peoplemust
submit
to
the
decrees
of
Providence
;
and
then
he
would
speak
of
the
election
and
of
his
chances
.
Sometimes
Mr
Ashburton
was
despondent
,
and
then
Lucilla
cheered
him
up
;
and
sometimes
he
had
very
good
hopes
.
"
I
am
very
glad
you
are
to
be
here
,
"
he
said
on
one
of
these
occasions
.
"
It
would
have
been
a
great
loss
to
me
if
you
had
gone
away
.
I
shall
never
forget
our
talk
about
it
here
that
day
,
and
how
you
were
the
first
person
that
found
me
out
.
"
"
It
was
not
any
cleverness
of
mine
,
"
said
Lucilla
.
"
It
came
into
my
mind
in
a
moment
,
like
spirit-rapping
,
you
know
.
It
seems
so
strange
to
talk
of
that
now
;
there
have
been
such
changes
since
then
—
it
looks
like
years
.
"
"
Yes
,
"
said
Mr
Ashburton
,
in
his
steady
way
.
"
There
is
nothing
that
really
makes
time
look
so
long
;
but
we
must
all
bow
to
these
dispensations
,
my
dear
Miss
Marjoribanks
.
I
would
not
speak
of
the
election
,
but
that
I
thought
it
might
amuse
you
.
The
writs
are
out
now
,
you
know
,
and
it
takes
place
on
Monday
week
.
"
Upon
which
Miss
Marjoribanks
smiled
upon
Mr
Ashburton
,
and
held
out
her
hands
to
him
with
a
gesture
and
look
which
said
more
than
words
.
"
You
know
you
will
have
all
my
best
wishes
,
"
she
said
;
and
the
candidate
was
much
moved
—
more
moved
than
at
such
a
moment
he
had
thought
it
possible
to
be
.
"
If
I
succeed
,
I
know
whom
I
shall
thank
the
most
,
"
he
said
fervently
;
and
then
,
as
this
was
a
climax
,
and
it
would
have
been
a
kind
of
bathos
to
plunge
into
ordinary
details
after
it
,
Mr
Ashburton
got
up
,
still
holding
Lucilla
's
hand
,
and
clasped
it
almost
tenderly
as
he
said
good-bye
.
She
looked
very
well
in
her
mourning
,
though
she
had
not
expected
to
do
so
;
for
black
was
not
Lucilla
's
style
.
And
the
fact
was
,
that
instead
of
having
gone
off
,
as
she
herself
said
,
Miss
Marjoribanks
looked
better
than
ever
she
did
,
and
was
even
embellished
by
the
natural
tears
which
still
shone
by
times
in
her
eyes
.
Mr
Ashburton
went
out
in
a
kind
of
bewilderment
after
this
interview
,
and
forgot
his
overcoat
in
the
hall
,
and
had
to
come
back
for
it
,
which
was
a
confusing
circumstance
;
and
then
he
went
on
his
way
with
a
gentle
excitement
which
was
not
unpleasant
.
"
Would
she
,
I
wonder
?
"
he
said
to
himself
,
as
he
went
up
Grange
Lane
.
Perhaps
he
was
only
asking
himself
whether
Lucilla
would
or
could
be
present
along
with
Lady
Richmond
and
her
family
at
the
window
of
the
Blue
Boar
on
the
great
day
;
but
if
that
was
it
,
the
idea
had
a
certain
brightening
and
quickening
influence
upon
his
face
and
his
movements
.
The
doubt
he
had
on
the
subject
,
whatever
it
was
,
was
not
a
discouraging
,
but
a
piquant
,
stimulating
,
exciting
doubt
.
He
had
all
but
proposed
the
question
to
his
committee
when
he
went
in
among
them
,
which
would
have
filled
these
gentlemen
with
wonder
and
dismay
.
But
though
he
did
not
do
that
,
he
carried
it
home
with
him
,
as
he
trotted
back
to
the
Firs
to
dinner
.
Mr
Ashburton
took
a
walk
through
his
own
house
that
evening
,
and
examined
all
its
capabilities
—
with
no
particular
motive
,
as
he
was
at
pains
to
explain
to
his
housekeeper
;
and
again
he
said
to
himself
,
"
Would
she
,
I
wonder
?
"
before
he
retired
for
the
night
;
which
was
no
doubt
an
unusual
sort
of
iteration
for
so
sensible
a
man
,
and
one
so
fully
occupied
with
the
most
important
affairs
,
to
make
.
As
for
Lucilla
,
she
was
not
in
the
way
of
asking
herself
any
questions
at
that
moment
.
She
was
letting
things
take
their
course
,
and
not
interfering
;
and
consequently
,
nothing
that
happened
could
be
said
to
be
her
fault
.
She
carried
this
principle
so
far
,
that
even
when
Aunt
Jemima
was
herself
led
to
open
the
subject
,
in
a
hesitating
way
,
Miss
Marjoribanks
never
even
asked
a
single
question
about
Tom
's
last
letter
.
She
was
in
mourning
,
and
that
was
enough
for
her
.
As
for
appearing
at
the
window
of
the
Blue
Boar
with
Lady
Richmond
,
if
that
was
what
Mr
Ashburton
was
curious
about
,
he
might
have
saved
himself
the
trouble
of
any
speculations
on
the
subject
.
For
though
Miss
Marjoribanks
would
be
very
anxious
about
the
election
,
she
would
indeed
have
been
ashamed
of
herself
could
her
feelings
have
permitted
her
to
appear
anywhere
in
public
so
soon
.
Thus
,
while
Mr
Ashburton
occupied
himself
much
with
the
question
which
had
taken
possession
of
his
mind
,
Lucilla
took
a
good
book
,
which
seemed
the
best
reading
for
her
in
her
circumstances
,
and
when
she
had
looked
after
all
her
straitened
affairs
in
the
morning
,
sat
down
sweetly
in
the
afternoon
quiet
of
her
retirement
and
seclusion
,
and
let
things
take
their
way
.
Chapter
XLVII
As
the
election
approached
,
it
became
gradually
the
one
absorbing
object
of
interest
in
Carlingford
.
The
contest
was
so
equal
that
everybody
took
a
certain
share
in
it
,
and
became
excited
as
the
decisive
moment
drew
nigh
.
Most
of
the
people
in
Grange
Lane
were
for
Mr
Ashburton
,
but
then
the
Rector
,
who
was
a
host
in
himself
,
was
for
Mr
Cavendish
;
and
the
coquetting
of
the
Dissenting
interest
,
which
was
sometimes
drawn
towards
the
liberal
sentiments
of
the
former
candidate
,
but
sometimes
could
not
help
reflecting
that
Mr
Ashburton
"
dealt
"
in
George
Street
;
and
the
fluctuations
of
the
bargemen
,
who
were
,
many
of
them
,
freemen
,
and
a
very
difficult
part
of
the
population
,
excited
the
most
vivid
interest
.
Young
Mr
Wentworth
,
who
had
but
lately
come
to
Carlingford
,
had
already
begun
to
acquire
a
great
influence
at
Wharfside
,
where
most
of
the
bargees
lived
,
and
the
steady
ones
would
no
doubt
have
been
largely
swayed
by
him
had
his
inclinations
been
the
same
as
the
Rector
's
;
but
Mr
Wentworth
,
perversely
enough
,
had
conceived
that
intuitive
repugnance
for
Mr
Cavendish
which
a
high-principled
and
not
very
tolerant
young
man
often
feels
for
the
middle-aged
individual
who
still
conceives
himself
to
have
some
right
to
be
called
young
,
and
whose
antecedents
are
not
entirely
beyond
suspicion
.
Mr
Wentworth
's
disinclination
(
and
he
was
a
man
rather
apt
to
take
his
own
way
)
lay
like
a
great
boulder
across
the
stream
of
the
Rector
's
enthusiasm
,
and
unquestionably
interrupted
it
a
little
.
