youare
so
pleased
with
him
?
"
asks
Sarah
cynically
;
"
it
seems
all
one
to
him
which
of
us
he
marries
,
so
as
he
gets
one
of
the
family
;
it
seems
to
be
the
breed
,
not
the
individual
,
that
he
admires
.
Marry
him
yourself
,
and
carry
him
off
to
Cannes
;
I
assure
you
that
I
will
not
move
a
finger
to
prevent
you
!
"
"
He
is
a
man
not
without
distinction
in
his
own
line
,
"
pursues
Mrs.
Churchill
,
affecting
not
to
have
heard
her
grand-daughter
's
last
ironical
suggestion
;
"
though
it
happens
to
be
a
line
which
you
are
quite
incapable
of
appreciating
.
He
is
not
handsome
,
certainly
,
but
there
is
a
good
deal
of
—
of
,
"
hesitating
for
an
encomium
—
"
of
character
in
his
face
.
He
has
made
an
excellent
settlement
upon
her
;
it
quite
took
me
by
surprise
.
She
is
twenty-one
,
and
it
is
her
first
bonâ-fide
offer
;
I
think
you
will
not
be
acting
at
all
a
friend
's
part
in
making
her
quarrel
with
her
bread-and-butter
.
"
"
Whether
I
am
acting
the
part
of
a
friend
or
not
,
"
retorts
Sarah
obstinately
,
marching
towards
the
door
,
"
I
promise
you
that
I
shall
carry
my
remonstrances
to
the
altar-foot
;
and
so
would
you
if
you
did
your
duty
.
You
may
like
to
know
,
"
firing
a
defiant
parting
shot
from
the
door-way
,
"
that
I
am
going
straight
to
her
now
to
resume
the
subject
.
"
She
is
as
good
as
her
word
.
She
finds
Belinda
where
she
knew
that
she
would
find
her
,
in
her
little
back
sitting-room
,
but
not
employed
as
she
had
expected
.
She
had
thought
to
come
upon
her
stooping
over
her
eternal
copy-books
;
but
for
once
they
are
laid
aside
.
She
is
sitting
on
the
hearthrug
,
the
gas
glaring
above
her
and
casting
its
ugly
shadows
upon
her
cheeks
,
making
them
look
lined
and
hollow
.
Strewn
about
her
is
a
small
litter
of
old
writing-desks
,
old
workboxes
,
childish
relics
.
On
her
lap
lies
open
a
morocco
pocket-book
,
over
which
,
on
Sarah
's
entrance
,
she
hastily
puts
her
hands
,
as
if
to
conceal
it
.
"
I
am
setting
my
house
in
order
,
"
she
says
,
looking
up
with
a
rather
guilty
smile
.
"
Did
you
ever
see
such
a
squirrel
's
nest
?
Here
is
the
case
of
court-plaister
that
you
gave
me
on
my
eighth
birthday
.
Do
you
remember
how
fond
we
were
of
giving
each
other
court-plaister
?
Here
is
the
lady
's
companion
that
granny
brought
me
from
Bath
;
I
remember
crying
because
she
brought
you
such
a
much
better
one
.
Even
as
long
ago
as
then
,
"
looking
pensively
at
the
little
rusty
old
pair
of
scissors
and
the
dim
bodkin
,
"
it
began
.
"
"
What
were
you
looking
at
when
I
came
in
?
"
asks
Sarah
brusquely
,
and
dropping
on
her
knees
beside
her
sister
.
Belinda
starts
.
Her
first
impulse
is
to
clasp
her
hands
in
still
closer
guardianship
over
her
hid
treasure
;
but
her
next
corrects
it
.
"
You
are
quite
welcome
to
see
them
once
more
,
before
they
go
into
the
fire
,
"
she
says
quietly
,
though
in
the
yellow
gaslight
her
cheeks
crimson
.
"
I
do
not
know
why
I
should
hide
them
;
they
are
relics
of
an
affection
almost
as
warm
and
as
steady
as
granny
's
.
There
!
"
picking
up
and
holding
scornfully
between
her
finger
and
thumb
for
Sarah
's
inspection
one
withered
flower
after
another
.
"
That
was
once
a
gardenia
;
that
was
a
Cape
jessamine
;
that
was
a
tuberose
.
How
pretty
they
look
!
how
sweetly
they
smell
now
!
Have
you
looked
enough
at
them
?
Off
with
them
then
!
"
As
she
speaks
,
and
despite
Sarah
's
hand
stretched
out
with
involuntary
eagerness
to
check
her
,
she
tosses
the
little
dry
skeletons
into
the
fire
,
where
,
with
a
hardly
perceptible
shrivel
and
crackle
,
they
for
ever
disappear
.
Belinda
watches
them
with
a
hard
,
dry
eye
.
"
Are
you
satisfied
?
"
she
says
,
turning
to
her
sister
,
and
exhibiting
the
pocket-book
extended
empty
from
cover
to
cover
.
"
There
is
nothing
else
in
it
except
my
love-letter
;
it
is
humiliating
to
have
but
one
,
is
not
it
?
Would
you
like
to
read
it
again
before
it
follows
those
pretty
flowers
,
or
may
it
go
at
once
?
"
"
Give
it
me
!
"
cries
Sarah
,
snatching
the
little
sheet
,
which
looks
older
than
it
really
is
from
obvious
hard
wear
,
continual
unfolding
,
blistering
tears
.
"
I
will
read
it
again
.
Perhaps
,
reading
it
in
cold
blood
like
this
,
the
meaning
may
strike
one
differently
!
"
"
If
you
wish
I
can
spare
you
the
trouble
,
"
says
Belinda
bitterly
.
"
I
can
say
it
to
you
if
you
wish
.
"
The
fire
burns
low
and
dull
;
and
Sarah
rises
and
stands
right
beneath
the
gas
,
so
that
no
lack
of
light
may
hinder
her
examination
of
the
document
in
her
hand
.
But
the
rays
of
a
June
sun
would
be
in
this
case
of
no
use
.
"
I
can
make
nothing
of
it
,
"
she
says
dispiritedly
,
giving
it
back
to
its
owner
;
"
but
do
not
—
do
not
burn
it
!
"
For
a
moment
Belinda
hesitates
,
considering
with
quivering
eyelids
and
trembling
lip
the
small
and
faded
paper
.
Then
in
a
moment
it
has
followed
the
flowers
!
At
first
it
gives
a
curling
writhe
,
as
if
it
hurt
it
to
be
burnt
;
then
one
or
two
sentences
come
out
very
clear
before
flying
in
black
film
up
the
chimney
.
The
one
that
lasts
longest
and
disappears
latest
is
,
"
Oh
,
forgive
me
!
"
After
that
there
is
silence
.
Sarah
has
dropped
sulkily
into
an
armchair
;
and
Belinda
has
turned
again
to
her
childish
treasures
,
and
is
beginning
to
sort
and
part
them
.
But
her
hands
move
mechanically
of
their
own
accord
,
and
with
that
want
of
purpose
which
shows
that
they
are
not
directed
by
the
brain
.
When
a
quarter
of
an
hour
has
gone
dumbly
by
,
Belinda
speaks
,
in
that
flat
and
spiritless
voice
which
is
now
habitual
to
her
:
"
I
wanted
to
ask
your
advice
;
I
want
you
to
give
me
your
opinion
.
Is
it
necessary
—
am
I
bound
in
honour
to
tell
Professor
Forth
?
"
She
stops
with
a
sudden
sobbing
catch
in
her
breath
.
"
If
you
think
that
your
confidence
will
be
in
the
least
likely
to
make
him
break
his
engagement
,
tell
him
by
all
means
!
"
replies
Sarah
surlily
.
"
Not
only
tell
him
what
there
is
to
tell
,
but
invent
a
great
deal
more
besides
.
I
promise
you
that
I
will
aid
you
with
all
the
powers
of
my
imagination
!
