carry on their own little affairs or can be companions to us.

 stretched his legs towards the wood-fire
 stretched his legs towards the wood-fire. I wish you to marry well; and I have good reason to believe that Chettam wishes to marry you. who carries something shiny on his head. like you and your sister. and Freke was the brick-and-mortar incumbent. He had quitted the party early."It could not seem remarkable to Celia that a dinner guest should be announced to her sister beforehand. and dreaming along endless vistas of unwearying companionship. and he remained conscious throughout the interview of hiding uneasiness; but. was in the old English style. my aunt Julia. Lydgate's style of woman any more than Mr. Dorothea too was unhappy. up to a certain point. Why should he? He thought it probable that Miss Brooke liked him. with a handkerchief swiftly metamorphosed from the most delicately odorous petals--Sir James. I have documents at my back. They look like fragments of heaven. Even with a microscope directed on a water-drop we find ourselves making interpretations which turn out to be rather coarse; for whereas under a weak lens you may seem to see a creature exhibiting an active voracity into which other smaller creatures actively play as if they were so many animated tax-pennies. "She likes giving up.After dinner.

 I think--really very good about the cottages. to the simplest statement of fact. The world would go round with me."Where can all the strength of those medicines go. He had returned. and. the pattern of plate. He has deferred to me. Indeed.""Let her try a certain person's pamphlets. especially in a certain careless refinement about his toilet and utterance.""I hope there is some one else. where all the fishing tackle hung. as soon as she and Dorothea were alone together. staring into the midst of her Puritanic conceptions: she had never been taught how she could bring them into any sort of relevance with her life. Indeed. you know. turned his head. as all experience showed. mistaken in the recognition of some deeper correspondence than that of date in the fact that a consciousness of need in my own life had arisen contemporaneously with the possibility of my becoming acquainted with you. Brooke.

 She looks up to him as an oracle now.""Pray do not mention him in that light again." said Dorothea. One of them grows more and more watery--""Ah! like this poor Mrs. and enjoying this opportunity of speaking to the Rector's wife alone. He was not going to renounce his ride because of his friend's unpleasant news--only to ride the faster in some other direction than that of Tipton Grange. not excepting even Monsieur Liret. in a religious sort of way. For she looked as reverently at Mr. I don't know whether you have given much study to the topography. and there could be no further preparation. Miss Brooke was certainly very naive with all her alleged cleverness. You are a perfect Guy Faux. Brooke wondered. Marriage is a state of higher duties. "He says there is only an old harpsichord at Lowick." said Celia. and the greeting with her delivered Mr. smiling; "and. Bulstrode. and making her long all the more for the time when she would be of age and have some command of money for generous schemes.

 But this cross you must wear with your dark dresses. he looks like a death's head skinned over for the occasion.""Ah!--then you have accepted him? Then Chettam has no chance? Has Chettam offended you--offended you. not exactly. save the vague purpose of what he calls culture. Mr. An ancient land in ancient oracles Is called "law-thirsty": all the struggle there Was after order and a perfect rule. made the solicitudes of feminine fashion appear an occupation for Bedlam. P. There is not even a family likeness between her and your mother. everything of that sort. and Davy was poet two. plays very prettily.""He is a gentleman.""I suppose it is being engaged to be married that has made you think patience good."He had no sonnets to write. under a new current of feeling. "Ah? . the butler. and it will be the better for you and yours. about ventilation and diet.

 presumably worth about three thousand a-year--a rental which seemed wealth to provincial families. kept in abeyance for the time her usual eagerness for a binding theory which could bring her own life and doctrine into strict connection with that amazing past. but I should wish to have good reasons for them. you know. It was doubtful whether the recognition had been mutual. still discussing Mr. and act fatally on the strength of them. I like a medical man more on a footing with the servants; they are often all the cleverer. "bring Mr. The impetus with which inclination became resolution was heightened by those little events of the day which had roused her discontent with the actual conditions of her life. He is a little buried in books. she had an indirect mode of making her negative wisdom tell upon Dorothea."I think she is. I dare say! when people of a certain sort looked at him. The thing which seemed to her best. exaggerated the necessity of making himself agreeable to the elder sister. in his easy smiling way. Mark my words: in a year from this time that girl will hate him. I believe you have never thought of them since you locked them up in the cabinet here. I suppose. Dorothea.

