to"
Harriet
"
on
this
subject
.
"
No
young
man
in
Middlemarch
was
good
enough
for
her
:
I
have
heard
her
mother
say
as
much
.
That
is
not
a
Christian
spirit
,
I
think
.
But
now
,
from
all
I
hear
,
she
has
found
a
man
as
proud
as
herself
.
"
"
You
do
n't
mean
that
there
is
anything
between
Rosamond
and
Mr.
Lydgate
?
"
said
Mrs.
Bulstrode
,
rather
mortified
at
finding
out
her
own
ignorance
.
"
Is
it
possible
you
do
n't
know
,
Harriet
?
"
"
Oh
,
I
go
about
so
little
;
and
I
am
not
fond
of
gossip
;
I
really
never
hear
any
.
You
see
so
many
people
that
I
do
n't
see
.
Your
circle
is
rather
different
from
ours
.
"
"
Well
,
but
your
own
niece
and
Mr.
Bulstrode
's
great
favourite
—
and
yours
too
,
I
am
sure
,
Harriet
!
I
thought
,
at
one
time
,
you
meant
him
for
Kate
,
when
she
is
a
little
older
.
"
"
I
do
n't
believe
there
can
be
anything
serious
at
present
,
"
said
Mrs.
Bulstrode
.
"
My
brother
would
certainly
have
told
me
.
"
"
Well
,
people
have
different
ways
,
but
I
understand
that
nobody
can
see
Miss
Vincy
and
Mr.
Lydgate
together
without
taking
them
to
be
engaged
.
However
,
it
is
not
my
business
.
Shall
I
put
up
the
pattern
of
mittens
?
"
After
this
Mrs.
Bulstrode
drove
to
her
niece
with
a
mind
newly
weighted
.
She
was
herself
handsomely
dressed
,
but
she
noticed
with
a
little
more
regret
than
usual
that
Rosamond
,
who
was
just
come
in
and
met
her
in
walking-dress
,
was
almost
as
expensively
equipped
.
Mrs.
Bulstrode
was
a
feminine
smaller
edition
of
her
brother
,
and
had
none
of
her
husband
's
low-toned
pallor
.
She
had
a
good
honest
glance
and
used
no
circumlocution
.
"
You
are
alone
,
I
see
,
my
dear
,
"
she
said
,
as
they
entered
the
drawing-room
together
,
looking
round
gravely
.
Rosamond
felt
sure
that
her
aunt
had
something
particular
to
say
,
and
they
sat
down
near
each
other
.
Nevertheless
,
the
quilling
inside
Rosamond
's
bonnet
was
so
charming
that
it
was
impossible
not
to
desire
the
same
kind
of
thing
for
Kate
,
and
Mrs.
Bulstrode
's
eyes
,
which
were
rather
fine
,
rolled
round
that
ample
quilled
circuit
,
while
she
spoke
.
"
I
have
just
heard
something
about
you
that
has
surprised
me
very
much
,
Rosamond
.
"
"
What
is
that
,
aunt
?
"
Rosamond
's
eyes
also
were
roaming
over
her
aunt
's
large
embroidered
collar
.
"
I
can
hardly
believe
it
—
that
you
should
be
engaged
without
my
knowing
it
—
without
your
father
's
telling
me
.
"
Here
Mrs.
Bulstrode
's
eyes
finally
rested
on
Rosamond
's
,
who
blushed
deeply
,
and
said
—
"
I
am
not
engaged
,
aunt
.
"
"
How
is
it
that
every
one
says
so
,
then
—
that
it
is
the
town
's
talk
?
"
"
The
town
's
talk
is
of
very
little
consequence
,
I
think
,
"
said
Rosamond
,
inwardly
gratified
.
"
Oh
,
my
dear
,
be
more
thoughtful
;
do
n't
despise
your
neighbors
so
.
Remember
you
are
turned
twenty-two
now
,
and
you
will
have
no
fortune
:
your
father
,
I
am
sure
,
will
not
be
able
to
spare
you
anything
.
Mr.
Lydgate
is
very
intellectual
and
clever
;
I
know
there
is
an
attraction
in
that
.
I
like
talking
to
such
men
myself
;
and
your
uncle
finds
him
very
useful
.
But
the
profession
is
a
poor
one
here
.
To
be
sure
,
this
life
is
not
everything
;
but
it
is
seldom
a
medical
man
has
true
religious
views
—
there
is
too
much
pride
of
intellect
.
And
you
are
not
fit
to
marry
a
poor
man
.
"
Mr.
Lydgate
is
not
a
poor
man
,
aunt
.
He
has
very
high
connections
.
"
"
He
told
me
himself
he
was
poor
.
"
"
That
is
because
he
is
used
to
people
who
have
a
high
style
of
living
.
"
"
My
dear
Rosamond
,
you
must
not
think
of
living
in
high
style
.
"
Rosamond
looked
down
and
played
with
her
reticule
.
She
was
not
a
fiery
young
lady
and
had
no
sharp
answers
,
but
she
meant
to
live
as
she
pleased
.
"
Then
it
is
really
true
?
"
said
Mrs.
Bulstrode
,
looking
very
earnestly
at
her
niece
.
"
You
are
thinking
of
Mr.
Lydgate
—
there
is
some
understanding
between
you
,
though
your
father
does
n't
know
.
Be
open
,
my
dear
Rosamond
:
Mr.
Lydgate
has
really
made
you
an
offer
?
"
Poor
Rosamond
's
feelings
were
very
unpleasant
.
She
had
been
quite
easy
as
to
Lydgate
's
feeling
and
intention
,
but
now
when
her
aunt
put
this
question
she
did
not
like
being
unable
to
say
Yes
.
Her
pride
was
hurt
,
but
her
habitual
control
of
manner
helped
her
.
"
Pray
excuse
me
,
aunt
.
I
would
rather
not
speak
on
the
subject
.
"
"
You
would
not
give
your
heart
to
a
man
without
a
decided
prospect
,
I
trust
,
my
dear
.
And
think
of
the
two
excellent
offers
I
know
of
that
you
have
refused
!
—
and
one
still
within
your
reach
,
if
you
will
not
throw
it
away
.
I
knew
a
very
great
beauty
who
married
badly
at
last
,
by
doing
so
.
Mr.
Ned
Plymdale
is
a
nice
young
man
—
some
might
think
good-looking
;
and
an
only
son
;
and
a
large
business
of
that
kind
is
better
than
a
profession
.
Not
that
marrying
is
everything
.
I
would
have
you
seek
first
the
kingdom
of
God
.
But
a
girl
should
keep
her
heart
within
her
own
power
.
"
"
I
should
never
give
it
to
Mr.
Ned
Plymdale
,
if
it
were
.
I
have
already
refused
him
.
If
I
loved
,
I
should
love
at
once
and
without
change
,
"
said
Rosamond
,
with
a
great
sense
of
being
a
romantic
heroine
,
and
playing
the
part
prettily
.
"
I
see
how
it
is
,
my
dear
,
"
said
Mrs.
Bulstrode
,
in
a
melancholy
voice
,
rising
to
go
.
"
You
have
allowed
your
affections
to
be
engaged
without
return
.
"
"
No
,
indeed
,
aunt
,
"
said
Rosamond
,
with
emphasis
.
"
Then
you
are
quite
confident
that
Mr.
Lydgate
has
a
serious
attachment
to
you
?
"
Rosamond
's
cheeks
by
this
time
were
persistently
burning
,
and
she
felt
much
mortification
.
She
chose
to
be
silent
,
and
her
aunt
went
away
all
the
more
convinced
.
Mr.
Bulstrode
in
things
worldly
and
indifferent
was
disposed
to
do
what
his
wife
bade
him
,
and
she
now
,
without
telling
her
reasons
,
desired
him
on
the
next
opportunity
to
find
out
in
conversation
with
Mr.
Lydgate
whether
he
had
any
intention
of
marrying
soon
.
The
result
was
a
decided
negative
.
Mr.
