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Handbook of Family Therapy 2nd Edition Thomas L.
Sexton (Editor) Digital Instant Download
Author(s): Thomas L. Sexton (Editor), Jay Lebow (Editor)
ISBN(s): 9781138917620, 1138917621
Edition: 2nd
File Details: PDF, 5.50 MB
Year: 2016
Language: english
 HANDBOOK OF FAMILY THERAPY

Integrative, research-based, multisystemic: these words reflect not only the state of family therapy, but
also the nature of this comprehensive handbook. The contributors, all well-recognized names who
have contributed extensively to the field, accept and embrace the tensions that emerge when inte-
grating theoretical perspectives and science in clinical settings to document the current evolution of
couples and family therapy, practice, and research. Each individual chapter contribution is organized
around a central theme: that the integration of theory, clinical wisdom, and practical and meaningful
research produce the best understanding of couple and family relationships, and the best treatment
options. The handbook contains five parts:

•• Part I describes the history of the field and its current core theoretical constructs
•• Part II analyzes the theories that form the foundation of couple and family therapy, chosen
because they best represent the broad range of schools of practice in the field
•• Part III provides the best examples of approaches that illustrate how clinical models can be theo-
retically integrative, evidence-based, and clinically responsive
•• Part IV summarizes evidence and provides useful findings relevant for research and practice
•• Part V looks at the application of couple and family interventions that are based on emerging
clinical needs, such as divorce and working in medical settings.

Handbook of Family Therapy illuminates the threads that are common to family therapies and gives
voice to the range of perspectives that are possible. Practitioners, researchers, and students need to
have this handbook on their shelves, both to help look back on our past and to usher in the next evolu-
tion in family therapy.

Thomas L. Sexton, PhD, ABPP, is Professor Emeritus at Indiana University. He is one of the model
developers of Functional Family Therapy and editor of Couple and Family Psychology: Research and
Practice.

Jay Lebow, PhD, ABPP, is Clinical Professor of Psychology and a senior therapist at the Family
Institute at Northwestern and Northwestern University. Since 2012, he has been editor-in-chief of
Family Process.
HANDBOOK
OF FAMILY
THERAPY

Edited by
THOMAS L. SEXTON
Indiana University
JAY LEBOW
Northwestern University
First published 2016
by Routledge
711 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10017

and by Routledge
2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon, OX14 4RN

Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business

© 2016 Taylor & Francis

The right of the editors to be identified as the authors of the editorial material, and of the authors for
their individual chapters, has been asserted in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright,
Designs and Patents Act 1988.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilized in any form
or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including
photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission
in writing from the publishers.

Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or registered trademarks, and are
used only for identification and explanation without intent to infringe.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Handbook of family therapy (Sexton)
Handbook of family therapy / edited by Thomas L. Sexton and Jay Lebow. — 2nd edition.
p. ; cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
I. Sexton, Thomas L., 1953-, editor. II. Lebow, Jay, editor. III. Title.
[DNLM: 1. Family Therapy. 2. Couples Therapy. WM 430.5.F2]
RC488.5
616.89′156—dc23
2015001700

ISBN: 978-0-415-51801-7 (hbk)

ISBN: 978-1-138-91762-0 (pbk)
ISBN: 978-0-203-12358-4 (ebk)

Typeset in Minion
by Swales & Willis Ltd, Exeter, Devon, UK
To Al Gurman
CONTENTS

About the Editors x

List of Contributors xi

1 The Evolution of Family and Couple Therapy 1

Jay Lebow and Thomas L. Sexton

PART I
FOUNDATIONAL FRAMEWORKS IN FAMILY AND COUPLE THERAPY 11

2 The Evolution of Systems Theory 13

Alan Carr
3 A Family Developmental Framework: Challenges and Resilience
Across the Life Cycle 30
Froma Walsh
4 The Neurobiology of Relationships 48
Mona DeKoven Fishbane
5 The Multiculturalism and Diversity of Families 66
Celia Jaes Falicov

PART II
FOUNDATIONAL THEORETICAL PRINCIPLES AND CORE CLINICAL MODELS 87

6 Cognitive-Behavioral Couple and Family Therapy 89

Frank M. Dattilio and Norman B. Epstein
7 Structural Family Therapy 120
Jorge Colapinto
8 Psychodynamic Approaches to Couple and Family Therapy 134
Janine Wanlass and David E. Scharff
9 Multigenerational Family Systems 159
Elizabeth Skowron and Jessica Farrar
viii Contents

10 Postmodern/Poststructural/Social Construction Therapies:

Collaborative, Narrative, and Solution-Focused 182
Harlene Anderson
11 Integrative Approaches to Couple and Family Therapy 205
Jay Lebow

PART III
EVIDENCE-BASED CLINICAL TREATMENT MODELS 229

12 Multidimensional Family Therapy 231

Howard A. Liddle
13 Functional Family Therapy: Evidence-based and Clinically Creative 250
Thomas L. Sexton
14 Multisystemic Therapy 271
Sonja K. Schoenwald, Scott W. Henggeler, and Melisa D. Rowland
15 Brief Strategic Family Therapy Treatment for Behavior
Problem Youth: Theory, Intervention, Research, and Implementation 286
José Szapocznik, Johnathan H. Duff, Seth J. Schwartz, Joan A. Muir, and
C. Hendricks Brown
16 Family Psychoeducation for Severe Mental Illness 305
William McFarlane
17 Emotionally Focused Couple Therapy: Empiricism and Art 326
Susan M. Johnson and Lorrie L. Brubacher
18 Traditional and Integrative Behavioral Couple Therapy 349
Lisa A. Benson and Andrew Christensen
19 Cognitive-Behavior Couple Therapy 361
Norman B. Epstein, Frank M. Dattilio, and Donald H. Baucom
20 Treating Adolescents with Eating Disorders 387
Ivan Eisler, Daniel Le Grange, and James Lock

PART IV
RESEARCH FOUNDATIONS 407

21 Current Status of Research on Couples 409

Rebecca L. Brock, Emily Kroska, and Erika Lawrence
22 Integrating Research and Practice Through Intervention Science: New
Developments in Family Therapy Research 434
Corinne Datchi and Thomas L. Sexton
23 Research-Based Change Mechanisms: Advances in Process Research 454
Myrna L. Friedlander, Laurie Heatherington, and Valentín Escudero
Contents ix

PART V
EMERGING DOMAINS 469

24 Medical Family Therapy 471

Nancy Ruddy and Susan H. McDaniel
25 Separating, Divorced, and Remarried Families 484
Robert E. Emery and Diana Dinescu
26 Empirically Informed Couple and Family Therapy: Past, Present, and Future 500
William Pinsof, Terje Tilden, and Jacob Goldsmith
27 Advancing Training and Supervision of Family Therapy 517
Douglas C. Breunlin
28 Integrative Problem Centered Metaframeworks (IPCM) Therapy 530
William P. Russell, William Pinsof, Douglas C. Breunlin, and Jay Lebow

Index 545
ABOUT THE EDITORS

Thomas L. Sexton, PhD, ABPP

Thomas L. Sexton is Professor Emeritus at Indiana University. He is one of the model developers
of Functional Family Therapy and has presented workshops on FFT and has consulted with mental
health systems integrating evidence-based practices both nationally and internationally. He is author
of Functional Family Therapy in Clinical Practice (2010) and the Handbook of Family Therapy (2003
and 2015). His interest in family psychology and psychotherapy research has resulted in over fifty
journal articles, twenty-five book chapters, and four books. He is a member of the APA Treatment
Guidelines Steering Committee and writes extensively about evidence-based practices, particularly in
Family Psychology. Dr. Sexton is a licensed psychologist (IN), a Fellow of the American Psychological
Association, and a Board Certified Family Psychologist (ABPP). He is past president of the Society for
Family Psychology, the editor for Couple and Family Psychology: Research and Practice, and current
president of the Diplomate Board for Couple and Family Psychology. He is a recipient of the Society
of Family Psychology’s award for Family Psychologist of the year.

