the living of Fintona, in the county of Tyrone, worth at least a hundred a year more than that of Devenish. Neither Mr. Skelton, nor any one for him, asked the bishop for this or the other living; so that a regard for his merit was the sole principle that induced his lordship to bestow these benefices successively upon him. Such a bishop was indeed an honour to the station he filled, and a blessing to the clergy who had the good fortune to be under him.

When Mr. Skelton visited his lordship on his promotion, he said to him, "My lord, I return you thanks for your kindness to me, and for putting so worthy a person in my room; but I know, the chief pleasure you enjoy is in being able to do good.”—“I am glad, Skelton," said the bishop, "I have done what is agreeable to you."-" But, my lord," he continued, "you are only a puppet in the hands of God Almighty. God sent one of the royal family to the university in England where you were a professor, that you might please him, and be raised high in the church. Then God Almighty, using him as an instrument, sent you over to Ireland, and made you bishop of Ferns, and at length raised you to the see of Clogher, where you have great power and many livings to bestow, and a horrible account you must give hereafter of the manner you dispose of them. Thus God sent you over to us to do good, and to promote worthy men. He sent you also, my lord, to promote me, who, I hope, will not shame you before him and the world. You see now, my lord, you are only a puppet in the hands of God Almighty."-" You're right Skelton, you're right Skelton," replied the good bishop.

When he got the living of Fintona, he was just fifty-nine years of age. "God Almighty," he used to say, "was very kind to me when I began to advance in years, and stood in need of a horse and servant, he gave me a living. Then he gave me two livings one after another, each of which was at least worth a hundred a year more than the preceding. I have therefore been rewarded by him, even in this world, far above my deserts." Such was his humility.

he got it when he was twenty. In his sixth volume he tells us, his works were published in 1777; but the works themselves inform us they were published in 1770. Hence it appears, that through inadvertance, or defect of memory, he was liable to mistakes with respect to times and dates.

Fintona is a market-town in the county of Tyrone, five miles distant from Omagh. The proper name of the parish is Donacavey, but as Fintona is the market-town, the parish by custom, as before observed of Pettigo, assumes that name. It is six miles square, and though of a coarse soil, was even then tolerably well cultivated. It also has two hundred acres of glebe; seventy of which lie near the town, but the rest are mountainous, and consequently of little value. A third part of the parish is tithe-free, which made the living, though so large, and with such a glebe, worth scarcely 500l. a year. He received but 4007. neat, as the curate's salary, which was at least 607. and the expense of collecting tithe, consumed the other 1007. Possibly he could have made more of it, had he been rigid in requiring his dues. There is a market in Fintona every Friday, and also some stated fairs in the year, when they usually have violent quarrels. The 22d of June is a remarkably quarrelling fair. But they were then even more furious quarrellers than at present, as the private stills were more numerous, and of course the people more disorderly. In this town he at first boarded and lodged with one Buchanan.

Upon entering on the care of this parish, he perceived that he had but few hearers, the most of the people being Roman Catholics and Presbyterians. In the town of Fintona, in particular, they were almost all Presbyterians, but in a short time he brought over nearly the whole of these to the established church; which was no easy task, considering the firmness with which they usually adhere to their opinions of nonconformity.

A clergyman, with whom he lodged awhile, assured me he told him, that when he found, on first coming to one of his parishes, that his Protestant parishioners were mostly Dissenters, he used the following stratagem to entice them to come to church. Having invited their minister to dine with him, he asked his leave to preach in his meetinghouse on the next Sunday, though he owned he could not with safety allow him to preach in his church. The man gave his consent; but his people were so pleased with Mr. Skelton, that the greater number of them quitted their own teacher, and came afterward to hear him. He then sent for him, and asked him how much he lost by the desertion of

his hearers? He told him 407. a year; on which he settled that sum annually on him and paid it out of his own pocket.

His practice of physic at Fintona was at least equally expensive to him; for his bestowing medicines on the poor, and prescribing to the people gratis, as at Pettigo, made Dr. Gromly, the physician of the place, complain, that by his means he lost a great part of his business; which caused him to settle 401. a year on him. In both these instances he not only took on him the toil of doing good, but also voluntarily paid for doing it.

At Fintona he made converts of a few Roman Catholics, as also at all his other parishes. At Devenish in particular, one Ann Develin, of that persuasion, being converted by hearing his awful lectures to a sick woman on her death bed, renounced the Popish religion; which caused her to suffer harsh usage from her own family, who vainly strove by all means to bring her back to Popery.

