goodso
long
only
as
issue
exists
of
the
tenant
in
tail
by
whom
that
base
fee
was
created
.
We
feel
satisfied
by
the
evidence
that
such
issue
exists
in
the
person
of
Thomas
Transome
,
otherwise
Trounsem
,
of
Littleshaw
.
But
upon
his
decease
without
issue
we
are
of
opinion
that
the
right
in
remainder
of
the
Bycliffe
family
will
arise
,
which
right
would
not
be
barred
by
any
statute
of
limitation
.
"
When
Harold
's
eyes
were
on
the
signatures
to
this
document
for
the
third
time
,
Jermyn
said
,
"
As
it
turned
out
,
the
case
being
closed
by
the
death
of
the
claimant
,
we
had
no
occasion
for
producing
Thomas
Transome
,
who
was
the
old
fellow
I
tell
you
of
.
The
inquiries
about
him
set
him
agog
,
and
after
they
were
dropped
he
came
into
this
neighbourhood
,
thinking
there
was
something
fine
in
store
for
him
.
Here
,
if
you
like
to
take
it
,
is
a
memorandum
about
him
.
I
repeat
,
that
he
died
in
the
riot
.
The
proof
is
ready
.
And
I
repeat
,
that
,
to
my
knowledge
,
and
mine
only
,
there
is
a
Bycliffe
in
existence
;
and
that
I
know
how
the
proof
can
be
made
out
.
"
Harold
rose
from
his
chair
again
,
and
again
paced
the
room
.
He
was
not
prepared
with
any
defiance
.
"
And
where
is
he
—
this
Bycliffe
?
"
he
said
at
last
,
stopping
in
his
walk
,
and
facing
round
towards
Jermyn
.
"
I
decline
to
say
more
till
you
promise
to
suspend
proceedings
against
me
.
"
Harold
turned
again
,
and
looked
out
of
the
window
,
without
speaking
for
a
moment
or
two
.
It
was
impossible
that
there
should
not
be
a
conflict
within
him
,
and
at
present
it
was
a
very
confused
one
.
At
last
he
said
,
"
This
person
is
in
ignorance
of
his
claim
?
"
"
Yes
.
"
"
Has
been
brought
up
in
an
inferior
station
?
"
"
Yes
,
"
said
Jermyn
,
keen
enough
to
guess
part
of
what
was
going
on
in
Harold
's
mind
.
"
There
is
no
harm
in
leaving
him
in
ignorance
.
The
question
is
a
purely
legal
one
.
And
,
as
I
said
before
,
the
complete
knowledge
of
the
case
,
as
one
of
evidence
,
lies
exclusively
with
me
.
I
can
nullify
the
evidence
,
or
I
can
make
it
tell
with
certainty
against
you
.
The
choice
lies
with
you
.
"
"
I
must
have
time
to
think
of
this
,
"
said
Harold
,
conscious
of
a
terrible
pressure
.
"
I
can
give
you
no
time
unless
you
promise
me
to
suspend
proceedings
.
"
"
And
then
,
when
I
ask
you
,
you
will
lay
the
details
before
me
?
"
"
Not
without
a
thorough
understanding
before-hand
.
If
I
engage
not
to
use
my
knowledge
against
you
,
you
must
engage
in
writing
that
on
being
satisfied
by
the
details
,
you
will
cancel
all
hostile
proceedings
against
me
,
and
will
not
institute
fresh
ones
on
the
strength
of
any
occurrences
now
past
.
"
"
Well
,
I
must
have
time
,
"
said
Harold
,
more
than
ever
inclined
to
thrash
the
attorney
,
but
feeling
bound
hand
and
foot
with
knots
that
he
was
not
sure
he
could
ever
unfasten
.
"
That
is
to
say
,
"
said
Jermyn
,
with
his
black-browed
persistence
,
"
you
will
write
to
suspend
proceedings
.
"
Again
Harold
paused
.
He
was
more
than
ever
exasperated
,
but
he
was
threatened
,
mortified
,
and
confounded
by
the
necessity
for
an
immediate
decision
between
alternatives
almost
equally
hateful
to
him
.
It
was
with
difficulty
that
he
could
prevail
on
himself
to
speak
any
conclusive
words
.
He
walked
as
far
as
he
could
from
Jermyn
—
to
the
other
end
of
the
room
—
then
walked
back
to
his
chair
and
threw
himself
into
it
.
At
last
he
said
,
without
looking
at
Jermyn
,
"
I
agree
—
I
must
have
time
.
"
"
Very
well
.
It
is
a
bargain
.
"
"
No
further
than
this
,
"
said
Harold
,
hastily
,
flashing
a
look
at
Jermyn
—
"
no
further
than
this
,
that
I
require
time
,
and
therefore
I
give
it
to
you
.
"
"
Of
course
.
You
require
time
to
consider
whether
the
pleasure
of
trying
to
ruin
me
—
me
to
whom
you
are
really
indebted
—
is
worth
the
loss
of
the
Transome
estates
—
I
shall
wish
you
good-morning
.
"
Harold
did
not
speak
to
him
or
look
at
him
again
,
and
Jermyn
walked
out
of
the
room
.
As
he
appeared
outside
the
door
and
closed
it
behind
him
,
Mrs
Transome
showed
her
white
face
at
another
door
which
opened
on
a
level
with
Harold
's
in
such
a
way
that
it
was
just
possible
for
Jermyn
not
to
see
her
.
He
availed
himself
of
that
possibility
,
and
walked
straight
across
the
hall
,
where
there
was
no
servant
in
attendance
to
let
him
out
,
as
if
he
believed
that
no
one
was
looking
at
him
who
could
expect
recognition
.
He
did
not
want
to
speak
to
Mrs
Transome
at
present
;
he
had
nothing
to
ask
from
her
,
and
one
disagreeable
interview
had
been
enough
for
him
this
morning
.
She
was
convinced
that
he
had
avoided
her
,
and
she
was
too
proud
to
arrest
him
.
She
was
as
insignificant
now
in
his
eyes
as
in
her
son
's
.
"
Men
have
no
memories
in
their
hearts
,
"
she
said
to
herself
,
bitterly
.
Turning
into
her
sitting-room
,
she
heard
the
voices
of
Mr
Transome
and
little
Harry
at
play
together
.
She
would
have
given
a
great
deal
at
this
moment
if
her
feeble
husband
had
not
always
lived
in
dread
of
her
temper
and
her
tyranny
,
so
that
he
might
have
been
fond
of
her
now
.
She
felt
herself
loveless
;
if
she
was
important
to
any
one
,
it
was
only
to
her
old
waiting-woman
Denner
.
CHAPTER
XXXVI
.
Are
these
things
then
necessities
?
Then
let
us
meet
them
like
necessities
.
Shakspeare
:
Henry
IV
.
See
now
the
virtue
living
in
a
word
!
Hobson
will
think
of
swearing
it
was
noon
When
he
saw
Dobson
at
the
May-day
fair
,
To
prove
poor
Dobson
did
not
rob
the
mail
.
'
Tis
neighbourly
to
save
a
neighbour
's
neck
:
What
harm
in
lying
when
you
mean
no
harm
?
But
say
'
tis
perjury
,
then
Hobson
quakes
—
He
'll
none
of
perjury
.
Thus
words
embalm
The
conscience
of
mankind
;
and
Roman
laws
Bring
still
a
conscience
to
poor
Hobson
's
aid
.
Few
men
would
have
felt
otherwise
than
Harold
Transome
felt
,
if
,
having
a
reversion
tantamount
to
possession
of
a
fine
estate
,
carrying
an
association
with
an
old
name
and
considerable
social
importance
,
they
were
suddenly
informed
that
there
was
a
person
who
had
a
legal
right
to
deprive
them
of
these
advantages
;
that
person
's
right
having
never
been
contemplated
by
any
one
as
more
than
a
chance
,
and
being
quite
unknown
to
himself
.
