nsolent to him,--and even turned him out of the house. But,
nevertheless, she did not allow Mr. Musselboro to escape. Whoever was
to be left in the dark she did not wish to be there herself;--and it
began to dawn upon her that her dear Mr. Musselboro was deceiving her.
Then she sent for Dalrymple, and without a word of apology for her
former conduct, put him upon the right track. As he was pushing
his inquiries, and working heaven and earth for the unfortunate
widow,--as to whom he swore daily that when this matter was settled
he would never see her again, so terrible was she to him with her
mock affection and pretended hysterics, and false moralities,--he was
told one day that she had gone off with Mr. Musselboro! Mr. Musselboro,
finding that this was the surest plan of obtaining for himself the
little business in Hook Court, married the widow of his late partner,
and is at this moment probably carrying on a law-suit with Mrs. Van.
For the law-suit Conway Dalrymple cared nothing. When the quarrel had
become hot between Mrs. Van and her late myrmidon, Clara fell into
Conway's hands without opposition; and, let the law-suit go as it
may, there will be enough left of Mrs. Van's money to make the house
of Mr. and Mrs. Conway Dalrymple very comfortable. The picture of Jael
and Sisera was stitched up without any difficulty, and I daresay
most of my readers will remember it hanging on the walls of the
exhibition.

Before I take my leave of the diocese of Barchester for ever, which
I purpose to do in the succeeding paragraph, I desire to be allowed
to say one word of apology for myself, in answer to those who
have accused me,--always without bitterness, and generally with
tenderness,--of having forgotten, in writing of clergymen, the first
and most prominent characteristic of the ordinary English clergyman's
life. I have described many clergymen, they say, but have spoken of
them all as though their professional duties, their high calling,
their daily workings for the good of those around them, were matters
of no moment, either to me, or in my opinion, to themselves. I would
plead, in answer to this, that my object has been to paint the social
and not the professional lives of clergymen; and that I have been led
to do so, firstly, by a feeling that as no men affect more strongly,
by their own character, the society of those around than do country
clergymen, so, therefore, their social habits have been worth the
labour necessa