owing to the confidence reposed in you, to your energy and kindliness, that the organisation of the Cathedral, and its relation to the parish and the city of Truro have been arranged so as to give every opportunity for united worship, and harmonious work ; to your sense of reverence, that the Cathedral, in the beauty of its ornaments and the dignity of its service, is felt to be a means through which ' men's whole being is to be stirred within the veil, and to see the hidden things which God has in store for those who love Him'; to your wise and courteous presidency, in your twofold capacity of Bishop and Dean, that we have, as we trust, secured that unity in counsel, which is the in- dispensable condition of unity in action. " To one aspect of your Lordship's office and work we feel that we may, as the Chapter, especially refer. Your un- ceasing solicitude that the candidates for Holy Orders should be spiritually, as well as intellectually, prepared for their sacred duties ; your thoughtful hospitality during the Ember weeks; your manner of conducting the Ordination itself; demand the grateful acknowledgment of all who feel that the spiritual life of the Church largely depends on a deepened sense, among the clergy, of the high dignity, and the weighty office, and charge to which they have been called. " We could add much more, but we refrain. The lessons of devotion and self-denial, to be drawn from your episcopate, will not be forgotten. We pray that every blessing and every opportunity for service in the Church of God may still be yours, so that the mysterious bonds which link the members of Christ one with the other, may even be strengthened between us by the Holy Spirit, when it is no longer permitted to worship and labour in bodily presence. " With true respect and dutiful affection, " We remain, m\- Lord Bishop, " Your Lordship's faithful servants. " Chapter Room, Truro Cathedral, ''May 12th, 1S91." 298 THE BISHOPRIC OF TRURO The Bishoj) ordered the following Pastoral Letter to be read in all the churches of the diocese, on the Sunday next after his departure, at Morning and Eveninsf Service. " Lis Escop, '^ Ascension Day, 1891. "Dearly Beloved in the Lord, — I wish that it had been possible to see you once more — to thank you, one by one, for the unfailing affection which I have received from you — the unfailinc; readiness with which you have responded to my every appeal. The Archdeacons, the Canons, the Deans Rural, the Parish Priests, the Churchwardens and Sidesmen, the Readers, the Choirs, the representatives of our Diocesan Conference, the members of our committees, the men and women, by whose work and prayers and alms the Cathedral was reared and furnished in all its fair sanctity ; the Sisters, the District Visitors, the Teachers of our colleges and schools ; the numbers of Cornish men and women who have so heartily welcomed their Bishop into their homes — one and all, rich and poor, old and young, masters and servants. I desire with a great desire to see you once more — once more to grasp your hands and to bless you in the Name of the Lord. " This however is impossible — I can only commend you to God and His unfailing love ; and pray to Him that He will give you abundantly, above all you can ask or think, for Jesus Christ's sake. " Dearly beloved, hold fast, I beseech you, the faith once delivered to the saints. " As members of Christ and children of God be satisfied with no mere external improvement, with nothing short of entire consecration of your whole being to Christ your King. " Be watchful about your prayers, and quiet hours of com- munion with God. Read, mark, learn, and inwardly digest, His Holy Worrl. TRIALS 299 " Train up your children to value aright, and look forward to, receiving the great gift of Confirmation. " Prepare reverently for, and go regularly to the Holy Communion. "Thank God continually that, of His tender love. He has given His only Son Jesus Christ to suffer death upon the Cross, and that His Precious Blood does indeed cleanse from all sin. " Never speak or think lightly of sin. Be sure that, what- ever Satan may whisper to the contrar)-, every sin, great and small, will surely find you out. " Rejoice always as those who are partakers of a priceless heritage, whose hearts have been fired with a divine hope of a glorious future. " Love from the heart fervently all who are called by the Name of Christ. " Help, by your prayers and alms and personal self-denying work, the increase of Christ's Church at home and abroad. "May the God of Peace, Who brought again from the dead the great Shepherd of the sheep, through the Blood of the everlasting Covenant, make you perfect in every good work, to do His will ; working in you that which is well- pleasing in His sight— through Jesus Christ, to Whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen. " God bless you, my dear people. Pray for us, as we shall ever pray for you. " Your affectionate Father in God, "GeoRG: H. TkURON:" For nearly a year and a half Bishop Wilkinson remained in retirement, and in comparatively weak health. Ikit, at the end of that time, to the great joy of all his friends in Cornwall and elsewhere, he was so much restored to bodily and mental vigour as to be able to undertake preaching and other work. 300 THE BISHOPRIC OF TRURO And, at length, on the death of Dr. Charles Words- worth, Bishop of St. Andrews, he was elected to the vacant see, and enthroned in St. Ninian's Cathe- dral, Perth, on April 27th, 1893. . On that occasion Dean Rorison spoke of him thus : — " We have a Bishop now, whose name is known, and never mentioned without respect, wherever the Book of Common Prayer is used in all English-speaking lands. He is worthy to sit in the seat of Charles Wordsworth : that is no light saying, for Bishop Charles Wordsworth was a Bishop who had the ear of Scotland, and he was a prince in the Anglican Communion. Our new Bishop enjoys the unique distinction of having been a Bishop of one of the youngest sees in the Church of England, and he is now Bishop of the most ancient of all our Scottish sees." Mr. Speir, of Culdees, one of the most earnest of Scottish laymen, also said : — " I remember a great Free Churchman, when he and I were talking over the call that was given to Dr. Liddon to the See of Edinburgh, saying these words . . . . ' the Scottish people will always follow the Church where they find the greatest spirituality.' I believe our Bishop will have an attractive power in him, in his personal character, to draw all the best of the Presbyterians ; certainly, at the very least, an intense amount of sympathy." Not long afterwards he paid a visit to Cornwall, at the same time that Archbishop Benson was in the west. They met at Truro Cathedral, where Bishop Wilkinson preached, with all his old fervour, to a vast cono'retration. o o TRIALS 301 He has had the great joy of seeing his cathedral in Scotland much enlarged and beautified ; and his numberless Cornish friends continue to watch his work there, with the keenest interest and prayerful gladness. Not least do they rejoice, that it has of late been given to him to take a leading part, by prayer, and conference, with all the great leaders of Scottish Christianity, to heal the " breaches of Zion " : and restore unity to the divided spiritual and ecclesi- astical fragments of that o-reat and relii^ious nation. CHAPTER X\' THE THIRD BISHOP OF TRURO ONLY fourteen years had elapsed since the foundation of the Bishopric of Truro and already two Bishops had occupied the see and left it. It was therefore felt to be a serious and important event, when the successor of two such eminent pre- lates had to be selected. The vigorous leadership of Dr. Benson, and the example of a life devoted to God and His Church in the case of Dr. Wilkinson, demanded, in the minds of Churchmen everywhere, and in Cornwall specially, the appointment of a suc- cessor w^orthy of his predecessors, and of the work they had created and developed. Earnest prayers were offered throughout the diocese, and in many other places, that God would direct the minds of those, in whose hands the choice lay, to select one fitted for the office. It was therefore with great satisfaction that the following announcement was made in Truro Cathedral: "A letter has been received from our present Bishop, and also from the Dean of Worcester, the Very Rev. Dr. Gott, confirming the news of the appointment of the latter to succeed to the bishopric, when Bishop Wilkinson's 302 jUn JJr//. m.')/. THE rniRD BISHOP OF TRURO 303 formal resii^nation is completed. Our Bishop has heard of the selection of Dr. Gott to be his successor with great thankfulness. Dr. Gott fervently desires the earnest prayers of the diocese on his behalf, that he may be prepared to enter upon the duties of the sacred office, which after much hesitation, he has accepted." The appointment was much approved everywhere. A High Church Review expressed its belief that he would " win the Cornish folk to the Church which their ancestors loved and fought and suffered for." Other papers spoke of his "well -defined Church principles" and "very attractive personal character"; and said, "the more he is known in Cornwall the better he will be liked, and the more ofood work will he be enabled to do." Another, in answer to some objections against a High Church Bishop being sent to rule over a diocese so full of Dissent as Corn- wall is, said, with much truth, ''A self-respecting Dissenter, who knows why he is such, is far more likely, we think, to respect a Bishop, who is not ready, for the sake of appearances, to make light of his Church and Order." Within the diocese, one re- spected clergyman who had seen the foundation of the bishopric towards which he himself had given much assistance, and who has served under four Bishops, wrote in his parish magazine: "We have reason to hope that he will be to the diocese a true Father in God, and a meet successor of such saintlv men as our late beloved Bishop and the Archbishop 304 THE BISHOPRIC OF TRURO a of Canterbury ; we ought to be thankful to Ahiiighty God that Dr. Gott has been selected to be Bishop of Truro." And, after quoting- from Dr. Gott's book,^ where he said "System is no substitute for personal dealing with individual souls. The warm and loving touch of heart to heart . . . ministering to hearts and not to cases ... is the only life of a masterly system," he went on to say "A man who will live up to such a sentiment as this, will win the hearts of the sympathetic Cornish labourers, miners, and fishermen, as surely as ever he won the hearts of sturdy York- shire mechanics." Another clergyman, deeply interested in the mission and evaneelistic side of Church work in Cornwall, told his people, " Our late Bishop once took a mission at Leeds, at which there was great blessing, and he is, I know, devoudy thankful that Dr. Gott is to be his successor. I gather from this that our future Bishop is full of sympathy with mission work ; and will do all he can to promote those special efforts which have of late years changed so much the aspect of Church work, and which will, I deeply believe, if gratefully and bravely undertaken in Cornwall, entirely change the current of Church life and Church hopes in this diocese of the kingdom of God." The new Bishop's personality was far from being of a common type ; very different from, but worthy to be compared with, that of his predecessors. The nobly moulded features, bright expression, flowing hair of ^ The Parish Priest of the Town. THE THIRD BISHOP OF TRURO 305 the first P)isli()j) of Truro, the almost Oriental outlines of the countenance of the second, were contrasted with the thoroughly English aspect of the third. The bright keen eyes, clear ruddy complexion, hair of which he said in after years, when he felt the first onward steps of advancing age, that his "gold was becoming silver," proclaimed a Yorkshireman. John Gott, born at Leeds, was educated at Win- chester and Brazenose, Oxford. He took his degree in 1853. After a year with Canon Finder at Wells Theo- logical College, he was ordained to the curacy of Great Yarmouth in 1857, where he remained till 1863; during the latter part of the time having charge of St. Andrew's Church, and ministering specially to fishermen and seafaring folk. This great and important parish has been blessed with eminent rectors, among whom may be named Dr. Hills, afterwards first Bishop of British Columbia, Canon Venables, and Archdeacon Nevill. The noble church, which disputes with St. Michael's, Coventry, the distinction of being the largest paro- chial building in England, has gathered round it a number of district and mission churches. The parish, however, has not been broken up, but is worked as a whole with certain advantages, and has formed an ex- cellent training school for young clergymen, many of whom have passed from a curacy at Yarmouth to some important sphere, at home or abroad. Mr. Gott was appointed Yicar of Bramley, near Leeds, in 1863, and worked in that parish for ten years, among a popula- tion not far short of nine thousand. He was elected X 3o6 THE BISHOPRIC OF TRURO Vicar of Leeds in 1S73, and remained at the head of that great parish for thirteen years. To be Vicar of Leeds means, not only (since the days of Dr. Hook, the o-reat pioneer of the revival of parochial work in our large towns) to be placed in a position towards which the eyes of Churchmen everywhere are constandy being turned, and from which so many have passed like Atlay, Woodford, Jayne, and Talbot, to the epis- copate ; but also to be the occupant of an office, almost unrivalled for gaining a unique experience of pastoral work. Few towns in England, or indeed anywhere, have so many staunch supporters of every branch of Church work ; and in few is there so wide a scope for the exercise of a vigorous and wise ecclesiastical rule. Dr. Gott had much to assist him in his work from his family connections. A church was built and endowed by his relatives and friends, at a cost of ^30,000. But his own bright sympathetic nature won him many friends among all classes. The story of those thirteen years cannot here be told ; some of its lessons are gathered up and treasured, for the benefit of other labourers, in the book. The Parish Priest of the Town, which, by its ripeness of experience, and many- sidedness, will long hold its own as a handbook for pastors of the English Church. Among the institutions founded or fostered by Dr. Gott at Leeds, was the Clergy School, at one time under the principalship of the Rev. A. J. Worlledge, afterwards Canon Residendary and Chancellor of Truro Cathedral. He was, in this way, brought into THE TJIJRD BISHOP OF TRURO 307 contact with a lar_L(c number of young clergymen, some of whom became connected with his work elsewhere. In 1886 Dr. Gott was appointed Dean of Wor- cester. Comino- as he once said, "a tired man" to the beautiful deanery, and splendid cathedral, of that ancient and attractive city on the Severn, he spent five happy years in useful and refreshing work. He did much to encourage theological study by lectures for the clergy, and Bible - reading for the laity. One who knew him well at Worcester com- mended him to Cornwall, with the promise that " all will find, what everyone who has the privilege of knowing him has found, that John Gott, Curate, Vicar, Dean, and Bishop, is ' theirs heartily.' " Another, "a layman," writing as "a native of Corn- wall " at present residing near W^orcester, said, "His loss will be bitterly felt here. When our late Bishop resigned, a very strong hope was expressed that Dr. Gott might be his successor ; but it was not to be. Dr. Gott is no less liked and valued here than at Leeds, and that is saying a good deal. . . . He is an excellent preacher, and speaks out straight and with no uncertain sound. He says plainly what he thinks." Another said, " No diocese has possessed a kindlier, more sympathetic, more genial-hearted Dean. He has shown special concern for children, with whom he is immensely popular. . . . Though he is a man of deep convictions, he is absolutely free from intoler- ance." On leaving Worcester he was presented with a very beautiful episcopal ring, by the Chapter of o 08 TJ7E BISHOPRIC OF TRURO Worcester Cathedral ; and he preached a farewell sermon to a vast congregation assembled in the nave, from the words, "O God, Thou art my God." An address signed by the leading laity of the diocese, including the Lord Lieutenant of Worcestershire, the Earl of Coventry, was presented to him, with warm expressions of regard and appreciation of his work. The first two Bishops of Truro were appointed by Royal Letters Patent, as is the case when there is no capitular body to elect the new Diocesan. But, as by the Act of 1887 a Chapter was created at Truro with full rights and privileges, the election took place, according to customs prevalent in other cathedrals, on Thursday, August 3rd, 1891. It was hoped that under the Truro Chapter Act of 1887, the Honorary Canons, as well as the Residentiary Chapter, would have taken part in the election, as is the case in cathedrals of the "Old Foundation," such as York or Exeter, where the Prebendaries are summoned on these occasions. The question was submitted to Mr. A. B. Kempe, K.C., of the Inner Temple, Chancellor of the Dioceses of Newcastle, St. Albans, and South- well, for counsel's opinion, by a committee of the General Chapter ; and that gentleman decided that the procedure at Truro must follow those of other cathedrals of the " New Foundation," like Peter- borough or Ely, where the Residentiary Canons alone elect. ^ The Residentiary Chapter, therefore, assembled 1 It may here be stated that the late Archbishop of Canterbury (Dr. Benson) expressed regret, in a private letter written not long before his death, at this decision : it certainly was contrary to the intention of the THE THIRD BISHOP OF TRURO 309 at four o'clock in the chapter room. Mr. Arthur Burch attended as actinir Chapter Clerk, and the High Sheriff of Cornwall (Mr. J. C. Daubuz) and the Chancellor of the diocese (the Worshipful R. M. Paul) were present as witnesses. Mr. Burch, having read the congt' d\^/ii'e in which Her Majesty required "the Dean and Chapter " to elect '• such a person for their Bishop and Pastor as may be devoted to good and useful works, and faithful to Us and Our Kingdom," the Chapter proceeded to the choir, when Evensong was suncr to the close of the Psalms, They then returned to the chapter room, the great bell tolling meanwhile, to notify that the election was about to take place, when the "letters missive" were read; in which Dr. Gott was recommended for election. The consent of the Chapter having been given for election, each of the Canons declared his consent singly ; and the sentence of the election was then read by the President of the Chapter, the Sub-Dean. On returning to the choir, the Sub-Dean declared the election to the congrega- tion, from the choir steps, in the following words : — " Be it known unto all men that we, the Dean and Chapter of this Cathedral Church of Truro, in full Chapter assembled in the Chapter Room, in obedience to Her Majesty's licence, have this day rightly and duly elected the Very Reverend John Gott, D.D., to be the future Bishop and Pastor of the Cathedral Church, Bishopric, and Diocese of Truro, in the room of the Right Reverend Dr. George Howard Wilkinson, late Lord Bishop thereof" Draft Statutes, and it may be hoped that, not at Truro only, but in all Cathedrals of the New Foundation, the whole of the Capitular Body may take part in the election of Bishops. 3IO THE BISHOPRIC OF TRURO The service then proceeded as usual, the lessons beino- read bv the Canon Missioner and the Chancellor. At its conclusion the Chapter returned to the chapter room, where certificates of the election were sealed to the Queen, the Archbishop of Canterbury, and the Bishop-elect. Sir John Hassard, of Doctors' Commons, principal registrar of the province of Canterbury, ]\Ir. Arthur Burch, registrar of the diocese, and Mr. Harry \V. Lee, of Westminster, were appointed Proctors, under the seal of the Dean and Chapter, to present the certificate, and transact all other business necessary for the confirmation of the election, which took place at the Church of St. Mary-le-Bow, Cheap- side. After the minutes of the proceedings had been sio-ned, the Sub-Dean concluded the meeting of the Chapter with the Benediction. The occasion was one of considerable interest, as this was the first time that a Bishop of any of the dioceses, founded within recent years, viz. St. Albans, Southwell, Truro, Liverpool, Newcastle, and Wake- field, had been elected as the Bishops of the other dioceses always are. The order observed in the proceedings was mainly that of Exeter, with certain modifications, for which the procedures of Lincoln and Winchester were consulted. These elections are in- creasingly felt, both by Bishops and Chapter, to be something more than a formality ; and the ceremonial testifies to the practice of early times, when it was thought convenient that the laity, as well as the clergy of the Church, should concur in the election ; THE THIRD BISHOP OF TRURO 311 that he, who was to have the government of all in the diocese, after his consecration by the Bishops, should come in with the consent of all. Dr. Gott was consecrated at St. Paul's Cathedral on the Feast of St. Michael and All Angels, 1891. The ceremony was described as a "very imposing" one. About ten thousand people were, according to one account, present. Together with the Bishop of Truro, were consecrated the Bishops of Lichfield (Dr. Legge), and Zululand (Dr. Carter),^ and the Suffragan Bishops of Coventry and Southwark (Drs. Bowlby and Yeatman'-). The Archbishop was assisted by the Bishops of Winchester, Rochester, Salisbury, Carlisle, Wakefield, W^orcester, Southwell, Bedford, Shrewsbury, and Bishops Blyth and Mitchin- son. The sermon was preached by Prebendary Gibson, Principal of Wells Theological College, from the text "And ... in His right hand seven stars. . . . The stars are the seven angels of the seven churches" (Rev. i. 16 and 20). Referring specially to the Bishop of Truro, he said, ''The Church of Christ becomes all thino'S to all men. To a Cornish- man the P^ishop must be a Cornishman, that he may bring all men to Christ. Be he a Yorkshireman he must be a Yorkshireman no lon^'er, but a Cornishman among Cornishmen." Dr. Gott was presented to the Archbishop by the Bishop of Wakefield (Dr. Walsham How) and the P)ishop of Southwell (Dr. Ridding, formerly Head Master of Winchester). ' Afterwards I5ishop of Pretoria. - Now Veatman-Biggs. 