rightthing
,
and
all
her
cleverness
was
directed
to
getting
the
means
of
doing
it
.
She
meant
to
go
out
riding
again
on
the
gray
,
and
she
did
go
on
the
next
opportunity
of
her
husband
's
absence
,
not
intending
that
he
should
know
until
it
was
late
enough
not
to
signify
to
her
.
The
temptation
was
certainly
great
:
she
was
very
fond
of
the
exercise
,
and
the
gratification
of
riding
on
a
fine
horse
,
with
Captain
Lydgate
,
Sir
Godwin
's
son
,
on
another
fine
horse
by
her
side
,
and
of
being
met
in
this
position
by
any
one
but
her
husband
,
was
something
as
good
as
her
dreams
before
marriage
:
moreover
she
was
riveting
the
connection
with
the
family
at
Quallingham
,
which
must
be
a
wise
thing
to
do
.
But
the
gentle
gray
,
unprepared
for
the
crash
of
a
tree
that
was
being
felled
on
the
edge
of
Halsell
wood
,
took
fright
,
and
caused
a
worse
fright
to
Rosamond
,
leading
finally
to
the
loss
of
her
baby
.
Lydgate
could
not
show
his
anger
towards
her
,
but
he
was
rather
bearish
to
the
Captain
,
whose
visit
naturally
soon
came
to
an
end
.
In
all
future
conversations
on
the
subject
,
Rosamond
was
mildly
certain
that
the
ride
had
made
no
difference
,
and
that
if
she
had
stayed
at
home
the
same
symptoms
would
have
come
on
and
would
have
ended
in
the
same
way
,
because
she
had
felt
something
like
them
before
.
Lydgate
could
only
say
,
"
Poor
,
poor
darling
!
"
—
but
he
secretly
wondered
over
the
terrible
tenacity
of
this
mild
creature
.
There
was
gathering
within
him
an
amazed
sense
of
his
powerlessness
over
Rosamond
.
His
superior
knowledge
and
mental
force
,
instead
of
being
,
as
he
had
imagined
,
a
shrine
to
consult
on
all
occasions
,
was
simply
set
aside
on
every
practical
question
.
He
had
regarded
Rosamond
's
cleverness
as
precisely
of
the
receptive
kind
which
became
a
woman
.
He
was
now
beginning
to
find
out
what
that
cleverness
was
—
what
was
the
shape
into
which
it
had
run
as
into
a
close
network
aloof
and
independent
.
No
one
quicker
than
Rosamond
to
see
causes
and
effects
which
lay
within
the
track
of
her
own
tastes
and
interests
:
she
had
seen
clearly
Lydgate
's
preeminence
in
Middlemarch
society
,
and
could
go
on
imaginatively
tracing
still
more
agreeable
social
effects
when
his
talent
should
have
advanced
him
;
but
for
her
,
his
professional
and
scientific
ambition
had
no
other
relation
to
these
desirable
effects
than
if
they
had
been
the
fortunate
discovery
of
an
ill-smelling
oil
.
And
that
oil
apart
,
with
which
she
had
nothing
to
do
,
of
course
she
believed
in
her
own
opinion
more
than
she
did
in
his
.
Lydgate
was
astounded
to
find
in
numberless
trifling
matters
,
as
well
as
in
this
last
serious
case
of
the
riding
,
that
affection
did
not
make
her
compliant
.
He
had
no
doubt
that
the
affection
was
there
,
and
had
no
presentiment
that
he
had
done
anything
to
repel
it
.
For
his
own
part
he
said
to
himself
that
he
loved
her
as
tenderly
as
ever
,
and
could
make
up
his
mind
to
her
negations
;
but
—
well
!
Lydgate
was
much
worried
,
and
conscious
of
new
elements
in
his
life
as
noxious
to
him
as
an
inlet
of
mud
to
a
creature
that
has
been
used
to
breathe
and
bathe
and
dart
after
its
illuminated
prey
in
the
clearest
of
waters
.
Rosamond
was
soon
looking
lovelier
than
ever
at
her
worktable
,
enjoying
drives
in
her
father
's
phaeton
and
thinking
it
likely
that
she
might
be
invited
to
Quallingham
.
She
knew
that
she
was
a
much
more
exquisite
ornament
to
the
drawing-room
there
than
any
daughter
of
the
family
,
and
in
reflecting
that
the
gentlemen
were
aware
of
that
,
did
not
perhaps
sufficiently
consider
whether
the
ladies
would
be
eager
to
see
themselves
surpassed
.
Lydgate
,
relieved
from
anxiety
about
her
,
relapsed
into
what
she
inwardly
called
his
moodiness
—
a
name
which
to
her
covered
his
thoughtful
preoccupation
with
other
subjects
than
herself
,
as
well
as
that
uneasy
look
of
the
brow
and
distaste
for
all
ordinary
things
as
if
they
were
mixed
with
bitter
herbs
,
which
really
made
a
sort
of
weather-glass
to
his
vexation
and
foreboding
.
These
latter
states
of
mind
had
one
cause
amongst
others
,
which
he
had
generously
but
mistakenly
avoided
mentioning
to
Rosamond
,
lest
it
should
affect
her
health
and
spirits
.
Between
him
and
her
indeed
there
was
that
total
missing
of
each
other
's
mental
track
,
which
is
too
evidently
possible
even
between
persons
who
are
continually
thinking
of
each
other
.
To
Lydgate
it
seemed
that
he
had
been
spending
month
after
month
in
sacrificing
more
than
half
of
his
best
intent
and
best
power
to
his
tenderness
for
Rosamond
;
bearing
her
little
claims
and
interruptions
without
impatience
,
and
,
above
all
,
bearing
without
betrayal
of
bitterness
to
look
through
less
and
less
of
interfering
illusion
at
the
blank
unreflecting
surface
her
mind
presented
to
his
ardor
for
the
more
impersonal
ends
of
his
profession
and
his
scientific
study
,
an
ardor
which
he
had
fancied
that
the
ideal
wife
must
somehow
worship
as
sublime
,
though
not
in
the
least
knowing
why
.
But
his
endurance
was
mingled
with
a
self-discontent
which
,
if
we
know
how
to
be
candid
,
we
shall
confess
to
make
more
than
half
our
bitterness
under
grievances
,
wife
or
husband
included
.
It
always
remains
true
that
if
we
had
been
greater
,
circumstance
would
have
been
less
strong
against
us
.
Lydgate
was
aware
that
his
concessions
to
Rosamond
were
often
little
more
than
the
lapse
of
slackening
resolution
,
the
creeping
paralysis
apt
to
seize
an
enthusiasm
which
is
out
of
adjustment
to
a
constant
portion
of
our
lives
.
And
on
Lydgate
's
enthusiasm
there
was
constantly
pressing
not
a
simple
weight
of
sorrow
,
but
the
biting
presence
of
a
petty
degrading
care
,
such
as
casts
the
blight
of
irony
over
all
higher
effort
.
This
was
the
care
which
he
had
hitherto
abstained
from
mentioning
to
Rosamond
;
and
he
believed
,
with
some
wonder
,
that
it
had
never
entered
her
mind
,
though
certainly
no
difficulty
could
be
less
mysterious
.
It
was
an
inference
with
a
conspicuous
handle
to
it
,
and
had
been
easily
drawn
by
indifferent
observers
,
that
Lydgate
was
in
debt
;
and
he
could
not
succeed
in
keeping
out
of
his
mind
for
long
together
that
he
was
every
day
getting
deeper
into
that
swamp
,
which
tempts
men
towards
it
with
such
a
pretty
covering
of
flowers
and
verdure
.
It
is
wonderful
how
soon
a
man
gets
up
to
his
chin
there
—
in
a
condition
in
which
,
in
spite
of
himself
,
he
is
forced
to
think
chiefly
of
release
,
though
he
had
a
scheme
of
the
universe
in
his
soul
.
