expect—
and
you
must
then
protect
her
,
as
I
would
have
done
myself
,
considering
all
that
you
may
ever
do
for
her
,
as
done
for
me
.
"
"
It
would
be
something
to
live
for
,
if
I
had
a
hope
of
being
useful
to
Marion
,
Sir
Arthur
!
Under
any
circumstances
that
would
have
been
a
pleasure
;
but
now
it
has
become
ten
times
more
a
sacred
duty
than
ever
.
Your
injunction
shall
remain
with
me
till
my
dying
hour
!
"
In
the
solitude
and
silence
of
his
own
apartment
,
Henry
gave
ample
vent
to
his
long-suppressed
anguish
,
while
mourning
over
the
sad
conviction
,
that
he
had
now
seen
,
probably
for
the
last
time
,
that
generous
and
noble-hearted
benefactor
,
whom
he
loved
with
an
enthusiasm
to
which
no
words
could
do
justice
.
Though
every
action
of
his
life
had
been
actuated
by
grateful
attachment
,
he
now
felt
as
if
his
existence
had
been
wasted
without
sufficiently
testifying
his
ardent
affection
,
and
he
wondered
to
think
that
any
opportunities
were
ever
formerly
overlooked
,
of
conversing
with
Sir
Arthur
,
and
attending
on
him
.
Henry
thought
of
his
growing
infirmities
,
of
his
solitary
home
,
of
his
high
spirit
,
and
of
his
resolute
mind
,
now
enervated
by
advancing
years
,
and
mourned
to
think
that
in
sickness
,
or
even
at
the
hour
of
death
,
he
himself
must
no
longer
be
at
hand
,
to
console
and
support
his
benefactor
.
Exhausted
nature
at
length
needed
repose
,
and
amidst
the
stillness
and
darkness
of
a
night
which
had
already
seemed
interminable
,
Henry
felt
himself
slowly
sinking
into
the
calmness
of
slumber
,
when
suddenly
he
was
awakened
to
consciousness
by
a
slight
rustling
sound
from
beside
his
bed
,
and
the
noise
of
some
one
breathing
,
as
if
trying
in
vain
to
suppress
it
.
Uncertain
what
this
might
be
,
he
opened
his
eyes
,
and
lay
perfectly
immoveable
;
but
gradually
his
heart
almost
ceased
to
beat
,
and
quailed
with
a
feeling
of
supernatural
apprehension
,
when
the
curtains
were
slowly
opened
,
and
a
dark
form
cautiously
stooping
over
him
,
gazed
into
his
face
,
till
he
felt
the
warm
breath
upon
his
cheek
.
In
the
dead
hour
of
the
night
,
Marion
was
startled
out
of
a
dull
,
heavy
,
unrefreshing
sleep
,
by
a
sharp
shrill
cry
for
help
,
which
seemed
to
proceed
from
Henry
's
room
,
and
was
succeeded
by
stifled
cries
,
and
the
sound
of
a
violent
scuffle
.
Springing
out
of
bed
with
an
instantaneous
decision
,
Marion
flew
towards
the
spot
,
calling
loudly
for
assistance
,
and
the
instant
she
opened
the
door
,
some
one
,
uttering
a
wild
and
fearful
shriek
,
rushed
violently
out
,
striking
her
what
seemed
at
the
moment
a
severe
blow
on
the
arm
,
but
an
instant
afterwards
she
became
deluged
with
blood
.
Henry
was
in
the
act
of
eagerly
pursuing
the
rapidly
receding
figure
,
when
,
seeing
Marion
stagger
backwards
,
he
caught
her
in
his
arms
,
supported
her
to
a
chair
,
and
hastily
bound
up
her
wound
,
which
was
bleeding
profusely
.
"
Leave
me
!
I
am
well
!
Look
to
my
uncle
,
"
cried
she
,
eagerly
.
"
He
must
have
been
alarmed
!
How
was
it
,
Henry
?
Are
you
hurt
?
Is
Sir
Arthur
safe
?
Oh
!
there
he
is
!
"
exclaimed
she
,
rushing
into
her
uncle
's
arms
,
and
bursting
into
tears
.
"
Here
is
Mr.
Howard
too
!
"
added
Henry
,
turning
round
,
as
that
gentleman
entered
with
a
calm
but
rather
anxious
look
,
while
the
paleness
of
his
cheek
was
almost
startling
.
"
You
seem
,
Sir
,
to
have
dropped
ready
dressed
from
the
clouds
!
"
"
I
seldom
retire
early
to
bed
,
"
replied
he
,
with
a
quick
,
sharp
,
scrutinizing
glance
at
Henry
.
"
Hearing
a
tumult
in
the
house
,
I
—
I
—
—
"
"
You
gave
it
time
to
subside
before
attempting
to
interfere
,
"
added
Henry
,
with
a
thrilling
emphasis
in
his
voice
,
while
closely
observing
Mr.
Howard
's
countenance
.
"
There
is
a
strange
and
fearful
mystery
here
!
"
"
There
is
!
"
replied
he
,
gnawing
his
nails
to
the
very
quick
,
while
he
shot
a
momentary
glance
of
rancorous
detestation
at
young
De
Lancey
,
after
which
,
his
features
became
as
passionless
and
immoveable
as
if
they
had
been
fixed
in
a
vice
.
"
The
whole
affair
is
mysterious
—
very
—
—
"
"
What
!
you
already
know
all
!
"
"
I
do
!
—
I
—
I
met
the
man
rushing
out
of
the
house
,
"
answered
Mr.
Howard
,
with
the
air
of
one
outfacing
an
accusation
,
but
his
voice
became
low
and
suffocated
.
"
I
attempted
to
stop
him
,
but
—
—
"
"
I
am
glad
you
did
!
"
observed
Sir
Arthur
,
looking
anxiously
at
Henry
,
and
then
gazing
intently
on
the
sallow
countenance
of
Mr.
Howard
,
which
became
gradually
dyed
with
the
deepest
hectic
;
his
lips
were
now
closely
compressed
,
he
raised
his
tall
figure
to
its
full
height
,
and
closed
his
eyes
,
as
if
wishing
thus
to
exclude
some
fearful
spectre
from
his
mind
,
but
after
a
momentary
struggle
,
he
became
once
more
calm
and
resolute
,
with
a
singular
serenity
of
look
and
manner
.
"
You
met
some
one
in
the
passage
!
The
assassin
must
have
escaped
long
before
!
"
muttered
Henry
,
in
a
vague
and
dreaming
tone
;
but
his
brow
grew
darker
,
and
there
was
an
anxious
intensity
in
his
look
and
voice
,
when
he
added
in
a
tone
of
resolute
determination
,
"
Let
me
be
plain
with
you
,
Mr.
Howard
!
Your
expression
of
countenance
when
I
saw
you
last
night
,
filled
me
with
astonishment
—
almost
with
apprehension
;
it
was
a
look
never
to
be
forgotten
!
Your
manner
now
perplexes
me
!
There
is
something
amiss
which
I
cannot
understand
,
but
for
your
sake
as
well
as
my
own
,
this
very
strange
affair
must
be
fully
investigated
!
"
"
You
suspect
me
!
"
exclaimed
Mr.
Howard
,
with
a
sudden
laugh
of
terrible
mirth
,
and
in
a
voice
elevated
into
accents
of
indescribable
fury
,
while
his
eye
throwing
off
the
torpor
in
which
it
had
been
shrouded
,
glittered
with
the
fearful
brightness
of
delirium
,
his
veins
became
swollen
,
and
his
figure
dilated
beyond
its
ordinary
height
,
assuming
an
aspect
of
rage
and
of
almost
supernatural
strength
,
such
as
insanity
alone
can
give
.
"
You
suspect
me
,
and
you
have
dared
to
confess
it
.
Many
a
word
lightly
spoken
carries
weight
.
The
arrow
has
been
shot
at
random
,
but
you
are
right
.
Lightning
rushes
through
my
brain
!