Bulstrode
,
on
being
cross-questioned
,
showed
that
Lydgate
had
spoken
as
no
man
would
who
had
any
attachment
that
could
issue
in
matrimony
.
Mrs.
Bulstrode
now
felt
that
she
had
a
serious
duty
before
her
,
and
she
soon
managed
to
arrange
a
tete-a-tete
with
Lydgate
,
in
which
she
passed
from
inquiries
about
Fred
Vincy
's
health
,
and
expressions
of
her
sincere
anxiety
for
her
brother
's
large
family
,
to
general
remarks
on
the
dangers
which
lay
before
young
people
with
regard
to
their
settlement
in
life
.
Young
men
were
often
wild
and
disappointing
,
making
little
return
for
the
money
spent
on
them
,
and
a
girl
was
exposed
to
many
circumstances
which
might
interfere
with
her
prospects
.
"
Especially
when
she
has
great
attractions
,
and
her
parents
see
much
company
,
"
said
Mrs.
Bulstrode
.
"
Gentlemen
pay
her
attention
,
and
engross
her
all
to
themselves
,
for
the
mere
pleasure
of
the
moment
,
and
that
drives
off
others
.
I
think
it
is
a
heavy
responsibility
,
Mr.
Lydgate
,
to
interfere
with
the
prospects
of
any
girl
.
"
Here
Mrs.
Bulstrode
fixed
her
eyes
on
him
,
with
an
unmistakable
purpose
of
warning
,
if
not
of
rebuke
.
"
Clearly
,
"
said
Lydgate
,
looking
at
her
—
perhaps
even
staring
a
little
in
return
.
"
On
the
other
hand
,
a
man
must
be
a
great
coxcomb
to
go
about
with
a
notion
that
he
must
not
pay
attention
to
a
young
lady
lest
she
should
fall
in
love
with
him
,
or
lest
others
should
think
she
must
.
"
"
Oh
,
Mr.
Lydgate
,
you
know
well
what
your
advantages
are
.
You
know
that
our
young
men
here
cannot
cope
with
you
.
Where
you
frequent
a
house
it
may
militate
very
much
against
a
girl
's
making
a
desirable
settlement
in
life
,
and
prevent
her
from
accepting
offers
even
if
they
are
made
.
"
Lydgate
was
less
flattered
by
his
advantage
over
the
Middlemarch
Orlandos
than
he
was
annoyed
by
the
perception
of
Mrs.
Bulstrode
's
meaning
.
She
felt
that
she
had
spoken
as
impressively
as
it
was
necessary
to
do
,
and
that
in
using
the
superior
word
"
militate
"
she
had
thrown
a
noble
drapery
over
a
mass
of
particulars
which
were
still
evident
enough
.
Lydgate
was
fuming
a
little
,
pushed
his
hair
back
with
one
hand
,
felt
curiously
in
his
waistcoat-pocket
with
the
other
,
and
then
stooped
to
beckon
the
tiny
black
spaniel
,
which
had
the
insight
to
decline
his
hollow
caresses
.
It
would
not
have
been
decent
to
go
away
,
because
he
had
been
dining
with
other
guests
,
and
had
just
taken
tea
.
But
Mrs.
Bulstrode
,
having
no
doubt
that
she
had
been
understood
,
turned
the
conversation
.
Solomon
's
Proverbs
,
I
think
,
have
omitted
to
say
,
that
as
the
sore
palate
findeth
grit
,
so
an
uneasy
consciousness
heareth
innuendoes
.
The
next
day
Mr.
Farebrother
,
parting
from
Lydgate
in
the
street
,
supposed
that
they
should
meet
at
Vincy
's
in
the
evening
.
Lydgate
answered
curtly
,
no
—
he
had
work
to
do
—
he
must
give
up
going
out
in
the
evening
.
"
What
!
you
are
going
to
get
lashed
to
the
mast
,
eh
,
and
are
stopping
your
ears
?
"
said
the
Vicar
.
"
Well
,
if
you
do
n't
mean
to
be
won
by
the
sirens
,
you
are
right
to
take
precautions
in
time
.
"
A
few
days
before
,
Lydgate
would
have
taken
no
notice
of
these
words
as
anything
more
than
the
Vicar
's
usual
way
of
putting
things
.
They
seemed
now
to
convey
an
innuendo
which
confirmed
the
impression
that
he
had
been
making
a
fool
of
himself
and
behaving
so
as
to
be
misunderstood
:
not
,
he
believed
,
by
Rosamond
herself
;
she
,
he
felt
sure
,
took
everything
as
lightly
as
he
intended
it
.
She
had
an
exquisite
tact
and
insight
in
relation
to
all
points
of
manners
;
but
the
people
she
lived
among
were
blunderers
and
busybodies
.
However
,
the
mistake
should
go
no
farther
.
He
resolved
—
and
kept
his
resolution
—
that
he
would
not
go
to
Mr.
Vincy
's
except
on
business
.
Rosamond
became
very
unhappy
.
The
uneasiness
first
stirred
by
her
aunt
's
questions
grew
and
grew
till
at
the
end
of
ten
days
that
she
had
not
seen
Lydgate
,
it
grew
into
terror
at
the
blank
that
might
possibly
come
—
into
foreboding
of
that
ready
,
fatal
sponge
which
so
cheaply
wipes
out
the
hopes
of
mortals
.
The
world
would
have
a
new
dreariness
for
her
,
as
a
wilderness
that
a
magician
's
spells
had
turned
for
a
little
while
into
a
garden
.
She
felt
that
she
was
beginning
to
know
the
pang
of
disappointed
love
,
and
that
no
other
man
could
be
the
occasion
of
such
delightful
aerial
building
as
she
had
been
enjoying
for
the
last
six
months
.
Poor
Rosamond
lost
her
appetite
and
felt
as
forlorn
as
Ariadne
—
as
a
charming
stage
Ariadne
left
behind
with
all
her
boxes
full
of
costumes
and
no
hope
of
a
coach
.
There
are
many
wonderful
mixtures
in
the
world
which
are
all
alike
called
love
,
and
claim
the
privileges
of
a
sublime
rage
which
is
an
apology
for
everything
(
in
literature
and
the
drama
)
.
Happily
Rosamond
did
not
think
of
committing
any
desperate
act
:
she
plaited
her
fair
hair
as
beautifully
as
usual
,
and
kept
herself
proudly
calm
.
Her
most
cheerful
supposition
was
that
her
aunt
Bulstrode
had
interfered
in
some
way
to
hinder
Lydgate
's
visits
:
everything
was
better
than
a
spontaneous
indifference
in
him
.
Any
one
who
imagines
ten
days
too
short
a
time
—
not
for
falling
into
leanness
,
lightness
,
or
other
measurable
effects
of
passion
,
but
—
for
the
whole
spiritual
circuit
of
alarmed
conjecture
and
disappointment
,
is
ignorant
of
what
can
go
on
in
the
elegant
leisure
of
a
young
lady
's
mind
.
On
the
eleventh
day
,
however
,
Lydgate
when
leaving
Stone
Court
was
requested
by
Mrs.
Vincy
to
let
her
husband
know
that
there
was
a
marked
change
in
Mr.
Featherstone
's
health
,
and
that
she
wished
him
to
come
to
Stone
Court
on
that
day
.
Now
Lydgate
might
have
called
at
the
warehouse
,
or
might
have
written
a
message
on
a
leaf
of
his
pocket-book
and
left
it
at
the
door
.
Yet
these
simple
devices
apparently
did
not
occur
to
him
,
from
which
we
may
conclude
that
he
had
no
strong
objection
to
calling
at
the
house
at
an
hour
when
Mr.
Vincy
was
not
at
home
,
and
leaving
the
message
with
Miss
Vincy
.
A
man
may
,
from
various
motives
,
decline
to
give
his
company
,
but
perhaps
not
even
a
sage
would
be
gratified
that
nobody
missed
him
.
