everysympathy
.
I
remember
one
night
being
in
the
Fair
myself
,
at
an
evening
party
.
I
observed
old
Miss
Today
there
also
present
,
single
out
for
her
special
attentions
and
flattery
little
Mrs.
Briefless
,
the
barrister’s
wife
,
who
is
of
a
good
family
certainly
,
but
,
as
we
all
know
,
is
as
poor
as
poor
can
be
.
What
,
I
asked
in
my
own
mind
,
can
cause
this
obsequiousness
on
the
part
of
Miss
Toady
;
has
Briefless
got
a
county
court
,
or
his
wife
had
a
fortune
left
her
?
Miss
Toady
explained
presently
,
with
that
simplicity
which
distinguishes
all
her
conduct
.
“
You
know
,
”
she
said
,
“
Mrs.
Briefless
is
granddaughter
of
Sir
John
Redhand
,
who
is
so
ill
at
Cheltenham
that
he
can’t
last
six
months
.
Mrs.
Briefless’s
papa
succeeds
;
so
you
see
she
will
be
a
baronet’s
daughter
,
”
And
Toady
asked
Briefless
and
his
wife
to
dinner
the
very
next
week
.
If
the
mere
chance
of
becoming
a
baronet’s
daughter
can
procure
a
lady
such
homage
in
the
world
,
surely
,
surely
we
may
respect
the
agonies
of
a
young
woman
who
has
lost
the
opportunity
of
becoming
a
baronet’s
wife
.
Who
would
have
dreamed
of
Lady
Crawley
dying
so
soon
?
She
was
one
of
those
sickly
women
that
might
have
lasted
these
ten
years
—
Rebecca
thought
to
herself
,
in
all
the
woes
of
repentance
—
and
I
might
have
been
my
lady
!
I
might
have
led
that
old
man
whither
I
would
.
I
might
have
thanked
Mrs.
Bute
for
her
patronage
,
and
Mr.
Pitt
for
his
insufferable
condescension
.
I
would
have
had
the
town-house
newly
furnished
and
decorated
.
I
would
have
had
the
handsomest
carriage
in
London
,
and
a
box
at
the
opera
;
and
I
would
have
been
presented
next
season
.
All
this
might
have
been
,
and
now
—
now
all
was
doubt
and
mystery
.
But
Rebecca
was
a
young
lady
of
too
much
resolution
and
energy
of
character
to
permit
herself
much
useless
and
unseemly
sorrow
for
the
irrevocable
past
;
so
,
having
devoted
only
the
proper
portion
of
regret
to
it
,
she
wisely
turned
her
whole
attention
towards
the
future
,
which
was
now
vastly
more
important
to
her
.
And
she
surveyed
her
position
,
and
its
hopes
,
doubts
,
and
chances
.
In
the
first
place
,
she
was
married
;
—
that
was
a
great
fact
.
Sir
Pitt
knew
it
.
She
was
not
so
much
surprised
into
the
avowal
,
as
induced
to
make
it
by
a
sudden
calculation
.
It
must
have
come
some
day
:
and
why
not
now
as
at
a
later
period
?
He
who
would
have
married
her
himself
must
at
least
be
silent
with
regard
to
her
marriage
.
How
Miss
Crawley
would
bear
the
news
—
was
the
great
question
.
Misgivings
Rebecca
had
;
but
she
remembered
all
Miss
Crawley
had
said
;
the
old
lady’s
avowed
contempt
for
birth
;
her
daring
liberal
opinions
;
her
general
romantic
propensities
;
her
almost
doting
attachment
to
her
nephew
,
and
her
repeatedly-expressed
fondness
for
Rebecca
herself
.
She
is
so
fond
of
him
,
Rebecca
thought
,
that
she
will
forgive
him
anythin
she
is
so
used
to
me
that
I
don’t
think
she
could
be
comfortable
without
me
:
when
the
éclaircissement
comes
there
will
be
a
scene
,
and
hysterics
,
and
a
great
quarrel
,
and
then
a
great
reconciliation
.
At
all
events
,
what
use
was
there
in
delaying
?
the
die
was
thrown
,
and
now
or
to-morrow
the
issue
must
be
the
same
.
And
so
,
resolved
that
Miss
Crawley
should
have
the
news
,
the
young
person
debated
in
her
mind
as
to
the
best
means
of
conveying
it
to
her
;
and
whether
she
should
face
the
storm
that
must
come
,
or
fly
and
avoid
it
until
its
first
fury
was
blown
over
.
In
this
state
of
meditation
she
wrote
the
following
letter
:
—
Dearest
Friend
,
—
The
great
crisis
which
we
have
debated
about
so
often
is
come
.
Half
of
my
secret
is
known
,
and
I
have
thought
and
thought
,
until
I
am
quite
sure
that
now
is
the
time
to
reveal
the
whole
of
the
mystery
.
Sir
Pitt
came
to
me
this
morning
,
and
made
—
what
do
you
think
?
—
a
declaration
in
form
.
Think
of
that
!
Poor
little
me
.
I
might
have
been
Lady
Crawley
.
How
pleased
Mrs.
Bute
would
have
been
and
ma
tante
if
I
had
taken
precedence
of
her
.
I
might
have
been
somebody’s
mamma
,
instead
of
—
O
,
I
tremble
,
I
tremble
,
when
I
think
how
soon
we
must
tell
all
!
—
Sir
Pitt
knows
I
am
married
,
and
not
knowing
to
whom
,
is
not
very
much
displeased
as
yet
.
Ma
tante
is
actually
angry
that
I
should
have
refused
him
.
But
she
is
all
kindness
and
graciousness
.
She
condescends
to
say
I
would
have
made
him
a
good
wife
;
and
vows
that
she
will
be
a
mother
to
your
little
Rebecca
.
She
will
be
shaken
when
she
first
hears
the
news
.
But
need
we
fear
anything
beyond
a
momentary
anger
?
I
think
not
:
I
am
sure
not
.
She
dotes
upon
you
so
(
you
naughty
,
good-for-nothing
man
)
,
that
she
would
pardon
you
anythin
and
,
indeed
,
I
believe
,
the
next
place
in
her
heart
is
mine
:
and
that
she
would
be
miserable
without
me
.
Dearest
!
something
tells
me
we
shall
conquer
.
You
shall
leave
that
odious
regiment
:
quit
gaming
,
racing
,
and
be
a
good
boy
;
and
we
shall
all
live
in
Park
Lane
,
and
ma
tante
shall
leave
us
all
her
money
.
I
shall
try
and
walk
to-morrow
at
3
in
the
usual
place
.
If
Miss
B
.
accompanies
me
,
you
must
come
to
dinner
,
and
bring
an
answer
,
and
put
it
in
the
third
volume
of
Porteus’s
Sermons
.
But
,
at
all
events
,
come
to
your
own
R
.
To
Miss
Eliza
Styles
,
At
Mr.
Barnet’s
,
Saddler
,
Knightsbridge
.
And
I
trust
there
is
no
reader
of
this
little
story
who
has
not
discernment
enough
to
perceive
that
the
Miss
Eliza
Styles
(
an
old
schoolfellow
,
Rebecca
said
,
with
whom
she
had
resumed
an
active
correspondence
of
late
,
and
who
used
to
fetch
these
letters
from
the
saddler’s
)
,
wore
brass
spurs
,
and
large
curling
mustachios
,
and
was
indeed
no
other
than
Captain
Rawdon
Crawley
.
XVI
.
The
Letter
on
the
Pincushion
HOW
they
were
married
is
not
of
the
slightest
consequence
to
anybody
.
What
is
to
hinder
a
Captain
who
is
a
major
,
and
a
young
lady
who
is
of
age
,
from
purchasing
a
license
,
and
uniting
themselves
at
any
church
in
this
town
?
Who
needs
to
be
told
,
that
if
a
woman
has
a
will
,
she
will
assuredly
find
a
way
?
—
My
belief
is
,
that
one
day
,
when
Miss
Sharp
had
gone
to
pass
the
forenoon
with
her
dear
friend
Miss
Amelia
Sedley
in
Russell
Square
,
a
lady
very
like
her
might
have
been
seen
entering
a
church
in
the
City
,
in
company
with
a
gentleman
with
dyed
mustachios
,
who
,
after
a
quarter
of
an
hour’s
interval
,
escorted
her
back
to
the
hackney-coach
in
waiting
,
and
that
this
was
a
quiet
bridal
party
.
