THE BISHOP OF LONDON.

Hauraki Plains Gazette, Volume XXXIX, Issue 5346, 2 November 1928, Page 4

THE BISHOP OF LONDON.

HIS TOUR OF THE WORLD.

ENTERTAINING BOOK WRITTEN.

Urgexl by persistent demands for “a chatty bo.ok of travels,” ,the Bishop of London has written 'his “Holiday Recollections qf a World Tour’,” and ■a, most entertaining, book it isu America,, the Far East, Australia,, and the Islands of the South Seas filled in nine month,s of 'hard missionary labour which included oyer five hun’dred spedches. Yet even so, the indefatigable Bishop found time fair recreation and amusement, and many good stories record the lighter moments of ‘his travels auto-suggestion. . That the Bishqp could fulfil hi s arduous duties without missing a single engagement was due to the fact that he! took the opportunity to exercise when he could 1 get it. He has has delightful stories to tell golf" “One of the most amusing wag; of a game at Ottawa, when Sir Robert Borden (bnie of the most charming personalities in Canada) and S'r George Perley, well kncjwn as the Commissioner .for Cana.da in London for so many years, were kind enough to play with us. Sir Robert w&S| a little deliberate in his play, but one of his very intimate friends ran up to me o ; n the tee an(d whispered to me the reason : ‘Don’t be surprised,’ he s'aid, ‘if Sir. Robert j s a little slow ; he says three times before he hits the ball. ‘Keep your head down, Borden, ’’ I. said to; Sir Robert', ‘I know what you are saying, sir, but I cap take no, notice as you don’t say it out loud,’ ” A USEFUL PRECAUTION. “This reminds me icf .a story told about me and a certain bunker at ■Machrihanish. called Hell, and for a, wonder it is a true story. I 'had, unfortunately, got into that bunker, ap’d with a, skill unexpected by the ojd caddy, got out. ‘r think, Bishop.’ he said, ‘I should take that niblick with you when, y'ou die !’ Wheithelr. the old fellow had heard it before or. not', he certainly said it to me. and tjhe story went all ro.und the golf links of Scotland. I emphasise the fact that it was one of the. few authentic, 'C.nes, because I ha.ve, been the victim of no.t a few stories, which really relate to other people.” “NOT YET. NOT YET I”

“Talking of stores told) against me, there was one which really anjnoyed me for five minut.es. but I soon got over it. It was my privilege, to take) the Archbishop of Canterbury ini my. motor to the Guildhall bapquet, when his own car was a t ’ Canterbury, but natur.ally, when I had: ®;rrive.d I was anxiqus that he (not, 1) should have the place of honour in going last in walking through the asStembled guests up to the Lord Maycy. Unfortunately t'hegq was a niejw man announcing the names on this occasion, who) did not know us from one another, a,nd' Vhen I appeared!, in a loud ane strident voice he shouted, ‘His Grace the Lord Archbishop of Canterbury !’ I hastily stepped forward and said in a huiTied whisper, ‘Not yet, not yet !’—meaning that the Archbishop was to come lajter. ' But in the paper, next day I was hor--1 rifled- to see the fcjllowiij|g account of the. incident: “ ‘The Bishop of London waa announced last night as the (Archbishop ci Canterbury, but quite undisturbed, his lordship went forward with a sweet, sipile, saying to himself, ‘Not yet, not yet!’ And when) the Archbishop reminds me of this story he adds, ‘An,d yo.u did say it, you k?iow!”’ LIKE ■ A FUNERAL. Everywhere he went the Bishop was feted and made much of, sometimes with amusing results.: “After having, addressed great meetings in Quebec, Montreal, land Toronto, I was expecting to have'a quiet time on the little fa,rm, with its ccimparativejy small .farmhouse, by the shores of Lake Erie, but I was not prepared for the excitement a visitor from the Old Cquntry. would stir in .the district. My brother had arranged a reception one afternoon, expecting a; feiw neighbours t® turn '.up, but they came in buggies and every kind! of vehicle from fifty miles, round, and one; man, ioking round at the big queue of vehicles, coming down the single road leading to. the farm, remarked, ‘Why ! It’s, like, a funeral 1— I suppose the only occasion when, a

