Hehas
already
proposed
!
”
repeated
Perry
.
Mrs
Perry
came
forward
solemnly
,
and
stretched
out
her
hand
to
Hamlin
.
“
Dear
friend
,
”
she
said
softly
,
“
my
heart
told
me
that
this
would
be
.
”
“
Fudge
!
”
exclaimed
Perry
;
“
if
it
did
,
why
the
deuce
didn’t
you
interfere
?
”
“
My
heart
told
me
this
would
be
.
I
congratulate
you
,
dearest
friend
,
that
you
have
at
last
found
the
embodiment
of
your
mysterious
dreams
of
beauty
.
And
I
thank
you
,
on
my
part
,
for
giving
me
the
happiness
of
seeing
that
glorious
dethroned
goddess
reinstated
in
her
rights
,
and
also
,
”
—
and
Mrs
Perry’s
long
mouth
smiled
—
formidable
like
an
alligator’s
,
—
“
for
giving
me
the
happiness
of
witnessing
a
union
of
mystic
perfection
;
”
whereupon
,
to
Hamlin’s
horror
,
the
tall
and
bony
lady
deposited
a
damp
kiss
on
his
forehead
.
“
Oh
—
but
—
thank
you
so
much
!
”
exclaimed
Hamlin
—
“
I
have
not
asked
Miss
Brown
to
marry
me
;
I
have
only
asked
her
to
let
me
educate
her
.
I
wish
her
to
choose
whatever
husband
may
deserve
her
.
”
“
And
that
will
be
yourself
—
your
noble
,
darling
self
,
”
beamed
Mrs
Perry
.
“
I
am
happy
that
you
approve
of
my
decision
,
”
said
Hamlin
,
quickly
;
“
and
since
you
do
,
will
you
kindly
tell
me
the
address
of
Miss
Brown’s
—
Miss
Brown’s
guardian
?
”
“
Julia
,
I
forbid
you
,
”
moaned
Perry
feebly
.
“
His
address
”
—
answered
Mrs
Perry
blandly
,
and
taking
no
notice
of
her
husband
—
“
is
Richard
Brown
,
care
of
Gillespie
Brothers
,
New
Cross
.
He
is
foreman
at
a
cannon‐foundry
,
or
a
place
where
they
make
torpedoes
.
I
know
it’s
something
murderous
and
dreadful
.
”
“
Richard
Brown
,
Gillespie
Brothers
,
New
Cross
,
”
wrote
Hamlin
in
his
note‐book
.
“
Thank
you
so
much
;
I
shall
write
to
him
at
once
.
”
“
Oh
,
idiotic
beast
that
I
was
!
”
groaned
Perry
,
“
to
think
that
it
should
all
be
my
fault
.
”
“
Come
into
my
boudoir
,
”
said
Mrs
Perry
;
“
you
shall
write
to
him
without
a
moment’s
delay
.
Denrest
Mr
Hamlin
,
it
is
so
noble
,
so
lovely
on
your
part
;
and
dear
Anne
—
how
beautiful
she
will
become
!
”
Perry
paced
up
and
down
the
room
in
violent
despair
,
kicking
at
all
the
chairs
and
easels
on
his
way
,
and
hurling
a
tin
of
black
paint
against
the
ceiling
,
whence
,
having
deposited
its
oozy
contents
,
it
slowly
descended
.
After
this
,
feeling
that
his
despair
was
not
yet
vented
,
he
stalked
off
to
the
German
beer‐cellar
,
in
the
Via
Lambertesca
,
and
gloomily
consumed
a
bock
—
a
proceeding
to
which
he
invariably
resorted
whenever
his
wife
had
inspired
him
with
a
more
than
usually
strong
wish
to
drown
himself
.
Suddenly
an
idea
struck
him
,
and
he
rushed
to
the
nearest
telegraph‐office
.
There
he
spent
upwards
of
an
hour
,
and
consumed
many
pieces
of
paper
in
concocting
a
missive
which
should
,
within
the
compass
of
twenty
words
,
convey
to
Mr
Richard
Brown
,
care
of
Gillespie
Brothers
,
New
Cross
,
that
the
proposal
being
made
to
Anne
Brown
by
a
certain
person
must
be
immediately
rejected
,
as
its
acceptance
would
bring
ruin
,
dishonour
,
and
misery
on
all
parties
.
“
Proposal
disastrous
snare
,
”
wound
up
Perry
at
last
in
triumph
;
and
then
discovered
that
,
in
his
zeal
for
Hamlin’s
good
,
he
had
expressed
disapprobation
to
the
extent
of
exactly
twenty
francs
of
Italian
money
.
“
Nothing
but
pipes
—
loathsome
,
smelly
,
filthy
pipes
;
never
a
cigar
—
for
the
next
two
months
,
”
meditated
Perry
,
as
he
paid
his
money
and
received
the
clerk’s
receipt
;
“
but
a
fellow
must
save
his
friend
after
all
.
”
CHAPTER
VII
.
NO
arrangements
could
be
come
to
until
Hamlin
should
hear
from
Anne
Brown’s
guardian
,
and
this
,
even
by
return
of
post
,
was
impossible
under
a
week
.
And
during
that
week
,
Hamlin
determined
to
keep
away
from
the
Perrys’
house
:
the
objurgations
of
Melton
Perry
,
the
congratulations
of
his
wife
,
the
very
tittering
of
the
children
,
all
this
vulgar
prose
had
best
be
kept
aloof
from
his
romance
;
besides
,
he
was
in
the
ridiculous
position
that
Anne
was
,
and
was
not
his
;
that
she
could
no
longer
be
considered
the
Perrys’
servant
,
and
could
not
yet
be
considered
as
his
ward
.
Accordingly
,
he
betook
himself
for
three
days
to
Siena
,
deeming
it
impossible
that
any
answer
could
come
so
soon
.
But
when
Hamlin
returned
to
his
lodging
in
Florence
,
on
the
fourth
day
after
his
proposal
to
Anne
Brown
—
it
seemed
to
him
as
if
he
had
proposed
to
her
months
ago
,
nay
,
as
if
he
had
never
existed
at
all
before
that
proposal
—
he
was
told
that
a
gentleman
had
called
that
morning
,
and
had
left
word
that
he
would
return
again
later
on
in
the
day
.
“
Some
confounded
painter
or
poetaster
of
my
acquaintance
,
”
thought
Hamlin
,
annoyed
that
any
one
should
call
upon
him
at
this
point
of
his
adventure
.
A
little
later
a
card
was
brought
in
to
him
.
The
name
upon
it
made
him
start
—
a
large
shopman’s
card
,
on
which
was
printed
,
“
Richard
Brown
,
New
Cross
.
”
“
Ask
him
to
come
in
,
”
cried
Hamlin
.
The
visitor
stalked
in
:
a
tall
,
burly
man
,
with
bushy
black
hair
and
beard
.
“
An
insolent
cad
,
”
said
Hamlin
to
himself
.
“
Mr
Walter
Hamlin
?
”
asked
the
newcomer
,
bowing
very
slightly
,
and
looking
down
upon
Hamlin
from
his
big
,
bent
shoulders
.
“
Precisely
—
and
you
,
I
believe
,
are
Miss
Anne
Brown’s
cousin
?
”
answered
Hamlin
,
stiffening
at
the
other’s
free‐and‐easy
manner
.
The
very
look
of
this
man
rubbed
him
the
wrong
way
.
“
Pray
,
sit
down
,
”
he
added
,
doing
his
best
to
be
courteous
.
But
the
other
had
already
sat
down
.
“
I
have
come
here
,
”
said
Richard
Brown
,
in
a
deep
,
Scotch
voice
,
which
made
a
certain
abruptness
of
manner
even
more
offensive
to
his
host
,
“
in
consequence
of
a
telegram
which
I
received
from
your
friend
Mr
Melton
Perry
.
”
Hamlin
turned
pale
with
anger
.
“
Perry
telegraphed
behind
my
back
,
”
he
exclaimed
—
“
however
,
I
had
written
to
you
the
same
day
.
