if any, of this will go
in extravagance. Many clergymen are obliged to live here on smaller
salaries, but they do it "by the skin of their teeth."

As a rule, the clergymen of New York are like those of other places.
Whether weak-headed, or strong-minded, they are, as a class, honest,
God-fearing, self-denying men. There are, however, some black sheep in
the fold; but, let us thank Heaven, they are few, and all the more
conspicuous for that reason.

The speculative mania (in financial, not theological matters) invades
even the ranks of the clergy, and there are several well-known gentlemen
of the cloth who operate boldly and skilfully in the stock markets
through their brokers. One of these was once sharply rebuked by his
broker for his unclerical conduct, and was advised, if he wished to carry
on his speculations further, to go into the market himself, as the broker
declined to be any longer the representative of a man who was ashamed of
his business. There are others still who are not ashamed to mingle
openly with the throng of curb-stone brokers, and carry on their
operations behind the sanctity of their white cravats. These last,
however, may be termed "Independents," as they have no standing in their
churches, and are roundly censured by them.

Others there are who, on small salaries, support large families. These
are the heroes of the profession, but the world knows little of their
heroism. With their slender means, they provide homes that are models
for all. They do their duty bravely, and with an amount of self-denial
which is sometimes amazing. They have happy homes, too, even if it is
hard to make both ends meet at the end of the year. They are often men
of taste and culture, to whom such trials are particularly hard. They
carry their culture into their homes, and the fruits of it blossom all
around them. Wealth could not give them these pleasures, nor can poverty
deprive them of them. They bring up their children in the fear and
admonition of the Lord, and, thanks to the free schools and their own
efforts, give them a good education. They send them out into the world
well equipped for the battle of life, and reap the reward of their
efforts in the honorable and useful lives of those children. They go
down into the grave without knowing any of the comforts of wealth,
without having ever preached to a fashionable congregation, and the world
comes at last to find that their places cannot easily