’I’vetwelveof’emliving,MrCrawley——fromeighteenyears,theeldest——agirl,downtoeighteenmonthstheyoungest——aboy,andtheygoinandout,boyandgirl,boyandgirl,likethecogsofawheel。Theyain’tsuchfarawaydistantcousinsfromyourownyoungones——onlyfirst,once,aswecallit。’
’Iamawarethatthereisafamilytie,orIshouldnothaveventuredtotroubleyou。’
’Bloodisthickerthanwater,isn’tit?Ioftensaythat。Iheardofoneyourgirlsonlyyesterday。Sheisstayingsomewheredowninthecountry,notfarfromwheremysisterlives——MrsEames,thewidowofpoorJohnEames,whoneverdidanygoodinthisworld。Idaresayyou’veheardofher?’
’Thenameisfamiliartome,MrToogood。’
’Ofcourseitis。I’veanephewdowntherejustnow,andhesawyourgirltheotherday;——veryhighlyspokeofhertoo。Letmesee;——howmanydoyouhave?’
’Threeliving,MrToogood。’
’I’vejustfourtimesthree;——that’sthedifference。ButIcomfortmyselfwiththetextaboutthequiveryouknow;andItellthemthatwhenthey’veeatupallthebutter,they’llhavetotaketheirbreaddry。’
’Itrusttheyoungpeopletakeyourteachingintheproperspirit。’
’Idon’tknowmuchaboutspirit。There’sspiritenough。Mysecondgirl,Lucy,toldmethatifIcameheretodaywithoutticketsforthepantomimeIshouldn’thaveanydinnerallowedme。That’sthewaytheytreatme。Butweunderstandeachotherathome。We’reallprettygoodfriendsthere,thankGod。Andthereisn’tasickchickamongtheboiling。’
’Youhavemanymerciesforwhichyoushouldindeedbethankful,’saidMrCrawley,gravely。
’Yes,yes,yes;that’strue。Ithinkofthatsometimes,thoughperhapsnotsomuchasIoughttodo。Butthebestwaytobethankfulistousethegoodsthegodsprovideyou。"ThelovelyThaissitsbesideyou。Takethegoodsthegodsprovideyou。"Ioftensaythattomywife,tillthechildrenhavegotcallingherThais。Thechildrenhaveitprettymuchtheirownwaywithus,MrCrawley。’
BythistimeMrCrawleywasalmostbesidehimself,andwasaltogetheratalosshowtobringinthematteronwhichhewishedtospeak。HehadexpectedtofindamanwhointhehurryofLondonbusinessmightperhapsjustmanagetosparehimfiveminutes——whowouldgrappleinstantlywiththesubjectthatwastobediscussedbetweenthem,wouldspeaktohimhalf—a—dozenhardwordsofwisdom,andwouldthendismisshimandturnontheinstanttoothermattersofimportantbusiness;——butherewasaneasyfamiliarfellow,whoseemedtohavenothingonearthtodo,andwhoatthisfirstmeetinghadtakenadvantageofadistantfamilyconnexiontotellhimeverythingabouttheaffairsofhisownhousehold。Andthenhowpeculiarwerethedomesticaffairswhichhetold!WhatwasMrCrawleytosaytoamanwhohadtaughthisownchildrentocalltheirmotherThais?OfThaisMrCrawleydidknowsomething,andheforgottorememberthatperhapsMrToogoodknewless。Hefeltit,however,tobeverydifficulttosubmitthedetailsofhiscasetoagentlemanwhotalkedinsuchastrainabouthisownwifeandchildren。
Butsomethingmustbedone。MrCrawley,inhispresentframeofmind,couldnotsitandtalkaboutThaisallday。’Sir,’hesaid,’thepictureofyourhomeisverypleasant,andIpresumethatplentyaboundsthere。’
’Well,youknow,prettytoll—lollforthat。Withtwelveof’em,MrCrawley,Ineedn’ttellyoutheyarenotallgoingtohavecastlesandparksoftheirown,unlesstheycanget’emofftheirownbats。ButI
payupwardsofahundredayeareachformyeldestthreeboys’
schooling,andI’vebeenpayingeightyforthegirls。Putthattogetherandseewhatitcomesto。Educate,educate,educate;that’smyword。’
’Nobetterwordcanbespoken,sir。’
’Idon’tthinkthere’sagirlinTavistockSquarethatcanbeatPolly——she’stheeldest,calledafterhermother,youknow——thatcanbeatheratthepiano。AndLucyhasreadLordByronandTomMooreallthrough,everywordof’em。ByJove,IbelievesheknowsmostofTomMoorebyheart。Andtheyoungunsacomingonjustaswell。’
’Perhaps,sir,asyourtimeis,nodoubt,precious——’
’We’lltackleto?Verywell;sobeit。Now,MrCrawley,letmehearwhatitisIcandoforyou。’Ofasudden,asMrToogoodspoketheselastwords,thewholetoneofhisvoiceseemedtochange,andeventhepositionofhisbodybecamesomuchalteredastoindicateadifferentkindofman。’Youjusttellyourstoryinyourownway,andIwon’tinterruptyoutillyou’vedone。That’salwaysthebest。’
’Imustfirstcraveyourattentiontoanunfortunatepreliminary,’saidMrCrawley。
’Andwhatisthat?’
