duty � nothing except church and school and parish affairs there were many trifling matters to attend to � how trifling only the incumbent of a country living knows the ludicrous local quarrels � the mean and petty injuries � the malicious attempts of one christian neighbour to annoy another � all these things come more or less under the notice of the set in authority over a rural community and if he be not a man as small minded as the majority of the rustic folk around him which he too frequently is he must needs often be moved to a wondering and well nigh despairing pity for the infinitely little of poor human kind for though large cities show precisely the same low and they are not brought so imder the eye as in the circle of a village mrs may give herself as many airs as she likes in london and london sees her not � but mrs on her high horse in the country is quite a different and much more odious person the smaller the place the more narrow the life and so richard was to find it he the various letters and papers on his table with a settled precision which indicated that he was forcing his attention to dwell on matters distasteful to his immediate humour and among them he came upon a respectfully intimation from the village carpenter who was also the under i the tragedy of a quiet life to the effect that mrs having died it was proposed according to the wishes of mr the to have the funeral next day if he the would name a convenient hour he answered this at once fixing the ceremony for three o clock in the afternoon and sent the letter to its destination straight away by one of his servants as a personal messenger there should be no delay he thought somewhat in burying all that was mortal of mrs � poor long suffering who had been killed by sheer the of blows � or the of words � ah no no i could never be brutal � she was thoughtless but not unkind � she had done no harm � she had not the smallest share of blame in the woman s death � it was to suggest it� to say it he shuddered at his own thoughts which like bees round the whole miserable incident � an incident b more or less and deepening into something of a tragedy and as usual he laid all the blame on his own shoulders his endeavour to save mrs from further assault by her drunken husband had surely so he declared to himself led to the present disastrous result and all suddenly he asked � is it just of the almighty to allow a kindness to be brought back in the shape of a curse he from his own as this demand leaped up in his brain like a flash of fire yet it repeated itself i ask � said the vexed soul within him � if it is right that an honest effort to follow the teaching of the christian creed should be rewarded by a frightful and accusation against the innocent woman i love and then he paused as though awaiting an answer strangely solemnly and as with an inward voice the answer came in the form of another is it right that i the should have given my life on earth for men who doubt me and me even now and in the sudden sense of awe and which fell upon him he covered his face with his hands and prayed silently � lead me not into temptation but deliver me from evil o lord command me as thou wilt y holy orders me thy holy orders and even if they lead me to my death i ordained to serve thee will obey i and on this his mind appeared to pause � till it seemed to him that his vow had been accepted then in a moment or two he was calm again and went on with his usual work how much he missed he would not allow himself to think ever since he had brought her home to the as his bride it had been the joy of his life to know that at any moment her fair head might peep into his study or her voice call to him in the accents of sweetness to which he had grown so fondly accustomed but now the house was empty � of light music laughter and love he was alone with his own thinking self and god � god that mighty unknown power to whom for millions of ages creation has cried and prayed and wept � god that majestic silence which is never disturbed for all the of men � which and at a breath and no reason given � which is light and darkness gladness and sorrow love and hate in one � and which we instinctively worship in all not so much because we will but because we must but it is natural to weak man to prefer the warm tenderness of a woman s arms about him to the awful coldness of a no matter how of exquisite promise and glorious suggestion that may be � and it was therefore to be expected that richard who for au his anxiety to live a purely spiritual life had a tender sensitive heart of his own would for the time being feel a melancholy sense of solitude in the absence of his pretty wife with a corresponding depression of spirits there was one thought which now and then pushed itself resolutely into the of his brain to be as resolutely pushed out again by the strong of his will � the thought of miller he hated with an intensity of hatred that surprised himself the memory of that girl s exquisite face by its large star like 