CHAPTER XIV . MRS. ALEC DAVIS MAKES A CALL John Meredith walked slowly home . At first he thought a little about Rosemary , but by the time he reached Rainbow Valley he had forgotten all about her and was meditating on a point regarding German theology which Ellen had raised . He passed through Rainbow Valley and knew it not . The charm of Rainbow Valley had no potency against German theology . When he reached the manse he went to his study and took down a bulky volume in order to see which had been right , he or Ellen . He remained immersed in its mazes until dawn , struck a new trail of speculation and pursued it like a sleuth hound for the next week , utterly lost to the world , his parish and his family . He read day and night ; he forgot to go to his meals when Una was not there to drag him to them ; he never thought about Rosemary or Ellen again . Old Mrs. Marshall , over-harbour , was very ill and sent for him , but the message lay unheeded on his desk and gathered dust . Mrs. Marshall recovered but never forgave him . A young couple came to the manse to be married and Mr. Meredith , with unbrushed hair , in carpet slippers and faded dressing gown , married them . To be sure , he began by reading the funeral service to them and got along as far as `` ashes to ashes and dust to dust '' before he vaguely suspected that something was wrong . `` Dear me , '' he said absently , `` that is strange -- very strange . '' The bride , who was very nervous , began to cry . The bridegroom , who was not in the least nervous , giggled . `` Please , sir , I think you 're burying us instead of marrying us , '' he said . `` Excuse me , '' said Mr. Meredith , as it it did not matter much . He turned up the marriage service and got through with it , but the bride never felt quite properly married for the rest of her life . He forgot his prayer-meeting again -- but that did not matter , for it was a wet night and nobody came . He might even have forgotten his Sunday service if it had not been for Mrs. Alec Davis .
Aunt Martha came in on Saturday afternoon and told him that Mrs. XXXXX was in the parlour and wanted to see him .
Davis Ellen German Meredith Rosemary Una Valley day mazes prayer-meeting