’Icomebeforeyouinformapauperis。’HereMrCrawleypausedandstoodupbeforetheattorneywithhishandscrossedoneupontheother,bendinglow,asthoughcallingattentiontothepoornessofhisraiment。
’IknowthatIhavenojustificationformyconduct。IhavenothingofreasontoofferwhyIshouldtrespassuponyourtime。Iamapoorman,andcannotpayyouforyourservices。’
’Oh,bother!’saidMrToogood,jumpingfromhischair。
’IdonotknowwhetheryourcharitywillgrantmethatwhichIask——’
’Don’tletushaveanymoreofthis,’saidtheattorney。’Wenoneofuslikethatkindofthingatall。IfIcanbeofanyservicetoyou,you’reaswelcomeasflowersinMay;andasforbillingmyfirst—cousin,whichyourwifeis,Ishouldassoonthinkofsendinganaccounttomyown。’
’But,MrToogood——’
’Doyougoonnowwithyourstory;I’llputtherestallright。’
’Iwasboundtobeexplicit,MrToogood。’
’Verywell;nowyouhavebeenexplicitwithavengeance,andyoumayheaveahead。Let’shearthestory,andifIcanhelpyouIwill。WhenI’vesaidthat,youmaybesureImeanit。I’veheardsomethingofitbefore;butletmehearitallfromyou。’
ThenMrCrawleybeganandtoldhisstory。MrToogoodwasactuallytruetohispromiseandletthenarratorgoonwithhisnarrativewithoutinterruption。WhenMrCrawleycametohisownstatementthatthechequehadbeenpaidtohimbyMrSoames,andwentontosaythatthatstatementhadbeenfalse——’Itoldhimthat,butItoldhimsowrongly,’
andthenpaused,thinkingthatthelawyerwouldasksomequestion,MrToogoodsimplysaid,’Goon;goon。I’llcomebacktoallthatwhenyou’vedone。’AndhemerelynoddedhisheadwhenMrCrawleyspokeofhissecondstatement,thatthemoneyhadcomefromthedean。’Wehadbeenboundtogetherbyclosetiesofearlyfamiliarity,’saidMrCrawley,’andinformeryearsourestatesinlifewerethesame。ButhehasprosperedandIhavefailed。Andwhencreditorswereimportunate,I
consentedtoacceptreliefinmoneywhichhadpreviouslybeenoftenoffered。AndImustacknowledge,MrToogood,whilesayingthis,thatI
haveknown——haveknownwithheartfeltagony——thatatformertimesmywifehastakenthatfrommyfriendMrArabin,withhandhalf—hiddenfromme,whichIhaverefused。Whetheritbebettertoeat——thebreadofcharity——ornottoeatbreadatall,I,formyself,havenodoubt,’hesaid;’butwhenthewantstrikesone’swifeandchildren,andthecharitystrikesonlyoneself,thenthereisadoubt。’Whenhespokethus,MrToogoodgotup,andthrustinghishandsinhiswaistcoatpocketswalkedabouttheroom,exclaiming,’ByGeorge,byGeorge,byGeorge!’Buthestillletthemangoonwithhisstory,andheardhimoutatlasttotheend。
’AndtheycommittedyoufortrialatthenextBarchesterassizes?’saidthelawyer。
’Theydid。’
’Andyouemployednolawyerbeforethemagistrates?’