I
would
be
destructive
as
a
whirlwind
to
you
,
De
Lancey
,
as
I
once
was
to
your
wretched
mother
.
She
stood
in
the
way
of
my
advancement
,
as
you
may
yet
do
,
—
she
accused
,
betrayed
,
and
ruined
my
sister
,
"
continued
he
in
a
rapid
voice
,
insupportably
shrill
and
piercing
.
"
You
too
have
injured
me
,
and
you
shall
suffer
for
it
as
she
did
—
she
died
!
"
With
the
spring
and
the
strength
of
a
tiger
,
he
rushed
toward
Henry
,
and
a
knife
which
he
had
plucked
from
his
sleeve
,
gleamed
like
lightning
in
the
air
,
when
suddenly
Sir
Arthur
placed
himself
so
as
to
intercept
the
madman
's
career
,
and
fixed
upon
him
his
commanding
eye
,
with
a
look
of
calm
,
stern
,
and
lofty
composure
,
while
Henry
vainly
strove
to
advance
before
him
,
and
Marion
,
with
frantic
vehemence
,
called
for
help
.
"
Take
my
life
,
if
you
must
have
blood
.
I
have
trusted
you
,
Howard
,
—
shown
you
kindness
when
no
other
hand
was
stretched
out
in
compassion
,
and
through
my
heart
only
shall
you
reach
that
boy
!
"
said
Sir
Arthur
,
firmly
.
"
I
am
old
,
and
ready
to
die
,
but
he
is
a
son
to
me
,
and
shall
not
perish
in
my
sight
.
"
"
Your
life
!
no
!
not
yours
,
"
replied
the
maniac
,
in
accents
of
vehement
horror
,
yet
still
fastening
his
glaring
eyes
on
Henry
,
with
looks
of
deadly
malignity
.
"
May
my
hand
wither
before
it
injures
one
hair
of
your
venerable
head
!
May
my
life
be
sacrificed
first
,
and
my
limbs
be
manacled
in
chains
!
But
for
him
,
his
days
shall
be
few
!
He
bears
a
charmed
life
,
or
he
must
have
died
long
ago
!
I
would
extinguish
all
mankind
!
—
the
whole
human
race
,
if
I
could
;
but
there
are
two
whom
I
have
sworn
to
destroy
,
and
he
is
one
!
I
have
said
it
!
The
will
and
the
power
are
mine
!
I
cannot
fail
!
His
life
shall
be
hunted
by
night
and
by
day
!
This
knife
shall
be
plunged
to
the
very
hilt
in
his
blood
!
I
have
said
it
.
One
blow
—
one
mortal
blow
,
and
it
is
done
!
"
Having
said
these
words
,
with
gestures
of
outrageous
madness
,
he
bounded
towards
the
door
,
broke
through
every
impediment
with
a
strength
which
ten
men
could
scarcely
have
mastered
,
and
giving
a
loud
delirious
cry
of
insufferable
wildness
,
he
instantaneously
vanished
.
Before
long
,
the
neighborhood
was
aroused
,
lights
gleamed
and
reddened
in
the
opposite
windows
,
shouts
arose
among
the
assembling
crowd
,
and
a
rapid
search
was
made
for
the
frantic
and
mysterious
criminal
,
but
not
a
trace
of
any
living
being
could
be
discovered
,
and
when
they
paused
to
listen
,
not
a
sound
broke
the
stillness
of
the
night
.
"
This
is
my
second
preservation
from
a
violent
death
!
"
said
Henry
,
in
once
more
taking
leave
of
Sir
Arthur
.
"
And
most
forcibly
do
all
these
circumstances
bring
to
mind
the
horrors
of
that
fearful
night
which
first
threw
me
on
the
care
of
my
benefactor
.
It
is
exactly
such
a
shadowy
form
bending
over
me
in
the
silence
of
midnight
,
which
has
often
from
that
hour
haunted
me
in
my
dreams
.
I
am
ready
,
I
trust
,
to
brave
any
danger
in
the
open
face
of
day
;
but
there
is
something
terrible
to
me
,
I
confess
—
something
vague
and
appalling
in
the
stealthy
,
mysterious
,
death-like
approach
of
an
enemy
evidently
insane
,
who
has
pursued
me
with
remorseless
hatred
from
childhood
to
the
present
hour
,
breaking
upon
me
in
the
darkest
hours
of
midnight
,
and
invading
me
amidst
the
moments
of
helpless
repose
;
but
I
am
under
the
care
of
one
who
slumbereth
not
,
nor
sleepeth
,
and
to
Him
I
confidently
commit
myself
.
"
CHAPTER
XXVII
.
Every
man
should
be
considered
accountable
to
Providence
,
not
only
for
diffusing
as
much
enjoyment
around
him
as
he
possibly
can
,
but
also
for
being
as
happy
himself
as
is
consistent
with
the
many
gifts
bestowed
on
him
individually
;
and
it
is
a
duty
to
look
back
with
self-reproach
on
any
hour
of
existence
,
which
,
on
account
of
our
ill
temper
or
discontent
,
has
been
less
enjoyed
by
ourselves
or
by
another
,
than
it
might
have
been
;
yet
it
is
an
obvious
truth
,
that
all
men
might
be
happier
than
they
are
,
if
mankind
would
but
make
the
best
of
life
for
themselves
and
others
.
Never
had
this
remark
appeared
so
undeniable
to
Marion
as
now
,
in
the
case
of
Agnes
,
who
alienated
Sir
Patrick
more
and
more
by
her
peevishness
,
though
the
arrows
of
her
satire
had
more
poison
than
point
in
them
,
and
he
was
always
ready
enough
to
enter
on
a
skirmish
in
the
diamond-cut-diamond
style
of
conversation
,
while
it
often
blistered
the
very
heart
of
their
gentle
sister
,
to
hear
the
bitter
taunting
remarks
and
repartees
which
they
levelled
at
each
other
.
One
day
,
Agnes
,
in
a
magnificent
fit
of
ill-humor
,
had
seated
herself
at
that
universal
refuge
for
idleness
and
discontent
,
an
open
window
,
complaining
that
the
dulness
of
Edinburgh
was
quite
maddening
;
while
it
became
evident
that
the
needle
of
her
temper
pointed
in
the
most
stormy
direction
.
It
was
a
favorite
doctrine
with
Agnes
,
that
ennui
is
peculiar
to
intellectual
beings
,
and
that
those
who
never
suffered
from
it
were
like
cows
or
sheep
,
scarcely
to
be
considered
rational
.
On
the
present
occasion
,
therefore
,
she
was
relieving
the
intolerable
tedium
which
oppressed
her
,
by
delivering
her
opinion
to
Sir
Patrick
,
in
no
measured
terms
,
on
the
unutterable
cruelty
of
his
leaving
her
stranded
in
Edinburgh
,
while
she
understood
he
was
going
soon
to
amuse
himself
abroad
.
She
seemed
inflated
with
ill-humor
,
like
a
spider
,
bursting
with
its
own
poison
,
and
her
countenance
had
assumed
not
the
most
amiable
expression
in
the
world
,
while
Sir
Patrick
snatched
up
a
newspaper
,
which
he
began
intently
reading
upside
down
.
Having
successfully
and
distinctly
proved
that
she
was
a
martyr
to
the
injuries
which
"
patient
merit
of
th
'
unworthy
takes
,
"
and
her
brother
being
apparently
on
the
point
of
falling
asleep
before
her
face
,
Agnes
suddenly
rose
from
her
seat
,
with
an
exclamation
of
annoyance
and
astonishment
,
saying
,
"
I
do
believe
here
is
that
old
formality
,
Sir
Arthur
,
going
to
call
!
Getting
slowly
and
with
difficulty
out
of
a
ragged
,
ruinous-looking
hackney
coach
,
as
frail
as
himself
!
I
had
no
idea
he
was
become
so
aged
and
infirm
!
What
a
bore
!
I
do
wish
we
might
enjoy
the
privilege
,
after
being
grown
up
,
of
choosing
our
own
relations
.
J'ai
pitie
de
moi-meme
!
