Chronicles
of
Carlingford
MISS
MARJORIBANKS
By
MRS
OLIPHANT
The
Zodiac
Press
LONDON
Chapter
I
Miss
Marjoribanks
lost
her
mother
when
she
was
only
fifteen
,
and
when
,
to
add
to
the
misfortune
,
she
was
absent
at
school
,
and
could
not
have
it
in
her
power
to
soothe
her
dear
mamma
's
last
moments
,
as
she
herself
said
.
Words
are
sometimes
very
poor
exponents
of
such
an
event
:
but
it
happens
now
and
then
,
on
the
other
hand
,
that
a
plain
intimation
expresses
too
much
,
and
suggests
emotion
and
suffering
which
,
in
reality
,
have
but
little
,
if
any
,
existence
.
Mrs
Marjoribanks
,
poor
lady
,
had
been
an
invalid
for
many
years
;
she
had
grown
a
little
peevish
in
her
loneliness
,
not
feeling
herself
of
much
account
in
this
world
.
There
are
some
rare
natures
that
are
content
to
acquiesce
in
the
general
neglect
,
and
forget
themselves
when
they
find
themselves
forgotten
;
but
it
is
unfortunately
much
more
usual
to
take
the
plan
adopted
by
Mrs
Marjoribanks
,
who
devoted
all
her
powers
,
during
the
last
ten
years
of
her
life
,
to
the
solacement
and
care
of
that
poor
self
which
other
people
neglected
.
The
consequence
was
,
that
when
she
disappeared
from
her
sofa
—
except
for
the
mere
physical
fact
that
she
was
no
longer
there
—
no
one
,
except
her
maid
,
whose
occupation
was
gone
,
could
have
found
out
much
difference
.
Her
husband
,
it
is
true
,
who
had
,
somewhere
,
hidden
deep
in
some
secret
corner
of
his
physical
organisation
,
the
remains
of
a
heart
,
experienced
a
certain
sentiment
of
sadness
when
he
re-entered
the
house
from
which
she
had
gone
away
for
ever
.
But
Dr
Marjoribanks
was
too
busy
a
man
to
waste
his
feelings
on
a
mere
sentiment
.
His
daughter
,
however
,
was
only
fifteen
,
and
had
floods
of
tears
at
her
command
,
as
was
natural
at
that
age
.
All
the
way
home
she
revolved
the
situation
in
her
mind
,
which
was
considerably
enlightened
by
novels
and
popular
philosophy
—
for
the
lady
at
the
head
of
Miss
Marjoribanks
school
was
a
devoted
admirer
of
Friends
in
Council
,
and
was
fond
of
bestowing
that
work
as
a
prize
,
with
pencil-marks
on
the
margin
—
so
that
Lucilla
's
mind
had
been
cultivated
,
and
was
brimful
of
the
best
of
sentiments
.
She
made
up
her
mind
on
her
journey
to
a
great
many
virtuous
resolutions
;
for
,
in
such
a
case
as
hers
,
it
was
evidently
the
duty
of
an
only
child
to
devote
herself
to
her
father
's
comfort
,
and
become
the
sunshine
of
his
life
,
as
so
many
young
persons
of
her
age
have
been
known
to
become
in
literature
.
Miss
Marjoribanks
had
a
lively
mind
,
and
was
capable
of
grasping
all
the
circumstances
of
the
situation
at
a
glance
.
Thus
,
between
the
outbreaks
of
her
tears
for
her
mother
,
it
became
apparent
to
her
that
she
must
sacrifice
her
own
feelings
,
and
make
a
cheerful
home
for
papa
,
and
that
a
great
many
changes
would
be
necessary
in
the
household
—
changes
which
went
so
far
as
even
to
extend
to
the
furniture
.
Miss
Marjoribanks
sketched
to
herself
,
as
she
lay
back
in
the
corner
of
the
railway
carriage
,
with
her
veil
down
,
how
she
would
wind
herself
up
to
the
duty
of
presiding
at
her
papa
's
dinner-parties
,
and
charming
everybody
by
her
good
humour
,
and
brightness
,
and
devotion
to
his
comfort
;
and
how
,
when
it
was
all
over
,
she
would
withdraw
and
cry
her
eyes
out
in
her
own
room
,
and
be
found
in
the
morning
languid
and
worn-out
,
but
always
heroical
,
ready
to
go
downstairs
and
assist
at
dear
papa
's
breakfast
,
and
keep
up
her
smiles
for
him
till
he
had
gone
out
to
his
patients
.
Altogether
the
picture
was
a
very
pretty
one
;
and
,
considering
that
a
great
many
young
ladies
in
deep
mourning
put
force
upon
their
feelings
in
novels
,
and
maintain
a
smile
for
the
benefit
of
the
unobservant
male
creatures
of
whom
they
have
the
charge
,
the
idea
was
not
at
all
extravagant
,
considering
that
Miss
Marjoribanks
was
but
fifteen
.
She
was
not
,
however
,
exactly
the
kind
of
figure
for
this
mise
en
scène
.
When
her
schoolfellows
talked
of
her
to
their
friends
—
for
Lucilla
was
already
an
important
personage
at
Mount
Pleasant
—
the
most
common
description
they
gave
her
was
,
that
she
was
"
a
large
girl
"
;
and
there
was
great
truth
in
the
adjective
.
She
was
not
to
be
described
as
a
tall
girl
—
which
conveys
an
altogether
different
idea
—
but
she
was
large
in
all
particulars
,
full
and
well-developed
,
with
somewhat
large
features
,
not
at
all
pretty
as
yet
,
though
it
was
known
in
Mount
Pleasant
that
somebody
had
said
that
such
a
face
might
ripen
into
beauty
,
and
become
"
grandiose
,
"
for
anything
anybody
could
tell
.
Miss
Marjoribanks
was
not
vain
;
but
the
word
had
taken
possession
of
her
imagination
,
as
was
natural
,
and
solaced
her
much
when
she
made
the
painful
discovery
that
her
gloves
were
half
a
number
larger
,
and
her
shoes
a
hair-breadth
broader
,
than
those
of
any
of
her
companions
;
but
the
hands
and
feet
were
both
perfectly
well
shaped
;
and
being
at
the
same
time
well
clothed
and
plump
,
were
much
more
presentable
and
pleasant
to
look
upon
than
the
lean
rudimentary
schoolgirl
hands
with
which
they
were
surrounded
.
To
add
to
these
excellences
,
Lucilla
had
a
mass
of
hair
which
,
if
it
could
but
have
been
cleared
a
little
in
its
tint
,
would
have
been
golden
,
though
at
present
it
was
nothing
more
than
tawny
,
and
curly
to
exasperation
.
She
wore
it
in
large
thick
curls
,
which
did
not
,
however
,
float
or
wave
,
or
do
any
of
the
graceful
things
which
curls
ought
to
do
;
for
it
had
this
aggravating
quality
,
that
it
would
not
grow
long
,
but
would
grow
ridiculously
,
unmanageably
thick
,
to
the
admiration
of
her
companions
,
but
to
her
own
despair
,
for
there
was
no
knowing
what
to
do
with
those
short
but
ponderous
locks
.
These
were
the
external
characteristics
of
the
girl
who
was
going
home
to
be
a
comfort
to
her
widowed
father
,
and
meant
to
sacrifice
herself
to
his
happiness
.
In
the
course
of
her
rapid
journey
she
had
already
settled
upon
everything
that
had
to
be
done
;
or
rather
,
to
speak
truly
,
had
rehearsed
everything
,
according
to
the
habit
already
acquired
by
a
quick
mind
,
a
good
deal
occupied
with
itself
.
First
,
she
meant
to
fall
into
her
father
's
arms
—
forgetting
,
with
that
singular
facility
for
overlooking
the
peculiarities
of
others
which
belongs
to
such
a
character
,
that
Dr
Marjoribanks
was
very
little
given
to
embracing
,
and
that
a
hasty
kiss
on
her
forehead
was
the
warmest
caress
he
had
ever
given
his
daughter
—
and
then
to
rush
up
to
the
chamber
of
death
and
weep
over
dear
mamma
.
