worewhen
she
was
presented
at
Court
—
who
were
the
most
distinguished
and
beautiful
women
at
that
time
—
the
terrible
excitement
of
the
French
Revolution
—
the
emigrants
she
had
known
,
and
the
history
of
various
titled
members
of
the
Lingon
family
.
And
Esther
,
from
native
delicacy
,
did
not
lead
to
more
recent
topics
of
a
personal
kind
.
She
was
copiously
instructed
that
the
Lingon
family
was
better
than
that
even
of
the
elder
Transomes
,
and
was
privileged
with
an
explanation
of
the
various
quarterings
,
which
proved
that
the
Lingon
blood
had
been
continually
enriched
.
Poor
Mrs
Transome
,
with
her
secret
bitterness
and
dread
,
still
found
a
flavour
in
this
sort
of
pride
;
none
the
less
because
certain
deeds
of
her
own
life
had
been
in
fatal
inconsistency
with
it
.
Besides
,
genealogies
entered
into
her
stock
of
ideas
,
and
her
talk
on
such
subjects
was
as
necessary
as
the
notes
of
the
linnet
or
the
blackbird
.
She
had
no
ultimate
analysis
of
things
that
went
beyond
blood
and
family
—
the
Herons
of
Fenshore
or
the
Badgers
of
Hillbury
.
She
had
never
seen
behind
the
canvass
with
which
her
life
was
hung
.
In
the
dim
background
there
was
the
burning
mount
and
the
tables
of
the
law
;
in
the
foreground
there
was
Lady
Debarry
privately
gossiping
about
her
,
and
Lady
Wyvern
finally
deciding
not
to
send
her
invitations
to
dinner
.
Unlike
that
Semiramis
who
made
laws
to
suit
her
practical
licence
,
she
lived
,
poor
soul
,
in
the
midst
of
desecrated
sanctities
,
and
of
honours
that
looked
tarnished
in
the
light
of
monotonous
and
weary
suns
.
Glimpses
of
the
Lingon
heraldry
in
their
freshness
were
interesting
to
Esther
;
but
it
occurred
to
her
that
when
she
had
known
about
them
a
good
while
they
would
cease
to
be
succulent
themes
of
converse
or
meditation
,
and
Mrs
Transome
,
having
known
them
all
along
,
might
have
felt
a
vacuum
in
spite
of
them
.
Nevertheless
it
was
entertaining
at
present
to
be
seated
on
soft
cushions
with
her
netting
before
her
,
while
Mrs
Transome
went
on
with
her
embroidery
,
and
told
in
that
easy
phrase
,
and
with
that
refined
high-bred
tone
and
accent
which
she
possessed
in
perfection
,
family
stories
that
to
Esther
were
like
so
many
novellettes
:
what
diamonds
were
in
the
Earl
's
family
,
own
cousins
to
Mrs
Transome
;
how
poor
Lady
Sara
's
husband
went
off
into
jealous
madness
only
a
month
after
their
marriage
,
and
dragged
that
sweet
blue-eyed
thing
by
the
hair
;
and
how
the
brilliant
Fanny
,
having
married
a
country
parson
,
became
so
niggardly
that
she
had
gone
about
almost
begging
for
fresh
eggs
from
the
farmers
'
wives
,
though
she
had
done
very
well
with
her
six
sons
,
as
there
was
a
bishop
and
no
end
of
interest
in
the
family
,
and
two
of
them
got
appointments
in
India
.
At
present
Mrs
Transome
did
not
touch
at
all
on
her
own
time
of
privation
,
or
her
troubles
with
her
eldest
son
,
or
on
anything
that
lay
very
close
to
her
heart
.
She
conversed
with
Esther
,
and
acted
the
part
of
hostess
as
she
performed
her
toilette
and
went
on
with
her
embroidery
:
these
things
were
to
be
done
whether
one
were
happy
or
miserable
.
Even
the
patriarch
Job
,
if
he
had
been
a
gentleman
of
the
modern
West
,
would
have
avoided
picturesque
disorder
and
poetical
laments
;
and
the
friends
who
called
on
him
,
though
not
less
disposed
than
Bildad
the
Shuhite
to
hint
that
their
unfortunate
friend
was
in
the
wrong
,
would
have
sat
on
chairs
and
held
their
hats
in
their
hands
.
The
harder
problems
of
our
life
have
changed
less
than
our
manners
;
we
wrestle
with
the
old
sorrows
,
but
more
decorously
.
Esther
's
inexperience
prevented
her
from
divining
much
about
this
fine
grey-haired
woman
,
whom
she
could
not
help
perceiving
to
stand
apart
from
the
family
group
,
as
if
there
were
some
cause
of
isolation
for
her
both
within
and
without
.
To
her
young
heart
there
was
a
peculiar
interest
in
Mrs
Transome
.
An
elderly
woman
,
whose
beauty
,
position
,
and
graceful
kindness
towards
herself
,
made
deference
to
her
spontaneous
,
was
a
new
figure
in
Esther
's
experience
.
Her
quick
light
movement
was
always
ready
to
anticipate
what
Mrs
Transome
wanted
;
her
bright
apprehension
and
silvery
speech
were
always
ready
to
cap
Mrs
Transome
's
narratives
or
instructions
even
about
doses
and
liniments
,
with
some
lively
commentary
.
She
must
have
behaved
charmingly
;
for
one
day
when
she
had
tripped
across
the
room
to
put
the
screen
just
in
the
right
place
,
Mrs
Transome
said
,
taking
her
hand
,
"
My
dear
,
you
make
me
wish
I
had
a
daughter
!
"
That
was
pleasant
;
and
so
it
was
to
be
decked
by
Mrs
Transome
's
own
hands
in
a
set
of
turquoise
ornaments
,
which
became
her
wonderfully
,
worn
with
a
white
Cashmere
dress
,
which
was
also
insisted
on
.
Esther
never
reflected
that
there
was
a
double
intention
in
these
pretty
ways
towards
her
;
with
young
generosity
,
she
was
rather
preoccupied
by
the
desire
to
prove
that
she
herself
entertained
no
low
triumph
in
the
fact
that
she
had
rights
prejudicial
to
this
family
whose
life
she
was
learning
.
And
besides
,
through
all
Mrs
Transome
's
perfect
manners
there
pierced
some
indefinable
indications
of
a
hidden
anxiety
much
deeper
than
anything
she
could
feel
about
this
affair
of
the
estate
—
to
which
she
often
alluded
slightly
as
a
reason
for
informing
Esther
of
something
.
It
was
impossible
to
mistake
her
for
a
happy
woman
;
and
young
speculation
is
always
stirred
by
discontent
for
which
there
is
no
obvious
cause
.
When
we
are
older
,
we
take
the
uneasy
eyes
and
the
bitter
lips
more
as
a
matter
of
course
.
But
Harold
Transome
was
more
communicative
about
recent
years
than
his
mother
was
.
He
thought
it
well
that
Esther
should
know
how
the
fotune
of
his
family
had
been
drained
by
law
expenses
,
owing
to
suits
mistakenly
urged
by
her
family
;
he
spoke
of
his
mother
's
lonely
life
and
pinched
circumstances
,
of
her
lack
of
comfort
in
her
elder
son
,
and
of
the
habit
she
had
consequently
acquired
of
looking
at
the
gloomy
side
of
things
.
He
hinted
that
she
had
been
accustomed
to
dictate
,
and
that
,
as
he
had
left
her
when
he
was
a
boy
,
she
had
perhaps
indulged
the
dream
that
he
would
come
back
a
boy
.
She
was
still
sore
on
the
point
of
his
politics
.
These
things
could
not
be
helped
,
but
,
so
far
as
he
could
,
he
wished
to
make
the
rest
of
her
life
as
cheerful
as
possible
.