In
ordinary
cases
a
shorter
possession
than
Harold
's
family
had
enjoyed
was
allowed
by
the
law
to
constitute
an
indefeasible
right
;
and
if
in
rare
and
peculiar
instances
the
law
left
the
possessor
of
a
long
inheritance
exposed
to
deprivation
as
a
consequence
of
old
obscure
transactions
,
the
moral
reasons
for
giving
legal
validity
to
the
title
of
long
occupancy
were
not
the
less
strong
.
Nobody
would
have
said
that
Harold
was
bound
to
hunt
out
this
alleged
remainder-man
and
urge
his
rights
upon
him
;
on
the
contrary
,
all
the
world
would
have
laughed
at
such
conduct
,
and
he
would
have
been
thought
an
interesting
patient
for
a
mad-doctor
.
The
unconscious
remainder-man
was
probably
much
better
off
left
in
his
original
station
:
Harold
would
not
have
been
called
upon
to
consider
his
existence
,
if
it
had
not
been
presented
to
him
in
the
shape
of
a
threat
from
one
who
had
power
to
execute
the
threat
.
In
fact
,
what
he
would
have
done
had
the
circumstances
been
different
was
much
clearer
than
what
he
should
choose
to
do
or
feel
himself
compelled
to
do
in
the
actual
crisis
.
He
would
not
have
been
disgraced
if
,
on
a
valid
claim
being
urged
,
he
had
got
his
lawyers
to
fight
it
out
for
him
on
the
chance
of
eluding
the
claim
by
some
adroit
technical
management
.
Nobody
off
the
stage
could
be
sentimental
about
these
things
,
or
pretend
to
shed
tears
of
joy
because
an
estate
was
handed
over
from
a
gentleman
to
a
mendicant
sailor
with
a
wooden
leg
.
And
this
chance
remainder-man
was
perhaps
some
such
specimen
of
inheritance
as
the
drunken
fellow
killed
in
the
riot
.
All
the
world
would
think
the
actual
Transomes
in
the
right
to
contest
any
adverse
claim
to
the
utmost
.
But
then
—
it
was
not
certain
that
they
would
win
in
the
contest
;
and
not
winning
,
they
would
incur
other
loss
besides
that
of
the
estate
.
There
had
been
a
little
too
much
of
such
loss
already
.
But
why
,
if
it
were
not
wrong
to
contest
the
claim
,
should
he
feel
the
most
uncomfortable
scruples
about
robbing
the
claim
of
its
sting
by
getting
rid
of
its
evidence
?
It
was
a
mortal
disappointment
—
it
was
a
sacrifice
of
indemnification
—
to
abstain
from
punishing
Jermyn
.
But
even
if
he
brought
his
mind
to
contemplate
that
as
the
wiser
course
,
he
still
shrank
from
what
looked
like
complicity
with
Jermyn
;
he
still
shrank
from
the
secret
nullification
of
a
just
legal
claim
.
If
he
had
only
known
the
details
,
if
he
had
known
who
this
alleged
heir
was
,
he
might
have
seen
his
way
to
some
course
that
would
not
have
grated
on
his
sense
of
honour
and
dignity
.
But
Jermyn
had
been
too
acute
to
let
Harold
know
this
:
he
had
even
carefully
kept
to
the
masculine
pronoun
.
And
he
believed
that
there
was
no
one
besides
himself
who
would
or
could
make
Harold
any
wiser
.
He
went
home
persuaded
that
between
this
interview
and
the
next
which
they
would
have
together
,
Harold
would
be
left
to
an
inward
debate
,
founded
entirely
on
the
information
he
himself
had
given
.
And
he
had
not
much
doubt
that
the
result
would
be
what
he
desired
.
Harold
was
no
fool
:
there
were
many
good
things
he
liked
better
in
life
than
an
irrational
vindictiveness
.
And
it
did
happen
that
,
after
writing
to
London
in
fulfilment
of
his
pledge
,
Harold
spent
many
hours
over
that
inward
debate
,
which
was
not
very
different
from
what
Jermyn
imagined
.
He
took
it
everywhere
with
him
,
on
foot
and
on
horseback
,
and
it
was
his
companion
through
a
great
deal
of
the
night
.
His
nature
was
not
of
a
kind
given
to
internal
conflict
,
and
he
had
never
before
been
long
undecided
and
puzzled
.
This
unaccustomed
state
of
mind
was
so
painfully
irksome
to
him
—
he
rebelled
so
impatiently
against
the
oppression
of
circumstances
in
which
his
quick
temperament
and
habitual
decision
could
not
help
him
—
that
it
added
tenfold
to
his
hatred
of
Jermyn
,
who
was
the
cause
of
it
.
And
thus
,
as
the
temptation
to
avoid
all
risk
of
losing
the
estate
grew
and
grew
till
scruples
looked
minute
by
the
side
of
it
,
the
difficulty
of
bringing
himself
to
make
a
compact
with
Jermyn
seemed
more
and
more
insurmountable
.
But
we
have
seen
that
the
attorney
was
much
too
confident
in
his
calculations
.
And
while
Harold
was
being
galled
by
his
subjection
to
Jermyn
's
knowledge
,
independent
information
was
on
its
way
to
him
.
The
messenger
was
Christian
,
who
,
after
as
complete
a
survey
of
probabilities
as
he
was
capable
of
,
had
come
to
the
conclusion
that
the
most
profitable
investment
he
could
make
of
his
peculiar
experience
and
testimony
in
relation
to
Bycliffe
and
Bycliffe
's
daughter
,
was
to
place
them
at
the
disposal
of
Harold
Transome
.
He
was
afraid
of
Jermyn
;
he
utterly
distrusted
Johnson
;
but
he
thought
he
was
secure
in
relying
on
Harold
Transome
's
care
for
his
own
interest
;
and
he
preferred
above
all
issues
the
prospect
of
forthwith
leaving
the
country
with
a
sum
that
at
least
for
a
good
while
would
put
him
at
his
ease
.
When
,
only
three
mornings
after
the
interview
with
Jermyn
,
Dominic
opened
the
door
of
Harold
's
sitting-room
,
and
said
that
"
Meester
Chreestian
,
"
Mr
Philip
Debarry
's
courier
and
an
acquaintance
of
his
own
at
Naples
,
requested
to
be
admitted
on
business
of
importance
,
Harold
's
immediate
thought
was
that
the
business
referred
to
the
so-called
political
affairs
which
were
just
now
his
chief
association
with
the
name
of
Debarry
,
though
it
seemed
an
oddness
requiring
explanation
that
a
servant
should
be
personally
an
intermediary
.
He
assented
,
expecting
something
rather
disagreeable
than
otherwise
.
Christian
wore
this
morning
those
perfect
manners
of
a
subordinate
who
is
not
servile
,
which
he
always
adopted
towards
his
unquestionable
superiors
.
Mr
Debarry
,
who
preferred
having
some
one
about
him
with
as
little
resemblance
as
possible
to
a
regular
servant
,
had
a
singular
liking
for
the
adroit
,
quiet-mannered
Christian
,
and
would
have
been
amazed
to
see
the
insolent
assumption
he
was
capable
of
in
the
presence
of
people
like
Mr
Lyon
,
who
were
of
no
account
in
society
.
Christian
had
that
sort
of
cleverness
which
is
said
to
"
know
the
world
"
—
that
is
to
say
,
he
knew
the
price-current
of
most
things
.
Aware
that
he
was
looked
at
as
a
messenger
while
he
remained
standing
near
the
door
with
his
hat
in
his
hand
,
he
said
,
with
respectful
ease
,
"
You
will
probably
be
surprised
,
sir
,
at
my
coming
to
speak
to
you
on
my
own
account
;
and
,
in
fact
,
I
could
not
have
thought
of
doing
so
if
my
business
did
not
happen
to
be
something
of
more
importance
to
you
than
to
any
one
else
.