I
presume
you
know
the
contents
of
my
letter
?
”
“
I
have
received
no
letter
from
you
—
I
suppose
I
started
before
it
arrived
,
”
answered
Richard
Brown
.
“
Mr
Perry
mentioned
no
letter
from
you
in
his
telegram
,
and
as
I
understood
from
it
that
there
were
plans
afoot
which
concerned
my
cousin
and
ward
,
I
thought
I
had
best
come
at
once
and
inquire
into
them
.
”
He
stopped
a
moment
,
and
looked
Hamlin
in
the
face
,
as
if
to
find
out
what
sort
of
man
he
might
be
.
He
himself
might
be
any
age
between
thirty
and
forty
,
of
the
darkest
possible
Scotch
type
,
sun‐burnt
like
a
bargee
,
snub
of
feature
,
with
a
huge
,
overhanging
forehead
;
he
was
a
man
such
as
Hamlin
had
never
dealt
with
—
a
type
which
he
recognised
as
having
seen
among
workmen
and
Dissenting
preachers
:
ugly
,
intellectual
,
contemptuous
—
the
incarnation
of
what
,
to
the
descendants
of
Cavaliers
and
Jamaica
planters
,
seemed
the
aggressive
lower
classes
.
“
I
see
,
”
said
Hamlin
,
coldly
.
“
I
am
greatly
obliged
to
you
for
the
trouble
you
have
taken
.
Your
presence
here
will
make
it
much
easier
for
us
to
settle
all
necessary
matters
.
”
“
Mr
Perry
,
”
went
on
the
visitor
,
“
has
given
me
rather
a
confused
account
of
the
proposal
which
I
understand
you
to
have
made
to
my
cousin
;
and
I
thought
it
wiser
to
see
you
before
speaking
to
her
.
I
must
therefore
beg
you
to
tell
me
whether
Mr
Perry’s
account
of
your
proposal
is
correct
,
and
also
whether
you
are
in
earnest
in
making
it
.
”
“
Had
you
waited
for
my
letter
,
I
think
you
could
have
had
no
further
doubts
,
”
answered
Hamlin
,
with
some
irritation
.
“
To
recapitulate
,
then
.
I
proposed
to
Miss
Brown
that
she
should
permit
me
to
take
charge
of
her
education
for
the
next
two
years
,
and
,
on
her
becoming
of
age
and
deeming
her
studies
complete
,
to
place
at
her
disposal
the
capital
of
an
income
which
should
enable
her
to
live
in
a
manner
corresponding
with
the
education
she
had
received
,
and
to
make
a
suitable
marriage
.
”
While
Hamlin
was
speaking
a
sneer
came
over
his
listener’s
face
.
“
I
am
to
understand
,
therefore
,
”
he
said
,
“
that
I
was
misinformed
as
to
this
being
a
proposal
of
marriage
.
”
“
Pardon
me
,
”
corrected
Hamlin
,
gently
.
“
I
told
your
cousin
that
I
hoped
that
perhaps
,
at
the
end
of
those
two
years
,
or
more
,
she
might
feel
inclined
to
accept
me
as
her
husband
;
but
that
my
particular
object
was
that
Miss
Brown
should
,
on
coming
of
age
,
find
herself
in
possession
of
a
fortune
corresponding
to
her
education
,
and
which
should
leave
her
free
to
contract
whatever
marriage
she
pleased
,
or
to
continue
single
.
”
Richard
Brown
flushed
.
“
In
short
,
”
he
said
,
with
a
strange
irony
in
his
voice
,
“
you
offer
to
provide
my
cousin
with
a
competence
whereon
to
live
,
or
get
married
,
after
she
shall
have
remained
for
two
years
in
your
charge
.
I
fully
appreciate
the
intention
of
your
proposal
;
and
I
therefore
beg
to
refuse
it
.
”
The
blood
rushed
to
Hamlin’s
head
.
That
such
an
interpretation
should
be
put
upon
his
words
had
never
entered
his
mind
.
It
was
as
if
a
whip
had
whizzed
about
his
ears
and
cut
into
his
face
.
His
first
impulse
was
to
knock
the
other
down
.
But
the
sense
of
his
misunderstood
superiority
,
superiority
unintelligible
to
his
visitor
,
restrained
him
.
“
I
quite
understand
your
refusal
,
Mr
Brown
,
”
he
answered
,
“
as
a
result
of
your
interpretation
of
the
case
;
and
I
suppose
I
have
no
right
to
ask
you
to
see
my
proposal
,
except
as
you
would
mean
it
were
you
to
make
it
yourself
.
”
Richard
Brown
turned
pale
;
but
he
too
mastered
his
feelings
.
“
If
your
intention
is
to
marry
my
cousin
,
why
not
marry
her
at
once
?
”
he
asked
,
with
something
in
his
look
which
expressed
that
he
felt
himself
not
to
be
outwitted
by
a
vicious
fool
.
Hamlin
hesitated
.
He
felt
that
he
could
never
make
this
man
understand
his
dreams
,
his
plans
of
turning
Anne
Brown
into
a
realised
ideal
,
of
wooing
and
winning
the
creature
of
his
own
making
.
“
Because
—
because
,
”
he
hesitated
.
“
Because
,
”
interrupted
Richard
Brown
,
“
a
man
in
your
position
of
life
cannot
marry
a
girl
like
my
cousin
before
she
has
been
turned
into
a
lady
;
and
because
,
even
if
this
be
granted
,
he
cannot
bind
himself
to
marry
her
until
he
see
whether
schooling
has
succeeded
in
making
a
lady
of
her
.
I
perfectly
follow
your
reasons
;
but
you
also
can
follow
mine
when
I
say
that
my
cousin
cannot
be
subjected
to
the
ups
and
downs
of
your
appreciation
.
”
In
this
man
there
was
a
hatred
of
Hamlin
,
not
merely
as
a
fine
gentleman
,
an
idler
,
but
as
an
æsthete
;
a
hatred
not
merely
of
class
,
but
of
temperament
.
“
You
misunderstand
my
motives
,
”
answered
Hamlin
,
losing
patience
.
“
My
reason
for
not
marrying
your
cousin
at
once
is
,
that
I
would
not
marry
a
woman
who
cannot
possibly
love
me
as
yet
;
and
my
reason
against
a
formal
engagement
between
us
is
,
that
I
cannot
consent
to
bind
Miss
Brown
to
marry
me
when
she
has
no
opportunity
as
yet
of
choosing
a
man
more
to
her
taste
.
It
seems
to
me
,
”
added
Hamlin
,
feeling
the
advantage
on
his
side
,
“
that
to
take
your
cousin
in
marriage
now
,
or
to
bind
her
to
marry
me
in
the
future
,
would
be
buying
her
in
exchange
for
the
education
and
the
money
which
she
will
receive
from
me
.
That
education
and
that
money
are
intended
to
secure
her
freedom
,
to
secure
her
choice
of
a
man
whom
she
may
love
,
not
to
make
her
into
the
chattel
of
a
man
whom
she
could
only
despise
.
”
Hamlin’s
tone
and
these
sentiments
,
which
seemed
to
belong
to
a
world
west
of
the
sun
and
east
of
the
moon
,
evidently
impressed
Anne’s
guardian
.
He
remained
silent
for
a
moment
,
unable
to
realise
Hamlin’s
state
of
mind
,
while
no
longer
able
to
disbelieve
in
it
.
But
the
temptation
to
disbelieve
in
the
sincerity
of
this
handsome
,
effeminate
,
æsthetic
aristocrat
was
too
strong
.
“
All
this
is
very
noble
and
chivalric
,
”
he
said
,
“
and
I
doubt
not
quite
natural
in
a
poet
like
you
,
Mr
Hamlin
;
but
for
us
practical
people
,
I
fear
it
won’t
do
.
I
am
fully
persuaded
of
the
desirability
of
giving
my
cousin
some
further
schooling
,
and
fully
persuaded
also
of
the
undesirability
of
leaving
her
any
longer
in
the
care
of
Mr
Perry
.
