thathe
wanted
to
see
Rosy
,
and
wished
to
know
if
she
were
at
home
this
evening
;
and
he
was
going
desperately
to
carry
out
this
weak
device
,
when
a
waiter
came
up
to
him
with
a
message
,
saying
that
Mr.
Farebrother
was
below
,
and
begged
to
speak
with
him
.
Fred
was
surprised
,
not
quite
comfortably
,
but
sending
word
that
he
would
be
down
immediately
,
he
went
with
a
new
impulse
up
to
Lydgate
,
said
,
"
Can
I
speak
to
you
a
moment
?
"
and
drew
him
aside
.
"
Farebrother
has
just
sent
up
a
message
to
say
that
he
wants
to
speak
to
me
.
He
is
below
.
I
thought
you
might
like
to
know
he
was
there
,
if
you
had
anything
to
say
to
him
.
"
Fred
had
simply
snatched
up
this
pretext
for
speaking
,
because
he
could
not
say
,
"
You
are
losing
confoundedly
,
and
are
making
everybody
stare
at
you
;
you
had
better
come
away
.
"
But
inspiration
could
hardly
have
served
him
better
.
Lydgate
had
not
before
seen
that
Fred
was
present
,
and
his
sudden
appearance
with
an
announcement
of
Mr.
Farebrother
had
the
effect
of
a
sharp
concussion
.
"
No
,
no
,
"
said
Lydgate
;
"
I
have
nothing
particular
to
say
to
him
.
But
—
the
game
is
up
—
I
must
be
going
—
I
came
in
just
to
see
Bambridge
.
"
"
Bambridge
is
over
there
,
but
he
is
making
a
row
—
I
do
n't
think
he
's
ready
for
business
.
Come
down
with
me
to
Farebrother
.
I
expect
he
is
going
to
blow
me
up
,
and
you
will
shield
me
,
"
said
Fred
,
with
some
adroitness
.
Lydgate
felt
shame
,
but
could
not
bear
to
act
as
if
he
felt
it
,
by
refusing
to
see
Mr.
Farebrother
;
and
he
went
down
.
They
merely
shook
hands
,
however
,
and
spoke
of
the
frost
;
and
when
all
three
had
turned
into
the
street
,
the
Vicar
seemed
quite
willing
to
say
good-by
to
Lydgate
.
His
present
purpose
was
clearly
to
talk
with
Fred
alone
,
and
he
said
,
kindly
,
"
I
disturbed
you
,
young
gentleman
,
because
I
have
some
pressing
business
with
you
.
Walk
with
me
to
St.
Botolph
's
,
will
you
?
"
It
was
a
fine
night
,
the
sky
thick
with
stars
,
and
Mr.
Farebrother
proposed
that
they
should
make
a
circuit
to
the
old
church
by
the
London
road
.
The
next
thing
he
said
was
—
"
I
thought
Lydgate
never
went
to
the
Green
Dragon
?
"
"
So
did
I
,
"
said
Fred
.
"
But
he
said
that
he
went
to
see
Bambridge
.
"
"
He
was
not
playing
,
then
?
"
Fred
had
not
meant
to
tell
this
,
but
he
was
obliged
now
to
say
,
"
Yes
,
he
was
.
But
I
suppose
it
was
an
accidental
thing
.
I
have
never
seen
him
there
before
.
"
"
You
have
been
going
often
yourself
,
then
,
lately
?
"
"
Oh
,
about
five
or
six
times
.
"
"
I
think
you
had
some
good
reason
for
giving
up
the
habit
of
going
there
?
"
"
Yes
.
You
know
all
about
it
,
"
said
Fred
,
not
liking
to
be
catechised
in
this
way
.
"
I
made
a
clean
breast
to
you
.
"
"
I
suppose
that
gives
me
a
warrant
to
speak
about
the
matter
now
.
It
is
understood
between
us
,
is
it
not
?
—
that
we
are
on
a
footing
of
open
friendship
:
I
have
listened
to
you
,
and
you
will
be
willing
to
listen
to
me
.
I
may
take
my
turn
in
talking
a
little
about
myself
?
"
"
I
am
under
the
deepest
obligation
to
you
,
Mr.
Farebrother
,
"
said
Fred
,
in
a
state
of
uncomfortable
surmise
.
"
I
will
not
affect
to
deny
that
you
are
under
some
obligation
to
me
.
But
I
am
going
to
confess
to
you
,
Fred
,
that
I
have
been
tempted
to
reverse
all
that
by
keeping
silence
with
you
just
now
.
When
somebody
said
to
me
,
'
Young
Vincy
has
taken
to
being
at
the
billiard-table
every
night
again
—
he
wo
n't
bear
the
curb
long
;
'
I
was
tempted
to
do
the
opposite
of
what
I
am
doing
—
to
hold
my
tongue
and
wait
while
you
went
down
the
ladder
again
,
betting
first
and
then
—
"
"
I
have
not
made
any
bets
,
"
said
Fred
,
hastily
.
"
Glad
to
hear
it
.
But
I
say
,
my
prompting
was
to
look
on
and
see
you
take
the
wrong
turning
,
wear
out
Garth
's
patience
,
and
lose
the
best
opportunity
of
your
life
—
the
opportunity
which
you
made
some
rather
difficult
effort
to
secure
.
You
can
guess
the
feeling
which
raised
that
temptation
in
me
—
I
am
sure
you
know
it
.
I
am
sure
you
know
that
the
satisfaction
of
your
affections
stands
in
the
way
of
mine
.
"
There
was
a
pause
.
Mr.
Farebrother
seemed
to
wait
for
a
recognition
of
the
fact
;
and
the
emotion
perceptible
in
the
tones
of
his
fine
voice
gave
solemnity
to
his
words
.
But
no
feeling
could
quell
Fred
's
alarm
.
"
I
could
not
be
expected
to
give
her
up
,
"
he
said
,
after
a
moment
's
hesitation
:
it
was
not
a
case
for
any
pretence
of
generosity
.
"
Clearly
not
,
when
her
affection
met
yours
.
But
relations
of
this
sort
,
even
when
they
are
of
long
standing
,
are
always
liable
to
change
.
I
can
easily
conceive
that
you
might
act
in
a
way
to
loosen
the
tie
she
feels
towards
you
—
it
must
be
remembered
that
she
is
only
conditionally
bound
to
you
—
and
that
in
that
case
,
another
man
,
who
may
flatter
himself
that
he
has
a
hold
on
her
regard
,
might
succeed
in
winning
that
firm
place
in
her
love
as
well
as
respect
which
you
had
let
slip
.
I
can
easily
conceive
such
a
result
,
"
repeated
Mr.
Farebrother
,
emphatically
.
"
There
is
a
companionship
of
ready
sympathy
,
which
might
get
the
advantage
even
over
the
longest
associations
.
"
It
seemed
to
Fred
that
if
Mr.
Farebrother
had
had
a
beak
and
talons
instead
of
his
very
capable
tongue
,
his
mode
of
attack
could
hardly
be
more
cruel
.
He
had
a
horrible
conviction
that
behind
all
this
hypothetic
statement
there
was
a
knowledge
of
some
actual
change
in
Mary
's
feeling
.
"
Of
course
I
know
it
might
easily
be
all
up
with
me
,
"
he
said
,
in
a
troubled
voice
.
"
If
she
is
beginning
to
compare
—
"
He
broke
off
,
not
liking
to
betray
all
he
felt
,
and
then
said
,
by
the
help
of
a
little
bitterness
,
"
But
I
thought
you
were
friendly
to
me
.
"
"
So
I
am
;
that
is
why
we
are
here
.
But
I
have
had
a
strong
disposition
to
be
otherwise
.
I
have
said
to
myself
,
'
If
there
is
a
likelihood
of
that
youngster
doing
himself
harm
,
why
should
you
interfere
?
