Canon Hoare never published any large theological work, but whenever any event “was in the air,” or some religious point was brought into special prominence, a small book on the subject was sure to appear, written with his masterful clearness and power, that just served the needed purpose and put into men’s hands the teaching which they sought.

A few of the best-known of these little books are the following: upon the Prayer-Book—“Baptism,” “Doctrine of the Lord’s Supper,” “Absolution and Confession,” “Our Protestant Church,” “Morning and Evening Prayer,” “Articles of the Church of England”; upon the Bible—“Witnesses to Truth,” “Inspiration”; upon Prophecy—“Rome, Turkey, and Jerusalem,” “Palestine, Egypt, and Assyria,” “Egypt and the Prophecies”; upon the Religious Life—“Redemption,” “Sanctification,” “Conformity to the World”; and many others, some of which have had a great circulation.

His papers read at Diocesan Conferences and before large gatherings of clergy at Islington and all over England were models of clear thought and well-expressed ideas; if these could be collected together they would form a valuable handbook upon the most important spiritual and practical subjects.

But although Canon Hoare was widely known by his small books and papers, and by the stream of visitors that attended Trinity Church during their sojourn at Tunbridge Wells, it was as a regular Congress speaker that he was familiar to members of the Church of England at large. His writings were read by the same sort of people who came to hear him preach, people for the most part with religious views like his own; but at Church Congresses all shades of opinion are represented, and although at earlier gatherings of this sort violent partisans tried to put down speakers of the Evangelical party by “exhibiting,” as a witty Dean expressed it, “symptoms of the foot and mouth disease!” yet better feelings gained the day, and soon the calm and fearless speeches of many whose names will readily occur to the reader caused them to receive a welcome even from opponents. Ill-advised attempts were made at first by members of their own party to hinder Evangelical men from attending the Congress, but wiser counsels prevailed, and Canon Hoare was one of those who felt that, unless he and other leaders were willing and able to stand up in defence of their principles on the Congress platform, the days of Evangelical truth were numbered. The sagacity of this view soon became apparent, and it has led to a kindlier feeling between men holding different theological opinions, as well as to a diffusion in unexpected quarters of teaching such as that which men like Canon Hoare were well qualified to give.

The Vicar of Holy Trinity was asked on various occasions to speak at the Devotional Meeting that always closes the Congress week, and in reference to this the present Dean of Norwich once said to the writer, “I always call Canon Hoare the Grand Amen.”

Extracts from family-letters:—

“Fareham, October 12th, 1874.

“At Brighton I was most kindly and comfortably entertained, but I cannot say I enjoyed the Congress. There was an immense attendance, and such a crowd that it was almost more than I could bear. The result was that I heard but a portion of what was said, and with that portion I must confess I was ill satisfied. The Evangelical clergy had to sit hour after hour listening to all kinds of things without the opportunity of saying a word. I was the only one called up on the subject of Church services, though a great number had sent in their cards, and I should think nearly ten Ritualists and High Churchmen were called up one after another. I did not in the least satisfy myself, though, as I had trusted it in the Lord’s hands, I am satisfied that that which I said He gave me, and there I leave it. But the result was very painful, for as the audience did not know of all the cards, it appeared as if I was the only speaker on our side and my poor words the best that could be produced. I am not surprised at those who prefer to go quietly on their way and do the Lord’s work at home. But are we not to fight manfully? Yet how are we to do it if our hands are tied as they were there?”

“Tunbridge Wells, August 6th, 1875.

“I hope you may have a happy Sunday. I propose to preach on the Song of the Redeemed in Rev. v. 9, as the winding-up of my course of sermons on Redemption. My subject is ‘What do they think of it in Heaven?’ and I fear there is a great contrast between their thoughts and ours. If it fills the praises of those who know most about it, surely it ought to fill the hearts of us who are saved through its power!”

“Tunbridge Wells, May 26th, 1876.

