field. He is now about to quit his rural solitude for the more cultivated and classic scenes of Twickenham; to enter into a wider circle of fame, and to deserve the praise, and enjoy the society, of the greatest and most illustrious men of the age in which he lived.

THE COUNTRY CLERGYMAN.

Mild were his doctrines, and not one discourse
But gain'd in softness what it lost in force:

Kind his opinions: he would not receive

An ill report, nor evil act believe;

"If true, 'twas wrong; but blemish great or small
Have all mankind; yea, sinners are we all."

CRABBE.

THERE are few persons in this life so much to be envied, so happy or so respectable, I have always thought, as a good country clergyman. The word "good" is intended to be applied to those who with a sincere desire of doing what is right, conscientiously practice it, and who, by their precept and example, administer to the spiritual wants of their parishioners, and relieve their temporal ones as much as lies in their power. They then become a blessing to their country as well as to those around them. It is to such men that much of the good we see amongst the middle classes is owing, and a great deal of the moral improvement of the agricultural labourers. It always gives me pain to hear any abuse of our clergy, because I know so many of them who are hard working, painstaking, and really good men; ignorant, per

haps, of what is called the world; living in retirement in their parishes; but zealous in the discharge of their duties both to God and man.

a small

Such a one was the vicar of Lparish on the borders of Staffordshire and Derbyshire. He was a short, hale looking man, quick in his movements, rapid in his thoughts, and eccentric withal, loving a good innocent joke, and laughing at it with a heartiness which it did one good to hear. His face shone with honesty and benevolence, and his conduct never belied it. The first caused him to be appealed to in any dispute amongst his parishioners, and the latter to be applied to in every case of poverty or distress. He seldom or ever quitted his parish, and his knowledge of what was going forward in the world, was gleaned from that respectable three-days-a-week paper, the St. James's Chronicle, the expence of which he shared with a neighbouring farmer. His wife was something like himself, short and round, with the same sort of good-humoured countenance. She was an excellent manager, kept her household in good order, and had always a tidy dinner for the vicar. It was pleasant to see the old servant come into the room during this meal, with a plate and basin, to receive some slices of beef or mutton, with vegetables, and a portion of the pie or pudding, which were kept hot till the dinner was over. It was then taken by the vicar's wife to some poor

sick person in the parish, who might require better

nourishment than usual. worthy couple go either

For years, also, did this singly or together, in all weathers, summer and winter, in order to feed with their own hands a poor ideot girl, who had a profligate mother, and who they had reason to fear would not otherwise partake of the food which they supplied from their own table.

Such was the vicar and his wife; and the above mentioned facts in their life have been only related in order to give the reader an insight into their characters. They were, in short, a worthy, good couple, fond of each other, fond of their parishioners, and sincerely desirous of adding to the happiness of all around them. Their school and their charities were both objects of gratification to them, and it may well be believed that they never went to rest with greater satisfaction than when they had performed some good action.

I have said that the vicar was eccentric, and he was so. Accustomed as he had been for years to do the duty in his own little parish church, his parishioners, who were purely agricultural, were looked upon by him as forming part of his family, and he therefore talked to them from the pulpit as if they were sitting in his parlour, or explained a difficult verse while he was reading the psalms or lessons from the reading desk. Sometimes he would stop while reading the former, and say

"As I am only going to give you a short sermon to day, I will explain to you a little about these psalms. You had better remain standing while I tell you."

On another occasion, when reading the 15th chapter of the Book of Numbers, in the 32nd verse of which is written, "They found a man that gathered sticks upon the Sabbath day," the vicar turned to an old woman who was sitting underneath the desk, and who was a somewhat notorious hedge-breaker, and said, "gathering sticks, Mrs. Jones, not breaking hedges."

At the beginning of the beautiful psalm, "O clap your hands together"— he would occasionally suit the action to the words, and clap his hands with considerable violence.

He would often lay open with clearness and beauty the great truths of which he was a messenger, and many a fervent, touching, and faithful discourse would fall on the ear of his flock; till, in a moment, his natural buoyancy and overflowing peculiarity would lead him to introduce some extraordinary remark, at which it would be thought difficult to repress a smile. Thus, in preaching on the history of Joseph, he told, in forcible and affecting language, that most beautiful and interesting story, till he arrived at the return of the brethren from Egypt to their father, with the waggons containing the presents of Joseph: "Then,"