of tears, and said, in
a voice broken by emotion: "He christened his youngest child, sir, with
a toasting-fork." I never in my life was so affected as at his having
fallen a victim to this complaint. It carried a conviction to my mind
that he never could have recovered. I knew that it was the most
interesting and fatal malady in the world; and I wrung the gentleman's
hand in a convulsion of respectful admiration, for I felt that this
explanation did equal honour to his head and heart!

What do you think of Mrs. Gamp? And how do you like the undertaker? I
have a fancy that they are in your way. Oh heaven! such green woods as I
was rambling among down in Yorkshire, when I was getting that done last
July! For days and weeks we never saw the sky but through green boughs;
and all day long I cantered over such soft moss and turf, that the
horse's feet scarcely made a sound upon it. We have some friends in that
part of the country (close to Castle Howard, where Lord Morpeth's father
dwells in state, _in_ his park indeed), who are the jolliest of the
jolly, keeping a big old country house, with an ale cellar something
larger than a reasonable church, and everything, like Goldsmith's bear
dances, "in a concatenation accordingly." Just the place for you,
Felton! We performed some madnesses there in the way of forfeits,
picnics, rustic games, inspections of ancient monasteries at midnight,
when the moon was shining, that would have gone to your heart, and, as
Mr. Weller says, "come out on the other side." . . .

Write soon, my dear Felton; and if I write to you less often than I
would, believe that my affectionate heart is with you always. Loves and
regards to all friends, from yours ever and ever.

Very faithfully yours.

[Sidenote: Mr. Macvey Napier.]

BROADSTAIRS, _September 16th, 1843._

MY DEAR SIR,

I hinted, in a letter of introduction I gave Mr. Hood to you, that I had
been thinking of a subject for the _Edinburgh_. Would it meet the
purposes of the _Review_ to come out strongly against any system of
education based exclusively on the principles of the Established Church?
If it would, I should like to show why such a thing as the Church
Catechism is wholly inapplicable to the state of ignorance that now
prevails; and why no system but one, so general in great religious
principles as to include all creeds, can meet the wants and
unde