andwit
without
indecency
.
Four-and-sixpence
—
five
shillings
.
"
The
bidding
ran
on
with
warming
rivalry
.
Mr.
Bowyer
was
a
bidder
,
and
this
was
too
exasperating
.
Bowyer
could
n't
afford
it
,
and
only
wanted
to
hinder
every
other
man
from
making
a
figure
.
The
current
carried
even
Mr.
Horrock
with
it
,
but
this
committal
of
himself
to
an
opinion
fell
from
him
with
so
little
sacrifice
of
his
neutral
expression
,
that
the
bid
might
not
have
been
detected
as
his
but
for
the
friendly
oaths
of
Mr.
Bambridge
,
who
wanted
to
know
what
Horrock
would
do
with
blasted
stuff
only
fit
for
haberdashers
given
over
to
that
state
of
perdition
which
the
horse-dealer
so
cordially
recognized
in
the
majority
of
earthly
existences
.
The
lot
was
finally
knocked
down
at
a
guinea
to
Mr.
Spilkins
,
a
young
Slender
of
the
neighborhood
,
who
was
reckless
with
his
pocket-money
and
felt
his
want
of
memory
for
riddles
.
"
Come
,
Trumbull
,
this
is
too
bad
—
you
've
been
putting
some
old
maid
's
rubbish
into
the
sale
,
"
murmured
Mr.
Toller
,
getting
close
to
the
auctioneer
.
"
I
want
to
see
how
the
prints
go
,
and
I
must
be
off
soon
.
"
"
Im
mediately
,
Mr.
Toller
.
It
was
only
an
act
of
benevolence
which
your
noble
heart
would
approve
.
Joseph
!
quick
with
the
prints
—
Lot
235.
Now
,
gentlemen
,
you
who
are
connoiss
ures
,
you
are
going
to
have
a
treat
.
Here
is
an
engraving
of
the
Duke
of
Wellington
surrounded
by
his
staff
on
the
Field
of
Waterloo
;
and
notwithstanding
recent
events
which
have
,
as
it
were
,
enveloped
our
great
Hero
in
a
cloud
,
I
will
be
bold
to
say
—
for
a
man
in
my
line
must
not
be
blown
about
by
political
winds
—
that
a
finer
subject
—
of
the
modern
order
,
belonging
to
our
own
time
and
epoch
—
the
understanding
of
man
could
hardly
conceive
:
angels
might
,
perhaps
,
but
not
men
,
sirs
,
not
men
.
"
"
Who
painted
it
?
"
said
Mr.
Powderell
,
much
impressed
.
"
It
is
a
proof
before
the
letter
,
Mr.
Powderell
—
the
painter
is
not
known
,
"
answered
Trumbull
,
with
a
certain
gaspingness
in
his
last
words
,
after
which
he
pursed
up
his
lips
and
stared
round
him
.
"
I
'll
bid
a
pound
!
"
said
Mr.
Powderell
,
in
a
tone
of
resolved
emotion
,
as
of
a
man
ready
to
put
himself
in
the
breach
.
Whether
from
awe
or
pity
,
nobody
raised
the
price
on
him
.
Next
came
two
Dutch
prints
which
Mr.
Toller
had
been
eager
for
,
and
after
he
had
secured
them
he
went
away
.
Other
prints
,
and
afterwards
some
paintings
,
were
sold
to
leading
Middlemarchers
who
had
come
with
a
special
desire
for
them
,
and
there
was
a
more
active
movement
of
the
audience
in
and
out
;
some
,
who
had
bought
what
they
wanted
,
going
away
,
others
coming
in
either
quite
newly
or
from
a
temporary
visit
to
the
refreshments
which
were
spread
under
the
marquee
on
the
lawn
.
It
was
this
marquee
that
Mr.
Bambridge
was
bent
on
buying
,
and
he
appeared
to
like
looking
inside
it
frequently
,
as
a
foretaste
of
its
possession
.
On
the
last
occasion
of
his
return
from
it
he
was
observed
to
bring
with
him
a
new
companion
,
a
stranger
to
Mr.
Trumbull
and
every
one
else
,
whose
appearance
,
however
,
led
to
the
supposition
that
he
might
be
a
relative
of
the
horse-dealer
's
—
also
"
given
to
indulgence
.
"
His
large
whiskers
,
imposing
swagger
,
and
swing
of
the
leg
,
made
him
a
striking
figure
;
but
his
suit
of
black
,
rather
shabby
at
the
edges
,
caused
the
prejudicial
inference
that
he
was
not
able
to
afford
himself
as
much
indulgence
as
he
liked
.
"
Who
is
it
you
've
picked
up
,
Bam
?
"
said
Mr.
Horrock
,
aside
.
"
Ask
him
yourself
,
"
returned
Mr.
Bambridge
.
"
He
said
he
'd
just
turned
in
from
the
road
.
"
Mr.
Horrock
eyed
the
stranger
,
who
was
leaning
back
against
his
stick
with
one
hand
,
using
his
toothpick
with
the
other
,
and
looking
about
him
with
a
certain
restlessness
apparently
under
the
silence
imposed
on
him
by
circumstances
.
At
length
the
"
Supper
at
Emmaus
"
was
brought
forward
,
to
Will
's
immense
relief
,
for
he
was
getting
so
tired
of
the
proceedings
that
he
had
drawn
back
a
little
and
leaned
his
shoulder
against
the
wall
just
behind
the
auctioneer
.
He
now
came
forward
again
,
and
his
eye
caught
the
conspicuous
stranger
,
who
,
rather
to
his
surprise
,
was
staring
at
him
markedly
.
But
Will
was
immediately
appealed
to
by
Mr.
Trumbull
.
"
Yes
,
Mr.
Ladislaw
,
yes
;
this
interests
you
as
a
connoiss
ure
,
I
think
.
It
is
some
pleasure
,
"
the
auctioneer
went
on
with
a
rising
fervor
,
"
to
have
a
picture
like
this
to
show
to
a
company
of
ladies
and
gentlemen
—
a
picture
worth
any
sum
to
an
individual
whose
means
were
on
a
level
with
his
judgment
.
It
is
a
painting
of
the
Italian
school
—
by
the
celebrated
Guydo
,
the
greatest
painter
in
the
world
,
the
chief
of
the
Old
Masters
,
as
they
are
called
—
I
take
it
,
because
they
were
up
to
a
thing
or
two
beyond
most
of
us
—
in
possession
of
secrets
now
lost
to
the
bulk
of
mankind
.
Let
me
tell
you
,
gentlemen
,
I
have
seen
a
great
many
pictures
by
the
Old
Masters
,
and
they
are
not
all
up
to
this
mark
—
some
of
them
are
darker
than
you
might
like
and
not
family
subjects
.
But
here
is
a
Guydo
—
the
frame
alone
is
worth
pounds
—
which
any
lady
might
be
proud
to
hang
up
—
a
suitable
thing
for
what
we
call
a
refectory
in
a
charitable
institution
,
if
any
gentleman
of
the
Corporation
wished
to
show
his
munifi
cence
.
Turn
it
a
little
,
sir
?
yes
.
Joseph
,
turn
it
a
little
towards
Mr.
Ladislaw
—
Mr.
Ladislaw
,
having
been
abroad
,
understands
the
merit
of
these
things
,
you
observe
.
"
All
eyes
were
for
a
moment
turned
towards
Will
,
who
said
,
coolly
,
"
Five
pounds
.
"
The
auctioneer
burst
out
in
deep
remonstrance
.
"
Ah
!
Mr.
Ladislaw
!
the
frame
alone
is
worth
that
.
Ladies
and
gentlemen
,
for
the
credit
of
the
town
!
Suppose
it
should
be
discovered
hereafter
that
a
gem
of
art
has
been
amongst
us
in
this
town
,
and
nobody
in
Middlemarch
awake
to
it
.
Five
guineas
—
five
seven-six
—
five
ten
.
Still
,
ladies
,
still
!
