“Tunbridge Wells, April 26th, 1870.
“I have really been regretting your absence from the feast of fat things which we have lately been enjoying at home, for I consider we have had privileges of a very high order.
“Our Passion Week services were most profitable, and following as they did on Mr. Langston’s Lent sermons, they tended, I trust, to put a seal on impressions already formed, though I cannot say I have yet had the joy of discovering any cases of marked conversion as their consequence. I have, however, met with those who I think have been aroused to further progress, and who acknowledge the help given with real thankfulness.
“I trust also that our C.M.S. anniversary may be regarded as a token of progress. There has been an amazing amount of interest amongst our younger parishioners on the subject of the African Bishop, [153] so that yesterday the Mission-room was quite full, and again both the Trinity rooms in the evening. There were so many last night that there were several standing by the door of the girls’ room, and a collection of £14, containing an immense amount of copper. I confess I was anxious about our collection in church, especially when I found that we had not exceeded that of last year in the morning, but we picked up nobly in the afternoon and evening. In the evening alone there was £45, so that before we left church the collection reached £120, and there were £11 additional sent on Monday morning. I hope I may regard it as the fruit of all the admirable sermons that we have lately heard, and if so I shall regard it with peculiar thanksgiving, as showing that there has been not merely religious excitement but true religious principle at work amongst the people. And this is what we all want. It is to be living under the combined influence of principle and emotion, of deep feeling produced in the soul by strong conviction of Christian truth.
“I have been very much urged to go to Cheltenham, and if I go I should immediately set out for my long journey. But I do so enjoy my quiet work at home that I sometimes think I must never go out again. I ought, however, to be thankful for the privilege of being permitted to do the Lord’s work anywhere.”
In the autumn of 1870 Mr. Hoare, accompanied by one of his daughters, crossed the Atlantic, and spent nearly three months in a pleasant tour through the United States. It was a delightful holiday, and was the means of greatly strengthening and refreshing him for work at home. He had many good introductions, and went about seeing all that he could of the people, public institutions, and Church work, but beyond an occasional sermon Mr. Hoare made it a time of rest. No letters appear to have been preserved relating to this tour.
To Lady Buxton, after her son’s death:—
“Tunbridge Wells, August 22nd, 1871.
“I have thought of you so much lately and so affectionately that I must send you one line of loving remembrance, for I know how pleasant a thing it is to be remembered by those we love, especially when the remembrance leads to prayer. I am persuaded that very many have prayed for you under this very heavy sorrow. There are so many who feel the bitterness of it, all of whom connect you with it so intimately that I am persuaded there has seldom been a mourner more generally or more affectionately remembered before God.
“I think that solemn day at Fox Warren was, on the whole, very satisfactory. To me it was inexpressibly affecting to be surrounded by all the beauties of the most charming place, with his mind speaking in every brick and almost in every tree. I was so glad that I had paid him a visit there only a few weeks before—such a pleasant visit, and so remarkable for the charm of his society, although, poor dear fellow, I confess I was terrified about his health. But now all that is over, and, oh! how it does bring before us the overwhelming interest of the Heavenly Home!
‘“My Heavenly Home is bright and fair;
No pain or death can enter there.’“I never remember to have felt more deeply the difference between things which can and which cannot be shaken. Oh, who can tell the blessing of an unshaken hope, an unshaken safety, an unshaken inheritance, and an unshaken home, all resting on unshaken promises and the unshaken covenant of God! These things which cannot be shaken must remain, and they will remain when all fair homes of this pleasant world are passed away for ever. May God keep us by His own grace grasping them with an unshaken faith, that, when Christ either comes to us or summons us to Him, we may meet Him without surprise and receive an abundant entrance into His Kingdom.”
Extracts from family-letters:—
“Patterdale, September 14th, 1871.
“I have received two very earnest invitations to Edinburgh, and one to Australia. I do not suppose that I shall accept either of them, certainly not the latter until my return; but if I accept the former it will delay my return a week. But I do not think it likely.
“Our journey thus far has been most prosperous. We have had beautiful weather, and a very happy party: Keswick and Derwentwater on Tuesday, Helvellyn and Ambleside yesterday, and Bowness and Patterdale to-day. As usual we have had several affectionate greetings, amongst others one from Sir — —, whom we met at Keswick. We were both very friendly, but it was impossible not to feel that we were both under constraint from the sense of great divergence. We both scrupulously avoided any points of difference, but both showed clearly that there were too many rocks on which we might split at any moment. And yet I feel reproved by the zeal he had shown in his endeavours to do good to his guide. I am sure there are many lessons which we may learn from those who widely differ from us, and the more we value the blessed truths which God has made known to us, the more humbled we ought to feel at the want of fervour with which we endeavour to maintain them.
“To-morrow we hope to reach Carlisle, and I hope I may be prospered there. But I find it very difficult to work up much zeal about the Jews. What I do feel is entirely the result of Scriptural conviction, and not of any personal interest. The Jew in Scripture is certainly a much more interesting character than the Jew in Petticoat Lane. But we profess to act on Scriptural principles, and therefore ought to persevere, even though it be in the dark.”
“Cromer, September 28th, 1871.
“I am greatly pleased by your letter of this morning. It was indeed a most profitable sermon of Mr. Edmonstone’s, and I have felt the powerful influence on my own mind of it and the life of Agnes Jones. I trust, therefore, that my Cromer visit has been thus far really for good, and I feel, myself, a fresh stimulus for the sacred work to which the Lord has called us.”
“Ely, October 7th, 1871.
“I have been thinking of you all day in your return to the dear old home, and have almost felt disposed to envy you, for I am satisfied with holiday-making and begin to long for home. However, I have consented to return to Cromer from Nottingham, to pay a visit of a few days to your Uncle Richard, so that I expect to enjoy the hospitality of three of my brothers, which is very satisfactory to me. Nothing could have exceeded the kindness of all parties, and I am not without a hope that there has been some blessing on my ministry. But I cannot say it has been a time of rest, and I feel the want of repose more than I do at home. I suppose this is why I write so slowly, so badly, and with such difficulty that I am sure I never should do for Secretary to the C.M.S. [157]: the first long letter would knock me up for the day.”