"
"
Must
I
really
tell
him
?
"
groans
Belinda
,
with
an
accent
of
such
acute
pain
that
Sarah
's
heart
smites
her
.
"
Tell
him
!
"
she
cries
compassionately
.
"
My
poor
child
,
what
is
there
to
tell
?
"
"
What
indeed
!
"
acquiesces
Belinda
,
in
bitter
humility
.
But
she
looks
relieved
.
"
Even
if
there
were
anything
to
tell
,
"
she
goes
on
a
moment
later
—
"
but
,
as
you
justly
say
,
there
is
nothing
,
for
one
is
not
answerable
to
anyone
for
the
freaks
of
one
's
own
imagination
—
but
even
if
there
were
,
he
has
no
concern
with
my
past
,
has
he
?
It
is
only
from
the
tenth
of
next
month
onwards
that
I
am
accountable
to
him
for
my
actions
!
"
"
The
tenth
of
next
month
!
"
repeats
Sarah
fiercely
.
"
What
,
is
that
still
the
day
on
which
the
gallows
is
to
be
erected
?
"
"
If
you
think
that
by
wording
it
so
offensively
,
you
will
induce
me
to
put
it
off
,
you
are
mistaken
,
"
answers
Belinda
,
with
an
access
of
miserable
,
sore
ill-humour
;
"
and
you
know
the
sooner
I
am
'
out
of
the
way
'
—
I
am
always
in
the
way
now
—
the
sooner
you
can
be
off
to
the
South
!
"
"
Save
your
sneers
for
granny
,
who
deserves
them
,
"
answers
Sarah
,
genuinely
hurt
.
"
I
do
not
.
"
"
I
know
you
do
not
!
"
cries
the
other
remorsefully
;
"
but
you
were
the
nearest
thing
to
me
.
It
seems
,
nowadays
,
as
if
I
must
put
my
sting
into
whatever
is
nearest
to
me
!
"
"
That
is
the
right
frame
of
mind
in
which
to
be
led
to
the
gal
—
to
the
altar
,
is
not
it
?
"
retorts
Sarah
sarcastically
;
and
again
they
are
silent
.
"
I
now
wish
to
heaven
,
"
resumes
Sarah
devoutly
,
at
the
expiration
of
a
heavy
interval
,
"
that
I
had
married
him
myself
.
Intensely
as
I
should
have
disliked
it
,
he
could
not
have
made
me
as
unhappy
as
he
will
you
.
A
wineglass
holds
less
than
a
hogshead
;
and
the
pious
hope
of
an
early
widowhood
,
which
you
will
be
too
conscientious
to
indulge
,
would
have
buoyed
me
up
!
"
Belinda
's
only
answer
is
a
sickly
smile
.
"
You
would
have
gone
on
living
with
granny
and
the
dogs
,
"
pursues
Sarah
,
in
earnest
narrative
;
"
she
would
have
grown
civiller
to
you
when
she
found
that
she
had
no
one
else
to
depend
on
,
and
she
really
is
very
good
company
when
she
chooses
;
and
by-and-by
,
some
fine
day
,
Rivers
might
have
come
back
.
No
,
no
!
"
resolutely
catching
and
holding
down
with
her
small
,
strong
wrists
the
hands
that
her
sister
is
hurrying
to
her
tortured
face
.
"
I
do
not
care
whether
you
wince
or
no
!
I
do
not
care
whether
it
hurts
you
or
no
;
you
must
and
shall
hear
.
Some
day
—
Rivers
—
might
—
have
come
back
again
!
He
may
come
back
still
;
but
it
may
be
after
the
10th
of
January
!
"
She
pauses
dramatically
,
and
fixes
her
eyes
upon
the
poor
quivering
features
,
so
barely
exposed
to
her
piercing
scrutiny
.
There
comes
no
answer
but
a
moaning
sigh
.
"
I
can
give
you
no
reason
for
it
,
"
continues
Sarah
;
"
I
know
no
more
about
him
than
you
do
;
but
I
have
a
conviction
—
something
tells
me
,
that
there
has
been
some
mistake
,
some
hitch
,
some
unavoidable
delay
!
"
"
An
unavoidable
delay
of
eighteen
months
!
"
says
Belinda
,
with
faltering
irony
.
"
How
likely
!
"
"
A
letter
has
been
lost
.
"
"
Letters
are
never
lost
,
"
hopelessly
.
"
Well
,
have
it
as
you
like
!
"
cries
Sarah
impatiently
.
"
All
the
same
,
my
conviction
remains
that
some
day
he
will
come
back
again
.
How
glad
you
will
be
to
see
him
!
How
pleasant
it
will
be
for
you
to
introduce
him
to
your
husband
,
Mr.
Forth
!
"
By
a
great
wrench
,
Belinda
succeeds
in
loosing
one
hand
;
but
it
is
a
very
insufficient
shield
,
and
she
has
failed
in
liberating
the
other
,
so
sturdily
held
in
Sarah
's
small
but
potent
grasp
.
"
I
see
him
coming
into
the
room
with
those
blazing
eyes
of
his
,
"
goes
on
Sarah
,
in
a
sort
of
prophetic
frenzy
—
"
they
were
not
much
like
Mr.
Forth
's
eyes
,
were
they
?
—
and
you
introducing
them
to
each
other
:
'
My
husband
,
Mr.
Forth
!
Mr.
Rivers
!
'
I
envy
you
that
moment
!
"
But
at
this
Belinda
tears
herself
free
.
"
This
is
too
much
!
"
she
says
,
in
a
suffocated
voice
,
and
struggling
to
reach
the
door
.
"
Let
me
go
!
I
must
go
!
I
can
bear
no
more
!
"
But
Sarah
falls
on
her
knees
,
and
catches
her
sister
's
gown
.
"
Do
you
think
it
is
as
bad
as
the
reality
will
be
?
"
she
asks
,
in
a
thrilling
,
clear
voice
.
"
And
you
will
not
be
able
to
run
away
from
it
!
Do
you
suppose
that
there
will
be
a
single
corner
in
the
whole
earth
in
which
you
can
take
refuge
from
it
?
"
Something
in
Sarah
's
tone
has
,
more
than
her
detaining
gesture
,
arrested
Belinda
's
flight
.
Stock-still
she
stands
,
in
a
wretched
irresolution
,
death-pale
.
"
It
is
too
late
!
"
she
murmurs
miserably
.
"
It
is
not
too
late
!
"
cries
Sarah
in
wild
excitement
,
clasping
her
sister
's
knees
;
"
it
will
be
too
late
after
the
10th
,
but
it
is
not
too
late
now
.
Give
it
up
!
Throw
him
over
!
What
will
he
care
?
What
harm
will
it
do
him
?
How
much
the
worse
is
he
for
having
been
thrown
over
by
me
?
"
Belinda
still
stands
,
white
and
trembling
,
her
eyes
staring
stonily
out
into
vacancy
.
Before
them
,
though
they
seem
to
see
nothing
,
stands
that
dreadful
vision
conjured
up
by
her
sister
;
and
the
sight
of
it
makes
every
limb
shake
.
"
It
is
impossible
!
"
she
says
feebly
.
"
It
is
not
impossible
!
"
asseverates
Sarah
,
in
passionate
heat
.
"
Give
me
a
chance
,
and
I
will
show
you
whether
it
is
possible
or
no
!
Let
me
tell
him
.
Give
me
that
commission
as
my
Christmas-box
;
it
would
be
the
best
I
ever
had
!
I
will
tell
him
,
"
laughing
rather
hysterically
,
"
that
it
is
a
constitutional
peculiarity
of
our
family
!
"
Perhaps
it
is
Sarah
's
laugh
that
recalls
her
sister
to
a
more
normal
condition
of
feeling
.
With
a
long
sigh
she
comes
back
to
reality
.
