ing to it for his arguments? He, in this
respect, was worse off than his wife; she did employ herself, but he
stood there without moving, doing nothing, with fixed eyes, thinking
what men would say of him. Luckily for him this state of suspense was
not long, for within half an hour of his leaving the breakfast-table,
the footman knocked at his door--that footman with whom, at the
beginning of his difficulties, he had made up his mind to dispense,
but who had been kept on because of the Barchester prebend.

"If you please, your reverence, there are two men outside," said the
footman. Two men! Mark knew well enough what men they were, but he
could hardly take the coming of two such men to his quiet country
parsonage quite as a matter of course.

"Who are they, John?" said he, not wishing any answer, but because
the question was forced upon him.

"I'm afeard they're--bailiffs, sir."

"Very well, John; that will do; of course they must do what they
please about the place." And then, when the servant left him, he
still stood without moving, exactly as he had stood before. There
he remained for ten minutes, but the time went by very slowly. When
about noon some circumstance told him what was the hour, he was
astonished to find that the day had not nearly passed away. And
then another tap was struck on the door--a sound which he well
recognized--and his wife crept silently into the room. She came
close up to him before she spoke, and put her arm within his:

"Mark," she said, "the men are here; they are in the yard."

"I know it," he answered gruffly.

"Will it be better that you should see them, dearest?"

"See them; no; what good can I do by seeing them? But I shall see
them soon enough; they will be here, I suppose, in a few minutes."

"They are taking an inventory, cook says; they are in the stable
now."

"Very well; they must do as they please; I cannot help them."

"Cook says that if they are allowed their meals and some beer, and if
nobody takes anything away, they will be quite civil."

"Civil! But what does it matter! Let them eat and drink what they
please, as long as the food lasts. I don't suppose the butcher will
send you more."

"But, Mark, there's nothing due to the butcher,--only the regular
monthly bill."

"Very well; you'll see."

"Oh, Mark, don't look at me in that way. Do not turn away from me.
What is to comfort us if we do not cling to each other now?"

"Comfort us! God help you! I wo