It
is
a
gem
,
and
'
Full
many
a
gem
,
'
as
the
poet
says
,
has
been
allowed
to
go
at
a
nominal
price
because
the
public
knew
no
better
,
because
it
was
offered
in
circles
where
there
was
—
I
was
going
to
say
a
low
feeling
,
but
no
!
—
Six
pounds
—
six
guineas
—
a
Guydo
of
the
first
order
going
at
six
guineas
—
it
is
an
insult
to
religion
,
ladies
;
it
touches
us
all
as
Christians
,
gentlemen
,
that
a
subject
like
this
should
go
at
such
a
low
figure
—
six
pounds
ten
—
seven
—
"
The
bidding
was
brisk
,
and
Will
continued
to
share
in
it
,
remembering
that
Mrs.
Bulstrode
had
a
strong
wish
for
the
picture
,
and
thinking
that
he
might
stretch
the
price
to
twelve
pounds
.
But
it
was
knocked
down
to
him
at
ten
guineas
,
whereupon
he
pushed
his
way
towards
the
bow-window
and
went
out
.
He
chose
to
go
under
the
marquee
to
get
a
glass
of
water
,
being
hot
and
thirsty
:
it
was
empty
of
other
visitors
,
and
he
asked
the
woman
in
attendance
to
fetch
him
some
fresh
water
;
but
before
she
was
well
gone
he
was
annoyed
to
see
entering
the
florid
stranger
who
had
stared
at
him
.
It
struck
Will
at
this
moment
that
the
man
might
be
one
of
those
political
parasitic
insects
of
the
bloated
kind
who
had
once
or
twice
claimed
acquaintance
with
him
as
having
heard
him
speak
on
the
Reform
question
,
and
who
might
think
of
getting
a
shilling
by
news
.
In
this
light
his
person
,
already
rather
heating
to
behold
on
a
summer
's
day
,
appeared
the
more
disagreeable
;
and
Will
,
half-seated
on
the
elbow
of
a
garden-chair
,
turned
his
eyes
carefully
away
from
the
comer
.
But
this
signified
little
to
our
acquaintance
Mr.
Raffles
,
who
never
hesitated
to
thrust
himself
on
unwilling
observation
,
if
it
suited
his
purpose
to
do
so
.
He
moved
a
step
or
two
till
he
was
in
front
of
Will
,
and
said
with
full-mouthed
haste
,
"
Excuse
me
,
Mr.
Ladislaw
—
was
your
mother
's
name
Sarah
Dunkirk
?
"
Will
,
starting
to
his
feet
,
moved
backward
a
step
,
frowning
,
and
saying
with
some
fierceness
,
"
Yes
,
sir
,
it
was
.
And
what
is
that
to
you
?
"
It
was
in
Will
's
nature
that
the
first
spark
it
threw
out
was
a
direct
answer
of
the
question
and
a
challenge
of
the
consequences
.
To
have
said
,
"
What
is
that
to
you
?
"
in
the
first
instance
,
would
have
seemed
like
shuffling
—
as
if
he
minded
who
knew
anything
about
his
origin
!
Raffles
on
his
side
had
not
the
same
eagerness
for
a
collision
which
was
implied
in
Ladislaw
's
threatening
air
.
The
slim
young
fellow
with
his
girl
's
complexion
looked
like
a
tiger-cat
ready
to
spring
on
him
.
Under
such
circumstances
Mr.
Raffles
's
pleasure
in
annoying
his
company
was
kept
in
abeyance
.
"
No
offence
,
my
good
sir
,
no
offence
!
I
only
remember
your
mother
—
knew
her
when
she
was
a
girl
.
But
it
is
your
father
that
you
feature
,
sir
.
I
had
the
pleasure
of
seeing
your
father
too
.
Parents
alive
,
Mr.
Ladislaw
?
"
"
No
!
"
thundered
Will
,
in
the
same
attitude
as
before
.
"
Should
be
glad
to
do
you
a
service
,
Mr.
Ladislaw
—
by
Jove
,
I
should
!
Hope
to
meet
again
.
"
Hereupon
Raffles
,
who
had
lifted
his
hat
with
the
last
words
,
turned
himself
round
with
a
swing
of
his
leg
and
walked
away
.
Will
looked
after
him
a
moment
,
and
could
see
that
he
did
not
re-enter
the
auction-room
,
but
appeared
to
be
walking
towards
the
road
.
For
an
instant
he
thought
that
he
had
been
foolish
not
to
let
the
man
go
on
talking
;
—
but
no
!
on
the
whole
he
preferred
doing
without
knowledge
from
that
source
.
Later
in
the
evening
,
however
,
Raffles
overtook
him
in
the
street
,
and
appearing
either
to
have
forgotten
the
roughness
of
his
former
reception
or
to
intend
avenging
it
by
a
forgiving
familiarity
,
greeted
him
jovially
and
walked
by
his
side
,
remarking
at
first
on
the
pleasantness
of
the
town
and
neighborhood
.
Will
suspected
that
the
man
had
been
drinking
and
was
considering
how
to
shake
him
off
when
Raffles
said
—
"
I
've
been
abroad
myself
,
Mr.
Ladislaw
—
I
've
seen
the
world
—
used
to
parley-vous
a
little
.
It
was
at
Boulogne
I
saw
your
father
—
a
most
uncommon
likeness
you
are
of
him
,
by
Jove
!
mouth
—
nose
—
eyes
—
hair
turned
off
your
brow
just
like
his
—
a
little
in
the
foreign
style
.
John
Bull
does
n't
do
much
of
that
.
But
your
father
was
very
ill
when
I
saw
him
.
Lord
,
lord
!
hands
you
might
see
through
.
You
were
a
small
youngster
then
.
Did
he
get
well
?
"
"
No
,
"
said
Will
,
curtly
.
"
Ah
!
Well
!
I
've
often
wondered
what
became
of
your
mother
.
She
ran
away
from
her
friends
when
she
was
a
young
lass
—
a
proud-spirited
lass
,
and
pretty
,
by
Jove
!
I
knew
the
reason
why
she
ran
away
,
"
said
Raffles
,
winking
slowly
as
he
looked
sideways
at
Will
.
"
You
know
nothing
dishonourable
of
her
,
sir
,
"
said
Will
,
turning
on
him
rather
savagely
.
But
Mr.
Raffles
just
now
was
not
sensitive
to
shades
of
manner
.
"
Not
a
bit
!
"
said
he
,
tossing
his
head
decisively
.
"
She
was
a
little
too
honourable
to
like
her
friends
—
that
was
it
!
"
Here
Raffles
again
winked
slowly
.
"
Lord
bless
you
,
I
knew
all
about
'
em
—
a
little
in
what
you
may
call
the
respectable
thieving
line
—
the
high
style
of
receiving-house
—
none
of
your
holes
and
corners
—
first-rate
.
Slap-up
shop
,
high
profits
and
no
mistake
.
But
Lord
!
Sarah
would
have
known
nothing
about
it
—
a
dashing
young
lady
she
was
—
fine
boarding-school
—
fit
for
a
lord
's
wife
—
only
Archie
Duncan
threw
it
at
her
out
of
spite
,
because
she
would
have
nothing
to
do
with
him
.
And
so
she
ran
away
from
the
whole
concern
.
I
travelled
for
'
em
,
sir
,
in
a
gentlemanly
way
—
at
a
high
salary
.
They
did
n't
mind
her
running
away
at
first
—
godly
folks
,
sir
,
very
godly
—
and
she
was
for
the
stage
.
The
son
was
alive
then
,
and
the
daughter
was
at
a
discount
.
Hallo
!
here
we
are
at
the
Blue
Bull
.
What
do
you
say
,
Mr.
Ladislaw
?
—
shall
we
turn
in
and
have
a
glass
?
"
"
No
,
I
must
say
good
evening
,
"
said
Will
,
dashing
up
a
passage
which
led
into
Lowick
Gate
,
and
almost
running
to
get
out
of
Raffles
's
reach
.
