’Oh，yes；itisquitetrue，’saidJohnny。
’ThenyoumustearnmyfriendshipbydoingwhatIaskofyou。Thatpicturemustnotbepainted。YoumusttellConwayDalrympleashisfriendthathemustceasetocarryonsuchanintrigueinanotherman’shouse。’
’Youwouldhardlycallpaintingapictureanintrigue；wouldyou？’
’CertainlyIwouldwhenit’skeptasecretfromthehusbandbythewife——andfromthemotherbythedaughter。Ifitcannotbestoppedinanyotherway，ImusttellMrsVanSiever；——Imust，indeed。Ihavesuchanabhorrenceoftheoldwoman，thatIcouldnotbringmyselftospeaktoher——butIshouldwritetoher。That’swhatIshoulddo。’
’Butwhat’sthereason？Youmightastellmetherealreason。’HadMissDemolinesbeenchristenedMary，orFanny，orJane，IthinkthatJohnEameswouldnowhavecalledherbyeitherofthosenames；butMadalinawassuchamouthfulthathecouldnotbringhimselftouseitatonce。
HehadheardthatamongherintimatesshewascalledMaddy。HehadanideathathehadheardDalrympleinoldtimestalkofherasMaddyMullins，andjustatthismomenttheideawasnotpleasanttohim；atanyratehecouldnotcallherMaddyasyet。’HowamItohelpyou，’hesaid，’unlessIknowallaboutit？’
’Ihatethatgirllikepoison！’saidMissDemolines，confidentially，drawingherselfveryneartoJohnnyasshespoke。
’Butwhathasshedone？’
’Whathasshedone？Ican’ttellyouwhatshehasdone。Icouldnotdemeanmyselfbyrepeatingit。Ofcourseweallknowwhatshewants。ShewantstocatchConwayDalrymple。That’sasplainasanythingcanbe。NotthatIcareaboutthat。’
’Ofcoursenot，’saidJohnny。
’Notintheleast。It’snothingtome。IhaveknownConwayDalrymple，nodoubt，forayearortwo，andIshouldbesorrytoseeayoungmanwhohashisgoodpointssacrificedinthatsortofway。ButitismereacquaintancebetweenMrDalrympleandme，andofcourseIcannotinterfere。’
’She’llhavealotofmoney，youknow。’
’Hethinksso；doeshe？IsupposethatiswhatMariahastoldhim。Oh，MrEames，youdon’tknowthemeannessofwomen；youdon’tindeed。Menaresomuchmorenoble。’
’Arethey，doyouthink？’
’Thansomewomen。Iseewomendoingthingsthatreallydisgustme；Idoindeed；——thingsthatIwouldn’tdomyself，wereiteverso；——strivingtocatchmenineverypossibleway，andforsuchpurposes！Iwouldn’thavebelieveditofMariaClutterbuck。Iwouldn’tindeed。HoweverIwillneversayawordagainsther，becauseshehasbeenmyfriend。Nothingshalleverinduceme。’
JohnEamesbeforeheleftPorchesterTerrace，hadatlastsucceededincallinghisfairfriendMadalina，andhadpromisedthathewouldendeavourtoopentheartist’seyestothefollyofpaintinghispictureinBroughton’shousewithoutBroughton’sknowledge。
CHAPTERXL
MRTOOGOOD’SIDEASABOUTSOCIETY
AdayortwoaftertheinterviewwhichwasdescribedinthelastchapterJohnEamesdinedwithhisuncleMrThomasToogood，inTavistockSquare。
