sharpand
penetrating
,
they
have
prongs
that
pierce
when
they
are
turned
on
me
.
"
"
Yes
!
"
said
Agnes
,
laughing
,
"
she
does
sometimes
look
through
me
till
I
feel
myself
nailed
to
the
wall
.
"
"
Moreover
,
she
has
such
a
flattering
,
fawning
,
cunning
manner
,
that
I
wonder
you
can
tolerate
her
for
an
hour
,
"
continued
Marion
.
"
We
know
so
little
of
her
,
too
,
that
she
is
like
a
person
fallen
from
the
clouds
!
"
"
Oh
!
there
you
are
wrong
,
for
Lady
Towercliffe
says
she
is
'
a
perfect
treasure
!
'
Consider
,
too
,
what
low
terms
she
accepts
,
merely
from
her
desire
to
serve
me
!
I
never
saw
a
creature
so
preternaturally
anxious
to
be
taken
,
and
now
,
after
two
years
'
practice
,
she
really
is
excellent
.
Do
you
remember
at
the
time
I
engaged
Dixon
,
what
a
perfect
romance
her
history
was
!
Pat
did
not
believe
a
word
of
it
;
but
to
do
her
justice
,
she
made
it
very
entertaining
.
I
hope
,
at
least
,
the
greater
part
was
founded
on
fact
!
"
"
Why
does
she
wear
widow
's
weeds
,
—
she
did
not
mention
at
first
having
ever
been
married
!
"
"
No
more
she
did
!
how
strangely
beautiful
she
looks
in
them
,
like
the
abbess
of
a
convent
!
Her
husband
,
if
ever
she
had
one
,
which
I
doubt
,
is
said
to
have
died
,
abroad
,
and
her
only
wish
is
never
to
see
strangers
.
Pat
insists
she
has
had
some
affaire
du
cœur
,
but
I
tell
him
it
must
positively
have
been
with
old
Sir
Arthur
,
for
she
started
so
visibly
one
day
long
ago
,
and
became
redder
than
red
,
when
I
said
he
was
coming
to
dinner
.
"
Seeing
Agnes
in
so
unusually
gracious
and
communicative
a
mood
,
Marion
ventured
now
to
inquire
into
the
state
of
her
brother
's
affairs
,
saying
,
she
supposed
he
must
inevitably
sell
his
estate
,
go
abroad
,
or
retrench
,
as
the
expedient
of
planting
half-pence
,
to
grow
into
guineas
,
had
not
yet
been
brought
to
perfection
,
even
by
Sir
Patrick
,
though
it
had
so
long
been
a
subject
of
wonder
how
he
contrived
to
get
on
.
"
This
has
been
a
horrid
business
!
"
exclaimed
Agnes
peevishly
;
"
as
for
Pat
himself
,
he
will
do
very
well
!
Trust
him
for
taking
care
of
that
.
He
has
always
money
enough
and
to
spare
for
his
own
amusement
,
though
sometimes
he
would
hardly
even
pay
the
postage
of
a
letter
to
save
my
life
.
Only
think
of
his
bringing
me
here
,
out
of
everybody
's
way
,
during
the
most
beautiful
years
of
my
existence
!
Our
friends
will
scarcely
imagine
that
I
think
it
worth
chair
hire
to
travel
from
this
burying-place
to
the
inhabited
world
!
What
can
one
do
.
We
shall
give
some
quadrille
parties
ourselves
,
but
scarcely
a
living
soul
is
within
reach
except
the
Towercliffes
,
and
those
odious
Granvilles
!
"
"
The
Granvilles
!
"
exclaimed
Marion
,
in
a
blaze
of
joy
and
astonishment
;
"
dear
Clara
!
is
she
here
.
"
"
Yes
;
but
she
cuts
this
house
entirely
,
and
we
are
hardly
on
speaking
terms
,
therefore
let
me
beg
you
not
to
attempt
any
violent
missyish
,
boarding-school
friendships
in
that
quarter
.
I
cannot
enter
into
particulars
,
but
rest
assured
that
the
less
you
see
of
Clara
the
better
for
me
,
—
and
the
better
,
too
,
for
Patrick
.
Never
,
for
your
life
,
mention
her
name
before
him
.
"
"
Why
?
"
asked
Marion
with
a
look
of
bewildered
disappointment
.
"
Agnes
,
I
cannot
give
up
Clara
Granville
!
"
"
Perhaps
,
then
,
she
may
give
you
up
!
She
abhors
the
whole
family
now
!
If
I
must
not
veto
her
without
rendering
a
reason
,
let
me
tell
you
that
there
is
a
very
awkward
pecuniary
quarrel
between
Mr.
Granville
,
Pat
,
and
Mr.
De
Crespigny
.
It
is
merely
one
of
their
madcap
tricks
,
but
extremely
annoying
.
You
have
often
heard
Sir
Arthur
tell
of
three
Yorkshire
baronets
,
who
signed
a
mutual
contract
sixty
years
ago
,
that
the
first
of
them
who
married
should
forfeit
£
10
,
000
to
both
the
others
.
"
"
Yes
;
and
not
one
of
them
ever
ventured
to
dispose
of
himself
at
so
great
a
sacrifice
.
"
"
Well
!
some
years
afterwards
,
the
subject
was
discussed
one
day
in
public
conclave
,
at
the
Harrowgate
ordinary
,
and
what
should
the
late
Mr.
Granville
do
,
in
company
with
Major
De
Crespigny
and
our
father
,
but
,
like
a
set
of
madmen
,
as
they
must
have
been
at
the
moment
,
drew
up
,
for
a
frolic
,
precisely
such
an
agreement
for
themselves
,
which
they
signed
and
sealed
,
making
some
of
the
150
strangers
present
act
as
witnesses
.
The
whole
affair
had
been
long
forgotten
,
when
Mr.
Granville
married
some
fright
of
a
girl
,
all
nose
and
freckles
,
merely
because
of
her
being
amiable
,
or
some
such
whim
.
She
lived
long
enough
to
make
saints
of
the
whole
family
,
and
died
after
her
son
and
daughter
were
only
a
few
years
old
.
"
"
Then
how
is
your
quarrel
with
Clara
tacked
on
to
this
affair
,
I
cannot
quite
trace
the
connexion
.
"
"
Why
!
Pat
has
been
very
angry
at
Mr.
Granville
lately
about
some
unexplainable
affront
;
so
,
having
accidentally
found
the
old
Harrowgate
document
,
and
being
very
hard
up
for
money
,
he
and
Captain
De
Crespigny
are
threatening
to
levy
the
fine
of
£
10
,
000
due
to
each
of
them
,
and
poor
Mr.
Granville
is
,
as
you
may
suppose
,
rather
indignant
,
having
been
all
his
life
stringing
halfpence
together
,
to
pay
off
his
father
's
debts
,
though
no
one
could
legally
oblige
him
.
As
Pat
says
,
'
more
fool
he
!
'
You
know
our
brother
's
favorite
expression
of
contempt
is
,
to
describe
any
one
as
'
the
sort
of
man
who
would
lock
up
his
money
!
'
"
"
What
a
shocking
affair
!
"
exclaimed
Marion
,
coloring
with
shame
and
indignation
.
"
As
uncle
Arthur
says
,
Patrick
would
do
anything
for
money
short
of
a
highway
robbery
!
Surely
,
Agnes
,
he
cannot
be
in
earnest
.
"
"
Pshaw
!
never
mind
being
amiable
now
,
"
replied
Agnes
impatiently
;
"
we
need
not
act
to
empty
benches
!
I
am
already
aware
that
you
,
Marion
,
are
on
the
exact
pattern
of
what
Mrs.
Hannah
Moore
would
bespeak
to
order
for
a
sister
or
daughter
;
but
with
all
you
learn
at
school
,
pray
learn
to
keep
that
goodyism
out
of
sight
,
for
I
can
fancy
nothing
more
intolerable
than
a
young
lady
turned
out
on
the
model
of
those
horrid
sententious
books
,
filled
with
advice
to
young
ladies
.
Mrs.