He
walked
a
long
while
on
the
Lowick
road
away
from
the
town
,
glad
of
the
starlit
darkness
when
it
came
.
He
felt
as
if
he
had
had
dirt
cast
on
him
amidst
shouts
of
scorn
.
There
was
this
to
confirm
the
fellow
's
statement
—
that
his
mother
never
would
tell
him
the
reason
why
she
had
run
away
from
her
family
.
Well
!
what
was
he
,
Will
Ladislaw
,
the
worse
,
supposing
the
truth
about
that
family
to
be
the
ugliest
?
His
mother
had
braved
hardship
in
order
to
separate
herself
from
it
.
But
if
Dorothea
's
friends
had
known
this
story
—
if
the
Chettams
had
known
it
—
they
would
have
had
a
fine
colour
to
give
their
suspicions
a
welcome
ground
for
thinking
him
unfit
to
come
near
her
.
However
,
let
them
suspect
what
they
pleased
,
they
would
find
themselves
in
the
wrong
.
They
would
find
out
that
the
blood
in
his
veins
was
as
free
from
the
taint
of
meanness
as
theirs
.
CHAPTER
LXI
.
"
Inconsistencies
,
"
answered
Imlac
,
"
cannot
both
be
right
,
but
imputed
to
man
they
may
both
be
true
.
"
—
Rasselas
.
The
same
night
,
when
Mr.
Bulstrode
returned
from
a
journey
to
Brassing
on
business
,
his
good
wife
met
him
in
the
entrance-hall
and
drew
him
into
his
private
sitting-room
.
"
Nicholas
,
"
she
said
,
fixing
her
honest
eyes
upon
him
anxiously
,
"
there
has
been
such
a
disagreeable
man
here
asking
for
you
—
it
has
made
me
quite
uncomfortable
.
"
"
What
kind
of
man
,
my
dear
,
"
said
Mr.
Bulstrode
,
dreadfully
certain
of
the
answer
.
"
A
red-faced
man
with
large
whiskers
,
and
most
impudent
in
his
manner
.
He
declared
he
was
an
old
friend
of
yours
,
and
said
you
would
be
sorry
not
to
see
him
.
He
wanted
to
wait
for
you
here
,
but
I
told
him
he
could
see
you
at
the
Bank
to-morrow
morning
.
Most
impudent
he
was
!
—
stared
at
me
,
and
said
his
friend
Nick
had
luck
in
wives
.
I
do
n't
believe
he
would
have
gone
away
,
if
Blucher
had
not
happened
to
break
his
chain
and
come
running
round
on
the
gravel
—
for
I
was
in
the
garden
;
so
I
said
,
'
You
'd
better
go
away
—
the
dog
is
very
fierce
,
and
I
ca
n't
hold
him
.
'
Do
you
really
know
anything
of
such
a
man
?
"
"
I
believe
I
know
who
he
is
,
my
dear
,
"
said
Mr.
Bulstrode
,
in
his
usual
subdued
voice
,
"
an
unfortunate
dissolute
wretch
,
whom
I
helped
too
much
in
days
gone
by
.
However
,
I
presume
you
will
not
be
troubled
by
him
again
.
He
will
probably
come
to
the
Bank
—
to
beg
,
doubtless
.
"
No
more
was
said
on
the
subject
until
the
next
day
,
when
Mr.
Bulstrode
had
returned
from
the
town
and
was
dressing
for
dinner
.
His
wife
,
not
sure
that
he
was
come
home
,
looked
into
his
dressing-room
and
saw
him
with
his
coat
and
cravat
off
,
leaning
one
arm
on
a
chest
of
drawers
and
staring
absently
at
the
ground
.
He
started
nervously
and
looked
up
as
she
entered
.
"
You
look
very
ill
,
Nicholas
.
Is
there
anything
the
matter
?
"
"
I
have
a
good
deal
of
pain
in
my
head
,
"
said
Mr.
Bulstrode
,
who
was
so
frequently
ailing
that
his
wife
was
always
ready
to
believe
in
this
cause
of
depression
.
"
Sit
down
and
let
me
sponge
it
with
vinegar
.
"
Physically
Mr.
Bulstrode
did
not
want
the
vinegar
,
but
morally
the
affectionate
attention
soothed
him
.
Though
always
polite
,
it
was
his
habit
to
receive
such
services
with
marital
coolness
,
as
his
wife
's
duty
.
But
to-day
,
while
she
was
bending
over
him
,
he
said
,
"
You
are
very
good
,
Harriet
,
"
in
a
tone
which
had
something
new
in
it
to
her
ear
;
she
did
not
know
exactly
what
the
novelty
was
,
but
her
woman
's
solicitude
shaped
itself
into
a
darting
thought
that
he
might
be
going
to
have
an
illness
.
"
Has
anything
worried
you
?
"
she
said
.
"
Did
that
man
come
to
you
at
the
Bank
?
"
"
Yes
;
it
was
as
I
had
supposed
.
He
is
a
man
who
at
one
time
might
have
done
better
.
But
he
has
sunk
into
a
drunken
debauched
creature
.
"
"
Is
he
quite
gone
away
?
"
said
Mrs.
Bulstrode
,
anxiously
;
but
for
certain
reasons
she
refrained
from
adding
,
"
It
was
very
disagreeable
to
hear
him
calling
himself
a
friend
of
yours
.
"
At
that
moment
she
would
not
have
liked
to
say
anything
which
implied
her
habitual
consciousness
that
her
husband
's
earlier
connections
were
not
quite
on
a
level
with
her
own
.
Not
that
she
knew
much
about
them
.
That
her
husband
had
at
first
been
employed
in
a
bank
,
that
he
had
afterwards
entered
into
what
he
called
city
business
and
gained
a
fortune
before
he
was
three-and-thirty
,
that
he
had
married
a
widow
who
was
much
older
than
himself
—
a
Dissenter
,
and
in
other
ways
probably
of
that
disadvantageous
quality
usually
perceptible
in
a
first
wife
if
inquired
into
with
the
dispassionate
judgment
of
a
second
—
was
almost
as
much
as
she
had
cared
to
learn
beyond
the
glimpses
which
Mr.
Bulstrode
's
narrative
occasionally
gave
of
his
early
bent
towards
religion
,
his
inclination
to
be
a
preacher
,
and
his
association
with
missionary
and
philanthropic
efforts
.
She
believed
in
him
as
an
excellent
man
whose
piety
carried
a
peculiar
eminence
in
belonging
to
a
layman
,
whose
influence
had
turned
her
own
mind
toward
seriousness
,
and
whose
share
of
perishable
good
had
been
the
means
of
raising
her
own
position
.
But
she
also
liked
to
think
that
it
was
well
in
every
sense
for
Mr.
Bulstrode
to
have
won
the
hand
of
Harriet
Vincy
;
whose
family
was
undeniable
in
a
Middlemarch
light
—
a
better
light
surely
than
any
thrown
in
London
thoroughfares
or
dissenting
chapel-yards
.
The
unreformed
provincial
mind
distrusted
London
;
and
while
true
religion
was
everywhere
saving
,
honest
Mrs.
Bulstrode
was
convinced
that
to
be
saved
in
the
Church
was
more
respectable
.
She
so
much
wished
to
ignore
towards
others
that
her
husband
had
ever
been
a
London
Dissenter
,
that
she
liked
to
keep
it
out
of
sight
even
in
talking
to
him
.
He
was
quite
aware
of
this
;
indeed
in
some
respects
he
was
rather
afraid
of
this
ingenuous
wife
,
whose
imitative
piety
and
native
worldliness
were
equally
sincere
,
who
had
nothing
to
be
ashamed
of
,
and
whom
he
had
married
out
of
a
thorough
inclination
still
subsisting
.
But
his
fears
were
such
as
belong
to
a
man
who
cares
to
maintain
his
recognized
supremacy
:
the
loss
of
high
consideration
from
his
wife
,
as
from
every
one
else
who
did
not
clearly
hate
him
out
of
enmity
to
the
truth
,
would
be
as
the
beginning
of
death
to
him
.