Hewasinthehabitofdoingthisaboutonceamonth，andwasagreatfavouritebothwithhiscousinsandwiththeirmother。MrToogooddidnotgivedinner—parties；alwaysbeggingthosewhomheaskedtoenjoyhishospitality，totakepotluck，andtellingyoungmenwhomhecouldtreatwithfamiliarity——suchashisnephew——thatiftheywantedtoberegaledalaRussetheymustnotcometoNumber75TavistockSquare。’Alegofmuttonandtrimmings；thatwillbeabouttheoutsideofit，’hewouldsay；buthewouldaddinawhisper——’andaglassofportsuchasyoudon’tgeteverydayofyourlife。’PollyandLucyToogoodwereprettygirls，andmerrywithal，andcertainyoungmenwerewellcontentedtoaccepttheattorney’sinvitation——whetherattractedbythepromisedlegofmutton，ortheportwine，ortheyoungladies，Iwillnotattempttosay。Butithadsohappenedthatoneyoungman，aclerkfromJohnEames’soffice，hadpartakensooftenoftheputluckandportwinethatPollyToogoodhadconqueredhimbyhercharms，andhewasnowaslave，waitinganappropriatetimeformatrimonialsacrifice。WilliamSummerkinwastheyoungman’sname；andasitwasknownthatMrSummerkinwastoinheritafortuneamountingtothreehundredpoundsfromhismaidenaunt，itwasconsideredthatPollyToogoodwasnotdoingamiss。’I’llgiveyouthreehundredpounds，myboy，justtoputafewsheetsonthebeds，’saidToogoodthefather，’andwhentheoldbirdsarebothdeadshe’llhaveathousandpoundsoutofthenest。That’stheextentofPolly’sfortune；——sonowyouknow。’Summerkinwas，however，quitecontentedtohavehisownmoneysettledonhisdarlingPolly，andthewholethingwaslookedatwithpleasantandpropitiouseyesbytheToogoodconnexion。
WhenJohnEamesenteredthedrawing—roomSummerkinandPollywerealreadythere。Summerkinblusheduptohiseyes，ofcourse，butPollysatasdemurelyasthoughshehadbeenaccustomedtohavingloversallherlife。’Mammawillbedownalmostimmediately，John，’saidPollyassoonasthefirstgreetingswereover，’andpapahascomein，Iknow。’
’Summerkin，’saidJohnny，’I’mafraidyoulefttheofficebeforefouro’clock。’
’No，Ididnot，’saidSummerkin。’Idenyit。’
’Polly，’saidhercousin，’youshouldkeephiminbetterorder。Hewillcertainlycometogriefifhegoesonlikethis。Isupposeyoucoulddowithouthimforhalfanhour。’
’Idon’twanthimIassureyou，’saidPolly。
’Ihaveonlybeenherejustfiveminutes，’saidSummerkin，’andIcamebecauseMrsToogoodaskedmetodoacommission。’
’That’sciviltoyou，Polly，’saidJohn。
’It’squiteascivilasIwishhimtobe，’saidPolly。’Andasforyou，John，everybodyknowsthatyou’reagoose，andthatyoualwayswereagoose。Isn’thealwaysdoingfoolishthingsattheoffice，William？’ButasJohnEameswasratheragreatmanattheIncome—TaxOffice，Summerkincouldnotfallintohissweetheart’sjokeonthissubject，findingiteasierandperhapssafertotwiddlethebodkinsofPolly’swork—basket。
ThenToogoodandMrsToogoodenteredtheroomtogether，andtheloverswereabletobealoneagainduringthegeneralgreetingswithwhichJohnnywaswelcomed。
’Youdon’tknowtheSilverbridgepeople——doyou？’askedMrToogood。
Eamessaidthathedidnot。HehadbeenatSilverbridgemorethanonce，butdidnotknowverymuchoftheSilverbridgians。’BecauseWalkeriscomingheretodinehere。WalkeristheleadingmaninSilverbridge。’
’AndwhatisWalker；——besidesbeingtheleadingmaninSilverbridge？’
’He’salawyer。WalkerandWinthrop。EverybodyknowsWalkerinBarsetshire。I’vebeendownatBarchestersinceIsawyou。’
