glass of wine with me in my own house,--that's what I
don't,--because it's the proper thing for you to wait till somebody
brings it to you, and then drink it by yourself. There is no knowing
whether I mightn't offend you." And Mr. Toogood as he spoke grasped
the decanter at his elbow. Mr. Walker grasped another at his elbow,
and the two attorneys took their glass of wine together.

"A very queer case this is of my cousin Crawley's," said Toogood to
Walker, when the ladies had left the dining-room.

"A most distressing case. I never knew anything so much talked of in
our part of the country."

"He can't have been a popular man, I should say?"

"No; not popular,--not in the ordinary way;--anything but that.
Nobody knew him personally before this matter came up."

"But a good clergyman, probably? I'm interested in the case, of
course, as his wife is my first-cousin. You will understand, however,
that I know nothing of him. My father tried to be civil to him once,
but Crawley wouldn't have it at all. We all thought he was mad then.
I suppose he has done his duty in his parish?"

"He has quarrelled with the bishop, you know,--out and out."

"Has he, indeed? But I'm not sure that I think so very much about
bishops, Mr. Walker."

"That depends very much on the particular bishop. Some people say
ours isn't all that a bishop ought to be, while others are very fond
of him."

"And Mr. Crawley belongs to the former set; that's all?" said Mr
Toogood.

"No, Mr. Toogood; that isn't all. The worst of your cousin is that he
has an aptitude to quarrel with everybody. He is one of those men who
always think themselves to be ill-used. Now our dean, Dr. Arabin, has
been his very old friend,--and as far as I can learn, a very good
friend; but it seems that Mr. Crawley has done his best to quarrel
with him too."

"He spoke of the dean in the highest terms to me."

"He may do that,--and yet quarrel with him. He'd quarrel with his own
right hand, if he had nothing else to quarrel with. That makes the
difficulty, you see. He'll take nobody's advice. He thinks that we're
all against him."

"I suppose the world has been heavy on him, Mr. Walker?"

"The world has been very heavy on him," said John Eames, who had now
been left free to join the conversation, Mr. Summerkin having gone
away to his lady-love. "You must not judge him as you do other men."

"That is just it," said Mr. Walker. "And to what result will that
bring us?"