great crowd comes together.’’ FRIENDLY BORROWERS. The popularity of the Bishop extended even to his s,ermo.ns, which were preached, not always by himself, to the) edification of many congregations :— “We had a dinner party given us by Sixty clergy, a,nd I well remepiber the speech of the man who, proposed my health: ‘At last w'e see the mail whose) sermons we have preached for so many years,’ and the recejption of his joke by sho ( uts of guilty laughter went rqund the/table. These-are'ap-parently found useful in. these scattered parishes of British Columbia; (and, I (found afterwards, in. and. New Zealand), but. I did not know till that evening that so many of the clergy preached them as their' own. The stoj-y told round the table was that the only man ‘found out’ w;as a curate, who, on being told! by hisi rector, to preach one qf the Bishop qf London’s sermons inlstead of his o*wn, electrified the congregation by beginning his sermcjn without any preface : ‘When I was Bis,hop of Stcpmey . Ji .’ and as they all knew that he' had ,not left the parish he made quite a sensation.”

A great event of the tour in tin® Nqw World was the laying of tine fqundation-stcsne of Vancouver Cathedral. '

“My friend Ormond Blyth itells a.p.' amusing story in. connection wVth this ceremony. On being introduiced to one of the American Bishops’ (the Bishop of Oregon) her said, naturally enoiugh, ‘How do you ide;, my lor d.’ “ ‘l’m not a lord,’ replied the Bishop ; ‘Vim an American citizeta/ “ ‘No doubt,’ s,aidi Blyth ; ‘but you Pre. also a Prince of tffie Holy fify; t'ho11c Church.’

“‘Well, I’m much jO|bliged to y< l U >’

answered the Bishop, to Blyth’s surprise. ‘No one’s ever told' me that before.’ “Later on in the tour, at Chicago, adds. Blyt'h, he met the) Bishop again. The Bishop approached 'him .with o|utstretched hand and greeted him-id Phis (fashion : “ ‘Delighted to, s,ee, you again, kind friend. Shake hands with a Prince of the Holy Catholic Church.’ ” THE SATURATION POINT. The visit to, Australia was the realisation of holies deferred for many years. The Bishop landed on the coast o.f Queensland :— “Here I learnt for the; first time the Australian’s addiction to te)a. Tea in the early morning, tea ;sj,t breakfast, tea at eleven, tea at lunch, tea at te-time, tea, at supper, and just another cup of tea, before, he goes to bed. No wonder I found later on the Ceylon tea merchants flourishing, for Australia alone is sufficient, if fully populated, to keep the whole world busy in providing tea for 'her. “It reminded me of the story of an American Bishop, who, after' being ta,ken tai several tea-parties in London, said that he could not drink any more ; ‘his back teeth were under water !’ ” THE GLAD EYE. One of the c.hief attractions of New Zealand was the natural hot springs which were under the charge of the Maoris :— . “Would Pohutu (the big geyser) wirk for the Bishop of London, or would it not ? —this was the crucial question on the next morning after our arrival. It had' for Royalty. Wcjuld it for me? Yiu felt your reputation was at stake. “At first it was very sulky and would do nothing. At last just when our patie;nce was nearly exhausted, up went Pohutu 100 feet, and yc ; ii felt yotir character had been estabished in the lower world.

While we were waiting for this phenomenon, Rangi, who was a very quick-witted girl, scored neatly off a remark of mine. She: had been telling us that eac|h. geyse'r. had its individual name, and that one was known as the Glad E'ye.

“ ‘And how do* you translate that into, Maori ?’ ” I asked .unthingingly. “ ‘There is no translation,’ she replied on the instant. ‘We never had the glad eye until the English came to New Zealand.’ ”