40 The Rev. Marmadiike Merrythought. 



consisting of a double-bass, a violin, a trombone, a bas- 

 soon, and a clarionet. The Reverend was fond of music, 

 and the performance in the gallery of a Sunday upset 

 him terribly (he v^as celebrated at Oxford for his singing, 

 and the style in which he used to favour the company 

 with *' Nix My Dolly " and other popular songs would 

 always bring down the house at supper and wine parties). 

 The band then was promptly done away with, to its 

 members' great indignation — their leader, Amos Rose by 

 name, who played the clarionet, turning Dissenter in 

 disgust, not that it mattered much, seeing that shortly after 

 he got five years for taking a pot-shot at one of Lord Daisy- 

 field's keepers, who happened to come across him just as 

 he had knocked a fine fat cock-pheasant off his perch on a 

 fir-tree one shiny night in the " season of the year," as 

 the poacher has it in the old song. That feat accom- 

 plished, our energetic Rector proceeded at once to go 

 round with the hat, with a view to buying an organ, and 

 got the necessary funds in less than half a no-time, 

 making up any deficiencies from his own pocket. The 

 new organ appeared ; the new schoolmaster played it ; 

 Mrs. Merrythought took the children in hand ; and 

 very soon the singing was good enough for anything. 

 Everything then being put shipshape in the parish, for the 

 Reverend fully recognised the sense of the old saying, 

 ^* Business first, pleasure afterwards," he thought that it 

 was about time that he began to see to the furthering of 

 his own amusements ; so accordingly some fresh stables 

 were built ; two more nags added to those he had brought 

 with him ; and shortly after Christmas the Reverend 

 Marmaduke was enabled to make his first appearance 

 with the Harkaway Hounds in a becoming manner, and 



