Diary of Rev Edward Stevens

Fine, but cold wind. Visited Miss Dix (not at home), Mrs Hopkins, Mrs Inns, Mr & Mrs Elley, Mr Langley, Mrs Alcock, Thomas Holland (not at home), Joshua Holton, Elizabeth Manning, Anna Young, Anna Aris, Miss Wyatt, W. Payne, Elizabeth Bond, Widow J Lamb (not at home), Widow J J Lamb, Mrs G Green, Mrs Isaac Padbury, C Barnes, R Sabin, Mr & Miss Lowes, Mr Abbatt, Mr & Mrs Ainge, W Poulton, L J Poulton, John West Senior (not at home), Thomas Henry Hone, Mrs Shelswell, Miss Lamb, Mrs Wycherly, Bodfish, Dr Routh, Eli Webb, John Webb, Mr Oddie, Mr J Woolgrove, Widow Robinson.

Paid Dora Robinson 2/- for prize gained in Competition as Oxford. Elizabeth Spicer took some magazines for me. So did Eliz (George) Spicer. Jessie Wilks prize 3/6 Oxford Prize Scheme for Needlework.

A lovely morning. Rev A V Cox, Rector of Hook Norton, wrote to me by messenger yesterday that his father, Rector of Blackland, Honiton, was dead, and that he would have to be away next Sunday and would be thankful to me to take his service at Hook Norton at 6.30 on that evening which I promised to do.

I visited Miss Dix, Anna Aris and Elizabeth Wilkes (not in).

Sunday after Ascension. ??6.19 Collections to Sunday School fund. Drove to Hook Norton and took Evening Service at 6.30. Took Bell and Hyde. Ruby went very well.

Cloudy but only a very slight shower. Lively at work mowing nettles etc in orchard and sowing black oats among vetches. Mr Cluff called to borrow my lawn mower for half an hour. He is taking the Librarianship on Monday evenings, but says some (Miss Thame and Mrs Harris) complained last Monday that people had the library books in houses where there was scarlet fever and brought them to be exchanged. I reminded Mr Cluff that I put a notice outside school door several weeks ago to the effect that library books which had been taken to houses in which there was fever should be kept back for the present to be funigated or disinfected.

Dr Hole wrote to me yesterday inviting me to preach at Christ Church Worthing on Wednesday evening, June 6th, one of a series of sermons to be preached during the week. His church is to be reopened after alterations etc by Bishop of Chichester on Saturday the 2nd. He asks me to preach on the “necessity for singing in the service of Praise being devout.” I promised to do so, taking for my text Psalms Cviii.1 PB version, to go to him on the Tuesday and return on the Saturday. He invites me to be there on the Sunday, but I cannot get away, and the Monday will be club day here.