Esther
listened
eagerly
,
and
took
these
things
to
heart
.
The
claim
to
an
inheritance
,
the
sudden
discovery
of
a
right
to
a
fortune
held
by
others
,
was
acquiring
a
very
distinct
and
unexpected
meaning
for
her
.
Every
day
she
was
getting
more
clearly
into
her
imagination
what
it
would
be
to
abandon
her
own
past
,
and
what
she
would
enter
into
in
exchange
for
it
;
what
it
would
be
to
disturb
a
long
possession
,
and
how
difficult
it
was
to
fix
a
point
at
which
the
disturbance
might
begin
,
so
as
to
be
contemplated
without
pain
.
Harold
Transome
's
thoughts
turned
on
the
same
subject
,
but
accompanied
by
a
different
state
of
feeling
and
with
more
definite
resolutions
.
He
saw
a
mode
of
reconciling
all
difficulties
,
which
looked
pleasanter
to
him
the
longer
he
looked
at
Esther
.
When
she
had
been
hardly
a
week
in
the
house
,
he
had
made
up
his
mind
to
marry
her
;
and
it
had
never
entered
into
that
mind
that
the
decision
did
not
rest
entirely
with
his
inclination
.
It
was
not
that
he
thought
slightly
of
Esther
's
demands
;
he
saw
that
she
would
require
considerable
attractions
to
please
her
,
and
that
there
were
difficulties
to
be
overcome
.
She
was
clearly
a
girl
who
must
be
wooed
;
but
Harold
did
not
despair
of
presenting
the
requisite
attractions
,
and
the
difficulties
gave
more
interest
to
the
wooing
than
he
could
have
believed
.
When
he
had
said
that
he
would
not
marry
an
Englishwoman
,
he
had
always
made
a
mental
reservation
in
favour
of
peculiar
circumstances
;
and
now
the
peculiar
circumstances
were
come
.
To
be
deeply
in
love
was
a
catastrophe
not
likely
to
happen
to
him
;
but
he
was
readily
amorous
.
No
woman
could
make
him
miserable
,
but
he
was
sensitive
to
the
presence
of
women
,
and
was
kind
to
them
;
not
with
grimaces
,
like
a
man
of
mere
gallantry
,
but
beamingly
,
easily
,
like
a
man
of
genuine
good-nature
.
And
each
day
that
he
was
near
Esther
,
the
solution
of
all
difficulties
by
marriage
became
a
more
pleasing
prospect
;
though
he
had
to
confess
to
himself
that
the
difficulties
did
not
diminish
on
a
nearer
view
,
in
spite
of
the
flattering
sense
that
she
brightened
at
his
approach
.
Harold
was
not
one
to
fail
in
a
purpose
for
want
of
assiduity
.
After
an
hour
or
two
devoted
to
business
in
the
morning
,
he
went
to
look
for
Esther
,
and
if
he
did
not
find
her
at
play
with
Harry
and
old
Mr
Transome
,
or
chatting
with
his
mother
,
he
went
into
the
drawing-room
,
where
she
was
usually
either
seated
with
a
book
on
her
knee
and
"
making
a
bed
for
her
cheek
"
with
one
little
hand
,
while
she
looked
out
of
the
window
,
or
else
standing
in
front
of
one
of
the
full-length
family
portraits
with
an
air
of
rumination
.
Esther
found
it
impossible
to
read
in
these
days
;
her
life
was
a
book
which
she
seemed
herself
to
be
constructing
—
trying
to
make
character
clear
before
her
,
and
looking
into
the
ways
of
destiny
.
The
active
Harold
had
almost
always
something
definite
to
propose
by
way
of
filling
the
time
:
if
it
were
fine
,
she
must
walk
out
with
him
and
see
the
grounds
;
and
when
the
snow
melted
and
it
was
no
longer
slippery
,
she
must
get
on
horseback
and
learn
to
ride
.
If
they
stayed
indoors
,
she
must
learn
to
play
at
billiards
,
or
she
must
go
over
the
house
and
see
the
pictures
he
had
had
hung
anew
,
or
the
costumes
he
had
brought
from
the
East
,
or
come
into
his
study
and
look
at
the
map
of
the
estate
,
and
hear
what
—
if
it
had
remained
in
his
family
—
he
had
intended
to
do
in
every
corner
of
it
in
order
to
make
the
most
of
its
capabilities
.
About
a
certain
time
in
the
morning
Esther
had
learned
to
expect
him
.
Let
every
wooer
make
himself
strongly
expected
;
he
may
succeed
by
dint
of
being
absent
,
but
hardly
in
the
first
instance
.
One
morning
Harold
found
her
in
the
drawing-room
,
leaning
against
a
consol
table
,
and
looking
at
the
full-length
portrait
of
a
certain
Lady
Betty
Transome
,
who
had
lived
a
century
and
a
half
before
,
and
had
the
usual
charm
of
ladies
in
Sir
Peter
Lely
's
style
.
"
Do
n't
move
,
pray
,
"
he
said
on
entering
;
"
you
look
as
if
you
were
standing
for
your
own
portrait
.
"
"
I
take
that
as
an
insinuation
,
"
said
Esther
,
laughing
,
and
moving
towards
her
seat
on
an
ottoman
near
the
fire
,
"
for
I
notice
almost
all
the
portraits
are
in
a
conscious
,
affected
attitude
.
That
fair
Lady
Betty
looks
as
if
she
had
been
drilled
into
that
posture
,
and
had
not
will
enough
of
her
own
ever
to
move
again
unless
she
had
a
little
push
given
to
her
.
"
"
She
brightens
up
that
panel
well
with
her
long
satin
skirt
,
"
said
Harold
,
as
he
followed
Esther
,
"
but
alive
I
daresay
she
would
have
been
less
cheerful
company
.
"
"
One
would
certainly
think
that
she
had
just
been
unpacked
from
silver
paper
.
Ah
,
how
chivalrous
you
are
!
"
said
Esther
,
as
Harold
,
kneeling
on
one
knee
,
held
her
silken
netting-stirrup
for
her
to
put
her
foot
through
.
She
had
often
fancied
pleasant
scenes
in
which
such
homage
was
rendered
to
her
,
and
the
homage
was
not
disagreeable
now
it
was
really
come
;
but
,
strangely
enough
,
a
little
darting
sensation
at
that
moment
was
accompanied
by
the
vivid
remembrance
of
some
one
who
had
never
paid
the
least
attention
to
her
foot
.
There
had
been
a
slight
blush
,
such
as
often
came
and
went
rapidly
,
and
she
was
silent
a
moment
.
Harold
naturally
believed
that
it
was
he
himself
who
was
filling
the
field
of
vision
.
He
would
have
liked
to
place
himself
on
the
ottoman
near
Esther
,
and
behave
very
much
more
like
a
lover
;
but
he
took
a
chair
opposite
to
her
at
a
circumspect
distance
.
He
dared
not
do
otherwise
.
Along
with
Esther
's
playful
charm
she
conveyed
an
impression
of
personal
pride
and
high
spirit
which
warned
Harold
's
acuteness
that
in
the
delicacy
of
their
present
position
he
might
easily
make
a
false
move
and
offend
her
.
A
woman
was
likely
to
be
credulous
about
adoration
,
and
to
find
no
difficulty
in
referring
it
to
her
intrinsic
attractions
;
but
Esther
was
too
dangerously
quick
and
critical
not
to
discern
the
least
awkwardness
that
looked
like
offering
her
marriage
as
a
convenient
compromise
for
himself
.
Beforehand
,
he
might
have
said
that
such
characteristics
as
hers
were
not
lovable
in
a
woman
;
but
,
as
it
was
,
he
found
that
the
hope
of
pleasing
her
had
a
piquancy
quite
new
to
him
.
