("Saying to the Head Master" was the old phrase, then
lapsing out of date.) We used to think that he found a peculiar interest
in testing the acquirements of such boys as he knew personally, and
of those whose parents were his friends; so that on these occasions
it was a doubtful privilege to "know him," as the phrase is, "at
home." Till one reached the Sixth Form these social and official
encounters with Butler were one's only opportunities of meeting
him at close quarters; but every Sunday evening we heard him preach
in the Chapel, and the cumulative effect of his sermons was, at
least in many cases, great. They were always written in beautifully
clear and fluent English, and were often decorated with a fine
quotation in prose or verse. In substance they were extraordinarily
simple, though not childish. For example, he often preached on
such practical topics as Gambling, National Education; and the
Housing of the Poor, as well as on themes more obviously and directly
religious. He was at his best in commemorating a boy who had died
in the School, when his genuine sympathy with sorrow made itself
unmistakably felt. But whatever was the subject, whether public or
domestic, he always treated it in the same simply Christian spirit.
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