The hearer was proud who could repeat by
heart such phrases as "let us not, beloved brethren, as gaudy
insects, flutter out life's little day, bound to the chariot wheels
of vanity, whirling in the vortex of dissipation, until at length we
lie moaning over the bitter dregs of the intoxicating draught." Some
of these became household proverbs at "the Folly," under the title of
"Rigdum Funnidoses," and might well be an extreme distress to the
good, reverent, and dutiful Jessie.
Mrs. Rigby was an inferior woman, a sworn member of the Coffinkey
clique, admiring and looking up to her Serene Highness as the great
lady of the place, and wearing an almost abject manner when
receiving good counsels from her. Neither of them commanded respect,
nor were they likely to change the belief, which prevailed at the
Folly, that all ability resided among the London clergy.
CHAPTER XI. UNDINE.
Lithest, gaudiest harlequin,
Prettiest tumbler ever seen,
Light of heart and light of limb.
Wordsworth.
Long walks continued to be almost a necessity to Mrs. Joseph
Brownlow, even when comparatively sobered down, and there were few
days on which she was not to be met a mile or two from Kenminster,
attended by a train of boys larger or smaller, according to the
demands of the school for work or play.
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