"
I
wonder
,
"
said
Esther
,
breaking
her
silence
in
her
usual
light
silvery
tones
—
"
I
wonder
whether
the
women
who
looked
in
that
way
ever
felt
any
troubles
.
I
see
there
are
two
old
ones
up-stairs
in
the
billiard-room
who
have
only
got
fat
;
the
expression
of
their
faces
is
just
of
the
same
sort
.
"
"
A
woman
ought
never
to
have
any
trouble
.
There
should
always
be
a
man
to
guard
her
from
it
.
"
(
Harold
Transome
was
masculine
and
fallible
;
he
had
incautiously
sat
down
this
morning
to
pay
his
addresses
by
talk
about
nothing
in
particular
;
and
,
clever
experienced
man
as
he
was
,
he
fell
into
nonsense
.
)
"
But
suppose
the
man
himself
got
into
trouble
—
you
would
wish
her
to
mind
about
that
.
Or
suppose
,
"
added
Esther
,
suddenly
looking
up
merrily
at
Harold
,
"
the
man
himself
was
troublesome
?
"
"
O
you
must
not
strain
probabilities
in
that
way
.
The
generality
of
men
are
perfect
.
Take
me
,
for
example
.
"
"
You
are
a
perfect
judge
of
sauces
,
"
said
Esther
,
who
had
her
triumphs
in
letting
Harold
know
that
she
was
capable
of
taking
notes
.
"
That
is
perfection
number
one
.
Pray
go
on
.
"
"
O
,
the
catalogue
is
too
long
—
I
should
be
tired
before
I
got
to
your
magnificent
ruby
ring
and
your
gloves
always
of
the
right
colour
.
"
"
If
you
would
let
me
tell
you
your
perfections
,
I
should
not
be
tired
.
"
"
That
is
not
complimentary
;
it
means
that
the
list
is
short
.
"
"
No
;
it
means
that
the
list
is
pleasant
to
dwell
upon
.
"
"
Pray
do
n't
begin
,
"
said
Esther
,
with
her
pretty
toss
of
the
head
;
"
it
would
be
dangerous
to
our
good
understanding
.
The
person
I
liked
best
in
the
world
was
one
who
did
nothing
but
scold
me
and
tell
me
of
my
faults
.
"
When
Esther
began
to
speak
,
she
meant
to
do
no
more
than
make
a
remote
unintelligible
allusion
,
feeling
,
it
must
be
owned
,
a
naugthy
will
to
flirt
and
be
saucy
,
and
thwart
Harold
's
attempts
to
be
felicitous
in
compliment
.
But
she
had
no
sooner
uttered
the
words
than
they
seemed
to
her
like
a
confession
.
A
deep
flush
spread
itself
over
her
face
and
neck
,
and
the
sense
that
she
was
blushing
went
on
deepening
her
colour
.
Harold
felt
himself
unpleasantly
illuminated
as
to
a
possibility
that
had
never
yet
occurred
to
him
.
His
surprise
made
an
uncomfortable
pause
,
in
which
Esther
had
time
to
feel
much
vexation
.
"
You
speak
in
the
past
tense
,
"
said
Harold
,
at
last
;
"
yet
I
am
rather
envious
of
that
person
.
I
shall
never
be
able
to
win
your
regard
in
the
same
way
.
Is
it
any
one
at
Treby
?
Because
in
that
case
I
can
inquire
about
your
faults
.
"
"
O
you
know
I
have
always
lived
among
grave
people
,
"
said
Esther
,
more
able
to
recover
herself
now
she
was
spoken
to
.
"
Before
I
came
home
to
be
with
my
father
I
was
nothing
but
a
school-girl
first
,
and
then
a
teacher
in
different
stages
of
growth
.
People
in
those
circumstances
are
not
usually
flattered
.
But
there
are
varieties
in
fault-finding
.
At
our
Paris
school
the
master
I
liked
best
was
an
old
man
who
stormed
at
me
terribly
when
I
read
Racine
,
but
yet
showed
that
he
was
proud
of
me
.
"
Esther
was
getting
quite
cool
again
.
But
Harold
was
not
entirely
satisfied
;
if
there
was
any
obstacle
in
his
way
,
he
wished
to
know
exactly
what
it
was
.
"
That
must
have
been
a
wretched
life
for
you
at
Treby
,
"
he
said
,
—
"
a
person
of
your
accomplishments
.
"
"
I
used
to
be
dreadfully
discontented
,
"
said
Esther
,
much
occupied
with
mistakes
she
had
made
in
her
netting
.
"
But
I
was
becoming
less
so
.
I
have
had
time
to
get
rather
wise
,
you
know
;
I
am
two-and-twenty
.
"
"
Yes
,
"
said
Harold
,
rising
and
walking
a
few
paces
backwards
and
forwards
,
"
you
are
past
your
majority
;
you
are
empress
of
your
own
fortunes
—
and
more
besides
.
"
"
Dear
me
,
"
said
Esther
,
letting
her
work
fall
,
and
leaning
back
against
the
cushions
;
"
I
do
n't
think
I
know
very
well
what
to
do
with
my
empire
.
"
"
Well
,
"
said
Harold
,
pausing
in
front
of
her
,
leaning
one
arm
on
the
mantelpiece
,
and
speaking
very
gravely
,
"
I
hope
that
in
any
case
,
since
you
appear
to
have
no
near
relative
who
understands
affairs
,
you
will
confide
in
me
,
and
trust
me
with
all
your
intentions
as
if
I
had
no
other
personal
concern
in
the
matter
than
a
regard
for
you
.
I
hope
you
believe
me
capable
of
acting
as
the
guardian
of
your
interest
,
even
where
it
turns
out
to
be
inevitably
opposed
to
my
own
.
"
"
I
am
sure
you
have
given
me
reason
to
believe
it
,
"
said
Esther
,
with
seriousness
,
putting
out
her
hand
to
Harold
.
She
had
not
been
left
in
ignorance
that
he
had
had
opportunities
twice
offered
of
stifling
her
claims
.
Harold
raised
the
hand
to
his
lips
,
but
dared
not
retain
it
more
than
an
instant
.
Still
the
sweet
reliance
in
Esther
's
manner
made
an
irresistible
temptation
to
him
.
After
standing
still
a
moment
or
two
,
while
she
bent
over
her
work
,
he
glided
to
the
ottoman
and
seated
himself
close
by
her
,
looking
at
her
busy
hands
.
"
I
see
you
have
made
mistakes
in
your
work
,
"
he
said
,
bending
still
nearer
,
for
he
saw
that
she
was
conscious
,
yet
not
angry
.
"
Nonsense
!
you
know
nothing
about
it
,
"
said
Esther
,
laughing
,
and
crushing
up
the
soft
silk
under
her
palms
.
"
Those
blunders
have
a
design
in
them
.
"
She
looked
round
,
and
saw
a
handsome
face
very
near
her
.
Harold
was
looking
,
as
he
felt
,
thoroughly
enamoured
of
this
bright
woman
,
who
was
not
at
all
to
his
preconceived
taste
.
Perhaps
a
touch
of
hypothetic
jealousy
now
helped
to
heighten
the
effect
.
But
he
mastered
all
indiscretion
,
and
only
looked
at
her
as
he
said
,
"
I
am
wondering
whether
you
have
any
deep
wishes
and
secrets
that
I
ca
n't
guess
.
"
"
Pray
do
n't
speak
of
my
wishes
,
"
said
Esther
,
quite
overmastered
by
this
new
and
apparently
involuntary
manifestation
in
Harold
;
"
I
could
not
possibly
tell
you
one
at
this
moment
—
I
think
I
shall
never
find
them
out
again
.
O
yes
,
"
she
said
,
abruptly
,
struggling
to
relieve
herself
from
the
oppression
of
unintelligible
feelings
—
"
I
do
know
one
wish
distinctly
.
I
want
to
go
and
see
my
father
.
