LITERATURE.

Globe, Volume XXII, Issue 2088, 2 November 1880, Page 3

LITERATURE.

THE CURATE'S L\ST HALF-CROWN. [From "London Society."] I was a poor curate residing down in the country. Those were the old days of plaral ism, and my rector was a great pluralist He had two canonries, two reut ri.:s, a vioarage, a prebendal sta'l, a anug office in an ecclesiastioal court, and an a-endtaconry. It was quite obvious that !e c uld i,ot inhabit all his houses at the same time, and so he g-aeiously a! owed me the nae of his vicarage house, deducting something: from my stipend; but, let it be Raid to his credit, not so mush as he could legally have done on this account. He would come down to Cherrington (so called, perhaps, on account of the abundant cherry-orchards in our district) once a year, when he pa>iohed the village club sermon, aud looked after his tithes. Those were the days before ti'he commutation, when the tithe really meant a t jntb of a'l produce. When the venerable vicsx, on the occasion of these rare visits, really t«oks his wa-ks abroad, he waa an object of terror to the farmer) of Cherrington. Ue was a gond h<nd at calculating the value ef a tenth of a cherry-tree. When he looked over a gate aud saw a litter of pigs, be knew that one little sucking pig, at least, was his ecclesiastical due. And so it was with wheat and barley and oats, with the poultry and all the farmyard. Very grand, indeei, was our vi?ar on his club-day as he marched beneath flinntiog banners, and did us the honor of preaching a sermon, which I recognised as being out of an old volume of 'Practical Divinity.' On these occasions he us id to st>p at the vicarage, which in fact was his right, and indeed Borne of the heavy furniture belonged to him. He had inhibited the vicarage, but '•ad Jeft it after a brief while to browse in fatter pastures. _Of course,. I mirried. It seems the destiny of the impecunious curate—what they mnat all oorne to. A bachelor curat* would have very little eh =nco among the cherrycheeked maidens of Cherrington, all ripe, with delicate white and glowing red. Farmer Dawson, tnechur h warden for"ur parish, gloried in the singularity of having only one curate, and was very friendly and neighbourly. I used to turn in on a Sunday afternoon, for evening services at that time were hardly known in country p'aoeß, and used to smoke a pipe with the fa-m-r, and partake of his home made wine and home brewed ale, until Mary called us in to tea. Mary and I married, —a very obvions course, —and the six little ones camp on with all the regularity of the eherry season. My father-in-law said that he should learo Mary fifteen hundred ponnds when he died, and in the meantime allow ua the interest; it was possible, if a thundering good war came again, that he might make more money and allow us more interest.

I became very much attached to my work, and very fond of the honae and nobl« gronnda ; indeed, our vicarage grounds were qnite famous in our part of the country. At the same time I felt that it was the warm nest upon the tottering bough. I was not my own master and every cnrate has an insane idea that he would like to be his own master; whereas, after my own experience, I can say that it is much easier and happier ts be ruled than to rule and in all my preferments I never was happier than in my first hnmble onracy. But lam anticipating. Here was I dreading the breaking of the bough, when that breaking of the bough in a kindly Providence was to bring some very strange things abont. There were two wave in which my bough might incontinently break. Ihe curacy being an unusually snug one, the Rev. Dr. Jennifer might choose to eject me and appoint some private friend of his own. But, to do him justice, he was a quiet easy-going man. Hia own lines had fallen to him in snug pleasant places, and he would not like to inflict hard lines upon any man. Bnt there was the chance that, having had so many good things, he might cap them all by taking a bishopric, which would necessarily vacate all his appointments. There was also the chance that he might shuffle off thia mortal coil, albeit tenderJy attached to the mortal coil, and much nourishing and cherishing ie. I should say that the bishop of our own diocese had local ties which brought him very much into oar neighbourhood.

Dr. Jennifer considered himself quite «a goad a man aa aur bishop, and I believe in point of income was the better man ef the two.

