us and combative temperament, often
prompted him to manifest, in cases of self-defence, the possession
of powers which they feared to call into exercise. This disposition,
however, which, after all, was not so unnatural, he properly restrained
and kept I in subjection; but, in order to compensate for it, he
certainly did pepper them, in his polemical discourses, with a vehemence
of abuse, which, unquestionably, they deserved at his hands--and got.
With the exception of too much zeal in religious matters, his conduct
was, in every other respect, correct and proper.

To return now to Darby, whose steps have been directed, not exactly
towards Constitution Cottage, but towards the spacious glebe-house of
the Rev. Phineas Lucre, which brought him about a mile or two out of his
way. The fact is he was beginning to tire of M'Slime, who, whenever he
had occasion for his services, was certain to shear him of his fees
on the one hand precisely as M'Clutchy did on the other. The change of
agents was consequently of no advantage to him, as he had expected it
would be; for such was the rapacity of the two harpies that each of
them took as much as they could out of the unfortunate tenants, and left
Darby little to comfort himself, with the exception of what he got
by their virtuous example, an example which he was exceedingly apt to
follow, if not to exceed. For this reason he detested them both, and
consequently felt a natural anxiety to set them together by the ears
whenever he thought the proper occasion for it should arrive. Now, an
event had taken place the very day before this, which opened up to his
mind a new plan of operations altogether. This was the death of the
under gaoler of Castle Cumber. Darby began to think of this as a good
speculation, should it succeed; but alas! upon second reflection there
stood an insurmountable difficulty in his way. He was a Roman Catholic
so far as he was anything; and this being a situation of too much trust
and confidence at the period to be given to any one of that persuasion,
he knew he he could not obtain it. Well, but here again he was
fortunate, and not without the prospect of some consolation. The
extraordinary movement in the religious world, called the New
Reformation, had just then set in with a liveliness of judgment, and a
celerity of conversion among the lower classes of Roman Catholics, which
scarcely anybody could understand. The saints, however, or evangelical
party, headed