Extracts from family-letters:—
“Patterdale, September 14th, 1871.
“I have received two very earnest invitations to Edinburgh, and one to Australia. I do not suppose that I shall accept either of them, certainly not the latter until my return; but if I accept the former it will delay my return a week. But I do not think it likely.
“Our journey thus far has been most prosperous. We have had beautiful weather, and a very happy party: Keswick and Derwentwater on Tuesday, Helvellyn and Ambleside yesterday, and Bowness and Patterdale to-day. As usual we have had several affectionate greetings, amongst others one from Sir — —, whom we met at Keswick. We were both very friendly, but it was impossible not to feel that we were both under constraint from the sense of great divergence. We both scrupulously avoided any points of difference, but both showed clearly that there were too many rocks on which we might split at any moment. And yet I feel reproved by the zeal he had shown in his endeavours to do good to his guide. I am sure there are many lessons which we may learn from those who widely differ from us, and the more we value the blessed truths which God has made known to us, the more humbled we ought to feel at the want of fervour with which we endeavour to maintain them.
“To-morrow we hope to reach Carlisle, and I hope I may be prospered there. But I find it very difficult to work up much zeal about the Jews. What I do feel is entirely the result of Scriptural conviction, and not of any personal interest. The Jew in Scripture is certainly a much more interesting character than the Jew in Petticoat Lane. But we profess to act on Scriptural principles, and therefore ought to persevere, even though it be in the dark.”
“Cromer, September 28th, 1871.
“I am greatly pleased by your letter of this morning. It was indeed a most profitable sermon of Mr. Edmonstone’s, and I have felt the powerful influence on my own mind of it and the life of Agnes Jones. I trust, therefore, that my Cromer visit has been thus far really for good, and I feel, myself, a fresh stimulus for the sacred work to which the Lord has called us.”
“Ely, October 7th, 1871.
“I have been thinking of you all day in your return to the dear old home, and have almost felt disposed to envy you, for I am satisfied with holiday-making and begin to long for home. However, I have consented to return to Cromer from Nottingham, to pay a visit of a few days to your Uncle Richard, so that I expect to enjoy the hospitality of three of my brothers, which is very satisfactory to me. Nothing could have exceeded the kindness of all parties, and I am not without a hope that there has been some blessing on my ministry. But I cannot say it has been a time of rest, and I feel the want of repose more than I do at home. I suppose this is why I write so slowly, so badly, and with such difficulty that I am sure I never should do for Secretary to the C.M.S. [157]: the first long letter would knock me up for the day.”
“Nottingham, October 10th, 1871.
“I have been venturing on a speech this morning in which I think the Lord prospered me. I desired to speak for Him, and I was certainly most kindly received.” [158a]
“Cromer, October 16th, 1871.
“You need not be at all frightened about the Dean, for it is on Wednesday the 25th that he comes to us. The sermon, etc., is on the 26th, and on that day we ought to have an S.P.G. luncheon. I think it would be well to ask the Committee soon. The list may be found in the S.P.G. report, under the head ‘Local’ on the top shelf.
“I feel doubly interested in the thought of my return, and trust it may be with a greater realisation of our completeness in Christ Jesus and of the blessedness of working not merely for Him but in Him. I felt this most remarkably at Nottingham, and I believe it resulted in power, at all events on one occasion referred to in the paper which I have asked — to send to you.
“The Congress was very interesting, but too exciting. The week was one of great exhaustion, though I am thankful I was there, and I believe God gave power to those who were endeavouring to be witnesses for the truth. I cannot doubt but on the whole they did well and carried the people with them. With only one exception, they spoke with wisdom and power, like men who were being prayed for, as indeed we all were by many in the Hall. But the close attention, the hot room, the many friends, and the anxiety as to the issue took a great deal out of me, so that I am to-day really enjoying a quiet morning over my letters.
“Amongst others I saw a great deal of the Bishop of Sydney, and found him very strong about the Australian idea. [158b] He says it is the very thing that he has long desired for his own diocese. But I do not yet see the call of God sufficiently clearly to have my judgment really inclined to it. If the Lord makes His way plain, I hope to be ready to go, but God forbid that I should go one step without His orders.”
From the Archbishop of Canterbury:—
“Addington Park, Croydon, September 24th, 1868.
“To Rev. Ed. Hoare.
“Dear Mr. Hoare,—It will give me very great pleasure if you will accept the office of Honorary Canon of Canterbury, to which your standing in the diocese and the services which you have rendered to the Church by your zeal and ability in the discharge of your ministerial functions amply entitle you.
“Believe me, dear Mr. Hoare,
“Very sincerely yours,
“C. T. Cantuar.”
The offer of an Honorary Canonry in Canterbury Cathedral, made in 1868 by Archbishop Longley, was the only dignity which he ever received; why this should have been the case is a question that has often been asked, and to which no satisfactory answer has ever been made. Canon Hoare would have made an admirable Bishop: he was a born ruler and administrator; his intellectual powers and wide sympathies (for which those who knew him superficially gave him no credit), together with his power of inspiring enthusiasm in all his subordinates, would have been good qualities for that high position, and not the least advantages which he possessed were a fine presence and commanding personality.
But he neither sought nor wished for promotion, and remained to the last what he loved to be, a pastor in the midst of a devoted flock, with more opportunities of preaching the Gospel of Christ at home and throughout England than fell to the lot of most men, and, as one remarked to him when the subject happened to be referred to in a newspaper, “Man has not promoted you, but God has, by permitting you to be the means of bringing blessing to more souls than any one whom I know.” Looking at the subject in that aspect, it is impossible to deny that his exceptional talents were specially suited to the sphere which he adorned, and thus we may believe that God overruled the apparent neglect of men for the greater advancement of His truth.