it,' said Mr. Cleves, 'there is some simple explanation of
the whole affair, if we only happened to know it. Barton has always
impressed me as a right-minded man, who has the knack of doing himself
injustice by his manner.'

'Now I never liked Barton,' said Mr. Fellowes. 'He's not a gentleman.
Why, he used to be on terms of intimacy with that canting Prior, who died
a little while ago;--a fellow who soaked himself with spirits, and talked
of the Gospel through an inflamed nose.'

'The Countess has given him more refined tastes, I daresay,' said Mr.
Ely.

'Well,' observed Mr. Cleves, 'the poor fellow must have a hard pull to
get along, with his small income and large family. Let us hope the
Countess does something towards making the pot boil.'

'Not she,' said Mr. Duke; 'there are greater signs of poverty about them
than ever.'

'Well, come,' returned Mr. Cleves, who could be caustic sometimes, and
who was not at all fond of his reverend brother, Mr. Duke, 'that's
something in Barton's favour at all events. He might be poor _without_
showing signs of poverty.'

Mr. Duke turned rather yellow, which was his way of blushing, and Mr. Ely
came to his relief by observing,--'They're making a very good piece of
work of Shepperton Church. Dolby, the architect, who has it in hand, is a
very clever fellow.'

'It's he who has been doing Coppleton Church,' said Mr. Furness. 'They've
got it in excellent order for the visitation.'

This mention of the visitation suggested the Bishop, and thus opened a
wide duct, which entirely diverted the stream of animadversion from that
small pipe--that capillary vessel, the Rev. Amos Barton.

The talk of the clergy about their Bishop belongs to the esoteric part of
their profession; so we will at once quit the dining-room at Milby
Vicarage, lest we should happen to overhear remarks unsuited to the lay
understanding, and perhaps dangerous to our repose of mind.

Chapter 7

I dare say the long residence of the Countess Czerlaski at Shepperton
Vicarage is very puzzling to you also, dear reader, as well as to Mr.
Barton's clerical brethren; the more so, as I hope you are not in the
least inclined to put that very evil interpretation on it which evidently
found acceptance with the sallow and dyspeptic Mr. Duke, and with the
florid and highly peptic Mr. Fellowes. You have seen enough, I trust, of
the Rev. Amos Barton, to be convinced that he was more apt to fall into a
blunder than