Jay Lebow, PhD, ABPP

Jay Lebow is Clinical Professor of Psychology and a senior therapist at the Family Institute at
Northwestern and Northwestern University. Since 2012, he has been editor in chief of the journal
Family Process. He has engaged in clinical practice, supervision, and research on couple and family
therapy for over thirty years, and is board certified in family psychology and an approved supervisor
and clinical member of American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy. He is the author of
eight books (including the recent Couple and Family Therapy: An Integrative Map of the Territory) and
100 book chapters and articles, most of which focus on the practice of couple and family therapy, the
relationship of research and practice, integrative practice, and intervention strategies with divorcing
families. He served for many years on the Board of Directors and as a committee chair of the American
Family Therapy Academy and is a past president of the Society for Family Psychology of the American
Psychological Association. He is a recipient of AFTA’s Lifetime Achievement Award and the Society
of Family Psychology’s award for Family Psychologist of the year.
CONTRIBUTORS

Harlene Anderson, PhD

Houston Galveston Institute, Texas
Donald H. Baucom, PhD
University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill
Lisa A. Benson, PhD
University of California, Los Angeles
Douglas C. Breunlin, PhD
Family Institute at Northwestern, Illinois
Rebecca L. Brock, PhD
University of Nebraska, Lincoln
C. Hendricks Brown, PhD
Northwestern University, Illinois
Lorrie L. Brubacher, MEd
Greensboro, North Carolina
Alan Carr, PhD
University College Dublin, IE
Andrew Christensen, PhD
University of California, Los Angeles
Jorge Colapinto, PhD
Minuchin Center for the Family, New Jersey
Corinne Datchi, PhD, ABPP
Seton Hall University, New Jersey
Frank M. Dattilio, PhD, ABPP
Harvard Medical School, Massachusetts
Diana Dinescu
University of Virginia
xii Contributors

Johnathan H. Duff, MA
University of Miami
Ivan Eisler, PhD
South London & Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust and King’s College London
Robert Emery, PhD
University of Virginia
Norman B. Epstein, PhD
University of Maryland
Valentín Escudero, PhD
Universidad de La Coruῆa, Spain
Celia Jaes Falicov, PhD
University of California, San Diego
Jessica Farrar, MA
University of Oregon
Mona DeKoven Fishbane, PhD
Chicago Center for Family Health
Myrna L. Friedlander, PhD
University of Albany
Jacob Goldsmith, PhD
Family Institute at Northwestern, Illinois
Laurie Heatherington, PhD
Williams College, Massachusetts
Scott W. Henggeler, PhD
Medical University of South Carolina
Susan M. Johnson, EdD
University of Ottawa, Canada
Emily Kroska
University of Iowa
Erika Lawrence, PhD
University of Arizona
Daniel Le Grange, PhD
University of California, San Francisco
Howard A. Liddle, EdD, ABPP
University of Miami
James Lock, PhD, MD
Stanford University
Susan H. McDaniel, PhD
University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry, New York
Contributors xiii

William McFarlane, MD
PIER Training Institute, Maine and Tufts University School
Joan A. Muir, PhD
University of Miami
William Pinsof, PhD, ABPP
The Family Institute at Northwestern, Illinois
Melisa D. Rowland, MD
Medical University of South Carolina
Nancy Ruddy, PhD
Hunterdon Family Practice Residency Program, New Jersey
William P. Russell, PhD
Family Institute at Northwestern, Illinois
David E. Scharff, MD
International Psychotherapy Institute, Maryland
Sonja K. Schoenwald, PhD
Medical University of South Carolina
Seth J. Schwartz, PhD
University of Miami
Elizabeth Skowron, PhD
University of Oregon
José Szapocznik, PhD
University of Miami
Terje Tilden, PhD
University of Oslo, Norway
Froma Walsh, PhD
University of Chicago
Janine Wanlass, PhD
Westminster College, Utah
1.
THE EVOLUTION OF FAMILY
AND COUPLE THERAPY
Jay Lebow and Thomas L. Sexton

It all started with a simple observation. By expanding one’s “lens” from the individual to the
entire family, new treatment opportunities and new ways of understanding the seemingly
mysterious mechanisms of relationships emerged. By moving the focus of attention from the
individual to a relational focus came a new clarity in defining and understanding the “space
between” the people in families. In doing so, therapy became a process in which behaviors
and interactions were described in terms of a recursive process of mutual influence. For most
early family therapists, this also meant “an emphasis on what is happening in the here and
now rather than why it is happening or in terms of a historical focus.” Thus, the patterns
within relationships became the primary target and goal of most early family therapies.
This simple observation and the complex thinking that came quickly after marked the
beginning of a paradigm shift akin to a scientific revolution. A paradigm shift, as Kuhn
suggests, occurs when anomalies that could not be explained by the prevailing majority
view begin to emerge and become significant. Such a scientific revolution occurs when an
alternative belief system ushers in a new way to see the world, a different perspective, and
new meaning for events otherwise considered not important. The early principles of systems
theory and its application to family therapy led to an alternative and comprehensive belief
system based on communication, cybernetics, and relational process.
Family therapy has evolved a great deal since the publication of the first handbook over-
viewing family therapy in 1971. Although the core foundational systemic concepts remain,
the practice of family therapy looks much different today than it did fifty years ago. Family
therapy has morphed over time from a provocative challenger to the mental health estab-
lishment to a widely practiced set of methods that represent best practices in relation to a
variety of problems and issues. Further, whereas early family therapy was largely about the
argument between proponents of various models regarding who had the “right” theory
and best method of practice, today’s family therapy includes emerging consensus about
many issues in the field. Family therapy has also moved from an alternative therapy to a set
of methods that often coordinate and integrate with other methods of treatment (see, for
example, Chapters 12, 16, and 28). Further, some family treatment models have emerged
to become among the best illustrations of evidence-based treatment that combine cutting-
edge science while embracing the complexity and artfulness of clinical implementation of
those models (see Chapters 12–20).
2 Jay Lebow and Thomas L. Sexton

Handbooks of Family Therapy and Kniskern’s first volume primarily consisted

of articulations of the rich array of the recently
For the last fifty years, handbooks of family
emergent family therapy models. These models
therapy have chronicled the evolution of this
ranged widely from the “black box” structural
paradigm. Each has reported on the then present and strategic models with which that era is now
emerging epistemologies, theoretical founda- so readily identified, to intergenerational models
tions, models of clinical practice and the state of of Bowen, Framo, and Boszormenyi-Nagy; to
the research in the field. the psychoanalytic based approaches of Skynner
The first embryonic handbook, Progress in and Sager; to the behavioral models of Jacobson
Group and Family Therapy, edited by Clifford and Heiman; to the experiential approach of
Sager and Helen Singer Kaplan (1971), was not Whitaker. Beyond the underpinning of sys-
even fully devoted to family therapy, sharing a tems theory and the importance of family, these
volume with group therapy. Paired with the con- approaches agreed about very little. Gurman
temporaneous Book of Family Therapy, edited and Kniskern’s first volume also included Alan
by Andrew Ferber, Marilyn Mendelsohn, and Gurman’s first comprehensive effort to bring
Augustus Napier (1972), three themes emerge the frame of evidence-based practice (i.e., that
from these early volumes. First, there is the shock evidence was essential to the assessment of treat-
of the new, the revolutionary flow of new ideas ments) to family therapy.
and methods. Second, there is the emergence of It is impossible for the contemporary reader
the underlying focus on systems theory as a base to grasp the impact of this volume. It is fairly
of conceptualizing families. Third, there are the safe to say that every family therapist of that
unruly developments in many directions and time owned this giant tome. (The then popu-
models, with much debate beyond agreement lar Behavioral Science Book Club made it their
about the core importance assigned to families award for joining the Club. How wise you would
and systems theory. Finally there is what is miss- look with that five pound book.) As I (JLL) write
ing: research or any focus on gender or culture. this paragraph looking at a quite worn high-
These volumes are filled with what then were lighted and underlined copy from that time, I
new concepts and terms: boundaries, com- fondly recall the hundreds of hours of discovery
munication, information processing, entropy, that I and innumerable others devoted to reading
negentropy, equifinality, equipotentiality, mor- this book! For me (TS) the volume was a window
phostasis, morphogenesis, and positive and into a new world. These were the words of the
negative feedback, all emerging ways to under- masters, all in one place with Alan Gurman and
stand the “system.” (Years later we can also note David Kniskern’s brilliant commentary (this may
that it required a family therapy dictionary to be the only volume in the history of the field in
understand the meanings of this new language— which the editors not only edited but also com-
Lyman Wynne and colleagues actually produced mented on the chapters within the chapters
one (Simon, Stierlin, & Wynne, 1985)). These themselves). Oh, yes, the problems of the times
two early handbooks point to what then was a must also be mentioned. Almost every author
marvelous explosion of ideas and methods, but was male and only Harry Aponte of the authors
limited by the presence of very little integration was a person of color. Culture was barely men-
or science assessing those ideas. tioned, and even in a volume edited by Alan
Alan Gurman and David Kniskern’s (1981) Gurman, there was very little research presented
Handbook of Family Therapy marked the emer- either assessing treatments or as a basis for the
gence of family therapy as an established disci- many claims made about social systems.
pline. Notably, unlike its predecessors with their Gurman and Kniskern later produced a sec-
idiosyncratic content, it was organized to be ond volume (1991) which is primarily notable for
used as a course text with a suggested chapter its early attention to issues that cross theoretical
outline that would elicit each chapter authors’ boundaries. It contains the first chapter written
positions about a core set of questions. Gurman on the history of couple and family therapy and
The Evolution of Family and Couple Therapy 3

