Untitled - Electric Scotland

498 LIFE OF ARCHBISHOP TAIT [CH. xvin.
alienated from the Church I mean the great body of the reading
public, especially young men. Circumstances have always made
me alive to this danger, and from the first I have striven to do
what I could to avert it. The vast body of thoughtful and some
what religious persons in the upper classes, who are influenced
neither by the Record nor the Guardian after all, if these are
alienated from the Church, its nationality is surely gone. I have-
always thought it was a special part of my mission to endeavour
to prevent the alienation of these, and have done what I could
all along in this direction."
And again, a few years later :-
"
20/// January 1867. Now to look back along the years.
The first part of my Episcopate was marked by my taking more
share than I have done lately in direct missionary work in the
diocese preaching continually in the east of London, often
preaching where necessary in the open air. I think this was
wise. It gave the impetus to the clergy and encouraged them to
break through the old routine rules which cramped their energy,
and to put an end to that fear, which was at one time real, that
the Church of England might die of its dignity. I helped, I
think, to let it be understood that its true dignity consisted in its
doing in every proper way, after Christ s example, Christ s work.
I may consider this period of my work as marked by the estab
lishment of the Diocesan Home Mission a great movement,
raising up what is indispensable as supplementary to the parochial
system in such a place as London. But our efforts were long
difficult to bring to pass. It was a good idea to send missionary
clergy from the bishop to all sorts of work in London which the
parochial clergy could not undertake the care of navvies, tin-
densely peopled lanes of huge parishes, etc. All that we were
able to do at first was to impress on the public mind that this
was a legitimate Church of England work. I bore my own
part in such work, preaching, for example, to the half gypsy
population of the Potteries, Kensington, in the open air almost
by moonlight, to the omnibus men in their yard at Islington by
night, to the people assembled by Covent Garden Market on a
Sunday afternoon in summer, and once to a great assemblage
in the quadrangle here at Fulham, while our church was closed.
I was not neglectful, I hope, of my other work, preaching steadily