matter. He was but a
fly on one of the wheels of the great ecclesiastical machine, and
counted for nothing.

Such thoughts appealed to Douglas more than ever before, and he
meditated upon them as he once more continued on his way. He had been
trained to look with suspicion upon people who held such views, but now
he realised how attractive they were, and worthy of more careful
consideration. Life, after all, was not summed up in the books he had
studied, nor in the knowledge he had acquired while at college. No,
there was the great pulsing world all around him, and why should he go
through it fettered in soul, mind and body?

Thinking thus, he came to the rectory. The gate leading into the yard
was closed. This he pushed open, entered, and walked around the house.
Signs of neglect and decay were most apparent. The building had not
been painted for years, and the shingles on the roof were in a bad
condition. Grass and weeds ran riot right up to the very windows. He
tried both the front and back doors but they were fastened.

Amidst this scene of desolation, Douglas stood and looked out over the
land connected with the rectory. There were several acres, sloping
gently to the river about two hundred yards away. Trees lined the
shore, and his attention was especially attracted to one large elm
which towered gracefully above its fellows. Only a small part of the
land surrounding the rectory had been cultivated. The rest, which had
been used for pasturage, was covered with small bushes. Several apple
trees stood back of the house, but these had not been trimmed for
years, and the bark and moss were thick upon their trunks. "My, how I
would like to get to work upon this place," Douglas thought, as he
moved over toward the small orchard. "They seem to be good trees, and
when once well scraped and their tops thinned out, they should bear
well. Why, a man with some knowledge of farming could make a
comfortable living in a few years on such a place as this."

Near the orchard was a barn, with the two big doors off their hinges,
having been injured evidently by the wind. There was nothing in the
barn except a pile of old hay lying upon the floor. "That looks good
to me," Douglas mused. "I shall have a soft bed to-night, anyway. It
is getting dark, and I might as well stay here as anywhere. I wonder
what the people of this parish would say if they knew that their future
clergyman is occupying the rectory b