"
Who
would
tell
granny
?
"
she
asks
,
with
a
sarcastic
smile
.
"
Who
would
dare
break
to
her
that
she
was
not
to
be
robbed
of
her
darling
after
all
?
"
"
I
would
!
"
cries
Sarah
,
with
delighted
eagerness
.
"
I
know
few
things
in
the
world
that
would
give
me
a
purer
pleasure
.
Let
me
go
now
,
at
once
!
Strike
while
the
iron
is
hot
!
"
jumping
up
,
and
moving
in
her
turn
rapidly
towards
the
door
.
But
it
is
now
Belinda
who
detains
her
.
"
Pooh
!
"
she
says
coldly
;
"
it
was
only
a
flight
of
fancy
on
my
part
.
It
would
be
amusing
to
give
her
a
fright
;
but
she
has
no
real
cause
for
alarm
.
What
change
has
happened
that
I
should
change
?
"
in
a
lifeless
tone
.
"
Your
word-painting
was
so
vivid
,
that
for
one
moment
I
thought
he
had
come
back
;
but
it
seems
not
.
I
think
,
"
with
a
bitter
smile
,
"
that
if
I
waited
for
him
to
come
back
to
me
,
I
should
wait
my
life
long
.
"
"
I
do
not
ask
you
to
wait
your
life
long
,
"
cries
Sarah
,
redoubling
that
energy
of
persuasion
which
,
as
she
disppointedly
sees
,
has
been
hitherto
exercised
in
vain
.
"
I
only
ask
you
to
wait
one
month
!
Surely
,
"
with
a
scathing
sneer
,
"
the
joys
that
you
expect
are
not
so
poignant
but
that
you
can
afford
to
defer
them
for
four
weeks
!
"
"
Why
should
I
defer
them
?
"
asks
Belinda
,
with
a
fierce
restlessness
in
eye
and
gesture
.
"
If
I
had
had
my
will
,
I
should
have
been
married
by
now
.
It
is
this
state
of
transition
which
is
worst
of
all
;
one
is
unhinged
;
one
is
off
one
's
balance
.
"
Sarah
has
again
fallen
down
on
the
floor
before
her
sister
,
and
is
again
suppliantly
clasping
her
knees
.
"
One
month
!
one
month
!
"
she
cries
beseechingly
.
"
And
before
the
month
is
out
,
you
may
be
down
on
your
knees
as
I
am
,
thanking
God
and
me
for
having
saved
you
from
perdition
.
One
month
!
one
month
!
"
She
has
pressed
her
head
against
her
sister
's
gown
,
and
through
the
woollen
stuff
her
tears
are
soaking
—
Sarah
's
rare
tears
!
There
is
such
a
compelling
ring
in
her
voice
that
Belinda
's
cold
,
sick
heart
throbs
beneath
it
.
Again
that
vision
rises
before
her
,
but
changed
and
beautified
.
Rivers
is
coming
into
the
room
,
but
between
him
and
her
thrusts
itself
no
chill
,
pedant
figure
.
As
she
so
stands
hesitating
,
thrilling
,
in
a
waking
dream
,
the
door
of
the
room
does
in
effect
fly
open
,
and
some
one
enters
.
Is
it
Rivers
?
Alas
,
no
!
"
A
merry
Christmas
to
you
!
"
bawls
Miss
Watson
,
noisily
entering
,
and
throwing
her
greeting
at
them
like
a
paving-stone
.
"
I
have
just
been
up
to
wish
granny
a
merry
Christmas
,
but
she
does
not
seem
very
bright
,
eh
?
Do
you
think
she
is
breaking
at
all
?
She
did
not
seem
up
to
her
usual
mark
!
"
Sarah
has
sprung
to
her
feet
,
her
habitual
aplomb
gone
,
and
her
one
impulse
to
hide
,
at
any
price
,
her
tear-stained
face
from
the
horny
eyes
of
the
intruder
.
"
Why
,
you
do
not
look
very
bright
either
!
"
cries
the
latter
,
looking
inquisitively
from
one
to
the
other
of
the
girls
'
dismal
faces
.
"
What
is
it
?
Christmas
bills
?
Colds
?
You
look
as
if
you
had
a
cold
!
"
concentrating
her
whole
attention
upon
Sarah
,
whose
face
is
so
little
used
to
being
inundated
with
tears
that
it
resents
it
,
and
shows
the
traces
more
plainly
than
does
one
that
is
frequently
bewept
.
"
I
have
,
"
she
answers
,
snatching
eagerly
at
the
excuse
,
and
violently
resuming
a
part
of
her
usual
nonchalant
self-command
;
"
a
terrific
cold
.
I
have
had
it
for
—
for
years
!
If
I
were
you
,
I
would
not
come
near
me
,
or
I
shall
give
it
you
as
soon
as
look
at
you
!
"
"
Pooh
!
"
replies
Miss
Watson
doughtily
.
"
You
should
take
a
cold
bath
all
the
year
round
,
and
wear
flannel
next
your
skin
.
Look
at
me
!
"
"
Are
you
the
result
of
taking
a
cold
bath
all
the
year
round
,
and
wearing
flannel
next
the
skin
?
"
asks
Sarah
innocently
,
stealing
a
covert
glance
at
her
own
foggy
image
in
the
little
Chippendale
mirror
over
the
mantelpiece
,
to
see
how
far
she
is
recovered
.
But
Miss
Watson
does
not
hear
.
"
I
am
sure
I
do
not
know
how
I
ever
got
here
!
"
continues
she
,
drawing
up
a
chair
to
the
fire
,
and
setting
her
large
feet
on
the
fender
;
"
there
is
not
a
cab
to
be
had
.
I
felt
my
way
all
round
Berkeley
Square
by
the
railings
.
Five
or
six
times
I
was
as
nearly
as
possible
run
over
!
"
"
Just
heavens
,
why
not
quite
?
"
murmurs
Sarah
under
her
breath
.
"
I
never
remember
such
a
Christmas
Day
;
do
you
ever
remember
such
a
Christmas
Day
?
I
have
just
been
asking
granny
whether
,
in
all
her
long
experience
,
she
ever
remembers
such
a
Christmas
Day
.
"
"
If
you
have
been
appealing
to
granny
's
long
experience
,
"
rejoins
Sarah
sarcastically
,
"
no
wonder
you
did
not
find
her
very
bright
;
there
is
nothing
in
the
world
that
she
hates
so
much
.
"
"
I
told
her
how
ill
I
thought
her
looking
,
"
goes
on
the
visitor
comfortably
,
rubbing
her
knees
,
advanced
in
close
proximity
to
the
fire
.
"
She
tells
me
that
it
is
the
climate
;
that
it
is
killing
her
by
inches
.
She
seems
to
have
her
heart
set
upon
going
to
the
Riviera
;
why
does
not
she
go
?
"
with
another
look
of
acute
inquisitiveness
darted
at
her
two
companions
.
"
She
spoke
of
there
being
some
tiresome
hitch
—
something
in
the
way
;
what
is
it
—
eh
?
"
"
We
cannot
bear
to
go
so
far
away
from
you
,
"
replies
Sarah
impudently
,
but
with
a
nervous
laugh
and
look
towards
her
sister
;
"
that
is
it
.
"
But
a
curiosity
so
robust
as
Miss
Watson
's
is
not
to
be
blunted
by
a
jest
.
That
great
Toledo
blade
is
not
to
be
turned
aside
by
a
light
rapier
.
"
No
question
of
£
s.
d
.
,
eh
?
"
says
she
persistently
;
"
the
Riviera
grows
dearer
every
year
!
No
?
Anything
about
either
of
you
,
then
?
"
trying
to
get
a
better
idea
of
Belinda
than
the
rather
drooped
nape
of
her
white
neck
and
one
homespun
shoulder
afford
;
"
any
little
—
little
entanglement
,
eh
?