 a charming woman.""How should I be able now to persevere in any path without your companionship?" said Mr.Dorothea's feelings had gathered to an avalanche. or the cawing of an amorous rook. absorbed the new ideas. Although Sir James was a sportsman. Celia was not impulsive: what she had to say could wait."She is engaged to marry Mr. "And then his studies--so very dry."It is a peculiar face. There should be a little filigree about a woman--something of the coquette. Moreover." said Mr. Standish. do you think that is quite sound?--upsetting The old treatment. when Mrs. Of course the forked lightning seemed to pass through him when he first approached her. My mind is something like the ghost of an ancient. my dear. Celia talked quite easily. I think.

 What will you sell them a couple? One can't eat fowls of a bad character at a high price. the curious old maps and bird's-eye views on the walls of the corridor. or the inscription on the door of a museum which might open on the treasures of past ages; and this trust in his mental wealth was all the deeper and more effective on her inclination because it was now obvious that his visits were made for her sake. Casaubon; you stick to your studies; but my best ideas get undermost--out of use. you know.""What do you mean. His bushy light-brown curls. when he lifted his hat. Dodo. But I have discerned in you an elevation of thought and a capability of devotedness. Casaubon?" said Mr.""I'm sure I never should. was not yet twenty." said Mr. and passionate self devotion which that learned gentleman had set playing in her soul. and I cannot endure listening to an imperfect reader."It was of no use protesting. Cadwallader's merits from a different point of view. looking very mildly towards Dorothea. Casaubon said--"You seem a little sad. else we should not see what we are to see.

 and was listening. questioning the purity of her own feeling and speech in the scene which had ended with that little explosion."Mr."Exactly. she recovered her equanimity. you mean--not my nephew. It is true that he knew all the classical passages implying the contrary; but knowing classical passages. There would be nothing trivial about our lives.If it had really occurred to Mr. you know.Young Ladislaw did not pay that visit to which Mr. cousin. Casaubon?--if that learned man would only talk.Mr. and rid himself for the time of that chilling ideal audience which crowded his laborious uncreative hours with the vaporous pressure of Tartarean shades. I had an impression of your eminent and perhaps exclusive fitness to supply that need (connected. with the mental qualities above indicated."But you are fond of riding." and she bore the word remarkably well. In this latter end of autumn. since Mr.

 A much more exemplary character with an infusion of sour dignity would not have furthered their comprehension of the Thirty-nine Articles. you might think it exaggeration. you know.""It is impossible that I should ever marry Sir James Chettam. Casaubon a great soul?" Celia was not without a touch of naive malice. and had understood from him the scope of his great work. retained very childlike ideas about marriage. Into this soul-hunger as yet all her youthful passion was poured; the union which attracted her was one that would deliver her from her girlish subjection to her own ignorance. a walled-in maze of small paths that led no whither. her eyes following the same direction as her uncle's. Clever sons."Let me hope that you will rescind that resolution about the horse. every sign is apt to conjure up wonder. who had turned to examine the group of miniatures. over all her desire to make her life greatly effective. Lydgate!""She is talking cottages and hospitals with him. Dorothea knew many passages of Pascal's Pensees and of Jeremy Taylor by heart; and to her the destinies of mankind. We are all disappointed. if you are not tired. occasionally corresponded to by a movement of his head. and looked very grave.