Are
n't
you
worth
as
much
as
he
is
,
and
do
n't
your
sixteen
years
over
and
above
his
,
in
which
you
have
gone
rather
hungry
,
give
you
more
right
to
satisfaction
than
he
has
?
If
there
's
a
chance
of
his
going
to
the
dogs
,
let
him
—
perhaps
you
could
nohow
hinder
it
—
and
do
you
take
the
benefit
.
'
"
There
was
a
pause
,
in
which
Fred
was
seized
by
a
most
uncomfortable
chill
.
What
was
coming
next
?
He
dreaded
to
hear
that
something
had
been
said
to
Mary
—
he
felt
as
if
he
were
listening
to
a
threat
rather
than
a
warning
.
When
the
Vicar
began
again
there
was
a
change
in
his
tone
like
the
encouraging
transition
to
a
major
key
.
"
But
I
had
once
meant
better
than
that
,
and
I
am
come
back
to
my
old
intention
.
I
thought
that
I
could
hardly
secure
myself
in
it
better
,
Fred
,
than
by
telling
you
just
what
had
gone
on
in
me
.
And
now
,
do
you
understand
me
?
I
want
you
to
make
the
happiness
of
her
life
and
your
own
,
and
if
there
is
any
chance
that
a
word
of
warning
from
me
may
turn
aside
any
risk
to
the
contrary
—
well
,
I
have
uttered
it
.
"
There
was
a
drop
in
the
Vicar
's
voice
when
he
spoke
the
last
words
.
He
paused
—
they
were
standing
on
a
patch
of
green
where
the
road
diverged
towards
St.
Botolph
's
,
and
he
put
out
his
hand
,
as
if
to
imply
that
the
conversation
was
closed
.
Fred
was
moved
quite
newly
.
Some
one
highly
susceptible
to
the
contemplation
of
a
fine
act
has
said
,
that
it
produces
a
sort
of
regenerating
shudder
through
the
frame
,
and
makes
one
feel
ready
to
begin
a
new
life
.
A
good
degree
of
that
effect
was
just
then
present
in
Fred
Vincy
.
"
I
will
try
to
be
worthy
,
"
he
said
,
breaking
off
before
he
could
say
"
of
you
as
well
as
of
her
.
"
And
meanwhile
Mr.
Farebrother
had
gathered
the
impulse
to
say
something
more
.
"
You
must
not
imagine
that
I
believe
there
is
at
present
any
decline
in
her
preference
of
you
,
Fred
.
Set
your
heart
at
rest
,
that
if
you
keep
right
,
other
things
will
keep
right
.
"
"
I
shall
never
forget
what
you
have
done
,
"
Fred
answered
.
"
I
ca
n't
say
anything
that
seems
worth
saying
—
only
I
will
try
that
your
goodness
shall
not
be
thrown
away
.
"
"
That
's
enough
.
Good-by
,
and
God
bless
you
.
"
In
that
way
they
parted
.
But
both
of
them
walked
about
a
long
while
before
they
went
out
of
the
starlight
.
Much
of
Fred
's
rumination
might
be
summed
up
in
the
words
,
"
It
certainly
would
have
been
a
fine
thing
for
her
to
marry
Farebrother
—
but
if
she
loves
me
best
and
I
am
a
good
husband
?
"
Perhaps
Mr.
Farebrother
's
might
be
concentrated
into
a
single
shrug
and
one
little
speech
.
"
To
think
of
the
part
one
little
woman
can
play
in
the
life
of
a
man
,
so
that
to
renounce
her
may
be
a
very
good
imitation
of
heroism
,
and
to
win
her
may
be
a
discipline
!
"
CHAPTER
LXVII
.
Now
is
there
civil
war
within
the
soul
:
Resolve
is
thrust
from
off
the
sacred
throne
By
clamorous
Needs
,
and
Pride
the
grand-vizier
Makes
humble
compact
,
plays
the
supple
part
Of
envoy
and
deft-tongued
apologist
For
hungry
rebels
.
Happily
Lydgate
had
ended
by
losing
in
the
billiard-room
,
and
brought
away
no
encouragement
to
make
a
raid
on
luck
.
On
the
contrary
,
he
felt
unmixed
disgust
with
himself
the
next
day
when
he
had
to
pay
four
or
five
pounds
over
and
above
his
gains
,
and
he
carried
about
with
him
a
most
unpleasant
vision
of
the
figure
he
had
made
,
not
only
rubbing
elbows
with
the
men
at
the
Green
Dragon
but
behaving
just
as
they
did
.
A
philosopher
fallen
to
betting
is
hardly
distinguishable
from
a
Philistine
under
the
same
circumstances
:
the
difference
will
chiefly
be
found
in
his
subsequent
reflections
,
and
Lydgate
chewed
a
very
disagreeable
cud
in
that
way
.
His
reason
told
him
how
the
affair
might
have
been
magnified
into
ruin
by
a
slight
change
of
scenery
—
if
it
had
been
a
gambling-house
that
he
had
turned
into
,
where
chance
could
be
clutched
with
both
hands
instead
of
being
picked
up
with
thumb
and
fore-finger
.
Nevertheless
,
though
reason
strangled
the
desire
to
gamble
,
there
remained
the
feeling
that
,
with
an
assurance
of
luck
to
the
needful
amount
,
he
would
have
liked
to
gamble
,
rather
than
take
the
alternative
which
was
beginning
to
urge
itself
as
inevitable
.
That
alternative
was
to
apply
to
Mr.
Bulstrode
.
Lydgate
had
so
many
times
boasted
both
to
himself
and
others
that
he
was
totally
independent
of
Bulstrode
,
to
whose
plans
he
had
lent
himself
solely
because
they
enabled
him
to
carry
out
his
own
ideas
of
professional
work
and
public
benefit
—
he
had
so
constantly
in
their
personal
intercourse
had
his
pride
sustained
by
the
sense
that
he
was
making
a
good
social
use
of
this
predominating
banker
,
whose
opinions
he
thought
contemptible
and
whose
motives
often
seemed
to
him
an
absurd
mixture
of
contradictory
impressions
—
that
he
had
been
creating
for
himself
strong
ideal
obstacles
to
the
proffering
of
any
considerable
request
to
him
on
his
own
account
.
Still
,
early
in
March
his
affairs
were
at
that
pass
in
which
men
begin
to
say
that
their
oaths
were
delivered
in
ignorance
,
and
to
perceive
that
the
act
which
they
had
called
impossible
to
them
is
becoming
manifestly
possible
.
With
Dover
's
ugly
security
soon
to
be
put
in
force
,
with
the
proceeds
of
his
practice
immediately
absorbed
in
paying
back
debts
,
and
with
the
chance
,
if
the
worst
were
known
,
of
daily
supplies
being
refused
on
credit
,
above
all
with
the
vision
of
Rosamond
's
hopeless
discontent
continually
haunting
him
,
Lydgate
had
begun
to
see
that
he
should
inevitably
bend
himself
to
ask
help
from
somebody
or
other
.
At
first
he
had
considered
whether
he
should
write
to
Mr.
Vincy
;
but
on
questioning
Rosamond
he
found
that
,
as
he
had
suspected
,
she
had
already
applied
twice
to
her
father
,
the
last
time
being
since
the
disappointment
from
Sir
Godwin
;
and
papa
had
said
that
Lydgate
must
look
out
for
himself
.
"
Papa
said
he
had
come
,
with
one
bad
year
after
another
,
to
trade
more
and
more
on
borrowed
capital
,
and
had
had
to
give
up
many
indulgences
;
he
could
not
spare
a
single
hundred
from
the
charges
of
his
family
.
He
said
,
let
Lydgate
ask
Bulstrode
:
they
have
always
been
hand
and
glove
.
"
Indeed
,
Lydgate
himself
had
come
to
the
conclusion
that
if
he
must
end
by
asking
for
a
free
loan
,
his
relations
with
Bulstrode
,
more
at
least
than
with
any
other
man
,
might
take
the
shape
of
a
claim
which
was
not
purely
personal
.