So
I
shall
take
her
back
to
England
with
me
.
”
Hamlin
turned
pale
with
anger
.
It
sickened
him
to
see
his
plans
dragged
in
the
mire
of
this
fellow’s
suspicions
,
and
at
the
same
time
he
felt
unable
ever
to
make
him
understand
,
utterly
helpless
in
defending
himself
.
Suddenly
an
idea
struck
him
.
“
I
see
,
”
said
Hamlin
,
rising
and
leaning
against
the
fireplace
,
while
his
guest
remained
coolly
seated
—
“
I
see
that
,
in
plain
words
,
you
suppose
that
I
project
settling
some
money
upon
your
cousin
,
with
a
view
of
making
her
my
mistress
for
two
years
—
that
is
it
,
is
it
not
,
Mr
Brown
?
”
The
brutal
frankness
staggered
Brown
;
it
was
impossible
to
make
any
more
insinuations
now
.
And
he
began
to
feel
ashamed
of
those
which
he
had
already
made
.
His
own
imagination
,
then
,
was
less
clean
than
the
intentions
of
this
womanish
fine
gentleman
?
Perhaps
for
this
very
reason
he
answered
calmly
,
but
turning
very
red
—
“
Yes
,
sir
;
that
is
exactly
the
state
of
the
case
.
”
Hamlin
felt
a
sort
of
triumph
at
this
humiliation
of
his
visitor
.
“
In
that
case
,
”
he
said
,
“
I
think
I
can
devise
a
plan
which
shall
satisfy
you
—
which
will
relieve
your
apprehensiveness
.
I
offer
not
merely
to
settle
upon
Miss
Brown
the
capital
of
five
hundred
a‐year
,
to
be
administered
by
you
until
her
majority
;
but
also
to
give
you
my
word
of
honour
to
marry
Miss
Brown
at
any
time
that
she
may
summon
me
to
do
so
.
”
Richard
Brown
was
taken
aback
;
all
this
romance
,
which
he
had
believed
to
be
but
a
vicious
snare
,
was
then
real
.
“
I
don’t
understand
you
,
”
he
said
.
“
I
don’t
understand
what
you
want
to
do
with
my
cousin
.
”
“
It
seems
difficult
to
explain
it
to
you
,
Mr
Brown
,
”
said
Hamlin
;
“
still
,
I
may
repeat
it
.
I
wish
Miss
Brown
to
receive
all
the
advantages
of
education
and
money
which
a
woman
gifted
like
her
has
a
right
to
,
and
which
will
enable
her
to
freely
marry
a
man
worthy
of
her
—
myself
,
or
any
other
in
the
world
.
I
will
not
hear
of
binding
Miss
Brown
to
me
at
present
,
either
by
marriage
or
by
promise
of
marriage
;
she
is
to
remain
absolutely
independent
.
But
I
offer
once
more
to
pledge
myself
to
marry
her
whenever
she
may
wish
it
.
”
Brown
did
not
answer
for
a
moment
.
“
Are
you
ready
to
sign
a
document
to
that
effect
?
”
he
asked
.
“
I
will
give
Miss
Brown
my
word
,
”
answered
Hamlin
,
contemptuously
;
“
and
I
will
give
you
,
Mr
Brown
,
as
many
signed
documents
as
may
be
equivalent
thereto
in
your
eyes
.
”
Brown
felt
the
insult
,
but
he
knew
he
had
drawn
it
upon
himself
.
For
a
moment
he
hesitated
;
his
aversion
to
Hamlin
and
Hamlin’s
plan
fighting
painfully
with
his
sense
of
the
worldly
interests
of
his
ward
.
At
last
he
said
—
“
On
these
conditions
I
can
no
longer
make
any
opposition
;
and
it
rests
with
my
cousin
to
accept
or
refuse
your
offer
.
I
can
only
warn
her
and
you
—
and
to
do
so
is
my
duty
,
I
think
—
that
,
in
my
opinion
,
such
an
arrangement
is
utterly
undesirable
for
both
parties
,
and
that
my
strong
advice
is
not
to
enter
upon
it
.
”
“
I
take
your
warning
to
heart
,
”
answered
Hamlin
,
contemptuously
;
“
but
I
cannot
agree
with
it
.
May
I
beg
you
to
meet
me
at
the
English
Consulate
to‐morrow
morning
,
to
witness
the
document
which
you
proposed
I
should
draw
out
;
the
matter
of
her
money
settlement
I
shall
leave
in
the
hands
of
my
lawyers
.
What
hour
will
suit
you
?
and
may
I
have
the
pleasure
of
receiving
you
to
breakfast
with
me
and
Mr
Perry
,
who
will
doubtless
be
my
witness
?
”
Richard
Brown
bowed
.
“
Thank
you
,
”
he
said
briefly
;
“
I
think
I
should
prefer
breakfasting
at
my
inn
.
With
regard
to
the
document
,
I
shall
be
happy
to
meet
you
at
the
Consulate
any
time
convenient
to
yourself
.
But
,
”
and
his
face
became
as
threatening
as
his
voice
was
studiously
courteous
,
“
we
must
first
hear
whether
,
on
second
thoughts
,
my
cousin
accepts
your
proposal
.
Good
afternoon
,
Mr
Hamlin
.
”
“
Good
afternoon
,
”
answered
Hamlin
.
Richard
Brown’s
visit
had
left
a
nauseous
taste
in
his
soul
.
CHAPTER
VIII
.
LATER
in
the
afternoon
Richard
Brown
called
at
the
Perrys’
and
asked
to
see
his
cousin
.
He
was
received
with
effusiveness
by
Mrs
Perry
.
“
So
you
have
seen
our
noble
,
darling
Hamlin
,
”
she
cried
;
“
and
you
have
felt
your
heart
go
out
to
meet
him
as
we
have
felt
ours
.
”
“
I
have
seen
Mr
Hamlin
,
”
answered
Brown
roughly
,
not
at
all
appreciating
the
lady’s
winning
manners
;
“
and
I
should
like
to
speak
to
my
cousin
,
please
.
”
“
Anne
—
my
beautiful
Anne
”
—
cried
Mrs
Perry
,
opening
the
door
of
the
next
room
.
“
Poor
child
!
”
she
added
,
“
how
she
has
been
trembling
in
her
heart
all
day
!
”
Anne
entered
.
She
was
paler
even
than
usual
,
and
was
more
than
usually
self‐possessed
.
She
had
seen
her
guardian
for
a
minute
early
that
morning
,
and
she
knew
that
this
visit
would
seal
her
fate
.
“
Good
afternoon
,
Richard
,
”
she
said
briefly
.
Brown
looked
round
at
Mrs
Perry
,
waiting
for
her
to
withdraw
.
But
such
was
by
no
means
her
intention
.
“
Don’t
be
unhappy
,
darling
,
”
she
said
to
Anne
;
“
I
know
how
one
woman
always
longs
for
another
woman
in
these
moments
.
I
will
stay
with
you
while
your
cousin
tells
you
the
result
of
his
visit
.
”
“
It
is
very
kind
of
you
,
madam
,
”
said
Brown
gruffly
,
“
but
I
think
this
matter
had
better
be
settled
solely
between
my
cousin
and
myself
.
Would
you
permit
her
to
take
me
into
some
other
room
?
”
“
Oh
,
I
don’t
wish
to
intrude
,
”
sighed
Mrs
Perry
,
“
I
only
wished
to
support
this
poor
child
with
my
presence
.
But
after
all
,
a
woman
who
loves
requires
support
from
no
one
.
”
Saying
which
she
swept
out
of
the
room
.
There
was
a
moment’s
silence
.
“
I
have
been
to
Mr
Hamlin’s
,
Anne
,
”
said
Brown
briefly
,
seating
himself
by
the
fire
.
“
Well
?
”
The
tone
of
voice
was
so
resolute
and
even
triumphant
that
he
raised
his
head
and
looked
up
at
her
where
she
was
standing
by
the
table
,
a
piece
of
needlework
still
in
her
hands
.