He
writes
me
word
that
all
is
well
with
him
,
but
still
I
want
to
see
him
.
"
"
You
shall
be
driven
there
when
you
like
.
"
"
May
I
go
now
—
I
mean
as
soon
as
it
is
convenient
?
"
said
Esther
,
rising
.
"
I
will
give
the
order
immediately
,
if
you
wish
it
,
"
said
Harold
,
understanding
that
the
audience
was
broken
up
.
CHAPTER
XLI
.
He
rates
me
as
a
merchant
does
the
wares
He
will
not
purchase
—
"
quality
not
high
!
—
'
Twill
lose
its
colour
opened
to
the
sun
,
Has
no
aroma
,
and
,
in
fine
,
is
naught
—
I
barter
not
for
such
commodities
—
There
is
no
ratio
betwixt
sand
and
gems
.
"
'
Tis
wicked
judgment
!
for
the
soul
can
grow
,
As
embryos
,
that
live
and
move
but
blindly
,
Burst
from
the
dark
,
emerge
regenerate
,
And
lead
a
life
of
vision
and
of
choice
.
Esther
did
not
take
the
carriage
into
Malthouse
Lane
,
but
left
it
to
wait
for
her
outside
the
town
;
and
when
she
entered
the
house
she
put
her
finger
on
her
lip
to
Lyddy
and
ran
lightly
up-stairs
.
She
wished
to
surprise
her
father
by
this
visit
,
and
she
succeeded
.
The
little
minister
was
just
then
almost
surrounded
by
a
wall
of
books
,
with
merely
his
head
peeping
above
them
,
being
much
embarrassed
to
find
a
substitute
for
tables
and
desks
on
which
to
arrange
the
volumes
he
kept
open
for
reference
.
He
was
absorbed
in
mastering
all
those
painstaking
interpretations
of
the
Book
of
Daniel
,
which
are
by
this
time
well
gone
to
the
limbo
of
mistaken
criticism
;
and
Esther
,
as
she
opened
the
door
softly
,
heard
him
rehearsing
aloud
a
passage
in
which
he
declared
,
with
some
parenthetic
provisoes
,
that
he
conceived
not
how
a
perverse
ingenuity
could
blunt
the
edge
of
prophetic
explicitness
,
or
how
an
open
mind
could
fail
to
see
in
the
chronology
of
"
the
little
horn
"
the
resplendent
lamp
of
an
inspired
symbol
searching
out
the
germinal
growth
of
an
antichristian
power
.
"
You
will
not
like
me
to
interrupt
you
,
father
?
"
said
Esther
,
slyly
.
"
Ah
,
my
beloved
child
!
"
he
exclaimed
,
upsetting
a
pile
of
books
,
and
thus
unintentionally
making
a
convenient
breach
in
his
wall
,
through
which
Esther
could
get
up
to
him
and
kiss
him
.
"
Thy
appearing
is
as
a
joy
despaired
of
.
I
had
thought
of
thee
as
the
blinded
think
of
the
daylight
—
which
indeed
is
a
thing
to
rejoice
in
,
like
all
other
good
,
though
we
see
it
not
nigh
.
"
"
Are
you
sure
you
have
been
as
well
and
comfortable
as
you
said
you
were
in
your
letters
?
"
said
Esther
,
seating
herself
close
in
front
of
her
father
,
and
laying
her
hand
on
his
shoulder
.
"
I
wrote
truly
,
my
dear
,
according
to
my
knowledge
at
the
time
.
But
to
an
old
memory
like
mine
the
present
days
are
but
as
a
little
water
poured
on
the
deep
.
It
seems
now
that
all
has
been
as
usual
,
except
my
studies
,
which
have
gone
somewhat
curiously
into
prophetic
history
.
But
I
fear
you
will
rebuke
me
for
my
negligent
apparel
,
"
said
the
little
man
,
feeling
in
front
of
Esther
's
brightness
like
a
bat
overtaken
by
the
morning
.
"
That
is
Lyddy
's
fault
,
who
sits
crying
over
her
want
of
Christian
assurance
instead
of
brushing
your
clothes
and
putting
out
your
clean
cravat
.
She
is
always
saying
her
righteousness
is
filthy
rags
,
and
really
I
do
n't
think
that
is
a
very
strong
expression
for
it
.
I
'm
sure
it
is
dusty
clothes
and
furniture
.
"
"
Nay
,
my
dear
,
your
playfulness
glances
too
severely
on
our
faithful
Lyddy
.
Doubtless
I
am
myself
deficient
,
in
that
I
do
not
aid
her
infirm
memory
by
admonition
.
But
now
tell
me
aught
that
you
have
left
untold
about
yourself
.
Your
heart
has
gone
out
somewhat
towards
this
family
—
the
old
man
and
the
child
,
whom
I
had
not
reckoned
of
?
"
"
Yes
,
father
.
It
is
more
and
more
difficult
to
me
to
see
how
I
can
make
up
my
mind
to
disturb
these
people
at
all
.
"
"
Something
should
doubtless
be
devised
to
lighten
the
loss
and
the
change
to
the
aged
father
and
mother
.
I
would
have
you
in
any
case
seek
to
temper
a
vicissitude
,
which
is
nevertheless
a
providential
arrangement
not
to
be
wholly
set
aside
.
"
"
Do
you
think
,
father
—
do
you
feel
assured
that
a
case
of
inheritance
like
this
of
mine
is
a
sort
of
providential
arrangement
that
makes
a
command
?
"
"
I
have
so
held
it
,
"
said
Mr
Lyon
,
solemnly
;
"
in
all
my
meditations
I
have
so
held
it
.
For
you
have
to
consider
,
my
dear
,
that
you
have
been
led
by
a
peculiar
path
,
and
into
experience
which
is
not
ordinarily
the
lot
of
those
who
are
seated
in
high
places
;
and
what
I
have
hinted
to
you
already
in
my
letters
on
this
head
,
I
shall
wish
on
a
future
opportunity
to
enter
into
more
at
large
.
"
Esther
was
uneasily
silent
.
On
this
great
question
of
her
lot
she
saw
doubts
and
difficulties
,
in
which
it
seemed
as
if
her
father
could
not
help
her
.
There
was
no
illumination
for
her
in
this
theory
of
providential
arrangement
.
She
said
suddenly
(
what
she
had
not
thought
of
at
all
suddenly
)
,
"
Have
you
been
again
to
see
Felix
Holt
,
father
?
You
have
not
mentioned
him
in
your
letters
.
"
"
I
have
been
since
I
last
wrote
,
my
dear
,
and
I
took
his
mother
with
me
,
who
,
I
fear
,
made
the
time
heavy
to
him
with
her
plaints
.
But
afterwards
I
carried
her
away
to
the
house
of
a
brother
minister
at
Loamford
,
and
returned
to
Felix
,
and
then
we
had
much
discourse
.
"
"
Did
you
tell
him
of
everything
that
has
happened
—
I
mean
about
me
—
about
the
Transomes
?
"
"
Assuredly
I
told
him
,
and
he
listened
as
one
astonished
.
For
he
had
much
to
hear
,
knowing
nought
of
your
birth
,
and
that
you
had
any
other
father
than
Rufus
Lyon
.
'
Tis
a
narrative
I
trust
I
shall
not
be
called
on
to
give
to
others
;
but
I
was
not
without
satisfaction
in
unfolding
the
truth
to
this
young
man
,
who
hath
wrought
himself
into
my
affection
strangely
—
I
would
fain
hope
for
ends
that
will
be
a
visible
good
in
his
less
way-worn
life
,
when
mine
shall
be
no
longer
.
"
"
And
you
told
him
how
the
Transomes
had
come
,
and
that
I
was
staying
at
Transome
Court
?