Bulstrode
had
indirectly
helped
to
cause
the
failure
of
his
practice
,
and
had
also
been
highly
gratified
by
getting
a
medical
partner
in
his
plans
:
—
but
who
among
us
ever
reduced
himself
to
the
sort
of
dependence
in
which
Lydgate
now
stood
,
without
trying
to
believe
that
he
had
claims
which
diminished
the
humiliation
of
asking
?
It
was
true
that
of
late
there
had
seemed
to
be
a
new
languor
of
interest
in
Bulstrode
about
the
Hospital
;
but
his
health
had
got
worse
,
and
showed
signs
of
a
deep-seated
nervous
affection
.
In
other
respects
he
did
not
appear
to
be
changed
:
he
had
always
been
highly
polite
,
but
Lydgate
had
observed
in
him
from
the
first
a
marked
coldness
about
his
marriage
and
other
private
circumstances
,
a
coldness
which
he
had
hitherto
preferred
to
any
warmth
of
familiarity
between
them
.
He
deferred
the
intention
from
day
to
day
,
his
habit
of
acting
on
his
conclusions
being
made
infirm
by
his
repugnance
to
every
possible
conclusion
and
its
consequent
act
.
He
saw
Mr.
Bulstrode
often
,
but
he
did
not
try
to
use
any
occasion
for
his
private
purpose
.
At
one
moment
he
thought
,
"
I
will
write
a
letter
:
I
prefer
that
to
any
circuitous
talk
;
"
at
another
he
thought
,
"
No
;
if
I
were
talking
to
him
,
I
could
make
a
retreat
before
any
signs
of
disinclination
.
"
Still
the
days
passed
and
no
letter
was
written
,
no
special
interview
sought
.
In
his
shrinking
from
the
humiliation
of
a
dependent
attitude
towards
Bulstrode
,
he
began
to
familiarize
his
imagination
with
another
step
even
more
unlike
his
remembered
self
.
He
began
spontaneously
to
consider
whether
it
would
be
possible
to
carry
out
that
puerile
notion
of
Rosamond
's
which
had
often
made
him
angry
,
namely
,
that
they
should
quit
Middlemarch
without
seeing
anything
beyond
that
preface
.
The
question
came
—
"
Would
any
man
buy
the
practice
of
me
even
now
,
for
as
little
as
it
is
worth
?
Then
the
sale
might
happen
as
a
necessary
preparation
for
going
away
.
"
But
against
his
taking
this
step
,
which
he
still
felt
to
be
a
contemptible
relinquishment
of
present
work
,
a
guilty
turning
aside
from
what
was
a
real
and
might
be
a
widening
channel
for
worthy
activity
,
to
start
again
without
any
justified
destination
,
there
was
this
obstacle
,
that
the
purchaser
,
if
procurable
at
all
,
might
not
be
quickly
forthcoming
.
And
afterwards
?
Rosamond
in
a
poor
lodging
,
though
in
the
largest
city
or
most
distant
town
,
would
not
find
the
life
that
could
save
her
from
gloom
,
and
save
him
from
the
reproach
of
having
plunged
her
into
it
.
For
when
a
man
is
at
the
foot
of
the
hill
in
his
fortunes
,
he
may
stay
a
long
while
there
in
spite
of
professional
accomplishment
.
In
the
British
climate
there
is
no
incompatibility
between
scientific
insight
and
furnished
lodgings
:
the
incompatibility
is
chiefly
between
scientific
ambition
and
a
wife
who
objects
to
that
kind
of
residence
.
But
in
the
midst
of
his
hesitation
,
opportunity
came
to
decide
him
.
A
note
from
Mr.
Bulstrode
requested
Lydgate
to
call
on
him
at
the
Bank
.
A
hypochondriacal
tendency
had
shown
itself
in
the
banker
's
constitution
of
late
;
and
a
lack
of
sleep
,
which
was
really
only
a
slight
exaggeration
of
an
habitual
dyspeptic
symptom
,
had
been
dwelt
on
by
him
as
a
sign
of
threatening
insanity
.
He
wanted
to
consult
Lydgate
without
delay
on
that
particular
morning
,
although
he
had
nothing
to
tell
beyond
what
he
had
told
before
.
He
listened
eagerly
to
what
Lydgate
had
to
say
in
dissipation
of
his
fears
,
though
this
too
was
only
repetition
;
and
this
moment
in
which
Bulstrode
was
receiving
a
medical
opinion
with
a
sense
of
comfort
,
seemed
to
make
the
communication
of
a
personal
need
to
him
easier
than
it
had
been
in
Lydgate
's
contemplation
beforehand
.
He
had
been
insisting
that
it
would
be
well
for
Mr.
Bulstrode
to
relax
his
attention
to
business
.
"
One
sees
how
any
mental
strain
,
however
slight
,
may
affect
a
delicate
frame
,
"
said
Lydgate
at
that
stage
of
the
consultation
when
the
remarks
tend
to
pass
from
the
personal
to
the
general
,
"
by
the
deep
stamp
which
anxiety
will
make
for
a
time
even
on
the
young
and
vigorous
.
I
am
naturally
very
strong
;
yet
I
have
been
thoroughly
shaken
lately
by
an
accumulation
of
trouble
.
"
"
I
presume
that
a
constitution
in
the
susceptible
state
in
which
mine
at
present
is
,
would
be
especially
liable
to
fall
a
victim
to
cholera
,
if
it
visited
our
district
.
And
since
its
appearance
near
London
,
we
may
well
besiege
the
Mercy-seat
for
our
protection
,
"
said
Mr.
Bulstrode
,
not
intending
to
evade
Lydgate
's
allusion
,
but
really
preoccupied
with
alarms
about
himself
.
"
You
have
at
all
events
taken
your
share
in
using
good
practical
precautions
for
the
town
,
and
that
is
the
best
mode
of
asking
for
protection
,
"
said
Lydgate
,
with
a
strong
distaste
for
the
broken
metaphor
and
bad
logic
of
the
banker
's
religion
,
somewhat
increased
by
the
apparent
deafness
of
his
sympathy
.
But
his
mind
had
taken
up
its
long-prepared
movement
towards
getting
help
,
and
was
not
yet
arrested
.
He
added
,
"
The
town
has
done
well
in
the
way
of
cleansing
,
and
finding
appliances
;
and
I
think
that
if
the
cholera
should
come
,
even
our
enemies
will
admit
that
the
arrangements
in
the
Hospital
are
a
public
good
.
"
"
Truly
,
"
said
Mr.
Bulstrode
,
with
some
coldness
.
"
With
regard
to
what
you
say
,
Mr.
Lydgate
,
about
the
relaxation
of
my
mental
labour
,
I
have
for
some
time
been
entertaining
a
purpose
to
that
effect
—
a
purpose
of
a
very
decided
character
.
I
contemplate
at
least
a
temporary
withdrawal
from
the
management
of
much
business
,
whether
benevolent
or
commercial
.
Also
I
think
of
changing
my
residence
for
a
time
:
probably
I
shall
close
or
let
'
The
Shrubs
,
'
and
take
some
place
near
the
coast
—
under
advice
of
course
as
to
salubrity
.
That
would
be
a
measure
which
you
would
recommend
?
"
"
Oh
yes
,
"
said
Lydgate
,
falling
backward
in
his
chair
,
with
ill-repressed
impatience
under
the
banker
's
pale
earnest
eyes
and
intense
preoccupation
with
himself
.
"
I
have
for
some
time
felt
that
I
should
open
this
subject
with
you
in
relation
to
our
Hospital
,
"
continued
Bulstrode
.
"
Under
the
circumstances
I
have
indicated
,
of
course
I
must
cease
to
have
any
personal
share
in
the
management
,
and
it
is
contrary
to
my
views
of
responsibility
to
continue
a
large
application
of
means
to
an
institution
which
I
cannot
watch
over
and
to
some
extent
regulate
.