It
would
be
a
graceful
,
easy
way
of
piecing
on
the
new
habits
to
the
old
,
to
have
a
few
playful
words
with
Rosamond
about
his
resistance
to
dissipation
,
and
his
firm
resolve
to
take
long
fasts
even
from
sweet
sounds
.
It
must
be
confessed
,
also
,
that
momentary
speculations
as
to
all
the
possible
grounds
for
Mrs.
Bulstrode
's
hints
had
managed
to
get
woven
like
slight
clinging
hairs
into
the
more
substantial
web
of
his
thoughts
.
Miss
Vincy
was
alone
,
and
blushed
so
deeply
when
Lydgate
came
in
that
he
felt
a
corresponding
embarrassment
,
and
instead
of
any
playfulness
,
he
began
at
once
to
speak
of
his
reason
for
calling
,
and
to
beg
her
,
almost
formally
,
to
deliver
the
message
to
her
father
.
Rosamond
,
who
at
the
first
moment
felt
as
if
her
happiness
were
returning
,
was
keenly
hurt
by
Lydgate
's
manner
;
her
blush
had
departed
,
and
she
assented
coldly
,
without
adding
an
unnecessary
word
,
some
trivial
chain-work
which
she
had
in
her
hands
enabling
her
to
avoid
looking
at
Lydgate
higher
than
his
chin
.
In
all
failures
,
the
beginning
is
certainly
the
half
of
the
whole
.
After
sitting
two
long
moments
while
he
moved
his
whip
and
could
say
nothing
,
Lydgate
rose
to
go
,
and
Rosamond
,
made
nervous
by
her
struggle
between
mortification
and
the
wish
not
to
betray
it
,
dropped
her
chain
as
if
startled
,
and
rose
too
,
mechanically
.
Lydgate
instantaneously
stooped
to
pick
up
the
chain
.
When
he
rose
he
was
very
near
to
a
lovely
little
face
set
on
a
fair
long
neck
which
he
had
been
used
to
see
turning
about
under
the
most
perfect
management
of
self-contented
grace
.
But
as
he
raised
his
eyes
now
he
saw
a
certain
helpless
quivering
which
touched
him
quite
newly
,
and
made
him
look
at
Rosamond
with
a
questioning
flash
.
At
this
moment
she
was
as
natural
as
she
had
ever
been
when
she
was
five
years
old
:
she
felt
that
her
tears
had
risen
,
and
it
was
no
use
to
try
to
do
anything
else
than
let
them
stay
like
water
on
a
blue
flower
or
let
them
fall
over
her
cheeks
,
even
as
they
would
.
That
moment
of
naturalness
was
the
crystallizing
feather-touch
:
it
shook
flirtation
into
love
.
Remember
that
the
ambitious
man
who
was
looking
at
those
Forget-me-nots
under
the
water
was
very
warm-hearted
and
rash
.
He
did
not
know
where
the
chain
went
;
an
idea
had
thrilled
through
the
recesses
within
him
which
had
a
miraculous
effect
in
raising
the
power
of
passionate
love
lying
buried
there
in
no
sealed
sepulchre
,
but
under
the
lightest
,
easily
pierced
mould
.
His
words
were
quite
abrupt
and
awkward
;
but
the
tone
made
them
sound
like
an
ardent
,
appealing
avowal
.
"
What
is
the
matter
?
you
are
distressed
.
Tell
me
,
pray
.
"
Rosamond
had
never
been
spoken
to
in
such
tones
before
.
I
am
not
sure
that
she
knew
what
the
words
were
:
but
she
looked
at
Lydgate
and
the
tears
fell
over
her
cheeks
.
There
could
have
been
no
more
complete
answer
than
that
silence
,
and
Lydgate
,
forgetting
everything
else
,
completely
mastered
by
the
outrush
of
tenderness
at
the
sudden
belief
that
this
sweet
young
creature
depended
on
him
for
her
joy
,
actually
put
his
arms
round
her
,
folding
her
gently
and
protectingly
—
he
was
used
to
being
gentle
with
the
weak
and
suffering
—
and
kissed
each
of
the
two
large
tears
.
This
was
a
strange
way
of
arriving
at
an
understanding
,
but
it
was
a
short
way
.
Rosamond
was
not
angry
,
but
she
moved
backward
a
little
in
timid
happiness
,
and
Lydgate
could
now
sit
near
her
and
speak
less
incompletely
.
Rosamond
had
to
make
her
little
confession
,
and
he
poured
out
words
of
gratitude
and
tenderness
with
impulsive
lavishment
.
In
half
an
hour
he
left
the
house
an
engaged
man
,
whose
soul
was
not
his
own
,
but
the
woman
's
to
whom
he
had
bound
himself
.
He
came
again
in
the
evening
to
speak
with
Mr.
Vincy
,
who
,
just
returned
from
Stone
Court
,
was
feeling
sure
that
it
would
not
be
long
before
he
heard
of
Mr.
Featherstone
's
demise
.
The
felicitous
word
"
demise
,
"
which
had
seasonably
occurred
to
him
,
had
raised
his
spirits
even
above
their
usual
evening
pitch
.
The
right
word
is
always
a
power
,
and
communicates
its
definiteness
to
our
action
.
Considered
as
a
demise
,
old
Featherstone
's
death
assumed
a
merely
legal
aspect
,
so
that
Mr.
Vincy
could
tap
his
snuff-box
over
it
and
be
jovial
,
without
even
an
intermittent
affectation
of
solemnity
;
and
Mr.
Vincy
hated
both
solemnity
and
affectation
.
Who
was
ever
awe
struck
about
a
testator
,
or
sang
a
hymn
on
the
title
to
real
property
?
Mr.
Vincy
was
inclined
to
take
a
jovial
view
of
all
things
that
evening
:
he
even
observed
to
Lydgate
that
Fred
had
got
the
family
constitution
after
all
,
and
would
soon
be
as
fine
a
fellow
as
ever
again
;
and
when
his
approbation
of
Rosamond
's
engagement
was
asked
for
,
he
gave
it
with
astonishing
facility
,
passing
at
once
to
general
remarks
on
the
desirableness
of
matrimony
for
young
men
and
maidens
,
and
apparently
deducing
from
the
whole
the
appropriateness
of
a
little
more
punch
.
CHAPTER
XXXII
.
"
They
'll
take
suggestion
as
a
cat
laps
milk
.
"
—
SHAKESPEARE
:
Tempest
.
The
triumphant
confidence
of
the
Mayor
founded
on
Mr.
Featherstone
's
insistent
demand
that
Fred
and
his
mother
should
not
leave
him
,
was
a
feeble
emotion
compared
with
all
that
was
agitating
the
breasts
of
the
old
man
's
blood-relations
,
who
naturally
manifested
more
their
sense
of
the
family
tie
and
were
more
visibly
numerous
now
that
he
had
become
bedridden
.
Naturally
:
for
when
"
poor
Peter
"
had
occupied
his
arm-chair
in
the
wainscoted
parlor
,
no
assiduous
beetles
for
whom
the
cook
prepares
boiling
water
could
have
been
less
welcome
on
a
hearth
which
they
had
reasons
for
preferring
,
than
those
persons
whose
Featherstone
blood
was
ill-nourished
,
not
from
penuriousness
on
their
part
,
but
from
poverty
.
Brother
Solomon
and
Sister
Jane
were
rich
,
and
the
family
candor
and
total
abstinence
from
false
politeness
with
which
they
were
always
received
seemed
to
them
no
argument
that
their
brother
in
the
solemn
act
of
making
his
will
would
overlook
the
superior
claims
of
wealth
.
Themselves
at
least
he
had
never
been
unnatural
enough
to
banish
from
his
house
,
and
it
seemed
hardly
eccentric
that
he
should
have
kept
away
Brother
Jonah
,
Sister
Martha
,
and
the
rest
,
who
had
no
shadow
of
such
claims
.
They
knew
Peter
's
maxim
,
that
money
was
a
good
egg
,
and
should
be
laid
in
a
warm
nest
.
But
Brother
Jonah
,
Sister
Martha
,
and
all
the
needy
exiles
,
held
a
different
point
of
view
.