“
Well
,
”
answered
Brown
quietly
,
and
watching
the
effect
of
each
of
his
words
on
the
pale
,
melancholy
,
but
dispassionate
face
of
the
girl
,
“
I
have
spoken
to
Mr
Hamlin
;
and
I
find
that
you
were
correct
in
your
judgment
,
and
that
I
was
mistaken
in
mine
.
He
is
in
earnest
in
his
proposal
,
and
honest
in
it
.
”
“
I
knew
that
;
”
and
Anne
Brown
wondered
whether
this
could
be
the
same
cousin
Dick
who
was
a
big
boy
,
almost
a
man
,
when
she
was
a
tiny
mite
at
Spezia
;
who
took
care
of
her
when
her
mother
was
ill
and
her
father
was
drunk
;
who
used
to
shoulder
his
uncle
and
drag
him
off
to
bed
when
,
in
a
fit
of
intoxication
,
he
would
come
in
and
threaten
to
throw
the
babies
out
of
the
window
.
She
recognised
the
small
features
,
the
dark
skin
and
hair
,
the
heavy
intellectual
brow
;
but
he
seemed
to
have
changed
in
expression
,
to
have
grown
hard
,
and
arrogant
,
and
coarse
.
“
I
knew
that
,
”
she
repeated
,
“
though
you
would
not
believe
it
.
So
,
”
she
added
,
with
a
certain
hardness
in
her
manner
,
“
I
suppose
I
am
left
free
to
decide
,
and
that
you
are
ready
to
let
Mr
Hamlin
do
what
he
chooses
.
”
“
You
are
free
to
decide
,
”
he
answered
.
“
Mr
Hamlin
,
as
I
have
said
,
is
serious
and
honest
,
and
willing
to
make
every
provision
which
can
bind
him
and
leave
you
free
,
legally
.
I
cannot
,
as
your
guardian
,
say
no.
But
,
”
and
his
voice
assumed
a
threatening
tone
,
“
as
your
kinsman
,
and
as
the
representative
of
your
father
,
I
most
earnestly
dissuade
you
from
accepting
this
proposal
.
”
Anne
reddened
.
“
But
you
can
no
longer
oppose
it
,
”
she
said
quickly
.
“
I
have
told
you
before
that
you
are
free
,
Anne
.
And
because
you
are
free
,
”
continued
Brown
,
a
sort
of
despair
coming
over
him
at
the
sight
of
the
girl’s
indifference
—
“
because
you
are
free
,
I
want
you
to
listen
to
me
.
This
proposal
is
one
which
,
in
the
eyes
of
the
world
,
will
change
your
life
for
the
better
:
you
will
be
educated
,
get
the
manners
of
a
lady
,
be
rich
yourself
,
and
marry
a
rich
man
.
But
will
you
stand
higher
in
your
own
opinion
?
Would
you
stand
as
high
as
you
should
in
that
of
your
father
,
if
he
were
alive
?
You
,
having
bartered
your
freedom
,
having
accepted
all
from
this
one
man
?
”
Anne
did
not
answer
.
“
Of
course
,
”
went
on
Richard
Brown
eagerly
,
“
you
will
have
every
worldly
advantage
.
But
will
you
be
happy
taken
out
of
your
own
sphere
of
life
,
knowing
yourself
to
be
bound
in
gratitude
to
this
man
,
who
will
always
continue
to
feel
your
superior
,
to
look
down
upon
you
as
a
beggar
whom
he
has
fed
,
or
a
chattel
which
he
has
bought
?
This
man
is
,
for
his
class
and
ideas
,
honourable
:
he
wishes
to
leave
you
free
to
marry
him
only
if
you
please
;
he
wishes
to
marry
you
really
and
truly
.
But
in
reality
he
is
making
you
his
slave
;
for
how
can
you
refuse
him
the
only
thing
which
you
,
my
poor
Nan
,
can
give
him
in
return
for
his
money
?
And
in
reality
he
is
making
you
his
mistress
;
for
what
sort
of
marriage
is
it
which
is
a
marriage
merely
before
the
world
—
where
the
one
buys
and
the
other
is
bought
?
”
Anne
flushed
still
deeper
,
and
trembled
from
head
to
foot
as
she
leaned
against
the
table
.
A
dull
pain
clawed
her
at
the
heart
,
a
lump
rose
up
to
her
throat
.
But
she
did
not
speak
.
Richard
Brown
misunderstood
her
silence
.
He
rose
and
approached
the
table
,
and
tried
to
put
his
arm
paternally
on
her
shoulder
.
She
shrank
back
,
but
let
his
heavy
hand
rest
on
her
shoulder
.
What
did
his
touch
matter
when
there
were
his
words
?
“
Annie
,
dear
,
”
said
Brown
more
gently
,
“
you
know
I
am
a
rough
man
,
and
don’t
know
how
to
mince
matters
and
say
things
to
women
;
but
you
know
that
I
am
fond
of
you
.
Don’t
you
recollect
when
you
were
a
wee
lassie
,
and
I
used
to
carry
you
about
on
my
back
,
and
go
into
the
water
to
get
you
the
sea‐weeds
and
the
little
nautiluses
.
I
suppose
you
don’t
any
longer
.
But
still
,
you
know
I
would
not
for
the
world
hurt
my
poor
little
Nan
.
”
Anne
held
on
to
the
table
,
and
as
she
recognised
that
familiar
intonation
,
hot
tears
rolled
down
her
cheeks
.
Her
whole
childhood
seemed
to
return
to
her
.
“
Don’t
cry
—
don’t
cry
!
”
exclaimed
Brown
,
taking
her
hand
.
“
Poor
child
!
I
know
it
must
be
very
hard
for
you
who
are
so
young
;
I
know
what
it
must
be
to
be
tempted
with
a
lady’s
education
,
and
money
,
and
a
fine
gentleman
,
who’s
in
love
with
one
,
for
a
husband
.
But
remember
what
your
poor
dad
used
to
tell
us
,
that
we
common
folk
must
make
our
own
way
—
make
the
others
feel
that
we’re
as
good
as
they
,
and
not
accept
anything
from
them
.
D’you
remember
how
he
used
to
say
to
me
,
‘Work
and
be
proud’
?
Well
,
and
I
have
worked
and
have
been
proud
,
and
it’s
that
that
has
enabled
me
to
rest
a
little
.
And
you
,
too
,
must
be
proud
,
and
work
,
my
little
Annie
.
”
“
Look
here
,
”
he
went
on
,
“
you
must
not
think
you
are
never
to
be
anything
but
a
servant
.
I
feel
I’ve
been
to
blame
,
and
neglected
you
too
long
.
You
see
,
I’ve
had
to
work
hard
for
my
life
,
out
in
England
;
but
now
I
am
quite
safely
off
—
indeed
much
better
off
than
I
ever
anticipated
:
my
employer
is
going
to
take
me
into
partnership
next
year
.
Well
,
since
you
wish
to
go
to
school
,
I
will
send
you
there
.
You
shall
come
back
with
me
to
England
,
and
I
will
send
you
to
the
very
best
school
to
be
found
:
you
shall
be
as
good
as
any
lady
,
and
you
shall
owe
nothing
to
any
one
.
Annie
,
do
say
yes
.
”
He
spoke
,
this
rough
man
,
almost
as
one
might
to
a
sick
child
;
and
as
he
spoke
,
he
tried
to
pass
his
arm
round
the
girl’s
waist
.
But
Anne
shuddered
,
and
freed
herself
from
his
grasp
.
There
was
something
in
this
big
dark
man
,
with
his
bushy
hair
and
beard
,
which
made
her
shrink
physically
,
although
she
felt
no
suspicion
of
him
morally
.
The
thought
of
Hamlin
passed
across
her
mind
—
Hamlin
,
who
was
everything
which
Richard
Brown
was
not
.
“
You
are
very
good
,
Dick
,
”
she
said
,
feeling
ashamed
of
her
ingratitude
;
“
but
—
but
—
oh
no
,
no
,
I
can’t
,
I
can’t
!