"
"
What
can
bring
the
old
fellow
here
?
"
exclaimed
Sir
Patrick
,
crumpling
up
his
newspaper
,
and
approaching
the
window
with
an
angry
whistle
.
"
He
looks
,
in
those
glittering
spectacles
,
like
a
post-chaise
,
with
the
lamps
lighted
.
I
must
be
grown
quite
respectable
when
the
Admiral
honors
me
with
a
visit
.
Has
anybody
paid
my
debts
?
"
"
I
declare
,
"
said
Agnes
,
"
Sir
Arthur
gropes
his
way
along
as
if
he
came
from
the
Blind
Asylum
,
and
his
dear
,
puckered
old
face
looks
as
dry
and
cracked
as
an
old
picture
!
"
"
Suppose
I
stay
in
the
room
incog
.
,
to
hear
all
the
civil
and
agreeable
truths
our
worthy
uncle
will
say
of
me
,
"
said
Sir
Patrick
,
laughingly
throwing
himself
into
a
large
arm-chair
,
in
a
distant
corner
of
the
room
.
"
I
should
certainty
realize
the
old
proverb
about
listeners
hearing
no
good
of
themselves
.
Sir
Arthur
is
so
blind
he
will
never
see
me
,
and
it
is
certainly
no
bad
joke
for
a
rainy
day
.
"
"
I
think
it
would
be
a
very
bad
joke
,
indeed
,
Patrick
,
"
said
Marion
,
coloring
.
"
But
I
am
sure
you
would
not
play
upon
our
uncle
's
infirmities
,
and
I
shall
certainly
ask
you
some
question
the
moment
he
enters
,
to
betray
your
ambuscade
.
"
"
Marion
!
for
a
young
lady
who
professes
timidity
,
you
exhibit
a
tolerable
share
of
decision
!
"
replied
Sir
Patrick
,
looking
with
surprise
at
the
glowing
countenance
of
his
sister
,
whose
voice
quivered
with
agitation
.
"
However
,
since
you
are
determined
to
make
a
scene
between
Sir
Arthur
and
me
,
I
shall
be
off
,
not
feeling
in
the
humor
for
one
of
his
lectures
to-day
!
He
will
be
a
whirlpool
of
rage
at
this
raffle
I
am
making
of
the
family
plate
and
pictures
.
Perhaps
he
means
to
take
a
ticket
!
Do
not
mention
,
for
your
lives
,
girls
,
that
I
am
in
the
next
room
,
unless
he
be
come
on
a
matter
of
life
and
death
!
Exit
Sir
Patrick
in
haste
!
"
When
Sir
Arthur
entered
the
room
,
there
was
a
look
of
unwonted
care
in
his
fine
countenance
,
and
less
firmness
in
his
step
than
usual
.
He
silently
but
cordially
shook
hands
with
Agnes
,
while
a
look
of
almost
compassionate
kindness
beamed
in
his
countenance
,
and
Marion
,
with
girlish
delight
sparkling
in
her
eyes
,
and
dimpling
in
her
cheeks
,
led
him
to
a
chair
,
on
which
he
sat
down
for
some
moments
without
speaking
,
apparently
fatigued
and
agitated
,
while
she
filled
up
the
pause
which
ensued
,
by
taking
his
hat
and
stick
,
placing
her
arm
within
his
when
she
seated
herself
by
his
side
,
and
showing
a
thousand
demonstrations
of
her
heartfelt
affection
and
respect
.
"
Uncle
Arthur
!
"
said
Agnes
,
observing
him
at
length
glancing
round
the
room
.
"
You
have
never
been
in
this
house
before
?
"
"
No
!
nor
I
never
expected
to
enter
it
!
"
replied
he
,
in
a
tone
of
profound
sadness
.
"
Never
!
—
urgent
duty
brings
me
now
!
This
then
is
the
family
residence
to
which
the
Dunbars
of
Dornington
are
at
last
degraded
!
Is
your
brother
at
home
?
"
"
No
!
"
replied
Agnes
,
with
the
most
perfect
intrepidity
of
countenance
.
"
You
must
have
met
him
in
the
Park
.
"
"
I
did
not
perceive
him
,
and
it
was
as
well
,
"
answered
Sir
Arthur
with
melancholy
sternness
.
"
The
seldomer
we
meet
the
better
.
It
is
a
disgrace
to
be
in
the
room
with
Sir
Patrick
.
"
"
Uncle
Arthur
!
you
are
growing
angry
and
personal
,
"
interrupted
Marion
,
in
a
beseeching
tone
,
while
she
shook
his
hand
caressingly
in
her
own
.
"
That
is
the
harshest
thing
you
ever
said
of
our
brother
!
"
"
May
he
never
deserve
more
,
or
he
shall
have
it
,
"
continued
the
Admiral
,
with
angry
vehemence
,
while
his
neckcloth
seemed
growing
too
tight
for
him
.
"
Sir
Patrick
is
,
without
meaning
to
flatter
him
,
about
the
greatest
scamp
I
know
.
His
last
step
in
the
regiment
was
purchased
,
I
am
told
,
over
the
head
of
a
young
officer
from
whom
he
gained
the
money
at
play
!
but
,
Marion
,
my
dear
girl
,
I
am
not
come
to
quarrel
with
you
,
the
dearest
niece
in
the
world
—
nor
with
Agnes
,
though
I
could
wish
that
she
came
sometimes
to
see
me
.
"
Sir
Arthur
held
out
his
hand
to
both
his
nieces
,
and
added
,
in
a
tone
of
hurried
agitation
,
"
If
you
had
witnessed
,
Agnes
,
the
many
long
years
during
which
your
father
and
I
associated
together
on
terms
of
more
than
brotherly
confidence
,
you
could
not
wonder
that
now
,
living
in
an
empty
world
,
the
grave
of
all
who
started
in
life
beside
me
,
amidst
old
remembrances
,
vanished
pleasures
,
faded
health
,
and
lost
affections
,
I
cling
to
whatever
reminds
me
of
him
,
and
that
nothing
can
make
me
cease
to
love
you
all
—
all
without
exception
—
even
that
disgraceful
scoundrel
your
brother
.
I
would
close
these
eyes
in
death
,
only
once
to
see
him
,
the
man
his
father
's
son
should
be
;
but
I
might
live
for
ever
if
I
wait
till
then
!
"
Marion
was
grieved
and
alarmed
to
perceive
her
uncle
's
increasing
agitation
,
while
he
hastily
turned
away
to
hide
it
,
but
the
breeze
which
had
ruffled
his
mind
soon
passed
away
,
and
though
his
hand
still
shook
with
emotion
,
he
added
in
a
calmer
tone
of
deep-rooted
anxiety
,
"
I
have
been
told
this
morning
,
that
Sir
Patrick
intends
to
cut
his
stick
,
and
take
flight
immediately
to
the
continent
,
therefore
I
am
here
to
ascertain
,
my
dear
girls
,
what
is
to
become
of
you
?
"
"
I
scarcely
know
indeed
!
"
replied
Marion
,
in
a
tone
of
irresistible
depression
.
"
Patrick
seems
to
have
no
settled
plan
.
He
did
talk
of
hiring
a
lodging
for
us
,
and
engaging
some
old
lady
for
a
chaperon
.
"
"
And
for
such
a
scheme
,
my
dear
Marion
,
where
in
all
the
wide
world
is
he
to
get
money
—
or
even
credit
?
Not
in
the
name
of
Sir
Patrick
Dunbar
!
—
a
name
that
,
in
my
brother
's
time
,
stood
proudly
forward
as
a
warrant
for
everything
honorable
,
soldier-like
and
generous
!
—
a
name
,
till
now
,
never
sullied
by
dishonor
.
"
Sir
Arthur
's
voice
faltered
,
a
hectic
color
burned
on
his
cheek
,
he
remained
silent
for
several
minutes
,
and
then
continued
,
after
a
strong
effort
to
recover
himself
,
"
It
is
no
matter
!
