It was on the 20th of August, 1864, that the Rev. Edward Hoare, on the deck of the steamer from Boulogne to Folkestone, spoke kindly words of sympathy to a schoolboy returning home after a great bereavement in Switzerland. How little then could either of them have imagined the future relationship of Vicar and Curate, the long years of happy friendship afterwards, the deeply solemn funeral sermon, and, finally, the sacred task of editing the Autobiography and writing the brief sketch contained in the following pages! This work has been undertaken with the greatest diffidence, partly owing to the many duties of a somewhat busy life, and still more from the anxious wish that such a character as that of Canon Hoare should be depicted by one who had known him from earlier years. Another difficulty has been to compress the volume into the small limits desired by the family.

To write a large volume would have been easy, but to read a considerable correspondence, together with closely written volumes of journal, and give a digest of their contents, has required care and thought. It has also necessitated the putting upon one side of much that was interesting and profitable. Amongst the things unpublished have been many powerful letters upon various burning questions of the day during the past forty years; most of these subjects have now burnt themselves out, and it seemed unwise to rake up the ashes.

It is, moreover, better to say too little than too much, and those who knew him best will acknowledge that the latter error has been avoided.

A man possessing such qualities as those which Canon Hoare exhibited—great kindness and affection, wide views of men and things, strong convictions, ruling powers, commanding intellect, and deep spirituality of mind—was one who could not live without influencing visibly all with whom he came in contact; but it has been the desire of the Editor so to picture this life as it appeared to him, and with the one desire that God may be glorified by the narrative as He was magnified in the life of His servant.

J. H. T.