I
shall
therefore
,
in
case
of
my
ultimate
decision
to
leave
Middlemarch
,
consider
that
I
withdraw
other
support
to
the
New
Hospital
than
that
which
will
subsist
in
the
fact
that
I
chiefly
supplied
the
expenses
of
building
it
,
and
have
contributed
further
large
sums
to
its
successful
working
.
"
Lydgate
's
thought
,
when
Bulstrode
paused
according
to
his
wont
,
was
,
"
He
has
perhaps
been
losing
a
good
deal
of
money
.
"
This
was
the
most
plausible
explanation
of
a
speech
which
had
caused
rather
a
startling
change
in
his
expectations
.
He
said
in
reply
—
"
The
loss
to
the
Hospital
can
hardly
be
made
up
,
I
fear
.
"
"
Hardly
,
"
returned
Bulstrode
,
in
the
same
deliberate
,
silvery
tone
;
"
except
by
some
changes
of
plan
.
The
only
person
who
may
be
certainly
counted
on
as
willing
to
increase
her
contributions
is
Mrs.
Casaubon
.
I
have
had
an
interview
with
her
on
the
subject
,
and
I
have
pointed
out
to
her
,
as
I
am
about
to
do
to
you
,
that
it
will
be
desirable
to
win
a
more
general
support
to
the
New
Hospital
by
a
change
of
system
.
"
Another
pause
,
but
Lydgate
did
not
speak
.
"
The
change
I
mean
is
an
amalgamation
with
the
Infirmary
,
so
that
the
New
Hospital
shall
be
regarded
as
a
special
addition
to
the
elder
institution
,
having
the
same
directing
board
.
It
will
be
necessary
,
also
,
that
the
medical
management
of
the
two
shall
be
combined
.
In
this
way
any
difficulty
as
to
the
adequate
maintenance
of
our
new
establishment
will
be
removed
;
the
benevolent
interests
of
the
town
will
cease
to
be
divided
.
"
Mr.
Bulstrode
had
lowered
his
eyes
from
Lydgate
's
face
to
the
buttons
of
his
coat
as
he
again
paused
.
"
No
doubt
that
is
a
good
device
as
to
ways
and
means
,
"
said
Lydgate
,
with
an
edge
of
irony
in
his
tone
.
"
But
I
ca
n't
be
expected
to
rejoice
in
it
at
once
,
since
one
of
the
first
results
will
be
that
the
other
medical
men
will
upset
or
interrupt
my
methods
,
if
it
were
only
because
they
are
mine
.
"
"
I
myself
,
as
you
know
,
Mr.
Lydgate
,
highly
valued
the
opportunity
of
new
and
independent
procedure
which
you
have
diligently
employed
:
the
original
plan
,
I
confess
,
was
one
which
I
had
much
at
heart
,
under
submission
to
the
Divine
Will
.
But
since
providential
indications
demand
a
renunciation
from
me
,
I
renounce
.
"
Bulstrode
showed
a
rather
exasperating
ability
in
this
conversation
.
The
broken
metaphor
and
bad
logic
of
motive
which
had
stirred
his
hearer
's
contempt
were
quite
consistent
with
a
mode
of
putting
the
facts
which
made
it
difficult
for
Lydgate
to
vent
his
own
indignation
and
disappointment
.
After
some
rapid
reflection
,
he
only
asked
—
"
What
did
Mrs.
Casaubon
say
?
"
"
That
was
the
further
statement
which
I
wished
to
make
to
you
,
"
said
Bulstrode
,
who
had
thoroughly
prepared
his
ministerial
explanation
.
"
She
is
,
you
are
aware
,
a
woman
of
most
munificent
disposition
,
and
happily
in
possession
—
not
I
presume
of
great
wealth
,
but
of
funds
which
she
can
well
spare
.
She
has
informed
me
that
though
she
has
destined
the
chief
part
of
those
funds
to
another
purpose
,
she
is
willing
to
consider
whether
she
cannot
fully
take
my
place
in
relation
to
the
Hospital
.
But
she
wishes
for
ample
time
to
mature
her
thoughts
on
the
subject
,
and
I
have
told
her
that
there
is
no
need
for
haste
—
that
,
in
fact
,
my
own
plans
are
not
yet
absolute
.
"
Lydgate
was
ready
to
say
,
"
If
Mrs.
Casaubon
would
take
your
place
,
there
would
be
gain
,
instead
of
loss
.
"
But
there
was
still
a
weight
on
his
mind
which
arrested
this
cheerful
candor
.
He
replied
,
"
I
suppose
,
then
,
that
I
may
enter
into
the
subject
with
Mrs.
Casaubon
.
"
"
Precisely
;
that
is
what
she
expressly
desires
.
Her
decision
,
she
says
,
will
much
depend
on
what
you
can
tell
her
.
But
not
at
present
:
she
is
,
I
believe
,
just
setting
out
on
a
journey
.
I
have
her
letter
here
,
"
said
Mr.
Bulstrode
,
drawing
it
out
,
and
reading
from
it
.
"
'
I
am
immediately
otherwise
engaged
,
'
she
says
.
'
I
am
going
into
Yorkshire
with
Sir
James
and
Lady
Chettam
;
and
the
conclusions
I
come
to
about
some
land
which
I
am
to
see
there
may
affect
my
power
of
contributing
to
the
Hospital
.
'
Thus
,
Mr.
Lydgate
,
there
is
no
haste
necessary
in
this
matter
;
but
I
wished
to
apprise
you
beforehand
of
what
may
possibly
occur
.
"
Mr.
Bulstrode
returned
the
letter
to
his
side-pocket
,
and
changed
his
attitude
as
if
his
business
were
closed
.
Lydgate
,
whose
renewed
hope
about
the
Hospital
only
made
him
more
conscious
of
the
facts
which
poisoned
his
hope
,
felt
that
his
effort
after
help
,
if
made
at
all
,
must
be
made
now
and
vigorously
.
"
I
am
much
obliged
to
you
for
giving
me
full
notice
,
"
he
said
,
with
a
firm
intention
in
his
tone
,
yet
with
an
interruptedness
in
his
delivery
which
showed
that
he
spoke
unwillingly
.
"
The
highest
object
to
me
is
my
profession
,
and
I
had
identified
the
Hospital
with
the
best
use
I
can
at
present
make
of
my
profession
.
But
the
best
use
is
not
always
the
same
with
monetary
success
.
Everything
which
has
made
the
Hospital
unpopular
has
helped
with
other
causes
—
I
think
they
are
all
connected
with
my
professional
zeal
—
to
make
me
unpopular
as
a
practitioner
.
I
get
chiefly
patients
who
ca
n't
pay
me
.
I
should
like
them
best
,
if
I
had
nobody
to
pay
on
my
own
side
.
"
Lydgate
waited
a
little
,
but
Bulstrode
only
bowed
,
looking
at
him
fixedly
,
and
he
went
on
with
the
same
interrupted
enunciation
—
as
if
he
were
biting
an
objectional
leek
.
"
I
have
slipped
into
money
difficulties
which
I
can
see
no
way
out
of
,
unless
some
one
who
trusts
me
and
my
future
will
advance
me
a
sum
without
other
security
.
I
had
very
little
fortune
left
when
I
came
here
.
I
have
no
prospects
of
money
from
my
own
family
.
My
expenses
,
in
consequence
of
my
marriage
,
have
been
very
much
greater
than
I
had
expected
.
The
result
at
this
moment
is
that
it
would
take
a
thousand
pounds
to
clear
me
.
I
mean
,
to
free
me
from
the
risk
of
having
all
my
goods
sold
in
security
of
my
largest
debt
—
as
well
as
to
pay
my
other
debts
—
and
leave
anything
to
keep
us
a
little
beforehand
with
our
small
income
.