Eighteen
months
ago
Lydgate
was
poor
,
but
had
never
known
the
eager
want
of
small
sums
,
and
felt
rather
a
burning
contempt
for
any
one
who
descended
a
step
in
order
to
gain
them
.
He
was
now
experiencing
something
worse
than
a
simple
deficit
:
he
was
assailed
by
the
vulgar
hateful
trials
of
a
man
who
has
bought
and
used
a
great
many
things
which
might
have
been
done
without
,
and
which
he
is
unable
to
pay
for
,
though
the
demand
for
payment
has
become
pressing
.
How
this
came
about
may
be
easily
seen
without
much
arithmetic
or
knowledge
of
prices
.
When
a
man
in
setting
up
a
house
and
preparing
for
marriage
finds
that
his
furniture
and
other
initial
expenses
come
to
between
four
and
five
hundred
pounds
more
than
he
has
capital
to
pay
for
;
when
at
the
end
of
a
year
it
appears
that
his
household
expenses
,
horses
and
et
caeteras
,
amount
to
nearly
a
thousand
,
while
the
proceeds
of
the
practice
reckoned
from
the
old
books
to
be
worth
eight
hundred
per
annum
have
sunk
like
a
summer
pond
and
make
hardly
five
hundred
,
chiefly
in
unpaid
entries
,
the
plain
inference
is
that
,
whether
he
minds
it
or
not
,
he
is
in
debt
.
Those
were
less
expensive
times
than
our
own
,
and
provincial
life
was
comparatively
modest
;
but
the
ease
with
which
a
medical
man
who
had
lately
bought
a
practice
,
who
thought
that
he
was
obliged
to
keep
two
horses
,
whose
table
was
supplied
without
stint
,
and
who
paid
an
insurance
on
his
life
and
a
high
rent
for
house
and
garden
,
might
find
his
expenses
doubling
his
receipts
,
can
be
conceived
by
any
one
who
does
not
think
these
details
beneath
his
consideration
.
Rosamond
,
accustomed
from
her
childhood
to
an
extravagant
household
,
thought
that
good
housekeeping
consisted
simply
in
ordering
the
best
of
everything
—
nothing
else
"
answered
;
"
and
Lydgate
supposed
that
"
if
things
were
done
at
all
,
they
must
be
done
properly
"
—
he
did
not
see
how
they
were
to
live
otherwise
.
If
each
head
of
household
expenditure
had
been
mentioned
to
him
beforehand
,
he
would
have
probably
observed
that
"
it
could
hardly
come
to
much
,
"
and
if
any
one
had
suggested
a
saving
on
a
particular
article
—
for
example
,
the
substitution
of
cheap
fish
for
dear
—
it
would
have
appeared
to
him
simply
a
penny-wise
,
mean
notion
.
Rosamond
,
even
without
such
an
occasion
as
Captain
Lydgate
's
visit
,
was
fond
of
giving
invitations
,
and
Lydgate
,
though
he
often
thought
the
guests
tiresome
,
did
not
interfere
.
This
sociability
seemed
a
necessary
part
of
professional
prudence
,
and
the
entertainment
must
be
suitable
.
It
is
true
Lydgate
was
constantly
visiting
the
homes
of
the
poor
and
adjusting
his
prescriptions
of
diet
to
their
small
means
;
but
,
dear
me
!
has
it
not
by
this
time
ceased
to
be
remarkable
—
is
it
not
rather
that
we
expect
in
men
,
that
they
should
have
numerous
strands
of
experience
lying
side
by
side
and
never
compare
them
with
each
other
?
Expenditure
—
like
ugliness
and
errors
—
becomes
a
totally
new
thing
when
we
attach
our
own
personality
to
it
,
and
measure
it
by
that
wide
difference
which
is
manifest
(
in
our
own
sensations
)
between
ourselves
and
others
.
Lydgate
believed
himself
to
be
careless
about
his
dress
,
and
he
despised
a
man
who
calculated
the
effects
of
his
costume
;
it
seemed
to
him
only
a
matter
of
course
that
he
had
abundance
of
fresh
garments
—
such
things
were
naturally
ordered
in
sheaves
.
It
must
be
remembered
that
he
had
never
hitherto
felt
the
check
of
importunate
debt
,
and
he
walked
by
habit
,
not
by
self-criticism
.
But
the
check
had
come
.
Its
novelty
made
it
the
more
irritating
.
He
was
amazed
,
disgusted
that
conditions
so
foreign
to
all
his
purposes
,
so
hatefully
disconnected
with
the
objects
he
cared
to
occupy
himself
with
,
should
have
lain
in
ambush
and
clutched
him
when
he
was
unaware
.
And
there
was
not
only
the
actual
debt
;
there
was
the
certainty
that
in
his
present
position
he
must
go
on
deepening
it
.
Two
furnishing
tradesmen
at
Brassing
,
whose
bills
had
been
incurred
before
his
marriage
,
and
whom
uncalculated
current
expenses
had
ever
since
prevented
him
from
paying
,
had
repeatedly
sent
him
unpleasant
letters
which
had
forced
themselves
on
his
attention
.
This
could
hardly
have
been
more
galling
to
any
disposition
than
to
Lydgate
's
,
with
his
intense
pride
—
his
dislike
of
asking
a
favour
or
being
under
an
obligation
to
any
one
.
He
had
scorned
even
to
form
conjectures
about
Mr.
Vincy
's
intentions
on
money
matters
,
and
nothing
but
extremity
could
have
induced
him
to
apply
to
his
father-in-law
,
even
if
he
had
not
been
made
aware
in
various
indirect
ways
since
his
marriage
that
Mr.
Vincy
's
own
affairs
were
not
flourishing
,
and
that
the
expectation
of
help
from
him
would
be
resented
.
Some
men
easily
trust
in
the
readiness
of
friends
;
it
had
never
in
the
former
part
of
his
life
occurred
to
Lydgate
that
he
should
need
to
do
so
:
he
had
never
thought
what
borrowing
would
be
to
him
;
but
now
that
the
idea
had
entered
his
mind
,
he
felt
that
he
would
rather
incur
any
other
hardship
.
In
the
mean
time
he
had
no
money
or
prospects
of
money
;
and
his
practice
was
not
getting
more
lucrative
.
No
wonder
that
Lydgate
had
been
unable
to
suppress
all
signs
of
inward
trouble
during
the
last
few
months
,
and
now
that
Rosamond
was
regaining
brilliant
health
,
he
meditated
taking
her
entirely
into
confidence
on
his
difficulties
.
New
conversance
with
tradesmen
's
bills
had
forced
his
reasoning
into
a
new
channel
of
comparison
:
he
had
begun
to
consider
from
a
new
point
of
view
what
was
necessary
and
unnecessary
in
goods
ordered
,
and
to
see
that
there
must
be
some
change
of
habits
.
How
could
such
a
change
be
made
without
Rosamond
's
concurrence
?
The
immediate
occasion
of
opening
the
disagreeable
fact
to
her
was
forced
upon
him
.
Having
no
money
,
and
having
privately
sought
advice
as
to
what
security
could
possibly
be
given
by
a
man
in
his
position
,
Lydgate
had
offered
the
one
good
security
in
his
power
to
the
less
peremptory
creditor
,
who
was
a
silversmith
and
jeweller
,
and
who
consented
to
take
on
himself
the
upholsterer
's
credit
also
,
accepting
interest
for
a
given
term
.
The
security
necessary
was
a
bill
of
sale
on
the
furniture
of
his
house
,
which
might
make
a
creditor
easy
for
a
reasonable
time
about
a
debt
amounting
to
less
than
four
hundred
pounds
;
and
the
silversmith
,
Mr.
Dover
,
was
willing
to
reduce
it
by
taking
back
a
portion
of
the
plate
and
any
other
article
which
was
as
good
as
new
.
"
Any
other
article
"
was
a
phrase
delicately
implying
jewellery
,
and
more
particularly
some
purple
amethysts
costing
thirty
pounds
,
which
Lydgate
had
bought
as
a
bridal
present
.
