in the circumstances, he had never spoken to Mr Fleming.
He was on the most friendly terms with the family, and had always been
kindly received and respectfully treated by the old man, but as to
personal matters Mr Fleming was as reserved with him as with the rest
of the world. It would have seemed to Mr Maxwell an impertinence on
his part to seek either directly or indirectly to force the confidence
of a man like him. And indeed he felt that he might have little to say
to the purpose should his confidence be spontaneously given. He thought
it possible that it might do Mr Fleming good to freely and fully tell
his troubles, real and imaginary, to a sympathising and judicious
listener, but he was far from thinking himself the right man to hear
him.

He had a strong desire to help and comfort him. In church, when he saw,
as he now and then did, the stern old face softening and brightening
under some strong sweet word of his Lord, like the face of a little
child, he had an unspeakable longing to do him good. In his study the
remembrance of the look came often back to him, and almost unconsciously
the thought of him, and his wants, and possible experiences, influenced
his preparations for the Sabbath. His thoughts of him were always
gentle and compassionate. That there is likely to be wrong on both
sides, where anger, or coldness, or contempt comes between those who
acknowledge the Lord of love and peace as their Master, Mr Maxwell well
knew, but in thinking of the trouble between these two men, neither the
sympathy nor the blame was equally awarded. When he prayed that both
might be brought to a better mind through God's grace given and His word
spoken, he almost unconsciously assumed that this grace was to make the
word a light, a guide, a consoler to one, and to the other a fire and a
hammer to break the rock in pieces.

It would not have been difficult at this time to bring back the old
state of things when two distinct communities lived side by side in
Gershom; and in the main the two communities would have stood in
relation to each other very much as the North Gore folk and the
villagers had stood in the old times. Not altogether, however. The
North Gore folk, as a general thing, sided with Mr Fleming, or they
would have done so if he had not been dumb and deaf to them and to all
others on the subject of his troubles, but all the towns-people would
not have been on the other side.

For Jacob lacked some of