itreached
my
heart
!
Your
voice
is
the
very
essence
of
nightingales
.
I
shall
follow
you
to
Harrowgate
,
for
the
chance
of
hearing
that
air
once
again
.
"
"
Perhaps
,
then
,
it
has
some
peculiar
interest
,
"
said
Marion
,
surprised
at
the
warmth
of
his
enthusiasm
.
"
The
chief
delight
of
music
certainly
is
,
the
associations
it
brings
out
,
the
remembrances
of
bye-gone
hours
it
recalls
,
and
the
million
of
little
phantoms
it
creates
of
past
or
future
times
.
"
"
Marion
!
your
voice
is
by
no
means
equal
to
that
song
,
and
your
style
is
very
amateur-ish
indeed
,
"
interrupted
Agnes
,
bitterly
.
"
I
do
not
wish
to
boast
,
"
added
she
,
laughing
,
to
conceal
her
irritation
;
"
but
Grisi
never
ventured
to
sing
that
air
after
hearing
me
,
and
Delvini
said
his
fortune
would
be
made
,
if
he
could
engage
me
for
his
Prima
Donna
.
I
only
mention
this
among
friends
.
Keep
it
secret
,
for
I
hate
to
cause
jealousy
and
mortification
!
Few
people
understand
music
like
my
old
master
Delvini
,
who
said
that
my
god-mother
must
certainly
have
possessed
the
wand
of
a
fairy
,
and
gifted
me
with
music
.
"
"
Ah
!
Delvini
is
the
man
who
plays
a
whole
concerto
upon
one
note
of
the
piano
,
or
something
wonderful
of
that
kind
,
"
observed
Lord
Wigton
,
looking
impatiently
for
Marion
to
begin
.
"
I
hate
the
helter-skelter
school
in
music
!
people
scampering
through
their
songs
with
a
thousand
miraculous
flourishes
,
which
set
one
's
teeth
on
edge
.
"
"
Such
performers
,
"
answered
Marion
,
"
give
me
no
more
pleasure
than
to
see
Van
Amburgh
thrust
his
head
into
the
lion
's
mouth
,
which
is
very
surprising
,
and
what
I
could
not
do
myself
,
but
it
excites
no
sympathy
,
and
raises
no
emotion
better
than
wonder
.
"
"
Your
voice
is
like
some
fairy
spirit
that
would
lead
me
to
the
world
's
end
,
"
said
Lord
Wigton
,
with
an
air
of
eager
expectation
.
"
And
now
,
Miss
Dunbar
,
I
am
all
ears
.
"
"
So
I
think
,
and
very
long
ears
too
,
"
muttered
Agnes
to
herself
,
angry
beyond
all
bounds
at
the
young
Peer
's
attention
to
Marion
,
when
hitherto
she
had
been
the
principal
,
or
rather
the
only
object
of
interest
to
him
whenever
they
were
in
the
same
room
.
Agnes
,
without
an
assiduous
lover
,
ready
to
put
on
her
shawl
,
clasp
her
bracelets
,
and
carry
her
boa
,
was
like
a
ship
without
a
compass
,
not
knowing
which
way
to
turn
,
and
though
nothing
could
make
up
for
the
want
of
those
graceful
flatteries
,
amusing
quarrels
,
and
ambitious
hopes
,
to
which
she
was
accustomed
with
Captain
De
Crespigny
,
yet
should
he
disappoint
her
,
Lord
Wigton
had
been
recently
promoted
to
the
character
of
a
pis
aller
in
the
list
of
her
admirers
,
as
she
was
heard
to
remark
,
that
"
it
is
better
to
have
a
donkey
that
carries
you
,
than
a
horse
that
throws
you
.
"
Though
usually
the
object
of
her
unbounded
ridicule
,
yet
the
young
Peer
had
recently
become
of
so
much
importance
to
her
,
that
it
was
indeed
an
unpardonable
affront
when
he
spared
one
moment
's
attention
to
Marion
,
while
at
the
same
time
she
considered
his
taste
on
the
occasion
,
quite
as
questionable
as
that
of
the
bird
which
preferred
a
barley-corn
to
a
diamond
.
Next
morning
,
to
the
increased
indignation
of
Agnes
,
Lord
Wigton
's
servant
left
at
the
door
of
St.
John
's
Lodge
,
two
splendid
bouquets
,
both
equally
rare
and
beautiful
;
but
when
they
were
presented
,
Agnes
looked
angrily
at
Marion
's
,
and
plucked
her
own
to
pieces
,
saying
,
"
That
absurd
little
man
!
it
is
worth
while
to
hear
him
talk
of
being
in
love
,
he
makes
the
subject
so
thoroughly
ridiculous
!
I
like
all
my
lovers
till
I
tire
of
them
,
and
his
Lordship
's
reign
was
over
last
Tuesday
.
He
has
the
stiffness
of
the
poker
without
its
occasional
heat
,
and
no
more
individuality
of
character
than
a
leaf
upon
a
tree
.
I
wonder
where
we
could
have
him
measured
for
a
cap-and-bells
.
He
has
so
little
vivacity
,
that
he
now
wears
the
fool
's
cap
without
the
bells
.
He
did
so
weary
me
!
I
think
Lord
Wigton
must
be
the
man
Rochefoucalt
had
in
his
eye
when
he
said
that
many
people
would
never
have
known
how
to
fall
in
love
,
if
they
had
not
first
heard
it
talked
about
!
His
sentimental
speeches
are
so
thoroughly
ridiculous
,
they
often
remind
me
of
Liston
's
meditation
in
the
farce
,
'
There
stands
my
Mary
's
cottage
!
and
she
must
either
be
in
it
,
or
out
of
it
!
'
"
CHAPTER
XXVIII
.
If
happiness
will
not
come
of
itself
,
most
very
sagacious
people
set
forth
in
search
of
that
enjoyment
which
none
are
willing
to
do
without
,
though
many
plans
are
generally
tried
,
before
the
right
one
be
discovered
.
Agnes
now
declared
that
she
was
"
ridiculously
happy
,
"
while
plunged
in
a
whirl
of
preparations
for
Harrowgate
,
trying
on
every
bonnet
at
every
milliner
's
,
and
discussing
the
tone
and
coloring
of
silks
or
satins
,
with
as
much
care
and
science
as
an
amateur
in
paintings
would
devote
to
the
study
of
a
Titian
or
a
Vandyke
,
while
her
spirits
were
restored
to
their
highest
pitch
,
by
a
letter
she
had
accidentally
seen
from
Captain
De
Crespigny
,
expressing
the
greatest
delight
in
the
prospect
of
seeing
Sir
Patrick
and
"
his
charming
sister
"
once
more
,
and
mentioning
that
he
was
about
soon
to
arrive
at
the
Granby
,
in
attendance
on
his
uncle
,
who
had
already
preceded
him
there
.
Agnes
at
once
restored
herself
now
,
to
the
pleasing
certainty
of
Captain
De
Crespigny
's
sincerity
,
and
every
ribbon
she
chose
,
or
every
costume
she
ordered
,
had
an
immediate
reference
to
his
taste
.
"
La
toilette
est
une
belle
invention
;
"
but
Marion
's
dress
,
without
causing
half
the
trouble
and
fracas
occasioned
by
that
of
Agnes
,
seemed
invariably
to
fit
better
than
any
other
person
's
,
and
the
colors
she
wore
were
always
in
the
most
perfect
harmony
.
Agnes
never
became
wearied
of
the
pleasurable
bustle
in
which
she
was
now
engaged
,
till
at
length
,
when
the
imperial
was
packed
,
and
the
last
box
with
extreme
difficulty
closed
,
she
declared
herself
to
be
quite
in
love
with
life
,
and
sprang
into
Sir
Arthur
's
carriage
,
radiant
in
all
the
joy
of
a
thousand
anticipated
triumphs
.
It
might
have
been
a
study
for
any
artist
wishing
to
sketch
a
frontispiece
for
"
The
Pleasures
of
Hope
,
"
to
see
Agnes
indulging
all
her
own
impossible
expectations
and
ineffable
wishes
;
but
unlike
the
Goddess
of
Hope
,
she
required
no
anchor
whatever
to
rest
on
.
