stickto
my
opinion
—
that
it
is
by
making
it
a
day
of
worship
,
a
rest
day
—
a
cheerful
and
happy
day
—
and
by
doing
as
much
good
in
it
as
we
can
.
And
therefore
I
mean
to
teach
Elizabeth
on
a
Sunday
.
"
"
She
'll
never
understand
it
.
She
'll
consider
it
work
.
"
"
And
if
she
did
,
work
is
a
more
religious
thing
than
idleness
.
I
am
sure
I
often
feel
that
,
of
the
two
,
I
should
be
less
sinful
in
digging
potatoes
in
my
garden
,
or
sitting
mending
stockings
in
my
parlor
,
than
in
keeping
Sunday
as
some
people
do
—
going
to
church
genteelly
in
my
best
clothes
,
eating
a
huge
Sunday
dinner
,
and
then
nodding
over
a
good
book
,
or
taking
a
regular
Sunday
nap
till
bedtime
.
"
"
Hush
,
child
!
"
said
Johanna
,
reprovingly
;
for
Hilary
's
cheeks
were
red
,
and
her
voice
angry
.
She
was
taking
the
hot
,
youthful
part
which
in
its
hatred
of
forms
and
shams
,
sometimes
leads
—
and
not
seldom
led
poor
Hilary
—
a
little
too
far
on
the
other
side
.
"
I
think
,
"
Miss
Leaf
added
,
"
that
our
business
is
with
ourselves
,
and
not
with
our
neighbors
.
Let
us
keep
the
Sabbath
according
to
our
conscience
.
Only
,
I
would
take
care
never
to
do
any
thing
which
jarred
against
my
neighbor
's
feelings
.
I
would
,
like
Paul
,
'
eat
no
meat
while
the
world
standeth
'
rather
than
'
make
my
brother
to
offend
.
'
"
Hilary
looked
in
her
sister
's
sweet
,
calm
face
,
and
the
anger
died
out
of
her
own
.
"
Shall
I
give
up
my
academy
?
"
she
said
,
softly
.
"
No
,
my
love
.
It
is
lawful
to
do
good
on
the
Sabbath
day
,
and
teaching
a
poor
ignorant
girl
to
write
is
an
absolute
good
.
Make
her
understand
that
,
and
you
need
not
be
afraid
of
any
harm
ensuing
.
"
"
You
never
will
make
her
understand
,
"
said
Selina
,
sullenly
.
"
She
is
only
a
servant
.
"
"
Nevertheless
I
'll
try
.
"
Hilary
could
not
tell
how
far
she
succeeded
in
simplifying
to
the
young
servant
's
comprehension
this
great
question
,
involving
so
many
points
—
such
as
the
following
of
the
spirit
and
the
letter
,
the
law
of
duty
and
the
compulsion
of
love
,
which
,
as
she
spoke
,
seemed
opening
out
so
widely
and
awfully
that
she
herself
involuntarily
shrank
from
it
,
and
wondered
that
poor
finite
creatures
should
,
ever
presume
to
squabble
about
it
at
all
.
But
one
thing
the
girl
did
understand
—
her
young
mistress
's
kindness
.
She
stood
watching
the
delicate
little
hand
that
had
so
patiently
guided
hers
,
and
now
wrote
copy
after
copy
for
her
future
benefit
.
At
last
she
said
—
"
You
're
taking
a
deal
o
'
trouble
wi
'
a
poor
wench
,
and
it
's
very
kind
in
a
lady
like
you
.
"
Miss
Hilary
was
puzzled
what
answer
to
make
.
True
enough
it
was
"
kind
,
"
and
she
was
"
a
lady
;
"
and
between
her
and
Mrs.
Hand
's
rough
daughter
was
an
unmistakable
difference
and
distinction
.
That
Elizabeth
perceived
it
was
proved
by
her
growing
respectfulness
of
manner
—
the
more
respectful
,
it
seemed
,
the
more
she
herself
improved
.
Yet
Hilary
could
not
bear
to
make
her
feel
more
sharply
than
was
unavoidable
the
great
gulf
that
lies
and
ever
must
lie
—
not
so
much
between
mistress
and
servant
,
in
their
abstract
relation
—
(
and
yet
that
is
right
,
for
the
relation
and
authority
are
ordained
of
God
)
—
but
between
the
educated
and
the
ignorant
,
the
coarse
and
the
refined
.
"
Well
,
"
she
said
,
after
a
pause
of
consideration
,
"
you
always
have
it
in
your
power
to
repay
my
'
kindness
,
'
as
you
call
it
.
The
cleverer
you
become
the
more
useful
you
will
be
to
me
;
and
the
more
good
you
grow
the
better
I
shall
like
you
.
"
Elizabeth
smiled
—
that
wonderfully
bright
,
sudden
smile
which
seemed
to
cover
over
all
her
plainness
of
feature
.
"
Once
upon
a
time
,
"
Hilary
resumed
by-and-by
,
"
when
England
was
very
different
from
what
it
is
now
,
English
ladies
used
to
have
what
they
call
'
bower-women
,
'
whom
they
took
as
girls
,
and
brought
up
in
their
service
;
teaching
them
all
sorts
of
things
—
cooking
,
sewing
,
spinning
,
singing
,
and
,
probably
,
except
that
the
ladies
of
that
time
were
very
ill-educated
themselves
,
to
read
and
write
also
.
They
used
to
spend
part
of
every
day
among
their
bower-women
;
and
as
people
can
only
enjoy
the
company
of
those
with
whom
they
have
some
sympathies
in
common
,
we
must
conclude
that
—
"
Here
Hilary
stopped
,
recollecting
she
must
be
discoursing
miles
above
the
head
of
her
little
bower-maiden
,
and
that
,
perhaps
,
after
all
,
her
theory
would
be
best
kept
to
herself
,
and
only
demonstrated
practically
.
"
So
,
Elizabeth
,
if
I
spend
a
little
of
my
time
in
teaching
you
,
you
must
grow
up
my
faithful
and
attached
bower-maiden
?
"
"
I
'll
grow
up
any
thing
,
Miss
Hilary
,
if
it
's
to
please
you
,
"
was
the
answer
,
given
with
a
smothered
intensity
that
quite
startled
the
young
mistress
.
"
I
do
believe
the
girl
is
getting
fond
of
me
,
"
said
she
,
half
touched
,
half
laughing
to
Johanna
.
"
If
so
,
we
shall
get
on
.
It
is
just
as
with
our
school
children
,
you
know
.
We
have
to
seize
hold
of
their
hearts
first
,
and
their
heads
afterward
.
Now
,
Elizabeth
's
head
may
be
uncommonly
tough
,
but
I
do
believe
she
likes
me
.
"
Johanna
smiled
;
but
she
would
not
for
the
world
have
said
—
never
encouraging
the
smallest
vanity
in
her
child
—
that
she
did
not
think
this
circumstance
so
very
remarkable
.
CHAPTER
V.
A
household
exclusively
composed
of
women
has
its
advantages
and
its
disadvantages
.
It
is
apt
to
become
somewhat
narrow
in
judgment
,
morbid
in
feeling
,
absorbed
in
petty
interests
,
and
bounding
its
vision
of
outside
things
to
the
small
horizon
which
it
sees
from
its
own
fireside
.
But
,
on
the
other
hand
,
by
this
fireside
often
abides
a
settled
peace
and
purity
,
a
long-suffering
,
generous
forbearance
,
and
an
enduring
affectionateness
which
the
other
sex
can
hardly
comprehend
or
credit
.
Men
will
not
believe
,
what
is
nevertheless
the
truth
,
that
we
can
"
stand
alone
"
better
than
they
can
;
that
we
can
do
without
them
far
easier
,
and
with
less
deterioration
of
character
,
than
they
can
do
without
us
;
that
we
are
better
able
to
provide
for
ourselves
interests
,
duties
,
and
pleasures
;
in
short
,
strange
as
it
may
appear
,
that
we
have
more
real
self-sustaining
independence
than
they
.
