sermon or before the bell rings.

My friend Sir ROGER, being a good churchman, has beautified the inside
of his church with several texts of his own chusing: He has likewise
given a handsome pulpit-cloth, and railed in the communion-table at his
own expence. He has often told me, that at his coming to his estate he
found his parishioners very irregular; and that, in order to make them
kneel and join in the responses, he gave every one of them a hassock and
a common-prayer-book; and at the same time employed an itinerant
singing-master, who goes about the country for that purpose, to instruct
them rightly in the tunes of the psalms; upon which they now very much
value themselves, and indeed out-do most of the country churches that I
have ever heard.

As Sir ROGER is landlord to the whole congregation, he keeps them in
very good order, and will suffer no body to sleep in it besides himself;
for, if by chance he has been surprised into a short nap at sermon, upon
recovering out of it he stands up and looks about him, and if he sees
any body else nodding, either wakes them himself, or sends his servants
to them. Several other of the old Knight's particularities break out
upon these occasions:

Sometimes he will be lengthening out a verse in the singing psalms, half
a minute after the rest of the congregation have done with it;
sometimes, when he is pleased with the matter of his devotion, he
pronounces _Amen_ three or four times to the same prayer; and
sometimes stands up when every body else is upon their knees, to count
the congregation, or see if any of his tenants are missing.

I was yesterday very much surprised to hear my old friend, in the midst