noon
He was a bachelor and a man of means -- facts which taken together with his literary reputation and his agreeable aspect made him welcome among women ; of which he was well aware . The Archdeacon , Doctor Froswick , and the Rural Dean , Mr. Brathay , who completed the Commission of Inquiry , were both men of middle age ; the Archdeacon , fresh-coloured and fussy , a trivial , kindly person of no great account ; the Rural Dean , broad-shouldered and square-faced , a silent , trustworthy man , much beloved in a small circle . A pile of books , MSS. , and letters lay to the Chairman 's right hand . On the blotting-pad before him was the voluminous written report of the commission which only awaited the signatures of the Commissioners , and -- as to one paragraph in it -- a final interview with Meynell himself , which had been fixed for noon . Business was now practically over till he arrived , and conversation had become general . `` You have seen the leader in the _ Oracle _ this morning ? '' asked the Archdeacon , nervously biting his quill .