"The Warden" by Anthony Trollope

I loved Chapter 17, "A Long Day in London", a touching and powerful description of the old warden wandering around London all day, waiting for his late-night appointment with the Attorney General, Mr. Abraham Haphazard. It's a strangely strong chapter - -strangely, because nothing big or special happens, just a lonely and worried man biding his time as the hours pass, but strong because Trollope somehow captures the depth and forcefulness of the warden's feelings, the kind that all of us have at certain times.

"The Warden", by Anthony Trollope

There seems to be a stirring of suspicion that the will of Mr. Hiram is not being honored precisely. Mr. John Bold is starting to investigate whether the warden of the hospital for elderly poor men is taking too much of the inheritance for himself, but Mr. Bunce, one of the residents of the hospital, is opposed to Bold's efforts. Here is a wonderful description of Bunce:


"He was one on whose large frame many years, for he was over eighty, had made small havoc;--he was still an upright, burly, handsome figure, with an open, ponderous brow, round which clung a few, though very few, thin gray locks. The coarse black gown of the hospital, the breeches, and buckled shoes became him well; and as he sat with his hands folded on his staff, and his chin resting on his hands, he was such a listener as most musicians would be glad to welcome."

I love the idea that his 80+ years had made only "small havoc" on his life.

"The Warden", by Anthony Trollope