ORTHODOX LONDON.*
A LINE in the Brother Smiths' Rejected Addresses has, we find, been persistently recurring to us during our perusal of Dr. Davies's amusing, but prolix and even painful book. We have been re- • Orthodox London. By C. Maurice Davies, D.D. London: Tinsley Brothers. peating it incessantly,—" And nought is everything, and every- thing is nought." And it may be taken as a sort of essence or summary of the feeling left on our mind by the sketches of the widely various opinions and practices of those leaders of religious thought who occupy the pulpits of "the Church of England as by law established." The words "established" and " law " seem to us indeed to be ludicrously incongruous with and utterly irrelevant to the Church of England, while all the vagrant restlessness of thought, and wild freedom of practice, and impatience of control, and acorn of venerable custom which this book discloses, is fresh in our mind. It may well be said that the difference between some schools of thought in the Church—etymology alone forbids our calling them sects—and other schools outside of it, is infinitely less than the difference between certain schools within the sacred limits. Except for the recognition of the ecclesiastical and hierarchical system, which has as little to do with religion and theology as a recognition of the advantages of a monarchy has to do with social morality, what separates the ultra-Broad Churchman from the Unitarian ? or rather, do not some of the former, indeed, leave the old reverential Unitarians far behind in what is miscalled breadth? Or what, again, but the question of government separates the old Evangelical from the bulk of orthodox Dissenters ? But within the Church the difference of parties—illustrated admirably by the book before us—is infinite ; we use the word advisedly. From Broad Churchman to Unitarian, from Evange- lical to Dissenter, there is but a step, but the step from such as Voysey to Maokonochie and such as he, is, at least, that from the sublime to the ridiculous ; we decline to apportion the adjectives. We are very far from regretting individuality of opinion and action ; the more men think for themselves, the more divergent they will for a time become. Already it is nearly the truth to say that every thinking man differs on some point of theological religion from every other man ; that the number of parties is only limited by the number of thinking men. But we do regret that this state of things should be coexistent with the bitterness that is felt as strongly as ever by the majority of Churchmen for those outside the pale. It ought rather to be felt that in common consistency and in defence of their own independent and almost defiant position, Churchmen should re- move the barrier as far as possible, and make their Church in a far truer sense than at present a national one. If we are to judge by the actual state of the Church as shown by our author, creeds and articles should go theoretically as well as practically ; and if consistency is to be maintained, "Christ our pattern" should be the only watchword. But the element of pain in the perusal of this book does not arise from all these signs of mutually destructive thought or action. These novel ideas, with their infinitely various methods, and marvellously original services—if not for teaching religion, at least for exciting religious feeling— are, as Dr. Davies rightly and frequently reminds us, very unmistakable signs of sincere and genuine purpose and healthy vitality in the Church, and will rouse as much life in the torpid heart of the disciple as they evidence in the awakening conscience of the teacher. The regret arises partly from the conviction that the Church has ceased to be a helper or guide in matters of opinion—for where doctors differ so widely, the patient is, perforce, compelled to accept the inevitable respon- sibility, and judge for himself—and partly from the unavoidable conclusion that the services of the Church, nominally religious, partake largely now-a-days of the character of entertainments, sensational, m3thetic, musical, intellectual. They may often, we do not doubt, excite the religious affections and rouse a thoughtful interest in grave subjects ; but for all that, it is infinitely sad to follow Dr. Davies, as he tells us of the crowds that rush about and wait at the doors to secure good seats at these imposing ceremonies, or to get near the orator on whose flowery periods or tragic thunderings they hang in breathless admiration. It requires both charity and candour to believe in the complacent" we have altered all this :" to believe that these things are better than the quiet, time- honoured, if somewhat jog-trot services, in which, if religion were not concerned, at any rate, nothing less worthy or more mere- tricious or superficial was ; and which brought peace and rest instead of feverish excitement, and did not disappoint us of the simple routine, every part of which grows dearer and more full of meaning as life multiplies its trials and sorrows.
The wisdom of crowding together into a book all the variety of opinions and practices in the Church, though great if the object be to press for a wider and more catholic boundary, is questionable in the extreme, if the effect on individual worshippers be considered. To each congregation the practices of its own particular Church, however startling at first, soon become a matter of course, and the sense of novelty gives place again to the religious sentiment ; but the setting the various places of worship aide by side for com- parison, suggests the miserable doubt that there can be but very little in any opinion or any practice when quite different ones are offered in each separate church ; and we are mistaken if this guide- book, as it were, to Anglican ceremonials, will not greatly help the thirsty votaries of novelty to seek restlessly for ever new and un- hoped-for draughts of fresh excitement.
