The Last Chronicle of Barset

  CHAPTER XXXIV.

  MRS. PROUDIE SENDS FOR HER LAWYER.

  There was great dismay in Barchester Palace after the visit paidto the bishop and Mrs. Proudie by that terrible clerical offender,Mr. Crawley. It will be remembered, perhaps, how he had defied thebishop with spoken words, and how he had defied the bishop's wife byspeaking no words to her. For the moment, no doubt, Mr. Crawley hadthe best of it. Mrs. Proudie acknowledged to herself that this wasthe case; but as she was a woman who had never yet succumbed to anenemy, who had never,--if on such an occasion I may be allowed to usea schoolboy's slang,--taken a licking from any one, it was not likelythat Mr. Crawley would be long allowed to enjoy his triumph in peace.It would be odd if all the weight of the palace would not be able tosilence a wretch of a perpetual curate who had already been committedto take his trial for thieving;--and Mrs. Proudie was determinedthat all the weight of the palace should be used. As for the bishop,though he was not as angry as his wife, he was quite as unhappy, andtherefore quite as hostile to Mr. Crawley; and was fully consciousthat there could be no peace for him now until Mr. Crawley shouldbe crushed. If only the assizes would come at once, and get himcondemned out of the way, what a blessed thing it would be! Butunluckily it still wanted three months to the assizes, and duringthose three months Mr. Crawley would be at large and subject only toepiscopal authority. During that time he could not be silenced by thearm of the civil law. His wife was not long in expressing her opinionafter Mr. Crawley had left the palace. "You must proceed against himin the Court of Arches,--and that at once," said Mrs. Proudie. "Youcan do that, of course? I know that it will be expensive. Of courseit will be expensive. I suppose it may cost us some hundreds ofpounds; but duty is duty, my lord, and in such a case as this yourduty as a bishop is paramount."

  The poor bishop knew that it was useless to explain to her thevarious mistakes which she made,--which she was ever making,--as tothe extent of his powers and the modes of procedure which were opento him. When he would do so she would only rail at him for beinglukewarm in his office, poor in spirit, and afraid of dealing roundlywith those below him. On the present occasion he did say a word, butshe would not even hear him to the end. "Don't tell me about ruraldeans, as if I didn't know. The rural dean has nothing to do withsuch a case. The man has been committed for trial. Send for Mr.Chadwick at once, and let steps be taken before you are an hourolder."

  "But, my dear, Mr. Chadwick can do nothing."

  "Then I will see Mr. Chadwick." And in her anger she did sit down andwrite a note to Mr. Chadwick, begging him to come over to her at thepalace.

  Mr. Chadwick was a lawyer, living in Barchester, who earned his breadfrom ecclesiastical business. His father, and his uncle, and hisgrandfather and granduncles, had all been concerned in the affairsof the diocese of Barchester. His uncle had been bailiff to theepiscopal estates, or steward as he had been called, in BishopGrantly's time, and still contrived to draw his income in some shapefrom the property of the see. The nephew had also been the legalassistant of the bishop in his latter days, and had been continued inthat position by Bishop Proudie, not from love, but from expediency.Mr. John Chadwick was one of those gentlemen, two or three ofwhom are to be seen in connection with every see,--who seem to behybrids--half-lay, half-cleric. They dress like clergymen, and affectthat mixture of clerical solemnity and clerical waggishness whichis generally to be found among minor canons and vicar chorals of acathedral. They live, or at least have their offices, half in theClose and half out of it,--dwelling as it were just on the bordersof holy orders. They always wear white neck-handkerchiefs and blackgloves; and would be altogether clerical in their appearance, wereit not that as regards the outward man they impinge somewhat on thecharacteristics of the undertaker. They savour of the church, butthe savour is of the church's exterior. Any stranger thrown intochance contact with one of them would, from instinct, begin to talkof things ecclesiastical without any reference to things theologicalor things religious. They are always most worthy men, much respectedin the society of the Close, and I never heard of one of themwhose wife was not comfortable or whose children were left withoutprovision.

  Such a one was Mr. John Chadwick, and as it was a portion of hisduties to accompany the bishop to consecrations and ordinations, heknew Dr. Proudie very well. Having been brought up, as it were, underthe very wing of Bishop Grantly, it could not well be that he shouldlove Bishop Grantly's successor. The old bishop and the new bishophad been so different that no man could like, or even esteem, themboth. But Mr. Chadwick was a prudent man, who knew well the sourcefrom which he earned his bread, and he had never quarrelled withBishop Proudie. He knew Mrs. Proudie also,--of necessity,--and when Isay of him that he had hitherto avoided any open quarrel with her, itwill I think be allowed that he was a man of prudence and sagacity.