And
who
on
earth
,
after
the
daily
experience
we
have
,
can
question
the
probability
of
a
gentleman
marrying
anybody
?
How
many
of
the
wise
and
learned
have
married
their
cooks
?
Did
not
Lord
Eldon
himself
,
the
most
prudent
of
men
,
make
a
run-away
match
?
Were
not
Achilles
and
Ajax
both
in
love
with
their
servant
maids
?
And
are
we
to
expect
a
heavy
dragoon
with
strong
desires
and
small
brains
,
who
had
never
controlled
a
passion
in
his
life
,
to
become
prudent
all
of
a
sudden
,
and
to
refuse
to
pay
any
price
for
an
indulgence
to
which
he
had
a
mind
?
If
people
only
made
prudent
marriages
,
what
a
stop
to
population
there
would
be
!
It
seems
to
me
,
for
my
part
,
that
Mr.
Rawdon’s
marriage
was
one
of
the
honestest
actions
which
we
shall
have
to
record
in
any
portion
of
that
gentleman’s
biography
which
has
to
do
with
the
present
history
.
No
one
will
say
it
is
unmanly
to
be
captivated
by
a
woman
,
or
,
being
captivated
,
to
marry
her
;
and
the
admiration
,
the
delight
,
the
passion
,
the
wonder
,
the
unbounded
confidence
,
and
frantic
adoration
with
which
,
by
degrees
,
this
big
warrior
got
to
regard
the
little
Rebecca
,
were
feelings
which
the
ladies
at
least
will
pronounce
were
not
altogether
discreditable
to
him
.
When
she
sang
,
every
note
thrilled
in
his
dull
soul
,
and
tingled
through
his
huge
frame
.
When
she
spoke
,
he
brought
all
the
force
of
his
brains
to
listen
and
wonder
.
If
she
was
jocular
,
he
used
to
revolve
her
jokes
in
his
mind
,
and
explode
over
them
half
an
hour
afterwards
in
the
street
,
to
the
surprise
of
the
groom
in
the
tilbury
by
his
side
,
or
the
comrade
riding
with
him
in
Rotten
Row
.
Her
words
were
oracles
to
him
,
her
smallest
actions
marked
by
an
infallible
grace
and
wisdom
.
“
How
she
sings
,
—
how
she
paints
,
”
thought
he
.
“
How
she
rode
that
kicking
mare
at
Queen’s
Crawley
!
”
And
he
would
say
to
her
in
confidential
moments
,
“
By
Jove
,
Beck
,
you’re
fit
to
be
Commander-in-Chief
,
or
Archbishop
of
Canterbury
,
by
Jove
.
”
Is
his
case
a
rare
one
?
and
don’t
we
see
every
day
in
the
world
many
an
honest
Hercules
at
the
apron-strings
of
Omphale
and
great
whiskered
Samsons
prostrate
in
Delilah’s
lap
?
When
,
then
,
Becky
told
him
that
the
great
crisis
was
near
,
and
the
time
for
action
had
arrived
,
Rawdon
expressed
himself
as
ready
to
act
under
her
orders
,
as
he
would
be
to
charge
with
his
troop
at
the
command
of
his
colonel
.
There
was
no
need
for
him
to
put
his
letter
into
the
third
volume
of
Porteus
.
Rebecca
easily
found
a
means
to
get
rid
of
Briggs
,
her
companion
,
and
met
her
faithful
friend
in
“
the
usual
place
”
on
the
next
day
.
She
had
thought
over
matters
at
night
,
and
communicated
to
Rawdon
the
result
of
her
determinations
.
He
agreed
,
of
course
,
to
everything
;
was
quite
sure
that
it
was
all
right
;
that
what
she
proposed
was
best
;
that
Miss
Crawley
would
infallibly
relent
,
or
“
come
round
,
”
as
he
said
,
after
a
time
.
Had
Rebecca’s
resolutions
been
entirely
different
,
he
would
have
followed
them
as
implicitly
.
“
You
have
head
enough
for
both
of
us
,
Beck
,
”
said
he
.
“
You’re
sure
to
get
us
out
of
the
scrape
.
I
never
saw
your
equal
,
and
I’ve
met
with
some
clippers
in
my
time
too
.
”
And
with
this
simple
confession
of
faith
,
the
love-stricken
dragoon
left
her
to
execute
his
part
of
the
project
which
she
had
formed
for
the
pair
.
It
consisted
simply
in
the
hiring
of
quiet
lodgings
at
Brompton
,
or
in
the
neighbourhood
of
the
barracks
,
for
Captain
and
Mrs.
Crawley
.
For
Rebecca
had
determined
,
and
very
prudently
,
we
think
,
to
fly
.
Rawdon
was
only
too
happy
at
her
resolve
;
he
had
been
entreating
her
to
take
this
measure
any
time
for
weeks
past
.
He
pranced
off
to
engage
the
lodgings
with
all
the
impetuosity
of
love
.
He
agreed
to
pay
two
guineas
a
week
so
readily
,
that
the
landlady
regretted
she
had
asked
him
so
little
.
He
ordered
in
a
piano
,
and
half
a
nursery-house
full
of
flowers
:
and
a
heap
of
good
things
.
As
for
shawls
,
kid
gloves
,
silk
stockings
,
gold
French
watches
,
bracelets
and
perfumery
,
he
sent
them
in
with
the
profusion
of
blind
love
and
unbounded
credit
.
And
having
relieved
his
mind
by
this
outpouring
of
generosity
,
he
went
and
dined
nervously
at
the
club
,
waiting
until
the
great
moment
of
his
life
should
come
.
The
occurrences
of
the
previous
day
;
the
admirable
conduct
of
Rebecca
in
refusing
an
offer
so
advantageous
to
her
,
the
secret
unhappiness
preying
upon
her
,
the
sweetness
and
silence
with
which
she
bore
her
affliction
,
made
Miss
Crawley
much
more
tender
than
usual
.
An
event
of
this
nature
,
a
marriage
,
or
a
refusal
,
or
a
proposal
,
thrills
through
a
whole
household
of
women
,
and
sets
all
their
hysterical
sympathies
at
work
.
As
an
observer
of
human
nature
,
I
regularly
frequent
St.
George’s
,
Hanover
Square
,
during
the
genteel
marriage
season
;
and
though
I
have
never
seen
the
bridegroom’s
male
friends
give
way
to
tears
,
or
the
beadles
and
officiating
clergy
any
way
affected
,
yet
it
in
not
at
all
uncommon
to
see
women
who
are
not
in
the
least
concerned
in
the
operations
going
on
—
old
ladies
who
are
long
past
marrying
,
stout
middle-aged
females
with
plenty
of
sons
and
daughters
,
let
alone
pretty
young
creatures
in
pink
bonnets
,
who
are
on
their
promotion
,
and
may
naturally
take
an
interest
in
the
ceremony
—
I
say
it
is
quite
common
to
see
the
women
present
piping
,
sobbing
,
sniffling
;
hiding
their
little
faces
in
their
little
useless
pocket-handkerchiefs
;
and
heaving
,
old
and
young
,
with
emotion
.
When
my
friend
,
the
fashionable
John
Pimlico
,
married
the
lovely
Lady
Belgravia
Green
Parker
,
the
excitement
was
so
general
,
that
even
the
little
snuffy
old
pew-opener
who
let
me
into
the
seat
was
in
tears
.
And
wherefore
?
I
inquired
of
my
own
soul
:
she
was
not
going
to
be
married
.
Miss
Crawley
and
Briggs
in
a
word
,
after
the
affair
of
Sir
Pitt
,
indulged
in
the
utmost
luxury
of
sentiment
,
and
Rebecca
became
an
object
of
the
most
tender
interest
to
them
.
In
her
absence
Miss
Crawley
solaced
herself
with
the
most
sentimental
of
the
novels
in
her
library
.
Little
Sharp
,
with
her
secret
griefs
,
was
the
heroine
of
the
day
.
