acceptance of his views by the world at large but � alas for mr s visions of future triumph � when he reached home he found an angry letter from mr saying that his servants refused in a body to attend church unless orders were distinctly given by the that strangers were not to be put into their ch vii a sketch in black and white while mr the principal bass in the choir � who as he said himself had sung there man and boy this twenty years come next � was waiting in the study to announce with more than that as mr thought his self such an uncommon good and took people down so sharp at the he might sing bass for his self in future as he � mr � wasn t going to stand up there to be spoke to before a lot of boys he should go to chapel next sunday where folks knew when they d got hold of a tidy singer and behaved according mr s forehead itself up very much his charming castles resolved themselves into the fine air out of which they were originally constructed he gave up thinking of the conquest of the fair daughter of the for a time and plunged wearily back into the actual but though vexation and the sudden reaction from his unusually exalted state of feeling caused him thus to put the idea aside for a while he did not it altogether he was sensible that there was a new element in his life at last mr came home and the inmates of the were awakened from the state of and discomfort in which they had existed since the evening of the nothing regarding elizabeth s revolt was said on the night of his return indeed it would have been difficult to get time to make any announcement mr was not usually a great but i mrs part t he kept up the pretty old fashioned habit � falling sadly into in these hurrying days � of telling his wife all about it when he came home from any little journey what he had said and what everybody else had said what he had done willingly and what he had been compelled to do unwillingly gates and fences this man s beasts and that man s sheep what local had called what sort of dinners the wife had prepared for him how late the train was how long he took going here and going there finally how glad he was to be at home again � all these matters were with simple cheery dignity as though highly important and received by mrs with attention and appropriate remarks it was a very real relief to both women to listen to this stream of talk after the silence and of the last week it was comfortable and to have the sound of a man s footstep about the house again and to hear mr clear his throat in that loud way so much affected by the english country gentleman elizabeth was rather excited and almost disposed to repent of her decided action regarding the london house she regretted that she had not had an opportunity of talking the matter fairly over with her uncle now she feared he would hear a very one sided account of the business from her aunt having decided for herself she felt it would be out of place for her to speak to him on the subject first he must speak to her and he could only do ch vii a sketch in black and white so when mrs had put him in possession of the facts from her point of view elizabeth had a large confidence in mr s charity and comprehension she felt sure he would not judge her harshly or narrowly still he would be pained he must be pained at learning her strongly expressed desire � and it would lose none of its force in her aunt s recital of it � to leave most likely mrs would have the whole matter out with her husband next morning to night she was evidently too happy at getting him back and had too much respect for the time honoured custom of hearing all about it to interrupt the harmony of the occasion by the introduction of home matters to morrow poor elizabeth felt she would be judged she almost prayed that the verdict might be a merciful one she had taken the responsibility upon herself she intended to depart but she earnestly desired to depart in peace � at least with her uncle mrs i part l chapter viii � we fell out my wife and i oh we fell out i know not why and kissed again with tears there had been a heavy shower of rain in the night and the morning was hot damp and even on the high land where the village stood down in the valley and along the winding course of the brook lay long lines of mist which the sun veiled by a of thin gray cloud had not as yet sufficient power to burn up it was one of those very quiet summer mornings when the damp earth smells sweet and the cattle lie lazily down in the rich growing grass and the birds keep up such a lively search over and garden beds for worms that they have hardly time to sing mr stood on the flight of stone steps which led from the bow window of his study down into the garden he was smoking a comfortable after breakfast cigar and looking over the day s paper which had just brought him mr was in a particularly pleasant and serene attitude of mind he was conscious of having done a good week s work and of being glad to be at ch viii a sketch in black and white home again he felt a quiet satisfaction at being 