"
And
to
think
I
was
not
there
to
soothe
her
last
moments
!
"
Lucilla
said
to
herself
,
with
a
sob
,
and
with
feelings
sufficiently
real
in
their
way
.
After
this
,
the
devoted
daughter
made
up
her
mind
to
come
downstairs
again
,
pale
as
death
,
but
self-controlled
,
and
devote
herself
to
papa
.
Perhaps
,
if
great
emotion
should
make
him
tearless
,
as
such
cases
had
been
known
,
Miss
Marjoribanks
would
steal
into
his
arms
unawares
,
and
so
surprise
him
into
weeping
.
All
this
went
briskly
through
her
mind
,
undeterred
by
the
reflection
that
tears
were
as
much
out
of
the
Doctor
's
way
as
embraces
;
and
in
this
mood
she
sped
swiftly
along
in
the
inspiration
of
her
first
sorrow
,
as
she
imagined
,
but
in
reality
to
suffer
her
first
disappointment
,
which
was
of
a
less
soothing
character
than
that
mild
and
manageable
grief
.
When
Miss
Marjoribanks
reached
home
her
mother
had
been
dead
for
twenty-four
hours
;
and
her
father
was
not
at
the
door
to
receive
her
as
she
had
expected
,
but
by
the
bedside
of
a
patient
in
extremity
,
who
could
not
consent
to
go
out
of
the
world
without
the
Doctor
.
This
was
a
sad
reversal
of
her
intentions
,
but
Lucilla
was
not
the
woman
to
be
disconcerted
.
She
carried
out
the
second
part
of
her
programme
without
either
interference
or
sympathy
,
except
from
Mrs
Marjoribanks
's
maid
,
who
had
some
hopes
from
the
moment
of
her
arrival
.
"
I
ca
n't
abear
to
think
as
I
'm
to
be
parted
from
you
all
,
miss
,
"
sobbed
the
faithful
attendant
.
"
I
've
lost
the
best
missus
as
ever
was
,
and
I
should
n't
mind
going
after
her
.
Whenever
any
one
gets
a
good
friend
in
this
world
,
they
're
the
first
to
be
took
away
,
"
said
the
weeping
handmaiden
,
who
naturally
saw
her
own
loss
in
the
most
vivid
light
.
"
Ah
,
Ellis
,
"
cried
Miss
Marjoribanks
,
reposing
her
sorrow
in
the
arms
of
this
anxious
attendant
,
"
we
must
try
to
be
a
comfort
to
poor
papa
!
"
With
this
end
Lucilla
made
herself
very
troublesome
to
the
sober-minded
Doctor
during
those
few
dim
days
before
the
faint
and
daily
lessening
shadow
of
poor
Mrs
Marjoribanks
was
removed
altogether
from
the
house
.
When
that
sad
ceremony
had
taken
place
,
and
the
Doctor
returned
,
serious
enough
,
Heaven
knows
,
to
the
great
house
,
where
the
faded
helpless
woman
,
who
had
notwithstanding
been
his
love
and
his
bride
in
other
days
,
lay
no
longer
on
the
familiar
sofa
,
the
crisis
arrived
which
Miss
Marjoribanks
had
rehearsed
so
often
,
but
after
quite
a
different
fashion
.
The
widower
was
tearless
,
indeed
,
but
not
from
excess
of
emotion
.
On
the
contrary
,
a
painful
heaviness
possessed
him
when
he
became
aware
how
little
real
sorrow
was
in
his
mind
,
and
how
small
an
actual
loss
was
this
loss
of
his
wife
,
which
bulked
before
the
world
as
an
event
of
just
as
much
magnitude
as
the
loss
,
for
example
,
which
poor
Mr
Lake
,
the
drawing-master
,
was
at
the
same
moment
suffering
.
It
was
even
sad
,
in
another
point
of
view
,
to
think
of
a
human
creature
passing
out
of
the
world
,
and
leaving
so
little
trace
that
she
had
ever
been
there
.
As
for
the
pretty
creature
whom
Dr
Marjoribanks
had
married
,
she
had
vanished
into
thin
air
years
and
years
ago
.
These
thoughts
were
heavy
enough
—
perhaps
even
more
overwhelming
than
that
grief
which
develops
love
to
its
highest
point
of
intensity
.
But
such
were
not
precisely
the
kind
of
reflections
which
could
be
solaced
by
paternal
attendrissement
over
a
weeping
and
devoted
daughter
.
It
was
May
,
and
the
weather
was
warm
for
the
season
;
but
Lucilla
had
caused
the
fire
to
be
lighted
in
the
large
gloomy
library
where
Dr
Marjoribanks
always
sat
in
the
evenings
,
with
the
idea
that
it
would
be
"
a
comfort
"
to
him
;
and
,
for
the
same
reason
,
she
had
ordered
tea
to
be
served
there
,
instead
of
the
dinner
,
for
which
her
father
,
as
she
imagined
,
could
have
little
appetite
.
When
the
Doctor
went
in
to
his
favourite
seclusion
,
tired
and
heated
and
sad
—
for
even
on
the
day
of
his
wife
's
funeral
the
favourite
doctor
of
Carlingford
had
patients
to
think
of
—
the
very
heaviness
of
his
thoughts
gave
warmth
to
his
indignation
.
He
had
longed
for
the
quiet
and
the
coolness
and
the
solitude
of
his
library
,
apart
from
everybody
;
and
when
he
found
it
radiant
with
firelight
,
tea
set
on
the
table
,
and
Lucilla
crying
by
the
fire
,
in
her
new
crape
,
the
effect
upon
a
temper
by
no
means
perfect
may
be
imagined
.
The
unfortunate
man
threw
both
the
windows
wide
open
and
rang
the
bell
violently
,
and
gave
instant
orders
for
the
removal
of
the
unnecessary
fire
and
the
tea-service
.
"
Let
me
know
when
dinner
is
ready
,
"
he
said
,
in
a
voice
like
thunder
;
"
and
if
Miss
Marjoribanks
wants
a
fire
,
let
it
be
lighted
in
the
drawing-room
.
"
Lucilla
was
so
much
taken
by
surprise
by
this
sudden
overthrow
of
her
programme
,
that
she
submitted
,
as
a
girl
of
much
less
spirit
might
have
done
,
and
suffered
herself
and
her
fire
and
her
tea-things
to
be
dismissed
upstairs
,
where
she
wept
still
more
at
sight
of
dear
mamma
's
sofa
,
and
where
Ellis
came
to
mingle
her
tears
with
those
of
her
young
mistress
,
and
to
beg
dear
Miss
Lucilla
,
for
the
sake
of
her
precious
'
elth
and
her
dear
papa
,
to
be
persuaded
to
take
some
tea
.
On
the
whole
,
master
stood
lessened
in
the
eyes
of
all
the
household
by
his
ability
to
eat
his
dinner
,
and
his
resentment
at
having
his
habitudes
disturbed
.
"
Them
men
would
eat
and
drink
if
we
was
all
in
our
graves
,
"
said
the
indignant
cook
,
who
indeed
had
a
real
grievance
;
and
the
outraged
sentiment
of
the
kitchen
was
avenged
by
a
bad
and
hasty
dinner
,
which
the
Doctor
,
though
generally
"
very
particular
,
"
swallowed
without
remark
.
About
an
hour
afterwards
he
went
upstairs
to
the
drawing-room
,
where
Miss
Marjoribanks
was
waiting
for
him
,
much
less
at
ease
than
she
had
expected
to
be
.
Though
he
gave
a
little
sigh
at
the
sight
of
his
wife
's
sofa
,
he
did
not
hesitate
to
sit
down
upon
it
,
and
even
to
draw
it
a
little
out
of
its
position
,
which
,
as
Lucilla
described
afterwards
,
was
like
a
knife
going
into
her
heart
.