That
night
Rebecca
sang
more
sweetly
and
talked
more
pleasantly
than
she
had
ever
been
heard
to
do
in
Park
Lane
.
She
twined
herself
round
the
heart
of
Miss
Crawley
.
She
spoke
lightly
and
laughingly
of
Sir
Pitt’s
proposal
,
ridiculed
it
as
the
foolish
fancy
of
an
old
man
;
and
her
eyes
filled
with
tears
,
and
Briggs’s
heart
with
unutterable
pangs
of
defeat
,
as
she
said
she
desired
no
other
lot
than
to
remain
for
ever
with
her
dear
benefactress
.
“
My
dear
little
creature
,
”
the
old
lady
said
,
“
I
don’t
intend
to
let
you
stir
for
years
,
that
you
may
depend
upon
it
.
As
for
going
back
to
that
odious
brother
of
mine
after
what
has
passed
,
it
is
out
of
the
question
.
Here
you
stay
with
me
and
Briggs
.
Briggs
wants
to
go
to
see
her
relations
very
often
.
Briggs
,
you
may
go
when
you
like
.
But
as
for
you
,
my
dear
,
you
must
stay
and
take
care
of
the
old
woman
.
”
If
Rawdon
Crawley
had
been
then
and
there
present
,
instead
of
being
at
the
club
nervously
drinking
claret
,
the
pair
might
have
gone
down
on
their
knees
before
the
old
spinster
,
avowed
all
,
and
been
forgiven
in
a
twinkling
.
But
that
good
chance
was
denied
to
the
young
couple
,
doubtless
in
order
that
this
story
might
be
written
,
in
which
numbers
of
their
wonderful
adventures
are
narrated
—
adventures
which
could
never
have
occurred
to
them
if
they
had
been
housed
and
sheltered
under
the
comfortable
uninteresting
forgiveness
of
Miss
Crawley
.
Under
Mrs.
Firkin’s
orders
,
in
the
Park
Lane
establishment
,
was
a
young
woman
from
Hampshire
,
whose
business
it
was
,
among
other
duties
,
to
knock
at
Miss
Sharp’s
door
with
that
jug
of
hot
water
,
which
Firkin
would
rather
have
perished
than
have
presented
to
the
intruder
.
This
girl
,
bred
on
the
family
estate
,
had
a
brother
in
Captain
Crawley’s
troop
,
and
if
the
truth
were
known
,
I
dare
say
it
would
come
out
that
she
was
aware
of
certain
arrangements
,
which
have
a
great
deal
to
do
with
this
history
.
At
any
rate
she
purchased
a
yellow
shawl
,
a
pair
of
green
boots
,
and
a
light
blue
hat
with
a
red
feather
with
three
guineas
which
Rebecca
gave
her
,
and
as
little
Sharp
was
by
no
means
too
liberal
with
her
money
,
no
doubt
it
was
for
services
rendered
that
Betty
Martin
was
so
bribed
.
On
the
second
day
after
Sir
Pitt
Crawley’s
offer
to
Miss
Sharp
,
the
sun
rose
as
usual
,
and
at
the
usual
hour
Betty
Martin
,
the
upstairs
maid
,
knocked
at
the
door
of
the
governess’s
bed-chamber
.
No
answer
was
returned
,
and
she
knocked
again
.
Silence
was
still
uninterrupted
;
and
Betty
,
with
the
hot
water
,
opened
the
door
and
entered
the
chamber
.
The
little
white
dimity
bed
was
as
smooth
and
trim
as
on
the
day
previous
,
when
Betty’s
own
hands
had
helped
to
make
it
.
Two
little
trunks
were
corded
in
one
end
of
the
room
;
and
on
the
table
before
the
window
—
on
the
pincushion
—
the
great
fat
pincushion
lined
with
pink
inside
,
and
twilled
like
a
lady’s
nightcap
—
lay
a
letter
.
It
had
been
reposing
there
probably
all
night
.
Betty
advanced
towards
it
on
tiptoe
,
as
if
she
were
afraid
to
awake
it
—
looked
at
it
,
and
round
the
room
,
with
an
air
of
great
wonder
and
satisfaction
;
took
up
the
letter
,
and
grinned
intensely
as
she
turned
it
round
and
over
,
and
finally
carried
it
into
Miss
Briggs’s
room
below
.
How
could
Betty
tell
that
the
letter
was
for
Miss
Briggs
,
I
should
like
to
know
?
All
the
schooling
Betty
had
was
at
Mrs.
Bute
Crawley’s
Sunday
School
,
and
she
could
no
more
read
writing
than
Hebrew
.
“
La
,
Miss
Briggs
,
”
the
girl
exclaimed
,
“
O
,
Miss
,
something
must
have
happened
—
there’s
nobody
in
Miss
Sharp’s
room
;
the
bed
ain’t
been
slep
in
,
and
she’ve
run
away
,
and
left
this
letter
for
you
,
Miss.
”
“
What
!
”
cries
Briggs
,
dropping
her
comb
,
the
thin
wisp
of
faded
hair
falling
over
her
shoulders
;
“
an
elopement
!
Miss
Sharp
a
fugitive
!
What
,
what
is
this
?
”
and
she
eagerly
broke
the
neat
seal
,
and
,
as
they
say
,
“
devoured
the
contents
”
of
the
letter
addressed
to
her
.
“
Dear
Miss
Briggs
,
”
the
refugee
wrote
,
“
the
kindest
heart
in
the
world
,
as
yours
is
,
will
pity
and
sympathise
with
me
and
excuse
me
.
With
tears
,
and
prayers
,
and
blessings
,
I
leave
the
home
where
the
poor
orphan
has
ever
met
with
kindness
and
affection
.
Claims
even
superior
to
those
of
my
benefactress
call
me
hence
.
I
go
to
my
duty
—
to
my
husband
.
Yes
,
I
am
married
.
My
husband
commands
me
to
seek
the
humble
home
which
we
call
ours
.
Dearest
Miss
Briggs
,
break
the
news
as
your
delicate
sympathy
will
know
how
to
do
it
—
to
my
dear
,
my
beloved
friend
and
benefactress
.
Tell
her
,
ere
I
went
,
I
shed
tears
on
her
dear
pillow
—
that
pillow
that
I
have
so
often
soothed
in
sickness
—
that
I
long
again
to
watch
—
Oh
,
with
what
joy
shall
I
return
to
dear
Park
Lane
!
How
I
tremble
for
the
answer
which
is
to
seal
my
fate
!
When
Sir
Pitt
deigned
to
offer
me
his
hand
,
an
honour
of
which
my
beloved
Miss
Crawley
said
I
was
deserving
(
my
blessings
go
with
her
for
judging
the
poor
orphan
worthy
to
be
her
sister
!
)
I
told
Sir
Pitt
that
I
was
already
a
wife
.
Even
he
forgave
me
.
But
my
courage
failed
me
,
when
I
should
have
told
him
all
—
that
I
could
not
be
his
wife
,
for
I
was
his
daughter
!
I
am
wedded
to
the
best
and
most
generous
of
men
—
Miss
Crawley’s
Rawdon
is
my
Rawdon
.
At
his
command
I
open
my
lips
,
and
follow
him
to
our
humble
home
,
as
I
would
through
the
world
.
O
,
my
excellent
and
kind
friend
,
intercede
with
my
Rawdon’s
beloved
aunt
for
him
and
the
poor
girl
to
whom
all
his
noble
race
have
shown
such
unparalleled
affection
.
Ask
Miss
Crawley
to
receive
her
children
.
I
can
say
no
more
,
but
blessings
,
blessings
on
all
in
the
dear
house
I
leave
,
prays
“
Midnight
.
”
Just
as
Briggs
had
finished
reading
this
affecting
and
interesting
document
,
which
reinstated
her
in
her
position
as
first
confidante
of
Miss
Crawley
,
Mrs.
Firkin
entered
the
room
.
“
Here’s
Mrs.
Bute
Crawley
just
arrived
by
the
mail
from
Hampshire
,
and
wants
some
tea
;
will
you
come
down
and
make
breakfast
,
Miss
?
