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UNIVERSITY LIBRARY

HENRY BAZELY

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HENRY BAZELY
THE OXFORD EVANGELIST
3 memoir

BY THE

Rev. E. L. HICKS, M.A.
RECTOR OF FENNY COMPTON, HON. CANON OF WORCESTER, AND
SOMETIME FELLOW AND TUTOR OF C.C.C. OXON.

SLontfon
MACMILLAN AND CO.
1886

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INTRODUCTORY.
A FRENCH author, well known for his brilliant
studies of English philosophy and literature, has
recorded the following incident of a visit he paid
to England about the year 1871.1 "Another
Sunday, at eight o'clock in the evening, in a
university town, I saw two gentlemen and a
member of the middle class preaching in the public
highway. They do this every Sunday." After a
description of the addresses and the preachers, he
proceeds : " I went off at the end of a quarter of
an hour. The audience consisted of about fifty
persons, men and women, well-dressed for the
most part ; at intervals some of them whispered
and smiled ironically, but the majority of the
men and all the women listened attentively, and
appeared to be edified. I heartily approve of
these proceedings. In the first place they provide
1 H. Taine, Notes on England, Eng. Transl. p. 235 foil.

HENRY BAZELY.

a vent for a consuming passion, for an intense
conviction, which for lack of an outlet would
degenerate into madness, melancholy, or sedition.
In the second, they are moralising, and may do
much good to many consciences. In the third, they
keep alive among the public the belief that there are
noble ideas, genuine convictions, perfectly zealous
souls ; for man is only too ready to fancy that
indifference and amusement are the end of life.''
Of the three evangelists who thus arrested the
attention of M. Taine, the leader was Henry
Bazely, the subject of the present memoir. He
was well known by sight and name to every one
in the City and University of Oxford. All
admired his zeal and his unselfishness. Many
knew that his diligence as a street preacher was
equalled by his theological learning. But few
were aware how much he had sacrificed for
conscience sake ; and fewer still were permitted
to know his more secret efforts to rescue the sinful
and the outcast. But the language of M. Taine,
though he speaks like a visitant from another
world of thought and feeling, is all of it touchingly
true. Henry Bazely had indeed "a consuming
passion " for doing good, " an intense conviction "

INTRODUCTORY.

of Christian truth. His labours did certainly " do
good to many consciences." And this memoir of
him is intended (by God's blessing) to perpetuate
the testimony which his life so strikingly gave,
" that there are noble ideas, genuine convictions,
perfectly zealous souls." It was thought, more
over, due to Bazely's memory that his precise
theological attitude should be made known once
for all. And in a time like the present, of
conflicting opinion, of rival religious systems, and
widely felt searchings of heart, it may be worth
while to record the spiritual struggles of one whose
difficulties were less about Christian truth than
about Church government, and who left the
Anglican communion, not allured by the worship or
fascinated by the dogmatic completeness of Rome,
but convinced by impartial study that the Scottish
Kirk was the nearest approach to the primitive
and apostolic model.
The chief difficulty in preparing the memoir
arose from Bazely's habitual humility and inbred
reserve. Although a member of what is termed
the Evangelical or Experimental school of divines,
he never spoke or wrote about his inner feelings
or personal religious experience. In his letters

HENRY BAZELY.

even to intimate friends there is very little about
himself or his own doings. My work has therefore
been greatly dependent upon the kindness of many
of his friends, who have placed their written reminis
cences at my disposal. One nearer source, however,
has been of unfailing help. From early boyhood
Bazely began the habit, which he continued till
his death, of keeping a brief diary in his pocket-
book. Here he jotted down every day what
letters he received or wrote, what friends he saw,
what journeys he took, what services he attended,
what work or visits or other engagements he had
in hand. These jottings are in pencil and disap
pointingly brief: very rarely indeed is there any
comment made upon persons or things. His
correspondence was extensive, and the packets of
letters and other papers left behind him at his
death were very numerous. A certain number of
these, however, had been set aside by himself with
directions that they might be burnt unread ; and
this injunction was religiously obeyed by his wife.
It was his custom also to make a foul copy of
any important letter he despatched, and many of
these copies remain. His account books and other
business memoranda, which he was most careful

INTRODUCTORY.

in keeping, were available for the purpose of a
biography. All these materials have been care
fully examined and arranged by Mrs. Bazely, and
placed in the editor's hands. Without her patient
labours this volume would never have been pre
pared. From his father also I have received
information upon many points. One word as to
my own qualifications for the task. Bazely and I
were elected scholars of Brasenose College on the
same day in 1861, and our friendship which so
began continued until his death. Down to
the year 1873 my home, like his, was in Oxford,
both in term-time and vacation ; and even since
then my frequent visits to Oxford have given me
abundant opportunity of observing his career.
As his biographer I desire at the outset to
remind the reader that my own theological position
is very different from that of my friend. I was
one of those who deeply lamented his final
departure from our Church, and was surprised at
his decided objections to Episcopacy, his strong
Calvinism, his extreme scruples about purity of
worship. Much of his conduct in relation to the
Church of England, which I shall have to relate,
I cannot approve, greatly as I admire his motives ;

HENRY BAZELY.

and throughout the memoir I am painfully sensible
of his unvarying hostility to those catholic prin
ciples which to my mind are a priceless heritage
of the Anglican communion.
Having spoken thus plainly of my own attitude,
I shall endeavour with scrupulous care to avoid
any kind of bias in editing the memoir. The
reader will be left to make. his own reflections, and
to draw his own conclusions from the narrative.
I have no purpose to serve but one ; that is, to
record faithfully and impartially the doings of my
friend's short but busy life. It has been a labour
of love to set forth what manner of man he was,
and what kind of work he did. Those who knew
him best will perceive how far short my picture
falls of the original. But if any readers derive
from these pages some of that spiritual blessing
which they have been the means of imparting to
myself as I wrote them, they will not have been
written in vain. The life of Henry Bazely is one
witness the more to the power of Christianity, to
the reality of the doctrine of the Cross.

CHAPTER I.
CHILDHOOD AND SCHOOLDAYS.
1842-1861.
I thank Thee for a holy ancestry ;
I bless Thee for a godly parentage ;
For seeds of truth, and light, and purity,
Sown in this heart from childhood's earliest age.
H. Bonar.
Henry Casson Barnes Bazely was born on
the fifteenth Sunday after Trinity, 4th September
1 842, at the Rectory of All Saints, Poplar. His
father, the Rev. Thomas Tyssen Bazely, who
belonged to a good old Kentish family, was a
well-known Oxford man of his day, having served
as proctor in the University of Oxford, and as
fellow and tutor of Brasenose College until 1839,
when he exchanged academic life for the charge
of a London parish. At that time Brasenose was
patron of most of the important livings at the
East End. These were, in fact, successive subdi
visions of the old parish of Stepney (Stebbenheath),

8 HENRY BAZELY. [chap.
the advowson of which had been purchased by the
college early in the eighteenth century. The
college is still patron of Poplar, and of St. Anne's,
Limehouse ; the remainder of its East London
patronage has been of late exchanged for country
livings, mainly with the Bishop of London. There
were those who regretted at the time the aban
donment' of what seemed a fine ideal, the concen
tration of the influence and action of one Oxford
college upon the spiritual needs of the East End.
It is characteristic of the religious movements of
our day that the noble work which this college
felt it impossible to accomplish by means of such
official connection, has been effectually undertaken
by the zeal and devotion of private members of
the University, who are, some of them, working in
the Oxford settlements in East London, or are
labouring there (often gratuitously) as parish
priests. It is not fanciful to find, in the twofold
activity of Bazely's later career as a student and
evangelist, a reproduction of the spirit and
example of his father, who rejoiced to see the
culture and learning of Oxford devoted to the
service of God and of His poor.
Henry was virtually an only child ; for his

i.] CHILDHOOD AND SCHOOLDAYS. 9
brother Narborough Gilbert, who was born on
2 8th May 1 846, died in 1 8 5 1 on 1 7th March. His
earliest teaching he received from his father, who
testifies to the singular independence of mind he
displayed at that early age. He was perpetually
asking the reasons for every statement of his
instructor, and his father used to say to him, " You
are the most contradictious little chap I ever
knew." Another feature of his character showed
itself very early. He was intensely fond of
matter-of-fact, so much so as to seem devoid of
imagination. When asked as a child to play at
horses with the chairs, he replied, " No ; they are
not real horses ; I only know about the horses in
the street." His father writes :
I have few particulars of interest to mention in
reference to my dear son Henry's early life. The
characteristics of his boyhood were those of his after
life, shyness and reserve, with the germs of that independ
ence of thought which was so conspicuous in his riper
years. Loving, as he was loved, by parents and servants
in his home, his shyness made him unattractive beyond
that circle. I do not think he was very happy in his first
school [at Brighton], as his temperament and delicate
organisation gave him little aptitude for the rough sports
of boys. .. . I think his chief personal friend at Poplar was
the lady organist of the church, Miss Elizabeth Stirling

10 HENRY BAZELY. [chap.
(now Mrs. Stirling Bridge), of some musical celebrity,
who taught Henry the piano.
There was no doubt of his intellectual gifts.
Before he had completed his fourth year he could
read any part of the Bible. In the autumn of
1 85 1, shortly after his brother's death, Henry
(who was not yet nine) was taken by his parents
for a three months' tour in Switzerland, Germany,
and France. The boy kept a journal of his
travels, which is a startling performance for so
young a child. The writing and grammar are
perfect, and the arrangement of the diary reveals
an orderly mind. He notes at Ehrenbreitstein
3d July :
We were shown into a very nice chamber which
looked out upon the lovely Rhine. Mamma felt in
clined to be looking out all night. There was a very
good-natured chambermaid named " Trina," and a very
cross surly waiter who used to bully a little French
waiter very much.
25th July. — Reached Lenzkirche, where we breakfasted
at the Hotel de 1'Aigle at 8 upon trout, honey, bread
and butter, and coffee ; started at 9, drove on, took my
first view of the lovely snow-capped Alps, looking more
like a flock of fleecy clouds, only immovable, and quite as
pretty or even more so. Passed through a little village
called Bondorf, where there was a fair going on. Reached

i.] CHILDHOOD AND SCHOOLDAYS. n
Stiihlingen (where the horses were rested) at i. . . .
The village all decorated with garlands and flowers for
the Duke of Baden, who was expected in the evening.
The journal ends with a tabulated statement
(i) of the hotels they had stayed at, (2) of the
towns where they had spent their Sundays. At
the foot the boy writes in large letters, " DEO
LAUS." His father belonged to the old High Church
school, and was in considerable sympathy with
the Tractarian movement. He therefore early
consulted his friend William Sewell about Henry's
education. Dr. Sewell was a man of genius
whom we might perhaps describe as a High
Church Platonist and a champion of religious
education. He was ingenious, ready of speech,
and of restless activity. As tutor of Exeter
College, and from the chair of Moral Philosophy
which he held from 1 836-1 841, he had striven to
fill the minds of young Oxford with the ideas of the
Anglican revival. In 1 846 he founded St. Peter's
College, Radley, and became its warden in 1852.
Here he made it his aim to organise a school
where the sons of the English gentry and upper
middle class should be nurtured in learning,

12 HENRY BAZELY. [chap.
devotion, and culture. The nucleus of the college
buildings was a country house held on lease from
Sir George Bowyer, and standing amid undulating
meadows near Abingdon and the Thames. Sewell
had a definite theory of the education of boys,
which he set forth in various pamphlets, particu
larly in his fournal of St. Coluniba's, a college
near Dublin, founded by him in 1842; and he
pursued his ideas with enthusiasm. His pupils
were to be trained amidst all that is lovely in
worship, in nature, and in art ; they were to live
in a world of beauty and of grace, and so be
moulded into Christian gentlemen. He had his
views of school discipline, acting on the principle
of unlimited trust in a boy's honour. He incurred
much ridicule by his " cubicle-system," which, how
ever, has since been adopted in several public
schools ; by it every boy in a dormitory had his
bed screened off from the rest. Not that he
wished to pamper his boys : his ideas were far
different. Once at the beginning of a term, when
the lads grumbled (as schoolboys are prone to
do) at the plainness of their food, Sewell met this
murmur, not, as other masters might, by inquiring
into the cooking, or by other such means ; but

i.] CHILDHOOD AND SCHOOLDAYS. 13
he preached a sermon next Sunday on the Israelites
hankering after the fleshpots of Egypt. To his
mind the College was a Church in the wilderness,
and he was a Moses, leading them to the City of
God. Such a man, who has an ideal, and stakes
his all upon bringing it to pass, cannot fail to
command our reverence. And his protest on
behalf of a larger infusion of religion into school
life upon the distinctive principles of the Church of
England has not been made in vain. But such
ideals as his were not easy to realise without great
and immediate expense, and he was himself quite
careless about money and ill-served by his financial
advisers. In i860 the College sank under a load
of debt ; and it has taken the munificence of pious
laymen, and the efforts of several excellent wardens,
to restore Radley to its old prosperity. At this
moment it has outgrown its accommodation. Dr.
Sewell spent his last years at Bonchurch, Isle of
Wight; he died 14th November 1874.
Bazely entered Radley in 1855, being then
thirteen years of age. Here his powers of mind
rapidly developed, and his physical health was
established ; he seemed marked out for a career
of distinction. But never was there a nature so

14 HENRY BAZELY. [chap.
little suited for the Radley training. To him the
mystical in religion and the sensuous in art were
equally abhorrent; and Sewell's tendency to idealise
must have seemed like make-believe. The result
was a recoil of his religious nature from the system
of the Anglican Church, which he never recovered.
It was one indication of this revolt that in the
school debating - club he invariably moved an
amendment, and voted in the minority. This
development had not escaped Dr. Sewell, whose
system of " moulding " was unfavourable to inde
pendence of character. When Henry reached the
head of the Sixth, and would naturally have
become the Senior Prefect, the Warden in offering
him the honour advised him to decline it ; he
feared lest Bazely's originality of mind, united
though it was with loving and gentle ways, should
employ increased power to the injury of the school
system. Sewell, always fertile in names and allu
sions, gave him the titular dignity of Princeps of
Radley. A letter of Dr. Sewell to his father
refers to this occasion :
In all that you say of him I most heartily concur. I
am heartily and truly proud of him. When he and I
talked together over the question of the senior prefect-

i.] CHILDHOOD AND SCHOOLDAYS. 15
ship, I had before me his peculiarities of temperament,
his intellectual power, and his independence of character,
and these are great excellences. But his mind was never
one to run on in grooves — a good hunting horse, but not
quite safe in shafts — and so he has the honour (for it is
a great one in our little world), of being the first Radley
princeps. His father wrote to him from Poplar Rectory
on 7th June i860 :
My dear old Hen — I was very glad to get your letter
this morning. I am much pleased that the Warden
offered you the Senior Prefectship, but quite approve of
your declining it. Thanks for the copy of the Warden's
poetical address to the Bishop. I have not had time to
study it ; some portions of it seem rather difficult. I
dare say the Bishop was much amused at the flight of
his hat. . . .
Visits from Bishops and other ecclesiastics were
so common at Radley that it is doubtful who is
meant. Probably the person alluded to was
Samuel Wilberforce, Bishop of Oxford. By him
Henry was confirmed some two years before this
time. It may here be noted that his parents left
Poplar at Christmas i860 for Tunbridge Wells;
this they made their home until 1868, when they
removed to Dover.
The following letters, which passed between

1 6 HENRY BAZELY. [chap.
Bazely and his old Warden long years afterwards,
still show how lovingly both looked back upon
their memories of Radley : Ashcliff, Bonchurch,
iqth April 1873.
My dear Henry — You won't mind my calling you by
your old name, which I always was accustomed to use
when talking of you with your dear father and mother.
I have just had a letter from him, as I was on the point
of sending you a little privately printed brochure of
words that fell from me at the last dinner of old Rad-
leians. I want to assure you that the step which you
have so conscientiously taken, much as I may grieve
over it in some points, has in others only added another
instance of the cases for which I may heartily thank and
bless God when I look back on Radley. You have great
powers of mind, great independence, and originative
energy. And you remember when we talked together
over the question of the Senior Prefectship, and we both
agreed that if it was happier and safer for you to be the
Princeps of the School, it was because I saw the vigour
of these two powers within you, and was afraid they
might some day carry you off the line. I am therefore
not surprised to learn that such has been the case. But
I do bless God again and again that His grace within
you — moulding, as it has done, your character from its
infancy — has preserved you from wrecking yourself or
others upon the great snares and pitfalls of this day,

I.] CHILDHOOD AND SCHOOLDAYS. 17
and by His infinite mercy only landed you on another
line of rails running, if not wholly, at least in a great
degree parallel with our own. I delight to think of you
labouring zealously and honestly and unselfishly for
Christ and for the souls which He has purchased. I
am proud of you, even when I do not agree with you.
These are days when the outward organisation of the
Ark will be broken up, like St. Paul's wreck, and all
around we shall find individuals striving to reach the
shore by their own swimming, or on fragments of the
wreck, and we must prepare our hearts and minds to
bear the trial with Christian sympathy, tenderness, and
large -heartedness, bearing and forbearing, and only
praying that in this triumph of the enemies of Christ's
Church we may still be able to preserve the light of His
One Catholic Apostolic Faith — His Truth — by our sepa
rate exertions.
I do not say that ecclesiastical questions or polity and
order are not vitally [and] essentially wound up with the
question of Truth and Faith. But we must make allow
ance for those to whom this is not clear. I cherish, my
dear Henry, with the greatest delight, the conviction that
in this question of Truth and Faith, on all the grand
vital doctrines of the Gospel, you and I are one ; and
I rejoice to think of your devoting yourself earnestly to
Christ's cause, where you believe that you can most be
useful to His cause. And if those who take the lead in
such missionary work, while they claim more liberty than
the English Church can give them, will teach others,
while they indulge their own inclinations, to abstain from
C

1 8 HENRY BAZELY. [chap.
all unkindly thoughts to the Church, whose ecclesiastical
deficiencies they are endeavouring to supplement, your
influence may do much good. When I took up the pen
I did not think of so wasting your time. I only wish to
assure you of my most affectionate sympathy, respect,
and rejoicing in all the good which you may be enabled
to do. I cannot separate it from other blessed fruits of
Radley. I cannot bear that you should think yourself
not included in my thanks to my dear boys — my warmest
thanks, my blessed memories. — Ever, my dear Henry,
your affectionate friend, William Sewell.
To Dr. Wm. Sewell.
I thank you very heartily for your most kind letter,
and the copy of your speech at the old Radleians' dinner.
It has been a great pleasure to me to read your words,
which have recalled some days — perhaps seldom thought
of in the midst of constant occupation, but not (I think)
forgotten — to which I shall always look back with thank
fulness. I can without any reserve confirm the accuracy
of the description which you have given of Radley during
the time that I was there; and I have very often, in
conversation with friends in Oxford, stated my firm
conviction that the system of internal government there
was as nearly perfect both theoretically and actually as
can be expected in an imperfect world. I can remember
no occasion in those days when the harmony of the
Prefects' study was disturbed; and I must add my
testimony to the singular respect, and more than respect,

i-l CHILDHOOD AND SCHOOLDAYS. 19
— warm affection towards yourself, — which was invariably
shown and felt (as far as my experience went) by every
boy in the school. And the cause of this, I know, was
the confidence which we felt you always put in us, and
the strict impartiality with which we saw you treated us.
I am sure no old Radley boy can ever, when he thinks
of his school-days, forget the loving care with which you
tended us.
It is naturally a source of grief to me that I cannot
see eye to eye with many whom I love best on earth in
all the things which belong to the kingdom of Christ.
But there is, I am persuaded, no difference of opinion
between us on any subject which either of us would call
an essential truth of the Christian religion. And in
this day of trouble, rebuke, and blasphemy, I trust and
pray that all who hold the Head, acknowledging one
Lord, one Faith, one Baptism, may be enabled to
work, if not together in the same external communion,
yet in unity of spirit and in the bond of peace. I am
glad to think that I still have your affectionate remem
brance, and sometimes I hope your prayers. It will always
be a pleasure to me to see you, if I may call when you
are at Dover or Oxford. That you may yet see much
— very much — fruit of your labour of love at Radley for
Christ and Christ's redeemed ones is my hope and my
petition to Him. Believe me always your affectionate
old pupil, H. C. B. Bazely.
On 31st May 1861 he was elected to an open
classical scholarship at Brasenose, his father's

20 HENRY BAZELY. [chap.
college, where he came into residence in October
of that year. What parental love followed him
to his new work the following letter from his
father will show ; it bears signs of having been
carried much in the young man's pocket :
T. Wells, 14 Oct. 1S61.
My dear old Hen — I begin a letter in the hope of
receiving one from you this afternoon. You reached
Paddington in time, I trust, for the 4.50 train, and so
were in time for College Chapel at 8. I arrived at
Miss  's at 5, found the old woman still living and
glad to see me. I left Poplar at 8, and got home by
10.36. You found, I hope, your rooms in comfortable
order and your goods arrived. I left you, dear Henry,
with more in my heart than I could tell you in words.
You know how dear you have been to us at all times.
You have never left us without our thankfulness to God
for His goodness to us in you, and our earnest prayer
that for your sake and ours you might continue to be a
blessing to us. It is with especial earnestness, tho' with
trust and hope, that dear mamma and I now commit you
to God's keeping.
Papa knows that you are now entering into greater
trials and temptations than heretofore ; it is only God
who can preserve you pure and unharmed, as well as
give you the strength of Christian principle. Greatly as
we shall rejoice in any academical success you may
achieve, this will be as nothing compared with our

i.] CHILDHOOD AND SCHOOLDAYS. 21
thankful delight in believing that you have by God's
mercy been preserved pure from sins of every kind ;
especially such as destroy youthful innocence and bring
shame and remorse to the soul. Believe me, dear
Henry, there can be no greater blessing gained for your
after life than the purity of your youth, — a blessing in
itself, a blessing for your then free heart and memory,
and a blessing sure to be followed by grace and power
to live well ever afterwards. May God, who has been
so good to us, grant you this blessing in answer to your
own and our prayers ; and next to pleasing Him, you
will always think of your dear home, and how deeply
our joy and peace depend on you : and in all trouble
of whatever kind, dear Henry, always put (under God)
your trust in us — never keep aloof from father and
mother. There is nothing else which in comparison I
am anxious to write about now. But I will add a few
hints on one or two not unimportant matters. You will
not find the rules and regulations of college discipline
very stringent ; but if any do appear irksome, do not
let your compliance be otherwise than exact and cheerful.
Real manliness and good sense is shown in observing
frankly the formal regulations as well as the known
wishes of those in authority. The attendance on
morning chapel, college lectures, reading according
to the advice of tutors, a cheerful and happy (I do not
mean light and trifling) demeanour in the lecture room,
the proper use of your academical dress — all these are
things of some consequence in their effect upon others,
as well as matters of propriety in themselves.

22 HENRY BAZELY. [chap. i.
2 p.m. — Glad to get your letter. . . . You do not
give a very flourishing account of your rooms ... I
hope in your next letter to hear that you are tolerably
comfortably settled, and your relations with your tutors
established. . . . God bless you, dear Henry. — Your
affect. Papa, T. T. B.

CHAPTER II.
UNDERGRADUATE life.
1861-1865.
High nature amorous of the good,
But touched with no ascetic gloom ;
And passion pure in snowy bloom
Thro' all the years of April blood. Tennyson.
Upon being transplanted from Radley to Oxford,
Bazely found himself in a very different and a
very searching spiritual atmosphere. The Tract-
arian movement had lost by this time its supre
macy in Oxford, and an anti-clerical reaction had
set in. The University Commission of 1850 had
worked a revolution in the spirit of the place.
Liberalism was now dominant, and the influence
of free thought was felt everywhere. The Uni
versity indeed, and the colleges, were still by law
connected closely with the Church of England.
No one could enjoy the greater emoluments of
Oxford, no one could even take his M.A. degree,

24 HENRY BAZELY. [chap.
or have a share in the government of the Uni
versity, or of a college, without declaring his assent
to the doctrines of the Church. But this official con
nection between the Church and the University
excited the keenest opposition in the minds of
academical reformers, and instead of securing a
religious tone among tutors and students it tended
to destroy it. It was not until the abolition of
University Tests in 1872 that this grievance was
removed. Since that date, although the official
recognition of the Church by the University and
by the colleges has grown steadily less, yet religion
is no longer prejudiced in the eyes of critics by
the possession of privilege or by the semblance of
persecution, and individual piety and warm church-
manship have become more manifest than ever
before in every quarter of the University. But
in 1 86 1 things were far otherwise. Among the
more intellectual students it was almost a point
of honour to be in revolt against clerical restric
tions. The wildest theories were agitated ; and
the system of religious repression only encouraged
scepticism. The theological world was then still
disturbed by the Essays and Reviews, and was
further discussing the riots at St. George's-in-the-

n.] UNDERGRADUATE LIFE. 25
East, and the " ritualism " of Mr. Bryan King — a
near neighbour (by the way) of Mr. Bazely at
Poplar, and a brother ex-fellow of Brasenose. All
these controversies found their echo among the
undergraduates. Into this ferment of controversy and of scepti
cism Bazely was now suddenly introduced. But
he never lost his balance. His early habits of
piety, his simple purity of heart, his love for his
parents, his strict sense of duty and principle, —
virtues which had been deeply implanted in him
by God's grace at home, and had been fostered
by his schooldays,- — now stood him in good
stead. His faith in Christian revelation never
really wavered. He read all sorts of books, and
heard all kinds of opinions broached ; but he
dismissed all doubt as something alien and abhor
rent. Among his papers of this date is an
analysis of a fine sermon preached (it may be) at
St. Mary's. It is upon the doubt of St. Thomas,
and seems to have been felt by Bazely as a word
in season. But indeed it is clear throughout his
life that, whatever religious difficulties he en
countered, he never for a moment lost his grasp
of the verities of the Faith. His conduct as an

26 HENRY BAZELY. [chap.
undergraduate was outwardly faultless ; he was
regular in every religious duty, and enjoyed to
the full the opportunities he now had of hearing
the best preachers of the day at St. Mary's and
at the parish churches. His inner experiences
he revealed to no one. But it was soon apparent
that his theological leanings were towards the
Evangelical side. On 25th October 1 862 he began
to attend the Saturday evening prayer-meeting for
undergraduates at St. Aldate's, which he rarely
missed (when in Oxford) from that time until his
death. He was also a frequent guest at Mr.
Christopher's Saturday evening " at-homes," where
addresses were given by leading men of the
Low Church school.
At midsummer 1863 he was placed in the first
class in Classical Moderations, after which he
went on a short trip to Belgium and Holland
with his father. His diary of the tour is full and
careful. But he maintains his usual reserve as
to his personal feelings and impressions. The
manners and dress of the people, the picture-
galleries, — above all, the scenery, delighted him.
He appears to have witnessed with deep interest
the ritual and worship of the Roman Catholic

ii.] UNDERGRADUATE LIFE. 17
Church, but no syllable of criticism or disparage
ment occurs in the diary.
The following account of his undergraduate
career is given by a college friend :
Well do I remember his rooms in the corner of the
front quad. They were large and nicely kept ; for
Bazely was neat and methodical in all his ways. He
read very regularly, and his habits had a quiet self-
control which usually belongs to maturer age. It was
the same with his religion. Although on some points
he already had perplexities, yet his piety was of so
settled a kind that it had lost self-consciousness ; and
I never saw so much devotion combined with so much
geniality in so young a man. There was nothing
singular in his habits. For exercise he usually walked ;
but he was fond of an occasional ride. He used also
to drill as a member of the University Rifle Corps. In
Hall at the scholars' table he usually carved, as being
the best hand at it amongst us. After dinner at times
he played a good deal at chess. But what he liked
the most was to welcome the more thoughtful men to
his rooms, where we discussed everything human and
divine, and argued as only young men can about
philosophy and life. Such discussion was what Bazely
enjoyed ; never was there a man more tolerant of other
men's opinions. A year or two later, when he was
being drawn nearer to Presbyterianism, his chief com
panion was S. W. Skeffington (then a scholar of
Brasenose), the devout author of The Sinless Sufferer ,

28 HENRY BAZELY. [chap.
and I believe that some parts of that very book were
prepared when the author was sharing the same lodgings
with Bazely in Grove Street. Widely as they differed
in theology, they were fast friends. It was the same
thing in our College Debating Society, which he chiefly
organised and which often met in his rooms. His
speeches were always interesting ; he liked arguing, and
would at times defend a paradox. All who knew him
were aware of a dry humour which was seldom long
in showing itself. I recollect a story of his which he
told to show how, with sufficient assurance, you may
represent a positive defect as a singularity, as even
a distinction, as almost an advantage. It was about a
poor hack with which once or twice he had to content
himself when he went too late to the stables and the
better mounts were out. 'Is he good for a jump?'
said Bazely. ' Jump ! ' replied the stable-man, ' this horse
would never jump ; he couldn't do it. There isn't the
man in England that could get this horse over a two
foot fence, not with spurs or anything.' Bazely said he
felt quite taken aback, and put in the wrong at once.
As a scholar he was sound and thorough ; but
although he had a real gift for acquiring languages, he
cared less for the manner than for the matter of ancient
authors. He was a great reader, with a wonderful
power of accumulating knowledge. Yet he carried his
learning lightly, and was the furthest remove from a
pedant. We all thought the reason why he missed his
first in Greats was because he read too assiduously, and
allowed himself less time than he required to digest his

n.] UNDERGRADUATE LIFE. 29
reading by means of essay -writing. His books he
usually underlined with pencil, and wrote marginal
jottings to help him find his way again to the salient
passages. He seemed to like to possess the books he
read ; thus his library soon grew, and this seemed the
only luxury he allowed himself. Amid all the pressing
engagements of his later life he never outgrew his
affection for old-book stalls.
He appeared to me to be not so much insensible to
the charms of nature and of art as resolved to let these
pass, as not helping him in the life he had set before
him. I used to regret that he did not develop more
the imaginative side of his nature, and I jokingly told
him he ought to be a lawyer — so logical was his mind,
and so free from emotional bias. But, in truth, his
strongest interests centred in human nature, which he
studied eagerly in every phase. He liked to see men
as they are ; he never lived in a fool's paradise. In
1863 he went up to London, at the time of the Prince
of Wales' marriage, to see the illuminations. Together
with two other Brasenose men he walked about London
all night — from Regent Street to London Bridge, and
then back to Paddington Hotel. For some hours he
was a prisoner in a helpless crowd that blocked the
street. It was what he liked ; it gave him experience
of the humours of a mob. In 1863 he got an order for
the Oxford Assizes to watch from beginning to end a
trial for murder, and on 24th March he went with a friend
to see the execution. "We both wanted to see one
execution" (writes his companion, after an interval of

30 , HENRY BAZELY. [chap.
twenty -two years), "to watch the crowd, etc., and to
form a genuine opinion for ourselves upon the subject
of public executions. And we both condemned them
as brutalising and disgusting, without anything to solem
nise or awe the spectators, and with much to do them
harm." Bazely spoke strongly in a debate soon
afterwards against public executions. He again wit
nessed the Assizes in 1864. Looking back upon it
all, I can see that he was being trained, more than he
knew, for the work he was afterwards to do.
At Christmas 1865 he obtained a second class
in the Final Classical School, a result which
disappointed all his friends. His failure was
through no lack either of ability or diligence ;
his father truly speaks of him as " pursuing his
studies assiduously, and — only to please me —
ambitiously." But it is likely that his distaste
for much of the current philosophy had something
to do with his class. He was perpetually think
ing, but on his own lines ; and he wrote but little.
Moreover, theological questions were already
absorbing his chief attention ; already he was
debating in his mind about the true ideal of
Church government. His father wrote to him
14th December 1865, two days before the class
list came out :

n.] UNDERGRADUATE LIFE. 31
My dear old Hen — I cannot but hope that you
rate too low your work in the schools, and that your
position will not be lower than the second class. ... It
will certainly be hard upon you, after all your care, and
(as to real attainments) successful study, to have failed
at all. I pray, however, dear old Hen, that such result
may not discourage you. Such things have happened
occasionally to eminent men ; and I hope you may still
enjoy and improve the remainder of your time at
Oxford. . . .
He took his degree of B.A. at once. But he
held an Exhibition which required him to keep
terms and study at Oxford for two years after
putting on his gown. To this his father's letter
refers.

CHAPTER III.
FIRST VISITS TO SCOTLAND.
1866-1869.
But O blithe breeze ! and O great seas,
Though ne'er, that earliest parting past,
On your wide plain they join again,
Together lead them home at last.
One port, methought, alike they sought,
One purpose hold where'er they fare, —
O bounding breeze, O rushing seas !
At last, at last, unite them there ! A. H. Clough.
Henry Bazely was now in his twenty-fourth
year, but he looked even older ; and his outward
appearance underwent little change until his last
illness. He was of about the middle height
and spare in frame ; but active, healthy, and
light in his movements. His manner was
pleasant and cheerful, though sedate. At first
you thought him reserved ; but as soon as you
knew him, he proved a charming companion.
His eyes beamed with truth, and his mouth and

chap, in.] FIRST VISITS TO SCOTLAND. 33
chin spoke of determination. His character by
this time was fully formed. He had an iron
will, the slave of a scrupulous conscience ; and
his mind was of that logical order which
presses every truth to its ultimate consequences,
and dislikes hesitation or compromise. But his
character was as pure and as gentle as it was
strong ; and there was no end to his kindness.
Having taken his B.A. degree, his next duty
was to decide upon a profession. Many things
pointed him to the work of the ministry. The
study he loved best was theology, and while yet
an undergraduate he had been much occupied
with religious questions. In 1864 he had been
appointed to one of the valuable Hulme Exhibi
tions at his college, which required the holders of
them to reside in the University for two years
after the B.A. degree, and to devote themselves to
theological reading. Nothing could be more to
his mind ; and one fruit of his study was that
he gained the Denyer and Johnson Theological
Scholarship in March 1868. He had for some
time past been allied with the Evangelical Church
men of Oxford, and was a constant frequenter of
Mr. Christopher's meetings ; he was elected a
D

34 HENRY BAZELY. [chap.
member of the Oxford Union for private prayer
in 1866. It was hoped that he would now seek
Holy Orders in the Church of England ; but this
he could not see his way to do, for he was
becoming a decided Calvinist and had doubts
about Episcopacy. So much did these questions
disturb him that, after much thought and study,
he determined to go to Scotland in the autumn
of 1866, and see Presbyterianism actually at
work. It was not his first visit to Scotland, for
he had spent July and August of the previous
year reading with a pupil at Dunoon. This time
he was alone ; but he travelled to Scotland, as
before, by sea ; and without staying at Aberdeen
or the Orkneys he pushed on to the Shetlands
and spent Sunday, 5th August, at Lerwick. He
made his way by yacht to Unst on Tuesday the
7th. The Rev. David Johnston, then minister of
Unst, gives the following account of the visit :
It was on Saturday afternoon, the nth day of
August 1866, in the island of Unst, Shetland, the most
northern parish in the British Isles, that Mr. Bazely and
I became acquainted with each other. He had travelled
by sea from London to Shetland on a summer visit, and
as he was detained in Unst by stress of weather two or
three days longer than he intended to stay, the parish-

in.] FIRST VISITS TO SCOTLAND. 35
ioner whose guest he was brought him to the manse,
where (much to my enjoyment) he spent the evening
with me. In the course of our conversation I was
struck by the circumstance that, though he had been
trained in the Church of England, of which his father is
a clergyman, he appeared to be strongly in favour of the
simple forms of worship which characterise genuine
Scottish Presbyterianism, and admired the constitution
of the Church of Scotland as by law established. This
I learned, not specially in reply to inquiries of mine,
but from his own spontaneous remarks. Instead of
leaving the island on Monday the 13th, as he had
purposed to do, he came at my request to the manse,
and stayed with me till the 24th. In this way that
intimate friendship was formed which subsisted without
interruption for above sixteen years, till the date of his
lamented decease on the ist day of March 1883.
The following letter to Mr. Johnston, written
upon his return home to Tunbridge Wells, gives
his retrospect of the tour : Sept. n, 1866.
My dear Mr. Johnston — According to promise I
will send you just a few lines to tell you of my safe
return home. . . . We had a good passage to Aberdeen,
where we arrived on Wednesday morning ; and as the
steamboat for London was not to sail till 9 p.m., I had
ample time to explore Aberdeen and get a good view
of the place. The day was cloudy, which caused the

36 HENRY BAZELY. [chap.
handsome granite buildings to look rather dull. I went
over the two colleges, and inspected with some interest
the lecture -room for the Divinity students. After a
long and (during the latter part) rather tempestuous
passage we reached London on Friday evening, and I
got home that night between n and 12, and was glad
to find my parents quite well. It is with great pleasure
and thankfulness that I look back on my visit to
Shetland, and especially on the ten days which I spent
at your manse. My chief object in going to the North
this summer — namely, that I might get some insight
into the actual working of the Church of Scotland — has
been accomplished, through the ordering of God's pro
vidence, to an extent far beyond what I ever anticipated.
I bought in Aberdeen Dr. King's book on Church
Government, and Dr. Cook's Procedures in the Ecclesi
astical Courts, the perusal of which will give me clear
ideas upon the theory and practice of a Presbyterian
Church. But I often wish myself in your study to talk
over with you certain difficulties which now and then
come to my mind. . . .
At the close of the vacation he again writes :

To the Rev. D. Johnston.
Dover, Oct. 2, 1866.
... I have enjoyed my stay here very much ; this
town is the birthplace of both my parents and their
ancestors for some generations, and we have many

ni.] FIRST VISITS TO SCOTLAND. 37
relations and friends still residing here. ... I have been
attempting (though my time has been much interrupted)
to make up for the agreeable period of intellectual
idleness — comparative at least — in which I indulged
myself when with you in August. Mosheim's Ecclesiast
ical History and the Hebrew grammar have been the
works which I have taken in hand, and in which I have
made some progress. . . . All influences around me
tend to keep me within the communion of the English
Church. I must make a long and prayerful investiga
tion before I renounce the position of an Evangelical
minister in that body of professing Christians in which,
by God's providence, I was born and educated. To
desert the English Church might appear to many a
practical condemnation of such men as  and others
whom I love and reverence, and cannot endure to think
dishonest. But I have no time just now to write more
on this matter. You will pray, my dear friend, that
God will direct and teach me in the way wherein I shall
go, and guide me with His eye. . . .
He returned to Oxford for October term, which
he spent busily enough. Besides his own studies,
attending lectures, and coaching a pupil, he was
engaged in a variety of religious undertakings with
one or two friends. His diary mentions frequent
prayer-meetings on Monday afternoons as well as
Saturday evenings, district visiting at Botley and
other villages near Oxford, tract distributing, a

38 HENRY BAZELY. [chap.
Wednesday afternoon service at the workhouse,
cottage lectures, and other tasks. He was also
agitating at the Union debates for the closing of
the rooms on Sunday ; and was a member of the
" New Vitality," a society of religious University
men of various views, in which papers were read
and followed by discussion. Many of these
engagements were but a continuation of work
begun early in the year, as soon as he was through
the schools. His doings at this time are described
in a letter to Mr. Johnston, dated October 24 :
My dear Mr. Johnston — I am extremely busy this
week, but will steal a few minutes to thank you for your
last, received on Thursday. . . . We have just had here
some mournful results of High Church teaching — five
perversions to Romanism. First a B.A. of Merton who
seceded from the Established Church during the vacation,
and has published a letter to one of his University
friends containing the reasons which chiefly influenced
him to change his faith. He has been followed by a
B.A. of Balliol, very successful in the schools, the son of
a Scotch minister in Edinburgh, — also a scholar and a
commoner from the same college, and another commoner
from Trinity,- — who were all received into the Roman
Communion last Sunday week. It is rumoured that
some twenty or more undergraduates are on the verge
of secession, and that Dr. Newman is coming himself to

in.] FIRST VISITS TO SCOTLAND. 39
Oxford next week to receive a very distinguished Oxonian
into his church. I do not give much credit to these
floating reports, but some considerable defection to
Popery from the English Church at this time would not
surprise me. ... At such a crisis as is the present time,
I am still more uncertain about the propriety of deserting
the English Church, when the numbers of her Evangelical
ministers are decreasing every year. But I would like
to see reformation in her government, doctrines, and
worship. There were well nigh forty men present at
Mr. Christopher's prayer-meeting last Saturday. . . .
Next Sunday Canon Carus, one of the most able of the
Evangelical party, is coming to preach at St. Aldate's.
I have a great deal of work on my hands just now — the
instruction of a backward pupil, preparation for a re
ligious address to be given at the workhouse, arrange
ment of a Missionary meeting, and Hebrew and other
theological lectures. . . .
His mind was still undecided about his allegiance
to the Church, and he determined again to visit
Scotland. His plans are best described in his own
words : To his Father. 5 Grove Street,
Oxford, Nov. 30, 1866.
. Dr. Shirley was buried at noon on Tuesday. I
happened to be in Ch. Ch. with Payne Smith at the
time, so I went to the service in the Cathedral, which

40

HENRY BAZELY. [chap.

was well attended by the members of the college and
other private friends of the deceased professor. ... I
have just had a curacy offered to me at one of the
city churches ; the incumbent is a decided Evangelical
minister, whose views and my own are almost entirely
en rapport with each other. Further, if I were to be
ordained in the Church of England, there is no place in
which I could wish my first duties to be laid rather than
in Oxford. The privilege of continuing to hold my
Exhibition — a practice heartily sanctioned by the college
authorities — affords me obvious, and, I think, lawful
inducement. Still more attractive is the prospect of
enjoying the society of Mr. Christopher and other parish
ministers here, as well as that of various undergraduate
friends. But I cannot deny that I am conscious of
difficulties as to the tenability of the position occupied
by the Evangelical clergy in the Established Church. I
may say that my opinions are substantially identical with
those held by the extreme section of that party, and I
believe — as a matter of historical investigation — that
these men are on the whole truer representatives of the
early English reformers than any other clergymen in
cluded in the pale of the Establishment. Some of their
doctrines, however, and yet more of their practices, do
appear to me to be irreconcilable with the formularies to
which they pledged themselves by their ordination vows.
Nor as yet have I met with a satisfactory defence of
their consistency, either in their writings or conversation.
. . . Suppose, however, that I could in good conscience
sign the Articles and the 36th Canon ... I have the

m.] FIRST VISITS TO SCOTLAND. 41
gravest doubts whether the Bishop of this diocese would
consider me a fit person to be admitted to the diaconate,
holding as I do even more pronounced views than those
ministers to whom I allude, on such subjects as the
government of the Church, the functions of the Christian
ministry, and sacramental grace. I am fully persuaded,
after long and prayerful study, that the system of theology
commonly called Calvinistic in its important features
most nearly harmonises with the teaching of Holy Scrip
ture. This being so, it is natural that I should have
perused with interest and satisfaction the Confession of
Faith subscribed by the ministers of a sister Church of
the Reformation, modelled in all respects very similarly
to the Church of Geneva. I cannot but believe that the
opportunities of becoming acquainted with the doctrine
and practice of the Church of Scotland were afforded
me by the special guidance of Providence. I have
entertained the idea as possible of receiving Orders in
that Church, for I have at times felt that on the whole
the doctrine, discipline, and worship of that communion
is more scriptural than that of the Church of England.
But — not to mention certain practical difficulties and
worldly considerations which might tempt me not to
take such a step — I think it may be a duty, if possible
salva conscientia, to enter the ministry of the English
Church, especially at this time, when, by their own
confession, the Evangelical party are losing ground, and
so many ministers of the Church in doctrine and practice
openly propagate the worst errors of Rome. I shrink
also from practically condemning the position of Low

42 HENRY BAZELY. [chap.
Churchmen as at least inexplicable, if not dishonest. I
have written at some length, not because I wish to raise
a controversy which would be at once painful and un
profitable on these points, as to which you and I see so
differently, but that you may know what subject is
occupying my thoughts just now, and may appreciate at
least the reason which keeps me in a state of indecision,
i.e. my difficulty respecting the consistency of the Evan
gelical clergy. . . . To his Father. Dec. 5, 1866.
. Of course I should never for a moment imagine
that you would allow your affection for me to be
diminished because I acted in religious questions ac
cording to the dictates of my conscience, even if I had
fallen into either of the most alluring snares of the
present age — Popery or Rationalism — from which God
in His mercy has preserved me. I know this, that
whether I should be a minister of the Church of England
or of the Church of Scotland, my love for you and
mamma would not be a whit the less, and, though I
should regret the want of perfect uniformity in our
sentiments, I should trust that on all the fundamental
truths of the Gospel, though we could not fully realise
it, there would be agreement between us. No earthly
differences of opinion, inseparable from our present
state, can sunder the bond of union existing between
the members of the one true Church of Christ. ... I
shall certainly go up to Scotland either this vacation or

ni.] FIRST VISITS TO SCOTLAND. 43
at Easter, that I may obtain thorough acquaintance with
the northern Church, which is indispensable before I pro
ceed further. . . . To his Father. 5 Grove Street,
Oxford, Dec. 9, 1866.
My dear Papa — I received your and mamma's kind
letters yesterday. What I am going to write will, I
know, grieve you ; but in such a matter I must do that
which, after long consideration, I believe to be right.
I mentioned in my last my intention of going to Scotland
either this vacation or at Easter. I have just heard that
the latter time would be after the close of the Divinity
Sessions at the Scotch Universities ; so I have determined
to go up to Aberdeen at once, i.e. next Wednesday, in
order that I may attend some of the lectures of the
theological professors, which are just commencing.
This is Undoubtedly the best way of becoming acquainted
with the doctrine and practice of the Church of Scotland ;
and, moreover, should I ever seek ordination in that
Church, previous attendance at two or more sessions, I
am informed, is indispensable. . . . My visit to the
North may possibly result in my discovering as great or
greater obstacles to my ordination in the Scotch than in
the English Church. But I am persuaded that it is my
duty in this matter to prove all things. ... If I take
orders in the English Church, I shall never regret
having witnessed and shared in what is confessed to be
a very excellent course of education for the ministers of

44 HENRY BAZELY. [chap.
a reformed Church, for which I shall always entertain a
high regard .... I do not expect to come to a final
decision for five or six months at the least. The only
thing which makes me very sad and has caused me
much inward struggle is the disappointment at not
spending the vacation at home with you and dear
mamma ; but this I must make up my mind to bear,
and I will ask you not to add to my sorrow by attributing
to me in your thoughts any want of love to you both.
... I feel an irresistible impulse to go to Scotland,
which I may not disobey. . . . — Your very affectionate
son, H. C. B. B.
Few things, apart from moral lapse, bring such
sorrow into a family as religious severance : in
this case the love between child and parents was
strong enough to bear the strain, as their answers
to his letter show.
From his Mother.
Tunbridge Wells, Dec. 10, 1866.
My dearest Henry — Of course I feel much dis
appointed at not having the happiness of seeing you this
Christmas, but I will try and bear it cheerfully on dear
papa's account, as well as on your own, and knowing
that it is a cross laid on me for some wise purpose by
God, who does not afflict willingly any of His servants ;
I am certain it is no want of love on your part which

in.] FIRST VISITS TO SCOTLAND. 45
leads you from home, but the necessity of coming to a
decision on an all-important subject. I have no doubt
but that it has made you feel very unhappy, and caused
you many a struggle. I have always found you the
kindest and most affectionate of sons, and I feel con
fident that you will ever continue so ; my prayers will
be with you, my darling, wherever you go. I hope you
will take care of yourself during your long journey and
wrap up well . . . God for ever bless you, my own
darling ; may He guide you into all truth. . . .
From his Father.
Tunbridge Wells, Dec. 10, 1866.
As I said in my last, dear old Hen, God's will be
done. God bless, preserve, direct you. Your affection
ate father, T. T. B.
jP.S. — If you want money, you will let me know.
The following letters to his friend, Mr. Johnston,
reveal his impressions of what he saw and heard
at Aberdeen : 2 St. Mary's Place,
Aberdeen, Dec. 20, 1866.
My dear Johnston — I arrived here last Friday
afternoon. I called on Dr. Pirie 1 on the evening of
my arrival, and introduced myself with your letter. He
was very courteous, and said he should be very glad to
1 Principal and Vice-chancellor of the University of Aberdeen.
He died November 3, 1885, aged 82.