Patrick
adds
a
nail
to
my
coffin
every
day
,
but
I
am
the
last
wreck
of
an
old
generation
,
and
have
already
outstaid
the
period
intended
for
man
!
My
head
is
whitened
by
the
frost
of
more
than
eighty
winters
—
my
heart
seared
with
the
wear
and
tear
of
life
—
my
very
existence
a
perpetual
miracle
!
It
would
people
a
city
if
all
could
be
revived
whom
I
have
intimately
known
in
those
days
when
the
dearest
ties
of
life
were
clustered
around
me
,
but
now
I
am
a
scathed
and
solitary
ruin
.
How
truly
has
it
been
said
,
that
the
remembrance
of
youth
is
a
sigh
,
yet
all
has
been
ordered
as
it
should
be
,
and
that
wind
is
ever
the
best
which
will
carry
us
most
safely
to
the
end
of
our
voyage
.
"
Sir
Arthur
paused
with
a
look
of
solemn
and
inexpressible
emotion
,
and
Marion
pressed
her
uncle
's
hand
affectionately
,
hot
tears
coursed
each
other
down
her
face
,
and
she
gazed
earnestly
at
his
countenance
,
while
,
looking
at
her
with
his
usual
expression
of
benignity
and
kindness
,
he
continued
,
"
You
are
the
chief
,
or
rather
the
only
objects
of
my
care
,
for
all
my
wishes
and
hopes
on
my
own
account
might
now
be
contained
in
a
nut-shell
.
I
am
a
stranger
in
this
altered
world
,
soon
—
very
soon
to
depart
.
There
is
one
heart
in
my
brother
's
family
,
Marion
,
that
feels
as
his
child
ought
to
feel
,
and
one
eye
that
will
be
dimmed
with
sorrow
when
I
am
no
more
.
For
your
sake
,
and
yours
only
,
need
I
wish
to
live
!
Well
may
the
young
weep
for
sorrow
—
they
have
long
to
endure
it
,
but
for
me
,
the
end
of
all
earthly
things
is
at
hand
.
Many
a
warning
bell
has
reached
my
ear
already
,
and
I
would
wish
only
to
see
you
launched
under
safe
protection
in
the
stormy
ocean
of
life
.
With
no
guardian
but
a
brother
worse
than
nobody
,
and
an
old
,
infirm
uncle
tottering
into
the
grave
,
my
dear
girls
,
what
are
you
to
do
?
"
Marion
glanced
at
Agnes
,
who
tried
to
preserve
her
usual
air
of
consequential
indifference
,
and
pulled
her
bouquet
to
pieces
,
with
an
expression
of
silent
and
majestic
impatience
,
but
she
neither
looked
up
nor
answered
.
"
While
I
live
,
you
can
always
confer
a
pleasure
by
taking
shelter
with
me
,
"
continued
Sir
Arthur
,
in
the
warmest
tone
of
kindness
;
"
and
all
that
an
old
man
can
do
to
make
you
happy
shall
be
done
,
though
that
,
I
fear
,
is
little
or
nothing
.
"
Agnes
,
evidently
not
much
delighted
at
this
unexpected
proposal
of
being
located
at
what
she
always
called
"
the
Admiral
's
humdrummery
,
"
now
assumed
a
pre-engaged
look
,
while
practising
a
particularly
graceful
attitude
in
the
opposite
mirror
,
and
drawing
out
her
long
glossy
ringlets
with
a
cold
,
artificial
smile
,
she
answered
,
"
Thank
you
,
Sir
Arthur
!
I
am
sure
we
are
most
excessively
obliged
.
Probably
now
that
Marion
is
so
well
disposed
of
,
my
brother
may
take
me
with
him
to
Paris
!
"
"
Reckoning
without
your
host
,
Agnes
!
"
whispered
Sir
Patrick
,
entering
with
a
look
of
assumed
bravado
,
but
of
evident
embarrassment
.
"
Wishes
cost
nothing
;
but
how
could
such
an
idea
ever
enter
your
ingenious
head
?
Pray
strike
a
light
and
look
for
your
senses
!
Ah
!
Sir
Arthur
!
A
hundred
thousand
welcomes
.
I
am
happy
not
to
have
missed
your
kind
visit
!
"
"
That
would
have
been
a
mutual
misfortune
!
"
replied
the
Admiral
,
drily
,
and
drawing
himself
up
to
his
full
height
,
while
Sir
Patrick
bowed
and
smiled
with
an
air
of
sarcastic
gratitude
.
"
Certainly
,
for
some
years
past
I
am
not
owing
you
many
visits
.
"
"
Why
,
no
!
I
hate
to
see
people
running
themselves
into
debt
;
therefore
believing
you
might
find
it
inconvenient
to
return
my
cards
,
I
have
not
been
very
troublesome
in
the
way
of
calling
;
but
,
"
continued
Sir
Patrick
,
stealing
a
look
of
laughing
condolence
at
Agnes
,
"
my
sisters
are
exceedingly
delighted
by
your
very
considerate
offer
of
a
home
during
my
absence
.
The
plan
will
suit
admirably
!
They
both
want
sea-bathing
,
and
—
society
,
Agnes
?
"
"
In
respect
to
society
I
can
promise
nothing
.
I
would
raise
a
regiment
of
beaux
if
possible
,
but
my
house
is
a
mere
Greenwich
Hospital
for
years
past
,
visited
only
by
a
few
veterans
as
aged
and
broken
as
myself
.
"
"
I
wish
they
had
all
gone
down
in
the
Royal
George
,
"
muttered
Agnes
,
whose
face
now
looked
like
a
thunder
cloud
.
"
A
set
of
resuscitated
mummies
,
with
scarcely
a
complete
set
of
limbs
and
features
amongst
them
.
I
would
rather
live
in
the
moon
,
where
there
is
at
least
one
entire
man
to
be
seen
.
"
"
We
instituted
a
club
lately
,
"
continued
Sir
Arthur
,
"
in
which
no
member
was
eligible
who
had
not
been
deprived
of
one
limb
at
least
in
the
service
of
his
country
.
With
many
of
my
friends
all
is
lost
but
honor
!
That
is
what
a
man
should
die
rather
than
lose
!
It
was
long
a
hereditary
heir-loom
in
our
family
,
Patrick
!
entailed
upon
you
,
Sir
!
handed
down
untarnished
from
father
to
son
,
generation
after
generation
!
And
where
is
it
now
?
Lost
in
the
kennel
,
the
race-course
,
the
stable
,
the
gambling
house
,
and
every
receptacle
of
infamy
and
shame
,
while
I
live
to
see
the
Dunbars
of
Dornington
utterly
ruined
,
as
well
as
utterly
disgraced
!
"
"
Not
as
long
as
you
live
!
"
exclaimed
Sir
Patrick
,
advancing
with
sudden
emotion
,
and
grasping
his
uncle
's
hand
.
"
Your
name
,
Sir
Arthur
,
will
shed
a
lustre
over
our
house
after
mine
has
been
blotted
out
for
ever
from
the
memory
of
man
!
"
"
Why
should
it
be
so
?
"
asked
Sir
Arthur
,
speaking
in
a
tone
of
deep
vehemence
and
solemnity
,
while
his
noble
and
serious
countenance
assumed
an
expression
of
that
affection
which
nothing
could
extinguish
.
"
Patrick
!
it
is
long
lane
that
has
no
turning
!
Be
like
your
father
in
mind
,
as
you
are
in
person
,
and
let
me
leave
you
my
best
blessing
at
last
!
"
"
Too
late
!
too
late
!
"
replied
Sir
Patrick
,
walking
hurriedly
up
and
down
the
room
,
and
then
suddenly
resuming
his
usual
tone
of
reckless
gayety
.
"
No
!
no
!
as
Joseph
Surface
remarked
,
'
too
good
a
character
is
inconvenient
!
'
You
are
unadultered
gold
,
Sir
Arthur
,
but
I
must
only
set
up
for
being
a
genuine
Bristol
farthing
.