“Nottingham, October 10th, 1871.
“I have been venturing on a speech this morning in which I think the Lord prospered me. I desired to speak for Him, and I was certainly most kindly received.” [158a]
“Cromer, October 16th, 1871.
“You need not be at all frightened about the Dean, for it is on Wednesday the 25th that he comes to us. The sermon, etc., is on the 26th, and on that day we ought to have an S.P.G. luncheon. I think it would be well to ask the Committee soon. The list may be found in the S.P.G. report, under the head ‘Local’ on the top shelf.
“I feel doubly interested in the thought of my return, and trust it may be with a greater realisation of our completeness in Christ Jesus and of the blessedness of working not merely for Him but in Him. I felt this most remarkably at Nottingham, and I believe it resulted in power, at all events on one occasion referred to in the paper which I have asked — to send to you.
“The Congress was very interesting, but too exciting. The week was one of great exhaustion, though I am thankful I was there, and I believe God gave power to those who were endeavouring to be witnesses for the truth. I cannot doubt but on the whole they did well and carried the people with them. With only one exception, they spoke with wisdom and power, like men who were being prayed for, as indeed we all were by many in the Hall. But the close attention, the hot room, the many friends, and the anxiety as to the issue took a great deal out of me, so that I am to-day really enjoying a quiet morning over my letters.
“Amongst others I saw a great deal of the Bishop of Sydney, and found him very strong about the Australian idea. [158b] He says it is the very thing that he has long desired for his own diocese. But I do not yet see the call of God sufficiently clearly to have my judgment really inclined to it. If the Lord makes His way plain, I hope to be ready to go, but God forbid that I should go one step without His orders.”
From the Archbishop of Canterbury:—
“Addington Park, Croydon, September 24th, 1868.
“To Rev. Ed. Hoare.
“Dear Mr. Hoare,—It will give me very great pleasure if you will accept the office of Honorary Canon of Canterbury, to which your standing in the diocese and the services which you have rendered to the Church by your zeal and ability in the discharge of your ministerial functions amply entitle you.
“Believe me, dear Mr. Hoare,
“Very sincerely yours,
“C. T. Cantuar.”
The offer of an Honorary Canonry in Canterbury Cathedral, made in 1868 by Archbishop Longley, was the only dignity which he ever received; why this should have been the case is a question that has often been asked, and to which no satisfactory answer has ever been made. Canon Hoare would have made an admirable Bishop: he was a born ruler and administrator; his intellectual powers and wide sympathies (for which those who knew him superficially gave him no credit), together with his power of inspiring enthusiasm in all his subordinates, would have been good qualities for that high position, and not the least advantages which he possessed were a fine presence and commanding personality.
But he neither sought nor wished for promotion, and remained to the last what he loved to be, a pastor in the midst of a devoted flock, with more opportunities of preaching the Gospel of Christ at home and throughout England than fell to the lot of most men, and, as one remarked to him when the subject happened to be referred to in a newspaper, “Man has not promoted you, but God has, by permitting you to be the means of bringing blessing to more souls than any one whom I know.” Looking at the subject in that aspect, it is impossible to deny that his exceptional talents were specially suited to the sphere which he adorned, and thus we may believe that God overruled the apparent neglect of men for the greater advancement of His truth.
Five-and-twenty years ago parochial missions were in a different position from that in which they stand at present.
There were very few mission preachers, and they had a good many difficulties to contend with. Some looked askance at the new movement and thought it savoured of Rome; others deemed it “exciting,” and unworthy of the calm atmosphere of the Church of England.
It had not then been reduced to a science: missioners adopted their own individual methods, as seemed best to them. Canon Hoare at an early stage of the history of the movement recognised its vast possibilities, and believed that it was just what was wanted to save the Church from stagnation, and arouse men from that dangerous respectability which enables them to repeat the General Confession, but which declines to particularise. All through his ministry his aim had been to reach individuals, and he saw the opportunities of so doing in the work of a mission.
The first invitation which he accepted was that given by the Vicar of Holy Trinity, Nottingham, on the occasion of a general mission throughout that town in 1872. Being his first, it was a time of the most intense and thrilling interest, and the letters describing it are therefore given at more length than those that refer to later missions. Not that this work lost any of its freshness to him; during the twelve years that followed he undertook similar missions frequently, sometimes twice in a year. The opportunity was always fraught with the deepest and most prayerful interest to the preacher; his congregation, moreover, will remember how he used to return to them after such occasions, not wearied, but fresher than ever, and all aflame with spirituality, power, and love.
His scheme of subjects for a mission was very wisely drawn up; some of these have been printed, and evince great knowledge of human nature. The writer well remembers how that, when he was going to undertake a mission for the first time, Canon Hoare sent for him and said, “Tell me your order of sermons and Bible-readings.” It was mentioned in detail; he replied, “I see very little about the ‘New Life.’” He was referred to the subject of “consecration.” “Well,” said he, “if you will take my advice, you will leave that out. I say little about ‘consecration,’ because that is man’s work. Make the life which is God’s gift one entire subject; its necessity, its source, and its reality; and consecration will follow.” His advice was taken, with the happiest results.
To his daughters:—
“Trinity Vicarage, Nottingham, February 6th, 1872.
