It had been one of his most
pleasant thoughts in former days that he was the rector of the parish,
chosen of God, and appointed by men, to teach them truths good for
himself and them, and to go before them, seeking out the path in which
they should walk. But his own feet were now stumbling upon dark
mountains. He was quickly losing his popularity among them; for whereas,
while he was himself happy and honored, he had not seen clearly all the
evils, and wrongs, and excesses of his parish, now he was growing, as
they said, more fanatical and ascetic than Mr. Warden had been, who had
won the name of a puritan among them. Why could he not leave the Upton
Arms and the numerous smaller taverns alone, so long as the landladies
and their daughters attended church, as they had been need to do? His
presence at the dinner-parties of his friends was a check upon all
hilarity; and by and by they ceased to invite him, and then, half
ashamed to see his face, ceased to go to his church, where his sermons
had not the smooth and flowery eloquence of former days.
Probably Mr.
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