may be sure of this; that he had made up his mind as to
what he would do. Nothing that you or I could have said would have
changed him."

"Well; we won't say anything more about it," said Crosbie. Then they
went on again in silence, and arrived at Guestwick in ample time for
the train.

"Let me know as soon as you get to town," said Crosbie.

"Oh, of course. I'll write to you before that."

And so they parted. As Dale turned and went, Crosbie felt that he
liked him less than he had done before; and Bernard, also, as he was
driving him, came to the conclusion that Crosbie would not be so
good a fellow as a brother-in-law as he had been as a chance friend.
"He'll give us trouble, in some way; and I'm sorry that I brought him
down." That was Dale's inward conviction in the matter.

Crosbie's way from Guestwick lay, by railway, to Barchester, the
cathedral city lying in the next county, from whence he purposed to
have himself conveyed over to Courcy. There had, in truth, been no
cause for his very early departure, as he was aware that all arrivals
at country houses should take place at some hour not much previous
to dinner. He had been determined to be so soon upon the road by a
feeling that it would be well for him to get over those last hours.
Thus he found himself in Barchester at eleven o'clock, with nothing
on his hands to do; and, having nothing else to do, he went to
church. There was a full service at the cathedral, and as the verger
marshalled him up to one of the empty stalls, a little spare old man
was beginning to chant the Litany. "I did not mean to fall in for all
this," said Crosbie, to himself, as he settled himself with his arms
on the cushion. But the peculiar charm of that old man's voice soon
attracted him;--a voice that, though tremulous, was yet strong; and
he ceased to regret the saint whose honour and glory had occasioned
the length of that day's special service.

"And who is the old gentleman who chanted the Litany?" he asked
the verger afterwards, as he allowed himself to be shown round the
monuments of the cathedral.

"That's our precentor, sir, Mr Harding. You must have heard of Mr
Harding." But Crosbie, with a full apology, confessed his ignorance.

"Well, sir; he's pretty well known too, tho' he is so shy like. He's
father-in-law to our dean, sir; and father-in-law to Archdeacon
Grantly also."

"His daughters have all gone into the profession, then?"

"Why, yes; but Miss Eleanor--f