Of
course
,
that
the
true
life
,
the
highest
life
,
is
that
of
man
and
woman
united
,
no
one
will
be
insane
enough
to
deny
;
I
am
speaking
of
the
substitute
for
it
,
which
poor
humanity
has
so
often
to
fall
back
upon
and
make
the
best
of
—
a
better
best
very
frequently
than
what
appears
best
in
the
eyes
of
the
world
.
In
truth
,
many
a
troubled
,
care
ridden
,
wealthy
family
,
torn
with
dissensions
,
or
frozen
up
in
splendid
formalities
,
might
have
envied
that
quiet
,
humble
,
maiden
household
of
the
Misses
Leaf
,
where
their
only
trial
was
poverty
,
and
their
only
grief
the
one
which
they
knew
the
worst
of
,
and
had
met
patiently
for
many
a
year
—
poor
Selina
's
"
way
.
"
I
doubt
not
it
was
good
for
Elizabeth
Hand
that
her
first
place
—
the
home
in
which
she
received
her
first
impressions
—
was
this
feminine
establishment
,
simple
and
regular
,
in
which
was
neither
waste
nor
disorder
allowed
.
Good
,
too
,
that
while
her
mistresses
'
narrow
means
restricted
her
in
many
things
enjoyed
by
servants
in
richer
families
,
their
interests
,
equally
narrow
,
caused
to
be
concentrated
upon
herself
a
double
measure
of
thought
and
care
.
She
became
absolutely
"
one
of
the
family
,
"
sharing
in
all
its
concerns
.
From
its
small
and
few
carnal
luxuries
—
such
as
the
cake
,
fruit
,
or
pot
of
preserve
,
votive
offerings
from
pupils
'
parents
—
up
to
the
newspaper
and
the
borrowed
book
,
nothing
was
either
literally
or
metaphorically
"
locked
"
up
from
Elizabeth
.
This
grand
question
of
locking
up
had
been
discussed
in
full
conclave
the
day
after
her
month
of
preparation
ended
,
the
sisters
taking
opposite
sides
,
as
might
have
been
expected
.
Selina
was
for
the
immediate
introduction
of
a
locksmith
and
a
key
basket
.
"
While
she
was
only
on
trial
,
it
did
not
so
much
signify
;
besides
,
if
it
did
,
we
had
only
buttons
on
the
press
doors
;
but
now
she
is
our
regular
servant
we
ought
to
institute
a
regular
system
of
authority
.
How
can
she
respect
a
family
that
never
locks
up
any
thing
?
"
"
How
can
we
respect
a
servant
from
whom
we
lock
up
every
thing
!
"
"
Respect
a
servant
!
What
do
you
mean
,
Hilary
?
"
"
I
mean
that
if
I
did
not
respect
a
servant
I
would
be
very
sorry
to
keep
her
one
day
in
any
house
of
mine
.
"
"
Wait
till
you
've
a
house
of
your
own
to
keep
,
Miss
,
"
said
Selina
,
crossly
.
"
I
never
heard
such
nonsense
.
Is
that
the
way
you
mean
to
behave
to
Elizabeth
?
leave
every
thing
open
to
her
—
clothes
,
books
,
money
;
trust
her
with
all
your
secrets
;
treat
her
as
your
most
particular
friend
?
"
"
A
girl
of
fifteen
would
be
rather
an
inconvenient
particular
friend
!
And
I
have
happily
few
secrets
to
trust
her
with
.
But
if
I
could
not
trust
her
with
our
coffee
,
tea
,
sugar
,
and
so
on
,
and
bring
her
up
from
the
very
first
in
the
habit
of
being
trusted
,
I
would
recommend
her
being
sent
away
to-morrow
.
"
"
Very
fine
talking
;
and
what
do
you
say
,
Johanna
?
—
if
that
is
not
an
unnecessary
question
after
Hilary
has
given
her
opinion
.
"
"
I
think
,
"
replied
the
elder
sister
,
taking
no
notice
of
the
long
familiar
innuendo
,
"
that
in
this
case
Hilary
is
right
.
How
people
ought
to
manage
in
great
houses
I
can
not
say
;
but
in
our
small
house
it
will
be
easier
and
better
not
to
alter
our
simple
ways
.
Trusting
the
girl
—
if
she
is
a
good
girl
—
will
only
make
her
more
trustworthy
;
if
she
is
bad
,
we
shall
the
sooner
find
it
out
and
let
her
go
.
"
But
Elizabeth
did
not
go
.
A
year
passed
;
two
years
;
her
wages
were
raised
,
and
with
them
her
domestic
position
.
From
a
"
girl
"
she
was
converted
into
a
regular
servant
;
her
pinafores
gave
place
to
grown-up
gowns
and
aprons
;
and
her
rough
head
,
at
Miss
Selina
's
incessant
instance
,
was
concealed
by
a
cap
—
caps
being
considered
by
that
lady
as
the
proper
and
indispensable
badge
of
servant-hood
.
To
say
that
during
her
transition
state
,
or
even
now
that
she
had
reached
the
cap
era
,
Elizabeth
gave
her
mistresses
no
trouble
,
would
be
stating
a
self-evident
improbability
.
What
young
lass
under
seventeen
,
of
any
rank
,
does
not
cause
plenty
of
trouble
to
her
natural
guardians
?
Who
can
"
put
an
old
head
on
young
shoulders
?
"
or
expect
from
girls
at
the
most
unformed
and
unsatisfactory
period
of
life
that
complete
moral
and
mental
discipline
,
that
unfailing
self-control
,
that
perfection
of
temper
,
and
every
thing
else
which
,
of
course
,
all
mistresses
always
have
?
I
am
obliged
to
confess
that
Elizabeth
had
a
few
—
nay
,
not
a
few
—
most
obstinate
faults
;
that
no
child
tries
its
parents
,
no
pupil
its
school
teachers
,
more
than
she
tried
her
three
mistresses
at
intervals
.
She
was
often
thoughtless
and
careless
,
brusque
in
her
manner
,
slovenly
,
in
her
dress
;
sometimes
she
was
down-right
"
bad
,
"
filled
full
—
as
some
of
her
elders
and
betters
are
,
at
all
ages
—
with
absolute
naughtiness
;
when
she
would
sulk
for
hours
and
days
together
,
and
make
the
whole
family
uncomfortable
,
as
many
a
servant
can
make
many
a
family
small
as
that
of
the
Misses
Leaf
.
But
still
they
never
lost
what
Hilary
termed
their
"
respect
"
for
Elizabeth
;
they
never
found
her
out
in
a
lie
,
a
meanness
,
or
an
act
of
deception
or
dishonesty
.
They
took
her
faults
as
we
must
take
the
surface
faults
of
all
connected
with
us
—
patiently
rather
than
resentfully
,
seeking
to
correct
rather
than
to
punish
.
And
though
there
were
difficult
elements
in
the
household
,
such
as
their
being
three
mistresses
to
be
obeyed
the
youngest
mistress
a
thought
too
lax
and
the
second
one
undoubtedly
too
severe
,
still
no
girl
could
live
with
these
high-principled
,
much-enduring
women
without
being
impressed
with
two
things
which
the
serving
class
are
slowest
to
understand
—
the
dignity
of
poverty
,
and
the
beauty
of
that
which
is
the
only
effectual
law
to
bring
out
good
and
restrain
evil
—
the
law
of
loving-kindness
.
Two
fracas
,
however
,
must
be
chronicled
,
for
after
both
,
the
girl
's
dismissal
hung
on
a
thread
.
The
first
was
when
Mrs.