“I think I may thus far give a thankful report of my journey. As I passed through London I had a most interesting and encouraging conversation with Mr. —, and a pleasant journey down to this place with —. We arrived just in time to have a hurried cup of tea, and go off to the public prayer-meeting in the Exchange Hall. This was a wonderful sight: the large Hall was crammed full, and many were unable to gain admittance. It was a very striking contrast to the busy market outside. There was a great deal of singing from a very nice little book of the S.P.C.K., and a remarkable address from old Aitken. The best part of it was an exposition of Asa’s prayer: the rest was awakening, and, I hope, profitable, very earnest and very affectionate, but it did not move me, though some people said it almost threw them into hysterics. I offered a prayer myself, and three others besides Aitken. I liked them all thoroughly, and came away, I hope, the better, though the meeting had lasted nearly two hours. So having come here and received a most warm welcome from my pleasant host (Rev. Allan Smith) and hostess, I lay down and awoke fresh and happy for the Sunday’s work. Mrs. Smith is daughter of my old friend Mr. Linton of Oxford, and even you could not make me more comfortable than she does!
“Well! Sunday dawned upon us, and at 10.30 service began. The church is not so large as our own, and was not so well filled, but they were pleased with the attendance. I preached on the deep sleep in Isaiah xxix., and I believe the Lord was with us. They were attentive all through, and towards the close many of them were much affected, so much so that I gave notice I would have a Bible class in the church at 3.45 p.m. for a re-consideration of the subject. The Lord’s Supper was very solemn, and many were in tears, especially two old gentlemen whom I hope to be able to see during the week. So we went home thankful.
“The Bible class in the afternoon was well attended. There must have been more than a hundred present, including several gentlemen, so that I was well repaid for the effort, though very tired when it was over and scarcely up to the Evening Service. However, when the time came I was fresh again, and I believe the Lord helped me. There was a larger congregation than in the morning, but I did not see the same evidence of impression. I preached on the old subject, Exod. xii. 23, and, though there was deep attention, I did not perceive the same emotion. Then followed the prayer-meeting: this was most interesting. The large room was quite full, and during certain periods of silence I heard the sound of weeping in many parts of it. Mr. Smith gave a short address and offered prayer; I did the same, and longed to know how to manage such a meeting. After a time I dismissed them, and invited any to remain who liked. But they all seemed unwilling to go, and it was some time before they began to move. But at last the room was cleared, and then what should I see but two clergymen with their faces covered, in trouble about their souls. One proved to be a most deeply interesting case. He told me his difficulties without any reserve, and at length went away declaring himself satisfied. I really believe he learned the way of peace.
“Meanwhile Mr. Smith was speaking to four adults one by one, and I then found a row of five young people waiting for me. In three of them, especially one, I thought there was great reality, but I had not time to speak with them separately, and I cannot say I was satisfied with the interview. I hope to see one of them again to-night, when I trust there may be more decisive results.
“All this quite freshened me up, so that I was ready and in good heart this morning to start off for the service in Adams’ Factory at eight. The place was quite full, so that there must have been about three hundred present. As they all dispersed immediately to their work, I had no opportunity of any personal intercourse, but they listened with great attention, and I can only hope the Lord gave His blessing.
“I am now enjoying a quiet morning, writing, reading, thinking, and praying; remembering with great affection my dear friends at home who are praying for me, and most especially the three dear daughters left at home to help their father by their prayers and each other by their mutual help. May the Lord be with you!”
“Trinity Vicarage, Nottingham, February 9th, 1872.
“I can hardly tell you what an interesting week I have had. It has been without doubt the most encouraging in my whole ministry. I never knew so many persons awakened under my sermons in so short a time, and I am thankful to say that many of them, and many more who have been previously anxious, have been brought to see the way of life in Christ Jesus their Saviour. I cannot say how deeply I thank God for it, or how it has stirred me up to look out more hopefully for a great blessing at home, and also amongst the young men at Cambridge. I hope you all continue to pray for me.
“Last night I had first a strong middle-aged man come to speak to me under deep conviction of sin; and then a most respectable woman who had no peace in her soul. These two took so long that I was obliged to send for another clergyman to come and help me with the remainder, as there were sixteen waiting in the outer room to see me.
“The greater part of the morning has been occupied by my Bible class, but I had one hour for inquirers, during which there came one of the leading gentlemen of Nottingham, and a most interesting inquirer who had been in deep anxiety for years, and who, I believe, through God’s mercy left the vestry at peace in Christ Jesus. Oh, what can I render unto the Lord for all His goodness to me! Dear love to the dear sisters and to all who pray for us.”
“Cambridge, February 12th, 1872.
“I hope to be home, if it please God, to-morrow by express, and look forward with the deepest interest to my return. One thing is clear, and that is—we must seek to go forward, and look out for far greater results than ever.
“Saturday was a sacred day. I went in the morning on my way to church to see some of those who had been awakened, and found them peacefully trusting in their blessed Saviour.
“I then went to the church to see any that might come to me, and my whole hour was filled up by most interesting cases, one of a most touching character. At 11.30 I gave a short parting address in the church to about a hundred people, and at twelve left for the train, after the most kind and grateful farewells from numbers of people who wished to thank me for my ministry. It has been a new era in my life, and I trust has done me great good.
“I arrived here after five o’clock, swallowed some dinner, and hurried off to the gownsmen’s meeting, which began at six. I did not know how to turn my mind to a new subject, but still I hope the Lord helped me, and it gave me the opportunity of inviting the young men to meet me on Sunday night.
“Well! Sunday came, and I believe the Lord was with us. There was a large morning congregation, and many of the people were deeply moved. Oh, how I longed to ask them to come and open their griefs! but the Vicar would not give me leave to do so, so I was obliged to leave them to God, and perhaps that was better.
“In the evening I stood up in dear old Simeon’s pulpit. The church was crammed with gownsmen, and I believe the Holy Spirit was with us. I then had a cup of tea in Carlos’ rooms, and went off to the meeting of gownsmen. The room was quite full. I gave them an address on Justification and Sanctification, illustrated by some facts in my Nottingham experience. I believe that I might have had many coming to me for help if I had only invited them; but I was stupid, and did not do it.
“But one dear fellow seemed as if he could not go away: he came and took me by the hand, and would not let go. The others all left the room, and then he poured out the troubles of his soul. I thank God his difficulties were removed, and we walked home together blessing and praising God. Oh, what shall I render unto the Lord for all His goodness to me!”
