Two or three days after the party, Mr. Harding received a note begging him to call on Mr. Slope, at the palace, at an early hour on the following morning. There was nothing uncivil in the communication, and yet the tone of it was thoroughly1 displeasing2. It was as follows:
MY DEAR MR. HARDING, Will you favour me by calling on me at the palace tomorrow morning at 9:30 A.M. The bishop3 wishes me to speak to you touching4 the hospital. I hope you will excuse my naming so early an hour. I do so as my time is greatly occupied. If, however, it is positively5 inconvenient6 to you, I will change it to 10. You will, perhaps, be kind enough to let me have a note in reply. Believe me to be, My dear Mr. Harding, Your assured friend, OBH. SLOPE
The Palace, Monday morning, 20th August, 185-Mr. Harding neither could nor would believe anything of the sort, and he thought, moreover, that Mr. Slope was rather impertinent to call himself by such a name. His assured friend, indeed! How many assured friends generally fall to the lot of a man in this world? And by what process are they made? And how much of such process had taken place as yet between Mr. Harding and Mr. Slope? Mr. Harding could not help asking himself these questions as he read and reread the note before him. He answered it, however, as follows:
DEAR SIR, I will call at the palace tomorrow at 9:30 A.M. as you desire. Truly yours, S. HARDING
High Street, Barchester, Monday
And on the following morning, punctually at half-past nine, he knocked at the palace door and asked for Mr. Slope.
The bishop had one small room allotted7 to him on the ground-floor, and Mr. Slope had another. Into this latter Mr. Harding was shown and asked to sit down. Mr. Slope was not yet there. The ex-warden8 stood up at the window looking into the garden and could not help thinking how very short a time had passed since the whole of that house had been open to him, as though he had been a child of the family, born and bred in it. He remembered how the old servants used to smile as they opened the door to him; how the familiar butler would say, when he had been absent a few hours longer than usual, “A sight of you, Mr. Harding, is good for sore eyes;” how the fussy9 housekeeper10 would swear that he couldn’t have dined, or couldn’t have breakfasted, or couldn’t have lunched. And then, above all, he remembered the pleasant gleam of inward satisfaction which always spread itself over the old bishop’s face whenever his friend entered his room.
A tear came into each eye as he reflected that all this was gone. What use would the hospital be to him now? He was alone in the world, and getting old; he would soon, very soon have to go and leave it all, as his dear old friend had gone; go, and leave the hospital, and his accustomed place in the cathedral, and his haunts and pleasures, to younger and perhaps wiser men. That chanting of his! Perhaps, in truth, the time for it was gone by. He felt as though the world were sinking from his feet; as though this, this was the time for him to turn with confidence to those hopes which he had preached with confidence to others. “What,” said he to himself, “can a man’s religion be worth if it does not support him against the natural melancholy11 of declining years?” And as he looked out through his dimmed eyes into the bright parterres of the bishop’s garden, he felt that he had the support which he wanted.
Nevertheless, he did not like to be thus kept waiting. If Mr. Slope did not really wish to see him at half-past nine o’clock, why force him to come away from his lodgings12 with his breakfast in his throat? To tell the truth, it was policy on the part of Mr. Slope. Mr. Slope had made up his mind that Mr. Harding should either accept the hospital with abject13 submission14, or else refuse it altogether, and had calculated that he would probably be more quick to do the latter if he could be got to enter upon the subject in an ill-humour. Perhaps Mr. Slope was not altogether wrong in his calculation.
It was nearly ten when Mr. Slope hurried into the room and, muttering something about the bishop and diocesan duties, shook Mr. Harding’s hand ruthlessly and begged him to be seated.
Now the air of superiority which this man assumed did go against the grain with Mr. Harding, and yet he did not know how to resent it. The whole tendency of his mind and disposition15 was opposed to any contra-assumption of grandeur16 on his own part, and he hadn’t the worldly spirit or quickness necessary to put down insolent17 pretensions18 by downright and open rebuke19, as the archdeacon would have done. There was nothing for Mr. Harding but to submit, and he accordingly did so.
