day.
He sallied forth to enjoy the balmy breeze of morning, which any but a
lover might have thought too cool; for it was an intense frost, the sun
had not risen, and the wind was rather fresh from the north-east. But a
lover is supposed to have "a fire in his heart and a fire in his brain,"
and the philosopher walked on, careless of whither he went, till he
found himself near the enclosure of a little mountain chapel. Passing
through the wicket, and peeping through the chapel window, he could not
refrain from reciting a verse in Greek aloud, to the great terror of the
sexton, who was just entering the churchyard.

Mr. Escot at once decided that now was the time to get extensive and
accurate information concerning his theory of the physical deterioration
of man.

"You have been sexton here," said Mr. Escot, in the language of Hamlet,
"man and boy, forty years."

The sexton turned pale; the period named was so nearly the true.

"During this period you have, of course, dug up many bones of the people
of ancient times. Perhaps you can show me a few."

The sexton grinned a ghastly smile.

"Will you take your Bible oath you don't want them to raise the devil
with?"

"Willingly," said Mr. Escot. "I have an abstruse reason for the
inquiry."

"Why, if you have an _obtuse_ reason," said the sexton, "that alters the
case."

So saying, he led the way to the bone-house, from which he began to
throw out various bones and skulls, and amongst them a skull of very
extraordinary magnitude, which he swore by St. David was the skull of
Cadwallader.

"How do you know this to be his skull?" said Mr. Escot.

"He was the biggest man that ever lived, and he was buried here; and
this is the biggest skull I ever found. You see now----"

"Nothing could be more logical," said Mr. Escot. "My good friend, will
you allow me to take away this skull with me?"

"St. Winifred bless us!" exclaimed the sexton. "Would you have me
haunted by his ghost for taking his blessed bones out of consecrated
ground? For, look you, his epitaph says:

"'He that my bones shall ill bestow,
Leek in his ground shall never grow.'"

"But you will well bestow them in giving them to me," said Mr. Escot. "I
will have this illustrious skull bound with a silver rim and filled with
wine, for when the wine is in the brain is out."

Saying these words, he put a dollar into the hand of the sexton, who
instantly stood spellbound, while Mr. Escot walked off