“I fear I shall not be home to welcome you on Thursday, but hope to arrive that evening if God prospers me on my long journey to Southport and back. I am sure my paper ought to be very good, if I go such a long way to deliver it! I am thankful to say it is completed, and as good as I know how to make it; so I hope the Lord will accept it and make it useful. [201] I certainly have been producing a great deal lately, but by no means with uniform success. The Lord has not let me feel that I have the power in my own hand, and has sometimes thoroughly humbled me, more especially in my speech for the Jews, which was a failure. But I was encouraged in my sermon about them which I preached last Sunday and which is being printed.”

“Ottery St. Mary, October 7th, 1876.

“I am writing this letter, though I am not sure that I shall not be with you as soon as it is. But I know you will be glad to hear from me if I can reach London in time for the post.

“I rejoice to think the Congress [202] is over, and am thankful also that I went to it. I believe that the paper was accepted of the Lord. It provoked no controversy, and was most kindly spoken of next day by one of the Ritualistic speakers: I had great reason therefore to be thankful. Some of our people did admirably, manifestly helped of the Lord, and I do not think the truth suffered. But we sadly wanted more Evangelicals; the Ritualists put on a number of young men, many of them foolish fellows and poor speakers, but they got more people on their legs than we did.

“Now for a race between my letter and myself; I wonder which will win!”

(Mission), “Manchester, January 30th, 1877.

“You will be thankful to hear that the Lord is prospering us. We have had some desperate weather, and the congregations have of course been much less than they would have been. But you know I am not dependent on numbers, and have sometimes found the richest of blessings amidst a little flock on a stormy night. I hope we had such an one last night. It is almost impossible that the weather could have been rougher, but there was a capital congregation, considering, and profound attention. I believe also that there are many seriously impressed and others already greatly helped in their faith.”

“York, May 29th, 1877.

“I am delighted to hear a good report of you all, and rejoice to think how happy you must be now that the work is finished and the scaffold down. Notwithstanding all hindrances, it is an easier matter to beautify the outside than to reform that which is within. We cannot set the heart right with Portland cement!

“I cannot say much about myself. I hope the Lord may have given His blessing, but I have not had the sense of power as in former days: possibly I have not sought it so much from the Lord; possibly people expect more from me, and are disappointed at what they hear.

“It is curious to find how ‘Rome, Turkey, and Jerusalem’ is read and thought about. I hear of it in all directions, and people express a great interest in it.

“The owner of the enclosed letter was also interested about ‘Inspiration,’ as he remembered the address when originally given, and I promised to send him a copy.”

“Caterham, April 14th, 1878.

“I hope you are enjoying a peaceful Sunday; but I cannot bear to be away from you, for I do not feel very happy about you. I have felt afraid that I was not sufficiently grateful for all your kind care of me, and that I sometimes seemed cross when I ought to have been full of gratitude! But I did not feel poorly enough to justify all the care that was taken of me. I hope I may be all right by the time I come home, and that if I am not I may at all events be in a more thankful and submissive spirit. I think it is a very possible thing that a man living with a party of young people does not always realise what they are feeling, and so does not show that tender sympathy which is the beautiful peculiarity of a mother’s love. But I have often prayed that I may be a mother as well as a father to you all, and, I trust, may be enabled to meet your hearts’ desires more fully than I have ever done yet.

“But, oh! what a wonderful mercy it is that in the recollection of all our defects and failings we may fall back on the finished Atonement! ‘The Lord hath laid on Him the iniquity of us all.’ There is a resting-place for sons, for daughters, and, blessed be God, for fathers.”

“King’s Lynn, October 9th, 1878.

“I hope that you have been interested about the Congress, and have read carefully Canon Tristram’s most interesting speech in the Times of Saturday. It is one of the most remarkable addresses I ever met with, and I rejoice to find how well it is reported in the secular papers. Do read it together, if you have not done so already.