The following extract describes a return visit three months later to the scene of his first Mission:—
“Nottingham, May 30th, 1872.
“But I have no words to describe the interest of my short visit here. Nothing could be more satisfactory. I found almost all those in whom I trusted a work was begun standing fast and thankful in the Lord. Many of them were so transformed from the look of gloom and depression which they had in February to a look of peaceful, confiding thankfulness, that I could scarcely believe they were the same persons; and their affection, their gratitude, and their pleasure in meeting me again were truly touching to my heart.”
Leeds Church Congress:—
“Leeds, October 8th, 1872.
“In almost an hour I am going down to the battle, as weak as David, but I hope to find the help of David’s God. There is an enormous gathering for the Congress, and people of all classes will be there. Oh, how earnestly I hope and pray that the Blessed Spirit will rest on all there who are called to speak for their blessed Saviour!”
Mission at Hull:—
“Hull, November 25th, 1872.
“Many thanks both to you and — for your letters, for I delight to hear from you, and think of you with most heartfelt and loving prayers.
“I had a very pleasant, quiet, unfatiguing journey, quite by myself all the way from London, so that I had no temptation or obligation to talk. At Tranby I had a most affectionate and brotherly welcome, and came on here on Saturday, full of hope and thanksgiving for the privilege of speaking to so many people about their souls.
“Immediately on my arrival I went to a meeting of Communicants, very much like our own, and then to a very uninteresting conference of the clergy; so we did not really begin work till yesterday. In the morning there was a fine congregation, and in the evening one still larger, with a prayer-meeting after it, in a large hall which was so full many could not get in. As a mode of intercourse with the people it of course completely failed, but as an indication of their interest it was very encouraging, and I am happy to say that, one way or another, I have already met with several persons anxious about their state, and I am thankful to be able to add that some of them have gone home with the expression of great satisfaction to their souls as the result of what they have been taught.
“I have therefore great reason to be thankful for a beginning, and from what I have seen of the first droppings of the shower I cannot help hoping that there is a real blessing in store.
“Immense pains have been taken all over the town, and much prayer offered, so that we have a right to look for great things.
“My throat is not at all the worse for yesterday, and, if anything, better; but I tumbled about all night with a very hot head after the excitement of the day.
“My host and hostess are most kind and agreeable: they make me exceedingly comfortable, and are people quite able to carry out their hospitable intentions, so that I am very well off; but I am not sure that Thorold is not wise in going into a lodging, so as to avoid the necessity of conversation, for I really believe that talking fatigues more than preaching, and I sometimes long to be alone, or at all events to be able to get away into my own study just when I please. But I ought not to say so, for I am as comfortable as man can make me. Pray for me, that I may have wisdom and power given to me.”
Specimen of one of Canon Hoare’s “Mission Subjects”:—
St. Dunstan’s Mission.—November 12th to 22nd, 1880.
Nov. 12th.—To Communicants. Psalm cv. 40: “He satisfied them with the bread of heaven.”
Nov. 13th.—Prayer-Meeting. Psalm xcvii. 5: “The hills melted like wax at the presence of the Lord.”
Nov. 14th.—M. Jonah ii. 9: “Salvation is of the Lord.” A Divine Saviour; Salvation; Revelation; Application.
E. Gen. xlii. 21: “We are verily guilty.” Conscience—may be seared, 1 Tim. iv. 2; defiled, Titus i. 15; aroused, John viii. 9; purged, Heb. x. 22.
Nov. 15th.—M. Propitiation: (1) Divine, Rom. iii. 25; (2) Complete, Heb. ix. 12; (3) Final, Heb. ix. 28; (4) Satisfies conscience, Heb. ix. 14; (5) Sufficient, Heb. x. 18.
E. Heb. xii. 24: “The blood of sprinkling.” Speaks of complete atonement, full remission of sin, Heb. x. 22, ix. 22.
Nov. 16th.—M. Forgiveness: (1) Present, Psalm xxxii. 1; (2) Complete, Micah vii. 19; (3) Dependent on atonement, Rom. iii. 25; (4) First gift of the New Covenant, Jer. xxxi. 34—“for.”
A. To Mothers. Heb. ii. 13: “I will put my trust in the Lord. . . . Behold, I and the children whom Thou hast given me.”
E. Job ix. 29: “If I be wicked, why then labour I in vain?” (1) The difficulty; (2) The remedy—“the Daysman” or Mediator, ver. 33.
Nov. 19th.—M. Justification, Rom. v. 1–10: (1) Five blessings from, vv. 1–5; (2) Through reconciliation, ver. 10; (3) To whom given, vv. 6, 8, 10; (4) When given, vv. 6, 8—“yet.”
E. John v. 28, 29: “The hour is coming.” (1) The voice; (2) The resurrection; (3) The separation.
Nov. 18th.—M. The New Birth, John iii. 1–16: (1) The necessity, ver. 7; (2) A spiritual change, ver. 6; (3) By the sovereign power of the Holy Ghost, vv. 5, 8; (4) Found before the Cross of Christ, vv. 14–16.
A. To Church-Workers. Zech. iv. 1–10. (1) “By My spirit”; (2) The mountain removed; (3) Christ will finish His work; (4) Small things; (5) Christ the King and Priest supplies all, ver. 3.
E. John v. 25: “The dead shall hear.” (1) Dead conscience; affections; hope, etc.; (2) The dead hear; (3) The dead live.
Nov. 19th.—M. Sanctification: (1) In the heart, Psalm xl. 8; (2) The standard, 1 John iii. 3; (3) The difficulty, 1 John i. 8; (4) Progressive, 2 Peter iii. 18; (5) By the use of Scripture, John xvii. 17; (6) By the sight of the Lord Jesus, 2 Cor. iii. 18; (7) Must follow, not precede forgiveness, Jer. xxxi. 33, 34.
