but deplore the state of that society which is obliged to tolerate such a beast, as the pastor of a Christian congregation.

PARSON WRIGHT AND HIS CLERK.

"Let us sing with the spirit and understanding.”—PAUL.

The late Reverend Mr. Wright, who had a small living in the west of England, having, as he conceived, seen through the erroneous jumble called the Athanasian Creed, refused to read it to his congregation, though repeatedly desired to do it by many of his parishioners.

The parishioners forwarded a formal complaint to the Bishop, who ordered it to be read, and that the said parson, as a good minister of the religion established by law,.do continually put his hearers in mind of this fundamental part of his creed.

Now this very curious creed is appointed to be said or sung at the discretion of the Parson, and Mr. Wright, in the true spirit to his superior, on the following Sunday, thus addressed his congregation; "Next follows Anathasius's Creed, either to be said or sung, and, with heaven's leave, I'll sing it." Now, Clerk, mind what you are about," when they both struck up, and sung it, with great glee, to a fox-hunting tune, which having previously practised, was well performed, to the great happiness of many people, who were already too much inclined to mock the sacred rites of the church, which, in their opinion, are founded upon no better basis than Pagan superstition.

The parishioners again met, and remonstrated with the pastor as to the indecorum and bad effects of his conduct upon the minds of the people. The pastor conceived he had done his duty properly, and could not help it if he did bring religion into disrepute, seeing he was obliged to perform rites which in his conscience he disbelieved.

The Bisphop was again consulted; and he said the parson

had done right, for it was so ordered that the Creed might be said or sung: upon which, the people declared, that they would dispense with the Creed in future, and many of them seceded from the Church altogether; nor did Mr. Wright ever after either read or sing the said Creed.

PARSON RIGSBYE,

Of Nottingham.

And Abraham lifted up his eyes and looked, and beheld a ram caught in a thicket by his horns.-GEN. chap. 22nd, v. 13.

If cruelty be a predominant feature in all brute creation, then is Mr. Rigsbye as great a brute as ever degraded the title of manhood. He was married to a very amiable woman, and by a daily repetition of ill usage, he broke her heart. How comes it that villains commonly succeed in ensnaring the affections of lovely and amiable women? That men, famous for their brutality, certainly are united to women of the most mild and feminine disposition? They are more skilled in deceit, and having no solid pretensions to virtue, they assume her garb, and pursue their object with an ardour proportioned to the iniquity of their hopes; they do that an honest man dare not do-impose a fictitious appearance on the unsuspecting victim of their avarice or lust, and call God to witness lies-heedless if their present views be obtained, what may be their reward hereafter.

Mr. Rigsbye was one of this stamp, and after he had obtained possession of a lovely girl, he devoured her living with harlots,' and hurried her into the grave-another victim added to the hundreds who have been deceived by false appearances. Mr. Rigsbye was a whoremonger, and few in his power failed to fall victims to his lust. He seduced a bonnet-maker, whom he soon taught to be as iniquitious as himself; she ran him into debt, and got him into scrapes with all the town; he openly acknowledged her as his strumpet, and set an example to every

one, which fortunately had no pernicious effect. The picture was so highly coloured as to become disgusting-the glare was so offensive that the eye turned away, to seek repose on a more sombre canvas, where the hues of Vice had not obliterated the tints laid on by the pencil of Virtue.

Upon the death of his unfortunate wife, the infatuated Parson married the companion of his debaucheries; and as tyrants sooner or later suffer a reverse of fortune, the cruelty he inflicted upon his first wife, was retaliated upon him by this second, who rules him with a rod of iron; she says to him 6 come, and he cometh; go, and he goeth;' and it seems, with the will to do iniquity, he has lost the power.

"Your pipe has lost the power of pleasing.

Fal, lal, lal, lal, la."

To throw his infirmities in his teeth, and expose him to the scum of the world, his amiable darling always carries a ram or hegoat with her in the carriage. Whether he considers this ram as a type of that, which, for the gratification of Father Abraham's butchering propensity, was caught in a thicket by the horns-or, as a horned satire upon himself, history saith not, but we suppose it alludes to his venereal propensities, and is held up by his lady, to shew what manner of man this minister of God is, and what he should not be.