Opinions
may
be
divided
as
to
his
wisdom
in
making
this
present
:
some
may
think
that
it
was
a
graceful
attention
to
be
expected
from
a
man
like
Lydgate
,
and
that
the
fault
of
any
troublesome
consequences
lay
in
the
pinched
narrowness
of
provincial
life
at
that
time
,
which
offered
no
conveniences
for
professional
people
whose
fortune
was
not
proportioned
to
their
tastes
;
also
,
in
Lydgate
's
ridiculous
fastidiousness
about
asking
his
friends
for
money
.
However
,
it
had
seemed
a
question
of
no
moment
to
him
on
that
fine
morning
when
he
went
to
give
a
final
order
for
plate
:
in
the
presence
of
other
jewels
enormously
expensive
,
and
as
an
addition
to
orders
of
which
the
amount
had
not
been
exactly
calculated
,
thirty
pounds
for
ornaments
so
exquisitely
suited
to
Rosamond
's
neck
and
arms
could
hardly
appear
excessive
when
there
was
no
ready
cash
for
it
to
exceed
.
But
at
this
crisis
Lydgate
's
imagination
could
not
help
dwelling
on
the
possibility
of
letting
the
amethysts
take
their
place
again
among
Mr.
Dover
's
stock
,
though
he
shrank
from
the
idea
of
proposing
this
to
Rosamond
.
Having
been
roused
to
discern
consequences
which
he
had
never
been
in
the
habit
of
tracing
,
he
was
preparing
to
act
on
this
discernment
with
some
of
the
rigor
(
by
no
means
all
)
that
he
would
have
applied
in
pursuing
experiment
.
He
was
nerving
himself
to
this
rigor
as
he
rode
from
Brassing
,
and
meditated
on
the
representations
he
must
make
to
Rosamond
.
It
was
evening
when
he
got
home
.
He
was
intensely
miserable
,
this
strong
man
of
nine-and-twenty
and
of
many
gifts
.
He
was
not
saying
angrily
within
himself
that
he
had
made
a
profound
mistake
;
but
the
mistake
was
at
work
in
him
like
a
recognized
chronic
disease
,
mingling
its
uneasy
importunities
with
every
prospect
,
and
enfeebling
every
thought
.
As
he
went
along
the
passage
to
the
drawing-room
,
he
heard
the
piano
and
singing
.
Of
course
,
Ladislaw
was
there
.
It
was
some
weeks
since
Will
had
parted
from
Dorothea
,
yet
he
was
still
at
the
old
post
in
Middlemarch
.
Lydgate
had
no
objection
in
general
to
Ladislaw
's
coming
,
but
just
now
he
was
annoyed
that
he
could
not
find
his
hearth
free
.
When
he
opened
the
door
the
two
singers
went
on
towards
the
key-note
,
raising
their
eyes
and
looking
at
him
indeed
,
but
not
regarding
his
entrance
as
an
interruption
.
To
a
man
galled
with
his
harness
as
poor
Lydgate
was
,
it
is
not
soothing
to
see
two
people
warbling
at
him
,
as
he
comes
in
with
the
sense
that
the
painful
day
has
still
pains
in
store
.
His
face
,
already
paler
than
usual
,
took
on
a
scowl
as
he
walked
across
the
room
and
flung
himself
into
a
chair
.
The
singers
feeling
themselves
excused
by
the
fact
that
they
had
only
three
bars
to
sing
,
now
turned
round
.
"
How
are
you
,
Lydgate
?
"
said
Will
,
coming
forward
to
shake
hands
.
Lydgate
took
his
hand
,
but
did
not
think
it
necessary
to
speak
.
"
Have
you
dined
,
Tertius
?
I
expected
you
much
earlier
,
"
said
Rosamond
,
who
had
already
seen
that
her
husband
was
in
a
"
horrible
humor
.
"
She
seated
herself
in
her
usual
place
as
she
spoke
.
"
I
have
dined
.
I
should
like
some
tea
,
please
,
"
said
Lydgate
,
curtly
,
still
scowling
and
looking
markedly
at
his
legs
stretched
out
before
him
.
Will
was
too
quick
to
need
more
.
"
I
shall
be
off
,
"
he
said
,
reaching
his
hat
.
"
Tea
is
coming
,
"
said
Rosamond
;
"
pray
do
n't
go
.
"
"
Yes
,
Lydgate
is
bored
,
"
said
Will
,
who
had
more
comprehension
of
Lydgate
than
Rosamond
had
,
and
was
not
offended
by
his
manner
,
easily
imagining
outdoor
causes
of
annoyance
.
"
There
is
the
more
need
for
you
to
stay
,
"
said
Rosamond
,
playfully
,
and
in
her
lightest
accent
;
"
he
will
not
speak
to
me
all
the
evening
.
"
"
Yes
,
Rosamond
,
I
shall
,
"
said
Lydgate
,
in
his
strong
baritone
.
"
I
have
some
serious
business
to
speak
to
you
about
.
"
No
introduction
of
the
business
could
have
been
less
like
that
which
Lydgate
had
intended
;
but
her
indifferent
manner
had
been
too
provoking
.
"
There
!
you
see
,
"
said
Will
.
"
I
'm
going
to
the
meeting
about
the
Mechanics
'
Institute
.
Good-by
;
"
and
he
went
quickly
out
of
the
room
.
Rosamond
did
not
look
at
her
husband
,
but
presently
rose
and
took
her
place
before
the
tea-tray
.
She
was
thinking
that
she
had
never
seen
him
so
disagreeable
.
Lydgate
turned
his
dark
eyes
on
her
and
watched
her
as
she
delicately
handled
the
tea-service
with
her
taper
fingers
,
and
looked
at
the
objects
immediately
before
her
with
no
curve
in
her
face
disturbed
,
and
yet
with
an
ineffable
protest
in
her
air
against
all
people
with
unpleasant
manners
.
For
the
moment
he
lost
the
sense
of
his
wound
in
a
sudden
speculation
about
this
new
form
of
feminine
impassibility
revealing
itself
in
the
sylph-like
frame
which
he
had
once
interpreted
as
the
sign
of
a
ready
intelligent
sensitiveness
.
His
mind
glancing
back
to
Laure
while
he
looked
at
Rosamond
,
he
said
inwardly
,
"
Would
she
kill
me
because
I
wearied
her
?
"
and
then
,
"
It
is
the
way
with
all
women
.
"
But
this
power
of
generalizing
which
gives
men
so
much
the
superiority
in
mistake
over
the
dumb
animals
,
was
immediately
thwarted
by
Lydgate
's
memory
of
wondering
impressions
from
the
behavior
of
another
woman
—
from
Dorothea
's
looks
and
tones
of
emotion
about
her
husband
when
Lydgate
began
to
attend
him
—
from
her
passionate
cry
to
be
taught
what
would
best
comfort
that
man
for
whose
sake
it
seemed
as
if
she
must
quell
every
impulse
in
her
except
the
yearnings
of
faithfulness
and
compassion
.
These
revived
impressions
succeeded
each
other
quickly
and
dreamily
in
Lydgate
's
mind
while
the
tea
was
being
brewed
.
He
had
shut
his
eyes
in
the
last
instant
of
reverie
while
he
heard
Dorothea
saying
,
"
Advise
me
—
think
what
I
can
do
—
he
has
been
all
his
life
labouring
and
looking
forward
.
He
minds
about
nothing
else
—
and
I
mind
about
nothing
else
.
"
That
voice
of
deep-souled
womanhood
had
remained
within
him
as
the
enkindling
conceptions
of
dead
and
sceptred
genius
had
remained
within
him
(
is
there
not
a
genius
for
feeling
nobly
which
also
reigns
over
human
spirits
and
their
conclusions
?
)
;
the
tones
were
a
music
from
which
he
was
falling
away
—
he
had
really
fallen
into
a
momentary
doze
,
when
Rosamond
said
in
her
silvery
neutral
way
,
"
Here
is
your
tea
,
Tertius
,
"
setting
it
on
the
small
table
by
his
side
,
and
then
moved
back
to
her
place
without
looking
at
him
.
