A priest he was, not over-merry,
Who loved sound doctrine and good sherry;
Who wound his mind up every morning
At the sedate cathedral’s warning,
And found it soberly keep time,
In a pocket, to each hourly chime;
“Who, church’s clock-face dwelling under,
Knew ’twas impossible to blunder,
If Peter’s self at’s door should knock,
And roundly ask him--_What’s o’clock?_
_The Hermitage_.
On the morning of June 2 the Rev. Ambrose Bradley left Fensea by
the early market train, and arrived at Darkdale just in time for his
interview with the Bishop of his diocese.
Seen in broad daylight, as he quickly made his way through the narrow
streets to the episcopal residence, Bradley looked pale and troubled,
yet determined. He was plainly drest, in a dark cloth suit, with broad
felt hat; and there was nothing in his attire, with the exception of his
white clerical necktie, to show that he held a sacred office. His dress,
indeed, was careless almost to slovenliness, and he carried a formidable
walking-stick of common wood. With his erect and powerful frame and his
closely shaven cheeks he resembled an athlete rather than a clergyman,
for he had been one of the foremost rowers and swimmers of his time.
He wore no gloves, and his hands, though small and well formed, were
slightly reddened by the sun.
Arrived at his destination, an old-fashioned residence, surrounded by a
large garden, he rang the gate bell, and was shown by a footman into the
house, where his card was taken by a solemn-looking person clerically
attired. After waiting a few moments in the hall, he was ushered into a
luxuriously furnished study, where he found the Bishop, with his nether
limbs wrapt in rugs, seated close to a blazing fire.
Bishop -------- was a little spare man of about sixty, with an aquiline
nose, a slightly receding forehead, a mild blue eye, and very white
hands. He was said to bear some facial likeness to Cardinal Newman, and
he secretly prided himself upon the resemblance. He spoke slowly and
with a certain precision, never hurrying himself in his utterance, and
giving full force to the periods of what was generally considered a
beautiful and silvery voice.
‘Good morning, Mr. Bradley,’ he said, without noticing the other’s
extended hand. ‘You will excuse my rising? The rheumatism in my knees
has been greatly increased by this wretched weather. Pray take a chair
by the fire.’
Bradley, however, found a seat as far from the fire as possible; for the
weather was far from cold, and the room itself was like a vapour bath.
There was a pause. The Bishop, shading his face with one white hand,
on which sparkled a valuable diamond ring, was furtively inspecting his
visitor.
‘You sent for me?’ said Bradley, somewhat awkwardly.
‘Yes--about that letter. I cannot tell you how distressed I was when
I received it; indeed, if I may express myself frankly, I never was
so shocked in my life. I had always thought you so different, so very
different. But there! I trust you have come to tell me that the hope
I expressed was right, and that it was under some temporary aberration
that you expressed sentiments so extraordinary, so peculiarly perverted,
and--hem!--unchristian.’
The clergyman’s dark eye flashed, and his brow was knitted.
‘Surely not unchristian,’ he returned.
‘Not merely that, sir, but positively atheistic!’ cried the Bishop,
wheeling round in his chair and looking his visitor full in the face.
‘Then I expressed myself miserably. I am not an atheist; God forbid!’
‘But as far as I can gather from your expressions, you absolutely dare
to question the sacred character of the Scriptures, and the Divine
nature and miraculous life and death of Our Lord and Saviour Jesus
Christ!’
‘Not at all,’ replied Bradley, quietly.
‘Not at all!’ echoed the Bishop.
‘Permit me to explain. I expressed my humble opinion that there are many
things in the Scriptures which are contradicted by modern evidence, so
that the sacred writings must be accepted not as history but as poetry;
and I said that, although the miraculous narrative of Christ’s life and
death might have to be revised, the beautiful Ideal it had set before us
was sufficient for all our needs. In other words, whether Our Lord was a
Divine personage or not, He had become a Divine Influence--which, after
all, is the same thing.’
‘It is _not_ the same thing, sir!’ exclaimed the Bishop, horrified. ‘It
is very far from being the same thing. Why, any Unitarian would admit
as much as you do!--and pardon me for reminding you, you are not a
Unitarian--you are a clergyman of the Church of England. You have
subscribed the Articles--you--God bless my soul! what is the world
coming to, when a Christian minister uses language worthy of the atheist
Bradlaugh?’