"
"
Yes
,
I
told
these
things
with
some
particularity
,
as
is
my
wont
concerning
what
hath
imprinted
itself
on
my
mind
.
"
"
What
did
Felix
say
?
"
"
Truly
,
my
dear
,
nothing
desirable
to
recite
,
"
said
Mr
Lyon
,
rubbing
his
hand
over
his
brow
.
"
Dear
father
,
he
did
say
something
,
and
you
always
remember
what
people
say
.
Pray
tell
me
;
I
want
to
know
.
"
"
It
was
a
hasty
remark
,
and
rather
escaped
him
than
was
consciously
framed
.
He
said
,
'
Then
she
will
marry
Transome
;
that
is
what
Transome
means
.
'
"
"
That
was
all
?
"
said
Esther
,
turning
rather
pale
,
and
biting
her
lip
with
the
determination
that
the
tears
should
not
start
.
"
Yes
,
we
did
not
go
further
into
that
branch
of
the
subject
.
I
apprehend
there
is
no
warrant
for
his
seeming
prognostic
,
and
I
should
not
be
without
disquiet
if
I
thought
otherwise
.
For
I
confess
that
in
your
accession
to
this
great
position
and
property
,
I
contemplate
with
hopeful
satisfaction
your
remaining
attached
to
that
body
of
congregational
Dissent
,
which
,
as
I
hold
,
hath
retained
most
of
pure
and
primitive
discipline
.
Your
education
and
peculiar
history
would
thus
be
seen
to
have
coincided
with
a
long
train
of
events
in
making
this
family
property
a
mean
of
honouring
and
illustrating
a
purer
form
of
Christianity
than
that
which
hath
unhappily
obtained
the
pre-eminence
in
this
land
.
I
speak
,
my
child
,
as
you
know
,
always
in
the
hope
that
you
will
fully
join
our
communion
;
and
this
dear
wish
of
my
heart
—
nay
,
this
urgent
prayer
—
would
seem
to
be
frustrated
by
your
marriage
with
a
man
,
of
whom
there
is
at
least
no
visible
indication
that
he
would
unite
himself
to
our
body
.
"
If
Esther
had
been
less
agitated
,
she
would
hardly
have
helped
smiling
at
the
picture
her
father
's
words
suggested
of
Harold
Transome
"
joining
the
church
"
in
Malthouse
Yard
.
But
she
was
too
seriously
preoccupied
with
what
Felix
had
said
,
which
hurt
her
in
a
two-edged
fashion
that
was
highly
significant
.
First
,
she
was
angry
with
him
for
daring
to
say
positively
whom
she
would
marry
;
secondly
,
she
was
angry
at
the
implication
that
there
was
from
the
first
a
cool
deliberate
design
in
Harold
Transome
to
marry
her
.
Esther
said
to
herself
that
she
was
quite
capable
of
discerning
Harold
Transome
's
disposition
,
and
judging
of
his
conduct
.
She
felt
sure
he
was
generous
and
open
.
It
did
not
lower
him
in
her
opinion
that
since
circumstances
had
brought
them
together
he
evidently
admired
her
—
was
in
love
with
her
—
in
short
,
desired
to
marry
her
;
and
she
thought
that
she
discerened
the
delicacy
which
hindered
him
from
being
more
explicit
.
There
is
no
point
on
which
young
women
are
more
easily
piqued
than
this
of
their
sufficiency
to
judge
the
men
who
make
love
to
them
.
And
Esther
's
generous
nature
delighted
to
believe
in
genorosity
.
All
these
thoughts
were
making
a
tumult
in
her
mind
while
her
father
was
suggesting
the
radiance
her
lot
might
cast
on
the
cause
of
congregational
Dissent
.
She
heard
what
he
said
,
and
remembered
it
afterwards
,
but
she
made
no
reply
at
present
,
and
chose
rather
to
start
up
in
search
of
a
brush
—
an
action
which
would
seem
to
her
father
quite
a
usual
sequence
with
her
.
It
served
the
purpose
of
diverting
him
from
a
lengthy
subject
.
"
Have
you
yet
spoken
with
Mr
Transome
concerning
Mistress
Holt
,
my
dear
?
"
he
said
,
as
Esther
was
moving
about
the
room
.
"
I
hinted
to
him
that
you
would
best
decide
how
assistance
should
be
tendered
to
her
.
"
"
No
,
father
,
we
have
not
approached
the
subject
.
Mr
Transome
may
have
forgotten
it
,
and
,
for
several
reasons
,
I
would
rather
not
talk
of
this
—
of
money
matters
to
him
at
present
.
There
is
money
due
to
me
from
the
Lukyns
and
the
Pendrells
.
"
"
They
have
paid
it
,
"
said
Mr
Lyon
,
opening
his
desk
.
"
I
have
it
here
ready
to
deliver
to
you
.
"
"
Keep
it
,
father
,
and
pay
Mrs
Holt
's
rent
with
it
,
and
do
anything
else
that
is
wanted
for
her
.
We
must
consider
everything
temporary
now
,
"
said
Esther
,
enveloping
her
father
in
a
towel
,
and
beginning
to
brush
his
auburn
fringe
of
hair
,
while
he
shut
his
eyes
in
preparation
for
this
pleasant
passivity
.
"
Everything
is
uncertain
—
what
may
become
of
Felix
—
what
may
become
of
us
all
.
O
dear
!
"
she
went
on
,
changing
suddenly
to
laughing
merriment
,
"
I
am
beginning
to
talk
like
Lyddy
,
I
think
.
"
"
Truly
,
"
said
Mr
Lyon
,
smiling
,
"
the
uncertainty
of
things
is
a
text
rather
too
wide
and
obvious
for
fruitful
application
;
and
to
discourse
of
it
is
,
as
one
may
say
,
to
bottle
up
the
air
,
and
make
a
present
of
it
to
those
who
are
already
standing
out
of
doors
.
"
"
Do
you
think
,
"
said
Esther
,
in
the
course
of
their
chat
,
"
that
the
Treby
people
know
at
all
about
the
reasons
of
my
being
at
Transome
Court
?
"
"
I
have
had
no
sign
thereof
;
and
indeed
there
is
no
one
,
as
it
appears
,
who
could
make
the
story
public
.
The
man
Christian
is
away
in
London
with
Mr
Debarry
,
Parliament
now
beginning
;
and
Mr
Jermyn
would
doubtless
respect
the
confidence
of
the
Transomes
.
I
have
not
seen
him
lately
.
I
know
nothing
of
his
movements
.
And
so
far
as
my
own
speech
is
concerned
,
and
my
strict
command
to
Lyddy
,
I
have
withheld
the
means
of
information
even
as
to
your
having
returned
to
Transome
Court
in
the
carriage
,
not
wishing
to
give
any
occasion
to
solicitous
questioning
till
time
hath
somewhat
inured
me
.
But
it
hath
got
abroad
that
you
are
there
,
and
is
the
subject
of
conjectures
,
whereof
,
I
imagine
,
the
chief
is
,
that
you
are
gone
as
companion
to
Mistress
Transome
;
for
some
of
our
friends
have
already
hinted
a
rebuke
to
me
that
I
should
permit
your
taking
a
position
so
little
likely
to
further
your
spiritual
welfare
.
"
"
Now
,
father
,
I
think
I
shall
be
obliged
to
run
away
from
you
,
not
to
keep
the
carriage
too
long
,
"
said
Esther
,
as
she
finished
her
reforms
in
the
minister
's
toilette
.
"
You
look
beautiful
now
,
and
I
must
give
Lyddy
a
little
lecture
before
I
go
.
"
"
Yes
,
my
dear
;
I
would
not
detain
you
,
seeing
that
my
duties
demand
me
.
But
take
with
you
this
Treatise
,
which
I
have
purposely
selected
.
It
concerns
all
the
main
questions
between
ourselves
and
the
Establishment
—
government
,
discipline
,
State-support
.
