THE tfEW RECTOR 33 



step out of the singing-pew, hymn-book in hand, while 

 still bringing out the last note, his mouth open so wide 

 and square that, as my father used to say, you could 

 throw a brick into it. I can see him now as he appeared 

 on those occasions, for he was within a yard or two of our 

 pew. 



Mr Henson died, and was succeeded, in 1859, ^Y tne ^ ev - 

 William Towler Kingsley, B.D., one of the most remarkable 

 men of the past century, and he was over one hundred 

 and one years of age when he died, on 3rd July 1916. 



Kilvington is a College living and Mr Kingsley was 

 a Fellow of Sydney Sussex College, Cambridge. He was 

 like a fish out of water at first in Kilvington, but he did 

 away with the barrel organ forthwith and Tommy Ware 

 had to sing as best he could without it. The good man 

 knew the tunes of the old organ, but he was never quite 

 sure of the verse metre that would fit them, and often I 

 have heard him start a tune that overlapped, so to 

 speak. Then he would stop and say : " Noa, that wean't 

 do. We mun hev a fresh go ! " 



Another tune from the limited repertory would then 

 be tried, probably with success. 



In due course, the village blacksmith, Bob Gowland, 

 a burly man who played the clarionet, was admitted to the 

 singing-pew to give them a lead, and after the reading of 

 the first line he would sound the keynote, and then 

 accompany them with elaborate flourishes, which we used 

 to hear him practising outside his cottage on Saturday 

 nights. Like the other inhabitants, he was given to 

 drink, but that was thought nothing to his discredit in 

 those days. 



I have stated above that Mr Kingsley was a remarkable 

 man, and so he was. Had he not been very deaf, there 

 was no limit to what he might have done. It has been 

 written of him by one who knew him well : " He was of 

 the sort that does things ; not of the talking crew. He 

 was a true artist and did nothing that he did not do well. 

 His practical efficiency was amazing. He was a fisherman 