Ellis
writes
to
the
'
Women
of
England
,
'
but
she
luckily
leaves
the
'
Women
of
Scotland
,
'
to
their
own
devices
,
without
troubling
us
to
be
exorbitantly
amiable
.
"
"
I
shall
be
in
no
hurry
to
see
Clara
now
!
"
continued
Marion
,
dejectedly
.
"
I
suppose
Patrick
will
be
cut
by
all
gentlemen
for
such
unjustifiable
conduct
.
"
"
Oh
dear
,
no
!
Nobody
is
ever
cut
for
anything
now
as
long
as
he
has
money
!
I
can
scarcely
tell
the
thing
upon
earth
,
except
cheating
at
cards
,
that
a
man
of
£
10
,
000
a-year
may
not
do
,
and
yet
be
as
well
received
as
ever
,
—
and
ladies
ditto
!
Any
woman
who
can
afford
a
court
plume
,
and
many
even
who
cannot
afford
,
may
fit
on
her
ostrich
feathers
,
and
go
to
court
with
as
proud
a
step
and
as
lofty
a
carriage
,
as
either
you
or
I
.
Your
uncle
,
Sir
Arthur
,
complains
that
there
is
no
such
as
'
moral
indignation
'
in
the
world
now
,
and
so
much
the
better
.
What
good
would
it
do
to
anybody
?
If
a
gentleman
once
gets
into
a
fashionable
club
,
he
is
made
for
life
,
and
may
ever
afterwards
defy
the
world
to
look
askance
at
him
.
"
"
Then
nobody
takes
any
notice
of
Patrick
's
affairs
?
"
asked
Marion
doubtfully
.
"
No
;
except
uncle
Arthur
,
who
makes
himself
quite
absurd
about
them
;
refuses
to
dine
here
;
turns
his
back
on
Patrick
at
the
club
,
in
a
most
un-uncle-like
manner
;
and
performs
all
sorts
of
antics
to
testify
his
annoyance
;
but
we
are
both
rather
glad
he
no
longer
comes
prosing
to
this
house
,
and
that
we
need
never
enter
his
.
The
Admiral
is
a
fitter
companion
for
those
old
pictures
round
the
wall
than
for
us
.
Do
not
look
at
me
with
that
hair-standing-on
end
expression
!
I
ca
n't
help
what
Patrick
does
,
and
you
will
soon
get
accustomed
to
such
things
.
"
"
Oh
no
,
never
!
I
hope
never
!
but
Patrick
cannot
surely
push
that
claim
in
earnest
against
the
Granvilles
.
He
will
refund
the
money
,
will
he
not
,
Agnes
?
"
"
Perhaps
,
when
all
his
other
creditors
are
paid
off
.
Now
spare
the
whites
of
your
eyes
,
and
do
not
look
at
me
as
if
I
had
five
heads
,
but
pray
attend
to
my
injunction
,
and
avoid
Clara
,
who
is
only
fit
to
be
a
saint
in
a
niche
at
her
brother
's
chapel
.
You
may
know
her
at
any
distance
now
by
her
five-year-old
dresses
and
country-cousin
bonnets
.
Richard
Granville
has
taken
orders
at
last
,
and
become
a
most
superb
preacher
.
In
short
,
the
Granvilles
are
good
,
worthy
,
dull
,
respectable
people
as
ever
lived
,
though
the
very
last
upon
earth
that
would
suit
us
.
"
"
Do
you
mean
to
be
severe
,
Agnes
?
I
hope
you
are
mistaken
!
"
replied
Marion
,
humbled
and
depressed
by
all
she
had
heard
.
"
I
have
sometimes
felt
,
when
with
Clara
,
as
if
goodness
were
infectious
,
and
never
hear
of
any
people
better
than
myself
without
wishing
at
least
to
be
in
the
same
room
with
them
.
"
"
Take
my
word
for
it
,
Marion
,
these
enormously
good
,
sagacious
persons
are
better
to
look
at
than
to
converse
with
.
They
may
be
admired
at
a
distance
,
but
the
greater
the
distance
the
better
;
and
pray
never
set-up
in
that
line
yourself
,
as
nothing
is
more
unpopular
.
Clara
invited
me
,
when
we
first
arrived
here
,
to
one
of
her
tea
parties
!
some
horrid
Granville-ish
affair
,
I
have
no
doubt
!
But
I
knew
my
own
value
better
than
to
go
.
Fancy
me
,
Agnes
Dunbar
,
at
a
good
party
!
"
"
I
hope
you
might
not
be
so
very
much
out
of
place
,
Agnes
!
"
replied
Marion
,
with
an
arch
and
pretty
smile
.
"
Whenever
I
give
'
good
parties
'
you
shall
be
the
very
first
person
invited
!
"
"
Then
take
my
apology
now
,
—
previously
engaged
!
Indeed
,
I
may
perhaps
consider
myself
an
engaged
person
in
every
sense
,
Marion
.
Captain
De
Crespigny
has
already
almost
proposed
several
times
,
and
makes
no
secret
of
his
attachment
.
Oh
,
never
mind
Dixon
!
She
knows
who
sent
me
this
bouquet
and
all
about
it
.
Captain
De
Crespigny
tells
me
he
has
planted
all
my
favorite
flowers
at
Kilmarnock
Abbey
,
and
often
says
what
a
resource
they
will
hereafter
become
to
me
!
Here
are
all
the
letters
of
my
name
grouped
together
,
Anemone
,
Geranium
,
Narcissus
,
Everlasting
,
and
Sweet
William
.
"
"
Very
ingenious
,
"
observed
Marion
,
smiling
.
"
I
promised
not
to
mention
whose
device
it
was
;
therefore
,
Marion
,
as
I
am
exceedingly
particular
about
keeping
my
word
,
if
any
one
guesses
where
I
got
this
,
remember
to
recollect
that
I
did
not
tell
.
But
,
Dixon
,
what
is
the
meaning
of
this
?
the
geranium
is
broken
and
these
flowers
are
so
withered
,
they
have
not
surely
been
in
water
.
"
When
Marion
looked
accidentally
at
Dixon
,
she
was
startled
to
perceive
that
a
mortal
paleness
had
overspread
her
features
,
which
bore
a
strange
bewildered
expression
,
while
her
hand
,
in
which
she
held
the
flowers
,
trembled
visibly
,
but
she
said
nothing
,
and
Agnes
,
in
the
triumphant
gaiety
of
her
spirits
,
rattled
heedlessly
on
.
"
One
of
the
rooms
at
Beaujolie
Castle
,
which
Captain
De
Crespigny
already
calls
'
my
boudoir
,
'
opens
into
a
conservatory
filled
with
rare
exotics
,
but
he
says
I
shall
be
the
brightest
flower
of
the
whole
,
though
never
born
to
blush
unseen
,
if
he
can
help
it
!
How
very
droll
he
is
,
paying
compliments
often
that
would
make
one
feel
beautiful
for
a
year
.
He
said
this
morning
,
when
Patrick
complained
of
the
room
being
hot
,
that
he
wished
I
would
fan
it
with
my
eyelashes
,
and
asked
for
one
of
them
to
wear
as
a
feather
in
his
Highland
bonnet
!
Yesterday
,
when
I
showed
Captain
De
Crespigny
this
new
pearl
hoop
,
he
said
I
spoiled
the
symmetry
of
my
hand
with
rings
,
as
there
was
not
a
jewel
in
the
world
fit
for
me
to
wear
,
and
only
one
ring
that
ought
ever
to
be
placed
here
!
You
should
have
seen
his
sentimental
look
on
the
occasion
,
which
might
have
done
for
twenty
proposals
!
"
"
One
would
have
been
enough
,
"
said
Marion
,
smiling
.
"
What
he
said
was
quite
sufficiently
explicit
,
and
I
only
wish
he
would
appear
a
little
more
diffident
,
as
his
look
was
most
provoking
self-satisfied
,
when
he
added
,
'
how
fortunate
will
be
the
happy
man
who
places
a
ring
on
that
finger
!
'
When
speaking
of
the
Admiral
,
too
,
he
always
now
calls
him
'
uncle
Arthur
!