"
"
You
do
n't
come
from
Mr
Debarry
,
then
?
"
said
Harold
,
with
some
surprise
.
"
No
,
sir
.
My
business
is
a
secret
;
and
,
if
you
please
,
must
remain
so
.
"
"
Is
it
a
pledge
you
are
demanding
from
me
?
"
said
Harold
,
rather
suspiciously
,
having
no
ground
for
confidence
in
a
man
of
Christian
's
position
.
"
Yes
,
sir
;
I
am
obliged
to
ask
no
less
than
that
you
will
pledge
yourself
not
to
take
Mr
Jermyn
into
confidence
concerning
what
passes
between
us
.
"
"
With
all
my
heart
,
"
said
Harold
,
something
like
a
gleam
passing
over
his
face
.
His
circulation
had
become
more
rapid
.
"
But
what
have
you
had
to
do
with
Jermyn
?
"
"
He
has
not
mentioned
me
to
you
then
—
has
he
,
sir
?
"
"
No
;
certainly
not
—
never
.
"
Christian
thought
,
"
Aha
,
Mr
Jermyn
!
you
are
keeping
the
secret
well
,
are
you
?
"
He
said
,
aloud
,
"
Then
Mr
Jermyn
has
never
mentioned
to
you
,
sir
,
what
I
believe
he
is
aware
of
—
that
there
is
danger
of
a
new
suit
being
raised
against
you
on
the
part
of
a
Bycliffe
,
to
get
the
estate
?
"
"
Ah
!
"
said
Harold
,
starting
up
,
and
placing
himself
with
his
back
against
the
mantelpiece
.
He
was
electrified
by
surprise
at
the
quarter
from
which
this
information
was
coming
.
Any
fresh
alarm
was
counteracted
by
the
flashing
thought
that
he
might
be
enabled
to
act
independently
of
Jermyn
;
and
in
the
rush
of
feelings
he
could
utter
no
more
than
an
interjection
.
Christian
concluded
that
Harold
had
had
no
previous
hint
.
"
It
is
this
fact
,
sir
,
that
I
came
to
tell
you
of
.
"
"
From
some
other
motive
than
kindness
to
me
,
I
presume
,
"
said
Harold
,
with
a
slight
approach
to
a
smile
.
"
Certainly
,
"
said
Christian
,
as
quietly
as
if
he
had
been
stating
yesterday
's
weather
.
"
I
should
not
have
the
folly
to
use
any
affectation
with
you
,
Mr
Transome
.
I
lost
considerable
property
early
in
life
,
and
am
now
in
the
receipt
of
a
salary
simply
.
In
the
affair
I
have
just
mentioned
to
you
I
can
give
evidence
which
will
turn
the
scale
against
you
.
I
have
no
wish
to
do
so
,
if
you
will
make
it
worth
my
while
to
leave
the
country
.
"
Harold
listened
as
if
he
had
been
a
legendary
hero
,
selected
for
peculiar
solicitation
by
the
Evil
One
.
Here
was
temptation
in
a
more
alluring
form
than
before
,
because
it
was
sweetened
by
the
prospect
of
eluding
Jermyn
.
But
the
desire
to
gain
time
served
all
the
purposes
of
caution
and
resistance
,
and
his
indifference
to
the
speaker
in
this
case
helped
him
to
preserve
perfect
self-command
.
"
You
are
aware
,
"
he
said
,
coolly
,
"
that
silence
is
not
a
commodity
worth
purchasing
unless
it
is
loaded
.
There
are
many
persons
,
I
dare
say
,
who
would
like
me
to
pay
their
travelling
expenses
for
them
.
But
they
might
hardly
be
able
to
show
me
that
it
was
worth
my
while
.
"
"
You
wish
me
to
state
what
I
know
?
"
"
Well
,
that
is
a
necessary
preliminary
to
any
further
conversation
.
"
"
I
think
you
will
see
,
Mr
Transome
,
that
,
as
a
matter
of
justice
,
the
knowledge
I
can
give
is
worth
something
,
quite
apart
from
my
future
appearance
or
non-appearance
as
a
witness
.
I
must
take
care
of
my
own
interest
,
and
if
anything
should
hinder
you
from
choosing
to
satisfy
me
for
taking
an
essential
witness
out
of
the
way
,
I
must
at
least
be
paid
for
bringing
you
the
information
.
"
"
Can
you
tell
me
who
and
where
this
Bycliffe
is
?
"
"
I
can
.
"
"
—
And
give
me
a
notion
of
the
whole
affair
?
"
"
Yes
:
I
have
talked
to
a
lawyer
—
not
Jermyn
—
who
is
at
the
bottom
of
the
law
in
the
affair
.
"
"
You
must
not
count
on
any
wish
of
mine
to
suppress
evidence
or
remove
a
witness
.
But
name
your
price
for
the
information
.
"
"
In
that
case
I
must
be
paid
the
higher
for
my
information
.
Say
,
two
thousand
pounds
.
"
"
Two
thousand
devils
!
"
burst
out
Harold
,
throwing
himself
into
his
chair
again
,
and
turning
his
shoulder
towards
Christian
.
New
thoughts
crowded
upon
him
.
"
This
fellow
may
want
to
decamp
for
some
reason
or
other
,
"
he
said
to
himself
.
"
More
people
besides
Jermyn
know
about
his
evidence
,
it
seems
.
The
whole
thing
may
look
black
for
me
if
it
comes
out
.
I
shall
be
believed
to
have
bribed
him
to
run
away
,
whether
or
not
.
"
Thus
the
outside
conscience
came
in
aid
of
the
inner
.
"
I
will
not
give
you
one
sixpence
for
your
information
,
"
he
said
,
resolutely
,
"
until
time
has
made
it
clear
that
you
do
not
intend
to
decamp
,
but
will
be
forthcoming
when
you
are
called
for
.
On
those
terms
I
have
no
objection
to
give
you
a
note
,
specifying
that
after
the
fulfilment
of
that
condition
—
that
is
,
after
the
occurrence
of
a
suit
,
or
the
understanding
that
no
suit
is
to
occur
—
I
will
pay
you
a
certain
sum
in
consideration
of
the
information
you
now
give
me
!
"
Christian
felt
himself
caught
in
a
vice
.
In
the
first
instance
he
had
counted
confidently
on
Harold
's
ready
seizure
of
his
offer
to
disappear
,
and
after
some
words
had
seemed
to
cast
a
doubt
on
this
presupposition
,
he
had
inwardly
determined
to
go
away
,
whether
Harold
wished
it
or
not
,
if
he
could
get
a
sufficient
sum
.
He
did
not
reply
immediately
,
and
Harold
waited
in
silence
,
inwardly
anxious
to
know
what
Christian
could
tell
,
but
with
a
vision
at
present
so
far
cleared
that
he
was
determined
not
to
risk
incurring
the
imputation
of
having
anything
to
do
with
scoundrelism
.
We
are
very
much
indebted
to
such
a
linking
of
events
as
makes
a
doubtful
action
look
wrong
.
Christian
was
reflecting
that
if
he
stayed
,
and
faced
some
possible
inconveniences
of
being
known
publicly
as
Henry
Scaddon
for
the
sake
of
what
he
might
get
from
Esther
,
it
would
at
least
be
wise
to
be
certain
of
some
money
from
Harold
Transome
,
since
he
turned
out
to
be
of
so
peculiar
a
disposition
as
to
insist
on
a
punctilious
honesty
to
his
own
disadvantage
.
Did
he
think
of
making
a
bargain
with
the
other
side
?
If
so
,
he
might
be
content
to
wait
for
the
knowledge
till
it
came
in
some
other
way
.
