Scenes of Clerical Life

, vaguely called 'the spasms'. Accordingly, about eleven o'clock, she put on her velvet bonnet and cloth cloak, with a long boa and muff large enough to stow a prize baby in; for Mrs. Hackit regulat

ckit did. In her best days, it was always sharp weathe

against the long-hanging purple clouds, were being scattered across the grassy path by the coldest of November winds. 'Ah,' Mrs. Hackit thought to herself, 'I daresay we shall have a sharp pinch this winter, an

mstantial narrative how the attack came on and what were her aunt's sensations-a narrative to which Mrs. Patten, in her neatly-plaited nightcap, seemed to listen with a contemptuous resignation to her niece's historical inaccuracy, contenting herself with occasionally confounding Janet by a shake of the head-when the clatter of a horse'

s the patient. 'Eh, dear me!' said Mrs. Hackit, 'disgraceful enough. I stuck to Mr. Barton as long as I could, for his wife's sake; but I can't countenance such goings-on. It's hateful to see that woma

ied that he was conscious of having been weakly charitable. 'I thought he was impose

erchin' on a bough, as I may say, with her brother, as she called him; and then all on a sudden the brother goes off with himself, and she throws herself on the

d himself on a talent for sarcasm. 'The Countess has no maid now, and they say

-sewing her fingers to the bone for them children-an' another comin' on. What she must have to go through! I

a-n".' (Mr. Pilgrim gave this quotation with slow emphasis, as if he thought Mrs. Farquhar had uttered a remarkable s

was a wife, nothing should induce

low; 'old maids' husbands are al'ys well-managed. If you

rgy charity. They said at fust as she stuffed Mr. Barton wi' notions about her writing to the Chancellor an' her fine friends, to give him a living. Howiver, I don't know what's true an' wh

lly. They say Carpe would be glad to get Barton out of the curacy if he could; but he can't do that wit

fessional attentions; and Mrs. Hackit, observing that it was Thursday, and she must see

e; and as the Rev. Amos Barton has reasons for not attending, he will very likely be a subject of conversation amo

re the preliminary of dining, have not been quite so spirited as usual; and although a question relative to the Epistle of Jude has not been quit

gusto of ampler contact! Especially if you have confidence in the dinner-giving capacity of your host-if you know that he is not a man who entertains grovelling views of eating and drinking as a mere satisfaction of hunger and thirst, and, dead to all the finer influences of the palate, expects his guest to be brilliant on ill-flavoured gravies and the cheapest Marsala. Mr. Ely was particularly worth

the fluency with which he interpreted the opinions of an obese and stammering baronet, so as to give that elderly gentleman a very pleasing perception of his own wisdom. Mr. Fellowes is a very successful man, and has the highest character everywhere ex

im by an oversight of nature. This is Rev. Archibald Duke, a very dyspeptic and evangelical man, who takes the gloomiest view of mankind and their prospects, and thinks the immense sale of the 'Pickwick Papers,' recently completed, one of the strongest proofs of original sin. Unfortunat

a volume of poems, which were considered remarkably beautiful by many young ladies of his acquaintance. Mr. Furness preached his own sermons, as any one of tolerable critical acumen might have

hiskers and a pale complexion; read prayers and a sermon twice every Sunday, and might be seen any day sallying forth on his parochial duties in a white tie, a well-brushed hat, a

s the wonderful art of preaching sermons which the wheelwright and the blacksmith can understand; not because he talks condescending twaddle, but because he can call a spade a spade, and knows how to disencumber ideas of their wordy frippery. Look at him more attentively, and you will see that his face is a very interesting one -that there is a great deal of humour and feeling playing in his grey eyes, and about the corners of his roughly-cut mouth: a man, you observe, who has most likely sprung from the harder-working section of the middle class, and has hereditary sympathies with the

a congregation consisting of three rich farmers and their servants, about fifteen labourers, and the due proportion of women and children. The rich farmers understood him to be

or Mr. Fellowes and Mr. Cleves cultivated their own glebes. Mr. Ely, too, had some agricultural notions, and even the Rev. Archibald Duke was made alive to that class of mundane subjects by the possession of some potato-ground. The two young curates talked a little aside d

y a model farm; first-rate dairy, grazing and wheat land, and such splendid farm-buildings! An expensive hobby, though. He sinks a good deal of money there, I fancy

Ely, 'do you know who

iven the Bram

s a lawyer, and was very useful to Lord Watling in that u

e a showy, talkative fellow; has written trav

's th

rate. He got into rather bad odour there, thro

about Barton? Nisbett was telling me the other day that he dines alone wit

hal authority, Nis

upon it, that is a corrupt version. The original text is, that they all dined t

sad business,' said the Rev. Archibald Duke, in a ton

gull in existence, or he has some cunning secret,-some philtre or other to make himself charming in th

d one night at Granby's when he was telling us her story about her husband's adventures. He said, "When s

ept Mr. Duke, whose after-dinner view of things was not apt to be jovial. He said,-'I think some of us ought to remonst

ole affair, if we only happened to know it. Barton has always impressed me as

be on terms of intimacy with that canting Prior, who died a little while ago;-a fell

him more refined taste

l

pull to get along, with his small income and large family. Let

here are greater signs of po

s not at all fond of his reverend brother, Mr. Duke, 'that's something in Bar

to his relief by observing,-'They're making a very good piece of work of Sheppe

urch,' said Mr. Furness. 'They've got it

ed a wide duct, which entirely diverted the stream of animadversio

; so we will at once quit the dining-room at Milby Vicarage, lest we should happen to over