E. Matt. xxvii. 46: “My God, My God, why hast Thou forsaken Me?” (1) The imputation of sin to Christ; (2) The certainty of complete satisfaction; (3) The burden of unforgiven sin.
Nov. 20th.—Prayer-Meeting. Psalm xxxiv.: The song of the delivered.
Nov. 21st.—M. Psalm cxix. 94: “I am Thine.” (1) By the gift of the Father, John xvii. 2; (2) By redemption through the Son, 1 Cor. vi. 20; (3) By the life-giving power of the Holy Ghost, John vi. 63; (4) By personal surrender to God, Rom. xii. 1.
A. To Men only. 2 Cor. vi. 18: “I will be a Father unto you.”
E. Exod. xxi. 5: “I love my master; I will not go out free.” (1) The new master; (2) The old master.
Nov. 22nd.—Jude 24: “Him that is able to keep you from falling.”
Summary: (1) Finished propitiation; (2) Free gift; (3) Life-giving power of the Holy Ghost.
Some men are in great request as preachers and speakers outside their parishes, but for some reason or other they are not very useful at home.
It was not so with the subject of this memoir. The prophet in this case was honoured in his own country. On Sunday mornings, three-quarters of an hour before service began, many aged and poor parishioners might be seen making their way into the church to secure good seats. In Holy Trinity the free seats are more in number than those that are appropriated, and some of the former are in the best part of the church; all these were filled long before the hour for the commencement of service. As eleven o’clock drew near the congregation were in their places, and the aisles were filled with strangers in every available spot waiting in the hope of some possible seat. It was a common thing in the summer for as many as a hundred to go away unable to get accommodation. The writer well remembers the profound impression which the Sundays used to make upon his mind. The old Vicar and his curates were in the vestry in good time robed and ready; [174] having knelt in prayer, there was a silent interval, and exactly to the moment when the clock in the tower struck, the vestry door was opened and they passed out into the church.
Sometimes this was a slow work, as the people stood close together; some were sitting on the pulpit stairs, and the clergy had to thread their way to the chancel rails.
When service began the cushions at the rails were all occupied by worshippers kneeling upon them. Canon Hoare generally took part in the service, which was conducted in the simple old-fashioned way, read, not “toned down” in the manner now so prevalent.
When the preacher ascended the high pulpit it was an impressive thing to see that great congregation, over sixteen hundred in number, ranged beneath in the body of the building and around him in the deep galleries, waiting for his words. His prayer before the sermon was a very striking one, and it was always in the following words: “Almighty God, our Heavenly Father, who hast purchased to Thyself an universal Church by the precious blood of Thy dear Son, and hast promised that the Holy Spirit should abide with us for ever: may we now enjoy His sacred presence! May He direct the word which shall now be spoken, and apply it with Divine power to all our hearts, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.”
Those sermons were wonderful, delivered so well that few could believe them to be written discourses, which they were; with changes of tone which made the sentences impress themselves upon the memory; the manner so solemn, as befitted the ambassador, and yet so pleading, as became the father. The eloquent language attracted the intellectual mind, and the remarkable simplicity of expression appealed to the simplest understanding. The matter of these sermons was, however, their great charm.
The atonement wrought by Christ was their great theme. Many preachers, when enlarging upon other subjects, bring in this doctrine at the close of their discourse, but with Canon Hoare the great foundation of our faith, viz. the substitution of Christ for the sinner, and His finished work of propitiation applied by the Holy Spirit, was always visible, not as a thing to be brought in at the end, but already there, as the centre and pivot of all that he said; hence no doubt the power of his words, and withal as a thing much to be observed was the extraordinary freshness with which he was able to present, Sunday after Sunday, the old story of the Cross, old but ever new.
Very powerful were those discourses, for they were full of teaching. The preacher was a deep student of his Bible,—“After diligently working down into it for fifty years,” he used to say, “I am still only scratching the surface!”—and he possessed moreover an unusual power of imparting knowledge; he was pre-eminently a teacher, and among the many privileges which his curates enjoyed none was so great as the Scriptural teaching which they received in their Vicar’s sermons. After the preacher had concluded there was a short prayer, followed by the blessing, and then, with nothing to take away the impression of the solemn words to which they had listened, the congregation dispersed. There were three or four services in the Parish Church every Sunday, besides the shortened Morning Service in the hospital and Mission Service in the large Parish Room; there were also five Sunday Schools, and many classes on the same day for old and young men, women, and senior girls.
Though in his vigorous days he always preached twice, he was in the habit of opening the principal boys’ school every Sunday morning, and in the afternoon visiting one or other of the various schools and classes, finishing all by slipping into the afternoon service in time to hear the sermon preached by one of his curates. By these means he kept in touch with everything going on in the parish.
The weekday work was enormous and varied. The Parish Room, so called—really a large building containing a hall and different rooms—was occupied nearly every hour of every day in some part or other; and in the parish at large every conceivable kind of agency for the temporal and spiritual good of rich and poor was to be found, all animated by real energy and spiritual power. Many a time have the workers heard from their Vicar’s lips, “Let us not be content with machinery; what we want is Life.”
The Sunday Evening Services in the Parish Room were deeply interesting. For half an hour beforehand the volunteer choir sang hymns to attract the people in, and workers went into bar-rooms and common lodging-houses to bring in any who would come.
It was a very moving sight, about three hundred people, some of them degraded in vice, packed close together, joining in the familiar hymns, and listening with attention to the speaker. Canon Hoare often said that, intensely as he delighted in the opportunity, it was at times more than he could bear to realise the depth of sin in which many lived who were gathered together at these services—the responsibility of the preacher seemed on such an occasion to be so enormous.
Except as occasional workers, he never would allow the regular church-goers to attend the Mission Room services. “This service is not for you,” he used to say; “it is a stepping-stone to the church.” And such it was. The process of transformation used to be watched with interest in those cases where some poor degraded creature, either there or at the Temperance meetings, was led to “take the first turn to the right, and then go straight on,” as Bishop Wilberforce once tersely put it. Soon the ragged clothing improved, the whole appearance altered; after a while it might be said of such that, clothed and in their right mind, they sat at the feet of Jesus; and then by degrees moving on to the church, they might be seen at the Lord’s Table, or sitting in the adult Confirmation Class in preparation for that sacred privilege.
