e would not take a hint. He must have seen that his
company was not wanted, by me at least, and that I did not desire any
conversation with him. I've no doubt of his doing it on purpose!

He prided himself on his eminently practical mind, being incapable of
seeing romance even in the works of nature and nature's God; and he was
continually cutting jokes at my "sentimentality," as he was pleased to
style my more poetical views of life and its surroundings.

Whenever I gave him the chance, he was safe to slide in some of his
vulgar bathos after any heroic sentiment or personal opinion I may have
uttered. This, naturally, would rouse my temper, never very pacific;
and made me so cross, that I was often on the verge of quarrelling with
Min on his account!

The worst of it was, also, that he was always so confoundedly cool and
collected, that he generally came out of these encounters in the
character of an injured martyr or inoffensive person, who had to bear
the unprovoked assaults of my bearish brusquerie--making me, as a matter
of course, appear in a very unfavourable light.

I remember, one day in particular, when he was so exceedingly irritating
to me, that he goaded me on into addressing him quite rudely.

Min was very much distressed at my behaviour, remonstrating with me for
it; and this did not of course make me feel more kindly-disposed towards
the curate, who had now become my perfect antipathy.

We had been down to the church--Miss Pimpernell, the Dasher girls, Min,
and myself,--to hear the organist make trial of a new stop which had
been lately added to his instrument. Listening to the small sacred
concert that thereupon ensued, we had remained until quite late in the
evening; and, on our way home through the churchyard, as we loitered
along, looking at the graves, and trying to decipher by the slowly
waning light the half illegible inscriptions on the headstones, we came
across Mr Mawley.

Min and I were walking in front, talking seriously and reflectively, as
befitted the time and place.

We were moralising how--

"Side by side
The poor man and the son of pride
Lie calm and still."

"I wonder," said Min, "whether it is true that the dust of the departed
dead blossoms out again in flowers and trees, replenishing the earth?
Just fancy, how many illustrious persons even have died since the
beginning of the world! Why, in England alone we could number our
heroes by thousands; and it is nice