"
"
Yet
,
Patrick
!
even
if
honor
were
like
truth
,
at
the
bottom
of
a
well
,
it
is
worth
diving
for
;
and
the
best
throw
on
the
dice
is
to
throw
them
away
.
"
"
Your
whole
nature
and
mine
are
different
,
Sir
Arthur
!
A
wasp
may
work
his
heart
out
,
but
he
never
can
make
honey
,
"
replied
the
young
Baronet
,
hurriedly
.
"
I
have
neither
wishes
,
plans
,
nor
hopes
for
myself
!
Already
I
am
older
in
heart
than
you
,
and
neither
know
nor
care
how
short
a
time
I
have
to
exist
!
N'importe
!
It
would
not
certainly
be
convenient
for
me
at
present
to
fly
off
like
a
kite
,
with
both
my
sisters
at
my
tail
,
therefore
we
are
all
most
grateful
for
your
kind
invitation
to
them
,
and
shall
accept
the
honor
you
offer
with
pleasure
.
"
"
Be
it
so
then
,
"
replied
Sir
Arthur
,
in
a
calm
,
dignified
,
but
mournful
voice
.
"
If
my
nieces
will
be
content
with
little
,
they
may
be
as
happy
as
if
we
had
much
.
I
am
most
anxious
to
invent
anything
which
might
add
to
their
enjoyment
,
and
Lady
Towercliffe
tells
me
,
Agnes
,
that
your
whole
heart
is
bent
on
spending
a
month
at
Harrowgate
!
If
that
would
really
be
any
pleasure
or
advantage
to
you
,
tell
me
so
,
and
I
shall
endeavor
if
possible
to
go
there
myself
,
though
now
,
in
my
old
age
,
very
like
Punch
,
who
could
act
only
in
his
own
box
.
"
"
Oh
!
not
for
worlds
would
we
ask
you
to
go
,
dear
uncle
,
"
exclaimed
Marion
,
venturing
in
her
eagerness
to
speak
before
Agnes
,
and
shocked
at
the
idea
of
a
journey
,
the
fatigue
and
expense
of
which
she
knew
the
Admiral
was
so
little
able
to
incur
.
"
We
shall
be
more
than
happy
at
home
!
do
not
think
of
such
a
thing
!
"
"
But
if
I
may
be
permitted
to
have
an
opinion
,
being
the
person
consulted
,
Marion
,
let
me
say
that
nothing
on
earth
was
ever
more
enchanting
than
this
delicious
proposal
.
You
have
made
me
the
happiest
person
alive
,
Sir
Arthur
!
"
exclaimed
Agnes
,
for
once
condescending
to
look
perfectly
pleased
.
"
I
must
endeavor
not
to
go
mad
with
joy
!
You
are
our
very
best
friend
!
My
dear
uncle
,
all
I
can
say
is
,
YOU
ARE
A
GENTLEMAN
!
"
"
Well
,
Agnes
!
That
being
the
case
,
"
replied
Sir
Arthur
,
smiling
,
"
how
soon
can
you
be
ready
to
start
?
"
"
To-night
!
—
this
minute
!
—
wait
till
I
put
on
my
bonnet
!
"
exclaimed
Agnes
,
in
accents
of
the
liveliest
glee
.
"
I
am
quite
impatient
to
set
about
forgetting
Edinburgh
!
"
"
Well
done
,
Lady
Towercliffe
!
Harrowgate
was
a
capital
hit
!
"
cried
Sir
Patrick
,
laughing
satirically
.
"
Before
taking
a
voyage
to
India
,
there
is
no
place
like
it
for
young
ladies
!
Why
,
Agnes
,
it
is
a
perfect
emporium
of
beaux
!
You
will
live
there
at
the
rate
of
twenty
new
victims
a-day
!
A
down-pour
of
marriages
takes
place
at
the
end
of
every
season
.
Several
jewellers
have
made
large
fortunes
at
Harrowgate
,
merely
by
providing
wedding
rings
!
and
a
confectioner
is
kept
at
each
hotel
,
with
nothing
else
to
do
but
to
make
marriage
cakes
!
Sir
Arthur
must
take
a
dozen
lessons
in
match-making
,
from
some
of
the
manœuvring
mammas
and
aunts
.
"
"
An
unmanœuvring
uncle
is
all
we
shall
require
,
"
answered
Agnes
,
looking
daggers
at
Sir
Patrick
,
in
all
the
dignity
of
having
been
extremely
ill-treated
.
"
In
my
humble
opinion
—
—
"
"
Humble
,
Agnes
!
"
interrupted
Sir
Patrick
.
"
Did
I
hear
aright
?
Where
did
you
ever
learn
the
meaning
of
that
word
?
"
"
As
for
manœuvring
or
match-making
,
I
leave
all
that
sort
of
thing
to
such
persons
as
Lady
Towercliffe
,
"
observed
Sir
Arthur
.
"
She
and
other
old
ladies
have
such
an
intense
curiosity
about
weddings
,
that
I
do
think
,
even
when
laid
in
their
graves
,
they
would
like
to
be
told
who
are
going
to
be
married
.
In
such
affairs
I
would
be
out
of
my
element
,
like
a
bear
in
a
boat
,
not
knowing
how
to
proceed
,
—
but
at
my
age
—
—
"
"
Your
age
,
uncle
Arthur
!
You
are
no
age
at
all
,
"
interrupted
Agnes
,
in
high
good
humor
.
"
You
are
not
a
day
older
since
we
were
first
acquainted
!
As
Harrowgate
is
the
greatest
marriage
manufactory
in
Britain
,
I
should
not
wonder
if
you
were
to
pick
up
a
wife
there
yourself
!
Indeed
,
no
single
man
ever
escapes
,
and
I
shall
make
it
my
business
to
get
you
off
!
"
"
By
all
means
!
"
replied
the
Admiral
,
entering
good-humoredly
into
the
jest
.
"
I
have
no
doubt
some
young
lady
will
fall
desperately
and
hopelessly
in
love
with
me
!
Are
those
new
spectacles
becomingly
put
on
?
My
eyes
are
so
fine
,
they
must
be
kept
under
glass
!
My
hair
has
had
rather
too
much
of
the
bleaching
liquid
lately
,
but
do
you
recommend
a
wig
,
Agnes
,
or
the
vegetable
dye
?
"
"
I
would
not
alter
a
hair
of
your
head
,
uncle
Arthur
,
"
said
Marion
,
smiling
.
"
And
I
am
sure
you
will
have
more
admirers
at
Harrowgate
than
any
of
us
.
I
should
like
to
know
,
"
added
she
,
after
the
Admiral
had
departed
,
"
out
of
the
prodigious
incomes
enjoyed
by
thousands
of
persons
in
Britain
,
how
much
is
spent
during
the
year
in
really
generous
actions
,
—
in
actions
of
such
disinterested
liberality
as
our
dear
kind
uncle
's
,
when
putting
himself
to
all
this
expense
and
inconvenience
for
our
sakes
,
—
for
ours
,
who
never
can
make
him
the
smallest
return
.
"
"
To
say
the
truth
,
"
replied
Agnes
,
laughing
,
"
I
merely
go
to
Harrowgate
for
Sir
Arthur
's
good
.
It
will
renew
his
youth
to
be
forced
into
balls
,
beguiled
into
pic-nics
,
and
enlisted
into
dinner
parties
.
A
diet
of
ice
and
lemonade
is
excellent
for
old
people
.
"
"
You
are
lucky
girls
!
"
exclaimed
Sir
Patrick
.
"
A
month
at
Harrowgate
!
why
!
you
might
be
married
five
times
over
in
that
time
!
It
is
not
the
most
impossible
thing
in
the
world
that
I
may
come
there
myself
,
to
meet
De
Crespigny
!
The
matrimonial
horizon
looked
rather
dark
and
unpromising
in
this
quarter
,
Agnes
;
but
your
extraordinary
merit
is
quite
unknown
as
yet
in
the
English
hemisphere
.
The
world
shall
see
you
,
and
you
shall
see
the
world
now
,
under
Sir
Arthur
's
auspices
.
