e was excellent and worthy. I do not suppose
that I shall live to see any man who was more so. You also have a
great--a terrible loss."

"Oh, Mr. Dean, yes; yes, indeed, Mr. Dean. That was a loss."

"And hardly past the prime of life!"

"Ah, yes;--just fifty-six,--and so strong! Was she not? At least
everybody thought so. And yet she was gone in a minute;--gone in a
minute. I haven't held up my head up since, Mr. Dean."

"It was a great loss, my lord; but you must struggle to bear it."

"I do struggle. I am struggling. But it makes one feel so lonely in
this great house. Ah me! I often wish, Mr. Dean, that it had pleased
Providence to have left me in some humble parsonage, where duty would
have been easier than it is here. But I will not trouble you with all
that. What are we to do, Mr. Dean, about this poor Mr. Crawley?"

"Mr. Crawley is a very old friend of mine, and a very dear friend."

"Is he? Ah! A very worthy man, I am sure, and one who has been much
tried by undeserved adversities."

"Most severely tried, my lord."

"Sitting among the potsherds, like Job; has he not, Mr. Dean? Well;
let us hope that all that is over. When this accusation about the
robbery was brought against him, I found myself bound to interfere."

"He has no complaint to make on that score."

"I hope not. I have not wished to be harsh, but what could I do, Mr
Dean? They told me that the civil authorities found the evidence so
strong against him that it could not be withstood."

"It was very strong."

"And we thought that he should at least be relieved, and we sent for
Dr. Tempest, who is his rural dean." Then the bishop, remembering all
the circumstances of that interview with the Dr. Tempest,--as to which
he had ever felt assured that one of the results of it was the death
of his wife, whereby there was no longer any "we" left in the palace
of Barchester,--sighed piteously, looking at the dean with a hopeless
face.

"Nobody doubts, my lord, that you acted for the best."

"I hope we did. I think we did. And now what shall we do? He has
resigned his living, both to you and to me, as I hear,--you being
the patron. It will simply be necessary, I think, that he should ask
to have the letters cancelled. Then, as I take it, there need be no
restitution. You cannot think, Mr. Dean, how much I have thought about
it all."

Then the dean unfolded his budget, and explained to the bishop
how he hoped that the living of St Ewold's, whic