England -- Fiction; Imaginary wars and battles -- Fiction
The incumbent of St. Jude's, his Reverence, or Father Hinton, as Sylvia
always called him, was a tall, full-bodied man, with flashing dark eyes,
and a fine, dramatic presence. I believe he was an indefatigable worker
among the poor. I know he had a keen appreciation of the dramatic
element in his priestly calling, and in the ritual of his church, with
its rich symbolism and elaborate impressiveness. Even from my brief
glimpses of the situation, I realized that this priest (the words
clergyman and vicar were discouraged at St. Jude's) played a very
important, a vital part, in the scheme of Sylvia's religion. I think
Sylvia would have said that the personality of the man was nothing; but
she would have added that his office was much, very much to her.
She may have been right, though not entirely so, I think. But it is
certain that, in the case of Father Hinton, the dramatic personality of
the man did nothing to lessen the magnitude of his office in the minds
of such members of his flock as Sylvia. I gathered that belief in the
celibacy of the clergy was, if not an article of faith, at least a part
of piety at St. Jude's.
Before seven o'clock on Sunday morning I heard footsteps on the gravel
under my window, and, looking out, saw Sylvia, book in hand, leaving the
house. She was exquisitely dressed, the distinguishing note of her
attire being, as always in my eyes, a demure sort of richness and
picturesqueness. Never was there another saint so charming in
appearance, I thought. Her very Prayer Book, or whatever the volume
might be, had a seductive, feminine charm about its dimpled cover.
I hurried over my dressing and was out of the house by half-past seven
and on my way to St. Jude's. Breakfast was not until half-past nine, I
knew. The morning was brilliantly sunny; and life in the world, despite
its drawbacks and complexities, as seen from Fleet Street, seemed an
admirably good thing to me as I strode over a carpet of pine-needles,
and watched the slanting sun-rays turning the tree trunks to burnished
copper.
The service was barely over when I tiptoed into a seat beside the door
at St. Jude's. At this period the appurtenances of ritual in such
churches as St. Jude's--incense, candles, rich vestments, and the
like--rivalled those of Rome itself. I remember that, fresh from the
dewy morning sunshine without, these symbols rather jarred upon my
senses than otherwise, with a strong hint of artificiality and
tawdriness, the suggestion of a theatre seen by daylight. But they meant
a great deal to many good folks in Weybridge, for, despite the earliness
of the hour, there were fifty or sixty women present, besides Sylvia,
and half a dozen men.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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