{"product_id":"2940011818707","title":"Holy Orders","description":"Scanned, proofed and corrected from the original hardcover edition for enjoyable reading.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eAn excerpt from the AUTHOR'S NOTE:  THE chief incidents of the following story occurred some years ago in an obscure and dreary little village, not on the Cotswolds, but in a lonely and sparsely populated district lying some few miles inland from the north-east coast. The Vicar of the parish at that time was something of a hero in his quiet way, and fought bravely against the overwhelming forces of the Drink interests in his neighbourhood. Whether he really conquered or was conquered in the struggle has never to my knowledge been determined, and does not pertain to the present narrative. But his single-handed combat lasted for a long time, and was pathetic to the extreme of patience and endurance, and his history, though known only to a few, has furnished sufficient material for a similar character to his in my imaginary friend 'Richard Everton,' who may perhaps in his own person move the public to thoughtfully consider the silent martyrdoms bravely endured by many noble men of the Church, who have devoted, and are devoting their lives to bettering the conditions of the people and to lifting them out of the clutches of that devouring destroyer of all reason, health and good,—Drink. In certain rural districts, especially those which are solitary and secluded, and far away from great centres, there is a general dislike of a 'temperance' parson. He is looked upon as a 'sneak.' Sometimes he is one; far more often he is not. But a strong feeling nearly always exists against him,—and this animosity is sedulously fostered and encouraged by all such persons in his neighbourhood as may happen to have ' interests' in the liquor trade. Sometimes the ill-feeling reaches such a climax that the unfortunate man is regularly 'boycotted,' or else exposed to the most spiteful and injurious persecution. It takes something more than the usual soldier's mettle to daily bear with the miserable slights, the mean abuses, the ignorant sneers and vulgar mockeries of a petty parish in arms against its spiritual Head; yet there are hundreds of' rural' clergy who cheerfully endure these narrow animosities and prejudices,—staunch warriors for the Right and the True, hidden away in the dullest and least frequented corners of the British Isles, fighting steadily under their Divine Master's ' Orders,' without honour, without hope of recognition, without personal comfort,—often, in the end, dying dispirited and broken-hearted because the powers of Drink have proved more potent with their parishioners than the power of Christ! Humble heroes these in the counting of their own lives, but surely contributing to the ultimate working out of the nation's health, strength and wisdom. For just as one ill-tempered, uncharitable and bigoted clergyman will infect with his own unpleasant attributes a whole community, so will one warm-hearted, kindly, humane and sympathetic man of the same high calling, work a beneficial, if slow and gradual change in the mental feeling and attitude of even the most narrow and embittered of rustic populations. Yet with all their cheerful patience and self-sacrifice such men are far less appreciated in the world and wield much less influence than those who make their money out of the people's drunkenness and degradation, such as 'Mr. Minchin,' whose 'original,' I am told, so far from coming to ruin, as in the ensuing pages, is now a hoary-headed, complacent and professedly pious member of the House of Lords. And this perhaps is natural, for while the one side seeks to implant virtue, the other sows vice, and poor humanity will always be more prone to follow vice to its own undoing than virtue for its own happiness, till it knows better. That it is beginning to know better is hopefully evident. The Million whose labour makes the country's position and prosperity, are awaking to the realisation of the tyrannous grip in which themselves and their earnings are held by the Drink Trade,—and with the usual sturdy common-sense which lies at the core of their being, they are beginning to question why they in their toiling thousands should be doomed, with their children, to disease and degradation for the benefit of a few Drink ' companies.' And it is devoutly to be wished that the answer they arrive at will be in the form of such a fight against the National Curse, as may cleanse our land from the slur on its fair fame. For it must be the People themselves who decide their own destiny. They know by this time that they cannot rely on the advice proffered to them by ' party' newspapers; moreover the large sums of money coined by press ' companies ' out of the advertisements of brewing and distilling 'companies,' very naturally make the two Trades work along the same lines, hand and glove with each other. The pity of it is that the press should have ever become a Trade guided by money results more than by nat","brand":"OGB","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47168063013104,"sku":"2940011818707","price":0.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0737\/7593\/9824\/files\/2940011818707_p0.jpg?v=1763550365","url":"https:\/\/shop-qa.barnesandnoble.com\/products\/2940011818707","provider":"Barnes \u0026 Noble (DEV)","version":"1.0","type":"link"}