’None;——Irefusedtoemployanyone。’
’Youwerewrongthere,MrCrawley。Imustbeallowedtosaythatyouwerewrongthere。’
’Imaypossiblyhavebeensofromyourpointofview,MrToogood;butpermitmetoexplain。I——’
’It’snogoodexplainingnow。Ofcourseyoumustemployalawyerforyourdefence——anattorneywhowillputthecaseintothehandsofcounsel。’
’ButthatIcannotdo,MrToogood。’
’Youmustdoit。Ifyoudon’tdoit,yourfriendsshoulddoitforyou。
Ifyoudon’tdoit,everybodywillsayyou’remad。Thereisn’tasinglesolicitoryoucouldfindwithinahalfamileofyouatthismomentwhowouldn’tgiveyouthesameadvice——notasingleman,either,whohadgotaheadonhisshouldersworthatrump。’
WhenMrCrawleywastoldthatmadnesswouldbelaidathischargeifhedidnotdoashewasbid,hisfacebecameveryblack,andassumedsomethingofthatlookofdeterminedobstinacywhichithadwornwhenhewasstandinginthepresenceofthebishopandMrsProudie。’Itmaybeso,’hesaid。’Itmaybeasyousay,MrToogood。Buttheseneighboursofyours,astowhosecollectedwisdomyouspeakwithsomuchcertainty,wouldhardlyrecommendmetoindulgeinaluxuryforwhichIhavenomeansofpaying。’
’Whothinksaboutpayingundersuchcircumstancesasthese?’
’Ido,MrToogood。’
’Thewretchedcostermongerthatcomestogriefhasabarristerinawigandgowntogivehimhischanceofescape。’
’ButIamnotacostermonger,MrToogood——thoughmorewretchedperhapsthananycostermongernowinexistence。Itismylottohavetoendurethesufferingsofpoverty,andatthesametimenotbeexemptfromthosefeelingsofhonourtowhichpovertyisseldomsubject。IcannotaffordtocallinlegalassistanceforwhichIcannotpay——andIwillnotdoit。’
’I’llcarrythecasethroughforyou。Itcertainlyisnotjustmylineofbusiness——butI’llseeitcarriedthroughforyou。’
’Outofyourownpocket?’
’Nevermind;whenIsayI’lldoathing,I’lldoit。’
’No,MrToogood;thisthingyoucannotdo。ButdonotsupposeIamthelessgrateful。’
’WhatisitthatIcandothen?Whydoyoucometomeifyouwon’ttakemyadvice?’
Afterthistheconversationwentonforaconsiderabletimewithouttouchingonanypointwhichneedbebroughtpalpablybeforethereader’seye。Theattorneycontinuedtobegtheclergymantohavehiscasemanagedintheusualway,andwentsofarastotellhimthathewouldbeill—treatinghiswifeandfamilyifhecontinuedtobeobstinate。Buttheclergymanwasnotshakenfromhisresolve,andwasatlastabletoaskMrToogoodwhathehadbetterdo——howhehadbetterattempttodefendhimself——ontheunderstandingthatnolegalaidwastobeemployed。Whenthisquestionwasatlastaskedinsuchawayastodemandananswer,MrToogoodsatforamomentortwoinsilence。Hefeltthatananswerwasnotonlydemanded,butalmostenforced;andyettheremightbemuchdifficultyingivingit。
’MrToogood,’saidMrCrawley,seeingtheattorney’shesitation,’I
declaretoyoubeforeGod,thatmyonlyobjectwillbetoenablethejurytoknowaboutthissadmatterallthatIknowmyself。IfIcouldopenmybreasttothemIshouldbesatisfied。Butthenaprisonercansaynothing;andwhathedoessoiseveraccountedfalse。’
’Thatiswhyyoushouldhavelegalassistance。’
’Wehadalreadycometoaconclusiononthatmatter,asIthought,’saidMrCrawley。
MrToogoodpausedforaanothermomentortwo,andthendashedathisanswer;orrather,dashedatacounterquestion。’MrCrawley,wheredidyougetthecheque?Youmustpardonme,youknow;or,ifyouwishit,I
willnotpressthequestion。Butsomuchhangsonthat,youknow。’
’Everythingwouldhangonit——ifIonlyknew。’
’Youmeanthatyouforget?’
’Absolutely;totally。Iwish,MrToogood,IcouldexplaintoyouthetoilsomeperseverancewithwhichIhavecudgelledmypoorbrains,endeavouringtoextractfromthemsomescintillaofmemorythatwouldaidme。’
’Couldyouhavepickeditupatthehouse?’