“I do not know what to say of my own speech, and am puzzled by the way in which it was received. My own friends were most cordial, but what astonished me most was that — — and — [204a] came after the meeting and thanked me for it. [204b] What it was for which they felt grateful I cannot imagine. I delight to hope that God may have helped them to see His Gospel more plainly than before; but He knows, and He only.”

In the year 1879 there came an earnest request for a Mission Tour in some of the dioceses in India, similar to the one alluded to on a previous page as emanating from Australia. He was anxious to accept the invitation, but his medical adviser in London, Sir William Jenner, absolutely forbade the undertaking, and it had to be given up.

The description of the death of an old and valued servant is very characteristic. The writer well remembers the calm that pervaded the household next morning, and the mingled sorrow at the loss of a faithful friend and yet of thanksgiving at the thought of one of their household being called to the Palace of the King.

“Tunbridge Wells, March 8th, 1880.

“I hope you all enjoyed a happy and peaceful Sunday yesterday, as we did at home, notwithstanding the solemn, but peaceful, event with which ours concluded. F— had passed a bad night and felt poorly in the morning, but she came to prayers as usual. She did not go to church, and H— went to Dr. Marsack for some medicine. During the day she lay on her bed a good deal; but when we went to evening church she was in the kitchen with S—, sitting in her chair, reading her Bible. S— went into the pantry for two or three minutes, and when she returned there was our faithful friend with not a muscle moved or a feature changed, but the spirit gone. Her Bible was open at the text on which I had been preaching in the morning (2 Cor. v. 1, 6); and so, gently and without the slightest struggle, the knowledge by faith was exchanged for that by sight and she entered into the visible presence of her Lord. . . .“When I came home from Southborough I found her laid out in the little room, looking just the same as usual, with a perfectly peaceful, tranquil appearance, with no more disturbance of expression than a little child shows in its sleep.

“I need not tell you what a sense of solemnity there was last night throughout the house. We have all deeply felt it, but I must say that thankfulness prevails, for all who knew her had felt anxious for her future. How graciously does God deal with His children! and how needless are our anxieties!”

In the Ladies’ Bible Class, when going through Acts xvi., he had urged upon his people the duty of ever looking out for opportunities of speaking for God. “Lydia” was the case in point, and the apostle’s readiness to make a personal appeal was shown to be God’s plan for this woman, who, residing in the very place which St. Paul was not allowed to visit, was yet brought all the way to Philippi to meet God’s messenger there. This will explain some passages in the following letter to his daughters:—

“Scarborough, July 12th, 1880.

“I have been thinking of you unceasingly ever since I left home, and am more and more amazed at my ever having done so. How I could bring myself to it I cannot imagine; but I hope it is for the Lord’s service.

“I have been looking out for ‘Lydia’ all the way, but not very successfully. When I got into the train at Tunbridge Wells there was a nice-looking lady who fixed her eyes on me so steadfastly, as if wishing to speak to me; so I soon opened the way, but I found the poor thing was out of her mind, being taken to London.

“In the next train there was a lady with her servant, very tearful, so as she sat opposite me I took the opportunity of a civil word about the window, but as soon as she could she got away to the other side of the carriage, so there was no opening there. But I am not sure that ‘Lydia’ may not be in this house, for there is a lady staying here, and both she and my hostess are eager for conversation on the great truths of the Gospel.

“I had a pleasant, quiet Sunday. The place is perfectly charming; the house and garden delightful, with the most lovely view of the sea and the opposite hills, so that I do not know how to tear myself away from my bedroom window.

“The church is very nice, but sadly small. . . . There were good congregations, but not a crowd. I preached in the evening, and I certainly could not have desired a better congregation. I hope the Lord was with us, bestowing His blessing.

“I heard in the morning a very good, practical sermon on the causes of restraint in prayer:

“Allowed sin,
“Unbelief,
“Worldliness,
“Business,
“Temper.

“It was all true and profitable, but I should have been more profited if he had helped us to overcome them.”

“Newcastle-on-Tyne, October 4th, 1881.