46 HENRY BAZELY. [chap.
see me at his lectures, and furnish me with any informa
tion, etc., which I might require. ... I commenced
attending lectures on Monday. Dr. M'Pherson is
occupied just now with demolishing the sceptical positions
of Strauss and Renan, and Dr. Pirie with the Church
history of the fourth century. The lectures promise to be
very interesting and useful ; they are certainly superior
in style, if not in matter also, to most of those that I
have listened to at Oxford. I am told that Dr. Milligan
is an able lecturer ; so I shall ask if I may join his class
also. Dr. Pirie seems to be decidedly clever, though
somewhat eccentric. He often makes very original
remarks ; but he possesses very little veneration for the
early Fathers, and interprets in rather lax fashion the
Confession of Faith of his own Church. ... I am quite
ashamed of the theological education at an English
University, as compared with the thorough system of
training ministers adopted here. ... On Sunday I went
to the West and East Churches, and heard the same
preacher both in morning and afternoon. The sermons
were elegant compositions, but not evangelical enough
for my taste. ... I am enjoying my uninterrupted
evenings for reading, which are rarely obtainable in
Oxford. . . .
To the Same. 2 St. Mary's Place,
Aberdeen, Jan. 4, 1867.
... I am still attending regularly the lectures of the
three professors, and certainly find them both interesting

in.] FIRST VISITS TO SCOTLAND. 47
and profitable, — superior, too, both in style and matter
to many which I have listened to in Oxford. . . . The
course of education for the ministry appears to be in
itself very excellent and thorough, but I must confess I
do not see any good effects of it in the students. They
strike me as being a very worldly set of men, addicted
— which is perhaps a national failing — to smoking and
whiskey drinking. ... I am very much disappointed.
I certainly expected to find the candidates for the
ministry of the Church of Scotland very superior, in a
spiritual point of view, to the majority of those preparing
for ordination in Oxford ; but the very reverse I find
to be the case. The custom of opening the several
lectures with prayer in itself I like very much ; but the
practice common among the students of censuring or
ridiculing the prayers of the professors and their fellow-
students makes me gravely doubt the expediency of
extempore worship. I thought such an abuse almost
impossible before I had experience of it ; but it is
certainly more repulsive to all feelings of reverence than
the formality too often engendered by a liturgy. . . .
To the Same. 5 Grove Street,
Oxford, Jan. 29, 1867.
. I enjoyed my intercourse with  very much.
He is one of a type of ministers which I am afraid is
fast diminishing in numbers in the Church of Scotland.
What I said in my last about the Scottish clergy is

48 HENRY BAZELY. [chap.
confirmed by what I saw and heard in  . With
the exception of  , I did not meet any whom from
their conversation I should judge to be "Evangelicals."
They all appeared to me to answer rather to the class
of English clergy called "high and dry Anglicans." I
was informed also by some Free Church and Episco
palian friends of mine that very little Gospel truth was
preached from the pulpits of the Establishment in  ,
the  being an honourable exception, and that the
ministers of  neglected their parishes shamefully,
and were notorious for their worldly habits. No doubt
these statements are to a certain extent exaggerated by
party prejudice, but from my own observation I can
readily believe that there is a good deal of truth in
them. ... I am sorely tempted to seek the more
congenial society of the Evangelicals in the English
Church. And yet the more I examine the theory of
the Church of Scotland, her doctrine, government, and
worship, the more I am constrained to confess that she
comes nearer than any other Christian Church to the
model of Holy Scripture. If well administered, I know
no church more calculated to train up the members of
Christ's mystical body in faith and holiness. It may be
that I expected too much. I did expect to find that
the majority of the clergy of such a church were men
of superior spiritual attainments, but I must own that I
have been greatly disappointed ; and from what I have
seen of the divinity students, there does not appear to
be much reason for anticipating better things in future.
I shall certainly not make any application to the

m.] FIRST VISITS TO SCOTLAND. 49
Assembly till 1868. I require yet more time after
this visit to Scotland to come to a decision. ... I do
not at all regret having spent my vacation in Scotland.
I have gained a good deal of information about
ecclesiastical affairs in the North — a subject upon
which I find that most English people are extremely
ignorant ; but, as I said before, I am disappointed.
To the Same. 5 Grove Street,
Oxford, Feb. 8, 1867.
... I dare say you may be right in saying that the
candidates for the ministry of the English Church are
not as a whole more satisfactory. The fact is that I
expected to find in Scotland the majority of the students
such as a select few are here, and the majority of the
ministers such men as Christopher, etc., — both which
expectations were perhaps unreasonable. . . .
He spent the Lent and Summer terms at
Oxford, studying theology and working as before.
In the Long Vacation he again visited Mr.
Johnston at Unst ; the trip is thus described
by the Rev. A. C. Downer :
After taking part in some evangelistic services in
the district of Silverdale,1 we proceeded together north-
1 Some account of these services, and of Bazely's share in them,
will be found at the beginning of the next chapter.

5o HENRY BAZELY. [chap.
ward and made a short stay in Edinburgh, where we
were joined by our friend Bontein. We made some
interesting excursions, one of which took us down the
Clyde to Rothesay. On August 30th we took a steamer,
and leaving the port of Leith proceeded up the east
coast of Scotland, touching at Aberdeen and Wick on
the way to the Shetland Islands. At Wick, about
5 a.m., we saw the interesting sight of 2000 fishing
boats returning from their night's work. At Kirkwall
in the Orkneys we went on shore and visited the
ancient cathedral. The steamer went no farther than
Lerwick ; but a sailing packet conveyed us an additional
forty miles to Unst, where we were received by our
friend the Rev. D. Johnston, minister of the island,
now minister of Harray in Orkney, and then an
undergraduate of Oxford. Under his hospitable roof
we spent a delightful month, passing the time in reading
and conversation, mingled with walks and preaching
excursions in various parts of the island. On Sundays
we attended the parish church, and were much edified
by the willingness of the people to undergo fatigue in
attending the services. Some of them had to walk
several miles to church, often in the rain (for it seemed
to rain almost every day), and to wait with but little
shelter between the services.
Bazely himself wrote on September 1 2 :
We have been here now for some ten days, and
had very prosperous voyages hither. Some meetings
have been held on this island since our arrival, at which

in.] FIRST VISITS TO SCOTLAND. 51
Downer and Bontein have given addresses. The people
are much more religiously disposed than is usually the
case in the South, and possess a very good head know
ledge of the Bible. But though this is extremely
satisfactory and encouraging, there is always a danger
lest the heart and conscience may never have been
reached. . . .
He spent October term in Oxford as before,
with increasing devotion to good works, and a
growing wish for entire dedication to God. This
he reveals in a letter written December 10th to a
. lady (a very intimate friend) who had invited him
to a Shakspeare reading at her house, such as he
had often taken part in before :
I have just heard from my father of your kind
invitation to me to form one of your party for reading
Shakspeare on the 20th. I feel that it is my duty to
refuse this and all similar invitations, as I ought hence
forth to devote every moment of time to preparation for the
ministry. Moreover, even if I had not the ministerial
office in near prospect, I should not feel myself justified
in spending hours in secular occupations which might
be spent in efforts, direct or at least indirect, to reach
the thousands of unsaved souls around us, and to lead
them to Jesus. I have lately been, and am now, engaged
in evangelistic work ; and I believe it is God's will that
I should for the future give up occupations (it may be)
harmless in themselves, which, even if they do not unfit

52 HENRY BAZELY. [chap.
me for doing God's work, yet consume many precious
hours. Our friendship induces me thus to express
without reserve to you my sentiments, and not to
content myself with sending an unexplained refusal to
your kind invitation. With best regards, etc.
In 1868 he spent January 9th-24th at Edin
burgh as a Divinity student, having matriculated
at the University. He also took a short trip to
Aberdeen and Orkney in the autumn of this year.
He had now definitely made up his mind to join
the Church of Scotland, at least as a layman.
His decision to leave the English Church was
shown by his taking the degree of B.C.L. on
February 27th, instead ofthe usual M.A. ; a B.C.L.
was not required to sign the xxxix Articles. His
secession was now well known, and provoked some
remarkable comments. In a letter to the Times
dated August 22, 1868, Dr. Pusey was arguing
against the necessity for the further abolition of
tests, and wrote : "This year even a Divinity scholar
ship (I was myself an examiner) was awarded to
one who was about to be a minister in the Estab
lishment in Scotland." More curious was a con
versation with Bishop Gray, described in a letter of
Bazely's father :

in.] FIRST VISITS TO SCOTLAND. 53
Dover, Oct. 31, 1868.
On Saturday I had to meet at dinner the Bishop of
Cape Town at Mr. Puckle's, when the following incident
occurred. After an animated debate with the Bishop
about Gladstone, we talked on Pusey's letter to the
Wesleyan Conference. This led to the mention by the
Bishop of the infidelity of Dons in Oxford ; then was
noticed the religious leanings and doings of the junior
members, during which discussion I mentioned you as
having part in the " Evangelical " movements among that
body. Then the Bishop said, " I hear that there is a
Brasenose man who has distinguished himself in the
schools, who has great influence with the undergraduates
in the way of evangelicalism ; he is, I am told, the son of
a Presbyterian minister, and is now undecided between
Presbyterianism and Episcopalian Orders, and I have no
doubt, Mr. Bazely, that your [son is under his influence."
" My Lord," I said, " my son himself is, I doubt not, the
man of whom you speak — not the son of a Presbyterian
minister inclining to Episcopacy, but the son of an
Episcopalian minister inclining to Presbyterianism." You
may fancy the Bishop's astonishment, first at finding
his observation so met, and then (as he bade me to tell
you) at the fact — unparalleled, he said, and opposite to
the current examples and tendency of the day — of
Presbyterianism being preferred to Episcopacy ; and
when I told him that you claim preference for it, both
from Scripture and early Church history, he was more
amazed than I ever saw any man to be at an intel-

54 HENRY BAZELY. [chap.
lectual phenomenon. But I have no doubt you are
the Brasenose man meant ; and also I fancy you must
be the Divinity scholar alluded to by Pusey in his
letter to the Times — though he ought to have known
who you were, and not have written as if you were a
dissenter. Nevertheless, although he considered himself
now as a lay member of the Church of Scotland, he
hesitated to seek for ordination. He preferred
for the present to do religious work as a layman.
He writes to Mr. Johnston on December 10,
1868, from Oxford :
... I have been up during the whole of the term,
and have been assisting Christopher as stipendiary lay-
curate in parochial work, doing in fact all that an
ordained curate would do out of the material church.
And I shall probably continue in the same capacity till
Easter, as he does not expect to obtain a regular curate
before then. My time has thus been very fully occupied,
as there are a great many sick and poor to be visited,
besides prayer meetings and cottage lectures almost every
day. But I have been doing some Hebrew with Pusey,
and attended some other theological lectures. . . .
He continued working as a regular lay-helper
at St. Aldate's until December 1869; and the
experience he gained by so doing was invaluable.
In December 1869, after examination by the

in.] FIRST VISITS TO SCOTLAND. 55
Presbytery of Edinburgh, and having delivered the
requisite discourses, he became a licentiate of the
Church of Scotland. The account of this is best
given in Mr. Johnston's own words :
In pursuance of his inclination to join the Church of
Scotland, he spent a short time at the Divinity classes
in the universities of Aberdeen and Edinburgh, supple
menting thereby the theological training he had in
Oxford, and getting some practical insight into the
nature of pastoral work in the Church of Scotland.
Under the sanction of the General Assembly he was
licensed by the Presbytery of Edinburgh on the 29th of
December 1869, the late Dr. Crawford, Professor of
Divinity in the University of Edinburgh (who took a
warm and friendly interest in him), presiding on the
occasion. It may be explained, for the information of
readers unacquainted with Scottish Presbyterianism, that
a licentiate is a layman licensed to preach as a candi
date for the ministry, and as such to conduct ordinary
public worship, but not to dispense sealing ordinances.
License confers eligibility for appointment to a parochial
charge.

CHAPTER IV.
EARLY EVANGELISING EFFORTS.
1866-1869.
The Son of God goes forth to war,
A kingly crown to gain ;
His blood-red banner streams afar :
Who follows in His train ? Bishop Heber.
From Christmas 1865, when he took his B.A.
degree, until his death in 1883, Bazely made his
home in Oxford ; and, although the continuity of
his life might be thought broken by his alternation
between Presbyterianism and Episcopacy, his reli
gious difficulties made no practical difference to
his outward life. He was from first to last an
evangelist, and the greater part of his time and
strength during all these years was spent in
ministering to the souls and bodies of the poor.
The preceding chapter has alluded to his mission
ary efforts during 1866. Mr. Downer's descrip
tion belongs to this and the following years :

chap, iv.] EARLY EVANGELISING EFFORTS. 57
The first time I met him was on the occasion of a
visit to Oxford from school in the spring of 1866, to be
examined for a scholarship. I had been invited to
luncheon by my elder schoolfellow, Mr. S. W. Skeffing
ton, on the Sunday, and Bazely was there. Both were
lodging at No. 5 Grove Street, the scene of many happy
hours in after days. In October of the same year
(1866) I began residence at Brasenose (dear Bazely's
college), and together with C. S. Bontein of Oriel, had
an introduction to the Rev. A. M. W. Christopher,
whose Saturday evening meetings for University men we
attended in S. Aldate's Rectory room. Here we met
many earnest men, amongst whom were Bazely and
Nash. Next term (January 1867) Bontein and I com
menced some evangelistic meetings at the village of
Sutton. In February Bazely, learning of our plans, joined
us, together with C. H. Ward of Exeter College, and
gave addresses at the meetings. This, I afterwards
learned, was Bazely's first effort at public preaching. In
the summer term of the same year a remarkable series
of evangelistic meetings was organised in the Oxford
Town Hall, in consequence of an effort of Bazely's.
These encouraging meetings were continued for several
terms with crowded attendances, and Bazely was con
stantly working for them and enlisting the assistance of
others, principally undergraduates. It was during that
summer that some of our friends met in my rooms daily
at 8 p.m. for prayer for the work of God. Then, as the
term drew to an end, one of our friends, F. J. Chavasse
of Corpus Christi College, proposed that after the Long

58 HENRY BAZELY. [chap.

Vacation the meetings should be carried, with the per
mission of the Rector, to S. Aldate's Rectory — which
was accordingly done. Such was the origin of the
Undergraduates' Daily Prayer-Meeting, in the institution
and maintenance of which Bazely bore an important
part. When term was over, we spent a considerable part
ofthe Long Vacation of 1867 together. First, we spent
a week or two at Abingdon, which we had visited from
time to time for evangelistic work, preaching there and
in the surrounding villages, in barns, on village-greens,
or wherever we could collect the people together. In
August we went to Silverdale to be the guests of the
Rev. W. Shepheard, author of the well-known " Silverdale
Tracts," who was the father of our friend, C. C. W.
Shepheard (now Walwyn), of Wadham College.
Mr. Walwyn has described their visit :
They arrived on Thursday, 15th August, a week
before Mr. Haslam, and we employed the interval by
holding services daily in the villages round, by way of
preparing for his coming. The thing was a novelty,
alike to the neighbourhood and to myself, who had been
stirred into making the effort by the services at Oxford.
Specially fresh in my mind is the recollection of the first
Sunday dear Bazely was with us at Silverdale. Some
three miles away up the estuary of the Kent, and on its
eastern shore, was a village called Storth. It lay far
from church or school, and was spiritually in a state of
practical heathenism. A godly widow woman gladly

iv.] EARLY EVANGELISING EFFORTS. 59
offered us her cottage, and undertook to invite her
neighbours ; and in the evening Bazely, Downer, and I
set forth together. Our path lay amid scenery than
which it would be hard to find any more lovely, until
we reached the slope of the hillside above Storth. The
summer evening sun was gleaming across the estuary at
our feet ; beyond rose range upon range of hill and crag,
till in the background the eye rested on the blue peaks
of the Lake Mountains towering above all in solemn
grandeur. At the lane-end, amongst rocks and copse-
wood, stood the widow's cottage. We entered it, and
Bazely and Downer each in turn proclaimed the Word
of Life to the poor villagers assembled within. Night
after night was spent in like work amid the surround
ing villages, until they went on to Scotland together,
August 27.
Mr. Downer adds :
The following term, October 1867, we were con
stantly united in plans for the furtherance of the Gospel
work, many of which we talked over in his rooms in
Grove Street On one occasion we visited Woodstock
on "Troop Sunday," taking with us a large supply of
tracts for the crowds who came. We gave away great
numbers of these, and preached for several hours in
the market place, returning home at about ten o'clock
at night, having walked nearly twenty miles, and under
gone the fatigues of the day without a meal. The
following year we repeated our visit, but were better
provided for.

60 HENRY BAZELY. [chap.
It became clear at once that Bazely was
singularly qualified to do the work of an evangel
ist. He spoke out of a heart full of love to God and
man ; and every word had the persuasive force
of sincerity. His theological knowledge was
thorough and exact, so that his utterances were
always controlled by reason and good sense. He
had a fluent delivery, acquired by continual prac
tice in debating societies at Radley and Oxford ;
but his manner of speaking was calm and quiet,
well suiting the unassuming simplicity of his
appearance ; his style of address was very affec
tionate, but he appealed to the reason and con
science more than to the feelings ; he abhorred
irreverence and levity, and his thought and diction
were saturated with Holy Scripture. He soon
became a leader in all kinds of outdoor and ir
regular preaching. Already in 1867 the Evangel
isation Society sent him £40 to help him in the
work. In 1868-69 he held services of this kind
each Sunday afternoon in the Wheatsheaf Yard,
Oxford. These were removed to the large room at
40 Pembroke Street, from 28th November 1869.
The Town Hall services, already referred to, were
originated by him in 1867, and were repeated for

iv.] EARLY EVANGELISING EFFORTS. 61
five or six years in succession. Mr. Christopher
thus describes them :
For some years after taking his degree he promoted
evangelistic meetings in the Oxford Town Hall. Such
men as Mr. Robert Baxter, Mr. Stevenson Blackwood,
and Lord Radstock, were asked to give Gospel addresses
on these occasions. I remember the Town Hall being
crowded for four successive nights (through Bazely's
efforts) with working people, many of whom attended no
place of worship, to hear addresses of this kind from a
converted navvy. Bazely took care that, at the close of
the meeting, each of a thousand persons should receive
one of Houghton's penny Gospel books, A Saviour for
You ; Thy Day ; Faith — what it is and what it does ;
Heaven and how to get there, — a different one each
night. The cost was provided out of a sum of money
which a dying undergraduate requested his father to
send me.
The audiences consisted largely of working
people. Those who were impressed were visited
afterwards by the clergy and others-; careful lists
of names and addresses being kept by Bazely
himself. Apart from other results, there is no
doubt that these meetings had a lasting effect
upon the Evangelical movement among the Uni
versity men. Mr. Walwyn speaks of this :
Amongst the happy results of these services there was

62 HENRY BAZELY. [chap.
one upon which it is now very interesting to look back.
Not only were they the means of awakening some
amongst the undergraduates, who had previously been
careless, but they had the effect, in a remarkable manner,
of drawing together those who already knew the Lord
into closer and warmer sympathy, and more brotherly
fellowship and intercourse. Prominent amongst them was
dear Bazely, who was senior to most of us, and already a
graduate ; and it was in this way and at this time that
I was myself first drawn into close friendship with him.
Bazely's evangelistic efforts soon made him a
marked man both in and about Oxford, which
was very trying to one of his natural shyness of
temperament. But in fact his whole soul was on
fire with religious zeal, and this was the source of
his courage. It is true his methods were what
many would deem rash and unwise ; but none
can question his motives, or doubt that souls
were saved. And if, as is confessed, he showed
no hesitation in co-operating with English noncon
formists, and often ignored the parochial system
of the Church, it should be remembered that he
was himself attached to the Calvinistic doctrines
and Puritan worship of the Scottish Presbyterians,
and was not bound by his position to respect the
rules of the English Church. Certain features

iv.] EARLY EVANGELISING EFFORTS. 63
marked his work from the first. He had great
patience in dealing with details, and was an ex
cellent organiser. As such he was always ready
to plan and arrange for any kind of meeting, and
would undergo the greatest fatigue and annoyance
in distributing handbills or taking round invitations
to people to come, whereas at the meetings them
selves he never cared to speak (much as others
liked to hear him) unless he was wanted. With
characteristic humility he chose always the most
thankless, laborious share of the work. Another
feature was, that he liked not only to preach to
people, but to be much amongst them and show
them practical sympathy. He worked as an
evangelist in the spirit of our Lord's words, " If I
have washed your feet, ye also ought to wash one
another's feet."
It was of the greatest advantage to him when
Mr. Christopher enlisted him as a regular lay
helper in St Aldate's parish from October 1868
Until December 1869. Every kind of agency
that could be devised in a populous city parish,
worked on the Evangelical plan, was here in
operation. All sorts of philanthropic and mission
ary efforts fell to Bazely's task, to organise and

64 HENRY BAZELY. [chap.
to maintain. His diary at this time is a record of
ceaseless exertion, on Sunday and week day alike ;
and several of the more special methods of his
later labours took their origin from this period.
Thus in 1869, when the Oxford Militia was called
out for drill, he was anxious to do the men good
and show them Christian kindness. What, he
thought, must be the spiritual life of these rustic
lads, billeted for a month together in the public
houses of the city ! He organised a public tea
for them in the Corn Exchange on 1 8th May.
Tea was followed by addresses, as the following
entry in his diary shows :
May 18. — To station 5 p.m. to meet Ned Wright.
Militia Tea (800 men) in Corn Exchange, 5.45-9.
Neil M'Leod, master-gunner from the Tower, spoke on
Rev. i. 7 ; and Ned Wright on Acts xiii. 26-41. Ned
Wright and  to supper. Read 2 Cor. vi. 14— end
with  afterwards [this was a resident pupil].
This experiment he repeated in 1872. He
had gained his first experience of such a thing in
1868, when, under April 24, he notes: "Tea to
220 militia recruits in St. Aldate's schoolroom,
6-9 P.M. Christopher, Sergeant Rae (late Artil
lery), and I gave addresses." Still earlier, in 1865,

iv.] EARLY EVANGELISING EFFORTS. 65
on Sunday, May 7, he had attended St. Mary's to
hear the Bishop (Wilberforce) preach a sermon to
the militia. There is an entry in his pocket
account-book for May 4, 1869, which has a
pathetic connection with the Militia tea :
May 4. — Sold chain, pins, etc., for £,\ : 16s. ; to be
given to Militia Tea, or T. H. [i.e. Town Hall Services],
In his diary the entry to the same effect is
written partly in Hebrew to conceal the act. No
one probably, except God and himself, knew why
his plain gold watch chain had been exchanged
for a black silk ribbon. One or two other entries
from his diary during 1869 will show at a glance
what his life then was. It will be remembered
that he was at this time lay helper to Mr.
Christopher. Tuesday, Feb. 23. — Had letters from F  ¦ and
M  . Wrote to J. B  . To prayer -meeting at
noon (S  1 Sam. xviii. 38-53). Very fine and cold.
J  to dinner. To Cold Harbour Service 7 - 8 :
preached on 1 Pet. i. 1-2.  to Virgil and tea,
8.15-11. Here is the account of Sunday, Sept. 5 : it was
the day before St. Giles' fair ; on this Sunday
F

66 HENRY BAZELY. [chap.
the Summertown Road leading into Oxford is
thronged with holiday folk, who go out to see
the shows and vans that are approaching and
encamping near the town in readiness for the
morrow's festivities.
Sept. 5. — Fine and warm. To St. Aldate's School
9.30, to see teachers about coming out to preach in the
evening. To St. Aldate's (with  ) in morning.
(A. M. W. C. Matt. vi. 24). A. M. W. C. to dinner.
To Wheatsheaf [see p. 60] 3-3.50. I read Acts ii.
14-end, and H  preached on Ps. xxiii. From
4-9.45, between Summertown and St. Giles'; preaching,
singing hymns, tract- distributing with H  (R 
and C  with us). Had tea at Richmond Lodge,
S — ¦ — , G  spoke ; C  read Eph. ii.
This was a Sunday in the vacation ; here is a
Sunday in term time :
Oct. 17. — Had a letter from D. J. A. C. D. to
breakfast. To University sermon in morning. (Pusey,
John xviii. 37, 38). 1 Kings with  [a resident
pupil] 1 2-1 : lunch and walk. To Wheatsheaf 3-4.10;
read Eccl. ix. and Gal. vi. ; preached on John ix. 4
(collection 3s. 2^d.). To St. Aldate's in evening (A.
M. W. C, Gal. iii. 22-26); collection for Radcliffe
Infirmary. With  [the same pupil] till 11.
In 1 869 he spent his first Long Vacation in

iv.] EARLY EVANGELISING EFFORTS. 67
Oxford, and this experience suggested fresh open
ings for his zeal. The Oxford races took place
on Port Meadow on two days in August, and
here Bazely was led to make his first efforts on a
racecourse. Habited in the cap and gown of
his B.C.L. degree, and with a banner inscribed
with texts, he distributed religious leaflets and
books, and preached to the crowds as occasion
offered. His diary for 1869 has the following
entries :
Aug. 19. — Mr. G. H  arrived 2 p.m. ; with
him and Mr. H  on the racecourse preaching and
tract distributing, 3-7.15 : in open air till 9.45, St.
Aldate's Street. Took Bible class of young men, 8.45-
9.45. (Tit. ii. ad fin and iii. init.). Twenty present.
Called on J  , sick man, 10. p.m., in Blackfriars
Road. Aug. 20. — To noon prayer-meeting, and about the
town in morning with H  : to boys' school, where
H  spoke. To racecourse as yesterday, with
banner. Open air as yesterday, 8.45-9.45 ; down St.
Aldate's Street with banner. Very fine and warm.
The quiet of the Oxford Long Vacation is
rudely broken every year by St. Giles' fair. On
the first Monday and Tuesday after September 1
(St. Giles' Day), the grand street or Boulevard

68 HENRY BAZELY. [chap.
in front of St. John's College is for two days and
nights crowded with the barbarous picturesqueness
of a country pleasure-fair. Excursion trains run
from all quarters, and thousands of people from
the neighbouring towns and villages pour into the
city. Shows of every kind, merry-go-rounds,
menageries, stalls innumerable, discordant sounds
of all sorts of musical and unmusical instruments,
glare, confusion, crowding, rough -play, and (it
must be added) drunkenness and debauchery,
are in full activity from morning to midnight.
In 1869 Bazely made his first appearance at the
Fair. His diary contains the following entries,
which show him to have been struggling at the
time against indisposition :
Monday, Sept. 6. — Indoors all day with internal
pain. H-  went to the Fair with banner and tracts
from 3-5, and again preaching from 7-9.30.
Tuesday, Sept. 7. — Felt better ; to prayer-meeting at
noon, and with H  and banners to the Fair, 3-5
and 7.30-9.30. Great opposition in the evening, but
many attentive.
This exertion left him so unwell that for some
days he was in the doctor's hands, a very
unusual thing with him. Next year, assisted by

iv.] EARLY EVANGELISING EFFORTS. 69
some friends, he set up a regular stall at the Fair
for the sale of cheap religious and wholesome
literature, Bibles, periodicals, illustrated magazines,
etc. These found ready purchasers ; and at
intervals, as he had opportunity, he preached to
the crowds of pleasure -seekers. This work he
continued every year till he died. His letter to
the Oxford Times, written Sept. 12, 1871,
speaks for itself:
Sir — I venture to ask you kindly to insert these few
lines in reference to a letter from " Looker on" which
appears in your correspondent " Jack o' Lantern's "
Journal of last week. Most fully do I agree with him
in his desire for the suppression of St. Giles' fair, — the
evil connected with it is indeed far in excess of the
good. Again, as long as it is held, I quite agree with
him that some efforts should be made for the spiritual
benefit of those who are present at it. Gladly would I
have preached in the Fair, as I have done on former
occasions, if there had been a suitable opportunity.
Some open air services were held in the evening ; but
the noise was so great, and the excitement so general,
that it was inexpedient to attempt more in that direction.
I believe much good was done this year as well as last
year by the bookstall, at which I, and some friends who
kindly assisted me, sold Bibles and other Christian
books during each day, from the morning till midnight,
to the amount of ^23. On the former occasion ,£15

70 HENRY BAZELY. [chap.
worth only was disposed of. I feel sure many of your
readers will be interested in hearing that God's truth
was thus widely circulated. There was a specially large
demand for Bibles; also for copies of the Pilgrim's
Progress and Foxe's Book of Martyrs. ... I will just
add that tracts were widely distributed; for these
15s. 6d. was given me by several kind friends after the
service at the Martyrs' Memorial on the Sunday evening
before the Fair. Copies of the British Messenger and
other publications were taken round by myself and one
of the parochial ministers to every one of the travel
ling booths ; without exception these were thankfully
received. . . .
Already in 1867 he had begun to preach in
the open air, and had done so frequently at Ferry
Hinksey, and "in the garden of the public house"
at that village. His employment as lay worker
at St. Aldate's led him to do more of this kind of
work, and in the various alleys and lanes of that
crowded parish he was continually preaching in
the open air, or holding cottage meetings. His
diary mentions very often Cold Harbour, Floyd's
Row, Wyatt's Yard, Shepherd's Row, St. Aldate's
Street, and occasionally Abbey Place, the Hamel,
Bridewell Square, and Thames Street. These
labours he pursued very quietly, but so persist
ently, that they attracted public criticism ; and it

iv.] EARLY EVANGELISING EFFORTS. 71
was perhaps as a protest against such criticism
that a number of religious people of the middle
class united to make him a present. On Nov.
26, 1869, they gave him Guillemin on The
Heavens, with a simple address which ran as
follows :
To H. C. B. Bazely, Esq., B.C.L.,
Brasenose College.
Dear Sir — We, the undersigned citizens and residents
of Oxford, beg most respectfully to testify our sense of
gratitude that is due to you for the efforts you have
been putting forth in promoting the preaching of the
Gospel in the streets and lanes of our city during the
summer months, and beg your acceptance of this as a
memorial of our affection and regard for the service you
have rendered, assuring you that this is accompanied
with our earnest prayers for your future success and
happiness in such an important work. [64 signatures
are appended].
The selection of the book was probably
suggested by some one who knew that astronomy
was a favourite hobby of Bazely's. His diary
from time to time gives a careful description of
every eclipse of sun or moon which he was able
to witness ; with some younger pupils who were
under his charge in Oxford he worked a good

72 HENRY BAZELY. [chap.
deal with a telescope, and in 1875, on Sept. 15,
he gave a lecture on astronomy to the members of
the Young Men's Christian Association.
To Abingdon races he first went in 1870. His
diary contains the following entries :
Sept. 8. — To Abingdon with W  by 11.35 tram-
Dined at Lepine's, then to racecourse, L  with us,
I preached till stopped by clerk of the course ; gave away
tracts on the road back. To Oxford by 7.15 train.
Very fine, windy, W., rain in evening.
Sept. 9. — To Abingdon races with W  as yester
day. Fine, with heavy and lengthy showers in afternoon.
Mr. Lepine of Abingdon writes of him :
Mr. Bazely used to visit the Michaelmas Fair m
Abingdon, to sell Bibles and Testaments and various
religious books at a reduced price. Numbers gathered
round his bookstall, to whom he spoke of a Saviour,
awakening an interest in many that stood listening. He
also visited the racecourse to speak to the people and
distribute tracts.
With the experience gained at Oxford and at
Abingdon he proceeded to make similar visits to
most of the fairs and race meetings anywhere near
Oxford, and there lies before me a list of some
twenty-five fairs, with their dates and other particu-

iv.] EARLY EVANGELISING EFFORTS. 73
lars about them, which he drew up at this period
for his own use. His frequent employment in this
kind of work was so well known that Mr. Sydney
Linton (now Bishop of Riverina), in giving an
address in St. Aldate's Rectory room, said of him,
" If you want to find Bazely, you must look for
him in a crowd."
Another work which he made peculiarly his
own was preaching on Sunday evening at the
Martyrs' Memorial. This monument, a noble
specimen of the Gothic revival, and an early
triumph of Sir Gilbert Scott's, was reared by
Evangelical Oxford in 1841, in memory of the
martyrdom of Bishops Latimer, Cranmer, and
Ridley, and as a protest against the Tractarian
movement. It occupies the most beautiful and
perhaps the most conspicuous site in Oxford,
looking down upon the street which is annually
invaded in September by St. Giles' fair. It
seems as if Bazely's preaching at the Memorial
grew out of his efforts at the Fair, and partly also
out of those open air addresses which he delivered
at various places in the town, in order to draw
the people to come to the mission services held
in the Town Hall. Already, in 1867, he notes

74 HENRY BAZELY. [chap.
in his diary for Sunday, June 2, that he went
with some religious friends " to hear Spurgeon's
student, M'Farlane, preach at Martyrs' Memorial."
Bazely began preaching there in 1 870, and the
service was continued regularly from 1871
onwards, himself taking the principal share in
the work ; it was here that he and his friends
attracted the attention of M. Taine. Mr. Downer
describes his preaching :
Every Sunday evening, when service was over in the
churches, he preached at the Martyrs' Memorial ; and
those who have been present on these occasions will
bear witness that it was an unique and impressive sight.
Dressed in his college cap and B.C.L. gown, and
accompanied sometimes by a few undergraduates, or
townspeople, he would take his stand in the accustomed
place and give out a hymn ; then he would pray, and
commence his sermon. Basing all he said upon
Scripture, and bringing to bear upon the sacred text his
stores of theological learning, he soon arrested the
attention of his hearers, and with great clearness of
thought and logical power, in the strength of the Spirit
of God, brought his conclusions home to their conscience.
Sometimes his voice would rise so that its clear ringing
tones could be heard in the far distance, and then again
sink to a low tone, yet so distinct in its utterance that
he could always be followed. His whole being entered
into the subject. His spare frame moved and bent as

iv.] EARLY EVANGELISING EFFORTS. 75
his argument proceeded ; his upraised arm expressed
the intensity of his purpose; his flexible countenance
lent itself, sometimes almost oddly, to every change of
meaning ; while his large soft brown eyes, instinct with
thought, gazed round upon his hearers. Few indeed
were the sermons preached in Oxford of equal clear
ness and vigour of thought, soundness of Scriptural
exegesis and nervous power, with those preached by
Bazely at the Martyrs' Memorial.
Another singular method adopted by Bazely
to press upon men the " one thing needful," was
his distribution of tracts at the boat-races. Mr.
Christopher describes this :
The annual boat-races in Oxford used to last for eight
days in the summer term. A great multitude pours
down to them, including the greater portion of the
undergraduate members of the University. Bazely
looked upon this stream of young, vigorous, and in
fluential life with something of the mind of the Master
to whose service he was given up. He therefore care
fully selected beforehand eight intelligent well-written
Gospel tracts, and obtained a thousand of each. He
enlisted the services of other zealous Christian University
men. They stood in cap and gown at the various narrow
outlets from Christchurch Meadow, and offered the
little Gospel books to undergraduates as they returned
from the race. These were generally willingly taken,
and the more so when the custom became established

76 HENRY BAZELY. [chap.
and the good quality of the tracts had been ascertained
by experience.
Mr. Whitfield adds :
During a long evening spent alone with Bazely in
winter of 1879, he informed me how his heart had been
cheered at the last boat-races. A learned professor
from the lay ranks of the Church had received a tract
from him one evening, and passing by the same place
the next night, requested to be supplied with another.
To Bazely's expression of surprise he answered that the
tract of the evening before (a simple Gospel tract) had
interested him much.
Conduct like this, so regardless of conventional
proprieties, was liable to be misunderstood. By
many he was, no doubt, harshly judged. They
thought a man could not thus break through
custom and usage unless he craved for notoriety,
or was a mere fanatic, or perhaps too dull and ill-
bred to understand polite manners. By degrees,
however, he won his way to the esteem of all
hearts. Men felt that to him at least they could
point as a consistent Christian, who had given up
all, without reserve, to the service of God. Some
incidents of his labours will be related in another
chapter by help of the recollections of his friends.
He left no record himself beyond the brief pencil-

iv.] EARLY EVANGELISING EFFORTS. 77
lings of his diary, and the carefully kept accounts
of his expenses at fairs and races. He never
wrote, and seldom spoke about himself — never
unless obliged.
The Rev. F. K. Y. Aglionby gives the follow
ing account of his friend, which others who
knew him as well will recognise as by no means
exaggerated :
At the urgent request of Mr. Christopher, whose
wishes in such a matter have for myself all the force of
a royal invitation, I have tried to commit to writing
some recollections and impressions of my dear friend,
Henry Bazely. I cannot write anything worthy of so
noble a character : at the utmost I shall be thankful if
my recollections, etc., be esteemed like one of those
floral offerings which, however simple in themselves, a
holy sorrow loves to place as its best memorial upon the
tomb of a departed brother. While unable to add
materially to the store of facts and incidents which
others will have contributed, I may be allowed to give a
short account of that acquaintance with him which
gradually ripened into one of the choicest friendships of
my own life — a friendship which no differences of view
in religious matters ever impaired.
I first knew him when I came up to the University
as an undergraduate in the autumn of 1868. He
belonged to a circle of earnest and devoted young men
who were gathered around the beloved Rector of St.

78 HENRY BAZELY. [chap.
Aldate's, and who regularly attended his Saturday evening
meetings for prayer and the exposition of Holy Scripture
at No. 40 Pembroke Street. Henry Bazely was at that
time a senior man, and as an undergraduate I looked
up to him with mingled awe and admiration : I early
learned to esteem his great learning and the zeal and
courage with which he threw himself into Christian work.
It was a long time before I saw much of him privately,
not in fact until my own career as an undergraduate
was drawing towards its close. All who knew him,
however slightly, were struck with the unwearied energy,
the versatility and earnestness, with which he sought to
serve his Master. He was at the heart of every scheme
for reaching different classes of people : he welcomed
every device for bringing the Kingdom of God nearer to
them, and would throw himself wholly into any enterprise
for compelling them to come in to the Gospel feast.
One rarely if ever saw him without finding him interested
in some fresh work or carrying on works already instituted
with fresh interest. He would with a few friends visit
racecourses, fairs, and other like gatherings, for the
purpose of bringing "the one thing needful" before those
who were immersed in the amusements and pursuits of
this present world. He was often seen preaching in the
streets of Oxford at the times of the boat-races, and
regularly for a long period did he testify for his Lord at
the Martyrs' Memorial on Sunday evenings. He was the
last man to impose his own views of duty in such things
upon others : he never judged those who did not feel
themselves called to work in those ways, whilst he

iv.] EARLY EVANGELISING EFFORTS. 79
hailed any co-operation in that department of his work.
Hundreds — nay thousands — must have listened there to
the Word of Life as it fell from his lips. God only
knows how many received a word in season ; for all
thoughtful Christian men and women were struck with
the forcible, scriptural, pathetic words in which he
reminded them of a judgment to come, and bade them
turn betimes to a merciful Redeemer. It was not
seldom that some who came to scoff went away sobered
and subdued, for the time at least. All who had eyes to
perceive could discern a love unfeigned to his Saviour,
a burning zeal for the good of souls, a single eye to
God's glory, a shame of shame, i.e. a shame of being
ashamed to do anything which he thought would glorify
his Lord.
His mind, naturally of a high order, had been drilled
and disciplined by a diligent training in those studies
which are known in Oxford as "Literal Humaniores."
His reading was wide as well as deep : he manifested
an astonishing acquaintance with all the questions of the
day, upon none of which did he either think or speak
superficially. His book of books was the Bible, which
he studied and loved as few men do. All who heard
his addresses and sermons felt how deeply versed he
was in the Holy Scriptures. His reading of theology
was very extensive, embracing the Fathers — Augustine
in particular — the Reformers, and theological literature
generally down to his own time. So fair and candid
was his mind that he felt it needful to familiarise himself
with the views of those from whom he very widely

80 HENRY BAZELY. [chap.
differed, in order that he might thoroughly understand
them, and try to look at truth from their point of view.
In this way he could appreciate what was good in other
schools of thought — and he could as well obtain that
sympathy with their difficulties which is so needful in
those who would win others to what they believe to be
the truth. Meanwhile, he never wavered in his own
allegiance to what he held to be God's truth.
His friends were sometimes amazed at the lucid
manner in which he could state the arguments of an
adversary, and marshal in imposing array all that could
be said by him, and the next moment refute conclusions
which had seemed all but incontestable. I will here
relate an anecdote which shows his powers as a contro
versialist. I did not hear it from his own lips, and
cannot now recollect my authority, but I had it from
some one who spoke from competent knowledge. When
he went up to be examined for the Denyer and Johnson
Theological Scholarship, the candidates were asked
amongst other questions to write a defence of Episcopal
Government. He asked permission to take the other
side. The examiners, one of whom was Dr. Pusey, after
a little consultation granted his request. His answer to
the question was eulogised as a fine piece of reasoning :
he was elected to one of the scholarships.
Between the years 187 2-1 87 9, I saw but little of him,
my own lot being cast in other places; but in 1879 I
returned to the neighbourhood of Oxford, and it was my
privilege, during the three years which followed, to see a
good deal of him. It was ever a keen enjoyment to be

iv.] EARLY EVANGELISING EFFORTS. 81
with him, and I shall ever look back gratefully upon my
intercourse with him. He lived the same busy life,
" full of good works " ; he spent the morning in study
and in tuition, the afternoon in going from house to
house amongst the Oxford poor, especially those who
went nowhere, i.e. to no church or chapel, and whom he
sought to win for Christ ; the evening in varied works
bearing in some shape upon the one great object which
was next to his heart. To sum up : I should say that
amongst the chief of his characteristics were the follow
ing : — Depth and intensity of conviction, wide and deep
sympathy with other minds, for whose sympathy he too
yearned, great candour and fairness, self-forgetfulness
and self-sacrifice, a conscientiousness almost morbid, a
great deal of practical ability, sound common sense, and
remarkable acuteness in his perception of character.
His very voice and manner when engaged in public
and social devotion betokened a close and humble
walk with God. I can almost hear him pleading in
those solemn and subdued tones of his with God and
man. Manifold illustrations of these traits occur to my
own mind, but it is impossible to record them in such
wise as to reproduce their effects upon other minds.
Much of his power with younger men lay in his genuine
and lively sympathy : I may be allowed to give an
instance of it from my own experience. He asked me
to lunch with him the day upon which my class-list was
to appear. After leaving his lodgings at Folly Bridge,
we made our way to the High Street, and were about to
turn to go to the schools by St. Mary's Church, when we
G

82 HENRY BAZELY. [chap.
met one of the examiners coming away from the schools.
" The list is out," he exclaimed, and away he bounded
to find out my fate, whilst I meanwhile retired to my
rooms in college to spend those few anxious moments
alone. I had been in but a few minutes when I heard
some one running up the steps at full speed, and there
he was — breathless, scarcely able to tell me what I had
got. He had read my name and sped away to acquaint
me with the result without waiting to find out anybody
else's place. We knelt down together and he offered
thanks out of a full heart and committed myself and my
future to God's gracious keeping. Many can testify that
he could " Weep with them that weep " as well as "rejoice
with them that do rejoice." For years his abode in
Oxford served as a rallying point for his friends from a
distance : whenever we turned up we received a brotherly
welcome, and cheered our spirits in the sunshine of his
loving sympathy. I may add, too, that he had a lively
sense of humour, and I well recollect the merriment with
which he gave us a comic description of himself preach
ing at the Martyrs' Memorial, taken from Monsieur
Taine's Notes on England. I must forbear to write
more : I will only add that it was with heaviness of
spirit that I followed his remains to their last resting-
place upon that bitterly cold 6th of March 1883. The
world seemed to us colder and more desolate since that
loving heart had ceased to beat. But we laid him in the
grave with the blessed hope which can alone glorify
human sorrow, and lift the heart above it to Him in
whose presence our dead live as well as ourselves, and

iv.] EARLY EVANGELISING EFFORTS. 83
in whom we are still very near to them. Many besides
myself will thank God for having given us such a friend :
may it be vouchsafed to us to follow in his steps, and at
last to rest with him in the near presence of Our Lord
and Saviour, Jesus Christ.