Her
drafts
on
the
bank
of
futurity
were
unlimited
by
a
single
consideration
of
reason
or
probability
,
and
like
the
Chinese
plant
that
lives
without
requiring
any
nourishment
from
the
earth
,
she
existed
upon
a
diet
of
airy
nothings
,
and
in
a
pleasing
delirium
of
unreal
fancies
,
wherein
Captain
De
Crespigny
generally
acted
the
principal
part
.
In
the
mind
of
Agnes
—
or
rather
in
the
empty
space
where
a
mind
is
supposed
to
be
—
she
hung
up
a
splendid
picture-gallery
,
grouped
and
painted
according
to
her
own
taste
,
displaying
shadows
as
vivid
as
realities
;
and
ignorant
apparently
that
ever
"
hope
told
a
flattering
tale
,
"
she
seemed
scarcely
to
have
a
past
or
present
period
in
her
existence
,
the
whole
being
formed
into
one
bright
futurity
,
glittering
with
splendid
impossibilities
.
If
those
who
waste
and
enervate
their
intellects
by
building
castles
in
the
air
,
could
be
supposed
able
to
create
scenes
in
reality
,
as
easily
and
rapidly
as
they
do
in
imagination
,
it
would
,
perhaps
,
be
the
most
vivid
conception
man
could
form
of
omnipotent
power
.
Agnes
'
chateaux
en
Espagne
were
in
a
most
florid
style
of
architecture
,
but
scarcely
lasted
long
enough
to
become
finished
edifices
,
as
the
phantoms
came
dashing
through
her
mind
in
ceaseless
variety
,
all
apparently
fragments
,
or
slight
sketches
of
future
greatness
,
but
without
a
probable
access
except
the
fool
's
ladder
of
hope
.
Her
own
visions
were
all
,
certainly
,
to
be
realised
,
and
those
of
every
other
person
disappointed
,
for
the
mortifications
of
even
her
intimate
friends
enhanced
the
pleasure
of
anticipated
success
;
and
while
her
plans
were
like
the
portraits
of
Queen
Elizabeth
,
without
a
single
shade
,
or
like
temples
of
spun
sugar
,
all
sweetness
without
solidity
,
the
crowning
joy
of
all
was
,
to
be
envied
,
even
more
than
to
be
admired
.
While
Agnes
thus
piled
hope
upon
hope
,
her
wishes
were
dedicated
to
very
solid
possessions
.
In
childhood
her
world
had
been
a
world
of
bon
bons
and
rattles
,
and
now
the
kaleidoscope
of
her
imagination
was
filled
with
an
ever-changing
galaxy
of
jewels
,
titles
,
equipages
,
toys
,
gold
,
bijouterie
,
and
coronets
,
among
which
the
Marquisate
of
Doncaster
owed
some
of
its
prominence
to
the
distinguished
place
it
claimed
in
the
herald
's
office
.
Conscious
that
she
had
been
born
with
a
peculiar
genius
for
fine
ladyism
,
Agnes
considered
the
world
as
a
large
easy
chair
,
wherein
she
might
lounge
away
life
in
a
perpetual
gala
,
enjoying
all
the
luxuries
,
and
amused
with
all
the
trivialities
of
life
.
Having
an
idea
that
her
undoubted
birth-right
was
distinction
and
happiness
,
she
considered
it
an
undeserved
injury
to
be
deprived
of
a
single
delight
on
which
her
heart
was
set
.
Carelessly
despising
the
duties
or
affections
of
life
,
she
coveted
only
its
diversions
,
and
her
favorite
consolation
,
amidst
its
actual
annoyances
,
was
frequently
to
Blow
sportive
bladders
in
the
beaming
sun
,
And
call
them
worlds
.
Sir
Arthur
had
always
been
one
of
the
few
old
people
who
would
ever
allow
himself
to
be
considered
well
and
happy
,
but
he
cultivated
a
placid
,
cheerful
good-humor
,
which
enabled
him
now
to
prepare
with
apparent
equanimity
for
exploring
his
way
through
the
unknown
seas
of
Harrowgate
society
,
though
he
entered
the
carriage
to
be
conveyed
there
with
very
little
more
inward
satisfaction
than
he
would
have
felt
on
stepping
into
a
cart
which
was
conveying
him
to
Newgate
,
being
fully
persuaded
that
no
fish
had
ever
been
as
much
out
of
water
in
the
world
before
,
as
he
was
about
to
feel
himself
.
Impatience
only
lengthens
the
hours
which
it
seems
desirable
to
accelerate
,
and
time
appeared
to
have
become
entirely
motionless
;
while
Agnes
peevishly
thought
,
during
her
journey
,
that
the
minutes
passed
like
drops
of
lead
,
and
that
every
day
had
some
additional
hours
,
till
that
day
of
days
should
at
last
arrive
which
was
to
rise
the
curtain
and
display
Harrowgate
to
her
view
,
though
she
almost
ceased
to
repine
at
any
present
inconveniences
while
bewildered
and
lost
in
gay
hopes
for
the
future
.
Sir
Arthur
good-humoredly
whispered
to
Marion
,
as
they
drove
along
through
Yorkshire
,
that
with
such
a
mute
as
Agnes
beside
him
,
he
felt
almost
afraid
of
the
bow-string
,
and
that
she
was
the
mere
tableau
of
a
travelling
companion
,
who
seemed
,
like
Lady
Macbeth
,
to
be
literally
walking
and
talking
in
her
sleep
.
While
Marion
and
her
uncle
beguiled
their
long
journey
with
agreeable
discussions
and
lively
remarks
,
Agnes
,
perfectly
absent
during
most
of
the
way
,
and
out
of
humor
during
the
rest
of
it
,
uttered
a
thousand
consequential
complaints
about
the
cold
,
the
heat
,
the
sun
,
the
dust
,
the
air
,
or
the
closeness
,
while
Sir
Arthur
smilingly
remarked
,
that
Agnes
'
life
seemed
to
be
a
sea
of
troubles
,
but
hope
served
as
a
cork
jacket
to
support
her
through
them
all
.
Like
the
fairy
who
turned
a
gloomy
grove
into
a
crystal
palace
,
Agnes
had
now
,
in
her
private
mind
,
metamorphosed
the
Admiral
's
old
green
chariot
into
a
glittering
saloon
at
Harrowgate
,
filled
by
a
crowd
of
admirers
,
each
gifted
with
almost
superhuman
merit
and
distinction
,
who
were
to
fall
prostrate
at
her
feet
,
making
proposals
which
sometimes
she
gracefully
accepted
,
and
sometimes
as
gracefully
declined
.
Nothing
was
real
around
Agnes
at
present
;
but
as
the
picture
of
a
friend
supplies
the
want
of
the
original
,
so
the
imaginary
attentions
of
Captain
De
Crespigny
and
other
victims
,
consoled
her
for
their
being
absent
,
and
her
life
became
a
lively
comedy
,
where
the
curtain
never
fell
,
and
she
was
herself
always
the
principal
figure
on
the
stage
.
Neither
Alnwick
Castle
nor
Harewood
House
attracted
a
moment
's
attention
from
Agnes
,
who
cared
no
more
for
the
magnificent
landscapes
they
passed
,
than
did
the
post-horses
that
drew
the
carriage
;
and
when
the
party
stopped
at
Caterick
Bridge
to
dine
,
she
had
just
put
on
the
family
diamonds
of
the
Duke
of
Kinross
,
who
waited
to
conduct
her
to
the
altar
.
It
was
a
favorite
speculation
with
Agnes
,
that
she
was
to
become
acquainted
in
the
public
room
at
Harrowgate
,
with
some
handsome
incognito
,
the
sort
of
perfect
Adonis
whom
alone
it
would
be
possible
to
marry
;
and
after
dancing
,
flirting
,
dining
,
and
supping
with
him
,
he
was
to
turn
out
the
Duke
of
Somebody
,
who
should
make
her
a
long-sighed-for
declaration
of
undying
attachment
,
while
Barons
,
Earls
,
Viscounts
,
and
above
all
,
Captain
De
Crespigny
,
should
be
plunged
into
the
depths
of
despair
by
her
accepting
him
.
Agnes
'
lovers
were
never
estimated
according
to
the
qualities
of
their
head
or
heart
,
but
according
to
the
trivialities
of
their
dress
and
appearance
.