It
is
seasonable
that
you
should
give
a
nearer
attention
to
these
polemics
,
lest
you
be
drawn
aside
by
the
fallacious
association
of
a
State
Church
with
elevated
rank
.
"
Esther
chose
to
take
the
volume
submissively
,
rather
than
to
adopt
the
ungraceful
sincerity
of
saying
that
she
was
unable
at
present
to
give
her
mind
to
the
original
functions
of
a
bishop
,
or
the
comparative
merit
of
Endowments
and
Voluntaryism
.
But
she
did
not
run
her
eyes
over
the
pages
during
her
solitary
drive
to
get
a
foretaste
of
the
argument
,
for
she
was
entirely
occupied
with
Felix
Holt
's
prophecy
that
she
would
marry
Harold
Transome
.
CHAPTER
XLII
.
Thou
sayst
it
,
and
not
I
;
for
thou
hast
done
The
ugly
deed
that
made
these
ugly
words
.
Sophocles
:
Electra
.
Yea
,
it
becomes
a
man
To
cherish
memory
,
where
he
had
delight
.
For
kindness
is
the
natural
birth
of
kindness
.
Whose
soul
records
not
the
great
debt
of
joy
,
Is
stamped
for
ever
an
ignoble
man
.
Sophocles
:
Ajax
.
It
so
happened
that
,
on
the
morning
of
the
day
when
Esther
went
to
see
her
father
,
Jermyn
had
not
yet
heard
of
her
presence
at
Transome
Court
.
One
fact
conducing
to
keep
him
in
this
ignorance
was
,
that
some
days
after
his
critical
interview
with
Harold
—
days
during
which
he
had
been
wondering
how
long
it
would
be
before
Harold
made
up
his
mind
to
sacrifice
the
luxury
of
satisfied
anger
for
the
solid
advantage
of
securring
fortune
and
position
—
he
was
peremptorily
called
away
by
business
to
the
south
of
England
,
and
was
obliged
to
inform
Harold
by
letter
of
his
absence
.
He
took
care
also
to
notify
his
return
;
but
Harold
made
no
sign
in
reply
.
The
days
passed
without
bringing
him
any
gossip
concerning
Esther
's
visit
,
for
such
gossip
was
almost
confined
to
Mr
Lyon
's
congregation
,
her
Church
pupils
,
Miss
Louisa
Jermyn
among
them
,
having
been
satisfied
by
her
father
's
written
statement
that
she
was
gone
on
a
visit
of
uncertain
duration
.
But
on
this
day
of
Esther
's
call
in
Malthouse
Yard
,
the
Miss
Jermyns
in
their
walk
saw
her
getting
into
the
Transomes
'
carriage
,
which
they
had
previously
observed
to
be
waiting
,
and
which
they
now
saw
bowled
along
on
the
road
towards
Little
Treby
.
It
followed
that
only
a
few
hours
later
the
news
reached
the
astonished
ears
of
Matthew
Jermyn
.
Entirely
ignorant
of
those
converging
indications
and
small
links
of
incident
which
had
raised
Christian
's
conjectures
,
and
had
gradually
contributed
to
put
him
in
possession
of
the
facts
;
ignorant
too
of
some
busy
motives
in
the
mind
of
his
obliged
servant
Johnson
;
Jermyn
was
not
likely
to
see
at
once
how
the
momentous
information
that
Esther
was
the
surviving
Bycliffe
could
possibly
have
reached
Harold
.
His
daughters
naturally
leaped
,
as
others
had
done
,
to
the
conclusion
that
the
Transomes
,
seeking
a
governess
for
little
Harry
,
had
had
their
choice
directed
to
Esther
,
and
observed
that
they
must
have
attracted
her
by
a
high
salary
to
induce
her
to
take
charge
of
such
a
small
pupil
;
though
of
course
it
was
important
that
his
English
and
French
should
be
carefully
attended
to
from
the
first
.
Jermyn
,
hearing
this
suggestion
,
was
not
without
a
momentary
hope
that
it
might
be
true
,
and
that
Harold
was
still
safely
unconscious
of
having
under
the
same
roof
with
him
the
legal
claimant
of
the
family
estate
.
But
a
mind
in
the
grasp
of
a
terrible
anxiety
is
not
credulous
of
easy
solutions
.
The
one
of
stay
that
bears
up
our
hopes
is
sure
to
appear
frail
,
and
if
looked
at
long
will
seem
to
totter
.
Too
much
depended
on
that
unconsciousness
of
Harold
's
;
and
although
Jermyn
did
not
see
the
course
of
things
that
could
have
disclosed
and
combined
the
various
items
of
knowledge
which
he
had
imagined
to
be
his
own
secret
,
and
therefore
his
safeguard
,
he
saw
quite
clearly
what
was
likely
to
be
the
result
of
the
disclosure
.
Not
only
would
Harold
Transome
be
no
longer
afraid
of
him
,
but
also
,
by
marrying
Esther
(
and
Jermyn
at
once
felt
sure
of
this
issue
)
,
he
would
be
triumphantly
freed
from
any
unpleasant
consequences
,
and
could
pursue
much
at
his
ease
the
gratification
of
ruining
Matthew
Jermyn
.
The
prevision
of
an
enemy
's
triumphant
ease
is
in
any
case
sufficiently
irritating
to
hatred
,
and
there
were
reasons
why
it
was
peculiarly
exasperating
here
;
but
Jermyn
had
not
the
leisure
now
for
mere
fruitless
emotion
:
he
had
to
think
of
a
possible
device
which
might
save
him
from
imminent
ruin
—
not
an
indefinite
adversity
,
but
a
ruin
in
detail
,
which
his
thoughts
painted
out
with
the
sharpest
,
ugliest
intensity
.
A
man
of
sixty
,
with
an
unsuspicious
wife
and
daughters
capable
of
shrieking
and
fainting
at
a
sudden
revelation
,
and
of
looking
at
him
reproachfully
in
their
daily
misery
under
a
shabby
lot
to
which
he
had
reduced
them
—
with
a
mind
and
with
habits
dried
hard
by
the
years
—
with
no
glimpse
of
an
endurable
standing-ground
except
where
he
could
domineer
and
be
prosperous
according
to
the
ambitions
of
pushing
middle-class
gentility
,
—
such
a
man
is
likely
to
find
the
prospect
of
worldly
ruin
ghastly
enough
to
drive
him
to
the
most
uninviting
means
of
escape
.
He
will
probably
prefer
any
private
scorn
that
will
save
him
from
public
infamy
or
that
will
leave
him
money
in
his
pocket
,
to
the
humiliation
and
hardship
of
new
servitude
in
old
age
,
a
shabby
hat
,
and
a
melancholy
hearth
,
where
the
firing
must
be
used
charily
and
the
women
look
sad
.
But
though
a
man
may
be
willing
to
escape
through
a
sewer
,
a
sewer
with
an
outlet
into
the
dry
air
is
not
always
at
hand
.
Running
away
,
especially
when
spoken
of
as
absconding
,
seems
at
a
distance
to
offer
a
good
modern
substitute
for
the
right
of
sanctuary
;
but
seen
closely
,
it
is
often
found
inconvenient
and
scarcely
possible
.
Jermyn
,
on
thoroughly
considering
his
position
,
saw
that
he
had
no
very
agreeable
resources
at
command
.
But
he
soon
made
up
his
mind
what
he
would
do
next
.
He
wrote
to
Mrs
Transome
requesting
her
to
appoint
an
hour
in
which
he
could
see
her
privately
:
he
knew
she
would
understand
that
it
was
to
be
an
hour
when
Harold
was
not
at
home
.