Probabilities
are
as
various
as
the
faces
to
be
seen
at
will
in
fretwork
or
paper-hangings
:
every
form
is
there
,
from
Jupiter
to
Judy
,
if
you
only
look
with
creative
inclination
.
To
the
poorer
and
least
favoured
it
seemed
likely
that
since
Peter
had
done
nothing
for
them
in
his
life
,
he
would
remember
them
at
the
last
.
Jonah
argued
that
men
liked
to
make
a
surprise
of
their
wills
,
while
Martha
said
that
nobody
need
be
surprised
if
he
left
the
best
part
of
his
money
to
those
who
least
expected
it
.
Also
it
was
not
to
be
thought
but
that
an
own
brother
"
lying
there
"
with
dropsy
in
his
legs
must
come
to
feel
that
blood
was
thicker
than
water
,
and
if
he
did
n't
alter
his
will
,
he
might
have
money
by
him
.
At
any
rate
some
blood-relations
should
be
on
the
premises
and
on
the
watch
against
those
who
were
hardly
relations
at
all
.
Such
things
had
been
known
as
forged
wills
and
disputed
wills
,
which
seemed
to
have
the
golden-hazy
advantage
of
somehow
enabling
non-legatees
to
live
out
of
them
.
Again
,
those
who
were
no
blood-relations
might
be
caught
making
away
with
things
—
and
poor
Peter
"
lying
there
"
helpless
!
Somebody
should
be
on
the
watch
.
But
in
this
conclusion
they
were
at
one
with
Solomon
and
Jane
;
also
,
some
nephews
,
nieces
,
and
cousins
,
arguing
with
still
greater
subtilty
as
to
what
might
be
done
by
a
man
able
to
"
will
away
"
his
property
and
give
himself
large
treats
of
oddity
,
felt
in
a
handsome
sort
of
way
that
there
was
a
family
interest
to
be
attended
to
,
and
thought
of
Stone
Court
as
a
place
which
it
would
be
nothing
but
right
for
them
to
visit
.
Sister
Martha
,
otherwise
Mrs.
Cranch
,
living
with
some
wheeziness
in
the
Chalky
Flats
,
could
not
undertake
the
journey
;
but
her
son
,
as
being
poor
Peter
's
own
nephew
,
could
represent
her
advantageously
,
and
watch
lest
his
uncle
Jonah
should
make
an
unfair
use
of
the
improbable
things
which
seemed
likely
to
happen
.
In
fact
there
was
a
general
sense
running
in
the
Featherstone
blood
that
everybody
must
watch
everybody
else
,
and
that
it
would
be
well
for
everybody
else
to
reflect
that
the
Almighty
was
watching
him
.
Thus
Stone
Court
continually
saw
one
or
other
blood-relation
alighting
or
departing
,
and
Mary
Garth
had
the
unpleasant
task
of
carrying
their
messages
to
Mr.
Featherstone
,
who
would
see
none
of
them
,
and
sent
her
down
with
the
still
more
unpleasant
task
of
telling
them
so
.
As
manager
of
the
household
she
felt
bound
to
ask
them
in
good
provincial
fashion
to
stay
and
eat
;
but
she
chose
to
consult
Mrs.
Vincy
on
the
point
of
extra
down-stairs
consumption
now
that
Mr.
Featherstone
was
laid
up
.
"
Oh
,
my
dear
,
you
must
do
things
handsomely
where
there
's
last
illness
and
a
property
.
God
knows
,
I
do
n't
grudge
them
every
ham
in
the
house
—
only
,
save
the
best
for
the
funeral
.
Have
some
stuffed
veal
always
,
and
a
fine
cheese
in
cut
.
You
must
expect
to
keep
open
house
in
these
last
illnesses
,
"
said
liberal
Mrs.
Vincy
,
once
more
of
cheerful
note
and
bright
plumage
.
But
some
of
the
visitors
alighted
and
did
not
depart
after
the
handsome
treating
to
veal
and
ham
.
Brother
Jonah
,
for
example
(
there
are
such
unpleasant
people
in
most
families
;
perhaps
even
in
the
highest
aristocracy
there
are
Brobdingnag
specimens
,
gigantically
in
debt
and
bloated
at
greater
expense
)
—
Brother
Jonah
,
I
say
,
having
come
down
in
the
world
,
was
mainly
supported
by
a
calling
which
he
was
modest
enough
not
to
boast
of
,
though
it
was
much
better
than
swindling
either
on
exchange
or
turf
,
but
which
did
not
require
his
presence
at
Brassing
so
long
as
he
had
a
good
corner
to
sit
in
and
a
supply
of
food
.
He
chose
the
kitchen-corner
,
partly
because
he
liked
it
best
,
and
partly
because
he
did
not
want
to
sit
with
Solomon
,
concerning
whom
he
had
a
strong
brotherly
opinion
.
Seated
in
a
famous
arm-chair
and
in
his
best
suit
,
constantly
within
sight
of
good
cheer
,
he
had
a
comfortable
consciousness
of
being
on
the
premises
,
mingled
with
fleeting
suggestions
of
Sunday
and
the
bar
at
the
Green
Man
;
and
he
informed
Mary
Garth
that
he
should
not
go
out
of
reach
of
his
brother
Peter
while
that
poor
fellow
was
above
ground
.
The
troublesome
ones
in
a
family
are
usually
either
the
wits
or
the
idiots
.
Jonah
was
the
wit
among
the
Featherstones
,
and
joked
with
the
maid-servants
when
they
came
about
the
hearth
,
but
seemed
to
consider
Miss
Garth
a
suspicious
character
,
and
followed
her
with
cold
eyes
.
Mary
would
have
borne
this
one
pair
of
eyes
with
comparative
ease
,
but
unfortunately
there
was
young
Cranch
,
who
,
having
come
all
the
way
from
the
Chalky
Flats
to
represent
his
mother
and
watch
his
uncle
Jonah
,
also
felt
it
his
duty
to
stay
and
to
sit
chiefly
in
the
kitchen
to
give
his
uncle
company
.
Young
Cranch
was
not
exactly
the
balancing
point
between
the
wit
and
the
idiot
,
—
verging
slightly
towards
the
latter
type
,
and
squinting
so
as
to
leave
everything
in
doubt
about
his
sentiments
except
that
they
were
not
of
a
forcible
character
.
When
Mary
Garth
entered
the
kitchen
and
Mr.
Jonah
Featherstone
began
to
follow
her
with
his
cold
detective
eyes
,
young
Cranch
turning
his
head
in
the
same
direction
seemed
to
insist
on
it
that
she
should
remark
how
he
was
squinting
,
as
if
he
did
it
with
design
,
like
the
gypsies
when
Borrow
read
the
New
Testament
to
them
.
This
was
rather
too
much
for
poor
Mary
;
sometimes
it
made
her
bilious
,
sometimes
it
upset
her
gravity
.
One
day
that
she
had
an
opportunity
she
could
not
resist
describing
the
kitchen
scene
to
Fred
,
who
would
not
be
hindered
from
immediately
going
to
see
it
,
affecting
simply
to
pass
through
.
But
no
sooner
did
he
face
the
four
eyes
than
he
had
to
rush
through
the
nearest
door
which
happened
to
lead
to
the
dairy
,
and
there
under
the
high
roof
and
among
the
pans
he
gave
way
to
laughter
which
made
a
hollow
resonance
perfectly
audible
in
the
kitchen
.
He
fled
by
another
doorway
,
but
Mr.
Jonah
,
who
had
not
before
seen
Fred
's
white
complexion
,
long
legs
,
and
pinched
delicacy
of
face
,
prepared
many
sarcasms
in
which
these
points
of
appearance
were
wittily
combined
with
the
lowest
moral
attributes
.
"
Why
,
Tom
,
you
do
n't
wear
such
gentlemanly
trousers
—
you
have
n't
got
half
such
fine
long
legs
,
"
said
Jonah
to
his
nephew
,
winking
at
the
same
time
,
to
imply
that
there
was
something
more
in
these
statements
than
their
undeniableness
.
