Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: CHAPTER III THE PARISH MINISTER On Channing's return to Newport the family received him the more tenderly because his broken health seemed ominous of fatal ill. Francis, the elder brother, had gone to Cambridge to engage in the practice of his profession (law), and William found himself installed as the head of the family. He had inherited something of his mother's irritability and something of his father's skill in soothing her with his embracing arm and his assurance, " It will all be well." With his own irritability and sharpness of speech and manner he made a good fight and came off more than conqueror. His regular duty was the tuition of his youngest brother and a young Randolph who had followed him from Virginia. He busied himself also with his sisters' studies, and with the happy confidence of twenty summers set himself to form the mind of one of these, more or less fortunate than the others, and to be her spiritual guide. He went little into society, nursing a habit solitary and recluse; introspective and self-searching to a dangerous degree. He found " a degrading selfishness reigning in his heart." He must avoid all levity and unmeaning gayetyand make himself an example of the beauty of holiness. " When I feel irritable, let me be silent; let me quit society." If he " must vindicate his character, let it be in as few and temperate words as consist with the regard to what I owe to truth." With much of this kind there are intimations of the coming man : " Let charity embrace in her broad arms all sects. Why should I brand any who differ from me with opprobrious epithets ? " Meanwhile he was carrying on his theological studies with impassioned eagerness, with a view to entering the ministry. A little office near the house served him for a study, and there his ...