Both
the
candidates
and
both
the
committees
had
accordingly
work
enough
to
do
up
to
the
last
moment
.
Mr
Cavendish
all
at
once
became
a
connoisseur
in
hams
,
and
gave
a
magnificent
order
in
the
most
complimentary
way
to
Tozer
,
who
received
it
with
a
broad
smile
,
and
"
booked
"
it
,
as
he
said
.
"
It
ai
n't
ham
he
's
a
wanting
,
"
the
butterman
said
,
not
without
amusement
;
for
Tozer
was
well-to-do
,
and
,
except
that
he
felt
the
honour
of
a
mark
of
confidence
,
was
not
to
be
moved
one
way
or
another
by
one
order
.
"
If
he
dealt
regular
,
it
might
be
different
.
Them
's
the
sort
of
folks
as
a
man
feels
drawn
to
,
"
said
the
true
philosopher
.
Mr
Ashburton
,
on
the
other
side
,
did
not
make
the
impression
which
his
friends
thought
he
ought
to
have
made
in
Prickett
's
Lane
;
but
at
least
nobody
could
say
that
he
did
not
stick
very
close
to
his
work
.
He
went
at
it
like
a
man
night
and
day
,
and
neglected
no
means
of
carrying
it
to
a
successful
issue
;
whereas
,
as
Mr
Centum
and
Mr
Woodburn
mourned
in
secret
to
each
other
,
Cavendish
required
perpetual
egging
on
.
He
did
not
like
to
get
up
in
the
morning
,
and
get
early
to
his
work
.
It
went
against
all
his
habits
—
as
if
his
habits
mattered
in
the
face
of
so
great
an
emergency
;
and
in
the
afternoon
it
was
hard
to
prevent
him
from
lounging
into
some
of
his
haunts
,
which
were
utterly
out
of
the
way
of
business
.
He
would
stay
in
Masters
's
for
an
hour
at
a
time
,
though
he
knew
Mr
Wentworth
,
who
was
Masters
's
great
patron
,
did
not
care
for
him
,
and
that
his
favour
for
such
a
Tractarian
sort
of
place
was
bitter
to
the
Rector
.
Anything
for
a
little
idleness
and
waste
of
time
,
poor
Mr
Centum
said
,
who
was
two
stone
lighter
on
the
eve
of
the
election
than
when
the
canvass
began
.
Such
a
contrast
would
make
any
man
angry
.
Mr
Cavendish
was
goaded
into
more
activity
as
the
decisive
moment
approached
,
and
performed
what
seemed
to
himself
unparalleled
feats
.
But
it
was
only
two
days
before
the
moment
of
fate
when
the
accident
happened
to
him
which
brought
such
dismay
to
all
his
supporters
.
Our
own
opinion
is
,
that
it
did
not
materially
affect
the
issue
of
the
contest
one
way
or
other
;
but
that
was
the
reverse
of
the
feeling
which
prevailed
in
Grange
Lane
.
It
was
just
two
days
before
the
election
,
and
all
seemed
going
on
sufficiently
well
.
Mr
Cavendish
had
been
meeting
a
Dissenting
committee
,
and
it
was
on
leaving
them
that
he
found
himself
at
the
corner
of
Grove
Street
,
where
,
under
ordinary
circumstances
,
he
had
no
occasion
to
be
.
At
a
later
period
he
was
rather
fond
of
saying
that
it
was
not
of
his
own
motion
that
he
was
there
at
all
,
but
only
in
obedience
to
the
committee
,
which
ordered
him
about
like
a
nigger
.
The
spring
afternoon
was
darkening
,
and
the
Dissenters
(
almost
wholly
unimpressed
by
his
arguments
,
and
remarking
more
strongly
than
ever
where
Mr
Ashburton
"
dealt
,
"
and
how
thoroughly
everybody
knew
all
about
him
)
had
all
dispersed
.
It
was
but
natural
,
when
Mr
Cavendish
came
to
the
corner
of
Grove
Street
,
where
,
in
other
days
,
he
had
played
a
very
different
part
,
that
certain
softening
influences
should
take
possession
of
his
soul
.
"
What
a
voice
she
had
,
by
Jove
!
"
he
said
to
himself
;
"
very
different
from
that
shrill
pipe
of
Lucilla
's
.
"
To
tell
the
truth
,
if
there
was
one
person
in
Carlingford
whom
he
felt
a
resentment
against
,
it
was
Lucilla
.
She
had
never
done
him
any
harm
to
speak
of
,
and
once
she
had
unquestionably
done
him
a
great
deal
of
good
.
But
,
on
the
other
hand
,
it
was
she
who
first
showed
herself
candidly
conscious
that
he
had
grown
stout
,
and
who
all
along
had
supported
and
encouraged
his
rival
.
It
was
possible
,
no
doubt
,
that
this
might
be
pique
;
and
,
mixed
with
his
anger
for
her
sins
against
him
,
Mr
Cavendish
had
,
at
the
same
time
,
a
counterbalancing
sense
that
there
still
remained
to
him
in
his
life
one
supereminently
wise
thing
that
he
still
could
do
—
and
that
was
,
to
go
down
Grange
Lane
instantly
to
the
Doctor
's
silenced
house
,
and
go
down
on
his
knees
,
or
do
any
other
absurdity
that
might
be
necessary
to
make
Lucilla
marry
him
;
after
which
act
he
would
henceforward
be
,
pecuniarily
and
otherwise
(
notwithstanding
that
she
was
poor
)
,
a
saved
man
.
It
did
not
occur
to
him
that
Lucilla
would
never
have
married
him
,
even
had
he
gone
down
on
his
knees
;
but
perhaps
that
would
be
too
much
to
ask
any
man
to
believe
of
any
woman
;
and
his
feeling
that
this
was
the
right
thing
to
do
,
rather
strengthened
than
otherwise
the
revolt
of
his
heart
against
Lucilla
.
It
was
twilight
,
as
we
have
said
,
and
he
had
done
a
hard
day
's
work
,
and
there
was
still
an
hour
before
dinner
which
he
seemed
to
have
a
right
to
dispose
of
in
his
own
way
;
and
he
did
hesitate
at
the
corner
of
Grove
Street
,
laying
himself
open
,
as
it
were
,
to
any
temptation
that
might
offer
itself
.
Temptations
come
,
as
a
general
rule
,
when
they
are
sought
;
and
thus
,
on
the
very
eve
of
the
election
,
a
grievous
accident
happened
to
Mr
Cavendish
.
It
might
have
happened
at
any
time
,
to
be
sure
,
but
this
was
the
most
inopportune
moment
possible
,
and
it
came
accordingly
now
.
For
,
as
he
made
that
pause
,
some
one
passed
him
whom
he
could
not
but
look
after
with
a
certain
interest
.
She
went
past
him
with
a
whisk
,
as
if
she
too
was
not
without
reminiscences
.
It
was
not
such
a
figure
as
a
romantic
young
man
would
be
attracted
by
on
such
a
sudden
meeting
,
and
it
was
not
attraction
but
recollection
that
moved
Mr
Cavendish
.
It
was
the
figure
of
a
large
woman
in
a
large
shawl
,
not
very
gracefully
put
on
,
and
making
her
look
very
square
about
the
shoulders
and
bunchy
at
the
neck
;
and
the
robe
that
was
whisked
past
him
was
that
peculiar
kind
of
faded
silk
gown
which
looks
and
rustles
like
tin
,
or
some
other
thin
metallic
substance
.
He
made
that
momentary
pause
at
the
street
corner
,
and
then
he
went
on
,
slowly
,
not
following
her
,
to
be
sure
,
but
merely
,
as
he
said
to
himself
,
pursuing
his
own
course
;
for
it
was
just
as
easy
to
get
into
Grange
Lane
by
the
farther
end
as
by
this
end
.