Though
,
indeed
,
she
had
herself
decided
already
,
in
the
intervals
of
her
tears
,
that
the
drawing-room
furniture
had
got
very
faded
and
shabby
,
and
that
it
would
be
very
expedient
to
have
it
renewed
for
the
new
reign
of
youth
and
energy
which
was
about
to
commence
.
As
for
the
Doctor
,
though
Miss
Marjoribanks
thought
him
insensible
,
his
heart
was
heavy
enough
.
His
wife
had
gone
out
of
the
world
without
leaving
the
least
mark
of
her
existence
,
except
in
that
large
girl
,
whose
spirits
and
forces
were
unbounded
,
but
whose
discretion
at
the
present
moment
did
not
seem
much
greater
than
her
mother
's
.
Instead
of
thinking
of
her
as
a
comfort
,
the
Doctor
felt
himself
called
upon
to
face
a
new
and
unexpected
embarrassment
.
It
would
have
been
a
satisfaction
to
him
just
then
to
have
been
left
to
himself
,
and
permitted
to
work
on
quietly
at
his
profession
,
and
to
write
his
papers
for
the
Lancet
,
and
to
see
his
friends
now
and
then
when
he
chose
;
for
Dr
Marjoribanks
was
not
a
man
who
had
any
great
need
of
sympathy
by
nature
,
or
who
was
at
all
addicted
to
demonstrations
of
feeling
;
consequently
,
he
drew
his
wife
's
sofa
a
little
farther
from
the
fire
,
and
took
his
seat
on
it
soberly
,
quite
unaware
that
,
by
so
doing
,
he
was
putting
a
knife
into
his
daughter
's
heart
.
"
I
hope
you
have
had
something
to
eat
,
Lucilla
,
"
he
said
;
"
do
n't
get
into
that
foolish
habit
of
flying
to
tea
as
a
man
flies
to
a
dram
.
It
's
a
more
innocent
stimulant
,
but
it
's
the
same
kind
of
intention
.
I
am
not
so
much
against
a
fire
;
it
has
always
a
kind
of
cheerful
look
.
"
"
Oh
,
papa
,
"
cried
his
daughter
,
with
a
flood
of
indignant
tears
,
"
you
ca
n't
suppose
I
want
anything
to
look
cheerful
this
dreadful
day
.
"
"
I
am
far
from
blaming
you
,
my
dear
,
"
said
the
Doctor
;
"
it
is
natural
you
should
cry
.
I
am
sorry
I
did
not
write
for
my
sister
to
come
,
who
would
have
taken
care
of
you
;
but
I
dislike
strangers
in
the
house
at
such
a
time
.
However
,
I
hope
,
Lucilla
,
you
will
soon
feel
yourself
able
to
return
to
school
;
occupation
is
always
the
best
remedy
,
and
you
will
have
your
friends
and
companions
—
—
"
"
Papa
!
"
cried
Miss
Marjoribanks
;
and
then
she
summoned
courage
,
and
rushed
up
to
him
,
and
threw
herself
and
her
clouds
of
crape
on
the
carpet
at
his
side
(
and
it
may
here
be
mentioned
that
Lucilla
had
seized
the
opportunity
to
have
her
mourning
made
long
,
which
had
been
the
desire
of
her
heart
,
baffled
by
mamma
and
governess
for
at
least
a
year
)
.
"
Papa
!
"
she
exclaimed
with
fervour
,
raising
to
him
her
tear-stained
face
,
and
clasping
her
fair
plump
hands
,
"
oh
,
do
n't
send
me
away
!
I
was
only
a
silly
girl
the
other
day
,
but
this
has
made
me
a
woman
.
Though
I
can
never
,
never
hope
to
take
dear
mamma
's
place
,
and
be
—
all
—
that
she
was
to
you
,
still
I
feel
I
can
be
a
comfort
to
you
if
you
will
let
me
.
You
shall
not
see
me
cry
any
more
,
"
cried
Lucilla
with
energy
,
rubbing
away
her
tears
.
"
I
will
never
give
way
to
my
feelings
.
I
will
ask
for
no
companions
—
nor
—
nor
anything
.
As
for
pleasure
,
that
is
all
over
.
Oh
,
papa
,
you
shall
never
see
me
regret
anything
,
or
wish
for
anything
.
I
will
give
up
everything
in
the
world
to
be
a
comfort
to
you
!
"
This
address
,
which
was
utterly
unexpected
,
drove
Dr
Marjoribanks
to
despair
.
He
said
,
"
Get
up
,
Lucilla
;
"
but
the
devoted
daughter
knew
better
than
to
get
up
.
She
hid
her
face
in
her
hands
,
and
rested
her
hands
upon
her
mother
's
sofa
,
where
the
Doctor
was
sitting
;
and
the
sobs
of
that
emotion
which
she
meant
to
control
henceforward
,
echoed
through
the
room
.
"
It
is
only
for
this
once
—
I
can
—
cannot
help
it
,
"
she
cried
.
When
her
father
found
that
he
could
neither
soothe
her
,
nor
succeed
in
raising
her
,
he
got
up
himself
,
which
was
the
only
thing
left
to
him
,
and
began
to
walk
about
the
room
with
hasty
steps
.
Her
mother
,
too
,
had
possessed
this
dangerous
faculty
of
tears
;
and
it
was
not
wonderful
if
the
sober-minded
Doctor
,
roused
for
the
first
time
to
consider
his
little
girl
as
a
creature
possessed
of
individual
character
,
should
recognise
,
with
a
thrill
of
dismay
,
the
appearance
of
the
same
qualities
which
had
wearied
his
life
out
,
and
brought
his
youthful
affections
to
an
untimely
end
.
Lucilla
was
,
it
is
true
,
as
different
from
her
mother
as
summer
from
winter
;
but
Dr
Marjoribanks
had
no
means
of
knowing
that
his
daughter
was
only
doing
her
duty
by
him
in
his
widowhood
,
according
to
a
programme
of
filial
devotion
resolved
upon
,
in
accordance
with
the
best
models
,
some
days
before
.
Accordingly
,
when
her
sobs
had
ceased
,
her
father
returned
and
raised
her
up
not
unkindly
,
and
placed
her
in
her
chair
.
In
doing
so
,
the
Doctor
put
his
finger
by
instinct
upon
Lucilla
's
pulse
,
which
was
sufficiently
calm
and
regulated
to
reassure
the
most
anxious
parent
.
And
then
a
furtive
momentary
smile
gleamed
for
a
single
instant
round
the
corners
of
his
mouth
.
"
It
is
very
good
of
you
to
propose
sacrificing
yourself
for
me
,
"
he
said
;
"
and
if
you
would
sacrifice
your
excitement
in
the
meantime
,
and
listen
to
me
quietly
,
it
would
really
be
something
—
but
you
are
only
fifteen
,
Lucilla
,
and
I
have
no
wish
to
take
you
from
school
just
now
;
wait
till
I
have
done
.
Your
poor
mother
is
gone
,
and
it
is
very
natural
you
should
cry
;
but
you
were
a
good
child
to
her
on
the
whole
,
which
will
be
a
comfort
to
you
.
We
did
everything
that
could
be
thought
of
to
prolong
her
days
,
and
,
when
that
was
impossible
,
to
lessen
what
she
had
to
suffer
;
and
we
have
every
reason
to
hope
,
"
said
the
Doctor
,
as
indeed
he
was
accustomed
to
say
in
the
exercise
of
his
profession
to
mourning
relatives
,
"
that
she
's
far
better
off
now
than
if
she
had
been
with
us
.
When
that
is
said
,
I
do
n't
know
that
there
is
anything
more
to
add
.