chapters on treating divorcing and remarriage that spectrum, and have broadly helped move the
families (in early recognition of the need for dif- field to an emphasis on collaboration.
ferent expectations and treatments for these fam- Jay Lebow’s (2005) Clinical Handbook of
ily forms). It also featured a chapter on ethnicity Family Therapy of about the same time pointed
and family therapy by Monica McGoldrick and to the explosion of specific methods for fam-
colleagues, and one by Evan Imber Black on a ily therapy targeted toward specific problems.
larger systems perspective. In these chapters, the Twenty-three different such models are included.
voices of women, who rarely were heard from in Almost all of these models have a foundation in
earlier volumes, gained prominence. That book evidence; each worthy of a designation of at least
is also notable for William Doherty and Pauline “probably efficacious” in evidence-based lan-
Boss’ still definitive chapter on values and eth- guage with several qualifying as well established.
ics in family therapy and Howard Liddle’s chap- Family therapy had evolved a series of practical
ter on training which, as Breunlin points out in effective methods for impacting on a broad array
Chapter 27 of this volume, still remains the best of specific problems.
summary about training in the field even though
it is now twenty years old.
A New Era
By the time of Tom Sexton, Gerald Weeks,
and Michael Robbins’ (2003) Handbook of In the decade since the last two handbooks of
Family Therapy, the landscape of family therapy family therapy, the landscape has continued to
was becoming increasingly integrative, research evolve with the emergence of many points of
based, and multisystemic. The emphasis on broad agreement and transcendent concepts and inter-
“schools” of therapy was augmented by greater vention strategies that mark a consensus among
attention to “Common Factors” that are intrinsic most of those who teach and practice family
to all family therapies and perhaps paradoxically therapy (Lebow, 2014). What were early argu-
as well to more specifically focused, manualized ments in the history of family therapy between
clinical models. In addition, this volume pointed proponents of various models about who had the
to the emergence of a number of the models of “right” theory and best method of practice have
family and couple therapy as “evidence based.” segued into consensus about many issues in the
The evidence-based models included in both field. Family therapy has also moved from an
couple (Behavioral Marital Therapy/Integrative alternative “outsider” therapy to a set of methods
Couple Therapy, Emotionally Focused Couple that often coordinate and integrate with other
Therapy) and family (Functional Family Therapy, methods of treatment.
Multisystemic Therapy, and Multidimensional One point of consensus is the core impor-
Family Therapy, among others) therapy demon- tance of the central concepts of systems theory
strated that systemically based treatment models such as feedback and mutual influence at the
did produce significant clinical changes in a wide center of the practice of family therapy. Another
variety of areas including delinquency, adoles- is the crucial role of the therapeutic alliance and
cent drug use, management of adult chronic the other common factors in couple and fam-
schizophrenics, and depression. This volume also ily therapy (Lebow, 2014; Sprenkle, Davis, &
showed that family therapy, a provocateur in its Lebow, 2009). For example, whereas there once
earliest days, was now mainstream and that it had were family therapies that disregarded the thera-
some of the most effective treatments to be devel- peutic alliance (Watzlawick, Weakland, & Fisch,
oped for some of the most difficult cases. During 1974), today’s approaches universally speak to
this era, from a much different direction, some of this tenet. A third is the crucial role of culture for
the core ideas in family therapy were challenged practice in the world of families. Other points of
by postmodern epistemological perspectives. The consensus include the importance of the family
Sexton, Weeks, and Robbins volume contains the life cycle, understanding the recursive relation of
first summary in a handbook of those models. systemic change and individual changes, the rela-
Postmodern approaches are now a vital part of tionship between these changes and neurological
4 Jay Lebow and Thomas L. Sexton

processes, and the inclusion of at least some researchers are not clinically responsive, whereas
understanding of the importance of such theories the researchers argue that practitioners are not
as attachment, social exchange, and social learn- systematic. The gap is also reflected in the fact that
ing. Although once hotly debated, the impor- it is common to find new “hot” ideas being touted
tance of linking research and practice (Sexton in practice publications and on the lecture circuit
et al., 2011) and including some notion of eval- that have no support in either the rich theory or
uating outcomes as therapy progresses (see research of the field. As Gurman, Kniskern, and
Chapter 26) now have become commonplace. Pinsof (1986) noted, “Despite numerous attempts
Further, a shared common base of intervention at seduction and mutual courtship, it remains the
strategies and techniques that is the toolkit for case that clinicians and therapy researchers have
the couple and family therapist, including such failed to consummate a ‘meaningful’ and lasting
elements as reframing, enactment, and examin- relationship, as has been observed, commented
ing genograms, has emerged (Lebow, 2014). on, and lamented repeatedly” (p. 490).
This is not to say there is full agreement We suggest that the current era of fam-
across best practices. While there may be com- ily therapy is founded upon the convergence
plete agreement about some issues (e.g., dual of three powerful and sometimes independent
relationships; ensuring safety in the context of “threads”: 1) the specificity and sophistication
family violence), this shift is less about all family of clinical practice; 2) ecologically valid clinical
therapists following the same methods as about research into the change mechanisms and out-
cross-pollination across approaches so that each comes of therapy; and 3) a broadening of sys-
approach influences and is influenced by the oth- temic theory and epistemological development.
ers. There remain many important points of dif- The major challenge remains: To find a way to
ference. In parallel with a similar trend in other “savor the dialectic” within our complex field and
therapies, some look to build on a developing accept and embrace the inevitable tensions that
base of empirically supported therapies targeted emerge when integrating theoretical perspectives
to specific conditions. Others eschew this posi- (e.g., postmodern and manualized protocols),
tion, suggesting that formulation or even the ide- and science in clinical settings (e.g., random-
ology of the therapist about what is crucial should ized clinical trials vs. community effectiveness
dictate the manner of working. Some approaches and case study methods) (Sexton et al., 2003). If
accentuate a focus on emotion, others on behav- we can “savor the dialectic,” we can accept that
ior and cognition, and yet others on internal putting science into practice and practice into
dynamics and multigenerational processes. science is an inevitable and enduring quality of
Some see family therapy as fully identified with our profession. From our perspective, this era is
the promotion of social justice, whereas others one in which our different epistemological per-
practice family therapy in ways that are socially spectives are united by a common purpose that
conservative, and yet others view family therapy demands a more inclusive embodiment of meth-
as ideally neutral about all issues of values. Some odologies, perspectives, and conceptual models.
approaches are purposefully highly directive and Inclusiveness and respect for different perspec-
structured, whereas others are as non-directive tives has been a central theme of family therapy,
and unstructured as was Carl Rogers. lost in the struggle of what Sprenkle and Blow
Also, despite some movement, the reliable call “our sacred models” (2004). We suggest that
and informative results of the cumulative research an inclusive acceptance of difference and “savor-
knowledge still often do not find their way into the ing the dialectic” represent themes of a maturing
mainstream of either clinical practice or training field that will include all good ideas while the
and education. Indeed, it is not uncommon, now field distances itself from unscientific and theo-
more than four decades since the publication of retical approaches to family therapy.
the first research findings in the field, to encoun- Family therapy has changed a great deal
ter concerns about the role of research in practice. across the various handbooks of family therapy.
For example, practitioners continue to argue that Some notable specific approaches that were the
The Evolution of Family and Couple Therapy 5

