Amongallthepeoplewhoassembledonthatdaythebrotherclergymenweretheleastinterested。Theirmindswerehauntedbyaspiritinkerseymereintheeveningtheywalkedtogetherinthefields。
’She’sallright，’saidJoshua。’Buthereareyoudoingjourney-
work，Cornelius，andlikelytocontinueatittilltheendoftheday，asfarasIcansee。I，too，withmypettyliving——whatamI
afterall？……Totellthetruth，theChurchisapoorforlornhopeforpeoplewithoutinfluence，particularlywhentheirenthusiasmbeginstoflag。Asocialregeneratorhasabetterchanceoutside，whereheisunhamperedbydogmaandtradition。Asforme，Iwouldratherhavegoneonmendingmills，withmycrustofbreadandliberty。’
Almostautomaticallytheyhadbenttheirstepsalongthemarginoftheriver；theynowpaused。Theywerestandingonthebrinkofthewell-knownweir。Therewerethehatches，therewastheculvert；theycouldseethepebblybedofthestreamthroughthepellucidwater。