I
am
not
fond
of
sacrifices
,
either
one
way
or
another
;
and
I
've
a
great
objection
to
any
one
making
a
sacrifice
for
me
—
—
"
"
But
,
oh
,
papa
,
it
would
be
no
sacrifice
,
"
said
Lucilla
,
"
if
you
would
only
let
me
be
a
comfort
to
you
!
"
"
That
is
just
where
it
is
,
my
dear
,
"
said
the
steady
Doctor
;
"
I
have
been
used
to
be
left
a
great
deal
to
myself
;
and
I
am
not
prepared
to
say
that
the
responsibility
of
having
you
here
without
a
mother
to
take
care
of
you
,
and
all
your
lessons
interrupted
,
would
not
neutralise
any
comfort
you
might
be
.
You
see
,
"
said
Dr
Marjoribanks
,
trying
to
soften
matters
a
little
,
"
a
man
is
what
his
habits
make
him
;
and
I
have
been
used
to
be
left
a
great
deal
to
myself
.
It
answers
in
some
cases
,
but
I
doubt
if
it
would
answer
with
me
.
"
And
then
there
was
a
pause
,
in
which
Lucilla
wept
and
stifled
her
tears
in
her
handkerchief
,
with
a
warmer
flood
of
vexation
and
disappointment
than
even
her
natural
grief
had
produced
.
"
Of
course
,
papa
,
if
I
ca
n't
be
any
comfort
—
I
will
—
go
back
to
school
,
"
she
sobbed
,
with
a
touch
of
sullenness
which
did
not
escape
the
Doctor
's
ear
.
"
Yes
,
my
dear
,
you
will
certainly
go
back
to
school
,
"
said
the
peremptory
father
;
"
I
never
had
any
doubt
on
that
subject
.
You
can
stay
over
Sunday
and
rest
yourself
.
Monday
or
Tuesday
will
be
time
enough
to
go
back
to
Mount
Pleasant
;
and
now
you
had
better
ring
the
bell
,
and
get
somebody
to
bring
you
something
—
or
I
'll
see
to
that
when
I
go
downstairs
.
It
's
getting
late
,
and
this
has
been
a
fatiguing
day
.
I
'll
send
you
up
some
negus
,
and
I
think
you
had
better
go
to
bed
.
"
And
with
these
commonplace
words
,
Dr
Marjoribanks
withdrew
in
calm
possession
of
the
field
.
As
for
Lucilla
,
she
obeyed
him
,
and
betook
herself
to
her
own
room
,
and
swallowed
her
negus
with
a
sense
,
not
only
of
defeat
,
but
of
disappointment
and
mortification
which
was
very
unpleasant
.
To
go
back
again
and
be
an
ordinary
schoolgirl
,
after
the
pomp
and
woe
in
which
she
had
come
away
,
was
naturally
a
painful
thought
;
she
who
had
ordered
her
mourning
to
be
made
long
,
and
contemplated
new
furniture
in
the
drawing-room
,
and
expected
to
be
mistress
of
her
father
's
house
,
not
to
speak
of
the
still
dearer
privilege
of
being
a
comfort
to
him
;
and
now
,
after
all
,
her
active
mind
was
to
be
condemned
over
again
to
verbs
and
chromatic
scales
,
though
she
felt
within
herself
capacities
so
much
more
extended
.
Miss
Marjoribanks
did
not
by
any
means
learn
by
this
defeat
to
take
the
characters
of
the
other
personæ
in
her
little
drama
into
consideration
,
when
she
rehearsed
her
pet
scenes
hereafter
—
for
that
is
a
knowledge
slowly
acquired
—
but
she
was
wise
enough
to
know
when
resistance
was
futile
;
and
like
most
people
of
lively
imagination
,
she
had
a
power
of
submitting
to
circumstances
when
it
became
impossible
to
change
them
.
Thus
she
consented
to
postpone
her
reign
,
if
not
with
a
good
grace
,
yet
still
without
foolish
resistance
,
and
retired
with
the
full
honours
of
war
.
She
had
already
rearranged
all
the
details
,
and
settled
upon
all
the
means
possible
of
preparing
herself
for
what
she
called
the
charge
of
the
establishment
when
her
final
emancipation
took
place
,
before
she
returned
to
school
.
"
Papa
thought
me
too
young
,
"
she
said
,
when
she
reached
Mount
Pleasant
,
"
though
it
was
dreadful
to
come
away
and
leave
him
alone
with
only
the
servants
;
but
,
dear
Miss
Martha
,
you
will
let
me
learn
all
about
political
economy
and
things
,
to
help
me
manage
everything
;
for
now
that
dear
mamma
is
gone
,
there
is
nobody
but
me
to
be
a
comfort
to
papa
.
"
And
by
this
means
Miss
Marjoribanks
managed
to
influence
the
excellent
woman
who
believed
in
Friends
in
Council
,
and
to
direct
the
future
tenor
of
her
own
education
;
while
,
at
least
,
in
that
one
moment
of
opportunity
,
she
had
achieved
long
dresses
,
which
was
a
visible
mark
of
womanhood
,
and
a
step
which
could
not
be
retraced
.
Chapter
II
Dr
Marjoribanks
was
so
far
from
feeling
the
lack
of
his
daughter
's
powers
of
consolation
,
that
he
kept
her
at
Mount
Pleasant
for
three
years
longer
,
during
which
time
it
is
to
be
supposed
he
managed
to
be
comfortable
after
a
benighted
fashion
—
good
enough
for
a
man
of
fifty
,
who
had
come
to
an
end
of
his
illusions
.
To
be
sure
,
there
were
in
the
world
,
and
even
in
Carlingford
,
kind
women
,
who
would
not
have
objected
to
take
charge
of
the
Doctor
and
his
"
establishment
,
"
and
be
a
comfort
to
him
;
but
,
on
the
whole
,
it
was
undeniable
that
he
managed
tolerably
well
in
external
matters
,
and
gave
very
good
men
's
dinners
,
and
kept
everything
in
perfect
order
,
so
far
as
it
went
.
Naturally
the
fairer
part
of
existence
was
left
out
altogether
in
that
grim
,
though
well-ordered
house
;
but
then
he
was
only
a
man
and
a
doctor
,
and
knew
no
better
;
and
while
the
feminine
part
of
Grange
Lane
regarded
him
with
natural
pity
,
not
only
for
what
he
lacked
,
but
for
a
still
more
sad
defect
,
his
total
want
of
perception
on
the
subject
,
their
husbands
and
fathers
rather
liked
to
dine
with
the
Doctor
,
and
brought
home
accounts
of
sauces
which
were
enough
to
drive
any
woman
to
despair
.
Some
of
the
ladies
of
Grange
Lane
—
Mrs
Chiley
,
for
example
,
who
was
fond
of
good
living
herself
,
and
liked
,
as
she
said
,
"
a
little
variety
"
—
laid
siege
to
the
Doctor
,
and
did
their
best
to
coax
his
receipts
out
of
him
;
but
Dr
Marjoribanks
knew
better
than
that
.
He
gave
all
the
credit
to
his
cook
,
like
a
man
of
sense
;
and
as
that
functionary
was
known
in
Carlingford
to
be
utterly
regardless
and
unprincipled
in
respect
to
gravy-beef
,
and
the
materials
for
"
stock
,
"
or
"
consommé
,
"
as
some
people
called
it
,
society
was
disinclined
to
exert
its
ordinary
arts
to
seduce
so
great
an
artiste
from
the
kitchen
of
her
indulgent
master
.
And
then
there
were
other
ladies
who
took
a
different
tone
.
"
Dr
Marjoribanks
,
poor
man
,
has
nothing
but
his
table
to
take
up
his
mind
,
"
said
Mrs
Centum
,
who
had
six
children
;
"
I
never
heard
that
the
heart
could
be
nourished
upon
sauces
,
for
my
part
;
and
for
a
man
who
has
his
children
's
future
to
think
of
,
I
must
say
I
am
surprised
at
you
,
Mr
Centum
.