'
and
yesterday
,
at
taking
leave
,
he
said
in
his
half
jocular
,
half
serious
tone
,
'
I
shall
live
upon
the
Bridge
of
Sighs
till
we
meet
again
!
'
"
"
Then
,
pray
,
let
him
stay
here
till
he
is
a
little
less
confident
,
"
replied
Marion
,
laughing
.
"
You
should
teach
diffidence
in
three
lessons
,
Agnes
;
he
has
no
right
to
seem
sure
of
success
till
he
has
obtained
your
consent
point
blank
.
You
have
many
admirers
to
choose
among
.
"
"
Squadrons
of
admirers
,
but
not
so
many
lovers
as
you
think
,
Marion
!
The
race
of
marrying
men
is
becoming
extinct
in
the
world
,
so
I
must
not
be
severely
discouraging
to
poor
diffident
Captain
De
Crespigny
,
who
has
been
setting
his
mustachios
at
me
so
long
.
Your
notions
about
keeping
people
in
suspense
are
quite
of
the
old
school
,
when
ladies
used
all
to
be
upon
stilts
,
but
'
nous
avons
change
tout
cela
.
'
"
"
I
am
sorry
for
it
.
We
should
all
have
been
born
when
Sir
Arthur
was
,
and
I
wish
everybody
were
like
him
.
"
"
Spectacles
,
grey
hair
,
and
all
!
Thank
you
,
Marion
,
but
I
am
not
particular
,
and
feel
quite
satisfied
to
be
a
contemporary
of
Captain
De
Crespigny
.
If
you
could
but
have
heard
him
this
morning
when
he
sang
the
'
Pirate
's
Serenade
,
'
"
said
Agnes
,
warbling
the
words
to
herself
,
"
This
night
,
or
never
,
my
bride
thou
shalt
be
.
"
While
Agnes
continued
singing
sotto
voce
for
some
minutes
,
her
whole
heart
and
thoughts
occupied
with
agreeable
retrospections
,
the
eye
of
Marion
again
accidentally
wandered
towards
Dixon
,
and
she
was
startled
out
of
a
reverie
into
something
almost
approaching
alarm
,
by
observing
her
attitude
and
expression
.
With
features
as
pale
and
rigid
as
those
of
a
corpse
,
she
gazed
at
Agnes
,
and
there
was
an
intensity
in
her
look
perfectly
unaccountable
,
while
a
dazzling
and
terrible
light
glittered
in
her
eyes
.
Marion
with
difficulty
suppressed
an
exclamation
of
astonishment
,
when
she
perceived
the
extraordinary
change
in
Dixon
's
countenance
,
but
with
a
private
resolution
to
watch
more
narrowly
than
before
,
what
such
evident
agitation
could
mean
,
she
determined
as
yet
to
make
no
remark
,
but
allowed
Agnes
to
rattle
on
undisturbed
,
while
her
own
thoughts
were
filled
with
perplexity
and
surprise
.
"
Yesterday
,
Marion
,
Captain
De
Crespigny
actually
made
me
read
over
with
him
that
proposal
scene
in
the
new
novel
,
'
Matrimonial
Felicity
.
'
I
nearly
died
of
confusion
when
he
doubled
down
the
page
,
saying
,
he
hoped
this
was
not
the
last
time
we
should
study
it
together
.
The
story
has
but
one
fault
,
that
the
hero
makes
rather
a
low
marriage
,
and
of
that
Captain
De
Crespigny
expressed
an
utter
abhorrence
.
I
remember
ages
ago
,
his
making
me
laugh
so
excessively
with
a
description
of
some
school-boy
attachment
he
had
in
Yorkshire
.
Such
a
burlesque
upon
love
!
It
was
exquisite
!
The
silver
thimbles
and
wall-flowers
he
presented
to
a
fair
damsel
in
prunella
shoes
,
and
no
gloves
,
while
his
gages
d'amour
were
accompanied
with
verses
borrowed
from
the
Irish
Melodies
,
and
passed
off
as
his
own
.
I
forgot
always
to
ask
what
became
of
the
poor
deluded
girl
at
last
—
probably
married
before
this
time
to
some
fat
farmer
or
thriving
shopkeeper
,
but
for
my
own
part
,
the
misery
of
an
unrequited
attachment
is
what
I
never
can
know
.
Captain
De
Crespigny
really
is
the
only
person
one
could
possibly
have
fancied
.
"
A
loud
and
startling
crash
at
this
moment
interrupted
Agnes
'
delightful
reminiscences
.
Marion
instinctively
sprang
from
her
seat
with
alarm
,
and
looked
hastily
round
,
when
she
perceived
that
Dixon
had
tripped
over
and
thrown
down
a
table
covered
with
china
ornaments
,
on
which
Miss
Dunbar
had
frequently
squandered
half
her
income
,
even
at
times
when
she
could
scarcely
afford
a
dress
.
The
etiquette
being
now
established
that
all
young
ladies
,
of
whatever
means
,
shall
cultivate
a
passion
for
china
and
hot-house
plants
,
Agnes
had
made
a
collection
of
second-rate
vases
and
third-rate
tea
cups
,
interspersed
with
stunted
hyacinths
and
drooping
camellias
,
at
so
great
an
expense
that
Sir
Patrick
often
recommended
her
to
take
a
wing
of
the
bazaar
and
sell
off
all
her
trumpery
again
.
The
whole
assortment
now
lay
in
fragments
on
the
floor
,
while
Agnes
delivered
herself
up
to
agonies
of
lamentation
,
scolding
,
and
wondering
,
over
the
ruin
of
her
hoarded
treasures
,
while
she
pointed
out
with
consternation
how
nearly
the
table
had
fallen
with
its
edge
upon
her
own
foot
,
which
might
have
lamed
her
for
life
.
The
"
fall
of
china
"
is
a
proverbial
trial
of
temper
,
and
that
of
Agnes
did
not
prove
on
this
occasion
invulnerable
,
while
the
epithets
,
"
awkward
wretch
!
"
and
"
stupid
idiot
!
"
were
audibly
lavished
on
the
offending
abigail
.
Marion
appeared
exclusively
occupied
in
gathering
up
the
scattered
fragments
of
china
,
and
arranging
them
together
,
but
her
eye
was
secretly
observing
Dixon
,
the
strange
wild
expression
of
whose
features
filled
her
with
indefinite
apprehension
.
In
her
countenance
there
gleamed
,
certainly
,
for
an
instant
,
a
dark
smile
of
malignant
satisfaction
.
Marion
felt
sure
that
it
was
so
.
Could
the
poor
creature
's
mind
be
shipwrecked
?
Was
she
insane
?
Her
look
had
become
fierce
and
haggard
,
her
forehead
of
a
deadly
paleness
,
and
when
she
caught
the
eye
of
Marion
earnestly
fixed
upon
her
,
she
started
up
,
with
a
frown
of
angry
defiance
,
and
hurried
out
of
the
room
.
"
This
is
a
most
calamitous
catastrophe
!
"
exclaimed
Agnes
,
disconsolately
.
"
How
could
Dixon
be
so
intolerably
stupid
?
"
"
Are
you
quite
certain
it
proceeded
from
stupidity
?
The
accident
is
altogether
very
strange
,
"
observed
Marion
,
going
close
up
to
her
sister
,
and
relating
all
she
had
observed
during
that
evening
in
the
very
lowest
whisper
,
for
Marion
felt
a
nervous
consciousness
that
Dixon
was
not
far
off
,
and
might
attempt
to
overhear
them
.
A
stealthy
step
was
heard
on
the
stair
after
she
concluded
,
but
Marion
,
thoroughly
engrossed
with
the
subject
,
reiterated
once
more
her
conviction
that
there
had
been
something
more
than
common
in
the
manner
of
Dixon
,
whom
she
advised
Agnes
to
watch
very
carefully
,
if
she
did
not
part
with
her
soon
.
"
You
were
always
prejudiced
against
Dixon
,
poor
stupid
fool
that
she
is
,
Marion
.
I
wish
I
had
sent
her
adrift
before
she
broke
all
the
china
,
but
it
is
very
unlike
you
to
be
so
severe
!