He
went
along
very
slowly
,
and
the
lady
before
him
walked
quickly
,
even
with
something
like
a
bounce
of
excitement
,
and
went
in
at
Mr
Lake
's
door
long
before
Mr
Cavendish
reached
it
.
When
he
came
up
on
a
level
with
the
parlour
window
,
which
was
partially
open
though
the
evening
was
so
cold
,
Mr
Cavendish
positively
started
,
notwithstanding
the
old
associations
which
had
been
rising
in
his
mind
;
for
there
was
pouring
forth
from
the
half-open
window
such
a
volume
of
melody
as
had
not
been
heard
for
years
in
Grove
Street
.
Perhaps
the
voice
had
lost
some
of
its
freshness
,
but
in
the
surprise
of
the
moment
the
hearer
was
not
critical
;
and
its
volume
and
force
seemed
even
greater
than
before
.
It
has
been
already
mentioned
in
this
history
that
a
contralto
had
a
special
charm
for
Mr
Cavendish
.
He
was
so
struck
that
he
stood
stock-still
for
the
moment
,
not
knowing
what
to
make
of
it
;
and
then
he
wavered
for
another
moment
,
with
a
sudden
sense
that
the
old
allegorical
crisis
had
occurred
to
him
,
and
that
Pleasure
,
in
a
magnificent
gush
of
song
,
wooed
him
on
one
side
,
while
Duty
,
with
still
small
voice
,
called
him
at
the
other
.
He
stood
still
,
he
wavered
—
for
fifty
seconds
perhaps
the
issue
was
uncertain
,
and
the
victim
was
still
within
reach
of
salvation
;
but
the
result
in
such
a
case
depends
very
much
upon
whether
a
man
really
likes
doing
his
duty
,
which
is
by
no
means
an
invariable
necessity
.
Mr
Cavendish
had
in
the
abstract
no
sort
of
desire
to
do
his
unless
when
he
could
not
help
it
,
and
consequently
his
resistance
to
temptation
was
very
feeble
.
He
was
standing
knocking
at
Mr
Lake
's
door
before
half
the
thoughts
appropriate
to
the
occasion
had
got
through
his
mind
,
and
found
himself
sitting
on
the
little
sofa
in
Mr
Lake
's
parlour
as
he
used
to
do
ten
years
ago
,
before
he
could
explain
to
himself
how
he
came
there
.
It
was
all
,
surely
,
a
kind
of
enchantment
altogether
.
He
was
there
—
he
who
had
been
so
long
away
from
Carlingford
—
he
who
had
been
so
deeply
offended
by
hearing
his
name
seriously
coupled
with
that
of
Barbara
Lake
—
he
who
ought
to
have
been
anywhere
in
the
world
rather
than
here
upon
the
eve
of
his
election
,
when
all
the
world
was
keeping
watch
over
his
conduct
.
And
it
was
Barbara
who
sat
at
the
piano
singing
—
singing
one
of
the
same
songs
,
as
if
she
had
spent
the
entire
interval
in
that
occupation
,
and
never
had
done
anything
else
all
these
years
.
The
sensation
was
so
strange
that
Mr
Cavendish
may
be
excused
for
feeling
a
little
uncertainty
as
to
whether
or
not
he
was
dreaming
,
which
made
him
unable
to
answer
himself
the
graver
question
whether
or
not
he
was
doing
what
he
ought
to
do
.
He
did
not
seem
to
be
able
to
make
out
whether
it
was
now
or
ten
years
ago
—
whether
he
was
a
young
man
free
to
amuse
himself
,
or
a
man
who
was
getting
stout
,
and
upon
whom
the
eyes
of
an
anxious
constituency
were
fixed
.
And
then
,
after
being
so
virtuous
for
a
length
of
time
,
a
forbidden
pleasure
was
sweet
.
Mr
Cavendish
's
ideas
,
however
,
gradually
arranged
themselves
as
he
sat
in
the
corner
of
the
little
haircloth
sofa
,
and
began
to
take
in
the
differences
as
well
as
the
bewildering
resemblances
of
the
present
and
past
.
Barbara
,
like
himself
,
had
changed
.
She
did
not
insult
him
,
as
Lucilla
had
done
,
by
fresh
looks
and
mischievous
candour
about
"
going
off
.
"
Barbara
had
gone
off
,
like
himself
,
and
,
like
himself
,
did
not
mean
to
acknowledge
it
.
She
had
expanded
all
over
,
as
was
natural
to
a
contralto
.
Her
eyes
were
blacker
and
more
brilliant
in
a
way
,
but
they
were
eyes
which
owned
an
indescribable
amount
of
usage
;
and
her
cheeks
,
too
,
wore
the
deep
roses
of
old
,
deepened
and
fixed
by
wear
and
tear
.
Instead
of
feeling
ashamed
of
himself
in
her
presence
,
as
he
had
done
in
Lucilla
's
,
Mr
Cavendish
felt
somehow
consoled
and
justified
and
sympathetic
.
"
Poor
soul
!
"
he
said
to
himself
,
as
he
sat
by
while
she
was
singing
.
She
,
too
,
had
been
in
the
wars
,
and
had
not
come
out
scatheless
.
She
did
not
reproach
him
,
nor
commiserate
him
,
nor
look
at
him
with
that
mixture
of
wonder
and
tolerance
and
pity
which
other
people
had
manifested
.
She
did
not
even
remark
that
he
had
grown
stout
.
He
was
not
a
man
fallen
,
fallen
,
fallen
from
his
high
estate
,
to
Barbara
.
She
herself
had
fallen
from
the
pinnacles
of
youth
,
and
Mr
Cavendish
was
still
a
great
man
in
her
eyes
.
She
sang
for
him
as
she
had
sung
ten
years
ago
,
and
received
him
with
a
flutter
of
suppressed
delight
,
and
in
her
satisfaction
was
full
of
excitement
.
The
hardworked
candidate
sank
deeper
and
deeper
into
the
corner
of
the
sofa
and
listened
to
the
music
,
and
felt
it
very
soothing
and
pleasant
,
for
everybody
had
united
in
goading
him
on
rather
than
petting
him
for
the
last
month
or
two
of
his
life
.
"
Now
tell
me
something
about
yourself
,
"
he
said
,
when
the
song
was
over
,
and
Barbara
had
turned
round
,
as
she
used
to
do
in
old
times
,
on
her
music-stool
;
"
I
hear
you
have
been
away
,
like
me
.
"
"
Not
like
you
,
"
said
Barbara
,
"
for
you
went
because
you
pleased
,
and
I
went
—
—
"
"
Why
did
you
go
?
"
asked
Mr
Cavendish
.
"
Because
I
could
not
stay
here
any
longer
,
"
said
Barbara
,
with
her
old
vehemence
;
"
because
I
was
talked
about
,
and
looked
down
upon
,
and
—
—
Well
,
never
mind
,
that
's
all
over
now
;
and
I
am
sure
I
am
very
glad
to
see
you
,
Mr
Cavendish
,
as
a
friend
.
"
And
with
that
something
like
a
tear
came
into
her
eye
.
She
had
been
knocked
about
a
good
deal
in
the
world
,
and
though
she
had
not
learned
much
,
still
she
had
learned
that
she
was
young
no
longer
,
and
could
not
indulge
in
the
caprices
of
that
past
condition
of
existence
.
Mr
Cavendish
,
for
his
part
,
could
not
but
smile
at
this
intimation
that
he
was
to
be
received
as
a
friend
,
and
consequently
need
not
have
any
fear
of
Barbara
's
fascinations
,
—
as
if
a
woman
of
her
age
,
worn
and
gone
off
as
she
was
,
could
be
supposed
dangerous
;
but
still
he
was
touched
by
her
tone
.