312 THE BISHOPRIC OF TRURO On the festival of St. Simon and St. Jude the new Bishop was enthroned at Truro Cathedral. Previous to the service Dr. Gott was received at the Town Hall, Truro, by the Mayor and Corporation of the city, the Lord Lieutenant of the county (the Earl of Mount Edgcumbe), the High Sheriff of the county (Mr. J. C. Daubuz), and the Mayors of the borouQ-hs of Cornwall. The Mavor of Truro wel- corned the new Bishop to the city, the Lord Lieu- tenant and the Hiofh Sheriff assured him of the support of the laity of the county, and the Arch- deacon of Cornwall promised him the faithful alle- giance of the clergy. The service at the Cathedral was described by a competent critic as " the best ordered I have seen at any great function, except the consecration of Truro Cathedral itself." In the pro- cession were thirty-two lay readers and theological students, sixty assistant curates, one hundred and twenty-five incumbents, besides the Residentiary and Honorary Canons. The new Bishop was enthroned, in conformity with ancient custom, by the Archdeacon of Canterbury (Dr. Eden, Suffragan Bishop of Dover), according to the form drawn up by Archbishop Benson in the Truro Statutes, a form pronounced by Dr. Eden to be the most complete and accurate at present in use in England. After his enthronement, the Bishop gave the right hand of fellowship to all the digni- taries, and addressed the assembled clergy from the same text as that used by the preacher at his conse- cration ; and concluded with the words, " I pray that THE THIRD lUSHOP OF TRURO 313 this vision . . . may inspire each one of us, and energize us to go forth, and to live, and to work, as men who have seen ourselves and our people in the vision of God. Each helping and encouraging each other by prayer, by example, by fellowship ; and may this vision inspire me, whom you in God's name have placed here, as your brother, as your father, and above all, as the servant of the servants of God." Dr. Gott was also duly installed as Dean of the Cathedral, by Sub- Dean Bourke, after the Psalms for the day had been chanted ; and preached to the great ofatherino- of the laitv from the words " Our Father . . . Thy Kingdom come." He spoke of the great event of the '' first enthronement of a Bishop of Cornwall in our own Cathedral since the Conquest, the only cathedral built in England proper since the Reformation." He dwelt on the many ways "the Kingdom " might be spread in Cornwall, and ended, " You and I should be the men to do it, because we are fellow-subjects in the Kingdom of God — fellow- children of one common Father, with a noble life to live, and a oreat Kinodom for which to be ambitious, and to increase by prayer, and work, and love." After the service the whole Cathedral body, from the installant down to the youngest chorister, passed before Dr. Gott separately, and promised true and canonical obedience to him, both as Bishop and Dean. In the evening, the Mayor of Truro, the High Sheriff of the county, the Archdeacons of the Diocese, and the Canons Rcsidcntiarv of the Cathedral czavc 314 THE BISHOPRIC OF TRURO a reception to about seven hundred people of the city and county. Dr. Gott, departing from the precedent set by his two predecessors, chd not reside permanently at Lis Escop ; but provided himself with a private residence at Trenython, formerly the home of Colonel Peard, well known as " Garibaldi's Encrlishman." The situa- tion is a lovely one, with a view of St. Austell Bay, and with fine sfardens and orrounds. There were not a few, both of the clergy and of the laitv, who regretted this chancre of residence on the part of the Bishop of Truro. There was a com- parative simplicity about Lis Escop, a by no means palatial abode. For it was little more than the old vicarage of Kenwyn, given up by Canon Vautier with the goodwill of the parishioners, and enlarged by sub- scriptions; and was quite in keeping with the newer and better conditions of modern episcopacy in England. ■ The combination of the two offices of Bishop and Dean, in one person, seemed to demand a residence near the Cathedral. The newly selected dwelling did not appear to be more conveniently situated for the general purposes of the diocese, or for reaching its more remote districts. But the new Bishop explained his reasons for the step he had taken, both in a letter to a local newspaper, and at the ensuing Diocesan Conference ; when he stated that, besides the accom- modation necessary for due hospitality towards his clergy and laity, the house at Trenython appeared to hini "from a general's point of view, as the best THE THIRD BISHOP OF TRURO 315 base of operations for a lone;" campaign : near a station on the main line where every train stops, and the only four cross roads, I think, on the Cornish hnes ; it is also hard bv the boundary between East and West •Cornwall." lUit. whatever opinion may be entertained as to the change of residence during the present Episco- pate, no one in Cornwall can say that the Bishop has not abundantly fulfilled the promise, made at that time, to throw himself heartily into the work, and go from place to place, everywhere making himself known to all.^ It mio-ht have been thou-'ht that one, who had spent all his ministerial life in large towns, would have found himself in uncongenial surroundings in a county like Cornwall. There are no large centres of popula- tion, and the parishes are, as a rule, sparsely inhabited and widely isolated. But the new Bishop imposed upon himself, at the outset, the task of such a thorough visitation of his diocese, as should enable him to become personally acquainted with the circumstances and environment of each Parish Priest. Such visits have been greatly valued, and have brought much refreshment and strength. Few, that have not experienced or observed it. can realise the depressing effects of such isolation as falls to the lot of the Cornish clergy, in very many parts of that remote county. Summer visitors at some porth or cove, are charmed by the quietness of the scene and the simplicity of the inhabitants. But the parson has ' It must be remembered that Dr. Gott inherited a magnificent library, besides many other valuable heirlooms, which could only be lodged in a nuicli larger house than Lis Escop. 31 6 THE BISHOPRIC OF TRURO to live all the year round, greatly dependent upon his own intellectual resources, with no neighbour within easy reach, no libraries available, no easy access by rail to centres of activity. His pastoral work is greatly increased and hampered by the long distances between hamlet and vicarage and "church town." Often, if he be not of Western race, he finds it very difficult to understand his fiock, and they him. The danger of spiritual degeneration is a very real one, under such circumstances; and the visit of some brother Priest, from the cathedral city, or elsewhere, brings freshness and sympathy which are very welcome. How much more the inspiring presence of a true Father in God, who, from his own full experience of pastoral cares and anxiety, could lift away something of the burden of long isolation and saddening disappointment. The first Bishop of Truro knew very well the "wonderful loneliness" of the "wild beautiful coast" of North Cornwall, that which he graphically called " Cornubia Petrsea " ; and it was a great part of the work of himself and his successors to brighten these solitudes, as often as possible, by their Inspiring presence. Frequendy, in connection with Bishop Gott's visits to the parishes of his diocese, simple social gatherings have taken place. These have given the Bishop an opportunity of becoming acquainted with the humbler members of his flock; and served an excellent purpose, in removing something of the ignorance and prejudice with which the episcopal office is even now regarded, THE TJIIRD BISHOP OF TRURO 317 in some of the more remote parts of the Duchy. During- the first few years of his episcopate, Dr. Gott was able to make a very thorough visitation of his diocese ; in a less formal, but more effective and practical, manner than can be done by that which is technically known as a "Visitation." At the end of the first year of his episcopate, he could say at the Diocesan Conference, " I have ministered in one hundred churches of the diocese, and in many I have watched work that seems to me of the highest and holiest quality. I have stayed with men whose lives I should like to copy." What was the manner of spirit in which he entered upon his work, may be best gathered from the follow- ing pastoral, issued shortly after his enthronment : — PASTORAL OF JOHN, BISHOP OF TPUPO, TO THE CHURCHES OF HIS DIOCESE ''All Saints' Day, in the year of Grace 1891. " My true Brothers and Sisters in Christ, and you also my chiklren, dear to me, for you are the children of my Father — fellow-heirs of the Kingdom, fellow-members of Christ and His true Church, blessing, atonement, and holiness be yours, from God blessed for ever. " I come to )'ou in the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost ; the Name at which every knee shall bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth ; whatever faith, hope, or charit\-, I may bring you, this is its daily source and power. " Receive me, therefore, I pray you ; receive me into your churches, your homes, your hearts ; for my Lord and yours has sent me to His ancient Church of Cornwall ; receive me in Christ, and Christ in me. Ti8 THE BISHOPRIC OF TRURO o " Very reverently and deeply feeling my unworthiness, let me say to you, that He hath anointed me to preach Good Tidings unto the poor ; He hath sent me to bind up the broken-hearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives of sin, even the liberty of the sons of God ; to comfort all who mourn, to give to you beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for the spirit of heaviness, that He may be glorified. " He has called me to help you to become partakers of the Divine Nature, and to receive the true image and likeness of God. " If my Lord strengthens, blesses, comforts, hallows me, it will be mainly for your service, and very much by your prayer and fellowship. " Your clergy, my brothers, true yoke-fellows, my partners, and brother slaves of Christ, are already labouring among you with devotion and self-sacrifice. May God grant me grace to help, encourage, and lead them onward and upward. " A Bishop's service is threefold : — "I. To confirm— to strengthen you with the Holy Ghost ; and to lead you to offer your hearts and your lives to God. " 2. To ordain — to find and test, to set apart and send forth, true men of God, to live out lives of sacrifice and service, in every town and village of the diocese. " 3. To bless— to be ready to touch, with a hand that is held by his Lord, all things, all men who seek it ; to bless with His blessing that changes us, purifies us, and unites us perfectly to our Lord, filling us with His Holy Spirit, and bringing to us, even in this life, an assured pledge of that benediction which He has prepared for His elect in heaven. " ' But who is sufficient for these things ? ' 'My grace is sufficient for thee.' ' By myself I can do nothing, in Christ I can do all things.' " I follow two Bishops, whose lives lift me, and whose work stimulates me ; they do not cease to pray for us. I pray you to pray for me, to help me, and to bless me. " I hope soon to spend a day or two with you, visiting every church in Cornwall, that we may become true friends. THE THIRD BISHOP OF TRURO 319 " ' God is my witness, Whom I serve in my spirit and the Gospel of His Son, that without ceasing I make mention of you in my prayers, making request that I may come to you, for I long to see you, that I may impart unto you some spiritual gift, to the end that ye may be established ; that is, that I may be comforted together with you, each of us by the other's faith, both yours and mine.' " This is my daily prayer for you. " ' I bow my knees unto Thee, O Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, of Whom every family in heaven and earth is named, that Thou wouldest grant to Thine ancient Church in Cornwall, according to the riches of Thy glory, to be strengthened with might by Thy spirit in the inner man ; that Christ may dwell in our hearts b>' faith ; that \vc, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all saints, what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height ; and to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge ; that we may be filled with all the fulness of God. Now unto Him, Who is able to do exceeding abundantly, above all that we can ask or think, according to the Power that workcth in us, unto Him be glory in the Church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world without end. Amen.' " And will you once a week, on Sunday morning perhaps, pray this for me ; they are the words of an apostle of the ancient Church of Britain, and have come down to us in the language your fathers once spoke in Cornwall. "' May the Power of God guide our Bishop, and the Might of God uphold him ; may the Wisdom of God teach him, and the Word of God give him speech ! Christ be with him, and within him, Christ before and after him ; Christ over and beneath him, Christ on his right and left ; Christ in the heart of every man who thinks of him, Christ in every e}'e that sees him, and Christ in every ear that hears him.' " Believe me ever your true and loving " Bishop and Father in God, "Lis Escop, "John: Trurox : " SS. Simon and Judr^s Day, ^' and the day 0/ my Enthronement, 189 1." CHAPTER XVI PROGRESS THE Primary Visitation of the Diocese of Truro by Bishop Benson was held, at Boscastle July 9th, Launceston July loth, Liskeard July 27th, Bod- min July 28th, Helston July 29th, Penzance July 30th, Truro July 31st, 1880. It would not appear to have presented any features of special interest. The order of the Visitation was : — The Office of the Holy Communion, to the end of the Nicene Creed : a short sermon : the citations of the clergy read : the election of Rural Deans : the Bishop's Charge : the conclusion of the Communion Service. The Articles of Enquiry, issued to the clergy, were concerned with (i) services: (2) fabrics of parish churches : (3) churchyards : (4) glebe buildings : (5) schools : (6) miscellaneous subjects. The Articles of Enquiry, issued to the church- wardens, were of the usual kind. By permission of the Bishop, the Archdeacons held their Visitations during the same year. The answers to the Articles of Enquiry are bound up in a volume kept at the Bishop's House — Trenython. 320 PROGRESS 3-1 ProcjITcimmes of a Visitation of the Diocese of Exeter, held about the middle of the eighteenth century, and of one held in 1833, are pasted in the book. These Visitations seem to have occupied six weeks. The charge delivered by Dr. Henson at his Primary Visitation was not published. But the substance of it was afterwards used by him for his addresses de- livered at his Primary Visitation of the Diocese of Canterbury, which were published under the title of The Seven Gifts, a volume full of deeply interesting teaching and facts. In a note prefixed to the addresses it is stated, " The form of these addresses on the inner and home work of the Church explains itself. Certain portions, spoken on the same plan in Cornwall, are now printed, with affectionate memories." The first Bishop of Truro had been making plans for the Second Visitation of the diocese, when he was called away to Canterbury. The second Bishop was prevented first, by the consecration of the Cathedral, and then, by ill health, from carrying out his inten- tions of doing the same thing ; and it was not until 1896, nearly five years after his own consecration, and sixteen years after Dr. Benson's Primary Visitation, that the next formal Visitation of the Diocese of Truro took place. The proceedings began with the Visitation of the Cathedral. The Bishop issued a mandate to the Sub-Dean, Canon Loraine Estridge, to summon every member Y 322 THE BISHOPRIC OF TRURO of the Cathedral body to appear before him on the second day of June ; having previously sent to all the members of the General Chapter and other officials, a paper of questions going very fully into all the details of the Cathedral work and its worship, and the discipline and duties of every person con- nected with it. On Tuesday, June 2nd, the proceedings took place as follows : — Mattlns was said at 7.30 a.m. The Holy Com- munion was celebrated, as usual, at 8 a.m. At ten o'clock there was a choral celebration of the Holy Communion, the Bishop, with his officers, having previously been received at the west door. The Introit was the hymn Veni, Creator Spiritus — " Come, Holy Ghost, our souls inspire." The Collects were (i) that for the day ; (2) the second for Good Friday ; (3) that for Whit-Sunday. The special Epistle was I St. Peter i. 3-22 ; the special Gospel, St. John xvii. All the ministers and members of the Church ap- peared vested in their robes, and in their places in the choir. The service being ended, the bell was rung, and the Cathedral Body proceeded to the chapter room singing the hymn Veni, Sandc Spiritus — "Come, Thou Holy Spirit, come" (No. 156, Hymns A. and M.) — in procession. The Bishop took his accustomed seat, and the Chancellor of the Diocese and the Bishop's Registrar occupied places at the table. The Canons occupied their stalls, and the other persons took their seats in due order. The PJW CRESS 323 names of those cited to a[)pear were called by the Bishop's Registrar, and each person present answered " Here." A short Office was then said by the Bishop, consisting of the Lesser Litany, the Lord's Prayer, and Versicles, Psalm cxxxiv.. Ecce quain boiiuvi, and the following collects : — (i) The Cathedral Collect. ^ (2) "O Heavenly Father, strengthen us, we beseech Thee, in love one to another by drawing us to an increasing love of Thyself; keep us from all envy and jealousy, in Httle things or in great, and teach us to rejoice in seeing Thy work done by others rather than b\- ourselves ; and, finally, we pray Thee, grant us grace so faith- fully to serve Thee, with one heart and soul, in this life, that the brotherhood which has begun on earth ma\' be perfected in heaven ; through our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Avien." (3) "O Lord Jesu Christ, Who saidst unto Thine Apostles, Peace I leave with you, My Peace I give unto you ; Regard not our sins, but the faith of Thy Church, and grant us that peace and unity which are agreeable to Thy holy will ; Who livest and reignest with the Father and the Holy Ghost, one God, for ever and ever. Ajnen." (4) "O eternal Lord God, Who boldest all souls in life ; We beseech Thee to shed forth upon Thy whole Church, in Paradise and on earth, the bright beams of Thy light and heavenly comfort ; and grant that we, following the good examples of those who served Thee here and are at rest, particularly the founders and benefactors of this See and Cathedral, for whose memory we continually give thanks unto Thee, may, with them, at length enter into Thine unending joy ; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen." After which all took their seats, and the Bishop de- livered his Charge. The Charge being ended, the Bishop directed the Registrar to inquire oi the senior ' See p. 26S. o 24 THE BISHOPRIC OF TRURO chorister, in the name of the rest, if any of them had any complaints to make. The Precentor and Choir- master, together with the master of the school to whose charge the education of the boys is, at present, entrusted, were also asked if they had any complaint to make of the conduct of any of the choristers. The complaint was made, with no little appearance of im- portance, by the senior chorister of an insufficient supply of drinking water in the vestry. The choristers were then dismissed. Similarly, the choirmen and v^ergers were interrogated, and their only complaint, that they were unable to hear the sermons from their places in the choir, was noted, and they were then dismissed. The same was done in the case of the Priest Vicars. The subordinate ministers and members of the Church havinor been dismissed, the Bishop remained in Council with the General Chapter. Questions which concerned the whole bodv of Canons, were first considered, and then those referring to the services, discipline, and revenues of the Cathedral Church. The proceedings were concluded shortly before four o'clock, at which hour Evensong was said in the choir. Anything requiring reformation or correction, discovered by the Bishop was to be dealt with by a monition on the subject issued to the Chapter, who were to be allowed three months to take order as to such reformation or correction, and to report thereupon to the Bishop. If such order were not taken, the Bishop was to take steps to correct any defects left unreformed. PROG 7? ESS 325 Visitation of the Diocese. The Bishop's Charge as a whole was, when pub- Hshed, entitled T/ie Ideals of a Parish; but the Charoe delivered at the Cathedral formed an intro- duction to the rest. It was preceded by " A Bishop's exhortation to his elder clergy " ; which was the substance of two special addresses, delivered on June I St, at a devotional gathering of the General Chapter held on the day before the Visitation ; and in it he set forth the vocation, duties, and reward of the priestly and canonical offices. The subject of the Charge to the Cathedral body was "The beauty of holiness" The following extract gives some idea of the leadino- thouohts of the whole : — " This house is the picture of the Church in the beauty of holiness ; here we both celebrate and become a Communion of Saints. " God gave beauty to art by the Greek, He gave beauty to government by the Roman, He gives beauty to life by the Christian. " Holiness is the beauty of God Himself, it is the only beauty of His Bride which is the Church, and the true beauty of each Christian heart and life ; it is our Hkeness of our Lord, it is our claim to be His Church, it is our witness before men Whose we arc and Whom we serve. The wealth of the Church lies in its loving alms-deeds ; the strength of the Church lies in its living faith ; the beauty of the Church lies in its holiness ; and the saintliness of the whole lies in the personal holiness of every old man and maiden, young man and child, each radiating and com- municating his sacred fire to the Church. o 26 THE BISHOPRIC OF TRURO " Therefore my charge to the members of the Cathedral is : 'Be }'e holy, for the Lord ' of this house ' is holy.' We are the living Cathedral, living stones of the life-giving Church, and ' Holiness becometh His house for ever.' They tell us that the architect said, as the vision of our Cathedral rose eraduallv before him, ' I will build a cathedral which shall force every one who enters it to bend his knees.' It was a great ideal, and accounts for the emotion that stirs our souls as we thoughtfully pass through its doors." ^ He spoke of " the three gates to the way of holiness" (i) the Holy Bible, (2) Holy Communion, (3) Holy Orders : and concluded a most helpful Charge thus :— " Your office of Canon was never more needed than it is to-day — for it is yours to lift men's ideal of holiness, to increase the beauty of the Church, and to bring into men's lives that holy discipline which is the secret of the rule of God." 2 The following was the plan of the whole Charge : — I. The ideal of Christian life - holiness. (Delivered at the Cathedral.) II. The ideal of the Parish Church. (At Penzance.) " It is the conscious presence of the Trinity in the midst of the village." III. The ideal of the Parish Priest. (At Helston.) "He is the man of God among us, the ambassador of our heavenly kingdom, the messenger, watchman, steward of the Lord, who must give an account of every parishioner." IV. The ideal of the Sacraments. (At Truro.) " They turn all our water into wine and ourselves into Christ." ^ T/ie Ideals of a Parish. A Charge delivered by John, Lord Bishop of Truro. 