“This is some very ancient method of leverage,” he said, turning round to the workmen with an excitement he could barely conceal; “There is something precious underneath in the ground,—­something which can probably be raised by means of this handle and screw.  Dig round it about a yard away from the centre,—­loosen the earth gently—­be very careful!”

They obeyed; and all that day Walden stood watching them at work, his mind divided between hope and fear, and his spirit moved by the passionate exultation of the antiquary whose studies and researches are about to be rewarded with unexpected treasure.  Towards sunset the men came upon a large oblong piece of what appeared to be alabaster, closely inlaid with patterns of worn gold and bearing on its surface the sculptured emblems of a cross, a drawn sword and a crown of laurel leaves intertwisted with thorns, the whole most elaborately wrought, and very little injured.  As this slowly came to light, Walden summoned all hands to assist him in turning the great iron screw which now stood out upright, some three or four feet from the aperture they had been digging.  Wondering at his ‘fancy’ as they termed it, they however had full reliance on his proved knowledge of what he was about, and under his guidance they all applied themselves to the quaint and cumbrous iron handle which had been the first thing discovered, and with considerable difficulty began to day to the effect that as the Reverend John Walden was now the possessor of the living of St. Rest and had furthermore obtained a ‘faculty’ for the proper restoration of the church, which was to be carried out at the said John Walden’s own risk and personal expenditure, the matter was not open to any outside discussion.  Whereat, Sir Morton’s fury became so excessive that he actually shut up Badsworth Hall and went away for a whole year, greatly to the relief of the editor of the ‘Riversford Gazette,’ who was able to dismiss him with a comfortable paragraph, thus: 

“Sir Morton Pippitt has left Badsworth Hall for a tour round the world.  Miss Pippitt accompanies her distinguished father.”

Then followed a spell of peace;—­and the restoration of the church at St. Rest was quietly proceeded with.  Lovingly, and with tenderest care for every stone, every broken fragment, John Walden pieced together the ruined shrine of ancient days, and managed at last to trace and recover the whole of the original plan.  It had never been a large building, its proportions being about the same as those of Roslin Chapel, near Edinburgh.  The task of restoration was costly, especially when carried out with such perfection and regard to detail,—­but Walden grudged nothing to make it complete, and superintended the whole thing himself, rejecting all the semi-educated suggestions of the modern architect, and faithfully following out the ideas of the particular period in which the church was originally designed by those to whom the building of a ’God’s House’