"
As
for
young
Mrs
Woodburn
,
her
reply
was
still
more
decisive
,
though
milder
in
its
tone
.
"
Poor
cook
!
I
am
so
sorry
for
her
,
"
said
the
gentle
young
matron
.
"
You
know
you
always
like
something
for
breakfast
,
Charles
;
and
then
there
is
the
children
's
dinner
,
and
our
lunch
,
and
the
servants
'
dinner
,
so
that
the
poor
thing
is
worn
out
before
she
comes
to
what
you
call
the
great
event
of
the
day
;
and
you
know
how
angry
you
were
when
I
asked
for
a
kitchen-maid
for
her
,
poor
soul
.
"
The
consequence
of
all
this
was
,
that
Dr
Marjoribanks
remained
unrivalled
in
Grange
Lane
in
this
respect
at
least
.
When
rumours
arose
in
Carlingford
of
a
possible
second
marriage
for
the
Doctor
—
and
such
rumours
naturally
arose
three
or
four
times
in
the
course
of
the
three
years
—
the
men
of
Grange
Lane
said
,
"
Heaven
forbid
!
"
"
No
wife
in
the
world
could
replace
Nancy
,
"
said
Colonel
Chiley
,
after
that
fervent
aspiration
,
"
and
none
could
put
up
with
her
;
"
while
,
on
the
other
side
,
there
were
curious
speculations
afloat
as
to
the
effect
upon
the
house
,
and
especially
the
table
,
of
the
daughter
's
return
.
When
a
young
woman
comes
to
be
eighteen
it
is
difficult
to
keep
her
at
school
;
and
though
the
Doctor
had
staved
off
the
danger
for
the
moment
,
by
sending
Lucilla
off
along
with
one
of
her
schoolfellows
,
whose
family
was
going
abroad
,
to
make
orthodox
acquaintance
with
all
the
Swiss
mountains
,
and
all
the
Italian
capitals
,
still
that
was
plainly
an
expedient
for
the
moment
;
and
a
new
mistress
to
the
house
,
which
had
got
along
so
well
without
any
mistress
,
was
inevitable
.
So
that
it
cannot
be
denied
Miss
Marjoribanks
's
advent
was
regarded
in
Carlingford
with
as
much
interest
and
curiosity
as
she
could
have
wished
.
For
it
was
already
known
that
the
Doctor
's
daughter
was
not
a
mild
young
lady
,
easy
to
be
controlled
;
but
,
on
the
contrary
,
had
all
the
energy
and
determination
to
have
her
own
way
,
which
naturally
belonged
to
a
girl
who
possessed
a
considerable
chin
,
and
a
mouth
which
could
shut
,
and
tightly
curling
tawny
tresses
,
which
were
still
more
determined
than
she
was
to
be
arranged
only
according
to
their
inclination
.
It
was
even
vaguely
reported
that
some
passages-of-arms
had
occurred
between
Miss
Marjoribanks
and
the
redoubtable
Nancy
during
the
short
and
uncertain
opportunities
which
were
afforded
by
holidays
;
and
the
community
,
accordingly
,
regarded
as
an
affair
of
almost
municipal
importance
Lucilla
's
final
return
home
.
As
for
the
young
lady
herself
,
though
she
was
at
school
,
she
was
conscious
of
having
had
a
career
not
without
importance
,
even
during
these
three
years
of
pupilage
.
Since
the
day
when
she
began
to
read
political
economy
with
Miss
Martha
Blount
,
who
,
though
the
second
sister
,
was
the
directing
spirit
of
the
establishment
,
Lucilla
had
exercised
a
certain
influence
upon
the
school
itself
which
was
very
satisfactory
.
Perhaps
her
course
might
be
a
little
deficient
in
grace
,
but
grace
,
after
all
,
is
but
a
secondary
quality
;
and
,
at
all
events
,
Miss
Marjoribanks
went
straight
forward
,
leaving
an
unquestionable
wake
behind
her
,
and
running
down
with
indifference
the
little
skiffs
in
her
way
.
She
was
possessed
by
nature
of
that
kind
of
egotism
,
or
rather
egoism
,
which
is
predestined
to
impress
itself
,
by
its
perfect
reality
and
good
faith
,
upon
the
surrounding
world
.
There
are
people
who
talk
of
themselves
,
and
think
of
themselves
,
as
it
were
,
under
protest
,
and
with
depreciation
,
not
actually
able
to
convince
themselves
that
anybody
cares
;
but
Lucilla
,
for
her
part
,
had
the
calmest
and
most
profound
conviction
that
,
when
she
discussed
her
own
doings
and
plans
and
clevernesses
,
she
was
bringing
forward
the
subject
most
interesting
to
her
audience
as
well
as
to
herself
.
Such
a
conviction
is
never
without
its
fruits
.
To
be
sure
,
there
were
always
one
or
two
independent
spirits
who
revolted
;
but
for
the
crowd
,
it
soon
became
impressed
with
a
profound
belief
in
the
creed
which
Miss
Marjoribanks
supported
so
firmly
.
This
conviction
of
the
importance
and
value
of
her
own
proceedings
made
Lucilla
,
as
she
grew
older
,
a
copious
and
amusing
conversationalist
—
a
rank
which
few
people
who
are
indifferent
to
,
or
do
not
believe
in
,
themselves
can
attain
to
.
One
thing
she
had
made
up
her
mind
to
as
soon
as
she
should
return
home
,
and
that
was
to
revolutionise
society
in
Carlingford
.
On
the
whole
,
she
was
pleased
with
the
success
of
the
Doctor
's
dinners
,
though
a
little
piqued
to
think
that
they
owed
nothing
to
herself
;
but
Lucilla
,
whose
instinct
of
government
was
of
the
true
despotic
order
,
and
who
had
no
objection
to
stoop
,
if
by
that
means
she
could
conquer
,
had
no
such
designs
against
Nancy
as
were
attributed
to
her
by
the
expectant
audience
in
Carlingford
.
On
the
contrary
,
she
was
quite
as
much
disposed
as
her
father
was
to
take
Nancy
for
prime-minister
;
for
Miss
Marjoribanks
,
though
too
much
occupied
with
herself
to
divine
the
characteristic
points
of
other
people
,
had
a
sensible
and
thorough
belief
in
those
superficial
general
truths
which
most
minds
acquiesce
in
,
without
taking
the
trouble
to
believe
.
She
knew
,
for
example
,
that
there
was
a
great
difference
between
the
brilliant
society
of
London
,
or
of
Paris
,
which
appears
in
books
,
where
women
have
generally
the
best
of
it
,
and
can
rule
in
their
own
right
;
and
even
the
very
best
society
of
a
country
town
,
where
husbands
are
very
commonly
unmanageable
,
and
have
a
great
deal
more
of
their
own
way
in
respect
to
the
houses
they
will
or
will
not
go
to
,
than
is
good
for
that
inferior
branch
of
the
human
family
.
Miss
Marjoribanks
had
the
good
sense
to
see
and
appreciate
these
details
;
and
she
knew
that
a
good
dinner
was
a
great
attraction
to
a
man
,
and
that
,
in
Carlingford
at
least
,
when
these
refractory
mortals
were
secured
,
the
wives
and
daughters
would
necessarily
follow
.
Besides
,
as
is
not
uncommon
with
women
who
are
clever
women
,
and
aware
of
the
fact
,
Miss
Marjoribanks
preferred
the
society
of
men
,
and
rather
liked
to
say
so
.
With
all
these
intentions
in
her
mind
,
it
may
be
imagined
that
she
received
coolly
enough
the
invitation
of
her
friend
to
join
in
the
grand
tour
,
and
the
ready
consent
given
by
her
father
when
he
heard
of
it
.
But
even
the
grand
tour
was
a
tool
which
Lucilla
saw
how
to
make
use
of
.