  But he had sometimes been sorely tried, and he felt when he gother note that he was now about to encounter a very sore trial. Hemuttered something which might have been taken for an oath, were itnot that the outward signs of the man gave warranty that no oathcould proceed from such a one. Then he wrote a short note presentinghis compliments to Mrs. Proudie, and saying that he would call at thepalace at eleven o'clock on the following morning.

  But, in the meantime, Mrs. Proudie, who could not be silent onthe subject for a moment, did learn something of the truth fromher husband. The information did not come to her in the way ofinstruction, but was teased out of the unfortunate man. "I know thatyou can proceed against him in the Court of Arches, under the 'ChurchDiscipline Act,'" she said.

  "No, my dear; no;" said the bishop, shaking his head in his misery.

  "Or in the Consistorial Court. It's all the same thing."

  "There must be an inquiry first,--by his brother clergy. There mustindeed. It's the only way of proceeding."

  "But there has been an inquiry, and he has been committed."

  "That doesn't signify, my dear. That's the Civil Law."

  "And if the Civil Law condemns him, and locks him up in prison--asit most certainly will do?"

  "But it hasn't done so yet, my dear. I really think that as it hasgone so far, it will be best to leave it as it is till he has takenhis trial."

  "What; leave him there after what occurred this morning in thispalace?" The palace with Mrs. Proudie was always a palace, and nevera house. "No; no; ten thousand times, no. Are you not aware that heinsulted you, and grossly, most grossly insulted me? I was nevertreated with such insolence by any clergyman before, since I firstcame to this palace;--never, never. And we know the man to be athief;--we absolutely know it. Think, my lord, of the souls of hispeople!"

  "Oh, dear; oh, dear; oh, dear," said the bishop.

  "Why do you fret yourself in that way?"

  "Because you will get me into trouble. I tell you the only thing tobe done is to issue a commission with the rural dean at the head ofit."

  "Then issue a commission."

  "And they will take three months."

  "Why should they take three months? Why should they take more thanthree days,--or three hours? It is all plain sailing."

  "These things are never plain sailing, my dear. When a bishop hasto oppose any of his clergy, it is always made as difficult aspossible."

  "More shame for them who make it so."

  "But it is so. If I were to take legal proceedings against him, itwould cost,--oh, dear,--more than a thousand pounds, I should say."

  "If it costs two, you must do it." Mrs. Proudie's anger was stillvery hot, or she would not have spoken of an unremunerative outlay ofmoney in such language as that.

  In this manner she did come to understand, before the arrival ofMr. Chadwick, that her husband could take no legal steps towardssilencing Mr. Crawley until a commission of clergymen had beenappointed to inquire into the matter, and that that commissionshould be headed by the rural dean within the limits of whose ruraldeanery the parish of Hogglestock was situated, or by some beneficedparochial clergyman of repute in the neighbourhood. Now the rural
dean was Dr. Tempest of Silverbridge,--who had held that positionbefore the coming of Dr. Proudie to the diocese; and there had grownup in the bosom of Mrs. Proudie a strong feeling that undue mercyhad been shown to Mr. Crawley by the magistrates of Silverbridge, ofwhom Dr. Tempest had been one. "These magistrates had taken bail forhis appearance at the assizes, instead of committing him to prisonat once,--as they were bound to do, when such an offence as thathad been committed by a clergyman. But, no;--even though there wasa clergyman among them, they had thought nothing of the souls ofthe poor people!" In such language Mrs. Proudie had spoken of theaffair at Silverbridge, and having once committed herself to such anopinion, of course she thought that Dr. Tempest would go through fireand water,--would omit no stretch of what little judicial power mightbe committed to his hands,--with the view of opposing his bishop andmaintaining the culprit in his position. "In such a case as this, cannot you name an acting rural dean yourself? Dr. Tempest, you know, isvery old." "No, my dear; no; I cannot." "You can ask Mr. Chadwick,at any rate, and then you could name Mr. Thumble." "But Mr. Thumbledoesn't even hold a living in the diocese. Oh, dear; oh, dear; oh,dear!" And so the matter rested until Mr. Chadwick came.

