The Rev. Septimus Harding was a few years since a beneficed clergyman residing in the cathedral town of ; let us call it Barchester. Were we to name Wells or Salisbury Exeter Hereford or Gloucester it might be presumed that something personal was intended; and as this tale will refer
mainly to the cathedral dignitaries of the town in question we are anxious that no personality may be suspected. Let us presume that Barchester is a quiet town in the West of England more remarkable for the beauty of its cathedral and the antiquity of its monuments than for any commercial prosperity; that the west end of Barchester is the cathedral close and that the aristocracy of Barchester are the bishop dean and canons with their respective wives and daughters.