Part 21 (1/2)

”I do then, most positively”

”But I have a copy of my letter to your lordshi+p, and your answer”

”Then you e your claim by law, if you please”

”No, indeed, my lord, I do not think I will do that” And then, after a short pause, I said, ”You have done for h I have often been tempted to do it”

”And pray, what is that?” he inquired

”To give up parochial ministration, that I may be free to preach wherever I am led”

”Could you do that?”

”I could not do it conscientiously myself; but now that you have stripped me of harness, I will put on no more”

The Bishop made his bow, and I made mine; and that was the end of our interview In my unconverted days I used to be an ardent and enthusiastic ades, his speeches, and especially his withering, sarcastic letters to Lord John Russell and others, who careat hero His straight forward , I had found bishops very smooth and two-sided, or rather both-sided; but in his ease there was no mistake

It used to be a proud time for me when this Bishop came into Cornwall, and I was permitted to accompany him, and to act as his chaplain at the consecration of a church or burial ground, or to attend him when he went to a Confir him in a boat on the sea He seeent interest in my parish and hbours, just as if he lived a them and knew all their circumstances He struck me as a wonderful man, and I was his champion upon all occasions inthis, he was too honest to his own views to favour me after my conversion

On my return hoive, and the future prospect looked very gloomy

CHAPTER 26

Plymouth, 1855

I occasionally preached in the parish church, and went to the daily Communion and the daily service My spare tiypt) in painting the church I laboured for hours and hours to try and reat chalk-pit of a place look somewhat ecclesiastical All round the church I painted a diaper pattern, surmounted with a border, which went over the doors and under the s Then on the bare wall at the end I painted a life-sized figure of our Lord, as a Shepherd leading His sheep, taken froether with a few other pictures of Christ, war very well Then for the chancel I had a ilded pattern over the very lofty chancel arch, which I ed to reach byand platforms, which I dispensed with, and accomplished the whole space in less time than it would take to put up all their needful erections Inside the chancel I had twelve niches, with tabernacle work above them, for the twelve apostles; and these were all duly represented after a true reat fun of these paintings; and the reporter would have it, that ”these lively saints looked very conscious of being put up there, and that they were constantly 'craning' their necks to look at one another--as if they would inquire, 'I say, how do you like being there?'” My favourite figure, St John, upon which I bestowed extra pains, the provokingat the apostle next to her, or at the one opposite--it did not seem quite clear to hi attitude

In theI was called away for a feeeks During this tiress; he therefore put an advertisement into his paper to this effect:--

”Stolen or strayed, a monkish priest, who paints apostles He is not to be found Any person or persons who can give infore”

My preaching was not acceptable in this church, neither was my connection with it; and my apostles were no better appreciated, for they were soon after ashed over, and disappeared like a dream

So” their necks as heretofore (h with a kind of veil upon theins to blister, some antiquarian will discover this ”wonderful mediaeval fresco,” and call the attention of the public to it

My ideas and dreaht to a calah credit for much private and public devotion; but, alas! I found what I ht easily have expected, that without spiritual vitality everything must be dry and dead! Dry and dead indeed it was The conversation of these supposed ascetics was for the hest only ecclesiastical Their worshi+p, on which a great amount of pains and cost was bestoas but a form carefully prepared and carefully executed, as if critics were present; yet it did not, and could not, rise to spirituality A lady presided at the organ, and had the teaching and training of the choir Much of her own personal and religious character were imparted to the performances, which in tone and manner were admirable and precise She , till I have seen theer” (as our reporter called him), who headed the procession at least four times a day, up and down the church, was a very important and successful part of the hest official, everything was carried out with exact precision

But oh, how unsatisfying and disappointing it was!--to a degree which I was asha, where there was vitality, though it was rough, for a superficial and artificial seion? In the book of Ecclesiastes we read, that ”a living dog is better than a dead lion;” and though I had often quoted this saying, I never felt the truth of it so deeply as now The dead lion and the dead elephant are quite i to bark at or fret about It was a hard and trying time to me in that place I could not see my way, or understand at all as the Lord's will towards me While in this state of ht that the orna the space under the floor of the church, was all gloith fire, as if a great furnace were raging there I tried to cry ”Fire!” but could not Then I ran into the church, and saw it full of people reverently absorbed in their devotions I tried again to give the alarm, and cry ”Fire! fire!” but I could not utter a sound When I looked up, I saw thin, long, waving strings of fire coh the joints of the floor I called attention to this, but no one else could see it Then I becaesticulation, and at last was able to tell soreat fire which was under theo about my business--that I was itated and perturbed state Since that, whenever I have seen or heard of churches, where Church and Sacraments are preached, instead of Christ, as the one way of salvation, I long to warn the people of the fire raging underneath, and to show them the way of the Lordand wretched than before, a lady called, and said she wanted to speak to me--would I co before she opened the conversation by charginguncharitable ”You say we are all unconverted”