”
And
to
the
surprise
of
Firkin
,
clasping
her
dressing-gown
around
her
,
the
wisp
of
hair
floating
dishevelled
behind
her
,
the
little
curl-papers
still
sticking
in
bunches
round
her
forehead
,
Briggs
sailed
down
to
Mrs.
Bute
with
the
letter
in
her
hand
containing
the
wonderful
news
.
“
Oh
,
Mrs.
Firkin
,
”
gasped
Betty
,
“
sech
a
business
.
Miss
Sharp
have
a
gone
and
run
away
with
the
Capting
,
and
they’re
off
to
Gretney
Green
!
”
We
would
devote
a
chapter
to
describe
the
emotions
of
Mrs.
Firkin
,
did
not
the
passions
of
her
mistresses
occupy
our
genteeler
muse
.
When
Mrs.
Bute
Crawley
,
numbed
with
midnight
travelling
,
and
warming
herself
at
the
newly
crackling
parlour
fire
,
heard
from
Miss
Briggs
the
intelligence
of
the
clandestine
marriage
,
she
declared
it
was
quite
providential
that
she
should
have
arrived
at
such
a
time
to
assist
poor
dear
Miss
Crawley
in
supporting
the
shock
—
that
Rebecca
was
an
artful
little
hussy
of
whom
she
had
always
had
her
suspicions
;
and
that
as
for
Rawdon
Crawley
,
she
never
could
account
for
his
aunt’s
infatuation
regarding
him
,
and
had
long
considered
him
a
profligate
,
lost
,
and
abandoned
being
.
And
this
awful
conduct
,
Mrs.
Bute
said
,
will
have
at
least
this
good
effect
,
it
will
open
poor
dear
Miss
Crawley’s
eyes
to
the
real
character
of
this
wicked
man
.
Then
Mrs.
Bute
had
a
comfortable
hot
toast
and
tea
;
and
as
there
was
a
vacant
room
in
the
house
now
,
there
was
no
need
for
her
to
remain
at
the
Gloster
Coffee
House
where
the
Portsmouth
mail
had
set
her
down
,
and
whence
she
ordered
Mr.
Bowls’s
aide-de-camp
the
footman
to
bring
away
her
trunks
.
Miss
Crawley
,
be
it
known
,
did
not
leave
her
room
until
near
noon
—
taking
chocolate
in
bed
in
the
morning
,
while
Becky
Sharp
read
the
Morning
Post
to
her
,
or
otherwise
amusing
herself
or
dawdling
.
The
conspirators
below
agreed
that
they
would
spare
the
dear
lady’s
feelings
until
she
appeared
in
her
drawing-room
:
meanwhile
it
was
announced
to
her
,
that
Mrs.
Bute
Crawley
had
come
up
from
Hampshire
by
the
mail
,
was
staying
at
the
Gloster
,
sent
her
love
to
Miss
Crawley
,
and
asked
for
breakfast
with
Miss
Briggs
.
The
arrival
of
Mrs.
Bute
,
which
would
not
have
caused
any
extreme
delight
at
another
period
,
was
hailed
with
pleasure
now
;
Miss
Crawley
being
pleased
at
the
notion
of
a
gossip
with
her
sister-in-law
regarding
the
late
Lady
Crawley
,
the
funeral
arrangements
pending
,
and
Sir
Pitt’s
abrupt
proposals
to
Rebecca
.
It
was
not
until
the
old
lady
was
fairly
ensconced
in
her
usual
arm-chair
in
the
drawing-room
,
and
the
preliminary
embraces
and
inquiries
had
taken
place
between
the
ladies
,
that
the
conspirators
thought
it
advisable
to
submit
her
to
the
operation
.
Who
has
not
admired
the
artifices
and
delicate
approaches
with
which
women
“
prepare
”
their
friends
for
bad
news
?
Miss
Crawley’s
two
friends
made
such
an
apparatus
of
mystery
before
they
broke
the
intelligence
to
her
,
that
they
worked
her
up
to
the
necessary
degree
of
doubt
and
alarm
.
“
And
she
refused
Sir
Pitt
,
my
dear
,
dear
Miss
Crawley
,
prepare
yourself
for
it
,
”
Mrs.
Bute
said
,
“
because
—
because
she
couldn’t
help
herself
.
”
“
Of
course
there
was
a
reason
,
”
Miss
Crawley
answered
.
“
She
liked
somebody
else
.
I
told
Briggs
so
yesterday
.
”
“
Likes
somebody
else
!
”
Briggs
gasped
.
“
O
my
dear
friend
,
she
is
married
already
.
”
“
Married
already
,
”
Mrs.
Bute
chimed
in
;
and
both
sate
with
clasped
hands
looking
from
each
other
at
their
victim
.
“
Send
her
to
me
,
the
instant
she
comes
in
.
The
little
sly
wretch
:
how
dared
she
not
tell
me
?
”
cried
out
Miss
Crawley
.
“
She
won’t
come
in
soon
.
Prepare
yourself
,
dear
friend
—
she’s
gone
out
for
a
long
time
—
she’s
—
she’s
gone
altogether
.
”
“
Gracious
goodness
,
and
who’s
to
make
my
chocolate
?
Send
for
her
and
have
her
back
;
I
desire
that
she
come
back
,
”
the
old
lady
said
.
“
She
decamped
last
night
,
Ma’am
,
”
cried
Mrs.
Bute
.
“
She
left
a
letter
for
me
,
”
Briggs
exclaimed
.
“
She’s
married
to
—
”
“
Prepare
her
,
for
heaven’s
sake
.
Don’t
torture
her
,
my
dear
Miss
Briggs
.
”
“
She’s
married
to
whom
?
”
cries
the
spinster
in
a
nervous
fury
“
To
—
to
a
relation
of
—
—
”
“
She
refused
Sir
Pitt
!
”
cried
the
victim
.
“
Speak
at
once
.
Don’t
drive
me
mad
.
”
“
O
Ma’am
—
prepare
her
,
Miss
Briggs
—
she’s
married
to
Rawdon
Crawley
.
”
“
Rawdon
married
—
Rebecca
—
governess
—
nobod
—
Get
out
of
my
house
,
you
fool
,
you
idiot
—
you
stupid
old
Briggs
—
how
dare
you
?
You’re
in
the
plot
—
you
made
him
marry
,
thinking
that
I’d
leave
my
money
from
him
—
you
did
,
Martha
,
”
the
poor
old
lady
screamed
in
hysteric
sentences
.
“
I
,
Ma’am
,
ask
a
member
of
this
family
to
marry
a
drawing-master’s
daughter
?
”
“
Her
mother
was
a
Montmorency
,
”
cried
out
the
old
lady
,
pulling
at
the
bell
with
all
her
might
.
“
Her
mother
was
an
opera
girl
,
and
she
has
been
on
the
stage
or
worse
herself
,
”
said
Mrs.
Bute
.
Miss
Crawley
gave
a
final
scream
,
and
fell
back
in
a
faint
.
They
were
forced
to
take
her
back
to
the
room
which
she
had
just
quitted
.
One
fit
of
hysterics
succeeded
another
.
The
doctor
was
sent
for
—
the
apothecary
arrived
.
Mrs.
Bute
took
up
the
post
of
nurse
by
her
bedside
.
“
Her
relations
ought
to
be
round
about
her
,
”
that
amiable
woman
said
.
She
had
scarcely
been
carried
up
to
her
room
,
when
a
new
person
arrived
to
whom
it
was
also
necessary
to
break
the
news
.
This
was
Sir
Pitt
.
“
Where’s
Becky
?
”
he
said
,
coming
in
.
“
Where’s
her
traps
?
She’s
coming
with
me
to
Queen’s
Crawley
.
”
“
Have
you
not
heard
the
astonishing
intelligence
regarding
her
surreptitious
union
?
”
Briggs
asked
.
“
What’s
that
to
me
?
”
Sir
Pitt
asked
.
“
I
know
she’s
married
.
That
makes
no
odds
.
Tell
her
to
come
down
at
once
,
and
not
keep
me
.
”
“
Are
you
not
aware
,
sir
,
”
Miss
Briggs
asked
,
“
that
she
has
left
our
roof
,
to
the
dismay
of
Miss
Crawley
,
who
is
nearly
killed
by
the
intelligence
of
Captain
Rawdon’s
union
with
her
?