Christian
was
beginning
to
be
afraid
lest
he
should
get
nothing
by
this
clever
move
of
coming
to
Transome
Court
.
At
last
he
said
,
"
I
think
,
sir
,
two
thousand
would
not
be
an
unreasonable
sum
,
on
those
conditions
.
"
"
I
will
not
give
two
thousand
.
"
"
Allow
me
to
say
,
sir
,
you
must
consider
that
there
is
no
one
whose
interest
it
is
to
tell
you
as
much
as
I
shall
,
even
if
they
could
;
since
Mr
Jermyn
,
who
knows
it
,
has
not
thought
fit
to
tell
you
.
There
may
be
use
you
do
n't
think
of
in
getting
the
information
at
once
.
"
"
Well
?
"
"
I
think
a
gentleman
should
act
liberally
under
such
circumstances
.
"
"
So
I
will
.
"
"
I
could
not
take
less
than
a
thousand
pounds
.
It
really
would
not
be
worth
my
while
.
If
Mr
Jermyn
knew
I
gave
you
the
information
,
he
would
endeavour
to
injure
me
.
"
"
I
will
give
you
a
thousand
,
"
said
Harold
,
immediately
,
for
Christian
had
unconsciously
touched
a
sure
spring
.
"
At
least
,
I
'll
give
you
a
note
to
the
effect
I
spoke
of
.
"
He
wrote
as
he
had
promised
,
and
gave
the
paper
to
Christian
.
"
Now
,
do
n't
be
circuitous
,
"
said
Harold
.
"
You
seem
to
have
a
business-like
gift
of
speech
.
Who
and
where
is
this
Bycliffe
?
"
"
You
will
be
surprised
to
hear
,
sir
,
that
she
is
supposed
to
be
the
daughter
of
the
old
preacher
,
Lyon
,
in
Malthouse
Yard
.
"
"
Good
God
!
How
can
that
be
?
"
said
Harold
.
At
once
,
the
first
occasion
on
which
he
had
seen
Esther
rose
in
his
memory
—
the
little
dark
parlour
—
the
graceful
girl
in
blue
,
with
the
surprisingly
distinguished
manners
and
appearance
.
"
In
this
way
.
Old
Lyon
,
by
some
strange
means
or
other
,
married
Bycliffe
's
widow
when
this
girl
was
a
baby
.
And
the
preacher
did
n't
want
the
girl
to
know
that
he
was
not
her
real
father
:
he
told
me
that
himself
.
But
she
is
the
image
of
Bycliffe
,
whom
I
knew
well
—
an
uncommonly
fine
woman
—
steps
like
a
queen
.
"
"
I
have
seen
her
,
"
said
Harold
,
more
than
ever
glad
to
have
purchased
this
knowledge
.
"
But
now
,
go
on
.
"
Christian
proceeded
to
tell
all
he
knew
,
including
his
conversation
with
Jermyn
,
except
so
far
as
it
had
an
unpleasant
relation
to
himself
.
"
Then
,
"
said
Harold
,
as
the
details
seemed
to
have
come
to
a
close
,
"
you
believe
that
Miss
Lyon
and
her
supposed
father
are
at
present
unaware
of
the
claims
that
might
be
urged
for
her
on
the
strength
of
her
birth
?
"
"
I
believe
so
.
But
I
need
not
tell
you
that
where
the
lawyers
are
on
the
scent
you
can
never
be
sure
of
anything
long
together
.
I
must
remind
you
,
sir
,
that
you
have
promised
to
protect
me
from
Mr
Jermyn
by
keeping
my
confidence
.
"
"
Never
fear
.
Depend
upon
it
,
I
shall
betray
nothing
to
Mr
Jermyn
.
"
Christian
was
dismissed
with
a
"
good-morning
;
"
and
while
he
cultivated
some
friendly
reminiscences
with
Dominic
,
Harold
sat
chewing
the
cud
of
his
new
knowledge
,
and
finding
it
not
altogether
so
bitter
as
he
had
expected
.
From
the
first
,
after
his
interview
with
Jermyn
,
the
recoil
of
Harold
's
mind
from
the
idea
of
strangling
a
legal
right
threw
him
on
the
alternative
of
attempting
a
compromise
.
Some
middle
course
might
be
possible
,
which
would
be
a
less
evil
than
a
costly
lawsuit
,
or
than
the
total
renunciation
of
the
estates
.
And
now
he
had
learned
that
the
new
claimant
was
a
woman
—
a
young
woman
,
brought
up
under
circumstances
that
would
make
the
fourth
of
the
Transome
property
seem
to
her
an
immense
fortune
.
Both
the
sex
and
the
social
condition
were
of
the
sort
that
lies
open
to
many
softening
influences
.
And
having
seen
Esther
,
it
was
inevitable
that
,
amongst
the
various
issues
,
agreeable
and
disagreeable
,
depicted
by
Harold
's
imagination
,
there
should
present
itself
a
possibility
that
would
unite
the
two
claims
—
his
own
,
which
he
felt
to
be
the
rational
,
and
Esther
's
,
which
apparently
was
the
legal
claim
.
Harold
,
as
he
had
constantly
said
to
his
mother
,
was
"
not
a
marrying
man
;
"
he
did
not
contemplate
bringing
a
wife
to
Transome
Court
for
many
years
to
come
,
if
at
all
.
Having
little
Harry
as
an
heir
,
he
preferred
freedom
.
Western
women
were
not
to
his
taste
:
they
showed
a
transition
from
the
feebly
animal
to
the
thinking
being
,
which
was
simply
troublesome
.
Harold
preferred
a
slow-witted
large-eyed
woman
,
silent
and
affectionate
,
with
a
load
of
black
hair
weighing
much
more
heavily
than
her
brains
.
He
had
seen
no
such
woman
in
England
,
except
one
whom
he
had
brought
with
him
from
the
East
.
Therefore
Harold
did
not
care
to
be
married
until
or
unless
some
surprising
chance
presented
itself
;
and
now
that
such
a
chance
had
occurred
to
suggest
marriage
to
him
,
he
would
not
admit
to
himself
that
he
contemplated
marrying
Esther
as
a
plan
;
he
was
only
obliged
to
see
that
such
an
issue
was
not
inconceivable
.
He
was
not
going
to
take
any
step
expressly
directed
towards
that
end
:
what
he
had
made
up
his
mind
to
,
as
the
course
most
satisfactory
to
his
nature
under
present
urgencies
,
was
to
behave
to
Esther
with
a
frank
gentlemanliness
,
which
must
win
her
good-will
,
and
incline
her
to
save
his
family
interest
as
much
as
possible
.
He
was
helped
to
this
determination
by
the
pleasure
of
frustrating
Jermyn
's
contrivance
to
shield
himself
from
punishment
;
and
his
most
distinct
and
cheering
prospect
was
,
that
within
a
very
short
space
of
time
he
should
not
only
have
effected
a
satisfactory
compromise
with
Esther
,
but
should
have
made
Jermyn
aware
,
by
a
very
disagreeable
form
of
announcement
,
that
Harold
Transome
was
no
longer
afraid
of
him
.
Jermyn
should
bite
the
dust
.
At
the
end
of
these
meditations
he
felt
satisfied
with
himself
and
light-hearted
.
He
had
rejected
two
dishonest
propositions
,
and
he
was
going
to
do
something
that
seemed
eminently
graceful
.
But
he
needed
his
mother
's
assistance
,
and
it
was
necessary
that
he
should
both
confide
in
her
and
persuade
her
.
Within
two
hours
after
Christian
left
him
,
Harold
begged
his
mother
to
come
into
his
private
room
,
and
there
he
told
her
the
strange
and
startling
story
,
omitting
,
however
,
any
particulars
which
would
involve
the
identification
of
Christian
as
his
informant
.
