BISHOP SELWYN'S FUNERAL

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume XIII, Issue 142, 13 June 1878, Page 4

BISHOP SELWYN'S FUNERAL

[From "Church Bells."]

All that was earthly of the manly frame which held tbe strong, and: joobje ■on 1 of George, Augustus Selwyn was interred in the Cathedral Close, at Lichfield, on Tuesday, April 16. ; If anyone doubted that indeed a great man had fallen, the incidents of the day wonld have proved if, Iq the' quiet little city which, lies almost. under the shadow of the three spires of the cathedral, tbe shutters were closed in all the shops, and the blinds drawn in all the residences, and the, people were seen hastening to join those already ■ssetnbiec! in the Gath'edral Close. The morning trains brought the cjergy and , churchwardens from all parts., of, the, dioceee ; the wardens assembled under the lime trees on the north side of the Close, the Clergy being invited to put on their surplices at t the Palace. .rTiie numbers, however, were so grea.|that the large hall was so crowded tba^mapy clergy were fain to put on their surplices iv tbe garden, and leave their bags |and coats there under the bushes; ib spite of the gentle l reiin which fell at intervals throughout the forenoon, A lUt,le before one d'clpck the clergy, formed into procession in the Palace garden, and passed out into the Close, where the faithful laity were. already marshalled. The procession of church* wardens, numbering, several: hundred, moved into the Cathedral, 1 the unreserved parts of which were already filled. Tbe procession of four hundred and sixty eurpliced clergy reached from the gates of the Palace along the north end west sides of the Close. When the head of this procession reached the west door, where the Dean and Chapter, the Prebendaries;.. and the L choir were waiting, the clergy halted, and standing apart made a way through which the body of their beloved chicf 1 ! waa carried to the church. The coffin ! was covered with a purple pall, on j which were laid many, .wreaths of* flowers. The Rev. F. Thatcher, carried the Bishop's crosier in front of the coffin. Tbe pall -bearers were the Earl of Powis, tbe Right Hon. W, E>Giadetone, Lord Hatherton, tbe Biiibop of Hereford, Sir William MartiD, Archdeacon Allen, Bia! op Abraham, the Provost of Eton, and Sir Percival Heywood. The Bishop's son, the Rev. William Selwyn, his sister, Miss Selwyn, hia daughter-in-law, end his grand-children, Lord Selborne, Bishop Perry, Sev. W. T. Bullock, representing the S.P.G.,and many New Zealand friends, with the servants, of the household followe^nthe coffin. As this gfQJip passed between tbe line of clergy they closed in behind and followed. When the bearers of the corpse reached the west door the choir chanted the Sentences, and the procession entered tbe nave, aniLnow passed between the long -rank of churchwardens who Jwere on either side, while behind them all available space was crowded by sympathetic spectator?. The mayor of the city and his council, and the officers of the troopfli quartered in the barracks, dceopied' places' -without the- eboir screen* ; Only the cathedral clergy, and, \\>? rcral deao* of the diooese ; sod tbe |

intimate friends of the deceased prelate were within the choir ; the clergy were in the BiJe-aislee and tbe lady chapel. The coffin was placed in front of the altar. The psalms were sweetly sun? by tbe choir. Tbe leeaon was read from his etall with great feeling and clearness by the Dean. An anthem by Mendelssohn, "Be thou faithful unto death," wrb then sung, and the congregation filed our; tbe organ wailiog forth the Dead March.

There wa« happily no rain while the vaat procession wound round the Cathedral to the spot at the south* eastern corner of the Close, where the Bishop by hii own wish, was to be interred. All the people of the city seemed to have gathered here, and as the ground is elevated great numbers were able to see the. place where the body was to be laid. As they drew nigh to the grave the oboir sung a very simple hymn which is a favorite at Liohfield, beginning, —

'We are but strangers here,' Heaven is our boms/

The office at the grave side was said by the Dean, the respocßea from the clergy being specially impressive. At the close of the funeraljoffice the hymn, 'The strife is o'er, the battle done,' was sang, and the Benediction was was pronounced by Bishop Abraham. The concourse then gradually dispersed; passing by and/looking "reverently and lovingly into the grave, Hollowed out of the. soft . sandstone on which the Cathedral stands. It was very evident to any observer that many were mourning for one they loved a? well as honoured. There were .tears in the eyes of strong' men uoused to w«v p as well as on fices of womanhood which showed how the Biahop had made himself to be loved; 1 as well ac Jo be obeyed. Deep sympathy was felt for Mrs Selwyn, as with enaraQteristio counage,and aelfrcommaod she stood at tbe Con'Biatory door, Bnd'nißaf the grave, during the service of committal.

A meeting was held in the hall of the Palace ■oo.n£jfter the funeral, to consider the:quegUon;6f a memorial/ when the Dean presided; and r Mr G/Metone, Lord Selborne, and Sir 1 Pefcivol Hey,wood r spoke. The Dean's proposition waa-ih'ftt some aoaaM mortuary chapel on the south side of the choir should be restored to the Bishops memory, as he had expressed a wish to Bee this done, and Sir Gilbert Scott had prepared plans for u the purpose^; but- Sir P. •Heywood carried "the meeting with him in pleading for something much more ; than thie, and Baying' thai as over-work had hastened the' beloved Bishop's end, he thought that the division of the diocese which, he had so much at heart oughto be made his memorial. A commitfce was formed to carry out these two objects, end we trußt they will do so, with promptness and raise (an abiding remembrance of one of the noblest hearts and bravest evangelists of our age.