”
When
Sir
Pitt
Crawley
heard
that
Rebecca
was
married
to
his
son
,
he
broke
out
into
a
fury
of
language
,
which
it
would
do
no
good
to
repeat
in
this
place
,
as
indeed
it
sent
poor
Briggs
shuddering
out
of
the
room
;
and
with
her
we
will
shut
the
door
upon
the
figure
of
the
frenzied
old
man
,
wild
with
hatred
and
insane
with
baffled
desire
.
One
day
after
he
went
to
Queen’s
Crawley
,
he
burst
like
a
madman
into
the
room
she
had
used
when
there
—
dashed
open
her
boxes
with
his
foot
,
and
flung
about
her
papers
,
clothes
,
and
other
relics
.
Miss
Horrocks
,
the
butler’s
daughter
,
took
some
of
them
.
The
children
dressed
themselves
and
acted
plays
in
the
others
.
It
was
but
a
few
days
after
the
poor
mother
had
gone
to
her
lonely
burying
place
;
and
was
laid
,
unwept
and
disregarded
,
in
a
vault
full
of
strangers
.
“
Suppose
the
old
lady
doesn’t
come
to
,
”
Rawdon
said
to
his
little
wife
,
as
they
sate
together
in
the
snug
little
Brompton
lodgings
.
She
had
been
trying
the
new
piano
all
the
morning
.
The
new
gloves
fitted
her
to
a
nicety
;
the
new
shawls
became
her
wonderfully
;
the
new
rings
glittered
on
her
little
hands
,
and
the
new
watch
ticked
at
her
waist
;
“
suppose
she
don’t
come
round
,
eh
,
Becky
?
”
“
I’ll
make
your
fortune
,
”
she
said
;
and
Delilah
patted
Samson’s
cheek
.
“
You
can
do
anything
,
”
he
said
,
kissing
the
little
hand
.
“
By
Jove
you
can
;
and
we’ll
drive
down
to
the
Star
and
Garter
,
and
dine
,
by
Jove
.
”
XVII
.
How
Captain
Dobbin
Bought
a
Piano
IF
there
is
any
exhibition
in
all
Vanity
Fair
which
Satire
and
Sentiment
can
visit
arm
in
arm
together
;
where
you
light
on
the
strangest
contrasts
laughable
and
tearful
:
where
you
may
be
gentle
and
pathetic
,
or
savage
and
cynical
with
perfect
propriety
:
it
is
at
one
of
those
public
assemblies
,
a
crowd
of
which
are
advertised
every
day
in
the
last
page
of
the
Times
newspaper
,
and
over
which
the
late
Mr.
George
Robins
used
to
preside
with
so
much
dignity
.
There
are
very
few
London
people
,
as
I
fancy
,
who
have
not
attended
at
these
meetings
,
and
all
with
a
taste
for
moralizing
must
have
thought
,
with
a
sensation
and
interest
not
a
little
startling
and
queer
,
of
the
day
when
their
turn
shall
come
too
,
and
Mr.
Hammerdown
will
sell
by
the
orders
of
Diogenes’s
assignees
,
or
will
be
instructed
by
the
executors
,
to
offer
to
public
competition
,
the
library
,
furniture
,
plate
,
wardrobe
,
and
choice
cellar
of
wines
of
Epicurus
deceased
.
Even
with
the
most
selfish
disposition
,
the
Vanity-fairian
,
as
he
witnesses
this
sordid
part
of
the
obsequies
of
a
departed
friend
,
can’t
but
feel
some
sympathies
and
regret
.
My
Lord
Dives’s
remains
are
in
the
family
vault
:
the
statuaries
are
cutting
an
inscription
veraciously
commemorating
his
virtues
,
and
the
sorrows
of
his
heir
,
who
is
disposing
of
his
goods
.
What
guest
at
Dives’s
table
can
pass
the
familiar
house
without
a
sigh
?
—
the
familiar
house
of
which
the
lights
used
to
shine
so
cheerfully
at
seven
o’clock
,
of
which
the
hall-doors
opened
so
readily
,
of
which
the
obsequious
servants
,
as
you
passed
up
the
comfortable
stair
,
sounded
your
name
from
landing
to
landing
,
until
it
reached
the
apartment
where
jolly
old
Dives
welcomed
his
friends
!
What
a
number
of
them
he
had
;
and
what
a
noble
way
of
entertaining
them
.
How
witty
people
used
to
be
here
who
were
morose
when
they
got
out
of
the
door
;
and
how
courteous
and
friendly
men
who
slandered
and
hated
each
other
everywhere
else
!
He
was
pompous
,
but
with
such
a
cook
what
would
one
not
swallow
?
he
was
rather
dull
,
perhaps
,
but
would
not
such
wine
make
any
conversation
pleasant
?
We
must
get
some
of
his
Burgundy
at
any
price
,
the
mourners
cry
at
his
club
.
“
I
got
this
box
at
old
Dives’s
sale
,
”
Pincher
says
,
handing
it
round
,
“
one
of
Louis
XV.’s
mistresses
—
pretty
thing
,
is
it
not
?
—
sweet
miniature
,
”
and
they
talk
of
the
way
in
which
young
Dives
is
dissipating
his
fortune
.
How
changed
the
house
is
,
though
!
The
front
is
patched
over
with
bills
,
setting
forth
the
particulars
of
the
furniture
in
staring
capitals
.
They
have
hung
a
shred
of
carpet
out
of
an
upstairs
window
—
a
half
dozen
of
porters
are
lounging
on
the
dirty
steps
—
the
hall
swarms
with
dingy
guests
of
oriental
countenance
,
who
thrust
printed
cards
into
your
hand
,
and
offer
to
bid
.
Old
women
and
amateurs
have
invaded
the
upper
apartments
,
pinching
the
bed-curtains
,
poking
into
the
feathers
,
shampooing
the
mattresses
,
and
clapping
the
wardrobe
drawers
to
and
fro
.
Enterprising
young
housekeepers
are
measuring
the
looking-glasses
and
hangings
to
see
if
they
will
suit
the
new
ménage
—
(
Snob
will
brag
for
years
that
he
has
purchased
this
or
that
at
Dives’s
sale
,
)
and
Mr.
Hammerdown
is
sitting
on
the
great
mahogany
dining-tables
,
in
the
dining-room
below
,
waving
the
ivory
hammer
,
and
employing
all
the
artifices
of
eloquence
,
enthusiasm
,
entreaty
,
reason
,
despair
;
shouting
to
his
people
;
satirizing
Mr.
Davids
for
his
sluggishness
;
inspiriting
Mr.
Moss
into
action
;
imploring
,
commanding
,
bellowing
,
until
down
comes
the
hammer
like
fate
,
and
we
pass
to
the
next
lot
.
O
Dives
,
who
would
ever
have
thought
,
as
we
sat
around
the
broad
table
sparkling
with
plate
and
spotless
linen
,
to
have
seen
such
a
dish
at
the
head
of
it
as
that
roaring
auctioneer
?
It
was
rather
late
in
the
sale
.
The
excellent
drawing-room
furniture
by
the
best
makers
;
the
rare
and
famous
wines
selected
,
regardless
of
cost
,
and
with
the
well-known
taste
of
the
purchaser
;
the
rich
and
complete
set
of
family
plate
had
been
sold
on
the
previous
days
.
Certain
of
the
best
wines
(
which
all
had
a
great
character
among
amateurs
in
the
neighbourhood
)
had
been
purchased
for
his
master
.
who
knew
them
very
well
,
by
the
butler
of
our
friend
John
Osborne
,
Esquire
,
of
Russell
Square
.
A
small
portion
of
the
most
useful
articles
of
the
plate
had
been
bought
by
some
young
stock-brokers
from
the
City
.
And
now
the
public
being
invited
to
the
purchase
of
minor
objects
,
it
happened
that
the
orator
on
the
table
was
expatiating
on
the
merits
of
a
picture
,
which
he
sought
to
recommend
to
his
audience
:
it
was
by
no
means
so
select
or
numerous
a
company
as
had
attended
the
previous
days
of
the
auction
.
“
No.