About the time he was advanced to his last preferment, he received a letter from the present earl of Bristol, before he got his bishopric, informing him, that as he expected soon to be raised to a station of some eminence in the Irish church, he hoped then to be able to prove the high opinion he entertained for the " author of Deism Revealed." Accordingly, in 1767, upon his obtaining the bishopric of Cloyne, his lordship sent him another letter to this effect, that having some time before made a sort of an engagement with him, he begged leave now to fulfil it, and therefore requested him to come up to Dublin and preach his consecration sermon, assuring him that, upon his compliance, he would promote him in the church as high as he was able. Skelton, in his answer, informed his lordship, he would comply with his request, though he was content with the living he had; and if he would consent to go to the diocess of Cloyne, it would be only to be nearer the sun, and nearer his lordship. He then prepared a sermon for the occasion; but when the day approached, finding himself somewhat unwell, and the weather very cold, he thought he could not with safety go to Dublin, and of course the bishop was disappointed. However, he sent his lordship the sermon, who, though astonished at the ability it displayed, was still offended with

Mr. Skelton, as he imagined his excuse for his absence was not sufficient. Upon this, he informed him by letter, that the chain of their friendship was broken in two; to which Mr. Skelton replied, that if it were broken, it was of his lordship's own forging, not of his. Yet the bishop, after his promotion to the see of Derry, came to Fintona to pay him a visit (when he happened to be abroad), and desired a young gentleman who was in his lodgings to inform him that he had come fifteen miles out of his road to see him. Of this visit Mr. Skelton, it seems, took no notice. It was unfortunate that the disappointment of the sermon produced such a disagreement between them; for otherwise his lordship, in all probability, would have promotod him highly in his diocess, as, it is well known, he was a liberal encourager of literature.

His brother John, of Dundalk, died this year. I have heard it mentioned to his credit, that he would not, like some others, use his influence over the landlord, to take fields from the poor people to suit his own convenience. His brother Thomas, of Newry, died some time before; for whom he had such an affection that he wore ever after, as mourning for him, a blue coat with black cuffs.

When he obtained the living of Fintona, he seemed to have arrived at the height of his wishes. He had no ambitious notions: he wished to do good here, in hopes of obtaining heaven hereafter. In no human breast was there ever a more settled contempt for the vain pomp of all sublunary things. A gentleman mentioned him once with respect to lord Townshend, during his lieutenancy, adding that he was content with what he had; on which his excellency observed, that he must be a very extraordinary man, and he should be glad to be acquainted with him; for he never knew any one in all his life content with what he had. Another gentleman of consequence, intimately acquainted with this nobleman, offered to introduce him to his excellency; but he refused, assuring him, he did not wish for any higher preferment in the church. Besides, he knew he was not qualified to pay that humble attendance at court requisite to gain the favour of a great man in power.

His people at Fintona being but little acquainted with religion, though well accustomed to whiskey and quarrel

ling, he found it necessary, first to visit every house in his parish, and then collect to a particular place the people of each town-land that he might instruct them more conveniently. When he had thus gone round them himself, he af terward called to his assistance blind Carshore of Pettigo, who spent the whole winter among them teaching them religion, for which he was paid by him. In summer he catechised the children in church as usual, bestowing on them Bibles, or "Week's-Preparations," according to their answers, or the distance they came, and he accompanied his examination with lectures on the catechism, introducing in them some of the most notorious bad deeds done in the parish the week before. Thus he strove to shame them out of their vices, and also out of their ignorance, by publicly examining, as usual, the grown-up people in the church.

One Sunday, some time after he came to Fintona, when he was examining them in the church, he came up to a woman, and asked her how many commandments there were? She answered, seven. He told her there were ten, and asked her what was the first? This was too hard for her, and when she was stammering about it, one John Patterson, a tailor, behind her, whispered to her, " Thou shalt have no other gods but me."—" Do you hear, sir," quoth she," what Johnny Patterson, a tailor body here says to me? he says, I shall have no other god but him: Deel in hell take such gods." This is an instance of the ignorance of the people.

He was examining once an old gentleman, called John Hamilton, who could not answer him a word. When he found he said nothing, he thought he was deaf, and said, "Ah! poor man, he's deaf."—" Oh! indeed I am," he replied.

Though his people had himself, his curate, and blind Carshore to instruct them, they were still very far from being perfect; and therefore he thought it requisite to appoint as an additional instructor, one Armstrong, a miller of Tonagh, near Fintona, whom he supposed to be a very sober and discreet man. To him he gave the charge of his neighbours, to keep them in due order, telling him, he expected, he would give a good account of them. Soon after this, he met Armstrong drunk in Fintona, on a market-day, and said,