Cliffe
,
mother
of
Tommy
Cliffe
,
who
was
nearly
killed
in
the
field
,
being
discovered
to
be
an
ill
sort
of
woman
,
and
in
the
habit
of
borrowing
from
Elizabeth
stray
shillings
,
which
were
never
returned
,
was
forbidden
the
house
,
Elizabeth
resented
it
so
fiercely
that
she
sulked
for
a
whole
week
afterward
.
The
other
and
still
more
dangerous
crisis
in
Elizabeth
's
destiny
was
when
a
volume
of
Scott
's
novels
,
having
been
missing
for
some
days
,
was
found
hidden
in
her
bed
,
and
she
lying
awake
reading
it
was
thus
ignominiously
discovered
at
eleven
P.
M
.
by
Miss
Selina
,
in
consequence
of
the
gleam
of
candle
light
from
under
her
door
.
It
was
true
neither
of
these
errors
were
actual
moral
crimes
.
Hilary
even
roused
a
volley
of
sharp
words
upon
herself
by
declaring
they
had
their
source
in
actual
virtues
;
that
a
girl
who
would
stint
herself
of
shillings
,
and
hold
resolutely
to
any
liking
she
had
,
even
if
unworthy
,
had
a
creditable
amount
of
both
self-denial
and
fidelity
in
her
disposition
.
Also
that
a
tired
out
maid-of
all-work
,
who
was
kept
awake
of
nights
by
her
ardent
appreciation
of
the
"
Heart
of
Mid-Lothian
,
"
must
possess
a
degree
of
both
intellectual
and
moral
capacity
which
deserved
cultivation
rather
than
blame
.
And
though
this
surreptitious
pursuit
of
literature
under
difficulties
could
not
of
course
be
allowed
,
I
grieve
to
say
that
Miss
Hilary
took
every
opportunity
of
not
only
giving
the
young
servant
books
to
read
,
but
of
talking
to
her
about
them
.
And
also
that
a
large
proportion
of
these
books
were
—
to
Miss
Selina
's
unmitigated
horror
—
absolutely
fiction
!
stories
,
novels
,
even
poetry
—
books
that
Hilary
liked
herself
—
books
that
had
built
up
in
her
own
passionate
dream
of
life
;
wherein
all
the
women
were
faithful
,
tender
,
heroic
,
self-devoted
;
and
all
the
men
were
—
something
not
unlike
Robert
Lyon
.
Did
she
do
harm
?
Was
it
;
as
Selina
and
even
Johanna
said
sometimes
,
"
dangerous
"
thus
to
put
before
Elizabeth
a
standard
of
ideal
perfection
,
a
Quixotic
notion
of
life
—
life
in
its
full
purpose
power
,
and
beauty
—
such
as
otherwise
never
could
have
crossed
the
mind
of
this
working
girl
,
born
of
parents
who
,
though
respectable
and
worthy
,
were
in
no
respect
higher
than
the
common
working
class
?
I
will
not
argue
the
point
:
I
am
not
making
Elizabeth
a
text
for
a
sermon
;
I
am
simply
writing
her
story
.
One
thing
was
certain
,
that
by
degrees
the
young
woman
's
faults
lessened
;
even
that
worst
of
them
,
the
unmistakable
bad
temper
,
not
aggressive
,
but
obstinately
sullen
,
which
made
her
and
Miss
Selina
sometimes
not
on
speaking
terms
for
a
week
together
.
But
she
simply
"
sulked
;
"
she
never
grumbled
or
was
pert
;
and
she
did
her
work
just
as
usual
—
with
a
kind
of
dogged
struggle
not
only
against
the
superior
powers
but
against
something
within
herself
much
harder
to
fight
with
.
"
She
makes
me
feel
more
sorry
for
her
than
angry
with
her
,
"
Miss
Leaf
would
sometimes
say
,
coming
out
of
the
kitchen
with
that
grieved
face
,
which
was
the
chief
sign
of
displeasure
her
sweet
nature
ever
betrayed
.
"
She
will
have
up-hill
work
through
life
,
like
us
all
,
and
more
than
many
of
us
,
poor
child
!
"
But
gradually
Elizabeth
,
too
,
copying
involuntarily
the
rest
of
the
family
,
learned
to
put
up
with
Miss
Selina
;
who
,
on
her
part
,
kept
a
sort
of
armed
neutrality
.
And
once
,
when
a
short
but
sharp
illness
of
Johanna
's
shook
the
house
from
its
even
tenor
,
startled
every
body
out
of
their
little
tempers
,
and
made
them
cling
together
and
work
together
in
a
sort
of
fear-stricken
union
against
one
common
grief
,
Selina
allowed
that
they
might
have
gone
farther
and
fared
worse
on
the
day
they
engaged
Elizabeth
.
After
this
illness
of
his
Aunt
.
Ascott
came
home
.
It
was
his
first
visit
since
he
had
gone
to
London
:
Mr.
Ascott
,
he
said
,
objected
to
holidays
.
But
now
,
from
some
unexplained
feeling
,
Johanna
in
her
convalescence
longed
after
the
boy
—
no
longer
a
boy
,
however
,
but
nearly
twenty
,
and
looking
fully
his
age
.
How
proud
his
aunts
were
to
march
him
up
the
town
,
and
hear
every
body
's
congratulations
on
his
good
looks
and
polished
manners
!
It
was
the
old
story
—
old
as
the
hills
!
I
do
not
pretend
to
invent
any
thing
new
.
Women
,
especially
maiden
aunts
,
will
repeat
the
tale
till
the
end
of
time
,
so
long
as
they
have
youths
belonging
to
them
on
whom
to
expend
their
natural
tendency
to
clinging
fondness
,
and
ignorant
,
innocent
hero
worship
.
The
Misses
Leaf
—
ay
,
even
Selina
,
whose
irritation
against
the
provoking
boy
was
quite
mollified
by
the
elegant
young
man
—
were
no
wiser
than
their
neighbors
.
But
there
was
one
person
in
the
household
who
still
obstinately
refused
to
bow
the
knee
to
Ascott
.
Whether
it
was
,
as
psychologists
might
explain
,
some
instinctive
polarity
in
their
natures
;
or
whether
,
having
once
conceived
a
prejudice
,
Elizabeth
held
on
to
it
like
grim
death
;
still
there
was
the
same
unspoken
antagonism
between
them
.
The
young
fellow
took
little
notice
of
her
except
to
observe
"
that
she
had
n't
grown
any
handsomer
;
'
but
Elizabeth
watched
him
with
a
keen
severity
that
overlooked
nothing
,
and
resisted
,
with
a
passive
pertinacity
that
was
quite
irresistible
,
all
his
encroachments
on
the
family
habits
,
all
the
little
self-pleasing
ways
which
Ascott
had
been
so
used
to
of
old
,
that
neither
he
nor
his
aunts
apparently
recognized
them
as
selfish
.
"
I
canna
bear
to
see
him
"
(
"
can
not
,
"
suggested
her
mistress
,
who
not
seeing
any
reason
why
Elizabeth
should
not
speak
the
Queen
's
English
as
well
as
herself
,
had
instituted
h
's
,
and
stopped
a
few
more
glaring
provincialisms
.
)
"
I
cannot
bear
to
see
him
,
Miss
Hilary
,
lolling
on
the
arm-chair
,
when
Missis
looks
so
tired
and
pale
,
and
sitting
up
o
'
nights
,
burning
double
fires
,
and
going
up
stairs
at
last
with
his
boots
on
,
and
waking
every
body
.
I
dunnot
like
it
,
I
say
.
"
"
You
forget
;
Mr.
Ascott
has
his
studies
.
He
must
work
for
the
next
examination
.
"
"
Why
does
n't
he
get
up
of
a
morning
then
instead
of
lying
in
bed
,
and
keeping
the
break-fast
about
till
ten
?
Why
ca
n't
he
do
his
learning
by
daylight
?