’Haveyouindeed？’saidJohnny。
’AndI’lltellyouwhatI’vebeenabout。YouknowMrCrawley；don’tyou？’
’TheHogglestockclergymanthathascometogrief？Idon’tknowhimpersonally。He’sasortofcousinbymarriage，youknow。’
’Ofcourseheis，’saidToogood。’Hiswifeismyfirst—cousin，andyourmother’sfirstcousin。Hecameheretometheotherday；——orrathertotheshop。Ihadneverseenthemanbeforeinmylife，andaveryqueerfellowheistoo。Hecametomeaboutthistroubleofhis，andofcourseImustdowhatIcanforhim。IgotmyselfintroducedtoWalker，whohasthemanagementoftheprosecution，andIaskedhimtocomeanddinetonight。’
’AndwhatsortoffellowdidyoufindCrawley，UncleTom？’
’Suchaqueerfish；——sounlikeanybodyelseintheworld。’
’ButIsupposehedidtakethemoney，’saidJohnny。
’Idon’tknowwhattosayaboutit。Idon’tindeed。Ifhetookithedidn’tmeantostealit。I’massurethatmandidn’tmeantostealtwentypoundsasIevercouldbeofanything。PerhapsIshallgetsomethingaboutitoutofWalkerafterdinner。’ThenMrWalkerenteredtheroom。’Thisisverykindofyou，MrWalker；veryindeed。Itakeitquiteasacompliment，yourcomingininthissortofway。It’sjustpotluck，youknow，andnothingelse。’MrWalkerofcourseassuredhishostthathewasdelighted。’Justalegofmuttonandabottleofoldport，MrWalker，’continuedToogood。’Wenevergetbeyondthatinthewayofdinner—giving；do，we，Maria？’
ButMariawasatthismomentdescantingonthegoodluckofthefamilytohernephew——andononespecialpieceofgoodluckwhichhadjustoccurred。MrSummerkin’smaidenaunthaddeclaredherintentionofgivingupthefortunetotheyoungpeopleatonce。Shehadenoughtoliveupon，shesaid，andwouldthereforemaketwolovershappy。’Andthey’retobemarriedonthefirstdayofMay，’saidLucy——thatLucyofwhomherfatherhadboastedtoMrCrawleythatsheknewByronbyheart——’andwon’tthatbejolly？Mammaisgoingouttolookforahouseforthemtomorrow。FancyPollywithahouseofherown！Won’titbestunning？Iwishyouweregoingtobemarriedtoo，Johnny。’
’Don’tbeafool，Lucy。’
’OfcourseIknowthatyouareinlove。Ihopeyouarenotgoingtogiveoverbeinginlove，Johnny，becauseitissuchfun。’
’Waittillyou’vecaughtyourself，mygirl。’
’Idon’tmeantobecaughttillsomegreatswellcomesthisway。AndasgreatswellsneverdocometoTavistockSquare，Ishan’thaveachance。
I’lltellyouwhatIwouldlike；I’dliketohaveaCorsair——orelseaGiaour；——IthinkaGiaourwouldbenicest。OnlyaGiaourwouldn’tbeaGiaourhere，youknow。Fancyalover\"whothunderingcomesonblackeststeed，Withslackenedbitandhoofofspeed。\"Werenotthosedaystolivein！Butallthatisovernow，youknow，andyoungpeopletakehousesinWoburnPlace，insteadofbeinglockedup，ordrowned，ormarriedtoahideousmonsterbehindaveil。Isupposeit’sbetterasitis，forsomereasons。’
’Ithinkitmustbemorejolly，asyoucallit，Lucy。’
’I’mnotquitesure。IknowI’dgobackandbeMedora，ifIcould。
MammaisalwaystellingPollythatshemustbecarefulaboutWilliam’sdinner。ButConraddidn’tcareforhisdinner。\"Lighttoil！tocullanddressmyfrugalfare！See，Ihavepluckedthefruitthatpromisedbest。\"’
’AndhowoftendoyouthinkConradgotdrunk？’