When
she
said
—
"
Is
he
quite
gone
away
?
"
"
Oh
,
I
trust
so
,
"
he
answered
,
with
an
effort
to
throw
as
much
sober
unconcern
into
his
tone
as
possible
!
But
in
truth
Mr.
Bulstrode
was
very
far
from
a
state
of
quiet
trust
.
In
the
interview
at
the
Bank
,
Raffles
had
made
it
evident
that
his
eagerness
to
torment
was
almost
as
strong
in
him
as
any
other
greed
.
He
had
frankly
said
that
he
had
turned
out
of
the
way
to
come
to
Middlemarch
,
just
to
look
about
him
and
see
whether
the
neighborhood
would
suit
him
to
live
in
.
He
had
certainly
had
a
few
debts
to
pay
more
than
he
expected
,
but
the
two
hundred
pounds
were
not
gone
yet
:
a
cool
five-and-twenty
would
suffice
him
to
go
away
with
for
the
present
.
What
he
had
wanted
chiefly
was
to
see
his
friend
Nick
and
family
,
and
know
all
about
the
prosperity
of
a
man
to
whom
he
was
so
much
attached
.
By-and-by
he
might
come
back
for
a
longer
stay
.
This
time
Raffles
declined
to
be
"
seen
off
the
premises
,
"
as
he
expressed
it
—
declined
to
quit
Middlemarch
under
Bulstrode
's
eyes
.
He
meant
to
go
by
coach
the
next
day
—
if
he
chose
.
Bulstrode
felt
himself
helpless
.
Neither
threats
nor
coaxing
could
avail
:
he
could
not
count
on
any
persistent
fear
nor
on
any
promise
.
On
the
contrary
,
he
felt
a
cold
certainty
at
his
heart
that
Raffles
—
unless
providence
sent
death
to
hinder
him
—
would
come
back
to
Middlemarch
before
long
.
And
that
certainty
was
a
terror
.
It
was
not
that
he
was
in
danger
of
legal
punishment
or
of
beggary
:
he
was
in
danger
only
of
seeing
disclosed
to
the
judgment
of
his
neighbors
and
the
mournful
perception
of
his
wife
certain
facts
of
his
past
life
which
would
render
him
an
object
of
scorn
and
an
opprobrium
of
the
religion
with
which
he
had
diligently
associated
himself
.
The
terror
of
being
judged
sharpens
the
memory
:
it
sends
an
inevitable
glare
over
that
long-unvisited
past
which
has
been
habitually
recalled
only
in
general
phrases
.
Even
without
memory
,
the
life
is
bound
into
one
by
a
zone
of
dependence
in
growth
and
decay
;
but
intense
memory
forces
a
man
to
own
his
blameworthy
past
.
With
memory
set
smarting
like
a
reopened
wound
,
a
man
's
past
is
not
simply
a
dead
history
,
an
outworn
preparation
of
the
present
:
it
is
not
a
repented
error
shaken
loose
from
the
life
:
it
is
a
still
quivering
part
of
himself
,
bringing
shudders
and
bitter
flavours
and
the
tinglings
of
a
merited
shame
.
Into
this
second
life
Bulstrode
's
past
had
now
risen
,
only
the
pleasures
of
it
seeming
to
have
lost
their
quality
.
Night
and
day
,
without
interruption
save
of
brief
sleep
which
only
wove
retrospect
and
fear
into
a
fantastic
present
,
he
felt
the
scenes
of
his
earlier
life
coming
between
him
and
everything
else
,
as
obstinately
as
when
we
look
through
the
window
from
a
lighted
room
,
the
objects
we
turn
our
backs
on
are
still
before
us
,
instead
of
the
grass
and
the
trees
.
The
successive
events
inward
and
outward
were
there
in
one
view
:
though
each
might
be
dwelt
on
in
turn
,
the
rest
still
kept
their
hold
in
the
consciousness
.
Once
more
he
saw
himself
the
young
banker
's
clerk
,
with
an
agreeable
person
,
as
clever
in
figures
as
he
was
fluent
in
speech
and
fond
of
theological
definition
:
an
eminent
though
young
member
of
a
Calvinistic
dissenting
church
at
Highbury
,
having
had
striking
experience
in
conviction
of
sin
and
sense
of
pardon
.
Again
he
heard
himself
called
for
as
Brother
Bulstrode
in
prayer
meetings
,
speaking
on
religious
platforms
,
preaching
in
private
houses
.
Again
he
felt
himself
thinking
of
the
ministry
as
possibly
his
vocation
,
and
inclined
towards
missionary
labour
.
That
was
the
happiest
time
of
his
life
:
that
was
the
spot
he
would
have
chosen
now
to
awake
in
and
find
the
rest
a
dream
.
The
people
among
whom
Brother
Bulstrode
was
distinguished
were
very
few
,
but
they
were
very
near
to
him
,
and
stirred
his
satisfaction
the
more
;
his
power
stretched
through
a
narrow
space
,
but
he
felt
its
effect
the
more
intensely
.
He
believed
without
effort
in
the
peculiar
work
of
grace
within
him
,
and
in
the
signs
that
God
intended
him
for
special
instrumentality
.
Then
came
the
moment
of
transition
;
it
was
with
the
sense
of
promotion
he
had
when
he
,
an
orphan
educated
at
a
commercial
charity-school
,
was
invited
to
a
fine
villa
belonging
to
Mr.
Dunkirk
,
the
richest
man
in
the
congregation
.
Soon
he
became
an
intimate
there
,
honoured
for
his
piety
by
the
wife
,
marked
out
for
his
ability
by
the
husband
,
whose
wealth
was
due
to
a
flourishing
city
and
west-end
trade
.
That
was
the
setting-in
of
a
new
current
for
his
ambition
,
directing
his
prospects
of
"
instrumentality
"
towards
the
uniting
of
distinguished
religious
gifts
with
successful
business
.
By-and-by
came
a
decided
external
leading
:
a
confidential
subordinate
partner
died
,
and
nobody
seemed
to
the
principal
so
well
fitted
to
fill
the
severely
felt
vacancy
as
his
young
friend
Bulstrode
,
if
he
would
become
confidential
accountant
.
The
offer
was
accepted
.
The
business
was
a
pawnbroker
's
,
of
the
most
magnificent
sort
both
in
extent
and
profits
;
and
on
a
short
acquaintance
with
it
Bulstrode
became
aware
that
one
source
of
magnificent
profit
was
the
easy
reception
of
any
goods
offered
,
without
strict
inquiry
as
to
where
they
came
from
.
But
there
was
a
branch
house
at
the
west
end
,
and
no
pettiness
or
dinginess
to
give
suggestions
of
shame
.
He
remembered
his
first
moments
of
shrinking
.
They
were
private
,
and
were
filled
with
arguments
;
some
of
these
taking
the
form
of
prayer
.
The
business
was
established
and
had
old
roots
;
is
it
not
one
thing
to
set
up
a
new
gin-palace
and
another
to
accept
an
investment
in
an
old
one
?
The
profits
made
out
of
lost
souls
—
where
can
the
line
be
drawn
at
which
they
begin
in
human
transactions
?
Was
it
not
even
God
's
way
of
saving
His
chosen
?
"
Thou
knowest
,
"
—
the
young
Bulstrode
had
said
then
,
as
the
older
Bulstrode
was
saying
now
—
"
Thou
knowest
how
loose
my
soul
sits
from
these
things
—
how
I
view
them
all
as
implements
for
tilling
Thy
garden
rescued
here
and
there
from
the
wilderness
.
"
Metaphors
and
precedents
were
not
wanting
;
peculiar
spiritual
experiences
were
not
wanting
which
at
last
made
the
retention
of
his
position
seem
a
service
demanded
of
him
:
the
vista
of
a
fortune
had
already
opened
itself
,
and
Bulstrode
's
shrinking
remained
private
.
Mr.