"
We
were
once
very
good
friends
,
Barbara
,
"
said
the
inconsistent
man
;
"
we
have
lost
sight
of
each
other
for
a
long
time
,
as
people
do
in
this
world
;
but
we
were
once
very
good
friends
.
"
"
Yes
,
"
she
said
,
with
a
slight
touch
of
annoyance
in
her
voice
;
"
but
since
we
have
lost
sight
of
each
other
for
so
long
,
I
do
n't
see
why
you
should
call
me
Barbara
.
It
would
be
much
more
becoming
to
say
Miss
Lake
.
"
Mr
Cavendish
was
amused
,
and
he
was
touched
and
flattered
.
Most
people
had
been
rather
forbearing
to
him
since
he
came
back
,
putting
up
with
him
for
old
friendship
's
sake
,
or
supporting
his
cause
as
that
of
a
reformed
man
,
and
giving
him
,
on
the
whole
,
a
sort
of
patronising
humiliating
countenance
;
and
to
find
somebody
in
whose
eyes
he
was
still
the
paladin
of
old
times
,
the
Mr
Cavendish
whom
people
in
Grange
Lane
were
proud
of
,
was
balm
to
his
wounded
soul
.
"
I
do
n't
know
how
I
am
to
learn
to
say
Miss
Lake
—
when
you
are
just
as
good
to
me
as
ever
,
and
sing
as
you
have
just
been
doing
,
"
he
said
.
"
I
suppose
you
say
so
because
you
find
me
so
changed
?
"
Upon
which
Barbara
lifted
her
black
eyes
and
looked
at
him
as
she
had
scarcely
done
before
.
The
eyes
were
as
bright
as
ever
,
and
they
were
softened
a
little
for
the
moment
out
of
the
stare
that
seemed
to
have
grown
habitual
to
them
;
and
her
crimson
cheeks
glowed
as
of
old
;
and
though
she
was
untidy
,
and
looked
worn
,
and
like
a
creature
much
buffeted
about
by
wind
and
waves
,
she
was
still
what
connoisseurs
in
that
article
call
a
fine
woman
.
She
looked
full
at
Mr
Cavendish
,
and
then
she
cast
down
her
eyes
,
as
if
the
sight
was
too
much
for
her
.
"
I
do
n't
see
any
difference
,
"
she
said
,
with
a
certain
tremor
in
her
voice
;
for
he
was
a
man
of
whom
,
in
the
days
of
her
youth
,
she
had
been
fond
in
her
way
.
And
naturally
Mr
Cavendish
was
more
touched
than
ever
.
He
took
her
hand
,
and
called
her
Barbara
again
without
any
reproof
;
and
he
saw
that
she
trembled
,
and
that
his
presence
here
made
to
the
full
as
great
an
impression
as
he
had
ever
done
in
his
palmiest
days
.
Perhaps
a
greater
impression
;
for
their
old
commerce
had
been
stormy
,
and
interrupted
by
many
a
hurricane
;
and
Barbara
then
had
,
or
thought
she
might
have
,
many
strings
to
her
bow
,
and
did
not
believe
that
there
was
only
one
Mr
Cavendish
in
the
world
.
Now
all
that
was
changed
:
and
if
this
old
hope
should
revive
again
,
it
would
not
be
allowed
to
die
away
for
any
gratification
of
temper
.
Mr
Cavendish
did
not
remember
ever
to
have
seen
her
tremble
before
,
and
he
too
was
fond
of
her
in
his
way
.
This
curious
revival
did
not
come
to
anything
of
deeper
importance
,
for
of
course
just
then
Rose
came
in
from
her
household
affairs
,
and
Mr
Lake
to
tea
;
and
the
candidate
recollected
that
it
was
time
for
dinner
.
But
father
and
sister
also
gave
him
,
in
their
different
ways
,
a
rather
flattering
reception
.
Mr
Lake
had
already
pledged
him
his
vote
,
and
was
full
of
interest
as
to
how
things
were
going
on
,
and
enthusiastic
for
his
success
;
and
Rose
scowled
upon
him
as
of
old
,
as
on
a
dangerous
character
,
whose
comings
and
goings
could
not
be
seen
without
apprehension
;
which
was
an
unexpected
pleasure
to
a
man
who
had
been
startled
to
find
how
very
little
commotion
his
presence
made
in
Grange
Lane
.
He
pressed
Barbara
's
hand
as
he
went
away
,
and
went
to
his
dinner
with
a
heart
which
certainly
beat
lighter
,
and
a
more
pleasant
sense
of
returning
self-confidence
,
than
he
had
felt
for
a
long
time
.
When
he
was
coming
out
of
the
house
,
as
a
matter
of
course
,
he
met
with
the
chief
of
his
Dissenting
supporters
,
accompanied
(
for
Mr
Bury
,
as
has
been
said
,
was
very
Low-Church
,
and
loved
,
wherever
he
could
do
it
,
to
work
in
unison
with
his
Dissenting
brethren
)
by
the
Rector
's
churchwarden
,
both
of
whom
stopped
with
a
curiously
critical
air
to
speak
to
the
Candidate
,
who
had
to
be
every
man
's
friend
for
the
time
being
.
The
look
in
their
eyes
sent
an
icy
chill
through
him
,
but
still
the
forbidden
pleasure
had
been
sweet
.
As
he
walked
home
,
he
could
not
help
thinking
it
over
,
and
going
back
ten
years
,
and
feeling
a
little
doubtful
about
it
,
whether
it
was
then
or
now
.
And
as
he
mused
Miss
Marjoribanks
,
whom
he
could
not
help
continually
connecting
and
contrasting
with
the
other
,
appeared
to
him
as
a
kind
of
jealous
Queen
Eleanor
,
who
had
a
right
to
him
,
and
could
take
possession
at
any
time
,
should
she
choose
to
make
the
effort
;
while
Barbara
was
a
Rosamond
,
dilapidated
indeed
,
but
always
ready
to
receive
and
console
him
in
her
bower
.
This
was
the
kind
of
unconscious
sentiment
he
had
in
his
mind
,
feeling
sure
,
as
he
mused
,
that
Lucilla
would
be
very
glad
to
marry
him
,
and
that
it
would
be
very
wise
on
his
part
to
ask
her
,
and
was
a
thing
which
might
still
probably
come
to
pass
.
Of
course
he
could
not
see
into
Miss
Marjoribanks
's
mind
,
which
had
travelled
such
a
long
way
beyond
him
.
He
gave
a
glance
up
at
the
windows
as
he
passed
her
door
,
and
felt
a
kind
of
disagreeable
satisfaction
in
seeing
how
diminished
the
lights
were
in
the
once
radiant
house
.
And
Lucilla
was
so
fond
of
a
great
deal
of
light
!
but
she
could
not
afford
now
to
spend
as
much
money
upon
wax
as
a
Continental
church
might
do
.
Mr
Cavendish
had
so
odd
a
sense
of
Lucilla
's
power
over
him
,
that
it
gave
him
a
certain
pleasure
to
think
of
the
coming
down
of
her
pride
and
diminution
of
her
lights
.
But
the
fact
was
,
that
not
more
than
ten
minutes
after
he
had
passed
her
door
with
this
reflection
,
Lucilla
,
sitting
with
her
good
book
on
the
table
and
her
work
in
her
hand
,
in
the
room
which
was
not
so
well
lighted
as
it
used
to
be
,
heard
that
Mr
Cavendish
had
been
met
with
coming
out
of
Mr
Lake
's
,
and
that
Barbara
had
been
singing
to
him
,
and
that
there
was
no
telling
what
might
have
happened
.
"
A
man
ai
n't
the
man
for
Carlingford
as
takes
up
with
that
sort
,
"
Thomas
said
indignantly
,
who
had
come
to
pay
his
former
mistress
a
visit
,
and
to
assure
her
of
his
brother-in-law
's
vote
.