There were low slums in that parish, but, as Canon Hoare used often to say, “The Church of England can and does reach the lowest of the low, and can bring the Gospel to bear upon the vilest, without the aid of a fiddle or a flag!” One practical difficulty met him at first in the Parish (or Mission) Room services. Many a poor tramp, weary and footsore, used to say when asked to come in: “I have eaten nothing since the morning. Can you give me food? I want that more than the service.” When these answers were reported to him Mr. Hoare used to say, “And if I were in their place I should make the same reply.” It then became a matter of consideration what could be done to remove this difficulty, and yet not give anything like a bribe to induce people to come to these services for a paltry motive. After a great deal of thought and consultation with the workers, it was determined to give a slice of bread and cheese to any poor hungry ones who were not residents, but passing through the place, and in the cold weather a mug of coffee was added. This plan worked admirably; only a few asked for the food, but those received it, and what had been a very real hindrance at the first was satisfactorily removed.
Most if not all of our Religious Societies were well supported in the parish, but the three in which Mr. Hoare seemed to take the warmest interest were the Church Missionary Society, the Church Pastoral Aid Society, and the Irish Church Missions. For the first and last of these three there were, besides the Great Hall meetings, crowded gatherings for the poorer parishioners in the Parish Room. Canon Hoare was an incorporated member of the S.P.G., and had an annual sermon for that society, but of course the Church Missionary Society had the love of his whole heart. What he was to that society every one knows, and he infused some of his missionary enthusiasm into the town, and especially his own parish.
The Church Missionary Society anniversary was indeed a “field-day.” Long prepared for, it was anticipated with keen interest; the best deputations came down, and nearly every church in the town joined in the celebration. Canon Hoare generally preached in the old Chapel of Ease in the morning, but always occupied his own pulpit in the evening of that day, and what a thronged congregation there was on these occasions! The whole soul of the preacher seemed to go forth in his subject, and his hearers were thrilled by the trumpet call of that missionary sermon. In later years the thought of his dearly loved son and daughter working for God in China brought a special and personal interest into his words—not that he spoke of them, but somehow one could feel that they were in his thoughts. The collections on these occasions were very large; in former years £100 was thought the proper thing as the result of the Anniversary Services in Trinity Church, but gradually the amount crept up until about ten years before his death, when on one anniversary, in his absence through illness, it was suggested by the evening preacher that it would be a cheer to their beloved Vicar if £200 were reached; and right liberally was the appeal answered. After the sermon two gentlemen came into the vestry to inquire the amount collected, “for,” said they, “whatever the deficit may be, we will make it £200”; but their kindly help was not needed, as more than that sum was already counted out upon the vestry table!
From that day £200 was looked upon as the proper sum from Trinity Church for the Church Missionary Society anniversary.
The parish schools for boys, girls, and infants were all first-rate, and Canon Hoare prided himself upon having the best boys’ school in the diocese; but he was not content with the welfare of his own schools—it was his wish to strengthen all Church schools in the town. We hear now a good deal about the confederation of Church schools. More than twenty-five years ago the Vicar of Holy Trinity started such a confederation. Every Church school in Tunbridge Wells elected its members, and sent them to the periodic meetings, where matters of interest were discussed, weak points strengthened, and preparation made for dangers that threatened. This was only one of the many things in which his statesmanlike ability showed itself; Edward Hoare was one of those “men that had understanding of the times, to know what (the spiritual) Israel ought to do.” The power of such men is readily felt and acknowledged. “All their brethren are at their commandment.”
It would be impossible to write about the work in Holy Trinity parish without alluding to the Ladies’ Bible Class. This was a remarkable feature of his ministry, and, like most of his works, was going on before it had been suggested or thought of in other places.
This was not a Bible-reading, but a class for teaching by preparation beforehand, and at the time by question and answer. The answering was, of course, not compulsory, but nearly every one present in the large assembly of ladies took part.
The teaching was marvellous; sometimes it was a topic or a life in Scripture, sometimes a portion of the Prayer-Book or the Articles. The mastery of the subject and the power of conveying the same clear knowledge to other minds were very striking. Some have even said that they considered this class to have been his greatest work in Tunbridge Wells. The enthusiastic letters which have been received during the past thirty years from generations of young people who, having been taught by him, went forth into life educated and fortified in religious truth, testify to the fact that these classes formed in many an instance the real turning-point of life.
Twice in the period that he was Vicar of Holy Trinity a Parochial Mission was held, the respective missioners being the Rev. Rowley Hill, afterwards Bishop of Sodor and Man, and the Rev. H. Webb Peploe. Each time it was a grand success, greatly owing, under God, to the prayer and preparation which preceded it. The second mission was remarkable for the number of men whom it reached; at the services for men only there used to be two thousand listeners crammed into the church. Being well followed up, these missions left a glorious mark in the parish. Canon Hoare used often to quote the words of some foreign pastor, “The Church of England is the best in the world at throwing the net, but the worst at drawing it in,” and he always added, “Let us not fall into that error, but draw in the net”; and so he did. How familiar to the ears of his old curates were the words that he often said on Sunday morning from the pulpit at the close of some instructive sermon, “If there are any who would like this matter explained further, I shall be glad to see them this afternoon in the Parish Room at a quarter past four”; and he has often remarked, “I have never given this notice without getting some earnest souls who wanted help.”
“Pray for people and look out for God’s answer,” was the direction that he used to give to his workers, and in this lay surely one of the secrets of his great success as a pastor. The characteristic of Holy Trinity parish was “Life”; the Holy Spirit was manifestly at work in the place, blessing the various agencies among rich and poor, young and old, arousing, renewing, converting, and edifying.
