BARCHESTER TOWERS
seen Mr. Harding since Eleanor had accepted him, nor had he seen him since he had learnt his future father-in-law's preferment. There was nothing more natural, more necessary, than that they should meet each other at the earliest possible moment. Mr. Arabin was waiting in the deanery parlour when Mr. Harding and Dr. Grantly were driven up from the station.
There was some excitement in the bosoms of them all, as they met and shook hands; by far too much to enable either of them to begin his story and tell it in a proper, equable style of narrative. Mr. Harding was some minutes quite dumbfounded, and Mr. Arabin could only talk in short, spasmodic sentences about his love and good fortune. He slipped in, as best he could, some sort of congratulation about the deanship, and then went on with his hopes and fears,—hopes that he might be received as a son, and fears that he hardly deserved such good fortune. Then he went back to the dean; it was the most thoroughly satisfactory appointment, he said, of which he had ever heard.
"But! but! but" said Mr. Harding; and then failing to get any further, he looked imploringly at the archdeacon.
"The truth is, Arabin," said the doctor, "that, after all, you are not destined to be son-in-law to a dean. Nor am I either: more's the pity."
Mr. Arabin looked at him for explanation. "Is not Mr. Harding to be the new dean?"
"It appears not," said the archdeacon. Mr. Arabin's face fell a little, and he looked from one to the other. It was plainly to be seen from them both that there was no cause of unhappiness in the matter, at least not of unhappiness to them; but there was as yet no elucidation of the mystery.
"Think how old I am," said Mr. Harding, imploringly.
"Fiddlestick!" said the archdeacon.
"That's all very well, but it won't make a young man of me," said Mr. Harding.
"And who is to be dean?" asked Mr. Arabin.
"Yes, that's the question," said the archdeacon. "Come, Mr. Precentor, since you obstinately refuse to be anything else, let us know who is to be the man. He has got the nomination in his pocket."
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