ible, to make her paths pleasant for her. Her fall, her first
fall had been piteous to him, rather than odious. He, too, would have
liked to get hold of the man and to have left him without a sound
limb within his skin,--to have left him pretty nearly without a skin
at all; but that work had fallen into the miller's hands, who had
done it fairly well. And, moreover, it would hardly have fitted the
Vicar. But, as regarded Carry herself, when he thought of her in his
solitary rambles, he would build little castles in the air on her
behalf, in which her life should be anything but one of sackcloth and
ashes. He would find for her some loving husband, who should know
and should have forgiven the sin which had hardly been a sin, and
she should be a loving wife with loving children. Perhaps, too, he
would add to this, as he built his castles, the sweet smiles of
affectionate gratitude with which he himself would be received when
he visited her happy hearth. But he knew that these were castles
in the air, and he endeavoured to throw them all behind him as he
preached his sermon. Nevertheless, he was very tender with her,
and treated her not at all as he would have done an ugly young
parishioner who had turned thief upon his hands.

"And now, Carry," he said, as he left her, "I will get a gig in the
town, and will drive over to your brother. We can but try it. I am
clear as to this, that the best thing for you will be to be among
your own people."

"I suppose it would, sir; but I don't think she'll ever be brought to
have me."

"We will try, at any rate. And if she will have you, you must
remember that you must not eat the bread of idleness. You must be
prepared to work for your living."

"I don't want to be idle, sir." Then he took her by the hand, and
pressed it, and bade God bless her, and gave her a little money in
order that she might make some first payment to Mrs. Stiggs. "I'm
sure I don't know why you should do all this for the likes of me,
sir," said the girl, bursting into tears. The Vicar did not tell her
that he did it because she was gracious in his eyes, and perhaps was
not aware of the fact himself.

He went to the Dragon of Wantley, and there procured a gig. He had
a contest in the inn-yard before they would let him have the gig
without a man to drive him; but he managed it at last, fearing that
the driver might learn something of his errand. He had never been at
Startup Farm before; and knew very little