The National tribune., 1907-11-07

illustration of this fact. A greater con-
trast between him and the traditional
18th century Bishops could not be i'm
agined. The latter were very grand
personages, indeed. They insisted upon
having palaces to live in, and when they
went out to take the air their magnifi-
cent equipages, the six prancing steeds,
the splendid carriage and the outriders
almost rivaled royalty. The position of
Bishop Of London is still, Of course, a
very important one. The Church of
England has % Bishops, two of whom,
the Archbishops of Canterbury and
York, have a special precedence assign
ed to them by law. The other 26, with
the exception Of the Bishop of the Isle
of Man, are lords Of Parliament. and
take precedence of the barons in the
House of Lords. The Bishop Of London
has precedence over all these 26 bish-
ops, and is, therefore, very powerful
parsonage. The Right Rev. A. F. VIM
nington-Ingram, present Bishop of Lon
don, came to his high position thru his
work as the head of Oxford House, a
university settlement in the slums OF
London, bringing into the high office a
great enthusiasm and love of Humanity.
In manner the Bishop of London is
genial, frank, simple, extremely demo-
cratic and most approachable, and as far
as his dress is concerned one would
never suspect his position. as he does
not even wear the bit of purple at the
throat which some American Bishops
don to distinguish them from other
clergy.
Hardly ever has a stranger coming 70
this country impressed himself so
strongly upon so many people in so
short time as Bishop Ingram. He
made a great many addresses, which
were quite free from any pretense of
oratory, but straight, simple appeals to
the religious instinct which IS in every
one. He told the rich man that he was
only a steward of his wealth, and the
poor people that their happiness lay in
their belief in the goodness of God.
Every one who met him or heard him
preach left his presence feeling that he
was, first of all, Christian man, and
only secondarily cleric. Nevertheless
he holds with great tenacity to some
of the tenets Of his Church, as was
recently shown in the position he took
with regard to the Deceased Wife's
Sister bill, when, it will be re-
membered. he openly expressed disap-
proval of the marrying CT such couples
by any of the clergy. But even a
Bishop may sometimes make a mistake
and the splendid evidences which he
has given of the true Christian spirit
which fills him certainly counts for
d Soou dedi more imam MS position on
this or that ecclesiastical question. The
Bishop of London has three ideals-an
all-embracing hospitality, loyalty to
truth and holiness Of life In his passion
for the open air and love of walking,
in his extraordinary capacity for work,
as we'll as his gift for the timely. happy
word in speechmaking, Bishop Ingram
Is said to resemble President Roosevelt.
From the time he arises in the morning
pj.h
is never idle, but is what women would
call continually on the jump" while
his faculty for utilizing the little odd
moments amounts almost to genius The
following verses apropos of this faculty,
published by Punch some 10 years ago,
before he was Bishop of London, are
even more applicable to him now:
From morn till evening, from evening
till night,
L preach and organize, lecture and
write,
And all over London my gathered legs
Was ever Bishop so busy as L?
my work'll
Be done in the trains on the Under
ground circle:
can write one complete, with a fine
peroration,
Between Charing Cross and Mansion
House Station.
For luncheon 1 swallow a sandwich Of
ham,
AS rush up the steps of Whitechapel
tram;
Or with excellent appetite will discuss
half-penny bun on Waterloo bus
No table is snowy with damask for me;
My cloth Is the apron that covers my
knee;
No man servants serve and no kitchen
maids dish up
The frugal repast of this suffering Bish-
op."