humility — to the most uneducated of his audience ; he
seemed always to count himself one of the sinners,
one of the penitents, one even of the impenitent and
careless whom he was addressing, and the very quiet-
ness, the almost tearful monotony of his delivery
became extremely moving when you recollected how
learned, how able, how moved in his own heart, and
how earnest was the preacher." ^ " He spoke of good
angels," says Miss Wilbraham, " their loving ministry
and their presence in church, briefly but in words so
simple and real that it seemed as if the rustling of their
wings were close around." ^

This simplicity is very striking in contrast with the
academical sermons, and it is more marked in his later
style : it was indeed the result of a very deliberate
effort on his part. "They said to me," he told Dr.
Pusey, "that I was preaching over the people's heads,
and so I changed my style." ^

For our purpose it will be enough to take one volume
of his sermons, the course on the Baptismal Office, de-
livered after this change in the years 1849-50, to
serve as a specimen of this village preaching. " Affec-
tionate simplicity" is everywhere — yes, very affectionate,
but also very stern ; very winning in charm, but very
clear in warning. Let us analyze the charm of them
a little more exactly. First there is the clear de-
termination to be understood. He reverences the
intellect of his simple country folk; he treats it as
worth while to spend trouble in making things clear to

1 Sir J. Coleridge : Life^ p. 439.
2 Mxmngs on the Christian Year^ p. ex.
