The Rev. Marmaduke Merrythought, 



43 



second glass of brown sherry after luncheon, and the 

 heat of the day combined, have, to say the truth, made 

 us uncommonly drowsy. The old-fashioned square pew, 

 too, we are in, is uncommonly comfortable. The hum 

 of a bumble-bee buzzing around, and the snore of a fat 

 farmer in the pew behind us, seem to act like lauda- 

 num upon our senses. In two seconds we are sound 

 asleep. 



A prayer-book suddenly drops off the seat with a bang, 

 and wakes us up with a start. Have we been snoring, we 

 wonder? Dear me ! we trust no one observed us. We 

 must have been asleep a quarter of an hour ; for, as we rub 

 our eyes and endeavour to wake up, we hear the Rev- 

 erend's clear voice bringing his no doubt excellent sermon 

 to a close thus: "And now, my brethren : Mark the 

 difference between these two men — Esau was a gentle- 

 man and a sportsman, but Jacob, my brethren, Jacob was 

 dijewy 



