328 THE COACHING AGE. 



in the stone-wall country. The living v/as of small 

 value, but there was a snug rectory-house ; and the 

 rector, being possessed of private means, kept his car- 

 riage and horses, farmed his glebe land, and lived 

 very comfortably, having, like most country clergy- 

 men, a quiver full — consisting of his eldest son, who 

 took Holy Orders, four spinster daughters. Young 

 Green, and two boys at school, one at Winchester, 

 the other at Eton. 



Like many university men of his day, he was, I 

 suppose, about as unacquainted as a man well could 

 be with business matters ; and indeed I question very 

 much if he had ever been in anyone's counting-house 

 or office in his life when he settled down in his parish, 

 where he became, comparatively speaking, shut out 

 from the world. He was eventually made a magis- 

 trate, which brought him into contact with some of 

 the neighbouring squires and gentry when attending 

 the magistrates' meetings — held some two . or three 

 times a month at an inn in an adjoining village. 

 His opportunities, however, of acquiring a knowledge 

 of general business and the ways of the world were 

 not facilitated very much, the cases brought before 

 the Bench being of a trivial nature ; if they did 

 chance to get hold of a sheep-stealing case it 

 was considered a grand thing, and afforded a theme 

 of conversation at the various local dinner-parties 