How
can
you
fancy
the
creature
did
it
on
purpose
?
That
is
too
bad
,
when
you
might
have
seen
how
ghastly
pale
she
became
!
"
"
I
did
see
,
Agnes
!
and
that
makes
me
wonder
only
the
more
!
No
one
ever
looked
like
that
surely
,
for
breaking
a
few
china
gewgaws
!
"
"
Marion
!
speak
respectfully
of
my
treasures
!
But
you
are
in
a
most
censorious
mood
this
evening
:
very
different
from
common
,
when
you
are
generally
a
knight-errant
in
all
our
conversations
,
defending
everybody
.
But
nothing
pleases
you
to-night
.
My
admirer
first
,
then
my
maid
,
my
china
,
and
even
Patrick
,
who
certainly
behaved
exceedingly
ill
to-day
,
in
not
asking
me
to
preside
at
his
party
.
The
pretext
was
,
that
we
had
no
chaperon
,
but
I
had
the
greatest
mind
,
in
a
fit
of
offended
dignity
,
to
leave
his
house
.
"
"
Your
dignity
would
have
been
rather
put
out
of
countenance
,
by
having
to
borrow
my
carriage
if
you
did
go
!
"
said
Sir
Patrick
,
who
had
laughingly
entered
the
room
unobserved
.
"
Lady
Towercliffe
may
perhaps
receive
you
in
time
for
her
six
o'clock
breakfast
to-morrow
morning
,
Agnes
,
but
unless
you
make
more
haste
,
the
supper
and
dancing
will
be
quite
out
of
the
question
.
Past
twelve
o'clock
,
and
a
rainy
night
!
"
Sir
Patrick
was
a
good-natured
,
selfish
man
,
willing
that
everybody
should
be
happy
,
provided
it
put
him
to
no
personal
inconvenience
,
and
when
Marion
took
this
opportunity
to
explain
the
circumstances
of
her
very
unexpected
return
,
he
merely
bestowed
a
contemptuous
whistle
on
the
description
of
Mrs.
Penfold
's
wrath
,
laughed
at
Marion
's
evident
anxiety
about
his
embarrassments
,
and
then
desired
her
to
set
about
being
happy
at
home
the
best
way
she
could
,
as
he
thought
she
might
make
the
rest
of
her
life
a
holiday
now
.
"
And
,
"
added
he
,
in
his
usual
gay
rallying
tone
,
"
forget
for
ever
all
your
grievances
at
Mrs.
Penfold
's
,
or
rather
,
Mrs.
Tenfold
's
,
on
account
of
the
breadth
of
her
person
and
the
length
of
her
bills
!
"
CHAPTER
XIII
.
Sir
Patrick
,
like
most
men
who
are
gifted
with
more
head
than
heart
,
disbelieved
in
all
such
generous
emotions
and
exalted
affections
as
he
had
not
himself
experienced
.
With
a
lively
defiance
of
received
opinions
,
his
vivacity
was
unchecked
by
the
fear
of
giving
pain
or
of
causing
offence
,
being
perfectly
reckless
on
that
score
,
provided
only
he
could
enliven
the
dull
routine
of
ordinary
society
.
Marion
's
mingled
expression
of
shyness
and
animation
,
her
light
laughter
and
ardent
feelings
,
were
refreshing
to
a
mind
so
hackneyed
as
his
,
and
though
he
often
checked
her
sensitive
spirit
in
its
full
flow
of
affectionate
confidence
,
by
a
retort
courteous
,
or
rather
discourteous
,
he
was
nevertheless
vain
of
the
admiration
she
invariably
excited
,
and
read
,
in
the
eyes
of
others
,
the
value
he
ought
to
place
on
her
beauty
and
talents
.
Agnes
'
whole
mind
was
so
frothed
over
with
folly
,
and
encrusted
with
selfishness
,
that
unless
the
wheel
of
fortune
touched
upon
her
personal
comforts
,
she
was
as
impervious
to
all
external
impressions
as
a
tortoise
beneath
the
shell
,
and
it
was
a
useless
waste
of
generous
sentiments
and
kind
emotions
,
whenever
the
heart
of
Marion
was
laid
open
to
her
.
Agnes
,
who
had
long
since
adopted
a
company
manner
,
and
even
a
company
voice
,
persuaded
herself
that
Marion
also
had
very
cleverly
"
got
up
"
a
character
on
some
imaginary
model
of
excellence
,
which
she
acted
over
to
the
very
life
.
It
seemed
to
her
a
naked
certainty
that
the
refinement
and
delicacy
natural
to
Marion
's
mind
were
in
reality
artificial
;
and
though
the
radiance
of
her
intellect
,
and
the
sensibility
of
her
eye
,
were
but
in
harmony
with
her
actions
,
all
testifying
disinterested
self-denial
and
invariable
affection
,
still
Agnes
convinced
herself
that
Marion
lived
"
for
effect
.
"
If
Marion
ever
acted
a
part
at
all
,
it
was
only
in
concealing
from
those
who
might
have
ridiculed
her
,
the
unfathomable
depth
of
her
feelings
,
since
she
might
as
well
have
asked
for
sympathy
from
an
ice-berg
as
from
Agnes
.
Knowing
that
every
evidence
of
sensibility
would
be
received
with
scepticism
,
she
silently
and
hopefully
waited
till
some
scope
might
be
afforded
her
for
testifying
that
all
which
she
might
have
wished
to
profess
was
nothing
to
what
she
would
do
or
suffer
for
those
she
loved
;
and
if
ever
Marion
repined
at
any
one
circumstance
in
her
lot
,
it
was
,
that
she
might
perhaps
pass
through
life
unknown
to
those
she
loved
the
best
,
because
she
dared
not
express
,
even
by
a
few
insignificant
words
,
that
affectionate
attachment
to
Agnes
and
Sir
Patrick
,
which
she
would
have
thought
any
sacrifice
a
pleasure
,
to
evince
in
its
full
and
heartfelt
measure
.
One
privilege
of
friendship
Marion
enjoyed
in
unbounded
measure
with
both
her
brother
and
sister
.
She
became
the
usual
depositary
of
their
many
grievances
and
disappointments
.
Marion
had
the
art
,
—
or
rather
the
instinct
,
for
to
her
all
art
was
unknown
,
—
of
listening
in
perfection
.
If
Agnes
received
a
dress
from
her
London
milliner
which
did
not
fit
,
or
if
Sir
Patrick
did
not
obtain
an
invitation
to
some
jovial
party
which
he
had
expected
to
enliven
,
Marion
became
of
immediate
importance
.
The
annoyance
he
felt
on
such
occasions
could
scarcely
be
exceeded
—
the
death
of
his
nearest
relation
,
or
of
all
his
relations
together
,
would
have
been
nothing
to
it
;
but
Marion
could
always
administer
some
gentle
anodyne
to
the
irritated
sufferer
,
and
displayed
a
wonderful
ingenuity
in
turning
up
the
best
side
of
everything
,
for
the
advantage
and
comfort
of
others
.
Nothing
melted
Marion
's
heart
so
entirely
as
to
see
Sir
Patrick
for
a
moment
depressed
,
as
the
very
pride
and
haughtiness
of
his
spirit
rendered
it
,
in
her
estimation
,
the
more
affecting
when
he
seemed
at
all
subdued
,
and
on
the
evening
of
Lady
Towercliffe
's
ball
,
she
could
not
but
fancy
,
before
he
set
off
with
Agnes
,
that
there
was
a
forced
vivacity
in
his
spirits
which
she
had
never
perceived
before
,
and
that
the
tone
of
his
voice
had
a
melancholy
modulation
when
he
bid
her
good
night
,
accompanied
by
an
unusual
degree
of
kindness
,
always
the
very
worst
indication
of
Sir
Patrick
's
spirits
,
the
consciousness
of
which
,
and
a
thousand
conjectures
respecting
its
cause
and
extent
,
dismissed
her
to
bed
with
an
anxious
mind
and
a
prayer
,
even
more
fervent
than
usual
,
for
his
happiness
.