”
and
she
hid
her
tears
with
her
hands
.
“
Can’t
what
?
”
exclaimed
Brown
,
and
his
voice
and
face
changed
;
“
can’t
what
?
Can’t
accept
my
offer
;
can’t
owe
anything
to
me
,
to
your
cousin
,
to
the
man
to
whom
your
father
confided
you
?
No
!
you
won’t
be
under
such
an
obligation
,
eh
?
Nay
,
don’t
humbug
me
.
You
can’t
give
up
the
money
,
the
land
,
the
house
,
the
fine
name
—
all
the
things
which
he
can
give
you
and
I
can’t
;
for
I
can
only
give
you
an
education
,
and
I
was
such
a
fool
as
to
think
that
you
wanted
that
!
”
and
Brown
laughed
a
loud
,
bitter
laugh
.
“
You
want
to
marry
that
man
,
”
he
went
on
brutally
;
“
well
,
do
so
.
But
remember
what
marriage
means
.
You
are
a
girl
of
the
people
,
who
has
had
to
take
care
of
herself
—
not
a
fine
young
lady
,
as
yet
,
thank
God
,
with
all
the
fine
names
which
fine
folk
have
for
nasty
things
.
You
know
what
marriage
means
.
It
means
being
a
man’s
chattel
,
more
than
his
beast
of
burden
,
his
plaything
,
the
toy
of
his
caprice
and
sensuality
.
It
means
,
also
,
that
you
must
smother
all
love
for
a
worthier
man
,
or
degrade
yourself
in
your
own
eyes
.
Will
you
be
this
,
sell
yourself
thus
—
?
”
“
Mr
Hamlin
does
not
wish
me
to
degrade
myself
,
”
cried
the
girl
.
“
He
respects
me
,
—
yes
,
he
does
;
and
you
—
you
don’t
!
”
“
He
respects
you
!
”
sneered
Brown
.
“
And
he
does
not
want
to
degrade
you
.
Of
course
,
he’s
a
respectable
,
highly
moral
man
.
But
,
upon
my
soul
,
I
would
rather
you
had
been
seduced
by
a
man
you
loved
,
than
that
you
should
have
sold
yourself
coldly
in
this
way
.
”
Anne
felt
herself
choking
.
For
a
moment
she
could
not
utter
a
word
.
Then
suddenly
,
with
a
strange
look
in
her
eyes
,
she
cried
,
in
a
tone
which
smote
her
cousin
on
the
mouth
—
“
I
love
him
!
”
Brown
turned
and
looked
her
in
the
face
.
She
was
very
flushed
,
and
her
slate‐grey
eyes
gleamed
feverishly
.
But
her
face
was
calm
,
and
she
returned
his
taunting
gaze
,
which
sought
for
the
proof
that
she
lied
,
with
a
look
of
irrepressible
contempt
.
“
I
love
him
!
”
she
repeated
.
Brown
took
his
hat
.
“
Good‐bye
,
”
he
said
,
stretching
out
his
hand
;
“
I
left
the
choice
in
your
hands
,
and
you
have
chosen
.
To‐morrow
morning
I
shall
settle
everything
with
Mr
Hamlin
—
the
papers
,
I
mean
—
which
shall
make
him
henceforth
your
sole
protector
.
Then
I
shall
go
.
Goodbye
.
I
wish
you
joy
of
your
choice
”
—
he
paused
—
“
you
mercenary
thing
!
”
Anne
did
not
move
.
Richard
Brown
had
already
turned
the
handle
of
the
door
when
he
stopped
.
“
One
thing
more
,
”
he
said
,
“
which
I
desire
you
to
know
.
You
have
taken
care
of
yourself
hitherto
,
and
you
are
prudent
enough
in
all
conscience
,
and
world‐wise
enough
,
and
heartless
enough
,
to
do
so
in
future
;
so
this
piece
of
information
may
be
of
use
to
you
.
To‐morrow
he
will
sign
a
paper
,
which
I
shall
keep
till
you
come
of
age
,
declaring
that
,
although
he
leaves
you
complete
freedom
in
the
choice
of
a
husband
,
he
binds
himself
to
marry
you
whenever
you
may
call
upon
him
to
do
so
.
You
will
doubtless
know
how
to
turn
this
to
profit
.
Good‐bye
.
”
Anne
sank
into
a
chair
,
excited
,
exhausted
,
all
her
blood
in
movement
,
she
scarcely
knew
why
—
insulted
,
maligned
,
and
yet
with
a
great
sense
of
joyfulness
in
her
heart
.
BOOK
III
.
CHAPTER
I
.
A
MONTH
later
,
the
little
Perrys
were
being
taken
for
their
walk
in
the
Boboli
Gardens
by
a
Swiss
bonne
in
a
quilted
cap
;
and
Anne
Brown
was
unpacking
her
things
in
a
room
overlooking
the
yellowish‐green
Rhine
,
with
its
oscillating
bridge
of
boats
,
and
facing
the
rocks
and
bastions
of
Ehrenbreitstein
.
When
Richard
Brown
had
returned
to
England
with
the
signed
documents
in
his
pocket
,
Hamlin
had
immediately
written
two
letters
,
—
one
to
his
lawyers
,
instructing
them
to
settle
the
capital
of
five
hundred
a‐year
,
that
is
to
say
,
one
quarter
of
his
property
,
on
Anne
Brown
;
the
other
,
narrating
the
history
of
his
engagement
(
if
engagement
it
might
be
called
)
,
to
the
widow
of
his
former
tutor
,
and
asking
her
to
admit
the
young
lady
in
whom
he
was
interested
into
her
school
at
Coblenz
.
It
was
the
Easter
holidays
,
and
Mrs
Simson
had
taken
advantage
of
the
fact
to
come
to
Florence
in
order
to
take
back
her
pupil
herself
.
There
was
still
a
fortnight
before
the
school
would
reopen
,
so
Hamlin
suggested
that
they
should
slowly
travel
north
,
and
it
was
settled
that
he
should
accompany
the
schoolmistress
and
his
ward
.
The
greater
part
of
that
fortnight
was
spent
at
Venice
,
where
Anne
Brown
had
never
been
,
and
Hamlin
parted
company
from
them
to
return
to
England
,
only
at
Munich
.
Mrs
Simson
was
of
that
particular
type
of
Englishwoman
which
,
however
much
it
may
marry
,
always
seems
to
remain
an
old
maid
;
but
an
old
maid
whose
old‐maidishness
is
an
incapacity
of
feeling
any
difference
of
age
between
herself
and
her
youngers
,
of
maintaining
any
stateliness
of
superior
age
and
experience
:
a
hopeful
,
believing
,
shrewd
,
happy‐go‐lucky
,
enthusiastic
creature
,
invariably
making
one
think
of
a
remarkably
good‐natured
old
grey
mare
.
Youth
was
the
greatest
attraction
in
the
world
to
her
,
and
she
identified
herself
completely
with
the
young
women
that
came
under
her
influence
.
Hamlin
had
known
her
in
his
boyish
days
,
and
lately
,
passing
along
the
Rhine
,
had
stayed
with
her
for
a
day
or
two
in
her
old‐fashioned
house
by
the
confluence
of
the
Rhine
and
the
Mosel
.
The
impression
that
this
school
was
so
utterly
unlike
any
of
the
girls’
schools
he
had
read
of
in
novels
;
the
impression
that
a
young
woman
might
develop
there
into
whatever
pleasant
thing
nature
intended
,
—
had
been
so
strong
,
that
from
the
moment
of
his
first
contemplating
a
possible
marriage
with
the
Perrys’
servant
,
Mrs
Simson
and
her
school
at
Coblenz
had
formed
an
essential
part
of
his
plans
.
