een
carried on by the next train to San Francisco. One of the porters also
declared that he had heard a few days afterwards that the sufferer had
died almost immediately on his arrival at San Francisco. Information as
far as this Mr. Peacocke had sent home to his wife, and had added his firm
belief that he should find the man's grave in the cemetery, and be able to
bring home with him testimony to which no authority in England, whether
social, episcopal, or judicial, would refuse to give credit.

"Of course he will be married again," said Mrs. Wortle to her husband.

"They shall be married here, and I will perform the ceremony. I don't
think the Bishop himself would object to that; and I shouldn't care a
straw if he did."

"Will he go on with the school?" whispered Mrs. Wortle.

"Will the school go on? If the school goes on, he will go on, I suppose.
About that you had better ask Mrs. Stantiloup."

"I will ask nobody but you," said the wife, putting up her face to kiss
him. As this was going on, everything was said to comfort Mrs. Peacocke,
and to give her hopes of new life. Mrs. Wortle told her how the Doctor
had promised that he himself would marry them as soon as the forms of the
Church and the legal requisitions would allow. Mrs. Peacocke accepted all
that was said to her quietly and thankfully, but did not again allow
herself to be roused to such excitement as she had shown on the one
occasion recorded.

It was at this time that the Doctor received a letter which greatly
affected his mode of thought at the time. He had certainly become hipped
and low-spirited, if not despondent, and clearly showed to his wife, even
though he was silent, that his mind was still intent on the injury which
that wretched woman had done him by her virulence. But the letter of
which we speak for a time removed this feeling, and gave him, as it were,
a new life. The letter, which was from Lord Bracy, was as follows;--

"MY DEAR DOCTOR WORTLE.--Carstairs left us for Oxford yesterday, and
before he went, startled his mother and me considerably by a piece of
information. He tells us that he is over head and ears in love with your
daughter. The communication was indeed made three days ago, but I told
him that I should take a day or two to think of it before I wrote to you.
He was very anxious, when he told me, to go off at once to Bowick, and to
see you and your wife, and of course the young lady;--but this I stopped
by t