118 THE WILLEY EECTOR. 



called him Dr. Stephens. He was in the commission 

 of the peace, too, for the borough ; and so completely 

 did the characters combine — so perfectly did law 

 and divinity dove-tail into each other — that he 

 might have been taken as a personification of either. 



" Mild were liis doctrines, and not one discourse 

 But gained in softness what it lost in force." 



Without stinginess he partook of the good things 

 heaven to man supplies ; he was " full fed ; " his face 

 shone with good-humour, and he was as fond of a 

 joke as of the Squire's old port. As a justice of the 

 peace he was no regarder of persons, providing 

 they equally brought grist to his mill ; he had 

 no objection to litigants smoothing the way to 

 a decision by presents, such as a piece of pork, 

 a pork pie, or a dish of fish ; once or twice, how- 

 ever, he found the fish to have been caught the 

 previous night out of his own pond. Next to a 

 weakness for fish was one for knee-breeches and 

 top-boots, which in the course of much riding re- 

 quired frequent renewal ; and, 'tis said, that seated 

 in his judicial chair, he has had the satisfaction of 

 seeing a pair of new chalked tops projecting alike 

 from plaintiff's and defendant's pockets. In which 