Dunkirk
had
never
expected
that
there
would
be
any
shrinking
at
all
:
he
had
never
conceived
that
trade
had
anything
to
do
with
the
scheme
of
salvation
.
And
it
was
true
that
Bulstrode
found
himself
carrying
on
two
distinct
lives
;
his
religious
activity
could
not
be
incompatible
with
his
business
as
soon
as
he
had
argued
himself
into
not
feeling
it
incompatible
.
Mentally
surrounded
with
that
past
again
,
Bulstrode
had
the
same
pleas
—
indeed
,
the
years
had
been
perpetually
spinning
them
into
intricate
thickness
,
like
masses
of
spider-web
,
padding
the
moral
sensibility
;
nay
,
as
age
made
egoism
more
eager
but
less
enjoying
,
his
soul
had
become
more
saturated
with
the
belief
that
he
did
everything
for
God
's
sake
,
being
indifferent
to
it
for
his
own
.
And
yet
—
if
he
could
be
back
in
that
far-off
spot
with
his
youthful
poverty
—
why
,
then
he
would
choose
to
be
a
missionary
.
But
the
train
of
causes
in
which
he
had
locked
himself
went
on
.
There
was
trouble
in
the
fine
villa
at
Highbury
.
Years
before
,
the
only
daughter
had
run
away
,
defied
her
parents
,
and
gone
on
the
stage
;
and
now
the
only
boy
died
,
and
after
a
short
time
Mr.
Dunkirk
died
also
.
The
wife
,
a
simple
pious
woman
,
left
with
all
the
wealth
in
and
out
of
the
magnificent
trade
,
of
which
she
never
knew
the
precise
nature
,
had
come
to
believe
in
Bulstrode
,
and
innocently
adore
him
as
women
often
adore
their
priest
or
"
man-made
"
minister
.
It
was
natural
that
after
a
time
marriage
should
have
been
thought
of
between
them
.
But
Mrs.
Dunkirk
had
qualms
and
yearnings
about
her
daughter
,
who
had
long
been
regarded
as
lost
both
to
God
and
her
parents
.
It
was
known
that
the
daughter
had
married
,
but
she
was
utterly
gone
out
of
sight
.
The
mother
,
having
lost
her
boy
,
imagined
a
grandson
,
and
wished
in
a
double
sense
to
reclaim
her
daughter
.
If
she
were
found
,
there
would
be
a
channel
for
property
—
perhaps
a
wide
one
—
in
the
provision
for
several
grandchildren
.
Efforts
to
find
her
must
be
made
before
Mrs.
Dunkirk
would
marry
again
.
Bulstrode
concurred
;
but
after
advertisement
as
well
as
other
modes
of
inquiry
had
been
tried
,
the
mother
believed
that
her
daughter
was
not
to
be
found
,
and
consented
to
marry
without
reservation
of
property
.
The
daughter
had
been
found
;
but
only
one
man
besides
Bulstrode
knew
it
,
and
he
was
paid
for
keeping
silence
and
carrying
himself
away
.
That
was
the
bare
fact
which
Bulstrode
was
now
forced
to
see
in
the
rigid
outline
with
which
acts
present
themselves
to
onlookers
.
But
for
himself
at
that
distant
time
,
and
even
now
in
burning
memory
,
the
fact
was
broken
into
little
sequences
,
each
justified
as
it
came
by
reasonings
which
seemed
to
prove
it
righteous
.
Bulstrode
's
course
up
to
that
time
had
,
he
thought
,
been
sanctioned
by
remarkable
providences
,
appearing
to
point
the
way
for
him
to
be
the
agent
in
making
the
best
use
of
a
large
property
and
withdrawing
it
from
perversion
.
Death
and
other
striking
dispositions
,
such
as
feminine
trustfulness
,
had
come
;
and
Bulstrode
would
have
adopted
Cromwell
's
words
—
"
Do
you
call
these
bare
events
?
The
Lord
pity
you
!
"
The
events
were
comparatively
small
,
but
the
essential
condition
was
there
—
namely
,
that
they
were
in
favour
of
his
own
ends
.
It
was
easy
for
him
to
settle
what
was
due
from
him
to
others
by
inquiring
what
were
God
's
intentions
with
regard
to
himself
.
Could
it
be
for
God
's
service
that
this
fortune
should
in
any
considerable
proportion
go
to
a
young
woman
and
her
husband
who
were
given
up
to
the
lightest
pursuits
,
and
might
scatter
it
abroad
in
triviality
—
people
who
seemed
to
lie
outside
the
path
of
remarkable
providences
?
Bulstrode
had
never
said
to
himself
beforehand
,
"
The
daughter
shall
not
be
found
"
—
nevertheless
when
the
moment
came
he
kept
her
existence
hidden
;
and
when
other
moments
followed
,
he
soothed
the
mother
with
consolation
in
the
probability
that
the
unhappy
young
woman
might
be
no
more
.
There
were
hours
in
which
Bulstrode
felt
that
his
action
was
unrighteous
;
but
how
could
he
go
back
?
He
had
mental
exercises
,
called
himself
nought
,
laid
hold
on
redemption
,
and
went
on
in
his
course
of
instrumentality
.
And
after
five
years
Death
again
came
to
widen
his
path
,
by
taking
away
his
wife
.
He
did
gradually
withdraw
his
capital
,
but
he
did
not
make
the
sacrifices
requisite
to
put
an
end
to
the
business
,
which
was
carried
on
for
thirteen
years
afterwards
before
it
finally
collapsed
.
Meanwhile
Nicholas
Bulstrode
had
used
his
hundred
thousand
discreetly
,
and
was
become
provincially
,
solidly
important
—
a
banker
,
a
Churchman
,
a
public
benefactor
;
also
a
sleeping
partner
in
trading
concerns
,
in
which
his
ability
was
directed
to
economy
in
the
raw
material
,
as
in
the
case
of
the
dyes
which
rotted
Mr.
Vincy
's
silk
.
And
now
,
when
this
respectability
had
lasted
undisturbed
for
nearly
thirty
years
—
when
all
that
preceded
it
had
long
lain
benumbed
in
the
consciousness
—
that
past
had
risen
and
immersed
his
thought
as
if
with
the
terrible
irruption
of
a
new
sense
overburthening
the
feeble
being
.
Meanwhile
,
in
his
conversation
with
Raffles
,
he
had
learned
something
momentous
,
something
which
entered
actively
into
the
struggle
of
his
longings
and
terrors
.
There
,
he
thought
,
lay
an
opening
towards
spiritual
,
perhaps
towards
material
rescue
.
The
spiritual
kind
of
rescue
was
a
genuine
need
with
him
.
There
may
be
coarse
hypocrites
,
who
consciously
affect
beliefs
and
emotions
for
the
sake
of
gulling
the
world
,
but
Bulstrode
was
not
one
of
them
.
He
was
simply
a
man
whose
desires
had
been
stronger
than
his
theoretic
beliefs
,
and
who
had
gradually
explained
the
gratification
of
his
desires
into
satisfactory
agreement
with
those
beliefs
.
If
this
be
hypocrisy
,
it
is
a
process
which
shows
itself
occasionally
in
us
all
,
to
whatever
confession
we
belong
,
and
whether
we
believe
in
the
future
perfection
of
our
race
or
in
the
nearest
date
fixed
for
the
end
of
the
world
;
whether
we
regard
the
earth
as
a
putrefying
nidus
for
a
saved
remnant
,
including
ourselves
,
or
have
a
passionate
belief
in
the
solidarity
of
mankind
.
The
service
he
could
do
to
the
cause
of
religion
had
been
through
life
the
ground
he
alleged
to
himself
for
his
choice
of
action
:
it
had
been
the
motive
which
he
had
poured
out
in
his
prayers
.
Who
would
use
money
and
position
better
than
he
meant
to
use
them
?
Who
could
surpass
him
in
self-abhorrence
and
exaltation
of
God
's
cause
?
And
to
Mr.
