DECEMBER 257 



self-respect, but a sixpenny one will invariably find 

 him. He is always in church on collection Sundays, 

 well dressed, admirably conducted, attending with a 

 detached reasonableness to the service. He is never 

 emotional ; he has no " conviction of sin," such as 

 his dissenting relatives suffer from ; he never talks 

 about getting to heaven, nor even thinks about it. 

 Personal dignification is his creed, and it carries him 

 over many a rough journey, and makes the way 

 smooth for him. No one would expect more of 

 him than this admirable position. 



But when he is old, or when, being not yet old, 

 Death comes knocking for him, all is changed. 

 Public opinion is satisfied that a man shall live with 

 quietness and dignification for his religion, but it 

 is not satisfied that he should die with them. He 

 must find God on his deathbed. Every man and 

 woman who comes to see him points out his duty 

 in the matter. " You must think o' Heaven now, 

 master, because you've got naught else to look to," 

 is the invariable line of argument. And so, since 

 he has always done his simple duty, he clasps his 

 hands and says, "Angels! Glory!" and dies as 

 quietly as he lived, and everyone is happy about 

 him, and says he makes a beautiful corpse. 



I don't think that Petunia's good young vicar 

 can appreciate this type of rustic. But it is a noble 

 type, nevertheless, instinct with that proportion and 

 form of self-control which alone is attainable by its 

 subject. The higher flights of ecstasy and self- 

 abnegation are not possible to him ; his carnal 

 will is brought into subjection in a diverse way 

 from that of his educated brother; his ideal is a 

 s 