’Idon’tthinkhegotdrunkatall。ThereisnoreasonwhyheshouldanymorethanWilliam。Comealong，andtakemedowntodinner。Afterall，papa’slegofmuttonisbetterthanMedora’sapples，whenoneisashungryasIam。’
Thelegofmuttononthisoccasionconsistedofsoup，fish，andabitofroastbeef，andacoupleofboiledfowls。’IfIhadonlytwochildreninsteadoftwelve，’MrWalker，’saidthehost，’I’dgiveyouadinneralaRusse。’
’Idon’tbegrudgeMrsToogoodasinglearrowinherquiveronthatscore，’saidMrWalker。
’Peoplearegettingtobesoluxuriousthatonecan’tliveuptothematall，’saidMrsToogood。’Wedinedoutherewithsomenewcomersinthesquareonlylastweek。Wehadaskedthembefore，andtheycamequiteinaquietway——justlikethis；andwhenwegottherewefoundthey’dfourkindsoficesafterdinner！’
’Andnotamorseloffoodonthetablefittoeat，’saidToogood。’I
neverwassopoisonedinmylife。Asforsoup——itwasjustthewashingsofthepastrycook’skettlenextdoor。’
’Andhowisonetolivewithsuchpeople，MrWalker？’continuedMrsToogood。’Ofcoursewecan’taskthembackagain。Wegivethemfourkindsofices。’
’Butwouldthatbenecessary？Perhapstheyhaven’tgottwelvechildren。’
’Theyhaven’tgotanyatall，’saidToogood，triumphing；’notachickbelongingtothem。Butyouseeonemustdoasotherpeopledo。Ihateanythinggrand。Iwouldn’twantmorethanthisformyself，ifbank—noteswereasplentyascurl—papers。’
’Nobodyhasanycurl—papersnow，papa，’saidLucy。
’ButIcan’tbeartobeoutdone，’saidMrToogood。’Ithinkit’sveryunpleasant——peoplelivinginthatsortofway。It’sallverywelltellingmethatIneedn’tlivesotoo；——andofcourseIdon’t。Ican’taffordtohavefourmeninfromtheconfectioner’sdressedasightbetterthanmyself，attenshillingsahead。Ican’taffordit，andI
don’tdoit。ButtheworstofitisthatIsufferbecauseotherpeopledoit。ItstandstoreasonthatImusteitherbedrivenalongwiththecrowd，orelsebeleftbehind。Now，Idon’tlikeeither。Andwhat’stheendofit？WhyI’mhalfcarriedawayandhalfleftbehind。’
’Uponmyword，papa，Idon’tthinkyou’recarriedawayatall，saidLucy。
’Yes，Iam；andI’mashamedofmyself。MrWalker，Idon’tdaretoaskyoutodrinkaglassofwinewithmeinmyownhouse——that’swhatI
don’t——becauseit’stheproperthingforyoutowaittillsomebodybringsittoyou，andthendrinkitbyyourself。ThereisnoknowingwhetherImightn’toffendyou。’AndMrToogoodashespokegraspedthedecanterathiselbow。MrWalkergraspedanotherathiselbow，andthetwoattorneystooktheirglassofwinetogether。
’AveryqueercasethisisofmycousinCrawley’s，’saidToogoodtoWalker，whentheladieshadleftthedining—room。
’Amostdistressingcase。Ineverknewanythingsomuchtalkedofinourpartofthecountry。’
’Hecan’thavebeenapopularman，Ishouldsay。’
’No；notpopular——notintheordinaryway；——anythingbutthat。Nobodyknewhimpersonallybeforethismattercameup。’
’Butagoodclergyman，probably？I’minterestedinthecase，ofcourseashiswifeismyfirst—cousin。Youwillunderstand，however，thatI
knownothingofhim。Myfathertriedtobeciviltohimonce，butCrawleywouldn’thaveitatall。Weallthoughthewasmadthen。I