center of chapters in earlier handbooks, such as that footprints of many early family therapies are
Sager’s Marriage Contracts (Sager, 1976), Framo’s encountered everywhere. It is impossible to see a
family of origin method (Framo, 1976), and sym- family therapy without some echo of structural
bolic-experiential therapy (Napier & Whitaker, therapy, and most of today’s family therapies are
1988), have lost attention since the deaths of their profoundly influenced by aspects of treatments
founders. These approaches remain influential such as Bowen Therapy, contextual therapy, and
in terms of specific concepts and ideas or strat- experiential therapy.
egies and techniques that have been imported Over the years, there also has been an expo-
into other approaches, but these methods them- nential growth in clinical intervention research.
selves are now rarely encountered in practice. In fact, the research foundations of family ther-
Even behavioral couple and family therapy apy now comprise a comprehensive and system-
(Jacobson & Martin, 1976), one of the approaches atic body of clinical research that can and does
with the most evidence for efficacy, has largely capture the complexity of the relational and
been succeeded by enhanced cognitive-behav- clinical practice of family therapy. The field has
ioral and integrative behavioral approaches moved well beyond the early outcome studies
(Baucom, Epstein, Kirby, & LaTaillade, 2010; to complex investigations of actual clinical pro-
Christensen, Jacobson, & Babcock, 1995). A cesses and community-based outcome investi-
variety of specific techniques such as paradoxi- gations of family therapy practices with “real”
cal intervention (Haley, 1963), sculpting (Papp, therapists, in actual clinical settings, with diverse
Scheinkman, & Malpas, 2013) and psychodrama clients, in many specific contexts. In fact, over the
(Papp, 1990) are also far less often encountered last three decades family therapy has developed
than earlier. Co-therapy, which was seen as a a rich research foundation built on ecologically
core adaptation of system concepts to therapy, valid, clinically relevant process and outcome
long ago faded in the context of fee for service research. Family therapy researchers now “set
and demands for justification of cost-benefit for the bar” for clinically relevant and multisystemic,
insurance reimbursement or agency expenditure. community-focused, diversity-oriented clinical
Other ideas that were merely germinating at the research (Sexton et al., 2011). The work in the
time of the earliest handbooks, such as the poten- last decade makes it evident that family ther-
tial of psychoeducation (Anderson, Hogarty, & apy has become what Liddle, Bray, Levant, and
Reiss, 1980), parent training (Patterson, Cham­ Santisteban (2002) called “family intervention
berlain, & Reid, 1982), feminist revisions of science,” which is predicated on the growing
family therapy (Silverstein & Goodrich, 2003), body of outcome and process research studies
and adapting methods to specific cultures, have that meet the highest standards of research meth-
become essential aspects of everyday practice. odology, and is indeed moving forward. Further,
A few approaches from the early handbooks much of today’s family therapy builds on the now
remain widely practiced, albeit in forms that sizable base of relationship science.
have evolved over time. These include Functional
Family Therapy, Behavioral Parent Training, and
This Book
the (behavioral) treatment of sexual dysfunction.
Notably it seems that among the early meth- It is out of this changing context and long history
ods it is mostly the behavioral ones that remain that this version of Handbook of Family Therapy
most widely practiced. However, this seems less emerges. Like any living dynamic system, family
the product of the superiority of those ideas therapy has evolved and changed. Thus, many of
and methods than a by-product of behavioral the primary practice models used to approach
therapies being less dependent on charismatic work with couples and families have undergone
treatment developers (and therefore having an significant refinements as a result of both theory
easier time transcending their retirements) and development and clinical research. The matura-
the continuing adaptation that has occurred in tion of couple and family work is also represented
behavioral methods over time. It should be added by the fact that there are now clinical models that
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 She was so engrossed in her thoughts that she did not see that
someone had entered the kitchen by the open backdoor.
'I declare! They'd make a pair!'
Mrs. Veale started, a shiver ran through her from head to foot.
She turned, still quivering, and looked at the speaker. Kate Luxmore
had entered, and stood near the table.
'Well, now,' said Kate, 'this is curious. We've got a dog just like
that, with long curly ears, and turns his dear old head to the left,
and you've one with the same ears, and same colour, turns his head
to the right. We'd a pair once, but Joe broke the fellow. I reckon
you'd a pair once, but your fellow is broke. 'Tis a pity they two dogs
should be widowers and lonely.'
Mrs. Veale stared at her; Kate had never been there before.
What had brought her there now? Were all the Luxmores coming to
make that their home, even before the marriage?
'And what have you got there?' pursued Kate, full of liveliness.
'Why, that is one of the yellow paper rat-poison packets the man
sold at the fair. I know it. 'Tis a queer thing you keeping the poison
in the body of the dog. But I suppose you are right; no one would
think to go there for it.'
'What do you want here?' asked Mrs. Veale, hastily replacing the
packet and the dog on the mantel-shelf. 'Why have you come?
We've had enough of you Luxmores already. Your brother Charles
has played us a pretty tune, and now your sister's like to lead a
dance.'
'I have come for Honor. Is she here?'
'She—no! She's been gone some time. Ain't she home? Perhaps
she's walking over the land, and counting the acres that may be
hers, and prizing the fleeces of the sheep.'
'She is wanted. As for Charles, there's naught proved against
him, and till there is, I won't believe it. I've just had a talk with
someone, and he tells me another tale altogether. So there—not
another word against poor Charles. He wasn't ever sweet on you, I
can tell you. 'Tis a pity, too, about those dogs. They're both water-
spaniels—what intelligent eyes they have, and what lovely long curly
ears! They ought to be a pair some day.'
'I tell you,' said Mrs. Veale, 'your sister is not here.'
'Our dog,' went on Kate, unabashed, 'don't belong to father. He
is Honor's own. She had the pair, till Joe knocked one of them over.
Her mother gave it her. 'Tis curious now that her dog should turn his
blessed nose one way, and this dog should turn his nose the other
way. It looks as if they were made for each other, which is more
than is the case with some that want to be pairing. A mantel-shelf
don't look as well with a spaniel in the middle as it do with one at
each end. That is, I suppose, why your master is looking out for a
wife. Well! I think he'd have matched better with you than with
someone else whom I won't name. A house with one in it is like a
mantel-shelf with one odd dog on it. Does this chimney ornament
belong to you or to the house?'
'Never mind, go your ways. Don't you think ever to pair them
two dogs, nor your sister and the master. There is a third to be
considered. If one be broken, there is no pairing. Do y' know what
the ash said to the axe?

Whether coupled or counter is wisht (unlucky) for

me,
 My wood makes the haft for to fell my tree.'

CHAPTER XXXIII.
AMONG THE GORSE.