In
one
house
,
Marion
was
understood
and
loved
as
she
wished
to
be
,
and
all
her
young
enthusiasm
found
its
best
refuge
and
welcome
in
the
aged
heart
of
Sir
Arthur
,
who
felt
refreshed
and
cheered
by
the
companionship
of
thoughts
and
feelings
as
fresh
and
natural
as
the
flowers
in
spring
,
while
they
reminded
him
of
the
time
when
his
own
had
been
as
buoyant
and
untrodden
,
as
hopeful
and
gay
,
as
full
of
kind
intentions
and
generous
wishes
.
The
morning
after
Marion
's
arrival
at
St.
John
's
Lodge
,
she
arose
by
the
peep
of
the
day
,
intent
on
surprising
her
uncle
with
a
visit
during
his
early
breakfast
,
and
gayly
anticipating
the
look
of
joyful
surprise
and
perplexity
with
which
she
would
be
welcomed
,
while
she
rehearsed
in
her
own
happy
mind
,
how
best
to
increase
Sir
Arthur
's
astonishment
.
The
day
was
indeed
one
of
matchless
beauty
,
the
sunshine
perfectly
superb
,
and
all
around
resplendent
with
light
,
gayety
,
and
happiness
,
the
white
clouds
skimming
along
like
swans
on
the
blue
sky
,
the
air
perfumed
with
blossoms
,
every
leaf
spangled
with
dew
,
the
painted
butterflies
,
like
winged
flowers
,
hovering
over
the
meadows
,
and
the
country
people
exhibiting
looks
full
of
mirth
,
hilarity
,
and
good
humor
,
as
they
hastened
past
to
their
tasks
of
daily
toil
,
enjoying
those
common
gifts
of
a
bountiful
Providence
,
the
light
breeze
,
the
balmy
sunshine
,
the
music
of
birds
,
the
perfume
of
flowers
,
and
the
joy
of
natural
,
unfevered
spirits
.
"
And
now
,
while
bloom
and
breeze
their
charms
unite
,
And
all
is
glowing
with
a
rich
delight
,
God
!
who
can
tread
upon
the
breathing
ground
,
Nor
feel
Thee
present
,
where
Thy
smiles
abound
?
"
The
whole
air
seemed
full
of
incense
and
poetry
when
the
light-footed
Marion
,
with
a
bounding
and
elastic
step
,
set
forth
on
her
solitary
walk
towards
Portobello
,
joyous
as
a
bird
in
spring
,
pleased
with
the
whole
world
,
and
admiring
everything
with
a
lightness
of
heart
that
cast
its
sunshine
on
all
she
saw
.
Marion
delighted
in
a
wild
sense
of
liberty
now
,
when
she
contrasted
it
with
her
long
years
of
endurance
at
Mrs.
Penfold
's
;
and
equipped
in
exactly
such
a
pink
gingham
dress
as
Agnes
had
censured
on
Clara
Granville
,
with
the
free
air
,
like
liquid
sunshine
,
playing
about
her
glowing
cheek
,
and
her
light
ringlets
fluttering
in
the
breeze
,
the
excitement
of
her
spirits
became
such
that
she
could
have
run
with
pleasure
across
the
daisied
meadows
,
and
,
"
glad
as
the
wild
bee
on
his
glossy
wing
,
"
longed
to
reach
the
craggy
heights
of
Arthur
Seat
,
or
to
linger
beneath
the
old
thorns
already
fragrant
with
blossoms
,
and
steeped
in
dew
.
Marion
had
picked
some
flowers
as
fresh
and
blooming
as
herself
,
while
she
hurried
through
the
more
inhabited
parts
of
the
sanctuary
,
but
when
passing
beneath
the
palace
windows
,
her
steps
were
arrested
for
a
moment
by
hearing
the
sounds
of
mirth
and
music
.
"
Can
it
be
!
"
thought
she
,
in
astonishment
,
"
Lady
Towercliffe
's
ball
is
yet
at
its
zenith
!
"
Pitying
the
dancers
much
more
than
she
envied
them
,
Marion
looked
at
the
scene
of
glorious
beauty
around
her
,
and
was
hurrying
forward
,
humming
a
light
barcarolle
in
concert
with
the
thousand
birds
in
full
chorus
on
every
side
,
when
suddenly
a
loud
shout
caused
her
to
start
and
turn
around
.
Marion
now
perceived
with
astonishment
that
a
window
of
Lady
Towercliffe
's
apartment
had
been
hastily
opened
,
and
Sir
Patrick
stood
on
the
balcony
waving
his
handkerchief
impetuously
for
her
to
stop
,
and
a
moment
afterwards
she
saw
him
eagerly
running
after
her
across
the
fields
without
his
hat
.
"
Marion
!
you
lucky
girl
!
stop
there
!
"
exclaimed
he
with
breathless
animation
.
"
We
are
all
at
breakfast
,
and
require
one
lady
more
to
make
up
a
last
quadrille
,
so
come
along
;
you
are
my
prisoner
!
What
makes
you
look
so
aghast
?
Who
ever
heard
of
a
girl
not
liking
her
first
ball
?
"
"
Patrick
,
you
are
certainly
mad
!
"
said
Marion
,
unable
to
help
laughing
at
the
almost
delirious
eagerness
of
his
manner
.
"
Pray
consider
!
I
am
not
in
a
ball
dress
!
I
am
not
invited
!
I
shall
look
like
a
house-maid
!
—
—
"
"
Nonsense
!
I
wish
everybody
looked
half
as
well
!
All
these
reasons
,
and
fifty
more
,
go
for
nothing
.
I
have
set
my
heart
upon
it
,
and
you
shall
not
stand
in
your
own
light
,
like
the
man
in
the
moon
.
No
,
Marion
!
you
are
to
be
published
immediately
under
my
auspices
.
You
have
often
expressed
a
willingness
to
die
for
me
any
day
,
but
that
is
not
necessary
just
at
present
.
All
I
ask
is
that
you
shall
dance
for
me
!
Now
,
fling
that
bonnet
off
,
shake
your
little
forest
of
ringlets
,
and
come
along
.
You
will
pass
muster
very
well
without
Cinderella
's
god-mother
to
make
a
metamorphosis
.
"
Unable
to
resist
the
outburst
of
her
brother
's
extravagant
mirth
,
yet
shrinking
and
abashed
,
almost
ready
to
cry
with
vexation
,
Marion
was
unwillingly
led
,
or
almost
dragged
by
her
laughing
persecutor
into
the
drawing-room
,
where
,
with
a
look
of
naivete
,
and
an
aspect
lovely
in
the
first
blush
and
freshness
of
girlhood
,
she
gazed
in
mute
astonishment
and
almost
with
dismay
at
this
her
first
peep
into
the
great
world
of
fashion
,
wishing
for
her
own
part
that
she
could
have
adopted
invisibility
,
and
enjoyed
the
scene
as
if
she
were
in
a
private
box
at
the
theatre
,
for
as
yet
her
feelings
were
"
trop
pres
de
la
peine
pour
etre
un
plaisir
.
"
A
bright
sunshine
streamed
into
the
room
,
while
the
gas
lamps
still
dimly
glared
over
the
breakfast
table
,
at
present
surrounded
by
three
or
four
hot
,
flushed
,
dusty-looking
young
ladies
,
with
exaggerated
colors
,
soiled
dresses
,
torn
gloves
,
withered
bouquets
,
and
exceedingly
disordered
ringlets
,
falling
in
dishevelled
masses
over
their
naked
shoulders
.
These
ladies
,
assuming
forced
spirits
,
and
an
appearance
of
over-done
gaiety
,
kept
up
a
rattling
,
flippant
dialogue
with
about
twice
or
three
times
the
number
of
gentlemen
,
some
in
glittering
uniforms
,
padded
and
stuffed
to
the
very
chin
,
and
others
in
plain
clothes
,
but
all
over-heated
,
over-excited
,
and
over-fatigued
,
while
,
in
spite
of
parched
lips
and
blood-shot
eyes
,
they
were
still
endeavoring
,
with
all
their
might
,
to
be
fascinating
.
