The Christian Pastor in Keble's poem experienced the strains of his calling within the world at large as well as amongst those to whom he ministered, and his greatest fear was of his own unworthiness. These verses suggest an accurate perception of the reality of nineteenth-century clerical life. Anglican clergymen were torn between the attempt to maintain what they believed to be their traditional role in society, and the need to respond and adjust to a myriad of new pressures. The extensive literature on the lot of the nineteenth-century clergy, which is concerned to a great extent with such matters as churchmanship, social status and professional development, tends to obscure the stress and insecurity in ordinary clerical lives. It may not have been the same sort of insecurity that resulted from employment in mines or mills, but it was a stress nevertheless. The parochial clergy faced a variety of difficulties that were specific to their calling. These may be broadly divided between those that arose from the structure of the Church and parish, and those that arose from their inner struggles and uncertainties.