Daylight
's
cheaper
than
mould
candles
,
and
a
deal
better
for
the
eyes
.
"
Hilary
was
puzzled
.
A
truth
was
a
truth
,
and
to
try
and
make
it
out
otherwise
,
even
for
the
dignity
of
the
family
,
was
something
from
which
her
honest
nature
revolted
.
Besides
,
the
sharp-sighted
servant
would
be
the
first
to
detect
the
inconsistency
of
one
law
of
right
for
the
parlor
and
another
for
the
kitchen
.
So
she
took-refuge
in
silence
and
in
the
apple-pudding
she
was
making
.
But
she
resolved
to
seize
the
first
opportunity
of
giving
Ascott
,
by
way
of
novelty
,
the
severest
lecture
that
tongue
of
aunt
could
bestow
.
And
this
chance
occurred
the
same
afternoon
,
when
the
other
two
aunts
had
gone
out
to
tea
,
to
a
house
which
Ascott
voted
"
slow
,
"
and
declined
going
to
.
She
remained
to
make
tea
for
him
,
and
in
the
mean
time
took
him
for
a
constitutional
up
and
down
the
public
walks
hard
by
.
Ascott
listened
at
first
very
good
humoredly
;
once
or
twice
calling
her
"
a
dear
little
prig
,
"
in
his
patronizing
way
—
he
was
rather
fond
of
patronizing
his
Aunt
Hilary
.
But
when
she
seriously
spoke
of
his
duties
,
as
no
longer
a
boy
but
a
man
,
who
ought
now
to
assume
the
true
,
manly
right
of
thinking
for
and
taking
care
of
other
people
,
especially
his
aunts
,
Ascott
began
to
flush
up
angrily
.
"
Now
stop
that
,
Aunt
Hilary
:
I
'll
not
have
you
coming
Mr.
Lyon
over
me
.
"
"
What
do
you
mean
?
"
For
of
late
Ascott
had
said
very
little
about
Mr.
Lyon
—
not
half
so
much
as
Mr.
Lyon
,
in
his
steadily
persistent
letters
to
Miss
Leaf
,
told
her
about
her
nephew
Ascott
.
"
I
mean
that
I
'll
not
be
preached
to
like
that
by
a
woman
.
It
's
bad
enough
to
stand
it
from
a
man
;
but
then
Lyon
's
a
real
sharp
fellow
,
who
knows
the
world
,
which
women
do
n't
,
Aunt
Hilary
.
Besides
,
he
coaches
me
in
my
Latin
and
Greek
;
so
I
let
him
pitch
into
me
now
and
then
.
But
I
wo
n't
let
you
;
so
just
stop
it
;
will
you
.
"
Something
new
in
Ascott
's
tone
—
speaking
more
of
the
resentful
fierceness
of
the
man
than
the
pettishness
of
the
boy
—
frightened
his
little
aunt
,
and
silenced
her
.
By-and-by
she
took
comfort
from
the
reflection
that
,
as
the
lad
had
in
his
anger
betrayed
,
he
had
beside
him
in
London
a
monitor
whose
preaching
would
be
so
much
wiser
and
more
effectual
than
her
own
that
she
determined
to
say
no
more
.
The
rare
hearing
of
Mr.
Lyon
's
name
—
for
,
time
and
absence
having
produced
their
natural
effect
,
except
when
his
letter
came
,
he
was
seldom
talked
about
now
—
set
Hilary
thinking
.
"
Do
you
go
to
see
him
often
?
"
she
said
,
at
last
.
"
Who
?
Mr.
Lyon
?
"
And
Ascott
,
delighted
'
to
escape
into
a
fresh
subject
,
became
quite
cheerful
and
communicative
.
"
Oh
,
bless
you
!
He
would
n't
care
for
my
going
to
him
.
He
lives
in
a
two-pair
back
,
only
one
room
,
'
which
serves
him
for
kitchen
and
parlor
and
all
:
'
dines
at
a
cook
shop
for
nine-pence
a
day
,
and
makes
his
own
porridge
night
and
morning
.
He
told
me
so
once
,
for
he
is
n't
a
bit
ashamed
of
it
.
But
he
must
be
precious
hard
up
sometimes
.
However
,
as
he
contrives
to
keep
a
decent
coat
on
his
back
,
and
pay
his
classes
at
the
University
,
and
carry
off
the
very
first
honors
going
there
,
nobody
asks
any
questions
.
That
's
the
good
of
London
life
,
Aunt
Hilary
,
"
said
the
young
fellow
,
drawing
himself
up
with
great
wisdom
.
"
Only
look
like
a
gentleman
,
behave
yourself
as
such
,
and
nobody
asks
any
questions
.
"
"
Yes
,
"
acquiesced
vaguely
Aunt
Hilary
.
And
then
her
mind
wandered
yearningly
to
the
solitary
student
in
the
two-pair
back
.
He
might
labor
and
suffer
;
he
might
be
ill
;
he
might
die
,
equally
solitary
,
and
"
nobody
would
ask
any
questions
.
"
This
phase
of
London
life
let
a
new
light
in
upon
her
mind
.
The
letters
to
Johanna
had
been
chiefly
filled
with
whatever
he
thought
would
interest
them
.
With
his
characteristic
Scotch
reserve
,
he
had
said
very
little
about
himself
,
except
in
the
last
,
wherein
he
mentioned
that
he
had
"
done
pretty
well
"
at
the
college
this
term
,
and
meant
to
"
go
in
for
more
work
"
immediately
.
What
this
work
entailed
—
how
much
more
toil
,
how
much
more
poverty
—
Hilary
knew
not
.
Perhaps
even
his
successes
,
which
Ascott
went
on
to
talk
of
,
had
less
place
in
her
thoughts
than
the
picture
of
the
face
she
knew
,
sharpened
with
illness
,
wasted
with
hard
work
and
solitary
care
.
"
And
I
can
not
help
him
—
I
can
not
help
him
!
"
was
her
bitter
cry
;
until
,
passing
from
the
dream-land
of
fancy
,
the
womanly
nature
asserted
itself
.
She
thought
if
it
had
been
,
or
if
it
were
to
be
,
her
blessed
lot
to
be
chosen
by
Robert
Lyon
,
how
she
would
take
care
of
him
!
what
an
utter
slave
she
would
be
to
him
!
How
no
penury
would
frighten
her
,
no
household
care
oppress
or
humble
her
,
if
done
for
him
and
for
his
comfort
.
To
her
brave
heart
no
battle
of
life
seemed
too
long
or
too
sore
,
if
only
it
were
fought
for
him
and
at
his
side
.
And
as
the
early
falling
leaves
were
blown
in
gusts
across
her
path
,
and
the
misty
autumn
night
began
to
close
in
,
nature
herself
seemed
to
plead
in
unison
with
the
craving
of
her
heart
,
which
sighed
that
youth
and
summer
last
not
always
;
and
that
,
"
be
it
ever
so
humble
,
"
as
the
song
says
,
there
is
no
place
so
bright
and
beautiful
as
the
fireside
of
a
loveful
home
.
While
the
aunt
and
nephew
were
strolling
thus
,
thinking
of
very
different
things
,
their
own
fire
newly
lit
—
Ascott
liked
a
fire
—
was
blazing
away
in
solitary
glory
,
for
the
benefit
of
all
passers-by
.
At
length
one
—
a
gentleman
—
stopped
at
the
gate
,
and
looked
in
,
then
took
a
turn
to
the
end
of
the
terrace
,
and
stood
gazing
in
once
more
.
The
solitude
of
the
room
apparently
troubled
him
;
twice
his
hand
was
on
the
latch
before
he
opened
it
and
knocked
at
the
front
door
.
Elizabeth
appeared
,
which
seemed
to
surprise
him
.
"
Is
Miss
Leaf
at
home
?
"
"
No
,
Sir
.
"
"
Is
she
well
?