One of his loving fellow-workers thus recalls an experience of this in the earlier years of Canon Hoare’s ministry at Tunbridge Wells:—
“I recollect well a great spiritual movement that took place over the whole parish, then undivided except by St. John’s. People, men and women, came to us, chiefly of course to him, asking for help in their spiritual state—people who had been living entirely secular lives. There seemed to have been no special cause for it—no mission—no exciting preaching; it was caused by his careful parish work and ministry. This went on for, I think, about two months; we kept it very quiet, spoke of it only to a few prayerful people, but they were praying for it; at length, however, it got out, and a few unwise persons—some of whom were Church people and some were not—got down Revivalists and hired the Town Hall to throw excitement into the work. Immediately it ceased! I build no theory or argument upon the fact, I merely say what I noticed.”
The same writer continues thus:—
“About that time we began the Evening Communion, and I recollect well our astonishment at the result. Such a number of new faces whom either we did not know or never saw at Holy Communion! Servants, lodging-house keepers, wives of working men, whom practically we had been excommunicating by having the Holy Communion only at the hours when we had hitherto celebrated it.”
All who had the sacred privilege of working with Canon Hoare in his splendidly ordered parish will agree in this, that two clauses of our Church’s Creeds were ever before his eyes: one was the note of all his preaching; the other, the motive and reward of all his work.
“I believe in the Forgiveness of Sins.”
“I believe in the Holy Ghost, the Lord, and Giver of Life.”
This chapter, which describes some of the parochial work of the parish, would not be complete without a reference to a great organisation which, though not of the parish, yet annually assembled in it, viz. “The Aggregate Clerical Meeting.” Shortly after his appointment to Tunbridge Wells, at a time when no conferences of clergy, now so common, had been thought of, the idea of the great spiritual benefit to be gained by such an annual gathering made Mr. Hoare determine to try the experiment. Having consulted with some friends, he sent invitations to the members of seven “Clerical Societies” in the neighbouring parts of Kent, Sussex, and Surrey, to assemble in Tunbridge Wells in the month of June for a series of meetings, not for the public, but for themselves, lasting over two days, with a sermon in Trinity Church on the evening of the first day and a celebration of the Holy Communion in the morning of the day following. All invited guests were given hospitality in the houses of kind friends. The Conference thus assembled met annually for about forty years, and from the first to the last meeting Canon Hoare was its President, although on two occasions illness obliged him to depute another as the chairman. From its small beginning it soon spread, sending its invitations through the South-East of England, although drawing the greater part of its members (who numbered altogether nearly five hundred) from the three counties named above. Laymen too, “introduced by a clergyman,” were invited to attend, and gladly availed themselves of the opportunity. Most of the great Evangelical men have preached at its annual gatherings, and papers and addresses of the greatest possible interest have been given at these meetings. All however who have attended on these occasions will agree in this, that the one thing to which every one looked forward was the closing address of the President. Precious words were always given him to speak, full of spiritual experience and loving exhortation.
The value of conferences like these is now acknowledged everywhere, but it is only due to the one whose memory we affectionately cherish that the credit of originating them should be here given to him whose foreseeing mind recognised the blessings such meetings would confer.
The most important crisis of Canon Hoare’s life was now drawing near—a time which, though it seemed to be full of trouble, was really a period of blessing to himself, to his congregation, and to a far wider circle than his own devoted people.
In a former chapter there was a reference to the invitation which, issuing first from his old friend Bishop Perry of Melbourne, was taken up by other Australian prelates, viz. that Canon Hoare should visit Australia in about two years’ time and make a mission tour throughout their dioceses in the principal towns. The project assumed a tangible shape, and details began to be considered; the whole thing, including the journeys each way, was calculated to take ten months. He was absent from his parish for almost exactly the very period, and at the very same time during which the Australian tour would have taken place, but his absence was due to the consequences of that Roman fever which nearly cost him his life. When Canon Hoare first spoke of this to the writer it was with the deepest solemnity; he said: “I am never quite satisfied in my mind as to whether the Lord had not a specially humbling message for me in that fever; the Australian plan was given up because I thought I ought not to be so long away from my parish, and it has sometimes seemed to me as if He, by laying me by for the very time that I should otherwise have been away, may have meant me to learn that my presence here is not so important after all, and that He can carry on His work by other hands.” This is thoroughly characteristic of the way in which our beloved friend seemed always on the alert to detect his own weak points, as well as to gain from trial its intended blessing. Australia was given up, and several months afterwards he decided to take a short holiday in Rome during part of Lent.
The following letters describe his enjoyment of the place, but at the same time we can detect signs of the penumbra of the dark shadow that was swiftly approaching.
To his eldest son:—
“Rome, March 3rd, 1873.
“So after all my misgivings, doubts, and hesitations, here I am really in Rome, and already profoundly interested in the place. We arrived on Friday evening and put up at a new hotel opposite the Russie, where alone we could find a resting-place; and to-day we have moved into some lodgings at the top of one of the highest houses on the top of the highest hill in Rome. We have been triumphing in the thought of our fresh air, but the conceit of some of us has been a little diminished this morning by being told that there is nothing so unwholesome in Rome, that nothing is so healthy there as a low and crowded situation, and that no Roman would accept our privileges for love or money; but this we keep to ourselves.
“On Saturday K— and I went to St. Peter’s, and my expectations were more than realised by the magnificent area and perfect proportions. There is something most solemnising in the magnitude and vast open space perfectly uninterrupted by any arrangement for worshippers, and a second visit this afternoon has only confirmed my first impressions. I thought to-day that it appeared to have grown since I saw it on Saturday.