’No;——no;thatIdidnotdo。DullasIam,Iknowsomuch。Itwasmineofright,fromwhateversourceitcametome。Iknowmyselfasnooneelsecanknowme,inspiteofthewiseman’smotto。HadIpickedupachequeinmyhouse,orontheroad,IshouldnothaveslepttillIhadtakenstepstorestoreittotheseemingowner。SomuchIcansay。But,otherwise,Iaminsuchmattersoshandy—pated,thatIcantrustmyselftobesureofnothing。Ithought;——Icertainlythought——’
’Youthoughtwhat?’
’Ithoughtthatithadbeengiventomebymyfriendthedean。I
rememberwellthatIwasinhislibraryatBarchester,andIwassomewhatprovokedinspirit。Therewerelyingonthefloorhundredsofvolumes,allglitteringwithgold,andreekingwithnewleatherfrombinders。Heaskedmetolookathistoys。WhyshouldIlookatthem?
Therewasatime,buttheotherdayitseemed,whenhehadbeengladtoborrowfrommesuchtreasuresasIhad。Anditseemedtomethathewasheartlessinshowingmethesethings。Well;Ineednottroubleyouwithallthat。’
’Goon;——goon。Letmehearitall,andIshalllearnsomething。’
’Iknownowhowvain,howvileIwas。Ialwaysknowafterwardshowlowthespirithasgrovelled。IhadgonetohimthenbecauseIhadresolvedtohumblemyself,and,formywife’ssake,toaskmyfriend——formoney。
Withwordswhichwereveryawkward——whichnodoubtwereungracious——I
hadaskedhim,andhehadbidmefollowhimfromhishallintohislibrary。Thereheleftmeawhile,andonreturningtoldmewithasmilethathehadsentformoney——and,ifIcanremember,thesumhenamedwasfiftypounds。’
’Butithasturnedout,asyousay,thatyouhavepaidfiftypoundswithhismoney——besidesthecheque。’
’Thatistrue;——thatisquitetrue。Thereisnodoubtofthat。ButasI
wassaying——thenhefelltotalkingaboutthebooks,andIwasangered。
Iwasverysoreinmyheart。Fromthemomentinwhichthewordsofbeggaryhadpassedfrommylips,Ihadrepented。Andhehadlaughedandhadtakenitgaily。IturneduponhimandtoldhimthatIhadchangedmymind。Iwasgrateful,butIwouldnothavehismoney。AndsoIpreparedtogo。Buthearguedwithme,andwouldnotletmego——tellingmeofmywifeandofmychildren,andwhilehearguedtherecameaknockonthedoor,andsomethingwashandedin,andIknewthatitwasthehandofhiswife。’
’Itwasthemoney,Isuppose?’
’Yes,MrToogood;itwasthemoney。AndIbecamethemoreuneasy,becausesheherselfisrich。Ilikeditthelessbecauseitseemedtocomefromherhand。ButItookit。WhatcouldIdowhenheremindedmethatIcouldnotkeepmyparishunlesscertainsumswerepaid?Hegavemealittleparcelinacover,andItookit——andlefthimsorrowing。I
hadneverbeforecomequitetothat;——though,indeed,ithadinfactbeenoftensobefore。Whatwasthedifferencewhetherthealmsweregivenintomyhandsorintomywife’s?’
’Youaretootouchyaboutitall,MrCrawley。’
’OfcourseIam。Doyoutryit,andseewhetheryouwillbetouchy。Youhaveworkedhardatyourprofession,Idaresay。’
’Well,yes;prettywell。Totellthetruth,Ihaveworkedhard。ByGeorge,yes!It’snotsobadnowasitusedtobe。’
’Butyouhavealwaysearnedyourbread;breadforyourself,andbreadforyourwifeandlittleones。Youcanbuyticketsfortheplay。’
’Icouldn’talwaysbuytickets,mindyou。’
’Ihaveworkedashard,andyetIcannotgetbread。Iamolderthanyou,andIcannotearnmybarebread。Lookatmyclothes。IfyouhadtogoandbegfromMrCrump,wouldyounotbetouchy?’
’Asithappens,Crumpisn’tsowelloffasIam。’
’Nevermind。ButItookit,andwenthome,andfortwodaysIdidnotlookatit。Andthentherecameanillnessuponme,andIknownotwhatpassed。ButtwomenwhohadbeenhardonmecametothehousewhenIwasout,andmywifewasinaterriblestate;andIgaveherthemoney,andshewentintoSilverbridgeandpaidthem。’
’Andthischequewaswithwhatyougaveher?’