Are
all
the
family
well
?
"
and
he
stepped
right
into
the
passage
,
with
the
freedom
of
a
familiar
foot
.
(
"
I
should
ha
'
slammed
the
door
in
his
face
,
"
was
Elizabeth
's
comment
afterward
;
"
only
,
you
see
,
Miss
Hilary
,
he
looked
a
real
gentleman
.
"
)
The
stranger
and
she
mutually
examined
one
another
.
"
I
think
I
have
heard
of
you
,
"
said
he
,
smiling
.
"
You
are
Miss
Leaf
's
servant
—
Elizabeth
Hand
.
"
"
Yes
,
Sir
,
"
still
grimly
,
and
with
a
determined
grasp
of
the
door
handle
.
"
If
your
mistresses
are
likely
to
be
home
soon
,
will
you
allow
me
to
wait
for
them
?
I
am
an
old
friend
of
theirs
.
My
name
is
Lyon
.
"
Now
Elizabeth
was
far
too
much
one
of
the
family
not
to
have
heard
of
such
a
person
.
And
his
knowing
her
was
a
tolerable
proof
of
his
identity
;
besides
,
unconsciously
,
the
girl
was
influenced
by
that
look
and
mien
of
true
gentlemanhood
,
as
courteous
to
the
poor
maid-of-all-work
as
he
would
have
been
to
any
duchess
born
;
and
by
that
bright
,
sudden
smile
,
which
came
like
sunshine
over
his
face
,
and
like
sunshine
warmed
and
opened
the
heart
of
every
one
that
met
it
.
It
opened
that
of
Elizabeth
.
She
relaxed
her
Cerberus
keeping
of
the
door
,
and
even
went
so
far
as
to
inform
him
that
Miss
Leaf
and
Miss
Selina
were
out
to
tea
,
but
Miss
Hilary
and
Mr.
Ascott
would
be
at
home
shortly
.
He
was
welcome
to
wait
in
the
parlor
if
he
liked
.
Afterward
,
seized
with
mingled
curiosity
and
misgiving
,
she
made
various
errands
to
go
in
and
look
at
him
;
but
she
had
not
courage
to
address
him
,
and
he
never
spoke
to
her
.
He
sat
by
the
window
,
gazing
out
into
the
gloaming
.
Except
just
turning
his
head
at
her
entrance
;
she
did
not
think
he
had
once
stirred
the
whole
time
.
Elizabeth
went
back
to
her
kitchen
,
and
stood
listening
for
her
young
mistress
's
familiar
knock
.
Mr.
Lyon
seemed
to
have
listened
too
,
for
before
she
could
reach
it
the
door
was
already
opened
.
There
was
a
warm
greeting
—
to
her
great
relief
:
for
she
knew
she
had
broken
the
domestic
laws
in
admitting
a
stranger
unawares
—
and
then
Elizabeth
heard
them
all
three
go
into
the
parlor
,
where
they
remained
talking
,
without
ringing
for
either
tea
or
candles
,
a
full
quarter
of
an
hour
.
Miss
Hilary
at
last
came
out
,
but
much
to
Elizabeth
's
surprise
,
went
straight
up
into
her
bedroom
without
entering
the
kitchen
at
all
.
It
was
some
minutes
more
before
she
descended
;
and
then
,
after
giving
her
orders
for
tea
,
and
seeing
that
all
was
arranged
with
special
neatness
,
she
stood
absently
by
the
kitchen
fire
.
Elizabeth
noticed
how
wonderfully
bright
her
eyes
were
,
and
what
a
soft
,
happy
smile
she
had
.
She
noticed
it
,
because
she
had
never
seen
Miss
Hilary
look
exactly
like
that
before
;
and
she
never
did
again
.
"
Do
n't
you
be
troubling
yourself
with
waiting
about
here
,
"
she
said
;
and
her
mistress
seemed
to
start
at
being
spoken
to
.
"
I
'll
get
the
tea
all
right
,
Miss
Hilary
.
Please
go
back
into
the
parlor
.
"
Hilary
went
in
.
CHAPTER
VI
.
Elizabeth
got
tea
ready
with
unwonted
diligence
and
considerable
excitement
.
Any
visitor
was
a
rare
occurrence
in
this
very
quiet
family
;
but
a
gentleman
visitor
—
a
young
gentleman
too
—
was
a
remarkable
fact
,
arousing
both
interest
and
curiosity
.
For
in
the
latter
quality
this
girl
of
seventeen
could
scarcely
be
expected
to
be
deficient
;
and
as
to
the
former
,
she
had
so
completely
identified
herself
with
the
family
she
served
,
that
all
their
concerns
were
her
concerns
also
.
Her
acute
comments
on
their
few
guests
,
and
on
their
little
scholars
,
sometimes
amused
Hilary
as
much
as
her
criticisms
on
the
books
she
read
.
But
as
neither
were
ever
put
forward
intrusively
or
impertinently
,
she
let
them
pass
,
and
only
laughed
over
them
with
Johanna
in
private
.
In
speaking
of
these
said
books
,
and
the
questions
they
led
to
,
it
was
not
likely
but
that
mistress
and
maid
—
one
aged
twenty-two
,
and
the
other
seventeen
—
should
occasionally
light
upon
a
subject
rather
interesting
to
women
of
their
ages
,
though
not
commonly
discussed
between
mistresses
and
maids
.
Nevertheless
,
when
it
did
come
in
the
way
,
Miss
Hilary
never
shirked
it
,
but
talked
it
out
,
frankly
and
freely
,
as
she
would
to
any
other
person
.
"
The
girl
has
feelings
and
notions
on
the
matter
,
like
all
other
girls
,
I
suppose
,
"
reasoned
she
to
herself
;
"
so
it
is
important
that
her
notions
should
be
kept
clear
,
and
her
feelings
right
.
It
may
do
her
some
good
,
and
save
her
from
much
harm
.
"
And
so
it
befell
that
Elizabeth
Hand
,
whose
blunt
ways
,
unlovely
person
,
and
temperament
so
oddly
nervous
and
reserved
,
kept
her
from
attracting
any
"
sweetheart
"
of
her
own
class
,
had
unconsciously
imbibed
her
mistress
's
theory
of
love
.
Love
,
pure
and
simple
,
the
very
deepest
and
highest
,
sweetest
and
most
solemn
thing
in
life
:
to
be
believed
in
devoutly
until
it
came
,
and
when
it
did
come
,
to
be
held
to
,
firmly
,
faithfully
,
with
a
single-minded
,
settled
constancy
,
till
death
.
A
creed
,
quite
impossible
,
many
will
say
,
in
this
ordinary
world
,
and
most
dangerous
to
be
put
into
the
head
of
a
poor
servant
.
Yet
a
woman
is
but
a
woman
,
be
she
maid-servant
or
queen
;
and
if
,
from
queens
to
maid-servants
,
girls
were
taught
thus
to
think
of
love
,
there
might
be
a
few
more
"
broken
"
hearts
perhaps
,
but
there
would
certainly
be
fewer
wicked
hearts
;
far
fewer
corrupted
lives
of
men
,
and
degraded
lives
of
women
;
far
fewer
unholy
marriages
,
and
desolated
,
dreary
,
homeless
homes
.
Elizabeth
,
having
cleared
away
her
tea-things
,
stood
listening
to
the
voices
in
the
parlor
,
and
pondering
.
She
had
sometimes
wondered
in
her
own
mind
that
no
knight
ever
came
to
carry
off
her
charming
princess
—
her
admired
and
beloved
Miss
Hilary
.
Miss
Hilary
,
on
her
part
,
seemed
totally
indifferent
to
the
youths
at
Stowbury
;
who
indeed
were
,
Elizabeth
allowed
,
quite
unworthy
her
regard
.