Good
worthy
old
soul
!
his
very
walking-stick
is
respectable
!
"
"
Then
I
wish
you
were
like
it
,
"
said
Agnes
,
in
her
most
stinging
accent
.
"
Sir
Arthur
's
respectability
might
be
divided
among
a
dozen
of
people
whom
I
know
,
and
each
would
get
a
share
larger
than
he
had
before
.
"
"
You
will
perfectly
canonize
him
,
now
that
he
can
be
made
useful
!
Agnes
!
you
jumped
at
Sir
Arthur
's
offer
as
an
ex-minister
would
jump
at
a
seat
in
the
cabinet
!
You
showered
down
thanks
on
the
Admiral
's
devoted
head
,
like
bon-bons
at
the
carnival
!
"
"
No
wonder
!
"
said
Marion
.
"
Think
of
dear
uncle
Arthur
leaving
his
old
friends
,
his
old
habits
,
and
his
old
home
for
us
,
when
he
has
said
and
thought
so
often
,
that
his
next
journey
would
be
that
long
and
last
one
,
which
we
must
all
travel
,
never
to
return
.
"
"
It
is
vastly
kind
,
as
you
say
,
Marion
!
"
added
Agnes
,
flippantly
.
"
Leaving
that
old
fireside
,
where
he
has
so
long
been
spinning
interminable
yarns
,
spoiling
old
servants
,
reading
old
magazines
,
dozing
over
antiquated
newspapers
,
letting
himself
be
cheated
by
beggars
,
and
getting
convivial
over
very
weak
negus
.
"
"
Agnes
,
how
long
is
it
since
you
lost
your
senses
!
"
asked
Marion
,
indignantly
.
"
Nothing
short
of
that
could
account
for
your
holding
up
our
venerable
uncle
to
ridicule
,
even
with
no
one
to
hear
you
but
ourselves
,
who
know
his
inestimable
worth
and
kindness
.
"
"
Well
,
girls
,
the
best
reward
you
can
give
him
,
is
to
look
delightfully
with
all
your
might
,
and
to
waltz
and
quadrille
yourselves
into
husbands
immediately
!
"
said
Sir
Patrick
,
in
a
tone
of
lively
exultation
.
"
Now
,
tighten
the
drums
of
your
ears
and
listen
,
for
I
am
about
to
give
you
a
popular
course
of
lectures
on
the
important
subject
of
match-making
.
Marion
,
you
are
a
flower
that
has
bloomed
in
the
shade
,
and
must
now
be
displayed
in
the
sunshine
;
therefore
you
ought
to
know
that
fortune
is
like
a
game
at
blind
man
's
buff
,
where
the
timid
and
retiring
are
forgotten
,
while
the
bold
and
forward
alone
put
themselves
in
the
way
of
receiving
her
favors
.
Agnes
has
frittered
away
her
time
only
too
long
already
on
the
mere
minnows
of
society
,
danglers
and
detrimentals
of
the
younger
species
;
but
I
must
tell
you
plainly
,
—
—
"
"
Never
tell
me
anything
plainly
,
"
interrupted
Agnes
,
laughing
.
"
But
you
are
altogether
mistaken
,
for
I
have
often
wished
that
people
would
get
rid
of
their
younger
sons
now
,
as
Tom
Thumb
's
father
wisely
did
,
losing
them
in
a
forest
and
leaving
them
to
starve
.
"
"
Then
take
my
advice
,
and
never
dance
with
any
.
I
warn
you
against
fashionable
huzzars
,
all
spurs
and
gold
lace
,
with
more
bullion
on
their
jackets
than
in
their
purses
;
attaches
who
are
not
to
be
attached
,
ready
to
fall
into
flirtations
but
not
into
love
;
Honorable
Edwards
and
Honorable
Fredricks
,
who
never
are
,
but
always
to
be
rich
,
investing
their
whole
fortunes
in
white
kid
gloves
,
and
offering
,
perhaps
,
to
share
their
starvation
with
you
;
and
,
"
added
Sir
Patrick
,
with
a
glance
at
Marion
,
who
blushed
deeply
,
but
said
nothing
,
"
remember
,
above
all
,
I
forbid
reverend
divines
,
young
or
old
,
especially
those
who
have
no
living
and
no
prospect
of
a
mitre
.
You
should
each
knock
down
a
coronet
for
yourselves
,
and
avoid
the
most
detestable
of
all
poverty
,
—
genteel
poverty
;
at
the
same
time
,
do
not
gamble
too
deeply
in
life
.
Ascertain
well
,
'
sur
quel
pied
a
danser
.
'
In
a
sickly
season
,
even
a
fifth
son
is
not
to
be
despised
.
Take
a
smaller
certainty
rather
than
a
greater
possibility
,
and
lose
no
time
,
or
the
bridge
may
break
down
before
you
run
across
it
.
"
"
Your
advice
to
me
is
perfectly
superfluous
,
"
replied
Agnes
,
looking
very
superb
,
and
giving
a
contemptuous
toss
of
her
head
.
"
I
detest
economy
,
and
abjure
all
penny
weddings
,
having
no
genius
for
turning
or
dying
silk
dresses
,
—
putting
servants
on
scanty
allowance
,
—
driving
about
in
hackney
coaches
,
—
locking
up
jellies
,
—
counting
out
eggs
,
—
or
measuring
small
beer
!
I
am
sworn
at
Highgate
always
to
prefer
the
best
partners
,
and
generally
have
them
.
"
"
How
would
you
like
,
"
said
Marion
,
"
to
have
been
the
young
lady
long
ago
in
London
,
who
could
not
dance
with
the
King
of
Prussia
,
because
she
was
previously
engaged
to
the
Emperor
of
Russia
?
"
"
That
would
suit
me
exactly
.
I
should
like
to
carry
my
head
as
high
as
the
Pope
's
tiara
.
But
I
have
reason
,
as
you
know
,
to
expect
hereafter
one
of
the
proudest
coronets
in
Britain
;
and
shall
certainly
not
remain
a
day
longer
than
I
can
help
dependent
,
Patrick
,
on
the
most
singularly
generous
,
liberal
,
and
considerate
of
brothers
,
—
with
the
one
only
fault
of
caring
for
nobody
but
himself
.
If
I
were
drowning
,
you
would
scarcely
stretch
out
your
little
finger
to
save
me
,
in
case
it
might
become
wet
.
"
"
Quite
right
,
Agnes
,
not
to
depend
on
me
,
or
you
would
have
little
to
depend
upon
.
My
pockets
are
to
let
unfurnished
now
!
I
shall
perhaps
go
to
Australia
,
—
or
probably
measure
the
depth
of
the
Serpentine
some
evening
;
though
,
in
the
mean
while
,
I
may
put
up
with
life
a
little
longer
,
bad
as
it
is
.
Now
,
therefore
,
Agnes
,
hear
my
last
advice
.
You
have
the
world
upon
a
string
,
and
shall
see
a
large
assortment
of
admirers
to
choose
among
.
When
torrents
of
proposals
are
pouring
in
upon
you
,
as
they
will
and
must
do
soon
,
get
safely
into
the
haven
of
matrimony
,
or
you
will
be
shipwrecked
for
ever
.
Accomplished
misses
are
quite
a
drug
in
the
market
now
;
but
you
ought
to
be
ashamed
,
Agnes
,
of
missing
that
little
pigmy
peer
,
Lord
Bowater
,
two
years
ago
,
when
you
had
three
days
the
start
of
every
other
young
lady
in
making
the
acquaintance
.
He
treated
you
shockingly
,
to
fall
in
love
at
first
sight
with
that
paltry
Miss
Gordon
.
As
for
any
other
coronet
you
are
ever
likely
to
wear
,
I
know
of
none
that
even
a
telescope
could
give
you
the
most
distant
prospect
of
.
Now
wait
till
I
am
out
of
the
room
before
you
faint
!
"
"
Marion
!