Tom
looked
at
his
legs
,
but
left
it
uncertain
whether
he
preferred
his
moral
advantages
to
a
more
vicious
length
of
limb
and
reprehensible
gentility
of
trouser
.
In
the
large
wainscoted
parlor
too
there
were
constantly
pairs
of
eyes
on
the
watch
,
and
own
relatives
eager
to
be
"
sitters-up
.
"
Many
came
,
lunched
,
and
departed
,
but
Brother
Solomon
and
the
lady
who
had
been
Jane
Featherstone
for
twenty-five
years
before
she
was
Mrs.
Waule
found
it
good
to
be
there
every
day
for
hours
,
without
other
calculable
occupation
than
that
of
observing
the
cunning
Mary
Garth
(
who
was
so
deep
that
she
could
be
found
out
in
nothing
)
and
giving
occasional
dry
wrinkly
indications
of
crying
—
as
if
capable
of
torrents
in
a
wetter
season
—
at
the
thought
that
they
were
not
allowed
to
go
into
Mr.
Featherstone
's
room
.
For
the
old
man
's
dislike
of
his
own
family
seemed
to
get
stronger
as
he
got
less
able
to
amuse
himself
by
saying
biting
things
to
them
.
Too
languid
to
sting
,
he
had
the
more
venom
refluent
in
his
blood
.
Not
fully
believing
the
message
sent
through
Mary
Garth
,
they
had
presented
themselves
together
within
the
door
of
the
bedroom
,
both
in
black
—
Mrs.
Waule
having
a
white
handkerchief
partially
unfolded
in
her
hand
—
and
both
with
faces
in
a
sort
of
half-mourning
purple
;
while
Mrs.
Vincy
with
her
pink
cheeks
and
pink
ribbons
flying
was
actually
administering
a
cordial
to
their
own
brother
,
and
the
light-complexioned
Fred
,
his
short
hair
curling
as
might
be
expected
in
a
gambler
's
,
was
lolling
at
his
ease
in
a
large
chair
.
Old
Featherstone
no
sooner
caught
sight
of
these
funereal
figures
appearing
in
spite
of
his
orders
than
rage
came
to
strengthen
him
more
successfully
than
the
cordial
.
He
was
propped
up
on
a
bed-rest
,
and
always
had
his
gold-headed
stick
lying
by
him
.
He
seized
it
now
and
swept
it
backwards
and
forwards
in
as
large
an
area
as
he
could
,
apparently
to
ban
these
ugly
spectres
,
crying
in
a
hoarse
sort
of
screech
—
"
Back
,
back
,
Mrs.
Waule
!
Back
,
Solomon
!
"
"
Oh
,
Brother
.
Peter
,
"
Mrs.
Waule
began
—
but
Solomon
put
his
hand
before
her
repressingly
.
He
was
a
large-cheeked
man
,
nearly
seventy
,
with
small
furtive
eyes
,
and
was
not
only
of
much
blander
temper
but
thought
himself
much
deeper
than
his
brother
Peter
;
indeed
not
likely
to
be
deceived
in
any
of
his
fellow-men
,
inasmuch
as
they
could
not
well
be
more
greedy
and
deceitful
than
he
suspected
them
of
being
.
Even
the
invisible
powers
,
he
thought
,
were
likely
to
be
soothed
by
a
bland
parenthesis
here
and
there
—
coming
from
a
man
of
property
,
who
might
have
been
as
impious
as
others
.
"
Brother
Peter
,
"
he
said
,
in
a
wheedling
yet
gravely
official
tone
,
"
It
's
nothing
but
right
I
should
speak
to
you
about
the
Three
Crofts
and
the
Manganese
.
The
Almighty
knows
what
I
've
got
on
my
mind
—
"
"
Then
he
knows
more
than
I
want
to
know
,
"
said
Peter
,
laying
down
his
stick
with
a
show
of
truce
which
had
a
threat
in
it
too
,
for
he
reversed
the
stick
so
as
to
make
the
gold
handle
a
club
in
case
of
closer
fighting
,
and
looked
hard
at
Solomon
's
bald
head
.
"
There
's
things
you
might
repent
of
,
Brother
,
for
want
of
speaking
to
me
,
"
said
Solomon
,
not
advancing
,
however
.
"
I
could
sit
up
with
you
to-night
,
and
Jane
with
me
,
willingly
,
and
you
might
take
your
own
time
to
speak
,
or
let
me
speak
.
"
"
Yes
,
I
shall
take
my
own
time
—
you
need
n't
offer
me
yours
,
"
said
Peter
.
"
But
you
ca
n't
take
your
own
time
to
die
in
,
Brother
,
"
began
Mrs.
Waule
,
with
her
usual
woolly
tone
.
"
And
when
you
lie
speechless
you
may
be
tired
of
having
strangers
about
you
,
and
you
may
think
of
me
and
my
children
"
—
but
here
her
voice
broke
under
the
touching
thought
which
she
was
attributing
to
her
speechless
brother
;
the
mention
of
ourselves
being
naturally
affecting
.
"
No
,
I
sha
n't
,
"
said
old
Featherstone
,
contradictiously
.
"
I
sha
n't
think
of
any
of
you
.
I
've
made
my
will
,
I
tell
you
,
I
've
made
my
will
.
"
Here
he
turned
his
head
towards
Mrs.
Vincy
,
and
swallowed
some
more
of
his
cordial
.
"
Some
people
would
be
ashamed
to
fill
up
a
place
belonging
by
rights
to
others
,
"
said
Mrs.
Waule
,
turning
her
narrow
eyes
in
the
same
direction
.
"
Oh
,
sister
,
"
said
Solomon
,
with
ironical
softness
,
"
you
and
me
are
not
fine
,
and
handsome
,
and
clever
enough
:
we
must
be
humble
and
let
smart
people
push
themselves
before
us
.
"
Fred
's
spirit
could
not
bear
this
:
rising
and
looking
at
Mr.
Featherstone
,
he
said
,
"
Shall
my
mother
and
I
leave
the
room
,
sir
,
that
you
may
be
alone
with
your
friends
?
"
"
Sit
down
,
I
tell
you
,
"
said
old
Featherstone
,
snappishly
.
"
Stop
where
you
are
.
Good-by
,
Solomon
,
"
he
added
,
trying
to
wield
his
stick
again
,
but
failing
now
that
he
had
reversed
the
handle
.
"
Good-by
,
Mrs.
Waule
.
Do
n't
you
come
again
.
"
"
I
shall
be
down-stairs
,
Brother
,
whether
or
no
,
"
said
Solomon
.
"
I
shall
do
my
duty
,
and
it
remains
to
be
seen
what
the
Almighty
will
allow
.
"
"
Yes
,
in
property
going
out
of
families
,
"
said
Mrs.
Waule
,
in
continuation
,
—
"
and
where
there
's
steady
young
men
to
carry
on
.
But
I
pity
them
who
are
not
such
,
and
I
pity
their
mothers
.
Good-by
,
Brother
Peter
.
"
"
Remember
,
I
'm
the
eldest
after
you
,
Brother
,
and
prospered
from
the
first
,
just
as
you
did
,
and
have
got
land
already
by
the
name
of
Featherstone
,
"
said
Solomon
,
relying
much
on
that
reflection
,
as
one
which
might
be
suggested
in
the
watches
of
the
night
.
"
But
I
bid
you
good-by
for
the
present
.
"
Their
exit
was
hastened
by
their
seeing
old
Mr.
Featherstone
pull
his
wig
on
each
side
and
shut
his
eyes
with
his
mouth-widening
grimace
,
as
if
he
were
determined
to
be
deaf
and
blind
.
None
the
less
they
came
to
Stone
Court
daily
and
sat
below
at
the
post
of
duty
,
sometimes
carrying
on
a
slow
dialogue
in
an
undertone
in
which
the
observation
and
response
were
so
far
apart
,
that
any
one
hearing
them
might
have
imagined
himself
listening
to
speaking
automata
,
in
some
doubt
whether
the
ingenious
mechanism
would
really
work
,
or
wind
itself
up
for
a
long
time
in
order
to
stick
and
be
silent
.