’No;Igavehermoneyinnotes——justfiftypounds。WhenIgaveither,IthoughtIgaveitall;andyetafterwardsIthoughtIrememberedthatinmyillnessIhadfoundthechequewiththedean’smoney。Butitwasnotso。’
’Youaresureofthat?’
’Hehassaidthatheputfivesnotesoftenpoundseachintothecover,andsuchnotesIcertainlygavetomywife。’
’Wherethendidyougetthecheque?’MrCrawleyagainpausedbeforeheanswered。’Surely,ifyouwillexertyourmind,youwillremember,’saidthelawyer。’Wheredidyougetthecheque?’
’Idonotknow。’
MrToogoodthrewhimselfbackinhischair,tookhiskneeupintohislaptonurseit,andbegantothinkofit。Hesatthinkingofitforsomeminuteswithoutaword——perhapsforfiveminutes,thoughthetimeseemedtobemuchlongertoMrCrawley,whowas,however,determinedthathewouldnotinterrupthim。AndMrToogood’sthoughtswereatvariancewithMrToogood’sformerwords。Perhaps,afterall,thisschemeofMrCrawley’s——orratherthemodeofdefenceonwhichhehadresolvedwithoutanyscheme——mightbethebestofwhichthecaseadmitted。Itmightbewellthatheshouldgointocourtwithoutalawyer。’Hehasconvincedmeofhisinnocence,’MrToogoodsaidtohimself,’andwhyshouldhenotconvinceajury?Hehasconvincedme,notbecauseIamspeciallysoft,orbecauseIlovetheman——forastothatIdislikehimratherthanotherwise;——butbecausethereiseitherrealtruthinhiswords,orelsesowell—feignedashowatruththatnojurycantellthedifference。Ithinkitistrue。ByGeorge,Ithinkhedidgetthetwentypoundshonestly,andthathedoesnotthismomentknowwherehegotit。
Hemayhaveputhisfingerintomyeye;but,ifso,whynotalsointotheeyesofajury?’Thenhereleasedhisleg,andspokesomethingofhisthoughtsaloud。’It’sasadstory,’hesaid;’averysadstory。’
’Well,yes,it’ssadenough。Ifyoucouldseemyhouse,you’dsayso。’
’Ihaven’tadoubtbutwhatyou’reasinnocentasIam。’MrToogood,ashesaidthis,feltalittletingeofconscience。HedidbelieveMrCrawleytobeinnocent,buthewasnotsosureofitashiswordswouldseemtoimply。Neverthelessherepeatedthewordsagain——’asinnocentasIam。’
’Idon’tknow,’saidMrCrawley。’Idon’tknow。IthinkIam;butI
don’tknow。’
’Ibelieveyouare。Butyouseethecaseisaverydistressingone。A
juryhasarighttosaythatthemaninpossessionofachequefortwentypoundsshouldaccountforhispossessionofit。IfIunderstandthestoryaright,MrSoameswillbeabletoprovethathebroughtthechequeintoyourhouse,and,asfarasheknows,nevertookitoutagain。’
’Isupposeso;allthesame,ifhebroughtitin,thendidhetakeitoutagain。’
’Iamsayingwhathewillprove——or,inotherwords,whathewillstateuponoath。Youcan’tcontradicthim。Youcan’tgetintotheboxtodoit——evenifthatwouldbeofanyavail;andIamgladthatyoucannot,asitwouldbeofnoavail。Andyoucanputnooneelseintotheboxwhocandoso。’
’No;no。’
’Thatistosay,wethinkyoucannotdoso。Peoplecandosomanythingsthattheydon’tthinktheycando;andcan’tdosomanythingsthattheythinkthattheycando!Whenwillthedeanbehome?’
’Idon’tknow。’
’Beforethetrial?’
’Idon’tknow。Ihavenoidea。’
’It’salmostatoss—upwhetherhe’ddomoreharmorgoodifhewerethere。’
’Iwishhemightbethereifhehasanythingtosay,whetheritmightbeforharmorgood。’
’AndMrsArabin;——sheiswithhim?’
’Theytellmesheisnot。SheisinEurope。HeisinPalestine。’
’InPalestine,ishe?’