"
said
Agnes
,
yawning
outrageously
when
her
brother
had
departed
,
and
looking
unspeakably
forlorn
,
"
How
often
I
have
laughed
ready
to
die
,
at
the
case
of
other
girls
,
without
ever
dreaming
it
could
in
any
degree
resemble
my
own
!
Every
year
that
worthy
,
old
,
respectable
Lord
Towercliffe
,
as
fond
of
home
as
uncle
Arthur
or
any
garden
snail
,
suddenly
breaks
up
his
comfortable
establishment
in
the
country
,
and
comes
to
town
with
the
declared
intention
of
giving
Charlotte
and
Maria
'
proper
advantages
!
'
The
poor
girls
,
then
,
see
their
father
obliged
to
undergo
the
wretchedness
of
frequenting
a
club
,
to
form
suitable
acquaintances
,
and
suffering
hourly
martyrdom
in
being
absent
from
his
farm
,
his
stud
,
his
improvements
,
and
all
that
interests
him
in
life
,
while
our
active
,
energetic
friend
,
Lady
Towercliffe
,
plunged
into
a
wilderness
of
blond
and
feathers
,
rushes
eagerly
from
house
to
house
,
followed
by
her
flock
of
disposable
daughters
,
whom
she
is
perpetually
puffing
off
,
like
Robins
the
auctioneer
.
Then
follow
dinner
parties
,
given
at
an
expense
which
the
young
ladies
know
to
be
ruinous
,
balls
,
soirees
,
flirtations
,
disappointments
,
and
at
last
the
family
coach
trundling
slowly
back
at
a
funeral
pace
to
St.
Abbsbury
,
where
the
lodge-keeper
despondingly
counts
heads
as
they
pass
,
to
see
whether
their
numbers
continue
still
undiminished
!
It
is
altogether
horrid
,
and
perfectly
laughable
,
too
!
"
"
Not
very
laughable
!
"
said
Marion
,
coloring
;
"
whether
Lord
Towercliffe
takes
the
affair
good-humoredly
or
otherwise
,
it
must
be
most
degrading
and
humiliating
for
the
young
ladies
.
I
can
fancy
nothing
more
odious
!
"
"
A
grand
skirmish
ending
in
defeat
!
"
added
Agnes
,
ironically
.
"
I
remember
formerly
,
when
these
Malcolm
girls
were
in
their
school-room
,
the
chief
bugbear
hung
over
them
,
if
they
neglected
the
arts
of
dress
and
fascination
,
was
,
that
they
would
inevitably
die
old
maids
.
They
were
educated
for
the
profession
of
matrimony
,
and
were
each
taught
to
expect
a
husband
of
rank
and
fortune
,
at
the
very
least
,
equal
to
their
father
's
.
"
"
Yes
,
"
said
Marion
,
"
Lady
Towercliffe
would
consider
any
one
of
her
very
plain
daughters
as
perfectly
disgraced
,
either
to
marry
in
a
grade
the
least
degree
below
her
own
,
or
not
to
marry
at
all
,
therefore
they
are
allowed
no
alternative
.
The
position
of
young
ladies
during
the
present
time
seems
far
from
enviable
.
In
these
days
of
clubs
,
money-making
,
and
old
bachelorism
,
not
a
third
of
those
who
grow
up
now
will
be
married
at
all
,
and
perhaps
not
a
third
of
those
who
do
marry
will
be
happy
!
It
seems
to
me
strange
and
unaccountable
that
parents
who
have
any
consideration
for
the
happiness
of
their
daughters
,
inculcate
no
ideas
into
their
minds
and
hearts
unconnected
with
matrimony
,
and
,
like
Lady
Towercliffe
,
drive
them
forward
to
the
public
view
,
a
mark
for
censure
,
gossip
,
and
ridicule
,
till
they
find
shelter
in
some
other
home
,
where
it
is
five
to
one
that
they
will
be
miserable
.
"
"
Yes
,
miserable
indeed
,
"
added
Agnes
,
indolently
,
"
men
are
all
so
selfish
.
Husbands
expect
the
whole
time
,
thoughts
,
and
affections
of
their
wives
in
return
for
the
very
little
they
choose
to
spare
from
their
horses
,
dogs
,
and
clubs
.
On
these
their
whole
income
is
to
be
squandered
,
while
they
keep
to
that
favorite
rule
—
'
What
is
yours
is
mine
,
and
what
is
mine
is
my
own
.
'
The
ladies
must
be
invariably
in
good
humor
and
lively
spirits
at
home
,
perfectly
well
dressed
,
with
a
cheerful
fireside
,
and
a
luxurious
table
;
but
,
at
the
same
time
,
we
are
never
to
ask
for
money
or
to
have
any
bills
!
our
servants
are
all
to
be
first-rate
on
the
very
lowest
wages
,
and
our
children
in
the
best
order
without
ever
being
punished
or
thwarted
!
—
a
fairy
's
wand
could
not
do
the
half
of
it
.
"
"
I
am
often
amused
now
,
"
said
Marion
,
"
to
hear
people
say
of
the
dullest
and
most
unprepossessing
old
bachelor
in
the
world
,
'
I
wonder
he
never
takes
it
into
his
head
to
marry
!
'
while
they
observe
,
in
discussing
any
girl
more
beautiful
and
fascinating
than
another
,
'
How
very
surprising
that
she
has
never
got
married
!
'
when
,
at
the
same
time
,
there
is
not
perhaps
a
single
year
of
her
life
since
she
was
born
that
she
might
not
have
been
established
if
she
chose
.
I
believe
that
the
vulgar
consideration
of
money
makes
all
the
difference
;
for
if
ladies
had
the
fortunes
,
instead
of
gentlemen
,
they
would
be
quite
as
uncertain
and
capricious
,
off
and
on
,
about
marrying
or
not
marrying
,
as
—
as
even
Captain
De
Crespigny
!
"
"
One
of
the
last
times
he
called
here
,
"
said
Agnes
,
"
when
lamenting
,
as
he
often
does
,
his
unmarriageable
state
of
poverty
at
present
,
Captain
De
Crespigny
said
,
in
his
droll
way
,
that
he
would
some
day
bring
a
bill
into
Parliament
,
ordaining
that
every
old
bachelor
who
could
maintain
a
wife
for
himself
and
will
not
,
shall
be
obliged
to
support
one
for
somebody
else
,
who
wishes
to
marry
and
cannot
afford
.
Now
,
Marion
,
let
us
put
all
our
Harrowgate
irons
in
the
fire
,
and
prepare
to
be
admired
by
all
admirers
next
week
at
the
Granby
!
"
"
You
know
,
Agnes
,
though
I
do
not
tease
you
or
Patrick
by
often
alluding
to
what
you
call
my
sentimental
vagaries
,
that
there
is
only
one
person
in
the
world
by
whom
I
have
any
ambition
to
be
admired
;
though
our
engagement
must
be
postponed
,
till
Richard
is
in
circumstances
to
marry
with
prudence
.
Without
reference
to
that
,
however
,
in
respect
to
Harrowgate
society
,
it
is
said
to
be
more
like
a
low
farce
than
a
genteel
comedy
!
"
"
A
little
of
both
!
but
we
shall
be
in
the
best
set
.
I
hope
Sir
Arthur
will
not
be
teasing
us
with
any
of
his
world-before-the-flood
ideas
,
about
late
hours
,
waltzing
,
and
all
the
other
enormities
of
fashionable
life
!
It
is
my
duty
,
really
,
to
give
him
a
few
presentable
ideas
now
,
for
he
lived
in
the
dark
ages
,
when
old
Queen
Charlotte
used
to
keep
the
ladies
all
so
preternaturally
precise
and
decorous
.
Most
of
the
Admiral
's
notions
he
had
from
his
mother
,
who
lived
,
I
believe
,
with
Queen
Elizabeth
!
"
"
But
Agnes
!
even
the
prejudices
of
our
uncle
should
be
attended
to
.
He
shows
us
greater
kindness
than
we
ever
have
known
,
or
can
know
from
any
body
else
,
and
the
whole
wealth
of
his
affection
is
devoted
to
us
.
