had an infinite pity for the erring and the suffering, and that he never
felt himself less of a brother to his flock because so many of that
flock were sinful and ignorant and degraded.

So, parson though he was, he became the friend and confidant of half the
village; and strange tales were poured into his ear sometimes--tales
which the tellers would formerly have laughed at the idea of relating to
the Rector of the parish so long as Mr. Rumbold reigned supreme. But to
Maurice Evandale nothing seemed to come amiss; he had interest and
sympathy for all. Stern to impenitent sinners he certainly was--brutal
men and idle lads cowered under the lash of his rebuke; but there was
not a soul in the village who did not also know that a word of
repentance, an act that showed a yearning after better things, was
sufficient to melt the Rector's wrath and turn him from a judge and
censor into a friend. Judging from the progress that Maurice Evandale
had already made in the hearts of his people, there was a fair
likelihood that if he stayed much longer he would be master of their
affections and their intellects, in a way which was unprecedented indeed
at Beechfield.

He was not often at Beechfield Hall. The General liked his society
extremely, but Mrs. Vane declared that it fatigued her.

"The man is so oppressively blunt and downright," she said, "that one
never knows what to expect from him next. He is a perfect bear."

"But, my dear Flossy, he comes of a very good family, and I have heard
him praised on all sides for his distinguished manners," expostulated
the General. "I never knew a young man so courteous, so polished!"

"I am spoiled for young men, General," said Flossy, extending her hand
very graciously to her white-haired husband.

It was not often that she showed herself so actively amiable towards
him. She was usually somewhat passive, receiving his attentions with a
languid indifference which would have disconcerted some men, but which
did not disconcert the unsuspicious old General. He was delighted with
her little compliment, kissed her hand gallantly, and avowed that nobody
should come near the house whom she disliked. So Maurice Evandale was
not invited a second time to dinner.

Naturally Enid was not consulted in the matter. She never expressed any
opinion at all concerning the new Rector. She had always been a regular
church-goer, and, wet or fine, never failed to be present at the class
over which she presid