CHAPTER V.
ECCLESIASTICAL DIFFICULTIES.
1869-1879.
Yet seldom, surely, shall there lack,
Knowledge they walk not back to back,
But with an unity of track,
Where common dangers each attend,
And common hopes their guidance lend
To hght them to the self-same end. A. H. CLOUGH.
While thus evangelising work of all kinds was
increasing upon Bazely's hands, it by no means
absorbed his whole attention. He was still deeply
engaged in theological study, and had several
private pupils. His interest, moreover, in his
own ecclesiastical position rather increased than
diminished. He valued very highly the status he
gained in 1869 as licentiate of the Church of
Scotland. He had received at once repeated
offers of work and of preferment in Scotland ; but
so many openings of usefulness, and so many
ties of Christian friendship had attached him to

chap, v.] ECCLESIASTICAL DIFFICULTIES. 85
Oxford before he received license in 1869, that
he was disinclined to move. His mother's failing
health also (she died May 1876) kept him in
the South. By staying in Oxford, however, and
working there as a licentiate of the Scottish Kirk,
he made his attitude very difficult for people to
understand. His ecclesiastical position seemed
that of a schismatic and intruder. Yet at heart
he abhorred schism. " I can truly say," writes
Mr. Webster, " that on no single occasion did Mr.
Bazely attempt to dissuade me from taking Orders
in the Church of England, which he knew had
been my intention from a child. Indeed, it is to
him that I owe very largely that appreciation of
the value of order and discipline, that love of
unity and hatred of schism, which are the elements
of good churchmanship. I have often said that
Mr. Bazely was the first to make me a churchman."
"Anything like proselytism," he wrote in 1875,
" except among the unreclaimed masses, I would
not undertake. Nor can I associate myself with
the nonconformist ministers of the town, who unite
for the overthrow of the Established Church, with
many of the clergy of which I am on very friendly
terms. Besides, I have no sympathy with the

86 HENRY BAZELY. [chap.
lax principles and irreverent worship of English
dissenters." It is certain that he was always
comforted to feel himself not a member of a
schismatical sect, but commissioned by a national
Church, which he regarded as the purest and most
apostolical in Christendom. However men may
judge his views, such they unquestionably were.
It is important to define his ecclesiastical atti
tude, because it is the side of his life which seemed
least capable of justification. It will be best
explained by his own letters, and by the narrative
of his friend, Mr. David Johnston. The chief
steps in his ecclesiastical career were as follows.
Having been licensed by the Presbytery of Edin
burgh in December 1869, he hired, in 1871, a
disused Friends' Meeting House in Alfred Street
(a back lane off St. Giles' Street), and every Sun
day conducted morning and evening worship there,
without salary, according to the strict rites of the
Church of Scotland. It is no wonder if he found
it a hopeless task to make Presbyterianism take
root in Oxford ; it needed great faith and strong
convictions ever to make the attempt. Financially
the Alfred Street Chapel was a serious tax upon
his resources. His income, moreover, was largely

v.] ECCLESIASTICAL DIFFICULTIES. 87
dependent upon his earnings as a tutor, and his
pupils left him scanty time for visiting his congre
gation or preparing his sermons ; not to speak of
the various missionary labours which continued to
make larger demands upon his time and attention.
He appealed to the authorities of the Church of
Scotland for help, but in vain. He seemed to
stand alone ; and his failure made him begin to
reconsider his position. Was it not plain that as
a Scottish Presbyterian his usefulness was abridged
while he lived in the South ? Yet assuredly God's
providence directed him to remain in Oxford to
carry on the various works he had begun. In
most of these works of mercy he was associated
with dear friends, who were in English Orders.
Was it really impossible for him, his convictions
being what they were, to enter the Anglican
ministry ? Did so deep a gulf indeed divide him
from an English Low Churchman ? We have
seen how such thoughts as these perplexed him
in the years 1866-69 ; the same doubts returned
with greater force upon him in the autumn and
winter of 1875. He wrote thus about his posi
tion to Dr. Phin, September 20, 1875 :
My dear Sir — Thanks for your card. I had a letter

88 HENRY BAZELY. [chap.
last week from Mr. Mackersy [of the London Presby
tery], in reply to which I proposed to call upon him in
passing through London last Saturday. I spent ac
cordingly an hour or two with him there, and we had a
long talk about the congregation here. It seems that
Mr. Johnston, to whom a proposal from the Synod to
attach this congregation was referred last year, wrote a
letter on the subject, in which, as far as Mr. Mackersy
remembers, he decidedly refused to accept the Synod's
proposal, chiefly on the ground that he did not approve
of the principle followed by the Synod ; viz. the limita
tion of their ministrations (in theory, and more or less
in practice) to Scotchmen resident in England. I did
not myself fully realise the fact of this limitation till Mr.
Mackersy explained it to me. It is obvious that if this
limitation be strictly respected, there is no call for a
church in Oxford. For there are very few Scotchmen
resident here, and there is no likelihood that the number
will so increase as to justify the formation of a church.
For my own part I quite understand the Synod's prin
ciple of limitation, and I entirely sympathise with their
dislike of any proselytising action against the Church of
England, as you will have gathered from my conversation
with you the other day. But I am inclined to think it
is possible to adopt a middle position between the
Synod's limitation and active proselytism. May not a
congregation be formed in communion with the National
Church of Scotland, consisting to a large extent of
English Christians who conscientiously prefer the wor
ship and government of the Church of Scotland, and yet

v.] ECCLESIASTICAL DIFFICULTIES. 89
have no desire — in the present condition of religious
feeling in England — to join with nonconformists for the
overthrow of the Established Church, being, moreover,
themselves decided supporters of the Establishment prin
ciple ? Or, in other words, must Englishmen, who prefer
Presbytery to Episcopacy, attach themselves to the
English Presbyterian Church, which is not in communion
with the National Church of Scotland ? No doubt this
middle position is a somewhat strange one ; — member
ship with the Established Church of the country or with
a dissenting body is more simple. But if a Presbyterian
congregation is to exist in Oxford in communion with
the Church of Scotland, it must, as far as I can see,
occupy such a position as I have described. I think
(from what Mr. Mackersy said) that the London Pres
bytery will not be very ready to ordain me, because the
Scottish element in the congregation here is so small,
and hence they will feel that a Scotch Church is
uncalled for, and would be an intrusion upon the Church
of England. Of course I should not try to withdraw
persons from their parish churches. But I should not
feel it right to discourage the attendance of those English
churchmen who prefer our worship ; and I would not
promise to take no aggressive steps with regard to those
who are not members of the Church of England. . . .
He maintained great silence about the per
plexities which agitated his mind at this time,
and no letters of his are available which reveal
anything of his thoughts. A pupil who read with

90 HENRY BAZELY. [chap.
him in 1875-76, speaks of his extreme reserve
upon all controversial questions. One thing which
hastened his decision was the approaching Mis
sion which was to take place simultaneously in
all the Oxford parishes in January 1876. He
had never ceased to respect the Church of Eng
land, but when he saw her bestirring herself for
evangelising effort, he yearned to go back again
to his spiritual mother. At the end of December
1875 ne addressed the following letter to his
Alfred Street congregation :
For Private Circulation.
A Letter to the Congregation lately worshipping in
Alfred Street Chapel, Oxford.
My dear Friends — It will doubtless surprise you
to be informed that public worship will no longer be
conducted by me in the chapel in Alfred Street.
I think it better to give you this information in a
letter, rather than by word of mouth from the pulpit, in
order that your thoughts may not be distracted, as they
probably would be, by an unexpected notice during the
solemn services of the Lord's Day. Besides, I can tell
you as easily, perhaps more easily, in a letter the reason
for my determination to minister no longer to you.
And, first, let me state in a very few words the
history of this congregation since March 26, 187 1. On

v.] ECCLESIASTICAL DIFFICULTIES. 91
that day the chapel was opened as a place for preaching
the Gospel and worshipping God in the manner practised
by the Church of Scotland. It was not then — it never
has been — formally connected with the Church of
Scotland; but ministers of that church have officiated
on several occasions, and have administered to you the
sacraments of Baptism and the Lord's Supper, which I,
as a licentiate, was not authorised to do. For the last
four years and nine months I have, as you know, with
very rare exceptions, conducted public worship twice
every Sunday, and I can look back on the time of my
ministry among you with real thankfulness to Almighty
God ; for I have enjoyed the great privilege of minister
ing to an attentive and devout congregation, from the
members of which I have received many tokens of
regard and affection, for which I desire now from my
heart to thank them. The ordinary congregation has
been always small, but the roll of communicants has
steadily increased. Comparatively few, I believe, have
been previously members of the Church of Scotland, or
of any other Presbyterian church ; the majority has
been made up of members of the Church of England
and of nonconformists. Such is the character of the
congregation which I feel it to be my duty now to
dissolve. And the reason for my decision is this : — the
Church of England, and I write this as the result of long
and careful consideration, appears to me to have a
rightful claim on the allegiance of all who are living in
England, inasmuch as she imposes no terms of com
munion on her members which can be deemed anti-

92 HENRY BAZELY. [chap,
scriptural. I do not say that the Church of England is
perfect as to her government or as to her liturgy. I do
not say that reformation in some respects may not be
desirable; but I see no adequate reason which will
justify a Christian in remaining outside of her pale.
Nor do I institute a comparison between the Church of
England and the Church of Scotland in regard to the
government and the worship of each : few members of
either will deny that each has its special excellences
and defects. I frankly acknowledge that I once thought
the defects of the Church of England so considerable as
to justify separation from her communion ; but a more
careful study of her system, and a sounder appreciation
of the use of the Word of God, have shown me that I
exaggerated the defects, and insisted on a literal imita
tion of the early Church which Scripture does not enjoin.
Restriction to fixed forms of prayer, the imposition of
such ceremonies as the sign of the cross in Baptism
and the posture of kneeling at the Lord's Supper, for
which there is no direct command nor precedent in
Scripture, may be deemed by some inexpedient, but will
not warrant a separation from the Church of England.
These are " not repugnant to the Word of God, and be
ordained and approved by common authority " (Art.
xxxiv.) Certainly the Apostle's direction that all things
should be done to edifying, all things decently and in
order (i Cor. xiv.), leaves a great liberty to every
national church in the matter of rites and ceremonies.
And though in the exercise of our private judgment —
and with what humility and charity ought we to exercise

v.] ECCLESIASTICAL DIFFICULTIES. 93
it ! — we may deem some of the established rites and
ceremonies inexpedient, we are not therefore justified in
making a breach in the unity of the Church.
I feel that I must (I trust that I may do so without
offence) address to you a word of exhortation. Attach
yourselves, I entreat you, to the communion of the
Church of England, yield a loyal submission to her
rules, and seek to promote her prosperity. The
Established Church is one of God's chiefest blessings
vouchsafed to our country.
You, my friends, who have been baptized in, and
always lived in communion with, a Presbyterian church,
may naturally feel some difficulty in conforming to the
Church of England. You do not like to change the
simple mode of worship to which you have been
accustomed from your childhood for a more elaborate
mode. I sympathise with you. Yet, if the latter be
not repugnant to the Word of God, you will do well,
while you are living in England, to consent to it, thereby
bearing testimony to the importance of Christian unity.
And be sure that the God of peace will bless you richly
in this your testimony.
You may wonder that I should have discovered my
error so late : you may consider my change of sentiments
a mark of fickleness of mind. Further, you may ask
why I have come to a determination to close the chapel
just at this time. I can only answer that a lengthened
course of study, and a careful observation of the
inestimable benefits conferred on the country by the
Established Church, whose capacities for spiritual good

94 HENRY BAZELY. [chap.
are inexhaustible, have chiefly contributed, under the
guidance of God's Spirit, as I humbly trust, to bring
about this change in my views. And the approach of
the Mission Week, when the Church of England in this
city will make a united effort to bring into the fold of
Christ His wandering sheep, has determined me to
delay no longer the removal of that which, in however
small a degree, may be an offence against the unity of
Christ's people. Pray, dear friends, for a plentiful
outpouring of the Holy Spirit at this Mission time ; do
what you can to bring sinners to Christ, and invite them
to become living members of that Church in which His
Word is faithfully preached and His sacraments duly
administered. I have written to you at some length, because I wish
you to understand entirely the motive which has led me
to cease from ministering among you ; and also because
I feel myself deeply responsible — if I have been in error
and have led you into error — in regard to your future.
May God in His great mercy forgive all past mistakes,
and guide us henceforth into the truth which is in
Jesus !
I intend still to reside in Oxford, and I hope before
long to call upon you. Believe me to remain, your
affectionate friend in Christ, H. C. B. Bazely.
2 St. Aldate's Bridge,
Oxford, Dec. 27, 1S75.
After a short holiday at Dover he returned to
Oxford and threw himself into the work of St.

v.] ECCLESIASTICAL DIFFICULTIES. 95
Aldate's Parish, which he knew so well ; Mr.
Christopher's curate being the Rev. A. W. Poole,
afterwards Missionary-bishop of Japan. Bazely's
diary for January and February testifies to un
ceasing labour ; there is repeated mention of
endeavours to bring into the refuge fallen women
whom he had found in the street ; of Sunday
afternoon services at the gasworks ; of services
on Sunday nights at the lodging-house in St.
Thomas'. On March 12, 1876, he received
Deacon's Orders, at Banbury, from Dr. Mackarness,
Bishop of Oxford. One of the examining chap
lains has told me that Bazely's papers displayed a
wide and comprehensive knowledge ; it was also
noticed that while his views scarcely allowed
Episcopacy to be more than a permissible form of
church government, and therefore not essential
to the existence of a church, he yet emphasised
very distinctly the apostolical succession of the
Church through the presbytery. His Oxford
friends were thankful that he saw his way to
re-enter the English Church, and become an
ordained fellow -worker with the rector of St.
Aldate's ; but it is certain that he had very
strong scruples to overcome in doing so. The

96 HENRY BAZELY. [chap.
following letter from his father, dated March
14, 1876, shows that up to the last moment
it had been doubtful whether he could or would
be ordained :
My dear old Hen — Your letter announcing your
ordination at Banbury has much rejoiced me ; but the
details you give me of your conversation with the Bishop,
and of your views, have (I need not say) grieved me
very much, — they have also surprised me. I had no
idea that you have had strong objections to such things as
the sign ofthe cross used simply as a " token," in Baptism,
of dedication to Him who bore the cross for us. Nor
did I imagine that you had any difficulty as to forms of
prayers which are so distinctive of the Church of England.
Nor did I, again, know you had any repugnance to the
reverent act of kneeling at the reception of the sacra
mental elements. . . .
It is evident that his religious views had in
no wise changed ; he was still a Puritan and a
Calvinist. The only change was in his coming
to think that such views were compatible with the
Anglican formularies, and that he had previously
interpreted too rigidly the Puritan maxim, Quod
non jubet Scriptura vetat. An undercurrent of
protest against full and unqualified Anglicanism
shows itself in the following correspondence with

v.] ECCLESIASTICAL DIFFICULTIES. 97
the Rev. F. J. Jayne, now Principal of Lampeter
College, an old acquaintance of his :
Keble College, April 7, 1876.
My Dear Bazely — During Holy Week at Keble we
have had a short address (not exceeding 12 minutes) at
our 8 o'clock morning prayer. The congregation consists
of servants, some undergraduates, the Bursar, and a pair
of tutors. If you would kindly take the address on
Tuesday, Wednesday, or Thursday (as may suit you best),
we should be greatly obliged ; and if afterwards you will
come in and share our crust at breakfast it will give my
wife and myself great pleasure. Hoping much that you
are at liberty, I remain, sincerely yours, Frank J. Jayne.
To the Rev. F. J. Jayne. April 10, 1876.
I am sorry that your letter has been so long un
answered, but I have been out of Oxford for a few
days, and only found it on my return late last night.
I regret that I am unable to accept the invitation which
you so kindly send me to give an address in the Chapel
of Keble College. I do not feel that I can conscientiously
show such sympathy as giving an address would to some
imply, with an institution which is popularly — and, I
suppose, not unjustly — regarded as intended to promote
the views of those members of the Church of England
who, I cannot but think, are (albeit unconsciously)
preparing the way for a return to the errors of Rome,
H

98 HENRY BAZELY. [chap.
and hindering union between the Church of England
and the sister Churches of the Reformation. But let
me add that, as regards yourself, if you were as a
parish minister to ask me to officiate for you, I should
rejoice to show my hearty sympathy with your work by
doing so. Keble College, April 10, 1876.
My Dear Bazely — Very many sincere thanks for your
candid way of dealing with my request. I feel that such a
frank explanation of your reasons for declining is far more
valuable than an unwilling acquiescence. I can hardly
hope to influence your opinion about Keble College, but
I may at least state my entire conviction that if Rome has
a firm and consistent opponent in England — opposing
positively and not with mere negations — opposing with
deep regret but at the same time unflinchingly and
persistently — it is Keble College. I believe the popular
opinion to be in this instance very far removed from the
" Vox Dei," and I speak with some knowledge of the
deepest feelings and convictions entertained by those
who are concerned with the management of the College.
As a very slight token, I may mention that not a single
Keble undergraduate (much less graduate) was at the
opening of the Roman Chapel ; and that with the
Warden's consent and wish I preached a sermon in
College Chapel about the position of the Church of
Rome, which certainly gave no uncertain sound. Per
sonally — and so I said — I look on Rome as the greatest
obstacle to the unity of Christendom and to the reign
of Christ in the world. Further, I should say that tho',

v.] ECCLESIASTICAL DIFFICULTIES. 99
or rather because, important points of difference are
fairly recognised, and not slurred over, the spirit in
which the work of non-Anglicans (I mean on the
Protestant side) is spoken of at Keble is generous and
conciliatory. ... I might speak of the claims of the
College on your sympathy as an economical place, and
again as a place where an interest in and care for under
graduates is taken quite unparalleled in my experience.
I might further ask whether it tends to promote union
if, when Keble holds out the hand of goodwill towards
those who are popularly called " Low Churchmen," the
latter decline the proffered pledge of amity. May not
such a policy intensify differences and misunderstandings?
May I not with fairness reply — "You reproach us with
supposed coldness towards the Reformed Churches (a
coldness to which we do not quite plead guilty) — are
you quite setting us the right example by withholding your
sympathy from us ? " However I must not weary you
with my arguments, and will only again express my deep
regret at your decision, and at the same time my sincere
gratitude for the frank and kindly way in which you
have made it known. — Yours sincerely, Frank J. Jayne.
In a letter to his father, written in May 1876,
he speaks of his present position and work (he is
discussing holiday plans) :
. . . For my own part, except to come home to
see you, I never wish to leave Oxford. I have enough,

ioo HENRY BAZELY. [chap.
and more than enough, to occupy me here in parochial
and other work ; and I do not think it right, as long
as I have health and strength, to spend time and money
in travelling about, unless I can combine with it some
measure of ministerial work. As now officially connected
with the Church of England, I find my liberty in Evan
gelistic efforts somewhat curtailed in England. This
drawback I must put up with as inseparable from
connection with the Established Church (the state of the
law being as it is), in consideration of compensating
advantages. But, I intend — as I deem it a sacred duty
— to use to the full whatever liberty is allowed in the
way of co-operating in work for Christ with all Christian
people. . .
On May 5 he was summoned to his mother's
deathbed. He writes in his diary, May 6 : " Mater
carissima in Jesu obdormivit." It must have been
a comfort to her to leave him a member of the
Church of his baptism. On May 1 3 he wrote to
his father from Oxford : " I know that nothing can
make up for dear mamma's loss ; but I trust
that God will help me in some measure to supply
her place to you." How truly he did so his father's
words testify, written after his son's death :
His departure from the Church of England, I need
not say, caused me unspeakable grief; but I thank God
that not for a single moment did this weaken or disturb

v.] ECCLESIASTICAL DIFFICULTIES. ioi
our love and reverence for each other. I am sure that
he earnestly desired — even for my sake — to remain in
our Church, and would have remained if he could
have done so conscientiously. His unwearied labours
and varied exertions deprived me much of his dear
society; but I always felt that his life and work were
too sacred for me to interpose any claims upon his time.
His only yearly holiday of late years was the few weeks
he devoted to me in the summer : they were weeks of
infinite happiness to me.
As soon as he began to work for the first time
as an English clergyman, all his old scruples
gradually revived. He realised, as perhaps only
a parish clergyman can, the deep significance of
the formularies and ritual of the Church, and what
are the principles involved in the use of the
prayer-book. Those principles he felt to be
opposed to his innermost convictions. He could
minimise no longer ; he felt compelled to draw
back, as from a false step. " If I had remained
in the Church of England," he afterwards said,
" I must have been an Old High Churchman.'' On
September 10, 1876, he preached for the last time
at St. Aldate's, and in the following winter sought
Presbyterian orders. " If he had not followed his
conscientious convictions'' (writes Mr. Christopher),

102 HENRY BAZELY. [chap.
"his mental health, I think, might not have stood
the strain. I never felt so strongly as when I
saw the painful conflict in Bazely's mind, that we
must not think hardly of every brother who leaves
the Church of England."
His inward struggles, however, during this year
in no way disturbed his gentleness of manner or
his activity in doing good. On May 25, 1876,
he wrote thus to the Rev. C. I. Black, Vicar of
Burley in Wharfedale, who had been curate with
his father in Poplar :
I thank you much for your very kind letter, and for
the sonnets in memory of my dearest mother and little
brother, which I shall always value greatly both for their
tender and comforting language and as the expression
of your true love towards my dear father and those who
have entered into the rest of God. I know your presence
with us at the grave cheered and consoled my father
much. I am very grateful to you for the wish which
you so affectionately indicate of renewing your acquaint
ance with me, which dates back so many years. I came
upon some tangible tokens of your kindness a short
time ago, in translations of some Odes of Horace which
you wrote for me when I was at school. It is not
unlikely that I may be visiting, during some part of this
summer, two or three college friends, who have district
churches in Leeds and the neighbourhood, in which

v.] ECCLESIASTICAL DIFFICULTIES. 103
case I shall do myself the pleasure of calling upon you,
your parish being, I suppose, not far distant from Leeds.
Believe me to remain your obliged friend in the love of
the Lord Jesus, H. C. B. B.
He refers in this letter to a promise he had
made to his friend, the Rev. J. H. Goodier, Vicar
of St. Jude's, Hunslet, Leeds, to take part in a
parochial Mission. When he made the promise
he was a deacon of the English Church ; by the
time of the Mission in September his doubts
were growing very serious. But he seemed to
avoid doing or saying anything rashly at this
trying time ; nor had he yet finally made up his
mind what step to take. He went therefore and
fulfilled his engagement at Leeds, preaching both
in the church and in the street. Mr. Goodier thus
describes his visit :
In the year 1876 he undertook an open-air Mission
in the district of Pottery-Field, one of the most neglected
and thickly populated districts in the borough. He
refused to take the smallest remuneration for expenses,
and insisted on giving me two pounds for a faithful and
diligent Scripture-reader, who had done hard and suc
cessful work amongst these thousands of people. In
the Mission the great force of his preaching lay in his
cogent and happy way of piling Scripture upon Scripture,

104 HENRY BAZELY. [chap.
— so that if the mind were willing to follow him at all,
he brought his hearer to his own well-reasoned con
clusions. Mr. Black, whose theological convictions were
widely different from Bazely's, writes the following
account :
I went to St. Jude's to hear my friend preach, little
anticipating that he was so soon to take the very serious
and reprehensible step of abandoning the diaconate ;
and he came and spent a memorable day here with me.
I remember his congratulating me on the possession of
Thrupp on the Psalms ; — there was also a discussion on
the 5o'£a of the Lord Jesus as set forth in the sufferings
of our Redeemer, on which point he said he would not
differ from me. ... I listened with some surprise to his
Mission -sermon in the street — so unimpassioned, and
un-Calvinistic was it and admirable in itself, so unlike
what I looked for. . . .
Amid the hurry of the Mission he found time
to write repeatedly to a young University friend
and pupil whom he had left very ill in his lodgings
on Folly Bridge. The young man was in the last
stage of consumption, and two strong reasons had
led Bazely to bring him to his lodgings and nurse
him like a brother ; though not poor, he had no
home or parents in England, and he was also
given to sceptical doubts about religion.

v.] ECCLESIASTICAL DIFFICULTIES. 105
St. Jude's Vicarage, Hunslet,
Leeds, September 18, 1876.
You will like to know, dear G  , that I got here
all right on Saturday — though the journey was a tedious
one, the train being an hour behind time. Rain fell
without ceasing, and Leeds, with its innumerable chimneys,
was very murky about 6 p.m. when I arrived. This is
a suburb — connected by an almost continuous line of
houses and tramway cars with the main town — full of
factories and small dirty houses, — only two families in
a population of 8000 keep a servant, — and yet they are
not nearly so poor as the working people in Oxford,
and rarely ask for money. The church, parsonage, and
schools are built together in a once grassy field by the
side of the high road. Yesterday we had two open-air
services in different parts of the parish, well attended —
especially the 8 p.m. one — by the roughs, who made no
disturbance, but seemed interested in the Gospel which
was preached to them. The evening congregation was
also a good, attentive one. I am going round this
evening with the Scripture-reader and a hand-bell to
draw out the people from their homes, and concentrate
them if possible at one spot for one open-air service.
The weather is fine, but threatens to be showery. I am
afraid it may not have been bright weather enough for
you to get a drive to-day, but do make an attempt for
some fresh air on the first good opportunity. I hope you
will soon send me a post-card : no time to write more,
but — God bless you — and give you increase of faith,

106 HENRY BAZELY. [chap.
and strength of hope in His mercy through Jesus Christ.
Always, dear old boy, your very affectionate,
H. C. B. B.
To the Same.
St. Jude's Vicarage, Hunslet,
Leeds, September 23, 1876.
I do trust, my dear boy, that the medicine, which you
tell me in your letter of yesterday the doctor has sent
you, will by God's blessing give you some relief, at least
prevent your suffering much pain in your great weak
ness. Of course I hope — and if it is according to God's
holy will, I pray — that you may be spared a few more
days, for it will be very sad for me if I do not see
again on earth the very dear and true friend whom I
¦always thank God for having given to me. Still I
cannot wish for my own part that your days should be
prolonged in pain, and the time of your entrance into
the perfect rest of Paradise be deferred, so I will only
say God's will be done, for whether you live or die,
I have the happy assurance that you are the Lord's.
Christ ¦ is, I know, perfecting His strength in your
weakness, by causing you to grow from day to day in
grace, while the outward man is perishing. ... I am
so glad that you are praying for me and the work on
which I am engaged here. God has granted us a
continuance of fine weather, and has brought the people
together to hear the Gospel in larger numbers than
when we began. There is hardly any subject on which
I speak more often than the gracious deliverance from,

v.] ECCLESIASTICAL DIFFICULTIES. 107
the bondage of the fear of death which Christ came into
the world to bestow on His people. The men and
women here are so exposed to fatal accidents in the
factories, that I feel it is important for them especially
to be prepared for sudden death, and to be able to look
forward to meeting God without terror. And certainly
our Blessed Lord will give this fruit of His Incarnation
and Passion to all who rest on His mercy. We find it
difficult to get the men for personal conversation, as
they are at work all the day, but we have got now some
names of persons who would like to be visited, and I
shall try to see them to-morrow afternoon (Sunday)
when they will be in their houses. On Monday
evening, after service in church, we shall have a prayer
meeting, and I trust may then discover some results of
the open-air services. Pray, dear boy, for a blessing on
the closing services of this Mission. God may use you
in prayer more than us in preaching. I am so glad
Mr. C — — has come back, for you will be comforted I
doubt not by his visits. I suppose W  is away
at Swindon Fair. I called on Wilkinson this morn
ing, who inquired very kindly about you. He has a
district of 6000 people to visit, and gives addresses
almost every night in Mission houses. . . . And now I
can only commend you, my much loved brother, to the
mercy of God and Jesus Christ : if we do not meet
again on earth, may we through faith and patience be
permitted to meet for Christ's sake in heaven. So prays
your very affectionate, H. C. B. B.

io8 HENRY BAZELY. [chap.

To the Same.
St. Jude's Vicarage, Hunslet,
Leeds, September 25, 1876.
My dear old Boy — I am so pleased to get your letter,
and I do rejoice and thank God with all my heart that
you can say, "Jesus has saved me a dying sinner.'' Do
not fear that the Author of your salvation would allow
you to lapse into a sinful or careless walk if your days
were to be prolonged, and your health restored. When
Christ takes away the guilt of sin, He also takes away
the practice — ay, and the love of it. He, the Good
Shepherd, will not suffer any one to pluck His sheep, for
whom He died, out of His hands. But you must thank
Him if He in mercy takes you away from a world in
which temptation, sin, and sorrow abound, and releases
you from the conflict which must be waged by us with
evil all the days of the longest life. I pray that God will
increase your faith which is His gift, and crown it with
assurance, that you may have a continual foretaste of
heaven while you tarry among us. Read especially
1 John iii. ; this chapter — indeed, the whole epistle —
will, I am sure, yield you the strongest consolation. I
had a letter from Mr. C  this morning, written after
he had seen you yesterday. As he read my letter, I
will tell you what he writes about you to me. "My
own conviction respecting dear G  is the same as
yours. He told me last week that he had put all his
difficulties aside, and received the Gospel as a little
child." Yes, dear boy, I feel assured that you have

v.] ECCLESIASTICAL DIFFICULTIES. 109
accepted the salvation which Christ has purchased for
sinners ; and I believe that you have been enabled to
do so not through my words or example, ill-timed and
halting, and sadly blurred with imperfection and sin as
they have been ; but rather through reading the life of
Dr. Marsh and conversing with W-  , and chiefly
by the immediate operation of the Holy Ghost upon
your heart. God has not, I think, greatly used outward
means in leading you to peace and joy in Christ. Learn
Psalm xxiii. by heart, dear boy, if you do not yet know
it, for I believe it will be a great comfort to you to dwell
on the tender care of the Good Shepherd as described
therein in your last hours. We had good numbers
yesterday at the services, though the day was very
showery ; some came for private conversation, and I trust
will now confess Christ boldly, but they will have some
persecution to endure from ungodly companions. To
night we have a prayer-meeting especially for the anxious
ones. Ask God to carry on the work after the Mission
is concluded, by bringing to the remembrance of the
people what they have heard during this week. Last
evening I preached on John xii. 32, the attractive power
of Christ crucified ; and this afternoon I am to speak to
a mothers' meeting, which Mrs. Goodier has gathered.
So I must not write any more now, as there is a great
deal to do to-day ; you know how delighted I shall be
if you will write me a line to Dover, whither I probably
go to-morrow. Only you must not fatigue yourself by
writing long letters ; would you not find it much easier
to write with the pencil which I got for you ? Thank

no HENRY BAZELY. [chap.
your brother for his post-card with my kind love. I
hope you will have a comfortable and happy week, my
dear old boy, and I trust that God will permit me to
see you next Saturday when I return. The love of our
most gracious Saviour be with you in life, in the hour of
death, and for evermore. — Your very affectionate,
H. C. B. B.
The diary contains an entry on Friday, October
13 : " G. frater in Xto obdormivit in Jesu 1.30
P.M." That he died a believer was greatly due,
under the blessing of the Holy Spirit, to the
convincing argument of Bazely's Christian love
and self-sacrifice. At his death he left all he had
to his friend, who at once executed a deed of
relinquishment in favour of a relative of the de
ceased. The following letter was written by
Bazely within ten days of the death :
. . . Our young friend has entered into his rest.
You will rejoice to know that a great spiritual change
took place in him several weeks before he died ; he was
enabled by God's grace — chiefly, I think through reading
a memoir of Dr. Marsh — to put aside all unprofitable
and irreverent doubts, and to receive the Gospel as a
little child. The reality of the change was manifested
very plainly to us who were constantly with him; he
cared to read nothing but the Bible and the lives of
those who have fallen asleep in Christ, and he grew

v.] ECCLESIASTICAL DIFFICULTIES. in
rapidly in the grace of patience during his tedious and
trying illness. The end came suddenly : he was out for
a drive on the 7th, sat up as usual dressed the whole of
the 1 2th, and there was no reason to expect his speedy
departure till 9. a.m. on the 13th. Indeed the doctor
thought — and he himself thought — that he would live
till the end of the year. But an increase of weakness
came on quickly, and at 1.30 p.m. he passed away
with his head resting on my arm, without any pain, as
if in a peaceful sleep, having sent with his last breath a
message to his father in India that he was trusting in
Jesus and happy. . . . His body rests in the Church
yard of Ferry Hinksey, in the bounds of which
village this house (being on the Berkshire side of the
river) is situated. . . .
On October 2, 1876, Bazely wrote to the
Bishop of Oxford to resign his position in the
Church of England. The following letter to Mr.
Johnston is dated October 23 :
.... For some time past I have become more and
more convinced that the latitudinarian theory which I
adopted is entirely unsatisfactory, and that the systematic
use of a prescribed liturgy and of unscriptural ceremonies
does imply, notwithstanding a continual secret protest, a
sanction of them which my conscience repudiates. I
have no doubt that the pleasant prospect of working
with Mr. Christopher in St. Aldate's, and co-operating
with many dear friends in the ministry of the Church of

ii2 HENRY BAZELY. [chap.
England, induced me to stifle the clear voice of con
science under the pretence of promoting Christian unity.
But the sad experience of a few months has shown me
that- — my views being so out of harmony with the
characteristic features of the Church of England in
respect of government and worship, and so wholly in
accord with the Church of Scotland — it is at once an
injury to the Church of England and a barrier to my
own peace of mind to continue to hold an official
position, the duties of which I cannot with a good
conscience heartily and zealously discharge. . . . The
Bishop has refused to accept my resignation, and has
referred me to his solicitor for information about the
" Clerical Disabilities Removal Act " of 1870. It seems
that until I relinquish the rights and privileges of the
office of deacon in accordance with the provisions of
that Act, I am liable to be prosecuted by the Bishop, if
I officiate in England elsewhere than in the Established
Church ; and, at all events, whether prosecuted or not,
I should be — strictly speaking — a transgressor of the
law. . . . My chief objection to using the Act is that it
is generally used by sceptics and others who wish to
give up the work of the ministry altogether, and qualify
themselves for admission to the House of Commons or
some secular profession. . . . Still, as I do not wish to
be involved in legal difficulties, I shall not hesitate to
avail myself of the Act of Parliament, if I find that this
is imperatively demanded of me. The temptation to
connect myself with the Church of England was strong,
when St. Aldate's curacy was vacant, and the latitudin-

v.] ECCLESIASTICAL DIFFICULTIES. 113
arian theory plausible ; but I soon discovered that I at
least cannot remain an office-bearer in a church the
system of which I am unable to vindicate (as I can
the system of the Church of Scotland) as thoroughly
scriptural. . . I am busy with pupils throughout this
term. He spent the winter of 1876-77 partly in East
London, taking temporary duty at the Caledonian
Church, Holloway, and at St. Andrew's (Presby
terian) Church, Stepney. On March 5, 1877, he
received the following characteristic note from Dr.
Cumming :
16 Woburn Square.
My dear Sir — You wrote to me some time ago that
you desired to have an opportunity of preaching at St.
Andrew's National Scotch Church, East London. The
two chief elders came to my vestry yesterday, and
expressed their earnest and anxious desire that you
should become their pastor ; and I suggested that any
details in the services not liked by you should be
gradually removed. All the processes of the natural
world are gradual ; and in the New Testament from St.
Matthew to the Apocalypse there is no violent assault
on things not of vital moment. Do try in reliance on
our Blessed Redeemer to raise this fine church to its pris
tine greatness ; and anything that I can do in the way
of help or hope I will gladly attempt on your behalf.
May the Spirit of God lead you to the issue I have ventured
I

114 HENRY BAZELY. [chap.
(as comparatively a stranger) to press on your heart. —
Believe me, very sincerely yours, John Cumming.
Bazely as characteristically replies, "In the case
of such innovations recently introduced, as hymns
and instrumental music, I am strongly in favour
of instant discontinuance." On April 18, 1877,
he was ordained by the Presbytery of London to
St. Andrew's Church, Stepney. There he served
without stipend, residing and working in Oxford
during the week, and spending from Friday to
Monday at Stepney. The exertion of mind and
body involved in this arrangement was enormous.
Although he spared neither labour nor expense to
make his work at St. Andrew's efficient, yet he
was soon made to feel the galling tyranny of
Congregationalism. In spite of much spiritual
fruit which he saw from his labours, he met with
such unmannerly opposition on the part of some
who desired instrumental music in the church,
that he was glad to resign in June 1878. The
following letters refer to this period :
St. Andrew's Church,
London, E., Feb. 1, 1877.
The congregation, once numbering 600, has dwindled
to 40, notwithstanding the attractions of hymns and

v.] ECCLESIASTICAL DIFFICULTIES. 115
instrumental music. The present congregation can offer
no stipend to a minister, and unless some one takes it
without a stipend, it will probably be ere long shut up,
or handed over to the English Presbyterians. Therefore,
I am somewhat disposed to take it; for it would be
lamentable that the Church of Scotland should lose
such a position — a church wholly out of debt, and in
good repair, situated in the midst of a densely populated
district, " swarming with Scotchmen," as I am told,
many of whom go to no place of worship. But I will
not take any church except on the distinct understand
ing that innovations be forthwith discontinued. . . .
Sept. 17, 1877.
I am desirous of getting a licentiate to act as my
assistant here, i.e. if I can find a suitable man. For if
this church, which has been allowed to languish so sadly,
is to be restored to its pristine prosperity, I am convinced
that a vigorous effort should be made, under God's
blessing, forthwith. I am not disposed to leave my work
and residence in term-time in Oxford, especially when
there is no stipend from St. Andrew's; and even if I
were, I could not do adequately single-handed what I
wish to be done here. I therefore want to get a licentiate
who would live here continuously (I should come myself,
as now, weekly from Friday to Monday), and who would
visit diligently among the poor, and especially set himself
to discover Scotch people who are living in this densely
populated district, and go to no place of worship. This
is the work in which I specially need help. ... I need

116 HENRY BAZELY. [chap.
hardly describe to you the sort of man I should like to
have as a fellow-worker here — an earnest, spiritually-
minded Christian, who would take pleasure in labouring
among the poor for Christ's sake, thoroughly attached to
the principles of our Church, a faithful preacher of the
doctrines of grace as asserted in the Confession of Faith,
free from any hankerings after innovations in worship, able
and willing to preach sometimes with me in the open
air, and to speak to the ignorant poor at tea-meetings,
etc., and withal not likely to be led astray by the
irregularities and extravagances of the sensational reviv
alism which is so popular in this neighbourhood. It
would be well, but not indispensable, that he should be,
if not a pledged teetotaller, an abstainer like ourselves in
his practice. ... I do not care about a showy style of
preaching. I want only sound doctrine, plain speaking,
and steady persevering visiting in the streets and alleys.
In the autumn of 1878 he made a tour in
Scotland. The following letter will show the
bent of his mind at this time : July 1878.
Last Sunday I went in the afternoon to Mr.

[Free] church. He was away ; and a young man
occupied his pulpit. No sort of innovations in the
worship — psalms only sung, and by the whole congrega
tion with much heartiness. Very different the state of
things in a new Established church to which I went in
the evening, seeing that  was to preach there. A

v.] ECCLESIASTICAL DIFFICULTIES. 117
harmonium in front of the pulpit was played by a
woman, who, with some other women in a semicircle
round her, conducted the miscellaneous singing of psalms,
paraphrases, and hymns on behalf of the congregation.
The harmonium will soon be removed, for a large organ
is in process of construction in a gallery. In the parish
church which I attended in the morning there is no
instrument; but the singing is not congregational, and
the choir perform doxologies. Sitting in prayer is of
course universal in both these churches ; and there
seemed to be a great lack of the heartiness and reverence
that I observed in Mr.  's congregation.
The death of his mother in 1876 had placed
him in possession of larger means. In 1878-9
he purchased a site in Nelson Street, Jericho (a
working-men's suburb of Oxford), and built at his
own cost a church for the service of the Church
of Scotland. Here* he ministered until his death.
Mr. Johnston gives the following account of his
friend's ecclesiastical career and convictions :
After receiving license, Mr. Bazely would doubtless
very soon have been appointed to a parish in Scotland
had he not preferred to return to England and to
continue his residence in Oxford. There he hired a
disused place of worship, and from March 187 1 to
December 1875 conducted public worship in the manner
practised by the Church of Scotland.

u8 HENRY BAZELY. [chap.
By the end of 1875 Mr. Bazely's views and senti
ments had undergone a change which led him to take
Deacon's Orders in the Church of England, and for some
time to assist the devoted Rector of St. Aldate's, whose
valuable work both in his parochial charge and among
undergraduate members of the University is well known
and highly appreciated in Oxford. The sphere of labour
thus opened up to Mr. Bazely was about as congenial
to his sentiments as it was possible for him to find within
the wide pale of the Church of England. Notwithstand
ing this, however, his difficulties returned ; and he felt
that, holding the views he did hold, it was impossible for
him to serve conscientiously in the ministry of that church
— much though he appreciated its excellences, and the
moral and spiritual worth of many of its clergy, with
whom he was acquainted. Accordingly he resumed his
connection with the Church of Scotland in or about
November 1876, and early in 1877 was ordained to the
pastoral charge of St. Andrew's Scotch Church, Stepney,
E. Before the secession of 1843, St. Andrew's Church
had been well filled ; but ere Mr. Bazely became its
pastor, it had been almost emptied, and the small
congregation still worshipping in it was not in circum
stances for offering its pastor a stipend. Hence Mr.
Bazely's ministerial labours at Stepney were to himself
a source not of income but of expenditure. After
labouring there for some time, he considered it advisable
to resume the conducting of Presbyterian services in
Oxford; and having resigned his London pastorate in
1878, he built at his own expense an elegant and

v.] ECCLESIASTICAL DIFFICULTIES. 119
commodious church in Nelson Street, Jericho — a locality
where there is ample scope for one. It was opened
March 23, 1879. He soon gathered around him an
attached congregation, comprising not only Scottish
Presbyterians resident in Oxford, but also other persons
who, though they conscientiously differed from the Church
of England, had no sympathy with the principles of what
is called the Liberation Society, and no hostility to the
national establishment of the Church. Besides Nelson
Street Church, Mr. Bazely erected a Mission Room
and premises in the immediate neighbourhood, and
vigorously promoted, not only the strictly ecclesiastical
work of the congregation, but also, by means of evening
classes for the young, mission services, entertainments for
the poor, and otherwise, objects of general benevolence
and utility. Thus, in various ways, he prosecuted his
disinterested labours till May 1882, when he was con
strained to desist on account of the protracted illness
which eventuaUy resulted in his death, on the ist day of
March 1883.
It was from firm conviction of the soundness of the
constitution of the Church of Scotland as by law
established, that Mr. Bazely resolved to serve in her
ministry. Her doctrines, as expressed in the Westmin
ster Confession of Faith, he accepted as truths of Holy
Scripture, and his preaching was permeated by them.
Her legally acknowledged worship he delighted in, as
being incontrovertibly in accordance with the principles
of the New Testament, and with the practice of the
early Christian Church. It was thus on grounds strictly

120 HENRY BAZELY. [chap.
scriptural that he disapproved of liturgical prayers,
and of instrumental music in Christian worship, and
advocated free prayer and purely vocal psalmody. On
the question of Hymnology, while he by no means
depreciated the worth of those hymns of standard
excellence which from time to time have been penned
by men in whom poetical talent was combined with rich
Christian experience, he yet refused to place such
uninspired compositions, however valuable, on a level
with the psalms and hymns and spiritual songs of that
ancient hymn-book which was given by inspiration of
God, and which is the only hymn-book bearing the
imprimatur of apostolic authority. Hence the Psalter
was the only hymn - book which he used in public
worship. And there were copiously distributed through
out the church neatly bound copies of an edition of the
Psalms, printed at his instance, each copy bearing on
the front page of its cover the Burning Bush crest of the
Church of Scotland. In this edition the Psalm titles,
often so strangely omitted from metrical versions of the
Psalter, are duly inserted at the beginning of each
psalm. It may be here mentioned that, during the last years
of his life, Mr. Bazely revised carefully the whole of the
Scottish metrical version of the Psalms, with the view
of bringing it into closer conformity with the Hebrew
text. The two marked copies he has left behind bear
ample evidence of his labour in this direction ; and his
proposed emendations are in many instances decided
improvements.

v.] ECCLESIASTICAL DIFFICULTIES. 121
On the subject of postures in worship, Mr. Bazely
was not merely satisfied with the primitive Christian
practice of standing at public congregational prayer, but
he considered it right and proper that that posture
should be adhered to, — being, as it is, clearly warranted
by Holy Scripture. Hence he disapproved of the
clamour of some modern agitators in the Church of
Scotland for the adoption of kneeling instead of stand
ing ; and maintained that kneeling, though preferable in
private and in social prayer, ought not to be substituted
for standing in public prayer, and that, as Holy Scripture
sanctions both postures, it is unwarrantable to dispense
with one of them. The modern innovation of sitting,
or (as he termed it) lounging, at prayer, he considered
grossly irreverent and unbecoming.
Of the two forms of church government, the Episcopal
and the Presbyterian, Mr. Bazely preferred the Presby
terian, as being, in his opinion, more in harmony with
the teaching of the New Testament and with the testi
mony of early church history.
Mr. Bazely specially admired the constitution of the
Church of Scotland as a church established by the law
of the land, yet untrammelled by State fetters, and
possessing a free ecclesiastical government of her own.
When, in this respect, he contrasted the Scottish with
the English establishment, he saw, in common with
many of the most attached members of the Church of
England, what an immense advantage is possessed by
the Scottish Church. For whereas the Church of
England is so bound by the law of the land as to be

122 HENRY BAZELY. [chap.
amenable to the jurisdiction of the civil courts even in
matters purely ecclesiastical and spiritual, the independent
ecclesiastical jurisdiction of the church courts in Scot
land is expressly acknowledged by the law of the land
and protected by the statutes of the Church's establish
ment. Hence the Church can, through her own courts,
make laws for the administration of her own affairs, and
is entitled to exercise supreme jurisdiction over her
own members and office-bearers, even to the extent of
excluding from church-membership and deposing from
the ministry, — appeals to the civil courts being in such
cases essentially incompetent.
The more Mr. Bazely searched into the constitution
of the Church of Scotland, the more he admired it as
a model constitution. And yet the more highly he
admired, the more deeply he was disappointed. For
when he came into contact with the Church as re
presented by many of her ministers, and compared the
actually existing state of matters with the theory, he was
chagrined to find the Church pervaded by a widespread
leaven of unfaithfulness to her own publicly avowed
principles. He had joined the Church because on
scriptural grounds he approved of purely vocal psalmody
and free prayer. Yet the men who had pledged them
selves to act as official guardians of these things he
found clamouring for organs and liturgies. And the
General Assembly, instead of faithfully administering
the laws of the Church, was persistently conniving at
the disregard of the Church's uniformity of worship,
and declaring, when appealed to by complainants against

v.] ECCLESIASTICAL DIFFICULTIES. 123
the illegal practices, that there was no cause for
interference. Mr. Bazely sometimes got in a congrega
tion of the Free Church that satisfaction which was
denied to him in the parish church — viz. simple
Presbyterian worship and earnest Gospel preaching.
There is yet another point in which Mr. Bazely did
not receive from the Church of Scotland the warm
practical encouragement which he was entitled to expect.
When one passes from Scotland to England and con
trasts the wretchedly low condition of the Church of
Scotland in England with the thriving condition of the
English Presbyterian Church there, one may well ask in
surprise the cause of so strange a difference. Yet this
is easily explained by certain facts which are far from
creditable to the Church of Scotland. Year after year,
the deputies to the General Assembly from the skeleton
synod in England complain that they get little or no
encouragement from the church to which they belong,
whereas the unestablished Presbyterians show abundant
cordiality to the English Presbyterian Church. Year
after year it is stated ad nauseam on the floor of the
General Assembly that, while indeed the Church of
Scotland will not disown Scotchmen who, being resident
in England, desire to retain their connection with their
own National Church, yet the Church of Scotland has
no wish to propagate Presbyterianism in England, or
do anything which might encourage Englishmen to be
come Presbyterians. This view, which thus treats re
ligion as a matter, not of sacred principle, but of
political geography, is obviously incompatible with the

124 HENRY BAZELY. [chap.v.
Saviour's announcement, " My kingdom is not of this
world." The disposition and attitude of the Church of Scot
land in this matter were deeply disappointing to Mr.
Bazely. Notwithstanding the valuable opportunity
provided by him for gaining a firm footing in Oxford,
his disinterested exertions, instead of being warmly
responded to, were treated almost with indifference.
Yet undeterred by the want of hearty practical en
couragement from Scotland, he gathered a good con
gregation. And had ordinances been promptly and
timeously supplied by the Church of Scotland when his
health constrained him to desist, the congregation would
most likely have continued to flourish, instead of being
dispersed as sheep without a shepherd.