I
find
that
it
is
out
of
the
question
that
my
wife
's
father
should
make
such
an
advance
.
That
is
why
I
mention
my
position
to
—
to
the
only
other
man
who
may
be
held
to
have
some
personal
connection
with
my
prosperity
or
ruin
.
"
Lydgate
hated
to
hear
himself
.
But
he
had
spoken
now
,
and
had
spoken
with
unmistakable
directness
.
Mr.
Bulstrode
replied
without
haste
,
but
also
without
hesitation
.
"
I
am
grieved
,
though
,
I
confess
,
not
surprised
by
this
information
,
Mr.
Lydgate
.
For
my
own
part
,
I
regretted
your
alliance
with
my
brother-in-law
's
family
,
which
has
always
been
of
prodigal
habits
,
and
which
has
already
been
much
indebted
to
me
for
sustainment
in
its
present
position
.
My
advice
to
you
,
Mr.
Lydgate
,
would
be
,
that
instead
of
involving
yourself
in
further
obligations
,
and
continuing
a
doubtful
struggle
,
you
should
simply
become
a
bankrupt
.
"
"
That
would
not
improve
my
prospect
,
"
said
Lydgate
,
rising
and
speaking
bitterly
,
"
even
if
it
were
a
more
agreeable
thing
in
itself
.
"
"
It
is
always
a
trial
,
"
said
Mr.
Bulstrode
;
"
but
trial
,
my
dear
sir
,
is
our
portion
here
,
and
is
a
needed
corrective
.
I
recommend
you
to
weigh
the
advice
I
have
given
.
"
"
Thank
you
,
"
said
Lydgate
,
not
quite
knowing
what
he
said
.
"
I
have
occupied
you
too
long
.
Good-day
.
"
CHAPTER
LXVIII
.
What
suit
of
grace
hath
Virtue
to
put
on
If
Vice
shall
wear
as
good
,
and
do
as
well
?
If
Wrong
,
if
Craft
,
if
Indiscretion
Act
as
fair
parts
with
ends
as
laudable
?
Which
all
this
mighty
volume
of
events
The
world
,
the
universal
map
of
deeds
,
Strongly
controls
,
and
proves
from
all
descents
,
That
the
directest
course
still
best
succeeds
.
For
should
not
grave
and
learn
'd
Experience
That
looks
with
the
eyes
of
all
the
world
beside
,
And
with
all
ages
holds
intelligence
,
Go
safer
than
Deceit
without
a
guide
!
—
DANIEL
:
Musophilus
.
That
change
of
plan
and
shifting
of
interest
which
Bulstrode
stated
or
betrayed
in
his
conversation
with
Lydgate
,
had
been
determined
in
him
by
some
severe
experience
which
he
had
gone
through
since
the
epoch
of
Mr.
Larcher
's
sale
,
when
Raffles
had
recognized
Will
Ladislaw
,
and
when
the
banker
had
in
vain
attempted
an
act
of
restitution
which
might
move
Divine
Providence
to
arrest
painful
consequences
.
His
certainty
that
Raffles
,
unless
he
were
dead
,
would
return
to
Middlemarch
before
long
,
had
been
justified
.
On
Christmas
Eve
he
had
reappeared
at
The
Shrubs
.
Bulstrode
was
at
home
to
receive
him
,
and
hinder
his
communication
with
the
rest
of
the
family
,
but
he
could
not
altogether
hinder
the
circumstances
of
the
visit
from
compromising
himself
and
alarming
his
wife
.
Raffles
proved
more
unmanageable
than
he
had
shown
himself
to
be
in
his
former
appearances
,
his
chronic
state
of
mental
restlessness
,
the
growing
effect
of
habitual
intemperance
,
quickly
shaking
off
every
impression
from
what
was
said
to
him
.
He
insisted
on
staying
in
the
house
,
and
Bulstrode
,
weighing
two
sets
of
evils
,
felt
that
this
was
at
least
not
a
worse
alternative
than
his
going
into
the
town
.
He
kept
him
in
his
own
room
for
the
evening
and
saw
him
to
bed
,
Raffles
all
the
while
amusing
himself
with
the
annoyance
he
was
causing
this
decent
and
highly
prosperous
fellow-sinner
,
an
amusement
which
he
facetiously
expressed
as
sympathy
with
his
friend
's
pleasure
in
entertaining
a
man
who
had
been
serviceable
to
him
,
and
who
had
not
had
all
his
earnings
.
There
was
a
cunning
calculation
under
this
noisy
joking
—
a
cool
resolve
to
extract
something
the
handsomer
from
Bulstrode
as
payment
for
release
from
this
new
application
of
torture
.
But
his
cunning
had
a
little
overcast
its
mark
.
Bulstrode
was
indeed
more
tortured
than
the
coarse
fibre
of
Raffles
could
enable
him
to
imagine
.
He
had
told
his
wife
that
he
was
simply
taking
care
of
this
wretched
creature
,
the
victim
of
vice
,
who
might
otherwise
injure
himself
;
he
implied
,
without
the
direct
form
of
falsehood
,
that
there
was
a
family
tie
which
bound
him
to
this
care
,
and
that
there
were
signs
of
mental
alienation
in
Raffles
which
urged
caution
.
He
would
himself
drive
the
unfortunate
being
away
the
next
morning
.
In
these
hints
he
felt
that
he
was
supplying
Mrs.
Bulstrode
with
precautionary
information
for
his
daughters
and
servants
,
and
accounting
for
his
allowing
no
one
but
himself
to
enter
the
room
even
with
food
and
drink
.
But
he
sat
in
an
agony
of
fear
lest
Raffles
should
be
overheard
in
his
loud
and
plain
references
to
past
facts
—
lest
Mrs.
Bulstrode
should
be
even
tempted
to
listen
at
the
door
.
How
could
he
hinder
her
,
how
betray
his
terror
by
opening
the
door
to
detect
her
?
She
was
a
woman
of
honest
direct
habits
,
and
little
likely
to
take
so
low
a
course
in
order
to
arrive
at
painful
knowledge
;
but
fear
was
stronger
than
the
calculation
of
probabilities
.
In
this
way
Raffles
had
pushed
the
torture
too
far
,
and
produced
an
effect
which
had
not
been
in
his
plan
.
By
showing
himself
hopelessly
unmanageable
he
had
made
Bulstrode
feel
that
a
strong
defiance
was
the
only
resource
left
.
After
taking
Raffles
to
bed
that
night
the
banker
ordered
his
closed
carriage
to
be
ready
at
half-past
seven
the
next
morning
.
At
six
o'clock
he
had
already
been
long
dressed
,
and
had
spent
some
of
his
wretchedness
in
prayer
,
pleading
his
motives
for
averting
the
worst
evil
if
in
anything
he
had
used
falsity
and
spoken
what
was
not
true
before
God
.
For
Bulstrode
shrank
from
a
direct
lie
with
an
intensity
disproportionate
to
the
number
of
his
more
indirect
misdeeds
.
But
many
of
these
misdeeds
were
like
the
subtle
muscular
movements
which
are
not
taken
account
of
in
the
consciousness
,
though
they
bring
about
the
end
that
we
fix
our
mind
on
and
desire
.
And
it
is
only
what
we
are
vividly
conscious
of
that
we
can
vividly
imagine
to
be
seen
by
Omniscience
.
Bulstrode
carried
his
candle
to
the
bedside
of
Raffles
,
who
was
apparently
in
a
painful
dream
.
He
stood
silent
,
hoping
that
the
presence
of
the
light
would
serve
to
waken
the
sleeper
gradually
and
gently
,
for
he
feared
some
noise
as
the
consequence
of
a
too
sudden
awakening
.
He
had
watched
for
a
couple
of
minutes
or
more
the
shudderings
and
pantings
which
seemed
likely
to
end
in
waking
,
when
Raffles
,
with
a
long
half-stifled
moan
,
started
up
and
stared
round
him
in
terror
,
trembling
and
gasping
.
