Page:Early Reminiscences.djvu/331

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i8s7 271 The New Shoreham Church was a fine Norman structure. The nave had been demolished, and only the choir remained, and • that was be-pewed. The college was allowed to use the pews for daily service ; there were no stalls. The head master, Braithwait, had a shrill, discordant voice. Moreover, whilst singing he had a trick with his left hand to clutch at his surplice, and in the excitement of psalmody to scratch it up above his waist, let it down, and again proceed to scratch it up. The boys, who were roguish, took to imitating him. From Shoreham, as I have said, I was moved to Hurstpierpoint. The squire of Hurstpierpoint was a Mr. Campion of Danny, whose wife had been a Kempe ; it was after her father that Kempetown, Brighton, was named, and her mother had been a Baring. Accordingly I was often down at the Park to dine, and there met the Marchioness of Bath, who had presented Mr. Bennett to Frome, after that Bishop Blomfield of London had forced him to resign S. Barnabas. She was a Baring. I also met there Bishop Baring of Durham, one of the narrowest bigots the Church produced at the period, the persecutor of Dr. Dykes of S. Oswald's. At this period, a certain number of the young clergy embraced Socialistic principles. In a good many cases, simply to make themselves conspicuous, but others were convinced that the order of society was rotten at the core, and suspected, or rather believed, that the cure to the evils that were obvious enough lay in this direction. I knew several of them, some are alive still. A good many modified their views as they became older. Of these latter was^Stanton of S. Alban's, Holborn. One whom I knew was elevated to be a bishop—and proved a dismal failure. He is dead now, and I cannot hear of his having achieved anything in his diocese, and as being regretted by anyone. At the time I was a fairly zealous Radical, and I have toned down, but some had so committed themselves that they could not alter their opinions without becoming ridiculous. I went into S. Mary Magdalen's, Munster Square, one Sunday afternoon, when the curate was catechizing the children, and his teaching was practically that la propriete est le vol. When he retired to the vestry I followed him, and after introducing myself said : " I have been much struck by your catechetical lecture ;