StayinginLondonafterthecloseofmyuniversitypresidency，I
wassubjecttoanotherinfluencewhichhaswroughtwithpoweruponsomestrongmen。Itwasmywonttoattendserviceinsomeoneofthechurchesinterestingfromahistoricalpointofvieworholdingouttheprospectofagoodsermon;but，probably，acombinationwhichIoccasionallymadewouldnotbeapprovedbymymoreorthodoxfellow—churchmen。ForattimesIfoundpleasureandprofitinattendingtheservicebeforesermononSundayafternoonatSt。Paul’s，andthengoingtotheneighboringPositivistConventicleinFetterLanetohearFredericHarrisonandothers。
Harrison’sdiscourseswereadmirable，andoneuponRomancivilizationwasmostsuggestiveoffruitfulthought。Mytendencyhasalwaysbeenstronglytowardhero—worship，andthisfeatureofthePositivistcreedandpracticeespeciallyattractedme;whilethesuperbandennoblingmusicofSt。Paul’skeptmeinareligiousatmosphereduringanydiscoursewhichsucceededit。
Myfavoritereadingatthisperiodwasthe\"BibleforLearners，\"
abookmostthoughtfullyeditedbythreeoftheforemostscholarsofmodernEurope——Hooykaas，Oort，andKuenen。Simpleasthebookis，itmadeadeepimpressionuponme，rehabilitatingtheBibleinmymind，showingittobeacollectionofliteratureandmoraltruthsunspeakablyprecioustoallChristiannationsandtoeveryChristianman。Atalaterperiod，readingsintheworksofRenan，Pfleiderer，Cheyne，Harnack，Sayce，andothersstrengthenedmeinmyliberaltendencies，withoutdiminishingintheslightestmyreverenceforallthatisnobleinChristianity，pastorpresent。