The
lady
,
on
the
other
hand
,
was
exactly
the
kind
of
woman
to
whom
a
situation
like
this
would
appeal
:
Hamlin
,
whom
she
had
entertained
on
buns
and
ginger‐beer
,
and
then
,
in
later
years
,
raved
over
after
the
first
sonnet
which
he
sent
to
the
‘Athenæum
,
’
had
always
been
her
especial
object
of
adoration
;
and
his
adoption
of
a
beautiful
and
strange
young
woman
,
his
preparation
of
a
bride
for
himself
,
was
for
her
the
finishing
touch
to
his
perfection
.
She
would
indeed
have
preferred
had
Anne
Brown
been
small
and
fair
,
and
garrulous
and
impish
,
and
shown
a
love
for
mathematics
and
flirtation
;
but
,
nevertheless
,
Anne
Brown
,
inasmuch
as
she
was
the
elect
of
Walter
Hamlin
,
and
inasmuch
as
she
was
a
beautiful
young
creature
,
immediately
won
the
facile
but
not
fickle
heart
of
Mrs
Simson
.
The
whole
business
seemed
to
her
as
natural
as
possible
;
and
it
was
she
who
proposed
that
Hamlin
should
accompany
her
and
his
ward
part
of
their
way
northwards
.
What
was
Anne’s
own
condition
?
During
those
hours
in
the
train
,
when
Hamlin
was
for
ever
jumping
out
and
overwhelming
them
with
coffee
and
stale
cakes
and
newspapers
at
every
station
;
during
those
days
at
Venice
,
when
they
stayed
at
the
same
hotel
(
the
headwaiter
quite
spontaneously
wrote
“
Mrs
Simson
and
niece
”
in
the
strangers’
book
)
,
and
spent
their
days
in
picture‐galleries
and
churches
and
gondolas
,
and
their
evenings
at
theatres
,
—
during
all
that
journey
Anne
was
as
cold
,
and
silent
,
and
melancholy
as
she
had
been
when
first
they
had
met
at
the
Villa
Arnolfini
;
indeed
any
man
but
Hamlin
,
and
any
woman
except
Mrs
Simson
,
would
probably
have
been
disheartened
and
disgusted
by
this
apparent
stolidity
of
behaviour
.
But
Mrs
Simson
had
already
made
up
her
character
of
Anne
Brown
,
and
fallen
in
love
with
it
quite
independent
of
realities
;
and
Hamlin
was
rather
pleased
that
the
creature
whom
he
was
going
to
teach
how
to
think
and
how
to
feel
,
did
not
manifest
any
particular
mode
of
thinking
and
feeling
of
her
own
.
So
they
were
both
extremely
assiduous
to
Anne
Brown
,
and
in
reality
thought
much
more
about
what
she
was
going
to
be
than
about
what
she
actually
was
.
The
fact
was
that
the
poor
girl
was
in
a
dazed
condition
—
that
all
this
journey
seemed
to
her
unreal
,
and
all
the
things
around
her
unsubstantial
.
Her
head
felt
hollow
,
she
seemed
to
be
informed
about
her
feelings
rather
than
to
experience
them
,
her
own
words
sounded
as
if
through
a
whispering‐gallery
.
A
couple
of
weeks
ago
she
had
had
so
strong
a
consciousness
of
identity
and
existence
,
of
her
own
desires
and
hopes
;
now
she
could
not
well
understand
how
she
came
to
be
where
she
was
.
Sometimes
,
while
mechanically
talking
with
her
companions
or
walking
in
their
company
,
she
used
to
ask
herself
how
it
had
all
come
about
,
and
then
she
could
see
no
reason
for
it
all
;
it
seemed
accidental
,
inexplicable
,
causeless
,
and
almost
incredible
.
Whenever
,
on
the
other
hand
,
she
awakened
to
the
reality
of
things
,
she
was
depressed
by
a
sense
of
transition
;
she
was
afraid
of
speaking
,
and
almost
of
feeling
.
As
long
as
she
had
been
the
Perrys’
servant
,
she
had
experienced
no
shyness
with
Hamlin
;
as
far
as
her
taciturn
nature
would
allow
,
she
had
spoken
out
whatever
she
had
thought
or
felt
,
without
considering
whether
or
not
it
might
surprise
,
annoy
,
or
amuse
him
.
Now
,
on
the
contrary
,
she
gradually
became
conscious
of
a
fear
lest
Hamlin
should
have
cheated
himself
in
choosing
her
.
Unable
to
tell
any
one
of
this
feeling
,
she
let
it
overshadow
her
.
One
evening
at
Munich
,
two
or
three
days
before
they
parted
company
with
Hamlin
,
Mrs
Simson
,
coming
into
Anne’s
room
,
found
the
girl
seated
with
her
head
in
the
pillows
of
her
bed
,
sobbing
.
The
excellent
and
somewhat
romantic
heart
of
the
schoolmistress
immediately
melted
at
this
sight
.
“
My
dear
child
,
”
she
cried
,
looking
more
than
ever
like
a
friendly
grey
old
mare
,
“
what
is
the
matter
with
you
?
”
But
Anne
merely
buried
her
head
deeper
in
the
pillows
,
and
sobbed
harder
than
before
.
“
What
is
the
matter
?
”
repeated
Mrs
Sireson
,
laying
her
hand
on
Anne’s
shoulder
.
“
Oh
,
leave
me
,
leave
me
!
”
moaned
the
girl
.
Mrs
Simpson
gently
passed
her
arm
under
the
prostrate
girl’s
breast
,
and
lifted
her
up
from
the
bed
.
“
What
is
the
matter
with
you
,
my
dear
?
”
she
asked
.
“
Nothing
—
nothing
,
”
sobbed
Anne
,
trying
to
hide
her
cried‐out
eyes
with
her
hands
.
“
Nonsense
;
nothing
!
”
said
Mrs
Simson
,
briskly
.
“
You
are
unhappy
about
something
,
you
poor
little
thing
.
”
Girls
,
and
especially
girls
in
distress
,
invariably
appeared
little
to
Mrs
Simson
,
even
when
,
like
Anne
Brown
,
they
overtopped
her
by
a
good
head
.
“
Something
is
the
matter
with
you
,
”
she
insisted
.
“
Now
just
let
us
see
together
what
it
may
be
;
”
and
she
made
the
reluctant
girl
sit
down
by
her
side
on
the
sofa
.
“
Are
you
homesick
?
—
do
you
feel
very
strange
,
poor
dearie
,
with
strange
people
?
—
are
you
frightened
a
little
by
the
sudden
change
in
your
life
?
—
it’s
very
natural
,
my
dear
little
girl
,
but
you’ll
get
over
it
soon
.
”
Anne
shook
her
head
.
But
the
impossibility
of
making
Mrs
Simson
understand
what
depressed
her
,
sent
the
sobs
once
more
into
her
voice
.
“
No
,
no
,
”
she
said
;
“
oh
no
,
no
—
you
can’t
understand
.
I
don’t
feel
lonely
—
I
don’t
feel
unhappy
—
but
it’s
only
because
Mr
Hamlin
—
”
“
Because
Mr
Hamlin
is
going
away
,
my
dear
?
”
Mrs
Simson
smiled
as
she
kissed
Anne
on
the
crisp
iron‐black
hair
,
for
the
girl
would
not
loosen
her
hands
from
her
face
—
“
Because
he
is
going
away
?
That’s
very
natural
too
;
but
it
won’t
be
for
long
,
dearest
.
”
Anne
broke
loose
from
her
embrace
.
“
It’s
not
that
!
it’s
not
that
!
”
she
sobbed
;
“
please
go
away
—
you
can’t
understand
—
it’s
not
that
!
Oh
no
,
I
shall
be
glad
when
he
be
gone
away
!
”
Mrs
Simson
rose
.
At
first
she
felt
pained
,
disgusted
;
but
her
frigidness
melted
with
the
speedy
reflection
that
girls
don’t
know
what
the
matter
is
with
them
in
such
cases
.
“
Good‐bye
,
dear
,
”
she
said
;
“
I
shall
send
you
up
some
tea
in
a
few
minutes
;
that
will
set
you
all
right
.
But
don’t
fret
because
Mr
Hamlin
is
going
.
You
will
see
him
soon
again
.