The
only
suitable
lover
for
her
young
mistress
must
be
somebody
exceedingly
grand
and
noble
—
a
compound
of
the
best
heroes
of
Shakespeare
,
Scott
,
Fenimore
Cooper
,
Maria
Edgeworth
,
and
Harriet
Martineau
.
When
this
strange
gentleman
appeared
—
in
ordinary
coat
and
hat
,
or
rather
Glengary
bonnet
,
neither
particularly
handsome
nor
particularly
tall
,
yet
whose
coming
had
evidently
given
Miss
Hilary
so
much
pleasure
,
and
who
,
once
or
twice
while
waiting
at
tea
,
Elizabeth
fancied
she
had
seen
looking
at
Miss
Hilary
as
nobody
ever
looked
before
—
when
Mr.
Robert
Lyon
appeared
on
the
horizon
,
the
faithful
"
bower
maiden
"
was
a
good
deal
disappointed
.
She
had
expected
something
better
;
at
all
events
,
something
different
.
Her
first
brilliant
castle
in
the
air
fell
,
poor
lass
!
but
she
quickly
built
it
up
again
,
and
,
with
the
vivid
imagination
of
her
age
,
she
mapped
out
the
whole
future
,
ending
by
a
vision
of
Miss
Hilary
,
all
in
white
,
sweeping
down
the
Terrace
in
a
carriage
and
pair
—
to
fortune
and
happiness
;
leaving
herself
,
though
with
a
sore
want
at
her
heart
,
and
a
great
longing
to
follow
,
to
devote
the
remainder
of
her
natural
life
to
Miss
Johanna
.
"
Her
couldna
do
without
somebody
to
see
to
her
—
and
Miss
Selina
do
worrit
her
so
.
"
muttered
Elizabeth
,
in
the
excitement
of
this
Almaschar
vision
,
relapsing
into
her
old
provincialisms
.
"
So
,
even
if
Miss
Hilary
axes
me
to
come
,
I
'll
stop
,
I
reckon
.
Ay
,
I
'll
stop
wi
'
Miss
Leaf
.
"
This
valorous
determination
taken
,
the
poor
maid
servant
's
dream
was
broken
by
the
opening
of
the
parlor
door
,
and
an
outcry
of
Ascott
's
for
his
coat
and
gloves
,
he
having
to
fetch
his
aunts
home
at
nine
o'clock
,
Mr.
Lyon
accompanying
him
.
And
as
they
all
stood
together
at
the
front
door
,
Elizabeth
overheard
Mr.
Lyon
say
something
about
what
a
beautiful
night
it
was
.
"
It
would
do
you
no
harm
,
Miss
Hilary
;
will
you
walk
with
us
?
"
"
If
you
like
.
"
Hilary
went
up
stairs
for
her
bonnet
and
shawl
;
but
when
,
a
minute
or
two
after
,
Elizabeth
followed
her
with
a
candle
,
she
found
her
standing
in
the
centre
of
the
room
,
all
in
the
dark
,
her
face
white
and
her
hands
trembling
.
"
Thank
you
,
thank
you
!
"
she
said
mechanically
,
as
Elizabeth
folded
and
fastened
her
shawl
for
her
—
and
descended
immediately
.
Elizabeth
watched
her
take
,
not
Ascott
's
arm
,
but
Mr.
Lyon
's
,
and
walk
down
the
terrace
in
the
starlight
.
"
Some'at
's
wrong
.
I
'd
like
to
know
who
's
been
a-vexin
'
of
her
,
"
thought
fiercely
the
young
servant
.
No
,
nobody
had
been
"
a-vexing
"
her
mistress
.
There
was
nobody
to
blame
;
only
there
had
happened
to
Hilary
one
of
those
things
which
strike
like
a
sword
through
a
young
and
happy
heart
,
taking
all
the
life
and
youth
out
of
it
.
Robert
Lyon
had
,
half
an
hour
ago
,
told
her
—
and
she
had
had
to
hear
it
as
a
piece
of
simple
news
,
to
which
she
had
only
to
say
,
"
Indeed
!
"
—
that
to
day
and
to-morrow
were
his
two
last
days
at
Stowbury
—
almost
his
last
in
England
.
Within
a
week
he
was
to
sail
for
India
.
There
had
befallen
him
what
most
people
would
have
considered
a
piece
of
rare
good
fortune
.
At
the
London
University
,
a
fellow
student
,
whom
he
had
been
gratuitously
"
coaching
"
in
Hindostanee
,
fell
ill
,
and
was
"
thrown
upon
his
hands
.
"
as
he
briefly
defined
services
which
must
have
been
great
,
since
they
had
resulted
in
this
end
.
The
young
man
's
father
—
a
Liverpool
and
Bombay
merchant
—
made
him
an
offer
to
go
out
there
,
to
their
house
,
at
a
rising
salary
of
300
rupees
a
month
for
three
years
;
after
the
third
year
to
become
a
junior
partner
;
remaining
at
Bombay
in
that
capacity
for
two
years
more
.
This
he
told
to
Hilary
and
Ascott
in
almost
as
few
words
as
I
have
here
put
it
—
for
brevity
seemed
a
refuge
to
him
.
It
was
also
to
one
of
them
.
But
Ascott
asked
so
many
questions
that
his
aunt
needed
to
ask
none
.
She
only
listened
,
and
tried
to
take
all
in
,
and
understand
it
,
that
is
,
in
a
consecutive
,
intelligent
,
business
shape
,
without
feeling
it
.
She
dared
not
let
herself
feel
it
,
not
for
a
second
,
till
they
were
out
,
arm-in-arm
,
under
the
quiet
winter
stars
.
Then
she
heard
his
voice
asking
her
,
"
So
you
think
I
was
right
?
"
"
Right
?
"
she
echoed
mechanically
.
"
I
mean
in
accepting
that
sudden
chance
,
and
changing
my
whole
plan
of
life
.
I
did
not
do
it
—
believe
me
—
without
a
motive
.
"
"
What
motive
?
"
she
would
once
unhesitatingly
have
asked
;
now
she
could
not
.
Robert
Lyon
continued
speaking
,
distinctly
and
yet
in
an
undertone
,
that
though
Ascott
was
walking
a
few
yards
off
,
Hilary
felt
was
meant
for
her
alone
to
hear
.
"
The
change
is
,
you
perceive
,
from
the
life
of
a
student
to
that
of
a
man
of
business
.
I
do
not
deny
that
I
preferred
the
first
.
Once
upon
a
time
to
be
a
fellow
in
a
college
,
or
a
professor
,
or
the
like
,
was
my
utmost
aim
and
I
would
have
half
killed
myself
to
attain
it
.
Now
,
I
think
differently
.
"
He
paused
,
but
did
not
seem
to
require
an
answer
,
and
it
did
not
come
.
"
I
want
,
not
to
be
rich
but
to
get
a
decent
competence
,
and
to
get
it
as
soon
as
I
can
.
I
want
not
to
ruin
my
health
with
incessant
study
.
I
have
already
injured
it
a
good
deal
.
"
"
Have
you
been
ill
?
You
never
said
so
.
"
"
Oh
no
,
it
was
hardly
worth
while
.
And
I
knew
an
active
life
would
soon
set
me
right
again
.
No
fear
!
there
's
life
in
the
old
dog
yet
.
He
does
not
wish
to
die
.
But
,
"
Mr.
Lyon
pursued
,
"
I
have
had
a
'
sair
fecht
'
the
last
year
or
two
.
I
would
not
go
through
it
again
,
nor
see
any
one
dear
to
me
go
through
it
.
It
is
over
,
but
it
has
left
its
scars
.
Strange
!
I
have
been
poor
all
my
life
,
yet
I
never
till
now
felt
an
actual
terror
of
poverty
.
"
Hilary
shrank
within
herself
;
less
even
at
the
words
than
at
something
in
their
tone
—
something
hard
,
nay
fierce
;
something
at
once
despairing
and
aggressive
.
