e
thought, by the folly of the Bishop. He must now let those who had
concerned themselves know as accurately as he could what he had done in
the matter, and what had been the effect of his doing. He wrote a letter,
therefore, which was not, however, to be posted till after the Peacocke
marriage had been celebrated, copies of which he prepared with his own
hand in order that he might send them to the Bishop and to Lady Anne
Clifford, and to Mr. Talbot and,--not, indeed, to Mrs. Stantiloup, but to
Mrs. Stantiloup's husband. There was a copy also made for Mr. Momson,
though in his heart he despised Mr. Momson thoroughly. In this letter he
declared the great respect which he had entertained, since he had first
known them, both for Mr. and Mrs. Peacocke, and the distress which he had
felt when Mr. Peacocke had found himself obliged to explain to him the
facts,--the facts which need not be repeated, because the reader is so
well acquainted with them. "Mr. Peacocke," he went on to say, "has since
been to America, and has found that the man whom he believed to be dead
when he married his wife, has died since his calamitous reappearance. Mr.
Peacocke has seen the man's grave, with the stone on it bearing his name,
and has brought back with him certificates and evidence as to his burial.

"Under these circumstances, I have no hesitation in re-employing both him
and his wife; and I think that you will agree that I could not do less. I
think you will agree, also, that in the whole transaction I have done
nothing of which the parent of any boy intrusted to me has a right to
complain."

Having done this, he went up to London, and made arrangements for having
the marriage celebrated there as soon as possible after the arrival of Mr.
Peacocke. And on his return to Bowick, he went off to Mr. Puddicombe with
a copy of his letter in his pocket. He had not addressed a copy to his
friend, nor had he intended that one should be sent to him. Mr.
Puddicombe had not interfered in regard to the boys, and had, on the
whole, shown himself to be a true friend. There was no need for him to
advocate his cause to Mr. Puddicombe. But it was right, he thought, that
that gentleman should know what he did; and it might be that he hoped that
he would at length obtain some praise from Mr. Puddicombe. But Mr.
Puddicombe did not like the letter. "It does not tell the truth," he
said.

"Not the truth!"

"Not the whole truth."

"As how! Whe