THE REV. JOHN RUSSELL. 253 



up from his lighted pipe, the spirit of this hardy 

 Cornishman passed away, and, let us hope, in 

 spite of himself, took its flight to a better land. 



To give even a sketch of the many amusing 

 stories that were fired off in rapid succession by 

 the one or the other, in that continuous fusillade, 

 w^ould be to fill a small volume ; nor, at this 

 distance of time, would it be a light task to 

 gather together the fragments of that memorable 

 encounter. One or two of Russell's, however, 

 bearing on Devonshire parish-clerks in his early 

 days, when George IIL was king, can scarcely 

 have escaped the memory of anv one who was 

 fortunate enough to hear them then — told as they 

 were by him with infinite humour and in the 

 purest vernacular of that favoured county. 



John Boyce, the rector of Sherwell, wishing 

 to have a day's hunting with the staghounds on 

 the Porlock side of the moor, told his clerk to 

 give notice in the morning that there would be 

 no service in the afternoon at their church, as 

 he w^as going off to hunt with Sir Thomas 

 Acland over the moor on the following day. 

 The mandate was obeyed to the letter, the clerk 

 making the announcement in the following 

 terms : — 



" This is vor to give notiss — there be no 

 sarvice to this church this arternewn ; cans' 

 maester is a-going over the moor a stag-hunting 

 wi' Sir Thomas." 