‘You remind me that I subscribed the Articles,’ said Bradley, still
preserving his calmness. ‘I did so without thought, as so many do, when
I was a very young man.’ ‘What are you now, sir? A young man, a very
young man; and in the audacious spirit of youth and inexperience you
touch on subjects which the wisest minds of the world have been content
to approach with reverence, with awe and trembling. I see your position
clearly enough. The horrible infidelity which fills the air at the
present day has penetrated your mind, and with the pride of intellectual
impiety--that very pride for which Satan was cast from heaven--you
profane the mysteries of your religion. After what you have said, I am
almost prepared to hear you tell me that you actually _did_ write that
article on Miracles, which your parishioners impute to you, in the
“Bi-monthly Review!”’
‘It is quite true. I did write that article.’
‘And you have contributed to other infidel publications; for instance,
to the “Charing Cross Chronicle,” which is edited by an infidel and
written for infidels?’
‘Excuse me; the “Chronicle” is not generally considered an infidel
publication.’
‘Have you contributed to it--yes or no, sir?’
‘Not on religious subjects; on literary topics only.’
‘But you have written for it; that is enough. All this being granted,
I think I may safely gather whence you receive your inspirations. From
that portion of the press which is attempting to destroy our most sacred
institutions, and which is endeavouring, in one way or another, to
undermine the whole foundations of the Christian Church.’
Bradley rose to his feet and stood on the hearthrug, facing his
superior, who looked up at him with ill-concealed horror and amazement.
By this time he was not a little agitated; but he still preserved a
certain outward composure, and his manner was full of the greatest
humility and respect.
‘Will you permit me to explain?’ he said in a low voice. ‘The hope and
dream of my life is to upraise the Church, not to destroy it.’
‘Humph! to upraise _a_ church, perhaps, but not the Church of Christ.’
‘The Church of Christ--a church wherein all men may worship,
irrespective of points of dogma, which have been the curse of every
religion, and of ours most of all. For such a communion only two
articles of faith would be necessary--a belief in an all-loving and
all-wise Creator, or First Unknown Cause, and a belief in a Divine
Character, created and evolved we need not ask how, but bearing the name
of the Founder of Christianity.’
‘And the Bible, sir, the Bible!’ cried the Bishop, impatiently. ‘What
would you do with that?’
‘I would use it in its proper place as--literature.’
‘Literature!’ said the Bishop with uplifted hands. ‘You would then class
that Blessed Book, from which the world has drawn the milk of immortal
life, in the same category as Homer’s Iliad, the profane poems of Horace
and Catullus, and--save the mark!--Lord Byron’s poems, and the miserable
novels of the period?’
‘You do not quite understand me!’
‘Sir, I understand you only too well.’
‘I do not call all printed matter literature; but I hold that all
literature of the higher kind is, like the Bible, divinely inspired.
Dante, Milton, and Shakespeare were as assuredly sent by God as Moses
and Elijah. Shall we call the Book of Job a divine piece of moral
teaching, and deny that title to “Hamlet” and “King Lear”? Is not the
“Faust” of Goethe as spiritual a product as the Song of Solomon? Ezekiel
was a prophet; prophets also are Emerson and Thoreau. Spinoza has been
called God-intoxicated; and it is true. There might be some question as
to the mission of Byron (though I myself believe there is none); but
surely no thinking person can reject the pretensions of that divine poet
and martyred man who wrote the “Prometheus Unbound”!’ ‘Shelley!’
ejaculated the other, as if a bomb had exploded under his feet. ‘Are you
actually speaking of _him_, sir?--the atheist.’
‘He was no atheist. More than most men he believed in God--a god of
love.’
This was too much. Quite forgetting his rheumatism, the Bishop threw off
his rugs and rose tremulously to his feet.
‘Mr. Bradley,’ he said, ‘let there be an end to this. I have heard you
patiently and respectfully, thinking perhaps you might have something
to say in your own defence; but every word you utter is an outrage--yes,
sir, an outrage. Such opinions as you have expressed here to-day, and
the other day in your letter, might be conceivable in a boy fresh from
college; but coming from one who has been actually ordained, and has
held more than one office in the Church, they savour of blasphemy. In
any case, I shall have to take the matter into consideration, with a
view to your immediate suspension. But if you wish it I will give
you time--a little time--to reflect. I would do anything to avoid a
scandal.’