As
he
sealed
the
letter
,
he
indulged
a
faint
hope
that
in
this
interview
he
might
be
assured
of
Esther
's
birth
being
unknown
at
Transome
Court
;
but
in
the
worst
case
,
perhaps
some
help
might
be
found
in
Mrs
Transome
.
To
such
uses
may
tender
relations
come
when
they
have
ceased
to
be
tender
!
The
Hazaels
of
our
world
who
are
pushed
on
quickly
against
their
preconceived
confidence
in
themselves
to
do
doglike
actions
by
the
sudden
suggestion
of
a
wicked
ambition
,
are
much
fewer
than
those
who
are
led
on
through
the
years
by
the
gradual
demands
of
a
selfishness
which
has
spread
its
fibres
far
and
wide
through
the
intricate
vanities
and
sordid
cares
of
an
everyday
existence
.
In
consequence
of
that
letter
to
Mrs
Transome
,
Jermyn
was
two
days
afterwards
ushered
into
the
smaller
drawing-room
at
Transome
Court
.
It
was
a
charming
little
room
in
its
refurbished
condition
:
it
had
two
pretty
inlaid
cabinets
,
great
china
vases
with
contents
that
sent
forth
odours
of
paradise
,
groups
of
flowers
in
oval
frames
on
the
walls
,
and
Mrs
Transome
's
own
portrait
in
the
evening
costume
of
1800
,
with
a
garden
in
the
background
.
That
brilliant
young
woman
looked
smilingly
down
on
Mr
Jermyn
as
he
passed
in
front
of
the
fire
;
and
at
present
hers
was
the
only
gaze
in
the
room
.
He
could
not
help
meeting
the
gaze
as
he
waited
,
holding
his
hat
behind
him
—
could
not
help
seeing
many
memories
lit
up
by
it
;
but
the
strong
bent
of
his
mind
was
to
go
on
arguing
each
memory
into
a
claim
,
and
to
see
in
the
regard
others
had
for
him
a
merit
of
his
own
.
There
had
been
plenty
of
roads
open
to
him
when
he
was
a
young
man
;
perhaps
if
he
had
not
allowed
himself
to
be
determined
(
chiefly
,
of
course
,
by
the
feelings
of
others
,
for
of
what
effect
would
his
own
feelings
have
been
without
them
?
)
into
the
road
he
actually
took
,
he
might
have
done
better
for
himself
.
At
any
rate
,
he
was
likely
at
last
to
get
the
worst
of
it
,
and
it
was
he
who
had
most
reason
to
complain
.
The
fortunate
Jason
,
as
we
know
from
Euripides
,
piously
thanked
the
goodess
,
and
saw
clearly
that
he
was
not
at
all
obliged
to
Medea
:
Jermyn
was
perhaps
not
aware
of
the
precedent
,
but
thought
out
his
own
freedom
from
obligation
and
the
indebtedness
of
others
towards
him
with
a
native
faculty
not
inferior
to
Jason
's
.
Before
three
minutes
had
passed
,
however
,
as
if
by
some
sorcery
,
the
brilliant
smiling
young
woman
above
the
mantelpiece
seemed
to
be
appearing
at
the
doorway
withered
and
frosted
by
many
winters
,
and
with
lips
and
eyes
from
which
the
smile
had
departed
.
Jermyn
advanced
and
they
shook
hands
,
but
neither
of
them
said
anything
by
way
of
greeting
.
Mrs
Transome
seated
herself
,
and
pointed
to
a
chair
opposite
and
near
her
.
"
Harold
has
gone
to
Loamford
,
"
she
said
,
in
a
subdued
tone
.
"
You
had
something
particular
to
say
to
me
?
"
"
Yes
,
"
said
Jermyn
,
with
his
soft
and
deferential
air
.
"
The
last
time
I
was
here
I
could
not
take
the
opportunity
of
speaking
to
you
.
But
I
am
anxious
to
know
whether
you
are
aware
of
what
has
passed
between
me
and
Harold
?
"
"
Yes
,
he
has
told
me
everything
.
"
"
About
his
proceedings
against
me
?
and
the
reason
he
stopped
them
?
"
"
Yes
:
have
you
had
notice
that
he
has
begun
them
again
?
"
"
No
,
"
said
Jermyn
,
with
a
very
unpleasant
sensation
.
"
Of
course
he
will
now
,
"
said
Mrs
Transome
.
"
There
is
no
reason
in
his
mind
why
he
should
not
.
"
"
Has
he
resolved
to
risk
the
estate
then
?
"
"
He
feels
in
no
danger
on
that
score
.
And
if
there
were
,
the
danger
does
n't
depend
on
you
.
The
most
likely
thing
is
,
that
he
will
marry
this
girl
.
"
"
He
knows
everything
then
?
"
said
Jermyn
,
the
expression
of
his
face
getting
clouded
.
"
Everything
.
It
's
of
no
use
for
you
to
think
of
mastering
him
:
you
ca
n't
do
it
.
I
used
to
wish
Harold
to
be
fortunate
—
and
he
is
fortunate
,
"
said
Mrs
Transome
,
with
intense
bitterness
.
"
It
's
not
my
star
that
he
inherits
.
"
"
Do
you
know
how
he
came
by
the
information
about
this
girl
?
"
"
No
;
but
she
knew
it
all
before
we
spoke
to
her
.
It
's
no
secret
.
"
Jermyn
was
confounded
by
this
hopeless
frustration
to
which
he
had
no
key
.
Though
he
thought
of
Christian
,
the
thought
shed
no
light
;
but
the
more
fatal
point
was
clear
:
he
held
no
secret
that
could
help
him
.
"
You
are
aware
that
these
Chancery
proceedings
may
ruin
me
?
"
"
He
told
me
they
would
.
But
if
you
are
imagining
that
I
can
do
anything
,
dismiss
the
notion
.
I
have
told
him
as
plainly
as
I
dare
that
I
wish
him
to
drop
all
public
quarrel
with
you
,
and
that
you
could
make
an
arrangement
without
scandal
.
I
can
do
no
more
.
He
will
not
listen
to
me
;
he
does
n't
mind
about
my
feelings
.
He
cares
more
for
Mr
Transome
than
he
does
for
me
.
He
will
not
listen
to
me
any
more
than
if
I
were
an
old
balladsinger
.
"
"
It
's
very
hard
on
me
,
I
know
,
"
said
Jermyn
,
in
the
tone
with
which
a
man
flings
out
a
reproach
.
"
I
besought
you
three
months
ago
to
bear
anything
rather
than
quarrel
with
him
.
"
"
I
have
not
quarrelled
with
him
.
It
is
he
who
has
been
always
seeking
a
quarrel
with
me
.
I
have
borne
a
good
deal
—
more
than
any
one
else
would
.
He
set
his
teeth
against
me
from
the
first
.
"
"
He
saw
things
that
annoyed
him
;
and
men
are
not
like
women
,
"
said
Mrs
Transome
.
There
was
a
bitter
innuendo
in
that
truism
.
"
It
's
very
hard
on
me
—
I
know
that
,
"
said
Jermyn
,
with
an
intensification
of
his
previous
tone
,
rising
and
walking
a
step
or
two
,
then
turning
and
laying
his
hand
on
the
back
of
the
chair
.
"
Of
course
the
law
in
this
case
ca
n't
in
the
least
represent
the
justice
of
the
matter
.
I
made
a
good
many
sacrifices
in
times
past
.
I
gave
up
a
great
deal
of
fine
business
for
the
sake
of
attending
to
the
family
affairs
,
and
in
that
lawsuit
they
would
have
gone
to
rack
and
ruin
if
it
had
n't
been
for
me
.
"
He
moved
away
again
,
laid
down
his
hat
,
which
he
had
been
previously
holding
,
and
thrust
his
hands
into
his
pockets
as
he
returned
.
Mrs
Transome
sat
motionless
as
marble
,
and
almost
as
pale
.