To
Marion
's
unaccustomed
eye
the
whole
party
seemed
like
a
set
of
second
rate
actors
from
the
theatre
,
not
calculated
,
by
their
aspect
,
to
elicit
very
rapturous
applauses
,
and
she
privately
wondered
they
were
not
ashamed
to
look
each
other
in
the
face
when
in
so
ridiculous
a
plight
.
Even
Agnes
,
her
own
beautiful
sister
,
looked
very
unlike
Agnes
!
and
she
felt
astonished
to
find
that
it
might
actually
be
possible
to
spend
an
hour
in
her
company
and
not
be
admiring
her
,
but
in
Marion
's
very
private
opinion
,
her
appearance
was
now
as
if
some
sign
post
painter
had
done
a
resemblance
of
her
sister
in
the
very
coarsest
coloring
,
and
in
the
most
overdone
style
of
dress
and
expression
.
Agnes
had
a
great
deal
to
say
,
and
no
diffidence
to
prevent
her
saying
it
all
,
therefore
she
was
now
plunged
into
the
midst
of
a
very
animated
dialogue
with
Captain
De
Crespigny
,
talking
with
a
look
of
conscious
beauty
and
conscious
success
,
in
the
only
style
she
could
talk
,
nonsense
,
and
making
a
lavish
expenditure
of
smiles
,
attitudes
,
and
exclamations
,
to
give
herself
the
appearance
of
vivacity
.
Her
hair
was
in
a
most
disastrous
state
,
and
her
complexion
everything
but
what
it
should
be
,
while
her
dress
had
so
completely
fallen
off
at
the
shoulders
,
that
she
might
appropriately
have
sung
her
favorite
air
,
"
One
struggle
more
and
I
am
free
.
"
The
expression
of
Agnes
'
countenance
became
at
once
perfectly
natural
,
when
she
turned
round
,
and
for
the
first
time
observed
,
with
a
start
of
genuine
astonishment
,
that
Marion
was
beside
her
,
looking
at
the
moment
like
some
being
of
a
better
world
,
or
like
some
graceful
water
lily
rearing
its
pure
and
beautiful
head
above
the
turbid
pool
.
Marion
glanced
at
her
sister
in
a
state
of
smiling
embarrassment
,
as
if
desirous
to
claim
her
protection
amidst
a
scene
so
new
and
strange
,
and
taking
possession
,
with
a
confiding
look
,
of
Agnes
'
arm
,
joy
seemed
rushing
out
of
her
bright
animated
eyes
,
and
dimpling
in
her
cheeks
,
when
,
under
her
sister
's
protection
,
she
gazed
around
with
an
expression
of
timid
amusement
and
curiosity
.
"
Marion
,
what
mad
freak
is
this
?
"
exclaimed
Agnes
,
with
a
hot
red
blush
of
angry
surprise
;
"
Patrick
,
do
take
her
home
!
"
"
Not
till
she
has
been
my
vis
a
vis
in
this
quadrille
,
and
then
we
must
all
disperse
,
"
replied
Sir
Patrick
,
with
a
boyish
mischievous
laugh
,
while
noticing
a
haughty
flash
pass
swiftly
over
the
brow
of
Agnes
;
"
I
had
difficulty
enough
in
getting
Marion
to
come
at
all
,
so
she
shall
not
escape
me
now
.
De
Crespigny
,
have
you
engaged
a
partner
?
"
"
If
I
had
I
would
have
strangled
her
!
"
replied
Captain
De
Crespigny
,
with
an
admiring
glance
at
Marion
,
who
stood
with
her
downcast
eyes
shaded
with
their
long
deep
fringes
,
while
an
arch
young
smile
played
round
her
mouth
,
and
dimpled
her
cheek
.
"
Will
you
then
take
the
very
great
trouble
of
dancing
with
Marion
?
"
"
I
shall
be
too
happy
,
"
replied
he
,
throwing
a
world
of
expression
into
his
fine
animated
eyes
.
"
I
shall
do
so
with
all
my
heart
!
"
"
Marion
,
your
old
friend
and
cousin
,
Louis
De
Crespigny
.
Did
you
ever
see
such
an
ugly
fellow
?
"
"
That
is
the
very
thing
I
pique
myself
upon
!
I
am
like
the
Skye
terriers
,
admired
chiefly
for
my
surpassing
ugliness
,
"
said
Captain
De
Crespigny
laughingly
,
observing
the
smile
and
the
blush
with
which
Marion
listened
.
"
You
think
me
plain
;
but
I
wish
you
saw
my
uncle
!
"
"
Wear
a
mask
,
De
Crespigny
,
if
you
ever
become
as
hideous
!
But
in
respect
to
looks
,
the
most
unendurable
of
all
living
beings
is
a
handsome
vulgar
man
,
like
the
description
I
hear
of
that
creature
Howard
,
Sir
Arthur
's
pen-and-ink
man
.
I
could
forgive
his
vulgarity
,
if
Marion
did
not
tell
me
that
he
presumes
to
be
handsome
,
which
renders
him
utterly
insufferable
!
I
wish
somebody
would
put
him
to
death
!
"
"
The
fellow
has
never
yet
shown
himself
to
me
,
"
replied
Captain
De
Crespigny
,
carelessly
.
"
Now
,
Miss
Dunbar
,
allow
me
the
honor
of
the
next
quadrille
with
you
;
and
if
there
be
a
dozen
more
,
"
added
he
,
with
his
most
ineffable
smile
,
"
so
much
the
better
!
I
consider
any
other
gentleman
who
asks
you
to-night
as
my
personal
enemy
!
"
Marion
stole
a
frightened
glance
at
Agnes
,
while
timidly
accepting
the
offered
arm
of
Captain
De
Crespigny
;
but
her
sister
had
turned
away
with
a
look
of
superb
disdain
,
and
was
engaged
in
lively
conversation
with
Lord
Wigton
,
a
tall
stripling
,
who
seemed
as
if
he
was
never
to
be
done
growing
,
and
who
copied
Captain
De
Crespigny
in
everything
,
from
the
pattern
of
his
watch-chain
to
the
choice
of
his
partners
.
Agnes
felt
invariably
more
astonished
at
any
deficiency
of
attention
,
than
at
the
most
devoted
assiduity
,
having
accustomed
herself
to
believe
that
she
was
always
the
first
object
of
interest
to
every
gentleman
in
the
room
,
though
diffidence
or
caution
might
cause
them
to
exercise
their
self-denial
for
a
time
,
by
keeping
aloof
;
and
it
was
with
more
commiseration
for
Captain
De
Crespigny
's
privation
in
losing
her
,
than
for
her
own
,
that
she
accepted
the
school-boy
Peer
as
a
partner
,
while
secretly
amused
and
flattered
by
the
ludicrous
expression
of
awe
and
admiration
with
which
he
usually
offered
himself
.
Having
talked
,
flirted
,
and
laughed
,
through
one
quadrille
and
several
reels
,
the
clock
struck
eight
.
It
was
an
unspeakable
triumph
to
Lady
Towercliffe
,
that
her
ball
had
thus
been
kept
up
the
latest
of
any
during
the
season
;
and
now
the
whole
prepared
for
retiring
to
their
fevered
pillows
.
Captain
De
Crespigny
,
after
uttering
,
as
usual
,
in
his
most
ingratiating
manner
,
a
million
of
absurd
nothings
,
took
a
sentimental
leave
of
Marion
,
saying
,
with
his
very
best
smile
,
and
a
sigh
to
correspond
,
"
I
shall
always
remember
this
evening
with
pleasure
—
always
!
Ten
minutes
of
unmixed
happiness
are
something
in
this
world
to
be
thankful
for
.
Life
has
nothing
more
delightful
.
"
These
words
were
said
in
his
usual
gay
,
off-hand
tone
,
while
Captain
De
Crespigny
felt
perfectly
charmed
to
think
what
an
impression
they
must
be
making
on
the
heart
of
his
young
and
unsophisticated
partner
.
He
was
at
the
same
time
astonished
himself
,
to
find
on
this
occasion
how
much
more
his
heart
was
on
his
lips
than
it
had
ever
been
before
.