”
“
I
shall
be
glad
when
he
is
gone
!
”
repeated
Anne
,
in
a
paroxysm
of
grief
.
It
was
not
a
mere
foolish
,
hysterical
falsehood
.
It
was
a
real
relief
when
,
one
morning
at
Frankfurt
,
Hamlin
was
standing
on
the
platform
of
the
station
,
speaking
to
them
at
the
door
of
their
carriage
.
The
guard
came
to
slam
the
door
.
“
Good‐bye
,
Mrs
Simson
,
”
said
Hamlin
.
“
Good‐bye
,
Miss
Brown
.
”
“
Good‐bye
,
sir
,
”
she
answered
,
extending
her
hand
.
He
kissed
it
hurriedly
.
The
door
was
slammed
.
The
train
moved
on
slowly
,
and
Hamlin
walked
along
its
side
.
Gradually
it
went
quicker
and
quicker
,
and
Anne
Brown
saw
Hamlin
for
a
minute
on
the
platform
;
he
was
pale
,
but
radiant
.
He
waved
his
hand
.
“
A
rivederci
!
”
he
cried
,
waving
his
hat
.
A
pillar
of
the
station
hid
him
.
Anne
turned
away
from
the
window
and
opened
a
book
which
he
had
given
her
.
She
read
so
assiduously
all
that
day
,
that
poor
Mrs
Simson
,
who
was
a
sociable
woman
,
resorted
,
in
sheer
despair
,
to
talking
with
the
other
travellers
,
who
stared
in
puzzled
surprise
at
the
tall
girl
with
the
melancholy
pale
face
and
masses
of
crimp
black
hair
who
sat
opposite
her
.
When
they
had
got
out
of
the
train
,
rattled
over
the
round
stones
of
Coblenz
,
and
were
finally
following
the
obstreperously
welcoming
cook
and
housemaid
up
the
stairs
of
Mrs
Simson’s
house
,
Anne
felt
relieved
.
And
when
she
had
been
left
alone
in
her
room
,
she
felt
a
weight
off
her
.
When
she
had
taken
some
things
out
of
her
box
,
she
went
to
the
window
.
The
last
flare
of
sunset
was
on
the
marblelike
brownish‐green
swirls
of
the
Rhine
;
and
filaments
of
reddish
gold
streaked
the
sky
above
Ehrenbreitstein
,
whose
windows
gleamed
crimson
.
A
steamer
was
puffing
and
whistling
by
the
wharf
;
the
trumpets
of
the
rappel
shrieked
through
the
streets
and
were
reechoed
from
the
opposite
shore
.
From
inside
the
house
rose
the
sound
of
a
piano
;
some
one
was
playing
Bach’s
“
Mein
gläubiges
Herz
.
”
It
was
the
beginning
of
a
new
life
.
Anne
Brown
left
the
window
,
hung
her
clothes
in
the
wardrobe
,
folded
her
linen
in
the
drawers
.
Then
she
took
from
her
trunk
a
framed
photograph
of
Hamlin
,
and
stuck
it
on
her
dressing‐table
;
he
was
very
handsome
,
with
his
straight
,
keen‐featured
,
almost
beardless
Norman
face
and
waves
of
light
hair
:
she
looked
at
it
long
.
Then
she
dived
to
the
bottom
of
her
trunk
and
brought
out
two
little
books
;
the
“
Petrarch
”
he
had
given
her
at
Lucca
,
and
the
volume
of
his
own
poems
.
She
sat
down
by
the
open
window
and
began
reading
them
,
and
glancing
at
the
redness
dying
away
from
river
and
sky
.
She
felt
very
solemn
and
happy
.
“
I
must
become
worthy
of
him
,
”
she
thought
.
CHAPTER
II
.
LIFE
was
monotonous
enough
at
Mrs
Simson’s
at
Coblenz
;
but
it
was
a
kind
of
monotony
which
to
Anne
Brown
was
positively
exciting
.
It
was
for
her
a
process
of
absorption
into
another
class
of
life
;
and
as
such
,
represented
a
daily
influx
of
new
ideas
and
habits
,
a
daily
surprise
,
effort
,
and
adjustment
.
By
virtue
of
her
half‐Italian
nature
,
Anne
required
but
little
to
make
her
,
in
education
and
manners
,
a
lady
.
With
her
wide‐open
but
rather
empty
mind
,
her
seriousness
and
dignity
of
person
,
extreme
simpleness
,
as
the
reverse
of
complexity
of
character
,
it
was
wholly
unnecessary
that
she
should
unlearn
anything
,
or
even
that
she
should
absorb
anything
absolutely
new
;
the
only
thing
was
to
fill
up
the
magnificent
design
which
already
existed
in
her
.
No
one
ever
required
to
say
to
Anne
,
“
You
must
not
do
,
or
think
,
or
say
such
or
such
a
thing
.
”
She
surprised
people
only
by
her
timidity
,
her
silence
,
her
passiveness
,
and
by
a
sort
of
haughtiness
which
accompanied
them
strangely
enough
;
a
certain
solemn
,
and
,
at
the
same
time
,
abrupt
way
of
judging
of
things
and
treating
people
,
and
which
was
the
mental
counterpart
of
her
look
,
gait
,
nay
,
even
of
the
folds
which
her
dresses
took
on
her
.
Ignorant
though
she
was
,
she
seemed
at
her
ease
with
the
new
culture
with
which
she
was
presented
,
just
as
,
for
all
her
habits
of
waiting
on
instead
of
being
served
,
she
seemed
at
ease
in
her
behaviour
.
But
it
was
difficult
for
Anne
to
tune
herself
or
get
herself
tuned
to
the
pitch
of
the
everyday
feelings
and
life
of
her
companions
;
she
could
not
understand
these
young
ladies
.
The
girls
at
Mrs
Simson’s
did
not
exceed
half‐a‐dozen
,
and
they
were
none
of
them
schoolgirls
in
the
ordinary
sense
.
They
were
,
like
Anne
,
eccentrically
placed
young
women
;
orphans
,
or
girls
whose
parents
were
in
the
colonies
,
or
girls
who
could
not
get
on
at
home
,
—
girls
,
all
of
them
,
with
a
certain
pretension
to
superiority
,
and
a
great
habit
of
independence
,
which
was
fostered
by
the
schoolmistress
,
whose
theory
was
that
women
could
not
possibly
be
left
too
much
to
their
own
devices
.
Mrs
Simson
was
very
fond
of
preaching
this
gospel
of
higher
education
,
to
the
great
scandal
of
the
respectable
German
matrons
whom
she
visited
.
“
Narrow‐minded
,
vicious
creatures
,
”
she
used
to
say
,
who
shook
their
heads
at
the
young
ladies
attending
public
lectures
,
walking
about
by
themselves
,
and
flirting
in
the
most
stalwart
and
open
manner
(
quite
unsentimental
and
unwomanly
,
said
the
Germans
)
with
the
Prussian
officers
.
Of
these
girls
two
were
orphans
,
and
had
been
sent
to
Coblenz
as
a
convenient
riddance
by
their
guardians
;
one
had
been
deposited
in
Europe
by
her
parents
,
to
be
called
for
when
educated
,
and
shipped
off
to
New
Zealand
;
one
,
a
huge
damsel
approaching
thirty
,
was
studying
eye‐
surgery
with
a
famous
Rhenish
oculist
;
the
fifth
was
going
to
Girton
and
was
studying
German
;
the
sixth
had
found
her
home
too
much
for
her
,
and
was
perpetually
complaining
of
the
hardness
of
her
fate
and
the
viciousness
of
her
own
character
,
aspiring
to
impossible
ideals
of
knowledge
and
usefulness
and
self‐sacrifice
,
and
spending
her
leisure
making
up
frocks
in
which
to
disport
herself
at
the
garrison
balls
.
