The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1873-03-15 00:00:00

THE LATE MRS. HONE, OF HALES-

OWEN.

An interesting presentation took place on Wednesday
afternoon, in the Infante' School-room, Halesowen, con-
sisting of a cheque for upwards of £4OO. to the Vener-
able Archdeacon Hone, with a view to raising. memorial
to the late lamented Mrs. Hone.

Mr. N. Hingley presided, and the following gentlemen
were also present :—The Revs. E. A. Kernpson (Claret-
don Vicarage), D. Robertson. E. C. Lewis. W. Ryder, J.
H. Thompson. F. Hone, K Hone, Bower, and
Keatch ; Messrs. Dunn, Moseley. Conlbourn, E. Moore,
Jan. . Burr, Homfray. and Trewolla.
The Chairman said it was his great pleasure, he might
say honour. to preiiile over that meeting, but he could
scarcely snprern his feelings when he reflected that there
was such a shade thrown over them by the sickness of
Mr. Moore. who ctherivise would have made the presen•
&Lion. He was very glad that they had met together to
show what they all (fit was due to the late Mrs. Hone,
who was loved and revered be all who knew her. He
would call upon the Rev. Mr 'Kempson to make the pre.
sentation.

......
The Rev. E, A Kempeon said the meeting would sym-
pathise with him in the difficulty under which he
laboured that afternoon. Up to a very short date they
had all hoped that the right man of all °there, Mr.
Moore, to make the presentation' would have been there
that day, but unfortunately he was unable to rise from
his bed, and he IMe. Kempson) hal undertaken the of-
fice in his stead. The occasion on which they were now
met together was a very important and interesting one.
Happy was the thought that when their church was be-
ing restored some memorial should be pieced in it to one
so identified with the sp ritual interests of Halesoweu as
Mrs. Hone. By degrees the matter grew little by little,
and Mr. Moore had directed him to say that if the sub•
scription list had been kept open a month or two longer,
he believed it would have been doubled. They had had
subscriptions from all parts of the country, showing the
general sympathy and interest that was taken in the mat-
ter. A letter had been received from the Earl of Dud-
ley, re4retting that he cool t not be present, an! enclos-
ing a cheque for £so.—(applause). It was now his duty
to present the cheque and bank-book to the Venerable
Areladeathe Hone, the amount being f4:56 5e 6d. If it
had been anything less it would not have been worthy of
their efforts, and he hoped their kind friend would ac-
cept it, and do what he liked with it. A memorial win-
dow had been mentioned, hut they :left the matter en-
tirely to the venerable archdeacon, because whatever he
did with it they were sure woall be right The presen-
tation was made to the honour and glory of God, and to
the memory of a faithful servant of Christ, and he begged
to hand the cheque to the archdeacon
The Rev. D. Robertson said it fell to him to ask the
venerable archdeacon to accept a gift that he was sure he
would value for its own sake, and which would remind
him of that day's proceedings, upon which they hoped
he would always look back with pleasure connected as
they were with his deepest domestic feelings and his in-
terest in that beautiful and ancient church in which he
had ministered for so many years. They hoped that the
name of Frances Hone would never be forgotten in
Hnlesowen. Her kindness to the poor and her single-
minded goodness during the thirty years she was in their
midst could never be forgotten. They hoped that future
generations would be reminded of one who did so much
good to their forefathers. They felt they shonld like
Mr. Hone to have some enduring memento of that day.
and to accept a portrait taken from a photograph ; and
they hoped that present to the venerable Archdeacon of
the likeness of one he loved would be a memento not
only of that day, but, in a small measure, of their deep
respect and affection.
The Ven. Archdeacon Hone accepted the presents with
evident emotion. He said he had at best but poor
stammering lips to speak, hut when any personal occa-
sion occurred his diflicuitiea were increased, and he
hoped they would excuse him if he now spoke in a
broken manner. In the first plase, he had been almost
overwhelmed by the thought of the dines. of Me Moore,
for amongst the numerous friends he had there was none
of earlier date than that gentleman. Turning from that
to wir it was really personal to him, he found it difficult
to speak of the great and magnificent gift that had been
prosented to him that day. If it had been one-third of
the amount, he should have felt that it was a great thing,
and for more than he could have expected. That large
contribution from so many friends was very encourag-
ing sad cheering to him, and he felt deeply thankful to
all who had contributed who were not present, and to all
who were present. He especially felt, when he looked
down the subscription list, a great pleasure and comfort,
for besides those who knew his dear wife in the parish,
he found a great number of the names of the friends of
her childhenod ads youth. Then there were also the
names of those who had become her friends there; and
perhaps he might be allowed to way that he waa'sure there
were many contributors whose names did not appear,
namely, among the poor, at whose kind testimony to the
memory of one who eared for them so much he could
not wonder. She had set an example there of devoted.
fleas and self-sacrifice whith had injured her health, and
indeed hind at last, ;been the destruction of her life.
With reference to the dispoaition of the funds, it wan
proposed to place a memorial window in the chnrch—an
East window, and to devote whatever residue was left to

the restorative of the chancel. He did not think any-
thing could possibly have been conceived more tho-
roughly in accordance with her mind, or more in accord-
ance with his own views, than the dedication to a sacrad
use of the sum which had been placed in his hands. The
church had been beautified to some extent by the re-
moval of disfigurements, but the chancel was quite out
of character with the rest of the church. With regard
to the subjects for the window, his desire was that the
window, without being obtrusive, should be suggestive
of her to whose memory it was dedicated, to those who
had known her, and which should &ripely appropriate
even to those who might not have known them. If the
size of the window allowed of it. he thought the Cruci-
fixion should be represented, and also the Ascension-
Her birthday was on St Andrew's dap, and the call of St.
Andrew might be another subject ; and, in another com-
partment, a representation or Christ blessing the children
He again begged to thank them.
The Rev. R. Hone and Mr. Oldfield briefly addressed
the assembly, and the proceedings closed: with the usual
compliment to the chairman.