ng assured him that there was no mistake; that he would find,
on returning home, that Mr. Arabin had been at Plumstead with the
express object of making the same declaration; that even Miss Thorne
knew all about it; and that, in fact, the thing was as clearly settled
as any such arrangement between a lady and a gentleman could well be.

"Good heavens!" said the archdeacon, walking up and down Eleanor's
drawing-room. "Good heavens! Good heavens!"

Now these exclamations certainly betokened faith. Mr. Harding properly
gathered from it that, at last, Dr. Grantly did believe the fact. The
first utterance clearly evinced a certain amount of distaste at the
information he had received; the second simply indicated surprise;
in the tone of the third Mr. Harding fancied that he could catch a
certain gleam of satisfaction.

The archdeacon had truly expressed the workings of his mind. He could
not but be disgusted to find how utterly astray he had been in all his
anticipations. Had he only been lucky enough to have suggested this
marriage himself when he first brought Mr. Arabin into the country,
his character for judgement and wisdom would have received an addition
which would have classed him at any rate next to Solomon. And why had
he not done so? Might he not have foreseen that Mr. Arabin would want
a wife in his parsonage? He had foreseen that Eleanor would want a
husband, but should he not also have perceived that Mr. Arabin was a
man much more likely to attract her than Mr. Slope? The archdeacon
found that he had been at fault and, of course, could not immediately
get over his discomfiture.

Then his surprise was intense. How sly this pair of young turtle-doves
had been with him. How egregiously they had hoaxed him. He had
preached to Eleanor against her fancied attachment to Mr. Slope at the
very time that she was in love with his own protege, Mr. Arabin, and
had absolutely taken that same Mr. Arabin into his confidence with
reference to his dread of Mr. Slope's alliance. It was very natural
that the archdeacon should feel surprise.

But there was also great ground for satisfaction. Looking at the
match by itself, it was the very thing to help the doctor out of his
difficulties. In the first place, the assurance that he should never
have Mr. Slope for his brother-in-law was in itself a great comfort.
Then Mr. Arabin was, of all men, the one with whom it would best suit
him to be so intimately connected. But the crowni