1896. S.P.C.K., pp. 35, 36. - Ibid., p. 55. PA' OG A' ESS 327 V. The ideal of Church work. (At Liskeard.) '"Son, go work to-da\- in My vineyard ' is said, not to clergy only, but to every child of God." VI. The ideal of the Christian home. (At Bodmin.) " It is the birthplace, the nursery, and the loving shelter of every family of God." VII. The Parish is part of a greater ideal. (At Laun- ceston.) " For the earth is the Lord's, and the fulness thereof." In a summary of the Articles of Enquiry which accomi)anicd the Charge, and which were very full and searching, the Bishop was able to report the following progress "in a decreasing population " : — 1892. 1895. Confirmation candidates . . 1,482 1,643 Baptised . ... 4,835 4,7/2' In Sunday Schools . . 19,001 19,842 In Bible Classes . . . 3,021 3-939 The estimate of the numbers of the communicants could not be accurately made, because only five- elevenths of the- clergy had kept a roll of communi- cants, and marked their attendance with regularity. Hut it was believed that, the great majority of those confirmed during the past five years were persevering communicants. The Bishop printed a very interesting religious census taken in 1676 in Cornwall, "by command of the Archbishop of Canterbury," by which it appeared that there were in the Cornish rural deaneries at that ' The decrease of sixty-three was accounted for by " the diminution of the population." -,2S THE BISHOPRIC OF TRURO J time 67 " Papists," 842 " Nonconformists, " and 65,81 i " Conformists," ^ In the Charge much was said of the great import- ance and value of the Church work of the laity, and reference made to its various and manilold depart- ments. But perhaps the most striking sentences that dealt with this part of the Church's ministry were the following : — " There remain two other Church-workers whom I have not mentioned, and if their service is less visible and less or- ganised, it is none the less necessary and acceptable to God. " For there is among us a multitude whom no man can number, though our Lord counts them as His own, and calleth them all by their names. These are they who visit the sick, and raise the fallen, and convince the doubtful, and awake the sleeping, and put their own life into the careless, throughout every hamlet of the diocese. They enter in, whenever their Lord opens the door of a neighbour's heart ; they knock at many a door that seems bolted with steel, they do what they can. Their work may be miscellaneous and rather nondescript ; but their heart is in it, their Lord accepts it, and its fruits will appear to the whole world at large. " And there is many a saintly man and \Voman, who can do none of these things. Some have no time, and some have no courage to begin, and some have left all in despair ; some are bedridden, or at least confined to their house ; and yet we cannot afford to lose their help, for they pray for us who- work, and for those for whom we work. Theirs is the priest- hood of intercession ; these also as Christians hope to inter- cede for the world, and I have felt long and often, when some Power greater than my own has kept me from falling, that, from the bedroom of one who is ill, or the heart of a child who pleads to God for me, strength descends upon your Bishop and his clergy, strength to serve and to conquer.'"- ^ See Appendix II. ^ Ideals of a Parish, pp. 141, 142, PROGRESS 329 Among other interesting facts the Bishop stated : — " In the last ten years that I am able to account for, you have oftered to God for His Church within the diocese ;^626,ooo, and the sums of each year show a constancy of growth."^ Dr. Gott's Second Visitation was held in 1901, five years after the Primary one. On this occasion the Cathedral was not visited. The plan of the Charge was divided under heads : — I. The Church in General. II. V^isitation Inquiries. III. The Energy of the Holy Spirit. IV. Lay Priesthood. In the first subject the Bishop laid stress on the divisions of Christendom, and the weakness that results from them. He invited his clergy and laity " to put fresh fire into the prayers for unity, reunion with Greece and Rome, reunion with the man)^ societies of Non- conformity at home ; and, above all, union and brotherly love within the Church. We require the faith and love that men like Father John, the Russian, would give us ; we want the sheer self-devotion of Lacordaire the French priest, and of Alontalembert the French layman ; we require the clear insight of spiritual things of Milligan the Presbyterian, and of Dale the Congregationalist."- The Bishop referred to the great war in South Africa and its effect on "national character"; to the report that Lord Roberts had given, "of the tender- ' Ibid., p. 21. ■- The Work of the Holy Spirit and the Priesthood of the Laity. A Charge delivered by John Gott, D.D., Bishop of Truro, at his Second Visitation, July, 1901, p. 7. 330 THE BISHOPRIC OF TRURO ness of the English soldier"; and expressed his belief, that this, and other instances of noble traits in the English nation, in spite of many terrible drawbacks and sins, were " the form and spirit of Christianity that is current among Englishmen," and he paid fitting homage to the character and life "of our last and grreatest Oueen." He also dealt in his Charge with the difficult ques- tions of the day, connected with the practice of " Reservation," and the use of private Confession, in a wise, conciliatory, but thoroughly English, spirit, and with unswerving loyalty to the teaching of the Book of Common Praver. From the answers returned to his Visitation in- quiries, he was enabled to announce some interesting- particulars of the state of the diocese: out of 1,194 Sunday-school teachers 92 per cent, were communi- cants ; a roll of communicants was kept by 105 out of •220 incumbents ; " family prayer was almost universal among the educated classes of the diocese, in the homes of squires and professional men, but rare amone the middle class and almost unknown in the homes of those who live on a weekly wage." There were still seventy parishes without catechising, and out of the Church elementary day schools, twenty where no religious instruction was given by the Parish Priest. On the energy of the Holy Spirit, he said there was everywhere a yearning after, and a belief, in the indwelling power of the Spirit : PROGRESS r:>^ " I do not mean so much that our Lord has withheld hallowing knowledge from our fathers which He is giving to us by a new revelation, but I have strongly in my mind that ancient revelations are yielding fresh meanings to fresh minds. It seems that this thought is fermenting in many men: e.^: a theological book has come out this year by the Master of Trinity Hall, Cambridge, which ends with these words : ' I believe that the fuller and more practical recognition of the immediate presence of the Holy Spirit, prompting and actu- ating men, or striving with them, will be a distinguishing feature in the coming time, and the conviction of the inter- communion of souls with the Spirit which is Divine, will possess itself even more and more amply of the minds of men. The recognition of the presence of the Holy Spirit, not only brings us nearer to God in our own selves, but it keeps alive in us, what is a most vital element in Christian society, our holy reverence for man as man. Every human being is, or may become, a sanctuar\' in which the Spirit of God shall abide. We cannot help looking around us with a worthier respect — shunning all hate, impurity, and scorn — if we regard ourselves and all around us as possibly containing the germ of an infinity to what is Divine, which the Holy Spirit may quicken into growth' (7//^ Risen Master, pp. 461, 462). I^ishop Westcott writes : ' Little by little the Spirit is bringing home the uttermost realities of being, bringing home, that is, Christ and the things of Christ to each man and to all men. He is bringing to light new truths which may minister to the knowledge of Him who is the truth. He is ever fashioning for our use, as we gain power to use them, new forms of thought, new modes of worship, new spheres of action' {The Historic Faith, p. 108). My brother of Rochester has lately written to his diocese for the same purpose." ^ And aijain : — "Writers both in Scotland and England {e.g. Dr. Milligan ' \'isiiation Churj^c, 1 901, pp. 47-9- 332 THE BISHOPRIC OF TRURO and Dr. Moberl}-) have been teaching us ra toi7 ITi'euVaTo? 'Ay/of, operations of the Holy Spirit which, perhaps, were not generally realised before. I mean that the inspired names, ' the Spirit of Christ,' ' the Spirit of Jesus,' have received a deeper meaning, awakened a holier understanding, and become in our thoughts a more powerful help than they were, in the character of men that were before us. He Whom we adore as ' Holy Spirit,' Whom we call to our aid as ' Paraclete,' Who possesses us, and Whom in some real sense we possess ; He is to us much more than the Spirit, Who ' moved upon the face of the waters,' the Creative Spirit, Creator SphiUis, more than the Holy Spirit Who inspired prophets and their people before Christ. To us He is the Holy Spirit, b}' Whom Christ our Lord was conceived, and the meaning of this grows more real to us, conditioning the ver\' body of every Christian, and enabling our flesh, yours and mine, to have fellowship with the Spirit of Christ ; and already to have, so far as each of us gives himself to it, a spiritual body, not yet free from sickness and sin, but over- powering these, consecrating sickness till it becomes a cross, and consecrating sin till it becomes the love of the greatly forgiven." But, while the Bishop urged upon the clergy and laity the need of realising the presence and work of the Holy Spirit, he was careful to guard himself and them from any misunderstanding. " Brethren, I have no new means of grace — of course I have not ; but new insight into the Great Unseen is given to men, more and more : new sense of God's work, the drawing near of the end of all things, that is, their fulfilment and perfection, liut there can be no new organisation of the Church, no new Sacraments, still less can there be any disuse of those means of grace that we have received from the Holy Spirit. It is in the better and fresher use of our FJWGRESS 333 hereditary helps, in their use more faithful and spiritual, in a heartier luve and a gladder hope, that the Spirit grows within us." ^ That there is a real danger, at the present day, from other directions, the Bishop was careful to point out : "the danoer of a spiritual person supposing himself to be infallible," the dano^er of an insidious growth of "the spirit of pride," and the consequent loss of "the grace of humility"; and, lastly, the danger sometimes lurking in the teaching of " perfectionism." the " temp- tation to the spiritual person " to claim and act upon the "assurance that sin is eradicated, that it has lost its power, and cannot return to one who has once been filled with the Spirit." The only safeguard is "godly fear," "a gift of the Spirit, even the seal that secures His presence and growth within us."" The Bishop in his Charge had spoken of the great South African War, as he did also, from time to time, at diocesan conferences and similar gatherings. Corn- wall like the rest of the Empire, felt the strain and stress of the grave anxiety ; first of the terrible "week of disasters," and, afterwards, of the long period of exhausting efforts to bring peace to South Africa. The Duke of Cornwall's Light Infantry, which has its headquarters at Bodmin, has not of late years contained a very large proportion of native Cornishmen. who appear to choose the Navy rather than the Armv, when thcv offer themselves for the ' Visitation Cliara^r, 1901, p. 60. ^ pp. 64, 65. 334 THE BISHOPRIC OF TRURO service of their country.^ But the regiment had, not long before, become well known by the march it had made throughout the county. On Trinity Sunday, May 28th, 1899, the second battalion encamped at Truro, and attended a special service in company with the local volunteers at the Cathedral, in the afternoon, when the Bishop addressed them.- When the regiment was ordered abroad, the Bishop and the Lord Lieutenant had together bidden farewell, on November 4th, 1S99, at Devonport, to the officers and men of the second battalion, the Bishop giving them his blessino- and a motto for them to remember. " Certainly I will be with thee." The movements of the " Duke's," as they were familiarly called, were closely watched by their many well-wishers in Corn- wall ; and the county was proud of their bravery at the assault on the Boer entrenchments at Paardeberg. But the achievement cost many valuable lives, among which were those of Colonel Aid worth, and other officers and men. Another gallant son of Cornwall, Major Hatherley Moor, R.A., son of Canon Moor (at that time Vicar of St. Clement), commanding the contingent from West Australia, after many acts of conspicuous skill and bravery, fell on the field of honour at Palmietfontein. Early in the war another brave Cornishman, Major-General Sir William Penn Symons, was mortally wounded, after a successful ^ Yet among the archers who won the battles of Crccy, Poictiers, and Agincourt, the proportion of Cornishnien is said to have been very large. 2 The late Colonel Aid worth, who fell at Paardeberg, said after the service, it was the best address given to soldiers he had ever heard. FJWGRESS 335 action at Gltncoe, and has been commemorated in his parish church at Hotus Fleming- by a beautiful reredos and other monuments. A contingent of '1 ruro volun- teers, under Captain Jackson and Lieutenant Smith, joined the Cornish regiment, and did good service for more than a year in South Africa. The Vicar of Bodmin, the Rev. H. K. Southwell (now Hon. Canon of Truro), for ten months acted as Chaplain to the Forces with great acceptance ; and the Vicar of Looe, the Rev. A. L. Browne, went to the front in the same capacity. The matron of the Royal Cornwall In- firmary at Truro, Miss A. B. Trew, belonging to the Army Nursing Service Reserve, answered the call of duty, and worked with so much assiduity and success, that, on her return, she received from the hands of the King the decoration of the Royal Red Cross. For months, every Friday afternoon, a large number of persons met in Truro Cathedral for earnest supplica- tion, in behalf of individuals, and of all our soldiers, sailors, and others engaged in the war, in every kind of capacity ; and a long list of names of those prayed for was affixed to the notice-board ; and the same sort of service was held all o\cr the diocese. From the foreign service of our soldiers and sailors, it is natural to pass to the foreign missions of the Church, and the share that the Diocese of Truro has in that noble work. It is natural that the county of Henry INIartyn, and the city of Truro where he was born, in whose Grammar School he was educated, and in whose Cathedral baptistery his memory is en- 33^' THE BISHOPRIC OF TRURO shrined, should produce labourers, men and women, for the conversion of the heathen. Not a few have oiven themselves for this Q-lorious work, and some are still labouring faithfully, far away from their dear Cornwall. Robert Kestell Cornish, first Bishop of Madagascar, born at Kenwyn ; Gilbert White (Curate of Helston), first Bishop of Carpentaria ; F. E, Carter (Canon Missioner of Truro), Dean of Grahamstown ; L. Cholmondeley (Curate of Kenwyn), of St. Andrew's, Tokyo ; B. E. Holmes (Curate of St. Mary's, Truro, and Priest Vicar of the Cathedral), Rector of King Williamstown and Rural Dean ; D. Ellison (Curate of Bodmin), of the South African Railway Mission ; C. Bice, of the Melanesian Mission ; Miss Thornton (daughter of Canon F. V. Thornton), of St. Hilda's, Tokyo ; Miss Rodd (daughter of Canon Rodd), of the Church of England Zenana Mission; Sister Louisa Jane, of Bloemfontein (daughter of Mr. J. Barrett, of Truro), are some of those, who, living and departed, have o-one forth from the Cornish Church into the foreifjn mission field. ^ Of home mission work Bishop Gott once said, in his address to the Diocesan Conference, 1892 : "Our subscriptions to home missions are, I believe, the best in England." This must mean, in proportion to the population and resources at the disposal of the Church in Cornwall. But if Cornish Church- people, and especially Cornish women, ^ have been 1 A more complete list is given in Appendix VII. 2 Mention ought to be made of the late Miss Shearme, of Strattor, PROGRESS 337 and still are liberal in their support of the home missions of the Church, it is largely owing to the eenerous manner in which the London Committee have treated the diocese in their distribution of grants, and to the complete identification of the Diocesan Committee with the aims and work of the parent society. One thing never fails to strike a visitor to Cornwall from " up the country," and that is, the almost univer- sally good condition of the fabrics of the churches, and the care bestowed upon them. This, in a county where the disintecrratino- force of moisture and storm are powerful and constant, is not a litde remarkable. It is scarcely possible to find, anywhere in the diocese, a single ruinous church, or any that are in serious disrepair. Most of them are in excellent order. Restoration has sometimes been injudicious, and occasionally even disastrous ; but that was in earlier days.^ Now a wise conservative spirit is prevalent ; and architects like Mr. G. Fellowes Prynne and Mr. E. Sedding, can be thoroughly trusted with the work of making ancient buildings fit for worship in the present age, without destroying their historical or archaeological interest. It is not only a pleasure to visit such large and iniportant churches as St. who, among almost countless good works, was for many years a zealous supporter of the A.C.S. 1 Yet some of the early " restorers " were very self-denying persons. It is related that the Rev. J. Fisher, Rector of Roche 1819-34, renovated his church and rebuilt his rectory, raising a large portion of the expenses out of his income, by living upon fourpence a day. z 338 THE BISHOPRIC OF TRURO Germans, St. Petroc's Bodmin. St. Mary Magda- lene's Launceston, St. Finbar's Fowey, St. Austell, and Probus, but to come unexpectedl3^ close to the north coast, or near the borders of the moorland, upon beautiful village churches most carefully reno- vated, with all ancient features preserved, and noble screens and rood lofts, once more occupying the places intended for them. Even now, as these words are being written, one of the most interesting of Cornish churches that has suffered from long neglect as well as rough usage, St. Crantoc, has just received most loving and tender restoration. The church has a long and fascinating history. Dr. Benson delighted in the building and its past. "It lies in a desolate corner of the north coast, sheltered from the main blast by a large ' tovvan ' of sand, but scourged by every wind. It is skirted on the north by the long, narrow deep blue creek of the Gannel. The Httle compact tower, with battlements and machicolations, keeps up the tradition of pirate attacks, even if it was not actually built to resist them. The nave has a lower roof than the choir, and is aisleless, while the choir has not only aisles but transepts. It is on a higher floor than the nave; the base of the old screen and the deformed stumps of its moulded shafts, and the crumbling relics of it in the first choir arch on either hand, are the sole monuments of its capitular establishment of Dean, eight Canons and eight Vicars, which flourished ' in the days in which Edward the Confessor was alive and dead'; and flourished on until Henry VIII. dissolved it (if he did), and James I., more inexcusably, bestowed all its lands and rights on Phelips, and some other extinct laymen, leaving them only bound to find the merest pittance for the rJWGRESS 339 Vicars of Crantock, and of the church then dependent on it, St. Columb Minor." ' Considering" all lh;iL has been done fur church building- in Cornwall, it is not surprising that, when the third Bishop of Truro first came into the diocese, he said : — " I wish specially to praise certain things. . . . The sacred enterprise which has restored to their strength and their beauty nearly all the parish churches of the county. When I left the Cathedral behind me, and penetrated into lonely villages far from the railway, I expected to find that the alms of the diocese had been absorbed by the great central effort at Truro ; but I found they had spread to every remotest corner ; and Chacewater on one side, and Poundstock on the other, both of them already in the architect's hands, are among the few that remain of the neglected and unworthy churches of Cornwall, a true symbol, I trust, of the spiritual restoration, by which the churches are restoring and hallowing our people." - Since 1877, the Incorporated Church Building Society has made more than eighty grants, amounting to a sum between ^4,000 and ^5,000.