The clergyman lifted his hat and stick, with a slight involuntary shrug
of the shoulder.
‘It is, then, as I expected,’ he said. ‘I am to be denounced and
unfrocked. The days of persecution are not yet quite over, I perceive.’
The Bishop flushed angrily.
‘It is absurd to talk of persecution in such a case, Mr. Bradley. Do
you yourself conceive it possible that you, bearing such opinions, can
remain in the Church?’
‘I do not conceive it possible. Shall I resign at once?’
‘Permit me to think it over, and perhaps to consult with those who in
such matters are wiser than myself. I shall do nothing hasty, or harsher
than the occasion warrants, be sure of that.’
‘Thank you,’ returned Bradley, with a peculiar smile.
‘You shall hear from me. In the meantime, let me entreat you to be
careful. Good morning.’
And with a cold bow the Bishop dismissed his visitor.
*****
On leaving the episcopal residence Bradley went straight to the railway
station, had a slight and hasty lunch at the buffet, and then took the
midday express to London. Entering a second-class carriage, the only
other occupants of which were a burly personage going up for a Cattle
Show and a spruce individual with ‘bagman’ written on every lineament
of his countenance, he resigned himself to reflections on his peculiar
position.
Throughout these reflections I have no intention of following him, but
they seemed less gloomy and miserable than might be conceived possible
under the circumstances. His eye was clear and determined, his mouth
set firmly, and now and then he smiled sadly to himself--just as he had
smiled in the presence of the Bishop.
The express reached London in about six hours, so that it was evening
when Bradley arrived at King’s Cross, carrying with him only a small
hand-bag. Instead of hailing a cab, he walked right on along the
streets--through Taviton Street to Russell Square, thence into Holborn,
and thence, across Lincoln’s Inn Fields, into the Strand. He then turned
off towards the Temple, which he entered with the air of one who knew
its quiet recesses well.
He was turning into Pump Court when he suddenly came face to face with a
man of about thirty, elegantly dressed, with faultless gloves and boots,
and carrying a light cane. He was very fresh and fair-complexioned,
with sandy whiskers and moustaches; and to complete his rather dandified
appearance he sported an eyeglass.
‘Cholmondeley!’ cried the clergyman, pronouncing it ‘Chumley’ according
to the approven mode.
‘Ambrose Bradley!’ returned the other. ‘Is it possible? Why, I thought
you were hundreds of miles away.’
‘I came up here by the express, and was just coming to see you.’
‘Then come along with me and dine at the “Reform.”’
They looked a strange contrast as they walked on side by side--the
powerful, gravelooking man, shabbily attired in his semiclerical dress,
and the elegant exquisite attired in the height of London fashion, with
his mild blue eye and his eyeglass in position. Yet John Cholmondeley
was something more than the mere ornamental young person he appeared;
and as for his mildness, who that had read his savage articles on
foreign politics in the ‘Bi-monthly Review’ would have taken him for a
harmless person? He was a Positivist of Positivists, an M.A. of Oxford,
and the acting-editor of the ‘Charing Cross Chronicle.’
His literary style was hysterical and almost feminine in its ferocity.
Personally he was an elegant young man, with a taste for good wines and
good cigars, and a tendency in external matters to follow the prevailing
fashion.
They drove to the ‘Reform’ in a hansom, and dined together. At the
table adjoining theirs on one side two Cabinet Ministers were seated in
company with Jack Bustle, of the ‘Chimes,’ and Sir Topaz Cromwell, the
young general just returned from South Africa; at the table on the other
side an Under-Secretary of State was giving a little feast to Joseph
Moody, the miners’ agent and delegate, who had been a miner himself,
and who was just then making some stir in political circles by his
propaganda.
After dinner they adjourned to the smoking-room, which they found
almost empty; and then, in a few eager sentences, Bradley explained his
position and solicited his friend’s advice. For that advice was well
worth having, Cholmondeley being not only a clever thinker but a shrewd
man of the world.