Lydgate
was
too
hasty
in
attributing
insensibility
to
her
;
after
her
own
fashion
,
she
was
sensitive
enough
,
and
took
lasting
impressions
.
Her
impression
now
was
one
of
offence
and
repulsion
.
But
then
,
Rosamond
had
no
scowls
and
had
never
raised
her
voice
:
she
was
quite
sure
that
no
one
could
justly
find
fault
with
her
.
Perhaps
Lydgate
and
she
had
never
felt
so
far
off
each
other
before
;
but
there
were
strong
reasons
for
not
deferring
his
revelation
,
even
if
he
had
not
already
begun
it
by
that
abrupt
announcement
;
indeed
some
of
the
angry
desire
to
rouse
her
into
more
sensibility
on
his
account
which
had
prompted
him
to
speak
prematurely
,
still
mingled
with
his
pain
in
the
prospect
of
her
pain
.
But
he
waited
till
the
tray
was
gone
,
the
candles
were
lit
,
and
the
evening
quiet
might
be
counted
on
:
the
interval
had
left
time
for
repelled
tenderness
to
return
into
the
old
course
.
He
spoke
kindly
.
"
Dear
Rosy
,
lay
down
your
work
and
come
to
sit
by
me
,
"
he
said
,
gently
,
pushing
away
the
table
,
and
stretching
out
his
arm
to
draw
a
chair
near
his
own
.
Rosamond
obeyed
.
As
she
came
towards
him
in
her
drapery
of
transparent
faintly
tinted
muslin
,
her
slim
yet
round
figure
never
looked
more
graceful
;
as
she
sat
down
by
him
and
laid
one
hand
on
the
elbow
of
his
chair
,
at
last
looking
at
him
and
meeting
his
eyes
,
her
delicate
neck
and
cheek
and
purely
cut
lips
never
had
more
of
that
untarnished
beauty
which
touches
as
in
spring-time
and
infancy
and
all
sweet
freshness
.
It
touched
Lydgate
now
,
and
mingled
the
early
moments
of
his
love
for
her
with
all
the
other
memories
which
were
stirred
in
this
crisis
of
deep
trouble
.
He
laid
his
ample
hand
softly
on
hers
,
saying
—
"
Dear
!
"
with
the
lingering
utterance
which
affection
gives
to
the
word
.
Rosamond
too
was
still
under
the
power
of
that
same
past
,
and
her
husband
was
still
in
part
the
Lydgate
whose
approval
had
stirred
delight
.
She
put
his
hair
lightly
away
from
his
forehead
,
then
laid
her
other
hand
on
his
,
and
was
conscious
of
forgiving
him
.
"
I
am
obliged
to
tell
you
what
will
hurt
you
,
Rosy
.
But
there
are
things
which
husband
and
wife
must
think
of
together
.
I
dare
say
it
has
occurred
to
you
already
that
I
am
short
of
money
.
"
Lydgate
paused
;
but
Rosamond
turned
her
neck
and
looked
at
a
vase
on
the
mantel-piece
.
"
I
was
not
able
to
pay
for
all
the
things
we
had
to
get
before
we
were
married
,
and
there
have
been
expenses
since
which
I
have
been
obliged
to
meet
.
The
consequence
is
,
there
is
a
large
debt
at
Brassing
—
three
hundred
and
eighty
pounds
—
which
has
been
pressing
on
me
a
good
while
,
and
in
fact
we
are
getting
deeper
every
day
,
for
people
do
n't
pay
me
the
faster
because
others
want
the
money
.
I
took
pains
to
keep
it
from
you
while
you
were
not
well
;
but
now
we
must
think
together
about
it
,
and
you
must
help
me
.
"
"
What
can
—
I
—
do
,
Tertius
?
"
said
Rosamond
,
turning
her
eyes
on
him
again
.
That
little
speech
of
four
words
,
like
so
many
others
in
all
languages
,
is
capable
by
varied
vocal
inflections
of
expressing
all
states
of
mind
from
helpless
dimness
to
exhaustive
argumentative
perception
,
from
the
completest
self-devoting
fellowship
to
the
most
neutral
aloofness
.
Rosamond
's
thin
utterance
threw
into
the
words
"
What
can
—
I
—
do
!
"
as
much
neutrality
as
they
could
hold
.
They
fell
like
a
mortal
chill
on
Lydgate
's
roused
tenderness
.
He
did
not
storm
in
indignation
—
he
felt
too
sad
a
sinking
of
the
heart
.
And
when
he
spoke
again
it
was
more
in
the
tone
of
a
man
who
forces
himself
to
fulfil
a
task
.
"
It
is
necessary
for
you
to
know
,
because
I
have
to
give
security
for
a
time
,
and
a
man
must
come
to
make
an
inventory
of
the
furniture
.
"
Rosamond
coloured
deeply
.
"
Have
you
not
asked
papa
for
money
?
"
she
said
,
as
soon
as
she
could
speak
.
"
No.
"
"
Then
I
must
ask
him
!
"
she
said
,
releasing
her
hands
from
Lydgate
's
,
and
rising
to
stand
at
two
yards
'
distance
from
him
.
"
No
,
Rosy
,
"
said
Lydgate
,
decisively
.
"
It
is
too
late
to
do
that
.
The
inventory
will
be
begun
to-morrow
.
Remember
it
is
a
mere
security
:
it
will
make
no
difference
:
it
is
a
temporary
affair
.
I
insist
upon
it
that
your
father
shall
not
know
,
unless
I
choose
to
tell
him
,
"
added
Lydgate
,
with
a
more
peremptory
emphasis
.
This
certainly
was
unkind
,
but
Rosamond
had
thrown
him
back
on
evil
expectation
as
to
what
she
would
do
in
the
way
of
quiet
steady
disobedience
.
The
unkindness
seemed
unpardonable
to
her
:
she
was
not
given
to
weeping
and
disliked
it
,
but
now
her
chin
and
lips
began
to
tremble
and
the
tears
welled
up
.
Perhaps
it
was
not
possible
for
Lydgate
,
under
the
double
stress
of
outward
material
difficulty
and
of
his
own
proud
resistance
to
humiliating
consequences
,
to
imagine
fully
what
this
sudden
trial
was
to
a
young
creature
who
had
known
nothing
but
indulgence
,
and
whose
dreams
had
all
been
of
new
indulgence
,
more
exactly
to
her
taste
.
But
he
did
wish
to
spare
her
as
much
as
he
could
,
and
her
tears
cut
him
to
the
heart
.
He
could
not
speak
again
immediately
;
but
Rosamond
did
not
go
on
sobbing
:
she
tried
to
conquer
her
agitation
and
wiped
away
her
tears
,
continuing
to
look
before
her
at
the
mantel-piece
.
"
Try
not
to
grieve
,
darling
,
"
said
Lydgate
,
turning
his
eyes
up
towards
her
.
That
she
had
chosen
to
move
away
from
him
in
this
moment
of
her
trouble
made
everything
harder
to
say
,
but
he
must
absolutely
go
on
.
"
We
must
brace
ourselves
to
do
what
is
necessary
.
It
is
I
who
have
been
in
fault
:
I
ought
to
have
seen
that
I
could
not
afford
to
live
in
this
way
.
But
many
things
have
told
against
me
in
my
practice
,
and
it
really
just
now
has
ebbed
to
a
low
point
.
I
may
recover
it
,
but
in
the
mean
time
we
must
pull
up
—
we
must
change
our
way
of
living
.
We
shall
weather
it
.
When
I
have
given
this
security
I
shall
have
time
to
look
about
me
;
and
you
are
so
clever
that
if
you
turn
your
mind
to
managing
you
will
school
me
into
carefulness
.
I
have
been
a
thoughtless
rascal
about
squaring
prices
—
but
come
,
dear
,
sit
down
and
forgive
me
.
"
Lydgate
was
bowing
his
neck
under
the
yoke
like
a
creature
who
had
talons
,
but
who
had
Reason
too
,
which
often
reduces
us
to
meekness
.