  Mrs. Proudie had no doubt intended to have Mr. Chadwick all toherself,--at any rate so to encounter him in the first instance. Buthaving been at length convinced that the inquiry by the rural deanwas really necessary as a preliminary, and having also slept upon thequestion of expenditure, she gave directions that the lawyer shouldbe shown into the bishop's study, and she took care to be absentat the moment of his arrival. Of course she did not intend that Mr.Chadwick should leave the palace without having heard what she hadto say, but she thought that it would be well that he should be madeto conceive that though the summons had been written by her, ithad really been intended on the part of the bishop. "Mr. Chadwickwill be with you at eleven, bishop," she said, as she got up fromthe breakfast-table, at which she left his lordship with two ofhis daughters and with a married son-in-law, a clergyman who wasstaying in the house. "Very well, my dear," said the bishop, with asmile,--for he was anxious not to betray any vexation at his wife'sinterference before his daughters or the Rev. Mr. Tickler. But heunderstood it all. Mr. Chadwick had been sent for with reference toMr. Crawley, and he was driven,--absolutely driven, to propose to hislawyer that this commission of inquiry should be issued.

  Punctually at eleven Mr. Chadwick came, wearing a very long faceas he entered the palace door,--for he felt that he would in allprobability be now compelled to quarrel with Mrs. Proudie. Much hecould bear, but there was a limit to his endurance. She had neverabsolutely sent for him before, though she had often interferedwith him. "I shall have to tell her a bit of my mind," he said, ashe stepped across the Close, habited in his best suit of black,with most exact white cravat, and yet looking not quite like aclergyman,--with some touch of the undertaker in his gait. When hefound that he was shown into the bishop's room, and that the bishopwas there,--and the bishop only,--his mind was relieved. It wouldhave been better that the bishop should have written himself, or thatthe chaplain should have written in his lordship's name; that,however, was a trifle.

  But the bishop did not know what to say to him. If he intended todirect an inquiry to be made by the rural dean, it would be by nomeans becoming that he should consult Mr. Chadwick as to doing so.It might be well, or if not well at any rate not improper, that heshould make the application to Dr. Tempest through Mr. Chadwick; butin that case he must give the order at once, and he still wished toavoid it if it were possible. Since he had been in the diocese nocase so grave as this had been pushed upon him. The interventionof the rural dean in an ordinary way he had used,--had been madeto use,--more than once, by his wife. A vicar had been absent alittle too long from one parish, and there had been rumours aboutbrandy-and-water in another. Once he had been very nearly in deepwater because Mrs. Proudie had taken it in dudgeon that a certainyoung rector, who had been left a widower, had a very prettygoverness for his children; and there had been that case, sadlynotorious in the diocese at the time, of our excellent friend Mr.Robarts of Framley, when the bailiffs were in his house because hecouldn't pay his debts,--or rather, the debts of his friend for whomhe had signed bills. But in all these cases some good fortune hadintervened, and he had been saved from the terrible necessity of anyulterior process. But now,--now he was being driven beyond himself,and all to no purpose. If Mrs. Proudie would only wait three monthsthe civil law would do it all for him. But here was Mr. Chadwick inthe room, and he knew that it would be useless for him to attempt totalk to Mr. Chadwick about other matters, and so dismiss him. Thewife of his bosom would be down upon them before Chadwick could beout of the room.

  "H--m--ha. How d'ye do, Mr. Chadwick--won't you sit down?" Mr.Chadwick thanked his lordship, and sat down. "It's very cold, isn'tit, Mr. Chadwick?"

  "A hard frost, my lord, but a beautiful day."

  "Won't you come near the fire?" The bishop knew that Mrs. Proudie wason the road, and had an eye to the proper strategical position ofhis forces. Mrs. Proudie would certainly take up her position in acertain chair from whence the light enabled her to rake her husbandthoroughly. What advantage she might have from this he could notprevent;--but he could so place Mr. Chadwick, that the lawyer shouldbe more within the reach of his eye than that of his wife. So thebishop pointed to an arm-chair opposite to himself and near the fire,and Mr. Chadwick seated himself accordingly.

  "This is a very sad affair about Mr. Crawley," said the bishop.

  "Very sad indeed," said the lawyer. "I never pitied a man so much inmy life, my lord."

  This was not exactly the line which the bishop was desirous oftaking. "Of course he is to be pitied;--of course he is. But from allI hear, Mr. Chadwick, I am afraid,--I am afraid we must not acquithim."