"
"
You
have
hit
it
!
"
cries
Sarah
jeeringly
;
"
it
is
useless
to
try
and
conceal
anything
from
you
:
we
are
endeavouring
to
arrange
a
marriage
between
me
and
the
Archbishop
of
Canterburry
;
and
as
he
cannot
conveniently
leave
his
see
,
we
think
it
as
well
that
I
should
remain
in
the
neighbourhood
.
"
It
is
obvious
that
nothing
is
to
be
made
of
Sarah
;
the
visitor
turns
her
attention
towards
the
other
sister
.
"
Any
more
Latin
exercises
,
Belinda
?
"
she
asks
in
a
rallying
voice
;
"
has
Professor
Forth
been
helping
you
to
do
any
more
Latin
exercises
?
does
he
often
come
?
do
you
see
much
of
him
?
does
he
ever
ask
you
to
go
down
to
Oxbridge
,
eh
?
"
To
these
questions
Belinda
's
answer
is
so
unready
that
her
junior
has
again
to
come
to
her
aid
.
"
Of
course
,
"
she
answers
ironically
;
"
but
he
says
he
will
not
have
us
,
unless
we
bring
you
too
.
"
"
As
to
that
,
"
replies
Miss
Watson
,
her
rhinoceros-hide
quite
unpunctured
by
the
pricks
of
this
angry
persiflage
,
"
I
can
tell
you
I
have
a
very
good
mind
to
take
a
run
down
there
.
What
do
you
say
to
our
making
up
a
party
?
we
would
make
him
give
us
luncheon
and
take
us
about
;
they
are
always
delighted
to
give
one
luncheon
and
take
one
about
;
and
if
we
can
get
hold
of
Rivers
,
we
will
make
him
come
too
.
"
She
looks
triumphantly
round
to
collect
the
suffrages
of
her
companions
as
to
this
project
;
but
neither
is
equal
to
giving
utterance
to
any
opinion
upon
it
.
"
Apropos
of
Rivers
,
"
continues
the
other
,
too
happy
in
the
sound
of
her
own
voice
to
miss
the
lacking
response
,
and
addressing
the
observation
more
especially
to
Belinda
,
"
a
very
odd
thing
happened
to
me
.
I
had
not
gone
five
yards
from
your
house
the
other
day
,
before
I
met
him
.
I
asked
him
at
once
whether
he
was
on
his
way
to
call
upon
you
.
"
"
And
he
said
what
?
"
asks
Sarah
,
trying
to
speak
lightly
,
but
with
a
hurry
in
her
voice
that
she
cannot
still
.
"
He
said
'
No
.
'
"
"
That
answer
had
at
least
the
merit
of
brevity
,
"
replies
Sarah
,
laughing
forcedly
and
changing
her
position
so
as
to
interpose
the
slight
bulwark
of
her
girlish
figure
between
her
sister
and
their
guest
.
"
I
asked
him
why
not
.
I
said
,
'
Do
go
;
they
expect
you
.
'
"
"
That
did
not
show
a
rigorous
attention
to
truth
on
your
part
,
"
rejoins
Sarah
sharply
:
"
we
did
not
expect
him
.
But
what
did
he
say
to
that
?
was
his
answer
marked
by
the
same
courteous
diffuseness
as
before
?
"
"
He
did
not
say
anything
;
he
walked
on
very
fast
and
hailed
a
hansom
;
but
I
should
not
wonder
if
he
did
come
after
all
,
"
consolingly
.
"
I
called
out
to
him
,
just
as
he
was
driving
off
,
to
be
sure
not
to
forget
.
Is
that
the
luncheon-bell
?
Dear
me
!
how
the
morning
has
run
away
!
I
suppose
,
"
with
her
loud
assured
laugh
,
"
that
you
will
give
me
a
slice
of
beef
and
plum
pudding
,
will
not
you
,
eh
?
"
CHAPTER
VII
.
After
that
Christmas
morning
Sarah
spends
her
eloquence
in
vain
.
She
may
draw
what
pictures
and
practise
what
oratory
and
cry
what
tears
she
chooses
.
Of
what
use
is
it
to
draw
pictures
for
,
or
address
appeals
to
,
or
weep
tears
over
a
stone
?
And
as
far
as
any
malleability
or
power
of
receiving
impressions
from
without
goes
,
Belinda
is
henceforth
a
stone
.
She
accepts
all
her
sister
's
appeals
in
a
sullen
,
dogged
silence
.
Whether
she
ever
even
hears
them
,
Sarah
is
ignorant
.
She
gives
no
sign
of
having
done
so
by
any
least
emotion
produced
by
them
.
She
listens
,
or
seems
to
listen
,
with
phlegmatic
indifference
to
the
sarcasms
,
vituperations
,
witticisms
,
poured
from
Sarah
's
cornucopia
upon
her
future
husband
.
They
awake
in
her
neither
anger
nor
pain
.
She
makes
no
effort
to
check
them
.
Apparently
she
would
as
soon
hear
them
as
not
.
But
at
the
end
of
them
,
when
Sarah
,
from
pure
loss
of
breath
—
not
,
heaven
knows
,
from
any
lack
of
goodwill
—
has
paused
,
things
are
at
precisely
the
same
point
as
they
were
when
she
began
.
Beaten
and
discouraged
,
she
desists
at
last
.
Not
,
indeed
,
that
she
ever
constrains
herself
so
far
as
to
omit
tacking
on
some
abusive
adjective
to
the
name
of
her
future
brother-in-law
whenever
she
has
occasion
to
mention
him
.
Nor
is
it
until
she
has
exhausted
every
possible
expletive
that
,
as
far
as
she
knows
,
the
English
language
contains
,
and
applied
them
not
only
to
him
,
but
to
his
mother
,
that
she
desists
at
all
.
She
relieves
her
feelings
by
putting
all
the
dogs
into
mourning
,
tying
a
piece
of
black
crape
round
each
of
their
tails
;
a
proceeding
which
fills
Punch
with
fury
,
Slutty
with
mauvaise
honte
,
and
Jane
with
pride
.
Jane
has
that
love
for
finery
which
is
implanted
in
many
plain
persons
.
With
a
face
set
like
a
flint
,
Belinda
marches
to
her
doom
.
And
neither
dogs
nor
men
can
retard
the
approach
of
the
date
of
that
doom
.
There
are
no
preparations
to
delay
it
.
She
has
steadfastly
adhered
to
her
determination
to
have
no
new
clothes
.
"
A
wilful
woman
will
have
her
way
!
"
Mrs.
Churchill
says
,
shaking
that
head
whose
eyes
seem
to
grow
brighter
and
her
cheeks
pinker
and
smoother
as
each
day
brings
her
nearer
to
the
10th
of
January
and
the
South
of
France
.
"
I
suppose
you
know
your
own
affairs
best
;
and
I
fancy
that
you
will
not
have
much
need
for
dress
at
Oxbridge
.
The
only
time
that
I
was
there
I
thought
all
the
women
shockingly
fagoté
!
"
She
stops
and
shrugs
her
shoulders
at
the
recollection
;
but
even
as
she
shrugs
a
smile
hovers
across
her
lips
.
She
is
thinking
that
her
French
tour
will
be
none
the
worse
for
having
her
purse
made
heavier
by
the
weight
of
Belinda
's
trousseau
.
"
I
am
too
annoyed
about
Belinda
,
"
she
says
on
another
occasion
to
her
younger
granddaughter
;
"
but
you
know
how
useless
argument
is
!
She
is
as
obstinate
as
a
mule
;
and
since
she
is
determined
to
be
no
expense
to
me
,
I
was
thinking
,
"
her
eye
lightening
,
"
of
getting
one
or
two
things
for
ourselves
.