369
,
”
roared
Mr.
Hammerdown
.
“
Portrait
of
a
gentleman
on
an
elephant
.
Who’ll
bid
for
the
gentleman
on
the
elephant
?
Lift
up
the
picture
,
Blowman
,
and
let
the
company
examine
this
lot
.
”
A
long
,
pale
,
military-looking
gentleman
,
seated
demurely
at
the
mahogany
table
,
could
not
help
grinning
as
this
valuable
lot
was
shown
by
Mr.
Blowman
.
“
Turn
the
elephant
to
the
Captain
,
Blowman
.
What
shall
we
say
,
sir
,
for
the
elephant
?
”
but
the
Captain
,
blushing
in
a
very
hurried
and
discomfited
manner
,
turned
away
his
head
.
“
Shall
we
say
twenty
guineas
for
this
work
of
art
?
—
fifteen
,
five
,
nave
your
own
price
.
The
gentleman
without
the
elephant
is
worth
five
pound
.
”
“
I
wonder
it
ain’t
come
down
with
him
,
”
said
a
professional
wag
,
“
he’s
anyhow
a
precious
big
one
;
”
at
which
(
for
the
elephant-rider
was
represented
as
of
a
very
stout
figure
)
there
was
a
general
giggle
in
the
room
.
“
Don’t
be
trying
to
deprecate
the
value
of
the
lot
,
Mr.
Moss
,
”
Mr.
Hammerdown
said
;
“
let
the
company
examine
it
as
a
work
of
art
—
the
attitude
of
the
gallant
animal
quite
according
to
natur’
;
the
gentleman
in
a
nankeen-jacket
,
his
gun
in
his
hand
,
is
going
to
the
chase
;
in
the
distance
a
banyhann-tree
and
a
pagody
,
most
likely
resemblances
of
some
interesting
spot
in
our
famous
Eastern
possessions
.
How
much
for
this
lot
?
Come
,
gentlemen
,
don’t
keep
me
here
all
day
.
”
Some
one
bid
five
shillings
,
at
which
the
military
gentleman
looked
towards
the
quarter
from
which
this
splendid
offer
had
come
,
and
there
saw
another
officer
with
a
young
lady
on
his
arm
,
who
both
appeared
to
be
highly
amused
with
the
scene
,
and
to
whom
,
finally
,
this
lot
was
knocked
down
for
half-a-guinea
.
He
at
the
table
looked
more
surprised
and
discomposed
than
ever
when
he
spied
this
pair
,
and
his
head
sank
into
his
military
collar
,
and
he
turned
his
back
upon
them
,
so
as
to
avoid
them
altogether
.
Of
all
the
other
articles
which
Mr.
Hammerdown
had
the
honour
to
offer
for
public
competition
that
day
it
is
not
our
purpose
to
make
mention
,
save
of
one
only
,
a
little
square
piano
,
which
came
down
from
the
upper
regions
of
the
house
(
the
state
grand
piano
having
been
disposed
of
previously
)
;
this
the
young
lady
tried
with
a
rapid
and
skilful
hand
(
making
the
officer
blush
and
start
again
)
,
and
for
it
,
when
its
turn
came
,
her
agent
began
to
bid
.
But
there
was
an
opposition
here
.
The
Hebrew
aide-de-camp
in
the
service
of
the
officer
at
the
table
bid
against
the
Hebrew
gentleman
employed
by
the
elephant
purchasers
,
and
a
brisk
battle
ensued
over
this
little
piano
,
the
combatants
being
greatly
encouraged
by
Mr.
Hammerdown
.
At
last
,
when
the
competition
had
been
prolonged
for
some
time
,
the
elephant
captain
and
lady
desisted
from
the
race
;
and
the
hammer
coming
down
,
the
auctioneer
said
:
—
“
Mr.
Lewis
,
twenty-five
,
”
and
Mr.
Lewis’s
chief
thus
became
the
proprietor
of
the
little
square
piano
.
Having
effected
the
purchase
,
he
sate
up
as
if
he
was
greatly
relieved
,
and
the
unsuccessful
competitors
catching
a
glimpse
of
him
at
this
moment
,
the
lady
said
to
her
friend
.
“
Why
,
Rawdon
,
it’s
Captain
Dobbin
.
”
I
suppose
Becky
was
discontented
with
the
new
piano
her
husband
had
hired
for
her
,
or
perhaps
the
proprietors
of
that
instrument
had
fetched
it
away
,
declining
farther
credit
,
or
perhaps
she
had
a
particular
attachment
for
the
one
which
she
had
just
tried
to
purchase
,
recollecting
it
in
old
days
,
when
she
used
to
play
upon
it
,
in
the
little
sitting-room
of
our
dear
Amelia
Sedley
.
The
sale
was
at
the
old
house
in
Russell
Square
,
where
we
passed
some
evenings
together
at
the
beginning
of
this
story
.
Good
old
John
Sedley
was
a
ruined
man
.
His
name
had
been
proclaimed
as
a
defaulter
on
the
Stock
Exchange
,
and
his
bankruptcy
and
commercial
extermination
had
followed
.
Mr.
Osborne’s
butler
came
to
buy
some
of
the
famous
port
wine
to
transfer
to
the
cellars
over
the
way
.
As
for
one
dozen
well-manufactured
silver
spoons
and
forks
at
per
oz.
,
and
one
dozen
dessert
ditto
ditto
,
there
were
three
young
stock-brokers
(
Messrs.
Dale
,
Spiggot
,
and
Dale
.
of
Threadneedle-Street
,
indeed
)
,
who
,
having
had
dealings
with
the
old
man
,
and
kindnesses
from
him
in
days
when
he
was
kind
to
everybody
with
whom
he
dealt
,
sent
this
little
spar
out
of
the
wreck
with
their
love
to
good
Mrs.
Sedley
;
and
with
respect
to
the
piano
,
as
it
had
been
Amelia’s
,
and
as
she
might
miss
it
and
want
one
now
,
and
as
Captain
William
Dobbin
could
no
more
play
upon
it
than
he
could
dance
on
the
tight-rope
,
it
is
probable
that
he
did
not
purchase
the
instrument
for
his
own
use
.
In
a
word
,
it
arrived
that
evening
at
a
wonderful
small
cottage
in
a
street
leading
from
the
Fulham
Road
—
one
of
those
streets
which
have
the
finest
romantic
names
—
(
this
was
called
St.
Adelaide
Villas
,
Anna-Maria
Road
,
West
)
.
where
the
houses
look
like
baby-houses
;
where
the
people
,
looking
out
of
the
first-floor
windows
,
must
infallibly
,
as
you
think
,
sit
with
their
feet
in
the
parlours
;
where
the
shrubs
in
the
little
gardens
in
front
,
bloom
with
a
perennial
display
of
little
children’s
pinafores
,
little
red
socks
,
caps
,
etc.
(
polyandria
polygynia
)
;
whence
you
hear
the
sound
of
jingling
spinets
and
women
singing
;
where
little
porter
pots
hang
on
the
railing
sunning
themselves
;
whither
of
evenings
you
see
City
clerks
padding
wearily
:
here
it
was
that
Mr.
Clapp
,
the
clerk
of
Mr.
Sedley
,
had
his
domicile
,
and
in
this
asylum
the
good
old
gentleman
hid
his
head
with
his
wife
and
daughter
when
the
crash
came
.
Jos
Sedley
had
acted
as
a
man
of
his
disposition
would
,
when
the
announcement
of
the
family
misfortune
reached
him
.
He
did
not
come
to
London
,
but
he
wrote
to
his
mother
to
draw
upon
his
agents
for
whatever
money
was
wanted
,
so
that
his
kind
broken-spirited
old
parents
had
no
present
poverty
to
fear
.
This
done
,
Jos
went
on
at
the
boarding-house
at
Cheltenham
pretty
much
as
before
.
He
drove
his
curricle
;
he
drank
his
claret
;
he
played
his
rubber
;
he
told
his
Indian
stories
,
and
the
Irish
widow
consoled
and
flattered
him
as
usual
.