“As for the Congress, I cannot say I like the thought of it, though I hope the Lord will make use of it and of me in it. I have been thinking of my text last Sunday, ‘Shall your brethren go to war, and shall ye sit here?’ so I am rejoiced to act with my brethren, and I trust the Lord may unite us in His service, and give us not only meekness of wisdom but the wisdom of meekness.”

“Cromer, October 10th, 1881.

“I am rejoiced to hear of your happy visit to that dear home at Canterbury. I cannot say with what thankfulness I think on all the grace which our God and Saviour has shown there, and how delighted I am that you all should have the unspeakable joy of being employed as the Lord’s agents for conveying the glad tidings of life to precious souls.

“I return you Mr. Stock’s letter, as you wish it, though I am more inclined to put it in the fire, for it frightens me. But I believe the Lord was with me on the occasion to which he refers, and there was one very remarkable circumstance about it which he did not know.

“Dr. Bardsley and I had both sent in our cards, and I saw that he was eager to speak. About twenty minutes before the close of the meeting the Bishop turned to me and said that he could just manage to find a place for me. So I told him he had better call Bardsley instead, which he did. So B. spoke, and some other man after him, when the Bishop turned round again and said, ‘I think after all I can find time for you.’ All this made me the last speaker of the day. Off I went, and I believe before the Lord; He seemed to give me the ears and the good-will of the people at the very first sentence. I was enabled to say exactly what I wished, till at length, speaking of toleration, I said, ‘But if men introduce a ritual intended to symbolise Rome—’ when two or three persons cried out ‘No, no.’ But their objection only roused the whole multitude to what seemed like an almost unanimous cheer, which went on so long that at length the bell rang without my being able to finish my sentence, and there the discussion ended. So I lifted up my heart to the Lord and thanked Him for His mercy.

“I sent in my card next day on ‘Reformation Principles,’ but the Bishop of Carlisle, who was chairman, did not call me up.

“On Friday I read my paper. [209] Of course there was no excitement about that, but quite as much cause for thanksgiving, for several persons, amongst them Arch-deacon —, came to me in the evening and thanked me for it as having been a real help to them in their own souls. So I am come away with a thankful heart and a longing desire to spend what time remains as a firm and faithful witness for truth.”

Few speeches at a congress can have aroused more excitement than Canon Hoare’s famous impromptu address at Derby in 1882, and none probably have been so far-reaching in their effect. The enthusiasm aroused in the vast audience was electrical; cheers and shouts of applause interrupted the speaker at every sentence.

The same night it was being sold about the streets of Derby as a separate publication, next day it was in all the papers word for word, and during the twelve months that followed letters came in large numbers from nearly every part of the world, thanking him for his manly and vigorous words, in which he did not merely “hold the fort,” but carried the war into the camp of those who wished to bring our Church back into the dominion of Rome.

Commenting upon it, the Guardian of that date said: “No one, whether agreeing with Canon Hoare or not, could fail to be struck with admiration at the courage and skill with which he grappled his antagonist.”

The speaker who followed allowed himself to utter words which in calmer moments he would never have said; it is hardly possible that one who rose, as he expressed it, “to pour oil upon the troubled waters,” could have otherwise stated that Canon Hoare’s friends would hold up as a very “mark of the beast such a frequent use of the Holy Communion” as Mr. Wood and his friends advocated; and this said to one who always had weekly Communion in his church, and who, when a young man at Richmond, had been the first in his diocese to institute an early celebration!

“Cromer, October 10th, 1882.
(After Church Congress at Derby.)

“I enclose you four letters received by this morning’s post, and now, as that speech to which they refer has manifestly made a great impression, I wish to put on record the Lord’s dealings with me in the matter, for they have tended very greatly to the confirmation of my faith, and, I hope, given me a lift for the remainder of my life.

“When I was first asked to take part at the Congress the Secretary asked me to choose a subject from a list sent to me. I marked three, any one of which I should be prepared to undertake, one being the Liturgy, to which my attention had been directed at the Bible class and preparation for my Lent sermons. Thus God was preparing me then.