^ During that period, ten new churches have been erected, fifty have been restored or rebuilt, and at least twenty-five mission chapels raised in every part of the diocese. Nothing struck the first Bishop of Truro more, than the need of planting in outlying hamlets, convenient mission chapels or mission rooms, to meet the needs of ^ Diary, .\pril 19th, 1S79. - Address at Diocesan Conference, 1892. ^ The sums raised to meet these grants have not been ascertained, but the total must be very large. 340 THE BISHOPRIC OF TRURO those who (as is so much the case In Cornwall) live far away from the parish church. " I think that no county can have such instances of original difficulties in the way of the Church as regards the situations of its buildings. At X. we have a church a mile and a half from Y., which, having been always large and having now fifteen hundred inhabitants, has no church nearer. At Z. the church is on a hill-top, a mile and a half above the village. There are seven hamlets ; not one of which had, till lately, any kind of service or help towards service, and there are seven thousand people in the parish." ^ The first Bishop of Truro was, as might have been anticipated and as has been stated above, a keen sup- porter of religious education in elementary schools. In Cornwall, after the passing of the Act of 1870, there had been prevalent, in some places, a feeling of despair, which resulted in the surrender of some of the Church day schools. Dr. Benson and his successors have used all their influence to check this tendency, with no little success. In a "starveling county," as a leading layman once called it, it is greatly to the credit of Churchmen that the day schools of the Church have been, and are still being, maintained. In 1881 the population of Cornwall was 333,358, and there were then 124 Church schools teaching 11,858 chil- dren, 29 other voluntary schools teaching 3,226 children, and 153 Board schools teaching 18,402 ^ Happily in most of these and in similar cases, the difficulty has been met, and mission churches built and regularly served. The late Mr. Michael Williams, of Gnaton Hall, Devon, built a beautiful little mission church near Newquay, which he served himself, whenever he was in Cornwall. FRO GK ESS 341 children. In i.Sqi the population had fallen to the nambcr of 325,031, and there were 13,943 children in 127 Church schools, 31 other voluntary schools instructing 4,493 children, and 184 Board schools teaching 26,847. The struggle is arduous and in some respects discouraging ; but, in many of the principal towns, great efforts are made to maintain the Church schools. Within the last ten years in Truro, St. Mary's Schools have been entirely re- built ;^ a new boys' school has been erected in St. Paul's parish ; the practising schools of the Train- ing College, those of St. George's, and St. John's parishes, have received very considerable enlargement and improvement. The Diocesan Training College for Mistresses has been greatly extended, and now educates sixty students. At Camborne and Penzance large and well-equipped schools have been rebuilt. Recently, vigorous efforts have been made to strengthen the hands of those who wish to see justice done to voluntary schools everywhere, and important meetings have been held in the larger centres, to support the resolutions approved by the Joint Committee of the Convocations of Canterbury and York in 1901. ' The Rev. C. F. J. Bourke, Sub-Dean and Rector of Truro (now Archdeacon of Buckingham), contributed towards this object a sum of ;{^500, a portion of a parting gift from his parishioners at St. Giles', Reading, 1889. 34: THE BISHOPRIC OF TRURO DIOCESE OF TRURO I.— CONFIRMATION CANDIDATES. Year. Parochial. E.\tra Parochial. Total. 1877 . . 1887 1897 I90I 697 820 1,541 1,421 104 191 243 45^ 80 [ 1,011 1,784 1,466 II.— COMPARATIVE TABLE Year. No. of Sunday School Communicants. Children. Communicant Classes. Bible Classes. Guilds. 1894 . . I9OI . . 11,374 19,033 13,803 i 18,281 1,423 1,550 3,050 2,555 2,159 2,285 Year. Temperance Societies. District Visitors. Sunday School Teachers. Choirs. 1894 . . 1901 . . 3,492 5,085 642 458 2,068 1,810 4,137 3,845 Year. Other Helpers. .Sidesmen. Church Parochial Councils. Bell Ringers. 1894 . . 1901 . . 678 464 571 738 408 525 979 883 ^ H.M.S. Ganges in former years supplied at least 200 candidates. PROGI^ESS 343 III.— SUMMAK\ (JF CHURCH KXI'ENUITURE RETURNS FOR TEX YEARS Year. No. of Parishes. Returns. I'arochial. iJioccsaii. General. Totals. c L c £. 1884 . 249' 219 44.370 3.167- 2,872 50,409 18S5 . 249' 216 39,046 3,216- 3,'2i 45,383 1886 . 249' 210 35,962 3.S'S-*« 3.357 42.864 1887 . 249' 209 41,661 5,656^* 3,391 50,70s 1888 . 249' 219 43.712 i2,038'V 3,461 59,211 1889 . 250' 234 44.725 3.358 3,245 51,328 1890 . 250^ 217 47,368 4,355 3,067 54,790 1891 . 2S0' 240 45,086 6,846 4,029 55,961 1892 . 250' 245 45.931 8,761 4,750 59,442 '893 • 250^ 249 1 1 47,152 7,948 4,249 59,349 ;^435,oi3 ;^58,86o'^ ;^35,572 ;^529,445' IV.— COMPARATIVE TABLE OF VOLUNTARY CONTRIBUTIONS TO CHURCH WORK^ Year. Parochial. Church Societies ((jeneral and Diocesan). Other Objects. Church and School (Fabrics, etc.). Total. 1894 . I9OI . £ 31,269 26,668 5,822 6,037 £ 1,058 1,700 £ 32,894 34,380 £ 71,043 68,787 -DIVINE SERVICE Weekly Celebration of Holy Communion and Daily Service. I. Parishes in which there was weekly celebration of Holy Coiii munion and daily service II. Parishes in which there is weekly celebration of Holy Com munion, but not daily service III. Parishes in which there is daily service, but not weekly cele bration of Holy Communion . 1878 1888 27 60 45 6 121 54 1902 143 49 1 Include all parishes with churchwardens, or assessed for their own poor rate ; also all ecclesiastical districts. - These totals down to 1885 (inclusive) take no account of some ;i^97,78o raised for the Cathedral. •' Including (a) ;^n6 ; (/') ;^2,229 ; (<:) ;^8,282, for the Cathedral Maintenance Fund. ^ After 1893 the form of return, as published in the Official Year />A'/t, was adopted. CHAPTER XVII LAST EFFORTS AND ULTIMATE SUCCESS FOR nine years after the consecration of the Cathedral, no effort was made to continue the building, nor even to collect money for any eventuality connected with its continuation. It was felt that to have raised ^70,000 for the endowment of the bishopric, and nearly ^120,000 for the erection and adornment of the Cathedral, was an effort that might very well satisfy Cornish Churchmen, for at least a generation. There were very many things of parochial and diocesan interest requiring immediate attention, and the Building Fund was not put forward by those in authority. The increase of the endow- ments of the poorer livings, the necessity of raising- considerable sums for religious education, appeared to be objects demanding large and generous contribu- tions. But, nevertheless, from time to time offerings and gifts were made to the Building Fund of the Cathedral, in the hope that some day, though perhaps far distant, might see the renewal of attempts to build a complete Cathedral. Out of Miss Pedler's bequest, alluded to in a previous chapter, ^1,500 had been assigned to the Buildino; Fund ; and Canon Wise. 344 LAST EFFORTS AND ULTIMATE SUCCESS 345 of Ladock, already a munificent benefactor oi the Cathedral, some years before his death made the noble gift of £^,000 towards the erection of the nave. Dr. Benson, who was delighted at this splendid offering, wrote the following letter to the treasurer of the building fund ; with characteristic foresight he alludes to the need for endowment. "Addington Park, Croydon, "4/// October, 1894. "My dear Mr. Nix, — Thank you very much for giving me this magnificent news — what a princely old Canon ! I suppose it is the greatest gift the Cathedral has had. I wish now someone would give i^ 10,000 to the Chapter. I want to see their endowment grow. " It was delightful to meet you and pick up all the old threads. " Sincerely yours, " E. Cantuar : " It was quite clear that Archbishop Benson's opinion concerning the irenerosity of Churchmen in the \\ est had proved to be true. "In building your Cathedral," someone once said to him, "you have drained Cornwall of money." " Yes," he answered, " but not of zeal." And so it was that, in the autumn of 1S96, the sum of no less than ^13,000 was already in the hands of the treasurer of the Building Committee. Then there came the sudden event at Hawarden, which some might call a catastrophe, bui to others was more like a translation, and the removal of the great Primate and first Bishop of Truro. An important meeting was called, not many weeks 346 THE BISHOPRIC OF TRURO after the funeral of Archbishop Benson, and there were present at the Church House, Dean's Yard, a large number of the Bishops and leading laymen. Church- men in Cornwall were represented by Archdeacon Cornish and Canon Thynne ; and friends of the Arch- bishop in Cornwall, and warm supporters of the Cathedral, anxiously waited to know the issue. The following telegram was sent by Canon Thynne :— '^ Laus Deo. Benson Memorial, effigy Canterbury Cathe- dral and Truro Cathedral continuation." Archdeacon Cornish wrote as follows : — " Church House, " November ^th, 2.30. "... We have had a wonderful meeting. The issue swayed to and fro, but finally it was decided to strike for an effigy in Canterbury, and some definite part of Truro Cathedral according to funds. The Archbishop (Dr. Temple) and the Bishop of Salisbury helped us greatly, and I thanked them afterwards and Lord Cross and others. Laus Deo!' A larofe meetinsf was called, in London, under the presidency of the Prince of Wales ; and a committee, includinof some of the most eminent men in Church and State, was formed to gather funds for the two- fold object decided upon. For various reasons, which need not be discussed here, the results of this movement in London were comparatively disappointing. Not more than about ;!^5,ooo was collected through this agency, of which LAST EFFORTS AND ULTIMATE SUCCESS 347 about ^2,000 was g-iven to Truro Cathedral, and the remainder expended on the beautiful recumbent effigy at Cant('r])ury. In the opinion of many, it was probably a serious mistake, on the part of those who were responsible for the movement, to put the monument first, and Truro Cathedral second. Contributors to the local memorial at Canterbury would naturally only offer a comparatively small sum ; but, if the Cathedral had been made the prominent object, larger offerings would have been at once made. It became evident that, if the nave, or any consider- able part of it, was to be built as a memorial to its great founder, Cornish Churchmen would have to bear the main burden of the effort. At the Diocesan Conference of 1896 a resolution was passed, based on the expectation of a considerable sum being raised in London and elsewhere, that an effort should be made to proceed with the building ; and, later in the year, an important meeting was held at which it was an- nounced that considerable sums, including /, 2,000 from Lord Robartes, ^1,000 from Lord Mount Edgcumbe, and also from the Bishop, had been collected in Cornwall. In the early part of the followinij vear, the Women of Cornwall's Association was revived, and meetings held in different parts of the county, at which the IHshop, and members ot the Residentiary Chapter and others, gave addresses. On May 20th, 1S97, the seventeenth anniversary of 348 THE BISHOPRIC OF TRURO the laying of the foundation-stone of the Cathedral, a commencement was made by the laying of the founda- tions of the whole nave and western towers. In the following year, nearly ^30,000 had been received, and the committee determined to build the nave and west front. The work began on May 29th, 1 899, after an inaugural service, at which the Bishop officiated, and a large number of the clergy and laity of the diocese were present. The w^ork progressed under the superintendence of Mr. F. L. Pearson, who, on the death of his father on December iith, 1897, was chosen by the committee to carry out the original plans for the nave. The contract was carried out by Messrs. Wilcock, of Wolverhampton, and an excellent clerk of the works was chosen, Mr. Edward Price. Many generous donations were sent, and chief among them the sum of ^5,000 from "a Cornish- man," who has successfully preserved the secret of his anonymous generosity. But, in spite of all the zealous efforts that had been made, it seemed probable that the committee would have to stop short of a complete fulfilment of its desire to see the nave finished. There was still a deficiency of more than ^3,000 towards the erection of the western towers to such a height as would prevent an unsightly temporary structure, marring the effect of the upper part of the west front. The chairman of the com- mittee, Lord Mount Edgcumbe, with his accustomed zeal, wrote a letter to the Times, stating the facts of LAST EFFORTS AND ULTIMATE SUCCESS 349 the case and asking for help. His letter concluded with the following words : — " I shall be happy to give another ;^ioo, and another ;^200 more on the completion of the larger contract, if adopted, when the Lord Bishop of the Diocese who earnestly supports this appeal will also give another ;^ioo. And I venture to repeat the earnest hope of the Committee, that all who are likely ever to help us will do so now. I think it would be safe to promise, that, if this work can be achieved, the Building Committee will make no further appeal to the present generation." This letter bore fruit in a large increase of dona- tions, amono- which was one from the Prince of Wales (His present Majesty, the King) who, from the first, has taken a lively interest in Truro Cathedral ; and. before the close of the nineteenth century, the required amount, ^^40,000, was given or promised. This was a ereat achievement. It is scarcely possible to give any record of how all this good work was accomplished ; nor is it easy to realise that, in a county so depleted of wealth, such a successful result should have been attained at all. But there were two great impulses that moved Cornish Churchmen at the time, one personal and immediate — their deep affection for the great first Bishop of their revived see, together with a desire to commemorate worthily his work among them — and the other more far-reaching and corporate — the awakened sense of diocesan life, and a keen determination to emphasize and embody it vividly JD^ THE BISHOPRIC OF TRURO in a completed cathedral. For those who were per- mitted to take an active part in all the meetings, committees, and other organisations that helped to secure the fulfilment of these expectations, there will always remain the recollection of a strong and irre- sistible current of feeling, moving the hearts and wills of men and women in this direction. In the presence of much that, at the time, seemed to offer nothing but obstacles and hindrances, or even, on occasions, presaged disappointment, perilously near to disaster, there never was lost the living hope that the Cathedral would be finished, for the glory of God and the welfare of His Holy Church. The forces that inspired and sustained this great effort were, besides those enumerated, a strong realisa- tion of the Divine orioin and character of the Church: a sense of the great importance of Catholic unity, of which a noble church, and still more a great cathedral, is an unmistakable symbol. Moreover, the great awakening among English Church-people to the claims that orderly and reverent worship has upon them ; the recognition of the Divine Majesty and the Divine Presence, that is embodied in, and implied by, a splendid sanctuary, have, year after year, during the period since the teaching of the great Catholic revival began, been changing the whole aspect of the churches and cathedrals of England and Wales. And, in Corn- wall, the sense of opposition to all this on the part of so many outside the Church's pale, made the feeling all the more intense, and the desire for restoration LAST EFFORTS AND ULTIMA 'TE SUCCESS 351 of sacramental teaching and dignified worship more ardent than, perhaps, was the case anywhere else. And so, with much prayer and sacrifice, long labour and generous effort, Cornish Churchmen ha\'e suc- ceeded in realisinof a gfreat ideal, such as has been worthily depicted by one of the most eloquent of preachers, and most devoted of England's greatest Churchmen : — "It has been said of the Reformation that, whatever else it achieved or swept away, it sounded the death-knell of Christian art. In such a criticism there is truth so far as this : the Reformation involved a conflict of principles between, on the one hand. Churches conscious of the right to a self-government, controlled only by their allegiance to the sacred Scriptures and to the traditions of undivided Christendom, and, on the other, an illegitimate and encroach- ing central authority. It was natural that, at the time, and for long after, this conflict of principles should with- draw men's attention, from the outward mien and expres- sion of religion, to the practical interest at stake. The man who believes that he is struggling for his liberty or for his life, does not stop in the heat of the conflict to smooth his hair ; although it does not follow that this omission commits him to a lifelong habit of untidiness. Certainly, in the centuries that preceded the Reformation, the religious use of art had been the scene and pretext of some conspicuous abuses ; and the reaction, which reached its limit in the destructive fanaticism of the Puritan period, was perhaps more natural than we, at this time, can easily understand. Art, after all, is but the drapery of religion : religion can use art, she can profit by it, but she can dispense with it, if need be ; the life of religion resides in those activities of thought and will, concentrated upon the Being of beings, and upon that which He has revealed, whereby 353 THE BISHOPRIC OF TRURO man is enabled to attain the true goal of his destiny. Yet it is paradoxical to suppose that, in the sixteenth century, or at any other period, the Church intended to promote a final divorce between religion and art. Should the Church object to the service of art, whether it be painting, or sculpture, or architecture, as an instrument for propagating and illustrating religious truth, while she retains a Bible in which the highest poetry is the consecrated handmaid of the inspiration of David and of Isaiah, she would be altogether inconsistent. Poetry, like painting, may of course, usurp the honours of that truth to which it ministers. But the scholar who should forget the spiritual teaching of the evangelical prophet in admiration of his matchless poetry, would not really furnish an argument for omitting the most beautiful book of the Old Testament from the public services of the Church. " To the criticism in question, and as a whole, St. Paul's is a magnificent rejoinder ; it is, indeed, the only splendid cathedral that has been erected in England or in Europe since the Reformation." A note is here added to the following effect : — " Had the Cathedral of Truro been built when the sermon was preached, it would have obliged the preacher to express himself more guardedly." . . . and the preacher proceeded — " It has been said reproachfully of the modern Church of Eneland, that she has inherited cathedrals which she knows not how to use. In the case of St. Paul's, the epigram might have had a touch of additional severity, since she has actually built it. . . . " Yes, St. Paul's is, indeed, a ' city set on a hill ' ; it is a material representation of the moral position of the Church of Christ. It is eminent by its position ; eminent by its history ; eminent by its outward beauty ; eminent, it must be added, in its failure, in too many ways, practically to realise what is due to its position, but conspicuously is it eminent by its wholesale internal neglect and desolation. LAST EFFORTS AND ULTIMATE SUCCESS JDJ And we, the clergy of this Cathedral, of all orders, under our Dean, acting, as we do, with one mind and heart in furthering the work, confidently entreat you to help us. It is your matter, brethren, after all, rather than ours. We are but the willing instrument of an effort which you must make, if it is to be made at all. Like all corporations, we possess great powers of obstruction ; but we can do little to construct without aid from without. Revenues which were once at our disposal have been largely surrendered to other hands, that they may be distributed far and wide throughout the country; and we, who for a short while have this great fabric in our charge, can onl\' appeal, as we mean persistently to appeal, to the generous instincts and Christian enthusiasm of our fellow-citizens on behalf of its obvious requirements. Yet it is not we, but your Cathedral Church itself, which pleads with you. We, its ministers of the hour, appear, one after another in quick succession, each doing his work, speaking his mes- sage, and then passing to his account. But the great Church remains, an image, in the realm of sense and time, of the eternal realities ; as were the hills which stood about Jeru- salem. It remains, with its outline of matchless beauty, with its reproachful poverty of detail, appealed to, yet condemned by the religious aspirations, while face to face with the bound- less wealth of London. It is for you to say whether this shall be so hereafter ; whether one more generation shall be permitted to pass away leaving St. Paul's, as it is, to a successor. It is for you to decide whether, by your present efforts, and by your persevering interest, a most important step is or is not taken, in our day, towards making this Church worthy, to some extent, of its great position, at the heart of the metropolis of England and of English Christendom." ^ No one expected any further addition, than the completion of the nave, would be made to the build- 1 Christmastidc Ser/nons. By H. P. Liddon. XX\', St. Paul's and London, pp. 414 seq. I'reached in 1871 on behalf of the Cathedral Decoration Finid : republished in 1891. 