Nowadays
,
when
people
go
everywhere
,
an
untravelled
woman
would
find
it
so
much
the
harder
to
keep
up
the
rôle
of
a
leader
of
society
to
which
she
had
devoted
herself
;
and
she
felt
to
the
depth
of
her
heart
the
endless
advantage
to
her
future
conversation
of
the
experiences
to
be
acquired
in
Switzerland
and
Italy
.
But
she
rejected
with
scorn
the
insinuation
of
other
accidents
that
might
occur
on
the
way
.
"
You
will
never
come
back
again
,
Lucilla
,
"
said
one
of
her
companions
;
"
you
will
marry
some
enchanting
Italian
with
a
beautiful
black
beard
,
and
a
voice
like
an
angel
;
and
he
'll
sing
serenades
to
you
,
and
do
all
sorts
of
things
:
oh
,
how
I
wish
I
was
you
!
"
"
That
may
be
,
"
said
Miss
Marjoribanks
,
"
but
I
shall
never
marry
an
Italian
,
my
dear
.
I
do
n't
think
I
shall
marry
anybody
for
a
long
time
.
I
want
to
amuse
myself
.
I
wonder
,
by
the
way
,
if
it
would
improve
my
voice
to
take
lessons
in
Italy
.
Did
I
ever
tell
you
of
the
Italian
nobleman
that
was
so
very
attentive
to
me
that
Christmas
I
spent
at
Sissy
Vernon
's
?
He
was
very
handsome
.
I
suppose
they
really
are
all
very
handsome
—
except
,
of
course
,
the
Italian
masters
;
but
I
did
not
pay
any
attention
to
him
.
My
object
,
dear
,
and
you
know
it
,
is
to
return
home
as
well
educated
as
possible
,
to
be
a
comfort
to
dear
papa
.
"
"
Yes
,
dear
Lucilla
,
"
said
the
sympathetic
girl
,
"
and
it
is
so
good
of
you
;
but
do
tell
me
about
the
Italian
nobleman
—
what
did
he
look
like
—
and
what
did
he
say
?
"
"
Oh
,
as
for
what
he
said
,
that
is
quite
a
different
matter
,
"
said
Lucilla
;
"
but
it
is
not
what
they
say
,
but
the
way
they
say
it
,
that
is
the
fun
.
I
did
not
give
him
the
least
encouragement
.
As
for
that
,
I
think
a
girl
can
always
stop
a
man
when
she
does
not
care
for
him
.
It
depends
on
whether
you
intend
him
to
commit
himself
or
not
,
"
Miss
Marjoribanks
continued
,
and
fixed
her
eyes
meditatively
,
but
intently
,
upon
her
friend
's
face
.
"
Whether
I
intend
?
—
oh
,
goodness
,
Lucilla
!
how
can
you
speak
so
?
as
if
I
ever
intended
anything
,
"
said
her
companion
,
confused
,
yet
flattered
,
by
the
possibility
;
to
which
the
elder
sage
answered
calmly
,
with
all
the
composure
in
the
world
.
"
No
,
I
never
supposed
you
did
;
I
was
thinking
of
myself
,
"
said
Lucilla
,
as
if
,
indeed
that
was
the
only
reasonable
subject
of
thought
.
"
You
know
I
have
seen
a
good
deal
of
the
world
,
one
way
and
another
,
with
going
to
spend
the
holidays
,
and
I
could
tell
you
quantities
of
things
.
It
is
quite
astonishing
how
much
experience
one
gets
.
When
I
was
at
Midhurst
,
at
Easter
,
there
was
my
cousin
Tom
,
who
was
quite
ridiculous
;
I
declare
he
nearly
brought
things
to
an
explanation
,
Fanny
—
which
,
of
course
,
of
all
things
in
the
world
I
most
wanted
to
avoid
.
"
"
Oh
,
but
why
,
Lucilla
?
"
cried
Fanny
,
full
of
delight
and
wonder
;
"
I
do
so
want
to
know
what
they
say
when
they
make
—
explanations
,
as
you
call
them
.
Oh
,
do
tell
me
,
Lucilla
,
why
?
"
"
My
dear
,
"
said
Miss
Marjoribanks
,
"
a
cousin
of
my
own
!
and
only
twenty-one
,
and
reading
for
the
bar
!
In
the
first
place
,
my
aunt
would
never
have
forgiven
me
,
and
I
am
very
fond
of
my
aunt
.
It
's
so
nice
to
like
all
one
's
relations
.
I
know
some
girls
who
ca
n't
bear
theirs
.
And
then
a
boy
not
much
older
than
myself
,
with
nothing
but
what
his
mother
pleases
!
Fortunately
he
did
not
just
say
the
words
,
so
I
escaped
that
time
;
but
,
of
course
,
I
could
understand
perfectly
what
he
meant
.
"
"
But
,
oh
,
Lucilla
,
tell
me
the
words
,
"
cried
the
persistent
questioner
;
"
do
,
there
's
a
darling
!
I
am
quite
sure
you
have
heard
them
—
and
I
should
so
like
to
know
exactly
what
they
say
;
—
do
they
go
down
on
their
knees
?
—
or
do
they
try
to
take
your
hand
as
they
always
do
in
novels
?
—
or
what
do
they
do
?
—
Oh
,
Lucilla
,
tell
me
,
there
's
a
dear
!
"
"
Nonsense
,
"
said
Lucilla
;
"
I
only
want
you
to
understand
that
I
am
not
likely
to
fall
into
any
danger
of
that
sort
.
My
only
ambition
,
Fanny
,
as
I
have
told
you
often
,
is
to
go
home
to
Carlingford
and
be
a
comfort
to
dear
papa
.
"
"
Yes
,
"
said
Fanny
,
kissing
her
devoted
companion
,
"
and
it
is
so
good
of
you
,
dear
;
but
then
you
cannot
go
on
all
your
life
being
a
comfort
to
dear
papa
,
"
said
the
intelligent
girl
,
bethinking
herself
,
and
looking
again
with
some
curiosity
in
Lucilla
's
face
.
"
We
must
leave
that
to
Providence
,
"
said
Miss
Marjoribanks
,
with
a
sense
of
paying
a
compliment
to
Providence
in
entrusting
it
with
such
a
responsibility
.
"
I
have
always
been
guided
for
the
best
hitherto
,
"
she
continued
,
with
an
innocent
and
unintentional
profanity
,
which
sounded
solemn
to
her
equally
innocent
companion
,
"
and
I
do
n't
doubt
I
shall
be
so
till
the
end
.
"
From
which
it
will
be
perceived
that
Miss
Marjoribanks
was
of
the
numerous
class
of
religionists
who
keep
up
civilities
with
heaven
,
and
pay
all
the
proper
attentions
,
and
show
their
respect
for
the
divine
government
in
a
manner
befitting
persons
who
know
the
value
of
their
own
approbation
.
The
conversation
dropped
at
this
point
;
for
Lucilla
was
too
important
a
person
to
be
left
to
the
undivided
possession
of
an
inquisitive
innocent
like
Fanny
Middleton
,
who
was
only
sixteen
,
and
had
never
had
even
a
flirtation
in
her
own
person
.
There
were
no
Carlingford
girls
at
Mount
Pleasant
,
except
poor
little
Rose
Lake
,
the
drawing-master
's
second
daughter
,
who
had
been
received
on
Dr
Marjoribanks
's
recommendation
,
and
who
heard
the
little
children
their
geography
and
reading
,
and
gave
them
little
lessons
in
drawing
,
by
way
of
paying
for
her
own
education
;
but
then
Rose
was
entirely
out
of
Miss
Marjoribanks
's
way
,
and
could
never
count
for
anything
in
her
designs
for
the
future
.
The
girls
at
Mount
Pleasant
were
good
girls
on
the
whole
,
and
were
rather
improved
by
the
influence
of
Lucilla
,
who
was
extremely
good-natured
,
and
,
so
long
as
her
superiority
was
duly
acknowledged
,
was
ready
to
do
anything
for
anybody
—
so
that
Rose
Lake
was
not
at
all
badly
off
in
her
inferior
position
.
