We may not blame the
humble servitor for the faults and failings of his masters and for the
carelessness and depravity of his age. We cannot judge his homely ways
by the higher standard of ceremonial and worship to which we have become
accustomed. Charity shall hide from us his defects, while we continue to
admire the virtues, faithfulness and devotion to duty of the old parish
clerk, who retains a warm place in our hearts and is tenderly and
affectionately remembered by the elder generation of English
Churchpeople.
CHAPTER XXIII
CONCLUSION
The passing of the parish clerk causes many reflections. For a thousand
years he has held an important position in our churches. We have seen
him robed in his ancient dignity, a zealous and honoured official,
without whose aid the services of the Church could scarcely have been
carried on. In post-Reformation times he continued his career without
losing his rank or status, his dignity or usefulness. We have seen him
the life and mainstay of the village music, the instructor of young
clerics, the upholder of ancient customs and old-established usages. We
have regretted the decay in his education, his irreverence and
absurdities, and have amused ourselves with the stories of his quaint
ways and strange eccentricities. His unseemly conduct was the fault of
the dullness, deadness, and irreverence of the age in which he lived,
rather than of his own personal defects.
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