Welcome to Part Twenty of Lord of the World, Robert Hugh Benson's far-sighted novel of 1907 and the latest entry to our series Tales for Our Time.
In tonight's episode, the state's plans for the new compulsory religion begin to take shape:
It seemed that Mr. Francis had seen the new Minister of Public Worship that morning, and had received a definite commission from him to take charge of the ceremonies on the first of October. Two dozen of his colleagues, too, were to be enrolled among the ceremoniarii, at least temporarily—and after the event they were to be sent on a lecturing tour to organise the national worship throughout the country.
Of course things would be somewhat sloppy at first, said Mr. Francis; but by the New Year it was hoped that all would be in order, at least in the cathedrals and principal towns.
"It is important," he said, "that this should be done as soon as possible. It is very necessary to make a good impression. There are thousands who have the instinct of worship, without knowing how to satisfy it."
"That is perfectly true," said Oliver. "I have felt that for a long time. I suppose it is the deepest instinct in man."
If you're a member of The Mark Steyn Club you can hear Part Twenty of our serialisation of Lord of the World simply by clicking here and logging-in. All previous episodes can be found here.
~Membership in The Mark Steyn Club is not for everyone, but it helps keep all our content out there for everyone - in print, audio, video, around the world, and hopefully changing a mind or two here and there. And, aside from Tales for Our Time, being a Steyn Club member does come with a few other benefits:
~Exclusive Steyn Store member pricing on over forty books, CDs and other items in the Steyn store;
~The opportunity to engage in live Q&A sessions with yours truly, such as today's;
~Transcript and audio versions of our video content, such as Mark's Mailbox and The Mark Steyn Show;
~Comment Club privileges;
~Our Saturday music show and other weekend specials;
~Advance booking for my live appearances around the world, if I'm ever again well enough to hold any;
~Customised email alerts for new content in your areas of interest;
~and the opportunity to support our print, audio and video ventures as they wing their way around the world.
To become a member of The Mark Steyn Club, please click here - and don't forget our special Gift Membership, which makes a perfect birthday present. The minute you sign up you'll have access to nearly seventy Tales for Our Time, including my serialisations of Nineteen Eighty-Four, The Time Machine and The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde. And please join me tomorrow evening for Part Twenty-One of Lord of the World.