“About the hospital, Mr. Harding?” began Mr. Slope, speaking of it as the head of a college at Cambridge might speak of some sizarship which had to be disposed of.
Mr. Harding crossed one leg over another, and then one hand over the other on the top of them, and looked Mr. Slope in the face; but he said nothing.
“It’s to be filled up again,” said Mr. Slope. Mr. Harding said that he had understood so.
“Of course, you know, the income will be very much reduced,” continued Mr. Slope. “The bishop wished to be liberal, and he therefore told the government that he thought it ought to be put at not less than ￡450. I think on the whole the bishop was right, for though the services required will not be of a very onerous20 nature, they will be more so than they were before. And it is, perhaps, well that the clergy21 immediately attached to the cathedral town should be made as comfortable as the extent of the ecclesiastical means at our disposal will allow. Those are the bishop’s ideas, and I must say mine also.”
Mr. Harding sat rubbing one hand on the other but said not a word.
“So much for the income, Mr. Harding. The house will, of course, remain to the warden, as before. It should, however, I think, be stipulated22 that he should paint inside every seven years, and outside every three years, and be subject to dilapidations, in the event of vacating, either by death or otherwise. But this is a matter on which the bishop must yet be consulted.”
Mr. Harding still rubbed his hands and still sat silent, gazing up into Mr. Slope’s unprepossessing face.
“Then, as to the duties,” continued he, “I believe, if I am rightly informed, there can hardly be said to have been any duties hitherto,” and he gave a sort of half-laugh, as though to pass off the accusation23 in the guise24 of a pleasantry.
Mr. Harding thought of the happy, easy years he had passed in his old home; of the worn-out, aged25 men whom he had succoured; of his good intentions; and of his work, which had certainly been of the lightest. He thought of these things, doubting for a moment whether he did or did not deserve the sarcasm26. He gave his enemy the benefit of the doubt and did not rebuke him. He merely observed, very tranquilly27 and perhaps with too much humility28, that the duties of the situation, such as they were, had, he believed, been done to the satisfaction of the late bishop.
Mr. Slope again smiled, and this time the smile was intended to operate against the memory of the late bishop rather than against the energy of the ex-warden; so it was understood by Mr. Harding. The colour rose to his cheeks, and he began to feel very angry.
“You must be aware, Mr. Harding, that things are a good deal changed in Barchester,” said Mr. Slope.
Mr. Harding said that he was aware of it. “And not only in Barchester, Mr. Harding, but in the world at large. It is not only in Barchester that a new man is carrying out new measures and casting away the useless rubbish of past centuries. The same thing is going on throughout the country. Work is now required from every man who receives wages, and they who have to superintend the doing of work, and the paying of wages, are bound to see that this rule is carried out. New men, Mr. Harding, are now needed and are now forthcoming in the church, as well as in other professions.”
All this was wormwood to our old friend. He had never rated very high his own abilities or activity, but all the feelings of his heart were with the old clergy, and any antipathies29 of which his heart was susceptible30 were directed against those new, busy, uncharitable, self-lauding men, of whom Mr. Slope was so good an example.
“Perhaps,” said he, “the bishop will prefer a new man at the hospital?”
“By no means,” said Mr. Slope. “The bishop is very anxious that you should accept the appointment, but he wishes you should understand beforehand what will be the required duties. In the first place, a Sabbath-day school will be attached to the hospital.”
“What! For the old men?” asked Mr. Harding.
“No, Mr. Harding, not for the old men, but for the benefit of the children of such of the poor of Barchester as it may suit. The bishop will expect that you shall attend this school and that the teachers shall be under your inspection31 and care.”
Mr. Harding slipped his topmost hand off the other and began to rub the calf32 of the leg which was supported.