2 A 354 THE BISHOPRIC OF TRURO ing of Truro Cathedral for many years to come. But, when on January 22nd, 1901, the great Queen passed away, and men and women everywhere were askino- themselves, what form a memorial of her life and reign should take, Mrs. Arthur Tremayne of Carclew, the secretary of the Cornish Women's Asso- ciation, struck a note that met with immediate response. She suggested, in a letter to the county papers, that the memorial to Queen Victoria in Corn- wall should be the building of the central tower of the Cathedral, to be called the "Victoria Tower." Several contributions had been sent and others promised, when it was announced that a single individual was prepared to give the sum required for the buildino- of the central tower. For some weeks no name was divulged, but at a meeting held in March, 1901, the Bishop announced that Mr. James Hawke Dennis, formerly of Redruth, and now of Grenehurst Park, Surrey, was ready to bear the whole cost. The original estimate, given some years before, was ^10,000, but alterations in the price of labour had raised this to nearly ^15,000. Mr. Dennis was not deterred, on this account, from carrying out his intention, and in the autumn of 1901 the first steps were taken. It would be scarcely possible, or even desirable, to conclude this record of most interesting Church work in a diocese full of historical and even romantic asso- ciations, and among a people of attractive and unique characteristics, without adding some remarks on the LAST EFFORTS AND ULTIMATE SUCCESS 355 prospects of a lari^'c and fuller measure ol success in the days that are to come. If education is removing-, one after another, some of the quaint and fascinating peculiarities of old Cornish life, it is, at the same time, destroying some ancient prejudices, and hindrances to full intellectual and spiritual dev^elopment. Churchmen who believe that in the Anglican Communion there has been pre- served, in all essential things, the best and truest tra- ditions of primitive worship and doctrine, will look hopefully on the future of the Church of Christ among a Cornish people, still religious, but hereafter to be set free from any of the narrowness born of ignorance; lovers of spiritual things, without superstition or fanaticism. But there are, and will be, for some time to come, difficulties arisinof from local conditions and environ- ment. It is not a mere prejudice of the stranger from " up the country " to think, that the mild soft air of the Cornish peninsula tends to a less vigorous activity in work, and a relaxed standard of moral and religious effort, both in the individual and the community. Many will sympathise with the following- words of Bishop Wilkinson, spoken at the last Diocesan Con- ference over which he presided in 1890. "Why is it? \\'h\- is it that \vc do not gird up the loins of our mind with a steady resolve that, God helping us, we will, in very deed, develop our every faculty of body, soul and I 3S6 THE BISHOPRIC OF TRURO spirit, and will offer it up as a living sacrifice to Him Who died and rose again? Why is it? Is it the effect of our climate — with its soft caressing air? " ' In the afternoon they came unto a land, In which it seemed always afternoon. All round the coast the languid air did swoon, Breathing like one that hath a weary dream, And like a downward smoke the slender stream Along the cliff to fall and pause and fall did seem.' " Is it so ? Is there entering into any of our souls the subtle temptation to think, that it is no use, that there is no hope of mending ourselves, that it is no use to war with evil ? Is it so .'^ And are we on this account beginning to dawdle our life away in the restlessness of busy idleness ? Is it so? Are we tempted to substitute for active self-denying work, the formation of some new society, the development of some fresh organisation, which shall issue in the old line of high-sounding phrases, and well-framed resolutions, and new committees, to be followed by apparent success, and gradual decline, and final extinction ? Is it so? Is this the result of our Western climate? I cannot tell. It matters not — only in God's Name, let us have done with it, once and for ever — this dull, heavy, hopeless, afternoon existence. Let us wrestle with the God of our salvation, till He fills us with some of the joy and peace, the rich new wine of the new covenant, and enables us to abound in hope by the power of the Holy Ghost. ' The God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that ye may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Ghost.' " Unless the most thoughtful Churchmen of our day misread greatly the signs of the times, there is await- ing the Church everywhere, and perhaps not least of all the Church in Cornwall, a very serious time of conflict and difficulty. Many great political events. LAST EFFORTS AND ULTIMATE SUCCESS 357 at home and abroad, have diverted, for a time, attempts already made on the Church's position and property : on her right to teach her own children "the faith once for all delivered to the saints"; on her right to minister to her own poor in workhouses ; and lay her own dead in consecrated ground. It is no mere militant spirit that animates lovers of the Church to defend her with every legitimate weapon. The drawing together of other religious bodies into federa- tions and councils of so-called "Free Churches," would be welcomed by everyone who longs and prays for the restoration of " unity visible and invisible," among "all who name the Name of Christ " ; but, so long as these alliances are sometimes ominously spoken of as directed against the " Established" Church (so-called), and against its teaching concerning the Word and Sacraments, handed down in the One Holv Catholic Apostolic Church, it cannot be wondered that, in Cornwall, "Church defence" must largely engage the attention of Church-people, and fmd ample space in their deliberations at conferences and synods. But all devout Churchmen must take care that it be Church defence carried on in the spirit which Bishop Wilkinson expressed, in words spoken at the Diocesan Conference of 1885 : — " We dare not despair ; because God is with us. We dare not even despond ; because of the marvellous way in which the presence of God has been manifested in behalf of the Church of England during the last fifty years. We dare not presume, we dare not relax our efforts ; because we are not 358 THE BISHOPRIC OF TRURO entering on any isolated warfare, not girding on our armour for any single battle — to be quickly begun and quickly ended. " In resolving to defend our Church, we are preparing to take our part in a lifelong resistance against a carefully defined and carefully prepared system of attack (jueOoSelai), organised b}' an unseen yet potent kingdom ; a system of attack, the force of which is being felt along the whole line of the civilised world — an attack, which, in other countries at any rate, is being directed not merely against the Church of Christ, and the Sacraments of Christ, but against the Word of God, and the truth of the Incarnation. Our wrest- ling (as we heard this morning) is not against flesh and blood, not against our brethren : God forbid — we have no quarrel with them. We are fighting — though they know it not — in their behalf, and in behalf of their children. Our wrestling is not against flesh and blood, but against the principalities, against the powers — against the world rulers of this darkness. We are going to fight, and in God's Name to triumph over, that master spirit of deceit, who, as we believe, is using as his unconscious instruments the strong forces of this nineteenth century — even him by whom the Christ was crucified, by whom the Church, which is the Body of Christ, has been wounded in each succeeding age, and who is pledged never to cease from the deadly struggle, till the day of her Lord's appearing." There are some danofers from within. Amons^ these must be mentioned an ahiiost exao-aerated and over- elaborated organisation. In some ecclesiastical minds the formation of committees, the drav^^ing up of reports, the sending in of returns, hold an alto- gether exaggerated place. That these are useful and necessary cannot be denied ; but it is possible for them to accumulate, to such an extent as to choke LAST EFFORTS AND ULTIMATE SUCCESS 359 work, and exhaust the workers. Above all, there is the daiiLrer of such thino-s beino' reo^arded as ends in themselves rather than means. The Diocese of Truro is as well organised as any in England, perhaps better than most ; irs peril lies in the possession of a very complete machinery, working mechanically, with meagre results and barren show of activitv. Another danger, not so easily remedied, lies in the isolation of so many of the clergy, and in the poverty of their endowments. Depression produced by soli- tude, and fostered by sordid cares, cannot but end in disaster to priest and people. How shall the peril be averted, and the remedy applied ? Shall it be through the return to ancient methods, the grouping of small parishes, the revival of collegiate churches, as at St. Buryan, Endellion, Crantoc, and Glasney ? Or, through some large and generous benefactions to re-endow impoverished benefices, or supplement their ever diminishincr revenues ? The desirability of returning to some such plan, as the one suggested above, has been well expressed by Canon Mason, who knows perfectly the needs of Cornwall. " There is more than one good large district, at the present moment, where it seems as if, because of the loneliness and the poverty-, the work of the Church cannot be carried on any longer upon a strictly parochial system, and where the only possibility is to form men into bands residing perma- nently, or for fixed periods, at some common centre, and working a group of parishes together in common. It was the way in which many of those districts were managed in 36o THE BISHOPRIC OF TRURO mediaeval times, when the whole countn- was dotted, not only with monasteries, but with collegiate churches, to which were attached a dean or archpriest, and four or five or more prebendaries, doing their best for a stretch of country round them. We shall probably come back to that method in some places before long." ^ One vital element of success, In making Church work permanently strong in Cornwall, is sympathy between priest and people. It cannot be said that this has been achieved evervwhere in the diocese, nor can this be a matter of surprise. It is far from easy for an outsider to understand, even to a limited extent, the mind of the Cornish man or woman. Men "from up the country " readily enter into the poetry of Cornish history and antiquities, the romance of its early Church and primitive saints ; they are enraptured with the loveliness of its scenery ; but how many of them really understand the people, or do justice to their special characteristics? It is so easy to fasten upon obvious blots and defects, and to pass by, or forget, the real, and even unique, merits of Its popula- tion. If in Cornwall (though similar things are found in other places) the standard of morals In one direction is disappointing, the sobriety of Its people Is distinctly far above the average. Enthusiasm for the cause of temperance, during the last thirty or forty years, has been unmistakable throughout the county. The people are very lovable, and ready to love and to be loved. There has been very great affectlonateness ' The Ministry of Conversion, p. 157. LAST EFFORTS AND ULTIMATE SUCCESS 361 of disposition displayed towards those who have taken pains to i-;now them, and to become devoted to their welfare ; a loving response to personal work done among them by some parochial clergymen, who were not of Cornish birth, which could scarcely be matched anywhere else. It has been remarked of some clergy- men, who, while they were at work in the diocese of Truro, chafed under their difficulties and apparent want of success, and continually sighed for some other sphere of work ; that, after their removal, it was not so very long before they were as anxious to return, to all the trials and troubles of Church work in Cornwall, as they had previously been desirous of escaping from them. There is sure to be lack of success, if some allow- ance is not made for the idiosyncrasies of the race ; If there is failure to appreciate its peculiar religious instincts, and even its spiritual tastes. The clergyman who declines, for instance, to countenance anything like prayer-meetings among his people, (such as have been for many years carried on in certain parishes by working men among themselves who were loyal Churchmen and regular communicants), will probably be unconsciously quenching fervour, and letting some of his best members slip away from his inlluence. To adopt a style of preaching frigid and didactic, to read sermons full of formal or pedantic mannerisms, will certainly be the wrong way of catching the atten- tion of those, who relish a livelv, or even a somewhat noisy, style of address. It is sometimes said that in 362 THE BISHOPRIC OF TRURO Cornwall work of all kinds tends to get slack, and Cornish people soon get tired of effort, and take up novel plans and follow new guides, with a sort of light-hearted fickleness. There may be an element of truth in these charQ^es, but there must be neverthe- less a Q-reat under-stratum of robustness at the bottom of the character of Cornishmen, to account for the success of so many of them in mining operations all over the world. It has been said that, wherever there is a mine, you will find a Cornishman at the top and at the bottom of it. Surely enough has been said to prove, that there are noble traits and sterling good qualities in the race, that may, by wise and loving- master - builders of God's Church, be fashioned, as "great and costly stones," into the spiritual fabric, and lend a strength and beauty to the " City of God " that could perhaps not be supplied from any other quarter. APPENDICES APPENDIX I DIOCESE OF TRURO HISTORY OF THE ANCIENT BISHOrRIC IN CORNWALL Contributed to the Truro Diocesan Kalendar (on request) by the Rev. William Stubbs, Regius Professor of Modern History, Oxford, and Canon of St. Paul's (afterwards successively Bishop of Chester and O.xford). THE history of the early Church in Cornwall is very obscure. Considerations of race, of geographical relations and historical probability, would lead us to connect it with Ireland, Brittany, and Wales ; and such is the general inference from the legends of the saints of the four regions : Irish hermits found homes in Cornwall ; the sons of Cornish princes appear among the Breton saints ; a Cornish king becomes a monk at St. David's ; and in some cases the dedi- cations of churches point to a common early history. The existence of Roman Christian inscriptions in Corn- wall may imply that Christian truth was within the reach of Cornish men as early as the fourth century. The ancient tradition of St. German's refers the conversion of the people to a saint of that name sent by Pope Gregory the Great ; but there can be no doubt that the St. German in question was the famous Bishop of Auxerre, who lived a century and a half before St. Gregory the Great, and paid two visits to Britain to confute the Pelagian heresy. The tradition, then, would rather point to the fact that there was already a Christian Church in Cornwall which had become infected with Pelagianism. If this be granted, it may be inferred — without reference to the merely legendary histories of 365 366 THE BISHOPRIC OF TRURO martyrs and hermits, such as St. Melor, or Melior, who is said to have suffered in Cornwall in A.D. 411, and Saints Fingar, Piala, and others, companions of St. Patrick, who were martyred about A.D. 450 — that Cornwall had become to a great extent Christianised before the Romans left Britain. At or about A.D. 450, occurred the great migration from Britain to Armorica, which gave to the latter country the name of Britannia Minor, or Brittany. This was one result of the Saxon invasion of Britain ; the fugitives were British Christians, and the affinity of the Cornish and Breton languages leads to the conclusion that the emigrants were from that part of Britain which was pressed by the invaders engaged in founding the West Saxon state ; that is, from Hampshire, Dorsetshire, and Devonshire. Cornwall and Western Devonshire, known by the name of Damnonia, retained their independence under British princes, and their Christianity, in much the same form as it had possessed when the departure of the Romans broke the communication between the British Churches and Western Christendom. In the time of Gildas the prince of Damnonia was named Constantine or Custeint. He became a monk at St. David's in A.D. 589. Gerein or Gerran, according to the legend, was prince when St. Teilo in A.D. 596 returned from Armorica. About A.D. 705 St. Aldhelm, afterwards Bishop of Sherborne, wrote to another Gerein, Geruntius, or Gereint, prince of Damnonia, urging him to adopt the custom of keeping Easter approved by the rest of the Churches of the West. The parts of Damnonia which were subject to Wessex accepted the change, but the Cornishmen retained their independence, and probably their custom upon the point in question. During this period we have no historical list of Cornish bishops. But we know from the fact that British bishops, who could scarcely have come from any other region, assisted in the consecration of St. Chad in A.D. 664, that APPENUIX I 367 the Churches had proper superintendence, and legend has preserved some few nanacs of bishops, as St. Rumon, the patron of Tavistock, St. Conoglas, who was buried at Glaston- bury, St. Picran, St. Carantoc, St. Withinoc, St. Barnic, St. EHdius, and St. Hildren, whose names are preserved in Cornish Kalendars, but who may have equally belonged to Ireland or Brittany. In the year 813 Egbert, the king of Wessex, overran Cornwall, but did not formerly annex it, as he seems to have annexed Devonshire, to the West Saxon kingdom ; for a king of Cornwall, Dumgarth, is found as late as the year 875. Athelstan finally reduced Cornwall to subjection in the year 926, and the Cornish Church must now have become isolated. Egbert and the West Saxon kings were in the closest alliance with the See of Canterbury, and prudence, as well as the hope of maintaining an ecclesiastical system, must have led the Cornish church to submit to the See of Augustine. There is at Canterbury a copy of a letter written by Kenstec, or Kenstet, bishop-elect of the Cornish people, in which he professes his obedience to the Church of Canterbury, and declares his faith to Ceolnoth, Arch- bishop of Canterbur}-, A.D. 833-70. This may have been drawn up soon after Egbert's visit to Cornwall. King x'\lfred had property in Cornwall, in Triconshire, or Trigg, which is mentioned in his will. The spiritual superinten- dence of these domains and his dependencies in Devonshire he placed in the hands of Asser, a Briton of St. David's, afterwards Bishop of Sherborne. The influence of Asser in Cornwall may have either strengthened or supplanted that of the earlier episcopate. In the year 909 Edward the Elder founded a bishopric for Devonshire, with its see at Crediton, and annexed to it three towns in Cornwall, Paw- ton, Callington, and Lawhitton, to be missionary centres from which Eadulf, the newly appointed bishop, might annually visit the Cornish people who still persisted in their opposition to the English and Roman discipline. The J 6S ThE BISHOPRIC OF TRURO mission of Eadulf and the arms of Athelstan finally in- corporated the Cornish with the English Church. Conan, the native Cornish bishop, appears as a member of Athel- stan's Avitenagemot from A.D. 931, and Cornwall was thence- forward an English diocese. The names of Conan's successors are fairly well ascer- tained. A bishop named Comoere was contemporary with King Edgar, as was also VVulfsige, who must have been an Englishman, and whose name is attached to charters from A.D, 967-80. His successors were Ealdred, from A.D. 993 to about 1002, and Burhwold who flourished in 1018. Living, the nephew of Burhwold, and abbot of Tavistock, became Bishop of Crediton in 1027, and of Worcester in 1038, and, on Burhwold's death, held Cornwall with Crediton. Under Leofric, the successor of Living, who became Bishop of Crediton and Cornwall in 1046, the see of the now united dioceses was fixed at Exeter. It is not now known where the see was originally fixed. In the Irish and Welsh Churches the system of territorial dioceses was very imperfectly developed ; in the West Saxon Churches, until the very eve of the Norman Conquest, the dioceses coincided with the shires, in other words, in the Celtic period the bishops were bishops of churches, with dioceses very uncertainly defined ; in the West Saxon times they were bishops of dioceses, the sees of which were not permanently fixed. The Bishop of Wiltshire and Berkshire, for instance, fixed his see for the one county at Sunning, and for the other at Ramsbury, having a cathedral at neither. Somewhat later Dorset, with its See of Sher- borne, was annexed, and after an attempt to fix the sec at Malmesbury, it was finally settled at Salisbury. Some- thing of the kind may have taken place in Cornwall and Devon. The see of Bishop Kenstec, in the ninth century, was fixed in the monastery called Dinnurrin, possibly Dingerein, the city of King Gerein, now Gerrans or St. Gerran's. If APPENDIX I 369 this was the regular seat of the bishopric, it had very soon to give way either to St. Germans or to Boclinin. 