And then suddenly their affectionate familiarity was endangered, for the Abbe Gevresin left Paris.
The Bishop of Chartres died, and his successor was one of Gevresin's oldest friends.

On the very day when the Abbe Le Tilloy des Mofflaines was promoted to the episcopal throne, he begged Gevresin to accompany him to Chartres.

There was an anxious struggle in the old priest's mind.
He was ailing, weary, good for nothing, and at the bottom of his heart longed only never to move; but on the other hand he had not the courage to refuse his poor support to Monseigneur des Mofflaines.

He tried to mollify the prelate by his advanced age, but the Bishop would not listen; all he would concede was that, instead of being appointed Vicar-general, the Abbe should be no more than a Canon.

Still Gevresin mildly shook his head.