At a parochial meeting at Saint Edmund's church, Exeter, now the ruin on the medieval bridge, Mr Toby asked the Rev. Owen Owen, who was chairman of the meeting, whether or not he was prepared to abide by the decision of the referee in the dispute about the cellar.
"THE CHAIRMAN (pettishly) : That's not in the notice.
Mr. TOBY: You have staid away on purpose, sir.
THE CHAIRMAN (rising from his seat) : Good morning: good morning.
Mr. TOBY: Stop a bit, sir.
The Chairman however left the room
Mr. TOBY : There's a beauty of a parson! - (Laughter.)
Mr. UPRIGHT said the minister had promised to pay one half of the expenses of the arbitration in the case of the cellar, the other being defrayed by the parish; and now he would not abide by his written agreement. What confidence could they have in a minister who, after the parishioners had done their best, went from his written word.
On the suggestion of Mr. WORTHY, it was agreed that a special meeting should be held to take the subject into consideration."
The Exeter Flying Post of April 8th 1858 has as a title to this piece: THE CLERGYMAN RUNS AWAY FROM THE BARK OF TOBY. He was also running from WORTHY and UPRIGHT. He clearly had no chance of prevailing!
In the city respect for parsons was already on the wane and the tide of faith drawing back.
I only just learned that nobody (?) knew the bridge existed beneath St. Edmunds church until they came to pull it down in the nineteen-seventies.
Does every schoolboy ( or schoolgirl - wokejoke!) stll know that Toby is the archetypal name for an English dog, that Mr. Punch had his Dog Toby, that Sherlock befriended a dog called Toby, that Cole Hawlings had his Toby dog, that Tobias has a dog in the Bible story, hence the tradition? - Rhetorical question.
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