his friend, "but that I am myself
engaged to dine with Dean Palmer, where I am to meet the colonel of
the Thirty-third, and some of the officers. It is the first time I have
dined out since I came to the country. The colonel is an old friend of
mine, and can be depended on."

"The dean is a brother-in-law of Lady Gourlay's, is he not?"

"He is."

"Yes, and what is better still, he is an excellent man, and a good
Christian. I wish there were more like him in the country. I know the
good done by him in my own neighborhood, where he has established, by
his individual exertions, two admirable institutions for the poor--a
savings' bank and a loan fund--to the manifest, relief of every
struggling man who is known to be industrious and honest; and see the
consequences--he is loved and honored by all who know him, for he is
perpetually doing good."

"Your own bishop is not behindhand in offices of benevolence and
charity, any more than Dean Palmer," observed the stranger.

"In truth, you may say so," replied, the other. "With the piety and
humility of an apostle, he possesses the most childlike simplicity of
heart; to which I may add, learning the most profound and extensive. His
private charity to the poor will always cause himself to be ranked among
their number. I wish every dean and bishop in the two churches resembled
the Christian men we speak of; it would be well for the country."

"Mr. Birney, I know, stands well with you. I believe, and I take it for
granted, that he does also with the people."

"You may be certain of that, my dear sir. He is one of the few attorneys
who is not a rogue, but, what is still more extraordinary, an honest man
and an excellent landlord. I will tell you, now, what he did some time
ago. He has property, you know, in my parish. On that property an arrear
of upwards of eight hundred pounds had accumulated. Now, this arrear,
in consideration of the general depression in the value of agricultural
produce, he not only wiped off, but abated the rents ten per cent.
Again, when a certain impost, which shall be nameless (tithe), became
a settled charge upon the lands, under a composition act, instead of
charging it against the tenants, he paid it himself, never calling upon
a tenant to pay one farthing of it. Now, I mention these things as an
example to be held up and imitated by those who hold landed property in
general, many of whom, the Lord knows, require such an example badly;
but I must