CHAPTER VI.
FURTHER EVANGELISING LABOURS.
1870-1882.
Then in a moment to my view
The Stranger darted from disguise ;
The tokens in His hands I knew,
My Saviour stood before mine eyes !
He spake ; and my poor name He named ;
" Of Me thou hast not been ashamed ;
These deeds shall thy memorial be ;
Fear not ; thou didst them unto Me. "
James Montgomery.
Those who revere Bazely's character as an
evangelist are perhaps unwise if they regret the
exceeding interest he took in doctrinal and
ecclesiastical questions. So far from this hinder
ing him as an evangelist, it probably was in some
ways a help. Our Lord commanded His disciples
to be at once shepherds and fishers of men ; and
it is probably better for the evangelist to be also
a pastor. The more frequently a man preaches
to the outside crowd, the more thorough should
be his grasp of doctrine. The more irregular

126 HENRY BAZELY. [chap.
his methods are of reaching the ignorant and the
fallen, the more jealously should he cherish and
enjoy his ideal of perfect Christian worship.
With Bazely his pastoral and his evangelistic
work developed together, until it became marvel
lous how one man could accomplish so much.
From the year 1870 he engaged a Scripture-
reader to help him in his multifarious labours,
and made himself responsible for his salary.
Perhaps nothing proved his Christian heroism
more than his appearing in cap and gown at fairs
and races, to preach and distribute tracts. This
he began to do in 1869; and the work grew
upon his hands, until it reached its fullest measure
in 1874-75. I" 1 871 March 23-25, he was at
Warwick races. On August 17-18, at Oxford
races. September 4-5, at St. Giles' fair. Sep
tember 6, again at Warwick races. One who
was with him there relates that it was a pouring
wet day, and the tracts in their hands got pulpy.
His companions wanted to turn back : " No," said
he, pointing to the crowd ; " shall they have more
courage than we?" September 7-8, he was at
Abingdon races. While preaching on the course he
was set upon by roughs and shamefully ill-treated.

vi.] FURTHER EVANGELISING LABOURS. 127
Mr. Christopher adds : " He bore the treatment
with patience, and never thought it worth men
tioning to a friend. One well known to me, who
for years had habitually attended Abingdon races,
never went again after a conversation with Bazely
during his return from the racecourse." Sep
tember 11, he was at Witney fair. October 9,
at Abingdon fair "from 9.15 A.M. till 10 P.M."
October 12, at Banbury fair. Next year his
work in this direction was still harder. On April
2-3, he spent the afternoon on Warwick race
course. On April 16 he was at Reading steeple
chase, and was roughly handled. His own
taciturn diary mentions a " violent mob ;" Mr.
Watson, who was with him on that occasion, gives
the following account : " It was in the midst of
great uproar, with a crowd of 500 or more
persons round us, that the cry was raised, ' To
the water ! ' The whole crowd then began to
hustle us down to the water -jump. We were
very near to it, when a poor wretched woman
(an ' unfortunate ') stepped up to us, and stand
ing close beside us, said, ' Well, — if you put them
in, you shall put me in too!' It was this
alone that saved us from being put in. We

128 HENRY BAZELY. [chap.
afterwards thanked the woman for what she had
done, and we got into conversation with her.
She said that our preaching had shown her the
wickedness of her life, and that she wanted to
give it up. The next day at first the mob were
very troublesome ; but after a time they became
more attentive, and we had more encouragement
in the way of personal conversation and inquiry
than we generally had." On August 29-30 he
was again at Reading racecourse, having been
working at the Oxford races on the two preceding
days. This year (1872) he went to Ascot races
on June 13. He had been preaching in the
Market Square at Wantage on the previous
day. He slept at East Hendred, which was
so far out of his way that he could only get
to Ascot by starting at 1 A.M. on the 13th from
Didcot to Reading in the guard's van of a
goods-train. Reaching Reading at 3.30 A.M., he
had to wander about shelterless until the 8.7 train
started. His trip is thus entered in his diary :
June 13. — Started at 1 a.m. from Harfield Farm,
East Hendred — walked to Didcot through Harwell
(5 miles) — left Didcot by 3 a.m. train — reached Read
ing 3-3° — started at 8.7 — reached Sunningdale 8.43 —

vi.] FURTHER EVANGELISING LABOURS. 129
drove to Buckhurst Park, had breakfast — then on Ascot
racecourse till 5 p.m. — back to Oxford via Reading
8.10 p.m. — to prayer meeting. Very fine and hot.
On September 5-6 he was at Abingdon
races. Not much opposition was met with on
Thursday the 5 th, and he preached to attentive
audiences and gave tracts and pamphlets away
almost without annoyance. But on Friday he
was knocked down more than once, plentifully
bespattered with flour, and finally driven from
the ground. After an interval he was asked
what he meant to do — go back or go home ? he
replied, " Go back," and back he went. The next
day, when making some call, he was asked
whether he got hurt. He said, " No bones
broken ; only the board of my cap." On
September 9-10 he was as usual at St. Giles'
fair from 9 A.M. both days until long after
midnight. This year the roughs tried to upset
the large tent containing his Bible-stall by cutting
the ropes, and he and his friends had to defend
their goods. On September 16 he was at
Witney fair. In the mob he got a kick on the
instep, which caused him much suffering and
required Dr. Freeborn's attendance for days.
K

130 HENRY BAZELY. [chap.
On the Sunday after the injury he contrived to
preach at the Martyrs' Memorial by standing on
one leg and resting the other on a chair. He
was much exhausted, however, by the effort ; his
diary notes : " Spoke briefly at M. M. on Ps. lxiii.
i, 'O God, thou art my God, early will I seek
thee.' " Next Sunday he had to spend within
doors. On October 7 he was again at Abingdon
fair. The record of 1873 is much the same. In
1874 he was at Abingdon races, Oxford races,
St. Giles' fair, Witney fair, Reading, Wallingford,
and Abingdon fairs, Stratford-on-Avon and Ban
bury fairs.
In 1870 the Royal Agricultural Show was held
at Oxford, and Bazely was busily engaged during
the whole of the week in preaching and tract
distributing in and about the show-yard. Next
year, July 10-15, he did the same at Wolver
hampton Show; and in 1872, when the Royal
Agricultural Society visited Cardiff, he followed
their show thither, and worked at the show-yard
and in the neighbourhood from July 15-20. In
1874 he again visited the show-yard at Bed
ford. When interrupted at such places, as he some-

vi.] FURTHER EVANGELISING LABOURS. 131
times was, by a question intended to pose him,
he gave the questioner a serious answer, generally
in the words of Scripture. Once, when he was
preaching at St. Giles' fair, a man in the crowd
appealed to the bystanders, at the close of
Bazely's address, to disprove, if they could, that
God was the author of sin. "You see this little
finger," he said, holding up his hand, — " could I
move it at all but for the power of God ? neither
could I sin but for the power He gives me."
Bazely made short work (says one who was
present) of the scoffer, and quoted words of
Scripture which, he said, settled the question :
" Lo, this only have I found, that God hath made
man upright ; but they have sought out many
inventions" (Eecles. vii. 29). He then called on
the people to join in praying for the objector,
who was glad to slink away.
" I remember " (says Mr. Downer) '' one vaca
tion Bazely and I were giving away tracts in the
streets of London, when a man accosted him
with every appearance of sincerity, and put the
stock infidel question, 'Who was Cain's wife?'
Bazely at once gave him two answers, either of
which sufficed to solve the difficulty, upon which

132 HENRY BAZELY. [chap.
the man thanked him and passed on, apparently
disarmed by the learning and the directness of
the reply." From Holy Scripture he was always
ready to draw weapons, whether of attack or
defence. " We had been announcing some Town
Hall meetings," writes Mr. Sturdy, " in the High
Street, when the mob pelted us with snowballs.
As we retreated to the Martyrs' Memorial, Bazely,
walking backwards, repeated a number of texts
in the face of the crowd which was following us."
One who was present on Abingdon racecourse
with him relates that a betting-man remonstrated
with Bazely for coming there, saying that a race
course was not the place for preaching, and that
even the Bible said, "There is a time for every
thing." " Yes," Bazely replied, " and it also says
that we are to be ' instant in season and out of
season :' last Sunday I preached in my pulpit —
that was in season ; to-day I am preaching here —
that is out of season." At this ready reply there
was a laugh raised at the expense of the man,
and the crowd listened the more readily.
Meanwhile, Sunday after Sunday, when service
was over in his own church and in the other
churches, he might be found preaching at the

vi.] FURTHER EVANGELISING LABOURS. 133
Martyrs' Memorial. Even here he met with
some persecution. Soon after he commenced
this work, one winter evening certain under
graduates, from the Balliol windows adjoining,
pitched empty bottles at him. His diary con
tains the following entries: " 1870, May 22 ; at
M. M. — Noisy undergrads." "May 29. — Row."
"June 12. — Many noisy undergrads." "1871,
March 19, circ. 500. — Disturbance — police." In
1878 or 1879, while he was preaching there, some
undergraduates tried to interrupt the service in a
novel way. They had strewn gunpowder in and
about the crowd, and more thickly round Bazely
himself. At a signal lighted fusees were let fall
on the ground, and at the explosion the crowd
darted back in alarm. He himself remained
unmoved ; he went on preaching as if he neither
saw nor heard what was passing. In a few
moments the people, seeing his calm demeanour,
gathered quietly about him as attentive as before.
At another time, in the middle of his address,
some undergraduates came up to where he stood
preaching and tried all they could to interrupt
him. One or two pretended to be deaf, and
putting their hands to their ears thrust their faces

134 HENRY BAZELY. [chap.
close to his. He spoke on, unmoved, and at the
close of his address gave out the hymn, " Sun of
my soul," reading out each verse as it was sung.
When he came to the fourth verse the sight was
not soon to be forgotten ; for, with his hands
clasped and eyes closed, he repeated it as a
prayer; " If some poor wandering child of Thine,
Have spurned to-day the voice divine, Now, Lord,
the gracious work begin, Let him no more lie
down in sin." The young men stole silently
away. Usually the audience at the Memorial
was very orderly, although composed of very
various elements. There can be no doubt that
much good was done. Two men in 1871 were
overheard speaking of Bazely. Said one — " He
works hard all day, and then preaches at the
Memorial at night, and gets nothing for it but
scoffs and jeers." " Ah !" said the other, " he
works for a good Master." The authorities of
the City and University usually let him alone.
But in 1873 the indiscretion of one of his
younger friends provoked the Proctor to forbid
any undergraduate or B.A. taking part in open-
air meetings ; and in 1882 Bazely had to address
the following letter to the Chairman and Members

vi.] FURTHER EVANGELISING LABOURS. 135
of the Oxford Police Committee, which contains
an interesting review of his labours :
Gentlemen — I address you in reference to a letter,
dated April 20, which I received on the same day from
your clerk, the purport of which was to request me to desist
from preaching at the Martyrs' Memorial or in the public
streets, in consequence of certain reports laid before the
Committee of the obstruction caused thereby. I beg
respectfully to set before you the facts that for upwards
of twelve years, with hardly any intermission, orderly
and well attended services have been held at the
Martyrs' Memorial, in the great majority of which I
have myself taken part ; and that no remonstrance has
ever been addressed to me, or as far as I know to
others, for obstructing the public way. What the ob
struction recently complained of may be I cannot tell,
unless — as would appear from the statement of a police
Serjeant who stopped the preacher last Sunday evening
— it be the occupation by the preacher and some of the
congregation of a small piece of the foot-pavement round
the Memorial which faces west. If I am right in this
supposition, I can assure the Committee that the occupa
tion of this pavement has been continued for twelve
years quite inadvertently, the pavement appearing to be
simply the border to the railings of the Memorial. I
see now, on examination, that the particular piece of the
pavement in question is a continuation of the pavement
on the east side of Magdalen Street, — unlike the re
mainder of the pavement on the other sides of the

136 HENRY BAZELY. [chap.
railings, which has no such connection with any street.
I do not think it is possible that any reasonable complaint
of obstruction can be made if the site of the service be
changed to some spot a few yards north of the causeway
running from Beaumont Street to Balliol College ; and
I venture very earnestly to ask you, gentlemen, if you
will allow this new site to be tried for one or two
Sundays. Perhaps I ought to add for your information
that, if obstructions in other parts of Magdalen Street
have sometimes taken place in consequence of disturb
ances which occurred on a few evenings in last term, and
which called for the interference of the police, such
disturbances have been wholly due to the disgraceful
conduct of a few undergraduates. Precisely similar
disturbances, only perhaps of a rather graver character,
took place soon after the service was begun twelve years
ago, and were in a very short time entirely suppressed
(if I remember rightly) by the vigorous action of the
Proctors in office for the current year. And it can
hardly be doubted that the same method of preserving
order would be as efficacious now. The citizens who
have been in the habit of attending the services in large
numbers, and lately with an increase in the usual num
bers, have never made the slightest disturbance ; their
behaviour has been decorous, and a considerable propor
tion have listened with evident interest and apparent rever
ence. It would seem hard that these should be deprived
of a service which (to judge from their attendance) they
seem to value, on account of a spasmodic outbreak of
rowdyism on the part of a mere handful of undergraduates.

vi.] FURTHER EVANGELISING LABOURS. 137
Bazely's name as an open-air preacher became
very widely known, and in June 1876 (he was
then in Deacon's Orders) he attended the annual
meeting of the Open-air Mission at Lambeth,
and detailed his experiences with the agents of
the Mission in visiting races, fairs, etc. It was
then that Archbishop Tait spoke so feelingly of
Bazely's work. He said :
It was impossible to pass through the streets of
London without seeing unmistakable signs on every side
that there was a large population whom no church, and
no chapel, and no ordinary religious arrangement were
able to reach so as, even for a short time, to draw their
minds to higher things. Now, it is of the very essence
of such efforts as that which has brought us here together
to-day, to endeavour to reach those who cannot be
reached by the ordinary ministrations of our churches.
I rejoice to be standing next my friend here, under
whose father, in Oxford, in old times, I remember much
wholesome discipline and instruction being conducted ;
he held a great and honoured place as one of the
regular instructors in that great University, and I am
glad to say that he is still able to officiate and do good
and effectual regular work in my present diocese. But
I am rejoiced to think that, in the vigour of youth, a
son of such a father is able to take a good and useful
part in this irregular work also, and to make such
progress as he has been describing to us. I trust that

138 HENRY BAZELY. [chap.
my old University will send forth many such sons to
take part in every kind of work which the cause of the
Redeemer demands. The old Universities send forth
their missionaries to distant lands ; but we need mission
aries at home, as well as at a distance.
While we wonder at the courage and endurance
displayed by Bazely as an evangelist, be it
remembered that he was never carried along by
the excitement of the work — he was always
perfectly calm ; neither by its novelty — for he
persevered in it for years ; and the notoriety he
incurred by his conduct was a continual trial to
his great reserve and humility. It was simply
the love of Christ which constrained him ; when
he saw so many thousands living within sight and
sound of Christian worship and yet in complete
neglect of God, he could not (however strict his
Calvinism) endure to fold his hands — he felt a
call to go forth to the fair, the racecourse, or the
highway, and " compel them to come in."
The last time he preached at the Martyrs'
Memorial was on Easter Sunday evening 1882.
" It was vacation," says the Rev. A. P. Cox, who
was there, " and not many undergraduates were
present to take part in the service, yet the attend-

vi.] FURTHER EVANGELISING LABOURS. 139
ance was as large as usual. But the feature of
the occasion was his address. He spoke with
remarkable force on the words, ' That I may know
Him, and the POWER OF His RESURRECTION.'
He could not have closed his preaching at the
Memorial with more fitting words, although God
only knew it was the last Easter he would spend
on earth."
His work as an evangelist was by no means
confined to preaching ; he was incessantly engaged
in works of Christian charity. Here it is very
difficult to trace out his steps, for he avoided
making more than the most necessary memoranda
of his various efforts. In many cases, too, the help
rendered was of necessity a secret between himself
and those concerned. He was as perpetually
giving away alms as tracts, and he visited the
poor as much as he preached to them. The Rev.
H. C. Sturdy (his fellow lodger for six years), says :
He had the spirit of his Master, and was always
ready to relieve temporal as well as spiritual wants.
Every winter he would buy thousands of packets of
soup -powder, and our good landlady would testify to
the numbers of half-starved beggars who were refreshed
with bread and soup in our hall. His Sunday even-

140 HENRY BAZELY. [chap.
ing visits to the tramps' lodging-houses, at which he
preached the Gospel, brought many destitute ones to our
door, but never were they sent empty away. The over
crowding, the filth, and evil surroundings of these places
suggested to him that he should open a tramps' lodging-
house in St. Aldate's. I accompanied him when he
purchased the things requisite for fitting it up ; when it
was opened it speedily filled, and every bed was
occupied. He conducted family prayers there at the
close of the day. On Sunday morning he was accustomed
to give a free breakfast to the lodgers, at which he pre
sided, and by this means he endeavoured to civilise and
to win them. At first they were often shy about appearing
without shoes and stockings or jacket ; and with trousers
all tattered and torn; and when they were persuaded to sit
at the table, they often did not know how to use their knife
and fork — their fingers served them instead. It was en
couraging to witness the change in a few weeks in their
outward appearance and behaviour, and not a few, I trust,
learned to know and love their Saviour through this effort.
The house was opened Nov. 6, 1874; Bazely
superintended the details of it himself and kept
careful accounts of expenditure. It was not quite
self-supporting, but University friends of all shades
of opinion were glad to subscribe and thereby to
show sympathy with Bazely's philanthropic labours.
His personal interest in the lodging-house and its
inmates was so great that it was with deep regret

vi.] FURTHER EVANGELISING LABOURS. 141
that he closed it at Christmas 1876, when he
was leaving for Sunday work in London. Mr.
Butlin says :
He was very generous ; on one occasion he wrote to
me for information about a labourer who was living in a
village near my home. On inquiry I found that he had
lent the man £1 simply on the strength of his word, in
order to enable him to reach his friends and begin work
again. I am glad to say Bazely's kindness was not
abused, for the man faithfully repaid the loan.
He was one who literally carried out the
precepts of the Sermon on the Mount. On New
Year's Day, when ministering in Alfred St., and
similarly at St. Andrew's, Stepney, he would
gather the poor and the outcast — especially poor
Scotch people, but not excluding others — for tea
and entertainment. " I have mainly in view," he
wrote of this effort, " those who are not regular
worshippers in any church or chapel." The
expense very largely fell upon himself. In 1874
(not to speak of other such occasions) he had his
Christmas dinner with the lodgers at his home in
St. Aldate's, from 1.30-3.30, providing for them
beef and mutton and pudding. Being asked next
day how the dinner went off, he replied, " Every
scrap of meat eaten — the bones scraped." " I am

142 HENRY BAZELY. [chap.
afraid you fared badly," said his friend ; " Oh
no," he answered, " I had a bit of pudding." This
was all his Christmas dinner: for at 4.30 to
8 that evening he was waiting on a number of
old men and women at the tea he had prepared
for them. His diary for 1875 has the following
entry :
December 25 : Dinner with lodgers 1.30 p.m. Tea
for poor old solitary folk, 4.30 p.m. To St. Thomas'
[i.e. the low lodging-houses], with cake, etc. afterwards.
It was characteristic of him to fix his lodgings
so many years down in the heart of the poorest
part of the city, at 2 St. Aldate's Bridge, com
monly called " Folly Bridge." Here he had, it is
true, a fine view of the river, and was close to the
Abingdon Road ; he was also not too far from
the principal colleges, and conveniently near his
friend Mr. Christopher's church and rectory room.
Above all, he was surrounded by the poor, and
could study their habits and enter into their needs.
Not that his sympathy with them ever blinded
him to their faults or made him flinch from telling
them the truth. Two incidents in his life upon
the Bridge will show that he was as firm as he
was kind. Having discovered that the servant-

vi.] FURTHER EVANGELISING LABOURS. 143
maid was pilfering his wine, he charged her with
it, and she denied it. Again he took notice and
found that she was taking the biscuits. Fearing
again to accuse her, lest he should drive her to
another falsehood, he wrote the following words
on a bit of paper (which lies before me), and
placed it beneath all the biscuits at the bottom of
the tin :
Be sure your sin will, find you out. — Thou shalt not
steal. We know that you have been helping yourself
several times to the gingerbread. We do not speak to
you about your sin, because we fear that you will tell a
falsehood, as you did about the wine. Only we ask you
to confess your sins to God, who has seen you every time,
and steal no more.
The biscuits all went as before, until these
words stared the girl in the face. She was cured
of her fault, at any rate for the time. The other
occasion alluded to was on Sept. 7, 1872, and
is described by Mr. Sturdy :
One Saturday night I had retired to rest just before
midnight, when I was awakened by hearing a fearful
yelling from a multitude of voices. I rushed downstairs
to Bazely's room, and through his blinds I saw 800 or
1000 roughs intent on doing some mischief to Alderman
Randall, because he had, as a magistrate, very properly,

144

HENRY BAZELY. [chap.

been unwilling to grant the longest hours for the opening
of public-houses at night. I recollect Bazely saying,
" I shall go out, if any attack is likely to be made, and
do my best to protect Mr. Randall."
Mr. Randall lived at Grandpont House, within
a stone's throw of Bazely's lodgings. The follow
ing letter was addressed by Bazely and his friend
Mr. Sturdy to the Mayor of Oxford on Sept. 16,
with reference to this affair :
Right Worshipful Sir — Our attention has been
directed to the report in the local newspapers of the
meeting of the Police Committee to consider the conduct
of the police on the nights of the 7th and 8th instant.
We observe that the Committee came to this conclusion
among others, that the police were not justified in using
their staves on the night of the 8th instant. We venture
to submit to the Committee that we witnessed from our
windows the disturbance, when the mob was in close
proximity to Grandpont House, and we feel that we
should be grievously wanting in our duty if we did not
express our strong conviction that the conduct of the
rioters was such as fully to justify, and urgently to require,
the use by the police of their staves. Indeed, we were
disposed to think that the police erred rather on the side
of leniency, and in some cases which we saw and heard
the forbearance and gentleness shown by the police
towards refractory persons was remarkable.
With regard to the decision of the Committee to

vi.] FURTHER EVANGELISING LABOURS. 145
dismiss from their service an inspector and two policemen,
we make no remark if (as it appears) this decision was
arrived at in consequence of an assault on a person
named Eller, of which we saw and knew nothing. But
we cannot shrink from thus publicly stating what were
from the first our private convictions as to the excellent
behaviour of the police as far as it came beneath our
notice — the more especially as we were, we suppose,
the only spectators of the riotous conduct of the mob
on this side of the Bridge besides those who formed part
of the crowd.
No wonder that the working people revered
him. I noticed this the last time we had a walk
together. It was in 1875, after I had left Oxford
for a country parish. We strolled round the
Parks discussing "evangelical and legal obedience,"
and I thought his views seemed wise and practical.
We came round by the Summertown Road into
the Oxford streets just between 5 and 6 P.M.
Scores of masons and labourers were hastening
home from work. I observed to him how many
of the men gave him a respectful but friendly
salute. He told me he knew them all, and fre
quently visited many of them at their homes. He
spoke of a sceptical tailor whom he sometimes
visited on a Sunday afternoon as he was at work
L

146 HENRY BAZELY. [chap.
on his board, and how the man always received him
kindly. How wide and how deep was his influence
upon the working classes was shown by a touching
incident that occurred a year after his death. His
father was at Victoria Station and went to deposit
his bag in the cloak-room ; the railway porter eyed
the name on the bag and said with feeling, " I
knew a Mr. Bazely at Oxford, dear man ! " " He
was my son," the father replied.
There was no depth of human sin and suffering
too deep for Bazely to stoop down and endeavour
to help and save. That he repeatedly visited
prisoners in gaol is not strange ; but how many
men besides himself would have dared to speak to
poor street-walkers whom he met in St. Aldate's
at night ? But he was so pure, so simple, and so
well known as an evangelist, that he could do
anything. One poor girl I heard of, who said she
had been led astray when a servant at Henley by
an Oxford man at the Regatta ; she had wandered
to Oxford in vacation time in the vain hope of
finding her betrayer. Here Bazely came across
her, and took her to a penitents' home. Puris
omnia pur a ; he would even seek out these poor
creatures in the houses of ill-fame. This aspect

vi.] FURTHER EVANGELISING LABOURS. 147
of his labours is thus described by a High Church
friend of his :
During 1874 and part of the year 1875 we went out
together at nights from 9 to 1 1 p.m. to induce some of
the women who frequent the Oxford streets during term
time to enter the Refuge in St. Aldate's. We brought
in during these years thirty-two women in this way. I
have at the present time all their names, and I can speak
positively about some of the cases. Last year ( 1 8 8 4) I was
at the Oxford station, and one of these young women
was waiting for a train ; she was in charge of her
mistress's luggage, who was passing through Oxford. At
first I had some difficulty in recognising her ; in conver
sation with her I found that she had been with her pre
sent mistress for three years, and she assured me that her
life was entirely changed. She was in receipt of ^25
a year, and had every appearance of a well-conducted
person. She said, " I owe everything to the efforts of
Mr. Bazely and yourself." I could give other instances
of the same kind.
The lady who knew more than any one else of
this department of his work gives the following
particulars :
Dear Mrs. Bazely — As you wish that I should
note down some of my recollections of your dear
husband, I will endeavour to do so ; but I feel that
anything I or others could say must always be quite in
adequate to convey a true impression of one whose life

148 HENRY BAZELY. [chap.
was so completely " hid with Christ in God." Mr.
Bazely was naturally of a very retiring disposition, but
it was, I think, his deliberate purpose in the practice of
humility to conceal as much as possible the remarkable
self-denial and devotion with which he served his Master.
He never spoke of himself or of his ceaseless labours in
the cause of his Lord, unless it was absolutely wrung
from him by the very necessities of the work : and it is
in that way only that I became acquainted, in some
degree, with the extent of his efforts for the temporal and
spiritual benefit of all who in any rank of life seemed to
him in need of succour. Circumstances had given me
unusual opportunities of learning the details of many
cases of sin and misery, chiefly amongst the lowest
classes in this city, and it has been solely in connection
with these that I have enjoyed the privilege of long and
intimate intercourse with Mr. Bazely. The first time I
ever saw him, he came to seek me in reference to a case
of rescue ; and in all the years that have elapsed since
then, I do not think that he ever paid me a visit of
mere friendship, kind as he always was to me. If any
person could be benefited by our consulting together he
came, often late at night or early in the morning, but
not otherwise, simply because he would not spare a
moment of time for even the most harmless recreation.
To me, however, his acquaintance was an inestimable
gain, not only because of the benefit his holy example
must have been to all who knew him, but on account of
the generous and energetic assistance which he was
always ready to give at any moment, day or night, when

vi.] FURTHER EVANGELISING LABOURS. 149
his help was sought for sufferers or evil-doers. It was
sufficient to tell him the merest outline of any case of
difficulty to ensure that he would take it up at once at what
ever cost of pain or fatigue to himself, and never cease
his labours till he had done all that human strength could
do to bring it to a good result. His success as a rule was
wonderful, and there seemed to be a manifest blessing
over all his work. I will give you a few instances of his
energy and self-abnegation in these matters. I heard,
on one occasion, of a case of indescribable wickedness,
where a very young girl was the helpless victim of the
person most bound to be her protector. I was told that
the man was a desperate character, and that it would be
dangerous for any one to attempt to interfere with him.
I sent a post-card to Mr. Bazely asking him to come
and see me ; he did so at once — late in the evening.
I told him all I had heard, and explained to him that the
man lived alone in his own rooms with the unfortunate
child, and carried oh his criminal life so secretly that the
authorities of the law could not touch him. To approach
him at all would be like braving a wild beast in his den,
and Mr. Bazely thoroughly understood this ; nevertheless
with perfect cheerfulness and calm he said, " I will go to
him :'' and he did — with scarce another word he left the
room to enter on his painful and perilous task.
When he next came to see me, it was to tell me that he
had been successful beyond my utmost hopes. The girl
had been rescued and placed in safety; and the wretched
man had been so impressed by Mr. Bazely's solemn
words and quiet resolution that, outwardly at least, he

150 HENRY BAZELY. [chap.
seemed reformed, and disappeared, I believe, from the
town altogether.
I used to tell Mr. Bazely afterwards how it seemed
to me like a miracle that the terrible evils which had
appeared almost beyond human help should, so far as I
was concerned, have been entirely removed by the simple
writing of a post-card !
On another occasion Mr. Bazely undertook a most
difficult case, which, if it did not offer any risk of physical
violence like the last, yet required a very unusual amount
of moral courage. The friends of a young girl who was
in a respectable position came to me in the deepest
distress, to tell me that " a University gentleman " (as
they expressed it) had persuaded her to leave her home
and go with him to a town at some distance, where it
had been ascertained that they were living together in
lodgings. There was no pretence that the young man
meant to marry her. Letters of expostulation had all
been in vain, and she had no parents living whose
authority could be brought to bear on the case ; nor,
indeed, would it probably have been effectual, as she
had passed the age of legal control.
As usual, I turned to Mr. Bazely for advice, and he
acted with the same energetic promptitude which in
variably characterised him in such matters. It always
seemed to me that for him the mere knowledge of any
new case of sin or sorrow was equivalent to a Divine
command that he should try to remedy it. He told me
quietly that he would go by the next available train to
the place indicated. Without introduction, except by

vi.] FURTHER EVANGELISING LABOURS. 151
his right as a minister of the Gospel, he walked straight
into the room where the young man was sitting with his
unhappy companion. How he influenced them I cannot
tell, but he was entirely successful. The girl was re
moved to a home where she went through two years'
training, and is now respectably married ; and the young
man was brought back to Oxford without his disgraceful
flight being known. So far as he was concerned, how
ever, Mr. Bazely's work did not end there ; he continued
to visit him, and led him apparently to a real repentance ;
but he soon found that the inordinate use of stimulants
had brought him into a terrible state of health, and that
he was almost on the verge of insanity. It became
absolutely necessary that he should be placed at once
under the care of his own friends, but he was ashamed
to present himself before them, and refused to go. Mr.
Bazely, under the sanction of medical advice, took the
matter into his own hands. It was late in the evening,
but there was no time to be lost. He telegraphed to the
young man's friends to expect him next morning, and
then, by means of some strange power which he had
acquired over the patient's mind, he conveyed him to
the station in time for the last train, engaged a carriage
to be kept for themselves, and then shut himself into
it alone with the young man, who had become quite
delirious. The journey was one of many hours, and Mr.
Bazely told me afterwards that it was the' most terrible
night he ever spent — occupied for the most part in
struggling with his unfortunate companion to prevent
him doing himself an injury. In the morning, however,

1 52 HENRY BAZELY. [chap.
he was able to give him over in safety to the care of
his friends; and their gratitude for the disinterested
kindness Mr. Bazely had shown was so great, that one
of the family came to Oxford later to renew his thanks
and give him news of the patient's complete recovery as
the result of his efforts.
The young man himself, when restored to his right
mind, felt so keenly the benefit he had derived from
Mr. Bazely's influence, that he felt very anxious he
should do what he could for a college companion who
had fallen into a most abject condition through an un
suitable alliance and other wrong and reckless actions.
As usual Mr. Bazely did not lose a day in seeking out
this person too ; but it took months of arduous toil to
accomplish all that he was resolved to do for him — that
was nothing less than reconciling him to the relations
(persons of high position), who had quite given up
attempting to reclaim him, and finding him a suitable
occupation in a foreign country where he was able to get
his own living in a position of honest independence.
These are only one or two instances of Mr. Bazely's
influence for good over persons in his own rank of life :
but his most continuous and devoted work was usually
amongst the very lowest, and even apparently hopeless,
classes. For many years he went every Sunday evening
to a wretched lodging-house in a poor parish, where
tramps and outcasts of all descriptions were harboured
for the night, in very unseemly fashion. There he sat
amongst them, and spoke to them of the Saviour, Whose
Name they scarcely knew, and did his utmost to bring

vi.] FURTHER EVANGELISING LABOURS. 153
some gleams of heavenly light into their great darkness.
It was work which required strength both of mind and
body, and Mr. Bazely undertook it immediately after he
had gone through the exhausting labour of open-air
preaching to the crowds who used to assemble to hear
him at the Martyrs' Memorial. His visits to the lodging-
house necessarily brought to his notice many cases of
great poverty and suffering, and to these he returned
day after day, giving them all needful help with a
generosity which seemed to know no stint. How he
found means for all his large-handed charity I never
could understand, but I think the solution of the prob
lem might have been found in his self-denying habits,
and utter disregard of his own comfort. He never
seemed to give himself time even for necessary meals,
or so much as a thought to his own physical wellbeing ;
and I cannot but fear that his life of hard work and
voluntary privation may have been a secondary cause,
under God, of the malady to which he succumbed in the
prime of his years. If it were so, we can but feel that
he has gone to receive the reward of that greater love
which was ready to lay down even life itself for the one
Divine Friend to whom all his heart was given.
Mr. Bazely possessed a very remarkable power of
influencing even the most lawless and degraded char
acters. I think scarcely a week passed that he was not
engaged in the rescue of some of the misguided women
who unhappily are very numerous in this city. He took
great interest in the establishment of a Refuge on their
behalf in the parish of his friend Mr. Christopher, and

154 HENRY BAZELY. [chap.
he did immense service in assisting the persons in charge
to control the wayward inmates, and prevent them from
yielding to the impulses which often assailed them to
return to their evil life. I remember once, when he
spent nearly a whole night in co-operating with the
matron to prevent the flight, even at that unseemly hour,
of some who had been seized with a strong temptation
to give up their brief effort at reform. He was success
ful as usual, but day had dawned before he returned
exhausted to his home. For boys and men of an equally
degraded stamp he made a great effort by establishing a
lodging-house, where they could have a night's rest at a
less amount than they had to pay for the wretched
accommodation offered them in the public lodgings
which he visited on Sunday nights. He engaged a
respectable man and his wife to take charge of this well-
conducted home for houseless youths and men, but he
himself superintended all arrangements, and was present
every night to read and pray with the inmates.
It was with great regret that he was obliged by cir
cumstances at length to close this house ; but not until
it had, I believe, been a means of ultimate reform to
many who came under his influence there. Another
instance of his consistent kindness to the poor came to
my knowledge accidentally, after it had been carried on
for years, and I think it was scarcely ever known to any
but those who benefited by it. A week or two before
every Christmas he sought out with infinite care and
pains all the solitary old men and women, widows and
others, who had no friends with whom they could spend

vi.] FURTHER EVANGELISING LABOURS. 155
the glad day of the Saviour's birth, and invited them to
dine with him in a large room which he provided for the
purpose ; and there he spent the whole evening with his
numerous guests, who came indiscriminately from all parts
of the town and beyond it ; he prepared some useful
little present for each one, and made the evening bright
for them by speaking to them of the heavenly hopes of
a world all joy and peace, when they had passed away
from that which was to them so desolate.
In closing this very imperfect sketch of Mr. Bazely's
work on earth, as it was known to me, I cannot pass
over in silence one trait in his character which had a
great effect on the happiness of my intercourse with him.
While holding the strongest and most definite opinions
himself on religious subjects, he always showed a truly
liberal sympathy with the views of others, and never
made the slightest attempt to combat their ideas, or to
obtrude his own. The fact that he knew me to be
an attached member of the Church of England, which
he had left to become a Presbyterian minister, never
marred in the slightest degree the kindly friendship sub
sisting between us — on the contrary, he showed the
most delicate consideration for my feelings at the time
when he finally gave up his position as a deacon, by
writing to tell me of his decision personally ; he said he
knew I should regret it very much, and therefore he did
not wish me to hear of it from any one but himself, in
order that he might fully explain his reasons to me. I
need hardly say that his motives were so perfectly pure
and conscientious, I could only feel, however much I

156 HENRY BAZELY. [chap. vi.
thought him mistaken in the abstract, that the blessing
of God must be with him in whatever he did, both then
and always. Others will speak, no doubt, in full detail of
his wonderful patience and submission during his long
and trying illness, but none could feel more strongly
than I did, as I stood by your side at his open grave,
that we were but laying to rest the mortal body of one
whose blessed spirit was surely even then rejoicing in
the immediate presence of the Saviour he had loved and
served so well. — Believe me, dear Mrs. Bazely, very
sincerely yours, F. M. F. Skene.

CHAPTER VII.
WORK AMONGST YOUNG MEN.
1866-1883.
Porter. Will you not go in, and stay till morning ?
Great-heart. No, I will return to my Lord to-night.
Chris. Oh sir, I know not how to be willing you should leave
us in our Pilgrimage, you have been so faithful and so loving
to us, you have fought so stoutly for us, you have been so
hearty in counselling of us, that I shall never forget your favour
towards us. Bunyan's Pilgrim's Progress.
'' We owe a duty to all men, even to our equals "
was the cynical comment provoked by a certain
type of modern philanthropy. The sarcasm falls
harmless upon Bazely's life and work. Much as
he laboured amongst the poorest and most de
graded, he was all the while busy in promoting
the welfare of those more near him in rank. Thus
he never lost touch of his University friends,
although his enormous labours of all kinds pre
vented him from entering (even if he had the
inclination) into the ordinary gatherings of
academical society. From 1866, after he took

158 HENRY BAZELY. [chap.
his degree, until the time of his last illness, most
of his mornings during term time were occupied
with private pupils, whose society kept him in
continuous contact with each generation of Oxford
life. At first these pupils were usually drawn
from among the young university men whom the
Rector of St. Aldate's gathered round him, to
encourage them in habits of holiness and of
religious effort during their time at Oxford. " To
not a few undergraduates," writes one of these
young friends, " Sunday is not merely a day of
repose, broken only by ordinary religious exercises,
but an opportunity for zealous work for God.
By this I mean such efforts as open-air preaching,
services in the lodging-houses frequented by tramps
and other poor people, tract-distribution, visiting
the poor, helping in the ragged school, and other
similar tasks. It is not to be supposed that these
are the purposes for which a Christian man enters
the University. Nor does he regard himself as a
regular lay-helper of the Oxford clergy ; but he
does feel (as every Christian ought) that he is
called upon to perform some definite aggressive
work for God.^ Among such University men
Bazely soon was recognised as a leader and

vn.] WORK AMONGST YOUNG MEN. 159
adviser. They were the spiritual descendants of
the Oxford Methodists of Wesley's early days.
And indeed that holy tradition had never died
out in. the University, nor was it the exclusive
privilege of one religious party. Bishops now
living and high dignitaries of the Church could
be named who, when undergraduates, would take
a class from time to time in Oxford parish
schools, or teach in the Sunday school of St.
Thomas' or elsewhere. Mr. Downer says :
Bazely was very kind in assisting junior men prepar
ing for examination. It was his earnest desire that men
professing to serve Christ should not dishonour Him
by failure in the schools. I was only one of the many
men who shared his kindness in the loan of his valuable
marked books, and in personal assistance. He would
translate long passages to me, pointing out difficulties
and asking test questions.
His work as a private tutor was undertaken
from a strict sense of duty. From his father he
had declined to receive more than a moderate
allowance, preferring to earn his own living by
tuition. His generosity knew no limits, and
therefore he often remitted fees if there seemed
good cause. But he urgently needed all he
could earn to support his large expenditure upon

160 HENRY BAZELY. [chap.
charitable objects. From October 1868 until De
cember 1869 he was a lay -helper in St. Aldate's
parish, and as such received a curate's salary.
This was the only time at which he received any
pay for his ministerial labours. About 1873, at
his father's desire, his allowance was doubled ;
and this addition to his means he thankfully and
affectionately received, as his various efforts were
becoming a greater tax upon his resources. Many
wealthy persons in various quarters, who came to
know what a work he was doing, sent him
unsolicited gifts towards his various projects.
These he gratefully accepted. But he preferred
to earn, as far as possible, the money he gave
away, and repeatedly declined the request of his
father to receive larger allowances, assuring him
that he was in no need of extraordinary assist
ance. At his mother's death his father insisted
on his receiving at once the free use of a large
portion of such means as he would ultimately be
entitled to. This enabled him to build the church
and manse in Jericho. It is necessary to mention
these facts ; for it was a mystery to Bazely's
friends how he found money for all his charities.
It is also due to his memory to record that by

vn.] WORK AMONGST YOUNG MEN. 161
far the larger part of his charity was expended out
of his own hard earnings — on himself he spent as
little as possible.
The instituting of an honour school of theology
at Oxford in 1870 gave a fresh opening for his
exertions. From this time he rarely took any
pupil except for honours in theology, and he soon
became a favourite teacher among students of
every shade of opinion. To himself it was very
congenial employment, for theology had always
been his favourite study, and he was widely and
deeply read both in the Fathers and in modern
divines. He was by nature and habit a debater
and controversialist ; yet never was a man more
free from the arts of the Jesuit or the narrowness
of a bigot. Younger men felt a keen enjoyment
in his conversation. " His pocket Greek Testa
ment," writes Mr. Downer, "was always a wonder
to his younger friends. It was marked and scored
all through in a systematic manner, and his
available knowledge of it was very great. He
was constantly urging us to the study of theology :
' Nowadays,' he once wrote to me, ' the queen of
sciences is vulgarly despised.' " Mr. Walwyn de
scribes his readiness in controversy :
M

1 62 HENRY BAZELY. [chap.
The many walks and talks we had together were
always, to myself, of equal benefit and delight. On one
of these occasions the subject under discussion was
Romanism. Bazely undertook to put the case in its
favour ; and taking up its leading doctrines one after
another, he presented them with such consummate skill
and supported them with such marvellous power, that I
doubt whether the Pope could find a more able advocate
amongst the Jesuits themselves. I felt almost annihil
ated ; and instead of attempting to reply, begged him
to put the Protestant case also himself. Whereupon he
took up point after point in the same order as before,
and piercing with one keen thrust the fallacy which
underlay each argument that had seemed so plausible
and perfect, he shattered it to atoms, until the demoli
tion was complete. It was, I think, the most beautiful
exhibition of dialectical skill I have ever witnessed.
In teaching his theological pupils he did not
trade upon his past knowledge alone ; he made
careful preparation day by day, and the many
volumes of his note -books testify to his pains
taking care. Nor was he satisfied with the mere
imparting of knowledge. He endeavoured to
make his pupils think, and forced them to face
the logical and practical conclusions of this or
that theological position. Undergraduates of all
views, High Churchmen and Low Churchmen alike,

vn.] WORK AMONGST YOUNG MEN. 163
were drawn to him not only by his knowledge
and power of imparting it, but by his transparent
sincerity and untiring kindness. "The secret of
his influence over our minds," so undergraduates
have told his wife, "was his careful avoidance of
any obtrusion of his own religious views upon our
notice." Yet they could not be unaware that this
kind, learned, and broad-minded tutor was the
same man who was perpetually labouring amongst
the outcast, preaching every Sunday at the
Memorial, and spending and being spent on
works of mercy. No wonder that with many of
his pupils the acquaintance ripened into lifelong
friendship. Here is a letter from one of them :
My dear Bazely — I have great pleasure in sending
the nominal fee of ^10 — I say nominal because I can
never repay you for all I have learnt. As for the gain
of your friendship, that is incalculable, especially as I
know it has a foundation which ensures its everlasting
fruition. . . .
A character at once so strong and so gentle
led young men to find in him a friend and
adviser in any kind of anxiety :
Mr. Bazely's study on Folly Bridge (writes Mr.
Webster, well known in Oxford for his " Church Army "

1 64 HENRY BAZELY. [chap.
work) was the dearly-prized refuge of many a young
earnest undergraduate ; where his intellectual difficulties
could be either swept away by the clear reasoning of the
well-read theologian, or at least robbed of their evil
effect by the sympathy of the deep-thinking Christian ;
here his moral nature was sure to be braced and
strengthened by contact with the fearless spirit of this
uncompromising soldier of the cross, and his spiritual
senses quickened at the sight of a true manly saint.
Deep and lasting, I believe, were the impressions made
on many who heard his burning words at the Martyrs'
Memorial, or saw his labours on the racecourse, or at St.
Giles' fair ; but deeper still was the work that was
wrought in the hearts of those who knew dear Mr.
Bazely as a friend and brother. True, he was a worker,
a thinker, a preacher; he was before all this a man, a
Christian, a saint. It was the perfection of his Christian
character that won all who knew him, and convinced
them of the practical value of real religion.
Not less helpful was he in dealing with the
moral difficulties of undergraduates. Thus Mr.
Christopher writes : " Young men who had fallen
into sin and its terrible earthly miseries learned,
in Bazely's actions towards themselves, something
of the heart of the Saviour towards the lost. On
one occasion, in 1872, just when his active mind
had become greatly interested in the early debates
ofthe General Assembly ofthe Established Church

vn.] WORK AMONGST YOUNG MEN. 165
of Scotland, he received a letter from a young
University friend, whose name he never revealed,
asking the aid of his personal efforts in a great
difficulty into which he had fallen through his
own sins. Bazely at once gave up the debates he
so greatly enjoyed, and travelled night and day
from Edinburgh to the south of England to help
this young man. Surely such looking not at his
own things but at the things of others specially
manifested the mind that was in Christ Jesus
(Phil. ii. 4, 5)." The same self-denial showed
itself in his kindness to young men who came
up from school to try for scholarships at Oxford,
especially when he knew them to be short of
means. "Mr. Bazely," says Mr. Sturdy, "would give
such an one valuable hints, and beg him to be his
guest. Again and again I have known him give
up his bed to a friend, while he himself slept on
the sofa." " ' He did kind things so kindly' may
be said of dear Mr. Bazely " (writes another), " as
it was of his Master. Whether it was for high or
low, rich or poor, no trouble, no inconvenience, no
expense, was too great, if only he could help some
one. He was always doing things for other
people." How he found time and strength for

1 66 HENRY BAZELY. [chap.
his multifarious labours, especially during the
years 1870-74, seemed a mystery. Of course,
his pupils only needed attention during the
University terms. But at all times his en
durance was taxed to the utmost. He never
wasted a moment of time, and the same strict
economy appeared to regulate every action of his
life. He allowed himself nothing unnecessary in
diet, and for this reason was an abstainer from
alcoholic liquors. In dress he was severely simple,
and in all things he lived by rule. " His powers
of endurance," writes his fellow-lodger, Mr. Sturdy
(1869-75), "were remarkable. I always left
him at work at night, and found him at work in
the morning. He was in the habit of labouring
until the early hours of the morning, and yet he
was always ready for family prayers at 7 A.M.
Often have I earnestly begged him to spare himself,
but in vain. His tutorial duties as a theology
teacher, with perhaps ten pupils doing different
work, required much study ; his work as a pastor
and as an open-air preacher filled up every spare
moment of his time." Referring to this period of
his life, Mr. Watson thus describes his day : " He
was always to be found at the daily prayer-meet-

vn.] WORK AMONGST YOUNG MEN. 167
ing [at St. Aldate's Rectory room] at 7.30 A.M.,
and by that time he had done an hour's reading.
He would read with pupils from 9 to 1, would
be out visiting the sick and poor or looking
up undergraduates all the afternoon, and in the
evening at lectures or meetings, from which he
rarely returned before 10 P.M. On Sunday his
day began with the early prayer-meeting at 7.30
A.M. ; at 10 came the University sermon, which
he hardly ever missed. Church at 11; under
graduates' prayer-meeting at 1 ; the University
sermon again at 2 P.M.; a Bible-class at 3.15;
the Young Men's Christian Association Bible-class
at 5.15; church again at 7 ; the open-air meeting
at the Martyrs' Memorial at 8.30 ; visiting the
lowest lodging-houses from 9.40 P.M. to 10.30
P.M." Labours so incessant as these left him little
time for entertaining. Yet in his room at Folly
Bridge every friend was welcomed with such
hospitality as befits a busy man. " He was
splendidly free," writes one, " from the least taint
of unchristian narrowness. He could thoroughly
appreciate what was good in men of all opinions.
I have met amongst his personal friends the

1 68 HENRY BAZELY. [chap.
extreme High Churchman, the thorough noncon
formist, and the avowed agnostic, and could clearly
see that these were not mere passing acquaint
ances interested in him for the time, but real
friends intimately attached to him through ad
miration of his character."
One of his intimate friends for many years
until his death was the Rev. G. L. Kemp, Vicar of
St. Frideswide's, Oxford, who writes of him thus :
. . . He would sometimes come down here to a
Saint's day evening service (in 1872-73), and seemed
much interested in the fact of sacramentalists being able
to preach the full Gospel. You know, I suppose, his
dislike to books of devotion generally ? He used to say
" Use the Psalms." On one occasion, however, he told
me that if people wanted one, the best book of private
prayers he knew was The Garden of the Soul. . . .
The Rev. R. F Clarke, who knew Bazely well
at Radley, and afterwards became a Jesuit Father,
writes to me as follows :
At Oxford I saw little or nothing of him, and the only
subsequent occasion when I renewed our old acquaint
ance was when I was travelling some five or six years
ago from Leamington to Evesham. He greeted me in
the most friendly way, and during a pleasant chat we
had together he was evidently careful to avoid anything

vn.] WORK AMONGST YOUNG MEN. 169
that he thought would jar on my ears, and to keep to
topics where we were quite of one mind. I was sorry
when we had to part company. . . .
Another friend, of widely different convictions,
has favoured me with an interesting sketch of
their acquaintance with each other :
I became acquainted with H. C. B. Bazely in the
autumn of 1876, owing to the fact of one of my pupils
dying of consumption at Mr. Bazely's lodgings, 2 Folly
Bridge. My pupil wrote to me in the beginning of
August, and asked me to come and see him. I con
tinued to visit him, until he told me by letter towards
the end of September that, owing to my inability to
respond sympathetically to the view he took of his and
my spiritual condition and prospects, my visits had be
come unwelcome. I called constantly at the door to
make inquiry to the last, but only saw him once again,
I think, before Mr. Bazely took me upstairs to his
bedroom after he had been dead a few hours, on 13th
October. I had hardly spoken to Mr. Bazely before. He had
long been known to me by sight and reputation; and
within a month of G  's funeral he asked me to lunch.
Towards the end of Michaelmas term I sent him a
return-invitation, and we kept up this terminal inter
change of hospitality regularly till summer term 1880.
That was the extent of my intercourse with Mr. Bazely :
twice in the term (six times a year) for four years, we
had a meal and generally a walk together.