I
should
not
wonder
if
,
after
all
,
I
might
manage
to
let
you
have
that
plush
cloak
trimmed
with
fishertails
that
you
asked
me
for
at
Coralie
's
the
other
day
.
Come
!
what
do
you
say
?
"
tapping
her
cheek
with
an
air
of
fond
friskiness
.
"
I
say
that
I
will
not
have
it
!
"
replies
Sarah
doggedly
;
"
it
is
blood-money
!
"
The
settlements
are
drawn
up
.
Belinda
's
widowhood
and
her
younger
children
are
provided
for
.
Bought
are
license
and
ring
.
The
latter
Professor
Forth
brought
one
day
to
be
tried
on
;
and
Belinda
,
with
white
,
shut
lips
,
pallidly
essayed
it
.
There
is
no
bustle
of
arriving
parcels
,
no
wedding
presents
to
be
displayed
.
Miss
Churchill
has
sternly
insisted
upon
an
absolute
secrecy
being
observed
as
regards
her
engagement
.
She
can
bear
to
be
married
,
but
gifts
and
congratulations
upon
her
marriage
she
could
not
bear
.
So
that
the
comers
and
goers
to
the
little
house
in
—
Street
still
come
and
go
,
without
suspicion
that
anything
out
of
the
ordinary
course
is
brewing
beneath
its
modest
roof
.
Mrs.
Churchill
would
have
preferred
that
the
betrothal
should
be
proclaimed
from
the
housetops
.
It
would
give
it
a
body
and
solidity
that
just
at
first
she
fears
it
lacks
.
An
engagement
known
to
all
the
world
is
much
more
difficult
of
rupture
than
one
to
which
only
the
three
or
four
persons
most
nearly
concerned
are
privy
.
"
Belinda
is
so
odd
and
crotchety
,
"
she
says
one
afternoon
,
as
she
and
Sarah
are
driving
home
through
the
Park
together
;
"
why
,
if
she
is
in
earnest
,
should
she
object
to
people
being
told
?
Do
you
think
there
would
be
any
harm
in
my
just
giving
a
hint
of
it
to
the
Crawfords
,
and
Dalzells
,
and
Lady
Hunt
,
and
—
and
just
our
own
intimates
?
They
will
be
so
hurt
at
being
left
out
in
the
cold
;
and
I
am
sure
that
they
would
give
her
something
handsome
.
Even
if
she
does
not
care
for
personal
ornaments
,
they
might
give
her
plate
;
I
do
not
suppose
,
"
with
an
amused
smile
,
"
that
there
is
likely
to
be
much
plate
in
the
Forth
family
!
"
"
And
you
think
,
"
retorts
Sarah
,
with
a
fiery
eye
and
a
curling
lip
,
"
that
the
more
people
you
tell
about
it
the
more
Belinda
will
be
nailed
to
keeping
it
!
Do
you
think
that
,
after
all
these
years
,
I
do
not
understand
you
?
"
The
elder
woman
looks
rather
foolish
,
and
does
not
repeat
her
suggestion
.
And
now
,
indeed
,
all
necessity
for
it
is
at
an
end
.
There
is
obviously
no
need
to
tie
Belinda
with
the
cords
of
convention
and
public
opinion
to
her
faggot
and
stake
.
The
10th
of
January
has
come
,
and
she
has
as
yet
shown
no
sign
of
flinching
.
To
ensure
the
greater
privacy
,
the
marriage
is
to
take
place
at
nine
o'clock
in
the
morning
.
Not
a
soul
is
bidden
to
it
.
There
are
no
bridesmaids
or
groomsmen
,
no
train
of
wedding
guests
.
Even
Mrs.
Churchill
,
on
hearing
of
the
earliness
of
the
hour
,
has
,
like
those
wedding
guests
that
Scripture
speaks
of
,
begged
to
be
excused
.
Perhaps
it
is
not
only
the
raw
winter
morning
from
which
she
shrinks
.
Perhaps
she
is
not
particularly
anxious
to
be
an
ocular
witness
of
that
ceremony
which
she
has
certainly
speeded
with
her
prayers
.
"
I
hope
you
do
not
think
it
unkind
of
me
,
my
child
,
"
she
says
,
appearing
at
her
dressing-room
door
in
a
pretty
laced
dressing-gown
as
she
hears
her
granddaughter
descending
the
stairs
to
the
brougham
;
"
but
you
know
what
a
London
church
is
,
and
you
know
what
my
neuralgia
is
.
How
nice
you
look
!
"
smilingly
surveying
the
dark
,
homespun
suit
,
so
dark
and
brown
as
in
the
shabby
light
to
look
quite
black
,
and
the
rigidly
plain
close
bonnet
which
her
granddaughter
has
chosen
for
her
wedding
garments
.
Belinda
smiles
too
—
a
smile
of
which
her
grandmother
is
not
particularly
fond
of
thinking
afterwards
.
"
Yes
,
do
not
I
?
"
she
says
—
"
so
like
a
bride
!
"
"
In
point
of
fact
,
"
continues
the
old
lady
rather
hurriedly
,
and
not
much
relishing
the
tone
of
this
acquiescence
in
her
compliment
,
"
I
shall
be
far
more
useful
at
home
;
I
shall
ensure
the
house
being
thoroughly
well-warmed
for
you
when
you
come
back
;
you
shall
find
roaring
fires
in
every
room
!
"
"
We
shall
not
come
back
,
"
replies
Belinda
quietly
.
"
Not
come
back
?
"
(
with
an
accent
of
extreme
surprise
)
.
"
Your
are
going
abroad
then
?
"
"
No
;
but
there
is
nothing
to
come
back
for
.
"
"
And
whose
fault
is
that
,
pray
?
"
asks
her
grandmother
with
an
uncomfortable
laugh
.
"
If
I
had
had
my
way
,
there
would
have
been
plenty
to
come
back
for
:
a
good
breakfast
;
a
score
of
people
;
speeches
!
"
"
But
that
was
not
my
way
,
"
replies
Belinda
,
again
faintly
smiling
;
"
and
,
as
you
say
sometimes
,
tous
les
goûts
sont
respectables
.
I
am
afraid
that
I
shall
be
late
if
I
delay
any
longer
;
good-bye
,
granny
.
"
She
speaks
the
two
last
words
quite
gently
and
friendly
,
and
holds
out
her
fair
cold
cheek
to
be
kissed
.
Mrs.
Churchill
is
afterwards
not
much
fonder
of
thinking
of
the
feel
of
that
cheek
,
than
of
the
look
of
that
smile
before
spoken
of
.
"
I
wish
I
had
not
kissed
her
,
"
she
says
to
herself
fretfully
afterwards
,
as
she
sits
with
her
still
pretty
feet
resting
on
the
well-warmed
fender
in
the
privacy
of
her
dressing-room
,
when
the
brougham
has
rolled
away
;
"
it
was
almost
like
kissing
a
dead
person
!
"
And
meanwhile
,
through
the
dismal
morning
streets
,
dirty
with
that
worst
of
all
dirtiness
,
dirty
snow
,
and
where
the
lamp-lighters
have
only
just
put
out
the
lamps
,
and
would
have
done
better
not
to
put
them
out
at
all
,
Belinda
drives
,
her
sister
by
her
side
.
The
angry
tears
are
raining
down
Sarah
's
face
,
encouraged
rather
than
checked
by
their
owner
.
In
her
small
warm
hands
(
for
even
on
a
bitter
January
morning
wrath
is
warming
)
lie
tightly
clasped
Belinda
's
cold
ones
.
The
shop-boys
are
only
just
beginning
to
take
down
the
shutters
;
in
the
haberdashers
'
underessed
windows
,
instead
of
costly
fabrics
and
dainty
webs
,
are
to
be
seen
nothing
but
bare
boards
and
skeleton
stands
.
The
blue-armed
housemaids
are
scrubbing
the
door-steps
;
through
the
squares
the
milk-carts
rush
.