He
was
a
little
more
free-spoken
than
of
old
,
being
now
set
up
,
and
an
independent
householder
,
and
calling
no
man
master
;
and
he
was
naturally
indignant
at
an
occurrence
which
,
regarded
in
the
light
of
past
events
,
was
an
insult
not
only
to
Carlingford
,
but
to
Lucilla
.
Miss
Marjoribanks
was
evidently
startled
by
the
news
.
She
looked
up
quickly
as
if
she
had
been
about
to
speak
,
and
then
stopped
herself
and
turned
her
back
upon
Thomas
,
and
poked
the
fire
in
a
most
energetic
way
.
She
had
even
taken
the
hearth-brush
in
her
hand
to
make
all
tidy
after
this
onslaught
,
but
that
was
a
thing
that
went
to
Thomas
's
heart
.
"
I
could
n't
stand
by
and
see
it
,
Miss
Lucilla
,
"
said
Thomas
;
"
it
do
n't
feel
natural
;
"
and
there
was
actually
a
kind
of
moisture
in
his
eye
as
he
took
that
domestic
implement
out
of
her
hand
.
Mr
Cavendish
pitied
Lucilla
for
having
less
light
than
of
old
,
and
Thomas
for
being
reduced
so
low
as
to
sweep
her
own
hearth
.
But
Lucilla
was
very
far
from
pitying
her
own
case
.
She
had
been
making
an
effort
over
herself
,
and
she
had
come
out
of
it
triumphant
;
after
reading
so
many
good
books
,
it
is
not
to
be
wondered
at
if
she
felt
herself
a
changed
and
softened
and
elevated
character
.
She
had
the
means
in
her
hands
of
doing
her
candidate
's
rival
a
deadly
mischief
,
and
yet
,
for
old
friendship
's
sake
,
Lucilla
made
up
her
mind
to
forbear
.
"
I
will
give
it
you
,
Thomas
,
"
she
said
,
with
dignity
,
holding
the
hearth-brush
,
which
was
in
such
circumstances
elevated
into
something
sublime
,
"
if
you
will
promise
,
never
,
until
after
the
election
—
never
to
say
a
word
about
Mr
Cavendish
and
Miss
Lake
.
It
was
quite
right
to
tell
me
,
and
you
are
very
kind
about
the
hearth
;
but
you
must
promise
never
to
say
a
syllable
about
it
,
not
even
to
Nancy
,
until
the
election
is
over
;
or
I
will
never
give
it
you
,
nor
ask
you
to
do
a
single
thing
for
me
again
.
"
Thomas
was
so
much
struck
with
this
address
that
he
said
"
Good
Lord
!
"
in
sheer
amazement
;
and
then
he
made
the
necessary
vow
,
and
took
the
hearth-brush
out
of
Lucilla
's
hand
.
"
No
doubt
he
was
asking
for
Mr
Lake
's
vote
,
"
said
Miss
Marjoribanks
.
"
They
say
everybody
is
making
great
exertions
,
and
you
know
they
are
both
my
friends
.
I
ought
to
be
pleased
whoever
wins
.
But
it
is
impressed
on
my
mind
that
Mr
Ashburton
will
be
the
man
,
"
Lucilla
added
,
with
a
little
solemnity
,
"
and
,
Thomas
,
we
must
give
them
fair-play
.
"
It
would
be
vain
to
assert
that
Thomas
understood
this
romantic
generosity
,
but
he
was
taken
by
surprise
,
and
had
relinquished
his
own
liberty
in
the
matter
,
and
had
nothing
further
to
say
.
Indeed
he
had
so
little
to
say
downstairs
,
that
Nancy
,
who
was
longing
for
a
little
gossip
,
insulted
and
reviled
him
,
and
declared
that
since
he
took
up
with
that
Betsy
there
never
was
a
sensible
word
to
be
got
out
of
him
.
And
all
the
time
the
poor
man
was
burning
with
this
bit
of
news
.
Many
a
man
has
bartered
his
free-will
before
under
the
influence
of
female
wiles
,
or
so
at
least
history
would
have
us
believe
;
but
few
have
done
it
for
so
poor
a
compensation
as
that
hearth-brush
.
Thomas
withdrew
sore
at
heart
,
longing
for
the
election
to
be
over
,
and
kept
his
word
like
an
honest
man
;
but
notwithstanding
,
before
the
evening
was
over
,
the
fatal
news
was
spreading
like
fire
to
every
house
in
Grange
Lane
.
Chapter
XLVIII
It
is
probable
that
Mr
Cavendish
considered
the
indulgence
above
recorded
all
the
more
excusable
in
that
it
was
Saturday
night
.
The
nomination
was
to
take
place
on
Monday
,
and
if
a
man
was
not
to
be
supposed
to
be
done
with
his
work
on
the
Saturday
evening
,
when
could
he
be
expected
to
have
a
moment
of
repose
?
He
had
thought
as
he
went
home
—
for
naturally
,
while
putting
himself
so
skilfully
in
the
way
of
temptation
,
such
questions
had
not
entered
into
his
mind
—
that
the
fact
of
to-morrow
being
Sunday
would
effectually
neutralise
any
harm
he
could
have
been
supposed
to
have
done
by
a
visit
so
simple
and
natural
,
and
that
neither
his
sister
nor
his
committee
,
the
two
powers
of
which
he
stood
in
a
certain
awe
,
could
so
much
as
hear
of
it
until
the
election
was
over
,
and
all
decided
for
good
or
for
evil
.
This
had
been
a
comfort
to
his
mind
,
but
it
was
the
very
falsest
and
most
deceitful
consolation
.
That
intervening
Sunday
was
a
severer
calamity
for
Mr
Cavendish
than
half
a
dozen
ordinary
days
.
The
general
excitement
had
risen
so
high
,
and
all
the
chances
on
both
sides
had
been
so
often
discussed
and
debated
,
that
something
new
was
as
water
in
the
desert
to
the
thirsting
constituency
.
The
story
was
all
through
Grange
Lane
that
very
night
,
but
Carlingford
itself
,
from
St
Roque
's
to
the
wilderness
of
the
North
End
,
tingled
with
it
next
morning
.
It
is
true
,
the
Rector
made
no
special
allusion
to
it
in
his
sermon
,
though
the
tone
of
all
his
services
was
so
sad
,
and
his
own
fine
countenance
looked
so
melancholy
,
that
Mr
Bury
's
devoted
followers
could
all
see
that
he
had
something
on
his
mind
.
But
Mr
Tufton
at
Salem
Chapel
was
not
so
reticent
.
He
was
a
man
quite
famous
for
his
extempore
gifts
,
and
who
rather
liked
to
preach
about
any
very
recent
public
event
,
which
it
was
evident
to
all
his
hearers
could
not
have
found
place
in
a
"
prepared
"
discourse
;
and
his
sermon
that
morning
was
upon
wickedness
in
high
places
,
upon
men
who
sought
the
confidence
of
their
fellows
only
to
betray
it
,
and
offered
to
the
poor
man
a
hand
red
with
his
sister
's
(
metaphorical
)
blood
.
But
it
would
be
wrong
to
say
that
this
was
the
general
tone
of
public
opinion
in
Grove
Street
;
most
people
,
on
the
contrary
,
thought
of
Mr
Cavendish
not
as
a
wolf
thirsting
for
the
lamb
's
blood
,
but
rather
himself
as
a
kind
of
lamb
caught
in
the
thicket
,
and
about
to
be
offered
up
in
sacrifice
.
Such
was
the
impression
of
a
great
many
influential
persons
who
had
been
wavering
hitherto
,
and
inclining
on
the
whole
to
Mr
Cavendish
's
liberal
principles
and
supposed
Low-Church
views
.
