Now, place woman on a footing of equality with man, and her natural instinct will soon place her on a pedestal from which she will exercise authority overbearingly. I say _overbearingly_, for woman being born to be protected, when she takes the upper hand, does so like a _parvenue_; that is, fussily, indiscreetly. This natural instinct Mrs. Goodman possessed in the highest degree; her husband could have given evidence upon the point. The vicar's wife had other reasons for believing herself superior to her husband. She was of aristocratic origin, and pretended to be descended from the Irish kings. For that matter, we may take the opportunity of remarking that we have not yet met with any Irish people that were not descended, in a straight line, from the ancient kings of Ireland. If we were to believe the excellent Hibernians, our Louis XII. never half so well earned the title of _Father of the People_ as these old monarchs of Erin. The exploits of Hercules are mere child's play by the side of the _tours de force_ of those lusty Celts. Proud of her ancestors, Mrs. Goodman often reminded the poor pastor of his obscure birth. "I ought to be the wife of a bishop," she would sometimes say to him, when he did not seem sufficiently lost in admiration before her. "Alas, would that you were, my dear!" thought the worthy man. And as he was good-natured and had no reason for wishing harm to the chief of his diocese, the wish died on his lips and was almost inaudible. We believe we have said enough to prove that the Rev. Bartholomew Goodman found his purgatory in this world, which must have been, for his Christian soul, a great consolation and even a source of joy, since the Protestant religion does not admit of the existence of this place of purification in the next. II. One morning in the spring of the year 188... Mr. Goodman, vicar of the parish of All Angels, sat in his study writing his two sermons for the following Sunday. As we have said elsewhere, sermons are read from the pulpit in England; at least, this is the practice of Anglican clergymen, and we have explained the reason why.