ried back home as quickly as he was able.

But things were almost worse with him at home than at Percycross.
The real horseleeches felt that they could hardly get a good hold
of him while he was lying at the Percycross inn. Attacks by letter
were, they well knew, more fatal than those made personally, and they
waited. The first that came was from Mr. Pabsby. Mr. Pabsby had at
last seen his way clear, and had voted for Underwood and Westmacott,
absolutely throwing away his vote as far as the cause was concerned.
But Mr. Pabsby had quarrelled with Griffenbottom, who once, when
pressed hard for some favours, had answered the reverend gentleman
somewhat roughly. "You may go and be ----," said Mr. Griffenbottom
in his wrath, "and tell everybody in Percycross that I said so."
Mr. Pabsby had smiled, had gone away, and had now voted for Mr.
Westmacott. Mr. Pabsby was indeed a horseleech of the severest
kind. There had been some outward show of reconciliation between
Griffenbottom and Pabsby; but Pabsby had at last voted for Underwood
and Westmacott. Sir Thomas had not been home two days before he
received a letter from Mr. Pabsby. "It had been with infinite
satisfaction,"--so Mr. Pabsby now said,--"that he had at length seen
his way clearly, and found himself able to support his friend Sir
Thomas. And he believed that he might take upon himself to say that
when he once had seen his way clearly, he had put his shoulder to the
wheel gallantly." In fact, it was to be inferred from the contents of
Mr. Pabsby's letter that Sir Thomas's return had been due altogether
to Mr. Pabsby's flock, who had, so said Mr. Pabsby, been guided in
the matter altogether by his advice. Then he sent a list of his
"hearers," who had voted for Sir Thomas. From this the slight
change of subject needed to bring him to the new chapel which
he was building, and his desire that Sir Thomas should head the
subscription-list in so good a cause, was easy enough. It might be
difficult to say in what Mr. Pabsby's strength lay, but it certainly
was the case that the letter was so written as to defy neglect and
almost to defy refusal. Such is the power of horseleeches. Sir Thomas
sent Mr. Pabsby a cheque for twenty pounds, and received Mr. Pabsby's
acknowledgment, thanking him for his "first" subscription. The
thanks were not very cordial, and it was evident that Mr. Pabsby had
expected a good deal more than twenty pounds in return for all that
he had done.

Mr.