She
could
be
made
useful
too
,
which
was
a
great
point
in
her
favour
;
and
Miss
Marjoribanks
,
who
possessed
by
nature
some
of
the
finest
qualities
of
a
ruler
,
instinctively
understood
and
appreciated
the
instruments
that
came
to
her
hand
.
As
for
Rose
,
she
had
been
brought
up
at
the
School
of
Design
in
Carlingford
,
of
which
,
under
the
supervision
of
the
authorities
who
,
in
those
days
,
inhabited
Marlborough
House
,
Mr
Lake
was
the
master
.
Rose
was
the
pride
of
the
school
in
the
peaceable
days
before
her
mother
died
;
she
did
not
know
much
else
,
poor
child
,
except
novels
,
but
her
copies
"
from
the
round
"
filled
her
father
with
admiration
,
and
her
design
for
a
Honiton-lace
flounce
,
a
spirited
composition
of
dragons
'
tails
and
the
striking
plant
called
teazle
,
which
flourishes
in
the
neighbourhood
of
Carlingford
(
for
Mr
Lake
had
leanings
towards
Preraphaelitism
)
,
was
thought
by
the
best
judges
to
show
a
wonderful
amount
of
feeling
for
art
,
and
just
missed
being
selected
for
the
prize
.
A
girl
with
such
a
talent
was
naturally
much
appreciated
in
Mount
Pleasant
.
She
made
the
most
charming
design
for
Miss
Marjoribanks
's
handkerchief
—
"
Lucilla
,
"
in
Gothic
characters
,
enclosed
in
a
wreath
of
forget-me-nots
,
skilfully
combined
with
thistle-leaves
,
which
Rose
took
great
pains
to
explain
were
so
much
better
adapted
to
ornamentation
than
foliage
of
a
less
distinct
character
;
and
the
young
draftswoman
was
so
charmed
by
Lucilla
's
enthusiastic
admiration
,
that
she
volunteered
to
work
the
design
in
the
cambric
,
which
was
a
much
more
serious
matter
.
This
was
on
the
eve
of
Miss
Marjoribanks
's
final
departure
from
school
.
She
was
to
spend
a
year
abroad
,
to
the
envy
of
all
whom
she
left
behind
;
but
for
herself
Lucilla
was
not
elated
.
She
thought
it
very
probable
that
she
would
ascend
Mont
Blanc
as
far
as
the
Grands
Mulets
at
least
,
and
,
of
course
,
in
spring
,
go
up
Vesuvius
,
having
got
through
the
Carnival
and
Miserere
and
all
the
balls
in
Rome
;
but
none
of
these
things
moved
her
out
of
her
usual
composure
.
She
took
it
all
in
the
way
of
business
,
as
she
had
taken
her
French
and
her
German
and
her
singing
and
her
political
economy
.
As
she
stepped
into
the
steamboat
at
Dover
which
was
to
convey
her
to
scenes
so
new
,
Lucilla
felt
more
and
more
that
she
who
held
the
reorganisation
of
society
in
Carlingford
in
her
hands
was
a
woman
with
a
mission
.
She
was
going
abroad
as
the
heir-apparent
went
to
America
and
the
Holy
Land
,
to
complete
her
education
,
and
fit
herself
,
by
an
examination
of
the
peculiarities
of
other
nations
,
for
an
illustrious
and
glorious
reign
at
home
.
Chapter
III
It
may
be
well
to
seize
the
opportunity
of
Miss
Marjoribanks
's
travels
,
through
which
it
is
unnecessary
to
follow
her
,
as
they
have
nothing
particular
to
do
with
the
legitimate
history
of
her
great
undertaking
,
to
explain
a
little
the
state
of
affairs
in
Carlingford
before
this
distinguished
revolutionary
began
her
labours
.
It
is
something
like
going
back
into
the
prehistoric
period
—
those
ages
of
the
flint
,
which
only
ingenious
quarrymen
and
learned
geologists
can
elucidate
—
to
recall
the
social
condition
of
the
town
before
Miss
Marjoribanks
began
her
Thursday
evenings
,
before
St
Roque
's
Chapel
was
built
or
thought
of
,
while
Mr
Bury
,
the
Evangelical
Rector
,
was
still
in
full
activity
,
and
before
old
Mr
Tufton
,
at
Salem
Chapel
(
who
sometimes
drank
tea
at
the
Rectory
,
and
thus
had
a
kind
of
clandestine
entrance
into
the
dim
outskirts
of
that
chaos
which
was
then
called
society
)
,
had
his
first
"
stroke
.
"
From
this
latter
circumstance
alone
the
entirely
disorganised
condition
of
affairs
will
be
visible
at
a
glance
.
It
is
true
,
Mr
Vincent
,
who
succeeded
Mr
Tufton
,
was
received
by
Lady
Western
,
in
days
when
public
opinion
had
made
great
advances
;
but
then
Lady
Western
was
the
most
good-natured
creature
in
the
world
,
and
gave
an
invitation
,
when
it
happened
to
come
into
her
head
,
without
the
least
regard
for
the
consequences
;
and
,
after
all
,
Mr
Vincent
was
very
nice-looking
and
clever
,
and
quite
presentable
.
Fortunately
,
however
,
the
period
to
which
we
allude
was
prior
to
the
entrance
of
Lady
Western
into
Grange
Lane
.
She
was
a
very
pretty
woman
,
and
knew
how
to
look
like
a
lady
of
fashion
,
which
is
always
of
importance
;
but
she
was
terribly
inconsequent
,
as
Miss
Marjoribanks
said
,
and
her
introductions
were
not
in
the
least
to
be
depended
upon
.
She
was
indeed
quite
capable
of
inviting
a
family
of
retired
drapers
to
meet
the
best
people
in
Grange
Lane
,
for
no
better
reason
than
to
gratify
her
protégés
,
which
,
of
course
,
was
a
proceeding
calculated
to
strike
at
the
roots
of
all
society
.
Fortunately
for
Carlingford
,
its
reorganisation
was
in
abler
hands
.
Affairs
were
in
an
utterly
chaotic
state
at
the
period
when
this
record
commences
.
There
was
nothing
which
could
be
properly
called
a
centre
in
the
entire
town
.
To
be
sure
,
Grange
Lane
was
inhabited
,
as
at
present
,
by
the
best
families
in
Carlingford
;
but
then
,
without
organisation
,
what
good
does
it
do
to
have
a
number
of
people
together
?
For
example
,
Mr
Bury
was
utterly
unqualified
to
take
any
lead
.
Mrs
Bury
had
been
dead
a
long
time
,
and
the
daughters
were
married
,
and
the
Rector
's
maiden
sister
,
who
lived
with
him
,
was
entirely
of
his
own
way
of
thinking
,
and
asked
people
to
tea-parties
,
which
were
like
Methodists
'
class-meetings
,
and
where
Mr
Tufton
was
to
be
met
with
,
and
sometimes
other
Dissenters
,
to
whom
the
Rector
gave
what
he
called
the
right
hand
of
fellowship
.
But
he
never
gave
anything
else
to
society
,
except
weak
tea
and
thin
bread-and-butter
,
which
was
fare
,
the
ladies
said
,
which
the
gentlemen
did
not
relish
.
"
I
never
can
induce
Charles
to
go
out
to
tea
,
"
said
young
Mrs
Woodburn
piteously
;
"
he
wo
n't
,
and
there
is
an
end
of
it
.
After
dinner
he
thinks
of
nothing
but
an
easy-chair
and
the
papers
;
and
,
my
dear
Miss
Bury
,
what
can
I
do
?