170 HENRY BAZELY. [chap.
In looking back at the inward significance of this
intercourse, what most strikes me is the fact that each
talked freely and sincerely on subjects that (I believe)
interested us the most deeply, without attempting to win
over the other to his own view : each contented himself
with expressing his own thoughts, and with listening to
the exposition of opinions in many respects diametrically
opposite, without aiming at dialectic victory. This self-
restraint surprised me in him at the time, because my
way of looking at things, materialistic and agnostic in
tendency, was the very opposite of his unflinching bent
in the direction of spiritual and supernatural interpreta
tion of those physical processes which I could not take
into account apart from their material effects. . . . For
my own part, I may confess, it gratified a certain curiosity
to watch how his mind, which (I thought) had a remark
ably keen temper, especially in matters of critical scholar
ship, worked in all directions in which he gave it play.
He was indeed the only Oxford scholar with whom I
conversed on scholarly questions. Such points as the
argument of Butler's Analogy, Jonathan Edwards On the
WiU, Matthew Arnold's Literature and Dogma, Super-
naturalism, Rationalism, and Unitarianism (in connection
with which sect I had been brought up), were those on
which I most vividly recall our conversations. I found
him always candid and keen, and on points of negative
criticism we were often quite in accord. . . .
But more suggestive, perhaps, of Mr. Bazely's power
to attract those whose sympathies might be expected to
run counter to his (not merely theologically or ecclesi-

vn.] WORK AMONGST YOUNG MEN. 171
astically, but personally and socially), than anything
that concerns myself, possessing as I do an hereditary
sympathy with conscientious nonconformity — is the fact
that an intimate friend of mine, a High Churchman, or
rather a Ritualist of advanced type, picked out Mr.
Bazely, above all, as his tutor in preparation for taking
Orders in the Church of England. I.e. a most uncom
promising Episcopalian elected to receive teaching in
theology and ecclesiastical history from the lips of one
who had proved his devotion to Presbyterian tenets by
consecrating them with the bitter salt of sacrifice. It
was, I think, this salt of sacrifice that gave to intercourse
with Mr. Bazely that tonic flavour which others too,
besides my friend, have felt and valued.
I have not said much of my personal admiration for
Mr. Bazely ; you will, I have thought, receive many
more eloquent tributes to his ardent disposition, to his
suavity, keenness and gentleness of manner, mind, and
heart, than I have the gift of composing. I have only
tried to illustrate my own relation to him, unique in my
experience, as to one with whom I felt free to open
my mind on deeper subjects, not so much in search
of sympathy as of patient hearing, and whom I could
honour from my heart for his sincerity of conscience.
The following letter will show what the influence
of Bazely was upon other Christian souls. It was
written by the Rev. A. W. Poole in 1877, just as
he was starting for the Indian mission-field. He
had been ordained as curate of St. Aldate's in

172 HENRY BAZELY. [chap.
1876, and had therefore been Bazely's fellow-
worker during the brief period of Bazely's dia-
conate. In 1883 he was consecrated missionary-
bishop of Japan, and died in the spring of 1885.
The kindred spirits of the two friends have now
met in Paradise. 32 Castle Street,
Shrewsbury, August 25, r877.
My dear Bazely — I was very sorry to have missed
you altogether after our return to Oxford, and especially
not to have had a chance of wishing you good-bye. I
fear as it is I shall not be in Oxford again, and so must
send you on paper my good wishes for the future and
thanks for much in the past. Your counsel and sympathy
often helped me much, and on one occasion, to which I
have never since referred, helped me in the effectual
breaking off of a besetting sin. I should have rejoiced
if you had been still assisting in St. Aldate's Church, as
you will be (I hope) for a time in the parish. I trust
that there and in London your word may be made
effectual through the Spirit's power. "We are visiting
our friends in short visits, and on Sundays I am helping
at our own church. . . . With kindest Christian regards,
believe me, very truly yours, Arthur W. Poole.1
In 1870 a remarkable visitor was frequently
welcomed at the lodgings on Folly Bridge. In
1 An obituary notice of Bp. Poole may be found in the
Church Missionary Intelligencer of November 1S85.

vn.] WORK AMONGST YOUNG MEN. 173
that year Prince Hassan, son of the then Khedive
of Egypt, was a student at Oxford, and lived with
his suite at Grandpont (Alderman Randall's house),
not far from Bazely's rooms. The chief person in
the suite was an Arab sheykh, whose tall, slim
form, crowned with a fez, was then a well-known
figure in Oxford streets. The sheykh stood to
the young prince in the relations at once of a
guardian and a chaplain. He was a person of
consequence in his own land, and was (it was
said) surprised at not being asked to dine with
his prince at the tables of the Oxford dignitaries.
It happened that the prince's English tutor was
Bazely's intimate friend ; it was not long therefore
before the sheykh was welcomed at Folly Bridge.
The sheykh knew little English, and Bazely
but little Arabic, but they found a common
language in Hebrew when any difficulty arose in
making each other understood, and they often
met and walked out together. Bazely remarked
to me that in this pious and high-minded Mussul
man he was able to study what was the kind of
moral atmosphere in which the Pharisees lived
in our Lord's day. This sort of observation of
human character was quite in his vein. The

174 HENRY BAZELY. [chap.
above account is given from my recollections of
Bazely's own words ; and it is confirmed by
many entries in his diary, of which the following
are specimens :
1870 : Jan. 29. Called on the sheykh 7 p.m. —
Jan. 31. The sheykh to tea; Scripture texts, Old, Old
Story, etc. 6 to 9. — Feb. 4. Walk with H. C. S. and the
sheykh on Abingdon Road ; spoke about the Atonement.
His work as lay-helper at St. Aldate's during
the years 1868 and 1869 brought Bazely into
contact with another class of young men, the
shopmen and others engaged in business in the
town. In 1869 he frequently conducted the
young men's Thursday evening Bible-class at St.
Aldate's, and he occasionally did the same in 1 870.
This may account for the fact that the Oxford
Branch of the Young Men's Christian Association,
established in 1846, was reconstituted mainly
through Bazely's influence in 1871. The basis
of the Y. M. C. A. is undenominational : " It seeks
to unite those young men who, regarding Jesus
Christ as their God and Saviour according to the
Holy Scriptures, desire to be His disciples in their
doctrine and their life, and to associate their efforts
for the extension of His kingdom amongst young

vn.] WORK AMONGST YOUNG MEN. 175
men." By 1877 the Association had so far
flourished as to require more central and con
venient rooms ; this led Bazely to address the fol
lowing appeal to the newspapers :
The Oxford Branch of the Y. M. C. A., to the enclosed
Report of which for 1877 we invite your kind attention,
will enter new premises on next quarter-day, the 24th
inst. The house which has been taken is admirably situated
at the south-east corner of Carfax, and well adapted for
the use of the Association, — containing three good rooms
for reading, lectures, and classes, as well as some smaller
apartments which it is believed that young men whose
friends do not reside in Oxford will be glad to occupy
as lodgings. The rent of such a house will of course be
higher than the rent of the two upper rooms in King
Edward Street, which at present are tenanted by the
Association, and some money is urgently needed at once
for the purchase of necessary furniture. We think you
will agree with us that the subscription list printed in the
Report is wretchedly meagre for such a city as Oxford,
in the business houses of which so many young men are
employed. Bazely was repeatedly President of the Associ
ation, but wisely refused to hold the office two
years in succession. He always took a very practical
interest in its working, often delivering lectures,
and also attending the business meetings. It was,

176 HENRY BAZELY. [chap.
however, at the Sunday afternoon Bible-class at
5.30 that his greatest influence was felt. His
deep piety, his great knowledge of Holy Scripture
and of human nature, made him a powerful
teacher of young men. This work he continued
to engage in, more and more, until his death. In
1874 the secretary, Mr. J. M. King, suggested
that the subject of Christian evidences should be
taken in hand by the Association. " It devolved
upon me," writes Mr. King, " to invite Mr. Bazely
to give a course of lectures upon that subject.
He readily consented to do so, and recommended
that they should be on the plan of the Christian
Evidence Society. Bateman's Why do you believe
the Bible ? was chosen by him as the text-book,
and arrangements were made for the delivery of
sixteen lectures under appropriate divisions of the
subject. The whole of these, with the exception of
one on ' Inspiration,' given (in Mr. Bazely's absence
from Oxford) by Mr. Sturdy, were delivered by
Mr. Bazely himself, beginning in October 1874.
They were held in the committee room of the
Town Hall, and were largely attended and highly
valued. An examination followed in April 1875,
under the superintendence of Mr. Bazely, the result

vn.] WORK AMONGST YOUNG MEN. 177
of which was that one competitor was awarded a
first-class prize and another a first-class certifi
cate by the Christian Evidence Society." Bazely's
examination paper will show what had been the
character of his lectures, and how well they were
fitted to promote an intelligent study of Scripture.
QUESTIONS.
Christian Evidence Class, April 7, 1875, 8-1 1 p.m.
[Candidates are recommended not to attempt more
than twelve questions. Answers are to be written on one
side only of the paper. The candidate's number (not
name) is to be written on every paper containing answers.]
1. State briefly the arguments by which you would
maintain against an atheist the existence of God.
2. By what line of proof is the claim of the Bible on
our serious attention and acceptance established ?
3. How is the genuineness of an ancient book demon
strated ? Illustrate your answer.
4. State what you know of Justin Martyr, Origen,
Eusebius, Jerome; and the testimony borne by
these writers to the New Testament
5. Explain the epithets " uncial," " cursive," as applied
to manuscripts. Give a short account of any two
uncial manuscripts of the New Testament.
6. Answer the objection that " the Gospels were written
at a later date than that to which the Christian
Church assigns them." N

178 HENRY BAZELY. [chap.
7. What are the characteristic marks of a credible
witness ? Show that these marks were possessed
by the authors of the New Testament.
8. How are the historical records of Christianity attested
by commemorative usages ?
9. Who was the younger Pliny? Give briefly his
testimony to the doctrines and practice of the
Christian Church.
10. Explain the argument from undesigned coincidences,
and give specimens of such coincidences in both
Testaments. (Not more than three in each Testa
ment.)
1 1. Show that the Jewish division of the Old Testament
was recognised by our Lord ; and comment on the
words, "All Scripture is given by inspiration of God."
12. Define a miracle, and show that Christians have
good reasons for believing that miracles have been
wrought.
13. By what tests may real miracles be distinguished
from spurious miracles ?
14. Prove from the fulfilment of prophecy that Jesus of
Nazareth was the promised Messiah.
15. "The morality of the Gospel stamps it as divine."
Illustrate this statement.
16. Give a list of the rules which appear to you the
most important to be observed by those who desire
to study the Holy Scriptures with profit.
" Much of Mr. Bazely's wise counsel," writes Mr.

vn.] WORK AMONGST YOUNG MEN. 179
Salter, the present secretary, " which he gave us at
the Y.M.C.A. Bible-class, will always be remembered
both by myself and by many young men who are
now scattered all over the country, some of them
being missionaries in foreign lands. But I find I
cannot recall any events or circumstances that
would prove interesting enough for insertion in a
memoir." This work, in fact, was not rich in
striking incident ; but it was none the less fruitful
in lasting good.
Of all classes of men in Oxford perhaps the
most destitute in a spiritual sense are the college
servants ; they come into close external contact
with the boundless intellectual and religious
resources of the place, but cannot themselves enter
in. During term time their work is heavy, full of
hurry and drive from early morning until late at
night, Sunday bringing them no relief. Religious
concerns being thus crowded out of their life during
term time, then comes the Long Vacation with the
equal but opposite temptation of absolute idleness.
Besides this, peculiar dangers beset college servants
from the frivolous example of many of their masters
and from unlimited opportunities of drinking. It

i8o HENRY BAZELY. [chap.
seems sad that in Oxford, where every day and
almost every hour the bells from numberless church
towers and college chapels are calling Christian
souls to prayer, from early matins at 7.36 to late
compline at 10, — and where these sounds swell to
a chorus of bells chiming for the Sunday services,
— there should be from 300 or 400 men living
in the midst of such spiritual wealth, but whose
employment debars them, in term, from any share
in Christian worship. The scandal has been often
felt, and there is a story told in Corpus of a bursar of
the older generation, who, having been chaplain on
board the Fleet and accustomed to the discipline
of the quarter-deck, used to hunt up every servant
from the various staircases on a Sunday morning,
and drive them out of college before 11 to go to
church. Some colleges have tried more gentle re
medies. Over twenty years ago a Sunday evening
service was begun at Queen's for the servants and
their families, and was continued for six years ; the
service was a very beautiful one, and the clerical
fellows took their turn to preach. Dean Burgon,
when Vicar of St. Mary's, gave some opportunities
to the servants, by late matins on Sunday at 1 1.45.
But it is at Keble College only that successful pro-

vn.] WORK AMONGST YOUNG MEN. 181
vision has been made for the moral and spiritual
needs of the servants. Full opportunities of wor
ship are given them in the college chapel, and
Bible-classes are held for them by the tutors. \ It
is also many years ago since Alderman Randall
first began the system of finding employment for
college servants during the Long Vacation. He
corresponded with hotel-keepers at watering-places
and other resorts of summer tourists, and so
obtained for the servants a temporary engagement.
This system still continues to work with excellent
results. Bazely notes with evident delight in his
diary of July 22, 1878, that he met "Oxford
waiters " at the Fife Arms Hotel, Braemar.
It remains, however, true of the college servants,
taken as a whole, that their moral and religious
life is surrounded by many difficulties. What
wonder if among the older generation of the
servants hard drinking was very common, and
real godliness extremely rare ? Of course there
were always many noble exceptions ; and at the
present day a remarkable improvement has shown
itself throughout the whole class. A College
Servants' Temperance Society numbers many
influential members, and the general tone and

1 82 HENRY BAZELY. [chap.
standard of conduct has manifestly altered for the
better. Perhaps all this is partly due to the
improved sobriety and simpler living among the
tutors and students of the colleges, whose example
has reacted upon the servants. But to no one
man is the improvement due so much as to
Bazely. Living and working as he did in St.
Aldate's Parish, where many of the college
servants live, he had abundant opportunities of
watching their life, and knowing their needs ; and
he made the acquaintance of a great many of
their number. He consequently became very
anxious to do something to promote their welfare
as a body. In the Christmas Vacation of 1871-72
he drew up a complete list of all the servants in
every college and hall in Oxford, and invited
them to tea at St. Aldate's Rectory Room on Jan. 5,
1872. As many as 358 were invited, each by a
separate note, of whom about 200 were present;
the attendance would have been even greater had
not the invitation clashed with an annual gathering
of servants on the same evening. The expense
was defrayed by the gifts of three kind friends.
Addresses were given by Mr. Christopher and
others. Again on April 5, the same year, he

vn.] WORK AMONGST YOUNG MEN. 183
organised another tea for the college servants and
their wives in the Town Hall. Some of the best-
hearted of the servants were present on these
occasions, and a ready response was made to
Bazely's suggestion to organise a College Servants'
Society and Reading Room. I am indebted to
Mr. A. Burrows, porter at Corpus Christi College,
for the following account of Bazely's efforts in this
field : Oxford College Servants' Society,
Sept. 15, 1885.
I am very glad to have the opportunity of stating a
few facts in reference to the late Rev. H. C. B. Bazely's
work in connection with the above Society. But at the
same time I feel how utterly impossible it is to adequately
convey any idea of all that he did for the welfare of
college servants.
The Society was formed in the year 1872, at the house
known as Bishop King's Palace, in the parish of St.
Aldate's, and in consequence of the very active part
Mr. Bazely took in its formation, he was elected an
honorary member of the committee. This office he
continued to fill up to the time of his death ; and it
should be known that he did not regard his office as
being merely nominal, for there was seldom a committee
meeting which he did not attend. His sound advice
and counsel at such meetings were always considered
most valuable ; and whenever any little difficulty arose

1 84 HENRY BAZELY. [chap.
he, by his master mind and calm judgment, was usually
the first to elucidate it. And this is not all ; for he was
one of the first among the honorary members to form a
Bible-class in connection with the Society, in which he
did all he could to help the members spiritually, both by
instructing the class, and also by giving religious ad
dresses. He was always most jealous about admitting
only such books to the library as he thought would
conduce to a healthy moral tone among the members ;
this was a point on which he always strongly insisted.
Among other things a debating class was formed in con
nection with the Society, in which he took a very lively
interest ; he himself invariably took part in the debates,
and did all he could to induce others to do the same.
In the year 1876, from the Society's rooms not being
in a central position, the number of members was
decreasing so much that the ordinary subscriptions were
insufficient to meet the expenses. This was beginning
to cause the committee great anxiety, when Mr. Bazely
was again equal to the occasion, and generously came
forward with another gentleman and lent the Society the
money necessary to tide over that very trying time.
Thus helped, the Society was able to hold on its way
and to attain to its present flourishing position. It may,
in fact, be said to owe its existence in great measure to
him personally. When, in consequence of the Society's
removal from the parish of St. Aldate's to King Edward
Street in 1876, the Rev. A. M. W. Christopher resigned
the office of president, Mr. Bazely was urgently requested
to fill the place. This he modestly declined to do,

vn.] WORK AMONGST YOUNG MEN. 185
being of opinion that it would be much to the advantage
of the Society if the office could be filled by a Fellow of
one of the colleges ; and finally the Rev. E. A. Knox
became president. In conclusion, I should say that
Mr. Bazely worked hard and gave generously of his
means, and did all in his power to promote the welfare
of college servants in every way, and when the time
came for him to receive his reward, we one and all felt
that we had lost a wise counsellor and a true friend.
— I am, yours obediently, Alfred Burrows, Hon. Sec.
" I owe everything to Mr. Bazely," said a
college servant the other day ; " he brought me to
sign the pledge." One further effort of thoughtful
kindness originated with Bazely in the year 1879,
and was promoted by him to the last, viz. the
distribution of tracts and periodicals among the
porters at the various colleges. These are still
interchanged by a number of University men
every Sunday afternoon, and are welcomed by the
porters, whose duties keep them prisoners in the
lodges during long hours on week - days and
Sundays, with nothing to relieve the monotony of
watching. " Well do I remember the round,"
says Mr. Webster, Bazely's friend and helper ;
"we did it usually after the mid-day daily prayer-

1 86 HENRY BAZELY. [chap.
meeting at I, which closed at i.i 5, and before the
University sermon at 2."
The preceding chapters have described Bazely's
deep religious earnestness and his untiring work
for others of whatever class. It is touching to
remember that, while sparing no pains to bring
sunshine into the lives of others, he himself was
living until 1880 as a bachelor in lodgings,
practising rigid self-denial, and allowing himself
no superfluous comfort. But though there was in
him much of the ascetic, there was nothing morose,
and little of the recluse. How keen was his relish
for family life, and how much he enjoyed the com
pany of children, was shown by the many happy
hours he spent in the household of Col. Chambers,
teacher of Hindustani in the University of Oxford.
I am indebted to Mrs. Chambers for the following
sketch of their friendship with him, which reveals
an unsuspected feature of Bazely's character :
10 Belgrave Place,
Brighton, Nov. 17, 1885.
Mr. Bazely was introduced to us in the spring of 1864.
I remember how his kindly, simple manner charmed us
at once, and our little child soon ran to him to enlarge

vn.] WORK AMONGST YOUNG MEN. 187
on the beauties of her pet kitten. My first recollection
of him is as he stood by the window looking out upon
the shady, walled-in garden of an old house in Holywell,
calling to an elder child to bring in the kitten to be
admired. From that time he was constantly one of our
party — in long country walks, in summer hours in the
garden, and in the bright winter evenings within doors.
Our children loved him, and shouted with joy when his
step was heard, the little one taking her place on his
knee ; his kindly shining eyes and earnest face were not
less eagerly welcomed by my husband and myself. His
love for children was very great : I vividly remember,
three years before his death, when he took in his arms
the baby-girl of the sole survivor of that happy family,
with what inexpressible tenderness he bent over and
looked upon the child. In all our home joys and
troubles he felt a tender concern, and was ready to lend
his help — from our anxiety about a household pet, to the
sadder task of taking a delicate girl to the south coast,
when he carefully brought back her little dog which she
could not keep there. Kindness to animals was indeed
a marked feature of his character ; he would take any
amount of trouble to prevent or alleviate their sufferings.
Also, I think, few people who knew Mr. Bazely in his
graver aspect were aware of the element of fun in his
character, and of his keen sense of the ludicrous; he
used to share most heartily in the innocent mirth of our
home circle. As the years passed, and our children
grew older, a great reverence was added to their affection
for him ; and although he never talked about religion to

1 88 HENRY BAZELY. [chap.vii.
our boys, they felt the unconscious influence of his pure
and earnest life. For eighteen years our intimacy with
him was unbroken ; and during all that time, while he
mixed like an elder brother in all the eager life of a
young and large family, I never heard from him an
impatient word, or saw in his face a wearied look. In
later years, when that bright home was only a memory,
his loving sympathy never ceased; and when the last
blow fell upon me, I found him in my loneliness the
most kind and faithful friend.

CHAPTER VIII.
LETTERS OF COUNSEL AND OF CONTROVERSY.
Ambitious not to shine or to excel,
But to treat justly what he loved so well. Cowper.
Bazely's life was too active to allow much leisure
for the work of the pen. He wrote a great many
of his sermons, and one or two were printed. He
also filled many MS. books with notes for his
lectures. But he published virtually nothing by
which his intellectual powers might be known. It
seemed, therefore, worth while to throw together
into the present chapter a selection of his more
important letters, and one or two other papers,
which may serve both to exemplify his learning
and judgment and to illustrate his opinions.
On two Young Men who desired to become
Missionaries. October 1867 (?).
My dear Friend — I should not, as a general rule, be
disposed to encourage such wishes as the young men of

1 90 HENRY BAZELY. [chap.
whom you have written to me profess. There is so
much heathenism in our midst at home, that I think it
is a great pity when those who seem to have been placed
by God in positions where they might exert considerable
influence for good, voluntarily remove themselves from
those positions, and seek other and often more ambitious
spheres of labour, in the way of entering which there
are no slight hindrances existing. The good which
under God's blessing, might be done by a couple of
Christian mechanics or artisans to their fellow-workmen
is incalculable, and it is not easy to imagine any other
agency by which so much good is likely to be effected.
Therefore, I regret to hear the desire expressed of leav
ing so promising a field for other fields to which there is
no very special call. For the same reason I am always
sorry to read of soldiers immediately after their con
version relinquishing their profession to become Scripture-
readers or city missionaries. But, of course, the case
of these two young men may be exceptional. And if
you discern in them a peculiar fitness for missionary
work abroad, and think that such a course will be best
for their own spiritual interests, and for the Church of
Christ, I shall be very glad to assist in preparing them
for admission into the C.M.S. college. I cannot
promise to give very much time, as I shall be fully
occupied with my own reading for the ensuing theo
logical examination ; but I will gladly do what I can.
Doubtless our friend W  , as he has passed all his
examinations, would give some help. I hope, D. V., to
return to Oxford next Saturday.

viii.] COUNSEL AND CONTROVERSY. 191
To an intimate Friend who was about to join the
Plymouth Brethren, and had urged Bazely
to consider their claims. July 10, 1868.
Many thanks for your two long letters, and the
photograph. I am not sure that I like it so well as the
sterner portrait which you tried to conceal. However,
I shall keep this impression for the present, and com
pare it some day with the vignette ; I daresay my
opinion will not be that of most people. I commend
to you C  's cautious advice, — " Dear brother, do
nothing rashly," — for I should be indeed sorry to hear
that you had declared yourself a P.B. without having
thoroughly examined and fully perceived the soundness
of Plymouthist principles. Though some good men
have gone the round of different denominations, I think
such a course should, if possible, be avoided ; for it is,
I believe, dangerous to stability of character, and involves
an unnecessary amount of anxiety and vexation. More
over, escape from Plymouthism is, for many reasons,
peculiarly difficult The more I consider the distinctive
principles of the P.B., the more unsatisfactory I find
them to be. Influenced by the laudable desire of re
viving primitive and scriptural Christianity, they fail to
recognise the enormous difference which, perhaps, must,
at all events as a matter of fact does, obtain between
God's dealings with the Church at the time of the first
promulgation and establishment of the faith, and after the
close of the apostolic age. Practices whieh were in-

192 HENRY BAZELY. [chap.
separably connected with, and dependent upon, the pre
sence of the miraculous gifts of the Holy Ghost, and
His direct immediate guidance, are regarded by the
P.B. as of universal and perpetual obligation. As, for
instance, the manner in which Christian worship was
conducted at Corinth, perhaps before the appointment
of presbyters, is completely interwoven with, and has its
character determined by, the xaP^lJ-aTa divided to each
believer according to the Spirit's will ; i Cor. xiv. must
not therefore be taken as an exact directory for worship
in days when the " gifts " are no longer bestowed, though
doubtless certain principles are laid down in that chapter
which the Church at all periods of its history is bound
to keep in view. I believe that " prophecy " in the New
Testament was as much a miraculous and temporary
gift as " healing," " interpreting," and " speaking with
tongues." The Irvingites are more consistent than the
P.B., in that they profess to enjoy all the gifts which
were manifested at Corinth, and also to possess all the
orders (apostles, evangelists, angels, etc.) mentioned in
the New Testament. I suppose there are no P.B. who
refer the promises in Mark xvi. 17, 18 to believers now,
or practise James v. 14 exactly. Why then should they
require for the appointment of ministers, or the regula
tion of worship, immediate unmistakable operations of
the Spirit, which in other cases are confessedly not
¦manifested? The irpwrov i/'tCSos of the P.B. lies in the
interpretation which they give to the expression " sub
jection to the Spirit." All true Christians must live
more or less in subjection to the Spirit (Rom. viii. 5) ;.

vm.] COUNSEL AND CONTROVERSY. 193
but P.B. alone seem to consider this incompatible with
fixed order and decent arrangement. I never could
get from W  or from any P.B. pamphlets a clear
statement of what is meant by being " led by the Spirit."
I believe that a Christian man who acts after earnest
prayer for guidance, in accordance with what he believes
to be the teaching of God's revealed will in Scripture,
using withal the reason which God has given to him,
may say with faith and without presumption that he is
acting under the direction of the Spirit. But the P.B.
mean something more than this. Apparently they hold
that the Spirit directly reveals His will to Christians, and
in a way generally that cannot be mistaken. But on
this point their language is vague indeed. I suppose
no P.B. congregation, after adjudicating on some point
of doctrine or discipline, will dare to say, " It seemed
to the Holy Ghost and to us" (Acts xv. 28) ; or P.B.
evangelist affirm that the Spirit has ever said to him,
" Go near, and join thyself to such an one " (Acts viii.
29). As in the case of dreams and lots, it would be
impiety to deny that God ever, and degrading supersti
tion to affirm that He always, or generally, employs them
as media of communicating His will to man, so I can
and do believe, that the Holy Ghost sometimes, though
very rarely, visibly (if I may so speak) guides a Christian
into the right way ; while, ordinarily, Scripture is the
appointed lantern for our paths, and not immediate
revelation from the Spirit. It is not always easy to see
at once what commands and practices in Scripture are
designed to be of temporary, and what of perpetual
O

194

HENRY BAZELY. [chap.

obligation. But it requires no long time and study to
perceive that i Cor. xiv. cannot be intended as a strict
model for universal worship. If ordained presbyters
were necessary for the wellbeing of Christian Churches
in the Apostles' time, — if, as history witnesses, such
office-bearers have, in fact, existed ever since, — the P.B.
are convicted of a grievous sin against the divinely
appointed order of the Church. And, as for their argu
ment (!) that ordination can only be performed by an
Apostle or his delegate, by a precisely similar argument,
if they would be consistent, they might agree with the
Quakers — whom they, in truth, greatly resemble — in the
disuse of baptism. Plymouthism is tempting, because
it promises immunity from the trouble of examining the
principles of the various Christian denominations. It
looks with supercilious indifference on all "systems" alike;
but I much doubt whether satisfactory rest is to be found
in a communion which has no creed, and is subject to
the precarious instruction of self-constituted " prophets "
and "teachers." I cannot shut my eyes to the triple
schism by which the P.B. are rent, and the virulent
hatred which exists between the several factions. And
if Newton has been excommunicated for holding the
doctrines which he professes to hold in the pamphlet I
bought the other day, the followers of Darby (and these
seem to be the most consistent and thoroughgoing P.B.)
are simply heretics on vital points. Separation not only
from the world but from other Christians seems to
be the practice of the P.B. even in worship. This I
cannot think to be right. Though I believe the " free "

vm.] COUNSEL AND CONTROVERSY. 195
prayer of nonconformists and Presbyterians to be accord
ing to the mind of Christ, yet I can say with Richard
Baxter that I am not so hard as to deny the acceptable
service of many who use a liturgy, or to refuse to join
worship with them. It seems an awful thing to cut
one's self off from such union with the vast majority of
Christians throughout the world. I have scrutinised
my motives with the greatest suspicion, but I trust I
can say that I am only influenced by a candid desire to
arrive at the truth. In a temporal point of view, I
should probably be equally comfortably situated whether
as a P.B. layman or as a minister of the Scottish Estab
lishment. If I could see that the P.B. were right,
there is nothing to hinder me from " declaring " myself
at once. But my opinions at present are such as I
have roughly jotted down ; of course, all the pros and
cons on the subject of Plymouthism would fill a volume
of controversy, which yet remains to be written. I do
trust you will not give up Oxford, or take any other
irrevocable step, until you have thoroughly assured your
self of the firm scriptural basis of Plymouthism. The
Christian graces of some P.B., and the hollow profes
sions of some Establishmentarians, are naturally apt to
prejudice the mind. But these questions must be taken
to the test of Scripture, and decided by that alone. For
give this lengthy theological disquisition, but your five
sheets have provoked and must excuse it. Thank your
brother for the pamphlet by J. W. D., which he sent me
the other day. Of course, Presbyterianism is denounced
in common with all systems, but the author does recog-

196 HENRY BAZELY. [chap.
nise its superiority to Church of England Episcopalian-
ism. I have not yet heard of any suitable tutorship, and
perhaps I am not very keen about getting one. But if
this hot weather continues, I think I shall soon go up to
the north for fresh air. You must keep me au courant
with your plans, and let me know if, and when, you are
going to Scotland. A. CD. has written me a full
account of his work at Abingdon, which, though short,
appears to have been satisfactory. He says that he is
practising running, and feels therefrom four times the
better in spirit, soul, and body. He is coming down
here with his family in August. There is abundance of
preaching in this place, both in halls and out of doors.
The authorities have assigned four stations on the
marine promenade where evangelists may preach undis
turbed. Harrison Ord was staying here a fortnight ago.
D  , the resident evangelist, is an active and able
man, " open brother," I think. There are meetings in
the Mission Room every evening for prayer, Bible read
ing, etc., which I frequently attend. Now, I must really
close this protracted epistle. Write when you get to
N  , and tell me your address there, which I have
forgotten. TO ONE WHO HAD FALLEN INTO SIN.
My dear Brother in Jesus — The contents of your
letter grieved me, as we cannot but be grieved when
Satan gets an advantage over any one of the Lord's
family. But at the same time I rejoice that God has in
His loving mercy given you that sorrow after a godly sort

vm.] COUNSEL AND CONTROVERSY. 197
" which worketh repentance not to be repented of. " He
makes His word good to you — ¦" whosoever confesseth
and forsaketh his sin shall find mercy." We may rightly
draw comfort, when we are convinced by the Holy
Spirit of sin, from this most certain truth, that sincere
conviction of guilt is a mark peculiar to God's redeemed
children. It is in the consciousness of the exceeding
love of Jesus to us that we judge our sins — not so
severely indeed as they deserve, but far more severely
than the unregenerate regard them. God will make
use of you, I feel sure, as an instrument of good to your
fellow men. After a fall let us always be mindful of
the Saviour's charge to Peter, " When thou art restored,
strengthen thy brethren." God is able to make the
feeblest of us stand firm. Let us pray, dear brother,
for each other. I need your prayers; temptations
are on every side, and God's grace alone can preserve.
May the Lord bless and guide you in all your ways.
I shall be glad to hear from you at any time, and to see
you, if you should be again in Oxford. Your brother in
our dear Lord Jesus, H. C. B. Bazely.
To the Vice-Chancellor. May 13, 18 — .
I venture to draw your attention to certain handbills
and placards which have appeared in the shop windows
and other public places in this city. They relate to
the proposed exhibition on Friday and Saturday next
of an unhappy woman, whose malformation (described
in detail by a picture on the bills) is employed as

198 HENRY BAZELY. [chap.
a means of obtaining money, by the gratification
of the morbid curiosity of the vulgar. These bills
are headed "By permission of the Vice-Chancellor.'1
I cannot but think that some person has unwarrantably
made use of your name, or that you are ignorant of the
character of the exhibition. Allow me to submit to
your notice some extracts from an article in the Saturday
Review (July 8, 1871), in which this particular exhibition
was strongly condemned [extracts enclosed]. I sincerely
hope that it may be in your power to hinder an exhibition
which appears to be so repugnant to common decency
and so offensive to Christian refinement, or at least to let
it be known in the University and City that, so far from
permitting it, you view it with disgust and reprobation.
From the Vice-Chancellor. May 14, 18 — .
I have sent out to procure a copy of the Bill to which
you refer ; but my messenger has been unable to see or
hear anything of it. Perhaps you can procure me a
copy, or inform me who it is that advertises the exhibition,
or what definitely the exhibition is. I am unable to
identify it from your description.
To the Vice-Chancellor. May 14, 18 — .
I am much obliged for your letter, and am sorry that my
description of the exhibition to which the extracts from
the Saturday Review referred was not sufficiently precise.
I have just procured a copy (which I enclose) ofthe hand-

vm.] COUNSEL AND CONTROVERSY. 199
bill, which is widely circulated in the shop windows. There
are also large coloured pictures of the two-headed woman
outside the Town Hall, and in other parts of the city.
From the Vice-Chancellor. May 15, 18—.
I fear I gave leave for the exhibition of the " two-
headed Nightingale." As the woman has been before
the Queen, and there is (I am told) really nothing to
object to, I could not well refuse. We may deplore the
curiosity that leads the public to see such things ;
but there is nothing new in it — nothing that has not
been allowed many times and oft.
To the Vice-Chancellor.
I beg to acknowledge with many thanks your kind
letter. My information about the exhibition was derived
mainly from the article in the Saturday Review, in which
it was severely condemned. I trust it is not so objec
tionable as it is there represented.
to one who had asked him to sign a " confession
of Faith," by way of uniting Evangelical
Christians, which Bazely writes to decline.
July 4, 187 1.
.... Pray do not think, however, that I am averse
to meeting and conversing with Wesleyans. On the
contrary, I am always glad to have an opportunity
of discussing in a friendly and Christian spirit those
doctrines which form a barrier between earnest men,

200 HENRY BAZELY. [chap.
who are seeking to live and work for Christ. Differ
ences on fundamental points — and such, I believe, are
the differences between Arminians and Calvinists — it is
better, I think, fairly to acknowledge and talk over than
to ignore. If I am wrong, I pray God will lead me out
of my error ; and, believe me, my dear sir, that I deeply
appreciate your kindness in writing to me at length about
your efforts for manifested Christian union, and I shall
have much pleasure at any time in conversing with you
on the subject.
On the Same. Aug. 9, 1871.
I have been so busy during the last two or
three weeks, and so frequently away from Oxford,
that I have till now had no time for reading the
pamphlets which you were kind enough to send me
nearly a month ago. I trust you have not been incon
venienced by my negligence in not returning the proof-
sheet of the Confession of Faith. I am not disposed to
sign it, because doctrines which I believe to be funda
mental and necessary as the basis of true Christian union
are absent from it. Of course, if the doctrines of God's
free and distinguishing grace were set down, Wesleyans
would be precluded from giving their assent. But I
cannot shun to declare the whole counsel of God, —
more especially on such subjects as Original Sin, Elec
tion, and Final Perseverance, upon which, I suppose, the
great majority of Evangelical Christians are agreed.
Either our salvation is wholly from beginning to end
God's work — who worketh in the people of His choice,

vm.] COUNSEL AND CONTROVERSY. 201
both to will and to do (et velle et posse) of His good
pleasure — or assisting grace is offered to all who hear
the Gospel, which it is in every man's power either to
refuse or accept. The former alternative is Christianity ;
the latter, Pelagianism. I agree with a great deal that
you have written on the subject of Revision [of the
Prayer-book], though I do not see that the Romanising
party has so much justification from the Liturgy as you
appear to allow. I greatly value what you say on the
subject of self-denial — a grace lamentably deficient in
many Evangelical congregations.
To Dean Stanley, respecting Toplady.
June 13, 1873.
You quoted in your lecture yesterday some passages
from Toplad/s works in which he has written about
John Wesley with unwarrantable, un-Christian vio
lence. I humbly venture to ask, should you publish
the lectures, if these passages may be omitted. I am
the more bold to make this suggestion because you
told us in the course of your lecture that you would
not quote some disparaging remarks made (I think by
Dr. Newman) about Wesley, adding, " that it is easy to
raise a laugh by parading the eccentricities of good men."
I am not sure whether your silence was out of regard for
Dr. Newman or for John Wesley; but at all events I
venture to hope that the same merciful silence may be
preserved out of regard for the author of "Rock of Ages.''
It will certainly pain many who love that hymn, and for
its sake the writer, to be reminded, and in many cases

202 ¦ HENRY BAZELY. [chap.
for the first time to be informed, that he unhappily was
guilty of virulent abuse towards a Christian brother. And
I do not see what good result will be produced by the
publication of this abuse — especially of Toplady's ipsis-
sima verba. The blemishes in the character of a holy
man are too easily remembered ; and by these, rather
than by his more numerous virtues, he is judged in the
eyes of the many.
I will only add, — not with the object of vindicating
Toplady's language, but of obtaining for him a more
favourable verdict, — that Wesley himself appears to
have been so much influenced by the evil custom
of the time, as to have employed a method of
controversy against his opponent scarcely less violent,
not less unwarrantable. In the immediate context of
one of the passages you quoted (from A Letter to Mr.
fohn Wesley) an extract is given from a pamphlet by
Wesley, which (I presume) is correctly transcribed : " The
elect shall be saved, do what they will; the reprobate
shall be damned, do what they can. Reader, beheve
this, or be damned. Witness my hand, A  T  ."
Surely Predestinarian doctrine was never more grievously
misrepresented. And may we not in charity believe
the express assurance which Toplady gives us in the
closing paragraph of his letter : " I still bear not the least
ill-will to his person. As an individual, I wish him
well, both here and ever. . . . The following sheets
have lain by me some weeks merely with a view of
striking out from time to time whatever might savour
of undue asperity and intemperate warmth."

vm.] COUNSEL AND CONTROVERSY. 203
I trust you will kindly pardon me for presuming to
address you on this subject ; but I am concerned for the
character of one who was doubtless a faithful servant of
Jesus Christ, lest he may be misjudged by men who
perhaps will never read a Une of his writings, besides the
few angry passages quoted by you — passages which he
would now pray might be consigned to forgetfulness.
And I remember that He that covereth a transgression
seeketh love (Prov. xvii. 9), and — in the New Testament
version of the proverb — Charity covereth the multitude of
sins.
From Dean Stanley, on the same.
The Deanery, Ch. Ch.,
June 16, 1873.
I beg to thank you sincerely for your kind suggestion.
I have no intention of publishing my lectures at present,
and therefore need not consider the question particularly.
My object, however, in giving the extracts was not to
blame Toplady or to defend Wesley; but, by quoting
such language from a man so good as Toplady to a man
so good as Wesley, to suggest the propriety of discon
tinuing this kind of controversy altogether. — Yours
faithfully, A. P. Stanley.
On the Study of the Fathers, and on Biblical
Criticism. Dec. 2, 1873.
... I am grateful for your kind words in reference
to the services which I am permitted to hold at the

204 HENRY BAZELY. [chap.
Martyrs' Memorial, and also for your candidly expressed
opinion of my sermons generally. I am compelled,
however, to say that I entirely disagree with your remarks
on theology and Biblical criticism. Indeed, I am utterly
unable to comprehend your meaning, when you write
that " Biblical criticism is altogether out of place in the
study of Holy Scripture." So, again, your unqualified
condemnations of " Patristic literature and every kind of
theology which can be taught in schools of divinity as
of no avail to the right understanding of the Bible "
simply amazes me.
I cannot tolerate the notion for a moment that Fathers,
Schoolmen, Reformers, Puritans, were so devoid of the
teaching of the Holy Spirit that their writings — preserved
to us by the providence of God — are useless for the in
terpretation of that Book which they loved so well, and
studied — it must be acknowledged— with greater dili
gence and more continuing prayer than many "study it in
these degenerate days. Certainly the Holy Spirit alone
can lead a man to embrace the truth with his heart. But
does He not most often produce this blessed result by
the use of means prepared by Himself, whether it be the
living voice of the preacher or the writings of those
spiritual men who being dead yet speak ? But the subject
is too extensive for adequate discussion in a letter.
On the same Subject, to the Same.
Dec. n, 1873.
I am much obliged for your explanation of your
observations on the value of theology, which I had

vm.] COUNSEL AND CONTROVERSY. 205
misconceived. The questions now I take to be just
these : —
(1) Whether human writings are only illustrative, or
also interpretative, of God's Word ?
(2) Whether the Holy Spirit always works directly, or
also indirectly, and especially through the above-named
media ?
As to (1), I think the distinction between illustration
and interpretation is very difficult, perhaps impossible, to
draw. As to (2), I am disposed to think that the Spirit
works in both ways.
To one who had Criticised his Sermons.
Dec. 18, 1873.
As to my sermons, I do not care to vindicate them.
I am far too conscious of most grievous defects in them,
which I pray God may vouchsafe to forgive and correct.
But I purposely preach in different ways to the fluctuat
ing unknown audience at the Memorial, — and to my
regular congregation of Christian people whom I address
every Sunday. Dogmatic sermons I believe to be most
necessary, and expositions of portions of Holy Scripture,
which I give in the morning service. I am indeed sur
prised to be told that I " identify myself with a religion
which makes the mind everything, — that the conviction
of the mind, and not the reliance of the heart, is asserted
by me in my church." In disproof, I can only appeal
to the habitual attendants at my church, and to the
notes of sermons preached there. As I have never
preached on church government or discipline, your

2o6 HENRY BAZELY. [chap.
reiterated charge of love for " ecclesiasticism" is unintel
ligible to me. And, indeed, I know not what you
mean by "ecclesiasticism," except that it is some terrible
heresy, since you pray that I may be led by the Spirit
of God to fling away to the winds everything which has
affinity with it.
On a Controversial Book entitled " High
Church."
I do not find any reason, in the ninth edition, for
altering my judgment about High Church. Some changes
have been made from the first edition (including the
omission of an absurd passage about Bishop Hooper's
martyrdom), and the typography has been partially cor
rected. But the book, in its new form, contains, as you
will see from my marginal annotations, a sufficient
number of inaccuracies — specimens, I must suppose, of
the author's carelessness and ignorance. He seems to
have only a superficial acquaintance with the subject
which he handles, and the style of his work is through
out essentially unscholarlike. I am surprised at the
exaggerated praise found in some of the reviews quoted
at the end, and that Canon ¦  should have so far
endorsed the book by his introduction. . . .
On the Duty of giving towards Religious
Enterprises. December, 1873.
. . . With regard to contributions to charitable ob
jects, I cannot but think it is right, while we avoid most

vm.] COUNSEL AND CONTROVERSY. 207
carefully the least suspicion of ostentation, to let our
light so shine as (1) to guard ourselves from the not
unnatural imputation of stinginess, and (2) to be ex
amples to our brethren. I hope I may venture to apply
without impropriety the three conditions of giving which
you have enumerated to the particular matter which
gave rise to our correspondence. (1) The object, viz.
the circulation of the Bibles, etc., at the autumn fairs is,
in your judgment, " a worthy object," as I may assume
from your statement in your former letter that you were
"anxious to contribute towards the deficit," and your
kind wish that " every blessing may rest upon the work."
(2) This condition being satisfied, the second (viz. that
" as being an object not well supported, it does need
your special help "), I can assure you, is satisfied too.
Unhappily I have the greatest difficulty in defraying the
current expenses ; and this year, owing to the purchase
of a movable tent (which cost ^15, but will in time
justify its purchase), the deficit is unusually large — £,17.
(3) Undoubtedly you can give to this object " without
getting a name and a fame to yourself," for the accounts
are never published, nor seen except by my most inti
mate friends ; and the names of contributors are some
times, by their own wish, suppressed, and known only
to me. For instance, a lady, in no way connected with
Oxford, sent for this and other evangelistic work in
Oxford a cheque for .£50, which only myself and one
friend know anything about . . . Consider, in the light
of the heart-searching God, whether you are giving to
Him and to His work in that proportion which is due

208 HENRY BAZELY. [chap.
from one whom He has greatly blessed with temporal
goods, and whether the practical grace of self-denial is
increasing in you.
In October 1871 he hired a barn at Cowley,
three miles from Oxford, where he walked out on
Sunday afternoons and held services. This he
continued to do for several years. He was at
this time in charge of his Scotch Church in Alfred
Street, where he held service morning and even
ing, and afterwards preached at the Martyrs'
Memorial. In 1874 he wrote the following letter
to the Vicar of Cowley, which enables us to see
something of his aims and his difficulties and his
theological position :
To the Vicar of Cowley.
My dear Sir — I intended before this — but have
been hindered by many engagements — to thank you
for the information about J. B., which you so kindly
sent me through Mr. Christopher. You may prob
ably have heard that I have dismissed B  from
the office which he held as doorkeeper of the barn,
in consequence of the information received from you,
and from various trustworthy persons of different social
position living in Cowley and in Oxford, who have been
more or less acquainted with him, and who with one
consent acknowledged that they had not a good word

vm.] COUNSEL AND CONTROVERSY. 209
to say for him. It is naturally a source of great sorrow
and annoyance to me, that a man who appeared to be a
singularly zealous Christian, on whose character I did
not know that there was a breath of suspicion, should
now turn out to have been (as I fear is certainly the
fact) a very accomplished hypocrite. But I also wish to
assure you (and this is one main object of my letter)
that I am extremely vexed to hear of the impertinent
conduct of the man towards you, and of his improper
intrusion into the churchyard of the parish, with the
view of thrusting tracts into the hands of the school
children. Such conduct appears as wrong to me as it
does to you. I am not surprised that members of the
Church of England in Cowley, with such a man as B 
before their eyes, and taking him possibly as a specimen
of the worshippers in the barn, should consider the ex
istence of that place of worship unfavourable to the
growth of pure and undefiled religion in the village,
and further, regard the barn as a place in which a spirit
of hostility to the Church of England is fostered and
recommended. I wish, therefore, emphatically to say
that never, to the best of my knowledge, have the doc
trines, discipline, or worship of the Church of England
been mentioned, much less attacked, in the barn. The
place was opened, not for the sake of withdrawing the
villagers from the parish church, but for the convenience
of those who (as I was informed) conscientiously prefer
a simpler and (as I must honestly state is my belief) a
more scriptural mode of worshipping God, and who
believe with me that the system of doctrine vulgarly
P

210 HENRY BAZELY. [chap.
called Calvinistic is that which our Saviour and His
Apostles taught. The services in the barn, situated in
a part of the village somewhat remote from the parish
church, it was also hoped would be attended by some
who were not in the habit of going to any church or
chapel. As you are doubtless aware, I am a member of
the Established Church of Scotland ; and I must say
plainly that I have no sympathy with dissenters qua
dissenters, and certainly no enmity to an Established
Church as such. Of course, as I am firmly persuaded
of the scriptural character of the church to which I
belong, I should rejoice to be instrumental in leading
persons to accept the doctrines which I believe to be
the truths of God, and to adopt the form of worship
which I believe to be apostolic. Still, it is the fact that
neither the intention nor the result of the services in
the barn has been (as far as I know) to secure proselytes
from the Church. Rather we have sought, my friends
and I, to preach the cardinal truths of the Gospel, and
to insist upon repentance towards God and faith in
our Lord Jesus Christ. My aim has been, I trust,
that of every faithful Christian minister ; and though our
views on certain points of doctrine and worship may
differ — perhaps more in appearance and expression than
reality— I wish once more to repeat that, so far from
opposing those who are also labouring for the salvation
of souls redeemed by Christ, I desire always to co-operate
with them ; and, where external co-operation is impos
sible, still to remember them and to be remembered by
them in mutual prayer.

vm.] COUNSEL AND CONTROVERSY.

