e. Mr. Sheffield, do me the favour to show me the way to
the stable. Good-bye to you, Carlton; good night, Mr. Reding."

When they were left to themselves Charles asked Carlton if he really
meant to acquit of party spirit the present party leaders in Oxford.
"You must not misunderstand me," answered he; "I do not know much of
them, but I know they are persons of great merit and high character, and
I wish to think the best of them. They are most unfairly attacked, that
is certain; however, they are accused of wishing to make a display, of
aiming at influence and power, of loving agitation, and so on. I cannot
deny that some things they have done have an unpleasant appearance, and
give plausibility to the charge. I wish they had, at certain times,
acted otherwise. Meanwhile, I do think it but fair to keep in view that
the existence of parties is no fault of theirs. They are but claiming
their birthright as Protestants. When the Church does not speak, others
will speak instead; and learned men have the best right to speak. Again,
when learned men speak, others will attend to them; and thus the
formation of a party is rather the act of those who follow than of those
who lead."

CHAPTER III.

Sheffield had some friends residing at Chalton, a neighbouring village,
with a scholar of St. Michael's, who had a small cure with a house on
it. One of them, indeed, was known to Reding also, being no other than
our friend White, who was going into the schools, and during the last
six months had been trying to make up for the time he had wasted in the
first years of his residence. Charles had lost sight of him, or nearly
so, since he first knew him; and at their time of life so considerable
an interval could not elapse without changes in the character for good
or evil, or for both. Carlton and Charles, who were a good deal thrown
together by Sheffield's frequent engagements with the Chalton party,
were just turning homewards in their walk one evening when they fell in
with White, who had been calling at Mr. Bolton's in Oxford, and was
returning. They had not proceeded very far before they were joined by
Sheffield and Mr. Barry, the curate of Chalton; and thus the party was
swelled to five.

"So you are going to lose Upton?" said Barry to Reding; "a capital
tutor; you can ill spare him. Who comes into his place?"

"We don't know," answered Charles; "the Principal will call up one of
the Junior Fellows from the country, I be