“As to the old men,” continued Mr. Slope, “and the old women who are to form a part of the hospital, the bishop is desirous that you shall have morning and evening service on the premises33 every Sabbath, and one weekday service; that you shall preach to them once at least on Sundays; and that the whole hospital be always collected for morning and evening prayer. The bishop thinks that this will render it unnecessary that any separate seats in the cathedral should be reserved for the hospital inmates34.”
Mr. Slope paused, but Mr. Harding still said nothing.
“Indeed, it would be difficult to find seats for the women; on the whole, Mr. Harding, I may as well say at once that for people of that class the cathedral service does not appear to me the most useful — even if it be so for any class of people.”
“We will not discuss that, if you please,” said Mr. Harding.
“I am not desirous of doing so; at least, not at the present moment. I hope, however, you fully35 understand the bishop’s wishes about the new establishment of the hospital; and if, as I do not doubt, I shall receive from you an assurance that you accord with his lordship’s views, it will give me very great pleasure to be the bearer from his lordship to you of the presentation to the appointment.”
“But if I disagree with his lordship’s views?” asked Mr. Harding.
“But I hope you do not,” said Mr. Slope.
“But if I do?” again asked the other.
“If such unfortunately should be the case, which I can hardly conceive, I presume your own feelings will dictate36 to you the propriety37 of declining the appointment.”
“But if I accept the appointment and yet disagree with the bishop, what then?”
This question rather bothered Mr. Slope. It was true that he had talked the matter over with the bishop and had received a sort of authority for suggesting to Mr. Harding the propriety of a Sunday school and certain hospital services, but he had no authority for saying that these propositions were to be made peremptory38 conditions attached to the appointment. The bishop’s idea had been that Mr. Harding would of course consent and that the school would become, like the rest of those new establishments in the city, under the control of his wife and his chaplain. Mr. Slope’s idea had been more correct. He intended that Mr. Harding should refuse the situation and that an ally of his own should get it, but he had not conceived the possibility of Mr. Harding openly accepting the appointment and as openly rejecting the conditions.
“It is not, I presume, probable,” said he, “that you will accept from the hands of the bishop a piece of preferment with a fixed39 predetermination to disacknowledge the duties attached to it”
“If I become warden,” said Mr. Harding, “and neglect my duty, the bishop has means by which he can remedy the grievance40.”
“I hardly expected such an argument from you, or I may say the suggestion of such a line of conduct,” said Mr. Slope with a great look of injured virtue41.
“Nor did I expect such a proposition.”
“I shall be glad at any rate to know what answer I am to make to his lordship,” said Mr. Slope.
“I will take an early opportunity of seeing his lordship myself,” said Mr. Harding.
“Such an arrangement,” said Mr. Slope, “will hardly give his lordship satisfaction. Indeed, it is impossible that the bishop should himself see every clergyman in the diocese on every subject of patronage42 that may arise. The bishop, I believe, did see you on the matter, and I really cannot see why he should be troubled to do so again.”
“Do you know, Mr. Slope, how long I have been officiating as a clergyman in this city?” Mr. Slope’s wish was now nearly fulfilled. Mr. Harding had become angry, and it was probable that he might commit himself.
“I really do not see what that has to do with the question. You cannot think the bishop would be justified43 in allowing you to regard as a sinecure44 a situation that requires an active man merely because you have been employed for many years in the cathedral.”
“But it might induce the bishop to see me, if I asked him to do so. I shall consult my friends in this matter, Mr. Slope; but I mean to be guilty of no subterfuge45 — you may tell the bishop that as I altogether disagree with his views about the hospital, I shall decline the situation if I find that any such conditions are attached to it as those you have suggested;” and so saying, Mr. Harding took his hat and went his way.
Mr. Slope was contented46. He considered himself at liberty to accept Mr. Harding’s last speech as an absolute refusal of the appointment. At least, he so represented it to the bishop and to Mrs. Proudie.
“That is very surprising,” said the bishop.
“Not at all,” said Mrs. Proudie; “you little know how determined47 the whole set of them are to withstand your authority.”
“But Mr. Harding was so anxious for it,” said the bishop.
