112 



TRINIDAD : THEN AND NOW. 



the peculiarity of his voice attracted my attention, 

 and I was keenly on the look out for the sermon. I 

 followed it closely, not, I am ashamed to say, with any 

 decided intention to be the better for hearing it, but 

 that I might be able on the morrow both to repeat it 

 to my school-fellows and also to imitate his manner of 

 delivery. To my delight I found that I had mastered 

 both, and on our way home from church gave fre- 

 quent passages from it to the delight of my hearers, 

 and, for many years after, I was able to repeat most 

 of it ; even now — sixty years after the event — I think 

 if I made an effort I could repeat a good deal of it. 



That Archbishop Trench was in his day a very 

 celebrated divine is well known ; he is also the author 

 of many standard works.* One of his christian names 

 was peculiar — at least so it appeared to me and 

 others at the time. We don't hear the name Chena- 

 vix every day, and its peculiarity so struck us that 

 we at once abbreviated it into tc China.' ' 



On the following day Mr. Trench came with the 

 rector of the parish to visit our school. As these 

 gentlemen appeared, the master went out to meet 

 them, and as they remained outside for some time I ex- 

 claimed, "Look, boys, there goes Old China ; now for 

 his sermon. 99 I at once began, to the great enjoyment 

 of the other boys, and having proceeded for some 

 time, with my back to the door, I was soon aware, by 

 the expression on the boys' faces, that something was 

 wrong. On turning round, to my great horror, I saw 

 the master, the rector and Mr. Trench standing in the 



* And of the poem " Harmosan," 