The impression that the services of the Church in the metropolis are so largely a show, is, perhaps, heightened by the lively temperament of our clerical cicerone, and by his undisguised ad- mission that he stares about and "takes stock," as he says, "during the litany." We should not have expected to find in an author with a Welsh name so much irrepressible fun,— a temperament almost Irish or French in the airy lightness with which it mingles religion and pleasure ; rushing in—we ask Dr. Davies's pardon for the quotation—" where angels fear to tread," sailing very close to the wind, and yet not more than grazing the shallows of irreverence,—leaving, on the contrary, a very distinct conviction of his own hearty, healthy, deep religious feeling. And yet we could wish, notwithstanding the many laughs or broad smiles which we have enjoyed, that he had not so evidently been catering for the public, and under the necessity of writing lively articles for the daily press ; it is to this we trace numbers of little incongruous jokes—such as that "the gentleman who sang Pilate seemed to have a cold "- that entirely mar the effect and interrupt the narrative ; as a mis- chievous urchin breaks in upon the conversation of his seniors, who, though provoked at the impertinence, must needs laugh at the drollery. Dr. Davies is not only too jocose, but we cannot acquit him of some flippancy, and even occasion al vulgarity—as in the chapter on decorations—and much egotism, and of a flag- rantly patronising air towards the clergy whom he "does," or "lets off," or " reserves " for future use. We have too much of his reason for choosing this or avoiding that preacher as his study, though a general statement of his plan at the beginning is no doubt useful and necessary. And we don't care very much for his "candour" in telling us that he breakfasted in bed on a particular day, and other little personal facts that he need not have allowed an inquisitive public to drag from their right- ful and modest retirement in his own breast. Such re- marks as the following are in bad taste, and an unnecessary tax on the good-temper of the clergymen so freely handled in these pages :—" As it was, when I told people, with a sense of importance, that I was going into the City to hear the Archbishop preach, they all smiled, and asked me what I was going to do that for. However, I was not going to be laughed out of my arch- bishop. I had made up my mind to go, and I went ; and a very good sermon I got." We have quoted the amende, such as it is, but it will scarcely dissipate the effect of the general smile. And the thousand.personalities about blue spectacles, green wigs, low stature, high voice, &c., might have been spared altogether, even at the sacrifice of some humour and piquancy. They savour too much of playing to the gallery.
When we opened Orthodox London, we very naturally expected something much less novel than its unorthodox predecessor ; we knew we could not read of the strange and hitherto almost un- heard-of sects that had excited our wonder and gratified our curiosity in the pages of the latter book ; but if less various and fantastic, it is in some respects more interesting, as dealing with names we know, and men many of whom we admire and respect. Archbishop Tait, Bishop Jackson, Dean Stanley, and many other's have their place here. But, if we are not mistaken, Dr. Robbins, of St. Peter's, Kensington, Dr. Evans, of St. Mary-le-Straud, and Canon Liddon, at St. Paul's—all in their own pulpits—most in- terested our anther himself. At any rate, he has infused into his brief sketch of their sermons that warmth and reality which pass on again to the reader. Dr. Evana's love for the sacrament of the Lord's Supper, Dr. Robbins's realisation of a future life—more of progress than of change—and Canon Liddon's sense of deep responsibility, as a steward of God for every possession he enjoys, will remain associated vividly with their names, short and broken as are the notes of their discourses, admitting of little detail and no eloquence. It is remarkable that of these three, who have, we think, most favourably impressed our Broad-Church author, one is not a representative of any of the great religious parties, and borrows, therefore, neither adventitious eloquence nor influence from the leadership of a special view, but belongs instead to, and was chosen by Dr. Davies as, the representative or typical man of "the Church pure and simple."