"
It
is
strange
,
"
she
said
;
"
such
a
terror
is
not
like
you
.
I
feel
none
;
I
can
not
even
understand
it
.
"
"
No
,
I
knew
you
could
not
,
"
he
muttered
;
and
was
silent
.
So
was
Hilary
.
A
vague
trouble
came
over
her
.
Could
it
be
that
he
,
Robert
Lyon
,
had
been
seized
with
the
auri
sacra
fames
,
which
he
had
so
often
inveighed
against
and
despised
?
that
his
long
battle
with
poverty
had
caused
in
him
such
an
overweening
desire
for
riches
that
,
to
obtain
them
,
he
would
sacrifice
every
thing
else
,
exile
himself
to
a
far
country
for
years
,
selling
his
very
life
and
soul
for
gold
?
Such
a
thought
of
him
was
so
terrible
—
that
is
,
would
have
been
were
it
tenable
—
that
Hilary
for
an
instant
felt
herself
shiver
all
over
.
The
next
she
spoke
out
—
in
justice
to
him
she
forced
herself
to
speak
out
—
all
her
honest
soul
.
"
I
do
believe
that
this
going
abroad
to
make
a
fortune
,
which
young
men
so
delight
in
,
is
often
a
most
fatal
mistake
.
They
give
up
far
more
than
they
gain
—
country
,
home
,
health
.
I
think
a
man
has
no
right
to
sell
his
life
any
more
than
his
soul
for
so
many
thousands
a
year
.
"
Robert
Lyon
smiled
—
"
No
,
and
I
am
not
selling
mine
.
With
my
temperate
habits
I
have
as
good
a
chance
of
health
at
Bombay
as
in
London
—
perhaps
better
.
And
the
years
I
must
be
absent
I
would
have
been
absent
almost
as
much
from
you
—
I
mean
they
would
have
been
spent
in
work
as
engrossing
and
as
hard
.
They
will
soon
pass
,
and
then
I
shall
come
home
rich
—
rich
.
Do
you
think
I
am
growing
mercenary
?
"
"
No.
"
"
Tell
me
what
you
do
think
about
me
?
"
"
I
—
can
not
quite
understand
.
"
"
And
I
cannot
make
you
understand
.
Perhaps
I
will
,
some
day
when
I
come
back
again
.
Till
then
,
you
must
trust
me
,
Hilary
.
"
It
happens
occasionally
,
in
moments
of
all
but
tolerable
pain
,
that
some
small
thing
,
a
word
,
a
look
,
a
touch
of
a
hand
,
lets
in
such
a
gleam
of
peace
that
nothing
ever
extinguishes
the
light
of
it
:
it
burns
on
for
years
and
years
,
sometimes
clear
,
sometimes
obscured
,
but
as
ineffaceable
from
life
and
memory
as
a
star
from
its
place
in
the
heavens
.
Such
,
both
then
,
and
through
the
lonely
years
to
come
,
were
those
five
words
,
"
You
must
trust
me
.
Hilary
.
"
She
did
;
and
in
the
perfection
of
that
trust
her
own
separate
identity
,
with
all
its
consciousness
of
pain
,
seemed
annihilated
;
she
did
not
think
of
herself
at
all
,
only
of
him
,
and
with
him
,
and
for
him
.
So
,
for
the
time
being
,
she
lost
all
sense
of
personal
suffering
,
and
their
walk
that
night
was
as
cheerful
and
happy
as
if
they
were
to
walk
together
for
weeks
and
months
and
years
,
in
undivided
confidence
and
content
,
instead
of
its
being
the
last
—
the
very
last
.
Some
one
has
said
that
all
lovers
have
,
soon
or
late
,
to
learn
to
be
only
friends
:
happiest
and
safest
are
those
in
whom
the
friendship
is
the
foundation
—
always
firm
and
ready
to
fall
back
upon
,
long
after
the
fascination
of
passion
dies
.
It
may
take
a
little
from
the
romance
of
these
two
if
I
own
that
Robert
Lyon
talked
to
Hilary
not
a
word
about
love
,
and
a
good
deal
about
pure
business
,
telling
her
all
his
affairs
and
arrangements
,
and
giving
her
as
clear
an
idea
of
his
future
life
as
it
was
possible
to
do
within
the
limits
of
one
brief
half
hour
.
Then
casting
a
glance
round
,
and
seeing
that
Ascott
was
quite
out
of
ear-shot
,
he
said
,
with
that
tender
fall
of
the
voice
that
felt
,
as
some
poet
hath
it
,
"
Like
a
still
embrace
,
"
"
Now
tell
me
as
much
as
you
can
about
yourself
.
"
At
first
there
seemed
nothing
to
tell
;
but
gradually
he
drew
from
Hilary
a
good
deal
.
Johanna
's
feeble
health
,
which
caused
her
continuing
to
teach
to
be
very
unadvisable
;
and
the
gradual
diminishing
of
the
school
—
from
what
cause
they
could
not
account
—
which
made
it
very
doubtful
whether
some
change
would
not
soon
or
late
be
necessary
.
What
this
change
should
be
she
and
Mr.
Lyon
discussed
a
little
—
as
far
as
in
the
utterly
indefinite
position
of
affairs
was
possible
.
Also
,
from
some
other
questions
of
his
,
she
spoke
to
him
about
another
dread
which
had
lurked
in
her
mind
,
and
yet
to
which
she
could
give
no
tangible
shape
,
about
Ascott
.
He
could
not
remove
it
,
he
did
not
attempt
;
but
he
soothed
it
a
little
,
advising
with
her
as
to
the
best
way
of
managing
the
willful
lad
.
His
strong
,
clear
sense
,
just
judgment
,
and
,
above
all
,
a
certain
unspoken
sense
of
union
,
as
if
all
that
concerned
her
and
hers
he
took
naturally
upon
himself
as
his
own
,
gave
Hilary
such
comfort
that
,
even
on
this
night
,
with
a
full
consciousness
of
all
that
was
to
follow
,
she
was
happy
—
nay
,
she
had
not
been
so
happy
for
years
.
Perhaps
(
let
the
truth
be
told
)
,
the
glorious
truth
of
true
love
,
that
its
recognition
,
spoken
or
silent
,
constitutes
the
only
perfect
joy
of
life
that
of
two
made
perhaps
she
had
never
been
so
really
happy
since
she
was
born
.
The
last
thing
he
did
was
to
make
her
give
him
an
assurance
that
in
any
and
all
difficulty
she
would
apply
to
him
.
"
To
me
,
and
to
no
one
else
,
remember
.
No
one
but
myself
must
help
you
.
And
I
will
,
so
,
long
as
I
am
alive
.
Do
you
believe
this
?
"
She
looked
up
at
him
by
the
lamp
light
,
and
said
,
"
I
do
.
"
"
And
you
promise
?
"
"
Yes
.
"
Then
they
loosed
arms
,
and
Hilary
knew
that
they
should
never
walk
together
again
till
—
when
and
how
?
Returning
,
of
course
,
he
walked
with
Miss
Leaf
;
and
throughout
the
next
day
,
a
terribly
wet
Sunday
,
spent
by
them
entirely
in
the
little
parlor
,
they
had
not
a
minute
of
special
or
private
talk
together
.
He
did
not
seem
to
wish
it
;
indeed
,
almost
avoided
it
.
Thus
slipped
away
the
strange
,
still
day
—
a
Sunday
never
to
be
forgotten
.
At
night
,
after
prayers
were
,
over
,
Mr.
Lyon
rose
suddenly
,
saying
he
must
leave
them
now
;
he
was
obliged
to
start
from
Stowbury
at
daybreak
.
"
Shall
we
not
see
you
again
?
"
asked
Johanna
.
"
No.
This
will
be
my
last
Sunday
in
England
.
Good-by
!