Marion
was
the
only
girl
Captain
De
Crespigny
had
yet
seen
whom
he
did
not
feel
a
wish
to
trifle
with
;
for
during
the
last
half
hour
,
he
had
been
not
only
amused
,
but
deeply
interested
,
by
discovering
in
her
conversation
a
degree
of
matured
reflection
,
of
naivete
,
humor
,
and
good
sense
,
accompanied
by
a
brightness
of
expression
in
her
deeply-speaking
eyes
,
much
in
contrast
with
what
he
had
ever
been
accustomed
to
before
.
Nothing
is
so
rare
in
manner
as
to
be
perfectly
natural
,
without
a
soupcon
of
affectation
;
and
to
this
charm
was
added
another
,
quite
as
new
and
unexpected
to
Captain
De
Crespigny
,
though
by
no
means
so
acceptable
,
as
he
became
not
only
astonished
,
but
piqued
,
at
the
gay
,
indifferent
carelessness
with
which
Marion
heard
,
as
words
of
course
,
not
more
belonging
to
her
than
if
they
had
been
addressed
to
any
one
else
,
his
well-turned
compliments
and
insinuated
admiration
.
Not
to
be
met
half-way
was
new
and
astonishing
to
Captain
De
Crespigny
!
It
seemed
perfectly
unaccountable
,
little
as
he
knew
how
long
his
character
for
a
ruthless
flirt
had
been
placarded
before
the
eyes
of
Marion
,
who
no
more
credited
the
sincerity
of
his
professions
now
,
than
if
he
had
been
an
actor
performing
on
the
stage
.
She
considered
that
it
was
his
part
for
the
evening
to
scatter
civilities
indiscriminately
around
him
,
while
his
real
feelings
were
,
she
believed
,
privately
consecrated
to
one
,
and
to
one
only
.
Marion
's
own
heart
was
in
armor
,
protected
by
the
belief
of
Captain
De
Crespigny
being
her
affianced
brother
;
and
therefore
she
received
his
adieux
with
a
quiet
,
demure
look
,
succeeded
by
an
arch
smile
,
as
the
idea
crossed
her
mind
how
completely
she
was
in
the
secret
of
his
attachment
,
and
how
little
he
seemed
to
guess
that
she
was
.
When
Captain
De
Crespigny
observed
Marion
's
good-humored
,
careless
manner
in
taking
leave
of
him
,
he
began
to
fancy
it
just
possible
she
might
still
be
quite
indifferent
to
his
attentions
;
but
he
rather
indignantly
resolved
that
this
should
not
continue
long
.
It
would
be
a
distinction
,
he
knew
,
to
follow
in
the
train
of
a
young
beauty
so
admired
as
he
saw
that
Marion
must
be
;
for
a
hundred
tongues
were
already
talking
around
him
of
her
matchless
loveliness
,
while
he
alone
had
yet
enjoyed
an
opportunity
of
discovering
that
much
as
she
was
to
be
admired
by
those
who
saw
her
,
she
was
still
more
to
be
loved
by
those
who
knew
her
;
for
she
seemed
to
unite
in
herself
all
that
he
had
ever
praised
in
a
thousand
others
before
,
though
he
carried
no
plummet
in
his
mind
fitted
to
measure
the
depth
of
hers
.
Captain
De
Crespigny
had
been
accustomed
,
hitherto
,
always
to
feign
more
than
he
felt
;
but
now
,
for
the
first
time
,
he
found
it
necessary
to
conceal
,
even
from
himself
,
the
extent
of
his
feelings
;
for
it
seemed
as
if
the
last
few
hours
had
rendered
Marion
perfectly
known
,
and
for
ever
dear
to
him
.
Slowly
strolling
homewards
,
therefore
,
he
gave
vent
to
his
thoughts
,
by
singing
,
in
a
voice
like
moonlight
,
soft
and
clear
,
the
words
of
a
favorite
song
:
—
"
And
fare
thee
well
,
my
only
love
And
fare
thee
well
a
while
!
And
I
will
come
again
,
my
love
,
Though
it
were
ten
thousand
mile
.
"
End
of
volume
first
CHAPTER
XIV
.
Marion
had
a
genius
for
being
happy
,
and
much
as
the
unexpected
ball
had
amused
her
,
she
hurried
along
the
road
to
Portobello
,
her
cheek
dimpling
at
the
recollection
of
all
that
had
passed
,
while
she
confidently
anticipated
one
pleasure
yet
to
come
from
it
,
the
amusement
she
knew
Sir
Arthur
would
derive
from
her
adventure
;
for
never
did
two
individuals
,
when
together
,
seem
to
converse
more
in
accordance
with
Dr.
Johnson
's
rule
,
than
Marion
and
her
uncle
,
that
"
the
aged
should
remember
that
they
have
been
young
,
and
the
young
that
they
must
yet
be
old
.
"
As
Marion
arrived
within
sight
of
the
cottage
,
her
step
became
more
buoyant
,
and
her
thoughts
more
joyous
,
when
,
seeing
Sir
Arthur
at
his
open
window
,
she
waved
her
handkerchief
to
him
;
and
Henry
,
leaping
out
from
a
height
of
about
ten
feet
,
ran
laughing
to
meet
her
,
his
rich
brown
hair
waving
in
the
wind
,
his
color
heightened
by
the
exercise
,
and
his
eye
sparkling
with
the
joy
of
this
very
unexpected
meeting
.
While
Marion
poured
out
the
tea
,
and
poured
out
,
at
the
same
time
,
a
whole
flood
of
recollections
and
circumstances
connected
with
the
ball
,
Sir
Arthur
equalled
her
utmost
hopes
,
in
being
amused
and
enlivened
by
the
description
,
while
he
said
,
in
a
rallying
tone
,
looking
fondly
at
her
bright
,
happy
countenance
,
"
My
dear
Marion
,
you
will
never
get
on
in
the
fashionable
world
!
You
look
too
pleased
and
happy
,
like
a
girl
in
the
Christmas
holidays
.
That
will
never
do
.
It
is
the
fashion
to
be
exceedingly
fastidious
and
discontented
.
You
must
positively
give
yourself
some
airs
,
or
I
shall
have
to
be
angry
at
you
.
"
"
You
,
uncle
Arthur
!
Do
let
me
see
you
angry
!
I
cannot
fancy
such
a
thing
.
But
pray
,
publish
a
volume
of
advice
to
young
ladies
on
their
first
coming
out
.
It
would
be
a
great
pity
for
the
rising
generation
not
to
benefit
by
your
remarks
,
"
said
Marion
,
gaily
seating
herself
at
the
window
.
"
I
feel
this
morning
as
cheerful
as
that
view
of
yours
from
the
window
,
where
the
waves
are
dancing
in
sunshine
,
the
ocean
one
liquid
diamond
,
the
sands
all
sparkling
with
gladness
,
and
the
white-winged
vessels
gliding
joyfully
along
.
"
"
External
things
take
their
expression
from
the
feelings
with
which
they
are
looked
at
,
"
replied
Sir
Arthur
,
with
sudden
emotion
.
"
That
wide
desert
of
sand
seems
to
me
this
morning
boundless
as
human
wishes
,
and
barren
as
their
reality
.
I
would
not
willingly
throw
a
cloud
over
your
happy
face
,
Marion
;
but
it
must
be
!
How
strange
,
that
even
you
,
young
and
joyous
as
you
are
,
must
be
doomed
,
like
all
the
children
of
man
,
to
sorrow
!
The
delight
of
seeing
you
here
,
my
very
dear
girl
,
had
banished
all
care
from
my
mind
for
a
time
;
but
it
is
on
your
account
,
far
—
far
more
than
my
own
—
that
I
feel
anxious
and
melancholy
.
"
Marion
put
her
arm
gently
within
that
of
Sir
Arthur
,
and
looked
affectionately
,
but
silently
,
in
his
face
,
while
he
continued
,
in
accents
of
manly
regret
and
indignation
,
while
there
was
a
mournful
tenderness
in
the
look
he
turned
on
his
niece
,
"
You
have
not
heard
,
Marion
,
that
the
little
I
ever
had
has
been
made
less
by
a
mean
transaction
of
my
nephew
's
.