When
he
had
spoken
the
last
words
in
an
imploring
tone
,
Rosamond
returned
to
the
chair
by
his
side
.
His
self-blame
gave
her
some
hope
that
he
would
attend
to
her
opinion
,
and
she
said
—
"
Why
can
you
not
put
off
having
the
inventory
made
?
You
can
send
the
men
away
to-morrow
when
they
come
.
"
"
I
shall
not
send
them
away
,
"
said
Lydgate
,
the
peremptoriness
rising
again
.
Was
it
of
any
use
to
explain
?
"
If
we
left
Middlemarch
?
there
would
of
course
be
a
sale
,
and
that
would
do
as
well
.
"
"
But
we
are
not
going
to
leave
Middlemarch
.
"
"
I
am
sure
,
Tertius
,
it
would
be
much
better
to
do
so
.
Why
can
we
not
go
to
London
?
Or
near
Durham
,
where
your
family
is
known
?
"
"
We
can
go
nowhere
without
money
,
Rosamond
.
"
"
Your
friends
would
not
wish
you
to
be
without
money
.
And
surely
these
odious
tradesmen
might
be
made
to
understand
that
,
and
to
wait
,
if
you
would
make
proper
representations
to
them
.
"
"
This
is
idle
Rosamond
,
"
said
Lydgate
,
angrily
.
"
You
must
learn
to
take
my
judgment
on
questions
you
do
n't
understand
.
I
have
made
necessary
arrangements
,
and
they
must
be
carried
out
.
As
to
friends
,
I
have
no
expectations
whatever
from
them
,
and
shall
not
ask
them
for
anything
.
"
Rosamond
sat
perfectly
still
.
The
thought
in
her
mind
was
that
if
she
had
known
how
Lydgate
would
behave
,
she
would
never
have
married
him
.
"
We
have
no
time
to
waste
now
on
unnecessary
words
,
dear
,
"
said
Lydgate
,
trying
to
be
gentle
again
.
"
There
are
some
details
that
I
want
to
consider
with
you
.
Dover
says
he
will
take
a
good
deal
of
the
plate
back
again
,
and
any
of
the
jewellery
we
like
.
He
really
behaves
very
well
.
"
"
Are
we
to
go
without
spoons
and
forks
then
?
"
said
Rosamond
,
whose
very
lips
seemed
to
get
thinner
with
the
thinness
of
her
utterance
.
She
was
determined
to
make
no
further
resistance
or
suggestions
.
"
Oh
no
,
dear
!
"
said
Lydgate
.
"
But
look
here
,
"
he
continued
,
drawing
a
paper
from
his
pocket
and
opening
it
;
"
here
is
Dover
's
account
.
See
,
I
have
marked
a
number
of
articles
,
which
if
we
returned
them
would
reduce
the
amount
by
thirty
pounds
and
more
.
I
have
not
marked
any
of
the
jewellery
.
"
Lydgate
had
really
felt
this
point
of
the
jewellery
very
bitter
to
himself
;
but
he
had
overcome
the
feeling
by
severe
argument
.
He
could
not
propose
to
Rosamond
that
she
should
return
any
particular
present
of
his
,
but
he
had
told
himself
that
he
was
bound
to
put
Dover
's
offer
before
her
,
and
her
inward
prompting
might
make
the
affair
easy
.
"
It
is
useless
for
me
to
look
,
Tertius
,
"
said
Rosamond
,
calmly
;
"
you
will
return
what
you
please
.
"
She
would
not
turn
her
eyes
on
the
paper
,
and
Lydgate
,
flushing
up
to
the
roots
of
his
hair
,
drew
it
back
and
let
it
fall
on
his
knee
.
Meanwhile
Rosamond
quietly
went
out
of
the
room
,
leaving
Lydgate
helpless
and
wondering
.
Was
she
not
coming
back
?
It
seemed
that
she
had
no
more
identified
herself
with
him
than
if
they
had
been
creatures
of
different
species
and
opposing
interests
.
He
tossed
his
head
and
thrust
his
hands
deep
into
his
pockets
with
a
sort
of
vengeance
.
There
was
still
science
—
there
were
still
good
objects
to
work
for
.
He
must
give
a
tug
still
—
all
the
stronger
because
other
satisfactions
were
going
.
But
the
door
opened
and
Rosamond
re-entered
.
She
carried
the
leather
box
containing
the
amethysts
,
and
a
tiny
ornamental
basket
which
contained
other
boxes
,
and
laying
them
on
the
chair
where
she
had
been
sitting
,
she
said
,
with
perfect
propriety
in
her
air
—
"
This
is
all
the
jewellery
you
ever
gave
me
.
You
can
return
what
you
like
of
it
,
and
of
the
plate
also
.
You
will
not
,
of
course
,
expect
me
to
stay
at
home
to-morrow
.
I
shall
go
to
papa
's
.
"
To
many
women
the
look
Lydgate
cast
at
her
would
have
been
more
terrible
than
one
of
anger
:
it
had
in
it
a
despairing
acceptance
of
the
distance
she
was
placing
between
them
.
"
And
when
shall
you
come
back
again
?
"
he
said
,
with
a
bitter
edge
on
his
accent
.
"
Oh
,
in
the
evening
.
Of
course
I
shall
not
mention
the
subject
to
mamma
.
"
Rosamond
was
convinced
that
no
woman
could
behave
more
irreproachably
than
she
was
behaving
;
and
she
went
to
sit
down
at
her
work-table
.
Lydgate
sat
meditating
a
minute
or
two
,
and
the
result
was
that
he
said
,
with
some
of
the
old
emotion
in
his
tone
—
"
Now
we
have
been
united
,
Rosy
,
you
should
not
leave
me
to
myself
in
the
first
trouble
that
has
come
.
"
"
Certainly
not
,
"
said
Rosamond
;
"
I
shall
do
everything
it
becomes
me
to
do
.
"
"
It
is
not
right
that
the
thing
should
be
left
to
servants
,
or
that
I
should
have
to
speak
to
them
about
it
.
And
I
shall
be
obliged
to
go
out
—
I
do
n't
know
how
early
.
I
understand
your
shrinking
from
the
humiliation
of
these
money
affairs
.
But
,
my
dear
Rosamond
,
as
a
question
of
pride
,
which
I
feel
just
as
much
as
you
can
,
it
is
surely
better
to
manage
the
thing
ourselves
,
and
let
the
servants
see
as
little
of
it
as
possible
;
and
since
you
are
my
wife
,
there
is
no
hindering
your
share
in
my
disgraces
—
if
there
were
disgraces
.
"
Rosamond
did
not
answer
immediately
,
but
at
last
she
said
,
"
Very
well
,
I
will
stay
at
home
.
"
"
I
shall
not
touch
these
jewels
,
Rosy
.
Take
them
away
again
.
But
I
will
write
out
a
list
of
plate
that
we
may
return
,
and
that
can
be
packed
up
and
sent
at
once
.
"
"
The
servants
will
know
that
,
"
said
Rosamond
,
with
the
slightest
touch
of
sarcasm
.
"
Well
,
we
must
meet
some
disagreeables
as
necessities
.
Where
is
the
ink
,
I
wonder
?
"
said
Lydgate
,
rising
,
and
throwing
the
account
on
the
larger
table
where
he
meant
to
write
.
Rosamond
went
to
reach
the
inkstand
,
and
after
setting
it
on
the
table
was
going
to
turn
away
,
when
Lydgate
,
who
was
standing
close
by
,
put
his
arm
round
her
and
drew
her
towards
him
,
saying
—
"
Come
,
darling
,
let
us
make
the
best
of
things
.
It
will
only
be
for
a
time
,
I
hope
,
that
we
shall
have
to
be
stingy
and
particular
.
Kiss
me
.
"
His
native
warm-heartedness
took
a
great
deal
of
quenching
,
and
it
is
a
part
of
manliness
for
a
husband
to
feel
keenly
the
fact
that
an
inexperienced
girl
has
got
into
trouble
by
marrying
him
.