On " Perfectionism."
In the year 1874 Mr. Pearsall Smith, an
American layman, visited England, and held con
ferences at Oxford and elsewhere, which were
largely attended by devout persons both from
among the nonconformists and Low Churchmen.
The object of these conferences was to encourage a
higher standard of personal holiness in Christian
people. But it was soon evident that the American
evangelist was no theologian ; and a vigorous
controversy arose in 1874-75 among the English
Evangelicals on the subject of " Perfectionism."
Two of Bazely's letters on this subject are worth
reproducing :
Sir — I have read with interest the correspondence in
your columns on the subject of Mr. Pearsall Smith's
teaching ; and I venture (as there seems to be a danger
of overlooking the main subject for the sake of discussing
such secondary questions as the propriety of the continued
sale of Mr. Smith's unaltered books, and his edition of
F. W. Faber's hymns) to ask for permission to state in a
few lines what appear to me to be the points in the
system (I may use the word I trust without offence) of
Mr. Smith and his friends, which cause many Christians
to stand aloof from the " Consecration " meetings.

212 HENRY BAZELY. [chap.
There are at least three such points, upon which I will
say a very few words.
i. Mr. Smith and his friends assert that Christians
not only can, but actually do attain (and they include
themselves among those who have attained) a state
variously described as "the rest of faith," "unbroken
communion," " habitual victory over all known sins,"
etc. etc. They do not claim to be sinless with respect
to sins of ignorance, nor do they say that the root of sin
has been removed, nor do they deny that a conflict
between the flesh and the spirit is going on within them.
But, if I understand their writings correctly, they do
assert (and this is the keynote of their system) that they
enjoy invariable victory in the conflict, and do live for
months or even years without the commission of known
sin. This assertion many Christians cannot understand,
nay, they are persuaded that it is (unintentionally perhaps,
but still unquestionably) false — false, as shown by such
passages as i Kings viii. 46 ; James iii. 2 ; 1 John i.
8, 10; by the daily prayer for pardon, and by the
universal experience of God's people in all ages.
Christians in the Reformed Churches will admit (as
St. Augustine admitted in his controversy with Pelagius
on the subject of " Perfection ") the abstract possibility
of sinlessness ; but they will deny, they must deny, the
actual attainment of sinlessness — ay, of such sinless
ness as is implied in Mr. Smith's phraseology — by any
believer who is still a dweller in this world. Rather
they will agree with Manton when he writes : " For that
question, whether God can, by the singular assistance of

vm.] COUNSEL AND CONTROVERSY. 213
grace, keep any one in the animal and bodily life totally
pure from sin, it is altogether curious, and of no use and
profit, God's pleasure being declared the other way."
Mr. Smith appears to go beyond the Roman Catholic
Church in his claims, for the Tridentine divines, though
they maintained against Luther the practical possibility
of the observance of the whole law of God by a justified
man, allowed that the holiest could not except by a
special privilege — granted perhaps (as St. Augustine
thought) to the blessed Mother of our Lord — avoid many
venial sins. And by venial sins they meant much more
than Mr. Smith means by " sins of ignorance." The
nearest approach (and it is very near) which I have found
to Mr. Smith's doctrine, is the Proposition viii. on
Perfection in The Apology for the true Christian
Divinity, by Rob. Barclay, the famous vindicator and
expositor of Quakerism in the seventeenth century.
2. The "experience" meetings, which occupied a
prominent place at the Oxford conference, are dreaded
(not unnaturally) by many sober-minded Christians.
They think that, even if some of the assertions made at
those meetings be trae, such public proclamations of
one's own growth in grace and advancement in the life
of holiness are doubly dangerous — first, as likely to be
in many cases unreal ; and secondly, as being in all
cases prejudicial to the characteristic grace of a Christian
— humility. When and to whom such discoveries of a
man's spiritual history may be made with advantage to
others and without danger to himself, is a question which
requires prayerful consideration, and will be decided then

214 HENRY BAZELY. [chap.
by Christian tact — lv rrj alo-Q-qo-ei -r) Kpto-is. But that a
crowded public meeting, open to all comers, is the
proper occasion for such revelations of a man's most
sacred feelings, few only will maintain ; nor will a
verse in a psalm (Ixvi. 16), or a sentence in an epistle
(i Thess. ii. 10), appear sufficient warrant for such open
avowals of the soul's secret history. Mr.  has not,
I believe, asserted that he has attained to the state
claimed by Mr. Smith and his friends ; those who know
Mr.  will understand why. His humility is too deep
to admit of his making such an assertion, and one' of his
parishioners said (I was told), " Our Rector has been in
that state, so far as there is any truth in it, for years
past." 3. The practical part of Mr. Smith's system appears to
be very defective. To the question, " How is holiness
or entire consecration to be attained ? " his reiterated
answer is By Faith. The various means of grace, the
many remedies against sin enjoined and suggested in
Holy Scripture, and tested by the experience of God's
people, are sadly overlooked. Not a word about the
sacraments, comparatively little about prayer, nothing
about fasting and mortification! - Do Mr. Smith and his
friends think that these aids to holiness are incompatible
with faith, or at least unnecessary works, perhaps leading
to self-righteousness? I believe most Christians who
are aiming at holiness will be struck with the incomparable
superiority in this respect of such books as Jer. Taylor's
Holy Living and Swinnock's Christian Man's Calling (I
purposely name books written by men of widely different

vm.] COUNSEL AND CONTROVERSY. 215
schools) to the writings of Mr. Smith and those who
hold his views. Men need for advancement in the
spiritual life practical rules — to be observed, of course,
in faith that God will bless the observance ; and it
indicates ignorance of men's wants to suppose that the
absence of rules will promote holiness of life.
These are the leading points in which I venture to
think many Christians will agree that Mr. Smith and
his friends are in error. In error not in heresy ; for we
may thankfully acknowledge, upon the testimony of those
who know him, that there is not a trace in him of the
temper which constitutes a man a heretic. It cannot be
doubted that he is an earnest humble-minded servant of
Christ, and ready to listen to the criticisms of his brethren.
His mistakes may be partly due to an " American " way
of looking at things, which is so strange to Englishmen —
and partly to his ignorance of the science of theology.
On the same Subject.
My dear Sir — . . . The latter part of your paper is
concerned with a question which is at the bottom of the
controversy, and must, sooner or later, be thoroughly
discussed and answered, i.e. "Are the commandments
of God possible to be fulfilled by regenerate men — and
more particularly the great commandment, ' Thou shalt
love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, etc?'"
This was one of the prominent questions at issue
between the Roman Catholics and the Reformers in the
sixteenth century ; and no statement made by the latter
gave (I suppose) more offence to the former than the

216 HENRY BAZELY. [chap.
statement, so vehemently insisted on by the Protestant
divines generally, and especially by Luther, that God's
commands cannot be obeyed, even by the regenerate.
Calvin somewhat modified the unqualified statements of
the Lutheran divines ; but the assertion of the Tridentine
fathers, " That it is possible for the regenerate, by the
aid of Divine grace, to keep the precepts of God" (vi. 1 1),
was repudiated, I believe, by almost all the German and
Swiss Reformers. Mr. Smith, if I understand him
rightly, agrees precisely with the Church of Rome on
this subject ; only perhaps he goes rather farther — inas
much as he makes no exception of venial sins. The
Quakers and the Wesleyans also assert the possibility of
keeping God's commandments by the aid of Divine
grace. Now it is for Christians to consider, without prejudice,
whether Mr. Smith, in substantial harmony (as I believe)
with Roman Catholics, Wesleyans, and Quakers, is right
in regarding God's commandments as possible to be
fulfilled, or whether the Reformers and their modern
representatives are right in maintaining the negative
positions, — in saying with Luther, " It is a wrong conclu
sion, — God hath commanded me to love Him, therefore
I can do so."
I do not feel that I have studied the question sufficiently
to speak dogmatically upon it ; but I may say (privately)
that I am disposed to adopt the former alternative.
The arguments for the possibility of observing God's
commandments do seem to me to be very strong ; and
accordingly I agree with the second as with the first

vm.] COUNSEL AND CONTROVERSY. 217
part of your paper. Only I think this subject demands
a fuller treatment than you have given it in some four
or five pages ; and I hope you may have the leisure
and the assistance of the Holy Spirit to draw up a
valuable pamphlet on this great fundamental question.
The argument from 1 John v. 3, which you bring
forward, is a favourite one with Roman Catholic con
troversialists ; and the explanation of the text given by
Calvin and Chemnitz is certainly not satisfactory —
" quoniam renatis non imputatur pragvaricatio." Bellar
mine in reply asks whether you would call the yoke easy
(in allusion to the parallel text, Matt. xi. 30), if your
oxen were to fall again and again beneath its weight,
and were as often lifted up by your assistance. With
regard to the particular precept, " Thou shalt love the
Lord," etc. — has not God distinctly promised the fulfil
ment of it by His people in Deut. xxx. 6 ? But I will
not further trespass on your time, except to express my
earnest prayer that you may be guided into all the truth
which is in Christ.
On trusting in Good Works. August 3, 1875.
I do not think I can quite agree with your view on
the prayers and efforts of Christians. I believe we
ought to expect that our efforts and prayers will be
successful when made in the strength of Christ. And I
do not see the danger of trusting to such efforts and
prayers. Christ works in us by our efforts, which He
doubtless enables us to make ; and we may rightly

218 HENRY BAZELY. [chap.
state as one side of the truth — as a partial account of
the regenerate man's action — "Christ does it all," after
St. Paul's example (i Cor. xv. 10), "Yet not I, but
the grace of God which was with me." But the other
side of the truth must not be ignored; the Christian
indwelt by Christ, strengthened with His strength, does
great things — " I can do all things through Christ which
strengtheneth me" (Phil. iv. 13). May we not trust to
"the effectual fervent prayer" which "availeth much?"
I greatly fear to underrate the power of prayer, fasting,
vows, efforts, when undertaken in the strength so readily
bestowed by Christ on His people. I should rather say
that the impotent man in the Gospel stretched out his
arm, being enabled by the power of Christ, than that " it
was all Christ's power that did it."
To a Lady who asked him to stand as
Sponsor to her Child. 1877?
Thank you much for your kind letter with its en
closures. The photographs of dear G  1 are very
good, and I am truly thankful to you for sending them
to me. I hope you have not deprived yourself of the
only original impression of the vignette. This must
have been taken shortly before I first saw him, at the
end of 1872: how it calls his face back to me ! I did
not know, until I got a letter yesterday morning from
J  , of the birth of your little boy. I do earnestly
pray that our loving God will be very gracious to him,
and make him a joy and blessing to you always. I
1 The young friend whose death is described on p. no.

vm.] COUNSEL AND CONTROVERSY. 219
thank you very much for your kind wish that I should
be one of his godparents ; but I do not feel able to
comply with it,- both because I do not entirely agree
with the sponsorial system of the Church of England,
and also, because it would be inconsistent (I think) with
my connection with the Church of Scotland to act in
the capacity of a godfather. I am sure you will under
stand that it is not from any want of regard for your so
kindly expressed wish or for your dear little child that I
decline the position towards him which you have asked
me to occupy. And you will believe me when I say
that I shall always take as much affectionate interest in
the little one, remembering him at the throne of grace,
and in future years becoming (I hope) personally ac
quainted with him, as if I was formally his godparent.
The stone which will mark the resting-place of dear
G  's body was to be engraved and set up last
Saturday, but the heavy rains of the past few days have
probably delayed the fixing of it. I saw the tracing
of the inscription which looked very well. There is
room for another text or texts at the bottom of it, if you
should like at any time an addition to be made. With
kindest regards to yourself and the dear children, etc.
to one who had asked him "whether a man
can sincerely advocate a Cause opposed to
his Temporal Interests." May 8, 1878.
If a cause cannot be advocated sincerely, I presume
it ought not to be advocated at all. So that your

220 HENRY BAZELY. [chap.
question comes to this : Ought a man to advocate a
cause which appears to him to be, and perhaps really
is, opposed to his temporal interests ? If he is certain
that the cause is a good one — and of this he should
in the first instance satisfy himself— I think he is bound,
morally and religiously, to advocate it. For instance, a
maker of or a dealer in spirituous liquors ought to
advocate the cause of temperance (as contrasted with
total abstinence), even though his income should suffer
considerably by the increase of temperate habits. So
a doctor, who honestly believes that vivisection is a
cruel and illegitimate method of promoting the discovery
of certain physiological secrets, ought — notwithstanding
the unpopularity which he will probably incur with his
professional brethren, leading, perhaps, to loss of practice
— to give his public support to the anti-vivisection
movement. In this last case, it is, however, not the
success of the cause advocated, but the advocacy of it,
which is damaging to the man's temporal interests. So
far then the general rule seems plain : we ought to
advocate a good cause, although our worldly fortune or
comfort is thereby injured.
But it may be asked, Are we morally and religiously
bound to take any active steps in respect of such a
cause ? May we not remain neutral, neither opposing it
nor pleading for it ? This question is not, I think, so
easily answered. Yet, as a rule, who can doubt that
the man acts with moral courage and in the true spirit
of a Christian, who, when he is persuaded that the
cause is a good one, comes forward publicly to defend

vm.] COUNSEL AND CONTROVERSY. 221
it? But in all these casuistical questions the circum
stances of the particular case have to be taken very
carefully into account, and I can only deal with the
question as you state it in the abstract. And it is far
more easy to discuss an abstract question and to advise,
when one's own interests are not affected, than to decide
in a special case what should be done, when the decision
has an immediate and practical effect on the temporal
prosperity of one's self and family.
Never have men sincerely advocated a cause more
opposed to their worldly prosperity than the early
Christians ; and if they had not acted with indomitable
courage and utterly unselfish regard for their earthly
lives, what would have become of Christianity ? In all
such questions as that which you propose, we should try
to realise the infinite discrepancy in value between things
temporal and eternal ; while by the use of such means
as the exercise of our sanctified common sense, the
counsel of trusted friends, and earnest prayer for the
guidance of God's Holy Spirit, we may confidently
expect to arrive at the right decision.
ETERNAL PUNISHMENT.
Sir — A discussion of the Christian doctrine of Future
Punishment in the columns of a newspaper may be
hardly desirable, but the insertion in last week's Oxford
Chronicle of a sermon of the Rector of Carfax, entitled
" A Review of the Dogma of Endless Punishment,"
accompanied by a very high commendation from an

222 HENRY BAZELY. [chap.
anonymous correspondent, makes it expedient, and per
haps necessary in the interest of truth, that a few words
should be .addressed to your readers by one who cannot
accept some of Mr. Fletcher's statements. I shall
therefore comment on parts of his sermon (to deal with
the whole of it within the narrow compass of a letter
would be impossible), premising only that I am as per
suaded of the sincerity of the preacher's desire to teach
and proclaim God's truth, as I believe he is persuaded
of the sincerity of those who hold a doctrine which he
deems it his duty to stigmatise in very severe terms. In
controversy on this subject we cannot do better than
give heed to the remarkable words with which Augustine
introduces his defence of Eternal Punishment against
the Origenists of his day : " Nunc jam cum misericordi-
bus nostris agendum esse video et pacifice disputandum."
i. Mr. Fletcher having laid down the postulate, the
soundness of which need not be disputed, that isolated
texts must not be so interpreted as to contradict an in
ference drawn from the whole scope and tenor of the
Bible, asserts that endless punishment can be supported
only by such isolated texts perversely understood, whereas
the general tenor of Holy Scripture instructs us that
there will be a state of probation after death for those
who die impenitent. I am, indeed, surprised at this
assertion, for, with the possible exception of a very few
passages of peculiar difficulty (Matt. xii. 32, 1 Cor. iii.
15, 1 Peter iii. 19, iv. 6), which are not referred to by
Mr. Fletcher, the whole tenor of the teaching of Christ
and His Apostles appears to me to point in the opposite

vm.] COUNSEL AND CONTROVERSY. 223
direction. Surely the frequent lesson of our Lord's
solemn parables is the necessity of securing pardon and
reconcihation with God in this life. Not a hint is given
of the possibility of obtaining salvation after death. I
refer especially to the parables of the Ten Virgins, the
Talents, the Pounds, and the story of the Rich Man and
Lazarus. Compare with these Christ's injunction to
agree with our adversary quickly while we are in the
way with him, lest we be cast into prison, whence there
is no escape till the uttermost farthing be paid (Matt
v. 25, 26). Rightly does a modern theologian (Van
Oosterzee) tell us " to distrust every mode of regarding
the doctrine of salvation which, in its foundation and
tendency, fails to do justice to the seriousness of the
conception of an everlasting too late, and of the holiness
of a grace which cannot indeed be exhausted, but can
just as little be mocked." Mr. Fletcher's arguments are
taken from certain texts containing the word " all," to
which he gives the widest meaning, as if no other mean
ing was possible ; although the word is often used in
Scripture with obvious and considerable limitations.
The " isolated " texts are not even quoted, though they
are by no means few ; and their true interpretation is of
the utmost importance. I venture to think that they
ought not to have been passed by in utter silence. The
words of our blessed Lord in Matt. xxv. 46, if this be
one of the " isolated " texts, surely demand a careful
examination. 2. That love is one of the essential attributes of the
Deity — that God is love — no Christian can forget ; but

224 HENRY BAZELY. [chap.
righteous anger and severity are also constituent ele
ments of the Divine character according to the revelation
given in the Bible (Rom. xi. 22). The awful severity
shown by Christ to hardened sinners and hypocrites is
as conspicuous as His gracious and tender welcome of
all penitents. Moreover, apart from the discovery of
God's character in His Word, there is surely an appear
ance of severity in the Creation which bears witness to
His eternal power and Godhead, — a severity which we
cannot explain, but which Christians — and all serious
Theists — believe to be compatible with the perfect bene
volence of the Almighty. The physical suffering of
infants before the commission of actual sin — the groans
wrung from irrational animals by the terrible pains to
which they are not rarely subjected — present to the sym
pathetic heart a distressing difficulty not much less than
that by which the doctrine of eternal punishment some
times harasses us. I do not know whether I might not say
that the former difficulty is the greater. For that wilful
sin should produce grievous and irreparable results is
more intelligible than that creatures wholly irresponsible
for their actions should suffer cruel tortures which are
apparently unprofitable to themselves. If Mr. Fletcher
can believe that God is supremely benevolent notwith
standing the unmerited pains of irrational creatures, I do
not see why he should find it so impossible to allow
that the eternal punishment of wilful sinners may be
reconcilable with God's great love.
Mr Fletcher protests against the use of isolated texts ;
I must vehemently protest against the use of mutilated

vm.] COUNSEL AND CONTROVERSY. 225
texts. Mr. Fletcher has quoted a portion of Exodus xxxiv.
6, 7, as giving the "idea" of God "the Lord God,
merciful and gracious," etc., but he has stopped short
in the middle of verse 7, omitting the significant clause
which is needed to complete the portrait drawn by
Jehovah of Himself: " Who will by no means clear the
guilty." Mr. Fletcher will admit, I am sure, the necessity
of including this attribute in the " idea" of God.
3. Mr. Fletcher asserts that the dogma of eternal
punishment assumes that God has so decreed this doom
for sinners of all shades of guilt " that no prayers and
no repentance will induce him to relent from that
decree." I have never heard of any theologian, even of
the most extreme Predestinarian opinions, who has in
ferred from the fact of the Divine decrees the inefficacy
of prayer or repentance. Such an inference from the
dogma is not drawn by those who hold it, nor is there
any logical necessity for drawing it. Neither do we be
lieve that God has decreed to " disregard all proportion
in punishment." On the contrary, we are careful to
maintain that sins differ widely in degree of sinfulness,
and will be recompensed accordingly with many or few
stripes. 4. Is it right to say that " there is no text in the Old
Testament which, in the remotest degree, lends any
countenance to the dogma,'' when the prophet Daniel
declares that some of those who sleep in the dust of the
earth shall awake "to shame and everlasting contempt ? "
(Dan. xii. 2).
Nor does the use of prayers for the dead by the Jews
Q

226 HENRY BAZELY. [CHAr.
prove that " they never believed it," seeing that the
Roman Catholic Church holds the dogma of eternal
punishment as " de fide," and yet prays for the dead
(i.e. for those who are presumed to be — not in hell but
— in purgatory).
5. To say, as Mr. Fletcher does — endorsing apparently
a statement made by Canon Farrar — that the Greek
word alwvLos has no such meaning as " everlasting," is
hardly accurate, and is calculated to mislead ordinary
readers. It is true that aluvios does not always mean
" everlasting," and in some places where it is so rendered
in the authorised version the rendering may be wrong ;
but in other places, e.g. when the adjective is used as
an epithet of " God " and " life," it is most rightly trans
lated "everlasting." Whether the word means "ever
lasting " when it stands as an epithet of " punishment "
in Matt. xxv. 46, in the former clause of a sentence
which is strictly parallel with the immediately succeeding
clause, in which it occurs as the epithet of " life," de
serves a thorough and candid investigation. The onus pro
banda seems to rest on those who propose to give widely
different renderings to a word which occurs twice in the
parallel sentences of a single verse.
I will not occupy more space with criticism, but
express my satisfaction with two things in the sermon.
First, I am glad to read some very solemn and alarming
words about the just recompense of sin. The preacher
emphatically asserts future punishment, and that every
man will reap in the next world as he has sown in this.
Indeed, he speaks more severely on this subject than

vm.] COUNSEL AND CONTROVERSY. 1-27
most Christians who hold the doctrine of eternal punish
ment would speak. He says " that every sin brings a
just retribution on the sinner, and that this takes place
by an invariable law, which neither repentance nor for
giveness can alter or repeal." This is a view of the
inefficacy of repentance and of forgiveness which appears
to me inexpressibly awful, and I doubt if it is consistent
with the gracious promises made to penitents in the
Gospel. The blotting out of sins, God's erasure from His
memory of our transgressions, surely imply the remission
of the deserved punishment, which, in the absence of
such merciful intervention, would necessarily follow.
Then, secondly, I rejoice to see that Mr. Fletcher —
though he appeals sometimes to reason and conscience
unenlightened by revelation — gives the prominent place
to the testimony of Holy Scripture. It is my firm con
viction that this controversy about the duration of future
punishment can be satisfactorily decided only by a
patient and unprejudiced exegesis of the Bible, of the
so-called " isolated " texts, and the general tenor of the
inspired volume. When Augustine was asked by one
of his friends whether Christ, during His sojourn in
Hades, delivered all the imprisoned souls from their
pains, he cautiously replied, " Adhuc requiro." But
he added, " Si omnes omnino dixerimus tunc esse liber
ates, qui illic inventi sunt, quis non gratuletur, si hoc
possimus ostendere?" Certainly if Mr. Fletcher can
give us valid reasons from God's written word for believ
ing that the doom of each one is not fixed at death
(which has been until recently the belief of almost all

228 HENRY BAZELY. [chap.
Christendom), but that the lost will be at length admit
ted to the rest and joy of heaven, "quis non gratuletur?"
But the Bible, I must confess, seems to me to pronounce
a verdict against the hope of Universal Restoration,
and therefore, notwithstanding the painful gloom which
the belief of eternal punishment casts over our earthly
life (and indeed I doubt if one who is rarely sad
has much of the mind of the Man of Sorrows), I must
accept on the testimony of Christ a terrible mystery
which I do not understand, and rest in the unfaltering
conviction that the Judge of all the earth will do right,
though His judgments are unsearchable, and His ways
past finding out. " Judicia Tua, Domine, saepe occulta,
semper justa." H. C. B. Bazely.
2 St. Aldate's Bridge,
May 14, 1878.
THE DOCTRINE OF FUTURE PUNISHMENT
IN THE OLD TESTAMENT.
Sir — The statements in Mr. Fletcher's letter, pub
lished in the Oxford Chronicle of the 1 8th inst., surprise
me more than those in his sermon. He now asserts not
only " that there is no text in the Old Testament which,
in the remotest degree, lends any countenance to the
dogma" of Eternal Punishment, but "that Jewish litera
ture, until less than two centuries before Christ, is alto
gether silent as to a retribution after death." Sheol, he
tells us, "was not a place of punishment or reward."
In fact, if I understand him rightly, Mr. Fletcher believes
that the Jews, until the second century before Christ,

vm.] COUNSEL AND CONTROVERSY. 229
had no hopes and no fears beyond the grave, and practically
regarded death as annihilation. I greatly marvel how
any — even a superficial — reader of the Old Testament
can hold his opinion, el /ir) deaiv SiacpvXaTTOiV. For a
state of happiness after death — to begin at a very early
date — is plainly implied in the story of Enoch. It is
simply inconceivable that the writer of that record, unless
he was persuaded of the future happiness of Enoch, could
have stated that he " walked with God, and was not, for
God took him " (a unique phrase borrowed by the
Psalmist Asaph, Ps. lxxiii. 24) at the age — then a
comparatively early age — of 365 years. A long life was
regarded as an ordinary token of God's favour, so that
an unusually curtailed life — as was Enoch's — in the case
of an eminently pious man, can have been intelligible
only on the hypothesis of the recompense of a happy
future. Certain, moreover, it is that men who confessed
that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth, who
expected to be gathered to their ancestors, and — as in
the case of Jacob, and, again, of David — looked forward
to reunion with their children, who anticipated the
satisfaction of God's likeness and the enjoyment of
eternal pleasures at His right hand, who were convinced
that out of (as disembodied spirits) or in (after resurrec
tion) their flesh they would see God, did not regard
death as the extinction of conscious existence. Strange
indeed it were, if the people to whom God vouchsafed a
peculiar revelation had been without such expectations,
as the heathen, moved by the instinctive desire for
immortality and the clamour for a righteous retribution,

230 HENRY BAZELY. [chap.
almost always cherished. No doubt the knowledge of
the future which Israel possessed was meagre in com
parison with that which Christians have, to whom life
and immortality have been brought to light by the
Gospel ; but the texts which I proceed to quote as
specimens will demonstrate, I hope, that God's ancient
nation was not left wholly in the dark as to the future of
the righteous and the wicked. I have to deal specially
with the punishment of sinners after death, and ac
cordingly I invite attention to two classes of passages —
the one consisting of those which imply punishment of
some sort, the other of those which bear directly upon
the duration of that punishment.
I. Passages which imply that a just recompense of
woe was expected for and by the wicked : —
i. Numb, xxiii. 10, "Let me die the death of the
righteous, and let my last end be like his." Balaam
does not desire simply a death physically easy or painless,
for such a death was not the special portion of righteous
men (the wicked at times have " no bands in their
death," Ps. lxxiii. 4; they die "wholly at ease and quiet,"
Job xxi. 23), but he craves the blessing of a calm con
science at the last, undisturbed by the anticipation of
coming punishment; he prays, in short, for the peace
which is, according to the Psalmist, the end of the
perfect and the upright man (Ps. xxxvii. 37).
2. Job xviii. 14, "It shall bring him (sc. the wicked
man) to the king of terrors'' Death would surely not
have been thus awfully personified if it had been re
garded as annihilation.

vm.] COUNSEL AND CONTROVERSY. 231
3. Ps. xlix. 14, 15. The Psalmist here contrasts the
destiny of worldly men with his own. They are laid in
Sheol like sheep, having death for their Shepherd,
whereas he will be redeemed by God from the power of
Sheol, and as one of the righteous will rule the wicked
— therefore still existing — in the morning (sc. of the
resurrection). 4. Ps. lxxiii. 19, 20, "How are they (sc. the ungodly)
brought into desolation, as in a moment ! they are
utterly consumed with terrors. As a dream when one
awaketh ; O Lord, when thou awakest (rather, in the
awakening, sc. of the resurrection), thou shalt despise
their image." Asaph here not only, as Job, mentions
the terrors that assail the wicked at the approach of
death, but anticipates a time of awakening for them
(cf. Ps. xvii. 15) when God will despise their image, i.e.
as Canon Cook writes in the Speaker's Commentary —
their " continued, though unsubstantial existence ; the
form of the man divested of all that disguised its misery
and corruption. A future judgment with everlasting
issues, if not declared, is implicitly contained in this
passage." 5. Prov. xiv. 32, "The wicked is driven away in his
wickedness ; but the righteous hath hope in his death."
The antithesis here requires something more than the
sudden annihilation of the wicked; and the pregnant
signification of the clause is established by the striking
parallel in Christ's conversation with the Pharisees (John
viii. 21, 24), " Ye shall die in your sins'' He who dies
in his sins is involved in eternal sin (cf. the reading of

232 HENRY BAZELY. [chap.
the Vatican MS., Mark iii. 29) and suffers eternal
punishment. 6. Job. xxvi. 5 may be added to the above-quoted
texts, the rendering of which — according to Delitzsch
and other scholars — should be, "The dead [Rephaim]
writhe with pain (sc. at the touch of His hand to whom
Sheol is naked) under the waters and the inhabiters
thereof." II. Passages which bear on the duration of Future
Punishment : —
1. Ps. lxxxviii. 10, "Shall the dead arise and praise
thee?" The word translated "the dead" [Rephaim,
as in Job xxvi. 5] is always used of the wicked dead, to
whom the Psalmist here denies the hope of restoration
to God's favour.
2. Isa. Ixvi. 24, "And they shall go forth, and look
upon the carcases of the men that have transgressed
against me ; for their worm shall not die, neither shall
their fire be quenched, and they shall be an abhorring
unto all flesh." Want of space absolutely precludes a
discussion of this most important text, so that I must
content myself with transcribing brief extracts from two
highly esteemed commentaries on Isaiah. Vitringa
writes, "Judsei viderunt, et Chakteus exerte hoc loco,
describi hie mystice supplicium, damnatis a Deo decre
tum, ferendum ab iis in ceternum, post novissimum judicii
diem." Delitzsch says, " The prophet is speaking of the
future state, but in figures drawn from the present world.
The object of his prediction is no other than the eternal
torment of the damned." These final words of Isaiah

vm.] COUNSEL AND CONTROVERSY. 233
are worthy of the most careful attention, since they have
been in part adopted by Christ in His thrice-repeated
refrain of awful warning to those who tolerate an offending
hand, or foot, or eye (Mark. ix. 43, etc.)
3. Dan. xii. 2. This is the solitary text quoted by
Mr. Fletcher as a seeming exception to the alleged silence
of the Old Testament on the subject of future retribution.
But apparently he does not admit that it is a real excep
tion, because (1) "the shame and contempt is to fall
only on some out of many ;" (2) " the word rendered
'everlasting' does not mean everlasting ;" (3) "everlasting
shame and contempt might fall on the wicked after their
annihilation.'' With regard to these reasons, the fact
that the shame is to fall on some only does not affect the
character or the duration of the retribution ; the word
rendered "everlasting" [olam] does in many places un
doubtedly mean everlasting in the strictest sense — it is
an epithet of God in Gen. xxi. 33, Isa. xl. 28, and
elsewhere, just as awovios, its usual Greek equivalent, is
in the New Testament ; and lastly, the shame cannot be
supposed to fall on the wicked after their annihilation,
seeing that the prophet expressly says that they " shall
awake " to it. It is further to be noticed, as an indica
tion of the connection between this prophecy of Daniel
and the last verse of Isaiah, that the word [demon]
rendered "an abhorring" in Isa. Ixvi. 24, and "con
tempt " in Dan. xii. 2, is the strongest word in the
Hebrew language for abomination, and occurs only in
these two cognate passages. The resemblance, moreover,
between Dan. xii. 2 and Matt. xxv. 46 is too obvious

234 HENRY BAZELY. [chap.
to escape any reader's notice. The same epithet [olam]
is used for " life " and " contempt " in the former text ;
[and aliovios the equivalent for olam] for "life" and
" punishment " in the latter. (I pass by Mr. Fletcher's
allusion to the question about the date of the Book of
Daniel, not because I do not recognise its essential
importance, but because it seems irrelevant to the
present discussion.)
With regard to the passage quoted by Mr. Fletcher from
2 Maccab. vii., I cannot but think he has given a wrong
interpretation to it, unconsciously influenced, perhaps, by
a wish to find an instance of Jewish belief in corrective
punishment after death. For surely the " torments and
plagues " by which the martyr prays that his persecutor
may be led to acknowledge the True God, are most
naturally understood as befalling him in this — and not in
the next — world. So Grotius, in his commentary, takes
the passage, and refers to the description of the terrible
death of Antiochus, in ch. ix. 12, 13, and 1 Maccab.
vi. 13, as the obvious fulfilment ofthe youth's prayer.
I do not think much weight is to be attached to the
opinions of modern Jewish writers and teachers, unless
we know what sort of fews they are. In 1863 Professor
Luzzatto, of Padua, an orthodox Jew, wrote to Delitzsch,
" Are you a sincere Christian ? Then you are a hundred
times dearer to me than so many Israelitish scholars, the
partizans of Spinoza, with ivhom our age swarms." Jews
of this stamp are not likely to be sound interpreters of
the Old Testament, or trustworthy witnesses to the belief
of their ancestors.

vm.] COUNSEL AND CONTROVERSY. 235
But although I have touched upon Mr. Fletcher's
references to the Apocrypha and Jewish tradition, I
would earnestly beg your readers' exclusive attention to
and careful examination of the texts which I have quoted
in this letter. Let us set ourselves to discover — by
God's help — what is the teaching of His Inspired Word.
St. Aldate's Bridge, H. C. B. Bazely.
May, 21, 1878.
PS. — I had written the above letter before I saw Mr.
Fletcher's careful and courteous rejoinder to my criticism
of his sermon. It would be out of place in these columns
to deal with his rejoinder in detail, but I will ask per
mission to say one word with regard to a point on which
I have been scarcely understood. When I spoke of the
unmerited sufferings of irrational animals, I was not
thinking of the pains which they inflict on one another
— these are, I have always believed, very trifling, and,
as Mr. Fletcher says, almost momentary — but of the
pains both acute and tedious (as in the case of hard
worked beasts of burden) that most domestic animals
endure — of necessity, as it is pleaded — at the hands of
man, for his convenience. These sufferings God foresaw,
and permits ; and the mystery which this permission
involves is certainly intensely dark. To me, at least,
it seems far more difficult to reconcile supreme good
ness and omnipotence with the permission of any
amount of undeserved suffering, wholly unprofitable to
the innocent sufferer, who is not a moral agent or
patient, than with the eternal punishment of those
whose wilful sins deserve, confessedly some punishment,

236 HENRY BAZELY. [chap.
and may deserve, as surely all will admit who recognise
man's low and ignorant estimate of evil, misery neces
sarily irremediable.
THE DOCTRINE OF FUTURE PUNISHMENT
IN THE NEW TESTAMENT.
Sir — The chief point of Mr. Fletcher's letter which
appeared in your paper of the ist inst. is, if I appre
hend it correctly, that the popular doctrine of eternal
punishment depends very much on the presence in the
English New Testament of two words, " damnation " and
" hell," which are said to be mistranslations of certain
Greek words. No doubt the substitution of " condem
nation " or " judgment," and of " Gehenna," in some of
the texts cited by Mr. Fletcher, ought to be, and most
probably will be, made in the revised version ; but in
some of the cited texts the present renderings can hardly
be pronounced erroneous, and should, I think, be still
retained. For "judgment" is an ambiguous word, as it
may refer to judgment in this world or in the next, and
therefore when the context indicates that judgment after
death is intended, the rendering " damnation '' is surely
not to be repudiated. So with regard to Gehenna I
quite agree with Mr. Fletcher that there is probably no
reference to future retribution in Matt. v. 22, in which
text, therefore, "Gehenna," or "the valley of Hinnom"
should stand in our version for "hell;" but in Matt. x.
2 8, where Christ is unquestionably speaking of the place
of future punishment in which God is able to destroy

vm.] COUNSEL AND CONTROVERSY. 237
both body and soul, I am inclined to vindicate the
retention ofthe word "hell."
Mr. Fletcher states that " all the Jewish writings dat
ing from three centuries before to three centuries after
Christ have been carefully searched with a view to as
certain the meaning of the word Gehenna," and that no
trace of eternal punishment is to be found in them. It
is always dangerous to assert universal propositions of
this kind, as they are liable to be falsified by a single
" instantia contradictoria." Such an instance — the first
which occurs to me, and it is probably not a solitary
one — is found in the Apocryphal book of Judith, which
was written by a Jew, in some part of the second century
B.C. Judith, in her song of praise with which the book
concludes, speaks thus (xvi. 17): "Woe to the nations
that rise up against my people : the Lord Almighty will
execute vengeance upon them in the day of judgment,
to send fire and worms into their flesh, and they shall
wail in the sense thereof unto eternity (ev aladrjcrei «ws
almvos)." It is true the word Gehenna is not here used,
and so the passage may have been overlooked in the
diligent search of which Mr. Fletcher speaks ; but the
expectation of eternal punishment for God's enemies is
plain, and the use of the phrase ("fire and worms") in
Isaiah Ixvi. 24, which is reproduced by Christ at the
end of Mark ix., is very striking and significant.
However, with regard to the all-important question,
the evidence furnished by the New Testament for the
doctrine of eternal punishment and against the theory
of Universal Restoration — this is entirely independent of

238 HENRY BAZELY. [chap.
the meaning of the words rendered " damnation " and
" hell." Rather it is derived partly from the meaning
and peculiar use of a'uov and its derivatives, partly and
chiefly from the undeviating tenor of the language used
by our blessed Lord and His Apostles about the future
state of the wicked. No hope is held out of restoration
after death to those who have enjoyed due opportunities
of understanding and receiving the offer of salvation,
and have wilfully rejected it, and with deliberation chosen
to retain the sins in which they at last died. Who
these hopeless ones are none can certainly know but
the Judge of all the earth, of whose supreme righteous
ness and mercy we are fully pursuaded.
But that the sinners who go hence impenitent, not
withstanding the warnings and invitations of God's
Word, continue — as Mr. Fletcher supposes — to be the
objects of our heavenly Father's love and tender regard,
the New Testament appears to me not merely to abstain
from affirming, but on the contrary to emphatically deny.
If God still loves the wicked dead, is it conceivable that
Christ would have compared them with comparisons
most base and despicable, to chaff which is burnt up
with unquenched fire, to rotten fish which the fisherman
tosses from him, to the tares which the farmer orders
his servants to burn, to saltless salt not fit even for the
dunghill, to dogs excluded from the holy city, to vessels
of a potter shivered in pieces ? Is it possible to deem
those the objects of Divine compassion, who are driven
as accursed ones from the face of the Son of Man into
eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels ? Those

vm.] COUNSEL AND CONTROVERSY. 239
who believe — as I think Mr. Fletcher does — that future
punishment is for all men remedial (a position from which
Canon Farrar illogically shrinks), must also — for to this
their argument from the necessary victory of Divine good
ness and termination of evil leads them — believe that the
devil and his angels will also be finally restored, as in fact
Origen believed. And so Satan and his legions of unclean
spirits are even now the objects of God's pity and Christ's
love. And though as yet there is no abatement but rather
aggravation of malice shown towards the seed of the
woman by the hosts of hell, the torments of the lake of
fire and the company of the wild beast and false prophet
are destined to produce in the devils a blessed change of
character ! So again the wrath of God, it would seem,
is more mighty, more transforming than His love ; the
flames of the bottomless pit are more successful with
sinners than the Cross ; a power has been discovered
more constraining unto salvation than the Gospel of the
Crucified ! I cannot imagine a place more unlike one
of moral and spiritual improvement and preparation for
the pure service and holy joy of heaven, than the place
of future punishment as it is described in the New Testa
ment. Nor can I imagine a more perilous — ay, ruinous
— suggestion to a careless wilful sinner, than that — not
only opportunities of repentance and recovery will be
given to him after death, but — at last, after a longer or
shorter time, he must surely be placed among God's
blessed children. I dare not so speak to the wicked,
lest I incur the guilt of those who prophesy things smooth
indeed but false, and not only add to, but contradict the

240 HENRY BAZELY. [chap.
revelation of the sinner's awful future which God has
given us in His Holy Word. Pardon and sanctifying
grace are offered to any sinner in this world "while it is
called to-day;" but to those who refuse the offer and
die in the wilful practice and love of sin, there remaineth
" a certain fearful looking for of judgment and fiery in
dignation, which shall devour the adversaries " of God.
H. C. B. Bazely.
2 St. Aldate's Bridge, June 4.
THE DOCTRINE OF FUTURE RETRIBUTION
IN THE OLD TESTAMENT.
Sir — I must repeat my surprise that any one, unless he
is maintaining a paradox (Qkaii), should assert that there
is no trace in the Old Testament (except in Dan. xii. 2)
of a belief in future retribution. I must express still
greater surprise that Mr. Fletcher should quote as a
primary authority in a serious discussion a writer whose
name is notorious in literature for his paradoxical asser
tions on this and kindred topics. The learned eccle
siastical historian, Schrock, passed this brief and just
criticism on Warburton's theory : " Ingenious enough,
but only ingenious !" The Biographie Universelle says:
" La manie du paradoxe etait devenue et fut pour
jamais celle de Warburton." And a Professor of Moral
Philosophy in Oxford half a century ago (Rev. W. Mills,
B. D., Fellow of Magdalen), who examined Warburton's
arguments in a discourse on a text which he charac
teristically misinterpreted — 2 Tim. i. 10 — thus concludes

vm.] COUNSEL AND CONTROVERSY. 241
his criticism of the Bishop's writings : " Our admiration
of learning and ingenuity, however perverted and mis
applied, will always ensure to the works of Warburton a
certain degree of popularity ; but opinions like those
developed in the Divine Legation of Moses will never
extensively prevail, till the love of novelty and ingenuity
gets the better alike of sober criticism and common sense'.'
I must allow the candid judgment of your readers to
decide whether my letter contained " far-fetched mean
ings " of texts, and " forced inferences " from them ; but
I must say a word upon the more serious charge of
attempting to extort a doctrine of future punishment
from the Old Testament by " mistranslations." A mis
translation must be due, I suppose, to ignorance, or care
lessness, or dishonesty, and is of course inexcusable.
Mr. Fletcher supports his general charge by only one
instance — " a positive mistranslation " of the Hebrew
word Rephaim in Ps. lxxxviii. 10. I stated that this word
signifies the wicked dead, and my authority for this state
ment maybe seen in Dr. Pusey's lectures on Daniel, p. 506,
where the learned Regius Professor discusses the origin
of the word, quoting the passages where it occurs, and
makes this categorical assertion as the result of his
examination of the word : " Rephaim is never used
except of the evil dead." I take this opportunity of at
once thanking Mr. Fletcher for his commendation of
some books to my notice in a previous letter, and ask
ing him to read, if he has not done so, this work by Dr.
Pusey, before he finally decides in favour of the late date
of Daniel. R

242 HENRY BAZELY. [chap.
One remark in conclusion. Let your readers judge
whether it is possible to reconcile Mr. Fletcher's re
iterated assertion that " the best men " of the Jewish
nation believed "that death for ever separated them
from God," with the following passages, which I cite as
specimens and not as the only passages bearing on the
subject : " I know that my Redeemer liveth, and that
he shall stand at the latter day upon the earth : And
though after my skin worms destroy this body, yet in
my flesh shall I see God : Whom I shall see for myself,
and mine eyes shall behold, and not another " (Job xix.
25-27) ; "But God will redeem my soul from the
power of the grave ; for he shall receive me [the same
phrase as in Gen. v. 24 of Enoch]" (Ps. xlix. 15);
" Thy dead men shall live, together with my dead body
shall they arise" (Isa. xxvi. 19). H. C. B. Bazely.
2 St. Aldate's Bridge, June 10.
STANDING AT PRAYER.
By the Rev. H. C. B. Bazely, B.C.L.
There is apparently a desire manifested just now by
some ministers and congregations in the Presbyterian
Churches to change the long -established posture of
standing during prayer for that which is customary in
Episcopalian Churches — namely, kneeling. Of course
a change of this sort is not to be objected to simply be
cause it is a change — we are not so rigidly conservative
as to deny that a change is sometimes expedient, or even
necessary — but those who wish to introduce it may fairly

vm.] COUNSEL AND CONTROVERSY. 243
be asked to state, as we believe they have not yet done,
their reasons for desiring to alter an usage which has
prevailed for many generations. We propose, in antici
pation of a statement of these reasons, to bring to the
notice of our readers some considerations which seem to
us to vindicate forcibly the retention of the posture of
standing — a posture which was universally practised in
our Presbyterian Churches till twenty or thirty years
ago. 1. Two postures during prayer are recommended by
precept and example in Holy Scripture — namely, standing
and kneeling. For instance, when Jehoshaphat set his
face to seek the help of the Lord against his confederate
enemies, he stood in the congregation of Judah and
Jerusalem in the house of the Lord and prayed, while all
Judah, who had gathered themselves together at his
summons, stood with him before the Lord with their little
ones, their wives, and their children (2 Chron. xx. 5-13).
So in the time of Ezra, the Levites stood upon the stairs
and cried unto the Lord ; while the seed of Israel, who
had separated themselves from the strange children,
stood and confessed their sins and the iniquities of their
fathers (Neh. ix. 2-4). In the New Testament the pub
lican is represented as standing while he offered his
humble and acceptable petition, " God be merciful to
me a sinner" (Luke xviii. 13). Moreover, Christ has
distinctly recognised this posture as one for general adop
tion in His rule as to the spirit which must be cherished
by us in prayer, "and when ye stand praying, forgive, if
ye have ought against any" (Mark xi. 25). Kneeling,

244 HENRY BAZELY. [chap.
on the other hand, is yet more frequently referred to.
Ezra fell upon his knees, and spread out his hands unto
the Lord, when he prayed with confession of sins (Ezra
ix. 5). Solomon apparently knelt during some part of
the prayer which he offered at the dedication of the
Temple (1 Kings viii. 54). In the early days of the
Christian Church Stephen knelt in his last prayer (Acts
vii. 60) ; Peter knelt when he besought God for the life
of Dorcas (Acts ix. 40) ; Paul knelt when he prayed
with the Ephesian presbyters (Acts xx. 36). It is per
fectly plain, from these instances, that both postures,
standing and kneeling, are acceptable to God. And if
this be the case, it surely cannot be right to neglect the
use of either of them altogether. Now Presbyterians
have herein — as in so many matters — followed more
closely than some other Christians the guidance of Holy
Scripture. They have adopted the posture of kneeling
as the more frequent posture, the ordinary posture in
family worship and at their private devotions ; whereas
in congregational worship they have been accustomed to
stand. Would it not be a serious mistake — to say the
least of it — for them to give up standing at prayer in the
congregation, and thus to abstain entirely, as Episco
palians probably do, from one of the two postures which
are sanctioned by the authority of God ?
2. Moreover, when we remember that it was the
almost universal custom in the Church during the first
few centuries of the Christian era to stand in public
prayer on the Lord's Day, it certainly seems peculiarly
appropriate that this very ancient usage should be re-

vm.] COUNSEL AND CONTROVERSY. 245
tained by us. No doubt the practice of the early Church
is not in all respects worthy of imitation, for corruptions
of the simple Apostolical order soon crept in ; but when
an ancient practice is quite in harmony, as this is, with
scriptural precept and example, it has, we think, some
legitimate claim on our regard. Two or three testimonies
to this ancient custom may be cited here. Justin Martyr
(Apol. i. 67), describing in the second century Christian
worship "on the day called Sunday," tells us that after
Holy Scripture had been read and the minister had
preached, " they all rose together and prayed." Augustine
(Ep. 55 ad Jan.) writes, "we pray standing, which is a
sign of the resurrection." The last canon of the (Ecu
menical Council, held at Nicssa, 325 a.d., enjoins that
prayers be offered to God by the worshippers standing
on the Lord's Day, in order that all things may be ob
served with due uniformity in every parish. Irenaeus,
writing in the second century, traced the custom to an
ordinance of the Apostles.
3. There is also a very practical reason for the con
tinuance of our usual posture of standing. It is hardly
possible, from the construction of the seats in our
churches, to kneel during prayer ; and to render this
posture possible, alterations involving considerable ex
pense and inconvenience would have to be made.
There is, besides, a great tendency where kneeling is
the professed practice, as it is in Episcopalian congre
gations, to lounge, the worshippers half-sitting on the
seats, and resting their heads and arms in a listless and
drowsy fashion upon the desk in front of them. This

246 HENRY BAZELY. [chap.
posture is certainly uncomely and irreverent. Indeed
there is but a slight difference, or none at all, between
this lounging and sitting, which attitude is largely prac
tised by English dissenters. We need hardly point out
that there is not a vestige of authority for it in Holy
Scripture. The only text we have ever seen quoted in
favour of sitting is 2 Sam. vii. 18, where David is said
to have "sat before the Lord." But the word (yashav)
is improperly translated : " remained, tarried, as in Gen.
xxiv. 55, xxix. 19, not sat, for the custom of sitting
before the Lord in the sanctuary, as the posture in
prayer, cannot be deduced from Exod. xvii. 12, where
Moses is compelled to sit from simple exhaustion "
(Keil and Delitzsch, Comment, in loc.) Moreover, as
Bingham says in his Antiquities of the Christian Church,
xiii. 8, § 7, " it never had any allowance in the practice
of the ancient Church. . . . The primitive Christians
did never use or take sitting for a posture of devotion,
. . . because it looked more like an heathenish than a
Christian practice." It is, in fact, a novelty of recent
date, and probably very few, if any, will undertake seri
ously to defend it. We fear the adoption of it is due,
in some measure, to the most erroneous notion — strange,
indeed, and startling in a Protestant Church — that it is
the duty of the people in public worship to listen to,
and not to join with, the minister in supplication. To
judge from the demeanour of many worshippers, this
notion must be widely prevalent. AVe are all aware that
one of the chief charges brought by the advocates of
prescribed liturgies against free prayer is that the people

vm.] COUNSEL AND CONTROVERSY. 247
cannot readily join in it ; we know that the charge is
unfounded, but we cannot profess to be greatly surprised
at it, when we remember the irreverent appearance of
not a few in most congregations during the time of
public prayer. We have never seen any one remain
seated while leading the devotions of others ; and we
are very sure that the sitting members of a congregation
would be amazed and even scandalised if their minister
was to continue seated in the pulpit while offering the
prayers of the Church. And this really settles the ques
tion. For if the sitting posture would be an indecency —
and no one doubts that it would be — on the part of the
minister, it must be precisely as great an indecency on
the part of the congregation, who ought to be praying
every whit as heartily as their leader. Let us, by our
practice, contend against the Romish error that the
minister is nothing more than the intercessor for the
people, and illustrate the Protestant truth that he is, in
public worship, the mouthpiece of those whom Christ
has made priests unto His Father.
What our fellowmen may think of our worship is of
course of infinitely less consequence than what God
thinks of it, but we cannot refrain from pointing out that
the irreverent appearance of sitters and loungers during
prayer often prejudices devout Episcopalians, who may
happen to be in our churches, against our form of service
as a whole. We cannot pretend to be surprised that this
should be so, and that the superiority of our more excel
lent way of worship should be thus obscured to outsiders.
Let us see that our good be not evil spoken of.