"
I
wish
you
would
cry
,
"
says
Sarah
presently
,
from
among
her
sobs
.
"
Why
should
I
?
"
replies
Belinda
calmly
;
"
it
is
my
own
doing
.
"
"
That
is
the
worst
of
it
!
"
cries
Sarah
passionately
.
;
"
if
you
were
doing
it
for
some
great
cause
—
to
save
granny
from
the
workhouse
,
or
me
from
the
scaffold
—
there
would
be
some
sense
in
it
!
there
is
no
sense
now
!
"
There
is
no
sense
in
it
!
The
words
keep
echoing
,
dancing
—
set
to
a
teasing
tune
—
in
Belinda
's
head
for
the
rest
of
the
way
.
They
reach
the
church-door
.
The
carriage
stops
.
"
We
have
got
to
the
gallows
,
it
seems
!
"
says
Sarah
,
with
a
fresh
burst
of
sobs
;
then
,
vehemently
wringing
her
sister
's
hands
,
she
cries
desperately
:
"
Belinda
!
it
is
not
too
late
yet
!
there
is
still
time
!
it
is
not
too
late
yet
to
go
back
!
"
"
I
have
no
wish
to
go
back
,
"
replies
Belinda
firmly
,
though
her
voice
is
low
and
weak
,
and
her
lips
are
white
;
"
why
should
I
wish
to
go
back
,
when
it
is
my
own
doing
?
"
So
they
get
out
.
At
the
door
they
are
received
by
a
Churchill
cousin
,
who
,
summoned
as
Belinda
's
nearest
male
relative
to
give
her
away
,
stands
awaiting
them
,
cross
and
shivering
.
"
Has
he
come
?
is
he
here
?
I
do
not
see
him
!
"
says
Sarah
,
with
a
last
flare-up
of
hope
,
peering
eagerly
into
the
church
,
where
here
and
there
(
only
here
and
there
,
for
they
are
not
nearly
all
lit
)
a
gas-lamp
displays
its
dreary
yellow
flicker
on
the
background
of
thick
morning
fog
.
"
Yes
;
then
"
—
with
a
sudden
collapse
into
disappointment
—
"
then
he
has
not
had
a
paralytic
stroke
at
the
last
moment
,
worse
luck
!
"
They
walk
up
the
aisle
;
a
snuffy
old
pew-opener
in
a
black
crape
bonnet
preceding
them
;
Belinda
on
her
cousin
's
arm
;
Sarah
,
in
her
ostentatiously
paraded
grief
,
bringing
up
the
rear
.
They
have
arrived
at
the
altar
,
the
candles
upon
which
are
lit
,
their
wavering
light
falling
upon
an
impatient
clergyman
and
two
elderly
men
;
for
the
bridegroom
has
brought
with
him
a
friend
of
his
own
age
and
calling
,
whom
he
has
summoned
from
Oxbridge
to
support
him
.
The
Churchill
cousin
has
never
before
seen
the
bridegroom
,
nor
has
the
bridegroom
's
friend
ever
before
seen
the
bride
.
The
opposing
parties
now
stare
at
each
other
in
unaffected
astonishment
.
All
through
the
service
,
the
young
Churchill
,
who
had
once
himself
thrown
out
feelers
in
the
direction
of
Belinda
,
and
had
them
civilly
and
firmly
at
once
returned
to
him
,
is
setting
himself
angrily
in
imagination
by
the
side
of
the
bridegroom
,
and
wondering
what
the
devil
Belinda
can
have
seen
in
this
ugly
old
curmudgeon
to
prefer
to
himself
.
All
through
the
service
,
the
bridegroom
's
supporter
is
staring
in
gaping
wonder
at
the
beautiful
broken-hearted-looking
girl
,
who
has
mysteriously
elected
to
unite
her
fate
with
that
of
his
old
friend
;
ruefully
reflecting
that
she
will
bring
certain
death
to
the
constitutionals
,
and
the
pipes
,
and
the
discussions
on
the
Enclitic
de
,
and
such-like
light
subjects
,
which
they
have
been
in
the
habit
of
sharing
for
the
best
part
of
the
last
forty
years
.
All
through
the
service
the
bridegroom
is
peevishly
glancing
over
his
shoulder
to
see
whence
comes
the
draught
of
raw
air
that
,
despite
the
black
velvet
skull-cap
with
which
he
has
furnished
himself
,
he
feels
at
baleful
play
about
his
ears
.
Belinda
alone
looks
neither
to
the
right
nor
to
the
left
.
If
she
were
really
the
statue
which
her
fair
,
still
body
so
closely
resembles
,
she
could
not
be
less
conscious
than
she
is
of
dank
nipping
air
or
curious
look
.
She
appears
to
listen
with
close
attention
,
or
is
it
indeed
not
attention
,
but
the
impassiveness
of
stone
?
Only
once
through
all
the
service
does
her
face
come
to
life
;
and
then
it
is
stabbed
into
life
,
as
one
has
heard
in
the
grisly
dissecting-room
tale
,
of
him
who
,
thought
dead
,
was
brought
back
to
agonizing
momentary
life
by
a
knife-thrust
!
The
knife-thrust
that
brings
Belinda
back
to
life
lies
in
the
words
,
"
Forsaking
all
other
,
keep
thee
only
unto
him
so
long
as
ye
both
shall
live
.
"
"
Forsaking
all
other
!
"
She
has
been
spared
the
trouble
of
forsaking
that
other
.
Has
not
he
been
beforehand
with
her
?
Has
not
he
forsaken
her
?
Sarah
,
closely
watching
her
,
sees
her
ashy
features
contract
in
such
a
spasm
of
mortal
pain
,
that
she
involuntarily
starts
forward
.
Is
she
going
to
faint
?
If
she
faint
,
and
is
carried
out
of
church
,
may
not
she
be
saved
even
yet
?
She
is
not
yet
married
!
The
service
is
not
yet
ended
!
But
the
next
glance
at
her
face
dispels
the
momentary
hope
.
Belinda
is
not
going
to
faint
;
she
has
gained
back
her
rigidity
.
She
is
dead
again
.
It
is
over
now
;
over
—
even
to
the
signing
of
names
in
the
vestry
.
The
clergyman
offers
his
congratulations
,
but
he
does
it
hastily
and
abstractedly
.
He
is
thinking
whether
he
will
have
time
for
a
good
warming
and
breakfasting
before
setting
off
for
the
funeral
at
Kensal
Green
,
at
which
he
has
to
assist
.
The
bridegroom
's
friend
and
the
Churchill
cousin
also
offer
theirs
;
but
those
of
the
first
sound
incredulous
,
and
those
of
the
latter
ironical
.
Sarah
alone
keeps
utter
silence
.
The
brougham
stands
at
the
door
,
the
horse
fidgety
and
stung
by
the
cold
.
A
crossing-sweeper
and
two
pinched
street
children
are
watching
the
strange
wedding-party
's
exit
.
The
bridegroom
,
great-coated
and
comfortered
to
the
end
of
his
long
nose
,
is
bidding
adieu
to
his
ally
.
The
bride
turns
to
her
sister
:
"
It
is
done
now
!
"
she
says
pantingly
;
"
there
is
no
going
back
from
it
now
!
"
"
None
!
"
replies
Sarah
dully
.
"
Say
something
to
me
,
Sarah
;
wish
me
something
good
!
"
She
has
flung
her
arms
round
her
sister
in
an
épanchement
most
unusual
with
her
.
Her
icy
cheek
is
hard
pressed
against
her
sister
's
hot
and
tear-reddened
one
.
"
I
wish
you
—
I
wish
you
—
"
cries
Sarah
,
stammering
,
what
between
her
sobs
,
the
almost
ungovernable
impulse
to
invoke
upon
her
sister
a
speedy
widowhood
,
and
the
hopelessness
of
finding
any
other
wish
that
will
not
sound
a
mockery
.
