easily, often fervently, never rantingly. The pulpit of the Parish
Church will stand for ever before he upsets it, and he will never
approach that altitude of polemical phrenitis which will induce him
to smash any part of it. His pulpit language is invariably well
chosen; some of his subjects may be rather commonplace or
inappropriate, but the words thrown into their exposition are up to
the mark. He seldom falters; he has never above one, "and now,
finally, brethren," in his concluding remarks; he invariably gives
over when he has done--a plan which John Wesley once said many
parsons neglected to observe; and his congregation, whether they
have been awake or fast asleep, generally go away satisfied. Canon
Parr has been at our Parish Church nine and twenty years, and
although we don't subscribe to his ecclesiastical creed, we believe
he has done good in his time. He is largely respected; he would have
been more respected if he had been less exacting towards Dissenters,
and less violent in his hatred of Catholics. Neither his Church-rate
nor Easter Due escapade improved his position; and some of his
fierce anti-Popery denunciations did not increase his circle of
friends. But these things have gone by, and let them be forgotten.
In private life Canon Parr is essentially social: he can tell a
good tale, is full of humour; he knows a few things as well as the
rest of men, and is charitably disposed--indeed he is too
sympathetic and this causes hint to be pestered with rubbishy tales
from all sorts of individuals, and sometimes to act upon them as if
they were true. As a Protestant vicar--and, remembering that no
angels have yet been born in this country, that everybody is
somewhat imperfect, and that folk will differ--we look upon Canon
Parr as above the average. He has said extravagant and unreasonable
things in his time; but he has rare properties, qualities of sense
and erudition, which are strangers to many pretentious men in his