“When the list came out I was disappointed that I had a speech and not a paper, and felt the responsibility of my position, as I was the only speaker on the list, and there were four papers to precede me, by Hope, Bickersteth, Wood, and Venables.

“You all know what difficulty I felt in preparation. I did all I could to be prepared, and continually committed it to God, but I felt doubtful all the way through whether all my preparation would be of any value.

“So we went on till the day came. I awoke very early under the sense that I had important work before me, and as I lay still in the dark I was able to cast the whole matter into the hands of the Lord. After breakfast I went to preside at the prayer-meeting, and spoke to them of the Lord’s love for the Church, in Ephesians v. The room was very full, and when we knelt down to pray I was solemnised more than I can tell you by all who prayed praying for me especially: I was the one subject of their prayers.

“I never can forget the prayer of one of them that the Lord would make me His mouthpiece and put His thoughts into my mind. This was very delightful to me, but it made me think something was coming; so I left the morning meeting and went home for a quiet hour before luncheon. I then polished up my weapons, finished off my opening and conclusion, and spread it all out before the Lord, in happy remembrance of the good man’s prayer.

“At length the meeting began. Hope was very bad, but did not give much that I could lay hold on. But when Wood began he at once pronounced our Communion Service to be a meagre deposit of the ‘Use of Sarum,’ and said he did not want to suggest the improvement of our Liturgy, but the adoption as an alternative service of the First Book of Edward VI. I sat listening to him, taking careful notes, and hoped that by the time Venables had done I should be ready. But what was my astonishment when I heard my name called by the Bishop as soon as Wood sat down. I said to him, ‘It is not my turn,’ but he replied, ‘You had better go on.’ I do not know his motive; perhaps it was that he wished Wood answered. So there I was in the face of the vast assembly without a minute’s notice. But was not the Lord with me? and would He not answer the good man’s prayer? So I put down my Prayer-Book, notes and everything—and away! The people gave me a most kind welcome, and, as I have been told since, many dear friends throughout the hall lifted up their hearts in prayer for me. I saw in a moment what I had to say; it was as clear to me as if I had studied it for months: nor had I the slightest difficulty for words, except once when I failed in quoting accurately the thirty-first Article. I was hissed and met with noisy opposition. But that did not matter in the least; the mass of the people was with me, and so was the Lord.

“Mr. Wood had put a weapon in my hand which was irresistible. I was encouraged as I went along with most hearty and enthusiastic cheers, till at length when I had done the people went on cheering as if they never could leave off. Oh, how I thought of the good man’s prayers, and how I realised the privilege of being an instrument in the hand of the Lord! This thought has made me feel quite satisfied since. I should have liked not to have slipped in the Article, and there are many things that have occurred since to me, some that I might have added and some that I might have said better, but I have been satisfied in the thought that the Lord gave me what to say and that I said what He wished me to have said. So I do not fret over the omissions or defects, but accept it with thankfulness from Him.

“I cannot describe the expressions of thankfulness from multitudes of my friends after the meeting, or the deeply solemn feeling at the prayer-meeting next morning, when again I was the principal subject of it, but this time in thankful acknowledgment of the help which the Lord had given.

“Well! I have written you a long letter about my own proceedings, but I would rather say about the Lord’s dealings with me, and that justifies its length. I hope the whole history will lead us all to trust Him more simply than ever to put words into our lips and thoughts into our minds, and so to employ us for His own most sacred service.”

