The vicar took the basin, sat down, stirred it, smelt it, tasted it, and replaced the spoon, while Mrs Slee watched his face eagerly. "Wants another pinch of salt, and another dash of pepper. Fetch them, Mrs Slee, and some bread." Mrs Slee, looking as ungracious as ever, but with an eagerness which she could not conceal, hurried out to return with the required articles, when more salt was added and a dash of pepper. Then a slice of bread was cut from the home-made loaf, and the vicar tasted--tasted again, and then, in the calmest and most unperturbed manner possible, went on partaking of the soup, every mouthful being watched with intense eagerness by the woman waiting for his judgment. "Capital soup this, Mrs Slee; capital brew!" Mrs Slee did not smile, as the vicar diligently hunted the last grains of rice in the bottom of the basin with his spoon, but she gave a sigh of satisfaction. "This will go off like a shot. How much have you got of it? Almost equal to our soup at Boanerges." "There's about sixty quarts of it, sir." "Sixty? Not half enough. You'll have to start the copper again directly, Mrs Slee. Ah, by the way, Bailey will bring two hundred loaves this evening, and we'll give them away with the soup in the morning." "Two hundred loaves!" exclaimed Mrs Slee. "Bless the man, where am I to put them?" "Oh, we'll stack them in the hall if we can't put them anywhere else, Mrs Slee," said the vicar, laughing. "And let that soup cool. It'll be like jelly in the morning. I'm going to walk over to Bultitude's, and I'll call at the butcher's about the beef." "But that broth would bear as much watter to it, and that would make twice as much." "Now, Mrs Slee, I won't have a good thing spoiled," said the vicar. "I don't believe you mind the trouble of making it." "That I'm sure I don't," said Mrs Slee, sharply; "only you're giving away cartloads of bread and meat, and pailsful of soup to folks as wean't say thank you for it, and laugh at you for your pains." "They won't laugh at me while they're eating that beautiful soup, Mrs Slee, which does you credit. If they like to laugh afterwards,--well, let them." "Oh, I don't want no praise for the broth," said Mrs Slee, ungraciously. "You telled me how to mak' it. But I don't like to see you robbing yourself for them as is sure to be ungrateful." "We won't mind that, Mrs Slee," said the vicar, smiling; "and now I'm going off to Bultitude's, and I'll see if I can't get there this time. By the way, Mrs Slee, I should like a little tureen of that soup for my dinner; it's splendid. And look here, Mrs Slee, if any one comes while I'm out, who needs a little, you can lend a jug, and give some of the soup before it's cold. I'll leave that to you." Volume 2, Chapter V. THE VICAR'S SOUP.