114 THE EULOGY OF RICHARD JEFFERIES. 



system of the parish. It was the keystone of 

 that parental plan of government that he be- 

 lieved in. The very first doctrine preached 

 from the pulpit was that of obedience. ' Honour 

 thy father and thy mother ' was inculcated 

 there every seventh day. His father went to 

 church, he went to church himself, and every- 

 body else ought to go. It was as much a 

 social gathering as the dinner at the market 

 ordinary, or the annual audit dinner of their 

 common landlord. The Dissenter, who de- 

 clined to pay Church-rates, was an unsocial 

 person. He had left the circle. It was not 

 the theology that they cared about, it was the 

 social nonconformity. In a spiritual sense, 

 too, the clergyman was the father of the parish, 

 the shepherd of the flock it was a part of 

 the great system. To go a step farther, in 

 political affairs the one leading idea still 

 threaded itself through all. The proper 

 Parliamentary representative the natural 

 law-giver was the landlord of the district. 

 He was born amongst them, walked about 

 amongst them, had been in their houses 

 many a time. He knew their wants, their 