Harold
felt
that
his
engagement
demanded
this
reticence
;
and
he
told
his
mother
that
he
was
bound
to
conceal
the
source
of
that
knowledge
which
he
had
got
independently
of
Jermyn
.
Mrs
Transome
said
little
in
the
course
of
the
story
:
she
made
no
exclamations
,
but
she
listened
with
close
attention
,
and
asked
a
few
questions
so
much
to
the
point
as
to
surprise
Harold
.
When
he
showed
her
the
copy
of
the
legal
opinion
which
Jermyn
had
left
with
him
,
she
said
she
knew
it
very
well
;
she
had
a
copy
herself
.
The
particulars
of
that
last
lawsuit
were
too
well
engraven
on
her
mind
:
it
happened
at
a
time
when
there
was
no
one
to
supersede
her
,
and
she
was
the
virtual
head
of
the
family
affairs
.
She
was
prepared
to
understand
how
the
estate
might
be
in
danger
;
but
nothing
had
prepared
her
for
the
strange
details
—
for
the
way
in
which
the
new
claimant
had
been
reared
and
brought
within
the
range
of
converging
motives
that
had
led
to
this
revelation
,
least
of
all
for
the
part
Jermyn
had
come
to
play
in
the
revelation
.
Mrs
Transome
saw
these
things
through
the
medium
of
certain
dominant
emotions
that
made
them
seem
like
a
long-ripening
retribution
.
Harold
perceived
that
she
was
painfully
agitated
,
that
she
trembled
,
and
that
her
white
lips
would
not
readily
lend
themselves
to
speech
.
And
this
was
hardly
more
than
he
expected
.
He
had
not
liked
the
revelation
himself
when
it
had
first
come
to
him
.
But
he
did
not
guess
what
it
was
in
his
narrative
which
had
most
pierced
his
mother
.
It
was
something
that
made
the
threat
about
the
estate
only
a
secondary
alarm
.
Now
,
for
the
first
time
,
she
heard
of
the
intended
proceedings
against
Jermyn
.
Harold
had
not
chosen
to
speak
of
them
before
;
but
having
at
last
called
his
mother
into
consultation
,
there
was
nothing
in
his
mind
to
hinder
him
from
speaking
without
reserve
of
his
determination
to
visit
on
the
attorney
his
shameful
maladministration
of
the
family
affairs
.
Harold
went
through
the
whole
narrative
—
of
what
he
called
Jermyn
's
scheme
to
catch
him
in
a
vice
,
and
his
power
of
triumphantly
frustrating
that
scheme
—
in
his
usual
rapid
way
,
speaking
with
a
final
decisiveness
of
tone
:
and
his
mother
felt
that
if
she
urged
any
counter-consideration
at
all
,
she
could
only
do
so
when
he
had
no
more
to
say
.
"
Now
,
what
I
want
you
to
do
,
mother
,
if
you
can
see
this
matter
as
I
see
it
,
"
Harold
said
in
conclusion
,
"
is
to
go
with
me
to
call
on
this
girl
in
Malthouse
Yard
.
I
will
open
the
affair
to
her
;
it
appears
she
is
not
likely
to
have
been
informed
yet
;
and
you
will
invite
her
to
visit
you
here
at
once
,
that
all
scandal
,
all
hatching
of
law-mischief
,
may
be
avoided
,
and
the
thing
may
be
brought
to
an
amicable
conclusion
.
"
"
It
seems
almost
incredible
—
extraordinary
—
a
girl
in
her
position
,
"
said
Mrs
Transome
,
with
difficulty
.
It
would
have
seemed
the
bitterest
humiliating
penance
if
another
sort
of
suffering
had
left
any
room
in
her
heart
.
"
I
assure
you
she
is
a
lady
;
I
saw
her
when
I
was
canvassing
,
and
was
amazed
at
the
time
.
You
will
be
quite
struck
with
her
.
It
is
no
indignity
for
you
to
invite
her
.
"
"
Oh
,
"
said
Mrs
Transome
,
with
low-toned
bitterness
,
"
I
must
put-up
with
all
things
as
they
are
determined
for
me
.
When
shall
we
go
?
"
"
Well
,
"
said
Harold
,
looking
at
his
watch
,
"
it
is
hardly
two
yet
.
We
could
really
go
to-day
,
when
you
have
lunched
.
It
is
better
to
lose
no
time
.
I
'll
order
the
carriage
.
"
"
Stay
,
"
said
Mrs
Transome
,
making
a
desperate
effort
.
"
There
is
plenty
of
time
.
I
shall
not
lunch
.
I
have
a
word
to
say
.
"
Harold
withdrew
his
hand
from
the
bell
,
and
leaned
against
the
mantelpiece
to
listen
.
"
You
see
I
comply
with
your
wish
at
once
,
Harold
?
"
"
Yes
,
mother
,
I
'm
much
obliged
to
you
for
making
no
difficulties
.
"
"
You
ought
to
listen
to
me
in
return
.
"
"
Pray
go
on
,
'
said
Harold
,
expecting
to
be
annoyed
.
"
What
is
the
good
of
having
these
Chancery
proceedings
against
Jermyn
?
"
"
Good
?
This
good
:
that
fellow
has
burdened
the
estate
with
annuities
and
mortgages
to
the
extent
of
three
thousand
a-year
;
and
bulk
of
them
,
I
am
certain
,
he
holds
himself
under
the
name
of
another
man
.
And
the
advances
this
yearly
interest
represents
,
have
not
been
much
more
than
twenty
thousand
.
Of
course
he
has
hoodwinked
you
,
and
my
father
never
gave
attention
to
these
things
.
He
has
been
up
to
all
sorts
of
devil
's
work
with
the
deeds
;
he
did
n't
count
on
my
coming
back
from
Smyrna
to
fill
poor
Durfey
's
place
.
He
shall
feel
the
difference
.
And
the
good
will
be
,
that
I
shall
save
almost
all
the
annuities
for
the
rest
of
my
father
's
life
,
which
may
be
ten
years
or
more
,
and
I
shall
get
back
some
of
the
money
,
and
I
shall
punish
a
scoundrel
.
That
is
the
good
.
"
"
He
will
be
ruined
.
"
"
That
's
what
I
intend
,
"
said
Harold
,
sharply
.
"
He
exerted
himself
a
great
deal
for
us
in
the
old
suits
:
every
one
said
he
had
wonderful
zeal
and
ability
,
"
said
Mrs
Transome
,
getting
courage
and
warmth
as
she
went
on
.
Her
temper
was
rising
.
"
What
he
did
,
he
did
for
his
own
sake
,
you
may
depend
on
that
,
"
said
Harold
,
with
a
scornful
laugh
.
"
There
were
very
painful
things
in
that
last
suit
.
You
seem
anxious
,
about
this
young
woman
,
to
avoid
all
further
scandal
and
contests
in
the
family
.
Why
do
n't
you
wish
to
do
it
in
this
case
?
Jermyn
might
be
willing
to
arrange
things
amicably
—
to
make
restitution
as
far
as
he
can
—
if
he
has
done
anything
worng
.
"
"
I
will
arrange
nothing
amicably
with
him
,
"
said
Harold
,
decisively
.
"
If
he
has
ever
done
anything
scandalous
as
our
agent
,
let
him
bear
the
infamy
.
And
the
right
way
to
throw
the
infamy
on
him
is
to
show
the
world
that
he
has
robbed
us
,
and
that
I
mean
to
punish
him
.
Why
do
you
wish
to
shield
such
a
fellow
,
mother
?
It
has
been
chiefly
through
him
that
you
have
had
to
lead
such
a
thrifty
miserable
life
—
you
who
used
to
make
as
brilliant
a
figure
as
a
woman
need
wish
.