Often may this venerable-bearded, and horned type of letchery, be seen looking out of one window of the carriage, and the old Parson out of the other, with the young bonnet-maker in the middle, laughing at her two puppets, which she is exhibiting for the moral instruction of the spectators.

The writer remembers one day, that the Parson's carriage was standing at the outside of the town, and the

"Heavenly twins,"

The ram and the bull were looking out of the side windows; • Which be the old lustful Parson?' said a stupid countryman,

who was gaping at the curious scene. An arch-looking journeyman lace-maker replied with some naivette, " Which lad? Why that's him; dosn't thee know him by his horns?"

Mr. Rigsbye once took more pains to raise up "horned work" for others, than ever my uncle Toby did to destroy the horned work at the seige of Dendermond; and if he is not now fortified about the "Counterscarp," thanks to his "White Serjeant" who uses him better than he merits; at any rate, his mind is not fortified by the barriers of Christianity; he has never fought the good fight of faith, and cannot say with Saint Paul, henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of glory." ⚫ Whoremongers and adulterers God will judge,' and assuredly when he descends in judgment on the wings of cherubims, the soul of the parson will melt away like wax, and his sentence be one as bad as that pronounced on Cain-for an hypocrite can never stand in the Almighty presence with the slightest hope of mercy or forgiveness; but he has time yet to be wise, and repent; his wife's presence, and her tauntings, must remind him of his bodily failings; and the sage monitor, the ram, must make his blood run cold, to think what he must have been to merit such a staring satire on his guilty ways.

We have not any more to say, but that we wish to see every sinner turn to repentance;' and advise him, instead of going into public with goats, to retire in private, and call upon the Lamb of God, who taketh away the sins of the world, to grant him pardon and peace. At present, we tremble at his prospects, and so is the grave trembling under his feet-it is a grave subject: we advise him to consider it seriously, and beg him to be assured, that in this very short account, our only object is to save a sinner from everlasting destruction.

TO MR. BENBOW, PUBLISHER.

SIR, I send you an account of two Clergymen, which you may insert if you please in your work, called "The Crimes of the Clergy."

Lincoln, June, 1823.

Your's, &c.

T. R. V.

THE REV. V. P. LITTLEHALES, M. P.

Prebendary of Southwell Cathedral, Pluralist and Monster.

"The Lord shall judge thee thou whited wall, on the day thou runnest into an funer chamber.”

This miserable sinner, a Master of Arts, of the University of Cambridge, held two small livings, (to which he was presented by the noble family of Monson) called Burton and South Carlton, in the county of Lincoln, and resided at the parsonage house at Burton, which is a beautiful residence in Lord Monson's park, for a number of years, till his enormities were discovered, and he was eventually compelled to quit the kingdom. He was a man of very great learning; and, to do him justice, in exterior better than many that have entered into holy orders, and he was undoubtedly kind and charitable to the poor. He kept a small school for a very superior sort, at which the sons of several of the noblemen were educated; and a short time before the last disgraceful event, had been presented to a prebendary of Southwell Cathedral (by the influence of Mr. Percival, who was then in power) and was generally looked upon as one who was likely to rise in the church.

The affair that compelled him to leave the kingdom took place in the year 1812, at the house of a Dr. Wollaston, where he was staying on a visit. It appeared that he made a violent attempt upon the footman of his guest, who, with difficulty escaped from him, and of course refused to return to his room, although the bell was repeatedly rung with great violence. The gentleman of the house asking his servant why he did not answer Mr. Littlehales' bell, received an answer which he thought so improbable, that he dismissed the servant on the spot-an imprudent step-which irritated the servant, and released him from all necessity of keeping secret the infamous occurrence.

The reports that were now spread about the county of Lincoln were of such a serious nature, that several gentlemen of respectability entered into a determination to investigate the matter, not having a doubt but the ac cusations were false and scandalous. Mr. Littlehales, however, wrote them a letter, begging them to desist, ending with this sentence: " Í foresee it