The Rev. Marmaduke Merrythought, 39 



Wingfield, where, indeed, he has been ever since. Of 

 course he took unto himself a wife, and under their united 

 auspices the parish was soon in apple-pie order, for our 

 Rector, despite his sporting proclivities, knew exactly 

 how things ought to be, and would have them done 

 accordingly. The place had been neglected terribly of 

 late, for his predecessor in office was a very old man, and 

 was not competent, even if willing, to see about things at 

 all ; the consequence was that everything had been con- 

 ducted in the most rough and ready style imaginable 

 for a very considerable period. Sometimes there was 

 no service, sometimes there was. Then the poor old 

 Rector would read the wrong lessons, the schoolboys 

 played marbles and cracked nuts under his very nose, 

 whilst a select body of village roughs would amuse 

 themselves during service by shouting and singing, and 

 playing leap-frog over the graves outside. The Rev. 

 Marmaduke very soon altered all that. The yokels out- 

 side persisting in kicking up disturbances, notwithstand- 

 ing repeated remonstrances on his part, he just sallied 

 out one Sunday in the middle of his sermon, stalked 

 down the aisle, and into the graveyard, where, catching 

 the biggest of the offenders, he administered a sound 

 drubbing to him on the spot. There was no more leap- 

 frog ever again. A new schoolmaster was appointed — a 

 young man, with a sharp eye and determined mien, a 

 very different customer to tackle from the last one, who was 

 stone-deaf and half blind into the bargain. Little Johnny 

 Stout detected in the act of cracking wood-nuts in 

 church, got such a dressing next day that he was sore 

 for a week after. Then the church music. When the 

 new parson came, there was an orchestra in the gallery, 



