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Fifty Years; Or, Dead Leaves and Living Seeds
Fifty Years Or Dead Leaves and Living Seeds Author:Harry Jones Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: CHAPTER VI GREAT BARTON The change from a London parish, with its staff of clergy, vestry hall, large schools, trained choir, full choral service, and a host... more » of civic and church workers, to an exclusively rural one (of which I shall have to say more when I come to speak of town and country parsons) brings a fresh access of personal responsibility, not contemplated by every man who has been thus shifted. For he soon finds that he has to see individually to many duties which others had been set to discharge. In my case, however, I kept touch with London work, from which (to tell the truth) I could not bear to rend myself altogether. But this was easy, as we were close to a station whence some dozen or more trains ran daily to town, where I kept a small flat as a pied a terre. And I am bold to say that my new duties were by no means forgotten, since I soon got to know every man-jack in the place, and, looking over my Barton note-book, see it well stored with entries about church, parochial, and country business. The parish contained a population of about nine hunts? dred souls and was exceptionally favoured in having a notable admixture of gentry, farmers, and peasants. I found excellent congregations (the labourers attending church well), and a good number of communicants, our erudite and hospitable squire, Sir Charles, and his wife (who took the keenest interest in everything about the place) being devoutly among them. We were happy at Barton. But when (after a while) an unexpected inducement strongly presented itself for a return to town, its still unbroken ties, especially since my wife's health and ability had become marvellously improved, constrained me to take up London work again. Of this I must say something before I shut up my typewriter. Meanwhile, though St. ...« less