It sounds a hard thing to say of so conscientious a man, but a properly preserved social order was perhaps to his mind the nearest approach to the establishment of the Kingdom of Heaven on earth.  Each person held his proper position, including himself, and he no more expected others to be untrue to their station than he wished to be untrue to his own.  There were, of course, two main divisions—­those of gentle birth and those not of gentle birth, and these were as distinct as the sexes.  But there were endless gradations in each respectively, and he himself regarded those with as much respect as those of the angelic hierarchy:  the “Dominations” might, or might not be as “good” as the “Powers,” but they were certainly different, by Divine decree.  It would be a species of human blasphemy, therefore, for himself not to stand up in Lord Talgarth’s presence, or for a laborer not to touch his hat to Miss Jenny.  This is sometimes called snobbishness, but it is nothing of the kind.  It is merely a marked form of Toryism.

It was a pleasant autumnal kind of afternoon, and he took off his hat as he turned up past the park gates to feel the cool air, as he was a little heated with his walk.  He felt exceedingly content with all things:  there were no troubles in the parish, he enjoyed excellent health, and he had just done his duty.  He disliked pastoral visiting very deeply indeed; he was essentially a timid kind of man, but he made his rules and kept them, for he was essentially a conscientious man.  He was so conscientious that he was probably quite unaware that he disliked this particular duty.

Just as he came opposite the gates—­great iron-work affairs with ramping eagles and a Gothic lodge smothered in ivy—­the man ran out and began to wheel them back, after a hasty salute to his pastor; and the Rector, turning, saw a sight that increased his complacency.  It was just Jenny riding with Lord Talgarth, as he knew she was doing that afternoon.

They made a handsome, courtly kind of pair—­a sort of “father and daughter” after some romantic artist or other.  Lord Talgarth’s heavy figure looked well-proportioned on horseback, and he sat his big black mare very tolerably indeed.  And Jenny looked delicious on the white mare, herself in dark green.  A groom followed twenty yards behind.

Lord Talgarth’s big face nodded genially to the Rector and he made a kind of salute; he seemed in excellent dispositions; Jenny was a little flushed with exercise, and smiled at her father with a quiet, friendly dignity.

“Just taking her ladyship home,” said the old man....  “Yes; charming day, isn’t it?”

* * * * *

The Rector followed them, pleased at heart.  Usually Jenny rode home alone with the groom to take back her mare to the stables.  It was the first time, so far as he could remember, that Lord Talgarth had taken the trouble to escort her all the way home himself.  It really was very pleasant indeed, and very creditable to Jenny’s tact, that relations were so cordial....  And they were dining there to-morrow, too.  The social order of Merefield seemed to be in an exceedingly sound condition.