When the rumor reached the members of his late congregation that he had come in for a large property, many called to congratulate him, and such congratulations are pretty sure to be sincere. But he was both annoyed and amused when--it was in the morning during business hours--Dorothy came and told him, not without some show of disgust, that a deputation from the church in Cow-lane was below. "We've taken the liberty of calling, in the name of the church, to congratulate you, Mr. Drake," said their leader, rising with the rest as the minister entered the dining-room. "Thank you," returned the minister quietly. "I fancy," said the other, who was Barwood himself, with a smile such as heralds the facetious, "you will hardly condescend to receive our little gratuity now?" "I shall not require it, gentlemen." "Of course we should never have offered you such a small sum, if we hadn't known you were independent of us." "Why then did you offer it at all?" asked the minister. "As a token of our regard." "The regard could not be very lively that made no inquiry as to our circumstances. My daughter had twenty pounds a year; I had nothing. We were in no small peril of simple starvation." "Bless my soul! we hadn't an idea of such a thing, sir! Why didn't you tell us?" Mr. Drake smiled, and made no other reply. "Well, sir," resumed Barwood, after a very brief pause, for he was a man of magnificent assurance, "as it's all turned out so well, you'll let bygones be bygones, and give us a hand?" "I am obliged to you for calling," said Mr. Drake, "--especially to you, Mr. Barwood, because it gives me an opportunity of confessing a fault of omission on my part toward you." Here the pastor was wrong. Not having done his duty when he ought, he should have said nothing now it was needless for the wronged, and likely only to irritate the wrong-doer. "Don't mention it, pray," said Mr. Barwood. "This is a time to forget every thing." "I ought to have pointed out to you, Mr. Barwood," pursued the minister, "both for your own sake and that of those poor families, your tenants, that your property in this lower part of the town was quite unfit for the habitation of human beings."