Bulstrode
God
's
cause
was
something
distinct
from
his
own
rectitude
of
conduct
:
it
enforced
a
discrimination
of
God
's
enemies
,
who
were
to
be
used
merely
as
instruments
,
and
whom
it
would
be
as
well
if
possible
to
keep
out
of
money
and
consequent
influence
.
Also
,
profitable
investments
in
trades
where
the
power
of
the
prince
of
this
world
showed
its
most
active
devices
,
became
sanctified
by
a
right
application
of
the
profits
in
the
hands
of
God
's
servant
.
This
implicit
reasoning
is
essentially
no
more
peculiar
to
evangelical
belief
than
the
use
of
wide
phrases
for
narrow
motives
is
peculiar
to
Englishmen
.
There
is
no
general
doctrine
which
is
not
capable
of
eating
out
our
morality
if
unchecked
by
the
deep-seated
habit
of
direct
fellow-feeling
with
individual
fellow-men
.
But
a
man
who
believes
in
something
else
than
his
own
greed
,
has
necessarily
a
conscience
or
standard
to
which
he
more
or
less
adapts
himself
.
Bulstrode
's
standard
had
been
his
serviceableness
to
God
's
cause
:
"
I
am
sinful
and
nought
—
a
vessel
to
be
consecrated
by
use
—
but
use
me
!
"
—
had
been
the
mould
into
which
he
had
constrained
his
immense
need
of
being
something
important
and
predominating
.
And
now
had
come
a
moment
in
which
that
mould
seemed
in
danger
of
being
broken
and
utterly
cast
away
.
What
if
the
acts
he
had
reconciled
himself
to
because
they
made
him
a
stronger
instrument
of
the
divine
glory
,
were
to
become
the
pretext
of
the
scoffer
,
and
a
darkening
of
that
glory
?
If
this
were
to
be
the
ruling
of
Providence
,
he
was
cast
out
from
the
temple
as
one
who
had
brought
unclean
offerings
.
He
had
long
poured
out
utterances
of
repentance
.
But
today
a
repentance
had
come
which
was
of
a
bitterer
flavour
,
and
a
threatening
Providence
urged
him
to
a
kind
of
propitiation
which
was
not
simply
a
doctrinal
transaction
.
The
divine
tribunal
had
changed
its
aspect
for
him
;
self-prostration
was
no
longer
enough
,
and
he
must
bring
restitution
in
his
hand
.
It
was
really
before
his
God
that
Bulstrode
was
about
to
attempt
such
restitution
as
seemed
possible
:
a
great
dread
had
seized
his
susceptible
frame
,
and
the
scorching
approach
of
shame
wrought
in
him
a
new
spiritual
need
.
Night
and
day
,
while
the
resurgent
threatening
past
was
making
a
conscience
within
him
,
he
was
thinking
by
what
means
he
could
recover
peace
and
trust
—
by
what
sacrifice
he
could
stay
the
rod
.
His
belief
in
these
moments
of
dread
was
,
that
if
he
spontaneously
did
something
right
,
God
would
save
him
from
the
consequences
of
wrong-doing
.
For
religion
can
only
change
when
the
emotions
which
fill
it
are
changed
;
and
the
religion
of
personal
fear
remains
nearly
at
the
level
of
the
savage
.
He
had
seen
Raffles
actually
going
away
on
the
Brassing
coach
,
and
this
was
a
temporary
relief
;
it
removed
the
pressure
of
an
immediate
dread
,
but
did
not
put
an
end
to
the
spiritual
conflict
and
the
need
to
win
protection
.
At
last
he
came
to
a
difficult
resolve
,
and
wrote
a
letter
to
Will
Ladislaw
,
begging
him
to
be
at
the
Shrubs
that
evening
for
a
private
interview
at
nine
o'clock
.
Will
had
felt
no
particular
surprise
at
the
request
,
and
connected
it
with
some
new
notions
about
the
"
Pioneer
;
"
but
when
he
was
shown
into
Mr.
Bulstrode
's
private
room
,
he
was
struck
with
the
painfully
worn
look
on
the
banker
's
face
,
and
was
going
to
say
,
"
Are
you
ill
?
"
when
,
checking
himself
in
that
abruptness
,
he
only
inquired
after
Mrs.
Bulstrode
,
and
her
satisfaction
with
the
picture
bought
for
her
.
"
Thank
you
,
she
is
quite
satisfied
;
she
has
gone
out
with
her
daughters
this
evening
.
I
begged
you
to
come
,
Mr.
Ladislaw
,
because
I
have
a
communication
of
a
very
private
—
indeed
,
I
will
say
,
of
a
sacredly
confidential
nature
,
which
I
desire
to
make
to
you
.
Nothing
,
I
dare
say
,
has
been
farther
from
your
thoughts
than
that
there
had
been
important
ties
in
the
past
which
could
connect
your
history
with
mine
.
"
Will
felt
something
like
an
electric
shock
.
He
was
already
in
a
state
of
keen
sensitiveness
and
hardly
allayed
agitation
on
the
subject
of
ties
in
the
past
,
and
his
presentiments
were
not
agreeable
.
It
seemed
like
the
fluctuations
of
a
dream
—
as
if
the
action
begun
by
that
loud
bloated
stranger
were
being
carried
on
by
this
pale-eyed
sickly
looking
piece
of
respectability
,
whose
subdued
tone
and
glib
formality
of
speech
were
at
this
moment
almost
as
repulsive
to
him
as
their
remembered
contrast
.
He
answered
,
with
a
marked
change
of
colour
—
"
No
,
indeed
,
nothing
.
"
"
You
see
before
you
,
Mr.
Ladislaw
,
a
man
who
is
deeply
stricken
.
But
for
the
urgency
of
conscience
and
the
knowledge
that
I
am
before
the
bar
of
One
who
seeth
not
as
man
seeth
,
I
should
be
under
no
compulsion
to
make
the
disclosure
which
has
been
my
object
in
asking
you
to
come
here
to-night
.
So
far
as
human
laws
go
,
you
have
no
claim
on
me
whatever
.
"
Will
was
even
more
uncomfortable
than
wondering
.
Mr.
Bulstrode
had
paused
,
leaning
his
head
on
his
hand
,
and
looking
at
the
floor
.
But
he
now
fixed
his
examining
glance
on
Will
and
said
—
"
I
am
told
that
your
mother
's
name
was
Sarah
Dunkirk
,
and
that
she
ran
away
from
her
friends
to
go
on
the
stage
.
Also
,
that
your
father
was
at
one
time
much
emaciated
by
illness
.
May
I
ask
if
you
can
confirm
these
statements
?
"
"
Yes
,
they
are
all
true
,
"
said
Will
,
struck
with
the
order
in
which
an
inquiry
had
come
,
that
might
have
been
expected
to
be
preliminary
to
the
banker
's
previous
hints
.
But
Mr.
Bulstrode
had
to-night
followed
the
order
of
his
emotions
;
he
entertained
no
doubt
that
the
opportunity
for
restitution
had
come
,
and
he
had
an
overpowering
impulse
towards
the
penitential
expression
by
which
he
was
deprecating
chastisement
.
"
Do
you
know
any
particulars
of
your
mother
's
family
?
"
he
continued
.
"
No
;
she
never
liked
to
speak
of
them
.
She
was
a
very
generous
,
honourable
woman
,
"
said
Will
,
almost
angrily
.
"
I
do
not
wish
to
allege
anything
against
her
.
Did
she
never
mention
her
mother
to
you
at
all
?
"
"
I
have
heard
her
say
that
she
thought
her
mother
did
not
know
the
reason
of
her
running
away
.
She
said
'
poor
mother
'
in
a
pitying
tone
.
"
"
That
mother
became
my
wife
,
"
said
Bulstrode
,
and
then
paused
a
moment
before
he
added
,
"
you
have
a
claim
on
me
,
Mr.
Ladislaw
:
as
I
said
before
,
not
a
legal
claim
,
but
one
which
my
conscience
recognizes
.