His
present
of
money
,
needful
as
it
was
,
made
little
impression
on
his
parents
;
and
I
have
heard
Amelia
say
,
that
the
first
day
on
which
she
saw
her
father
lift
up
his
head
after
the
failure
,
was
on
the
receipt
of
the
packet
of
forks
and
spoons
with
the
young
stock-brokers’
love
,
over
which
he
burst
out
crying
like
a
child
,
being
greatly
more
affected
than
even
his
wife
,
to
whom
the
present
was
addressed
.
Edward
Dale
,
the
junior
of
the
house
,
who
purchased
the
spoons
for
the
firm
,
was
,
in
fact
,
very
sweet
upon
Amelia
,
and
offered
for
her
in
spite
of
all
.
He
married
Miss
Louisa
Cutts
(
daughter
of
Higham
and
Cutts
,
the
eminent
cornfactors
)
with
a
handsome
fortune
in
1820
;
and
is
now
living
in
splendour
,
and
with
a
numerous
family
,
at
his
elegant
villa
,
Muswell
Hill
.
But
we
must
not
let
the
recollections
of
this
good
fellow
cause
us
to
diverge
from
the
principal
history
.
I
hope
the
reader
has
much
too
good
an
opinion
of
Captain
and
Mrs.
Crawley
to
suppose
that
they
ever
would
have
dreamed
of
paying
a
visit
to
so
remote
a
district
as
Bloomsbury
,
if
they
thought
the
family
whom
they
proposed
to
honour
with
a
visit
were
not
merely
out
of
fashion
,
but
out
of
money
,
and
could
be
serviceable
to
them
in
no
possible
manner
.
Rebecca
was
entirely
surprised
at
the
sight
of
the
comfortable
old
house
where
she
had
met
with
no
small
kindness
,
ransacked
by
brokers
and
bargainers
,
and
its
quiet
family
treasures
given
up
to
public
desecration
and
plunder
.
A
month
after
her
flight
,
she
had
bethought
her
of
Amelia
,
and
Rawdon
,
with
a
horse-laugh
,
had
expressed
a
perfect
willingness
to
see
young
George
Osborne
again
.
“
He’s
a
very
agreeable
acquaintance
,
Beck
,
”
the
wag
added
.
“
I’d
like
to
sell
him
another
horse
,
Beck
.
I’d
like
to
play
a
few
more
games
at
billiards
with
him
.
He’d
be
what
I
call
useful
just
now
,
Mrs.
C
.
—
ha
,
ha
!
”
by
which
sort
of
speech
it
is
not
to
be
supposed
that
Rawdon
Crawley
had
a
deliberate
desire
to
cheat
Mr.
Osborne
at
play
,
but
only
wished
to
take
that
fair
advantage
of
him
which
almost
every
sporting
gentleman
in
Vanity
Fair
considers
to
be
his
due
from
his
neighbour
.
The
old
Aunt
was
long
in
“
coming-to
.
”
A
month
had
elapsed
.
Rawdon
was
denied
the
door
by
Mr.
Bowls
;
his
servants
could
not
get
a
lodgment
in
the
house
at
Park
Lane
;
his
letters
were
sent
back
unopened
.
Miss
Crawley
never
stirred
out
—
she
was
unwell
—
and
Mrs.
Bute
remained
still
and
never
left
her
.
Crawley
and
his
wife
both
of
them
augured
evil
from
the
continued
presence
of
Mrs.
Bute
.
“
Gad
,
I
begin
to
perceive
now
why
she
was
always
bringing
us
together
at
Queen’s
Crawley
,
”
Rawdon
said
.
“
What
an
artful
little
woman
!
”
ejaculated
Rebecca
.
“
Well
,
I
don’t
regret
it
,
if
you
don’t
,
”
the
Captain
cried
,
still
in
an
amorous
rapture
with
his
wife
,
who
rewarded
him
with
a
kiss
by
way
of
reply
,
and
was
indeed
not
a
little
gratified
by
the
generous
confidence
of
her
husband
.
“
If
he
had
but
a
little
more
brains
,
”
she
thought
to
herself
,
“
I
might
make
something
of
him
;
”
but
she
never
let
him
perceive
the
opinion
she
had
of
him
;
listened
with
indefatigable
complacency
to
his
stories
of
the
stable
and
the
mess
;
laughed
at
all
his
jokes
;
felt
the
greatest
interest
in
Jack
Spatterdash
,
whose
cab-horse
had
come
down
,
and
Bob
Martingale
,
who
had
been
taken
up
in
a
gambling-house
,
and
Tom
Cinqbars
,
who
was
going
to
ride
the
steeple-chase
.
When
he
came
home
she
was
alert
and
happy
:
when
he
went
out
she
pressed
him
to
go
:
when
he
stayed
at
home
,
she
played
and
sang
for
him
,
made
him
good
drinks
,
superintended
his
dinner
,
warmed
his
slippers
,
and
steeped
his
soul
in
comfort
.
The
best
of
women
(
I
have
heard
my
grandmother
say
)
are
hypocrites
.
We
don’t
know
how
much
they
hide
from
us
:
how
watchful
they
are
when
they
seem
most
artless
and
confidential
:
how
often
those
frank
smiles
which
they
wear
so
easily
,
are
traps
to
cajole
or
elude
or
disarm
—
I
don’t
mean
in
your
mere
coquettes
,
but
your
domestic
models
,
and
paragons
of
female
virtue
.
Who
has
not
seen
a
woman
hide
the
dulness
of
a
stupid
husband
,
or
coax
the
fury
of
a
savage
one
?
We
accept
this
amiable
slavishness
,
and
praise
a
woman
for
it
:
we
call
this
pretty
treachery
truth
.
A
good
housewife
is
of
necessity
a
humbug
;
and
Cornelia’s
husband
was
hoodwinked
,
as
Potiphar
was
—
only
in
a
different
way
.
By
these
attentions
,
that
veteran
rake
,
Rawdon
Crawley
,
found
himself
converted
into
a
very
happy
and
submissive
married
man
.
His
former
haunts
knew
him
not
.
They
asked
about
him
once
or
twice
at
his
clubs
,
but
did
not
miss
him
much
:
in
those
booths
of
Vanity
Fair
people
seldom
do
miss
each
other
.
His
secluded
wife
ever
smiling
and
cheerful
,
his
little
comfortable
lodgings
,
snug
meals
,
and
homely
evenings
,
had
all
the
charms
of
novelty
and
secrecy
.
The
marriage
was
not
yet
declared
to
the
world
,
or
published
in
the
Morning
Post
.
All
his
creditors
would
have
come
rushing
on
him
in
a
body
,
had
they
known
that
he
was
united
to
a
woman
without
fortune
.
“
My
relations
won’t
cry
fie
upon
me
,
”
Becky
said
,
with
rather
a
bitter
laugh
;
and
she
was
quite
contented
to
wait
until
the
old
aunt
should
be
reconciled
,
before
she
claimed
her
place
in
society
.
So
she
lived
at
Brompton
,
and
meanwhile
saw
no
one
,
or
only
those
few
of
her
husband’s
male
companions
who
were
admitted
into
her
little
dining-room
.
These
were
all
charmed
with
her
.
The
little
dinners
,
the
laughing
and
chatting
,
the
music
afterwards
,
delighted
all
who
participated
in
these
enjoyments
.
Major
Martingale
never
thought
about
asking
to
see
the
marriage
licence
.
Captain
Cinqbars
was
perfectly
enchanted
with
her
skill
in
making
punch
.
And
young
Lieutenant
Spatterdash
(
who
was
fond
of
piquet
,
and
whom
Crawley
would
often
invite
)
was
evidently
and
quickly
smitten
by
Mrs.
Crawley
;
but
her
own
circumspection
and
modesty
never
forsook
her
for
a
moment
,
and
Crawley’s
reputation
as
a
fire-eating
and
jealous
warrior
was
a
further
and
complete
defence
to
his
little
wife
.
There
are
gentlemen
of
very
good
blood
and
fashion
in
this
city
,
who
never
have
entered
a
lady’s
drawing-room
;
so
that
though
Rawdon
Crawley’s
marriage
might
be
talked
about
in
his
county
,
where
,
of
course
,
Mrs.
Bute
had
spread
the
news
,
in
London
it
was
doubted
,
or
not
heeded
,
or
not
talked
about
at
all
.