"
Mrs
Transome
's
rising
temper
was
turned
into
a
horrible
sensation
,
as
painful
as
a
sudden
concussion
from
something
hard
and
immovable
when
we
have
struck
out
with
our
fist
,
intending
to
hit
something
warm
,
soft
,
and
breathing
,
like
ourselves
.
Poor
Mrs
Transome
's
strokes
were
sent
jarring
back
on
her
by
a
hard
unalterable
past
.
She
did
not
speak
in
answer
to
Harold
,
but
rose
from
the
chair
as
if
she
gave
up
the
debate
.
"
Women
are
frightened
at
everything
,
I
know
,
"
said
Harold
,
kindly
,
feeling
that
he
had
been
a
little
harsh
after
his
mother
's
compliance
.
"
And
you
have
been
used
for
so
many
years
to
think
Jermyn
a
law
of
nature
.
Come
,
mother
,
"
he
went
on
,
looking
at
her
gently
,
and
resting
his
hands
on
her
shoulders
,
"
look
cheerful
.
We
shall
get
through
all
these
difficulties
.
And
this
girl
—
I
daresay
she
will
be
quite
an
interesting
visitor
for
you
.
You
have
not
had
any
young
girl
about
you
for
a
long
while
.
Who
knows
?
she
may
fall
deeply
in
love
with
me
,
and
I
may
be
obliged
to
marry
her
.
"
He
spoke
laughingly
,
only
thinking
how
he
could
make
his
mother
smile
.
But
she
looked
at
him
seriously
and
said
,
"
Do
you
mean
that
,
Harold
?
"
"
Am
I
not
capable
of
making
a
conquest
?
Not
too
fat
yet
—
a
handsome
,
well-rounded
youth
of
thirty-four
?
"
She
was
forced
to
look
straight
at
the
beaming
face
,
with
its
rich
dark
colour
,
just
bent
a
little
over
her
.
Why
could
she
not
be
happy
in
this
son
whose
future
she
had
once
dreamed
of
,
and
who
had
been
as
fortunate
as
she
had
ever
hoped
?
The
tears
came
,
not
plenteously
,
but
making
her
dark
eyes
as
large
and
bright
as
youth
had
once
made
them
without
tears
.
"
There
,
there
!
"
said
Harold
,
coaxingly
.
"
Do
n't
be
afraid
.
You
shall
not
have
a
daughter-in-law
unless
she
is
a
pearl
.
Now
we
will
get
ready
to
go
.
"
In
half
an
hour
from
that
time
Mrs
Transome
came
down
,
looking
majestic
in
sables
and
velvet
,
ready
to
call
on
"
the
girl
in
Malthouse
Yard
.
"
She
had
composed
herself
to
go
through
this
task
.
She
saw
there
was
nothing
better
to
be
done
.
After
the
resolutions
Harold
had
taken
,
some
sort
of
compromise
with
this
oddly-placed
heiress
was
the
result
most
to
be
hoped
for
;
if
the
compromise
turned
out
to
be
a
marriage
—
well
,
she
had
no
reason
to
care
much
:
she
was
already
powerless
.
It
remained
to
be
seen
what
this
girl
was
.
The
carriage
was
to
be
driven
round
the
back
way
,
to
avoid
too
much
observation
.
But
the
late
election
affairs
might
account
for
Mr
Lyon
's
receiving
a
visit
from
the
unsuccessful
Radical
candidate
.
CHAPTER
XXXVII
.
I
also
could
speak
as
ye
do
;
if
your
soul
were
in
my
soul
's
stead
,
I
could
heap
up
words
against
you
,
and
shake
mine
head
at
you
.
—
Book
of
Job
.
In
the
interval
since
Esther
parted
with
Felix
Holt
on
the
day
of
the
riot
,
she
had
gone
through
so
much
emotion
,
and
had
already
had
so
strong
a
shock
of
surprise
,
that
she
was
prepared
to
receive
any
new
incident
of
an
unwonted
kind
with
comparative
equanimity
.
When
Mr
Lyon
had
got
home
again
from
his
preaching
excursion
,
Felix
was
already
on
his
way
to
Loamford
Jail
.
The
little
minister
was
terribly
shaken
by
the
news
.
He
saw
no
clear
explanation
of
Felix
Holt
's
conduct
;
for
the
statements
Esther
had
heard
were
so
conflicting
that
she
had
not
been
able
to
gather
distinctly
what
had
come
out
in
the
examination
by
the
magistrates
.
But
Mr
Lyon
felt
confident
that
Felix
was
innocent
of
any
wish
to
abet
a
riot
or
the
infliction
of
injuries
;
what
he
chiefly
feared
was
that
in
the
fatal
encounter
with
Tucker
he
had
been
moved
by
a
rash
temper
,
not
sufficiently
guarded
against
by
a
prayerful
and
humble
spirit
.
"
My
poor
young
friend
is
being
taught
with
mysterious
severity
the
evil
of
a
too
confident
self-reliance
,
"
he
said
to
Esther
,
as
they
sat
opposite
to
each
other
,
listening
and
speaking
sadly
.
"
You
will
go
and
see
him
,
father
?
"
"
Verily
will
I
.
But
I
must
straightway
go
and
see
that
poor
afflicted
woman
,
whose
soul
is
doubt-less
whirled
about
in
this
trouble
like
a
shapeless
and
unstable
thing
driven
by
divided
winds
.
"
Mr
Lyon
rose
and
took
his
hat
hastily
,
ready
to
walk
out
,
with
his
greatcoat
flying
open
and
exposing
his
small
person
to
the
keen
air
.
"
Stay
,
father
,
pray
,
till
you
have
had
some
food
,
"
said
Esther
,
putting
her
hand
on
his
arm
.
"
You
look
quite
weary
and
shattered
.
"
"
Child
,
I
cannot
stay
.
I
can
neither
eat
bread
nor
drink
water
till
I
have
learned
more
about
this
young
man
's
deeds
,
what
can
be
proved
and
what
cannot
be
proved
against
him
.
I
fear
he
has
none
to
stand
by
him
in
this
town
,
for
even
by
the
friends
of
our
church
I
have
been
ofttimes
rebuked
because
he
seemed
dear
to
me
.
But
,
Esther
,
my
beloved
child
—
"
Here
Mr
Lyon
grasped
her
arm
,
and
seemed
in
the
need
of
speech
to
forget
his
previous
haste
.
"
I
bear
in
mind
this
:
the
Lord
knoweth
them
that
are
His
;
but
we
—
we
are
left
to
judge
by
uncertain
signs
,
that
so
we
may
learn
to
exercise
hope
and
faith
towards
one
another
;
and
in
this
uncertainty
I
cling
with
awful
hope
to
those
whom
the
world
loves
not
because
their
conscience
,
albeit
mistakenly
,
is
at
war
with
the
habits
of
the
world
.
Our
great
faith
,
my
Esther
,
is
the
faith
of
martyrs
:
I
will
not
lightly
turn
away
from
any
man
who
endures
harshness
because
he
will
not
lie
;
nay
,
though
I
would
not
wantonly
grasp
at
ease
of
mind
through
an
arbitrary
choice
of
doctrine
,
I
cannot
but
believe
that
the
merits
of
the
Divine
Sacrifice
are
wider
than
our
utmost
charity
.
I
once
believed
otherwise
—
but
not
now
,
not
now
.
"
The
minister
paused
,
and
seemed
to
be
abstractedly
gazing
at
some
memory
:
he
was
always
liable
to
be
snatched
away
by
thoughts
from
the
pursuit
of
a
purpose
which
had
seemed
pressing
.
Esther
seized
the
opportunity
and
prevailed
on
him
to
fortify
himself
with
some
of
Lyddy
's
porridge
before
he
went
out
on
his
tiring
task
of
seeking
definite
trustworthy
knowledge
from
the
lips
of
various
witnesses
,
beginning
with
that
feminine
darkener
of
counsel
,
poor
Mrs
Holt
.