These were, days before the administration of Church funds by the Ecclesiastical Commissioners was commenced.

At the present time bishops get so much hard cash every day, for which they give a penny stamped receipt. Some of the bishops had immense revenues under the old arrangement, whereas others were much poorer than under the present equalised arrangements. .Among these latter was our own bishop. He had one or two farms in our parish. All the society in our neighborhood was made up ef farmers; we had no estated gentlemen, that is to Bay, the bishop owned a small tract, and all the rest belonged to a great dnke, whose castle was twenty miles away, and owned all the land between ns and the castle.

Our bishop was comparatively poor, and made himself poorer than he nerd be. Be never took fino3 and ra?k rents ; he granted leases, he improved the Church prop rty, he maintained schools ; he bore cheerfully even more than his share of the burdens upon land, that land which seems to me to be always grievously burdened. Fo when the good bishop came down to these parts, which was pretty often, he would sometimes tarn aside for a night or two at the vioarag?, when he would romp with the little ones, and talk with me about the Greek poets over a pipe and some of my father-in-law's home-beewed in the evening. The very reverend vioar, an archdeacon of Archdeacon Grantley's own stamp, died suddenly ef gout in the stomach. It was rather unhandsome of the gont, which generally troubles fingers and toes before making a sudden vital descent upon such a very vital region. Of Dr. Jennifer's numerous appointments, the vicarage of Cherrington was in the gift of the Lord Chancellor. Ordinarily, Chancellor's livings are not very good ; but this was one of the best, being between fonr and five hundred, so I should have about as much chance of getting the living by applying for it as of going to the moon in a balloon.

But for all that I made up my mind that I would apply for it, and thought that now was the time when my happy friendship with the bishop might stand me in good stead" It so fortunately happened that a few hours later the bishop, riding by on his cob to visit one of his fauna, drew up to talk about the news whiah the morning's post had brought respeating tais lamented demise. 'I am sorry,' said the good bishop, when he had patiently listened to the story of my pains and expectations, ' but I am afraid, though you may not think so, that I am the last man able to do you any good. I never asked a favour of any man ; and if I did so, I do not think that my asktng would have the slightest weight with the Lord Chancellor. * 'I confess, my lord,' I said, 'that I bad ventured to count upon your influence." 'But I have no influence, my dear Mr Vavasour,' said the Bishop. ' 1 have never given a party Bupport to this Government or any Government. Igo to London as little as I can, and am always glad to get out of is as soon as I can. Some of ny episcopal brethren get little notes from the Treasury asking them to be in their places at certain times, or to use their influence with certain people. The Treasury never think it worth their while to send any little notes to me.' I could not help smiling at the ecgaging frankness of my worthy diocesan. «And I can tell you another thing/ he said, ' whioh will explain to you my position better. I don't owe any Government any thanks for putticg me where ' am. They did not do it ont of any kindness fo me. The Prime Minister wanted the preferment which I used to holdfor another man. He could not make hia friend a bishop—it was more than he dated do; but he could make me a bishop, and_ then he could give Jury preferment to a friend. Bo you see, Mr Vavasour, there are wheeU within wheels; and, after a'l, he gave me nearly the poorest see there is. He promised me that I should have something to hold with it, but he never kept his promise.' Evidently my poor bough had broken down altogether. It was not to bo. bound up by any care of mine,

*Th< re is just one thing that I can do fasyon, Vsrauar,' said the bi?hop kind* he*rt-jdly, ' without the loat impropriety,. j I cannot ask him to gire you the living, bat I will write a few liaes, whi h yon.can showat any time to the Chancellor, or anyone that you chocsa,' The worthy bisfcop dismounted, and entei>ing the study wrote a few line a, in which ho stated, to my grateful confusion, that I watt a good scholar, a-ad had worked my pufahadmirably. ' And if I can ever do anything for yea. of course I will,' ha added 'But yoa are etill quite a young man, and there are worthy men who have gruwn gray in the diocese whor have a first cl-im on me.* \T* b* continuediS