Ely, Mr.

The agreeable bachelor clergyman of Milby. "Mr. Ely was a tall, darkhaired, distinguished-looking man of three-and-thirty. By the laity of Milby and its neighbourhood he was regarded as a man of quite remarkable powers and learning, who must make a considerable sensation in London pulpits and drawing rooms on his occasional visits to the metropolis; and by his brother clergy he was regarded as a discreet and agreeable fellow. Mr. Ely never got into a warm discussion; he suggested what might be thought, but rarely said what he thought himself ; he never let either men or women see that he was laughing at them, and he never gave anyone an opportunity of laughing at him. In one thing only be was injudicious. He parted his dark wavy hair down the middle; and as his head was rather flat than otherwise, that style of coiffure was not advantageous to him. The original of Mr. Ely was the Rev. William H. King, curate of Nuneaton.

<em>The Sad Fortunes of the Reverend Amos Barton</em>

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