'Where be you going to, Larry?' asked his father. 'I've just seen the
Red Spider running Langford way. Take care Uncle Taverner don't
sloke that one away as he tried to sloke t'other.'
Hearing that Honor was gone over the moor to Langford, Hillary
took that direction, and, as he had expected, encountered her as
she was returning to her cottage, before she had left the down.
'You are going to give me a quarter of an hour,' said Larry. 'I
dare say you may be busy, but I can't spare you till we've had it out
with each other. I've but one arm now that I can use, but I'll bar the
way with that, if you attempt to escape me.'
Honor looked at him hesitatingly. She was hardly prepared for
the inevitable trial, then. She would have liked to defer it. But, on
second thoughts, she considered that it was best to have it over.
Sooner or later, an explanation must be made, so perhaps it would
be as well for her that day to pass through all the fires. There on
Broadbury, when the gorse is swaled (burnt), the cattle are driven
through the flames. They plunge and resist, but a ring of men and
dogs encloses them, armed with sharp stakes, and goad them
forward, and at last, with desperation, lowing, kicking, leaping,
angry and terrified, they plunge through the flames. Honor thought
of this familiar scene, and that she was herself being driven on.
Sooner or later she must enter the fire, be scorched, and pass
through; she would traverse it without further resistance at once.
'I am ready, Larry,' she said in a low voice.
'My dear, dear Honor, what ails you? You are looking ill, and
deadly white! What is it, Honor?'
'We all have our troubles, Larry. You have a broken arm, and I
have a breakage somewhere, but never mind where.'
'I do mind,' he said vehemently, 'What is amiss?'
'You told me, Larry, the night your arm was hurt, that—your
pride had sustained a fall and was broken.'
'So it was.'
'So also is mine.'
'But what has hurt you? How is it? Explain to me all, Honor.'
She shook her head. 'It is not my affair only. I have others to
consider beside myself, and you must forgive me if my lips are
locked.'
He put his left arm round her, to draw her to him, and kiss her.
'I will keep the key of those lips,' he said, but she twisted herself
from his grasp.
'You must not do that, Larry.'
'Why not? We understand each other. Though we did not speak,
that night, our hearts told each other everything.'
'Larry, do you remember what I said to you when we were
together in the paddock?'
'I remember every word.'
'I told you that I regarded you—as a brother.'
'I remember every word but that.'
 'You have been a friend, a dear friend, ever since we were
children. You were always thoughtful towards us, my sister and me,
when you thought of nothing else. You were always kind, and as
Charles was away, of late, I came to think of you as a brother.'
'But I, Honor, I never have and never will consent to regard you
as a sister. I love you more dearly than brother ever loved sister. I
never had one of nay own, but I am quite sure I could not think of
one in the way I think of you. I love you, Honor, with all my heart,
and I respect you and look up to you as the only person who can
make me lead a better life than I have led heretofore.'
Honor shook her head and sighed. It was her way to answer by
nod or shake rather than by word.
'I have good news to tell you,' he went on; 'my father is
delighted at the prospect, and he is nearly as impatient as I am to
have your dear self in Chimsworthy.'
'I cannot go there,' said Honor in a tone that expressed the
desolation of her heart.
'Why not?'
She hesitated.
'Why not, Honor? When I wish it, when my father is eager to
receive you?'
'Dear Larry,' she said sadly, 'it can never, never be.'
'Come here,' he exclaimed impatiently, and drew her along with
him. 'What is the meaning of this? I will understand.' Before them
for nearly a mile lay a sheet of gold, a dense mass of unbroken
gorse, in full blaze of flower, exhaling a nectareous fragrance in the
sun, that filled the air. So dense were the flowers that no green
spines could be seen, only various shades of orange and gold and
pale yellow. Through it a path had been reaped, for rabbit-shooters,
and along this Hillary drew her. The gorse reached to their waists.
The fragrance was intoxicating.
'Look here, Honor,' said he, 'look at this furze. It is like my
nature. It is said that there is not a month in the year in which it
does not blossom. Sometimes there is only a golden speck here and
there—when the snow is on the ground, not more than a few
flowers, and then one stalk sets fire to another, as spring comes on,
and the whole bush burns and is not consumed, like that in the
desert, when God spoke to Moses from it. It has been so with me,
Honor. I have always loved you. Sometimes the prickles have been
too thick, and then there have been but few tokens of love; but
never, never has the bloom died away altogether. In my heart,
Honor, love has always lived, and now it is all blazing, and shining,
and full of sweetness.'
'Larry,' answered Honor slowly, 'look here;' she put her hand to
a gorse bush and plucked a mass of golden bloom.
'Honor!' he exclaimed, 'what have you done?' She opened her
hand, it was full of blood.
'I have grasped the glorious flower,' she said, 'and am covered
with wounds, and pierced with thorns.'
'No—no, dear Honor,' he said, taking her hand, removing from it
the prickles, and wiping the blood away with the kerchief that bound
his broken arm. 'There shall be no thorns in our life together. The
thorns will all go from me when I have you to prune me. I have
been wild and rough, and I dare say I may have given you pain. I
know that I have. I was angry with you and behaved badly; but I
was angry only because I loved you.' Then his pleasant sweet smile
broke over his pale face, and he said in an altered tone, 'You do not
harbour anger, Honor; you forgive, when the offender is repentant.'
She raised her eyes to him, and looked long and steadily into
his.
'I forgive you for any little wrong you may have done me,
heartily and wholly. But, O Larry! I must wrong you in a way in
which I can expect to get no forgiveness from you.'
'That is quite impossible,' he said, smiling.
'Larry, you cannot even dream what my meaning is. When you
know—there will not be a flower on the furze-bush, the last gold bud
of love will fall off.'
'Never, never, Honor!'
'You do not know.'
He was perplexed. What could stand In the way of her ready
acceptance of him, except his own former bad conduct?
'Honor,' he said, 'I have had some sleepless nights—these have
not been altogether caused by my arm—and during the dark hours I
have thought over all my past manner of life, and I have quite
resolved to break with it. I will no longer be idle. I will no more
boast. I will no more let the girls make a fool of me. I will work hard
on the farm as any labourer—indeed, Honor, I will work harder and
longer than they. If you mistrust me, prove me. I deserve this trial.
My father would like you to be his daughter-in-law at once; but I
know that I do not deserve you. In the old story, Jacob served
fourteen years for Rachel, and I am not a Jacob—I will wait, though
fourteen years is more than my patience will bear, still—dear Honor,
dear heart!—I will wait. I will wait your own time, I will not say
another word to you till you see that I am keeping my promise, and
am becoming in some little way worthy of you. I know,' he said in a
humble tone, 'that really I can never deserve you—but I shall be
happy to try and gain your approval, and, if you do not wish me to
say more of my love till I show you I am on the mend, so shall it be.
I am content. Put on the kerchief when I am to speak again.'
He stopped, and looked at her. She was trembling, and her eyes