  "As to that, my lord, he has to stand his trial, of course."

  "But, you see, Mr. Chadwick, regarding him as a beneficedclergyman,--with a cure of souls,--the question is whether I shouldbe justified in leaving him where he is till his trial shall comeon."

  "Of course your lordship knows best about that, but--"

  "I know there is a difficulty. I know that. But I am inclined tothink that in the interests of the parish I am bound to issue acommission of inquiry."

  "I believe your lordship has attempted to silence him, and that hehas refused to comply."

  "I thought it better for everybody's sake,--especially for his own,that he should for a while be relieved from his duties; but he isan obstinate man, a very obstinate man. I made the attempt with allconsideration for his feelings."

  "He is hard put to it, my lord. I know the man and his pride. Thedean has spoken of him to me more than once, and nobody knows him sowell as the dean. If I might venture to offer an opinion--"

  "Good morning, Mr. Chadwick," said Mrs. Proudie, coming into the roomand taking her accustomed seat. "No thank you, no; I will stay awayfrom the fire, if you please. His lordship has spoken to you no doubtabout this unfortunate, wretched man?"

  "We are speaking of him now, my dear."

  "Something must of course be done to put a stop to the cryingdisgrace of having such a man preaching from a pulpit in thisdiocese. When I think of the souls of the people in that poorvillage, my hair literally stands on end. And then he isdisobedient!"

  "That is the worst of it," said the bishop. "It would have beenso much better for himself if he would have allowed me to providequietly for the services till the trial be over."

  "I could have told you, my lord, that he would not do that, from whatI knew of him," said Mr. Chadwick.

  "But he must do it," said Mrs. Proudie. "He must be made to do it."

  "His lordship will find it difficult," said Mr. Chadwick.

  "I can issue a commission, you know, to the rural dean," said thebishop mildly.

  "Yes, you can do that. And Dr. Tempest in two months' time will havenamed his assessors--"

  "Dr. Tempest must not name them; the bishop must name them," saidMrs
. Proudie.

  "It is customary to leave that to the rural dean," said Mr. Chadwick."The bishop no doubt can object to any one named."

  "And can specially select any clergyman he pleases from thearchdeaconry," said the bishop. "I have known it done."

  "The rural dean in such case has probably been an old man, and notactive," said the lawyer.

  "And Dr. Tempest is a very old man," said Mrs. Proudie, "and in sucha matter not at all trustworthy. He was one of the magistrates whotook bail."

  "His lordship could hardly set him aside," said the lawyer. "At anyrate I would not recommend him to try. I think you might suggest acommission of five, and propose two of the number yourself. I do notthink that in such a case Dr. Tempest would raise any question."

  At last it was settled in this way. Mr. Chadwick was to prepare aletter to Dr. Tempest, for the bishop's signature, in which thedoctor should be requested, as the rural dean to whom Mr. Crawley wassubject, to hold a commission of five to inquire into Mr. Crawley'sconduct. The letter was to explain to Dr. Tempest that the bishop,moved by his solicitude for the souls of the people of Hogglestock,had endeavoured, "in a friendly way," to induce Mr. Crawley to desistfrom his ministrations; but that having failed through Mr. Crawley'sobstinacy, he had no alternative but to proceed in this way. "You hadbetter say that his lordship, as bishop of the diocese, can take noheed of the coming trial," said Mrs. Proudie. "I think his lordshiphad better say nothing at all about the trial," said Mr. Chadwick. "Ithink that will be best," said the bishop.

  "But if they report against him," said Mr. Chadwick, "you can onlythen proceed in the ecclesiastical court,--at your own expense."

  "He'll hardly be so obstinate as that," said the bishop.

  "I'm afraid you don't know him, my lord," said the lawyer. Thebishop, thinking of the scene which had taken place in that very roomonly yesterday, felt that he did know Mr. Crawley, and felt also thatthe hope which he had just expressed was one in which he himself putno trust. But something might turn up; and it was devoutly to behoped that Dr. Tempest would take a long time over his inquiry. Theassizes might come on as soon as it was terminated, or very shortlyafterwards; and then everything might be well. "You won't find Dr.Tempest very ready at it," said Mr. Chadwick. The bishop in his heartwas comforted by the words. "But he must be made to be ready to dohis duty," said Mrs. Proudie, imperiously. Mr. Chadwick shrugged hisshoulders, then got up, spoke his farewell little speeches, and leftthe palace.