Like
the
Grecian
artist
,
in
love
with
an
image
of
his
own
forming
,
the
description
of
her
intended
lovers
,
with
which
she
occasionally
favored
Marion
,
resembled
a
lecture
on
comparative
anatomy
,
so
emphatic
was
she
on
the
necessity
of
his
being
neither
too
tall
,
nor
too
short
,
too
dark
,
nor
too
fair
;
while
she
would
evidently
have
considered
a
bad
temper
less
objectionable
than
a
bad
complexion
,
and
was
ready
to
tolerate
a
man
who
was
dissipated
,
rather
than
one
who
was
awkward
.
In
the
estimation
of
Agnes
,
"
good
society
"
was
composed
entirely
of
lords
and
ladies
,
while
her
fancy
very
seldom
strayed
out
of
the
peerage
;
though
she
did
sometimes
take
the
trouble
to
fancy
herself
admired
by
some
distinguished
commoner
of
more
than
ordinary
celebrity
,
merely
for
the
pleasure
of
rejecting
him
,
and
swelling
her
right
honorable
triumph
,
when
she
exchanged
her
wreath
of
roses
for
a
coronet
.
Those
who
had
been
proverbially
inconstant
to
other
ladies
,
would
now
become
unchangeably
devoted
to
her
;
and
if
she
heard
of
any
individual
more
than
commonly
fatal
to
the
peace
of
other
ladies
,
her
fertile
mind
suggested
scenes
of
romance
and
rapture
,
where
the
injuries
of
others
would
be
more
than
revenged
by
the
distracting
suspense
in
which
she
meant
to
hold
her
intended
victim
.
While
the
world
thus
ran
upon
castors
in
the
imagination
of
Agnes
,
no
novel
could
be
nearly
so
interesting
as
her
own
rose-colored
dreams
,
because
in
none
could
she
be
herself
the
heroine
;
but
when
reading
the
most
romantic
romances
,
they
served
occasionally
to
suggest
new
scenes
of
emotion
and
pleasure
,
which
could
be
adapted
with
variations
to
her
own
case
,
while
all
she
saw
in
books
flitted
like
a
gay
phantasmagoria
from
her
mind
,
except
what
could
be
in
any
way
applied
to
herself
.
The
business
of
life
,
in
short
,
was
,
she
thought
,
to
make
every
man
living
in
love
with
her
,
and
to
get
through
existence
like
a
party
of
pleasure
,
crowding
into
it
the
greatest
possible
variety
of
amusements
,
and
ending
the
whole
with
orange
flowers
,
Brussels
lace
,
wedding-cake
,
and
favors
.
None
of
the
sacred
duties
or
home
affections
ever
entered
into
Agnes
'
calculations
.
She
lived
merely
for
the
triumphs
of
society
;
while
Marion
existed
for
the
happiness
of
home
,
seeking
only
the
redeeming
points
of
life
,
and
absorbed
in
a
prevailing
desire
to
deserve
and
to
obtain
the
attachment
of
those
who
were
by
nature
nearest
and
dearest
to
herself
.
As
the
proverb
says
,
"
A
long
road
or
a
bad
inn
teach
us
to
know
our
companions
;
"
but
all
that
a
generous
person
can
do
for
others
,
and
all
that
a
selfish
person
fancies
he
could
do
,
Marion
did
,
with
unobtrusive
attention
,
for
Sir
Arthur
and
Agnes
during
the
journey
;
while
her
sister
sarcastically
remarked
,
that
even
if
Dash
wagged
his
tail
to
her
,
she
seemed
grateful
for
his
regard
.
CHAPTER
XXIX
.
It
was
on
a
pleasant
evening
towards
the
end
of
August
,
that
Sir
Arthur
's
chariot
stopped
at
the
Granby
Hotel
,
which
looked
to
the
travellers
more
like
an
entire
street
than
a
single
house
;
and
Marion
thought
that
accommodation
might
be
prepared
in
it
for
all
the
invalids
in
Great
Britain
.
Her
ears
were
instantly
deafened
by
a
noisy
clamor
of
bells
,
while
the
carriage
was
surrounded
by
a
cluster
of
shabby
waiters
,
in
second-hand
looking
clothes
,
dishevelled
hair
,
soiled
cotton
stockings
,
and
dusty
shoes
,
who
were
vociferous
in
their
protestations
that
the
house
was
already
more
than
full
,
and
that
a
hundred
and
fifty
guests
dined
every
day
at
the
ordinary
.
In
the
mean
time
,
however
,
they
hurriedly
dismounted
Sir
Arthur
's
baggage
from
the
chariot
,
and
at
length
ushered
him
into
a
sitting
room
,
with
a
promise
of
finding
sleeping
apartments
for
the
whole
party
,
up
three
pair
of
stairs
,
in
a
lodging
across
the
common
,
a
tall
old
building
spotted
over
like
a
plum
pudding
with
windows
,
where
they
must
be
ready
to
abdicate
on
a
moment
's
notice
,
if
necessary
,
the
whole
house
having
been
bespoke
some
weeks
before
,
for
Miss
Howard
Smytheson
,
the
heiress
,
and
suite
.
No
place
is
so
little
changed
by
lapse
of
time
as
Harrowgate
,
during
the
last
two
centuries
which
have
elapsed
since
first
its
unpalatable
waters
were
tasted
.
There
the
same
three
great
hotels
flourish
supreme
,
as
in
the
days
of
Smollet
,
holding
their
crowded
ordinaries
,
and
distinguished
by
their
former
designations
,
as
the
House
of
Lords
,
the
House
of
Commons
,
and
the
House
of
Drs.
There
,
during
three
months
of
every
successive
year
,
an
equal
crowd
assembles
in
search
of
health
for
their
disordered
bodies
,
and
excitement
for
their
stagnant
minds
,
while
time
and
money
are
frantically
squandered
,
as
if
both
were
dealt
out
in
unlimited
portions
among
all
who
thus
emulously
seek
with
wearied
eagerness
for
frivolous
amusements
,
idle
flutter
,
and
all
those
relaxations
of
an
unsatisfied
existence
,
which
soon
became
intolerable
to
those
who
can
amuse
themselves
,
but
necessary
to
those
who
cannot
.
The
very
same
rooms
and
furniture
,
the
very
same
tables
,
knives
,
glasses
,
and
spoons
,
and
the
same
hours
of
eating
and
drinking
,
which
were
used
during
the
time
of
old
Humphrey
Bramble
,
are
still
in
existence
,
while
every
thing
remains
as
much
unaltered
as
the
blue
firmament
above
,
except
the
company
.
Year
after
year
has
,
at
Harrowgate
,
even
more
,
perhaps
,
than
elsewhere
,
testified
the
ceaseless
mutability
of
human
affairs
,
where
,
amidst
light
laughter
,
mirth
and
music
,
the
young
have
become
married
,
the
old
have
died
,
and
,
as
days
roll
on
in
that
little
world
of
eager
excitement
,
the
names
of
all
are
soon
alike
forgotten
.
At
Harrowgate
the
visitors
seem
scarcely
more
permanently
interested
in
each
other
than
in
actors
on
the
stage
,
or
in
characters
represented
by
a
novelist
.
Any
lounger
who
appears
in
the
public
saloons
a
second
year
,
becomes
completely
naturalized
in
the
house
;
after
a
third
season
,
it
is
ten
to
one
he
may
be
considered
a
bore
;
and
during
the
fourth
or
fifth
,
he
is
completely
superannuated
.
In
these
gay
rooms
,
how
much
of
human
life
and
feeling
have
existed
!
how
many
of
its
joys
and
sorrows
been
experienced
!
and
how
many
of
its
deepest
interests
have
arisen
,
amidst
the
gay
dance
,
the
ringing
laugh
,
the
lively
coquetry
,
the
frantic
dissipation
,
and
the
vows
of
endless
attachment
!
With
many
a
past
generation
,
the
fever
of
frivolity
is
over
,
and
the
dust
of
death
now
shrouds
every
remembrance
in
oblivion
:
but
a
new
race
yet
successively
arises
,
to
exist
,
like
their
predecessors
,
in
an
atmosphere
of
music
,
dancing
,
flirting
,
riding
,
driving
,
feasting
,
and
gayety
,
"
Smiling
as
if
earth
contain
'd
no
tomb
.
