onewhowoulddineanddrinkaglassofwinewithhim，talkaboutthearchdeacon，andpokethefire。Thebishopdidnotpositivelynamealltheseduties，buthegaveMrHardingtounderstandthatsuchwouldbethenatureoftheservicerequired。
ItwasnotwithoutmuchdifficultythatMrHardingmadehisfriendseethatthiswouldnotsuithim；thathecouldnotthrowupthebishop’spreferment，andthencomeandhangonatthebishop’stable；thathecouldnotallowpeopletosayofhimthatitwasaneasymattertoabandonhisownincome，ashewasabletospongeonthatofanotherperson。
Hesucceeded，however，inexplainingthattheplanwouldnotdo，andthenthebishopbroughtforwardanotherwhichhehadinhissleeve。He，thebishop，hadinhiswillleftcertainmoneystoMrHarding’stwodaughters，imaginingthatMrHardingwouldhimselfwantnosuchassistanceduringhisownlifetime。Thislegacyamountedtothreethousandpoundseach，dutyfree；andhenowpresseditasagiftonhisfriend。
’Thegirls，youknow，’saidhe，’willhaveitjustthesamewhenyou’regone——andtheywon’twantitsooner——andasfortheinterestduringmylifetime，itisn’tworthtalkingabout。
Ihavemorethanenough。’
Withmuchdifficultyandheartfeltsorrow，MrHardingrefusedalsothisoffer。No；hiswishwastosupporthimself，howeverpoorly——nottobesupportedonthecharityofanyone。
Itwashardtomakethebishopunderstandthis；itwashardtomakehimcomprehendthattheonlyrealfavourhecouldconferwasthecontinuationofhisindependentfriendship；
butatlasteventhiswasdone。Atanyrate，thoughtthebishop，hewillcomeanddinewithmefromtimetotime，andifhebeabsolutelystarvingIshallseeit。
Touchingtheprecentorship，thebishopwasclearlyofopinionthatitcouldbeheldwithouttheothersituation——anopinionfromwhichnoonediffered；anditwasthereforesoonsettledamongallthepartiesconcerned，thatMrHardingshouldstillbetheprecentorofthecathedral。
OnthedayfollowingMrHarding’sreturn，thearchdeaconreachedPlumsteadfullofMrCummins’sschemeregardingPuddingdaleandMrQuiverful。OntheverynextmorninghedroveovertoPuddingdale，andobtainedthefullconsentofthewretchedclericalPriam，whowasendeavouringtofeedhispoorHecubaandadozenofHectorsonthesmallproceedsofhisecclesiasticalkingdom。MrQuiverfulhadnodoubtsastothelegalrightsofthewarden；hisconsciencewouldbequiteclearastoacceptingtheincome；andastoTheJupiter，hebeggedtoassurethearchdeaconthathewasquiteindifferenttoanyemanationsfromtheprofaneportionoftheperiodicalpress。
Havingsofarsucceeded，henextsoundedthebishop；butherehewasastonishedbymostunexpectedresistance。Thebishopdidnotthinkitwoulddo。’Notdo，whynot？’andseeingthathisfatherwasnotshaken，herepeatedthequestioninasevererform:’Whynotdo，mylord？’
Hislordshiplookedveryunhappy，andshuffledaboutinhischair，butstilldidn’tgiveway；hethoughtPuddingdalewouldn’tdoforMrHarding；itwastoofarfromBarchester。
’Oh！ofcoursehe’llhaveacurate。’
ThebishopalsothoughtthatMrQuiverfulwouldn’tdoforthehospital；suchanexchangewouldn’tlookwellatsuchatime；and，whenpressedharder，hedeclaredhedidn’tthinkMrHardingwouldacceptofPuddingdaleunderanycircumstances。
’Howishetolive？’demandedthearchdeacon。
Thebishop，withtearsinhiseyes，declaredthathehadnottheslightestconceptionhowlifewastobesustainedwithinhimatall。
Thearchdeaconthenlefthisfather，andwentdowntothehospital；butMrHardingwouldn’tlistenatalltothePuddingdalescheme。Tohiseyesithadnoattraction；itsavouredofsimony，andwaslikelytobringdownuponhimharderandmoredeservedstricturesthananyhehadyetreceived:hepositivelydeclinedtobecomevicarofPuddingdaleunderanycircumstances。
Thearchdeaconwaxedwroth，talkedbig，andlookedbigger；hesaidsomethingaboutdependenceandbeggary，spokeofthedutyeverymanwasundertoearnhisbread，madepassingallusionstothefolliesofyouthandwaywardnessofage，asthoughMrHardingwereafflictedbyboth，andendedbydeclaringthathehaddone。Hefeltthathehadleftnostoneunturnedtoarrangemattersonthebestandeasiestfooting；thathehad，infact，soarrangedthem，thathehadsomanagedthattherewasnofurtherneedofanyanxietyinthematter。Andhowhadhebeenpaid？Hisadvicehadbeensystematicallyrejected；hehadbeennotonlyslighted，butdistrustedandavoided；heandhismeasureshadbeenutterlythrownover，ashadbeenSirAbraham，who，hehadreasontoknow，wasmuchpainedatwhathadoccurred。Henowfounditwasuselesstointerfereanyfurther，andheshouldretire。Ifanyfurtherassistancewererequiredfromhim，hewouldprobablybecalledon，andshouldbeagainhappytocomeforward。
Andsoheleftthehospital，andhasnotsinceentereditfromthatdaytothis。
