BELOVED OF ALL.

Press, Volume LXIII, Issue 19161, 18 November 1927, Page 12

BELOVED OF ALL.

—» — FAREWELL TO DEAN CARRINGTON. THE DIOCESE PAYS TRIBUTE. "Parting is such sweet sorrow," said Bishop West-Watson last night at the Jellicoe Hall, when bidding farewell to Dean Carrington. This was perhaps the feeling predominant in the mindS of the large gathering ot clergy and laity who assembled to pay a final and heart-felt tribute to the Dean and Mrs Carrington. His Lordship Bishop West-Watson presided, and on behalf of the Diocese presented the Dean with a wallet containing £250 Ga. "I am wondering who that wise man was who said, 'Parting is such sweet sorrow,' for 1 am sure you will agree that there is little of sweetness in our parting with Dean and Mrs Carrington," said the Bishop. Personally, lie had known the Dean only a comparatively short time, but his friendship and help had been unfailing. He could only imagine the feelings of those who had been intimate with the Dean, for many years. But there came a time when ties had to be broken, and as much as they would like Dean and Mrs Carrington to stay with them, they knew they were doing the right thing in going back Horn. Monuments, But the Dean left monuments behind him, some of them visible, such as the great wing in College House—promise of greater things—and many beauties in the Cathedral. But the greatest memorial of all was the men whom he had trained and helped in College House- ' This was a memorial more durable than brass. "He touched nothing which he did not adorn," continued his Lordship. All turned to him for guidance, and there was scarcely a subject upon which he could not throw light. Though he was going to England, the speaker was sure that he would not be lost to the diocese, but would continue to strengthen the link which must necessarily exist between the Church in England and that in New Zealand. Work for the Cathedral. Mr George Harper, representing the Cathedral Chapter and'laymen, spoke of the valuable work done by Dean Carrington in the Cathedral. During his period as Dean, from 1913-1927, he had done many things to make the Cathedral appreciated by the whole community. He was a man of great taste and culture, and they knew the Cathedral to be in good hands. The tasteful memorial in the transept to those who fell in the Great War was the idea of Dean Carrington, aiid was largely wrought by his own hands. "No one loved the Cathedral more than the Dean," soneluded Mr Harper. The Archbishop's Tribute. "I've often wondered at what an extraordinary variety of faces there are in the world-Hmly two eyes, a nose, and a mouth, yet they combine an extraordinary variety," began his Grace Archbishop Julius, "and I'm sure there is no other like that of Dean Carrington. He was trained as en engineer, but he couldn't stick to it because he is an artist, and no engineer can ever be an artist—at least not since the days when ferro-concrete came . in." Dean Carrington's ideal of success, said the speaker, was not popularity, noise, and the like, but the winning of souls for Christ. He had a great power as a spiritual teacher, and as suih memory of him would never cease. "And bo we lose our Dean," continued the Archbishop, "I don't believe he has got a plan in his head, but wherever he goes he will be a centre of light and grace. As for Mrs Carrington, everybody loves her, and I am sure she deserves it. lam only looking on now, but I look on with kindly interest, and I see my friend and counsellor , of so many years pass on." The Dean Replies. "Of late I have been getting deaf, and I only wish to-night I had been deafer, for to-night I cannot help but hear some of the nice things you have said about me," said Dean Carrington, "and they are very embarrassing. I remember when first I was asked to come to New Zealand to take charge of College House. I got a letter at breakfast inviting me to come, and handed it to my wife, who said, 'Let's go.' That settled it. I was told I should never be able to keep those colonial larrikins in order, but I found no difficulty with-them so long as you took them the right way. And I think I have always kept the most amiable relations with the College students. I found there some of the finest types aud strongest characters I have ever met. When I remember my old friends, I class myself as one of the old inhabitants. Sometimes I think lam one of the Canterbury Pilgrims, and before I die I believe I shall remember coming out in the first four-ships. "My career has been determined by circumstances, of which I have had not the least knowledge," continued the Dean. " All my life I have been given jobs of which I know nothing, and I do not think I have found my vocation yet. When I get home to England I am sure I will be switched on to some new thing—running a home for cats or something. "I have found that the, only thing which is worth having is the hearts of p<nple you love, and I don't believe we ever lose those who have won themselves to our hearts. We have all been associated in doing the noblest of works, the upholding of the Church of our fathers." Musical items were given by the Cathedral choristers.