Evenings from Home.

Observer, Volume 2, Issue 45, 23 July 1881, Page 503

Evenings from Home.

No. S.— At St. Sepulchre's,

The weather on Sunday evening last was the reverse of propitious for a long and lonely walk, but, hearing Herr Schmitt would officiate on the organ at St. Sepulchre's, and wishing to get a glimpse of that church before the newness wore oil', 1 determined to go there, and, regardless of the elements, set oft' soon after 6 p.m. The disagreeables which a short-sighted man has to endure whilst traversing unfamiliar roads on a dark night are far more easily imagined than described. One moment you cannon up against someone coining the opposite way, the next flounder up to the eyes in mud or water ; And if, after walking a mile or two, you have not sprained an ankle or measured your length in a ditch, why it is more through good luck than .goodmanagement. I enjoyed a fair share of these trials on the way to St. Sepulchre's last Sunday ; and when at last the new building (which is really very imposing) stood out before me I felt devoutly thankful to have got there all right. The praises which the Press and the public have bestowed on St. Sepulchre's are thoroughly well deserved. It. is really a very fine place of worship with nothing mean or incongruous about it ; and when some of the large windows have been lilled up with .stained glass, and an artistic pulpit has been been placed in the chancel, there will be literally nothing wanting to complete an effective tun I ensemble. The altar cloth is noticeably ■chaste and pretty. Generally speaking these sort of things are either gaudy or tawdry, but here the person in command evidently posses.-^ taste. It is rig] it to say, too, that the seals, without being absolutely luxurious, are comfortable, and the ventilation is as nearly perfect as possible. Despite the wet weather, the congregation was very large, completely iillin.^ the church ; indeed it was impossible to he];s wondering how_such a crowd ever got inside ih,old building. Li character the eoiigregaiid'i :u St. Sepulchre's, to a great extent, rc-ewiiiles i lie ones at \hc oilier Anglican churches, Ji ! there is less oi: the fashionable and frivolous rlernen" than at St. Paul's, there is more of the : übstantial and ultra-respectable. The faces !>e--long to men of means and position, who inkc their families there; and those young "spu.\:s" who go to church either to iark or hear th:music are (thank heaven) conspicuous by their absence. I have not the least doubt that St,. Sepulchre's will be the church of Auckland by-and-bye. The choir, though not to bo named in the same breath with St. Mark's, Remuera, is nevertheless very fair, and now that the members have got into the new building it" is quite likely they will make strenuous efforts to improve matters. Herr Schmitt did not play after all last Sunday evening. The faithless inusico went to St. Matthew's instead, and we had consequently to put up with Mr Rice. When I say "put up," I don't mean to reflect in any way on that gentleman. He plays far better than nine out of ten Auckland organists, Imt truth compels me to state the hymns were far from well selected. What a pity it is the Anglican churches don't do as at Home, viz., stick to one of the familiar evening hymns ("Abide with me," "Sun of my soul," or "Glory to thee," for the dismissal. There is so much more genuine fervour in the singing then, and even the poorest vocalists know there will be at least one hymn in which they ■can all join. The chants to which the "Magnificat" and " Nunc Dimittis " were given seemed painfully gloomy and dirge-like — in fact there was an air of solemn heavy slow ness running all through the music. The incumbent conducted the service, with the exception of the lessons, which were rather well read by .someone I don't know. Mr Dudley's style of reading the prayers is the familiar sing-song of Church of England parsondom. Why the prayer-book should be worse read than any other book is one of those things which, as Lord Dundreary says, "No fellow can understand." I suppose it is that the clergy read the same thing over and over again till at length they get to repeat it by rote j ust as a jackdaw would. The comparison is not complimentary, but really nothing riles one like hearing those truly beautiful prayers murdered. The sermon calls for no remark whatever If you w ere to ask every hundred persons present what it was about, I don't believe ninety-nine could tell you. They would probably say, " Oh, the 23rd Psalm and the Lord is my Shepherd, and that sort of thing." lam free to confess that I dozed quietly off to sleep, and, to judge by sundry very pronounced snores from "behind, "The Philistine " -was not the only culprit. The Philistine.