cast down. Now, at last, the tears had come, and were flowing from
her eyes. One, like a crystal, hung on her red cloak. Knowing that he
awaited an answer, she raised her head with an effort, and looked
despairingly right and left, but saw no help anywhere, only the flare
of yellow blossom flickering through a veil of tears.
O, infinitely sweet, infinitely glorious was this sight and this
outpouring of Larry's heart to her—but infinitely painful as well—
piercing, wounding, drawing forth blood—like the gorse.
'Larry!' she said earnestly, 'No—no—not for one moment do I
doubt your word. I believe everything you say. I could trust you
perfectly. I know that with your promise would come fulfilment, but
—it is not that.'
'What is it then?'
She could not tell him. The truth was too repugnant to her to
think, much less to tell—and tell to him.
'I cannot tell you; my father, my brothers and sisters.'
'I have thought of that, you dear true soul,' he interrupted. 'I
know that you will not wish to hurt them. But, Honor, there will be
no desertion. I have only to cut a gap through the hedge of your
paddock, and in three minutes, straight as an arrow, you can go
from one house to the other. Round by the road is longer, but when
you are at Chimsworthy we'll have a path between; then you can go
to and fro as you like, and the little ones will be always on the run.
You can have them all in with you when and as long as you like; and
my father will be over-pleased if your father will come and keep him
company on the Look-out stone. Since Uncle Taverner and he have
quarrelled father has been dull, and felt the want of some one to
talk to. So you see all will be just right. Everything comes as though
it were fitted to be as we are going to make it.'
Again he paused, waiting for her answer. Whilst he had been
speaking she had worked herself up to the necessary pitch of
resolution to tell him something—not all, no! all she could not tell.
'Larry! it cannot be. I am going to marry another.'
He stood still, motionless, not even breathing, gazing at her
with stupid wonder. What she said was impossible. Then a puff of
north-west wind came from the far ocean, rolling over the down,
gathering the fragrance of the yellow sea, and condensing it; then
poured it as a breaking wave over the heads of those two standing
in the lane cut through the golden trees. And with the odour came a
humming, a low thrilling music, as the wind passed through the
myriad spines beneath the foam of flower, and set them vibrating as
the tongues of Æolian harps. The sweetness and the harmony were
in the air, all around, only not in the hearts of those two young
people, standing breast deep in the gorse-brake. The wind passed,
and all was still once more. They stood opposite each other,
speechless. Her hand, which he had let go, had fallen, and the blood
dropped from it. How long they thus stood neither knew. He was
looking at her; she had bent her head, and the sun on her hair was
more glorious than on the gorse-flowers. He would have pierced to
the depth of her soul and read it if he could, but he was baffled.
There was an impenetrable veil over it, through which he could not
see.
'You do not—you have not loved me,' he said with an effort.
This was the meaning of her coldness, her reserve. Then he put out
his left hand and touched her, touched her lightly on the bosom.
That light touch was powerful as the rod of Moses on the rock in
Horeb. Her self-control deserted her. She clasped her hands on her
breast, and bowed, and burst into convulsive weeping, which was
made worse by her efforts to arrest it and to speak.
Hillary said nothing. He was too dazed to ask for any
explanation, too stupefied by the unexpected declaration that cut
away for ever the ground of his happiness.
She waved her hand. 'Leave me alone. Go, Larry, go! I can tell
you nothing more! Let me alone! Oh, leave me alone, Larry!'
He could not refuse to obey, her distress was so great, her
entreaty so urgent. Silent, filled with despair, with his eyes on the
ground, he went along the straight-cut path towards the road, and
nearly ran against Kate.
'Oh! you here!' exclaimed the lively girl, 'then Honor is not far
distant. Where is she? What, yonder! and I have been to Langford to
look for her. What is the matter? Oh, fiddlesticks! you have been
making yourselves and each other miserable. There is no occasion
for that till all is desperate, and it is not so yet. Come along, Larry,
back to Honor. I must see her; I want to tell her something, and you
may as well be by. You are almost one of the family.'
She made him follow her. Honor had recovered her composure
when left to herself, unwatched, and she was able to disguise her
emotions from her sister.
 'Oh, Honor!' exclaimed Kate, 'I have something to tell you. I
think you've been a fool, and too precipitate—I do indeed, and so
does Sam Voaden. A little while ago I chanced to go down the lane
after some water, when, curiously enough, Sam was coming along it,
and we had a neighbourly word or two between us. I told Sam all
about Charles, and what Mr. Langford charged him with.'
'Kate—you never—!' gasped Honor in dismay.
'I did. Why not? Where's the hurt? Sam swore to me he'd tell no
one.'
'What is this?' asked Hillary.
'Don't you know?' retorted Kate. 'What, has Honor not told you?
Faith! there never was another girl like her for padlocking her
tongue. I'm sure I could not keep from telling. Sam saw I was in
trouble and asked the reason, and my breast was as full as my
pitcher, so it overflowed. Well, Honor, Sam is not such a fool as some
suppose. He has more sense than all we Luxmores put together—
leastways, than we had last night. He says he don't believe a word
of it, and that you was to blame for acting on it till you knew it was
true.'
'It is true. I know it is true,' said Honor disconsolately. 'It is no
use denying it.'
'But, as Sam said, why act on it till it is proved? Where is
Charles? All you know is from Taverner Langford, and he is an
interested party; he may be mistaken, or he may put things wrong
way on wilfully.'
'No, Kate, no! You should not have spoken.'
'But I have spoken. If a pitcher is full, will it not run over the
brim? I have been over-full, and have overflowed. That is nature, my
nature, and I can't help it. No hurt is done. Sam will not talk about it
to anyone; and what he says shows more sense than is to be found
in all the nine heads that go under our cottage roof, wise as you
consider yourself, Honor. Sam says nothing ought to be promised or
done till Charles has been seen and you have heard what account he
can give of himself.'
'His letter, Kate?'
'Well, what of his letter? He says nothing about stealing in it—
stealing a thousand pounds. What he says may mean no more than
his running away and leaving ninepence a day for nothing.'
'I am sorry you spoke,' said Honor.
'I am glad I spoke,' said Kate sharply. 'I tell you Sam's brain is
bigger than all our nine. He saw the rights of the matter at once,
and—look here!—he promised me that he would go and find Charles
if he's gone no further than Plymouth.'
'You told him where he was!' exclaimed Honor, aghast.
'Of course I did. I wasn't going to send him off searching to
Lundy Isle or Patagonia. Well, Sam says that he'll go and find him on
certain conditions?'
'On what conditions?'
'Never mind, they don't concern you, they are private. And he
wants to have a talk with Larry first; but Sam says he don't believe
Charles took the money. He's too much of a Luxmore to act
dishonourable, he said.'
Honor was still unconvinced. 'Larry,' continued Kate, 'will you go
at once to Swaddledown and see Sam?'
'Yes; but I understand nothing of what this is about. You must
explain it to me.'
 'No, Larry, go to Sam—he knows all.'

