ends. He now
was able to carry out a resolution, which it is believed he had made long
before, and was ordained Deacon by Dr. Laud, the future Archbishop of
Canterbury. Many people imagined that this was to enable him to seek
ecclesiastical preferments, and several valuable livings were soon
offered to him; but his sole object was that he might have the necessary
authority to carry on the spiritual work of his own home, and thus be of
greater use to his family.

He had doubtless by now worked out the general plan of life, and put his
house and the church into proper order. Certain glebe lands and tithes
which had been alienated from their rightful owners were restored; and to
prove the honesty of his purpose he even pulled down a very large
dovecote upon the premises, which contained a great number of pigeons.
The reason for this was that all his property was laid out as pasture,
and therefore the pigeons fed on his neighbours' corn-fields. In the
place of the dovecote he made a school-house, and permission was given to
the people of the towns and villages within reach to send their children
to be instructed under his supervision, and without payment or expense.
For this purpose he provided three resident masters; one was to teach
English to the poor children and Latin to his nephews and nieces, another
superintended the writing and arithmetic, while the third was for
instruction in the theory and practice of music.

There was also especial inducement held out to all children of the
neighbourhood to learn the Psalms by heart. Each one was given a
Psalter, and had to go to Gidding on Sunday mornings to repeat his
portion learnt during the week. There were sometimes more than a hundred
children, and they were given a penny for each Psalm learnt, and a dinner
served in the great hall.

It will be as well now to describe in detail the "particular and more
punctual actions of each day in the week," which we get with great
exactness from the records left us by John Ferrar. To begin with
Sunday--early rising was encouraged on this day, as throughout the week,
namely, five o'clock in winter and four o'clock in summer. The younger
children first assembled in the great hall, where was always a good warm
fire in the winter. Here they found Nicholas Ferrar awaiting them, to
whom they repeated such chapters or Psalms as they had been given to
learn. After this they returned to their rooms to make themselves "more
comely