“Then we went to the Forum, which I have been feasting upon again to-day. I imagine that the excavations have been extended since you were here, but I doubt whether in the Forum much has been discovered. And really nothing is wanting. But how strange that the villain Phocas, whose edict has led to so much discussion, should be the one whose one column should stand out by itself in the best preservation of them all! But all one’s ideas of human greatness are dwarfed by the Coliseum. What must the place have been when crowded with people! It must have contained all the inhabitants of the city, and a good many over, and must have illustrated St. Paul’s expression ‘so great a cloud of witnesses.’ I suppose that Christian martyrs did not much care for lookers-on, but had their minds wholly absorbed by their God and the wild beasts which were to devour them, but it must have been an awful ordeal to face such a host of enemies, and how inconceivable it is that such thousands could be brought together for the pleasure of seeing their fellow-men torn to pieces! Truly man is a fallen creature, born far above the beasts, but fallen far below them!
“I was greatly entertained by an American gentleman, who said to me that as they had gone so far in America as to give the suffrage to every man, they had better go a little further and give it to all the horses, for intelligent persons might drive them to the poll, which they could not do with ignorant men.”
To his eldest daughter:—
“Rome, March 16th, 1873.
“We have all been greatly interested by your report of the ordination. [190] It seems to me that everything was ordered for us exactly as we could have wished, and if I had sat down to plan it for myself I do not think I could have planned anything more completely to my mind. So blessed be God for the abundance and carefulness of His mercy! How I have thought of our young clergyman to-day! I wonder whether he has been preaching. He has not written much to me, but I cannot be surprised at that when I consider the absorption of his mind. What a delightful birthday for him!
“I am sorry to say I cannot give a very good report of myself. Rome has thoroughly disagreed with me, and the disagreement has brought on so much pain in my back that between the two I have had very little power of enjoyment. Still there has been so much to enjoy that, notwithstanding everything, I have enjoyed a great deal very much indeed. But the thing I should enjoy more than anything in the world would be to get home, and I am very much disposed to turn my steps homeward instead of going on to Naples. But nothing is fixed at present, or even discussed. It is only a floating idea in my mind, and may come to nothing.
“It has been strange to spend a second Sunday in retirement. I was engaged to preach both days, but could not venture on either, and now I should not be surprised if I left Rome without opening my lips in public. How different God’s plans are from ours! My plan was that I should be so very useful, and carry on here the same blessed work the Lord granted at home. But God’s plan was to keep me still and to let me learn quietly by myself. And I really hope He has been teaching me, and that these two Sundays especially have not been without their blessing. I am quite sure that those who teach most have the greatest need of learning the deep things of God and the secret windings of their own hearts.
“I have not told you about Rome, for you know a great deal about it better than I do. The great, grand old ruins stand out as magnificent as ever, speaking witnesses to the failure of the world’s greatness. ‘Broken greatness’ seems written on them all. And modern Popery goes on its way, I should really think, more idolatrous than ever—the most vulgar, tawdry travesty of the simple Christianity of the Catacombs. But I am not going to write a book, so hoping that God has been teaching you at church as I believe He has been teaching me at home, and wishing you every one every possible blessing,
“I remain, etc.,
“E. Hoare.”
Mr. Hoare returned to Tunbridge Wells for Passion Week, and was stricken down by the deadly fever which had taken hold of him in Rome. For several weeks he was desperately ill. Sir William Jenner came down two or three times to see him, and the daily bulletins were looked for by the whole town with the deepest anxiety. A daily prayer-meeting was instituted, and was thronged by those who joined in the most earnest supplications to Almighty God for his restoration. He recovered, being to all appearance simply prayed back to life by his people. The physician before named considered it a most remarkable case, for his patient had lingered too long on the Borderland to make recovery seem possible. In the summer, so soon as he could travel, he was taken away for change, and he did not return until the autumn, nor even then to work.
The following letter from Archbishop Tait was one of very many that poured in upon him at this time, and the Aggregate Clerical Meeting, which he had instituted several years before and of which he was President, presented him with an illuminated address signed by some hundreds of clergy, in which they thanked God for his recovery and welcomed him back to health.
From Archbishop Tait:—
“Stonehouse, St. Peter’s, Thanet.
“June 6th, 1873.“The Rev. Canon Hoare.
“My dear Mr. Hoare,—Your long and trying illness has made us feel much for you and your family. I trust that now our Heavenly Father is restoring you to health. May He long continue to you and to us the blessing of your preservation in health and usefulness amongst us; and may He in health and sickness give you every support from the Holy Spirit.
“Yours sincerely,
“A. C. Cantuar.”
To one of his daughters:—
“Hampstead, August 13th, 1873.
“You and I have had so little correspondence lately that you must almost forget the sight of my handwriting, and though, I am sorry to say, the want of practice has led to a great disinclination to exert myself or to take any trouble, I really must begin again.
“We are still here, and not at sea, as we proposed to be, for last night it was so stormy that the family in general and your uncle in particular decreed we should not go by ship. I do not think K— is sorry. So now we propose to go by train, which I always declared I would not do. But the pair of sons and daughters is more than any resolutions can withstand, so (D.V.) we go to York to-night and Newcastle to-morrow.
“On Sunday I hope I may hear Gurney preach: when shall I be doing it again myself? It seems sometimes as if I had forgotten how.
“Remember me very particularly to the Parrys. I have often thought of the Bishop’s [193] visits to me when I was ill, and sometimes regret that I did not invite more good ministers to visit me. But I doubt very much whether I was capable of receiving much good. Indeed I am humbled to find even now how little power of receiving I appear to have. I have been talking to people with a view to my own improvement, but I am very stupid. Some things I cannot understand at all, as, e.g., this new doctrine of ‘Perfection.’ I cannot criticise it, for I have not yet discovered what it is or what its advocates really mean. I have been talking to E—, A— G—, and Mc— about it, but I do not know that I understand much more in consequence; and I have been reading a very interesting American biography, but that has not helped me much more. So I begin to think I must be content with the old paths, those blessed paths in which so many saints of God have walked and followed Christ. Let me and my dear ones be found walking there in the new and living way, and we may well indeed be thankful. May nothing ever turn us to the right hand or to the left, but be taking a step forward! For what other purpose has this sickness been sent? Oh, thanks be to His Name!”