She
received
his
kiss
and
returned
it
faintly
,
and
in
this
way
an
appearance
of
accord
was
recovered
for
the
time
.
But
Lydgate
could
not
help
looking
forward
with
dread
to
the
inevitable
future
discussions
about
expenditure
and
the
necessity
for
a
complete
change
in
their
way
of
living
.
CHAPTER
LIX
.
"
They
said
of
old
the
Soul
had
human
shape
,
But
smaller
,
subtler
than
the
fleshly
self
,
So
wandered
forth
for
airing
when
it
pleased
.
And
see
!
beside
her
cherub-face
there
floats
A
pale-lipped
form
aerial
whispering
Its
promptings
in
that
little
shell
her
ear
.
"
News
is
often
dispersed
as
thoughtlessly
and
effectively
as
that
pollen
which
the
bees
carry
off
(
having
no
idea
how
powdery
they
are
)
when
they
are
buzzing
in
search
of
their
particular
nectar
.
This
fine
comparison
has
reference
to
Fred
Vincy
,
who
on
that
evening
at
Lowick
Parsonage
heard
a
lively
discussion
among
the
ladies
on
the
news
which
their
old
servant
had
got
from
Tantripp
concerning
Mr.
Casaubon
's
strange
mention
of
Mr.
Ladislaw
in
a
codicil
to
his
will
made
not
long
before
his
death
.
Miss
Winifred
was
astounded
to
find
that
her
brother
had
known
the
fact
before
,
and
observed
that
Camden
was
the
most
wonderful
man
for
knowing
things
and
not
telling
them
;
whereupon
Mary
Garth
said
that
the
codicil
had
perhaps
got
mixed
up
with
the
habits
of
spiders
,
which
Miss
Winifred
never
would
listen
to
.
Mrs.
Farebrother
considered
that
the
news
had
something
to
do
with
their
having
only
once
seen
Mr.
Ladislaw
at
Lowick
,
and
Miss
Noble
made
many
small
compassionate
mewings
.
Fred
knew
little
and
cared
less
about
Ladislaw
and
the
Casaubons
,
and
his
mind
never
recurred
to
that
discussion
till
one
day
calling
on
Rosamond
at
his
mother
's
request
to
deliver
a
message
as
he
passed
,
he
happened
to
see
Ladislaw
going
away
.
Fred
and
Rosamond
had
little
to
say
to
each
other
now
that
marriage
had
removed
her
from
collision
with
the
unpleasantness
of
brothers
,
and
especially
now
that
he
had
taken
what
she
held
the
stupid
and
even
reprehensible
step
of
giving
up
the
Church
to
take
to
such
a
business
as
Mr.
Garth
's
.
Hence
Fred
talked
by
preference
of
what
he
considered
indifferent
news
,
and
"
a
propos
of
that
young
Ladislaw
"
mentioned
what
he
had
heard
at
Lowick
Parsonage
.
Now
Lydgate
,
like
Mr.
Farebrother
,
knew
a
great
deal
more
than
he
told
,
and
when
he
had
once
been
set
thinking
about
the
relation
between
Will
and
Dorothea
his
conjectures
had
gone
beyond
the
fact
.
He
imagined
that
there
was
a
passionate
attachment
on
both
sides
,
and
this
struck
him
as
much
too
serious
to
gossip
about
.
He
remembered
Will
's
irritability
when
he
had
mentioned
Mrs.
Casaubon
,
and
was
the
more
circumspect
.
On
the
whole
his
surmises
,
in
addition
to
what
he
knew
of
the
fact
,
increased
his
friendliness
and
tolerance
towards
Ladislaw
,
and
made
him
understand
the
vacillation
which
kept
him
at
Middlemarch
after
he
had
said
that
he
should
go
away
.
It
was
significant
of
the
separateness
between
Lydgate
's
mind
and
Rosamond
's
that
he
had
no
impulse
to
speak
to
her
on
the
subject
;
indeed
,
he
did
not
quite
trust
her
reticence
towards
Will
.
And
he
was
right
there
;
though
he
had
no
vision
of
the
way
in
which
her
mind
would
act
in
urging
her
to
speak
.
When
she
repeated
Fred
's
news
to
Lydgate
,
he
said
,
"
Take
care
you
do
n't
drop
the
faintest
hint
to
Ladislaw
,
Rosy
.
He
is
likely
to
fly
out
as
if
you
insulted
him
.
Of
course
it
is
a
painful
affair
.
"
Rosamond
turned
her
neck
and
patted
her
hair
,
looking
the
image
of
placid
indifference
.
But
the
next
time
Will
came
when
Lydgate
was
away
,
she
spoke
archly
about
his
not
going
to
London
as
he
had
threatened
.
"
I
know
all
about
it
.
I
have
a
confidential
little
bird
,
"
said
she
,
showing
very
pretty
airs
of
her
head
over
the
bit
of
work
held
high
between
her
active
fingers
.
"
There
is
a
powerful
magnet
in
this
neighborhood
.
"
"
To
be
sure
there
is
.
Nobody
knows
that
better
than
you
,
"
said
Will
,
with
light
gallantry
,
but
inwardly
prepared
to
be
angry
.
"
It
is
really
the
most
charming
romance
:
Mr.
Casaubon
jealous
,
and
foreseeing
that
there
was
no
one
else
whom
Mrs.
Casaubon
would
so
much
like
to
marry
,
and
no
one
who
would
so
much
like
to
marry
her
as
a
certain
gentleman
;
and
then
laying
a
plan
to
spoil
all
by
making
her
forfeit
her
property
if
she
did
marry
that
gentleman
—
and
then
—
and
then
—
and
then
—
oh
,
I
have
no
doubt
the
end
will
be
thoroughly
romantic
.
"
"
Great
God
!
what
do
you
mean
?
"
said
Will
,
flushing
over
face
and
ears
,
his
features
seeming
to
change
as
if
he
had
had
a
violent
shake
.
"
Do
n't
joke
;
tell
me
what
you
mean
.
"
"
You
do
n't
really
know
?
"
said
Rosamond
,
no
longer
playful
,
and
desiring
nothing
better
than
to
tell
in
order
that
she
might
evoke
effects
.
"
No
!
"
he
returned
,
impatiently
.
"
Do
n't
know
that
Mr.
Casaubon
has
left
it
in
his
will
that
if
Mrs.
Casaubon
marries
you
she
is
to
forfeit
all
her
property
?
"
"
How
do
you
know
that
it
is
true
?
"
said
Will
,
eagerly
.
"
My
brother
Fred
heard
it
from
the
Farebrothers
.
"
Will
started
up
from
his
chair
and
reached
his
hat
.
"
I
dare
say
she
likes
you
better
than
the
property
,
"
said
Rosamond
,
looking
at
him
from
a
distance
.
"
Pray
do
n't
say
any
more
about
it
,
"
said
Will
,
in
a
hoarse
undertone
extremely
unlike
his
usual
light
voice
.
"
It
is
a
foul
insult
to
her
and
to
me
.
"
Then
he
sat
down
absently
,
looking
before
him
,
but
seeing
nothing
.
"
Now
you
are
angry
with
me
,
"
said
Rosamond
.
"
It
is
too
bad
to
bear
me
malice
.
You
ought
to
be
obliged
to
me
for
telling
you
.
"
"
So
I
am
,
"
said
Will
,
abruptly
,
speaking
with
that
kind
of
double
soul
which
belongs
to
dreamers
who
answer
questions
.
"
I
expect
to
hear
of
the
marriage
,
"
said
Rosamond
,
playfully
.
"
Never
!
You
will
never
hear
of
the
marriage
!
"
With
those
words
uttered
impetuously
,
Will
rose
,
put
out
his
hand
to
Rosamond
,
still
with
the
air
of
a
somnambulist
,
and
went
away
.
When
he
was
gone
,
Rosamond
left
her
chair
and
walked
to
the
other
end
of
the
room
,
leaning
when
she
got
there
against
a
chiffonniere
,
and
looking
out
of
the
window
wearily
.
