ON the translation of Bishop Harold Browne from Ely to Winchester, it seemed as if the intimate relationship between the two bishops must terminate, but at the same time a canonry in Winchester fell vacant, together with the archdeaconry of the Isle of Wight, and it became possible that they should be removed together. This was ultimately effected by arrangement with the Prime Minister, in whose gift the Winchester canonry lay, and on his appointing Bishop McDougall to it, the Ely canonry was placed at his disposal. The change was desired by the Bishop's family on account of the health, both of himself and Mrs. McDougall, for the cold of Ely had become absolutely dangerous to them; but to him the great attraction was the continuance of his connection with his friend. That it was lamented at Ely was proved by the warm letters of regret received, both from Dean Merivale and the Bishop-elect, Dr. Woodford. In a pecuniary point of view it was a sacrifice; for although at that time the Winchester canonry was the more valuable of the two, the separation from the diocese involved the resignation of the vicarage of Godmanchester, as well as of the archdeaconry of Huntingdon. The latter was replaced by the archdeaconry of the Isle of Wight. But he did not undertake parochial work in the new diocese until November 1881, when he accepted the small living of Milfordby-the-Sea, which was in the gift of the Bishop of Winchester. The parish was very pleasantly situated, looking over the

Solent upon the Needles and the Isle of Wight, and gave him a house in a mild sea air, to the great benefit of his health and that of Mrs. McDougall, although it scarcely produced any pecuniary emolument, after due provision had been made for the curate, and other necessary outgoings. He was never wholly happy without some pastoral charge, but his remaining so long without it was not for want of opportunity, for the patronage of the valuable living of Alton, which belonged to the Chapter, twice fell into his gift, but he refrained from presenting himself on the ground that the work was thought beyond his strength; and this was, after some consideration, the counsel of the Bishop of Winchester on the subject.

Eventually the change of canonries became, in itself, a severe loss. On the rearrangement of their endowments, under the Acts establishing the Ecclesiastical Commission, the Cathedral Chapters had the liberty of electing to take their emoluments in the form of either annuities charged upon the General Fund of the Commission, or in the shape of reduced specific and unincumbered landed endowments, and the members of the old Chapter of Winchester, who had always been accustomed to be squires, elected to take their endowments in land. At that time they naturally looked upon the land as more certain and permanent than annuities, and likely to increase rather than diminish in value, as it had in fact done steadily during the first three-quarters of the century.

For the first two years of his holding the canonry, the affairs of the Chapter went on swimmingly, but when agricultural distress set in, and bad harvests and falling prices commenced, the pressure fell with crushing severity on the Winchester Chapter. Tenants threw up their farms, in some cases became bankrupt, and were unable to pay their arrears or fulfil the conditions of their leases, and when new tenants could not be found, the management of the land was thrown upon the landlords, who had to find the funds to work it, while it was often much run out and in bad condition. But the susten

tation of the fabric of the Cathedral, the support of the choir, and the payment of the minor canons and other officials, had to be provided for without deduction, so that the loss was, in effect, that of the Dean and Canons alone. In one year, owing to the accumulation of these causes, their stipends, it is believed, were brought down to zero, but during the remainder of the Bishop's life they were greatly reduced-how greatly we cannot venture to say, but it is certain that he thereby became unexpectedly pinched for money. His finances were also seriously affected from another cause. When he left Borneo, a great part of his funds had been invested in the Straits. This had been done under the advice of his good friends the managers of the Borneo Company, with whom he had left his money, and not unwisely, for the investments had been well and carefully made by them, and they watched over his interests as if they had been their own. This he always felt and acknowledged, but the investments, being made in dollars, were affected by the fall in the value of silver that followed, and which, at the time of their making could not have been anticipated. He had looked to those funds as his provision for his family, and his plan had been, if possible, to allow them to accumulate for this object, and he seems to have felt it a self-imposed duty to permit them to do so. The difference between the rate of interest in the Straits and that upon safe securities at home must have gone some distance in preventing any eventual loss, but at the very time that his stipend as canon failed, he had the vexation of seeing the depreciation of his property abroad. Nevertheless, he bore these misfortunes bravely, although sometimes sorely troubled, and while he diminished his expenses in every possible direction, still kept up the large but unostentatious hospitality of his house at Winchester, in which he delighted, and which, under the circumstances of the case, during his residence appeared especially necessary.

How he got on as he did, and that without laying himself

open to any outside obligations, and with the cheerfulness that he showed, was a wonder to his brother-in-law, who knew most of his affairs. One of his stories of Chapter difficulties, told with much amusement but with some injunctions as to care in its repetition, may perhaps now be related without wounding any susceptibilities, for the occurrence happened before the advent of the present Dean, and the Chapter has since entirely changed. It shows the difficulty of the management of landed property by a corporate body of elderly ecclesiastics in time of trouble. One of their largest farms had been thrown upon their hands, and no tenant could be found, and they were therefore compelled to undertake its cultivation themselves, through an agent. When the crops had to be settled a Chapter was called, and their agent attended, and they were recommended to plant barley as their mainstay. Why, it does not appear, but the price of barley had been high the year before, and farmers, like other producers, seem always ready to rush in to overstock and throw down a good market. The barley might have answered, it sprung up and promised an abundant harvest, but a very wet season set in, harvest-men could not be obtained at the right time, and the barley sprouted and rotted on the ground. The agent then advised them that there was nothing to be done but to buy a large quantity of pigs, who would eat off the barley as it stood, and that thereby the harvesting would be saved, and the barley turned into pork, which would carry itself to market in the absence of farm horses. Another Chapter was, therefore, called, and a cheque was drawn, and the pigs were purchased; but alas! a murrain fell upon them, they all became measly, and the Chapter was then told that nothing remained but to slay and bury them. So they were slain and buried at a further outlay, and there was an end of rent, barley, cash, and this most unfortunate live stock.

When he came to Winchester he was elected Treasurer of the Chapter, and at once occupied himself with investigating

the state of the fabric. For the first time, probably for many years, one of the canons climbed the narrow corkscrew stairs of the turrets and examined the roof and tower-no easy thing for an elderly gentleman, scant of breath and stout of body, and with an Indian liver. There are few things more curious than the immense stone roof of a Cathedral church, like that of William of Wykeham over the nave of Winchester. The visitor, after a long climb, finds himself on a ridgeway stretching from one end to the other, where a single false step on either side may precipitate him into one of the deep caverns formed by the arches of the bays, where an active man may easily break a limb or his neck; while over his head is the external roof of timber covered with lead, with a few apertures to give a twilight glimmer over the whole. This roof was a constant care and anxiety to the Bishop, especially on account of the leadwork, which required recasting and renewing, and probably does so at the present time, for it is whispered that every year the plumbers find a long occupation upon it—a perilous work notwithstanding the great care taken in this case, and one which has called down the Fire King to the destruction of many a stately edifice. But still more pressing was the necessity of the reinstalment of the roof of the transepts. The great southern Norman transept was found to be unsafe, not only from the decay of the leadwork, but from the enormous pressure of the ancient timbers becoming too great for the external walls and threatening the collapse of that part of the building. On the urgent application of Bishop McDougall, backed by the representations of the architect of the Cathedral, to the Ecclesiastical Commissioners, the repair of the transept was undertaken, a new roof constructed and the old lead stripped off, remelted and rolled afresh and replaced with excellent results. Nor was this all: a constant work of gradual repair was introduced. An experienced and skilful working mason, Mr. Alexander Skirving by name, was sent from London by Mr. Ewan Christian, the