An Oxford classmate of Dean Arabin, whose life had been embittered by a combination of his own unbending pride and financial difficulties. His work in Cornwall, and later as perpetual curate of Hogglestock parish, had been among the most miserable of mien.
Though moody, unhappy and disappointed, he was hard-working, conscientious and gave his whole strength to his work. In his abject need he grudgingly received aid from Dean Arabin, and in so doing became possessed of a check that he could not account for. The plot of The Last Chronicle of Barset concerns the accusations made against him of stealing the check, and his vindication. He finally became Vicar of St. Ewold’s.
‘They will come to hear a ruined man declare his own ruin’
Illustration by George H Thomas from the first edition of The Last Chronicle of Barset published by London, Smith, Elder and Co., 1867. 2v
He was a man who when seen could hardly be forgotten. The deep angry remonstrant eyes, the shaggy eyebrows, telling tales of frequent anger,- of anger frequent but generally silent - the repressed indignation of the habitual frown, the large nose and large powerful mouth, the deep furrows on the cheek, and the general look of thought and suffering, all combined to make the appearance of the man remarkable, and to describe to the beholders at once his true character.