She
was
oppressed
by
ennui
,
and
by
that
dissatisfaction
which
in
women
's
minds
is
continually
turning
into
a
trivial
jealousy
,
referring
to
no
real
claims
,
springing
from
no
deeper
passion
than
the
vague
exactingness
of
egoism
,
and
yet
capable
of
impelling
action
as
well
as
speech
.
"
There
really
is
nothing
to
care
for
much
,
"
said
poor
Rosamond
inwardly
,
thinking
of
the
family
at
Quallingham
,
who
did
not
write
to
her
;
and
that
perhaps
Tertius
when
he
came
home
would
tease
her
about
expenses
.
She
had
already
secretly
disobeyed
him
by
asking
her
father
to
help
them
,
and
he
had
ended
decisively
by
saying
,
"
I
am
more
likely
to
want
help
myself
.
"
CHAPTER
LX
.
Good
phrases
are
surely
,
and
ever
were
,
very
commendable
.
—
Justice
Shallow
.
A
few
days
afterwards
—
it
was
already
the
end
of
August
—
there
was
an
occasion
which
caused
some
excitement
in
Middlemarch
:
the
public
,
if
it
chose
,
was
to
have
the
advantage
of
buying
,
under
the
distinguished
auspices
of
Mr.
Borthrop
Trumbull
,
the
furniture
,
books
,
and
pictures
which
anybody
might
see
by
the
handbills
to
be
the
best
in
every
kind
,
belonging
to
Edwin
Larcher
,
Esq.
This
was
not
one
of
the
sales
indicating
the
depression
of
trade
;
on
the
contrary
,
it
was
due
to
Mr.
Larcher
's
great
success
in
the
carrying
business
,
which
warranted
his
purchase
of
a
mansion
near
Riverston
already
furnished
in
high
style
by
an
illustrious
Spa
physician
—
furnished
indeed
with
such
large
framefuls
of
expensive
flesh-painting
in
the
dining-room
,
that
Mrs.
Larcher
was
nervous
until
reassured
by
finding
the
subjects
to
be
Scriptural
.
Hence
the
fine
opportunity
to
purchasers
which
was
well
pointed
out
in
the
handbills
of
Mr.
Borthrop
Trumbull
,
whose
acquaintance
with
the
history
of
art
enabled
him
to
state
that
the
hall
furniture
,
to
be
sold
without
reserve
,
comprised
a
piece
of
carving
by
a
contemporary
of
Gibbons
.
At
Middlemarch
in
those
times
a
large
sale
was
regarded
as
a
kind
of
festival
.
There
was
a
table
spread
with
the
best
cold
eatables
,
as
at
a
superior
funeral
;
and
facilities
were
offered
for
that
generous-drinking
of
cheerful
glasses
which
might
lead
to
generous
and
cheerful
bidding
for
undesirable
articles
.
Mr.
Larcher
's
sale
was
the
more
attractive
in
the
fine
weather
because
the
house
stood
just
at
the
end
of
the
town
,
with
a
garden
and
stables
attached
,
in
that
pleasant
issue
from
Middlemarch
called
the
London
Road
,
which
was
also
the
road
to
the
New
Hospital
and
to
Mr.
Bulstrode
's
retired
residence
,
known
as
the
Shrubs
.
In
short
,
the
auction
was
as
good
as
a
fair
,
and
drew
all
classes
with
leisure
at
command
:
to
some
,
who
risked
making
bids
in
order
simply
to
raise
prices
,
it
was
almost
equal
to
betting
at
the
races
.
The
second
day
,
when
the
best
furniture
was
to
be
sold
,
"
everybody
"
was
there
;
even
Mr.
Thesiger
,
the
rector
of
St.
Peter
's
,
had
looked
in
for
a
short
time
,
wishing
to
buy
the
carved
table
,
and
had
rubbed
elbows
with
Mr.
Bambridge
and
Mr.
Horrock
.
There
was
a
wreath
of
Middlemarch
ladies
accommodated
with
seats
round
the
large
table
in
the
dining-room
,
where
Mr.
Borthrop
Trumbull
was
mounted
with
desk
and
hammer
;
but
the
rows
chiefly
of
masculine
faces
behind
were
often
varied
by
incomings
and
outgoings
both
from
the
door
and
the
large
bow-window
opening
on
to
the
lawn
.
"
Everybody
"
that
day
did
not
include
Mr.
Bulstrode
,
whose
health
could
not
well
endure
crowds
and
draughts
.
But
Mrs.
Bulstrode
had
particularly
wished
to
have
a
certain
picture
—
a
"
Supper
at
Emmaus
,
"
attributed
in
the
catalogue
to
Guido
;
and
at
the
last
moment
before
the
day
of
the
sale
Mr.
Bulstrode
had
called
at
the
office
of
the
"
Pioneer
,
"
of
which
he
was
now
one
of
the
proprietors
,
to
beg
of
Mr.
Ladislaw
as
a
great
favour
that
he
would
obligingly
use
his
remarkable
knowledge
of
pictures
on
behalf
of
Mrs.
Bulstrode
,
and
judge
of
the
value
of
this
particular
painting
—
"
if
,
"
added
the
scrupulously
polite
banker
,
"
attendance
at
the
sale
would
not
interfere
with
the
arrangements
for
your
departure
,
which
I
know
is
imminent
.
"
This
proviso
might
have
sounded
rather
satirically
in
Will
's
ear
if
he
had
been
in
a
mood
to
care
about
such
satire
.
It
referred
to
an
understanding
entered
into
many
weeks
before
with
the
proprietors
of
the
paper
,
that
he
should
be
at
liberty
any
day
he
pleased
to
hand
over
the
management
to
the
subeditor
whom
he
had
been
training
;
since
he
wished
finally
to
quit
Middlemarch
.
But
indefinite
visions
of
ambition
are
weak
against
the
ease
of
doing
what
is
habitual
or
beguilingly
agreeable
;
and
we
all
know
the
difficulty
of
carrying
out
a
resolve
when
we
secretly
long
that
it
may
turn
out
to
be
unnecessary
.
In
such
states
of
mind
the
most
incredulous
person
has
a
private
leaning
towards
miracle
:
impossible
to
conceive
how
our
wish
could
be
fulfilled
,
still
—
very
wonderful
things
have
happened
!
Will
did
not
confess
this
weakness
to
himself
,
but
he
lingered
.
What
was
the
use
of
going
to
London
at
that
time
of
the
year
?
The
Rugby
men
who
would
remember
him
were
not
there
;
and
so
far
as
political
writing
was
concerned
,
he
would
rather
for
a
few
weeks
go
on
with
the
"
Pioneer
.
"
At
the
present
moment
,
however
,
when
Mr.
Bulstrode
was
speaking
to
him
,
he
had
both
a
strengthened
resolve
to
go
and
an
equally
strong
resolve
not
to
go
till
he
had
once
more
seen
Dorothea
.
Hence
he
replied
that
he
had
reasons
for
deferring
his
departure
a
little
,
and
would
be
happy
to
go
to
the
sale
.
Will
was
in
a
defiant
mood
,
his
consciousness
being
deeply
stung
with
the
thought
that
the
people
who
looked
at
him
probably
knew
a
fact
tantamount
to
an
accusation
against
him
as
a
fellow
with
low
designs
which
were
to
be
frustrated
by
a
disposal
of
property
.
Like
most
people
who
assert
their
freedom
with
regard
to
conventional
distinction
,
he
was
prepared
to
be
sudden
and
quick
at
quarrel
with
any
one
who
might
hint
that
he
had
personal
reasons
for
that
assertion
—
that
there
was
anything
in
his
blood
,
his
bearing
,
or
his
character
to
which
he
gave
the
mask
of
an
opinion
.
When
he
was
under
an
irritating
impression
of
this
kind
he
would
go
about
for
days
with
a
defiant
look
,
the
colour
changing
in
his
transparent
skin
as
if
he
were
on
the
qui
vive
,
watching
for
something
which
he
had
to
dart
upon
.
