He had grown old and very shabby, and was so mean that
even his old friends, the convicts who had crossed the straits,
looked down on him with contempt. He came to me for an elector's
right, as a vote in our electorate--the Four Counties--was
sometimes worth as much as forty shillings, besides unlimited grog.
We were Conservatives then, true patriots, and we imitated--feebly,
it is true, but earnestly--the time-honoured customs of old England.
Mr. Nicholas had been a man of many employments, and of many
religions. He was never troubled with scruples of conscience, but
guided his conduct wholly by enlightened self-interest. He was a
Broad Churchman, very broad. As tutor in various families, he had
instructed his pupils in the tenets of the Church of England, of the
Catholics, of the Presbyterians, and of the Baptists. He always
professed the religion of his employer for the time being, and he
found that four religions were sufficient for his spiritual and
temporal wants. There were many other sects, but the labour of
learning all their peculiar views would not pay, so he neglected
them. The Wesleyans were at one time all-powerful in our road
district, and Nicholas, foreseeing a chance of filling an office of
profit under the Board, threw away all his sins, and obtained grace
and a billet as toll-collector or pikeman.
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