214 sportsmen Parsons in Peace and War 



for when ill and a layman went to see him, he was told to 

 " Go away ! I want my clergyman ; where is my clergyman ? " 

 meaning Mr. Benton. 



Another man in quite a different class of life, who had been 

 in great trouble, said, " I don't know what I should have done 

 without Benton." 



Boxing classes were soon going again full swing. One night 

 when giving a class of boys lessons in boxing, a strange man 

 walked in and said he would hke to have the gloves on and have 

 a turn with the parson. Mr. Benton explained he was busy 

 with the kiddies, but would with pleasure give him a turn 

 another night. 



An appointment was made and kept, but when they began 

 sparring it soon was quite apparent the stranger was growing 

 savage, so Mr. Benton said, " Look here, do you want to box or 

 to fight ? " "To fight," replied the man. " Oh, very well 

 then, I only wanted to know," said Mr. Benton, and in a very 

 short time the man was knocked out. 



While in the midst of his work at Bearsted Mr. Benton 

 received an anonymous letter threatening to expose his past, so 

 he very wisely and bravely determined to tell the Bear- 

 stedonians all about it himself. He therefore one Palm Sunday 

 chose the text for his sermon out of Isaiah vi., " I am a man of 

 unclean lips." He then continued, " I once knew a man of 

 whom this was true," etc., describing his own failings and 

 giving a faithful autobiography. Before the sermon was over 

 the preacher broke down and many of his hearers were in tears. 

 From that day all hearts went out to Mr. Benton, and the 

 Bearstedonians became greatly attached to the man whose 

 religion must be a vital, living thing, to enable him to stand up 

 and tell his congregation of all his sins and mistakes, in the 

 hope that by so doing he might be a help to others, make them 

 feel less like castaways, that there was hope for them yet. 



He was a gifted preacher and seemed most at home when 

 preaching to men, who were always attracted by his personality. 

 They felt that here was one who could sympathise with their 

 ov/n lives. 



Possessed of much musical talent and a good voice, he set 

 himself to build up the choir, and he was well rewarded. Some 

 of his choirmen were so angry that anyone should have dared 



