district, farmed, and helped his neighbours in haymaking and
sheep-shearing, spun cloth, studied natural history, and, in spite of
all this, was throughout a devoted and earnest parish priest. He was
certainly entitled to his epithet "the Wonderful."

Goldsmith has given us a charming picture of an old-world parson in his
_Vicar of Wakefield_, and Fielding sketches a no less worthy cleric in
his portrait of the Rev. Abraham Adams in _his Joseph Andrews_. As a
companion picture he drew the character of the pig-keeping Parson
Trulliber, no scandalous cleric, though he cared more for his cows and
pigs than he did for his parishioners.

"Hawks should not peck out hawks' e'en," and parsons should not scoff at
their fellows; yet Crabbe was a little unkind in his description of
country parsons, though he could say little against the character of
his vicar.

"Our Priest was cheerful and in season gay;
His frequent visits seldom fail'd to please;
Easy himself, he sought his neighbour's ease.

* * * * *

Simple he was, and loved the simple truth,
Yet had some useful cunning from his youth;
A cunning never to dishonour lent,
And rather for defence than conquest meant;
'Twas fear of power, with some desire to rise,
But not enough to make him enemies;
He ever aim'd to please; and to offend