The infinite variety of services which Dr. Davies sketches in this "Church of England as by law established" is something marvellous ; as he frequently tells us, "the world was all before him, where to choose," and his "only difficulty was an embarras de richesses." He takes us to early communion, to midnight mass, to watch-night, to " tenebne"—" the force of bathos," says our author, "could no farther go,"—to " compline," to golden lecture, to mission services, to a stand-up fight at the Hall of Science, to a sermon to medical students—curiously enough, delivered by a Mr. Body—to a sermon on Byron's "Cain," to an oration on "Nineteenth-Century Devils," to an appeal for the Moravian Mission, to a Second-Advent conference, to an orthodox-spirit seance, to the battle at Oxford about the "Select Preachership," besides ordination, Easter, Christmas, Lenten, and other still more usual services. The most ex- traordinary liberties are taken with the order of service, so that we must either laugh to scorn the red-letter instructions of our Prayer-books, or hug them for safety closer to our hearts. The services are cut to pieces, patched, pieced, dove-tailed, sub- stituted, shortened, postponed, discarded ; music introduced every- where, anywhere, nowhere,—fancy singing, not merely intoning, the Lord's Prayer ;—old services revived and made much of, or new ones invented,—it is difficult to say which. Of vestments, flowers, vases, candles, processions, genuflexions, banners, incense,. there is every variety of quantity and quality, from none at all to the most gorgeous displays. The same is true of interiors, from the " three-decker" and the appropriate two-story gallery and deep pen-like pews, presided over by a single clergyman in black gown and ample bands, to those with open seats and bril- liant altars and rich corona and lectern, wherein the ministrations were performed by a crowd of gorgeously robed officials. The light-hearted way in which Dr. Davies takes things as he finds- them amuses, if it somewhat pains us, and shows at least that reli- gion has not soured him. His is, we should think, the "merry heart that doeth good like a medicine." He can be cheerfully forbearing even with Father Ignatius. To begin to quote from, this massive book seems absurd, so we will content ourselves with a single passage, which illustrate's at once Dr. Davies's- amusing and' rather too familiar style, and the extraordinary epoch through which the Church of England seems now to be passing :— " St. James's, Piccadilly—surely the very centre and core of orthodoxy, and the traditional stepping-stone to a bishopric—afforded an illustra- tion Sunday after Sunday of this certainly commendable desire to adapt the Church of England to the wants of the age. A distinguished corps of preachers, whose coryphteus was none other than the Bishop of London himself, had undertaken to enlighten the afternoon congrega- tions at this church on the subject of • The World '—a theme, satire will be sure to say, which an Episcopal preacher might ' improve ' to advan- tage from his experience. One Sunday Professor Lightfoot took the difficult and delicate subject of 'The Drama,' while, hard by, under the- very shadow of St. James's, at the little slummy chapel in York Street, Mr. Stopford Brooke was regaling his auditory with a lecture on Byron's. Cain,' illustrated with readings. Though the actual services were 'extraordinary,' in the technical sense of the term, yet the selection of subjects was so remarkable as to form what the religious papers call a sign of the times.' Each is far too noteworthy to be mentioned only in passing, and would demand separate notice for itself. Decidedly the most extraordinary development of this epoch through which we are passing is that very original gentleman, Father Ignatius. I do not wish to give him undue space on my canvas, but when I saw that he was to expatiate at St. George's Hall on 'Nineteenth-Century Devils,' I said, Let Professor Lightfoot talk about "The World," or Mr. Stop- ford Brooke about "Cain "—Ignatius and his devils for me.' I was fearing devils had gone out of fashion in the nineteenth century. A large congregation or audience—I never know which to call Ignatius's people—had gathered to listen to his diabolical utterances. Ignatius assessed the numbers at a thousand, and I do not think he exaggerated them. The proscenium was arranged as for Mr. Voysey's services, a placard with the motto 'Jesus only' being affixed to the red curtain ; and the previous portion of the evening's entertainment was performed as heretofore by the old gentleman in the short surplice. I confess myself to have been grievously disappointed in the matter of the devils, for they were only the stock pulpit devils of the Social Evil, Odium Theologicnm, &c., &c. Ignatius repeats himself a good deal, and when you have heard him once or twice you know pretty well what is coming. After the devils there was a prayer-meeting, to which about two hun- dred stayed ; a regular good, full-flavoured, ranting sort of thing, with 'experiences' by the members of the congregation. One gentleman, who gave himself out as a Nonconformist, could not 'refrain his silence' in testifying to the truth of what had been said, and another was. thankful to say he had known the Lord Jesus' since the early age of five. Father Ignatius was evidently to the manner born ' of Wesleyan Methodism, for all the timo he kept firing off 'yes,' no,' and like precatory pop-guns. It was all very extraordinary, very original, perhaps very unrefined, but possibly very hearty. It would certainly have offended the sense of propriety of many a fashionable congregation. in churches high and low hard by St. George's Hall, but that would be no criterion as to the usefulness of the meeting. At all events here, and in half-a-dozen other places, the waters of Bethesda were being stirred, whether by angel or not, and whether for healing or the reverse, time alone can show."
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