1. St. Germans was the see of Bishop Burhwold, and there also the historian, Florence of Worcester, places the episcopal see of Cornwall. St. Germans is believed to have borne the earlier name of Lanaledh, and might also be Dinniirrin, for the name is very indistinctly written in the Canterbury MS., and in fact it requires little more strain on the letter of the MS. to connect it with Germanus than with Gerein. 2. The church of St. Petrock at Bodmin was a frequent residence of the Cornish bishops. There were granted the manumissions of serfs, the best-ascertained of their acts. St. Petrock, co-ordinately with St. German, was a patron saint of Cornwall ; and William of Malmesbury, who was well acquainted with West Saxon traditions, was unable to decide at which of the two places the bishops had sat. St. Petrock's-stow was destroyed by the Danes in A.D. 981, and possibly the see was then transferred to St. Germans. It is quite possible that these two churches had equal claims to be the see of the bishop under the West Saxon rule of diocesan episcopacy, or that it was transferred from one to the other, in consequence of the ravages of the Danes, just as the See of Leicester was transferred to Dorchester. Earlier, native bishops may have ruled, each from his own monastery, and Kenstec have been bishop at St. Gerran's. Under the bishops of Exeter, Cornwall was formed into an archdeaconry, probably before the close of the eleventh century. It was reconstituted as a diocese with its see at Truro, in the year 1876, by the Act 39 & 40 Victoria, c. 54, and the first bishop. Dr. Edward White Benson, was conse- crated at St. Paul's Cathedral on the Festival of St. Mark, 1877, T^y the Archbishop of Canterbury, and the assisting Bishops of London, Winchester. Hereford, Lincoln, Salisbury, Exeter, Ely, and the Suffragan Bishops of Nottingham and Dover. 2 B 6i' THE BISHOPRIC OF TRURO ^isljopa of (Korniuall Kenstec (Dinurrin) . Conan (St. Germans) Daniel (St. Germans) Comoere (Bodmin) . Eadulf . Aethelgeard Elfwold . Sideman . c. 865 ■ 931 • 955 c. 960 Wulfsige (Bodmin) . Ealdred (Bodmin) . Aethelred Burhwold (St. Germans) ^tsl)0p5 of Crciiiton 909 Elfric 934 Elfwold . . 953 Eadnoth . • 973 967 993 lOOI 1018 977 988 1012 Lyfing ^ialrops of Corniuall anU CrtiJiton 1027 Leofric Leofric Osbern William Warelwast Robert Chichester Robert Warelwast Bartholomew . John Fitz-duke Henry Marshall Simon de Apulia William Briwere or Richard Blondy Walter Bronescombe Peter Quivil Thomas de Bytton Walter de Stapledon James Barkley . John de Grandisson Thomas de Brantyn^ Edmund Stafford John Catterick Bruere ham 1046 isljops 1046 1073 1 107 1138 1155 1161 1186 1194 T214 1224 1245 1258 1280 1292 1308 1327 1327 1370 1395 1419 of (Bit'ter Edmund Lacy 1420 George Nevylle 1458 John Bothe • 1465 Peter Courtenay 1478 Richard Fox . • 1487 Oliver King • 1493 Richard Redmayne . • 1495 John Arundell 1502 Hugh Oldham . 1504 John A^eysey . 1519 Miles Coverdale 1551 John Veysey (restored) 1553 James Turberville . 1555 William Alley . 1560 William Bradbridge . i 571-2 John Woolton . 1578 Gevase Babington . 1595 William Cotton 1598 Valentine Cary 1621 Joseph Hall 1627 APPENDIX I 371 gialjop c of (B tctcr — continued Ralph Brownrigg 1642 Jolin Ross 1778 John Gauden . 1660 William Buller 1792 Seth Ward 1662 Henry Reginald Courtenay 1797 Anthony Sparrow 1667 John Fisher 1803 Thomas Lamplugh . 1676 George Pelham 1807 Jonathan Trelawny . 1688 William Carey 1820 Ofspring Blackall 1707 Christopher Bethell . 1830 Launcelot Blackburn 1716 Henry Phillpotts 1831 Stephen Weston 1724 Frederick Temple . 1869 Nicholas Clagett 1742 George Lavington 1746 Frederick Keppel -in 1763 r ■r?*' ^ialjops of (Tnti-o Edward White Benson . 1S77 George Howard Wilkinson . 18S3 John Gott . . .1891 APPENDIX II RELIGIOUS CENSUS, 1676^ ARCHDEACONRY OF CORNWALL, 1672 Decanatus Easte ( Honfurmists — Number of v Papists Nonconformists Quithiock 315 19 Sherlock 629 — Landilphe 200 Linkinhorne 517 Calstock 483 3 Stokeclimsland 617 17 Northill 250 Pillaton 106 St. Mellyn 209 St. Dominick . 265 Anthony 500 5 St. Johns 114 Lawhannick . 270 Minhinniott 575 — 13 Southill et Kellington 403 5 Boterfleming . 150 Rame 304 — Maker 700 4 St. Stephens . 632 •• 25 St. Ive 100 Total 7339 qi ^ Printed in the Primary Visitation Charge of Bishop John Golt, d.d., May, 1896, and reproduced here by his kind permission. 372 APPENDIX II 173 Decanatus West 1 —Number of- ^ Conformists Papists Nonconformists Duloe . • • 357 • — 10 St. Raine . 114 6 St. Veype 300 2 Lantglosse • 541 • 2 Lansalloes . 280 I Landreath . 400 I Mavall 250 19 St. Nyot 1000 — Pelint 330 6 St. Martins 720 • 33 Liskeard . 1418 I ... 79 Talland 400 — II St. Cleeve 430 2 St. Pinnock 160 — 2 Warleggan . 90 4 Cardenham . 460 7 4 Total 7250 8 .. 182 Decanatus Trigg-Ma JOR Alternon . . .412 Werrington 255 • Mary \\'eeke 250 Boyton 150 Egloskerry 100 Stratton 800 7 St. Stephens 437 • 6 Tresmeere 60 . Landast 80 . Davidstowe 145 • St. Giles no Jacobstow 200 Marhamchurch 169 Otterham 630 Lancells 350 • 174 TnE BISHOPRIC OF TRURO Decaxatus Trigg-Major- ■c 071 tinned r — Number of- Conformists Papists ^Jonconformists St. Cleather . . -73 6 Lanceston 2000 13 Tremaine 63 — Poughill 300 .." II Kilkehampton ■ 500 St. Thomas 300 St. Julyott 123 Moorewinstowe 400 Whitstone 250 3 Tremglosse 106 4 North Petherwyn 300 Poundstock 250 North Tamerton 360 Total 9173 10 40 Decanatus Trigg-Mi NOR Lanteglosse . . . 334 5 Advent 1 12 Bodmyn 1200 St. Tudye 200 7 St. Teath 400 3 Lesneuth 77 Tintagell 354 2 Michaelstovve . 129 4 St. Brewar ■ 320 — 2 St. Minver 550 16 Forrabury • 63 — Minster 144 6 Trevalga 78 I Endelhan • 530 12 BHsland ■ 300 5 St. Mabyn • 150 II St. Kevve 500 II Holland 126 5 Total • 5567 ... 90 APPENDIX II 375 Decanatus Powder , — Number of— Conformists Papists Nonconformists Roch .... 240 . . 4 Fowey 587 ■ I 35 Tywardreath . 487 . . St. Sampsare . 176 . Lostwithiell 300 . . 6 Lanilivery 340 2 I Truroe 700 — 10 St. Tue 1000 Corneley 67 3 St. Austell 1000 — 21 St. Blazey 230 — 4 Filley 190 .. 2 St. Dennis 80 6 Gorron 450 St. Just 500 - — - I St. Michael Cashaire . 40 — Veryan 600 Merther 1 10 St. Mewan 120 — St. Stephens . 560 Ruanlanihorne 100 Cubye 300 — St. Allen 150 2 I Megavissey 300 4 Ladock 300 6 St. Michael Penkivel . 172 I Probus 500 8 Kenwyn 140 6 Kea 150 2 Fevek 250 2 Creed • 340 12 Clemente 200 10 St. Ernie 140 5 l>amorran 90 • • • • • • Total lo.goq =: iqo ;76 THE BISHOPRIC OF TRURO Decanatus Pyder -Number of- Conforniists Papists Nonconformists Withiell Padstowe Lanevett Collumbe Major Mawgan Colan Collumbe Minor St. Wenn Newlyn Cubert St. Ennoder . Phillack Guithian St. Just St. Hillary Camburne Zennor St. Earth Peranuthnoe Ludgvan Guiniver Redruth Ninlelant St. Ives Sancreet Tynidnack Illuggan Pawle Madderne Crowan 500 2 10 300 900 I I 310 17 140 700 — 239 400 9 5 240 — 400 11 Total .CANATl 43II js Pennitp 29 I •• 33 140 — 2 130 II n ^ ^ J JO 18 488 18 540 2 203 300 . 83 .. 3 • 430 — .300 2 700 2 . 250 .. 600 165 .. 1 10 • 550 •■ 700 3 100 I 400 9 Total . 6922 — 71 APPENDIX JI 111 Decanatus Kerrier f— Conformists — Number of Papists Nonconformists Gwinna[)i) . 800 7 Ruan Minor . 100 I Sithney • 300 — 6 St. Keverne • 150 6 Manaccan 220 — Girmoe 130 . 4 Anthony . 140 I Mawnan 216 . . Cury 210 St. Martins 190 2 Gunwalloe 105 — 2 Constenton 640 8 Breagne 700 — 5 Grade 100 Landewednack 146 2 Ruan Major . S5 • . , MuUyn 257 Perranarworthall 212 4 Gwendvar 500 5 Snithians ' . . . 338 .. I Helston 500 I 6 Mawgan 340 — 3 Total 6379 63 Peculiar.s of Exeter Dean and Chapter St. Winnaw 340 Brodock 120 Boconnock 130 Perran in ye Sands 800 St. Agnes Total 400 1 700 378 THE BISHOPRIC OF TRURO Peculiars of Bis )HOPs IN Cornwall I\T 1 1 W^ V\ Ck^ t~\X t Conformists — LMiiuDer 01 N Papists Nonconformists Leyant • 375 I Lawhitton 215 3 St. Pethernyn . 372 Trewen 67 St. Germans . 9C0 50 Landrake St. Erney Egloshaile 340 St. Breocke 470 I Padstowe 500 10 St. Issy 320 13 St. Iwall 172 Little Petweke 60 1 St. Meryn 245 St. Ervan 220 10 4 Gerran 440 I Mylor 275 • 2 Mabe Anthony 100 I Gluivas Penryntown . 1000 — 20 Budocke 100 12 Fallmouth otal . T 6171 14 • 117 Peculiars of Bishop in ( I!ornwall — 14 • 117 „ Exeter Dean and Chapter — 5 Kerrier I • 63 Pennith 71 Pyder . — 29 • 33 Powder 5 • • 150 - Trigg-Minor 90 Trigg-]Major 10 40 West 8 . 182 East rotal • 91 r . 67 . . 842 Excerpta ex MS. penes Bibliothecam Gulielmi Salt defuncti in Stafford. HERBERT REYNOLDS January 2j, iSg6. APPENDIX III LIST OF THE RECTORS OF TRURO^ 1264. Dominus de Belsal, Sub-diaconus. Instituted to the Church of St. Mary of Tryeru, by Bp. Bronescombe. 1278. Dominus Nicholaus de Castello, Capellanus. Instituted to the Church or Chapel of St. Mary of Triueru, by Bp. Brones- combe, at Teynton, on ]\Ionday next after Epiphany. No date. Dominus Elyas, Rector in 1283. 1339. Dominus Galfridus in Venella de Tadelawe, Presbiter. Instituted to the Church of Treureu, by Bp. Grandisson, at Chst, on Aug. 22. Patron, Thos. Prideaux. 1349. Dominus Radulphus de Polwyl, Presbiter. Instituted to the Church of Truru, by Bp. Grandisson, at Chst, on Sep. 20. Patron, John of Mountnyrom. 1362. Johannes de Trewythenek, Clericus. Instituted to the Church of Trufru, by Bp. Grandisson, at Chudleigh, on Sep. 15. Patron, Robert Prideaux, of Nyweham. No date. Thomas Wille. Died Rector. 1412. Nicholas Treberveth. Instituted to the Church of the Blessed Mary of Treureu, on March 18. Patron, Robert Hull. Died Rector. 1450. Dominus Simon Kestell, Capellanus. Instituted to the Church of Truru, by Bp. Lacy, at Chudleigh, on May 12. Patron, Henry Bodrugan. Died Rector. 1461-2. Dominus Reginaldus Thomas, Capellanus. Instituted to the Church of the Blessed Mary of Truru, by Bp, Neville's Vicar, at Exeter, March 10. Died Rector. ^ Compiled by the Rev. Preb. Ilingeston-Randolph for the Cornish See and Cathedral. J So THE BISHOPRIC OF TRURO 1499. Dominus Thomas Baslegh, Presbiter. Instituted to the Church of Truru, by Bp. Redmayne's Vicar, on Sep. 10. Peter PLggecomb, patron. Resigned. 1 5 13. Dominus Thomas Colcott, Capellanus. Instituted to the Church of Trewro, by Bp. Oldham's Vicar, on Sep. i. Died Rector. ■"1522. Dominus John Overowe, Capellanus. Instituted to the Church of Trewroo, by Bp. Vesey's Vicar, on Apr. 12. Resigned. 1533. Magister Walter Burgayne, Instituted by surrogate of Bp. Vesey's Vicar-General, on May 10, to the Church of Truro. Resigned. 1 541. Thomas Ffuyche, Clericus. Instituted by Bp. Vesey, on Sep. I, to the Church of Truroo. Patron, Richard Edge- combe. Resigned. 1546. Dominus Nicholas Wenmouthe, Priest. Instituted by Bp. Vesey's Vicar-General, on Dec. 20, to the Church of Truroo. 1558. Dominus Richardus Ffosse, Clericus, Collated (by lapse) by Bishop Turbervile to the Church of Truro, May 12. 1558. William Dawson {Institution not recorded). Died Rector. 1624. George Phippen. Instituted by Bp. Cary, at London, on Dec. 17, to the Church of Truroe. Patron, Hugh Bos- cawen. {Appa?'ently he was deprived by the Puritans.) No date. Josias Hall. Died Rector. 1666-7. Samuel Thomas. Patron, Richard Edgecomb. Died Rector. Instituted March 22. 1692. Robert Bovvbeare. Instituted March 25. Patron, Pearse Edgcumbe. Ceded. 1693. Simon Pagett. Instituted Nov. 8. 171 1. Joseph Jane, b.a. Instituted by Bp. Blackall (by lapse). Died Rector. Instituted May 29. 1746. St. John Eliot, h.a. Collated (by lapse) June 3. {Also Rector of Ladock.) Died Rector. I 761. Charles Pye, b.a. Instituted July 9. Patron, George, Lord Edgcumbe. Died Rector. 1803. Thomas Carlyon, m.a. Instituted May 3. Patron, Right Hon. Richard, Earl of Mount Edgcumbe. {Also Vicar of Probus.) Died Rector. APPENDIX III 381 1826. Thomas Stackhouse Carlyon, m.a. Instituted July 10. Ceded. 1833. Edward Dix, m.a. Instituted Dec. 12. Ceded. {After- 7oards Vicar of Newly n.) 1839. William \\'oodis Harvey, m.a. Instituted March i. {Pre- bendary of Exeter.) Patron, the same Earl. ( Whik Rector^ himself became Patron. ) Resigned. i860. Edmund George Harvey, d.a. Instituted July 7. Ceded. {Afterivards Vicar of Mullion.) 1865. Henry Bawden BuUocke, m.a. Instituted June i. Ceded. 1875. Clement Fo.\ Harvey, m.a. Instituted Apr. 30. {Honorary Canon of Truro.) Ceded. {Afierivards Vicar of Probiis.) 1885. James Henry Moore, m.a. Collated Oct. 7 by the Patron, George, Lord Bishop of Truro. {Honorary Cafion and first Sub-Dean of Truro Cat/iedral.) Ceded. 1889. Cecil Frederick Joseph Bourke, m.a. Collated May 7 bv the Patron, George, Lord Bishop of Truro. {Honorary Ca?ion and Sub-Dean of Truro Cathedral.) Ceded. 1896. Loraine Estridge, m.a. Collated Jan. 30 by the Patron, John, Lord Bishop of Truro. {Hon. Canon and Sub-Dean of Truro Cathedral.) Ceded. 1897. Frederic Evelyn Gardiner, m.a. Collated Aug. 13 by the Patron, John, Lord Bishop of Truro. {Honorary Canon and Sub-Dean of Truro Cathedral.) APPENDIX IV CATHEDRAL OFFICES AND THEIR OCCUPANTS Edward White Benson, d.d. . ... 1877-1883 George Howard Wilkinson, d.d. . . . 1 883-1 891 John Gott, D.D. . . . . . 18 )i 5 can George Howard \Vilkinson, d.d. . . . 1 887-1 891 John Gott, D.D. . . . .1891 Augustus Blair Donaldson, m.a. . . . 1885 ©IjanccUor George Herbert Whitaker, m.a.^ . . . 1885-1887 Arthur John Worlledge, M.A. . ... 1887 ^txsstoncr Arthur James Mason, M.A. . ... 1878-1884 Francis Edward Carter, m.a. . ... 1884-1895 Benedict George Hoskyns, m.a, . . . 1 895-1 902 Gerald Victor Sampson, m.a. . ... 1902 ^uli-QcatT James Henry Moore, m.a. . ... 1887-1888 Cecil Frederic Joseph Bourke, m.a. . . . 1889-1895 Loraine Estridge, m.a. . ... 1 896-1 897 Frederic Evelyn Gardiner, m.a. . . . 1S97 ^ Canon Whitaker was Honorary Chancellor from 1878 to 1885. 382 APPENDIX IV 38: tE^rcn Oliver Arthur Christopher Thynne, .m.a. Arrljicacon of Cornluall William John Phillpotts, m.a. . John Rundle Cornish, .m..\. ^rrljiicacon of |3otimitt Reginald Hobhouse, m.a. Henry Houssemayne Du Boulay, m.a. ^rcaiiicnt of ^jonorrtrn Canons Thomas Phillpotts, m.a. James Henry Moore, m.a. 1877 St. Corentin St. German St. Piran . St. Carajitoc St. P linen a St. la St. Uni . St. Braeca St. Gertnoc St. Petroc ^jonorari; Canons Richard Martin, m.a. Thomas Hullah, m.a. Richard Vautier, m.a. Saltren Rogers, m.a. . Clement Fox Harvey, m.a. John Rundle Cornish, m.a. George Herbert Whitaker, m.a. Joseph Sidney Tyacke, m.a. Thomas Borlase Coulson, m.a. Frederick James Bone, m.a. George Martin, d.d. . Francis Vansittart Thornton, m.a. Edward Townend, m.a. Henry Kemble Southwell, m.a. Richard Hugh Keats Buck, l.a. John Balmer Jones, m.a. John Stephen Flynn, b.d. Augustus Vansittart Thornton, m.a George Howard Wilkinson, m.a. Henry Scott Holland, m.a. Arthur James Mason, m.a. George Herbert Whitaker, m.a. • 1845- -1888 . 1888 . 1878- 1892 . 1892 • 1879- •1890 1890 . 1878- ■1888 . 1888 . 1878 . 1878 . 1878 . 1878 . 1878- 1885 • 1885 . 1880- 1895 . IS95 . 1880- 1882 . 1882- 1895 • 1895- I90I I90I . IS8I- 1892 . 1894- I90I I90I- 1902 1902 . 1878- 1883 . 1883- 1884 . 1884- 1893 . 1894 3^4 THE BISHOPRIC OF TRURO St. Co7istantine St. Paul . St. Samson St. Cybi . St. Nectan St. Teilo . St. Adwenna St. Cohanb St. Winwalloe St. Meriadoc St. Aldhehn St. Neot St. Rumon St. Conan . lljonorarn (Canons — contifiued William Pester Chappel, m.a. Brian Christopherson, m.a. Paul Bush, M.A. Henry Houssemayne DuBoulay, m.a Arthur James Mason, m.a. Francis Edward Carter, m.a. . Benedict George Hoskyns, m.a. Gerald Victor Sampson, m.a. Allen Page Moor, m.a. James Henry Moore, m..\. George Herbert Whitaker, m.a. William Frederick Everest, b.a. Richard Farquhar Wise, m.a. Stamford Raffles Flint, m.a. . Vernon Harcourt Aldham, m.a. Cecil Frederick Joseph Bourke, m.a Loraine Estridge, m.a. Frederic Evelyn Gardiner, m.a. Thomas Phillpotts, m.a. Joseph Hammond, b.a., ll.k. Thomas Jackson Nunns, m.a. Arthur Christopher Thynne, m.a. Henry Tremayne Rodd, b.a. Charles Edward Hammond, m.a. Edward Shuttleworth, m.a. Frederick Hockin, m.a. Richard James Martyn, m.a. . 1881- 1900 1882 1882 1878- 1885- 1895- 1902 1883 1885 1887- 1890 1879- 1896 1889 1889- 1896- 1897 1878- 1892- 1902 1877 1890 1894 1878- 1883- 1902 1900 1884 1895 1902 1889 1896 1896 1897 1890 1902 -1893 1883 1902 ®l)an£cllor of tljc gioccsc William John Phillpotts, m.a. . Robert Macleane Paul, m.a. 1877-1888 1888 lUgiatrar of tljc ^ioccsc William Arnold AV'alpole Keppel, b.a. Arthur Burch 1877-1888 1888 APPENDIX IV 385 George Henry Somerset Walpole, b.a.' Uicc-CbiuircUor Hubert Oakes Fearnley Whittingstall, m.a. Charles Henry Robinson, m.a. Henry Richard Jennings, m.a. 1880-1882 1886-1890 1890-1893 1895-1900 Snrrist James John Agar-Ellis, ];.a. Thomas Fisher Maddrell, m.a. Henry Frederick A\'ilkinson Edward Ormerod, i;.a. Philip Upstone, m.a. priest ITirar Carey Dickinson, m.a. Thomas Fisher Maddrell, m.a. Philip Upstone, m.a. William Henry Arthur Cullin, m.a. 1887-1888 1888-1891 1891-1892 1893-1S96 1897-1899 1879-1882 18S8-1896 1897-1899 1899-1902 IJricst llicar anii Curate nf ^t. ^arg's George Henry Somerset Walpole, b.a.^ . . . 1S78-1880 Bernard Edgar Holmes, m.a. . ... 1 888-1 S89 Arthur Mirrielees Cazalet, b.a. . ... 1888-1S9S Edward Harry Shore, b.a. . ... 1 898-1 900 Howard Willmore Sedgwick, b.a. 1900 Ijonorarji fjriest Uicar Charles Arthur Le Geyt, b.a. . ... 1S94-1896 ^iorcsan Hfnspcrtor of ^rliools George James Athill, m.a. ... 1877-1S83 John Brown, m.a.- . . ... 1883-1SS5 Richard Henry Harris, m.a. . ... 1885-1886 Edward Francis I'aylor, m.a. . . . . 1SS7 ^ Now m.a. and D.D. 2 C - Now the Rev. John Gardner-Brown. :S6 THE BISHOPRIC OF TRURO Kvig's or Bodmin . Francis Edward Carter, m.a. . 1 880-1 885 Trehaverock . Marneys Arthur Lindsay Palmes, m.a. Frederick Bell, v,.\. Reginald Heber Treffry, m.a. John James Glencross Every, i;.a 1885 1873-1890 1890 1876 .^ub-STrcasuiTr Thomas Henry Hodge Organist txnti Cljoirmasttr George Robertson Sinclair - Mark James Monk, Mus. Doc. 1877 1881-1889 1890 ^ The Prebends appear to have been founded, in the first instance, a.d. 1266. - Mr. Sinclair received the Lambeth degree of Mus. Doc. on July 24th, 1899. APPENDIX V SCHEME OF SUBJECTS FOR THE STAINED WINDOWS IN TRURO CATHEDRAL The scheme of subjects for the above, which has been carefully prepared, and which it is hoped will some day be carried out in its completeness, is designed to illustrate the dealings of God with man from the beginning of creation until the consummation of all things, through His Eternal Word and Holy Spirit, manifested in the lives and characters of all His servants, both of the Old and New Covenant. The series begins with the (lOttst IititiniiohT where, in the rose, will be depicted the symbol of the Creator Spirit, and in the four lights the Creation and the Fall. 1. The Creation of Light, Herbs and Trees, Sun and Moon. 2. Whales, Fow-1, Beasts. 3. Creation of Adam, the Naming of the Creatures, the Forma- tion of Eve. 4. The Temptation of Eve, the Judgment on Fallen Man, the Expulsion from Eden. At the sides, St. Michael and St. Gabriel, the Archangel leaders of the Heavenly Hosts, ministering to the race of men. The series is continued in the Clcrtstorn where, in the thirty- two lights of the Nave, will be seen — Adam and Eve. Abel and Enoch. Noah and Shem. Melchisedek and Abraham. Sarah and Isaac. Rebekah and Jacob. Leah and Judah. Rachel and Joseph. Moses and Miriam. Aaron and Phinehas. Joshua and Rahab. Deborah and Barak. Gideon and Jephthah. Samson and Eli. Ruth and Samuel. Elijah and Elisha. 388 THE BISHOPRIC OF TRURO In the Transepts — South North David and Solomon. Abiathar and Zadok. Hezekiah and Eliakim. Jehoiada and Zechariah his son. Josiah and Zerubbabel. Azariah and Hilkiah. Nehemiah and Esther. Joshua (son of Josedech) and Ezra. Simon (son of Onias) and Judas Maccabseus. tijc (Kljoir The four greater Prophets. The twelve lesser Prophets. South-east Transept North-east Transept Baruch and Tobit. Job and Agur. Susanna and the Mother Author of "Wisdom," and of the Seven Martyrs. Jesus son of Sirach. lUtro-CIjDir Simeon and Anna. Zacharias and Elizabeth. • (Draan (Eljambcr Jubal. Asaph. The Great Rose Window ^ of the |5.ortIj i^ranscpt forms the link between the Church's life in the Old and New Testa- ment, and represents the genealogy of the Second Adam, the Incarnate Son of God, depicted as born of the Virgin Mary (in the centre), sprung from the first Adam, according to the flesh, through 1. Adam, Seth, Enoch, Noah. 2. Shem, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob. 3. Judah, Salmon, Boaz, Jesse. 4. David, Solomon, Asa, Jehoshaphat. 5. Joash, Hezekiah, Manasseh, Josiah. 6. Salathiel, Zerubbabel, Matthat, Joachim. ' These are already inserted. APPENDIX V 3S9 In the Lancets below are depicted the women mentioned in the Genealogy — 1. Eve. 4. Rahab. 2. Sarah. 5. Ruth. 3. Tamar. 6. Bathsheba. This series is now continued in the Great Window of the liortb-cttst iTranstpt where, in the four upper lights, are given : — 1. TYPES OF THE INCARNATION Burning Bush, Gideon's Fleece, Elisha stretching himself on the child, Jacob's Ladder. 2. TYPES OF THE ATONEMENT Sacrifice of Isaac, Passover, Brazen Serpent, Smitten Rock. 3. TYPES OF THE RESURRECTION Daniel coming out of the den of lions, Jonah, Joseph, Samson and Gates of Gaza. 4. TYPES OF THE ASCENSION Elijah, Entry of Ark into Jerusalem, David's return after slaughter of Goliath, The Great Day of Atonement. In the lower lights are : — I. TYPES OF THE CHURCH Formation of Eve, Aaron's Rod, Moses laying his hands on Joshua. 2. TYPES OF HOLY BAPTISM Noah's Ark, Coming up from the Red Sea, Naaman in Jordan. 3. TYPES OF THE HOLY EUCHARIST ISIelchizedek, The Manna, The Grapes of Eschol. 4. TYPES OF THE CHURCH. The Sceptre held out to Esther, The Seven-branched Candlestick, The Building of the Temple. The centre and climax of the whole series is in (Tbt C'n-cat (Past IiiTliuiiDliT ^ where is represented the fulfilment of all these types in the Person and work of the Incarnate Son of God, our Lord Jesus Christ. ' These are already inserted. On the right — 390 TIJE BISHOPRIC OF TRURO In the three Lower Lights are represented three great mysteries — The Incarnation, the Passion, the Resurrection, manifesting our Lord in His Humiliation, passing onwards by the transition of the Resurrection Life to His Glory. On the left~ ' I. The Annunciation. 2. The Visitation. 3. The Annunciation to the Shepherds. 4. The Adoration of the Magi. In the cetitre — 1. The Last Supper. 2. The Agony. 