A
man
whose
hand
is
red
metaphorically
with
your
sister
's
blood
is
no
doubt
a
highly
objectionable
personage
;
but
it
is
doubtful
whether
,
under
the
circumstances
,
an
enlightened
constituency
might
not
consider
the
man
who
had
given
a
perfectly
unstained
hand
to
so
thoroughly
unsatisfactory
a
sister
as
more
objectionable
still
;
and
the
indignation
of
Grange
Lane
at
Barbara
's
reappearance
was
nothing
to
the
fury
of
George
Street
,
and
even
of
Wharfside
,
where
the
bargees
began
to
scoff
openly
.
Society
had
nothing
worse
to
say
than
to
quote
Mrs
Chiley
,
and
assert
that
"
these
artist
people
were
all
adventurers
"
;
and
then
Grange
Lane
in
general
could
not
forget
that
it
"
had
met
"
Barbara
,
nor
dismiss
from
its
consideration
her
black
eyes
,
her
level
brows
,
and
her
magnificent
contralto
;
whereas
in
the
other
region
the
idea
of
the
Member
for
Carlingford
marrying
"
that
sort
!
"
cast
all
the
world
into
temporary
delirium
.
It
was
a
still
more
deadly
offence
to
the
small
people
than
to
the
great
.
And
the
exceptional
standing
which
poor
Mr
Lake
and
his
daughter
Rose
used
to
lay
claim
to
—
the
"
rank
of
their
own
"
which
they
possessed
as
artists
—
was
a
pretension
much
more
disagreeable
to
the
shopkeepers
than
to
society
in
general
.
Thus
in
every
sense
Mr
Cavendish
had
done
the
very
worst
for
himself
by
his
ill-timed
indulgence
;
and
his
guilt
was
about
the
same
with
most
of
his
critics
whether
he
meant
perfectly
well
and
innocently
,
or
entertained
the
most
guilty
intentions
ever
conceived
by
man
.
And
all
his
misfortunes
were
increased
by
the
fact
that
the
intervening
day
was
a
Sunday
.
Barbara
Lake
herself
,
who
did
not
know
what
people
were
saying
,
and
who
,
if
she
had
known
,
would
not
have
cared
,
came
to
church
,
as
was
natural
,
in
the
morning
;
and
under
pretence
that
the
family
pew
was
full
,
had
the
assurance
,
as
people
remarked
,
to
come
to
the
middle
aisle
,
in
that
same
silk
dress
which
rustled
like
tin
,
and
made
more
demonstration
than
the
richest
draperies
.
The
pew-opener
disapproved
of
her
as
much
as
everybody
else
did
,
but
she
could
not
turn
the
intruder
out
;
and
though
Barbara
had
a
long
time
to
wait
,
and
was
curiously
inspected
by
all
the
eyes
near
her
while
she
did
so
,
the
end
was
that
she
got
a
seat
in
her
rustling
silk
not
very
far
from
where
Lucilla
sat
in
deep
mourning
,
a
model
of
every
righteous
observance
.
As
for
poor
Barbara
,
she
too
was
very
exemplary
in
church
.
She
meant
nobody
any
harm
,
poor
soul
.
She
could
not
help
the
flashing
of
those
big
black
eyes
,
to
which
the
level
line
above
them
gave
such
a
curious
appearance
of
obliqueness
—
nor
was
it
to
be
expected
that
she
should
deny
herself
the
use
of
her
advantages
,
or
omit
to
"
take
the
second
"
in
all
the
canticles
with
such
melodious
liquid
tones
as
made
everybody
stop
and
look
round
.
She
had
a
perfect
right
to
do
it
;
indeed
it
was
her
duty
,
as
it
is
everybody
's
duty
,
to
aid
to
the
best
of
their
ability
in
the
church-music
of
their
parish
,
which
was
what
Lucilla
Marjoribanks
persisted
in
saying
in
answer
to
all
objections
.
But
the
effect
was
great
in
the
congregation
,
and
even
the
Rector
himself
was
seen
to
change
colour
as
his
eye
fell
upon
the
unlucky
young
woman
.
Mr
Cavendish
,
for
his
part
,
knew
her
voice
the
moment
he
heard
it
,
and
gave
a
little
start
,
and
received
such
a
look
from
his
sister
,
who
was
standing
by
him
,
as
turned
him
to
stone
.
Mrs
Woodburn
looked
at
him
,
and
so
did
her
husband
,
and
Mr
Centum
turned
a
solemnly
inquiring
reproachful
gaze
upon
him
from
the
other
side
of
the
aisle
.
"
Oh
,
Harry
,
you
will
kill
me
with
vexation
!
why
,
for
goodness
'
sake
,
did
you
let
her
come
?
"
his
sister
whispered
when
they
had
all
sat
down
again
.
"
Good
heavens
!
how
could
I
help
it
?
"
cried
poor
Mr
Cavendish
,
almost
loud
enough
to
be
heard
.
And
then
by
the
slight
,
almost
imperceptible
,
hum
around
him
,
he
felt
that
not
only
his
sister
and
his
committee
,
but
the
Rector
and
all
Carlingford
,
had
their
eyes
upon
him
,
and
was
thankful
to
look
up
the
lesson
,
poor
man
,
and
bury
his
face
in
it
.
It
was
a
hard
punishment
for
the
indiscretion
of
an
hour
.
But
perhaps
of
all
the
people
concerned
it
was
the
Rector
who
was
the
most
to
be
pitied
.
He
had
staked
his
honour
upon
Mr
Cavendish
's
repentance
,
and
here
was
he
going
back
,
publicly
to
wallow
in
the
mire
—
and
it
was
Sunday
when
such
a
worldly
subject
ought
not
to
be
permitted
to
enter
a
good
man
's
mind
,
much
less
to
be
discussed
and
acted
upon
as
it
ought
to
be
if
anything
was
to
be
done
;
for
there
was
little
more
than
this
sacred
day
remaining
in
which
to
undo
the
mischief
which
a
too
great
confidence
in
human
nature
had
wrought
.
And
then
,
to
tell
the
truth
,
the
Rector
did
not
know
how
to
turn
back
.
It
would
have
been
hard
,
very
hard
,
to
have
told
all
the
people
who
confided
in
him
that
he
had
never
had
any
stronger
evidence
for
Mr
Cavendish
's
repentance
than
he
now
had
for
his
backsliding
;
and
to
give
in
,
and
let
the
other
side
have
it
all
their
own
way
,
and
throw
over
the
candidate
with
whom
he
had
identified
himself
,
was
as
painful
to
Mr
Bury
as
if
,
instead
of
being
very
Low-Church
,
he
had
been
the
most
muscular
of
Christians
.
Being
in
this
state
of
mind
,
it
may
be
supposed
that
his
sister
's
mild
wonder
and
trembling
speculations
at
lunch
,
when
they
were
alone
together
,
were
well
qualified
to
raise
some
sparks
of
that
old
Adam
,
who
,
though
well
kept
under
,
still
existed
in
the
Rector
's
,
as
in
most
other
human
breasts
.
"
But
,
dear
Edward
,
I
would
not
quite
condemn
him
,
"
Miss
Bury
said
.
"
He
has
been
the
cause
of
a
good
deal
of
remark
,
you
know
,
and
the
poor
girl
has
been
talked
about
.
He
may
think
it
is
his
duty
to
make
her
amends
.
For
anything
we
can
tell
,
he
may
have
the
most
honourable
intentions
—
—
"
"
Oh
,
bother
his
honourable
intentions
!
"
said
the
Rector
.
Such
an
exclamation
from
him
was
as
bad
as
the
most
dreadful
oath
from
an
ordinary
man
,
and
very
nearly
made
Miss
Bury
drop
from
her
chair
in
amazement
.