The following is the text of the speech, taken from the Church Congress Report:—

“Your lordship has called upon me before my time; but I am prepared, my lord, to go on if you think it right that I should. At the same time, I may add that I am called upon by surprise, for I expected to have to discuss the suggestions for Liturgical Improvements which it was likely would have been made by the Rev. Mr. Venables. At the same time, however, I am prepared to accept the position, as appointed for me in the providence of God. I consider that this debate is a most important one for the Church of England. I think that the speech of Mr. Wood, to which we have just listened, is one of the most important speeches that I have ever heard delivered at a Church Congress. We used to be told that what was originally called the Tractarian movement, but which has since been called the Ritualistic movement, was an effort of pious and devoted men to rise above our poor Churchmanship, and to bring out in better development the true principles of the Church of England. We always, with that happiness which accompanies a clear conscience, maintained that we were the true representatives of the Church of England. We acted upon its principles, and taught its truth. But still, we have had to bear a certain amount of reproach, and we have not been able to overcome the old prejudices. This day, however, we have been told by Mr. Wood, the President of the English Church Union, that our beautiful English Church Service is ‘meagre’: that there is nothing more meagre than our existing Liturgy; that our Holy Communion Service—in which we have taken so much delight—is a mutilated, an inferior, and a defective Service. [Cries of ‘No, no.’] I say ‘Yes,’ and this great assembly has heard what Mr. Wood has said. We have been told to-day that we are to go back to the Liturgy and to the Communion Office of 1549, instead of accepting that of the year 1552, and finally revised in 1662. And, now, will you just look for one moment at the first Liturgy of Edward the Sixth?

“We were told to-day that it was a falling-off from the use of Sarum. We are therefore, it seems, to look upon the use of Sarum—that old Popish Liturgy—I say that old Popish Liturgy, which existed in the diocese of Salisbury, as the model at which we are to aim. To this use of Sarum the Reformers applied the pruning-knife, and I cannot say that they left much of the Office of Sarum. There were certain very fine passages in it, and they retained them. But they brought out a new Communion Office in 1549. There were, however, certain defects still left.

“But as time went on, and the Reformers saw more and more of the blessed truth of God, they then said that the thing must be thoroughly done, and it was of no use to carry out mere half-measures. So, thank God, they did not stop at the First Book of Edward. I am very much disposed to think that, if Mr. Wood gets it, he won’t stop there either. And now that we have enjoyed the Prayer-Book as the Reformers gave it us for these three centuries past, we are told that we are to hark back again. Of this I am fully persuaded, that the Churchmen of England are not prepared for such retrogression. You must consider what has been said by Mr. Beresford-Hope on this subject; he and I have sparred about this matter before now. Mr. Beresford-Hope knows just as well as I do that there is no such thing as an altar in the Church of England. And I will tell you also what Mr. Wood and his friends know very well. They know as well as I do that if they can but coax us back to those three years—to 1549, to the First Book of Edward—that there they will find an altar. And that is one reason why they wish for it. The Reformers knew very well that an altar was essentially connected with a sacrifice. And they knew this also, that while they were prepared to offer the sacrifice of praise and thanksgiving, the sacrifice of propitiation was completed for ever. And they believed, further, that the doctrine of the mass was a lying abomination, or rather I would say, a ‘blasphemous fable and dangerous deceit.’ Now, then, my lord, we fully know our ground, and where it is we have to stand. We have, therefore, learned something at this Church Congress. We know where we are. We go home to-day knowing with what a power and with what an intention we have to contend. We know what Mr. Wood has told us. He has told us as plainly as possible that the object is to bring back the Church of England from the Reformed Church of 1552; to stop just a little by the way in the refreshment room of 1549, and then we are to plunge head-foremost right into the use of Sarum. Now, then, my lord, what shall we say to this? Shall we have it? or shall we not? What, I ask, shall we say to this? Shall we stick by the blessed truths that we have received, and for which our Reformers died? Shall we cling to the dear old Office Book, in which we have hundreds and thousands of times poured out our whole hearts before God? Shall we unite heart and soul as witnesses for Christ while we come to His Holy Table, and hold there communion with Him? or shall we begin by half-and-half retrograde measures until we go right back into the arms of Rome? My lord, I say no more; but I wish to thank Mr. Wood for having spoken out so plainly on this subject, and for thus having let us know this day what are the real intentions of the English Church Union.”