that the arrangement was a judicious one, and that it proved satisfactory in its working.

After their marriage Howard is related to have taken his wife to some place of public resort in London, in order to see what effect it would have upon her mind; and as she appeared to be lost in thought, and to show no interest whatever in the scene before them, he suddenly turned to her, and exclaimed, "Now, Harriet, I must insist on your telling me what you have been thinking about." "Well," was her answer, "if I must tell you, I have been thinking of Mr.'s sermon last Sunday!"

One other anecdote has been preserved, telling. how when Howard, on making up his accounts, found that he had an unexpected balance in his favour, and suggested to his wife a journey to London for their own pleasure, or any other indulgence she might choose, he received for answer the remark, "What a pretty cottage it would build." Accordingly, the journey was abandoned, and the cottage was forthwith erected.

It is evident from these stories that the husband and wife were well suited to each other; and, what is more important than anything else, they were united in religious feeling, although the one was a dissenter, and the other a member of the Church of England. It has already been mentioned that the elder Howard was a Congrega

tionalist. His son had early joined himself to the same body, of which he remained an attached member to the end of his life. His relations with the ministers of the various chapels which he attended, whether in London or at Bedford, were uniformly cordial, and some of the firmest friendships of his life were made with them. Mrs. Howard was a churchwoman, and, during her lifetime, Howard seems to have usually accompanied her, at least once on Sundays, to the parish church (where later on he erected a monument to her memory), though he never shrank from acknowledging himself a dissenter. He was a man of Evangelical piety, firmly convinced of the truth of the somewhat narrow Calvinistic creed in which he had been brought up, but of a large-hearted charity, tolerant of others who differed from him, and ever ready to unite with any who were inspired with the same spirit of benevolence and philanthropy which grew upon him as he gave it exercise.

Soon after the marriage, in consequence of the weak state of Mrs. Howard's health, a change of residence from Cardington was advised, and Howard removed to Watcombe near Lymington, in the New Forest, where he purchased an estate. The result of the experiment was not satisfactory. The place was too damp; and after three or four years the estate was sold, and the Howards

returned to Cardington. This was to be their home for life, and they now set to work in earnest in improving the property. Their own house and gardens were considerably altered, and it was at this time that the root-house, which figures in a well-known story of Howard and his son was built. This was a favourite resort of Howard's, for quiet thought and meditation. He would spend hours here, and had it fitted up with a small bookcase containing works of a devotional character, such as Hervey's Meditations (a favourite work among the Evangelicals of the last century), and the writings of Flavel and Baxter. Of the improvements made on the estate, and of Howard's efforts and plans for the good of his tenants, a more detailed account is reserved for the next chapter. He was now evidently looking forward to spending a quiet and retired life, with plenty to occupy him in the management of his property, and the pursuit of those scientific studies and observations in which he delighted. As he says himself, in the earliest letter of his which has been preserved, he had his books and instruments comfortably about him, and was hoping for more time to enjoy them. Ten or a dozen hands were employed on the estate in digging and planting under hissuperintendence; 1 and the only thing that was wanting to complete his happiness, the birth of a son and heir, was 1 See Field's Correspondence of John Howard, p. 14.