Her
hands
lay
crossed
on
her
knees
.
This
man
,
young
,
slim
,
and
graceful
,
with
a
selfishness
which
then
took
the
form
of
homage
to
her
,
had
at
one
time
kneeled
to
her
and
kissed
those
hands
fervently
;
and
she
had
thought
there
was
a
poetry
in
such
passion
beyond
any
to
be
found
in
everyday
domesticity
.
"
I
stretched
my
conscience
a
good
deal
in
that
affair
of
Bycliffe
,
as
you
know
perfectly
well
.
I
told
you
everything
at
the
time
.
I
told
you
I
was
very
uneasy
about
those
witnesses
,
and
about
getting
him
thrown
into
prison
.
I
know
it
's
the
blackest
thing
anybody
could
charge
me
with
,
if
they
knew
my
life
from
beginning
to
end
;
and
I
should
never
have
done
it
,
if
I
had
not
been
under
an
infatuation
such
as
makes
a
man
do
anything
.
What
did
it
signify
to
me
about
the
loss
of
the
lawsuit
?
I
was
a
young
bachelor
—
I
had
the
world
before
me
.
"
"
Yes
,
"
said
Mrs
Transome
,
in
a
low
tone
.
"
It
was
a
pit
you
did
n't
make
another
choice
.
"
"
What
would
have
become
of
you
?
"
said
Jermyn
,
carried
along
a
climax
,
like
other
self-justifiers
.
"
I
had
to
think
of
you
.
You
would
not
have
liked
me
to
make
another
choice
then
.
"
"
Clearly
,
"
said
Mrs
Transome
,
with
concentrated
bitterness
,
but
still
quietly
;
"
the
greater
mistake
was
mine
.
"
Egoism
is
usually
stupid
in
a
dialogue
;
but
Jermyn
's
did
not
make
him
so
stupid
that
he
did
not
feel
the
edge
of
Mrs
Transome
's
words
.
They
increased
his
irritation
.
"
I
hardly
see
that
,
"
he
replied
,
with
a
slight
laugh
of
scorn
.
"
You
had
an
estate
and
a
position
to
save
,
to
go
no
farther
.
I
remember
very
well
what
you
said
to
me
—
'
A
clever
lawyer
can
do
anything
if
he
has
the
will
;
if
it
's
impossible
,
he
will
make
it
possible
.
And
the
property
is
sure
to
be
Harold
's
some
day
.
'
He
was
a
baby
then
.
"
"
I
remember
most
things
a
little
too
well
:
you
had
better
say
at
once
what
is
your
object
in
recalling
them
.
"
"
An
object
that
is
nothing
more
than
justice
.
With
the
relation
I
stood
in
,
it
was
not
likely
I
should
think
myself
bound
by
all
the
forms
that
are
made
to
bind
strangers
.
I
had
often
immense
trouble
to
raise
the
money
necessary
to
pay
off
debts
and
carry
on
the
affairs
;
and
,
as
I
said
before
,
I
had
given
up
other
lines
of
advancement
which
would
have
been
open
to
me
if
I
had
not
stayed
in
this
neighbourhood
at
a
critical
time
when
I
was
fresh
to
the
world
.
Anybody
who
knew
the
whole
circumstances
would
say
that
my
being
hunted
and
run
down
on
the
score
of
my
past
transactions
with
regard
to
the
family
affairs
,
is
an
abominably
unjust
and
unnatural
thing
.
"
Jermyn
paused
a
moment
,
and
then
added
,
"
At
my
time
of
life
...
and
with
a
family
about
me
—
and
after
what
has
passed
...
I
should
have
thought
there
was
nothing
you
would
care
more
to
prevent
.
"
"
I
do
care
.
It
makes
me
miserable
.
That
is
the
extent
of
my
power
—
to
feel
miserable
.
"
"
No
,
it
is
not
the
extent
of
your
power
.
You
could
save
me
if
you
would
.
It
is
not
to
be
supposed
that
Harold
would
go
on
against
me
...
if
he
knew
the
whole
truth
.
"
Jermyn
had
sat
down
before
he
uttered
the
last
words
.
He
had
lowered
his
voice
slightly
.
He
had
the
air
of
one
who
thought
that
he
had
prepared
the
way
for
an
understanding
.
That
a
man
with
so
much
sharpness
,
with
so
much
suavity
at
command
—
a
man
who
piqued
himself
on
his
persuasiveness
towards
women
,
—
should
behave
just
as
Jermyn
did
on
this
occasion
,
would
be
surprising
,
but
for
the
constant
experience
that
temper
and
selfish
insensibility
will
defeat
excellent
gifts
—
will
make
a
sensible
person
shout
when
shouting
is
out
of
place
,
and
will
make
a
polished
man
rude
when
his
polish
might
be
of
eminent
use
to
him
.
As
Jermyn
,
sitting
down
and
leaning
forward
with
an
elbow
on
his
knee
,
uttered
his
last
words
—
"
if
he
knew
the
whole
truth
"
—
a
slight
shock
seemed
to
pass
through
Mrs
Transome
's
hitherto
motionless
body
,
followed
by
a
sudden
light
in
her
eyes
,
as
in
an
animal
's
about
to
spring
.
"
And
you
expect
me
to
tell
him
?
"
she
said
,
not
loudly
,
but
yet
with
a
clear
metallic
ring
in
her
voice
.
"
Would
it
not
be
right
for
him
to
know
?
"
said
Jermyn
,
in
a
more
bland
and
persuasive
tone
than
he
had
yet
used
.
Perhaps
some
of
the
most
terrible
irony
of
the
human
lot
is
this
of
a
deep
truth
coming
to
be
uttered
by
lips
that
have
no
right
to
it
.
"
I
will
never
tell
him
!
"
said
Mrs
Transome
,
starting
up
,
her
whole
frame
thrilled
with
a
passion
that
seemed
almost
to
make
her
young
again
.
Her
hands
hung
beside
her
clenched
tightly
,
her
eyes
and
lips
lost
the
helpless
repressed
bitterness
of
discontent
,
and
seemed
suddenly
fed
with
energy
.
"
You
reckon
up
your
sacrifices
for
me
:
you
have
kept
a
good
account
of
them
,
and
it
is
needful
;
they
are
some
of
them
what
no
one
else
could
guess
or
find
out
.
But
you
made
your
sacrifices
when
they
seemed
pleasant
to
you
;
when
you
told
me
they
were
your
happiness
;
when
you
told
me
that
it
was
I
who
stooped
,
and
I
who
bestowed
favours
.
"
Jermyn
rose
too
,
and
laid
his
hand
on
the
back
of
the
chair
.
He
had
grown
visibly
paler
,
but
seemed
about
to
speak
.
"
Do
n't
speak
!
"
Mrs
Transome
said
peremptorily
.
"
Do
n't
open
your
lips
again
.
You
have
said
enough
;
I
will
speak
now
.
I
have
made
sacrifices
too
,
but
it
was
when
I
knew
that
they
were
not
my
happiness
.
It
was
after
I
saw
that
I
had
stooped
—
after
I
saw
that
your
tenderness
had
turned
into
calculation
—
after
I
saw
that
you
cared
for
yourself
only
,
and
not
for
me
.
I
heard
your
explanations
—
of
your
duty
in
life
—
of
our
mutual
reputation
—
of
a
virtuous
young
lady
attached
to
you
.
I
bore
it
;
I
let
everything
go
;
I
shut
my
eyes
;
I
might
almost
have
let
myself
starve
,
rather
than
have
scenes
of
quarrel
with
the
man
I
had
loved
,
in
which
I
must
accuse
him
of
turning
my
love
into
a
good
bargain
.
"
There
was
a
slight
tremor
in
Mrs
Transome
's
voice
in
the
last
words
,
and
for
a
moment
she
paused
;
but
when
she
spoke