AndherewemusttakeleaveofArchdeaconGrantly。Wefearthatheisrepresentedinthesepagesasbeingworsethanheis；butwehavehadtodowithhisfoibles，andnotwithhisvirtues。Wehaveseenonlytheweaksideoftheman，andhavelackedtheopportunityofbringinghimforwardonhisstrongground。Thatheisamansomewhattoofondofhisownway，andnotsufficientlyscrupulousinhismannerofachievingit，hisbestfriendscannotdeny。Thatheisbigotedinfavour，notsomuchofhisdoctrinesasofhiscloth，isalsotrue:anditistruethatthepossessionofalargeincomeisadesirethatsitsnearhisheart。Nevertheless，thearchdeaconisagentlemanandamanofconscience；hespendshismoneyliberally，anddoestheworkhehastodowiththebestofhisability；heimprovesthetoneofsocietyofthoseamongwhomhelives。Hisaspirationsareofahealthy，ifnotofthehighest，kind。Thoughneveranaustereman，heupholdsproprietyofconductbothbyexampleandprecept。Heisgeneroustothepoor，andhospitabletotherich；inmattersofreligionheissincere，andyetnoPharisee；heisinearnest，andyetnofanatic。Onthewhole，theArchdeaconofBarchesterisamandoingmoregoodthanharm——amantobefurtheredandsupported，thoughperhapsalsotobecontrolled；anditismatterofregrettousthatthecourseofournarrativehasrequiredthatweshouldseemoreofhisweaknessthanhisstrength。
MrHardingallowedhimselfnoresttilleverythingwaspreparedforhisdeparturefromthehospital。Itmaybeaswelltomentionthathewasnotdriventothesternnecessityofsellingallhisfurniture:hehadbeenquiteinearnestinhisintentiontodoso，butitwassoonmadeknowntohimthattheclaimsofMessrsCoxandCumminsmadenosuchstepobligatory。Thearchdeaconhadthoughtitwisetomakeuseofthethreatofthelawyer’sbill，tofrightenhisfather-in-lawintocompliance；buthehadnointentiontosaddleMrHardingwithcosts，whichhadbeenincurredbynomeansexclusivelyforhisbenefit。Theamountofthebillwasaddedtothediocesanaccount，andwas，infact，paidoutofthebishop’spocket，withoutanyconsciousnessonthepartofhislordship。
Agreatpartofhisfurniturehedidresolvetosell，havingnoothermeanstodisposeofit；andtheponiesandcarriageweretransferred，byprivatecontract，totheuseofanoldmaidenladyinthecity。
ForhispresentuseMrHardingtookalodginginBarchester，andthitherwereconveyedsucharticlesashewantedfordailyuse——hismusic，books，andinstruments，hisownarm-chair，andEleanor’spetsofa；herteapoyandhiscellaret，andalsotheslenderbutstillsufficientcontentsofhiswine-cellar。MrsGrantlyhadmuchwishedthathersisterwouldresideatPlumstead，tillherfather’shouseatCrabtreeshouldbereadyforher；butEleanorherselfstronglyresistedthisproposal。Itwasinvainurgeduponher，thataladyinlodgingscostmorethanagentleman；andthat，underherfather’spresentcircumstances，suchanexpenseshouldbeavoided。EleanorhadnotpressedherfathertogiveupthehospitalinorderthatshemightliveatPlumsteadRectoryandhealoneinhisBarchesterlodgings；nordidEleanorthinkthatshewouldbetreatingacertaingentlemanveryfairly，ifshebetookherselftothehousewhichhewouldbetheleastdesirousofenteringofanyinthecounty。Soshegotalittlebedroomforherselfbehindthesitting-room，andjustoverthelittlebackparlourofthechemist，withwhomtheyweretolodge。Therewassomewhatofasavourofsennasoftenedbypeppermintabouttheplace；
but，onthewhole，thelodgingswerecleanandcomfortable。
Thedayhadbeenfixedforthemigrationoftheex-warden，andallBarchesterwereinastateofexcitementonthesubject。
OpinionwasmuchdividedastotheproprietyofMrHarding’sconduct。Themercantilepartofthecommunity，themayorandcorporation，andcouncil，alsomostoftheladies，wereloudinhispraise。Nothingcouldbemorenoble，nothingmoregenerous，nothingmoreupright。Butthegentrywereofadifferentwayofthinking——especiallythelawyersandtheclergymen。Theysaidsuchconductwasveryweakandundignified；
thatMrHardingevincedalamentablewantofespritdecorps，aswellascourage；andthatsuchanabdicationmustdomuchharm，andcoulddobutlittlegood。
Ontheeveningbeforeheleft，hesummonedallthebedesmenintohisparlourtowishthemgood-bye。WithBuncehehadbeeninfrequentcommunicationsincehisreturnfromLondon，andhadbeenatmuchpainstoexplaintotheoldmanthecauseofhisresignation，withoutinanywayprejudicingthepositionofhissuccessor。Theothers，also，hehadseenmoreorlessfrequently；andhadheardfrommostofthemseparatelysomeexpressionofregretathisdeparture；buthehadpostponedhisfarewelltillthelastevening。
Henowbadethemaidputwineandglassesonthetable；
andhadthechairsarrangedaroundtheroom；andsentBuncetoeachofthementorequesttheywouldcomeandsayfarewelltotheirlatewarden。Soonthenoiseofagedscufflingfeetwashearduponthegravelandinthelittlehall，andtheelevenmenwhowereenabledtoleavetheirroomswereassembled。
’Comein，myfriends，comein，’saidthewarden——hewasstillwardenthen。’Comein，andsitdown’；andhetookthehandofAbelHandy，whowasthenearesttohim，andledthelimpinggrumblertoachair。Theothersfollowedslowlyandbashfully；theinfirm，thelame，andtheblind:poorwretches！
whohadbeensohappy，hadtheybutknownit！Nowtheiragedfaceswerecoveredwithshame，andeverykindwordfromtheirmasterwasacoaloffireburningontheirheads。