120 THE WILLEY RECTOR. 



denly in demand on one occasion when, a full 

 clerical costume being required, he found his bands 

 not ready, and he set to work to iron them himself. 

 He was going on swimmingly as he thought, and 

 had only left the iron to go to the bottom of the 



stairs, with a " D n you, madam," to his wife, 



who had not yet come down ; " d n you, I can 



do without you," when, on returning, he found his 

 bands scorched and discoloured. 



A foxhunter's christening in which the Willey 

 Rector played a part on one occasion is too good 



to lose. He was the guest of Squire B 1, a 



well-known foxhunter, who at one time hunted the 

 Shifnal country with his own hounds. A very 

 jovial company from that side had assembled, and 

 it was determined to celebrate a new arrival in the 

 Squire's family, and to take advantage of the pre- 

 sence of the parson to christen the little stranger. 

 The thing was soon settled, and Stephens proceeded 

 in due form with the ceremony necessary to give to 

 the fair-haired innocent a name by which it should 

 be known to the world. The conversation of the 

 company had of course been upon their favourite 

 sport, a good many bottles of fine sherry and crusty 

 old port had been drunk, and under their influence, 



