Mr Cophagus walked home discomforted. He sat
down on his easy chair, and found it excessively uneasy—he
sat down to his solitary meal, and found that his
own company was unbearable—he went to bed,
but found that it was impossible to go to sleep.
The next morning, therefore, Mr Cophagus returned
to Mr Temple, and stated his wish to be made acquainted
with the difference between the tenets of the Quaker
persuasion and those of the Established Church.
Mr Temple gave him an outline, which appeared to Mr
Cophagus to be very satisfactory, and then referred
him to his niece for fuller particulars. When
a man enters into an argument with a full desire to
be convinced, and with his future happiness perhaps
depending upon that conviction; and when, further,
those arguments are brought forward by one of the
prettiest voices, and backed by the sweetest of smiles,
it is not to be wondered at his soon becoming a proselyte.
Thus it was with Mr Cophagus, who in a week, discovered
that the peace, humility, and good-will, upon which
the Quaker tenets are founded, were much more congenial
to the true spirit of the Christian revelation than
the Athanasian Creed, to be sung or said in our Established
Churches; and with this conviction, Mr Cophagus requested
admission into the fraternity, and shortly after his
admission, it was thought advisable by the Friends
that his faith should be confirmed and strengthened
by his espousal of Miss Judith Temple, with whom,
at her request—and he could refuse her
nothing—he had repaired to the town of Reading,
in which her relations all resided; and Phineas Cophagus,
of the Society of Friends, declared himself to be
as happy as a man could be. “Good people,
Japhet—um—honest people, Japhet—don’t
fight—little stiff—spirit moves—and
so on,” said Mr Cophagus, as he concluded his
narrative, and then shaking me by the hand, retired
to shave and dress.
Chapter LXII
I fall in love with
religion when preached by one who has the
form of an angel.
In half an hour afterwards Ephraim came in with a
draught, which I was desired to take by Mr Cophagus,
and then to try and sleep. This was good advice,
and I followed it. I awoke after a long, refreshing
sleep, and found Mr and Mrs Cophagus sitting in the
room, she at work and he occupied with a book.
When I opened my eyes, and perceived a female, I looked
to ascertain if it was the young person whom Ephraim
had stated to be Susannah Temple; not that I recollected
her features exactly, but I did the contour of her
person. Mrs Cophagus was taller, and I had a
fair scrutiny of her before they perceived that I was
awake. Her face was very pleasing, features small
and regular. She appeared to be about thirty
years of age, and was studiously neat and clean in
her person. Her Quaker’s dress was not
without some little departure from the strict fashion
and form, sufficient to assist, without deviating from,
its simplicity. If I might use the term, it was
a little coquettish, and evinced that the wearer,
had she not belonged to that sect, would have shown
great taste in the adornment of her person.