248 HENRY BAZELY. [chap.
As to the standing posture, we are not aware of any
reasonable objection that can be brought against it.
We know that it is said to be too fatiguing, but we cannot
persuade ourselves that Christians of the present day
are more feeble than those who worshipped standing in
the early age of the Church — and, indeed, than the
Christians of the last generation. We are sure that —
with the exception of the old and infirm, who, of course,
are not expected either to stand or to kneel beyond their
ability — all the members of our congregations are quite
able to stand without difficulty or discomfort for the few
minutes during which prayer is offered. Public prayers
now are, as a rule, by no means lengthy, nor is it desir
able, from a scriptural point of view, that they should
be so. At all events, if ministers can and do invariably
stand during the prayers, the reading of Holy Scripture,
and the sermon, we are persuaded that we are not making
an unreasonable request when we entreat our congrega
tions to associate themselves with us in a posture of becom
ing reverence during the few minutes of united prayer.
The only other objection that we have ever heard
adduced, is that by urging so earnestly the use of a par
ticular posture, we are in danger of lapsing into formalism,
and perhaps, at last, into ritualism. It is well known,
however, that those ministers who plead for standing in
prayer are the very last to desire the introduction of the
rites and practices of the English Church ; whereas
those who recommend kneeling, and tolerate sitting, are
notorious for their endeavours to assimilate our worship
to that of Episcopalians by the introduction of uninspired

vm.] COUNSEL AND CONTROVERSY. 249
hymns, instrumental music, and other unscriptural inno
vations. It is most true, and we will never cease from so
instructing our congregations, that God looks not merely
on outward appearances, but on the heart ; and, if the
heart be not washed from its filthiness in the opened
fountain, no acceptable prayer can proceed from it.
But, at the same time, we do strenuously contend for
the order and decency in worship enjoined by Christ's
Apostle, and for the due external expression of that
reverence and godly fear which is to be rendered to God
in the assembly of His saints. We are confident that
the Apostle Paul would say to the sitters and loungers
at public prayer, "judge in yourselves, is it comely to
pray to God in such a posture ? Doth not even nature
teach you that you ought not to approach the throne of
the King Eternal in an attitude which you would not
dare to adopt in the presence of an earthly monarch ?
But if any seem to be contentious, we have no such
custom, neither the Churches of God." There is cer
tainly no reason why we should apologise, as some of
our brethren seem disposed to do, for our manner of
worship, any more than for our form of doctrine and
mode of ecclesiastical polity. We do not wish to speak
boastfully, but we should be untrue to our convictions
and unfaithful to our trust if we did not plainly declare
that we believe our manner of worship to be incompar
ably more scriptural than the Episcopalian manner.
We heartily wish that other Christian Churches would
join with us in following what we are persuaded is the
Apostolic pattern.

250 HENRY BAZELY. [chap.
For the permanence of it to our own day we are un-
feignedly thankful, and we pray that God will preserve
it unsullied by novel corruptions to succeeding genera
tions. In fine, we would earnestly beseech all true
Presbyterians " to meddle not with them that are given
to change," but rather to take, as their safe and honour
able motto, " Stare super antiquas vias."

INSPIRED PSALMODY:
A Plea for the exclusive use of the Psalter in Christian
Worship.
A Sermon preached in St. Andrew's Scottish Church,
Philpot Street, Commercial Road, London, E., on
February 10, 1878. By the Rev. H. C. B.
Bazely, B.C.L., Brasenose College, Oxford.
"Speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual
songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord." —
Eph. v. 19.
" Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, in all wisdom ;
teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and
spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord. " —
Col. iii. 16.
I wish, dear brethren, to state to you my reasons for
the practice which I have constantly followed, since I
became your minister, of choosing our songs of praise
to Almighty God exclusively from the book of Psalms.
I ought, perhaps, to have done this sooner, since you
may naturally have desired a fuller statement than the
statement I gave in a brief paper on Public Worship,
written for your inspection, before I accepted this

vm.] COUNSEL AND CONTROVERSY. 251
pastoral charge, of the reasons which compel me, under
a solemn sense of duty to God and to our Church, to
abstain from the use of uninspired hymns in the public
worship of the congregation. Will you now lend me
your kind attention, while I set before you, as plainly
and as succinctly as I can, my reasons for the exclusive
use of the Psalter ? And permit me to say, by the way,
that I shall esteem it a real kindness if any of you who
feel a difficulty in regard of what I may do, either in the
conduct of public worship or otherwise, will speak to me
frankly and at once. Let there be no want of mutual
confidence between a minister and his people.
At the time of the Reformation one of the important
subjects of controversy discussed between the Roman
Catholic Church and the Reformed Churches was the
rule of worship. The Roman Catholic Church — to put
the controversy in the fewest words — adopted this prin
ciple : "Whatever Scripture does not forbid, it allows,"
(Quod Scriptura non vetat, permittit) ; whereas the Re
formed Churches took as their principle : " Whatever
Scripture does not command, it forbids" (Quod Scrip
tura non jubet, vetat). Observe the vast difference
between these two principles, and in the practical results
which follow from the maintenance of the one or the
other of them. According to the Roman principle, there
is scope for the introduction of ten thousand rites and
practices unknown in the days of the Apostles. The
manner of worship is thus made to depend on the
various and ever-changing tastes of men, and their ideas
of what is expedient and comely. The only sort of

252 HENRY BAZELY. [chap.
uniformity possible is that which is enforced by the
despotic government of the rulers of the Church for the
time being. On the other hand, according to the
principle of the Reformed Churches, the manner of
worship is wholly regulated by the perfect wisdom of
God. And an end is at once put to controversy. Does
a Church or a private Christian desire to make an altera
tion in the accustomed manner of worship ? it is incum
bent on the Church or the individual to bring forward
the express warrant from God's written "Word. If no
such warrant can be produced, the proposed change is
ipso facto condemned ; whereas, according to the Roman
principle, a door is opened to an interminable controversy
as to men's tastes and notions of expediency. I do not
intend to enter now upon the proof of the soundness of
the Reformation principle. Let me simply remind you
that it was received, with hardly an exception, by all the
Reformed Churches. The Church of England, most
unhappily for herself, did not accept it. She rejected
indeed a vast multitude of ungodly and superstitious
inventions which the wayward folly of men had intro
duced into the public worship of God, but, refusing to
adopt the true principle which guided her sister Churches
of the Reformation, she retained some rites and practices
unwarranted by Holy Scripture, and, notwithstanding
the remonstrances of the wisest of her ministers, sought
to justify herself by a clause, admitted after much
hesitation into her 20th Article, to the effect that "The
Church hath power to decree rites and ceremonies
which are not contrary to God's Word." And what

vm.] COUNSEL AND CONTROVERSY. 253
have been the results ? Take these as specimens :
First, the loss of 2000 of her best ministers in 1662,
who resigned their benefices because they could not
conscientiously allow themselves to be compelled to
adopt various rites, unwarranted by God's Word, and
especially the posture of kneeling at the Lord's Supper ;
a posture without a shadow of authority from Holy
Scripture, and the practice of the Church for ten
centuries after Christ1 Secondly, the growth of ex-
1 To the retention of this mediaeval custom the growth of Romish
doctrine in the Church of England on the subject of the Lord's
Supper is largely due. This backward movement is almost peculiar
to that Church, which, unlike the sister Churches of the Reforma
tion, has retained, and even vehemently enforced as a term of com
munion, the posture of kneeling at the reception of the bread and
wine. It is indeed strange that a practice so utterly unknown for
many centuries after Christ should be defended by those who profess
a high regard for ancient custom. How little can be said in favour
of kneeling may be seen from the very unsatisfactory attempt to
vindicate it made by the most able of Anglican controversialists,
Richard Hooker. While on other subjects of controversy with the
Puritans he writes at great length, he gives only ten lines to the
question of kneeling at the Lord's Supper, and his chief argument
for kneeling is actually the implied assertion that the practice of the
English Church is more fit and decent than that of our Lord and
His Apostles (Eccl. Pol. v. 68). There is an excellent and
exhaustive argument against the practice of kneeling, and in defence
of sitting — the appropriate posture at a Supper — in Calderwood's
Altare Damascenum, pp. 539"6o3, edn. 1708. It is a great pity
that this learned work, probably the most valuable vindication of
the polity and worship of the Church of Scotland that has ever
been written, is not accessible in an English translation. It is said
that when King James VI. had just finished reading it, he was
asked by an Anglican prelate why he looked so grave and anxious.
The King replied that his anxiety was due to the contents of the
book he had just put down. " Do not let it trouble your Majesty,"
said the prelate, " I will soon write a refutation." " I should like
to see you refute it, my good man," replied the King : "Why, there
is nothing in it but Scripture, Reason, and the Fathers."

254 HENRY BAZELY. [chap.
travagant ritualism during the last few years, which is
grieving the hearts and weakening the efforts of the
Evangelical members of the Church, which is preparing
the way for a multitude of perversions to the Roman
apostasy, which, more perhaps than anything else, is
helping the enterprise of those who are bent on destroy
ing the Church of England as an Established Church.
The Church of Scotland, unlike the Church of England,
adopted in its integrity the Reformation principle. As
soon as this principle was grasped, a clean sweep was
made of every rite and practice for which no sanction
could be discovered in the New Testament. The
principle is asserted in the Confession of Faith, chap.
xxi. sec. i, in the following words : " The acceptable
way of worshipping the true God is instituted by Him
self, and so limited by His own revealed will, that He
may not be worshipped according to the imaginations
and devices of men, or the suggestions of Satan, under
any visible representation, or," — mark this—" any other
way not prescribed in the Holy Scriptures." It is for us,
if we accept the doctrine of the Confession (and surely
every loyal member of our Church does accept it), to
inquire, with regard to the matter before us, whether the
use of uninspired hymns is prescribed in Holy Scripture.
If it is, then such hymns must be used ; if not, then the
use of such hymns is unlawful. The answer to the
question need not detain us long. Our Church, as we
shall see presently, has given a plain and decided reply.
But let us first look, independently of the formularies of
our Church, at two or three passages in the New Testa-

vm.] COUNSEL AND CONTROVERSY. 255
ment. The shortest text bearing on the subject is that
which contains James's exhortation to Christians who are
cheerful in the enjoyment of the good gifts of our merci
ful God, " Is any merry, let him sing psalms." To the
same effect Paul exhorts the Ephesian and Colossian
Christians in the passages, so like each other, which I
read as my text. Only his phrase in both epistles is,
" psalms, and hymns, and spiritual songs." I cannot
doubt that many of the Apostle's readers, who have not
examined with a little care his meaning, have come to
the conclusion that uninspired hymns and spiritual songs
are in these texts not barely permitted, but explicitly
prescribed, by Paul. My brethren, there is not, I am
persuaded, the slightest ground for the supposition that
the Apostle refers here to uninspired poetry, or to any
poems outside the canonical book of Psalms. The
reference is simply to the different classes of poems
contained in the Psalter, as is sufficiently clear from the
fact that the three Greek words for " psalms, hymns,
songs," are just the words which are used in the Greek
translation of the Old Testament, called the LXX. which
Paul employed, to express the different Hebrew words
occurring in the titles of the Psalms, and are rendered
in our version by "psalm," "song," "praise," and so
forth. That this is the true significance of Paul's phrase
ology is shown by the instructive circumstance that the
praise sung by our Lord and His Apostles after the Last
Supper — doubtless that portion of the Psalter which was
entitled by the Jewish Church the Egyptian Hallel or
Thanksgiving (Psalms cxiii.-cxviii.), and customarily sung

256 HENRY BAZELY. [chap.
by them at the Passover — is designated by the Evan
gelists Matthew and Mark, "a hymn." "When they
had sung an hymn, they went to the Mount of Olives."
A further proof is furnished by the epithet " spiritual "
attached in the above texts to " songs," which means,
according to its use in the New Testament, that which
comes directly from the Spirit of God.1 Moreover,
there is no trace in the extant writings of the early
Church of the use in Apostolic times of any uninspired
hymns ; and surely if such had been in use, they would
not all have perished.
Indeed, as late as the year 563 we find a decree made
by the Council of Braga, in the following terms : " No
poetical compositions are to be sung in Church except
the Psalms of the Canonical Scriptures." 2 That the
1 The meaning of the three words in these texts is fully discussed
in The True Psalmody : or the Bible Psalms the Church's only
Manual of Praise, which is a full and able defence of the exclusive
use of the Psalter in public worship. The last edition, published
at Belfast in 1861, is out of print ; but I am very glad to hear that
a new edition has just been published by Mr. James Gemmell,
Edinburgh. All who are interested in maintaining purity of
worship should procure this admirable little book, and promote its
circulation as widely as possible. I may add that the correct
interpretation of the texts is given in the Church Dictionary of Dr.
Hook, an Anglican High Churchman. " The first of these words
(in Eph. v. 19, and Col. iii. 16) would seem to refer to the mizmor,
or psalm properly so called ; the second to the tehillah, or jubilant
song of praise ; the last to the shir, or song ; all of which words
occur both in the titles and the text of the Book of Psalms." —
Arti.cle on "Hymns."
2 "There are signs, however, that this influx of hymns [in the
fifth and sixth centuries] did not everywhere meet with favour.
The complaint made by the orthodox against heretics that they had
innovated, could now be turned against themselves ; and among
Catholics there were some who doubted, like the Genevan Reformers

vm.] COUNSEL AND CONTROVERSY. 257
Bible furnishes us with no warrant for the use of any
songs in public worship but those contained in the
Psalter, is not the private opinion of this or that individual :
it is the deliberate judgment of the Church of Scotland,
clearly expressed in her Standards. Of this there can
be no reasonable doubt. In the Confession of Faith,
chap, xxi., sec. 5, "singing of Psalms" is the description
given of one of the constituent parts of worship ; and at
the close of the Directory, in which document there are
several references to the psalmody of the Church, a
paragraph contains the following words : " It is the duty
of Christians to praise God publicly by singing of Psalms
together in the congregation, and also privately in the
family." There is not the most distant allusion in any
one of our Formularies, in the Confession, Catechism,
or Directory, to uninspired hymns. Such hymns were
absolutely unknown in our Churches until the close of
the last century. During the latter half of that century,
when the unevangelical principles of so-called Moderatism
were dominant, and intrusions of unacceptable presentees
into vacant parishes were driving many Christian people
into secession, some hymns — five only in number — were,
in conjunction with sixty-seven Paraphrases of Scripture,
" collected and prepared by a Committee of the General
Assembly, in order to be sung in Churches." Note the
wording of this sentence, which stands on the title page
ofthe Paraphrases. Very different is the wording ofthe
later, whether it were right to use in worship any but the words of
Scripture. . . . There were still some Churches, even in the ninth
century, which did not admit metrical hymns into their offices." —
Smith's Dictionary of Christian Antiquities. — "Hymn."

258 HENRY BAZELY. [chap.
title-page of the Psalter : " The Psalms of David, in
Metre ; according to the version approved by the Church
of Scotland, and appointed to be used in worship." The
Paraphrases and the five accompanying hymns never
received formal ecclesiastical sanction ; never, as was
necessary to authorise their use, were they approved by
a majority of the Presbyteries, in terms of the Barrier
Act.1 Those who used them did so by nothing more
than the temporary sanction of the General Assembly.
There is certainly, as has been sometimes pointed out, a
difference between Paraphrases, i.e. loose renderings of
passages of Holy Scripture, and such hymns as are
original compositions. The former are not open to
precisely the same objections as the latter. But it may,
I think, be fairly argued that Paraphrases are at least un
necessary ; and with regard to the sixty-seven attached to
our metrical Psalter, while in all of them undue liberties
are taken with the inspired text, several are portions ofthe
Bible which were not intended to be sung ; so that we
may be thankful that our Church was preserved from
giving a formal sanction to this collection.
No further innovation was attempted in the public
service of praise until a few years ago, when, through
the influence of a restless party in the Church, bent on
assimilating the worship in more points than one to the
unscriptural worship of the Church of England, a hymn
1 " It would appear that a majority of Presbyteries did not send
up to the Assembly their approval of the Paraphrases. Certain it
is there is no Act of Assembly formally sanctioning them." — Church
History of Scotland, ii. 597, ly John Cunningham, D.D., Minister
of Crieff.

vm.] COUNSEL AND CONTROVERSY. 259
book was prepared by a Committee of the General
Assembly, and the use of it sanctioned in the same
irregular way as the Paraphrases had been a century
before. I shall not now examine in detail the character
of this volume ; suffice it to remark that it contains one
hymn by a Unitarian and two by a pervert to the Church
of Rome, who, as is well known, composed his hymns,
which are so attractive to some from their sentimental
style, after he had exchanged the position of a Protestant
minister for that of a Romish priest. I am glad to be
assured that there are many parish ministers faithful to
the fundamental principles of our Church, who have not
admitted this book into their congregations. It has no
higher sanction than that of a majority of the General
Assembly ; and I need hardly remind you that a majority
of a representative body which is subject to annual
change has no power to alter the fundamental principles
of the Church.
I have already given sufficient reasons for the exclusive
use of the Psalter in public worship, inasmuch as I have
shown you that uninspired hymns can find no warrant
from either precept or example in Holy Scripture, that
they were not used in the purest days of the Reformed
Church of Scotland, and that they have at no time — not
even at the most unsatisfactory periods of our Church's
history — been constitutionally approved. I shall add,
however, a few more reasons in confirmation.
(1) The first and most weighty reason is the acknow
ledgment which we thereby make of the supremacy of
Holy Scripture. We thus draw an unmistakable dis-

260 HENRY BAZELY. [chap.
tinction between inspired and uninspired writings. We
refuse to put on an apparent level with the words spoken
and written by men under the supernatural influence
of the Holy Ghost, any words, however true, however
beautiful, for which such suggestion and guidance can
not be claimed. To add by way of supplement to the
Psalter uninspired hymns — and much more, of course,
to substitute these hymns for the Psalms — is really to
disparage Holy Scripture as imperfect, and insufficient
for the needs of the Christian Church. Can we doubt,
brethren, that if the Psalter were inadequate, as some
venture to treat it, our Blessed Lord would have guided
His apostles by His Spirit to draw up a new manual of
praise for His Church ? He has not done so ; and we
may surely infer the perfect adequacy of the Psalter
which He Himself and His apostles used. Certainly,
there was never a time in the history of the Christian
Church when it was more dangerous to disparage the
perfection of Holy Scripture, or to neglect the assertion
of its supremacy, than now, when its specific distinction
from all other writings, and its adequateness as the sole
rule of doctrine and practice for Christians, are by very
many denied.
(2) Secondly, I would insist on the use of the Psalter
only in public worship, for the sake of the profitable and
delightful familiarity with it which every member of the
Church will thus readily attain. No one can express
how dear the Psalms have been to devout Christians in
all ages, what sound instruction has been furnished by
them, what strong encouragement, what real comfort,

viii.] COUNSEL AND CONTROVERSY. 261
what unspeakable joy. They who have been best
acquainted with the Psalms have valued them most
highly. In the early Church jhere was a rule in some
provinces that no one should be ordained a presbyter
until he could repeat the Psalter by heart. I could
almost wish that this rule were revived in the Church
of our own day. In the fifth century — so Jerome tells
us — the poor husbandman was heard singing the Psalms
as he walked behind his plough. Another writer of the
same date (Basil) exhorts the artisans to sing the Psalms
in their shops. They were translated into Greek metrical
verse that children might learn them in the schools, for,
as Augustine writes, the Psalms were specially intended
for the delight of children and young men. I have
often been greatly pleased in visiting our Scottish poor
to discover the accurate knowledge of the Psalms
possessed by aged people, who in their youth heard no
other songs in the public worship of their Church. Now,
alas, since other hymns have been introduced, this know
ledge of the Psalter is no longer common; the children of
this generation are far better acquainted with uninspired
hymns, some perhaps good, many indifferent, and not a
few containing positive error.
(3) Thirdly, I plead for the exclusive use of the Psalter
as a means of promoting and maintaining ecclesiastical
union. Uninspired hymns are essentially sectarian —
every Church has its peculiar collection. One collection
is used in the Church of Scotland, another in the Free
Church, another in the United Presbyterian Church;
and in the Church of England there is a multitudinous

262 HENRY BAZELY. [chap.
variety of hymn books, reflecting the doctrinal views of
the various ministers and congregations that use them.
When a Psalm is sung in our churches, every true
Christian can heartily join in the service of praise ; but
it sometimes happens that the hymn which is announced
is one which some of the worshippers cannot con
scientiously unite in singing. A return to the Church
of Scotland of those Presbyterians who faithfully adhere
to her principles is very earnestly to be desired ; but as
long as uninspired hymns are tolerated in our Church, it
is idle to expect that such men will come back to us.
The Original Seceders, who have held fast the principles
of the Reformation, and who alone among the Presby ter
tian dissenting bodies petitioned for the Abolition of
Patronage, and firmly support the principle of an Estab
lished Church, are not likely to return to us until
uninspired hymns are put aside.1 Nor probably will
those earnest men in the Free Church who maintain
faithfully in the face of an active majority the constitu
tional principles of their Church, and who utterly refuse
to join in the present agitation for Disestablishment. In
illustration of what I have said about the use of the
Psalter as a bond of union among Churches, I may
remind you that Psalms only were sung — and without
the accompaniment of instrumental music 2 — at the
1 The arguments for the exclusive use of the Psalter are put
briefly and well in The Original Secession Testimony, pp. 154-156.
7th edn.
2 On the unlawfulness of instrumental music in the worship of
the Christian Church, many valuable books and pamphlets have
been published, and are now in circulation. I may mention
particularly A Treatise on Organs, by the Rev. Dr. Begg ;

vm.] COUNSEL AND CONTROVERSY. 263
meetings of the Pan - Presbyterian Council, held in
Edinburgh last summer, when delegates from so many
Presbyterian Churches in all parts of the world were
present. It was found in making the arrangements, that
except on this condition, a Pan-Presbyterian Council,
i.e. a council representing all Presbyterian Churches,
could not be held.
(4) A fourth reason, and the last that I shall mention
now, for the exclusive use of the Psalter, is the danger
of erroneous doctrines creeping in through the channel
of uninspired hymns. This is not an imaginary danger.
Students of early Church history know that the monstrous
systems of the Gnostics, and the attractive heresy of the
Arians, which denied the perfect Deity of Jesus Christ,
and in the fourth century almost overspread the Church,
were often covertly introduced, and then greatly helped
forward and successfully propagated by the use of unin
spired hymns. And in our own day the retrograde
movement in the Church of England towards Romish
The Organ Question, by the late Rev. Principal Candlish ;
Heart and Voice, by the Rev. Dr. Glasgow, the Irish . General
Assembly's Professor of Oriental Languages ; The Fruit of our
Lips, a pamphlet published last year, by the Rev. James Kerr,
Greenock. The minister of Harray and Birsay printed in 1872,
"for free circulation," a treatise on Instrumental Music in the
Church of Scotland, which may be noticed, as containing a
thorough examination of the teaching of Holy Scripture on this
subject, and also a summary of the recent proceedings in the courts
of the Church of Scotland in reference to the introduction of
instrumental music into some of our churches.
Dr. Begg's pamphlets, Anarchy in Worship, and A Treatise
for the Times, are most excellent, and should be distributed far
and wide by those who wish to stay the progress of unscriptural
innovations.

264 HENRY BAZELY. [chap.
doctrines and practices has been, as Evangelical ministers
bitterly complain, largely promoted by the popular book
entitled Hymns Ancient and Modern.1 Nor shall I
conceal my conviction that the false doctrine which is
spreading like a canker in the Presbyterian Churches of
Scotland, is not obscurely connected with the unscriptural
innovations which have been made upon the purity of
our worship.
I cannot dwell longer on these reasons. I ask you to
consider them carefully and candidly.
Let me now say a few words about some arguments
which are often brought forward for the use of uninspired
hymns. I shall notice three, being those which I myself
have met with most frequently.
(i) First, it is said that some of the Psalms are
unsuitable for Christians to sing. If this allegation were
true, it would by no means instantly follow that hymns
may be lawfully introduced to supply the place of the ex
cluded Psalms. But none of the Psalms are unsuitable for
Christian use, neither as containing unchristian sentiments
of revenge, as has been sometimes boldly alleged, nor as
alluding to Jewish rites and the personal circumstances
of the authors. The imprecatory Psalms only need for
their justification to be rightly interpreted ; and the
position which Christians now occupy is sufficiently
analogous to that of God's people under the old dispen
sation, to make the language prepared by the Holy
Spirit primarily for Israelites, entirely appropriate for
1 The "Church Association" has published a pamphlet by the
Rev. James Ormiston, which faithfully exposes the dangerous
character of this favourite hymnal.

vm.] COUNSEL AND CONTROVERSY. 265
Christians. And when it is asserted, as I have heard
it asserted by even intelligent persons, that uninspired
hymns are necessary in Christian worship, because Christ
is not praised in the Psalms, the immediate answer is that
such an assertion can be seriously made only by those
who are grossly ignorant, not merely of the Psalter,
but of the New Testament, in which many Psalms are
quoted as expressly referring to Christ, and, moreover,
as containing His own words. Enough to point to the
fortieth Psalm, in which Christ speaks to His Father,
and to the forty-fifth Psalm, in which the Psalmist tells
of the things which concern the Divine King, addressing
Him thus : " Thou art fairer than the children of men.
. . . Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever."
What more sublime and beautiful hymn, telling of
Christ and addressing Christ, can we desire than this
song of loves ?
(2) Secondly, it is said that hymns are so nice, so
pretty, so attractive. "You will never get people —
especially young people — to like the old Psalms." This
has been said to me again and again. My answer is
very simple. We, as reverent worshippers of Almighty
God, and faithful servants of the King of Saints, have
nothing to do with such a consideration as the prettiness
of hymns. Nor is it our duty, nay, we are not even
permitted, to make the public worship of God attractive
by innovations which He has not authorised, by — for it
really comes to this — the erasure of what He has
authorised, and the substitution in its place of what
men venture to say they like better. I regard many of

266 HENRY BAZELY. [chap.
the attempts in our day to make public worship attractive
as both dishonouring to God and discreditable to the
Christian Church. I am ashamed to hear men on all
sides asking whether this or that novelty will draw a
congregation, and not whether it is in accordance with
the mind of God, who is jealous of the purity of that
homage which He demands from His servants. Once
admit the rule of " attractiveness " in worship, and no
one can conjecture where you will stop. You may
innovate in one point after another on the established
worship of your Church ; but unless you literally revolu
tionise it, you will never compete successfully in point
of " attractiveness "• with the worship of the Church of
Rome, or even with that of the Church of England.
To attract is the plea put forward for the gorgeous and
worldly pomp of Ritualism on the one hand, and for
the irregular and sensational extravagances of Revivalism
on the other hand. Brethren, I would not dare — and I
say this solemnly as in the sight of God — to introduce
a hymn book, supplementary to the Psalter, into this
church, although I. knew that it would "attract" five
hundred worshippers within a month.
(3) Thirdly, people often ask me questions of this
sort : " If you so positively refuse to sing hymns in
public worship, what use is to be made of all the hymns,
the truthful and beautiful hymns, which have been written
by Christian men and women, and which have gladdened
and solaced so many of God's children ? Do you really
mean to say that these cannot be lawfully used, but
ought to be got rid of as so much worthless, and worse

viii.] COUNSEL AND CONTROVERSY. 267
than worthless, rubbish ? Would you have us throw
them into the fire like the magical books of the
Ephesians?" No, I say nothing ofthe kind. There is
a lawful — there is a profitable use of such hymns. Read
them if you like, sing them if you like in private and
social gatherings, but not in the public assembly, and as
a formal act of worship. To substitute them /or the
Psalms, or to put them in your use on a level with the
Psalms, is to do exactly what the Church of England
does, and what the Church of Scotland has expressly
refused to do, with the Apocryphal books sometimes
inserted between the Old and New Testaments. A
chapter from these uninspired writings is, on certain
days in the year, substituted in the service of the Church
of England for a lesson from the Canonical Scriptures.
I cannot see that they act in principle differently, who
substitute in the services of our Church uninspired
hymns for the inspired Psalms. Rather, their practice
is more reprehensible than that ofthe Church of England,
inasmuch as they make this unwarrantable substitution
not on a few days in the year, but every Lord's Day.
Whatever use you make of uninspired hymns, never
so misuse them as to allow them to usurp the place,
even in private use, of the Psalms. Remember the
infinite distance which there must always be between
the words of the Holy Spirit and the words of the best
of men. Among English dissenters, uninspired hymns,
since the days of Watts and Wesley, who were, perhaps,
the first to introduce such hymns into the worship of
English congregations, have almost entirely displaced

268 HENRY BAZELY. [chap.
the Psalms. Most rarely is a Psalm sung in a Wesleyan,
Baptist, or Independent Chapel. Thus one of the
divinely appointed parts of worship is among these
dissenters habitually omitted.1 Things have not yet
come to quite so bad a pass in Presbyterian churches.
But where uninspired hymns are in use, I have hardly
ever heard more than two portions of the Psalms at the
most, and not unfrequently only one. Oh, brethren, it
does stir my indignation, it does distress me sorely, to
see the songs of the Spirit of Truth thus repudiated for
the songs of erring men.
Listen to the words of one who, in the days when
he was true to the Church of Scotland, preached, I am
told, from this pulpit — I mean Edward Irving. In his
faithful and eloquent ordination charge to the minister
of the Scotch Church, London Wall, in 1827, he said,
" First, then, concerning those Psalms, of which I would
not forego one out of the collection for all the para
phrases, hymns, and spiritual songs of these Method-
istical times. Thou must taste and drink deeply into
the spirit of them, and open them to the flock and con
gregation. . . . They are the essence of Divine truth
. . . upon which I charge thee to admit no modern
innovations, and in their stead to take no modern sub
stitutes ; and stir up the people to love and relish them,
which is best done by leading them to know and
1 In this respect public worship in the Church of England is
much more satisfactory. Though uninspired hymns are now almost
universally used, a considerable portion of the Psalter is either sung
or read in every service. But of the worship of dissenters the
Psalms form now no essential part.

vm.] COUNSEL AND CONTROVERSY. 269
understand them " (Miscellanies from the Collected Writ
ings of Edward Irving, p. 284).
I have now given you my reasons for the exclusive
use of the Psalms in worship. I have also touched
upon some of the arguments which, in modern times,
have been adduced for the use of other hymns, and
have pointed out to you their unsoundness.
The question is not one of mere taste or expediency,
but of serious principle ; it is a question concerning a
fundamental matter in religion, which is, alas, too care
lessly handled at the present time, namely, the accept
able way of approaching the Most High in our public
worship. It is a question of rendering due honour to
the words of the Holy Spirit, by giving to His words a
distinct and unmistakable precedence over the fallible
words of men, and by removing inspired poetry from un
inspired by a manifest line of demarcation. My brethren,
if the question were simply one of taste, I would gladly
surrender the gratification of my taste to the wishes of
my congregation. I should deem it my duty to do so,
and, God helping me, I would do so cheerfully. For
instance, if you liked certain tunes, which, from a
musical point of view, were to me distasteful, I should
say, by all means sing the tunes which you like best.
But this question is, in my opinion, one of the gravest
importance. My conscience positively forbids me to
give out uninspired hymns in our worship. Apart from
such considerations as I have brought before you now,
I am mindful of the promise which I solemnly made as
one of the conditions of ordination to the office of

270 HENRY BAZELY. [chap.
presbyter, namely, that I would firmly and constantly
adhere to, and to the utmost of my power assert, main
tain, and defend the purity of worship practised in the
Church of Scotland in 1707, and asserted in the 15th
Act of the General Assembly of that year — an Act
against innovations in the worship of God. Certainly,
I cannot deny that as a matter of taste I like the Psalms
a thousand times better than any other hymns I have
ever heard. There is no part of the service in which I
take a keener delight. I cannot describe to you the
deep peace, the strong consolation, the thrilling joy
which the words of the Holy Spirit sung by us here
bring to my heart. How can I take the same pleasure
in the uninspired utterances of men, to which no such
power has been promised as to the inspired Scriptures
of truth? "The entrance of Thy words giveth light;
it giveth understanding to the simple." I thoroughly
agree with a faithful minister of the Church of England
in the last century — William Romaine, Rector of St.
Ann's, Blackfriars — the author of the Life and Triumph
of Faith, and other well-known devotional books, who,
when he was urged to displace the metrical version of
the Psalms for the hymns which were then becoming
fashionable, steadfastly refused to do so, remarking to the
advocates of hymns, " I want a name for that man who
should pretend that he could make better hymns than
the Holy Ghost." Romaine published a very valuable
treatise on the exclusive use of the Psalter; I advise
any of you who have access to his works by all means
to read it.

vm.] COUNSEL AND CONTROVERSY. 271
There are two points connected with our psalmody —
points of minor importance — to which, before I close,
I must ask for your attention.
(a) First, as to our metrical version of the Psalter.
Fault is sometimes found with this version, on the score
of its antique style and the alleged uncouthness of its
rhythm. I suspect those who find fault with it are not
seldom persons who do not venture to attack the Psalter
itself, but think that they can perhaps successfully put
it aside for an uninspired hymnal by disparaging the
version now in use in our Church. This version, made
by an Englishman named Rouse, a learned member of
the Westminster Assembly in 1645, and carefully revised
by the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland in
1649, does not need an elaborate apology from me. It
is, considering its metrical form, a remarkably faithful
translation of the Hebrew original, and is by no means
deficient in such poetical vigour and beauty as a trans
lation can attain to. "It is," said R. M. M 'Cheyne,
who was himself a poet, " truly an admirable translation;"
and Sir Walter Scott, surely no mean judge of poetry,
gave his opinion to this effect when proposals were made
from 1807 to 1822 to revise the version: "The ex
pression of the old metrical translation, though homely,
is plain, forcible, and intelligible, and very often pos
sesses a rude sort of majesty, which would be ill ex
changed for mere eloquence. I have an old-fashioned
taste in sacred as well as profane poetry; I cannot help
preferring even Sternhold and Hopkins to Tate and
Brady, and our own metrical version of the Psalms to

272 HENRY BAZELY. [chap.
both. I hope, therefore, they will be touched with a
lenient hand." Of course, this version is not perfect ;
there are inaccuracies in the translation ; there are a
few obsolete words ; sometimes there is ruggedness in
the rhythm. But, to use Romaine's words : " though
not always smooth, it is generally — and this is a thou
sand times more valuable — the sentiment of the Holy
Spirit. That is very rarely lost, and this should silence
every objection — it is the Word of God." I should
certainly welcome a revised edition of our version, if it
were cautiously undertaken and in a conservative spirit ;
a revised edition similar to that of the authorised version
of the Bible which is now being executed. Many,
I think even all, blemishes might be removed, and
the metres might be more diversified to suit a larger
variety of tunes. The private attempts at revision
(the last one was published a year ago, and is due to
the diligence of the Marquis of Lome), though some
times successful, are by no means so good throughout
as to justify the Church in setting aside the received
version for any one of them. But as long as the Psalter
is exclusively used in our worship, the particular version,
if it be faithful to the original, is of comparatively small
importance. (b) The second minor point is our posture during the
service of song. So long ago as the middle of the
seventeenth century, as appears from the records of the
Synod of Aberdeen, dated 1662, sitting was the usual
posture throughout Scotland, both in Presbyterian and
Episcopal congregations. And this posture was retained

vm.] COUNSEL AND CONTROVERSY. 273
almost universally, until the innovating movement of a
few years ago. Almost universally, I say, because it has
been, I believe, a local custom in the Orkney Islands
(with the peculiar exception of the town of Stromness)
to stand during the Psalms. Also the members of the
General Assembly from time immemorial have appro
priately stood — as being on the point of leaving for their
several parishes — during the last Psalm sung at the close
of the session. The question as to the posture during
the singing of the Psalms is one of taste and expediency,
and not of principle. To speak for myself, I prefer
sitting, and for these reasons : It is an ancient and
general usage in our Church, and such usages, I think,
should be retained, unless there be any sound objection
to them. It seems, moreover, to be almost necessary,
at least for some of us who are not strong enough to
stand during both the Psalms and the prayers. I infer
this from the fact that in congregations where standing
during praise has been adopted, sitting in prayer has been
introduced, a posture not too strongly described in a
pamphlet lately issued on purity of worship, as " most
unseemly." Most unseemly indeed it is, and I marvel
much how any Christian people can think it right to
approach in such a posture — so ill beseeming a humble
suppliant, so unexampled in Holy Scripture — the throne
of Almighty God. What would the sitting members of
a congregation think of the behaviour of their minister,
if he should imitate them in this irreverent posture, and
lead their devotions sitting ? The impropriety would be
immediately obvious. I fear that some who sit must
T

274 HENRY BAZELY. [chap.
have forgotten that they are offering prayer, and must
have adopted the Roman Catholic error, that the
minister prays not with them as their mouthpiece and
leader, but only for them as their intercessor. You
probably do not know, brethren, how this sitting at
prayer — this miserable novelty of the last score of years
— disgusts devout members of the Church of England who
happen to be present at our worship. Nor can I affect
to be surprised at their disgust. However, to come
back for a moment to the posture during praise : if you
prefer to give up the old custom which has prevailed
in our Church for two hundred years, and to imitate
the Church of England and the English dissenters by
standing during the Psalms, by all means stand, if
only — and this is the one condition which I entreat
you to regard — you preserve due reverence by stand
ing at prayer. Of course, if it was physically possible,
which it is not in most of our churches, to kneel at
prayer, this posture might be adopted as reverent and
comely, though at the same time not so appropriate
in public worship as the posture well-nigh universal
in the early Church, and still retained in the Eastern
churches, of standing — a posture directly sanctioned by
the precept and example of the New Testament as
well as the Old (Neh. ix. 2-4 ; Mark xi. 25 ; Luke
xviii. 13).1
1 Two postures only during prayer are acknowledged in Holy
Scripture : standing and kneeling. Why should either be entirely
disused ? As kneeling is most appropriate and usual in family and
private worship, so standing, besides having the support of ancient
and long established custom, seems most appropriate in public

vm.] COUNSEL AND CONTROVERSY. 275
I shall make only two practical remarks in conclu
sion. (a) First, then, I observe that those who advocate
the exclusive use of the Psalter and purely vocal music
in worship are often accused of indifference to good
singing. Whether such an accusation is in a few cases
well founded, I cannot tell ; but there is not, of course,
the faintest connection between the exclusive singing of
the Psalms without instrumental accompaniment, and
carelessness about correct and good singing. By all
means let us by practice and effort sing to God's praise
as well as we possibly can. Do not for one moment
cherish the most erroneous idea that the precentor and
the choir are to sing by themselves. We are all very
thankful for the efficient help of our precentor and choir,
but every member of the congregation ought to join with
them in the service of praise. Our Church has always
urged and expected this — " That the whole congregation
may join herein," — I am quoting from the last section of
the Directory — " every one that can read is to have a
worship. It is strange that members of the Church of Scotland
should desire to imitate the less appropriate practice of the Church
of England, whose members probably on no occasion stand in
prayer, notwithstanding Christ's recommendation of this posture,
and the example of the humble publican. But it is incomparably
more strange that any Christian should adopt the posture which has
only lately crept in among English dissenters, oi sitting ox lounging
at prayer. In defence of this irreverent custom not a word can be
said. I know that some people tell us by way of apology that God
looks only to the heart of the worshipper ; but although it is most
true that no acceptable worship can be rendered if the heart be not
right with God, a humble and reverent heart will surely suggest an
outward expression of humility and reverence, and will be mindful
of God's regard for external decency and order in His worship.