3. The Ecce Homo. 4. The Crucifixion. The Dead Christ on His Mother's knees. 2. The Burial. 3. The Women at the Sepulchre. 4. The Resurrection. /« the three Upper Lights The Lord in glory, surrounded by "Angels and Archangels and all the company of Heaven," and Saints gathered from among men of either covenant, and of all nations, and kindreds, and tongues, before the Throne and before the Lamb. The fulfilment of St. Paul's words in Philippians ii. 5-12. In the Central Light is seen above, the Glorified Redeemer ; at His feet, three mighty Archangels ; below, the Blessed Mother of the Incarnate Son of God, with the Holy Innocents ; and in the lowest compartment, the Adoration of the Lamb — Revelation v. In the Northern Light are the patriarchs from Adam to Jacob, below them Angels, and then six Apostles with St. Paul ; again come Angels, and further still a company of Martyrs, most of whom are chosen as having Cornish Churches dedicated to them — St. Denys, St. Blaise, St. Alphege, St. Alban, St. Faith, St. Agnes, St. Julitta, St. Mar- garet — and in the lowest compartment, the Glory of the Word of God as depicted in Revelation xix. 11. APPENDIX V 39' In the Southern Light Above are the Prophets from Moses to St. John the Baptist, then Angels, and below six Apostles with St. Barnabas ; then again more Angels, and further still the four Greek and four Latin Doctors of the Church ; in the lowest compartment, the Angel showing St. John the visions. In the Great Window of the .^outlj-cast (Transept ^ are seen events of the thirty-three years' life and ministry — 1. The Appearance of the Angel to the Shepherds, the Adoration of the Magi. 2. The Flight into Egypt, the Finding in the Temple, the Home in Nazareth, the Baptism. 3. The Temptation, the first Miracle, the Sermon on the Mount, the Transfiguration. The link between the Person and work of the Great Head of the Church and the Saints of the New Testament is given in the window of the Ciju'at .^Dutlj (Transept^ where, in the rose, is depicted the Mystery of Pentecost, the Descent of the Holy Spirit upon the Apostles ; all of whom are represented in the twelve compartments, with their respective emblems. In the three lights below are depicted various manifestations of the working of that Divine Spirit in the various great crises of the Church's history, through which it has been guided by the abiding presence of the Holy Ghost since His first descent on the day of Pentecost. 1. The work of Stephen, the Baptism of Cornelius, St. Paul at Athens. 2. The Council of Jerusalem, the Council of Nice, and figures of great leaders of the Councils of the Church— St. James, St. Cyprian, and St. Athanasius. 3. St. Lawrence displaying the poor as being the treasures of the Church, the Conversion of Constantine, St. Augustine preaching at Canterbury. The whole of the windows in the aisles is devoted to a great series of Saints and worthies of the Catholic Church, and of the English l>ranch of it, ranging from the earliest days since Pentecost down to the present day. * These are already inserted. 392 THE BISHOPRIC OF TRURO ^t tijc CBntt of Vat llortlj ^islc^ is seen St. Stephen, the first Deacon and Proto-Martyr. ^t tljE 6nii of tijc «ioutI) ^isle ^ St. John the Divine, two types of saintly character — the one of eager zealous work, the other of patient waiting contemplation, both sanctified by suffering, martyrdom, and confessorship ; two eminent manifestations of the Life of the Incarnate God, the Glorified Redeemer, "glorified in His saints." Below the figure of St. Stephen are the scenes of his testimony before the Sanhedrin and his death. Below that of St. John are the scenes of his leading the Blessed Virgin Mary from Calvary, and of his teaching in his old age at Ephesus. In the Retro-Choir are depicted Apostles, or companions and contemporaries of the same, mentioned in the Apostolic writings. On the South Side Light Scene ( St. Peter ^ ^ I- -| St. James the Great r Our Lord's Charge to St. Peter. I St. Mark J { St. James the Less 1 o^ t ■ • o,. t, ^ a 1 I :; , , St. Tames receivmg St. Paul and ^ 2. - St. Matthew r ^-l .- k I St. Thomas J ^^- ^--^as. On the North Side Light Scene i St. Paul 1 ^ I- -| St. Luke I The Conversion of St. Paul. I St. Mary Magdalene J I St. Timothy 1 ^ 2. • St. Denys I The Ordination of Timothy. '• Onesimus J The series is continued with Apostolic Saints and Martyrs from the close of the first century, with typical martyrs, missionaries, doctors, confessors of East and West, Britain, England, and Cornwall, carrying us through primitive times, the days of Celtic Christianity, ' These are already inserted. APPENDIX V 393 the conversion of the EngHsh, the mediceval ages of the Church, the Reformation period ; representing the missionary labours of modern times, the worthies of the later English' Church, poets, apologists, evangelists, missionaries, pastors, concluding with the figure of Edward White lienson, first liishop of the restored See, the founder of the Cathedral. Takina; them in order we have in [ St. Clement "j St. Ignatius V St. Polycarp { St. Pantainus \ St. Justin Martyr V St. Irenreus flortlj %'\tt of the ^islc [ St. Cyprian ^ 3- - St. Perpetua petua and her babe St. Lawrence { St. Alban 4- j St. Catharine I St. Pancras r St. Helen 5- -| Origen I St. Jerome St. Athanasius St. Basil St. Chrysostom rSt. Monica \ i St. Benedict -| St. Anthony I St. Scholastica { St. Piran St. Ambrose St. Austin 18. ^ 9- I St. German I St. Petroc I St. Gregory lo- I St. Martin I St. Patrick Scetie St. Clement instructed by Peter and St. Paul. St. St. Pantrenus embarking on his Mission to India. Beheading of St. Cyprian. St. Alban before the judge. The Invention of the Cross. Athanasius returning from exile. The penance of Theodosius. St. Benet founding his monastery in the Temple of Apollo at Monte Cassino. The "Alleluia" battle. St. Gregory and the English boys. * These are already inserted. 394 THE BISHOPRIC OF TRURO I?i the North Transept — Saints of England. Light Scene St. George St. Joseph of Arimathasa St. Augustine of Canterbury I St. George and the Dragon.^ n 2. i In the Nave — The following series — Light { Theodore of Tarsus St. Wilfrid St. Aidan ' The Venerable Bede St. John Damascene . Alcuin St. Boniface \ 3- i St. Columban I St. Methodius r Charles the Great 4- \ Alfred I St. Olave r St. Edward the Confessor 5- \ Bishop Kenstec I Bishop Leofric r St. Bernard 6. -, St. Francis I St. Dominic r St. Ansel m 7- 'i Duns Scotus I St. Thomas Aquinas C Steph en Langton Edward I. Grosstete Dante 9- \ Giotto I Innocent III. Louis I Joan of Arc I Katherine of Siena I St. TO. ^. Jo3 Scene Council at Hatfield.^ [ Bede dying, dictating the trans- I lation of St. John's Gospel.^ St. Boniface cutting down the oak. : Coronation of Charles. \ Edward and his Queen enthron- ■ ing Leofric, first Bishop of Exeter. 1 St. Bernard preaching the Crusade.^ !. St. Anselm confronting William the Red King. Signing of Magna Charta. Dante's meeting with Virgil. - Death of St. Louis. ^ These are already inserted or promised. APPEXDIX V 395 Light John Hus > ' ■ -', Savonarola I Thomas a Kempis r Colet 12. -. ICrasmus I Thomas More I W ydif ■ ,v I Coverdale I Archbishop Cranmcr { Hooker 14- \ Bishop Andrewes I Bacon Charles I. 15- -> George Herbert . Sir John Eliot r Margaret Godolphin 1 6. -. Bishop Trelawny I Sir Bevil Grenville I" Bishop Butler ' 7- -| Newton I Handel j" Henry Martyn kS. - Keble ' Maurice { John Wesley 19- ] Charles Wesley I Samuel Walker, of Truro It Scene homas a Kempis meditating in the field. I Colet and the children of St, Paul's School. ■ Martyrdom of Cranmer. Hooker rocking the cradle. The death of Charles I. I. Margaret Godolphin leaving the court of Charles H. I. Butler presenting the Afialogy to Queen Caroline. Martyn among the Moulvies. [ Wesley preaching in Gwcnnap Pit.i 2 I ■ Foundation of Truro Cathedral.^ (Opposite tijc .^outlj ^Joi-£b r Oueen Victoria attended ) ,o. -, , I ■ . ■ r (- Ihe Jubilee, 1S9 I by two historic figures ) ■' ' The first Bishop of Truro" (holding a model of the Cathedral), attended by Faith and Hope West Ends of Aisks—'^\.. Michael and St. Gabriel. In the Vestibule of the Baptistery are three lights illustrating the life of St. John the Baptist, with figures of himself, Noah, and ' These are already inserted or promised. 396 THE BISHOPRIC OF TRURO Elijah (Old Testament types of his person and work), and scenes, as follows — 1. Zacharias and the Angel. 4. Baptising our Lord. 2. Naming of the Child. 5. Rebuking Herod. 3. Preaching in the Wilderness. 6. Beheaded in Prison. Erected in memory of Henry Martyn, contains, in the Vestibule, three lights, which illustrate the above scenes from the life of St. John the Baptist. The four lights of the apse contain the fisures of four native Cornish saints and missionaries — St. Paul, St. Cybi, St. Constantine, and St. Winnow. Beneath are scenes from the life of Henry Martyn — 1. Martyn at School at Truro. 6. Translating the Scriptures. 2. Praying at Lamorran Creek. 7. Disputing with Persian 3. Sailing from Falmouth. doctors. 4. First sight of heathen wor- 8. Burial by the Armenians at ship. Tokat. 5. Preaching at Cawnpore. This long and comprehensive series has been designed in the hope that some day the windows of the Cathedral of Cornwall may contain, in noble form and colour, a consecu- tive outline of the Church's history, and serve not only to give rich colouring and brightness to a completed building, but as a perpetual means of instruction to God's people, and a memorial of God's Saints, whose lives and heroic achieve- ments are the perpetual witness through the ages of the presence, in His Church, of the Eternal Son, in the power of " the Spirit, dividing to every man severally as He will." It will have the further advantage of suggesting subjects to future donors of memorial windows. In many of our older cathedrals, to say nothing of parish churches, the windows are often disfigured, not only by inferior glass, but incongru- ous subjects ; while in other cases, where the material and execution are good, there is a total lack of sequence of thought, and an absence of clear and definite meaning in the glass that has, perhaps, cost very large sums of money. APPENDIX V 31,7 HENRY MARTYX This devoted and accomplished servant of God and of His Church was born at Truro, February iSth, 1781. He was the third son of John Martyn, miner, of Gwennap, who, by his industry and enter- prise, raised himself in the social scale, and became clerk to a merchant of Truro. His son Henry was born in a house situated on the spot where the Miners' Bank now stands. At the age of seven he was sent to Truro Grammar School, under the head master of that day, Dr. Cardew. He was a bright boy, and made good progress in his studies, and after an unsuccessful attempt to gain a scholarship at Oxford, entered St. John's College, Cambridge, October, 1797, the former University losing the noble ahanmis that the latter gained. Here he was most successful, being first of his year in the college examination of 1800, and Senior Wrangler 1801, while still under twenty. His spiritual awakening and development were mainly owing to intercourse with the Rev. Charles Simeon, for whom he ever after- wards entertained the deepest feelings of gratitude. He was elected Fellow of St. John's, 1802, and obtained other university and college distinctions. His mind was directed to the foreign mission work of the Church, partly by the teaching of Simeon, and partly by the example of self-devotion given by Dr. Carey in India, and David Brainerd among the North American Indians. Henry Martyn was led to offer himself to the missionary organisation afterwards known as the Church Missionary Society. But it was not till 1804, when a great temporal loss was the occasion of his determining to go abroad, that he began to realise the idea thus formed. In 1803 he was ordained deacon at Ely, and served as curate of Holy Trinity, Cambridge, under Mr. Simeon. A year later he offered himself as a candidate for a chaplaincy under the East India Company, and in 1805 received a sudden summons to leave England in ten days. He was ordained priest on February iSth (his birthday), and left Cambridge. The circumstances of his farewell to England, his agony at parting from friends and his beloved Cornwall, form a most touchint: narra- 39S THE BISHOPRIC OF TRURO tive. His ardent love for souls made him '' instant in season and out of season " on board ship during his voyage out to India in "preaching Jesus Christ," both by earnest word and a holy and self-sacrificing example. His labours among his own countrymen in Calcutta, and among the Hindus and Mohammedans at Dinapore, Cawnpore, and elsewhere, cannot be dwelt upon here. He made a long journey into Persia and Armenia for the purpose of making thorough and complete translations of the Bible into the languages of these countries, and, after severe fatigue and privations, fell a victim to fever at Tokat, October i6th, 1812. His lofty char- acter greatly endeared him to the native Christians, and even the IMohammedans of those countries, and he was buried with all respect ; Dean Stanley goes so far as to say, with all " the honours due to an archbishop." His remains were afterwards translated to a new cemetery, and an obelisk placed over them bearing an in- scription in English, Armenian, Persian, and Turkish, in memory of one w'ho "was known in the East as a man of God." It lies " on a broad terrace overlooking the whole city, and shaded by walnut and other fruit trees and weeping willows." The following words of Henry Martyn deserve to be noted and made known among his fellow-Cornishmen : " Even if I never should see a native converted, God may design, by my patience and continuance in the work, to encourage future missionaries." For fuller particulars of Henry Martyn's life, character, and labours, the reader is referred to Life and Letters of the Rev. Henry Martyfi, by the Rev. John Sargent, Rector of Lavington, and to a very interesting and instructive article on " Henry Martyn," in the Church Quarterly Review, October, 1881, by Canon Mason. It is most devoutly to be wished that the memorial baptistery may be not only a perpetual monument of the life and labours of a holy man, who, in an age when Englishmen of education and talent rarely, if ever, thought of devoting their gifts to the mission work of the Church, led the way for others who have since followed the same noble career, but also an incentive and example to our own day. Cornwall has in recent times sent many workers, men and women, to distant fields of work in Japan, China, India, South Africa, and elsewhere. May the number of these be greatly en- larged. Every year, on the anniversary of his death, a special service with sermon is held in the Cathedral. APPENDIX V 399 The following lines were written by Canon A. J. Mason, d.d. O Christ, the Saints rejoice to own Their glories due to Thee alone, And when Thine Advent light we see, Thou in them all admired shall be. Our home-born Saint shall manifest Thy praise among the first and best, Who led the way to Gospel war On Indian and on Persian shore. He left the learned ease of home, High place, and true love, forth to roam ; And, fain to lean on human friend, His lonely life had loneliest end. The sighing heathen fiU'd his heart, But Thou didst give the harder part, In alien lands to turn again To God his twice-dead countrymen. If he the preacher's joy would ask, Thou gavest him the penman's task. To sow in tears, and fall asleep Leaving to other hands to reap. O Lord, our God, raise up within This Cornish Church, his kith and kin, A zeal like Henry Martyn's own. To preach Thy word through every zone. Give us, like him, our sins to see, And look away from self to Thee ; And for our trespasses to take Revenge by work for others' sake. Grant him, O Lord, the joy to know How his example makes us glow ; And may his powerful prayers be heard In aid of all who spread the Word. APPENDIX VI SCHEME FOR THE STATUARY TRURO CATHEDRAL I. — The West Porch Here there are two series of niches, in an upper and lower tier, fifteen in each series, in five buttresses. It is proposed to fill the upper tier of niches with figures of Kings, in chronological order, representative of epochs in history, especially, in certain cases, with reference to the West of the Island. a. — /;/ the centre buttress. {Middle space) {Side spaces) d. — Buttresses to the North. I. 2. 4- 5- King Edward VII. ^ Queen Victoria (iV).^ Queen Alexandra {S.). Arthur. Egbert. c. — Buttresses to the South. 6. Alfred.i 7. Athelstan. 8. Cnut. " 9. Edward the Confessor. 10. William the Conqueror.^ I r. Edward I.^ 12. Henry V.^ 13. Henry VIII.i 14. Elizabeth.^ 15. Charles I.^ It is proposed to fill the lower tier of niches with figures of Bishops., in chronological order, representative of epochs in the history of the Church of England, especially in the Western dioceses. 1 Already given. 400 APPENDIX VI 401 a — In the centre buttress. {Middle space) I. Archbishop Benson. {Side spaces) 2. Bishop Gott (.v.). 3- Bishop Wilkinson {S.). b.— Buttresses to the North. 4- Kenstec. 5- Conan. 6. Leofric. 7- Bronscombe. 8. De Grandisson. 9- De Stapledon. c. Buttresses to the South. 10. Coverdale. 1 1. Hall. 1 2. Trelawny. 13- Gauden. 14. Phillpotts. 15- Temple. Over the Gables there are twelve niches, three in each of the four spandrels, in an ascending scale, the niches diminishing in size as they rise upwards. It is proposed to fill these with allegorical figures of the Moralities, a subject common in English ecclesiastical sculpture, admitting of much picturesque treatment, and impressing the lesson of a strong moral basis for all true religion. (Compare Wisdom viii. 7.) On the Parapet at the apex of either Gable are two niches, which it is proposed to fill with figures appropriate to the series mounting towards them in the Gables. The series will run thus in each case, from the foot to the summit of the Gable. a. — Northern Gable. I. 2. 0- Temperance. Soberness. Chastity. 4- 5- 6. Prudence. Wisdom. Knowledge Meeting in Ape: ^:, b. ^6'/( 7- I them Gable. 8. Justice. 9. Mercy. 10. Faith. Humi! lity. 1 1 12 13 . Fortitude. . Patience. . Veracity. 2 T) 402 THE BISHOPRIC OF TRURO Meeting in Apex, 14. Concord. (Allusion to the Cornish motto, " One and All.") Note. — The figures in the Northern Gable represent the Personal virtues. The figures in the Southern Gable represent the Social virtues. In the Gables over either arch are two Panels. It is proposed to fill -these two panels with two historic scenes, illustrative of the figures of Humility and Concord above them, and embracing also the episcopate in Cornwall from Bishop Kenstec to Bishop Benson. a. — Northern panel. Humility. Submission of Bishop Kenstec to the Archbishop of Canterbury, a.d. 865. b. — Southern pafiel, Concord. Bishop Benson at the laying of the Foundation Stone, A.D. 1880. Panels in the Tympana over the two doorways. It is proposed to fill these with representations of 1. The Sermon on the Mount.^ 2. The Feeding of the Five Thousand,^ illustrative of the Ministry of (1) The Word. (2) The Sacraments. II.— The West Gable ( IVcst Front). a. — Here are Six Niches over the Arch. These are filled with six figures illustrative of the planting of the Church in Cornwall, namely, SS. Buriena, Cybi, Petroc, Piran, Meriadoc, and la. b. — And ttvo quatrefoil pa?iels over the Arch. These are filled with representations of the building of the Oratory at Perranzabuloe by St. Piran, and of the manumission of slaves at Bodmin (Petrock-stowe) by St. Petroc. III. — The South Porch {Nave). The general idea of the sculpture suggested is to illustrate the central truth of the Incarnation of our Blessed Lord as foretold in prophecy, fulfilled in His Nativity, and taught by His Church. ^ Already given. APPENDIX VI 403 a. — Small Quatrefoil Niche in the Gable. Panel. — A seated figure of St. Mary the Virgin, with our Lord standing on her knees. I). — Two Niches {belozv) above the doonvay. Panels. — Scene of the Visitation (St. Luke i. 40). I. St. Mary. 2. Elizabeth. c. — The A^iches in the Pinnacles {at the angles) of the Porch. There are eight niches, two on each of the four sides of either pinnacle. Provision is made for figures in each, the fourth group at the back of the [jinnacles being distinct from the rest, in case these niches should not be filled. S2ibject.—Vxo\)\i(t'(\Q. figures, each holding a scroll bearing appro- priate words from Holy Scriptures. I. Eve. 9- Daniel 2. Abraham. 10. ]\Iicah. 3- Jacob. 1 1. Habakkuk 4- Moses. 12. ^Lilachi. 5- 1 )avid. T "^ ^0- Dalaam. 6. Isaiah. 14. Solomon. 7- Jeremiah. '5- Amos. 8. Ezekiel. 16. Zechariah. d. — Foiir Niches {two on either side) over the Arch. The four doctors of the Western Church, each with a scroll ; the figures subordinated to the words on which each one is meditating. St. Ambrose St. Luke i. 38. St. Augustine St. Luke i. 46. St. Jerome St. Luke ii. 48. St. Gregory St. John ii. 4. e. — Three Panels {Central Sex/oil and Side Quai re/oils over door- way). Three emblematic figures, or flowers. 404 THE BISHOPRIC OF TRURO IV. — The Front of the Western Gallery {Ijiierior of the Na7'e) In the spandrels of the two Arches there are a central niche, two large side niches, and four small niches. I. Central Niche Our Lord Jesus Christ. 2. Large Side Niche (S.) Moses. 3- „ _ (N.) David. 4- Sf/ia// Side Niche (S.) St. Matthew. 