"
You
—
you
cannot
find
anything
to
wish
me
!
"
says
Belinda
tremulously
.
"
You
are
right
;
there
is
nothing
.
"
"
I
—
I
wish
you
,
"
says
Sarah
,
driven
to
desperation
by
this
tone
,
and
clinging
convulsively
to
her
sister
as
though
ten
bridegrooms
should
not
force
them
apart
—
"
I
wish
you
many
happy
returns
of
the
day
!
"
breaking
into
an
hysterical
laugh
.
"
That
is
ambiguous
!
I
may
attach
what
meaning
I
choose
to
it
.
"
These
are
the
last
words
Belinda
Forth
hears
,
before
the
brougham
whirls
her
away
.
The
Churchill
cousin
takes
Sarah
home
in
a
hansom
,
and
a
very
unpleasant
drive
he
has
,
as
she
cries
violently
the
whole
way
,
in
passionate
self-reproach
at
having
found
nothing
kinder
to
say
.
CHAPTER
VIII
.
Belinda
has
been
married
three
days
.
We
are
creatures
of
habit
,
as
everyone
knows
;
and
it
is
surprising
with
what
quick
pliability
we
find
ourselves
cutting
off
and
tucking
in
whatever
angles
prevent
our
fitting
into
any
new
niche
that
it
may
be
our
fate
to
occupy
.
But
this
process
,
though
rapid
,
is
usually
of
somewhat
longer
accomplishment
than
three
days
.
At
all
events
,
Belinda
has
not
yet
got
into
the
habit
of
being
married
.
There
still
seems
to
her
something
improbable
—
nay
,
monstrous
—
in
the
fact
of
herself
sitting
opposite
to
Professor
Forth
at
breakfast
in
their
Folkestone
lodgings
,
pouring
weak
tea
for
him
out
of
a
Britannia
metal
teapot
,
and
sedulously
recollecting
how
many
lumps
of
sugar
he
likes
,
as
she
has
already
discovered
that
he
has
an
objection
to
repeating
the
information
.
Nor
is
it
less
monstrous
to
be
warming
his
overcoat
,
and
cutting
his
newspapers
,
and
ordering
his
dinners
with
that
nice
attention
to
digestibility
and
economy
which
she
finds
to
be
expected
of
her
.
They
have
been
enormously
long
,
these
three
days
.
It
seems
to
her
as
if
for
months
she
has
been
looking
at
those
hideous
ornaments
on
the
drawing-room
chimney-piece
,
and
trying
to
draw
the
skimp
summer
curtains
that
will
not
draw
across
the
shutterless
windows
,
rattled
by
the
wind
.
For
months
she
has
been
listening
to
the
eternal
sighing
,
sobbing
,
whistling
,
howling
of
that
same
wind
,
and
to
the
sea
banging
on
the
cold
shore
.
For
months
she
has
been
walking
with
Professor
Forth
up
and
down
,
up
and
down
the
Leas
,
six
turns
this
way
,
six
turns
that
way
.
For
months
she
has
been
writing
his
letters
till
her
hand
ached
,
and
reading
aloud
to
him
till
her
voice
cracked
.
As
for
the
reading
and
writing
,
she
cannot
have
too
much
of
them
—
the
more
the
better
!
There
is
nothing
like
occupation
—
a
continuous
,
settled
occupation
—
nothing
like
occupation
for
keeping
out
of
one
's
head
those
words
of
Sarah
's
that
ring
so
foolishly
dinning
in
her
ears
,
"
There
is
no
sense
in
it
!
there
is
no
sense
in
it
!
"
She
will
not
listen
to
them
.
Even
if
they
are
true
,
of
what
profit
to
hearken
to
them
now
?
And
reading
and
writing
render
conversation
,
too
,
less
necessary
.
It
is
certain
that
,
however
determinately
anyone
may
have
confined
his
or
her
contemplation
of
another
person
's
character
to
the
intellectual
side
of
it
,
it
is
impossible
to
live
with
that
person
without
discovering
that
he
or
she
has
another
side
.
Belinda
has
already
discovered
that
her
Professor
has
another
.
It
is
surprising
how
much
less
of
his
conversation
has
turned
during
the
last
three
days
upon
the
problems
of
the
mind
and
the
sayings
of
the
mighty
dead
,
than
upon
the
price
of
coals
and
the
wickedness
of
lodging-house
servants
.
The
first
of
these
topics
has
led
to
the
proposal
that
he
and
his
bride
shall
henceforth
content
themselves
with
one
fire
,
to
be
fed
with
(
if
possible
)
not
more
than
two
coal-boxes
per
day
;
and
the
second
is
at
present
employing
his
tongue
,
his
eyes
,
his
thoughts
.
They
are
at
breakfast
,
Belinda
seated
behind
the
Britannia
metal
teapot
,
her
husband
facing
her
,
a
dish
of
fried
bacon
before
him
,
which
latter
object
is
monopolizing
the
whole
of
his
attention
.
"
It
is
beyond
the
range
of
possibility
,
"
he
is
saying
slowly
,
"
that
you
and
I
can
have
eaten
a
pound
and
a
half
of
bacon
in
three
days
,
and
I
think
I
noticed
that
you
did
not
take
any
yesterday
.
"
"
Did
not
I
?
"
replies
Belinda
indifferently
;
"
I
am
sure
I
forget
.
"
"
And
if
,
"
pursues
Mr.
Forth
,
his
eyes
ranging
with
severe
scanning
from
the
bacon-dish
to
the
sugar-basin
—
"
if
,
as
Maria
just
now
told
us
,
those
few
lumps
are
all
that
remain
of
the
pound
of
sugar
purchased
by
me
yesterday
,
it
is
obvious
that
there
must
be
wholesale
theft
somewhere
!
"
"
It
is
very
dishonest
of
them
,
"
replies
Belinda
carelessly
,
putting
up
her
hand
to
her
hair
,
which
,
no
longer
tended
by
a
maid
,
feels
oddly
loose
and
uncomfortable
.
"
If
you
had
allowed
me
to
bring
Jennings
,
she
would
have
looked
after
everything
.
"
"
I
discouraged
the
idea
of
your
bringing
a
maid
,
"
replies
he
,
nettled
;
"
because
I
considered
,
and
still
consider
,
that
it
would
have
made
a
most
unnecessary
addition
to
our
expenses
.
And
as
to
our
provisions
,
"
looking
carefully
round
the
room
,
"
I
see
that
there
are
several
cupboards
;
there
is
no
reason
why
they
should
not
be
kept
—
"
"
Bacon
kept
in
a
cupboard
in
one
's
only
sitting-room
!
"
cries
Belinda
,
breaking
into
an
indignant
laugh
;
"
you
cannot
be
serious
!
"
"
If
you
are
able
to
suggest
any
better
way
of
preventing
their
depredations
,
I
shall
be
happy
to
hear
it
,
"
he
answers
tartly
.
"
If
they
ate
a
flitch
a
day
,
"
replies
Belinda
hotly
,
and
lifting
her
disdainful
fine
nose
contumaciously
into
the
air
,
"
I
should
say
that
it
was
a
small
evil
compared
to
our
living
in
the
atmosphere
of
a
chandler
's
shop
.
"
She
rises
precipitately
as
she
speaks
—
to
her
,
at
least
,
Folkestone
has
not
given
an
appetite
—
and
walks
to
the
window
,
where
,
for
the
rest
of
the
breakfast
hour
,
she
presents
a
sociable
homespun
back
to
the
economist
at
the
breakfast-table
.
It
is
not
the
first
time
during
these
three
days
that
she
has
discovered
that
his
standpoint
with
regard
to
little
social
possibilities
or
impossibilities
is
different
from
her
own
.
She
had
known
that
she
did
not
love
him
,
but
she
had
not
known
that
he
wore
carpet
slippers
in
the
drawing-room
.
