'Ah, my poor uncle!' sighed my friend; 'he has had sorrows and trials
enough to sour his temper and break his heart.  He was not always the
gentle, earnest Christian you now see him, but a severe, uncompromising
theologian of the old school, and looked upon all other sects who
opposed his particular dogmas as enemies to the true faith.  A strict
disciplinarian, he suffered nothing to interfere with his religious
duties, and exercised a despotic sway in the church and in his family.
He married, early in life, my father's only sister, and made her an
excellent husband; and if a certain degree of fear mingled with her
love, it originated in the deep reverence she felt for his character. 

'He was forty years of age when the Earl of B----, who was a near
relation, conferred upon him the living of Westcliff.  The last incumbent
had been a kind, easy-going old man, who loved his rubber of whist and a
social chat with his neighbours over a glass of punch, and left them to
take care of their souls in the best manner they could, considering that
he well earned his 700 pounds per annum by preaching a dull, plethoric
sermon once a week, christening all the infants, marrying the adults,
and burying the dead.  It was no wonder that Dr.  Leatrim found the
parish, as far as religion was concerned, in a very heathenish state.