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DISTINGUISHED CHURCHMEN

worthy present themselves: in the presence of the sick and of the dying as well as of those in health, on battlefields and stations in foreign lands, they may, at the same time as they uphold the banner of their country, support the emblem of Christianity; and they will, let us hope, render the awful services demanded of them in times of conflict with that feeling of intense peace which is born alone of spiritual preparation for, and an unshaken faith in, the life to come.




When applied to for his views on the Church in the Army Dr Edghill was quite willing to give any information he could.

In reply to the question as to when the Chaplain's Department was first called into existence in connection with the Army, Dr Edghill confessed it was difficult to ascertain the precise date. “I believe that in the time of Marlborough,” he said, “every regiment had its chaplain; but that system appeared to gradually die out until, practically speaking, there were only a few garrison chaplains in large places such as Woolwich and Portsmouth. Mr Gleig, the well-known author of The Subaltern—one of the best books of the time—wrote a slashing article about the lack of spiritual provision in the Army during the Peninsular War, and Lord Melbourne, after reading it, invited