A
tendency
towards
slippers
in
the
drawing-room
,
a
passion
for
high
tea
,
accompanied
by
no
change
of
dress
,
are
not
these
sufficient
to
wreck
a
bride
's
happiness
upon
?
But
worst
of
all
,
perhaps
because
latest
of
all
,
has
jarred
upon
her
this
final
instance
of
how
widely
asunder
are
their
points
of
view
.
It
jars
upon
her
still
as
she
stands
by
the
window
after
breakfast
,
sullenly
drumming
on
the
pane
.
In
the
night
snow
has
fallen
,
a
thin
sprinkling
meeting
even
the
sea
's
lip
,
advancing
even
to
where
the
dull
little
grey
waves
set
their
chill
feet
;
a
shabby
sprinkling
everywhere
:
not
a
good
thick
cloak
of
snow
,
deep
and
pure
,
but
a
scanty
rag
,
through
which
every
footstep
shows
the
hard
dark
ground
.
It
jars
upon
her
still
,
as
she
walks
to
church
alone
—
it
is
Sunday
morning
—
trying
to
persuade
herself
that
she
had
not
felt
a
movement
of
gladness
on
discovering
that
he
had
no
intention
of
accompanying
her
.
She
walks
along
the
windy
cliff
to
where
the
church
and
the
red
vicarage
look
out
seawards
,
falling
in
,
as
she
goes
,
with
a
stream
of
people
bound
to
the
same
goal
.
It
is
a
well-fed
,
comfortable-looking
stream
flowing
prosperously
to
God
's
house
;
smart
furry
mothers
holding
the
hands
of
smart
furry
little
children
,
fathers
and
tall
young
daughters
,
husbands
and
wives
.
There
is
scarcely
one
,
as
young
as
Belinda
,
who
is
companionless
.
But
she
does
not
think
of
this
.
Her
eyes
are
turned
towards
the
ocean
,
that
ocean
for
the
most
part
hugged
by
a
close
mist
,
with
only
one
patch
of
faintish
glory
—
a
pale
dazzle
of
dim
gold
—
on
which
a
small
fishing-boat
comes
sailing
,
its
homely
sails
transfigured
as
it
goes
.
She
is
saying
to
herself
,
with
a
heart
sinking
so
deep
that
she
dare
not
gauge
its
profundity
:
"
Is
this
the
man
whose
mind
I
have
married
?
Is
this
the
man
who
is
to
teach
me
to
live
by
the
intellect
?
Is
this
the
scholar
and
the
sage
,
whose
teaching
was
to
lift
me
out
of
the
circle
of
my
narrow
interests
into
the
sphere
of
the
Universal
?
"
she
asks
with
contemptuous
misgivings
;
"
this
,
whose
whole
soul
is
occupied
by
mean
parsimonies
,
and
economies
of
cheese-rinds
and
candle-ends
?
"
She
has
reached
the
church
,
but
even
inside
the
consecrated
door
she
finds
that
it
is
still
with
her
.
It
comes
between
her
and
the
Christmas
decorations
;
between
her
and
the
bowing
congeeing
clergy
;
between
her
and
the
prayers
.
A
poor
starling
has
found
its
way
into
the
building
.
All
through
the
service
it
is
flying
from
side
to
side
,
above
the
heads
of
the
congregation
,
under
the
arched
roof
from
window
to
window
.
Children
turn
their
heads
and
their
eyes
,
idly
curious
to
look
after
it
.
All
through
the
sermon
she
hears
the
agonized
pecking
of
its
poor
beak
against
the
pane
,
in
its
efforts
to
escape
.
She
says
to
herself
that
it
is
in
the
same
plight
as
she
.
It
,
too
,
entered
prison
of
its
own
accord
.
When
the
service
is
ended
,
Belinda
loiters
behind
the
rest
of
the
congregation
,
in
order
to
press
half-a-crown
into
the
pew-opener
's
hand
—
(
what
would
Professor
Forth
say
to
such
extravagance
?
)
—
and
to
pour
into
his
ear
an
eager
prayer
that
he
will
set
all
the
church
doors
and
windows
open
,
to
give
her
starling
a
chance
of
escape
.
But
,
alas
!
what
pew-opener
can
ever
let
her
out
?
As
she
passes
homewards
,
she
finds
that
the
day
has
bettered
.
The
sun
has
swallowed
up
the
mist
,
and
now
shines
steadily
bright
,
and
even
sensibly
warm
.
The
little
waves
are
small
and
mild
as
summer
ones
,
though
the
air
is
still
full
of
penknives
.
Perhaps
it
is
the
increased
brightness
upon
Nature
's
face
;
perhaps
it
is
the
two
quiet
hours
of
her
own
society
,
that
have
braced
her
to
face
with
a
greater
courage
the
lot
she
has
chosen
,
and
the
fried
bacon
that
typifies
it
.
"
I
would
do
it
!
"
she
says
to
herself
sternly
,
"
and
now
it
is
done
;
now
there
is
nothing
for
it
but
to
put
the
best
face
upon
it
,
and
never
to
own
to
anyone
that
I
would
have
it
undone
.
There
can
never
again
be
so
bad
a
piece
of
my
life
as
this
!
"
(
shuddering
)
;
"
it
is
well
to
have
the
worst
over
first
,
it
will
be
more
endurable
when
we
get
to
Oxbridge
.
I
must
try
to
learn
how
to
look
at
things
from
his
point
of
view
,
to
count
the
grains
of
rice
for
a
pudding
,
and
save
the
old
tea-leaves
!
"
with
a
curling
lip
;
"
but
I
will
not
have
the
bacon
kept
in
the
drawing-room
!
"
Her
resolutions
in
both
respects
outlast
the
day
.
That
to
make
the
best
of
things
has
body
enough
to
withstand
even
the
close
examination
to
which
her
husband
subjects
the
Sunday
roast-beef
,
in
order
to
discover
whether
it
has
been
robbed
of
any
of
its
native
suet
.
He
has
a
slow
munching
way
of
eating
,
which
fidgets
her
inexpressibly
;
but
she
bears
that
too
.
She
even
resists
the
temptation
to
look
away
from
him
.
Since
he
is
to
munch
opposite
to
her
till
death
do
them
part
,
would
it
not
be
wiser
to
accustom
herself
to
the
sight
?
Her
resolution
withstands
also
stoutly
all
the
little
trials
attendant
on
their
afternoon
constitutional
.
When
they
emerge
upon
the
Leas
,
they
see
a
broad
highway
of
molten
copper
stretching
across
the
sea
to
the
lowering
sun
.
Belinda
asks
leave
to
run
down
the
many
steps
on
the
clift
's
face
to
the
water
's
edge
,
to
set
her
feet
in
the
foam
fringe
,
and
watch
the
long
swell
heaving
ocean
's
sullen
breast
;
but
the
Professor
will
not
hear
of
it
.
A
certain
number
of
brisk
turns
on
the
Leas
—
always
the
same
number
—
is
the
kind
of
walk
to
which
alone
he
gives
his
approbation
.
No
stopping
to
look
at
the
copper
sunset
,
or
the
fair
ships
riding
past
;
nothing
more
likely
to
arrest
the
circulation
and
chill
the
liver
.
They
meet
the
same
people
as
they
met
yesterday
and
the
day
before
,
and
as
they
will
meet
to-morrow
and
the
day
after
;
the
same
bath-chairs
,
the
same
dogs
.
The
sick
,
white
woman
with
her
attentive
burly
husband
;
the
deformed
child
;
the
frolic-some
colley
dogs
;
the
frivolous
Spitzes
;
the
little
blithe
Scotch
terriers
.
Her
resolution
outlasts
even
the
twilit
hour
,
to
her
the
most
trying
of
the
day
.
If
she
were
to
consult
her
own
wishes
,
there
would