’Sotheytellme。Adeancangowherehelikes。Hehasnocureofsoulstostandinthewayofhispleasures。’
’Hehasn’t——hasn’the?IwishIwereadean;thatis,ifIwerenotalawyer。MightIwritealinetothedean——andtoMrsDeanifitseemedfit?Youwouldn’tmindthat?Asyouhavecometoseeyourcousinatlast——andverygladIamthatyouhave——youmustleavehimalittlediscretion。Iwon’tsayanythingIoughtn’ttosay。’MrCrawleyopposedthisschemeforsometime,butatlastconsentedtotheproposition。
’AndI’lltellyouwhat,MrCrawley;Iamveryfondofcathedrals,Iamindeed;andIhavelongwantedtoseeBarchester。There’saveryfinewhat—you—may—call—em;isn’tthere?Well;I’lljustrundownattheassizes。WehavenothingtodoinLondonwhenthejudgesareinthecountry——ofcourse。’MrToogoodlookedintoMrCrawley’seyesashesaidthis,toseeifhisiniquityweredetected,buttheperpetualcuratewasaltogetherinnocentinthesematters。’Yes;I’lljustrundownforamouthfuloffreshair。OfcourseIshan’topenmymouthincourt。ButI
mightsayonewordtothedean,ifhe’sthere;——andonewordtoMrSoames。Whoisconductingtheprosecution?’MrCrawleysaidthatMrWalkerwasdoingso。’Walker,Walker,Walker?oh——yes;WalkerandWinthrop,isn’tit?Adecentsortofman,Isuppose?’
’Ihaveheardnothingtohisdiscredit,MrToogood。’
’Andthat’ssayingagreatdealforalawyer。Well,MrCrawley,ifnothingelsecomesoutbetweenthisandthat——nothing,thatis,thatshallclearyourmemoryaboutthatunfortunatebitofpaper,youmustsimplytellyourstorytothejuryasyou’vetoldittome。Idon’tthinkanytwelvemeninEnglandwouldconvictyou;——Idon’tindeed。’
’Youthinktheywouldnot?’
’OfcourseI’veonlyheardoneside,MrCrawley。’
’No——no——no,thatistrue。’
’ButjudgingaswellasIcanjudgefromoneside,Idon’tthinkajurycanconvictyou。Atanyrate,I’llseeyouatBarchester,andI’llwritealineortwobeforethetrialjusttofindoutanythingthatcanbefoundout。Andyou’resureyouwon’tcomeandtakeabitofmuttonwithusintheSquare?Thegirlswouldbedelightedtoseeyou,andsowouldMaria。’MrCrawleysaidthathewasquitesurehecouldnotdothat,andthenhavingtenderedreiteratedthankstohisnewfriendinwordswhichweretouchinginspiteoftheirold—fashionedgravity,hetookhisleave,andwalkedbackagaintothepublic—houseatPaddington。
HereturnedhometoHogglestockonthesameafternoon,reachingthatplaceatnineintheevening。DuringthewholeofthedayafterleavingRaymond’sBuildingshewasthinkingofthelawyer,andofthewordswhichthelawyerhadspoken。AlthoughhehadbeendisposedtoquarrelwithMrToogoodonmanypoints,althoughhehadbeenmorethanoncedisgustedbytheattorney’sbadtaste,shockedbyhislowmorality,andalmostinsultedbyhiseasyfamiliarity,still,whentheinterviewwasover,helikedtheattorney。WhenfirstMrToogoodhadbeguntotalk,heregrettedverymuchthathehadsubjectedhimselftothenecessityofdiscussinghisprivateaffairswithsuchawindbagofaman;butwhenheleftthechamberhetrustedMrToogoodaltogether,andwasverygladthathehadsoughthisaid。Hewastiredandexhaustedwhenhereachedhome,ashehadeatennothingbutabiscuitortwosincehisbreakfast;
buthiswifegothimfoodandtea,andthenaskedhimastohissuccess。
’Wasmycousinkindtoyou?’
’Verykind——morethankind——perhapssomewhattoopressinginhiskindness。ButIfindnofault。GodforbidthatIshould。Heis,Ithink,agoodman,andcertainlyhasbeengoodtome。’
’Andwhatistobedone?’
’Hewillwritetothedean。’
’Iamgladofthat。’
’AndhewillbeatBarchester。’
’ThankGodforthat。’
’Butnotasmylawyer。’
’Nevertheless,IthankGodthatsomeonewillbetherewhowillknowhowtogiveyouassistanceandadvice。’