supposehehasdonehisdutyinhisparish？’
’Hehasquarrelledwiththebishop，youknow，——outandout。’
’Hashe，indeed？ButI’mnotsurethatIthinkverymuchaboutbishops，Walker。’
’Thatdependsverymuchontheparticularbishop。Somepeoplesayoursisn’tallthatabishopoughttobe，whileothersareveryfondofhim。’
’AndMrCrawleybelongstotheformerset，that’sall？’saidMrToogood。
’No，MrToogood；thatisn’tall。Theworstofyourcousinasthathehasanaptitudetoquarrelwitheverybody。Heisoneofthosemenwhoalwaysthinkthemselvestobeill—used。Nowourdean，DrArabin，hasbeenhisveryoldfriend——andasfarasIcanlearn，averygoodfriend；
butitseemsthatMrCrawleyhasdonehisbesttoquarrelwithhimtoo。’
’Hespokeofthedeaninthehighesttermstome。’
’Hemaydothat——andyetquarrelwithhim。He’dquarrelwithhisownrighthand，ifhenothingelsetoquarrelwith。Thatmakesthedifficulty，yousee。He’lltakenobody’sadvice。Hethinkswe’reallagainsthim。’
’Isupposetheworldhasbeenheavyonhim，MrWalker？’
’Theworldhasbeenveryheavyonhim，’saidJohnEames，whohadnowbeenleftfreetojointheconversation，MrSummerkinhavinggoneawaytohislady—love。’Youmustnotjudgehimasyoudoothermen。’
’Thatisjustit，’saidMrWalker。’Andtowhatresultwillthatbringus？’
’Thatweoughttostretchapointinhisfavour，’saidToogood。
’Butwhy？’askedtheattorneyfromSilverbridge。’Whatdowemeanwhenwesaythatonemanisn’ttobetrustedasanother？Wesimplyimplythatheisnotwhatwecallresponsible。’
’AndIdon’tthinkMrCrawleyisresponsible，’saidJohnny。
’Thenhowcanhebefittohavechargeofaparish？’saidMrWalker。
’Youseewherethedifficultyis。Howitembarrassesoneallround。Theamountofevidenceastothechequeis，Ithink，sufficienttogetaverdictinanordinarycase，andtheCrownhasnotalternativebutsototreatit。Thenhisfriendscomeforward——andfromsympathywithhissufferings，Idesiretoberankedamongthenumber——andsay，’Ah，butyoushouldsparethisman，becauseheisnotresponsible。’Wereheonewhofillednopositionrequiringspecialresponsibility，thatmightbeverywell。Hisfriendsmightundertaketolookafterhim，andtheprosecutionmightperhapsbesmothered。ButMrCrawleyholdsaliving，andifheescapehewillbetriumphant——especiallytriumphantoverthebishop。Now，ifhehasreallytakenthismoney，andifhisonlyexcusebethathedidnotknowwhenhetookitwhetherhewasstealingorwhetherhewasnot——forthesakeofjusticethatoughtnottobeallowed。’
’Youthinkhecertainlydidstealthemoney？’saidJohnny。
’Youhaveheardtheevidence，nodoubt？’saidMrWalker。
’Idon’tfeelquitesureaboutit，yet，’saidMrToogood。
’Quitesureofwhat？’saidMrWalker。
’Thatthechequegotdroppedinhishouse。’
’Itwasatanyratetracedtohishands。’
’Ihavenodoubtaboutthat，’saidToogood。
’Andhecan’taccountforit，’saidWalker。
’Amanisn’tboundtoshowwherehegothismoney，’saidJohnny。
’Supposethatsovereignismarked，’andJohnnyproducedacoinfromhispocket，’andIdon’tknowbutwhatitis；andsupposeitisprovedtohavebelongedtosomeonewholostit，andthentobetracedtomyownhands——howamItosaywhereIgotit？IfIwereaskedIshouldsimplydeclinetoanswer。’