276 HENRY BAZELY. [chap.
Psalm Book," for " it is the duty of Christians to praise
God publicly, by singing of Psalms together in the con
gregation." Our tunes are simple and easy. (I dislike
elaborate pieces, so-called doxologies, and anthems,
which congregations cannot sing, and barely under
stand.) Dear brethren, join, I pray you, with one
accord ; sing aloud, as the Psalmist invites you, unto
God our strength ; make a joyful noise to the God of
Jacob. (b) My last observation is suggested by some im
portant expressions in the text. Paul exhorts the
Ephesians to sing and make melody in their hearts to
the Lord, and in like manner he calls on the Colossians
to sing with grace in their hearts to the Lord. Hearty
singing in the truest sense, i.e. singing from the heart,
this is what God looks for. " We must," says an old
writer (Jerome), " sing Psalms as saints, praising God
not only with a sweet voice, but with a melting heart."
And another old writer (Bernard) says, " We must sing
strenuously, not idly, not sleepily ; but most heartily and
energetically." Think of the meaning of the words you
sing, and remember that you sing to God. He listens
with delight to the praises which you render to His
name. And that such praises may be acceptable, there
must be grace in the heart. A graceless man can
not offer pleasant worship to the Holy One of Israel.
Wherefore, dear brethren, you who desire to praise God
acceptably, see that you receive not His grace in vain.
Come before Him in earnest prayer, that you may
obtain grace for your help. And if in some of you

vm.] COUNSEL AND CONTROVERSY. 277
the root of the matter is not yet found, put your trust
in the Lord Jesus Christ, repenting of your sins, and
looking to Him for the pardon which He has pur
chased with His precious blood for sinners. Then you
will be able, receiving the comfortable assurance of
your forgiveness, to sing with God's people the new
song which He will put into your mouths, even praise
unto our God. The Lord teach us all to sing with
the spirit and with the understanding in His Church
on earth, and vouchsafe to grant us a place among the
redeemed in heaven, who will praise Him day and
night for ever and ever.
THE USE OF THE PSALTER.
The following remarks on the place which the Psalms
should occupy in public worship are taken from the
Bampton Lectures, preached before the University of
Oxford in 1876, by the Bishop of Derry and Raphoe.
There are, no doubt, some sentiments in these eloquent
lectures which a Presbyterian cannot approve ; but no
true Christian, to whatever branch of the Catholic
Church he may belong, can read them without much
profit and pleasure. I am especially thankful for the
Bishop's earnest appeal on behalf of the supremacy of
the Psalter in the service of praise : —
Hymns cannot really and adequately replace the Psalter.
To Psalms, as compared with hymns, we may apply the
analogy of the inspired Apostolic writings compared with
those which follow them. As we enter upon them, we feel
that we breathe a different air. A creative epoch has

278 HENRY BAZELY. [chap.
passed away. The flood-tide of Divine life has fallen. No
new thought is expressed. There is, indeed, sometimes a
more exciting and heated air, more that is momentarily
striking and impressive, in the Apostolic Fathers than in
the Apostolic writings themselves. The inspired is often
compressed, constrained, obscure. The soul is on fire, but
the flame is silent. The language is calm as eternity, of a
deep august simplicity. An omniscient wisdom is sphered
in it. There is as strange a contrast between many modern
hymns and the Psalms, as between many modern preachers
and the Epistles of St. John and St. James. Who can
measure the distance between the vapid moralising of many
Funeral and New Year Hymns and the 90th Psalm, " that
Psalm of eternity;" between the 22d and 23d Psalms, and
certain Revival hymns. . . . There used to exist in our
Church an old-fashioned jealousy about supplanting Psalms
by hymns, which has been somewhat too much ridiculed.
I, for one, sometimes fear, lest in our desire for variety and
warmth in hymns, we may be piling the Church with com
bustibles which will explode in different directions. Hymns
are not necessarily Catholic, or tending to a piety which is
manly, rational, according to the analogy of faith, because
they are heated, sensational, exciting. St. Augustine tells
us that the African Donatists mocked at the Catholic
Christians, because the Catholics chanted nothing in their
churches but the divine songs of prophets and psalmists,
whilst the sectarians intoned, with voices that swelled and
rang like trumpets, human compositions which were flushed
with the strong wine of their fierce fanaticism. . . . There
are hymns which are beautiful, scriptural, and Catholic
— others are luscious and hysterical. . . . They breathe
the atmosphere of sectarian souls, without breadth of horizon
or nobility of devotion. I believe it to be high time to face

vm.] COUNSEL AND CONTROVERSY. 279
this phenomenon of contented acquiescence in the practical
deposition of the Psalter from its place. . . . Let us recall
the glowing words of Christians of former ages. St. Jerome
tells us that the Psalms were to be heard in the fields and
vineyards of Palestine. The ploughman, as he held his
plough, chanted the Hallelujah ; and the reaper, the vine
dresser, and the shepherd sang the songs of David. . . .
Sidonius Apollinaris represents boatmen, as they worked
their heavy barges up the water, singing Psalms till the
banks echoed with Hallelujah, and applies it to the voyage
ofthe Christian life. . . . Our object is not to repeat such
testimonies again and again with unprofitable wonder. It
is to ask ourselves how the Psalter was so loved and popular
then, how it is listened to so coldly now. . . . Can the old
affection and enthusiasm be revived, and how ? I believe
that it can. . . . We must teach our people, after teaching
ourselves, something ofthe Christian meaning and spirituality
of the Psalter. It must form a part of our catechising. . . .
Our clergy must propose to themselves two means by which
to compass the great end of restoring the Psalter to its proper
place in the affections of the English people. (1) They
must aim at educating and catechising the young into some
thing like intelligent knowledge of the Psalms. . . . It seems
to be assumed that enough is done in the Sunday school
and elsewhere, when the young are provided with a summary
of Bible history. Our schools are, as it were, " in the midst
of a valley full of bones, and lo ! they are very dry." Yet
surely the Psalms, livingly taught, are well fitted to interest
the young. To take one point alone, the references which
they contain to the beauty and grandeur of nature may
colour many pages of geography and natural history. (2)
Above all, and without this everything else will be in vain,
our people must be taught habitually to see Christ in the

280 HENRY BAZELY. [chap.
Psalter, His Church, the worship of that Church, the out
lines of their creed, the way of acceptance with God, the
thought that should mould a Christian's life, the words that
they may use upon a bed of death. There blows round the
Psalms a breath of heaven ; they must be made to feel it
play upon their cheeks. As our pious peasants read the
Psalter at home, or follow the chant in the village church,
they must be able to say almost instinctively : In this Psalm
is the voice of the sorrow and the love of Jesus. This
Psalm speaks of His Passion. His are the pierced hands
and feet. He is the Divine Shepherd. Here I find Him
reigning in glory. This is He who comes to judgment.
The Sion and Jerusalem which is spoken of is the Church.
— Bishop Alexander's Bampton Lectures, pp. 233-239.
Augustine, Bishop of Hippo in Africa, who was ordained
to the ministry about the year 371, had been gained over
from heathenism through the instrumentality of his mother,
who, having embraced Christianity before him, was earnest
and unceasing in prayer for the conversion of her son, and
before her death had the joy of seeing him casting in his
lot with the people of God. Referring to that eventful
period of his life, Augustine thus wrote, " What words did
I utter to Thee, O my God, when I read the Psalms of
David, those faithful songs, those pious breathings, which
suffer no swelling spirit of pride, when I was as yet unin-
structed in all the truth and faithfulness of thy love, a cate
chumen in that country-house, keeping holiday with the
catechumen Alypius, whilst my mother remained with us,
in the garb of a woman, but with the faith of a man — with
the calmness of an aged woman — with the affection of a
mother — with the piety of a Christian. What words did I
utter to Thee in those Psalms ! How was my love to Thee

vm.] COUNSEL AND CONTROVERSY. 281
inflamed thereby ! How did I burn to recite them, were it
possible, throughout the whole world, against the proud
swelling of men ! How vehement and how sharp was my
grief and indignation against the Manichaeans [because, as
rejecting the Old Testament, they robbed themselves of
the Psalms] ; and yet again how I pitied them, because
they knew not these sacraments, these medicines, and
showed their insanity in rejecting the antidote which might
have restored them to sanity. How I wish they could
have been somewhere near me, and, without my knowing
that they were there, could have seen my face and heard
my words when I read the fourth Psalm in that retirement
in which I was, and could have known all that that Psalm
was to me ! "
The tide of Christian hymnology, that has been running
with ever-increasing volume and strength in the Reformed
Churches during the past century, threatens in many quarters
to displace the Psalms (though it can be only for a season)
from their place of unrivalled prominence and authority in
public worship. This I cannot help regarding as a great
evil. . Wherever the prayers are free, it is of incalcul
able importance that the other half of the devotional service
should be moulded in forms of ancient authority ; and surely
the best possible mould is that which the Holy Spirit Him
self gave by the psalmists, and which has left its divinely-
traced lines on the general Church for these three thousand
years. — Binnie on the Psalms, p. 391.
There is not a page in this Book of Psalms in which
the pious reader will not find his Saviour, if he reads with
a view of finding Him ; and it was but a just encomium of
it that came from the pen of one of the early Fathers, that

282 HENRY BAZELY. [chap.
it is a complete system of Divinity for the use and edifica
tion of -the common people of the Christian Church. In
deriving this edification from it, which it is calculated to con
vey, they may receive much assistance from a work which
the ignorance of modern refinement would take out of their
hands. I speak of the old singing Psalms, the metrical
version of Sternhold and Hopkins. This is not, what I
believe it is now generally supposed to be, nothing better
than an awkward versification of a former English transla
tion : it was an original translation from the Hebrew text,
earlier, by many years, than the prose translation in the
Bible ; and of all that are in any degree paraphrastic, as
all verse in some degree must be, it is the best and most
exact we have to put into the hands of the common people.
The authors of this version considered the verse merely
as a contrivance to assist the memory. They were little
studious of the harmony of their numbers, or the elegance
of their diction : but they were solicitous to give the full
and precise sense of the sacred text according to the best
of their judgment ; and their judgment, with the exception
of some few passages, was very good ; and at the same
time that they adhered scrupulously to the letter, they con
trived to express it in such terms as, like the original, might
point clearly to the spiritual meaning. It was a change
much for the worse, when the pedantry of pretenders to
taste in literary composition thrust out this excellent trans
lation from many of our churches, to make room for what
still goes by the name of the New Version, that of Tate
and Brady, which, in many places where the Old Version
is just, accurate, and dignified by its simplicity, is careless
and inadequate, and, in the poverty and littleness of its
style, is contemptible. The innovation, when it was first
attempted, was opposed, though in the end unsuccessfully,

vm.] COUNSEL AND CONTROVERSY. 283
by the soundest divines, the most accomplished scholars,
and the men of the truest taste at that time in the seat of
authority in the Church of England. It will be an alter
ation still more for the worse, if both these versions should
be made to give place to another of later date, departing
still farther from the strict letter of the text, and compen
sating its want of accuracy by nothing better than the
meretricious ornaments of modern poetry. — Extract from
a Sermon by Bishop Horsley on Psalm ii. 1, preached in
1798, prefixed to his translation of the Psalter -with critical
notes. In evidence of what is mentioned in page 16 of the Pre
face as to the introduction of uninspired hymns, the two
following extracts are quoted from the Ecclesiastical His
tories of Socrates and Sozomen, who lived and wrote in the
earlier part of the fifth century.
Socrates vi. 8. — The Arians, as we have said, held their
meetings without the city. As often therefore as the festal
days occurred — that is to say, the Sabbath and the Lord's
Day of each week, on which days assemblies are usually
held in the churches — they congregated within the city gates
about the public piazzas, and sang responsive verses adapted
to the Arian heresy. This they did during the greater part
of the night ; and again in the morning, chanting the same
responsive compositions, they paraded through the midst of
the city, and so passed out at the gates to go to their places
of assembly. But since they incessantly made use of
insulting expressions with reference to the Homoousians,
often singing such words as these, " Where are they that
say three things are but one power?" John [Chrysostom],
fearing lest any of the more simple should be drawn away
from the Church by such kind of hymns, opposed to them

284 HENRY BAZELY. [chap.
some which had been composed by his own people, that
they also, employing themselves in chanting nocturnal
hymns, might obscure the efforts of the Arians, and confirm
his own party in the profession of their faith.
Sozomen viii. 8. — The Arians having been deprived of
their churches in Constantinople during the reign of Theo
dosius, held their assemblies without the walls of the city.
They assembled by night in the public porticoes, and sang
in parts certain hymns which they had composed in vindi
cation of their own tenets ; and at the break of day, they
marched in procession, singing these hymns, to the places
in which they held their assemblies. They proceeded in
this manner on all solemn festivals, and on the first and
last days of the week. The sentiments propounded in these
hymns were such as were likely to engender disputes, as,
for instance, the following ¦ " Where are those who say
that the Three Persons constitute one Power?" Other
similarly bitter observations were interspersed throughout
their compositions. John was afraid lest any of his own
people should be led astray by witnessing these exhibitions ;
and he therefore commanded them to sing hymns in the
same manner. The orthodox being more numerous and
more wealthy than the Arians soon surpassed them in the
pomp and splendour of their processions ; for they had
silver crosses and lighted torches borne before them. The
eunuch of the Empress was appointed to regulate these
processions, to pay the cost of whatever might be required,
and to prepare hymns adapted to be sung on these occa
sions. . . . Having commenced the custom of singing
hymns, in the manner and from the cause above stated, the
members of the Catholic Church did not discontinue the
practice, but have retained it to the present day. " Whether
the hymns were good or bad," says the writer of the article

vni.] COUNSEL AND CONTROVERSY. 285
on Hymns in Smith's Dictionary of Christian Antiquities,
"the midnight processions popularised their use ; and from
the night offices of the Church, they seem to have passed
into other hours."
INSTRUMENTAL MUSIC IN CHRISTIAN
WORSHIP.
In the ancient law, God was praised with musical instru
ments, according to Psalm xxxii. [33] " Confess ye to the
Lord with the harp : with the ten-stringed psaltery praise
ye him : sing to him a new song." But musical instru
ments, as harps and psalteries, the Church does not admit
into the praise of God, lest she should seem to Judaise.
Neither may the pipe be brought into use, nor any other
artificial instrument as the harp and such like, but those
things which benefit the hearers. For such musical instru
ments incite the mind rather to pleasure than to the form
ing of a good disposition within. Howbeit in the Old
Testament such instruments were used, partly because the
people were more hard and carnal, whence they had to be
stimulated by such instruments, as also by earthly promises
— partly also because such corporeal instruments typified
something. — Thomas Aquinas.
Psalm xxxiii. 2. Here we have the first mention of
musical instruments in the Psalms. It is to be observed
that the early Fathers almost with one accord protest against
their use in churches ; as they are forbidden in the Eastern
Church to this day ; where yet, by the consent of all, the
singing is infinitely superior to anything that can be heard
in the West. It is not easy to determine when they were
first introduced into the West. St. Gregory the Great

286 HENRY BAZELY. [chap.
speaks of organs ; but Amalarius in the eighth century
(de ofpciis ecclesia', c. 3), describing the use of the Church
of France, says that no instruments were employed. St.
Thomas Aquinas seems to disapprove them, or at least
barely tolerates them ; and the Church of Lyons, which
held more faithfully to primitive practice than any other
in France, admitted them only in the sixteenth century. —
Neale' s Commentary on the Psalms.

CORRESPONDENCE WITH THE BISHOP OF
DERRY ON THE PSALTER.
From the Bishop of Derry. June 21, 1878.
My dear Sir — I have received your sermon, Inspired
Psalmody. Your argument is, certainly, very massive,
and most difficult for an opponent to gainsay. I write
this, being myself a friendly opponent. Certainly your
powerful sermon, and Mr. Johnston's learned Preface,
deserve, and will repay, careful study. And if, after all,
respectfully unconvinced, I am sure that I shall learn
much to modify, correct, and spiritualise my own teach
ing and practice.
The kind words of so good a judge about my book
are highly valued. I hope a second edition, ere long,
much enlarged and thoroughly revised, may be more
worthy of your approbation. — Yours very truly,
William Derry.

vm.] COUNSEL AND CONTROVERSY. 287

To the Bishop of Derry in reply.
My Lord — I cannot refrain from writing a few words
to thank you very much for the most kind and generous
terms in which you have acknowledged the receipt of
my sermon on Inspired Psalmody. I must confess that
I hesitated for a while about sending you a copy, as the
pamphlet contains here and there some plainly-expressed
strictures on certain principles and practices of the
Church of England and other Episcopal Churches, in
serted in reference chiefly to the proceedings of an inno
vating party in my own Church, to whom primarily, and
not to Episcopalians, my plea is addressed. But as I
had ventured to enhance the value of the pamphlet by
a quotation from your Bampton Lectures, I thought I
should be hardly justified in not sending you a copy ;
especially as I anticipated — and rightly — that your Lord
ship would interpret my act as indicating my persuasion
of the substantial harmony which, I felt sure, existed
between us on (what is the main topic of the sermon)
the unapproachable supremacy of the divinely-inspired
hymnal. I cannot conceal my delight that your Lordship has
been able to express so high and yet so candid an
appreciation of both my sermon and my friend's pre
face. I am much pleased to hear that a second edition of
the Bampton Lectures is to be soon published. That
your Lordship's wise and eloquent exposition of the
Psalter will be a means of endearing that portion of

288 HENRY BAZELY. [chap. viii.
God's Word to all true Christians, and of hindering its
displacement from its due position, which is unhappily
so common in many quarters, is my earnest hope and
my confident expectation.

CHAPTER IX.
MARRIED LIFE  ILLNESS  DEATH.
1880-1883.
Then there came forth a Summons for Mr. Stand-fast (this Mr.
Stand-fast was he that the rest of the Pilgrims found upon his
Knees in the Inchanted Ground), for the Post brought it him
open in his hands. The contents whereof were, that he must
prepare for a Change of Life, for his Master was not willing
that he shcndd be so far from Him any longer. At this Mr.
Stand-fast was put into a muse. Nay, said the Messenger, you
need not doubt of the truth of my Message, for here is a Token
of the Truth thereof, Thy Wheel is broken at the Cistern.
Bux van's Pilgrim's Progress.
On August 6, 1880, Henry Bazely was married
at the National Scotch Church, Crown Court,
Covent Garden, his friend Mr. Johnston officiating.
His father writes of it :
The marriage of my dear son gratified me deeply, and
responded to a wish that I had often felt and expressed.
The choice he made of Miss Louisa Boothby, a young
lady of an old and well-known English family, secured
to him a faithful and zealous helper in his pastoral and
other labours, as well as a devoted wife for his home — a
perpetual solace in his varied work, and the best earthly
u

290 HENRY BAZELY. [chap.
comfort he could have had in his trying and fatal
sickness. The account of their married life is best given
in Mrs. Bazely's own words, which also furnish a
striking picture of her husband's character :
" As you wish for some little sketch of my
husband's short married life, I will endeavour very
briefly to give you an account of our first acquaint
ance and subsequent happiness together. My
first remembrance of Mr. Bazely was seeing him
preaching in his cap and gown on Sunday even
ings at the Martyrs' Memorial. I had only just
then come to Oxford, in May 1878, and in the
October of that same year we chanced to meet
for the first time for a few minutes at a friend's
house. Our real acquaintance, however, began
about a year later, in October 1879; and we
were more thrown together later on, in conse
quence of my having been deprived of the use
of a cottage where I held a night-class for the
Press boys.1 Mr. Bazely kindly came to my
aid and offered me the use of the gallery in his
church for the purpose, on the same evening on
1 Lads employed in the University Printing Press, Jericho,
Oxford.

ix.] MARRIED LIFE— ILLNESS— DEATH. 291
which he held his Provident Club in the vestry.
From this date a friendship sprang up between us,
which culminated in our marriage in August 1880.
It is difficult for me to describe how perfectly he
acted from first to last as a most kind and devoted
husband. He never allowed his domestic happi
ness to interfere with the works of charity and
mercy to which his life was really given, and yet
he was able to join with that the most tender
care to myself and the household generally. I
may mention as a slight proof of this, that while
in his single life he never cared when or how he
had his meals, or even if he had any at all, pro
vided he could do good elsewhere, from the day
of our marriage he never inconvenienced me by
being late for any meal. I remember one little
instance of his tender consideration for me : when
already his own health was failing, he had to keep
a long-standing engagement at Leamington (April
5, 1882). It happened that I was at the time
unwell, and the next morning he started back by
the earliest train, without any food, in order to be
in time to breakfast with me. Although he was
so conscientious in the performance of his duties
to me, he always put first what he held to be

292 HENRY BAZELY. [chap.
his duty to God. He could give no greater proof
of this than by what he did during our honey
moon. Before our marriage he told me that he
should feel bound to come down to Oxford for his
ministrations during the two days' races in Oxford,
and this he faithfully accomplished, although it
involved leaving me in Scotland with his father.1
" On one occasion, before our marriage, a college
friend, who knew his objection to instrumental
music in worship, said to me jestingly in his pre
sence, that I had better make it a stipulation to
have an instrument in his church after we were
married. When we were alone I laughingly
asked him if I should do so, and he said, ' If
you must insist upon it, I shall have — cost what
it may — to give you up.' He often quoted the
old love-song, slightly altered- —
" ' I could not love you, dear, so much,
Loved I not duty more.'
" I think I can give a few traits of his char
acter — chiefly in his own words — under different
headings : —
" i. Unconsciousness of Self — Humblemindedness.
— On repeating to him one day, during his illness,
1 Since that year, 1880, the Oxford races have been discontinued.

ix.] MARRIED LIFE— ILLNESS— DEATH. 293
a message ' that he must get well, because he was
so much beloved and so much thought of,' he
replied, 'I am sorry to hear it' I asked, 'Why?'
and he answered, 'Woe unto you, when all men
shall speak well of you.' And yet, as a proof
how much he inspired with affection those with
whom he came in contact, his legal adviser,
after his death, refused all fees, giving as the
reason, ' I do not wish to benefit by dear Bazely's
death.' " 2. Total absence of Display in his Work for God.
— He worked ever silently, and never talked about
what he did. None but the helper immediately
connected with each department of his work knew
what he was engaged in. A friend of his in
Oxford, whom he had known since his under
graduate days, told me she first heard of his
church and mission room through an old college
friend of his who had seen it accidentally when
down in that neighbourhood.
" 3. Influence over Others. — His influence over
all with whom he came in contact was invariably
great and often startling. I have received abund
ant testimony to the fact from many quarters ;
but those who lived with him could see plainly

294 HENRY BAZELY. [chap.
that it was simply the result of his own holy
example and of his daily life, so self-denying as
regarded his own interest, and so thoughtful and
loving towards others. In this spirit he chose
habitually those opportunities of denying himself
which would least be observed, while they secretly
obliged others.
" 4. Charity towards all. — He was never known
to speak ill of another, or pass uncharitable
judgments, and he always put the best construc
tion on people's motives and actions. He used
to say, 'Judge not according to the appearance,
but judge righteous judgment ; ' and, again, when
he heard harsh criticisms on others, he would
remark, ' If we put ourselves in their place we do
not know how we might have acted.'
" 5 . Time and Money used by him only as God's
Steward. — He never wasted a moment. ' Do the
next thing' was his motto. As soon as he came
in, however tired he was, he would turn at once to
his books. His whole time was in fact divided
between the worship of God and the service of his
fellow -creatures. His revision of the Scotch
metrical version of the Psalms was done mostly
on the top of omnibuses. Even when a school-

ix.] MARRIED LIFE— ILLNESS— DEATH. 295
boy, in his spare moments, he had taught himself
Hebrew, German, Italian, and Spanish. Similarly,
he never spent any money on himself beyond
what was absolutely necessary.
" 6. Knowledge and love of the Psalms. — He
knew every Psalm by heart, and if any were men
tioned, could at once say it straight through with
out missing a line ; and if the number of a Psalm
and verse were given, he could always instantly
repeat the words. One day during his illness I
offered to read to him. ' There's no need, dear,
to tire yourself,' he said ; ' for as I lie here I repeat
to myself the Psalms and many passages of Scrip
ture.' "7. Kindness to Animals. — He showed uniform
kindness to animals, and disapproved strongly of
field sports on account of their cruelty.
" 8. Tolerance of the Religious Convictions of
Others. — He was never known to speak ill of other
systems of worship. When a Roman Catholic
came to visit us, he was most careful that the food
prescribed for the fasting days of that Church
should be provided.
" He was careful also that our servants whose
parents belonged to the Church of England should

296 HENRY BAZELY. [chap.
have every facility to attend confirmation classes,
and would, moreover, have them into his study to
speak with them about the solemn step they were
about to take.
" I have been told that when Father Ignatius
was holding a mission service in Oxford, my
husband one evening was present. Father
Ignatius being for some reason unable to read
aloud himself, called upon any clergyman present
to come on the platform and read 1 John ii. for
him. No one, however, responded, though there
were some well-known High Churchmen present.
He asked again, and then Mr. Bazely got up and
read it. Again, one day when we were discussing
the action of a parent who had disinherited a child
for becoming a Roman Catholic, I asked him if
he would disinherit our boy if he became a
Romanist. He answered, ' Never. I would love
and cherish him the more ; hoping by kindness,
and a life more consistent, to win him back to
the truth.'
" 9. Faithful Adherence to his own Religious Con
victions. — I quote his words in a letter to a friend :
' Show me from Scripture what my duty is, and I
am prepared to do it at any cost'

ix.] MARRIED LIFE— ILLNESS— DEATH. 297
" On one occasion he said to me: 'I would sooner
preach to only half a dozen people every Sunday
than disobey the dictates of conscience, and em
ploy means I considered unscriptural to assemble
a crowded church.' This was in answer to some
suggestion that had been made. One day some
one in his presence was talking about open-air
preaching, as if he enjoyed rather than otherwise
provoking opposition thereby. When he was gone
I asked my husband if he enjoyed preaching at
the Martyrs' Memorial, and going to admonish
the people at the races ? He answered : ' None
but God and myself know what it costs me to
make myself conspicuous in these ways ; were I
not convinced that such works are my duty, I
would never attempt them.' The following ex
tract from an obituary notice of him in the Oxford
Herald describes him very accurately : ' Few men
have lived a more consistent life, or acted more
absolutely with a single eye to God's service.
None ever obeyed more faithfully the dictates of
conscience, without the slightest regard to worldly
advantage. Although his scruples may have
seemed to some men almost fanciful in regard to
the differences between the Established Churches

298 HENRY BAZELY. [chap.
of England and Scotland, yet the way in which
he ever followed where his subtle conscience led —
even at a great personal sacrifice — had a nobility
and grandeur all its own. Conscience our guide
is a glorious motto for the life of man.'
" 10. High sense of Honour. — He was most rigid
in never repeating what was confided to him.
Although we shared each other's thoughts in the
fullest degree, yet he always kept absolutely any
confidence that had been made to him ; nor did
he ever allow any one, even his wife, to see a letter
addressed to him privately. He enjoined upon
me to do the same ; and said that if any one
confided in me, by letter or word, he would not
wish me to reveal it to him. At the same time
he had the strongest feeling as to the oneness of
husband and wife, and the perfect openness which
should exist between them.
" 1 1. Accuracy and Punctuality. — He was most
methodical and accurate ; also most punctual at
all times. It has been said that people could
regulate their clocks by his movements. He
never failed to answer a letter by return of post.
" 1 2. Utter Disregard of Human Praise or Blame.
— He was absolutely indifferent to anything that

ix.] MARRIED LIFE— ILLNESS— DEATH. 299
might be said of him, whether in commendation
or condemnation.
" Combined with this indifference to anything
that might be said of himself, he always showed
the greatest anxiety never to say anything which
could hurt the feelings of others. If, however, he
felt it his duty to administer rebuke, he did so
with great tenderness, but complete firmness.
"13. Perfect Fearlessness in Face of Death. — He
was quite ready and willing to die when it might
be God's will. He used to say to me sometimes,
before he was taken ill, that 'he would like to
die suddenly ' or to ' die in his sleep.'
" The thought of sudden death was constantly
before him ; he seemed even to dream of it. I
remember about two months after our marriage
he startled me in the middle of the night by ask
ing, 'Whether sudden death would be sudden
glory to me ?' In the morning he had no re
membrance of what had taken place. It is
evident to me, on looking back, that he had a
strong presentiment of early death even when in
good health.
" In his sermon on the opening of his church in
March 23, 1879, he said: 'But it may be that

300 HENRY BAZELY. [chap.
my work is done in providing this church for the
labours of others;' and on July 10, 1881, he
preached from I Timothy iv. 6, ' I am ready to
be offered — the time of my departure is at hand,'
evidently applying it mentally to himself.
" 14. Trust i7i the Goodness of God. — 'Never
anticipate evil,' he once wrote to me, ' but trust
in the goodness of God that all is well, in the
absence of proof to the contrary.' This was in
fact the abiding principle of his life.
"15. Continual Sense of the Presence of God. —
On my asking him one afternoon whether he would
be able to go out with me, as it was so lonely for
me to walk without him — 'Lonely! while you
have God to speak to and pray to,' he answered.
I then asked him if he really always did so when
he was by himself. He then said, ' Yes — surely —
always where and whenever I am alone.'
" 1 6. Beloved by the Poor. — He endeared himself
to them by his sympathy and patience in listening
to all their worries and anxieties — putting himself
mentally in their place. At the same time he
never lowered himself to their level in language
or manner, carrying out his own maxim — that in
order really to influence them we must endeavour

ix.] MARRIED LIFE— ILLNESS— DEATH. 301
always to raise them to our standard. Accord
ingly they respected and reverenced him as much
as they loved him. In visiting the sick he would
humour all their fancies, and taste their medicines
at their request. All the children loved him ;
they would show him their treasures, their head
less rag-dolls and other toys — strewing them over
his knees that he might see them. If they saw
him in the street, they would call out, ' Hullo, Mr.
Bazely,' and run up to him and put their little
hands in his, and walk up the street with him.
" 17. Reverence for God. — Nothing distressed
him so much as the want of reverence displayed
by some in their approach to God by prayer. I
have heard him sometimes say in reference to
this, ' Though we may draw near God as our
Father, yet we must ever remember He is our
God too.' Although he sympathised with the
good motives of the Salvation Army, he felt
that their extreme want of reverence would neu
tralise in the long run almost all their efforts.
" 1 8. Reverence for the ' Lord's Day.' — He would
never undertake work on Sunday which was be
yond his walking powers, both in order that the
drivers and their horses might have their ap-

302 HENRY BAZELY. [chap.
pointed rest, and also that the men might not be
prevented from attending church. For instance,
when he took a service in Abingdon, he would
always walk there and back, in addition to other
heavy work in Oxford. He did the same in Lon
don ; whatever the distance might be, he always
went on foot, and never entered on Sunday an
omnibus or tram-car. I am told that he was instru
mental in getting up the three following memorials
in Oxford : — (i) Non-delivery of letters on Sun
day; (2) the closing of the Union on Sunday; and
(3) that tram-cars should not run on that day.
"Whenever a motion was set on foot at the
Union for extending the hours of opening on
Sunday, he was always there to speak and vote
against it. This he did in his undergraduate
days in 1862-63; again, after taking his de
gree, in 1866, 1867, 1868 ; and finally in 1880,
when the question was mooted afresh.
" I will now endeavour to give a sketch of his
week-day and Sunday work.
" Week-days.
" 6 A.M. — He rose always at this hour, and spent
the time in reading and prayer.

ix.] MARRIED LIFE— ILLNESS— DEATH. 303
"7.30 A.M. — He repaired to the Early Morning
Prayer-meeting at St. Aldate's.
" 8 A.M. to 8.15 A.M. — Family worship.
"8.15 A.M. — Breakfast ; after which he went for
a few minutes to see the papers at the Union.
" From 9 A.M. to 1 P.M. — He lectured to his
pupils for the Honour School of Theology with
out a break.
"1 P.M. — Lunch; then afterwards he would
spend about half an hour with me.
" 2 P.M. — As a rule he went to the Under
graduate Mid-day Prayer-meeting.
"2.30 P.M. — To a Committee Meeting, e.g. of
College Servants' Society, or at home to receive
those who came to see him.
" 3 P.M. to 5 P.M. — Visiting the poor with me,
or walking with undergraduates to help and
counsel them. I may quote his words in a letter
to me before our marriage : ' I wish and pray
that I may spend the rest of my time on earth
labouring for the spiritual good of undergraduates
and the poor. For these former I would keep,
as now, a comparatively open house.'
" 5 P.M. to 6 P.M. — Pupils.
" 6 P.M. — Dinner. After which he devoted half

304 HENRY BAZELY. [chap.
an hour to me ; then sometimes he had a pupil,
or perhaps addressed a meeting in the town, or
had meetings in connection with his church.
" 9 P.M. — Tea. We then always received young
men ; they would join us in family worship at 10
P.M., and afterwards go into his study for a chat.
" He would then sit up for an hour and work.
Another phase of his work was the rescue of
fallen women. He had certain nights in the
week which he spent in the streets in endeavour
ing to reclaim them. He also interested himself
much in the tramps. He would give them tickets
for nights' lodgings ; and it was he who, about the
year 1872, organised a system of services for
them in the lodging-houses in St. Thomas', to
which he sometimes went on Sunday nights and
sometimes in the week-days.
" He never refused help to those that asked it
of him. When sometimes remonstrated with, he
would answer, ' Better help a dozen undeserving
cases, than turn away one deserving one.' His
plan of relief was in kind — by bread, grocery, and
coal-tickets. " Sundays.
" He would rise at the usual hour, and attend

ix.] MARRIED LIFE— ILLNESS— DEATH. 305
the St. Aldate's Prayer-meeting ; after breakfast,
go to the University sermon ; and from thence to
his own service, at 1 1 to 12.45.
" After that he went to the Undergraduates'
Daily Prayer-meeting, then home for lunch ; again
to the University sermon, at 2 ; then to the Sunday
school from 3 to 4. Afterwards he would take
books to the colleges for the porters.
"About 4.30 dinner.
" 5.30. — A Bible-class at the Young Men's
Christian Association ; then home for a few
minutes to call for me.
" Service at his church at 7 to 8.30.
"At a quarter to nine, service at the Martyrs'
Memorial ; then home for tea. He received
undergraduates in the evening ; and often his last
work for the night was going to speak to the
tramps in the low lodging-houses of the town.
" With regard to his church, — which he served
gratuitously, — it was built at his own expense,
and was opened in March 1879. About a twelve
month later the mission room was added to it,
and the manse, in which he intended to have
lived had he been spared. In connection with
the church, he had Sunday school, night school,

306 HENRY BAZELY. [chap.
mothers' meeting, provident club, soup kitchen,
lending library, choir practice, tract-magazine ex
change, Bible-classes, and week-day mission services,
in all of which he took an active part, and was
the moving spirit. He hardly knew what it was
to have a Sunday's holiday ; whenever he went
away during the vacations he always returned to
Oxford for the Sunday. He carried on these
various works even when his health was seriously
failing. I remember, in the spring of 1882, his
saying quite sorrowfully more than once to me,
when he felt a disinclination to take a meeting,
' I cannot think what it is, I feel so unwilling to
go out ; I am afraid I am getting careless and less
earnest ;' and he would then shake off the feeling
of weakness, and start off at once. On May 10,
1882, he finally broke down, and was obliged to
give up all work, having on the previous Sunday,
in spite of great feebleness, gone through the full
routine of his Sunday duties.
" I will now endeavour to give some details of
his last illness, of which the commencement may
be said to date from May 10, 1882. He was
ordered change of air, and we left Oxford in June
for Clifton, Weston-super-Mare, and his father's

ix.] MARRIED LIFE— ILLNESS— DEATH. 307
home in Dover. The result of the change I give
in his own words, by an extract from a letter to
an aged member of his congregation in Oxford :
"Dover, Sept. 5, 1882.
" I hoped some while ago to have been able to return
to Oxford by this time, but my recovery is so gradual,
and doctors so urgently forbid any kind of exertion, that
I have been obliged to prolong my absence from home.
I hope, however, to go back by the end of next week ;
though I fear, judging from both medical opinion and
my own feelings, that I shall not be able to take up any
ministerial work during this autumn and the coming
winter. It seems to be God's gracious will that, after I
have been blessed with uninterrupted health for twenty
years, I should be laid aside for a while, to learn lessons
of patience and resignation in quietness and seclusion.
" Upon his return home, being still desirous of
doing what he could, he took a few pupils for an
hour or so every day. During the following
months he fluctuated much, sometimes feeling
better, sometimes worse, but scarcely ever was
able to leave his study.
"By January 15, 1883, symptoms developed
themselves which led his medical attendant to
fear that Bright's disease had set in, complicated
with other maladies, which caused great suffering.

308 HENRY BAZELY. [chap.
On January 17 he had three hours' work with
pupils, and again one hour on the 1 8th. On the
same afternoon we went up to London for a few
days to consult four eminent physicians, both allo
pathic and homoeopathic, only one of whom gave
any hope that he could live.
"We returned home on January 23, 1883.
Early that evening he went upstairs to bed, never
to come down again. Before leaving his study
he changed the text in the case on the chimney-
piece, which contained one for every day in the
year ; that for the next day was, ' Because I live,
ye shall live also.' After his death one of his
pupils told me what help he derived from these
texts, which he saw facing him each day on
coming in for his lecture.
" My husband remained in a state of great suf
fering and weakness from that date (January 23)
till the last week in February, when his end was
manifestly near. I never left him night or day.
I had the comfort of attending to him entirely my
self — he liked it best, and neither he nor I could
bear the thought that any other but myself should
do anything for him. On February 1 5 his father,
who was then with us, met with a serious accident

ix.] MARRIED LIFE— ILLNESS— DEATH. 309
by falling down a flight of stairs, which obliged him
to keep his bed for nearly a fortnight, and this, of
course, compelled us to have in extraneous help.
"On Tuesday, February 27, my husband ap
peared to be sinking rapidly, — the doctor thought
he would not live till night. About 5 P.M. he
asked to see our little child : he looked at him,
laid his hand on his head, but then said quickly,
' Take him away — it is too much for me.'
" We sat up all that night with him ; he was
in great suffering. On Wednesday, February 28,
he continued to suffer much throughout the day ;
nothing gave him relief. But during it all, as
from the very commencement of his illness, he
was perfectly patient.
" Throughout the following night, the last of his
life, his sufferings still continued. About 5 A.M.
we again thought the end had come, and we
called his father up, but he lingered on. Towards
8 A.M. he seemed a trifle easier ; the others went
down to breakfast, and I was alone with him.
" About 9 AM. the agony again seized him, and
continued to increase till he passed away.
"At intervals that morning, through all his
terrible suffering, he spoke the following words,

310 HENRY BAZELY. [chap.
as it were to himself meditatively, but just
audible to those near him : —
" ' Into Thine hands I do commit
My spirit : for Thou art He,
O Thou Jehovah, God of truth,
That hast redeemed me.'
Dwelling especially on the last four words, ' That
hast redeemed me!
" ' Yea, though I walk in death's dark vale,
Yet will I fear none ill
For thou art with me ; and thy rod
And staff me comfort still.'
" ' It will be all peace there — no controversy — no con
troversy." " ' This vile body — this vile body — like unto His
glorious body.'
" ' The blood of Jesus Christ cleanseth from all sin,'
' all sin ' — ' yes — my sin.'
" When the agony of suffering was great on him,
he said :
" ' This suffering is not to be compared to what my
Saviour bore for me.'
" ' Give me patience — Lord — more patience.'
" ' Him that cometh unto me, I will in no wise cast
out,' — and ' Lord ! I have come.'
" His father, who was standing by the bedside,

ix.] MARRIED LIFE— ILLNESS— DEATH. 311
sat down to rest ; he immediately missed him,
looked round, and said, ' My father — where is
he?' " 'Lord, I believe — help thou mine unbelief.'
" Sight was failing. ' My eyes are failing me,'
he said : ' I cannot see you now — but I shall see
you there.'
I put out my hand to cover him with the quilt ;
he at once missed it, and put out his for it, say
ing ' Louie, where are you ? '
" ' It is all darkness around — but light within — light
within.' "Just before 12, 1 asked him ' whether he knew
me ? ' he pressed my hand, and smiled, and bent
his head.
" About 1 2 he asked to be ' lifted higher for the
last time.' We did so ; this seemed to take away
the remaining strength. He leaned back on the
pillow, and we caught the words, ' Lord Jesus,
receive my spirit,' with which he passed into the
presence of Christ. Louisa Bazely."
About 1 1 A.M. his friend, Mr. Christopher, had
come to see him ; and he recognised him at
once with a smile. Mr. Christopher had to leave

312 HENRY BAZELY. [chap.
shortly before noon to preside at a large prayer-
meeting at the Corn Exchange, which he com
menced with a prayer for Mr. Bazely's release
from his agony. As he was praying, that faith
ful spirit gently passed away, on March i, at ten
minutes past 12. On March 6 his funeral took
place, when, after a quiet service in his own church,
his body was laid to rest in Jericho Cemetery, in
accordance with his own written directions.1
The funeral service was conducted by the Rev.
J. E. Walker, Presbyterian minister at Cheltenham.
The remarkable demonstration of public esteem
and Christian affection for Mr. Bazely which
took place at the funeral has been faithfully de
scribed by Mr. Christopher, whose words, as many
eye-witnesses can testify, are within the truth :
The brotherly intercourse of our lives continued un
broken until I was obliged to leave his deathbed to
preside at a large prayer-meeting in the Corn Exchange.
When I returned he was " absent from the body and
present with the Lord."
Nothing I have seen in man has so humbled me as
the effects of the grace of God in this dear brother.
The indwelling of the Holy Spirit hallowed his life,
illumined his character, and humbled his friends. The
1 See Appendix A.

ix.] MARRIED LIFE— ILLNESS— DEATH. 313
memory of him recalls the words of our Lord, " Herein
is my Father glorified that ye bear much fruit : so shall
ye be my disciples."
Never during my quarter of a century in Oxford have
I seen such a spontaneous demonstration of respect and
regard as took place at dear Bazely's funeral The
working people streamed out of the poor parishes to
follow his remains down the long road which leads to
the Jericho Cemetery. The sad procession, increasing
in volume as it went on, passed close by the Martyrs'
Memorial, where a momentary halt was made, and near
to the spot where he sold Bibles at the fair. I saw some
of the best and some of the worst people of my own
parish in the mixed multitude. He had been a living
evidence of Christianity which impressed even the unbe
lieving, and his death touched the hearts even of the
ungodly. A vast crowd of all classes of Oxford citizens
stood with the silence of deep feeling around his grave.
Although a Presbyterian minister conducted the funeral
service, some very high churchmen attended, in token of
their appreciation of his holy unselfish character. This
is not the only proof which has been brought to the
surface of late in Oxford, that underneath the high
waves of strong theological differences among Christians
there flows a deep stream of Christian love, which is
scarcely recognised without the revealing influence of
affliction. Dear Bazely's grave is scarcely a yard from the one
which is intended to be my own, close to the south wall
of the cemetery chapel. It is not unsuitable that the

314 HENRY BAZELY. [chap. ix.
earthly remains of those who were so united by Christian
love in life should, after a while, be so near to each other
in death ; and that the survivor should, while he can,
bear this affectionate testimony, that, " by the grace of
God," his dear brother "was what he was."

APPENDIX A.
My wishes, which I write in case of sudden death.
i. That  have the option of continuing to rent
as long as  likes at the present rent, i.e.

£  per annum ; paid quarterly.
2. That I may be buried, i.e. my body, in Jericho
Cemetery ; that worship — consisting of Scripture-read
ing, free prayer, and Psalms sung — be conducted in my
church ; and also, if expedient, at the side of the grave.
That a minister of the Church of Scotland — or some
other Presbyterian Church — officiate if practicable ;
otherwise, any Christian man.
That a plain oblong tombstone be erected, with desig
nation of myself there, Presbyter in the Church of God
(Minister of Church of Scotland in Oxford) ; no cross
of any kind being attached to or carved on the stone ;
but that Psalm xxiii. 4, Scottish version, be very legibly
cut thereon.
These wishes I feel sure that my beloved wife will
carry out; whom, with our dear babe, I commend to
the grace and love of God, who has blessed me with
her devoted affection.
Written and signed by me, H C. B. Bazely.
June 25, 1882.

316 HENRY BAZELY.

APPENDIX B.
The church, mission-room, and furnished manse are
closed ; and the work in connection with them is at
a standstill for want of funds to carry the services on.1
It was Mr. Bazely's intention, had he been spared,
to lay by sufficient for an endowment fund from his
tutorial earnings.
After his death an attempt was made for a twelve
month to continue the services ; but it fell through,
because Mrs. Bazely could not give consent to the intro
duction of forms of worship which would not have com
mended themselves to her husband. The supply of funds
was in consequence discontinued.2 Nevertheless, she
looks forward in hope to the revival of the work which
her husband had so much at heart, so that his never-
failing trust in God may be realised, as expressed by
him at the opening of his church on March 23, 1879,
in the following words : —
Again, another thought which I cannot dismiss to-night
1 [Should any feel inclined to assist in this matter by contribut
ing funds, I hope they will communicate with me. — Louisa Bazely].
2 Mr. Bazely's conscientious objection to the use of instrumental
music or uninspired Psalmody in public worship is well known.
When in 1882 his lawyer was called in to make a fresh will, he
suggested that a trustee should be appointed, with written direc
tions as to Mr. Bazely's intentions with regard to the Nelson Street
Church and his other property. This he declined to have done,
saying that it was not needed, as he had perfect confidence that his
wife would carry out his wishes when he was gone. Such con
fidence having been reposed in her, Mrs. Bazely feels the more
sacred obligation, in the absence of any trust-deed, to abide by her
husband's deliberate wishes in respect of the kind of worship con
ducted at the Nelson Street Church.

APPENDIX. 317

is that of life's shortness and the uncertain future. This
building — as far as we can forecast, if no accident befalls
it — will stand for years after every one of us has gone to
the home of eternity. A series of generations of men will
worship in it ; it will have a history, perhaps a long one,
beginning from this day, which we shall never read on
earth. I ask myself (it is not a useless, though it be an
unanswerable question), how long shall / be allowed to
preach in this pulpit ? God in His wise and merciful
arrangement hides from us the date of our death, else we
might be discouraged from undertaking any enterprise.
Immortal indeed we are until our work is done ; but it may
be that my work is done in providing this church for the
labours of others. The practical lesson which (God help
ing me) I desire to learn from this natural and not unfruit
ful thought of life's and health's uncertain span, is the
lesson of greater zeal and earnestness. To spend and to
be spent in God's service ; to burn away in giving light,
like the oil in the Jewish temple ; to " act in the living
present — heart within and God o'erhead ; " to preach (as
Richard Baxter preached), " As though I ne'er should preach
again, and as a dying man to dying men.'' This I would
fain learn, and never through the craft of Satan and the
chilling influence of the world forget. But if these thoughts
of grave responsibility and of premature sickness and death
seem somewhat dark and gloomy, let me add (lest I appear
ungrateful to Almighty God and wilfully deficient in faith)
that I am buoyed up and cheered meanwhile by hope. We
hope for what we see not, and with patience we wait for it.
I hope to be spared to labour here in the Gospel for some
while. I hope — as I desire — to give myself more wholly and
unreservedly to ministerial work : I hope — as I long — to
be used by the Master as an instrument, in His strong and

318 HENRY BAZELY.
loving hand, of rescuing souls from Satan's and sin's
bondage ; of leading to our heavenly Father's welcome the
unhappy backslider, when his own ways have filled him
with a wholesome dissatisfaction ; of building up believers
in our most holy faith. Yes, I look forward with joyful
expectation — with a confidence which I cannot deem pre
sumptuous — to refreshing showers ofthe Holy Spirit's graces
in this church. I dare not doubt that God (in the as
surance of whose blessing this church has been erected)
will send spiritual prosperity in answer to the hosannas of
His people.

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vikm of
fy\r*i*A>^ I-
Many in Oxford will mourn, aa for a brothferjthe, Bbv»-
Henry 0. B. Bazely, B.C.L,, of Brazenose Cofie'gei who
fell asleep in Jesus, on*Thursday, while prayer was being
offered, at the mid-day meeting in the Corn Exchange,
for his speedy release from suffering.
He was the only surviving child of the Rev. Thomas
Tyssen Bazely, of Dover, fellow and Tutor of Brazenoae,
1831—1839, rector of Poplar, 1839—1860. He was born
at AU Saints' Rectory, Poplar, September 4th, 1842
Radley waa his school, under Dr. Sewell, : He was
scholar and Hulmean Exibitioner of Brazenose. He ob
tained a first "class in Clasical Moderations, Easter term,
1863 ; and a second class in the Final Classical School in
Michaelmas term, 1865. He was a Denyer and Johnson
theological scholar in 1868. He was known as one of the
best read and moat able of tne private tutors in Oxford for
the Theological schools. One of his pupils is aPresbyter of
the Established Church of Scotland ; with him ha
spent portions of his vacations. He naturally placed
before him the most able books on Presbyterianism,
with the result that Mr. Bazely became a Presbyterian,
and after a time was ordained a Presbyter of the Church
of Scotland, and built at his own expense a small
church in Jericho, Oxford, which he served gratuitously.
But it is aa a devout, humble-tninded,zealous Christian
worker in the gospel among the poor that Mr. Bazel v
will be chiefly remembered in Oxford. For years, af ter his
own evening service he preached the gospel at the Mar- ,
tyr'a memorial. He neverjreeeived any stipend, nor was he-"
even fully reimbursed for the ordinary expenses of his
Church. He promoted evangelistic meetings at the
Town Hall. For years he set up a stall for the sale of
the Bible and Christian booksinall tbe fairs in and near
Oxford ; he attended the race courses at Abingdon, and
Ascot, and else where, to give away tracts and to
preach when it was possible. He was hardly ever missing
at the Prayer Meeting held daily in St. Aldate's Rectory
at 7.30 a.m., and his spiritual expositions often given at
this, will not soon be forgotten by those who heard them.
It is believed that the eye of the nearest friend never
detected in this superior man selfishness or pride, the
glory of God was the object of his Hfe — the love of
Christ constrained him to live for Him. By the grace
of God he was what he was. His learning was conse
crated to]the extension of the influence of the Gospel. His
'lectures and Bible class for the Young Men's Christian
Association were invaluable to some of those who atten
ded them. His holy, consistent example adorned the
doctrine of God his Saviour. He was married in August;
1880, and leaves a young widow and an infant son. His
venerable father was with him for some weeks before
his death. Tbe funeral will take place on Tuesday, at
12.30 at Jericho Uemetery, after a service in his church
in Nelson-street, Jericho. ¦"-*—•«¦-•¦»'  _.,

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