he vicar appeared, just as
Paul Pry had done, and came towards the bed, as if with a friendly and
affectionate concern for his welfare, and said, "My dear fellow, be
persuaded it is 'now or never!'" Then, taking a seat at the corner of
the bed, with his back leaning against the post, he went on talking, and
saying, again and again, "Now or never!"

The poor churchwarden remonstrated in vain against being visited in this
manner, and thought it very hard; but the vicar sat there, and
persistently, said, "Now or never!" He became very angry, and bade him
go out of the room immediately; but the vicar said, "Now or never!"

"I will 'now' you," he said, "if you do not be off;" and so saying he
rose up in his bed; while the vicar glided to the door, repeating, "Now
or never!" and went away. The poor man, in great distress of mind,
turned to his wife, and asked her what could be the meaning of all this;
but she only cried, and said nothing.

Then, who should come next but Mr. F----, a quiet man of few words. He
had thoughts, no doubt, but kept them all to himself. He came gliding
into the room, as the vicar had done, sat on the same corner of the bed,
leant against the same post, and in 'the quietest way possible repeated
the same words, "Now or never!"

"Do you hear him?" said the poor distracted man to his wife--"do you
hear him?"

"Hear him? Hear what? No! nonsense! What does he say?"

"My dear, there! listen!"

"Now or never!" said the quiet man.

"There, did you not hear that?"

"No," she said, "I can hear nothing," and began to cry more copiously.
He got up, and said he would take the poker and punish every one of
them--that he would. The strange visitor made for the door, and, like
all the rest, said, as he disappeared, "Now or never!"

The poor churchwarden continued in a most distracted state, and during
the day met all his three visitors who had caused him so much
anxiety--"Paul Pry," the vicar, and the quiet gentleman, none of whom
looked at him or spoke to him as if anything had happened; but when he
heard me say over and over again in the pulpit, "Now or never!"
pointing, as it were, to the ghostly pendulum swinging there saying,
"Ever!--never!" and inquiring of the people "Do you see it? do you hear
it?" it seemed to bring matters to a climax. He said he turned and
looked at the wall to which I pointed, and almost expected to see that
solemn clock.

I did not wait to hear more, but kneeling down, I b