But
he
made
no
further
noise
,
and
Bulstrode
,
setting
down
the
candle
,
awaited
his
recovery
.
It
was
a
quarter
of
an
hour
later
before
Bulstrode
,
with
a
cold
peremptoriness
of
manner
which
he
had
not
before
shown
,
said
,
"
I
came
to
call
you
thus
early
,
Mr.
Raffles
,
because
I
have
ordered
the
carriage
to
be
ready
at
half-past
seven
,
and
intend
myself
to
conduct
you
as
far
as
Ilsely
,
where
you
can
either
take
the
railway
or
await
a
coach
.
"
Raffles
was
about
to
speak
,
but
Bulstrode
anticipated
him
imperiously
with
the
words
,
"
Be
silent
,
sir
,
and
hear
what
I
have
to
say
.
I
shall
supply
you
with
money
now
,
and
I
will
furnish
you
with
a
reasonable
sum
from
time
to
time
,
on
your
application
to
me
by
letter
;
but
if
you
choose
to
present
yourself
here
again
,
if
you
return
to
Middlemarch
,
if
you
use
your
tongue
in
a
manner
injurious
to
me
,
you
will
have
to
live
on
such
fruits
as
your
malice
can
bring
you
,
without
help
from
me
.
Nobody
will
pay
you
well
for
blasting
my
name
:
I
know
the
worst
you
can
do
against
me
,
and
I
shall
brave
it
if
you
dare
to
thrust
yourself
upon
me
again
.
Get
up
,
sir
,
and
do
as
I
order
you
,
without
noise
,
or
I
will
send
for
a
policeman
to
take
you
off
my
premises
,
and
you
may
carry
your
stories
into
every
pothouse
in
the
town
,
but
you
shall
have
no
sixpence
from
me
to
pay
your
expenses
there
.
"
Bulstrode
had
rarely
in
his
life
spoken
with
such
nervous
energy
:
he
had
been
deliberating
on
this
speech
and
its
probable
effects
through
a
large
part
of
the
night
;
and
though
he
did
not
trust
to
its
ultimately
saving
him
from
any
return
of
Raffles
,
he
had
concluded
that
it
was
the
best
throw
he
could
make
.
It
succeeded
in
enforcing
submission
from
the
jaded
man
this
morning
:
his
empoisoned
system
at
this
moment
quailed
before
Bulstrode
's
cold
,
resolute
bearing
,
and
he
was
taken
off
quietly
in
the
carriage
before
the
family
breakfast
time
.
The
servants
imagined
him
to
be
a
poor
relation
,
and
were
not
surprised
that
a
strict
man
like
their
master
,
who
held
his
head
high
in
the
world
,
should
be
ashamed
of
such
a
cousin
and
want
to
get
rid
of
him
.
The
banker
's
drive
of
ten
miles
with
his
hated
companion
was
a
dreary
beginning
of
the
Christmas
day
;
but
at
the
end
of
the
drive
,
Raffles
had
recovered
his
spirits
,
and
parted
in
a
contentment
for
which
there
was
the
good
reason
that
the
banker
had
given
him
a
hundred
pounds
.
Various
motives
urged
Bulstrode
to
this
open-handedness
,
but
he
did
not
himself
inquire
closely
into
all
of
them
.
As
he
had
stood
watching
Raffles
in
his
uneasy
sleep
,
it
had
certainly
entered
his
mind
that
the
man
had
been
much
shattered
since
the
first
gift
of
two
hundred
pounds
.
He
had
taken
care
to
repeat
the
incisive
statement
of
his
resolve
not
to
be
played
on
any
more
;
and
had
tried
to
penetrate
Raffles
with
the
fact
that
he
had
shown
the
risks
of
bribing
him
to
be
quite
equal
to
the
risks
of
defying
him
.
But
when
,
freed
from
his
repulsive
presence
,
Bulstrode
returned
to
his
quiet
home
,
he
brought
with
him
no
confidence
that
he
had
secured
more
than
a
respite
.
It
was
as
if
he
had
had
a
loathsome
dream
,
and
could
not
shake
off
its
images
with
their
hateful
kindred
of
sensations
—
as
if
on
all
the
pleasant
surroundings
of
his
life
a
dangerous
reptile
had
left
his
slimy
traces
.
Who
can
know
how
much
of
his
most
inward
life
is
made
up
of
the
thoughts
he
believes
other
men
to
have
about
him
,
until
that
fabric
of
opinion
is
threatened
with
ruin
?
Bulstrode
was
only
the
more
conscious
that
there
was
a
deposit
of
uneasy
presentiment
in
his
wife
's
mind
,
because
she
carefully
avoided
any
allusion
to
it
.
He
had
been
used
every
day
to
taste
the
flavour
of
supremacy
and
the
tribute
of
complete
deference
:
and
the
certainty
that
he
was
watched
or
measured
with
a
hidden
suspicion
of
his
having
some
discreditable
secret
,
made
his
voice
totter
when
he
was
speaking
to
edification
.
Foreseeing
,
to
men
of
Bulstrode
's
anxious
temperament
,
is
often
worse
than
seeing
;
and
his
imagination
continually
heightened
the
anguish
of
an
imminent
disgrace
.
Yes
,
imminent
;
for
if
his
defiance
of
Raffles
did
not
keep
the
man
away
—
and
though
he
prayed
for
this
result
he
hardly
hoped
for
it
—
the
disgrace
was
certain
.
In
vain
he
said
to
himself
that
,
if
permitted
,
it
would
be
a
divine
visitation
,
a
chastisement
,
a
preparation
;
he
recoiled
from
the
imagined
burning
;
and
he
judged
that
it
must
be
more
for
the
Divine
glory
that
he
should
escape
dishonour
.
That
recoil
had
at
last
urged
him
to
make
preparations
for
quitting
Middlemarch
.
If
evil
truth
must
be
reported
of
him
,
he
would
then
be
at
a
less
scorching
distance
from
the
contempt
of
his
old
neighbors
;
and
in
a
new
scene
,
where
his
life
would
not
have
gathered
the
same
wide
sensibility
,
the
tormentor
,
if
he
pursued
him
,
would
be
less
formidable
.
To
leave
the
place
finally
would
,
he
knew
,
be
extremely
painful
to
his
wife
,
and
on
other
grounds
he
would
have
preferred
to
stay
where
he
had
struck
root
.
Hence
he
made
his
preparations
at
first
in
a
conditional
way
,
wishing
to
leave
on
all
sides
an
opening
for
his
return
after
brief
absence
,
if
any
favourable
intervention
of
Providence
should
dissipate
his
fears
.
He
was
preparing
to
transfer
his
management
of
the
Bank
,
and
to
give
up
any
active
control
of
other
commercial
affairs
in
the
neighborhood
,
on
the
ground
of
his
failing
health
,
but
without
excluding
his
future
resumption
of
such
work
.
The
measure
would
cause
him
some
added
expense
and
some
diminution
of
income
beyond
what
he
had
already
undergone
from
the
general
depression
of
trade
;
and
the
Hospital
presented
itself
as
a
principal
object
of
outlay
on
which
he
could
fairly
economize
.
This
was
the
experience
which
had
determined
his
conversation
with
Lydgate
.
But
at
this
time
his
arrangements
had
most
of
them
gone
no
farther
than
a
stage
at
which
he
could
recall
them
if
they
proved
to
be
unnecessary
.
He
continually
deferred
the
final
steps
;
in
the
midst
of
his
fears
,
like
many
a
man
who
is
in
danger
of
shipwreck
or
of
being
dashed
from
his
carriage
by
runaway
horses
,
he
had
a
clinging
impression
that
something
would
happen
to
hinder
the
worst
,
and
that
to
spoil
his
life
by
a
late
transplantation
might
be
over-hasty
—
especially
since
it
was
difficult
to
account
satisfactorily
to
his
wife
for
the
project
of
their
indefinite
exile
from
the
only
place
where
she
would
like
to
live
.
