London at the End of the Century:A Book of Gossip
a Beckett, Arthur William
1900
LONDON CHURCHGOERS.
In spite of the exceptions to whom I have referred the bulk of Londoners are churchgoers. In the country for years it has been considered the thing to do to go to the family pew, as an example to the simple villagers. Besides, the Rector would feel naturally annoyed if the Squire were absent. The meetings at the Sessions, the dinner-table, and even, perhaps, the covertside, would be slightly embarrassing if the Hall neglected the Pulpit's sermons. And what has been long the rule in the country has become the custom in town. There are very few churches west of the site of that have not crowded congregations. Many of the temples of the Establishment have as many services as the Catholic churches and chapels, and at each service (especially at the Catholic) in the morning there is a new set of worshippers. From statistics it would seem that the influence of | |
25 | the Church is holding its own. Every day amongst the intellectual there is a call. Without becoming serious people are more and more in earnest. It was no mean compliment to a land where a church is by law established that a Pope should testify to the national righteousness, and yet so it has been. There is a spirit of conciliation abroad, in spite of differences of opinion upon such weighty matters as the burning of incense and the use of daylight candles. |
