So he first went quietly up to the church, which he found full of
benches and pews, with the Altar table in the middle of the nave, and
the squire's comfortable cushioned seat at the east end. He knelt on
the step for a long time, then made a brief visit to his own house,
where the garden was in beautiful order, but only a room or two were
furnished with goods he had bought from the Woodleys, and these were
in charge of a servant he had hired at Bristol.
Thence the old man went out into the village, and his first halt was
at the forge, where Blane, who had grown a great deal stouter and
more grizzled, started at sight of his square cap.
"Eh! but 'tis the old minister! You have come in quietly, sir! I am
afraid your reverence has but a sorry welcome."
"I do not wonder you are grieved to part with Master Woodley."
"Well, sir, he be a good man and a powerful preacher, though no doubt
your reverence has the best right, and for one, I'm right glad to see
an old face again. We would have rung the bells if we had known you
were coming.
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