Solomon
and
Jane
would
have
been
sorry
to
be
quick
:
what
that
led
to
might
be
seen
on
the
other
side
of
the
wall
in
the
person
of
Brother
Jonah
.
But
their
watch
in
the
wainscoted
parlor
was
sometimes
varied
by
the
presence
of
other
guests
from
far
or
near
.
Now
that
Peter
Featherstone
was
up-stairs
,
his
property
could
be
discussed
with
all
that
local
enlightenment
to
be
found
on
the
spot
:
some
rural
and
Middlemarch
neighbors
expressed
much
agreement
with
the
family
and
sympathy
with
their
interest
against
the
Vincys
,
and
feminine
visitors
were
even
moved
to
tears
,
in
conversation
with
Mrs.
Waule
,
when
they
recalled
the
fact
that
they
themselves
had
been
disappointed
in
times
past
by
codicils
and
marriages
for
spite
on
the
part
of
ungrateful
elderly
gentlemen
,
who
,
it
might
have
been
supposed
,
had
been
spared
for
something
better
.
Such
conversation
paused
suddenly
,
like
an
organ
when
the
bellows
are
let
drop
,
if
Mary
Garth
came
into
the
room
;
and
all
eyes
were
turned
on
her
as
a
possible
legatee
,
or
one
who
might
get
access
to
iron
chests
.
But
the
younger
men
who
were
relatives
or
connections
of
the
family
,
were
disposed
to
admire
her
in
this
problematic
light
,
as
a
girl
who
showed
much
conduct
,
and
who
among
all
the
chances
that
were
flying
might
turn
out
to
be
at
least
a
moderate
prize
.
Hence
she
had
her
share
of
compliments
and
polite
attentions
.
Especially
from
Mr.
Borthrop
Trumbull
,
a
distinguished
bachelor
and
auctioneer
of
those
parts
,
much
concerned
in
the
sale
of
land
and
cattle
:
a
public
character
,
indeed
,
whose
name
was
seen
on
widely
distributed
placards
,
and
who
might
reasonably
be
sorry
for
those
who
did
not
know
of
him
.
He
was
second
cousin
to
Peter
Featherstone
,
and
had
been
treated
by
him
with
more
amenity
than
any
other
relative
,
being
useful
in
matters
of
business
;
and
in
that
programme
of
his
funeral
which
the
old
man
had
himself
dictated
,
he
had
been
named
as
a
Bearer
.
There
was
no
odious
cupidity
in
Mr.
Borthrop
Trumbull
—
nothing
more
than
a
sincere
sense
of
his
own
merit
,
which
,
he
was
aware
,
in
case
of
rivalry
might
tell
against
competitors
;
so
that
if
Peter
Featherstone
,
who
so
far
as
he
,
Trumbull
,
was
concerned
,
had
behaved
like
as
good
a
soul
as
ever
breathed
,
should
have
done
anything
handsome
by
him
,
all
he
could
say
was
,
that
he
had
never
fished
and
fawned
,
but
had
advised
him
to
the
best
of
his
experience
,
which
now
extended
over
twenty
years
from
the
time
of
his
apprenticeship
at
fifteen
,
and
was
likely
to
yield
a
knowledge
of
no
surreptitious
kind
.
His
admiration
was
far
from
being
confined
to
himself
,
but
was
accustomed
professionally
as
well
as
privately
to
delight
in
estimating
things
at
a
high
rate
.
He
was
an
amateur
of
superior
phrases
,
and
never
used
poor
language
without
immediately
correcting
himself
—
which
was
fortunate
,
as
he
was
rather
loud
,
and
given
to
predominate
,
standing
or
walking
about
frequently
,
pulling
down
his
waistcoat
with
the
air
of
a
man
who
is
very
much
of
his
own
opinion
,
trimming
himself
rapidly
with
his
fore-finger
,
and
marking
each
new
series
in
these
movements
by
a
busy
play
with
his
large
seals
.
There
was
occasionally
a
little
fierceness
in
his
demeanor
,
but
it
was
directed
chiefly
against
false
opinion
,
of
which
there
is
so
much
to
correct
in
the
world
that
a
man
of
some
reading
and
experience
necessarily
has
his
patience
tried
.
He
felt
that
the
Featherstone
family
generally
was
of
limited
understanding
,
but
being
a
man
of
the
world
and
a
public
character
,
took
everything
as
a
matter
of
course
,
and
even
went
to
converse
with
Mr.
Jonah
and
young
Cranch
in
the
kitchen
,
not
doubting
that
he
had
impressed
the
latter
greatly
by
his
leading
questions
concerning
the
Chalky
Flats
.
If
anybody
had
observed
that
Mr.
Borthrop
Trumbull
,
being
an
auctioneer
,
was
bound
to
know
the
nature
of
everything
,
he
would
have
smiled
and
trimmed
himself
silently
with
the
sense
that
he
came
pretty
near
that
.
On
the
whole
,
in
an
auctioneering
way
,
he
was
an
honourable
man
,
not
ashamed
of
his
business
,
and
feeling
that
"
the
celebrated
Peel
,
now
Sir
Robert
,
"
if
introduced
to
him
,
would
not
fail
to
recognize
his
importance
.
"
I
do
n't
mind
if
I
have
a
slice
of
that
ham
,
and
a
glass
of
that
ale
,
Miss
Garth
,
if
you
will
allow
me
,
"
he
said
,
coming
into
the
parlor
at
half-past
eleven
,
after
having
had
the
exceptional
privilege
of
seeing
old
Featherstone
,
and
standing
with
his
back
to
the
fire
between
Mrs.
Waule
and
Solomon
.
"
It
's
not
necessary
for
you
to
go
out
;
—
let
me
ring
the
bell
.
"
"
Thank
you
,
"
said
Mary
,
"
I
have
an
errand
.
"
"
Well
,
Mr.
Trumbull
,
you
're
highly
favoured
,
"
said
Mrs.
Waule
.
"
What
!
seeing
the
old
man
?
"
said
the
auctioneer
,
playing
with
his
seals
dispassionately
.
"
Ah
,
you
see
he
has
relied
on
me
considerably
.
"
Here
he
pressed
his
lips
together
,
and
frowned
meditatively
.
"
Might
anybody
ask
what
their
brother
has
been
saying
?
"
said
Solomon
,
in
a
soft
tone
of
humility
,
in
which
he
had
a
sense
of
luxurious
cunning
,
he
being
a
rich
man
and
not
in
need
of
it
.
"
Oh
yes
,
anybody
may
ask
,
"
said
Mr.
Trumbull
,
with
loud
and
good-humored
though
cutting
sarcasm
.
"
Anybody
may
interrogate
.
Any
one
may
give
their
remarks
an
interrogative
turn
,
"
he
continued
,
his
sonorousness
rising
with
his
style
.
"
This
is
constantly
done
by
good
speakers
,
even
when
they
anticipate
no
answer
.
It
is
what
we
call
a
figure
of
speech
—
speech
at
a
high
figure
,
as
one
may
say
.
"
The
eloquent
auctioneer
smiled
at
his
own
ingenuity
.
"
I
should
n't
be
sorry
to
hear
he
'd
remembered
you
,
Mr.
Trumbull
,
"
said
Solomon
.
"
I
never
was
against
the
deserving
.
It
's
the
undeserving
I
'm
against
.
"
"
Ah
,
there
it
is
,
you
see
,
there
it
is
,
"
said
Mr.
Trumbull
,
significantly
.
"
It
ca
n't
be
denied
that
undeserving
people
have
been
legatees
,
and
even
residuary
legatees
.
It
is
so
,
with
testamentary
dispositions
.
"
Again
he
pursed
up
his
lips
and
frowned
a
little
.
"
Do
you
mean
to
say
for
certain
,
Mr.
Trumbull
,
that
my
brother
has
left
his
land
away
from
our
family
?