"
He
turned
excessively
pale
,
shook
hands
silently
with
them
all
—
Hilary
last
—
and
almost
before
they
recognized
the
fact
,
he
was
gone
.
With
him
departed
,
not
all
Hilary
's
peace
or
faith
or
courage
of
heart
,
for
to
all
who
love
truly
,
while
the
best
beloved
lives
,
and
lives
worthily
,
no
parting
is
hopeless
and
no
grief
overwhelming
;
but
all
the
brightness
of
her
youth
,
all
the
sense
of
joy
that
young
people
have
in
loving
,
and
in
being
beloved
again
,
in
fond
meetings
and
fonder
partings
,
in
endless
walks
and
talks
,
in
sweet
kisses
and
clinging
arms
.
Such
happiness
was
not
for
her
:
when
she
saw
it
the
lot
of
others
,
she
said
to
herself
sometimes
with
a
natural
sharp
sting
of
pain
,
but
oftener
with
a
solemn
acquiescence
,
"
It
is
the
will
of
God
;
it
is
the
will
of
God
.
"
Johanna
,
too
,
who
would
have
given
her
life
almost
to
bring
some
color
back
to
the
white
face
of
her
darling
,
of
whom
she
asked
no
questions
,
and
who
never
complained
nor
confessed
any
thing
,
many
and
many
a
night
when
Hilary
either
lay
awake
by
her
side
,
or
tossed
and
moaned
in
her
sleep
,
till
the
elder
sister
took
her
in
her
arms
like
a
baby
—
Johanna
,
too
,
said
to
herself
,
"
This
is
the
will
of
God
.
"
I
have
told
thus
much
in
detail
the
brief
sad
story
of
Hilary
's
youth
,
to
show
how
impossible
it
was
that
Elizabeth
Hand
could
live
in
the
house
with
these
two
women
without
being
strongly
influenced
by
them
,
as
every
person
—
especially
every
woman
—
influences
for
good
or
for
evil
every
other
person
connected
with
her
,
or
dependent
upon
her
.
Elizabeth
was
a
girl
of
close
observation
and
keen
perception
.
Besides
,
to
most
people
,
whether
or
not
their
sympathy
be
universal
,
so
far
as
the
individual
is
concerned
,
any
deep
affection
generally
lends
eyes
,
tact
,
and
delicacy
.
Thus
when
on
the
Monday
morning
at
breakfast
Miss
Selina
observed
,
"
What
a
fine
day
Mr.
Lyon
was
having
for
his
journey
;
what
a
lucky
fellow
he
was
;
how
he
would
be
sure
to
make
a
fortune
,
and
if
so
,
she
wondered
whether
they
should
ever
see
or
hear
any
thing
of
him
again
"
—
Elizabeth
,
from
the
glimpse
she
caught
of
Miss
Hilary
's
face
,
and
from
the
quiet
way
in
which
Miss
Leaf
merely
answered
,
"
Time
will
show
;
"
and
began
talking
to
Selina
about
some
other
subject
—
Elizabeth
resolved
never
in
any
way
to
make
the
smallest
allusion
to
Mr.
Robert
Lyon
.
Something
had
happened
,
she
did
not
know
what
;
and
it
was
not
her
business
to
find
out
;
the
family
affairs
,
so
far
as
she
was
trusted
with
them
,
were
warmly
her
own
,
but
into
the
family
secrets
she
had
no
right
to
pry
.
Yet
,
long
after
Miss
Selina
had
ceased
to
"
wonder
"
about
him
,
or
even
to
name
him
—
his
presence
or
absence
did
not
touch
her
personally
,
and
she
was
always
the
centre
of
her
own
small
world
of
interest
—
the
little
maidservant
kept
in
her
mind
,
and
pondered
over
at
odd
times
every
possible
solution
of
the
mystery
of
this
gentleman
's
sudden
visit
;
of
the
long
wet
Sunday
when
he
sat
all
day
talking
with
her
mistresses
in
the
parlor
;
of
the
evening
prayer
,
when
Miss
Leaf
had
twice
to
stop
,
her
voice
faltered
so
;
and
of
the
night
when
,
long
after
all
the
others
had
gone
to
bed
,
Elizabeth
,
coming
suddenly
into
the
parlor
,
had
found
Miss
Hilary
sitting
alone
over
the
embers
of
the
fire
,
with
the
saddest
,
saddest
look
!
so
that
the
girl
had
softly
shut
the
door
again
without
ever
speaking
to
"
Missis
.
"
Elizabeth
did
more
;
which
,
strange
as
it
may
appear
,
a
servant
who
is
supposed
to
know
nothing
of
any
thing
that
has
happened
can
often
do
better
than
a
member
of
the
family
who
knows
every
thing
,
and
this
knowledge
is
sometimes
the
most
irritating
consciousness
a
sufferer
has
.
She
followed
her
young
mistress
with
a
steady
watchfulness
,
so
quiet
and
silent
that
Hilary
never
found
it
out
;
saved
her
every
little
household
care
,
gave
her
every
little
household
treat
.
Not
much
to
do
,
and
less
to
be
chronicled
;
but
the
way
in
which
she
did
it
was
all
.
During
the
long
dull
winter
days
,
to
come
in
and
find
the
parlor
fire
always
bright
,
the
hearth
clean
swept
,
and
the
room
tidy
;
never
to
enter
the
kitchen
without
the
servant
's
face
clearing
up
into
a
smile
;
when
her
restless
irritability
made
her
forget
things
and
grow
quite
vexed
in
the
search
after
them
,
to
see
that
somehow
her
shoes
were
never
misplaced
,
and
her
gloves
always
came
to
hand
in
some
mysterious
manner
—
these
trifles
;
in
her
first
heavy
days
of
darkness
,
soothed
Hilary
more
than
words
could
tell
.
And
the
sight
of
Miss
Hilary
going
about
the
house
and
school
room
as
usual
,
with
that
poor
white
face
of
hers
;
nay
,
gradually
bringing
to
the
family
fireside
,
as
usual
,
her
harmless
little
joke
,
and
her
merry
laugh
at
it
and
herself
—
who
shall
say
what
lessons
may
not
have
been
taught
by
this
to
the
humble
servant
,
dropping
deep
sown
into
her
heart
,
to
germinate
and
fructify
,
as
her
future
life
's
needs
required
?
It
might
have
been
so
—
God
knows
!
He
alone
can
know
,
who
,
through
what
(
to
us
)
seem
the
infinite
littleness
of
our
mortal
existence
,
is
educating
us
into
the
infinite
greatness
of
His
and
our
immortality
.
CHAPTER
VII
.
Autumn
soon
lapsed
into
winter
:
Christmas
came
and
went
,
bringing
,
not
Ascott
,
as
they
hoped
and
he
had
promised
,
but
a
very
serious
evil
in
the
shape
of
sundry
bills
of
his
,
which
,
he
confessed
in
a
most
piteous
letter
to
his
Aunt
Hilary
,
were
absolutely
unpayable
out
of
his
godfather
's
allowance
.
They
were
not
large
—
or
would
not
have
seemed
so
to
rich
people
—
and
they
were
for
no
more
blamable
luxuries
than
horse
hire
,
and
a
dinner
or
two
to
friends
out
in
the
country
;
but
they
looked
serious
to
a
household
which
rarely
was
more
than
five
pounds
beforehand
with
the
world
.
He
had
begged
Aunt
Hilary
to
keep
his
secret
,
but
that
was
evidently
impossible
;
so
on
the
day
the
school
accounts
were
being
written
out
and
sent
in
,
and
their
amount
anxiously
reckoned
,
she
laid
before
her
sisters
the
lad
's
letter
,
full
of
penitence
and
promises
:
"
I
will
be
careful
—
I
will
indeed
—
if
you
will
help
me
out
this
once
,
dear
Aunt
Hilary
;
and
do