’Butachequeisnotasovereign，MrEames，’saidWalker。’Itispresumedthatamancanaccountforthepossessionofacheque。Itmaybethatamanshouldhaveachequeinhispossessionandnotbeabletoaccountforit，andshouldyetbeopentonogravesuspicion。Insuchacaseajuryhastojudge。Hereisthefact：thatMrCrawleyhasthecheque，andbringsitintousesomeconsiderabletimeafteritisdrawn；andtheadditionalfactthatthedrawerofthechequehadlostit，ashethought，inMrCrawley’shouse，andhadlookedforitthere，soonafteritwasdrawn，andlongbeforeitwaspaid。Ajurymustjudge；
but，asalawyer，IshouldsaythattheburdenofdisprooflieswithMrCrawley。’
’Didyoufindoutanything，MrWalker，’saidToogood，’aboutthemanwhodroveMrSoamesthatday？’
’No——nothing。’
’Thetrapwasfrom\"TheDragon\"atBarchester，Ithink？’
’Yes——from\"TheDragonofWantly\"。’
’Arespectablesortofhouse？’
’Prettywellforthat，Ibelieve。I’veheardthatthepeoplearepoor，’
saidWalker。
’Somebodytoldmethatthey’dhadaqueerlotaboutthehouse，andthatthreeorfourofthemleftjustthen。IthinkIheardthattwoorthreemenfromtheplacewenttoNewZealandtogether。ItjustcameoutinconversationwhileIwasintheinn—yard。’
’Ihaveneverheardanythingofit，’saidWalker。
’Idon’tsaythatitcanhelpus。’
’Idon’tseethatitcan，’saidWalker。
Afterthattherewasapause，andMrToogoodpushedabouttheoldport，andmadesomeverystingingremarkastotheclaret—drinkingpropensitiesoftheage。’Gladstoneclaretthemostofitis，Ifancy，’
saidMrToogood。’Ifindthatportwinewhichmyfatherboughtinthewoodfive—and—twentyyearsagoisgoodenoughforme。’MrWalkersaidthatitwasquitegoodenoughforhim，almosttoogood，andthathethoughtthathehadhadenoughofit。Thehostthreatenedanotherbottle，andwasuptodrawthecork——rathertothesatisfactionofJohnEames，wholikedhisuncle’sport——butMrWalkerstoppedhim。’Notadropmoreforme，’hesaid。’Youarequitesure？’’Quitesure。’AndMrWalkermovedtowardsthedoor。
’It’sagreatpity，MrWalker，’saidToogood，goingbacktothatoldsubject，’thatthedeanandhiswifeshouldbeaway。’
’Iunderstandthattheybothwillbehomebeforethetrial，’saidMrWalker。
’Yes——butyouknowhowveryimportantitistolearnbeforehandexactlywhatyourwitnessescanproveandwhattheycan’tprove。Andmoreover，thoughneitherthedeannorhiswifemightperhapsbeabletotellusanythingthemselves，theymighthelptoputusontheproperscent。I
thinkI’llsendsomebodyafterthem。IthinkIwill。’
’Itwouldbeaheavyexpense，MrToogood。’
’Yes，’saidToogoodmournfully，thinkingofhistwelvechildren；’itwouldbeaheavyexpense。ButIneverliketostickatathingwhenitoughttobedone。IthinkIshallsendafellowafterthem。’
’I’llgo，’saidJohnny。
’Howcanyougo？’
’I’llmakeoldSnufflegivemeleave。’
’Butwillthatlessentheexpense？’saidMrWalker。
’Well，yes，Ithinkitwill，’saidJohn，modestly。
’Mynephewisarichman，MrWalker，’saidMrToogood。
’Thataltersthecase，’saidMrWalker。Andthus，beforetheyleftthedining—room，itwassettledthatJohnEamesshouldbetaughthislessonandshouldseekbothMrsArabinandDrArabinontheirtravels。