"
"
I
cannot
but
think
,
when
arriving
at
any
new
place
,
"
observed
Marion
,
"
what
solitary
desolation
must
frequently
be
experienced
by
those
'
citizens
of
the
world
,
'
who
are
for
ever
on
the
wing
,
from
country
to
country
,
throughout
the
habitable
and
uninhabitable
globe
!
We
who
live
only
for
social
companionship
,
would
feel
perfectly
lost
in
arriving
at
a
perpetual
succession
of
places
,
where
not
one
human
being
depends
upon
us
for
comfort
or
enjoyment
—
where
not
a
single
genuine
tear
would
be
shed
by
any
living
individual
,
if
we
dropped
down
dead
at
their
feet
!
"
"
You
are
right
,
Marion
,
"
replied
Sir
Arthur
.
"
Once
when
taken
dangerously
ill
abroad
,
I
was
surrounded
by
those
only
to
whom
my
very
language
was
unknown
,
my
features
strange
,
my
name
unheard
of
,
and
my
whole
feelings
indifferent
.
It
was
dreary
and
desolate
indeed
!
A
new
place
may
divert
us
for
a
time
,
but
we
do
not
live
to
enjoy
mere
scenery
or
mere
amusement
.
To
find
real
happiness
we
must
look
within
the
circle
of
home
feelings
,
home
duties
,
and
home
enjoyments
.
"
When
the
very
aristocratic
and
distinguished-looking
Sir
Arthur
Dunbar
first
appeared
in
the
public
room
at
the
Granby
,
leading
in
his
two
radiantly
beautiful
nieces
,
the
babbling
murmur
of
conversation
became
suddenly
hushed
,
while
a
general
whisper
of
surprise
and
admiration
circulated
round
the
tea-table
.
Many
an
eager
inquiry
was
rapidly
promulgated
who
they
could
possibly
be
,
and
from
whence
they
came
;
while
Lord
Wigton
,
to
produce
some
amusement
,
secretly
announced
that
it
was
the
Duke
of
Lincolnshire
and
his
two
eldest
unmarried
daughters
.
The
better
half
of
pleasure
was
its
novelty
to
Marion
,
whose
half-shy
,
half-amused
looks
,
as
she
entered
among
a
score
or
two
of
perfect
strangers
,
found
a
pleasing
contrast
to
the
criticising
,
examining
,
fastidious
air
with
which
Agnes
,
in
the
full
swell
of
magnificence
,
glanced
her
brilliant
,
haughty
eyes
round
the
tables
,
and
muttered
contemptuously
to
Sir
Arthur
,
that
the
living
furniture
in
the
room
seemed
little
better
than
a
zoological
garden
—
a
human
menagerie
of
tigers
,
bears
,
and
monkeys
,
varied
by
a
large
proportion
of
red
inflamed
strawberry-colored
faces
belonging
to
the
water-drinkers
.
By
no
means
satisfied
with
the
commencement
of
her
Harrowgate
existence
,
Agnes
established
on
the
spot
a
little
whispering
gallery
of
satirical
discontent
,
while
she
ridiculed
to
Marion
those
of
the
company
who
were
unlucky
enough
first
to
attract
her
notice
and
her
disapprobation
.
Though
the
room
appeared
abundantly
peopled
with
dramatis
personæ
of
many
kinds
and
degrees
,
yet
,
instead
of
seeing
,
as
she
had
rather
too
sanguinely
anticipated
,
a
society
of
distinguished-looking
personages
,
as
select
as
if
they
had
been
introduced
at
a
drawing-room
in
St.
James
'
Palace
,
the
saloon
was
encumbered
with
groups
of
people
as
ridiculous
as
any
that
Agnes
ever
remembered
to
have
seen
at
a
country
theatre
.
Old
beaux
of
half
a
century
's
duration
,
—
two
or
three
remarkably
conceited
,
overdressed
officers
in
full-fledged
mustachios
,
—
crowds
of
busy
,
bustling
,
managing-looking
mothers
,
—
four
or
five
over-dressed
Irish
fortune-hunters
,
—
a
knot
of
agricultural
,
kill-your-own-mutton
country
gentlemen
,
—
one
or
two
widows
of
not
very
doubtful
age
,
but
rouged
to
excess
,
—
a
few
Oxonian
professors
,
who
were
F.R.S.
and
the
whole
alphabet
besides
,
—
a
multitude
of
whist-playing
clergymen
,
reverened
only
on
their
visiting
cards
,
who
bore
no
symptom
of
their
profession
except
a
white
neckcloth
,
—
many
old
people
to
be
made
young
,
and
young
people
to
be
made
younger
,
—
besides
nearly
an
acre
of
very
un-Almacks-like
young
ladies
,
showily
attired
in
pink
,
blue
,
or
yellow
,
like
a
bed
of
tulips
,
all
in
very
gay
spirits
,
or
pretending
to
be
so
,
who
seemed
to
lead
a
life
of
perpetual
smiles
and
good-humor
,
as
if
all
the
troubles
of
existence
were
unknown
or
a
mere
laughing
matter
to
them
.
Sir
Arthur
was
not
long
in
having
a
delighted
recognition
with
an
old
,
wooden-legged
messmate
,
Captain
Ogilvie
,
who
introduced
to
Marion
his
"
three
head
of
daughters
,
"
pretty
animated
girls
;
and
Agnes
hastily
seated
herself
at
the
tea-table
,
disappointed
beyond
measure
in
the
first
chapter
of
her
adventures
,
and
half
determined
already
to
set
about
hating
the
whole
party
.
Though
deceived
only
by
her
own
too
vivid
anticipations
,
she
felt
in
some
way
or
other
imposed
upon
,
in
being
unexpectedly
introduced
to
such
very
third-rate
society
,
and
for
several
minutes
she
maintained
a
petulant
silence
,
so
very
unlike
her
usual
volubility
,
that
she
began
,
before
long
,
to
wish
for
some
one
with
whom
to
enjoy
a
laugh
at
the
whole
circle
of
whimsical-looking
oddities
.
Close
beside
the
seat
on
which
Agnes
had
accidentally
placed
herself
,
she
very
soon
observed
an
old
gentleman
considerably
past
the
meridian
of
life
,
who
nevertheless
dressed
with
very
obvious
pretensions
to
youth
,
wearing
a
fashionable
,
well-contrived
wig
,
a
perfectly
startling
set
of
teeth
,
and
a
gouty
black
velvet
shoe
.
His
figure
was
well
built
,
and
he
had
altogether
a
look
of
individual
eccentricity
peculiar
to
himself
,
with
an
air
of
supercilious
haughtiness
,
which
testified
that
,
like
Agnes
,
he
thought
himself
too
good
for
his
company
.
"
Who
can
he
be
?
"
thought
she
,
finding
his
eye
fixed
upon
herself
with
a
fastidious
look
of
connoisseurship
,
such
as
that
with
which
he
might
have
examined
some
doubtful
copy
of
a
Vandyke
or
Titian
,
while
an
expression
of
complacent
approbation
gradually
stole
into
his
features
.
"
Probably
some
eminent
artist
!
He
may
perhaps
ask
leave
to
do
my
picture
for
the
exhibition
!
"
Having
reached
this
conclusion
,
she
was
almost
startled
to
hear
herself
addressed
by
her
unknown
neighbor
,
in
a
consequential
,
rather
patronising
voice
,
and
with
an
air
of
unembarrassed
distinction
,
while
he
evidently
watched
her
countenance
with
the
same
look
of
criticism
as
before
,
so
that
she
felt
certain
if
there
had
been
a
flaw
in
her
teeth
,
or
a
single
hair
disarranged
on
her
head
,
it
could
not
have
escaped
his
notice
.
So
fastidious
a
personage
seemed
almost
worth
the
trouble
of
pleasing
,
and
Agnes
,
after
replying
rather
graciously
to
his
first
few
remarks
,
became
exceedingly
surprised
to
discover
that
there
was
a
tone
of
well
bred
command
in
his
dry
,
cynical
manner
,
united
with
the
most
perfect
polish
,
which
both
awed
and
surprised
her
.
His
assumption
of
superiority
and
importance
seemed
almost
unconscious
,
but
he
evidently
entertained
not
the
fraction
of
a
doubt
that
his
conversation
was
a
singular
honor
and
an
agreeable
acquisition
to
any
one
on
whom
he
condescended
to
bestow
the
slightest
attention
.
