imon's whole stock of erudition was confined to some half-a-dozen old
authors, which the Squire had put into his hands, and which he read over
and over, whenever he had a studious fit; as he sometimes had on a
rainy day, or a long winter evening. Sir Anthony Fitzherbert's "Book of
Husbandry;" Markham's "Country Contentments;" the "Tretyse of Hunting,"
by Sir Thomas Cockayne, Knight; Izaak Walton's "Angler," and two
or three more such ancient worthies of the pen, were his standard
authorities; and, like all men who know but a few books, he looked up
to them with a kind of idolatry, and quoted them on all occasions. As
to his songs, they were chiefly picked out of old books in the Squire's
library, and adapted to tunes that were popular among the choice spirits
of the last century. His practical application of scraps of literature,
however, had caused him to be looked upon as a prodigy of book-knowledge
by all the grooms, huntsmen, and small sportsmen of the neighbourhood.

While we were talking we heard the distant toll of the village bell,
and I was told that the Squire was a little particular in having his
household at church on a Christmas morning; considering it a day of
pouring out of thanks and rejoicing; for, as old Tusser observed:

"At Christmas be merry, and thankful withal,
And feast thy poor neighbours, the great and the small."

"If you are disposed to go to church," said Frank Bracebridge, "I can
promise you a specimen of my cousin Simon's musical achievements. As the
church is destitute of an organ, he has formed a band from the village
amateurs, and established a musical club for their improvement; he has
also sorted a choir, as he sorted my father's pack of hounds, according
to the directions of Jervaise Markham, in his 'Country Contentments;'
for the bass he has sought out all the 'deep solemn mouths,' and for
the tenor the 'loud ringing mouths,' among the country bumpkins; and
for 'sweet mouths,' he has culled with curious taste among the prettiest
lasses in the neighbourhood; though these last, he affirms, are the most
difficult to keep in tune; your pretty female singer being exceedingly
wayward and capricious, and very liable to accident."

As the morning, though frosty, was remarkably fine and clear, the most
of the family walked to the church, which was a very old building of
gray stone, and stood near a village, about half a mile from the park
gate. Adjoining it was a low snug parsona