For
my
own
part
,
this
matters
little
,
as
it
is
not
in
the
nature
of
things
,
that
with
all
my
accumulated
infirmities
,
I
should
live
as
much
as
a
couple
of
years
.
My
sight
has
almost
entirely
failed
,
my
general
health
is
equally
bad
,
and
my
long-faded
spirits
owe
their
best
support
to
religion
,
and
to
the
affection
of
yourself
and
Henry
.
"
Marion
silently
and
tearfully
kissed
her
uncle
's
check
,
and
pressed
his
hand
more
closely
in
her
own
,
while
he
proceeded
,
in
accents
of
increasing
emotion
,
"
My
boy
here
wishes
,
as
he
ought
,
to
pursue
a
profession
,
and
Henry
will
be
an
honor
to
any
one
he
enters
.
He
has
never
cost
me
an
anxious
thought
,
nor
a
single
shilling
.
I
trust
his
anonymous
annuity
will
be
always
continued
,
and
that
on
his
account
I
need
not
lament
my
impoverished
circumstances
;
but
my
chief
earthly
care
is
for
you
,
Marion
.
Though
Agnes
,
too
,
shows
me
little
attention
,
and
no
kindness
,
I
cannot
forget
whose
child
she
is
,
nor
think
of
her
future
life
without
anxiety
.
I
had
hoped
to
have
the
means
of
being
useful
to
both
of
you
while
I
lived
—
to
have
offered
you
a
shelter
here
,
in
case
,
as
I
expect
soon
,
there
should
be
no
other
for
you
—
and
to
have
left
you
both
at
last
above
absolute
penury
,
when
I
am
at
rest
in
the
grave
.
It
is
for
your
sakes
only
that
I
would
now
cling
to
the
tattered
shreds
of
my
worn-out
existence
;
but
this
is
a
difficult
world
for
unprotected
,
portionless
girls
,
in
which
to
buffet
their
way
onwards
.
Remember
,
dear
Marion
,
it
is
my
misfortune
,
not
my
fault
,
if
death
now
overtake
me
before
I
can
do
anything
for
my
brother
's
children
.
"
Marion
clasped
her
arms
round
Sir
Arthur
's
neck
,
and
wept
in
silence
.
There
was
a
weight
of
grief
in
all
he
had
said
,
for
which
she
was
totally
unprepared
,
and
which
she
felt
in
every
fibre
of
her
heart
.
Sir
Patrick
's
disgraceful
conduct
,
and
the
impending
departure
of
Henry
,
so
long
her
companion
and
friend
,
were
afflictions
for
which
she
was
in
some
degree
prepared
;
and
they
seemed
as
nothing
,
compared
with
what
her
venerable
uncle
said
,
for
the
first
time
,
of
himself
.
He
was
a
strong-minded
man
,
unwilling
to
obtrude
his
infirmities
and
feelings
on
the
notice
of
any
one
,
anxious
always
rather
to
borrow
cheerfulness
from
those
around
,
than
to
cause
anxiety
or
grief
;
but
a
sense
of
its
absolute
necessity
had
induced
him
to
show
Marion
,
in
some
degree
,
her
real
position
,
and
in
doing
so
,
had
obliged
him
for
once
to
speak
of
his
own
pecuniary
losses
and
growing
frailty
.
Long
as
the
Admiral
had
been
threatened
with
blindness
,
brought
on
by
the
pernicious
climates
in
which
he
had
served
,
the
apprehension
of
actually
losing
him
had
hitherto
been
so
far
from
Marion
's
thoughts
,
that
she
frequently
pleased
herself
with
anticipating
the
time
when
she
might
herself
supply
,
by
reading
to
him
and
walking
with
him
,
the
place
of
that
gloomy
and
spectral-looking
Mr.
Howard
,
one
of
the
few
people
in
the
world
whom
Marion
disliked
,
at
the
same
time
that
she
almost
envied
him
for
being
so
constantly
in
the
society
of
Sir
Arthur
,
and
for
being
so
indispensably
useful
to
him
.
Marion
felt
that
all
the
world
would
be
cold
and
bleak
to
her
indeed
,
as
if
the
sun
had
left
the
firmament
,
if
she
lost
the
warmth
of
affection
and
kindness
to
which
,
from
infancy
,
she
had
been
accustomed
,
in
the
house
of
her
beloved
uncle
,
the
only
parent
she
had
ever
known
.
If
such
a
misfortune
were
to
come
,
who
would
then
advise
her
—
who
would
then
be
interested
in
her
feelings
—
who
would
believe
in
the
sincerity
of
her
affections
—
who
would
be
happy
when
she
appeared
,
and
grieved
when
she
departed
?
All
this
rushed
upon
Marion
's
young
mind
when
she
arose
to
depart
,
while
bitter
tears
coursed
each
other
down
her
cheeks
,
and
large
drops
stood
in
the
nearly
blinded
eyes
of
Sir
Arthur
,
which
he
endeavored
to
hide
,
as
he
affectionately
embraced
her
,
saying
,
in
a
tone
of
dignified
,
but
melancholy
composure
,
"
Come
back
soon
,
my
dear
girl
!
Let
me
see
that
face
often
,
while
I
can
see
at
all
!
You
are
the
ivy
giving
life
and
cheerfulness
to
a
blasted
tree
.
"
"
Let
me
remain
with
you
always
!
"
whispered
Marion
,
in
a
tone
of
the
deepest
earnestness
,
"
dear
uncle
Arthur
!
It
is
impossible
to
tell
how
happy
I
could
be
with
you
,
but
I
have
an
abhorrence
now
,
not
to
be
expressed
,
of
my
present
situation
.
It
seems
little
short
of
swindling
even
for
me
,
to
live
as
I
do
,
with
all
our
debts
unpaid
.
When
I
sit
down
at
my
brother
's
table
,
or
wear
the
dresses
he
gives
me
,
I
cannot
but
feel
myself
an
accomplice
.
It
is
degrading
to
my
very
heart
,
and
I
would
not
willingly
do
it
.
Take
me
home
,
dear
uncle
,
to
the
best
home
I
have
ever
known
.
Let
me
read
to
you
,
write
for
you
,
walk
with
you
,
and
we
shall
be
so
happy
—
so
very
happy
together
.
"
"
It
may
come
to
that
too
soon
,
dear
Marion
,
and
when
it
does
,
no
parent
ever
received
his
own
child
with
more
pleasure
than
I
shall
welcome
you
.
Even
with
all
my
shame
and
sorrow
,
then
,
for
your
brother
,
my
very
heart
shall
rejoice
to
see
you
,
but
not
yet
.
Patrick
is
your
guardian
—
a
most
unfit
one
certainly
;
—
but
while
he
is
able
and
willing
to
receive
you
,
which
cannot
probably
be
long
,
—
it
would
ill
become
me
to
interfere
.
In
remaining
with
him
,
you
fulfil
your
father
's
will
,
who
bequeathed
you
to
his
care
,
—
a
trust
he
has
but
little
deserved
.
Remain
with
him
,
however
,
at
present
,
and
do
not
feel
answerable
for
his
actions
or
circumstances
,
over
which
you
have
no
control
.
"
CHAPTER
XV
.
Marion
's
walk
back
from
Portobello
was
of
a
very
different
aspect
from
her
gay
outset
in
the
morning
,
and
nature
seemed
to
have
suddenly
gone
out
of
tune
as
she
gazed
around
,
with
an
altered
eye
on
the
sombre
massy
hills
with
their
giant
shadows
,
throwing
into
mysterious
obscurity
the
tall
ancient
buildings
of
the
doleful
Canongate
,
which
looked
like
the
ghost
of
a
departed
city
;
and
the
melancholy
magnificence
of
Holyrood
reminded
her
of
greatness
in
adversity
,
while
she
reflected
that
the
royal
houses
of
Stuart
and
of
Bourbon
had
there
found
a
dismal
refuge
in
their
utmost
destitution
.
But