"
I
have
lived
here
lately
at
the
rate
of
twenty
new
acquaintances
a
day
,
and
am
happy
this
evening
in
adding
another
to
my
usual
allowance
.
One
must
enter
into
the
humors
of
a
place
like
Harrowgate
,
and
do
at
Rome
as
Rome
does
,
"
said
he
,
in
a
somewhat
haughty
,
supercilious
tone
.
"
This
is
the
only
spot
in
all
the
earth
where
English
people
attempt
the
ease
and
sociability
of
foreign
manners
,
and
we
must
acknowledge
it
fits
rather
awkwardly
.
Nevertheless
,
being
in
my
own
neighborhood
,
I
make
a
point
every
year
of
lending
my
countenance
for
a
short
time
to
this
house
.
"
Agnes
gave
an
undervaluing
glance
at
her
companion
,
and
privately
thought
his
thin
,
dry
countenance
,
with
every
vein
like
whip
cord
,
might
well
have
been
dispensed
with
,
but
though
he
appeared
to
be
unpardonably
ugly
,
she
prudently
sipped
her
tea
in
silence
,
looking
somewhat
askance
at
the
little
consequential
gentleman
beside
her
;
while
he
took
the
opportunity
of
examining
her
profile
with
his
keen
,
observant
eye
,
after
which
,
having
apparently
satisfied
himself
that
she
was
worth
the
honor
of
being
spoken
to
,
he
continued
,
in
a
hard
,
croaking
voice
,
like
a
door
grating
on
its
rusty
hinges
:
"
The
company
here
is
nearly
of
the
same
calibre
as
you
might
probably
encounter
in
a
Margate
hoy
,
or
in
a
second-class
train
on
the
Birmingham
railroad
.
"
"
Or
at
Bartholomew
fair
,
"
added
Agnes
,
determined
not
to
be
outdone
.
"
I
feel
as
if
we
were
dining
for
once
at
the
second
table
.
There
should
be
doorkeepers
at
Harrowgate
to
keep
out
the
canaille
!
I
wonder
Captain
De
Crespigny
misinformed
my
brother
so
much
about
the
society
here
;
but
he
would
have
said
anything
to
make
us
come
.
"
"
No
one
would
ever
dream
,
in
his
wildest
moments
,
of
visiting
Harrowgate
for
society
.
Mere
knife-grinders
from
Sheffield
,
and
country
curates
,
"
replied
her
fastidious
companion
,
in
a
short
,
abrupt
tone
.
"
Are
you
acquainted
with
Louis
De
Crespigny
?
"
"
Yes
;
everybody
who
is
anybody
knows
him
,
and
those
who
do
not
often
pretend
they
do
,
"
replied
Agnes
,
indignant
at
the
easy
,
almost
contemptuous
manner
in
which
her
companion
named
one
whom
she
considered
as
her
own
peculiar
property
.
"
Not
to
know
him
would
argue
ourselves
unknown
.
"
"
I
certainly
am
unknown
,
"
said
her
companion
,
with
a
strange
little
conscious
laugh
,
which
seemed
to
Agnes
quite
unaccountable
.
"
Has
De
Crespigny
so
universal
an
acquaintance
?
People
must
be
more
at
a
loss
for
society
than
I
had
supposed
!
"
"
You
know
,
"
replied
Agnes
,
in
an
unanswerable
tone
,
"
he
is
the
future
Marquis
of
Doncaster
.
"
"
Is
he
?
"
answered
the
old
gentleman
,
with
another
short
,
dry
laugh
,
and
a
proving
shrug
of
polite
non-conviction
.
"
So
much
the
better
for
him
.
You
are
quite
sure
of
that
?
"
"
Perfectly
certain
!
His
uncle
is
a
rich
old
quiz
,
who
never
thought
anybody
good
enough
to
marry
till
now
,
when
nobody
would
accept
of
him
.
The
old
peer
could
not
get
a
girl
to
marry
him
now
if
he
sent
the
bellman
round
to
advertise
for
one
.
Captain
De
Crespigny
's
succession
is
as
undoubted
as
anything
can
be
which
depends
on
the
life
of
a
whimsical
,
superannuated
uncle
,
these
many
years
past
in
the
last
stage
of
infirmity
.
He
has
the
wrinkles
ironed
out
of
his
face
every
morning
with
a
smoothing
iron
,
and
I
am
told
his
very
bones
rattle
whenever
he
moves
!
"
"
Indeed
!
"
exclaimed
the
stranger
,
in
a
hard
,
withering
tone
,
and
with
a
cool
sneer
on
his
lip
.
"
How
very
singular
!
"
"
Poor
,
dear
old
man
!
he
was
handsome
once
,
and
never
can
forget
that
;
but
it
is
a
century
since
he
lost
any
looks
he
ever
had
,
and
I
am
told
he
is
quite
preternaturally
old
,
withered
,
and
whimsical
.
Quite
ingeniously
ugly
!
laid
a
faire
peur
!
I
should
be
afraid
to
go
near
him
,
in
case
his
ugliness
might
be
reflected
upon
me
;
but
I
hear
he
fancies
himself
quite
captivating
still
.
Patrick
tells
me
that
the
old
Marquis
invested
so
large
a
sum
of
money
lately
in
a
new
set
of
teeth
,
that
his
nephew
is
quite
uneasy
lest
he
should
be
robbed
and
murdered
for
the
gold
they
are
set
in
.
He
scratches
his
wig
sometimes
to
look
as
if
it
were
his
own
hair
;
and
he
had
an
ossification
of
the
leg
last
year
,
in
consequence
of
a
disappointment
in
love
!
"
"
Very
remarkable
!
"
"
Yes
!
"
added
Agnes
,
encouraged
by
the
attention
she
had
evidently
excited
,
and
happy
to
vent
all
her
long
accumulated
antipathy
.
"
The
oldest
man
who
ever
lived
certainly
died
at
last
,
but
I
believe
nobody
ever
before
existed
so
long
in
this
world
without
doing
one
atom
of
good
either
to
himself
or
others
.
He
keeps
a
Roman
Catholic
Abbe
to
think
for
him
;
and
once
his
wig
turned
grey
in
a
single
night
with
distress
of
mind
when
they
had
a
quarrel
.
The
Marquis
is
so
afraid
of
apoplexy
,
that
when
he
walks
out
the
Abbe
Mordaunt
always
carries
a
lancet
to
bleed
him
instantly
,
in
case
he
has
a
fit
.
"
"
How
very
considerate
!
You
have
all
this
authentic
intelligence
on
the
best
authority
of
course
?
"
asked
the
stranger
with
a
submissive
bow
.
"
De
Crespigny
's
entire
!
I
understand
the
nephew
has
not
inherited
his
uncle
's
antipathy
to
marrying
!
If
this
very
whimsical
old
relative
could
be
safely
packed
into
his
grave
,
—
let
me
assure
you
he
is
even
more
whimsical
than
has
been
represented
,
though
not
quite
so
infirm
,
—
I
suppose
Captain
De
Crespigny
would
very
soon
dispose
of
himself
and
his
coronet
.
"
"
Certainly
!
"
replied
Agnes
,
unable
to
repress
a
conscious
smile
and
heightened
color
.
"
In
that
case
we
should
all
probably
see
before
long
a
Marchioness
of
Doncaster
!
"
"
I
might
not
,
perhaps
,
live
to
be
introduced
,
"
answered
the
old
gentleman
demurely
.
"
And
I
could
lay
a
bet
that
,
as
long
as
I
exist
,
we
shall
never
have
Captain
De
Crespigny
in
the
peerage
.
If
you
happen
,
however
,
to
know
any
young
lady
at
all
impatient
to
become
Marchioness
of
Doncaster
,
let
her
consult
me
,
and
I
could
,
perhaps
,
suggest
a
shorter
cut
to
that
situation
,
than
by
waiting
for
Louis
De
Crespigny
.
"
"
How
!
"
exclaimed
Agnes
,
with
a
bewildered
look
.
"
Quite
impossible
!
"
"
Unless
by
accepting
the
present
Marquis
,
who
ought
,
by
your
description
,
to
go
very
cheap
,
old
,
whimsical
,
and
infirm
as
he
is
!