I
was
enriched
by
that
marriage
—
a
result
which
would
probably
not
have
taken
place
—
certainly
not
to
the
same
extent
—
if
your
grandmother
could
have
discovered
her
daughter
.
That
daughter
,
I
gather
,
is
no
longer
living
!
"
"
No
,
"
said
Will
,
feeling
suspicion
and
repugnance
rising
so
strongly
within
him
,
that
without
quite
knowing
what
he
did
,
he
took
his
hat
from
the
floor
and
stood
up
.
The
impulse
within
him
was
to
reject
the
disclosed
connection
.
"
Pray
be
seated
,
Mr.
Ladislaw
,
"
said
Bulstrode
,
anxiously
.
"
Doubtless
you
are
startled
by
the
suddenness
of
this
discovery
.
But
I
entreat
your
patience
with
one
who
is
already
bowed
down
by
inward
trial
.
"
Will
reseated
himself
,
feeling
some
pity
which
was
half
contempt
for
this
voluntary
self-abasement
of
an
elderly
man
.
"
It
is
my
wish
,
Mr.
Ladislaw
,
to
make
amends
for
the
deprivation
which
befell
your
mother
.
I
know
that
you
are
without
fortune
,
and
I
wish
to
supply
you
adequately
from
a
store
which
would
have
probably
already
been
yours
had
your
grandmother
been
certain
of
your
mother
's
existence
and
been
able
to
find
her
.
"
Mr.
Bulstrode
paused
.
He
felt
that
he
was
performing
a
striking
piece
of
scrupulosity
in
the
judgment
of
his
auditor
,
and
a
penitential
act
in
the
eyes
of
God
.
He
had
no
clew
to
the
state
of
Will
Ladislaw
's
mind
,
smarting
as
it
was
from
the
clear
hints
of
Raffles
,
and
with
its
natural
quickness
in
construction
stimulated
by
the
expectation
of
discoveries
which
he
would
have
been
glad
to
conjure
back
into
darkness
.
Will
made
no
answer
for
several
moments
,
till
Mr.
Bulstrode
,
who
at
the
end
of
his
speech
had
cast
his
eyes
on
the
floor
,
now
raised
them
with
an
examining
glance
,
which
Will
met
fully
,
saying
—
"
I
suppose
you
did
know
of
my
mother
's
existence
,
and
knew
where
she
might
have
been
found
.
"
Bulstrode
shrank
—
there
was
a
visible
quivering
in
his
face
and
hands
.
He
was
totally
unprepared
to
have
his
advances
met
in
this
way
,
or
to
find
himself
urged
into
more
revelation
than
he
had
beforehand
set
down
as
needful
.
But
at
that
moment
he
dared
not
tell
a
lie
,
and
he
felt
suddenly
uncertain
of
his
ground
which
he
had
trodden
with
some
confidence
before
.
"
I
will
not
deny
that
you
conjecture
rightly
,
"
he
answered
,
with
a
faltering
in
his
tone
.
"
And
I
wish
to
make
atonement
to
you
as
the
one
still
remaining
who
has
suffered
a
loss
through
me
.
You
enter
,
I
trust
,
into
my
purpose
,
Mr.
Ladislaw
,
which
has
a
reference
to
higher
than
merely
human
claims
,
and
as
I
have
already
said
,
is
entirely
independent
of
any
legal
compulsion
.
I
am
ready
to
narrow
my
own
resources
and
the
prospects
of
my
family
by
binding
myself
to
allow
you
five
hundred
pounds
yearly
during
my
life
,
and
to
leave
you
a
proportional
capital
at
my
death
—
nay
,
to
do
still
more
,
if
more
should
be
definitely
necessary
to
any
laudable
project
on
your
part
.
"
Mr.
Bulstrode
had
gone
on
to
particulars
in
the
expectation
that
these
would
work
strongly
on
Ladislaw
,
and
merge
other
feelings
in
grateful
acceptance
.
But
Will
was
looking
as
stubborn
as
possible
,
with
his
lip
pouting
and
his
fingers
in
his
side-pockets
.
He
was
not
in
the
least
touched
,
and
said
firmly
,
—
"
Before
I
make
any
reply
to
your
proposition
,
Mr.
Bulstrode
,
I
must
beg
you
to
answer
a
question
or
two
.
Were
you
connected
with
the
business
by
which
that
fortune
you
speak
of
was
originally
made
?
"
Mr.
Bulstrode
's
thought
was
,
"
Raffles
has
told
him
.
"
How
could
he
refuse
to
answer
when
he
had
volunteered
what
drew
forth
the
question
?
He
answered
,
"
Yes
.
"
"
And
was
that
business
—
or
was
it
not
—
a
thoroughly
dishonourable
one
—
nay
,
one
that
,
if
its
nature
had
been
made
public
,
might
have
ranked
those
concerned
in
it
with
thieves
and
convicts
?
"
Will
's
tone
had
a
cutting
bitterness
:
he
was
moved
to
put
his
question
as
nakedly
as
he
could
.
Bulstrode
reddened
with
irrepressible
anger
.
He
had
been
prepared
for
a
scene
of
self-abasement
,
but
his
intense
pride
and
his
habit
of
supremacy
overpowered
penitence
,
and
even
dread
,
when
this
young
man
,
whom
he
had
meant
to
benefit
,
turned
on
him
with
the
air
of
a
judge
.
"
The
business
was
established
before
I
became
connected
with
it
,
sir
;
nor
is
it
for
you
to
institute
an
inquiry
of
that
kind
,
"
he
answered
,
not
raising
his
voice
,
but
speaking
with
quick
defiantness
.
"
Yes
,
it
is
,
"
said
Will
,
starting
up
again
with
his
hat
in
his
hand
.
"
It
is
eminently
mine
to
ask
such
questions
,
when
I
have
to
decide
whether
I
will
have
transactions
with
you
and
accept
your
money
.
My
unblemished
honour
is
important
to
me
.
It
is
important
to
me
to
have
no
stain
on
my
birth
and
connections
.
And
now
I
find
there
is
a
stain
which
I
ca
n't
help
.
My
mother
felt
it
,
and
tried
to
keep
as
clear
of
it
as
she
could
,
and
so
will
I
.
You
shall
keep
your
ill-gotten
money
.
If
I
had
any
fortune
of
my
own
,
I
would
willingly
pay
it
to
any
one
who
could
disprove
what
you
have
told
me
.
What
I
have
to
thank
you
for
is
that
you
kept
the
money
till
now
,
when
I
can
refuse
it
.
It
ought
to
lie
with
a
man
's
self
that
he
is
a
gentleman
.
Good-night
,
sir
.
"
Bulstrode
was
going
to
speak
,
but
Will
,
with
determined
quickness
,
was
out
of
the
room
in
an
instant
,
and
in
another
the
hall-door
had
closed
behind
him
.
He
was
too
strongly
possessed
with
passionate
rebellion
against
this
inherited
blot
which
had
been
thrust
on
his
knowledge
to
reflect
at
present
whether
he
had
not
been
too
hard
on
Bulstrode
—
too
arrogantly
merciless
towards
a
man
of
sixty
,
who
was
making
efforts
at
retrieval
when
time
had
rendered
them
vain
.
No
third
person
listening
could
have
thoroughly
understood
the
impetuosity
of
Will
's
repulse
or
the
bitterness
of
his
words
.
No
one
but
himself
then
knew
how
everything
connected
with
the
sentiment
of
his
own
dignity
had
an
immediate
bearing
for
him
on
his
relation
to
Dorothea
and
to
Mr.
Casaubon
's
treatment
of
him
.
And
in
the
rush
of
impulses
by
which
he
flung
back
that
offer
of
Bulstrode
's
there
was
mingled
the
sense
that
it
would
have
been
impossible
for
him
ever
to
tell
Dorothea
that
he
had
accepted
it
.
As
for
Bulstrode
—
when
Will
was
gone
he
suffered
a
violent
reaction
,
and
wept
like
a
woman
.