Things
must
have
gone
very
far
indeed
when
the
Rector
himself
disregarded
all
proprieties
and
the
sacredness
of
the
day
in
such
a
wildly-daring
fashion
.
For
,
to
tell
the
truth
,
in
his
secret
heart
Mr
Bury
was
himself
a
little
of
the
way
of
thinking
of
the
people
in
Grove
Street
.
Strictly
speaking
,
if
a
man
has
done
anything
to
make
a
young
woman
be
talked
about
,
every
well-principled
person
ought
to
desire
that
he
should
make
her
amends
;
but
at
the
same
time
,
at
such
a
crisis
there
was
little
consolation
in
the
fact
that
the
candidate
one
was
supporting
and
doing
daily
battle
for
had
honourable
intentions
in
respect
to
Barbara
Lake
.
If
it
had
been
Rose
Lake
,
it
would
still
have
been
a
blow
;
but
Rose
was
unspeakably
respectable
,
and
nobody
could
have
said
a
syllable
on
the
subject
:
while
Barbara
,
who
came
to
church
in
a
tin
gown
,
and
rustled
up
the
middle
aisle
in
it
,
attracting
all
eyes
,
and
took
such
a
second
in
the
canticles
that
she
overwhelmed
the
choir
itself
—
Barbara
,
who
had
made
people
talk
at
Lucilla
's
parties
,
and
had
been
ten
years
away
,
wandering
over
the
face
of
the
earth
,
nobody
could
tell
where
—
governessing
,
singing
,
play-acting
,
perhaps
,
for
anything
that
anybody
could
tell
!
A
clergyman
,
it
is
true
,
dared
not
have
said
such
a
thing
,
and
Mr
Bury
's
remorse
would
have
been
bitter
could
he
have
really
believed
himself
capable
even
of
thinking
it
;
but
still
it
is
certain
that
the
unconscious
,
unexpressed
idea
in
his
mind
was
,
that
the
honourable
intentions
were
the
worst
of
it
—
that
a
candidate
might
be
a
fool
,
or
even
an
unrepentant
sinner
,
and
after
all
it
would
be
chiefly
his
own
concern
;
but
that
so
much
as
to
dream
of
making
Barbara
Lake
the
Member
's
wife
,
was
the
deepest
insult
that
could
be
offered
to
Carlingford
.
The
Rector
carried
his
burden
silently
all
day
,
and
scarcely
opened
his
lips
,
as
all
his
sympathetic
following
remarked
;
but
before
he
went
to
bed
he
made
a
singular
statement
,
the
complete
accuracy
of
which
an
impartial
observer
might
be
disposed
to
doubt
,
but
which
Mr
Bury
uttered
with
profound
sincerity
,
and
with
a
sigh
of
self-compassion
.
"
Now
I
understand
Lucilla
Marjoribanks
,
"
was
what
the
good
man
said
,
and
he
all
but
puffed
out
the
candle
he
had
just
lighted
,
with
that
sigh
.
Lucilla
,
however
,
in
her
own
person
took
no
part
in
it
at
all
,
one
way
or
other
.
She
shook
hands
very
kindly
with
Barbara
,
and
hoped
she
would
come
and
see
her
,
and
made
it
clearly
apparent
that
she
at
least
bore
no
malice
.
"
I
am
very
glad
I
told
Thomas
to
say
nothing
about
it
,
"
she
said
to
Aunt
Jemima
,
who
,
however
,
did
not
know
the
circumstances
,
and
was
very
little
the
wiser
,
as
may
be
supposed
.
And
then
the
two
ladies
walked
home
together
,
and
Miss
Marjoribanks
devoted
herself
to
her
good
books
.
It
was
almost
the
first
moment
of
repose
that
Lucilla
had
ever
had
in
her
busy
life
,
and
it
was
a
repose
not
only
permitted
but
enjoined
.
Society
,
which
had
all
along
expected
so
much
from
her
,
expected
now
that
she
should
not
find
herself
able
for
any
exertion
;
and
Miss
Marjoribanks
responded
nobly
,
as
she
had
always
done
,
to
the
requirements
of
society
.
To
a
mind
less
perfectly
regulated
,
the
fact
that
the
election
which
had
been
so
interesting
to
her
was
now
about
,
as
may
be
said
,
to
take
place
without
her
,
would
have
been
of
itself
a
severe
trial
;
and
the
sweet
composure
with
which
she
bore
it
was
not
one
of
the
least
remarkable
phenomena
of
the
present
crisis
.
But
the
fact
was
that
this
Sunday
was
on
the
whole
an
oppressive
day
.
Mr
Ashburton
came
in
for
a
moment
,
it
is
true
,
between
services
;
but
he
himself
,
though
generally
so
steady
,
was
unsettled
and
agitated
.
He
had
been
bearing
the
excitement
well
until
this
last
almost
incredible
accident
occurred
,
which
made
it
possible
that
he
might
not
only
win
,
but
win
by
a
large
majority
.
"
The
Dissenters
have
all
held
out
till
now
,
and
would
not
pledge
themselves
,
"
he
said
to
Lucilla
,
actually
with
a
tremble
in
his
voice
;
and
then
he
told
her
about
Mr
Tufton
's
sermon
and
the
wickedness
in
high
places
,
and
the
hand
imbrued
metaphorically
in
his
sister
's
blood
.
"
I
wonder
how
he
could
say
so
,
"
said
Lucilla
,
with
indignation
.
"
It
is
just
like
those
Dissenters
.
What
harm
was
there
in
going
to
see
her
?
I
heard
of
it
last
night
,
but
even
for
your
interest
I
would
never
have
spread
such
mere
gossip
as
that
.
"
"
No
—
certainly
it
is
mere
gossip
,
"
said
Mr
Ashburton
;
"
but
it
will
do
him
a
great
deal
of
harm
all
the
same
,
"
and
then
once
more
he
got
restless
and
abstracted
.
"
I
suppose
it
is
of
no
use
asking
you
if
you
would
join
Lady
Richmond
's
party
at
the
Blue
Boar
?
You
could
have
a
window
almost
to
yourself
,
you
know
,
and
would
be
quite
quiet
.
"
Lucilla
shook
her
head
,
and
the
movement
was
more
expressive
than
words
.
"
I
did
not
think
you
would
,
"
said
Mr
Ashburton
;
and
then
he
took
her
hand
,
and
his
looks
too
became
full
of
meaning
.
"
Then
I
must
say
adieu
,
"
he
said
—
"
adieu
until
it
is
all
over
.
I
shall
not
have
a
moment
that
I
can
call
my
own
—
this
will
be
an
eventful
week
for
me
.
"
"
You
mean
an
eventful
day
,
"
said
Lucilla
;
for
Mr
Ashburton
was
not
such
a
novice
as
to
be
afraid
of
the
appearance
he
would
have
to
make
at
the
nomination
.
He
did
not
contradict
her
,
but
he
pressed
her
hand
with
a
look
which
was
equivalent
to
kissing
it
,
though
he
was
not
romantic
enough
to
go
quite
that
length
.
When
he
was
gone
,
Miss
Marjoribanks
could
not
but
wonder
a
little
what
he
could
mean
by
looking
forward
to
an
eventful
week
.
For
her
own
part
,
she
could
not
but
feel
that
after
so
much
excitement
things
would
feel
rather
flat
for
the
rest
of
the
week
,
and
that
it
was
almost
wrong
to
have
an
election
on
a
Tuesday
.
Could
it
be
that
Mr
Ashburton
had
some
other
contest
or
candidateship
in
store
for
himself
which
he
had
not
told
her
about
?
Such
a
thing
was
quite
possible
;
but
what
had
Lucilla
in
her
mourning
to
do
with
worldly
contingencies
?
She
went
back
to
her
seat
in
the
corner
of
the
sofa
and
her
book
of
sermons
,
and
read
fifty
pages
before
tea-time
;
she
knew
how
much
,
because
she
had
put
a
mark
in
her
book
when
Mr
Ashburton
came
in
.
