bore
animosity, while he had only a strong antipathy. Small as is the island
of Guernsey, it has, unfortunately, plenty of room for differences of
religion; there, to take the broad distinction, is the Catholic faith
and the Protestant faith; every form of worship has its temple or
chapel. In Germany, at Heidelberg, for example, people are not so
particular; they divide a church in two, one half for St. Peter, the
other half for Calvin, and between the two is a partition to prevent
religious variances terminating in fisticuffs. The shares are equal; the
Catholics have three altars, the Huguenots three altars. As the services
are at the same hours, one bell summonses both denominations to prayers;
it rings, in fact, both for God and for Satan, according as each pleases
to regard it. Nothing can be more simple.

The phlegmatic character of the Germans favours, I suppose, this
peculiar arrangement, but in Guernsey every religion has its own
domicile; there is the orthodox parish and the heretic parish; the
individual may choose. "Neither one nor the other" was the choice of
Mess Lethierry.

This sailor, workman, philosopher, and parvenu trader, though a simple
man in appearance, was by no means simple at bottom. He had his opinions
and his prejudices. On the subject of the priests he was immovable; he
would have entered the lists with Montlosier.

Occasionally he indulged in rather disrespectful jokes upon this
subject. He had certain odd expressions thereupon peculiar to himself,
but significant enough. Going to confession he called "combing one's
conscience." The little learning that he had--a certain amount of
reading picked up here and there between the squalls at sea--did not
prevent his making blunders in spelling. He made also mistakes in
pronunciation, some of which, however, gave a double sense to his words,
which might have been suspected of a sly intention. After peace had been
brought about by Waterloo between the France of Louis XVIII. and the
England of Wellington, Mess Lethierry was heard to say, "Bour mont a ete
le traitre d'union entre les deux camps." On one occasion he wrote _pape
ote_ for _papaute_. We do not think these puns were intentional.

Though he was a strong anti-papist, that circumstance was far from
conciliating the Anglicans. He was no more liked by the Protestant
rectors than by the Catholic cures. The enunciation of the greatest
dogmas did not prevent his anti-theological temper bursti