Barchester Towers Chapter 8 - The Ex-Warden Rejoices in His Probable Return to the Hospital

In which Mr. Slope, with a supple tongue and artful manners, unexpectedly gains a cautious welcome into the drawing-room of the Widow Bold, while Mr. Harding contemplates his impending return to the somewhat diminished but dear old wardenship of Hiram’s Hospital, balancing affection for its inmates with a measure of disquiet over the new arrangements. The dialogue between father and daughter touches delicately on respect, duty, and the varied interpretations of ecclesiastical conduct, as they prepare to revisit the familiar, long-forbidden grounds of the hospital.