"
replied
the
stranger
,
with
a
sly
smile
,
and
a
graceful
bow
.
"
The
report
you
have
heard
of
Lord
Doncaster
is
such
,
that
I
feel
almost
tempted
to
forswear
my
own
name
!
"
Agnes
never
in
her
life
approached
more
nearly
to
a
genuine
fainting
fit
,
than
on
hearing
these
words
,
and
to
have
been
swallowed
up
in
an
earthquake
would
have
been
quite
a
relief
.
She
felt
now
like
Abon
Hassan
,
when
he
made
the
vizier
bite
his
finger
to
ascertain
if
he
were
really
awake
,
while
,
with
a
look
of
vacant
wonder
,
she
became
aware
that
the
middle-aged
,
nearly
good-looking
,
and
very
elegant
man
beside
her
,
was
actually
the
old
,
worn-out
,
almost
dead
,
and
all
but
buried
uncle
,
whose
demise
Captain
De
Crespigny
had
led
her
daily
or
hourly
to
expect
for
the
last
two
years
.
If
his
ghost
had
appeared
,
she
would
not
have
been
half
so
much
astonished
,
while
he
seemed
evidently
more
amused
than
he
chose
to
acknowledge
,
at
having
created
such
a
sensation
,
which
he
was
by
no
means
inclined
to
diminish
,
while
silently
admiring
the
beautiful
fluctuations
of
expression
in
Agnes
'
resplendent
eyes
,
fixed
on
himself
with
almost
incredulous
amazement
.
At
length
he
rose
to
take
leave
,
with
a
smiling
,
supercilious
bow
,
and
beckoned
in
an
authoritative
manner
to
a
clerical-looking
gentleman
at
some
distance
,
to
follow
him
,
who
spoke
in
a
voice
of
almost
feminine
softness
,
though
Agnes
thought
the
expression
of
his
countenance
peculiarly
sinister
and
forbidding
.
"
That
,
then
,
must
be
the
Abbe
Mordaunt
!
"
exclaimed
Agnes
,
almost
aloud
,
while
she
gazed
at
his
stern
,
sallow
countenance
,
his
shaggy
eyebrows
,
low
forehead
,
and
artful-looking
smile
.
"
He
might
act
the
villain
in
any
melo-drama
!
I
would
rather
not
stand
between
that
man
and
any
earthly
object
he
may
set
his
heart
on
!
He
is
the
most
Jesuitical-looking
Jesuit
I
ever
beheld
!
"
Though
Agnes
'
first
recontre
with
the
Marquis
of
Doncaster
had
been
so
calamitous
,
and
her
first
prejudice
against
his
shadow
,
the
Abbe
,
had
seemed
most
inveterate
,
she
yet
spent
much
of
her
time
for
the
next
few
days
in
their
society
,
and
was
delighted
to
engross
the
attention
and
the
evident
admiration
of
the
two
most
distinguished-looking
personages
at
the
ordinary
,
while
,
without
scruple
,
she
flattered
the
Marquis
most
flagrantly
,
by
laughing
to
excess
at
her
own
very
mistaken
ideas
of
him
previous
to
their
meeting
,
and
hinting
that
this
had
rendered
her
subsequent
surprise
the
more
agreeable
.
Lord
Doncaster
in
return
amused
himself
with
talking
to
her
in
a
style
suited
to
the
female
society
in
which
most
of
his
own
time
had
hitherto
been
spent
,
though
it
should
not
certainly
have
suited
any
young
girl
educated
like
Agnes
,
who
stretched
her
complaisance
,
however
,
to
the
utmost
for
a
nobleman
,
and
the
uncle
of
her
intended
,
Captain
De
Crespigny
.
Marion
's
refined
and
delicate
feelings
shrunk
at
once
from
the
libertine
freedom
of
look
and
manner
which
she
could
not
but
observe
in
the
old
Marquis
'
tone
to
ladies
,
and
though
he
repeatedly
tried
to
engage
her
in
the
flippant
and
almost
dissolute
conversation
which
,
in
a
low
lover-like
tone
,
he
addressed
to
her
sister
,
and
made
an
ostentatious
display
of
his
admiration
for
both
,
Marion
,
disgusted
and
shocked
at
what
seemed
so
utterly
unsuitable
to
his
years
,
gently
but
decidedly
evaded
all
intercourse
,
being
of
opinion
that
the
coquetry
which
was
dishonorable
in
the
nephew
,
became
ridiculous
and
contemptible
in
the
uncle
,
therefore
she
behaved
to
him
with
distant
politeness
,
and
a
degree
of
gravity
by
no
means
natural
to
her
in
general
.
Marion
devoted
herself
almost
exclusively
to
Sir
Arthur
,
leading
him
about
in
his
walks
,
and
enlivening
his
conversation
with
old
Captain
Ogilvy
,
while
she
could
not
but
frequently
compare
the
age
and
respectability
of
her
venerable
uncle
,
with
the
almost
equal
age
and
very
opposite
character
of
the
Roman
Catholic
Marquis
,
whose
thin
skeleton
figure
,
hollow
ghost-like
laugh
and
old
stories
,
as
broad
as
they
were
long
,
formed
as
unsuitable
a
contrast
to
his
juvenile
dress
and
manners
,
as
his
withered
aspect
did
,
to
the
fresh
and
fragrant
flowers
he
constantly
wore
in
his
button-hole
,
and
of
which
he
lavished
a
splendid
profusion
on
Agnes
.
Marion
observed
with
increasing
surprise
and
regret
,
that
the
lively
persiflage
of
her
sister
with
the
Marquis
,
was
varied
very
frequently
by
long
and
apparently
grave
discussions
,
with
the
Abbe
Mordaunt
,
and
at
the
end
of
a
week
,
she
became
startled
to
observe
that
Agnes
wore
round
her
neck
a
black
ribbon
,
from
which
hung
conspicuously
suspended
a
large
gold
crucifix
of
very
beautiful
workmanship
.
On
many
former
occasions
,
Marion
had
found
reason
to
dread
the
bitter
vengeance
of
Agnes
'
tongue
,
but
at
no
loss
to
guess
the
source
from
whence
this
unusual
ornament
had
been
derived
,
she
inwardly
resolved
not
to
let
it
pass
unnoticed
,
but
warmly
to
remonstrate
with
her
sister
on
the
growing
influence
of
the
Abbe
,
which
seemed
surprising
and
unaccountable
,
while
an
undefined
feeling
of
alarm
respecting
the
rapidly
increasing
intimacy
of
Agnes
with
Lord
Doncaster
,
caused
her
to
long
impatiently
for
the
arrival
of
Sir
Patrick
,
as
she
felt
unwilling
to
distress
her
uncle
on
the
subject
of
Agnes
'
extraordinary
conduct
,
trusting
that
the
whole
affair
was
a
mere
girlish
whim
—
a
piece
of
missyish
coquetry
to
please
Lord
Doncaster
,
who
in
the
mean
time
laughingly
boasted
that
never
before
had
he
made
a
proselyte
so
young
and
beautiful
.
CHAPTER
XXX
.
"
Patrick
,
"
exclaimed
Agnes
,
hurrying
into
Sir
Arthur
's
sitting-room
the
morning
after
her
brother
's
arrival
at
the
Granby
,
while
a
brilliant
color
lighted
up
her
cheek
,
and
her
eyes
sparkled
with
animation
,
"
Lord
Wigton
is
coming
in
a
few
minutes
to
hear
me
sing
that
new
song
of
Bellini
's
,
therefore
pray
tell
the
waiters
we
are
not
at
home
to
any
living
mortal
,
and
do
hold
this
music
till
I
give
a
last
touch
to
my
ringlets
.
"
Agnes
impatiently
held
out
a
large
roll
of
paper
,
but
almost
screamed
with
astonishment
on
looking
up
,
to
perceive
that
she
had
addressed
Captain
De
Crespigny
,
evidently
that
moment
arrived
from
a
long
journey
.
"
Good
morning
,
Miss
Dunbar
.
We
are
well
met
!
"
said
he
,
with
rather
satirical
emphasis
.
"
I
am
in
a
very
cut-throat
humor
to-day
,
and
shall
certainly
put
an
end
to
little
Lord
Wigton
!