5- (S.) St. Mark. 6. (N.) St. Luke. 7- (N.) St. John. V. — a. The Baptistery Three Buttress Niches. — Figures of three eminent Missionaries connected with the West of England in modern times. Henry Martyn (India). Bishop Patteson (Melanesia). Bishop Smythies (Central Africa). ^. The South Transept (Phillpotts') Porch Eight Buttress Niches. — Figures of Founders and Benefactors of the See and Cathedral of Truro, and of two representatives of Science connected with Cornwall have been suggested. There have been proposed for selection among others : — Emily Lady Rolle. Sir Humphry Gilbert. The twelfth Earl of Devon. Sir Bevil Grenvil. Canon Phillpotts. Dean Prideaux. Canon Wise. Sir Humphry Davy. Mr. J. L. Pearson, r.a. Professor Adams. And others now living. Above the Porch are already placed figures representing the Annunciation and the Nativity. Within it is a large figure of the Good Shepherd, and in the panels and tympana, our Lord in majesty with the Twelve Apostles, and other saints and angels. On either of the Doors are represented Elijah and St. John the Baptist, with scenes from their lives, as great preachers of repent- ance, and St. Peter and St. Paul, the great builders of the Church of God. APPENDIX VII GENERAL SURVEY OF CHURCH MUSIC IN THE DIOCESE OF TRURO^ At the request of the General Committee of the Diocesan Choral Union, the Precentor of the Cathedral, who is also the Secretary of the Union, instituted an inquiry as to the number of choirs using the Gregorian Tones, with a view to the possible establishment of a Gregorian Festival. The question of Choral Celebrations having also recently been before the Committee, the Precentor thought it advis- able to add that subject to the inquiry, and eventually the whole scope of the returns asked for was enlarged, so as to include as much information as possible concerning Church music in Cornwall. The kindly co-operation of the parochial clergy, and their general willingness to respond to the ques- tions asked, have made it possible to present a fairly exact and certainly interesting account of what Cornish choirs are doing, so far as figures represent that work. It is, however, almost needless to add that statistics, however complete, form only a partial means of judging the real state of Church music among us. Parishes that have made returns (out of 235) . . 219 A. — Total number of Choirs . . ■ .22- Of which the surpliced - are . . . 97 Unsurpliced . . • • • ^3° ' Presented to the Diocesan Conference, 1895. It is not proposed to present a similar report until after an interval of ten years. - In forty-two of the churches where these surpliced choirs exist, there are also bodies of auxiliary singers— men, women, and children— unsurpliced. 405 4o6 B THE BISHOPRIC OF TRURO Total manber of Singers ^ . . . . Of which there are in surpliced choirs, 930 boys, 699 men . . ... UnsurpHced singers — men, women, and children . C. — Total number of Organists (including players on harmoniums, etc.) . ... Of whom there are receiving payment, from a mere nominal sum up to salaries of ^t^o or ^40 Unpaid (including many wives and daughters of clergymen) . . ... Uncertain (probably voluntary) D. — Listruments. — There are in the diocese, Organs Harmoniums and American Organs Number of parishes using orchestral instruments, varying from a fairly complete band down to a single cornet . ... E. — Psalters. — " The Cathedral Psalter " . .is used by " Psalter, with Chants Ancient and Modern " "Monk and Ouseley" " Mercer '' "Oxford and Cambridge" "Helmore" "Elvey" " Ravenshaw and Rockstro " "Redhead" "Brown," "James," "Meadow," " Paragraph " N.B. — In a few choirs no Psalter is used 1,629 2,282 249 121 114 14 145 109 18 CHOIRS 136 35 12 6 5 3 2 2 2 Westminster," each ^ Comparing these figures with the numbers that (i) attended the Octave Services in November, 1887, it is found that on that occasion there were present from the twelve Deaneries, surpHced choirs, 379 boys and 311 men = 690; and unsurpliced singers, male, 587, and female, 77°= 1.457, making a grand total of 2,147. (2) Those that have attended the Diocesan Festivals from the twelve Deaneries number 1,054 surpliced and 1,195 unsurpliced singers, making a grand total of 2,249. APPENDIX VII V . — Charils — Anglican Chants are being used by . Exclusively . . . . Gregorian Tones are being used by . Exclusively . , . . " Creek Chants " are returned as being in use in G — Hy/iiTi Books — " Hymns Ancient and Modern" . used by " Church Hymns " . • „ " Hymnal Companion " " Common Praise " Extra Hyintials — "The Office Hymn Book" " The Altar Hymnal " " The Children's Hymn Book " " ^^'oodward's Hymn Book " Mission Hymn Books — The Durham Mission Book The London „ The Truro „ Church Parochial j\Iission Society's Book Church Army Mission Book S.P.C.K. C.P.A.S. Sankey's " Songs and Solos " H. — Number of Musical Services — i. The Holy Communion is rendered chorally On Sundays by . On Festivals by . Partially on Sundays by Partially on Festivals by Occasionally by . Hymns are sung at the Holy Communion On Sundays by . On Festivals by . Occasionally by . >> >> 407 CHOIRS 205 198 35 2 209 8 4 I I I 6 2 5 3 5 3 I 1 2 23 33 32 3 I Z3 8 4o8 THE BISHOPRIC OF TRURO ii. Mattins and Evensong are rendered chorally On Sundays by On Great Festivals by Occasionally by Partially on Sundays by Partially on Great Festivals by I. — Anthems are sung On Sundays by On Great Festivals by Occasionally by " Services " for the Canticles are sung On Sundays by On Great Festivals by Occasionally by CHOIRS 64 25 3 96 3 1 1 81 73 16 73 50 K. — Choir Traitmig. i. Parochial. — In a large number of cases the training of the parish choir is in the hands of the organist, who is often in Cornish parishes also the teacher in the school. Not a few of the clergy train their own choirs, while in some cases the clergyman's wife or other member of his family undertakes the duty. The scattered character of many country parishes makes frequent and regular practices difficult. ii. Rtiridecanal. — There are recognised choir trainers who visit those of the parochial choirs that desire their services, in ten deaneries out of the twelve into which the diocese is divided. iii. Diocesan. — There is a diocesan choirmaster who visits the deaneries whose choirs come up in turn to the diocesan festival. Each year he holds rehearsals of combined choirs in about six centres. In the course of each triennial period he visits about eighteen or twenty centres in all parts of the diocese. APrE.XDIX VJI 409 L. — Diocesan Organisation} The Diocesan Choral Union was founded in 1888. It has organised and held seven [fourteen] festivals at the Cathedral, and no choirs from all the twelve deaneries, numbering 2,350 voices, have attended these festivals. The Precentor of the Cathedral is the secretary, and the Organist of the Cathedral the choirmaster of the Union. There are eleven [thirteen] ruridecanal or local associa- tions in the twelve deaneries of the diocese, ten [twelve] of which are affiliated to the Diocesan Union. Since the foundation of the Diocesan Union, 15,350 [30,830] copies of the festival books have been sold throughout the diocese. Of The Diocesan Choir Book, Part I. (containing the Versicles and Responses, and Litany) nearly 3,000 [4,830] copies have been sold. ^ The numbers in brackets represent the total brought up to date, 1902. APPENDIX VIII MEN AND WOMEN FROM CORNWALL WHO HAVE LABOURED OR ARE LABOURING IN THE FOREIGN MISSION FIELD MEN Canada The Most Rev. W. B. Bond, d.d., Archbishop of Montreal, and MetropoUtan of Canada. Australia The Right Rev. Gilbert White, Bishop of Carpentaria. The Rev. C. Bice (formerly of the Melanesian Mission), Newcastle Cathedral. The Rev. C. C. Gillett, Queensland. The Rev. R. W. Leigh, Sydney. The Rev. F. G. Masters, Adelaide. .'\FRICA The Very Rev. F. E. Carter, Dean, Archdeacon, and Rector of Grahamstown. The Rev. B. E. Holmes, Rector of King Williamstown, R.D. J. Gordon, Grahamstown, D. Ellison ,, A. H. Harcourt-Vernon, Bloemfontein. W. W. Bickford, Pretoria. W. L. Vyvyan, Zululand. R. Prior, U. M. to Central Africa. S. J. Peake, Lebombo (formerly of the Corea Mission). India Henry Martyn, Calcutta, Cawnpore, etc. {deceased). H. C. Carlyon, Cambridge University Mission at Delhi. G. Hibbert Ware, Cambridge University Mission at Delhi. J. H. Collins, A G. R. A. Courtice, „. ., ,^, , . . ^^ ^ . , - Civil Chaplains. A. H. Lancrndge, ' S. S. Scott, 410 APPENDIX VIII 4' I Madagascar The Right Rev. R. Kestell-Cornish, d.d., Bishop of Madagascar (retired). Japan The Rev. L. B. Cholmondeley, St. Andrew's, Tokyo. Borneo The Rev. R. Richards. New Zealand The Rev. W. A. Pascoe, Canon of Christchurch, Vicar of Avonside. West Indies The Right Rev. R. Rawle, d.d., Bishop of Trinidad {deceased). The Rev. C. E. Meeres, Rectory of St. Mary's, Nassau. WOMEN China Miss Harriet Rodd (Church of England Zenana Mission). Japan Miss Thornton, St. Hilda's, Tokyo. India Miss B. Martyn, Cashmere. Africa Miss Barrett (Sister Louisa Mary) Bloemfontein {deceased). INDEX Adams, Professor J. Couch, 125 Addington, loi, 106, 178, 264, 345 Agar-Ellis, Rev. J. J., 247 Aitkcn, Rev. R., iS-20, 83 Ailkcn, Canon W. 11. M., 20 Alexandra, Queen, 283, 400 Alfred, King, 367 All Mallows, Barking, 88 Altarnun, 209 Alverton, 220 Amendment Act (Bishopric and Chap- ter), 275 Anna, Sister, 217 .\rchdeaconry of Cornwall Act, 280 set/. Armorial Bearings, Truro, 55-7 Arnold, Miss, 71 Arthur, King, 3, 400 .\rundell, Lord, 96 Ashcombe, Lord, no Athelstan, King, 5, 8, 367 Aubyn, St., Mr. Piers, 117 Austell, St., 337 Baldhu, 16, 19, 20 Baptism, Holy, 24, 25, 85, 137, 176 set/., 213 Barham, Dr., 156 Benney, Mrs., 65, 98 seij. Benson, A. C, 51, 109, 173. I79. I94 Benson, E. W., i, 13, 15, 16, 17, 18, 22; early life, 40; Cambridge career, 41 ; at Rugby, 42 ; at Wellington, 42-5 ; at Lincoln, 45 set/. ; conse- cration, 52 si\j. ; life at Kenwyn, 58 seg. ; diocesan plans, 63 set/. ; educational work, 70 set/. ; mission work, 76 set/. ; foundation of Cathe- dral, 103 sl'i/. ; diocesan work, 129 set/. ; work with laymen, 149 se^. ; kindliness to working people, 161 seg. ; dealing with social problems, 163 ; temperance, 165 set/. ; purity, 169 set/. ; grief at loss of eldest son, 172 se./. ; Church questions, 174 seg. ; correspondence with friends, offer and acceptance of the Primacy, 178 seg. ; farewell to Cornwall, 183 seg. enthronement at Canterbury, 186 visits to Cornwall, 187 ; death, 187 funeral, 188 ; estimates of his work and character, 188 set/. ; memorials at Truro and Canterbury, 190 set/, ; at consecration of Cathedral, 243 jf^. ; sermon, 254 Benson, Father, 215 Benson, Rev. R. H., 173 Benson, Martin W., 66, 172 set/. Benson, Mrs., 59, 70, 136, 193 Bernard, St., 50 Bible Christians, 133 Bickersteth, Bishop E., of Exeter, 267 Bickersteth, Bishop, of Japan, [215 Birmingham, King Edward's School, 40 Bishoprics, Additional, Endowment Fund, 35 Bishoprics, new, 27 set/. Bishopric of Truro Bill, 36, 106, 235, 273 Black Book, 105, 107 Bodington, Canon, 215, 263, 267 Bodmin, i, 8, 10, zj, 29, 124, 130, 216, 337 13 414 THE BISHOPRIC OF TRURO Body, Canon, 176, 215, 221, 288 Bolitho, Mr. T. R., 158 Borlase, Rev., 13 Boscastle, i Boucher, Mr. A. R., 158 Bourke, Canon, 287, 313, 341 Bourne, Colonel, 171 Bradshaw, Henry, i, 105, 109 Bramston, ISiiss, 70 ^ Bray, Billy, 20-2 Breock, St., 5 Breward, St., 14, 62, 153 Bright, Right Hon. John, 203 Brittany, 4 Broadley, Rev. W., 218 Bromby, Rev. H., 215 Browne, Bishop E. Harold, 16, 179, 254, 263, 266 Bryanites, 79, 96, 133, 207 Bubb, Mr., 127, 128 Buck, Canon, 62, 144 Bude, 138 Budock, St., 5 Burch, Mr. A., no, 252, 309, 310 Burgon, Dean, 24, 27 Buriena, St., 4, 125 Buryan, St., 4, 8, 359 Bush, Canon, 62, 186, 188 Callington, ^2 seq., 139 Calstock, 144 Calvinism, 18 Camborne, 62, 129, 139 Cambridge, 41, 47, 68 Canons, Honorary, 104, 107, 125, 236, 237, 296 Canon Missioner, "jS seq., 104 Canons, Residentiary, 107, 237, 243, 273 seq. , 296 Canterbury, 97, 180, iSS seq., 193, 228, 346, 347 ; St. Martin's, 130 Carantoc, St., 8, 129, 338, 359 Carew, historian, 1 1 Carlyon, Edmund, 33, 34, 158 Carnmenellis, 218 Carol service, 287 Carter, Canon F. E. , 50, 81, 86, 88, 89, 98, loi, 145, 188,215,221,238,287 Catechism, 174 seq. Cathedral, The, 47, 103 Cathedral Commission, 30, 60, 105, 109, 1 10 Consecration of, 245 seq., 352 Fittings, 100 Offices and occupants, 382 seq. Truro, 33, 34, 46, 103 seq. Union, 282 seq. Census, religious, 327, 372 Ceolnoth, Archbishop, 5 C.E T.S., 147, 166, 169 Chacewater, 339 Chalice, Bishop's, 232 Chantries, Cornish, 8, 9 Chappel, Canon, 62, 139, 188 Chapter Act, Truro, 106, 109, 235 seq., 273 Chapter, Truro, 104 seq. ; resolution of, on death of Archbishop, 192 ; patronage of, 236 Charles I., King, lo, 400 "Charlotte, Mother," 218 Chilcott, Mr. J. G., 53 Choral Union, 269 seq., 405 seq. Church, Dean, 53, 17S Defence, 357 seq. Society, 94, 95, 294 Churches, Cornish, 78, 337 ■ Mission, 9, 339 Clement's, St., 66 Clifden, Viscount, 158 Cocks, Colonel, 123, 127 Colenso, Bishop, 44, 45 Coles, Rev. V. S. S., 81, 215 Collegiate Churches, 8, 159, 360 Columlj, St., 30, 31 Commissioners, Ecclesiastical, 26, 272 seq., 279 Communion, Holy, 97, 138, 213 Community of the Epiphany, loi, 219 seq. Conan, Bishop, 5 .Conference, Devotional, 215 I.WEX 415 Conferences, Diocesan, 1505^(7. Ruridecanal, 151 seq., 217 Confirmation, 131 seq.^ 2f3, 242 Conge •d\'lir€, 236, 309 Constantine, St., 126 Cornish, Archdeacon, 80, 147, 148. 153. 346 Cornish character, ],seq., 355 ^^'7- Cornish, Rev. G. J., 16 Cornish saints, 3-5, 126, 127, 129, 1 50 See, 27 seq. , 366 scq. Cornish Women's Association, 100, 22gseq., 347 Cornwall, Scenery and History, I-IK 131, 212, 360 Bishop Benson's farewell to, 183 seq. Cotehele Mouse, 164 Cowie, Dean, 279 Cranmer, Archbishop, 27 Crediton, Bishop of, 5, So Cross, Brotherhood of the, 89 Crowfoot, Canon, 49 Crowther, Bishop, 97 Cyprian, St., 44, 59 Daubuz, Mr. J. C, 158, 309, 312 David, St., 4 Davies, Mary Ann, 96 seq. Day, St., 65 Dennis, Mr. J. Hawke, 354 Devon, Earl of, 31, 55 Disraeli, Right Hon. B., 35 Dissent, 173, 208 seq. Dominic, St., 82, 83, 87 Du Boulay, Archdeacon, 139, 186, 1S8, 250 Duke of Cornwall's Light Infantry, 250. 25S, 333 Dumbleton, Prebendary, 25 Eagar, Dr. A. E., 63 Earle, Archdeacon, 54 Earthy, Mr. W. G. N., 171 Eaton Square, St. Peter's, 195, 198^^1;^., 219 seq., 252, 2S9, 293 Edgcumbe, Mt., Earl of, 53, 113, 119, 158, 191, 227, 246, 251, 253, 2jSseq , 296, 312, 347, 34S Edgcumbe, Mt., Lady, 164 Education, Church, 340 Edward the Confessor, King, 5, 400 Edward VL, King, 9 Edward VIL, King, 349, 400. See Prince of Wales Egloshayle, 144 Endellion, 8, 80, 86, 90, 359 Erth, St., 62, 79, 94, 134, 144, 155 Essays and Reviews, 33, 45 Eucharist, daily, 98, 271 Evangelicals, 45, 49, 143, 201 Evans, Rev. L., 71 I Everest, Canon, 218 Everitt, Colonel, 171 E.\eter, Bishops of, 5-7, 23 seq. See Appendix L, 366 seq. Exeter College, 7 Synod of, 25 Falmouth, 36 Falmouth, Viscount, 119, 135 Field, Miss, 281 Fisher, Rev. T., 13 Fittings, Internal, Fund, 100, 229 Flint, Canon, 188 Ford, Prebendary, 25 Foster, Mr. L. C, 158 Mr. R., 158 Foundation stone of Cathedral, 118 seq. Fowey, 337 Fraser-Frizell, Rev. C. F., 171 Ganges, II. M.S., 135, 136,342 Gardiner, Canon F. E., 166, 191, 248 German, St., 125 Germans, St., Earl of, 30 Germans, St., 8, 145, 1S7, 337 Germoc, St., 125 Gladstone, Right Hon. \V. H., 17U seq., 198, 286, 291 Glasney, 8, 359 Gluvias, St., 144 4i6 THE BISHOPRIC OF TRURO Gore, Bishop, 215, 263, 266 Gorham, Rev. G. C, 24, 25 GqH, Dr. John, 141, 187 ; early life and education, curacy at Yarmouth, Vicar of Braniley, 305 ; Vicar of Leeds, 306 seq. ; Dean of Worcester, 307 ; elected Bishop of Truro, 308 seq. ; consecrated, 311 ; enthroned and installed at Truro, 312 seq. ; activity in diocese, 315 ; Pastoral Letter, 317 5fr/. ; Primary Visitation of Cathedral and diocese, 321 seq. ; Second Visitation, 329 seq. Grammar School, Truro, 71 Grandisson, de. Bishop, 7 Gregory, St., of Tours, 1 30 Gwennap, 62 Gwennap Pit, 15 Hammond, Canon C. E., 63 Canon J. , 63 Dr., 171 Harvey, Fox, Canon, 53, 104, 1 13, 117, 250 Hawker, Rev. Robert, 10 Hayle, 79. 155 Hedgeland, Prebendary, 146 Hedley, Miss, 70 Helston, 130 Henry VHL, King, 9, 27, 400 High Cross, 100, 115 High School for Girls, 70 seq. Hingeston-Randolph, Prebendary, 6 Hobhouse, Archdeacon, 30, 145, 146 Hockin, Canon, 14, 22, 62, 186 Hodge, Mr. T. H., 177 Holland, Canon Scott, 46, 190, 214, 227, 265, 266 Hope, Beresford, Right Hon. A. J., no Hoskyns, Canon B. G., 'i'&seq. Hostel, The Truro, 65, 70 How, Walsham, Bishop, 266, 311 Hugh, St., 44 Hullah, Canon, 144 Intercession Services, 277 Isabell, Rev. J., 65, 66 Issey, St., 4, 86, 90, 144 Ive, St., 145 Ives, St., 10, 62, 161 Jago, Rev. W., 56 James II., King. 10 Jennings, Rev. H. R. , 69 Jones, Canon, 62 Just, St., in Penwith, 13, 18, 24, 129 Kalendar, Diocesan, 9 Kea. 16, 20 Keating, Dr. J. F. , 69 Keble, Rev. J., 395 Kenstec, Bishop, 5, 125 Kenwyn, 16, I'iseq., 66, 119, 161, 172, 216 Keverne, St., 8 Kew, St., 90, 91 Key, Miss, 71 Kilkhampton, 81, 138 Kingsley, Rev. C, 44, 140 Kinsman, Prebendary, 13 Kynance, i Lach-Szyrma, Rev. W. S., 13 Ladock, 62, 140, 141, 345 Lambeth, 186, 234 Conference, 204, 205 Lamorran, 13 Land's End, 16, 18, 124 Lanherne, i Launceston, 8, 10, 16, 81, 117, 124, 337 Lawhitton, 139 Lay work, 149 seq. Lee, Bishop Prince, 40 Leofric, Bishop, 5 Levan, St., 157 Libei- Niger, 105, 107 Library, Bishop Phillpotts', 25 Liddon, Dr., 353 Lightfoot, Bishop, 40, 53 Lincoln, 46 seq. Lincoln Judgment, 285 seq. INDEX 417 "Lis Escop," 59, 172, 216, 225, 289, 294. 314 Liskeard, i Lizaril, the, 124 Lloyd, Dr. C. H., 254, 256, 261, 284 Longley, Archbishop, 32 Lostvvithiel, St. Faith's, 217, 221 "Luce Mayistra," 72 Ludgvan, 13 Luxulyan, 129 Lyfing, Bishop, 5 Lyonesse, 3 Lyte, Rev. J. Maxwell, 214, 277 Maclagan, Bishop, 200 Maclean, Sir J., 157 Madagascar, Bishop of, 119 Magheramorne, Lord, 199 Malan, Rev. A. H., 209 Mann, Rev. C. N., 83, 91 Martin, Dr. G., 14, 62, 153 Martin, Rev. R., 62, 146, 153, 154 Martyn, Henry, 122, 125, 228, 266, 397 ^tv/. Mason, Dr. A. J., 49, 61, 62, 63, 64, 65, 77 seq., 98, 101-4, no, 160, 186, 187, 207, 229, 250, 254, 263, 267, 398 Maurice, Rev. F. D., 44, 395 Mawgan-in-Pydar, St., 80, 96 Methodists, 12, 14 seq., 86, 133, 201 seq., 209 Mewan, St., 4 Michael's Mount, St., 8 Michael, Penkivel, St., 129 Mills, Rev. A. IL, 8, 62, 94, 144, 155 Miners, Cornish, 124, 161, 362 Missioner, 174 Mission Preachers, Lincoln, 49, 51, 89 Mission work, 76 seq., 210 seq., 287 Missions, foreign, 335, 336,410, 411 Missions, itinerant, 89-92 Mithian, 16 Monk, Dr. ^L J., 270, 285 Moor, Canon A. P., 66 Moore, Canon J. H., 239 5^ Poughill, 138 Poundstock, 339 Prayer for Cathedral, 268 for Cathedral Builders, 128 for Cathedral Workers, 222 for St. Mary's Parish, 241 for White Cross League, 171 Price, Mr. E., 348 Primacy, the, 178 seq. Prince Consort, the, 42 Probus, 8, 337 Prothero Smith, Sir P., 159, 160 Lady. 159 Prynne, Mr. G. F., 337 Psalter, Recitation of, 108 seq. Puller, Rev. Father, 215 Pusey, Dr., 24 Qiionit, Daniel, 22 Randall, Dean, 267 Rashleigh, Mr. J., 53 Reading, Bishop of, 31 1 Redruth, 139 Reeve, Rev. J. A., 61, 82, 172, 214 Repair and Services Bill, 277 seq. Residence of clergy, 23, 38 Residentiary Canons, 107 Retreats, 215 seq. Revivals, 78, 79, 92, 93> I33> I34, 169 Robartes, Lord, 158, 347 Robinson, Canon C. H., 69 Roche, 13 Rogers, Canon J. J., 156 Canon S, 104 Rolle, Lady, 35 Royal Institution of Cornwall, 156 seq. Rugby, 42, 47, 70 Sacraments, 17, 18, 206, 357 Sampson, Canon G. V. , 89 n. S choice Cancellarii, Lincoln, 48 seq.., 51 Truro, 63 seq., 282 Scilly, 27, 130 Scott, Dean, 62 Sedding, Mr. E., 337 Sennen, St., 4, 65, 85 Shaftesbury, Earl of, 30 Shuttleworth, Canon, 144 Professor, 144 Sinclair, Dr. G. R., 250, 252, 261 seq., 270, 284 Sisterhoods, 217 seq. Smith, Lady Prothero, 159 Sir P. Prothero, 159 Right Hon. W. H., 235, 291 Social Questions, 162 seq. Sowell, Rev. C. R., 63 Speechly, Bishop, 290, 291 Staff, Pastoral, Bishop Benson's, 51, 228 Stafford, Bishop, 7 Stannaries Court, 36 Stapledon, Bishop de, 7 Statistics, 342 Statuary, Scheme for. Appendix VI., 400 seq. Statutes, Lincoln, 47, 105, 107 Truro, 47, 104 seq. Steele, Rev. E., 240 Stephen's, St., by Launceston, 8 Sunday Closing, 165, 166 Swain, Mr. R., 128, 228, 251 Tait, Archbishop, 52, 1 19, 178 seq., 188 Tamar, 3, 124 Tatham, Prebendary, 30, 33 Teilo, St., 4 INDEX 419 Temperance, 165 seq., 360 Temple, Archbishop, 33-5, 52, 53, 1 10, 119, 200, 259, 260, 254, 346 Thomas a Koiiipis, 50 Thomas, Master F., 261,262 Thornton, Canon F. V., 139 Miss S., 233 Thynne, Canon A. C, 81, 104, 186, 250, 346 Tintagel, i, 13, 124 Torpoint, 87 Tractarian Movement, 23, 24, 28, 43, 350 Training College, Truro Diocesan, 22, 73. 74, 147, 341 Transept, Benson, 227 Trelawny, Bishop, 10, II Tremayne, Colonel, 158 Mrs. A., 233, 354 Trenython, 314 Tresco, 8 Trevalga, 138 Truro Cathedral, li, 34, 46, 99 seq., \olseq., 177, 190 St. George's, 16, 64, 220, 341 St. John's, 16, 66, 216, 248, 341 St. Mary's, 36, 53, 59, 65, 112, 114 seq., 122, 128, 200, 220, 235, 239 j^^., 247, 283, 341 St. Paul's, 166, 220, 248, 341 Rectors of, 379 seq. Tyacke, Canon, 94 Tywardrealh, S Vautier, Canon, 104 Veryan, 80 Victoria, Queen, 42, 179 seq., 285, 354 Tower, 354 Visitation, Bishop Benson's Primary, 320 Bishop Gott's, 321 seq. Vivian, Lord, 116, 125 Wales, Prince of, 118, 119, 159, 242, 245 seq., 251, 257 seq., 346, 349 Wales, Princess of, 233 Walker, Dr. E., 30, 31 Rev. S., 11-13 Walpole, Rev. G. H. S., 63, 65, 69 Wantage, St Mary, 217 Webb, Bishop, 289, 290 Week St. Mary, 129 Wellington College, 42 seq., 70, 193, 228 Wesley, Charles, 14 Wesley, John, 9, 12, 14-17. 58, 202, 223 Wesleyans, 86, 203 seq., 223 Westcott, Bishop, 40, 55 Whitaker, Canon, 61, 63, 65, 68, 98, 110, 186 White Cross League, 147, \'lO seq. Whitley, Mr. H. M., 9 Whitlingstall, Rev. H. O. F., 69 Wickenden, Prebendary, 55, 56, 105, 107, no Wilberforce, Bishop E., 265, 266 Bishop S., 27 Wilkinson, BishopG. H., 61, lOi, 133, 180, 187, 194 seq. ; Chaplain and Canon, 197 ; consecration, 199 ; en- thronement, 200 ; relations with Methodists, 201 seq. ; mission work, 210 seq. ; sermons, 224 ; diocesan business, 225 ; building and conse- cration of the Cathedral, 227 seq. ; efforts for endowment, 271 seq. ; ill health, 290 seq. ; absence from Cornwall, 294 ; resignation, 294 ; farewell to diocese, 298 seq. ; re- covery, 299 ; elected to St. Andrews, 300 ; reunion work in Scotland, 301 Williams, Mr. Michael, 340 Rev. T. L., 63 Willyams, Mr. A. C, 15S Winchester, Bishop Harold Browne of, 16, 179, 254, 263, 266 Bishop Davidson of, 110, 183 Windows, stained glass, 387 seq. Winnow, St., 126 Wise, Canon, 62, 344 420 THE BISHOPRIC OF TRURO Women's Work, 216, seq. Wordsworth, Bishop Christopher, 31, 32, 46, 52, 105 Bishop J., 266 Canon Christopher, 105, no Workhouses, 154 Working people, 161 seq. Worlledge, Canon A. J., 49, 57, 63, 69, 188, 193, 306 Wylde, Rev. J., 215 Young, Rev, D. E., 221 ;^ UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LIBRARY Los Angeles This book is DUE on the last date stamped below. ^ r^J ^ ^ mi Form L9-100m-9,'52(A3105)444 I If t^rillTWCOPu Ol-r,fit #1 > r r. r. . AA 000 702 513 3 EX 5107 T7D7