"
"
It
is
a
great
pity
,
my
dear
,
that
your
husband
's
carelessness
should
deprive
you
of
the
benefit
of
Christian
conversation
;
but
,
to
be
sure
,
it
is
your
duty
to
stay
with
him
,
and
I
hope
it
will
be
made
up
to
you
at
home
,
"
Miss
Bury
would
say
.
As
for
the
Rector
,
his
favourites
were
devoted
to
him
;
and
as
he
always
saw
enough
of
familiar
faces
at
his
sister
's
tea-parties
,
he
took
no
account
of
the
defaulters
.
Then
there
was
Dr
Marjoribanks
,
who
gave
only
dinners
,
to
which
naturally
,
as
there
was
no
lady
in
the
house
,
ladies
could
not
be
invited
,
and
who
,
besides
,
was
rather
a
drawback
than
a
benefit
to
society
,
since
he
made
the
men
quite
intolerable
,
and
filled
them
with
such
expectations
,
in
the
way
of
cookery
,
that
they
never
were
properly
content
with
a
good
family
dinner
after
.
Then
the
ladies
,
from
whom
something
might
justly
have
been
expected
in
the
way
of
making
society
pleasant
—
such
as
Mrs
Centum
and
Mrs
Woodburn
,
for
example
,
who
had
everything
they
could
desire
,
and
the
most
liberal
housekeeping
allowances
—
were
either
incapacitated
by
circumstances
(
which
was
a
polite
term
in
use
at
Carlingford
,
and
meant
babies
)
or
by
character
.
Mrs
Woodburn
liked
nothing
so
well
as
to
sit
by
the
fire
and
read
novels
,
and
"
take
off
"
her
neighbours
,
when
any
one
called
on
her
;
and
,
of
course
,
the
lady
who
was
her
audience
on
one
occasion
,
left
with
the
comfortable
conviction
that
next
time
she
would
be
the
victim
;
a
circumstance
which
,
indeed
,
did
not
make
the
offender
unpopular
—
for
there
were
very
few
people
in
Carlingford
who
could
be
amusing
,
even
at
the
expense
of
their
neighbours
—
but
made
it
quite
impossible
that
she
should
ever
do
anything
in
the
way
of
knitting
people
together
,
and
making
a
harmonious
whole
out
of
the
scraps
and
fragments
of
society
.
As
for
Mrs
Chiley
,
she
was
old
,
and
had
not
energy
enough
for
such
an
undertaking
;
and
,
besides
,
she
had
no
children
,
and
disliked
bustle
and
trouble
,
and
was
of
opinion
that
the
Colonel
never
enjoyed
his
dinner
if
he
had
more
than
four
people
to
help
him
to
eat
it
;
and
,
in
short
,
you
might
have
gone
over
Grange
Lane
,
house
by
house
,
finding
a
great
deal
of
capital
material
,
but
without
encountering
a
single
individual
capable
of
making
anything
out
of
it
.
Such
was
the
lamentable
condition
,
at
the
moment
this
history
commences
,
of
society
in
Carlingford
.
And
yet
nobody
could
say
that
there
were
not
very
good
elements
to
make
society
with
.
When
you
add
to
a
man
capable
of
giving
excellent
dinners
,
like
Dr
Marjoribanks
,
another
man
like
young
Mr
Cavendish
,
Mrs
Woodburn
's
brother
,
who
was
a
wit
and
a
man
of
fashion
,
and
belonged
to
one
of
the
best
clubs
in
town
,
and
brought
down
gossip
with
the
bloom
on
it
to
Grange
Lane
;
and
when
you
join
to
Mrs
Centum
,
who
was
always
so
good
and
so
much
out
of
temper
that
it
was
safe
to
calculate
on
something
amusing
from
her
,
the
languid
but
trenchant
humour
of
Mrs
Woodburn
—
not
to
speak
of
their
husbands
,
who
were
perfectly
available
for
the
background
,
and
all
the
nephews
and
cousins
and
grand-children
,
who
constantly
paid
visits
to
old
Mr
Western
and
Colonel
Chiley
;
and
the
Browns
,
when
they
were
at
home
,
with
their
floating
suite
of
admirers
;
and
the
young
ladies
who
sang
,
and
the
young
ladies
who
sketched
,
and
the
men
who
went
out
with
the
hounds
,
when
business
permitted
them
;
and
the
people
who
came
about
the
town
when
there
was
an
election
;
and
the
barristers
who
made
the
circuit
;
and
the
gay
people
who
came
to
the
races
;
not
to
speak
of
the
varying
chances
of
curates
,
who
could
talk
or
play
the
piano
,
with
which
Mr
Bury
favoured
his
parishioners
—
for
he
changed
his
curates
very
often
;
and
the
occasional
visits
of
the
lesser
county
people
,
and
the
country
clergymen
;
—
it
will
be
plainly
apparent
that
all
that
was
wanting
to
Carlingford
was
a
master-hand
to
blend
these
different
elements
.
There
had
even
been
a
few
feeble
preliminary
attempts
at
this
great
work
,
which
had
failed
,
as
such
attempts
always
fail
when
they
are
premature
,
and
when
the
real
agent
of
the
change
is
already
on
the
way
;
but
preparations
and
presentiments
had
taken
vague
possession
of
the
mind
of
the
town
,
as
has
always
been
observed
to
be
the
case
before
a
great
revolution
,
or
when
a
man
destined
to
put
his
mark
on
his
generation
,
as
the
newspapers
say
,
is
about
to
appear
.
To
be
sure
,
it
was
not
a
man
this
time
,
but
Miss
Marjoribanks
;
but
the
atmosphere
thrilled
and
trembled
to
the
advent
of
the
new
luminary
all
the
same
.
Yet
,
at
the
same
time
,
the
world
of
Carlingford
had
not
the
least
idea
of
the
real
quarter
from
which
the
sovereign
intelligence
which
was
to
develop
it
from
chaos
into
order
and
harmony
was
,
effectivement
,
to
come
.
Some
people
had
hoped
in
Mrs
Woodburn
before
she
fell
into
her
present
languor
of
appearance
and
expression
;
and
a
great
many
people
hoped
in
Mr
Cavendish
's
wife
,
if
he
married
,
as
he
was
said
to
intend
to
do
;
for
this
gentleman
,
who
was
in
the
habit
of
describing
himself
,
no
doubt
,
very
truthfully
,
as
one
of
the
Cavendishes
,
was
a
person
of
great
consideration
in
Grange
Lane
;
and
some
hoped
in
a
new
Rector
,
for
it
was
apparent
that
Mr
Bury
could
not
last
very
long
.
Thus
,
with
the
ordinary
short-sightedness
of
the
human
species
,
Carlingford
blinded
itself
,
and
turned
its
eyes
in
every
direction
in
the
world
rather
than
in
that
of
the
Swiss
mountains
,
which
were
being
climbed
at
that
moment
by
a
large
and
blooming
young
woman
,
with
tawny
short
curls
and
alert
decided
movements
;
so
little
do
we
know
what
momentous
issues
may
hang
upon
the
most
possible
accident
!
Had
that
energetic
traveller
slipped
but
an
inch
farther
upon
the
mer
de
glace
—
had
she
taken
that
other
step
which
she
was
with
difficulty
persuaded
not
to
take
on
the
Wengern
Alp
—
there
would
have
been
an
end
of
all
the
hopes
of
social
importance
for
Carlingford
.
But
the
good
fairies
took
care
of
Lucilla
and
her
mission
,
and
saved
her
from
the
precipice
and
the
crevasses
;
and
instinctively
the
air
at
home
got
note
of
what
was
coming
,
and
whispered
the
news
mysteriously
through
the
keyholes
.
"
Miss
Marjoribanks
is
coming
home
,
"
the
unsuspecting
male
public
said
to
itself
as
it
returned
from
Dr
Marjoribanks
's
dinners
,
with
a
certain
distressing
,
but
mistaken
presentiment
,
that
these
delights
were
to
come
to
an
end
;
and
the
ladies
repeated
the
same
