34 



MINISTRY AT STAND, 



[Chap. III. 



" It is very pleasant to see Mr. Grundy, one of the chief men 

 of the town, a magistrate, with them. He made a most 

 touching speech, and it was delightful to see how fatherly he 

 was amongst them. Not only did they all call each other 

 John, Thomas, etc., but Mr. Grundy did so." He was glad 

 to find, in calling round at Stand, that though the people 

 seemed conservative about changes, they had a salutary horror 

 of the " Old Unitarian coldness." 



Although he had preached nearly seventy times before his 

 settlement, he had only eleven sermons, and he had stipulated 

 that he should preach those of others when he wished. On 

 his second Sunday he preached one of his brother's ; but he 

 had been interrupted in his preparation of it : " I did not 

 read the writing well, and got flurried, bungled, blushed ; 

 altogether did my work very badly — and it was thought so." 

 He entered in his journal, " This is a thorn in the flesh, to 

 teach me humility, diligence, and prayer." It was some time 

 before he could deliver the sermons of others quite readily. 

 On the whole, he found it best, after a distinct announcement 

 of his practice, not to mention the author in each case. He 

 kept in the vestry a record of the sermons on each Sunday, 

 entering when a stranger preached, or the writer of the sermon 

 he employed; but he did not invite inspection of it, as he 

 wished his hearers to join in the prayers and listen to the 

 discourse without thinking who wrote them. Sometimes, 

 however, he was glad from the special character of the sermon 

 to say whose it was. 



It was arranged that his friend Travers Madge,* who was 

 then a student at Manchester, should come on Saturday 

 evenings and spend the Sundays with him. "You cannot 

 think what a delight and benefit his visits are. You must 

 remember in your letters that he comes home to me on 

 Saturdays. The ties of common work are quite as strong as 

 blood." On October 3 he enters in his journal respecting 

 the Lord's Supper, " Felt comfortable and delighted in having 



a friend, T. M ., for the first time of administering the Lord's 



* See "Travers Madge: A Memoir. By Brooke Herford, 1867." pp. 18, 19. 



