Stevens 1886-08-23

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Bell and I visited Mrs Shelswell – Oscar and Arthur came in whilst we were there.

Visited Mrs Hiorns and Mrs Maitland, from Ealing, who has been lodging there with her three boys for a few weeks’ country air.

One wheel of my carriage being out of repair I sent Burdon to Brailes to see whether Molins could do it. He said it would take a week.

I met Mary Lively this evening. She told me that the Methodists refused to sing one of the hymns marked by her late husband, who had been a member of the society for 50 years. As she was telling me this opposite her own cottage – it was dark at the time – a voice out of the darkness exclaimed in a very angry tone “You’re a bad, wicked woman, Mary Lively, yo say such lies.” I was for the moment quite startled, but went to the region of the voice and found it came from Joseph Alcock one of the leaders among the Methodists here. He told me that it was usual for the friends of the deceased to ask for a funeral service. Neither Mary Lively nor any of her family had asked for this service which was consequently not held, and the hymns alluded to were not sung. Mary Lively said she would never go to the Methodist Chapel again, that Joseph Alcock came to see her husband while he was almost dying, and “only read the newspaper”.