Among
the
affairs
Bulstrode
had
to
care
for
,
was
the
management
of
the
farm
at
Stone
Court
in
case
of
his
absence
;
and
on
this
as
well
as
on
all
other
matters
connected
with
any
houses
and
land
he
possessed
in
or
about
Middlemarch
,
he
had
consulted
Caleb
Garth
.
Like
every
one
else
who
had
business
of
that
sort
,
he
wanted
to
get
the
agent
who
was
more
anxious
for
his
employer
's
interests
than
his
own
.
With
regard
to
Stone
Court
,
since
Bulstrode
wished
to
retain
his
hold
on
the
stock
,
and
to
have
an
arrangement
by
which
he
himself
could
,
if
he
chose
,
resume
his
favourite
recreation
of
superintendence
,
Caleb
had
advised
him
not
to
trust
to
a
mere
bailiff
,
but
to
let
the
land
,
stock
,
and
implements
yearly
,
and
take
a
proportionate
share
of
the
proceeds
.
"
May
I
trust
to
you
to
find
me
a
tenant
on
these
terms
,
Mr.
Garth
?
"
said
Bulstrode
.
"
And
will
you
mention
to
me
the
yearly
sum
which
would
repay
you
for
managing
these
affairs
which
we
have
discussed
together
?
"
"
I
'll
think
about
it
,
"
said
Caleb
,
in
his
blunt
way
.
"
I
'll
see
how
I
can
make
it
out
.
"
If
it
had
not
been
that
he
had
to
consider
Fred
Vincy
's
future
,
Mr.
Garth
would
not
probably
have
been
glad
of
any
addition
to
his
work
,
of
which
his
wife
was
always
fearing
an
excess
for
him
as
he
grew
older
.
But
on
quitting
Bulstrode
after
that
conversation
,
a
very
alluring
idea
occurred
to
him
about
this
said
letting
of
Stone
Court
.
What
if
Bulstrode
would
agree
to
his
placing
Fred
Vincy
there
on
the
understanding
that
he
,
Caleb
Garth
,
should
be
responsible
for
the
management
?
It
would
be
an
excellent
schooling
for
Fred
;
he
might
make
a
modest
income
there
,
and
still
have
time
left
to
get
knowledge
by
helping
in
other
business
.
He
mentioned
his
notion
to
Mrs.
Garth
with
such
evident
delight
that
she
could
not
bear
to
chill
his
pleasure
by
expressing
her
constant
fear
of
his
undertaking
too
much
.
"
The
lad
would
be
as
happy
as
two
,
"
he
said
,
throwing
himself
back
in
his
chair
,
and
looking
radiant
,
"
if
I
could
tell
him
it
was
all
settled
.
Think
;
Susan
!
His
mind
had
been
running
on
that
place
for
years
before
old
Featherstone
died
.
And
it
would
be
as
pretty
a
turn
of
things
as
could
be
that
he
should
hold
the
place
in
a
good
industrious
way
after
all
—
by
his
taking
to
business
.
For
it
's
likely
enough
Bulstrode
might
let
him
go
on
,
and
gradually
buy
the
stock
.
He
has
n't
made
up
his
mind
,
I
can
see
,
whether
or
not
he
shall
settle
somewhere
else
as
a
lasting
thing
.
I
never
was
better
pleased
with
a
notion
in
my
life
.
And
then
the
children
might
be
married
by-and-by
,
Susan
.
"
"
You
will
not
give
any
hint
of
the
plan
to
Fred
,
until
you
are
sure
that
Bulstrode
would
agree
to
the
plan
?
"
said
Mrs.
Garth
,
in
a
tone
of
gentle
caution
.
"
And
as
to
marriage
,
Caleb
,
we
old
people
need
not
help
to
hasten
it
.
"
"
Oh
,
I
do
n't
know
,
"
said
Caleb
,
swinging
his
head
aside
.
"
Marriage
is
a
taming
thing
.
Fred
would
want
less
of
my
bit
and
bridle
.
However
,
I
shall
say
nothing
till
I
know
the
ground
I
'm
treading
on
.
I
shall
speak
to
Bulstrode
again
.
"
He
took
his
earliest
opportunity
of
doing
so
.
Bulstrode
had
anything
but
a
warm
interest
in
his
nephew
Fred
Vincy
,
but
he
had
a
strong
wish
to
secure
Mr.
Garth
's
services
on
many
scattered
points
of
business
at
which
he
was
sure
to
be
a
considerable
loser
,
if
they
were
under
less
conscientious
management
.
On
that
ground
he
made
no
objection
to
Mr.
Garth
's
proposal
;
and
there
was
also
another
reason
why
he
was
not
sorry
to
give
a
consent
which
was
to
benefit
one
of
the
Vincy
family
.
It
was
that
Mrs.
Bulstrode
,
having
heard
of
Lydgate
's
debts
,
had
been
anxious
to
know
whether
her
husband
could
not
do
something
for
poor
Rosamond
,
and
had
been
much
troubled
on
learning
from
him
that
Lydgate
's
affairs
were
not
easily
remediable
,
and
that
the
wisest
plan
was
to
let
them
"
take
their
course
.
"
Mrs.
Bulstrode
had
then
said
for
the
first
time
,
"
I
think
you
are
always
a
little
hard
towards
my
family
,
Nicholas
.
And
I
am
sure
I
have
no
reason
to
deny
any
of
my
relatives
.
Too
worldly
they
may
be
,
but
no
one
ever
had
to
say
that
they
were
not
respectable
.
"
"
My
dear
Harriet
,
"
said
Mr.
Bulstrode
,
wincing
under
his
wife
's
eyes
,
which
were
filling
with
tears
,
"
I
have
supplied
your
brother
with
a
great
deal
of
capital
.
I
cannot
be
expected
to
take
care
of
his
married
children
.
"
That
seemed
to
be
true
,
and
Mrs.
Bulstrode
's
remonstrance
subsided
into
pity
for
poor
Rosamond
,
whose
extravagant
education
she
had
always
foreseen
the
fruits
of
.
But
remembering
that
dialogue
,
Mr.
Bulstrode
felt
that
when
he
had
to
talk
to
his
wife
fully
about
his
plan
of
quitting
Middlemarch
,
he
should
be
glad
to
tell
her
that
he
had
made
an
arrangement
which
might
be
for
the
good
of
her
nephew
Fred
.
At
present
he
had
merely
mentioned
to
her
that
he
thought
of
shutting
up
The
Shrubs
for
a
few
months
,
and
taking
a
house
on
the
Southern
Coast
.
Hence
Mr.
Garth
got
the
assurance
he
desired
,
namely
,
that
in
case
of
Bulstrode
's
departure
from
Middlemarch
for
an
indefinite
time
,
Fred
Vincy
should
be
allowed
to
have
the
tenancy
of
Stone
Court
on
the
terms
proposed
.
Caleb
was
so
elated
with
his
hope
of
this
"
neat
turn
"
being
given
to
things
,
that
if
his
self-control
had
not
been
braced
by
a
little
affectionate
wifely
scolding
,
he
would
have
betrayed
everything
to
Mary
,
wanting
"
to
give
the
child
comfort
.
"
However
,
he
restrained
himself
,
and
kept
in
strict
privacy
from
Fred
certain
visits
which
he
was
making
to
Stone
Court
,
in
order
to
look
more
thoroughly
into
the
state
of
the
land
and
stock
,
and
take
a
preliminary
estimate
.
He
was
certainly
more
eager
in
these
visits
than
the
probable
speed
of
events
required
him
to
be
;
but
he
was
stimulated
by
a
fatherly
delight
in
occupying
his
mind
with
this
bit
of
probable
happiness
which
he
held
in
store
like
a
hidden
birthday
gift
for
Fred
and
Mary
.