Each
of
them
studied
whatsoever
she
thought
fit
:
Greek
and
Latin
professors
,
piano
and
singing
masters
,
German
governesses
,
were
perpetually
going
in
and
out
of
the
house
;
the
girls
were
continually
running
to
lectures
on
botany
or
physiology
or
comparative
philology
,
where
the
youth
of
the
town
eyed
the
Schöne
Engländerinnen
with
rapture
,
sending
them
anonymous
bouquets
and
verses
,
and
bringing
them
serenades
,
and
even
,
to
poor
Mrs
Simson’s
horror
,
slipping
love‐letters
of
the
most
burning
description
into
the
door‐hinges
.
Among
these
girls
poor
Anne
would
have
felt
utterly
lost
,
had
she
not
been
accustomed
for
years
to
be
her
own
sole
company
,
letting
her
life
brush
by
that
of
other
folk
,
without
ever
mixing
.
It
seemed
to
her
quite
natural
to
exchange
one
kind
of
isolation
for
another
:
to
drudge
on
at
improving
her
own
mind
as
she
had
formerly
drudged
on
at
mending
the
clothes
and
making
the
beds
of
the
little
Perrys
,
interesting
herself
as
little
in
,
and
awakening
as
little
interest
among
,
her
companions
as
she
had
done
among
her
fellow‐servants
in
Italy
.
Mrs
Simson
had
received
full
instructions
from
Hamlin
as
to
all
the
things
which
she
was
and
was
not
to
teach
or
have
taught
to
his
ward
;
and
Anne
would
have
been
perfectly
satisfied
with
working
for
her
French
and
German
masters
,
preparing
her
lessons
of
geography
and
history
,
and
reading
such
books
as
Hamlin
would
send
her
,
but
the
other
girls
were
not
at
all
so
minded
.
Anne
Brown’s
arrival
created
a
tremendous
sensation
in
Mrs
Simson’s
establishment
.
Her
strange
kind
of
beauty
,
which
did
not
strike
the
conventional
spectator
as
being
beauty
at
all
,
excluding
,
as
it
did
,
fairness
,
rosiness
,
youthfulness
,
daintiness
,
liveliness
,
voluptuousness
,
sentimentalness
,
or
any
of
the
orthodox
ingredients
of
female
charm
,
—
her
wholly
unlike‐everyone‐else
appearance
,
her
silence
,
sullenness
,
haughtiness
,
all
took
the
girls
by
surprise
.
Her
shyness
,
ignorance
,
newness
in
her
position
,
was
obvious
from
the
very
first
day
.
The
knowledge
of
what
she
had
been
and
what
she
was
going
to
be
,
all
this
romance
was
quickly
wheedled
out
of
Mrs
Simson
by
the
misunderstood
little
girl
who
wished
to
turn
sister
of
mercy
,
and
carried
on
a
simultaneous
flirtation
with
a
lieutenant
,
a
Bonn
student
,
a
painter
,
and
a
piano‐master
;
and
bullied
out
of
her
by
the
bouncing
amazon
who
talked
about
nothing
but
retinal
impressions
and
optic
nerves
.
From
that
moment
Anne
became
a
subject
of
intense
interest
at
the
school
:
most
of
the
girls
had
heard
of
Hamlin
in
England
,
and
all
of
them
had
heard
of
him
from
the
enthusiastic
schoolmistress
.
To
possess
in
their
midst
his
chosen
one
was
a
great
privilege
,
although
they
sometimes
made
fun
of
Anne
and
him
behind
her
back
,
drawing
pictures
of
the
solemn
and
tragic
girl
dressed
in
the
most
draggled
æsthetic
manner
,
surrounded
by
a
circle
of
young
æsthetes
copied
out
of
‘Punch’
(
Bunthome
did
not
exist
at
that
time
)
holding
lilies
and
swinging
censers
as
she
went
.
They
all
thought
Anne
a
strange
,
awe‐inspiring
,
and
,
at
the
same
time
,
somewhat
ridiculous
person
;
but
they
all
got
to
like
her
,
although
the
misunderstood
High
Church
flirt
could
never
be
got
to
see
why
Anne
should
despise
officers
and
garrison
balls
;
and
the
scientific
girl
of
twenty‐eight
thought
æstheticism
and
æsthetic
poets
idiotic
and
immoral
;
and
each
of
the
others
found
some
reservation
to
make
about
the
Italian
,
as
they
called
her
.
Yet
,
as
I
said
,
they
did
grow
to
like
her
;
and
Anne
,
who
was
unaccustomed
to
friendliness
,
was
so
touched
by
the
familiarity
and
good‐nature
of
her
companions
,
that
she
gradually
began
to
take
a
great
and
serious
interest
in
their
concerns
.
She
became
quite
enthusiastic
about
ocular
surgery
,
listening
with
scarcely
any
shudders
to
the
narration
of
the
most
complicated
operations
;
she
let
herself
be
overwhelmed
with
discourses
about
Middle
High
German
and
Gothic
,
and
the
connection
with
Sanskrit
;
she
firmly
believed
in
the
mystical
fervours
,
the
desire
of
self‐sacrifice
,
the
wasted
passion
of
the
little
fair‐haired
flirt
,
reasoning
seriously
about
them
,
and
trying
to
check
what
she
believed
to
be
a
suicidal
tendency
;
she
was
greatly
touched
by
the
home‐sickness
and
family
squabbles
of
the
other
girls
.
Not
that
Anne
was
a
fool
,
or
made
to
be
a
dupe
;
on
the
contrary
,
she
saw
well
enough
the
funniness
of
the
contrasts
between
her
friends’
words
and
their
life
;
but
Anne
was
so
earnest
,
so
simple
,
so
homogeneous
of
nature
,
she
was
so
fervent
in
all
her
feelings
,
that
she
always
imagined
that
the
serious
things
which
people
said
or
affected
must
be
the
reality
;
and
,
as
in
her
own
case
,
the
levity
,
the
frivolousness
,
the
fickleness
,
must
be
the
mere
exterior
clothing
of
social
fictions
.
Thus
she
gave
her
sympathy
wherever
it
was
asked
for
,
while
asking
for
no
sympathy
herself
.
The
girls
used
often
to
remark
upon
this
,
and
complain
that
for
all
they
did
,
Anne
Brown
remained
surrounded
by
a
sort
of
moral
moat
,
alone
,
isolated
,
impregnable
in
a
kind
of
moral
fortress
.
CHAPTER
III
.
AS
Hamlin
had
fancied
,
while
painting
Anne’s
portrait
,
so
the
girls
at
Mrs
Simson’s
used
to
fancy
that
there
could
not
be
much
going
on
inside
this
taciturn
and
undemonstrative
creature
.
But
it
was
not
so
.
While
Anne
looked
so
quiet
,
said
so
little
(
and
least
of
all
about
herself
)
during
those
two
years
of
school
,
a
drama
—
nay
,
a
whole
life‐poem
—
was
incessantly
going
on
within
her
.
She
worked
indefatigably
at
her
lessons
,
read
every
book
she
could
lay
hold
of
,
was
taken
to
concerts
,
lectures
,
burgher
tea‐parties
and
garrison
balls
,
and
on
excursions
up
and
down
the
Rhine
and
into
the
neighbouring
hills
;
but
all
this
was
but
as
an
exterior
life
surrounding
an
interior
one
,
as
the
movement
of
the
ship
to
the
movement
of
the
passengers
on
its
deck
.
The
real
life
was
not
with
these
girls
and
these
teachers
,
but
with
Hamlin
;
not
in
this
Rhineland
town
,
but
in
the
distant
places
where
he
travelled
.
He
wrote
to
her
very
often
,
from
London
,
from
Italy
,
from
Greece
and
Egypt
,
and
wherever
he
roamed
about
.
At
first
she
was
surprised
by
the
frequency
of
his
letters
;
then
she
became
accustomed
to
it
as
to
a
necessity
of
her
existence
,
but
a
necessity
to
which
she
had
no
right
.
It
seemed
to
her
wonderful
that
he
should
write
so
often
,
and
yet
that
the
time
which
elapsed
between
his
letters
should
be
intolerable
.
In
her
great
desire
for
them
she
used
to
have
recourse
to
all
manner