She
,
regarding
all
her
trouble
about
Felix
in
the
light
of
a
fulfilment
of
her
own
prophecies
,
treated
the
sad
history
with
a
preference
for
edification
above
accuracy
,
and
for
mystery
above
relevance
,
worthy
of
a
commentator
on
the
Apocalypse
.
She
insisted
chiefly
,
not
on
the
important
facts
that
Felix
had
sat
at
his
work
till
after
eleven
,
like
a
deaf
man
,
had
rushed
out
in
surprise
and
alarm
,
had
come
back
to
report
with
satisfaction
that
things
were
quiet
,
and
had
asked
her
to
set
by
his
dinner
for
him
—
facts
which
would
tell
as
evidence
that
Felix
was
disconnected
with
any
project
of
disturbances
,
and
was
averse
to
them
.
These
things
came
out
incidentally
in
her
long
plaint
to
the
minister
;
but
what
Mrs
Holt
felt
it
essential
to
state
was
,
that
long
before
Michaelmas
was
turned
,
sitting
in
her
chair
,
she
had
said
to
Felix
that
there
would
be
a
judgment
on
him
for
being
so
certain
sure
about
the
Pills
and
the
Elixir
.
"
And
now
,
Mr
Lyon
,
"
said
the
poor
woman
,
who
had
dressed
herself
in
a
gown
previously
cast
off
,
a
front
all
out
of
curl
,
and
a
cap
with
no
starch
in
it
,
while
she
held
little
coughing
Job
on
her
knee
,
—
"
and
now
you
see
—
my
words
have
come
true
sooner
than
I
thought
they
would
.
Felix
may
contradict
me
if
he
will
;
but
there
he
is
in
prison
,
and
here
am
I
,
with
nothing
in
the
world
to
bless
myself
with
but
half-a-crown
a-week
as
I
've
saved
by
my
own
scraping
,
and
this
house
I
've
got
to
pay
rent
for
.
It
's
not
me
has
done
wrong
,
Mr
Lyon
;
there
's
nobody
can
say
it
of
me
—
not
the
orphin
child
on
my
knee
is
more
innicent
o
'
riot
and
murder
and
anything
else
as
is
bad
.
But
when
you
've
got
a
son
so
masterful
and
stopping
medicines
as
Providence
has
sent
,
and
his
betters
have
been
taking
up
and
down
the
country
since
before
he
was
a
baby
,
it
's
o
'
no
use
being
good
here
below
.
But
he
was
a
baby
,
Mr
Lyon
,
and
I
gave
him
the
breast
,
"
—
here
poor
Mrs
Holt
's
motherly
love
overcame
her
expository
eagerness
,
and
she
fell
more
and
more
to
crying
as
she
spoke
—
"
And
to
think
there
's
folks
saying
now
as
he
'll
be
transported
,
and
his
hair
shaved
off
,
and
the
treadmill
,
and
everything
.
O
dear
!
"
As
Mrs
Holt
broke
off
into
sobbing
,
little
Job
also
,
who
had
got
a
confused
yet
profound
sense
of
sorrow
,
and
of
Felix
being
hurt
and
gone
away
,
set
up
a
little
wail
of
wondering
misery
.
"
Nay
,
Mistress
Holt
,
"
said
the
minister
soothingly
,
"
enlarge
not
your
grief
by
more
than
warrantable
grounds
.
I
have
good
hope
that
my
young
friend
your
son
will
be
delivered
from
any
severe
consequences
beyond
the
death
of
the
man
Tucker
,
which
I
fear
will
ever
be
a
sore
burthen
on
his
memory
.
I
feel
confident
that
a
jury
of
his
countrymen
will
discern
between
misfortune
,
or
it
may
be
misjudgment
,
and
an
evil
will
,
and
that
he
will
be
acquitted
of
any
grave
offence
.
"
"
He
never
stole
anything
in
his
life
,
Mr
Lyon
,
"
said
Mrs
Holt
,
reviving
.
"
Nobody
can
throw
it
in
my
face
as
my
son
ran
away
with
money
like
the
young
man
at
the
Bank
—
though
he
looked
most
respectable
,
and
far
different
on
a
Sunday
to
what
Felix
ever
did
.
And
I
know
it
's
very
hard
fighting
with
constables
;
but
they
say
Tucker
's
wife
'll
be
a
deal
better
off
than
she
was
before
,
for
the
great
folks
'll
pension
her
,
and
she
'll
be
put
on
all
the
charities
,
and
her
children
at
the
Free
School
,
and
everything
.
Your
trouble
's
easy
borne
when
everybody
gives
it
a
lift
for
you
;
and
if
judge
and
jury
wants
to
do
right
by
Felix
,
they
'll
think
of
his
poor
mother
,
with
the
bread
took
out
of
her
mouth
,
all
but
half-a-crown
a-week
and
furniture
—
which
,
to
be
sure
,
is
most
excellent
,
and
of
my
own
buying
—
and
got
to
keep
this
orphin
child
as
Felix
himself
brought
on
me
.
And
I
might
send
him
back
to
his
old
grandfather
on
parish
pay
,
but
I
'm
not
that
woman
,
Mr
Lyon
:
I
've
a
tender
heart
.
And
here
's
his
little
feet
and
toes
,
like
marbil
;
do
but
look
"
—
here
Mrs
Holt
drew
off
Job
's
sock
and
shoe
,
and
showed
a
well-washed
little
foot
—
"
and
you
'll
perhaps
say
I
might
take
a
lodger
;
but
it
's
easy
talking
;
it
is
n't
everybody
at
a
loose-end
wants
a
parlour
and
a
bedroom
;
and
if
anything
bad
happens
to
Felix
,
I
may
as
well
go
and
sit
in
the
parish
Pound
,
and
nobody
to
buy
me
out
;
for
it
's
beyond
everything
how
the
church
members
find
fault
with
my
son
.
But
I
think
they
might
leave
his
mother
to
find
fault
;
for
queer
and
masterful
he
might
be
,
and
flying
in
the
face
of
the
very
Scripture
about
the
physic
,
but
he
was
most
clever
beyond
anything
—
that
I
will
say
—
and
was
his
own
father
's
lawful
child
,
and
me
his
mother
,
that
was
Mary
Wall
thirty
years
before
ever
I
married
his
father
.
"
Here
Mrs
Holt
's
feelings
again
became
too
much
for
her
,
but
she
struggled
on
to
say
,
sobbingly
,
"
And
if
they
're
to
transport
him
,
I
should
like
to
go
to
the
prison
and
take
the
orphin
child
;
for
he
was
most
fond
of
having
him
on
his
lap
,
and
said
he
'd
never
marry
;
and
there
was
One
above
overheard
him
,
for
he
's
been
took
at
his
word
.
"
Mr
Lyon
listened
with
low
groans
,
and
then
tried
to
comfort
her
by
saying
that
he
would
himself
go
to
Loamford
as
soon
as
possible
,
and
would
give
his
soul
no
rest
till
he
had
done
all
he
could
do
for
Felix
.
On
one
point
Mrs
Holt
's
plaint
tallied
with
his
own
forebodings
,
and
he
found
them
verified
:
the
state
of
feeling
in
Treby
among
the
Liberal
Dissenting
flock
was
unfavourable
to
Felix
.
None
who
had
observed
his
conduct
from
the
windows
saw
anything
tending
to
excuse
him
,
and
his
own
account
of
his
motives
,
given
on
his
examination
,
was
spoken
of
with
head-shaking
;
if
it
had
not
been
for
his
habit
of
always
thinking
himself
wiser
than
other
people
,
he
would
never
have
entertained
such
a
wild
scheme
.
He
had
set
himself
up
for
something
extraordinary
,
and
had
spoken
ill
of
respectable
tradespeople
.
