duction of us to the
lawyers we were afterwards indebted for a very pleasant evening's
amusement.

We were ushered into the room by one of the legal agents as two
gentlemen from London, who, being strangers in the place, were desirous
of being permitted to spend their evening among such a jovial society.
The uproarious mirth, and rude welcome, with which this communication
was received by the company, added to the clouds of smoke which
enveloped their chairman, prevented our immediate recognition of him; but
great and pleasant indeed was our surprise to find the most noble, the
very learned head of the table, to be no other than our old Eton _con._
little Dick Gradus, to whose lot it had fallen to conduct this action,
and defend the interests of the agriculturalists against the mercenary
encroachments of the church militant. This was indeed no common cause;
and the greatest difficulty ~287~~our friend Gradus had to encounter
was the restricting within due bounds of moderation the over-zealous
feelings of his witnesses. It was quite clear a parson's tithes, if left
to the generosity of his parishioners, would produce but a small modicum
of his reverence's income. The jovial farmer chuckled with delight
at the prospect of being able to curtail the demands of his canonical
adversary. "Measter Carrington," said he, "may be a very good zort of
a preacher, but I knows he has no zort of business with tithing my
property; and if zo be as the gentleman judge will let me, gad zooks!
but I will prove my words, better than he did the old earl's marriage,
when he made such a fool of himsel' before the peers in parliament."
"That's your zort, measter Tiller," resounded from all the voices round
the table. "Let the clergy zow for themselves, and grow for themselves,
as the varmers do; what a dickens should we work all the week for the
good of their bodies, when they only devote one hour in the whole seven
days for the benefit of our zouls?" "That's right, Measter Coppinger,"
said some one next to the speaker; "you are one hundred years of age,
and pray how many times have you heard the parson preach?" "I never zeed
him in his pulpit in the whole courze of my life; but then you know that
were my fault, I might if I would; but I'ze been a main close attendant
upon the church for all that: during the old earl's lifetime, I was a
sort of deputy huntsman, and then the parson often followed me; and when
I got too old to ride, I was made ass