“Yes,” said Mr. Slope, “if he can hold it without the slightest acknowledgement of your lordship’s jurisdiction48.”
“That is out of the question,” said the bishop.
“I should imagine it to be quite so,” said the chaplain.
“Indeed, I should think so,” said the lady.
“I really am sorry for it,” said the bishop.
“I don’t know that there is much cause for sorrow,” said the lady. “Mr. Quiverful is a much more deserving man, more in need of it, and one who will make himself much more useful in the close neighbourhood of the palace.”
“I suppose I had better see Quiverful?” said the chaplain.
“I suppose you had,” said the bishop.
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thoroughly
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| adv.完全地，彻底地，十足地 | |
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displeasing
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| 不愉快的，令人发火的 | |
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bishop
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| n.主教，（国际象棋）象 | |
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touching
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| adj.动人的，使人感伤的 | |
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positively
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| adv.明确地，断然，坚决地；实在，确实 | |
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inconvenient
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| adj.不方便的，令人感到麻烦的 | |
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allotted
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| 分配，拨给，摊派( allot的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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warden
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| n.监察员，监狱长，看守人，监护人 | |
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fussy
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| adj.为琐事担忧的，过分装饰的，爱挑剔的 | |
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housekeeper
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| n.管理家务的主妇，女管家 | |
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melancholy
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| n.忧郁，愁思；adj.令人感伤（沮丧）的，忧郁的 | |
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lodgings
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| n. 出租的房舍, 寄宿舍 | |
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abject
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| adj.极可怜的，卑屈的 | |
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submission
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| n.服从，投降；温顺，谦虚；提出 | |
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disposition
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| n.性情，性格；意向，倾向；排列，部署 | |
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grandeur
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| n.伟大，崇高，宏伟，庄严，豪华 | |
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insolent
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| adj.傲慢的，无理的 | |
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pretensions
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| 自称( pretension的名词复数 )； 自命不凡； 要求； 权力 | |
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rebuke
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| v.指责，非难，斥责 [反]praise | |
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onerous
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| adj.繁重的 | |
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clergy
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| n.[总称]牧师，神职人员 | |
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stipulated
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| vt.& vi.规定；约定adj.[法]合同规定的 | |
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accusation
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| n.控告，指责，谴责 | |
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guise
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| n.外表，伪装的姿态 | |
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aged
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| adj.年老的，陈年的 | |
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sarcasm
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| n.讥讽，讽刺，嘲弄，反话 （adj.sarcastic） | |
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tranquilly
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| adv. 宁静地 | |
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humility
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| n.谦逊，谦恭 | |
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antipathies
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| 反感( antipathy的名词复数 )； 引起反感的事物； 憎恶的对象； （在本性、倾向等方面的）不相容 | |
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susceptible
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| adj.过敏的，敏感的；易动感情的，易受感动的 | |
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inspection
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| n.检查，审查，检阅 | |
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calf
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| n.小牛，犊，幼仔，小牛皮 | |
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premises
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| n.建筑物，房屋 | |
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inmates
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| n.囚犯( inmate的名词复数 ) | |
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fully
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| adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地 | |
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dictate
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| v.口授；(使)听写；指令，指示，命令 | |
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propriety
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| n.正当行为；正当；适当 | |
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peremptory
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| adj.紧急的，专横的，断然的 | |
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fixed
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| adj.固定的，不变的，准备好的；(计算机)固定的 | |
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grievance
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| n.怨愤，气恼，委屈 | |
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virtue
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| n.德行，美德；贞操；优点；功效，效力 | |
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patronage
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| n.赞助，支援，援助；光顾，捧场 | |
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justified
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| a.正当的，有理的 | |
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sinecure
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| n.闲差事，挂名职务 | |
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subterfuge
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| n.诡计；藉口 | |
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contented
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| adj.满意的，安心的，知足的 | |
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determined
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| adj.坚定的；有决心的 | |
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jurisdiction
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| n.司法权，审判权，管辖权，控制权 | |
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