He
had
put
a
stop
to
the
making
of
salable
drugs
,
contrary
to
the
nature
of
buying
and
selling
,
and
to
a
due
reliance
on
what
Providence
might
effect
in
the
human
inside
through
the
instrumentality
of
remedies
unsuitable
to
the
stomach
,
looked
at
in
a
merely
secular
light
;
and
the
result
was
what
might
have
been
expected
.
He
had
brought
his
mother
to
poverty
,
and
himself
into
trouble
.
And
what
for
?
He
had
done
no
good
to
"
the
cause
;
"
if
he
had
fought
about
Church-rates
,
or
had
been
worsted
in
some
struggle
in
which
he
was
distinctly
the
champion
of
Dissent
and
Liberalism
,
his
case
would
have
been
one
for
gold
,
silver
,
and
copper
subscriptions
,
in
order
to
procure
the
best
defence
;
sermons
might
have
been
preached
on
him
,
and
his
name
might
have
floated
on
flags
from
Newcastle
to
Dorchester
.
But
there
seemed
to
be
no
edification
in
what
had
befallen
Felix
.
The
riot
at
Treby
,
"
turn
it
which
way
you
would
,
"
as
Mr
Muscat
observed
,
was
no
great
credit
to
Liberalism
;
and
what
Mr
Lyon
had
to
testify
as
to
Felix
Holt
's
conduct
in
the
matter
of
the
Sproxton
men
,
only
made
it
clear
that
the
defence
of
Felix
was
the
accusation
of
his
party
.
The
whole
affair
,
Mr
Nutwood
said
,
was
dark
and
inscrutable
,
and
seemed
not
to
be
one
in
which
the
interference
of
God
's
servants
would
tend
to
give
the
glory
where
the
glory
was
due
.
That
a
candidate
for
whom
the
richer
church
members
had
all
voted
should
have
his
name
associated
with
the
encouragement
of
drunkenness
,
riot
,
and
plunder
,
was
an
occasion
for
the
enemy
to
blaspheme
;
and
it
was
not
clear
how
the
enemy
's
mouth
would
be
stopped
by
exertions
in
favour
of
a
rash
young
man
,
whose
interference
had
made
things
worse
instead
of
better
.
Mr
Lyon
was
warned
lest
his
human
partialities
should
blind
him
to
the
interests
of
truth
;
it
was
God
's
cause
that
was
endangered
in
this
matter
.
The
little
minister
's
soul
was
bruised
;
he
himself
was
keenly
alive
to
the
complication
of
public
and
private
regards
in
this
affair
,
and
suffered
a
good
deal
at
the
thought
of
Tory
triumph
in
the
demonstration
that
,
excepting
the
attack
on
the
Seven
Stars
,
which
called
itself
a
Whig
house
,
all
damage
to
property
had
been
borne
by
Tories
.
He
cared
intensely
for
his
opinions
,
and
would
have
liked
events
to
speak
for
them
in
a
sort
of
picture-writing
that
everybody
could
understand
.
The
enthusiasms
of
the
world
are
not
to
be
stimulated
by
a
commentary
in
small
and
subtle
characters
which
alone
can
tell
the
whole
truth
;
and
the
picture-writing
in
Felix
Holt
's
troubles
was
of
an
entirely
puzzling
kind
:
if
he
were
a
martyr
,
neither
side
wanted
to
claim
him
.
Yet
the
minister
,
as
we
have
seen
,
found
in
his
Christian
faith
a
reason
for
clinging
the
more
to
one
who
had
not
a
large
party
to
back
him
.
That
little
man
's
heart
was
heroic
:
he
was
not
one
of
those
Liberals
who
make
their
anxiety
for
"
the
cause
"
of
Liberalism
a
plea
for
cowardly
desertion
.
Besides
himself
,
he
believed
there
was
no
one
who
could
bear
testimony
to
the
remonstrances
of
Felix
concerning
the
treating
of
the
Sproxton
men
,
except
Jermyn
,
Johnson
,
and
Harold
Transome
.
Though
he
had
the
vaguest
idea
of
what
could
be
done
in
the
case
,
he
fixed
his
mind
on
the
probability
that
Mr
Transome
would
be
moved
to
the
utmost
exertion
,
if
only
as
an
atonement
;
but
he
dared
not
take
any
step
until
he
had
consulted
Felix
,
who
he
foresaw
was
likely
to
have
a
very
strong
determination
as
to
the
help
he
would
accept
or
not
accept
.
This
last
expectation
was
fulfilled
.
Mr
Lyon
returned
to
Esther
,
after
his
day
's
journey
to
Loamford
and
back
,
with
less
of
trouble
and
perplexity
in
his
mind
:
he
had
at
least
got
a
definite
course
marked
out
,
to
which
he
must
resign
himself
.
Felix
had
declared
that
he
would
receive
no
aid
from
Harold
Transome
,
except
the
aid
he
might
give
as
an
honest
witness
.
There
was
nothing
to
be
done
for
him
but
what
was
perfectly
simple
and
direct
.
Even
if
the
pleading
of
counsel
had
been
permitted
(
and
at
that
time
it
was
not
)
on
behalf
of
a
prisoner
on
trial
for
felony
,
Felix
would
have
declined
it
:
he
would
in
any
case
have
spoken
in
his
own
defence
.
He
had
a
perfectly
simple
account
to
give
,
and
needed
not
to
avail
himself
of
any
legal
adroitness
.
He
consented
to
accept
the
services
of
a
respectable
solicitor
in
Loamford
,
who
offered
to
conduct
his
case
without
any
fees
.
The
work
was
plain
and
easy
,
Felix
said
.
The
only
witnesses
who
had
to
be
hunted
up
at
all
were
some
who
could
testify
that
he
had
tried
to
take
the
crowd
down
Hobb
's
Lane
,
and
that
they
had
gone
to
the
Manor
in
spite
of
him
.
"
Then
he
is
not
so
much
cast
down
as
you
feared
,
father
?
"
said
Esther
.
"
No
,
child
;
albeit
he
is
pale
and
much
shaken
for
one
so
stalwart
.
He
hath
no
grief
,
he
says
,
save
for
the
poor
man
Tucker
,
and
for
his
mother
;
otherwise
his
heart
is
without
a
burthen
.
We
discoursed
greatly
on
the
sad
effect
of
all
this
for
his
mother
,
and
on
the
perplexed
condition
of
human
things
,
whereby
even
right
action
seems
to
bring
evil
consequences
,
if
we
have
respect
only
to
our
own
brief
lives
,
and
not
to
that
larger
rule
whereby
we
are
stewards
of
the
eternal
dealings
,
and
not
contrivers
of
our
own
success
.
"
"
Did
he
say
nothing
about
me
,
father
?
"
said
Esther
,
trembling
a
little
,
but
unable
to
repress
her
egoism
.
"
Yea
;
he
asked
if
you
were
well
,
and
sent
his
affectionate
regards
.
Nay
,
he
bade
me
say
something
which
appears
to
refer
to
your
discourse
together
when
I
was
not
present
.
'
Tell
her
,
'
he
said
,
'
whatever
they
sentence
me
to
,
she
knows
they
ca
n't
rob
me
of
my
vocation
.
With
poverty
for
my
bride
,
and
preaching
and
pedagoguy
for
my
business
,
I
am
sure
of
a
handsome
establishment
.
'
He
laughed
—
doubtless
bearing
in
mind
some
playfulness
of
thine
.
"
Mr
Lyon
seemed
to
be
looking
at
Esther
as
he
smiled
,
but
she
was
not
near
enough
for
him
to
discern
the
expression
of
her
face
.
Just
then
it
seemed
made
for
melancholy
rather
than
for
playfulness
.
Hers
was
not
a
childish
beauty
;
and
