t the common
sentiment by stopping the chaise, advancing to the door with raised hat,
and begging to know of Mr. Dempster, whether the Rector had forbidden the
'canting lecture'.

'Yes, yes,' said Mr. Dempster. 'Keep up a jolly good hurray.'

No public duty could have been more easy and agreeable to Mr. Powers and
his associates, and the chorus swelled all the way to the High Street,
where, by a mysterious coincidence often observable in these spontaneous
'demonstrations', large placards on long poles were observed to shoot
upwards from among the crowd, principally in the direction of Tucker's
Lane, where the Green Man was situated. One bore, 'Down with the
Tryanites!' another, 'No Cant!' another, 'Long live our venerable
Curate!' and one in still larger letters, 'Sound Church Principles and no
Hypocrisy!' But a still more remarkable impromptu was a huge caricature
of Mr. Tryan in gown and band, with an enormous aureole of yellow hair
and upturned eyes, standing on the pulpit stairs and trying to pull down
old Mr. Crewe. Groans, yells, and hisses--hisses, yells, and groans--only
stemmed by the appearance of another caricature representing Mr. Tryan
being pitched head-foremost from the pulpit stairs by a hand which the
artist, either from subtilty of intention or want of space, had left
unindicated. In the midst of the tremendous cheering that saluted this
piece of symbolical art, the chaise had reached the door of the Red Lion,
and loud cries of 'Dempster for ever!' with a feebler cheer now and then
for Tomlinson and Budd, were presently responded to by the appearance of
the public-spirited attorney at the large upper window, where also were
visible a little in the background the small sleek head of Mr. Budd, and
the blinking countenance of Mr. Tomlinson.

Mr. Dempster held his hat in his hand, and poked his head forward with a
butting motion by way of bow. A storm of cheers subsided at last into
dropping sounds of 'Silence!' 'Hear him!' 'Go it, Dempster!' and the
lawyer's rasping voice became distinctly audible.

'Fellow-townsmen! It gives us the sincerest pleasure--I speak for my
respected colleagues as well as myself--to witness these strong proofs of
your attachment to the principles of our excellent Church, and your zeal
for the honour of our venerable pastor. But it is no more than I expected
of you. I know you well. I've known you for the last twenty years to be
as honest and respectable a set of ratepayers as