"
"
Well
,
then
!
I
wish
his
love
could
be
turned
into
money
!
I
often
think
if
our
skins
were
made
of
gold
,
that
Patrick
would
flay
us
alive
!
Of
course
I
shall
not
fly
in
Sir
Arthur
's
face
upon
every
trifle
,
for
we
must
humor
him
sometimes
!
One
day
,
long
ago
,
I
took
him
in
delightfully
,
by
saying
that
if
he
disapproved
of
waltzing
,
I
hoped
he
would
not
object
to
a
galope
!
At
Harrowgate
,
the
military
men
will
all
fortunately
be
out
of
uniform
,
therefore
Sir
Arthur
need
never
guess
who
or
what
they
are
,
as
he
has
a
most
inconvenient
dislike
to
my
being
so
intimate
with
the
army
list
,
and
one
really
cannot
do
without
a
few
tame
officers
running
about
the
drawing-room
.
"
"
But
,
Agnes
!
as
Patrick
says
,
you
cannot
live
upon
fried
epaulettes
,
therefore
it
would
look
much
better
not
to
be
surrounded
by
so
great
a
variety
of
officers
!
It
scarcely
seems
respectable
to
be
,
as
Patrick
called
you
long
ago
,
the
member
for
Barrackshire
!
"
"
Marion
!
you
are
most
ridiculously
circumspect
for
your
years
!
"
replied
Agnes
,
in
her
most
stately
tone
;
"
you
have
certainly
commenced
life
at
the
wrong
end
,
and
will
be
beginning
to
grow
young
,
when
I
am
thinking
it
time
to
grow
old
—
if
I
ever
do
!
"
"
I
wish
not
to
buy
experience
at
so
dear
a
rate
as
most
girls
do
,
but
rather
to
benefit
by
that
of
others
,
—
to
reach
the
kernel
at
once
,
without
having
any
trouble
in
breaking
the
shell
!
"
"
Pshaw
,
Marion
!
I
would
feel
myself
a
fool
for
a
week
,
had
I
spoken
such
nonsense
!
It
gives
me
the
tic
douloureux
to
hear
you
.
Who
would
think
of
listening
now
to
every
old
hack
,
worn
out
with
the
vicissitudes
of
life
,
and
only
fit
to
make
you
melancholy
before
the
time
!
But
take
your
own
way
,
"
added
Agnes
,
who
allowed
Marion
her
own
way
,
as
the
Vicar
of
Wakefield
's
daughters
were
allowed
their
pocket-money
,
which
was
never
to
be
used
.
"
You
go
upon
the
impossible
plan
of
pleasing
everybody
;
but
remember
the
wise
old
proverb
,
—
'
Cover
yourself
with
honey
,
and
the
flies
will
eat
you
up
.
'
"
When
Marion
spoke
from
the
heart
to
her
sister
,
she
was
accustomed
to
find
herself
talking
to
the
winds
,
therefore
she
now
concluded
the
conversation
with
a
lively
good-humored
reply
,
and
sat
down
to
the
pianoforte
.
Her
music
was
as
different
as
her
conversation
from
that
of
Agnes
,
who
but
little
appreciated
it
,
and
generally
left
the
room
,
humming
a
tune
as
soon
as
Marion
struck
her
first
chord
;
but
,
on
this
occasion
,
she
for
once
remained
stationary
.
The
style
of
Agnes
'
singing
was
a
brilliant
bravura
,
which
,
in
any
public
performer
,
might
have
commanded
whirlwinds
of
applause
,
but
while
her
clear
soprano
voice
dazzled
and
astonished
by
its
uncommon
brilliancy
,
Sir
Patrick
alleged
that
it
cracked
every
glass
in
the
room
,
and
that
her
taste
had
been
cultivated
till
she
had
literally
none
of
her
own
,
—
Bellini
's
cadences
,
Rubini
's
shake
,
and
Anybody
's
graces
,
all
acquired
from
every
teacher
except
nature
,
to
whom
nothing
had
been
trusted
.
The
rich
full-toned
melody
of
Marion
's
contralto
voice
,
often
became
instinct
with
the
simple
suggestions
of
her
own
feeling
,
while
her
music
had
that
only
one
charm
which
never
can
be
taught
,
—
expression
.
There
was
a
depth
of
sensibility
in
her
eye
and
voice
,
which
riveted
the
attention
and
awakened
the
sympathy
of
every
heart
,
while
it
always
appeared
that
,
if
display
had
been
her
object
,
she
could
have
done
much
more
than
she
attempted
.
No
bird
on
a
tree
ever
warbled
its
wild
notes
with
more
perfect
simplicity
and
real
delight
.
The
rippling
of
a
brook
over
its
pebbly
bed
,
or
the
sighing
of
the
breeze
amidst
the
summer
foliage
,
was
not
more
entirely
natural
,
and
while
Sir
Patrick
sometimes
protested
that
"
every
note
was
a
tear
,
"
she
yet
reached
even
his
feelings
,
so
that
not
a
whisper
could
be
heard
from
him
till
the
last
cadence
had
melted
away
on
his
ear
.
Marion
having
seldom
yet
had
any
audience
except
her
school-companions
,
remained
almost
unconscious
of
her
own
singular
gift
;
but
this
day
she
sang
with
deep
enthusiasm
,
and
the
last
thrilling
tones
of
her
voice
had
died
inaudibly
away
,
when
she
looked
round
and
saw
young
Lord
Wigton
standing
near
the
door
beside
Agnes
,
in
an
attitude
of
intense
and
speechless
admiration
,
with
all
his
faculties
,
if
he
had
any
,
apparently
suspended
,
—
his
lips
apart
,
—
his
eyes
beaming
with
delight
,
—
and
his
whole
expression
full
of
wonder
and
ecstasy
;
while
Sir
Patrick
was
lounging
on
a
sofa
near
,
exhibiting
a
smiling
,
frolicsome
expression
in
his
eye
,
full
of
fun
and
mischief
.
"
This
is
hardly
fair
,
"
exclaimed
Marion
,
laughingly
starting
up
with
a
brilliant
blush
of
astonishment
;
"
you
know
,
Lord
Wigton
,
stealing
into
a
dwelling
house
is
punishable
by
law
.
"
"
Whatever
be
the
penalty
,
I
am
sufficiently
rewarded
,
"
answered
he
,
with
a
shy
diffident
look
.
"
My
flute
will
be
happy
any
day
to
make
you
an
apology
.
"
Those
who
love
music
,
and
those
only
,
can
estimate
its
power
over
the
feelings
,
and
for
several
minutes
afterwards
Lord
Wigton
remained
silent
,
then
,
suddenly
awakening
as
if
from
a
dream
,
he
uttered
some
incoherent
exclamations
of
rapture
,
and
in
tones
of
unaffected
animation
entreated
Marion
to
sing
the
same
air
once
again
;
while
she
,
amused
and
surprised
at
his
extraordinary
empressement
,
prepared
to
comply
.
"
My
song
is
not
worth
asking
for
twice
,
and
still
less
worth
refusing
,
therefore
you
shall
have
it
in
my
very
best
style
!
"
said
Marion
,
playing
the
prelude
,
for
she
had
none
of
that
giggling
affected
shyness
assumed
by
most
girls
during
their
first
winter
.
"
This
note
is
pitched
so
high
,
you
should
go
up
stairs
to
hear
it
!
"
"
How
strange
that
one
so
gay
as
you
,
should
have
a
voice
of
such
melting
sadness
!
"
exclaimed
Lord
Wigton
.
"
It
awakens
fifty
thousand
thoughts
and
feelings
I
never
knew
before
!
I
shall
become
an
improvisatore
,
when
listening
to
melody
'
so
rare
and
enchanting
!
'
"
"
You
must
have
heard
it
through
the
key-hole
!
"
said
Marion
,
laughing
.
"
I
had
no
idea
that
my
trash
could
reach
any
ears
but
my
own
.
"
"
It
did
more
,
for