He
lived
comfortably
on
credit
.
He
had
a
large
capital
of
debts
,
which
laid
out
judiciously
,
will
carry
a
man
along
for
many
years
,
and
on
which
certain
men
about
town
contrive
to
live
a
hundred
times
better
than
even
men
with
ready
money
can
do
.
Indeed
who
is
there
that
walks
London
streets
,
but
can
point
out
a
half-dozen
of
men
riding
by
him
splendidly
,
while
he
is
on
foot
,
courted
by
fashion
,
bowed
into
their
carriages
by
tradesmen
,
denying
themselves
nothing
,
and
living
on
who
knows
what
?
We
see
Jack
Thriftless
prancing
in
the
park
,
or
darting
in
his
brougham
down
Pall
Mall
:
we
eat
his
dinners
served
on
his
miraculous
plate
.
“
How
did
this
begin
,
”
we
say
,
“
or
where
will
it
end
?
”
“
My
dear
fellow
,
”
I
heard
Jack
once
say
,
“
I
owe
money
in
every
capital
in
Europe
.
”
The
end
must
come
some
day
,
but
in
the
meantime
Jack
thrives
as
much
as
ever
;
people
are
glad
enough
to
shake
him
by
the
hand
,
ignore
the
little
dark
stories
that
are
whispered
every
now
and
then
against
him
,
and
pronounce
him
a
good-natured
,
jovial
,
reckless
fellow
.
Truth
obliges
us
to
confess
that
Rebecca
had
married
a
gentleman
of
this
order
.
Everything
was
plentiful
in
his
house
but
ready
money
,
of
which
their
ménage
pretty
early
felt
the
want
;
and
reading
the
Gazette
one
day
,
and
coming
upon
the
announcement
of
“
Lieutenant
G
.
Osborne
to
be
Captain
by
purchase
,
vice
Smith
,
who
exchanges
,
”
Rawdon
uttered
that
sentiment
regarding
Amelia’s
lover
,
which
ended
in
the
visit
to
Russell
Square
.
When
Rawdon
and
his
wife
wished
to
communicate
with
Captain
Dobbin
at
the
sale
,
and
to
know
particulars
of
the
catastrophe
which
had
befallen
Rebecca’s
old
acquaintances
,
the
Captain
had
vanished
;
and
such
information
as
they
got
was
from
a
stray
porter
or
broker
at
the
auction
.
“
Look
at
them
with
their
hooked
beaks
,
”
Becky
said
,
getting
into
the
buggy
,
her
picture
under
her
arm
,
in
great
glee
.
“
They’re
like
vultures
after
a
battle
.
”
“
Don’t
know
.
Never
was
in
action
,
my
dear
.
Ask
Martingale
;
he
was
in
Spain
,
aide-de-camp
to
General
Blazes
.
”
“
He
was
a
very
kind
old
man
,
Mr.
Sedley
,
”
Rebecca
said
;
“
I’m
really
sorry
he’s
gone
wrong
.
”
“
O
stock-brokers
—
bankrupts
—
used
to
it
,
you
know
,
”
Rawdon
replied
,
cutting
a
fly
off
the
horse’s
ear
.
“
I
wish
we
could
have
afforded
some
of
the
plate
,
Rawdon
,
”
the
wife
continued
sentimentally
.
“
Five-and-twenty
guineas
was
monstrously
dear
for
that
little
piano
.
We
chose
it
at
Broadwood’s
for
Amelia
,
when
she
came
from
school
.
It
only
cost
five-and-thirty
then
.
”
“
What
d’ye-call
’em
—
‘Osborne
,
’
will
cry
off
now
,
I
suppose
,
since
the
family
is
smashed
.
How
cut
up
your
pretty
little
friend
will
be
;
hey
,
Becky
?
”
“
I
daresay
she’ll
recover
it
;
”
Becky
said
with
a
smile
—
and
they
drove
on
and
talked
about
something
else
.
XVIII
.
Who
Played
on
the
Piano
Captain
Dobbin
Bought
OUR
surprised
story
now
finds
itself
for
a
moment
among
very
famous
events
and
personages
,
and
hanging
on
to
the
skirts
of
history
.
When
the
eagles
of
Napoleon
Bonaparte
,
the
Corsican
upstart
,
were
flying
from
Provence
,
where
they
had
perched
after
a
brief
sojourn
in
Elba
,
and
from
steeple
to
steeple
until
they
reached
the
towers
of
Notre
Dame
,
I
wonder
whether
the
Imperial
birds
had
any
eye
for
a
little
corner
of
the
parish
of
Bloomsbury
,
London
,
which
you
might
have
thought
so
quiet
,
that
even
the
whirring
and
flapping
of
those
mighty
wings
would
pass
unobserved
there
?
“
Napoleon
has
landed
at
Cannes
.
”
Such
news
might
create
a
panic
at
Vienna
,
and
cause
Russia
to
drop
his
cards
,
and
take
Prussia
into
a
corner
,
and
Talleyrand
and
Metternich
to
wag
their
heads
together
,
while
Prince
Hardenberg
,
and
even
the
present
Marquis
of
Londonderry
,
were
puzzled
;
but
how
was
this
intelligence
to
affect
a
young
lady
in
Russell
Square
,
before
whose
door
the
watchman
sang
the
hours
when
she
was
asleep
:
who
,
if
she
strolled
in
the
square
,
was
guarded
there
by
the
railings
and
the
beadle
:
who
,
if
she
walked
ever
so
short
a
distance
to
buy
a
ribbon
in
Southampton
Row
,
was
followed
by
Black
Sambo
with
an
enormous
cane
:
who
was
always
cared
for
,
dressed
,
put
to
bed
,
and
watched
over
by
ever
so
many
guardian
angels
,
with
and
without
wages
?
Bon
Dieu
,
I
say
,
is
it
not
hard
that
the
fateful
rush
of
the
great
Imperial
struggle
can’t
take
place
without
affecting
a
poor
little
harmless
girl
of
eighteen
,
who
is
occupied
in
billing
and
cooing
,
or
working
muslin
collars
in
Russell
Square
?
You
,
too
,
kindly
,
homely
flower
!
—
is
the
great
roaring
war
tempest
coming
to
sweep
you
down
,
here
,
although
cowering
under
the
shelter
of
Holborn
?
Yes
;
Napoleon
is
flinging
his
last
stake
,
and
poor
little
Emmy
Sedley’s
happiness
forms
,
somehow
,
part
of
it
.
In
the
first
place
,
her
father’s
fortune
was
swept
down
with
that
fatal
news
.
All
his
speculations
had
of
late
gone
wrong
with
the
luckless
old
gentleman
.
Ventures
had
failed
;
merchants
had
broken
;
funds
had
risen
when
he
calculated
they
would
fall
.
What
need
to
particularize
?
If
success
is
rare
and
slow
,
everybody
knows
how
quick
and
easy
ruin
is
.
Old
Sedley
had
kept
his
own
sad
counsel
.
Everything
seemed
to
go
on
as
usual
in
the
quiet
,
opulent
house
;
the
good-natured
mistress
pursuing
,
quite
unsuspiciously
,
her
bustling
idleness
,
and
daily
easy
avocations
;
the
daughter
absorbed
still
in
one
selfish
,
tender
thought
,
and
quite
regardless
of
all
the
world
besides
,
when
that
final
crash
came
,
under
which
the
worthy
family
fell
.
One
night
Mrs.
Sedley
was
writing
cards
for
a
party
;
the
Osbornes
had
given
one
,
and
she
must
not
be
behindhand
;
John
Sedley
,
who
had
come
home
very
late
from
the
City
,
sate
silent
at
the
chimney
side
,
while
his
wife
was
prattling
to
him
;
Emmy
had
gone
up
to
her
room
ailing
and
low-spirited
.
“
She’s
not
happy
,
”
the
mother
went
on
.
“
George
Osborne
neglects
her
.
I’ve
no
patience
with
the
airs
of
those
people
.
The
girls
have
not
been
in
the
house
these
three
weeks
;
and
George
has
been
twice
in
town
without
coming
.
Edward
Dale
saw
him
at
the
Opera
.
Edward