"
But
suppose
the
whole
scheme
should
turn
out
to
be
a
castle
in
the
air
?
"
said
Mrs.
Garth
.
"
Well
,
well
,
"
replied
Caleb
;
"
the
castle
will
tumble
about
nobody
's
head
.
"
CHAPTER
LXIX
.
"
If
thou
hast
heard
a
word
,
let
it
die
with
thee
.
"
—
Ecclesiasticus
.
Mr.
Bulstrode
was
still
seated
in
his
manager
's
room
at
the
Bank
,
about
three
o'clock
of
the
same
day
on
which
he
had
received
Lydgate
there
,
when
the
clerk
entered
to
say
that
his
horse
was
waiting
,
and
also
that
Mr.
Garth
was
outside
and
begged
to
speak
with
him
.
"
By
all
means
,
"
said
Bulstrode
;
and
Caleb
entered
.
"
Pray
sit
down
,
Mr.
Garth
,
"
continued
the
banker
,
in
his
suavest
tone
.
"
I
am
glad
that
you
arrived
just
in
time
to
find
me
here
.
I
know
you
count
your
minutes
.
"
"
Oh
,
"
said
Caleb
,
gently
,
with
a
slow
swing
of
his
head
on
one
side
,
as
he
seated
himself
and
laid
his
hat
on
the
floor
.
He
looked
at
the
ground
,
leaning
forward
and
letting
his
long
fingers
droop
between
his
legs
,
while
each
finger
moved
in
succession
,
as
if
it
were
sharing
some
thought
which
filled
his
large
quiet
brow
.
Mr.
Bulstrode
,
like
every
one
else
who
knew
Caleb
,
was
used
to
his
slowness
in
beginning
to
speak
on
any
topic
which
he
felt
to
be
important
,
and
rather
expected
that
he
was
about
to
recur
to
the
buying
of
some
houses
in
Blindman
's
Court
,
for
the
sake
of
pulling
them
down
,
as
a
sacrifice
of
property
which
would
be
well
repaid
by
the
influx
of
air
and
light
on
that
spot
.
It
was
by
propositions
of
this
kind
that
Caleb
was
sometimes
troublesome
to
his
employers
;
but
he
had
usually
found
Bulstrode
ready
to
meet
him
in
projects
of
improvement
,
and
they
had
got
on
well
together
.
When
he
spoke
again
,
however
,
it
was
to
say
,
in
rather
a
subdued
voice
—
"
I
have
just
come
away
from
Stone
Court
,
Mr.
Bulstrode
.
"
"
You
found
nothing
wrong
there
,
I
hope
,
"
said
the
banker
;
"
I
was
there
myself
yesterday
.
Abel
has
done
well
with
the
lambs
this
year
.
"
"
Why
,
yes
,
"
said
Caleb
,
looking
up
gravely
,
"
there
is
something
wrong
—
a
stranger
,
who
is
very
ill
,
I
think
.
He
wants
a
doctor
,
and
I
came
to
tell
you
of
that
.
His
name
is
Raffles
.
"
He
saw
the
shock
of
his
words
passing
through
Bulstrode
's
frame
.
On
this
subject
the
banker
had
thought
that
his
fears
were
too
constantly
on
the
watch
to
be
taken
by
surprise
;
but
he
had
been
mistaken
.
"
Poor
wretch
!
"
he
said
in
a
compassionate
tone
,
though
his
lips
trembled
a
little
.
"
Do
you
know
how
he
came
there
?
"
"
I
took
him
myself
,
"
said
Caleb
,
quietly
—
"
took
him
up
in
my
gig
.
He
had
got
down
from
the
coach
,
and
was
walking
a
little
beyond
the
turning
from
the
toll-house
,
and
I
overtook
him
.
He
remembered
seeing
me
with
you
once
before
,
at
Stone
Court
,
and
he
asked
me
to
take
him
on
.
I
saw
he
was
ill
:
it
seemed
to
me
the
right
thing
to
do
,
to
carry
him
under
shelter
.
And
now
I
think
you
should
lose
no
time
in
getting
advice
for
him
.
"
Caleb
took
up
his
hat
from
the
floor
as
he
ended
,
and
rose
slowly
from
his
seat
.
"
Certainly
,
"
said
Bulstrode
,
whose
mind
was
very
active
at
this
moment
.
"
Perhaps
you
will
yourself
oblige
me
,
Mr.
Garth
,
by
calling
at
Mr.
Lydgate
's
as
you
pass
—
or
stay
!
he
may
at
this
hour
probably
be
at
the
Hospital
.
I
will
first
send
my
man
on
the
horse
there
with
a
note
this
instant
,
and
then
I
will
myself
ride
to
Stone
Court
.
"
Bulstrode
quickly
wrote
a
note
,
and
went
out
himself
to
give
the
commission
to
his
man
.
When
he
returned
,
Caleb
was
standing
as
before
with
one
hand
on
the
back
of
the
chair
,
holding
his
hat
with
the
other
.
In
Bulstrode
's
mind
the
dominant
thought
was
,
"
Perhaps
Raffles
only
spoke
to
Garth
of
his
illness
.
Garth
may
wonder
,
as
he
must
have
done
before
,
at
this
disreputable
fellow
's
claiming
intimacy
with
me
;
but
he
will
know
nothing
.
And
he
is
friendly
to
me
—
I
can
be
of
use
to
him
.
"
He
longed
for
some
confirmation
of
this
hopeful
conjecture
,
but
to
have
asked
any
question
as
to
what
Raffles
had
said
or
done
would
have
been
to
betray
fear
.
"
I
am
exceedingly
obliged
to
you
,
Mr.
Garth
,
"
he
said
,
in
his
usual
tone
of
politeness
.
"
My
servant
will
be
back
in
a
few
minutes
,
and
I
shall
then
go
myself
to
see
what
can
be
done
for
this
unfortunate
man
.
Perhaps
you
had
some
other
business
with
me
?
If
so
,
pray
be
seated
.
"
"
Thank
you
,
"
said
Caleb
,
making
a
slight
gesture
with
his
right
hand
to
waive
the
invitation
.
"
I
wish
to
say
,
Mr.
Bulstrode
,
that
I
must
request
you
to
put
your
business
into
some
other
hands
than
mine
.
I
am
obliged
to
you
for
your
handsome
way
of
meeting
me
—
about
the
letting
of
Stone
Court
,
and
all
other
business
.
But
I
must
give
it
up
.
"
A
sharp
certainty
entered
like
a
stab
into
Bulstrode
's
soul
.
"
This
is
sudden
,
Mr.
Garth
,
"
was
all
he
could
say
at
first
.
"
It
is
,
"
said
Caleb
;
"
but
it
is
quite
fixed
.
I
must
give
it
up
.
"
He
spoke
with
a
firmness
which
was
very
gentle
,
and
yet
he
could
see
that
Bulstrode
seemed
to
cower
under
that
gentleness
,
his
face
looking
dried
and
his
eyes
swerving
away
from
the
glance
which
rested
on
him
.
Caleb
felt
a
deep
pity
for
him
,
but
he
could
have
used
no
pretexts
to
account
for
his
resolve
,
even
if
they
would
have
been
of
any
use
.
"
You
have
been
led
to
this
,
I
apprehend
,
by
some
slanders
concerning
me
uttered
by
that
unhappy
creature
,
"
said
Bulstrode
,
anxious
now
to
know
the
utmost
.
"
That
is
true
.
I
ca
n't
deny
that
I
act
upon
what
I
heard
from
him
.
"
"
You
are
a
conscientious
man
,
Mr.
Garth
—
a
man
,
I
trust
,
who
feels
himself
accountable
to
God
.
You
would
not
wish
to
injure
me
by
being
too
ready
to
believe
a
slander
,
"
said
Bulstrode
,