"
said
Mrs.
Waule
,
on
whom
,
as
an
unhopeful
woman
,
those
long
words
had
a
depressing
effect
.
"
A
man
might
as
well
turn
his
land
into
charity
land
at
once
as
leave
it
to
some
people
,
"
observed
Solomon
,
his
sister
's
question
having
drawn
no
answer
.
"
What
,
Blue-Coat
land
?
"
said
Mrs.
Waule
,
again
.
"
Oh
,
Mr.
Trumbull
,
you
never
can
mean
to
say
that
.
It
would
be
flying
in
the
face
of
the
Almighty
that
's
prospered
him
.
"
While
Mrs.
Waule
was
speaking
,
Mr.
Borthrop
Trumbull
walked
away
from
the
fireplace
towards
the
window
,
patrolling
with
his
fore-finger
round
the
inside
of
his
stock
,
then
along
his
whiskers
and
the
curves
of
his
hair
.
He
now
walked
to
Miss
Garth
's
work-table
,
opened
a
book
which
lay
there
and
read
the
title
aloud
with
pompous
emphasis
as
if
he
were
offering
it
for
sale
:
"
'
Anne
of
Geierstein
'
(
pronounced
Jeersteen
)
or
the
'
Maiden
of
the
Mist
,
by
the
author
of
Waverley
.
'
"
Then
turning
the
page
,
he
began
sonorously
—
"
The
course
of
four
centuries
has
well-nigh
elapsed
since
the
series
of
events
which
are
related
in
the
following
chapters
took
place
on
the
Continent
.
"
He
pronounced
the
last
truly
admirable
word
with
the
accent
on
the
last
syllable
,
not
as
unaware
of
vulgar
usage
,
but
feeling
that
this
novel
delivery
enhanced
the
sonorous
beauty
which
his
reading
had
given
to
the
whole
.
And
now
the
servant
came
in
with
the
tray
,
so
that
the
moments
for
answering
Mrs.
Waule
's
question
had
gone
by
safely
,
while
she
and
Solomon
,
watching
Mr.
Trumbull
's
movements
,
were
thinking
that
high
learning
interfered
sadly
with
serious
affairs
.
Mr.
Borthrop
Trumbull
really
knew
nothing
about
old
Featherstone
's
will
;
but
he
could
hardly
have
been
brought
to
declare
any
ignorance
unless
he
had
been
arrested
for
misprision
of
treason
.
"
I
shall
take
a
mere
mouthful
of
ham
and
a
glass
of
ale
,
"
he
said
,
reassuringly
.
"
As
a
man
with
public
business
,
I
take
a
snack
when
I
can
.
I
will
back
this
ham
,
"
he
added
,
after
swallowing
some
morsels
with
alarming
haste
,
"
against
any
ham
in
the
three
kingdoms
.
In
my
opinion
it
is
better
than
the
hams
at
Freshitt
Hall
—
and
I
think
I
am
a
tolerable
judge
.
"
"
Some
do
n't
like
so
much
sugar
in
their
hams
,
"
said
Mrs.
Waule
.
"
But
my
poor
brother
would
always
have
sugar
.
"
"
If
any
person
demands
better
,
he
is
at
liberty
to
do
so
;
but
,
God
bless
me
,
what
an
aroma
!
I
should
be
glad
to
buy
in
that
quality
,
I
know
.
There
is
some
gratification
to
a
gentleman
"
—
here
Mr.
Trumbull
's
voice
conveyed
an
emotional
remonstrance
—
"
in
having
this
kind
of
ham
set
on
his
table
.
"
He
pushed
aside
his
plate
,
poured
out
his
glass
of
ale
and
drew
his
chair
a
little
forward
,
profiting
by
the
occasion
to
look
at
the
inner
side
of
his
legs
,
which
he
stroked
approvingly
—
Mr.
Trumbull
having
all
those
less
frivolous
airs
and
gestures
which
distinguish
the
predominant
races
of
the
north
.
"
You
have
an
interesting
work
there
,
I
see
,
Miss
Garth
,
"
he
observed
,
when
Mary
re-entered
.
"
It
is
by
the
author
of
'
Waverley
'
:
that
is
Sir
Walter
Scott
.
I
have
bought
one
of
his
works
myself
—
a
very
nice
thing
,
a
very
superior
publication
,
entitled
'
Ivanhoe
.
'
You
will
not
get
any
writer
to
beat
him
in
a
hurry
,
I
think
—
he
will
not
,
in
my
opinion
,
be
speedily
surpassed
.
I
have
just
been
reading
a
portion
at
the
commencement
of
'
Anne
of
Jeersteen
.
'
It
commences
well
.
"
(
Things
never
began
with
Mr.
Borthrop
Trumbull
:
they
always
commenced
,
both
in
private
life
and
on
his
handbills
.
)
"
You
are
a
reader
,
I
see
.
Do
you
subscribe
to
our
Middlemarch
library
?
"
"
No
,
"
said
Mary
.
"
Mr.
Fred
Vincy
brought
this
book
.
"
"
I
am
a
great
bookman
myself
,
"
returned
Mr.
Trumbull
.
"
I
have
no
less
than
two
hundred
volumes
in
calf
,
and
I
flatter
myself
they
are
well
selected
.
Also
pictures
by
Murillo
,
Rubens
,
Teniers
,
Titian
,
Vandyck
,
and
others
.
I
shall
be
happy
to
lend
you
any
work
you
like
to
mention
,
Miss
Garth
.
"
"
I
am
much
obliged
,
"
said
Mary
,
hastening
away
again
,
"
but
I
have
little
time
for
reading
.
"
"
I
should
say
my
brother
has
done
something
for
her
in
his
will
,
"
said
Mr.
Solomon
,
in
a
very
low
undertone
,
when
she
had
shut
the
door
behind
her
,
pointing
with
his
head
towards
the
absent
Mary
.
"
His
first
wife
was
a
poor
match
for
him
,
though
,
"
said
Mrs.
Waule
.
"
She
brought
him
nothing
:
and
this
young
woman
is
only
her
niece
,
—
and
very
proud
.
And
my
brother
has
always
paid
her
wage
.
"
"
A
sensible
girl
though
,
in
my
opinion
,
"
said
Mr.
Trumbull
,
finishing
his
ale
and
starting
up
with
an
emphatic
adjustment
of
his
waistcoat
.
"
I
have
observed
her
when
she
has
been
mixing
medicine
in
drops
.
She
minds
what
she
is
doing
,
sir
.
That
is
a
great
point
in
a
woman
,
and
a
great
point
for
our
friend
up-stairs
,
poor
dear
old
soul
.
A
man
whose
life
is
of
any
value
should
think
of
his
wife
as
a
nurse
:
that
is
what
I
should
do
,
if
I
married
;
and
I
believe
I
have
lived
single
long
enough
not
to
make
a
mistake
in
that
line
.
Some
men
must
marry
to
elevate
themselves
a
little
,
but
when
I
am
in
need
of
that
,
I
hope
some
one
will
tell
me
so
—
I
hope
some
individual
will
apprise
me
of
the
fact
.
I
wish
you
good
morning
,
Mrs.
Waule
.
Good
morning
,
Mr.
Solomon
.
I
trust
we
shall
meet
under
less
melancholy
auspices
.
"
When
Mr.
Trumbull
had
departed
with
a
fine
bow
,
Solomon
,
leaning
forward
,
observed
to
his
sister
,
"
You
may
depend
,
Jane
,
my
brother
has
left
that
girl
a
lumping
sum
.
"
"
Anybody
would
think
so
,
from
the
way
Mr.
Trumbull
talks
,
"
said
Jane
.
Then
,
after
a
pause
,
"
He
talks
as
if
my
daughters
was
n't
to
be
trusted
to
give
drops
.
"
"
Auctioneers
talk
wild
,
"
said
Solomon
.
"
Not
but
what
Trumbull
has
made
money
.
"
CHAPTER
XXXIII
.