"
"
You
have
nearly
put
an
end
to
me
,
"
replied
Agnes
,
unable
to
steady
her
voice
;
"
but
I
am
rather
glad
to
see
you
!
Perhaps
you
may
be
allowed
to
remain
here
,
though
that
tiresome
man
does
so
teaze
me
about
singing
.
"
"
Wigton
told
me
he
was
coming
to
see
,
or
rather
to
hear
Marion
!
"
said
Sir
Patrick
,
emerging
from
a
distant
window
.
"
To
hear
me
!
"
exclaimed
Marion
,
with
unfeigned
surprise
and
perplexity
,
while
thunder
and
lightning
both
lowered
on
the
forehead
of
her
sister
.
"
That
must
be
a
mistake
!
I
heard
nothing
of
any
appointment
,
and
have
not
had
a
minute
's
conversation
with
Lord
Wigton
since
we
arrived
at
Harrowgate
.
He
heard
me
only
once
by
accident
,
and
probably
never
will
again
.
"
"
Unless
by
design
!
"
whispered
Agnes
,
angrily
.
"
Marion
,
you
have
certainly
some
underhand
way
of
getting
on
with
people
,
which
baffles
my
comprehension
!
"
Marion
turned
away
,
and
silently
resumed
her
place
beside
Sir
Arthur
,
who
had
been
amusing
himself
by
standing
at
the
window
,
while
she
told
him
what
carriages
came
round
to
the
door
,
what
parties
of
pleasure
were
setting
out
or
returning
,
and
what
travelling
equipages
appeared
in
sight
,
of
which
seldom
fewer
than
ten
or
twelve
arrived
in
a
day
;
and
by
ascertaining
the
coat-of-arms
or
coronets
emblazoned
on
the
panels
,
she
sometimes
formed
a
tolerable
accurate
guess
who
might
probably
be
their
occupants
.
After
talking
together
with
great
vivacity
for
some
time
,
Sir
Arthur
suddenly
felt
the
arm
of
Marion
on
which
he
was
leaning
,
give
an
almost
convulsive
start
,
while
she
seemed
with
difficulty
to
suppress
a
half-uttered
exclamation
of
delighted
astonishment
.
She
now
leaned
eagerly
out
of
the
window
,
to
examine
a
travelling
chariot
which
had
driven
up
to
the
door
,
from
whence
a
lady
,
apparently
in
the
utmost
extreme
of
weakness
,
was
carefully
supported
out
by
a
gentleman
,
and
before
another
moment
could
elapse
,
Marion
had
rushed
down
stairs
,
and
was
clasped
in
the
arms
of
Clara
Granville
.
"
Did
you
get
my
letter
?
"
exclaimed
her
friend
,
in
feeble
and
agitated
accents
,
while
,
after
the
first
rapturous
greetings
,
they
had
retired
alone
into
a
sitting-room
.
"
No
!
is
that
possible
?
How
could
the
post
have
been
so
long
delayed
?
But
perhaps
it
may
be
as
well
,
for
there
was
grief
as
much
as
joy
in
it
.
"
Marion
observed
now
with
alarm
,
that
the
appearance
of
Clara
,
always
interesting
,
had
become
almost
painfully
so
.
The
summer
bloom
had
entirely
vanished
from
her
face
,
and
not
only
had
her
form
shrunk
,
but
there
was
a
deep
and
settled
sadness
in
the
expression
of
her
eye
,
when
she
added
,
"
The
doctors
have
ordered
me
to
go
by
easy
stages
abroad
,
but
they
recommended
me
first
to
try
a
few
weeks
here
.
The
sight
of
you
will
do
me
more
good
than
any
medicine
,
and
I
had
little
difficulty
—
very
little
indeed
,
Marion
—
in
persuading
Richard
to
take
the
Granby
on
our
way
to
the
south
of
France
,
where
we
are
to
go
health-hunting
and
scenery-hunting
during
the
approaching
winter
;
but
you
must
see
now
,
as
I
do
,
and
as
everybody
does
,
except
my
dear
brother
himself
,
that
I
am
hastening
fast
to
that
country
where
the
sun
always
shines
,
and
the
flowers
never
fade
.
"
A
start
of
indescribable
emotion
now
shot
through
the
heart
of
Marion
,
for
in
the
pallid
,
emaciated
countenance
of
Clara
,
she
already
read
a
sentence
of
death
,
and
she
gazed
upon
her
friend
with
a
growing
conviction
,
which
filled
her
heart
with
anguish
,
that
soon
,
very
soon
they
must
be
separated
for
ever
!
but
Miss
Granville
,
observing
her
emotion
,
affectionately
added
,
"
Few
have
more
reason
to
value
their
lives
than
myself
,
Marion
,
and
mine
I
shall
do
all
in
my
power
to
preserve
.
We
ought
to
be
perfectly
and
cheerfully
satisfied
with
every
event
as
it
comes
,
and
while
I
have
such
a
brother
as
Richard
,
my
existence
is
precious
to
me
.
I
know
,
however
,
that
at
all
events
another
will
reward
him
for
his
kindness
to
me
,
and
one
whom
he
values
even
more
than
his
sister
has
happily
learned
to
appreciate
him
as
I
do
!
Indeed
,
how
could
it
be
otherwise
?
My
home
will
soon
be
an
eternal
world
,
and
if
I
might
have
a
choice
,
the
sooner
,
perhaps
,
the
better
.
It
grieves
me
to
take
my
brother
now
from
his
duties
,
without
a
single
hope
of
my
own
restoration
.
I
know
that
,
for
I
feel
it
here
!
Change
of
air
and
scene
can
do
no
permanent
good
,
and
I
wish
we
had
been
allowed
to
remain
stationary
,
as
it
matters
little
where
I
die
,
compared
with
the
importance
to
many
of
where
Richard
lives
.
"
Marion
's
voice
,
the
faithful
index
to
her
feelings
,
trembled
with
emotion
when
she
replied
;
but
a
moment
afterwards
,
a
smile
of
pleasure
lighted
up
her
dark
speaking
eyes
,
when
Mr.
Granville
hastened
into
the
room
,
with
a
look
of
animated
happiness
on
again
meeting
Marion
,
and
his
whole
countenance
had
that
look
of
deep
sensibility
which
becomes
externally
visible
,
when
the
whole
mind
and
heart
have
been
awakened
to
those
affections
which
end
with
life
,
and
only
then
.
To
cover
their
confusion
,
and
conceal
her
own
feelings
,
Clara
assumed
a
tone
of
unwonted
vivacity
,
saying
,
with
an
affectation
of
extreme
gravity
,
"
Allow
me
to
introduce
my
brother
,
—
Miss
Dunbar
,
Mr.
Granville
!
I
can
recommend
both
as
desirable
acquaintances
,
and
hope
you
may
find
each
other
out
by
degrees
!
My
duty
is
done
,
and
now
it
is
your
own
fault
if
you
are
not
speedily
friends
!
"
Marion
became
every
day
more
conscious
that
no
one
can
appreciate
the
real
joys
and
the
real
sorrows
of
human
life
but
those
who
live
for
its
friendships
and
attachments
,
while
she
would
have
thought
wealth
or
rank
,
without
affection
,
like
a
body
without
a
soul
;
but
Agnes
cared
comparatively
little
by
whose
means
she
obtained
her
title
,
equipages
,
and
diamonds
,
provided
they
were
likely
to
excite
envy
and
admiration
.
In
her
estimation
,
the
coarsest
materials
of
happiness
were
the
most
to
be
coveted
,
and
the
marriage
contract
,
instead
of
being
anticipated
in
the
light
in
which
it
would
have
appeared
to
Marion
,
as
giving
her
the
privilege
of
devoting
a
life-time
to
the
happiness
of
the
person
she
loved
best
on
earth
,
was
merely
contemplated
as
entitling
her
to
an
expensive
trousseau
,
a
large
establishment
,
and
a
set
of
family
jewels
.
In
the
mind
of
Agnes
,
Captain
De
Crespigny
seemed
only
an
appendage
to
his
future
rank
and
future
expectations
,
while
she
rehearsed
over
her
own
coming
greatness
with
exulting
anticipations
;
but
Mr.
Granville
might
have
lost
all
that
mortal
man
can
lose
,
even
life
itself
,
and
still
retained
the
same
place
as
at
first
in
Marion
's
affection
.