It
was
the
first
time
he
had
encountered
an
open
expression
of
scorn
from
any
man
higher
than
Raffles
;
and
with
that
scorn
hurrying
like
venom
through
his
system
,
there
was
no
sensibility
left
to
consolations
.
But
the
relief
of
weeping
had
to
be
checked
.
His
wife
and
daughters
soon
came
home
from
hearing
the
address
of
an
Oriental
missionary
,
and
were
full
of
regret
that
papa
had
not
heard
,
in
the
first
instance
,
the
interesting
things
which
they
tried
to
repeat
to
him
.
Perhaps
,
through
all
other
hidden
thoughts
,
the
one
that
breathed
most
comfort
was
,
that
Will
Ladislaw
at
least
was
not
likely
to
publish
what
had
taken
place
that
evening
.
CHAPTER
LXII
.
He
was
a
squyer
of
lowe
degre
,
That
loved
the
king
's
daughter
of
Hungrie
.
—
Old
Romance
.
Will
Ladislaw
's
mind
was
now
wholly
bent
on
seeing
Dorothea
again
,
and
forthwith
quitting
Middlemarch
.
The
morning
after
his
agitating
scene
with
Bulstrode
he
wrote
a
brief
letter
to
her
,
saying
that
various
causes
had
detained
him
in
the
neighborhood
longer
than
he
had
expected
,
and
asking
her
permission
to
call
again
at
Lowick
at
some
hour
which
she
would
mention
on
the
earliest
possible
day
,
he
being
anxious
to
depart
,
but
unwilling
to
do
so
until
she
had
granted
him
an
interview
.
He
left
the
letter
at
the
office
,
ordering
the
messenger
to
carry
it
to
Lowick
Manor
,
and
wait
for
an
answer
.
Ladislaw
felt
the
awkwardness
of
asking
for
more
last
words
.
His
former
farewell
had
been
made
in
the
hearing
of
Sir
James
Chettam
,
and
had
been
announced
as
final
even
to
the
butler
.
It
is
certainly
trying
to
a
man
's
dignity
to
reappear
when
he
is
not
expected
to
do
so
:
a
first
farewell
has
pathos
in
it
,
but
to
come
back
for
a
second
lends
an
opening
to
comedy
,
and
it
was
possible
even
that
there
might
be
bitter
sneers
afloat
about
Will
's
motives
for
lingering
.
Still
it
was
on
the
whole
more
satisfactory
to
his
feeling
to
take
the
directest
means
of
seeing
Dorothea
,
than
to
use
any
device
which
might
give
an
air
of
chance
to
a
meeting
of
which
he
wished
her
to
understand
that
it
was
what
he
earnestly
sought
.
When
he
had
parted
from
her
before
,
he
had
been
in
ignorance
of
facts
which
gave
a
new
aspect
to
the
relation
between
them
,
and
made
a
more
absolute
severance
than
he
had
then
believed
in
.
He
knew
nothing
of
Dorothea
's
private
fortune
,
and
being
little
used
to
reflect
on
such
matters
,
took
it
for
granted
that
according
to
Mr.
Casaubon
's
arrangement
marriage
to
him
,
Will
Ladislaw
,
would
mean
that
she
consented
to
be
penniless
.
That
was
not
what
he
could
wish
for
even
in
his
secret
heart
,
or
even
if
she
had
been
ready
to
meet
such
hard
contrast
for
his
sake
.
And
then
,
too
,
there
was
the
fresh
smart
of
that
disclosure
about
his
mother
's
family
,
which
if
known
would
be
an
added
reason
why
Dorothea
's
friends
should
look
down
upon
him
as
utterly
below
her
.
The
secret
hope
that
after
some
years
he
might
come
back
with
the
sense
that
he
had
at
least
a
personal
value
equal
to
her
wealth
,
seemed
now
the
dreamy
continuation
of
a
dream
.
This
change
would
surely
justify
him
in
asking
Dorothea
to
receive
him
once
more
.
But
Dorothea
on
that
morning
was
not
at
home
to
receive
Will
's
note
.
In
consequence
of
a
letter
from
her
uncle
announcing
his
intention
to
be
at
home
in
a
week
,
she
had
driven
first
to
Freshitt
to
carry
the
news
,
meaning
to
go
on
to
the
Grange
to
deliver
some
orders
with
which
her
uncle
had
intrusted
her
—
thinking
,
as
he
said
,
"
a
little
mental
occupation
of
this
sort
good
for
a
widow
.
"
If
Will
Ladislaw
could
have
overheard
some
of
the
talk
at
Freshitt
that
morning
,
he
would
have
felt
all
his
suppositions
confirmed
as
to
the
readiness
of
certain
people
to
sneer
at
his
lingering
in
the
neighborhood
.
Sir
James
,
indeed
,
though
much
relieved
concerning
Dorothea
,
had
been
on
the
watch
to
learn
Ladislaw
's
movements
,
and
had
an
instructed
informant
in
Mr.
Standish
,
who
was
necessarily
in
his
confidence
on
this
matter
.
That
Ladislaw
had
stayed
in
Middlemarch
nearly
two
months
after
he
had
declared
that
he
was
going
immediately
,
was
a
fact
to
embitter
Sir
James
's
suspicions
,
or
at
least
to
justify
his
aversion
to
a
"
young
fellow
"
whom
he
represented
to
himself
as
slight
,
volatile
,
and
likely
enough
to
show
such
recklessness
as
naturally
went
along
with
a
position
unriveted
by
family
ties
or
a
strict
profession
.
But
he
had
just
heard
something
from
Standish
which
,
while
it
justified
these
surmises
about
Will
,
offered
a
means
of
nullifying
all
danger
with
regard
to
Dorothea
.
Unwonted
circumstances
may
make
us
all
rather
unlike
ourselves
:
there
are
conditions
under
which
the
most
majestic
person
is
obliged
to
sneeze
,
and
our
emotions
are
liable
to
be
acted
on
in
the
same
incongruous
manner
.
Good
Sir
James
was
this
morning
so
far
unlike
himself
that
he
was
irritably
anxious
to
say
something
to
Dorothea
on
a
subject
which
he
usually
avoided
as
if
it
had
been
a
matter
of
shame
to
them
both
.
He
could
not
use
Celia
as
a
medium
,
because
he
did
not
choose
that
she
should
know
the
kind
of
gossip
he
had
in
his
mind
;
and
before
Dorothea
happened
to
arrive
he
had
been
trying
to
imagine
how
,
with
his
shyness
and
unready
tongue
,
he
could
ever
manage
to
introduce
his
communication
.
Her
unexpected
presence
brought
him
to
utter
hopelessness
in
his
own
power
of
saying
anything
unpleasant
;
but
desperation
suggested
a
resource
;
he
sent
the
groom
on
an
unsaddled
horse
across
the
park
with
a
pencilled
note
to
Mrs.
Cadwallader
,
who
already
knew
the
gossip
,
and
would
think
it
no
compromise
of
herself
to
repeat
it
as
often
as
required
.
Dorothea
was
detained
on
the
good
pretext
that
Mr.
Garth
,
whom
she
wanted
to
see
,
was
expected
at
the
hall
within
the
hour
,
and
she
was
still
talking
to
Caleb
on
the
gravel
when
Sir
James
,
on
the
watch
for
the
rector
's
wife
,
saw
her
coming
and
met
her
with
the
needful
hints
.
"
Enough
!
I
understand
,
"
—
said
Mrs.
Cadwallader
.
"
You
shall
be
innocent
.
I
am
such
a
blackamoor
that
I
cannot
smirch
myself
.
"
"
I
do
n't
mean
that
it
's
of
any
consequence
,
"
said
Sir
James
,
disliking
that
Mrs.
Cadwallader
should
understand
too
much
.
"
Only
it
is
desirable
that
Dorothea
should
know
there
are
reasons
why
she
should
not
receive
him
again
;
and
I
really
ca
n't
say
so
to
her
.
It
will
come
lightly
from
you
.
"
It
came
very
lightly
indeed