In after years, when the gorse was flowering full, Honor said to
Larry, 'The honey scent always brings back to my memory one day.'
'Yes,' he replied; 'the furze is like love, thorns and flowers; but
the flowers grow, and swell, and burst, and blaze, and swallow up
the thorns, that none are seen.'

CHAPTER XXXIV.
THE VISITATION.

The amazement of Larry was equalled by his indignation when he

heard from Sam Voaden the whole story of the charge against
Charles, and of Honor consenting to save him at the cost of herself.
He did not share Sam's confidence in the groundlessness of the
charge; he thought Charles quite rascal enough to have robbed his
master and bolted with the money. Nevertheless he thought that the
best thing that could be done was for Sam to go after Charles, as he
himself could not do so, on account of his arm and collar-bone; and
he urged on Voaden to use his best endeavours, if he found Charles,
which was doubtful, to persuade him to return the money, through
him, to Langford.
'When he finds that he is suspected he may do that, especially if
you threaten to hand him over to the constables should he refuse.'
'I don't believe he ever took it,' said Sam. 'I know Charles better
than you.'
 Hillary was coming away from Swaddledown, along the road or
lane to Broadbury, when he met his uncle Taverner, in his Sunday
suit, a hat on his head, walking along lustily, with a stick in his hand.
Larry stood in the way.
'Uncle Taverner,' he said.
'Stand aside,' said Langford roughly.
'One word.'
'Not one! I have nothing to do with you or yours. Stand aside
that I may pass on.'
'I cannot; I will not! You are in my path, not I in yours—that is,
in the path of my life's happiness.'
Langford looked at him interrogatively.
'Uncle Langford, I must speak to you.'
'I am busy, I have to go to the church. It is the rural dean's
visitation. I am churchwarden.'
'I will not detain you long.'
'I will not be detained at all.'
'I must speak to you, uncle. You are too—too cruel! you have
come between me and happiness.'
'Get along. Don't think anything you say will make me leave
Langford to you.'
'It is not that. I have not given that a thought. But, Honor——'
'What of Honor?' asked Taverner sharply, stopping.
'I love her, uncle—I love her with my whole heart. I always have
loved her, more or less, but now I love her as I can love no one
else.'
'Oh, that is it!' exclaimed the old man, bending his brows, and
disguising his agitation and annoyance by striking the stones out of
the road with the end of his stick. 'A boy's fancy, light as thistle-
seed; and a boy's head is as full of fancies as a thistle is of seed.'
'Nothing of the sort,' said the young man vehemently. 'There is
no one but Honor can make me what I know I ought to become. I
have never had a mother or a sister to guide me. I have grown up
unchecked, unadvised, and now I want my dear, dear Honor to help
me to be what I should be, and am not. Uncle! you sneer at
Chimsworthy because it is full of docks, and thistles, and rushes, but
I am like that—worthy land, and none but Honor can weed me. Why
do you come cruelly in between us, and kill her happiness as well as
mine? Her you cannot make other than noble and true, but me!—
me, without her you will ruin. I must have Honor! I cannot live
without her. Oh, uncle, uncle! what are you doing? It is unworthy of
you to use poor Honor's necessity to wring from her her consent.
You know she only gives it to save her brother. Why, because she is
generous, would you take advantage of her generosity?'
The lad pleaded with earnestness, vehemence, and with tears in
his voice. Taverner looked at him, and thought, 'How like he is to his
mother! This is Blandina's face and Blandina's voice. He is not a
Nanspian, he is a Langford.' But he said roughly, 'Pshaw! let me go
by. The rural dean is waiting. Do not you mistake me for a
weathercock to be turned by every breath. You must get over your
fancy—it is a fancy—or change it to regard for Honor as your aunt.
Do not attempt to move me. What is settled is settled.'
As Hillary still interposed himself between Langford and his
course the old man raised his stick.
'Come! must I strike you?' he said angrily. 'I've spoken to you
more freely than you deserve. Stand aside. I am not to be turned
from my way by you or any other.'
He went forward headlong, striking about him with his stick,
and was not to be further stayed. He went, as he said, to the church
to meet the rural dean, but not only because summoned—he went
also to see him as surrogate, and obtain a marriage licence.
'A Langford cannot be married by banns,' he said. 'And I'm not
going to have everyone in church sniggering when our names are
called.'
As he went along the road, head down, muttering, the face of
Hillary haunted him—pale with sickness, refined, spiritualised by
suffering, not the suffering of the body but of the mind. He was
strangely like Blandina in her last sickness, and there were tones in
his voice of entreaty that brought back to Langford memories of his
sister and of his mother.
He arrived at the church before the rector and the rural dean.
The latter was taking refreshment at the parsonage a mile away.
Would Nanspian be there? He did not wish to meet him, but he
would not be away lest it should be said he had feared to meet him.
Nanspian was not there. He had forgotten all about the visitation.
'He wants a deal of reminding,' said the clerk, who had unlocked
the church. 'He forgets most things worse than ever since his
stroke.'
Langford disengaged himself from the clerk and entered the
church—a noble building, of unusual beauty. In the nave at his feet
was a long slate stone, and the name TAVERNER LANGFORD. He
knew very well that the stone was there, with its inscription and the
date 1635; but as he stood looking at it an uncomfortable feeling
came over him, as if he were standing at the edge of his own grave.
He was alone in the church. The air was chill and damp, and smelt
of decay. The dry-rot was in the pews. The slates were speckled,
showing that the church roof was the haunt of bats, who flew about
in flights when darkness set in. If it were cold and damp in the
church, what must it be in the vault below? He knew what was there
—the dust of many Langfords, one or two old lead coffins crushed
down by their own weight. And he knew that some day he would lie
there, and the 'Taverner Langford' on the stone would apply to him
as well as to his ancestor. How horrible to be there at night, with the
cold eating into him, and the smell of mildew about him, and the
bats fleeting above him! The thought made him uneasy, and he
went out of the church into the sunlight, thinking that he would pay
a woman to scour the stone of the bat-stains which befouled it. He
had never dreamed of doing this before, but when he considered
that he must himself lie there, he took a loathing to the bats, and an
indignation at the vault-covering stone being disfigured by them.
He walked through the coarse grass to where his sister was laid.
She was not buried in the family vault. Nanspian had not wished it.
The clerk came to him.
'Mr. Nanspian had a double-walled grave made,' said the clerk,
who was also sexton. 'Folks laughed, I mind, when he ordered it,
and said he was sure to marry again—a fine lusty man like he. But
they were wrong. He never did. He has bided true to her memory.'
'I would never have forgiven him had he done other,' said
Langford.
'I reckon you never forgive him, though he has not,' said the
solemn clerk.
Langford frowned and moved his shoulders uneasily.
 'The grave is cared for,' said he in a churlish tone.
'Young Larry Nanspian sees to that,' answered the clerk. 'If
there be no other good in him there is that—he don't forget what is
due to his mother, though she be dead.'
Langford put his stick to the letters on the headstone. 'In loving
memory of Blandina Nanspian, only daughter of Moses Langford, of
Langford, gent.' 'Oh!' muttered Taverner, 'my father could call
himself a gentleman when he had Chimsworthy as well as Langford,
but I suppose I can't call myself anything but yeoman on my poor
farm. Blandina should never have married, and then Chimsworthy
would not have gone out of the family.'
'But to whom would both have gone after your death, Mr.
Langford?' asked the clerk. ''Twould be a pity if an old ancient family
like yours came to an end, and, I reckon, some day both will be
joined again, by Mr. Larry.'
'No, no!—no, no!' growled Taverner, and walked away. He saw
the rural dean and the rector coming through the churchyard gate.
An hour later, Taverner was on his way home. He had paid the
fee, made the necessary application, and would receive the licence
on the morrow. It was too late for him to draw back, even had he
been inclined. Taverner was a proud man, and he was obstinate. He
flattered himself that when he had once resolved on a thing he
always went through with it; no dissuasion, no impediments turned
him aside. But he was not easy in mind as he walked home. Never
before had he seen the family likeness so strong in Larry; he had
caught an occasional look of his mother in the boy's face before, but
now that he was ill in mind and body the likeness was striking.
Taverner still laid no great weight on Larry's expressed attachment
for Honor; he did not know that love was not a fiction, and was
unable to conceive of it as anything more than a passing fancy. What
really troubled the old man was the prospect of disarrangement of
his accustomed mode of life. When he was married his wife would
claim entrance into his parlour, and would meddle with what he had
there, would use his desk, would come in and out when he was
busy, would talk when he wanted quiet. A housekeeper could be
kept in order by threat of dismissal, but a wife was tied for life. Then
—how about Larry? He might forbid him the house, but would he
keep away? Would not he insist on seeing his old friend and
companion and love, Honor? That would be dangerous to his own
peace of mind, might threaten his happiness. He remembered some
words of Mrs. Veale, and his blood rushed through his head like a
scalding wave.
When he came to his door Mrs. Veale was there. She seemed to
know by instinct his purpose in going to Bratton.
'Have you got it, master?' she asked with husky voice and
fluttering eyelids.
'Got what?'
'What you went to get—the licence.'
'It is coming by post to-morrow. Are you satisfied?' he asked,
sneering, and with a glance of dislike.
'A corpse-light came up the lane and danced on the doorstep
last night,' said Mrs. Veale. 'And you are thinking of marrying! "I'd
better have left things as they were," said the man who scalded his
dog to clear it of fleas. The spider spread for a midget and caught a
hornet. "Marry come up," said the mote (tree-stump), "I will wed the
flame;" so she took him, embraced him, and——' Mrs. Veale stooped
to the hearth, took up a handful of light wood-ash, and blew it in her
master's face from her palm, then said, 'Ashes, remain.'
The ensuing night the house was disturbed. Taverner Langford
was ill, complaining of violent sickness, cramps, and burning in the
throat. He must have a doctor sent for from Okehampton.
'Get a doctor's foot on your floor and he leaves his shoes,' said
Mrs. Veale. 'No, wait till morning. If you're no better then we will
send.'
'Go out of my room,' shouted Taverner to the farm men and
maids who had crowded in. His calls and hammerings with the stick
had roused everyone in the house. 'Do you think I am going to die
because I'm took with spasms? Mrs. Veale is enough. Let her
remain.'
'I reckon I caught a chill standing in the damp church with the
smell of the vaults in my nose,' said Taverner, sitting in his chair and
groaning. 'I felt the cold rise.'
'It is waiting,' remarked Mrs. Veale,
'What is waiting?' he asked irritably.
'The corpse-candle; I see it on the doorstep. And you that
should be considering to have the bell tolled ordering a wedding
peal! Those who slide on ice must expect falls, and elephants
mustn't dance on tight-ropes. Rabbits that burrow in bogs won't
have dry quarters. The fox said, "Instead of eating I shall be eaten,"
when, seeking a hen-roost, he walked into a kennel.'