The
depth
of
her
feelings
was
tempered
,
however
,
by
the
supremacy
of
yet
higher
and
holier
duties
and
hopes
,
those
of
sound
and
enlightened
devotion
,
in
which
it
was
her
greatest
happiness
to
think
that
she
had
at
length
secured
"
a
guide
,
philosopher
,
and
friend
.
"
No
man
knew
the
world
more
thoroughly
,
or
had
viewed
it
on
both
sides
with
more
careful
scrutiny
than
Captain
De
Crespigny
,
who
often
boasted
that
he
saw
the
working
of
people
's
minds
as
if
their
heads
were
like
a
glass
bee-hive
,
and
yet
he
was
completely
perplexed
,
on
arriving
at
Harrowgate
,
to
account
for
the
extraordinary
intimacy
which
had
sprung
up
so
suddenly
between
the
beautiful
Agnes
and
his
whimsical
old
—
,
but
certainly
not
venerable
relative
,
Lord
Doncaster
.
It
seemed
to
him
at
first
a
laughable
jest
,
but
before
long
he
became
struck
by
the
increased
coldness
of
his
uncle
's
manner
,
which
was
,
if
possible
,
more
cynical
and
repulsive
than
ever
,
since
the
time
when
Agnes
had
inadvertently
irritated
the
vanity
of
Lord
Doncaster
by
her
incautious
jests
during
their
first
interview
.
Curiosity
now
induced
Captain
De
Crespigny
,
in
some
degree
,
to
resume
that
intimacy
with
Agnes
,
which
he
came
intending
entirely
to
discontinue
;
for
he
had
meant
that
his
attentions
should
be
solely
and
exclusively
devoted
to
the
captivation
of
her
still
more
fascinating
sister
,
whom
he
was
intent
upon
adding
to
the
list
of
his
conquests
;
but
Marion
continued
to
receive
Captain
De
Crespigny
with
careless
civility
,
resolved
apparently
to
forget
all
that
had
hitherto
been
unpleasant
or
pleasant
between
them
,
while
every
moment
she
could
spare
from
attending
to
her
uncle
was
dedicated
to
the
Granvilles
.
Clara
never
left
her
private
sitting-room
,
partly
from
bodily
weakness
,
but
chiefly
to
avoid
meeting
Sir
Patrick
,
whom
she
had
not
expected
to
find
at
Harrowgate
,
—
and
his
name
never
passed
her
lips
except
once
,
when
in
answer
to
a
remark
of
Marion
's
,
she
said
,
"
I
shun
another
meeting
with
your
brother
,
not
from
indifference
,
—
very
far
from
that
.
If
I
were
only
more
safe
from
the
attachments
and
delusions
of
this
world
,
it
would
be
unnecessary
to
avoid
him
as
I
do
;
but
I
am
consoled
for
my
own
sorrows
,
Marion
,
by
thinking
of
my
brother
's
happiness
,
and
by
believing
that
you
will
hereafter
value
and
experience
together
the
affection
of
reason
and
principle
,
with
a
sufficient
tinge
of
romance
to
give
it
some
flavor
.
"
"
In
that
case
,
"
replied
Marion
,
frankly
,
while
a
bright
color
glowed
on
her
cheek
,
"
I
should
think
myself
gifted
with
the
largest
share
of
happiness
that
the
world
can
offer
,
and
much
more
than
the
whole
world
could
bestow
,
if
unaccompanied
by
the
hope
of
that
felicity
we
are
promised
beyond
it
.
"
"
And
which
I
shall
share
with
you
at
last
,
though
the
joy
of
this
world
I
cannot
remain
to
see
and
to
partake
of
,
with
those
who
have
all
my
affection
and
all
my
prayers
,
"
replied
Clara
,
solemnly
,
while
her
lips
trembled
with
a
smile
such
as
floats
sometimes
on
the
countenance
of
a
Christian
at
last
,
"
when
all
the
mortal
dies
.
"
CHAPTER
XXXI
.
It
was
late
one
fine
evening
towards
the
end
of
August
,
when
,
though
the
rooms
at
the
Granby
had
been
brilliantly
lighted
,
several
windows
were
open
to
admit
the
soft
radiance
of
moonlight
,
and
the
whole
miscellaneous
party
of
ladies
and
gentlemen
resident
at
the
great
hotel
had
assembled
,
full
of
gay
excitement
,
in
the
public
saloon
,
where
the
buzz
and
laughter
of
many
merry
voices
might
be
heard
on
every
side
.
Various
agreeable
excursions
had
taken
place
throughout
the
morning
.
Pic-nics
had
flourished
at
Studley
,
Ripon
,
Bolton
Abbey
,
and
Harewood
House
,
while
even
Plumpton
rocks
,
very
little
higher
than
the
cut
for
a
railway
,
had
not
been
without
admirers
who
called
them
sublime
,
and
the
petrifying
well
at
Knaresborough
had
petrified
many
with
admiration
.
A
day
of
amusement
seemed
likely
now
to
end
,
as
such
days
too
commonly
do
,
in
weariness
and
ennui
.
Several
very
old
gentlemen
sat
down
to
cards
,
—
those
who
still
made
any
attempts
at
being
juvenile
,
flirted
with
the
more
elderly
misses
,
and
Agnes
,
seated
between
Lord
Doncaster
and
the
Abbe
,
seemed
industriously
exerting
herself
to
fascinate
them
both
,
while
,
though
generally
careful
of
her
smiles
,
she
now
lavished
them
on
each
side
with
apparently
heedless
profusion
.
The
scarcity
of
beaux
,
so
often
remarked
and
lamented
in
most
societies
,
could
hardly
be
a
legitimate
cause
of
complaint
on
this
occasion
,
but
,
as
Sir
Patrick
remarked
to
Marion
,
"
in
every
family
there
is
but
one
eldest
son
,
while
there
are
at
least
three-and-twenty
daughters
,
each
educated
and
prepared
to
take
her
place
at
the
head
of
a
brilliant
establishment
;
therefore
,
seeing
in
this
room
sixty-five
young
ladies
,
every
one
of
whom
expects
to
marry
on
at
least
£
2000
a-year
,
it
would
require
£
130
,
000
per
annum
to
satisfy
them
and
their
expectant
mammas
!
"
Lord
Wigton
's
fortune
alone
might
have
been
sufficient
,
if
divided
into
suitable
portions
,
for
at
least
ten
such
happy
couples
;
but
his
whole
heart
seemed
bent
on
bestowing
it
,
with
himself
,
on
Marion
,
who
found
that
she
was
pursued
with
assiduity
so
persevering
,
not
only
by
him
,
but
also
by
Captain
De
Crespigny
,
who
had
now
openly
abandoned
Agnes
for
her
,
that
,
annoyed
and
perplexed
how
to
act
,
rather
than
become
repulsive
and
forbidding
,
which
was
always
repulsive
to
her
nature
,
she
silently
retreated
with
Sir
Arthur
to
the
quiet
domestic
fireside
of
the
Granvilles
,
where
she
enjoyed
the
peaceful
reality
of
happiness
,
instead
of
that
noisy
and
glittering
imitation
of
it
which
she
had
so
gladly
forsaken
.
In
the
public
saloon
,
Mrs.
O'Donoghoe
,
a
superannuated
jeune
femme
of
about
thirty
,
more
or
less
,
in
a
dress
as
bright
and
red
as
a
blacksmith
's
forge
,
hammered
on
a
decayed
piano-forte
a
sort
of
tune
,
which
might
be
an
Irish
jig
or
a
Scotch
strathspey
,
while
several
mournful-looking
gentlemen
had
been
persuaded
to
dance
with
three
or
four
very
affected
,
over-dressed
partners
,
giggling
young
ladies
,
most
of
whom
were
on
the
shady
side
of
five-and-twenty
,
dressed
in
stiff
muslin
frocks
a
l'enfant
,
bare
shoulders
,
rouge
,
and
very
pink
stockings
.
Mrs.
O'Donoghoe
's
marriage
,
ten
years
before
,
had
been
a
true
Harrowgate
match
—
a
mutual
take-in
—
the
lady
being
a
reputed
heiress
,
without
a
shilling
,
and
the
gentleman
endowed
with
an
imaginary
estate
,
which
turned
out
to
be
situated
