imparted to him, and he immediately ranged himself on his father's side.
"Upon my word I think that he ought to be forbidden the house," said
Harry. "He has forgotten himself in making such a proposition."

"That's nonsense, Harry," said his mother. "If he can be comfortable
coming here, there can be no reason why he should be uncomfortable. It
would be an injustice to him to ask him to go, and a great trouble to
your father to find another curate that would suit him so well." There
could be no doubt whatever as to the latter proposition, and therefore
it was quietly argued that Mr. Saul's fault, if there had been a fault,
should be condoned. On the next day he came to the rectory, and they
were all astonished at the ease with which he bore himself. It was not
that he affected any special freedom of manner, or that he altogether
avoided any change in his mode of speaking to them. A slight blush came
upon his sallow face as he first spoke to Mrs. Clavering, and he hardly
did more than say a single word to Fanny. But he carried himself as
though conscious of what he had done, but in no degree ashamed of the
doing it. The Rector's manner to him was stiff and formal; seeing which,
Mrs. Clavering spoke to him gently, and with a smile. "I saw you were a
little hard on him, and therefore I tried to make up for it," said she
afterward. "You were quite right," said the husband. "You always are.
But I wish he had not made such a fool of himself. It will never be the
same thing with him again." Harry hardly spoke to Mr. Saul the first
time he met him, all of which Mr. Saul understood perfectly.

"Clavering," he said to Harry, a day or two after this, "I hope there is
to be no difference between you and me."

"Difference! I don't know what you mean by difference."

"We were good friends, and I hope that we are to remain so. No doubt you
know what has taken place between me and your sister."

"Oh, yes; I have been told, of course."

"What I mean is, that I hope you are not going to quarrel with me on
that account? What I did, is it not what you would have done in my
position--only you would have done it successfully?"

"I think a fellow should have some income, you know."

"Can you say that you would have waited for income before you spoke of
marriage?"

"I think it might have been better that you should have gone to my
father."

"It may be that that is the rule in such things, but if so, I do not
know it. Would she have