doubt the lad
had been confided to him in trust. No doubt it would have been his duty
to have prevented anything of the kind, had anything of the kind seemed to
him to be probable. Had there been any moment in which the duty had
seemed to him to be a duty, he would have done it, even though it had been
necessary to caution the Earl to take his son away from Bowick. But there
had been nothing of the kind. He had acted in the simplicity of his
heart, and this had been the result. Of course it was impossible. He
acknowledged to himself that it was so, because of the necessity of those
Oxford studies and those long years which would be required for the taking
of the degree. But to his thinking there was no other ground for saying
that it was impossible. The thing must stand as it was. If this youth
should show himself to be more constant than other youths,--which was not
probable,--and if, at the end of three or four years, Mary should not have
given her heart to any other lover,--which was also improbable,--why,
then, it might come to pass that he should some day find himself
father-in-law to the future Earl Bracy. Though Mary did not think of it,
nor Mrs. Wortle, he thought of it,--so as to give an additional interest
to these disturbed days.

CHAPTER V.

CORRESPONDENCE WITH THE PALACE.

THE possible glory of Mary's future career did not deter the Doctor from
thinking of his troubles,--and especially that trouble with the Bishop
which was at present heavy on his hand. He had determined not to go on
with his action, and had so resolved because he had felt, in his more
sober moments, that in bringing the Bishop to disgrace, he would be as a
bird soiling its own nest. It was that conviction, and not any idea as to
the sufficiency or insufficiency, as to the truth or falsehood, of the
editor's apology, which had actuated him. As he had said to his lawyer,
he did not in the least care for the newspaper people. He could not
condescend to be angry with them. The abominable joke as to the two verbs
was altogether in their line. As coming from them, they were no more to
him than the ribald words of boys which he might hear in the street. The
offence to him had come from the Bishop,--and he resolved to spare the
Bishop because of the Church. But yet something must be done. He could
not leave the man to triumph over him. If nothing further were done in
the matter, the Bishop would have triumphed over him.