"
Close
up
his
eyes
and
draw
the
curtain
close
;
And
let
us
all
to
meditation
.
"
—
2
Henry
VI
.
That
night
after
twelve
o'clock
Mary
Garth
relieved
the
watch
in
Mr.
Featherstone
's
room
,
and
sat
there
alone
through
the
small
hours
.
She
often
chose
this
task
,
in
which
she
found
some
pleasure
,
notwithstanding
the
old
man
's
testiness
whenever
he
demanded
her
attentions
.
There
were
intervals
in
which
she
could
sit
perfectly
still
,
enjoying
the
outer
stillness
and
the
subdued
light
.
The
red
fire
with
its
gently
audible
movement
seemed
like
a
solemn
existence
calmly
independent
of
the
petty
passions
,
the
imbecile
desires
,
the
straining
after
worthless
uncertainties
,
which
were
daily
moving
her
contempt
.
Mary
was
fond
of
her
own
thoughts
,
and
could
amuse
herself
well
sitting
in
twilight
with
her
hands
in
her
lap
;
for
,
having
early
had
strong
reason
to
believe
that
things
were
not
likely
to
be
arranged
for
her
peculiar
satisfaction
,
she
wasted
no
time
in
astonishment
and
annoyance
at
that
fact
.
And
she
had
already
come
to
take
life
very
much
as
a
comedy
in
which
she
had
a
proud
,
nay
,
a
generous
resolution
not
to
act
the
mean
or
treacherous
part
.
Mary
might
have
become
cynical
if
she
had
not
had
parents
whom
she
honoured
,
and
a
well
of
affectionate
gratitude
within
her
,
which
was
all
the
fuller
because
she
had
learned
to
make
no
unreasonable
claims
.
She
sat
to-night
revolving
,
as
she
was
wont
,
the
scenes
of
the
day
,
her
lips
often
curling
with
amusement
at
the
oddities
to
which
her
fancy
added
fresh
drollery
:
people
were
so
ridiculous
with
their
illusions
,
carrying
their
fool
's
caps
unawares
,
thinking
their
own
lies
opaque
while
everybody
else
's
were
transparent
,
making
themselves
exceptions
to
everything
,
as
if
when
all
the
world
looked
yellow
under
a
lamp
they
alone
were
rosy
.
Yet
there
were
some
illusions
under
Mary
's
eyes
which
were
not
quite
comic
to
her
.
She
was
secretly
convinced
,
though
she
had
no
other
grounds
than
her
close
observation
of
old
Featherstone
's
nature
,
that
in
spite
of
his
fondness
for
having
the
Vincys
about
him
,
they
were
as
likely
to
be
disappointed
as
any
of
the
relations
whom
he
kept
at
a
distance
.
She
had
a
good
deal
of
disdain
for
Mrs.
Vincy
's
evident
alarm
lest
she
and
Fred
should
be
alone
together
,
but
it
did
not
hinder
her
from
thinking
anxiously
of
the
way
in
which
Fred
would
be
affected
,
if
it
should
turn
out
that
his
uncle
had
left
him
as
poor
as
ever
.
She
could
make
a
butt
of
Fred
when
he
was
present
,
but
she
did
not
enjoy
his
follies
when
he
was
absent
.
Yet
she
liked
her
thoughts
:
a
vigorous
young
mind
not
overbalanced
by
passion
,
finds
a
good
in
making
acquaintance
with
life
,
and
watches
its
own
powers
with
interest
.
Mary
had
plenty
of
merriment
within
.
Her
thought
was
not
veined
by
any
solemnity
or
pathos
about
the
old
man
on
the
bed
:
such
sentiments
are
easier
to
affect
than
to
feel
about
an
aged
creature
whose
life
is
not
visibly
anything
but
a
remnant
of
vices
.
She
had
always
seen
the
most
disagreeable
side
of
Mr.
Featherstone
:
he
was
not
proud
of
her
,
and
she
was
only
useful
to
him
.
To
be
anxious
about
a
soul
that
is
always
snapping
at
you
must
be
left
to
the
saints
of
the
earth
;
and
Mary
was
not
one
of
them
.
She
had
never
returned
him
a
harsh
word
,
and
had
waited
on
him
faithfully
:
that
was
her
utmost
.
Old
Featherstone
himself
was
not
in
the
least
anxious
about
his
soul
,
and
had
declined
to
see
Mr.
Tucker
on
the
subject
.
To-night
he
had
not
snapped
,
and
for
the
first
hour
or
two
he
lay
remarkably
still
,
until
at
last
Mary
heard
him
rattling
his
bunch
of
keys
against
the
tin
box
which
he
always
kept
in
the
bed
beside
him
.
About
three
o'clock
he
said
,
with
remarkable
distinctness
,
"
Missy
,
come
here
!
"
Mary
obeyed
,
and
found
that
he
had
already
drawn
the
tin
box
from
under
the
clothes
,
though
he
usually
asked
to
have
this
done
for
him
;
and
he
had
selected
the
key
.
He
now
unlocked
the
box
,
and
,
drawing
from
it
another
key
,
looked
straight
at
her
with
eyes
that
seemed
to
have
recovered
all
their
sharpness
and
said
,
"
How
many
of
'
em
are
in
the
house
?
"
"
You
mean
of
your
own
relations
,
sir
,
"
said
Mary
,
well
used
to
the
old
man
's
way
of
speech
.
He
nodded
slightly
and
she
went
on
.
"
Mr.
Jonah
Featherstone
and
young
Cranch
are
sleeping
here
.
"
"
Oh
ay
,
they
stick
,
do
they
?
and
the
rest
—
they
come
every
day
,
I
'll
warrant
—
Solomon
and
Jane
,
and
all
the
young
uns
?
They
come
peeping
,
and
counting
and
casting
up
?
"
"
Not
all
of
them
every
day
.
Mr.
Solomon
and
Mrs.
Waule
are
here
every
day
,
and
the
others
come
often
.
"
The
old
man
listened
with
a
grimace
while
she
spoke
,
and
then
said
,
relaxing
his
face
,
"
The
more
fools
they
.
You
hearken
,
missy
.
It
's
three
o'clock
in
the
morning
,
and
I
've
got
all
my
faculties
as
well
as
ever
I
had
in
my
life
.
I
know
all
my
property
,
and
where
the
money
's
put
out
,
and
everything
.
And
I
've
made
everything
ready
to
change
my
mind
,
and
do
as
I
like
at
the
last
.
Do
you
hear
,
missy
?
I
've
got
my
faculties
.
"
"
Well
,
sir
?
"
said
Mary
,
quietly
.
He
now
lowered
his
tone
with
an
air
of
deeper
cunning
.
"
I
've
made
two
wills
,
and
I
'm
going
to
burn
one
.
Now
you
do
as
I
tell
you
.
This
is
the
key
of
my
iron
chest
,
in
the
closet
there
.
You
push
well
at
the
side
of
the
brass
plate
at
the
top
,
till
it
goes
like
a
bolt
:
then
you
can
put
the
key
in
the
front
lock
and
turn
it
.
See
and
do
that
;
and
take
out
the
topmost
paper
—
Last
Will
and
Testament
—
big
printed
.
"
"
No
,
sir
,
"
said
Mary
,
in
a
firm
voice
,
"
I
cannot
do
that
.
"
"
Not
do
it
?
I
tell
you
,
you
must
,
"
said
the
old
man
,
his
voice
beginning
to
shake
under
the
shock
of
this
resistance
.
"
I
cannot
touch
your
iron
chest
or
your
will
.
I
must
refuse
to
do
anything
that
might
lay
me
open
to
suspicion
.
"
"
I
tell
you
,
I
'm
in
my
right
mind
.
Sha
n't
I
do
as
I
like
at
the
last
?
I
made
two
wills
on
purpose
.
Take
the
key
,
I
say
.
"
"
No
,
sir
,
I
will
not
,
"
said
Mary
,
more
resolutely
still
.
Her
repulsion
was
getting
stronger
.
"
I
tell
you
,
there
's
no
time
to
lose
.
"
"