This
expression
was
peculiarly
noticeable
in
him
at
the
sale
,
and
those
who
had
only
seen
him
in
his
moods
of
gentle
oddity
or
of
bright
enjoyment
would
have
been
struck
with
a
contrast
.
He
was
not
sorry
to
have
this
occasion
for
appearing
in
public
before
the
Middlemarch
tribes
of
Toller
,
Hackbutt
,
and
the
rest
,
who
looked
down
on
him
as
an
adventurer
,
and
were
in
a
state
of
brutal
ignorance
about
Dante
—
who
sneered
at
his
Polish
blood
,
and
were
themselves
of
a
breed
very
much
in
need
of
crossing
.
He
stood
in
a
conspicuous
place
not
far
from
the
auctioneer
,
with
a
fore-finger
in
each
side-pocket
and
his
head
thrown
backward
,
not
caring
to
speak
to
anybody
,
though
he
had
been
cordially
welcomed
as
a
connoiss
ure
by
Mr.
Trumbull
,
who
was
enjoying
the
utmost
activity
of
his
great
faculties
.
And
surely
among
all
men
whose
vocation
requires
them
to
exhibit
their
powers
of
speech
,
the
happiest
is
a
prosperous
provincial
auctioneer
keenly
alive
to
his
own
jokes
and
sensible
of
his
encyclopedic
knowledge
.
Some
saturnine
,
sour-blooded
persons
might
object
to
be
constantly
insisting
on
the
merits
of
all
articles
from
boot-jacks
to
"
Berghems
;
"
but
Mr.
Borthrop
Trumbull
had
a
kindly
liquid
in
his
veins
;
he
was
an
admirer
by
nature
,
and
would
have
liked
to
have
the
universe
under
his
hammer
,
feeling
that
it
would
go
at
a
higher
figure
for
his
recommendation
.
Meanwhile
Mrs.
Larcher
's
drawing-room
furniture
was
enough
for
him
.
When
Will
Ladislaw
had
come
in
,
a
second
fender
,
said
to
have
been
forgotten
in
its
right
place
,
suddenly
claimed
the
auctioneer
's
enthusiasm
,
which
he
distributed
on
the
equitable
principle
of
praising
those
things
most
which
were
most
in
need
of
praise
.
The
fender
was
of
polished
steel
,
with
much
lancet-shaped
open-work
and
a
sharp
edge
.
"
Now
,
ladies
,
"
said
he
,
"
I
shall
appeal
to
you
.
Here
is
a
fender
which
at
any
other
sale
would
hardly
be
offered
with
out
reserve
,
being
,
as
I
may
say
,
for
quality
of
steel
and
quaintness
of
design
,
a
kind
of
thing
"
—
here
Mr.
Trumbull
dropped
his
voice
and
became
slightly
nasal
,
trimming
his
outlines
with
his
left
finger
—
"
that
might
not
fall
in
with
ordinary
tastes
.
Allow
me
to
tell
you
that
by-and-by
this
style
of
workmanship
will
be
the
only
one
in
vogue
—
half-a-crown
,
you
said
?
thank
you
—
going
at
half-a-crown
,
this
characteristic
fender
;
and
I
have
particular
information
that
the
antique
style
is
very
much
sought
after
in
high
quarters
.
Three
shillings
—
three-and-sixpence
—
hold
it
well
up
,
Joseph
!
Look
,
ladies
,
at
the
chastity
of
the
design
—
I
have
no
doubt
myself
that
it
was
turned
out
in
the
last
century
!
Four
shillings
,
Mr.
Mawmsey
?
—
four
shillings
.
"
"
It
's
not
a
thing
I
would
put
in
my
drawing-room
,
"
said
Mrs.
Mawmsey
,
audibly
,
for
the
warning
of
the
rash
husband
.
"
I
wonder
at
Mrs.
Larcher
.
Every
blessed
child
's
head
that
fell
against
it
would
be
cut
in
two
.
The
edge
is
like
a
knife
.
"
"
Quite
true
,
"
rejoined
Mr.
Trumbull
,
quickly
,
"
and
most
uncommonly
useful
to
have
a
fender
at
hand
that
will
cut
,
if
you
have
a
leather
shoe-tie
or
a
bit
of
string
that
wants
cutting
and
no
knife
at
hand
:
many
a
man
has
been
left
hanging
because
there
was
no
knife
to
cut
him
down
.
Gentlemen
,
here
's
a
fender
that
if
you
had
the
misfortune
to
hang
yourselves
would
cut
you
down
in
no
time
—
with
astonishing
celerity
—
four-and-sixpence
—
five
—
five-and-sixpence
—
an
appropriate
thing
for
a
spare
bedroom
where
there
was
a
four-poster
and
a
guest
a
little
out
of
his
mind
—
six
shillings
—
thank
you
,
Mr.
Clintup
—
going
at
six
shillings
—
going
—
gone
!
"
The
auctioneer
's
glance
,
which
had
been
searching
round
him
with
a
preternatural
susceptibility
to
all
signs
of
bidding
,
here
dropped
on
the
paper
before
him
,
and
his
voice
too
dropped
into
a
tone
of
indifferent
despatch
as
he
said
,
"
Mr.
Clintup
.
Be
handy
,
Joseph
.
"
"
It
was
worth
six
shillings
to
have
a
fender
you
could
always
tell
that
joke
on
,
"
said
Mr.
Clintup
,
laughing
low
and
apologetically
to
his
next
neighbor
.
He
was
a
diffident
though
distinguished
nurseryman
,
and
feared
that
the
audience
might
regard
his
bid
as
a
foolish
one
.
Meanwhile
Joseph
had
brought
a
trayful
of
small
articles
.
"
Now
,
ladies
,
"
said
Mr.
Trumbull
,
taking
up
one
of
the
articles
,
"
this
tray
contains
a
very
recherchy
lot
—
a
collection
of
trifles
for
the
drawing-room
table
—
and
trifles
make
the
sum
of
human
things
—
nothing
more
important
than
trifles
—
(
yes
,
Mr.
Ladislaw
,
yes
,
by-and-by
)
—
but
pass
the
tray
round
,
Joseph
—
these
bijoux
must
be
examined
,
ladies
.
This
I
have
in
my
hand
is
an
ingenious
contrivance
—
a
sort
of
practical
rebus
,
I
may
call
it
:
here
,
you
see
,
it
looks
like
an
elegant
heart-shaped
box
,
portable
—
for
the
pocket
;
there
,
again
,
it
becomes
like
a
splendid
double
flower
—
an
ornament
for
the
table
;
and
now
"
—
Mr
.
Trumbull
allowed
the
flower
to
fall
alarmingly
into
strings
of
heart-shaped
leaves
—
"
a
book
of
riddles
!
No
less
than
five
hundred
printed
in
a
beautiful
red
.
Gentlemen
,
if
I
had
less
of
a
conscience
,
I
should
not
wish
you
to
bid
high
for
this
lot
—
I
have
a
longing
for
it
myself
.
What
can
promote
innocent
mirth
,
and
I
may
say
virtue
,
more
than
a
good
riddle
?
—
it
hinders
profane
language
,
and
attaches
a
man
to
the
society
of
refined
females
.
This
ingenious
article
itself
,
without
the
elegant
domino-box
,
card-basket
,
etc.
,
ought
alone
to
give
a
high
price
to
the
lot
.
Carried
in
the
pocket
it
might
make
an
individual
welcome
in
any
society
.
Four
shillings
,
sir
?
—
four
shillings
for
this
remarkable
collection
of
riddles
with
the
et
caeteras
.
Here
is
a
sample
:
'
How
must
you
spell
honey
to
make
it
catch
lady-birds
?
Answer
—
money
.
'
You
hear
?
—
lady-birds
—
honey
money
.
This
is
an
amusement
to
sharpen
the
intellect
;
it
has
a
sting
—
it
has
what
we
call
satire
,