CHAPTER XXXV.
A WARNING.
The day was wet; a warm south-westerly wind was breathing, not
blowing, and its breath was steam, a steam that condensed into
minute water-drops. The thatch was dripping. The window panes
were blind with shiny films of moisture. There had been dry weather
for the haysel, glorious weather, and now, just when wanted, the
earth was bathed in a cloud. It would be inaccurate to say that it
rained. It rained only under the eaves and beneath the trees; the
earth was taking a vapour bath.
Honor and Kate were in the cottage, basket-weaving. The
children were at school. No wet dismays the Devonian, but east wind
throws him on his back, and he shrivels with frost. Kate had
recovered her spirits marvellously since her interview with Sam
Voaden. She had a buoyant heart; it was like a cork in water, that
might be pressed under, but came up with a leap again. She felt
keenly for the time, but wounds speedily healed with her. It was
other with Honor; she remained depressed, pale, thin looking, and
silent. She said nothing to her sister about Hillary. Kate had some
glimmering idea that Honor liked the young man, but did not
suppose that there was more in her heart than a liking. But Kate,
though she dearly loved her sister, was somewhat in awe of her. She
never ventured to peer into her soul, and she understood nothing of
what went on there. Honor was scrupulous, precise, close; and Kate,
though a good-hearted, true girl, was not close, but open, not
precise, but careless, and ready to stretch a point of conscience to
suit her pleasure. Kate, in the presence of Honor, was much like an
unmathematical boy set over a problem in Euclid. She was sure that
all was very true in Honor's mind, but also that the process by which
it arrived at its conclusions was beyond her understanding. Honor
possessed, what is the prerogative of few women, a just mind.
Forced by her position into dividing between the children who looked
up to her, obliged to consider their complaints against each other in
petty quarrels from opposite sides, and of deciding equably, she had
acquired breadth and fairness and self-restraint, against action upon
impulse. Kate was eager to take sides, and was partial; Honor never.
She was always disposed to consider that there was something to be
said on the side opposed to that first presented to her, and was
cautious not to pronounce an opinion till she had heard both sides.
This Kate could not understand, and she regarded her sister as
wanting in warmth and enthusiasm.
'No news yet from Sam,' said Kate. 'That is odd. I thought we
should have known at once about Charles.'
'How could that be? Plymouth is a large place, and Sam Voaden
will not know where to look. It is even possible that Charles may
have sailed.'
'If he has sailed you need not be tied to old Langford—that is,
not unless you like.'
'I have passed my word. I cannot withdraw.'
'Fiddlesticks-ends! You only promised on condition that Mr.
Langford would not proceed against Charles.'
'He has not proceeded.'
'He can't—if Charles is out of England.'
'But he might have done so the day he discovered his loss,
before Charles got away. I gave my word to prevent his taking
immediate action, and so Charles had time to make his escape from
the country.'
 'Taverner Langford had no right to ask it of you.'
'He did ask it, and I gave my word. I cannot withdraw now.
That would not be fair and right.'
Kate shrugged her shoulders. 'I should pay him out in his own
coin.'
'Like Charles at the circus?'
Kate coloured. 'That was another matter altogether. Mr.
Langford had no right to put such a price on his forbearance.
Besides, I don't believe in Charles's guilt. Sam does not, and, thick
as some folks think Sam, he has as much brains as are wanted to fill
a large skull, and these of first quality. Sam can see into a millstone.'
'Yes, Kate, but what is in a millstone?—the same as outside.'
'Sam says that he knows Charles is innocent.'
'What reasons does he give?'
'Oh, none at all. I did not ask for any. He thinks it, that is
enough for me.'
'He thinks it, now; he knows it, a minute ago.'
'I am quite sure that Charles never took the money.'
'Why?'
'There you are again with your "whys." Because Sam says it.'
'Yes, dear Kate, Sam is a good-hearted fellow, who will not think
badly of anyone, and he supposes others are as straightforward as
himself.'
'You have a dozen splendid reasons for thinking Charles a thief,
and not one of them convinces me. I don't know why, except that
Sam is so positive; but I will scratch all the silver off my looking-
glass if I am wrong. Charles did not take the money.'
 Honor said no more. It was useless arguing with Kate, and
nothing was gained if she did convince her. The girls worked on for a
few minutes in silence; then Kate burst out with, 'After all, I do not
see anything so dreadful in becoming Mrs. Langford. One cannot
have everything. Taverner has not the youth and looks of—say Sam
Voaden, but Sam Voaden has no money of his own, and Mr.
Langford can roll in money when his back itches. Langford is a very
fine property still, and the house is first-rate. If I take Sam at any
time—I don't say I shall—I shall have to put up with poverty. If you
take Taverner Langford you must put up with ugliness. You can't
catch herring and hake at one fishing.' Then she burst into a ringing
laugh.
'It will be worth while marrying him only for the fun of making
Larry Nanspian call you aunt.' Honor winced, but Kate was too
tickled by the idea to observe her sister's face.
'When is it to be, Honor? It is mean of you to be so secret about
the day. I am your sister, and I ought to know.'
'I only do not tell you because you cannot keep a secret, and I
wish no one to know till all is over. Some morning when nothing is
expected, it——' She shivered and turned her face to the wall.
'I will not blab. I will not, indeed, dear.'
'Some day this week. Well, if you must know, Thursday. Pray be
secret; you will only add to my pain, my shame, if it be known, and
a crowd of the curious be assembled to see. He also wished it to be
kept from getting wind. Indeed, he insisted.'
'I don't like a marriage without smart and bridesmaids. Who is
to be best man? I don't believe old Taverner has a friend anywhere.
Why—Honor, he'll be my brother-in-law. That is a strange prospect.
We'll come up to Langford and see you every day, that you may not
be dull. What are you going to do with Mrs. Veale? You are surely
not going to keep her! Do you know, Honor, in the kitchen is a
darling china spaniel, just like ours yonder on the mantel-piece, and
he turns his head the opposite way to ours. I'm really glad you are
going to marry Mr. Langford, because then the dogs will make a pair.
They look so desolate, one here and the other there; they are
ordained to keep company.' Honor said nothing; she let her sister
rattle on without paying heed to her tattle.
'Honor,' said Kate, 'do you know whence Charles got the notion
of putting the five-pound note under the dog? Guess.'
'I cannot guess. It does not matter.'
'Yes, it does matter. Charles got the notion from sweet Mrs.
Veale. When I was at Langford looking for you, I saw that she used
the dog as a place for putting things away that must not lie about. If
you turn one of these china dogs on end, you will see that they are
hollow. Well, Mrs. Veale had stuffed a packet of rat poison into the
dog. You remember the man at the Revel who sold hones and
packets of poison for mice and rats? Do you not recollect the board
above his table with the picture on it of the vermin tumbling about
as if drunk, and some lying on their backs dead? All his packets were
in yellow paper with a picture on them in small like that on the
board. It does not seem right to let poison lie about. I should lock it
up if I had it; but Mrs. Veale is unlike everyone else in her
appearance and in her talk, and, I suppose, in her actions. She
keeps the yellow paper of rat-poison in the body of the china
spaniel. I saw her take it thence, and stow it in there again. The
place is not amiss. No one would dream of looking there for it. Who
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