Marks
are
very
necessary
things
generally
in
sermon-books
;
and
Lucilla
could
not
but
feel
pleased
to
think
that
since
her
visitor
went
away
she
had
got
over
so
much
ground
.
To
compare
Carlingford
to
a
volcano
that
night
(
and
indeed
all
the
next
day
,
which
was
the
day
of
nomination
)
would
be
a
stale
similitude
;
and
yet
in
some
respects
it
was
like
a
volcano
.
It
was
not
the
same
kind
of
excitement
which
arises
in
a
town
where
politics
run
very
high
—
if
there
are
any
towns
nowadays
in
such
a
state
of
unsophisticated
nature
.
Neither
was
it
a
place
where
simple
corruption
could
carry
the
day
;
for
the
freemen
of
Wharfside
were
,
after
all
,
but
a
small
portion
of
the
population
.
It
was
in
reality
a
quite
ideal
sort
of
contest
—
a
contest
for
the
best
man
,
such
as
would
have
pleased
the
purest-minded
philosopher
.
It
was
the
man
most
fit
to
represent
Carlingford
for
whom
everybody
was
looking
,
not
a
man
to
be
baited
about
parish-rates
and
Reform
Bills
and
the
Irish
Church
;
—
a
man
who
lived
in
,
or
near
the
town
,
and
"
dealt
regular
"
at
all
the
best
shops
;
a
man
who
would
not
disgrace
his
constituency
by
any
unlawful
or
injudicious
sort
of
love-making
—
who
would
attend
to
the
town
's
interests
and
subscribe
to
its
charities
,
and
take
the
lead
in
a
general
way
.
This
was
what
Carlingford
was
looking
for
,
as
Miss
Marjoribanks
,
with
that
intuitive
rapidity
which
was
characteristic
of
her
genius
,
had
at
once
remarked
;
and
when
everybody
went
home
from
church
and
chapel
,
though
it
was
Sunday
,
the
whole
town
thrilled
and
throbbed
with
this
great
question
.
People
might
have
found
it
possible
to
condone
a
sin
or
wink
at
a
mere
backsliding
;
but
there
were
few
so
bigoted
in
their
faith
as
to
believe
that
the
man
who
was
capable
of
marrying
Barbara
Lake
could
ever
be
the
man
for
Carlingford
;
and
thus
it
was
that
Mr
Cavendish
,
who
had
been
flourishing
like
a
green
bay-tree
,
withered
away
,
as
it
were
,
in
a
moment
,
and
the
place
that
had
known
him
knew
him
no
more
.
The
hustings
were
erected
at
that
central
spot
,
just
under
the
windows
of
the
Blue
Boar
,
where
Grange
Lane
and
George
Street
meet
,
the
most
central
point
in
Carlingford
.
It
was
so
near
that
Lucilla
could
hear
the
shouts
and
the
music
and
all
the
divers
noises
of
the
election
,
but
could
not
,
even
when
she
went
into
the
very
corner
of
the
window
and
strained
her
eyes
to
the
utmost
,
see
what
was
going
on
,
which
was
a
very
trying
position
.
We
will
not
linger
upon
the
proceedings
or
excitement
of
Monday
,
when
the
nomination
and
the
speeches
were
made
,
and
when
the
show
of
hands
was
certainly
thought
to
be
in
Mr
Cavendish
's
favour
.
But
it
was
the
next
day
that
was
the
real
trial
.
Lady
Richmond
and
her
party
drove
past
at
a
very
early
hour
,
and
looked
up
at
Miss
Marjoribanks
's
windows
,
and
congratulated
themselves
that
they
were
so
early
,
and
that
poor
dear
Lucilla
would
not
have
the
additional
pain
of
seeing
them
go
past
.
But
Lucilla
did
see
them
,
though
,
with
her
usual
good
sense
,
she
kept
behind
the
blind
.
She
never
did
anything
absurd
in
the
way
of
early
rising
on
ordinary
occasions
;
but
this
morning
it
was
impossible
to
restrain
a
certain
excitement
,
and
though
it
did
her
no
good
,
still
she
got
up
an
hour
earlier
than
usual
,
and
listened
to
the
music
,
and
heard
the
cabs
rattling
about
,
and
could
not
help
it
if
her
heart
beat
quicker
.
It
was
perhaps
a
more
important
crisis
for
Miss
Marjoribanks
than
for
any
other
person
,
save
one
,
in
Carlingford
;
for
of
course
it
would
be
foolish
to
attempt
to
assert
that
she
did
not
understand
by
this
time
what
Mr
Ashburton
meant
;
and
it
may
be
imagined
how
hard
it
was
upon
Lucilla
to
be
thus
,
as
it
were
,
in
the
very
outside
row
of
the
assembly
—
to
hear
all
the
distant
shouts
and
sounds
,
everything
that
was
noisy
and
inarticulate
,
and
conveyed
no
meaning
,
and
to
be
out
of
reach
of
all
that
could
really
inform
her
as
to
what
was
going
on
.
She
saw
from
her
window
the
cabs
rushing
past
,
now
with
her
own
violet-and-green
colours
,
now
with
the
blue-and-yellow
.
And
sometimes
it
seemed
to
Lucilla
that
the
blue-and-yellow
predominated
,
and
that
the
carriages
which
mounted
the
hostile
standard
carried
voters
in
larger
numbers
and
more
enthusiastic
condition
.
The
first
load
of
bargemen
that
came
up
Grange
Lane
from
the
farther
end
of
Wharf
side
were
all
Blues
;
and
when
a
spectator
is
thus
held
on
the
very
edge
of
the
event
in
a
suspense
which
grows
every
moment
more
intolerable
,
especially
when
he
or
she
is
disposed
to
believe
that
things
in
general
go
on
all
the
worse
for
his
or
her
absence
,
it
is
no
wonder
if
that
spectator
becomes
nervous
,
and
sees
all
the
dangers
at
their
darkest
.
What
if
,
after
all
,
old
liking
and
friendship
had
prevailed
over
that
beautiful
optimism
which
Lucilla
had
done
so
much
to
instil
into
the
minds
of
her
townsfolk
?
What
if
something
more
mercenary
and
less
elevating
than
the
ideal
search
for
the
best
man
,
in
which
she
had
hoped
Carlingford
was
engaged
,
should
have
swayed
the
popular
mind
to
the
other
side
?
All
these
painful
questions
went
through
Lucilla
's
mind
as
the
day
crept
on
;
and
her
suspense
was
much
aggravated
by
Aunt
Jemima
,
who
took
no
real
interest
in
the
election
,
but
who
kept
saying
every
ten
minutes
—
"
I
wonder
how
the
poll
is
going
on
—
I
wonder
what
that
is
they
are
shouting
—
is
it
'
Ashburton
for
ever
!
'
or
'
Cavendish
for
ever
!
'
Lucilla
?
Your
ears
should
be
sharper
than
mine
;
but
I
think
it
is
Cavendish
.
"
Lucilla
thought
so
too
,
and
her
heart
quaked
within
her
,
and
she
went
and
squeezed
herself
into
the
corner
of
the
window
,
to
try
whether
it
was
not
possible
to
catch
a
glimpse
of
the
field
of
battle
;
and
her
perseverance
was
finally
rewarded
by
the
sight
of
the
extremity
of
the
wooden
planks
which
formed
the
polling-booth
;
but
there
was
little
satisfaction
to
be
got
out
of
that
.
And
then
the
continual
dropping
of
Aunt
Jemima
's
questions
drove
her
wild
.
"
My
dear
aunt
,
"
she
said
at
last
,
"
I
can
see
nothing
and
hear
nothing
,
and
you
know
as
much
about
what
is
going
on
as
I
do
"
—
which