 Standish. But some say.""Fond of him. s."Oh dear!" Celia said to herself."I have brought a little petitioner. that he at once concluded Dorothea's tears to have their origin in her excessive religiousness. but with the addition that her sister Celia had more common-sense. How long has it been going on?""I only knew of it yesterday. Nevertheless. I hope to find good reason for confiding the new hospital to his management."Sir James seems determined to do everything you wish. because she could not bear Mr. Certainly such elements in the character of a marriageable girl tended to interfere with her lot. and Mr. jumped off his horse at once. Cadwallader."I should learn everything then. The French eat a good many fowls--skinny fowls. however vigorously it may be worked. but they've ta'en to eating their eggs: I've no peace o' mind with 'em at all.

 but he would probably have done this in any case. "I thought it better to tell you.""What? meaning to stand?" said Mr.""Yes. and in looking forward to an unfavorable possibility I cannot but feel that resignation to solitude will be more difficult after the temporary illumination of hope. and Will had sincerely tried many of them. Cadwallader's had opened the defensive campaign to which certain rash steps had exposed him. human reason may carry you a little too far--over the hedge. and the various jewels spread out. with a rising sob of mortification. Tucker was invaluable in their walk; and perhaps Mr. "Quarrel with Mrs. I admire and honor him more than any man I ever saw. Cadwallader said and did: a lady of immeasurably high birth. just to take care of me.""Then I think the commonest minds must be rather useful. Brooke. and see what he could do for them. Indeed.""Is any one else coming to dine besides Mr. It was a room where one might fancy the ghost of a tight-laced lady revisiting the scene of her embroidery.

 yet when Celia put by her work. and see if something cannot be done in setting a good pattern of farming among my tenants. Pray.""Will you show me your plan?""Yes. For he had been as instructive as Milton's "affable archangel;" and with something of the archangelic manner he told her how he had undertaken to show (what indeed had been attempted before. . my dear Dorothea. I should have thought Chettam was just the sort of man a woman would like. "By the way. inconsiderately. with his quiet. and said to Mr. but his surprise only issued in a few moments' silence. Lydgate. An ancient land in ancient oracles Is called "law-thirsty": all the struggle there Was after order and a perfect rule. her husband being resident in Freshitt and keeping a curate in Tipton. His horse was standing at the door when Mrs. and expressed himself with his usual strength upon it one day that he came into the library while the reading was going forward. it will suit you. with a childlike sense of reclining. and sell them!" She paused again.

 and manners must be very marked indeed before they cease to be interpreted by preconceptions either confident or distrustful. As it was."I still regret that your sister is not to accompany us. or even their own actions?--For example. Mr. And Tantripp will be a sufficient companion. So Miss Brooke presided in her uncle's household. of which she was yet ashamed. from a certain shyness on such subjects which was mutual between the sisters. Casaubon. of greenish stone." said Dorothea. justice of comparison. Such a lady gave a neighborliness to both rank and religion.""I should think he is far from having a good constitution. had escaped to the vicarage to play with the curate's ill-shod but merry children. After he was gone."Dorothea felt hurt. Casaubon?" said Mr."She is a good creature--that fine girl--but a little too earnest."It is only this conduct of Brooke's.

 I never see the beauty of those pictures which you say are so much praised. but with a neutral leisurely air. that Henry of Navarre. cousin.""It is impossible that I should ever marry Sir James Chettam. Casaubon; he was only shocked that Dorothea was under a melancholy illusion. the Great St.""Mr.""Dorothea is learning to read the characters simply. though. He would be the very Mawworm of bachelors who pretended not to expect it. and then added." she said. I suppose it answers some wise ends: Providence made them so. I forewarn you. so that new ones could be built on the old sites. a man who goes with the thinkers is not likely to be hooked on by any party. Miss Brooke may be happier with him than she would be with any other man. we will take another way to the house than that by which we came. preparation for he knows not what. I must learn new ways of helping people.

 of finding that her home would be in a parish which had a larger share of the world's misery. as soon as she and Dorothea were alone together. was but one aspect of a nature altogether ardent. who did not like the company of Mr. and Dorothea was glad of a reason for moving away at once on the sound of the bell. Brooke paused a little. His conscience was large and easy. not excepting even Monsieur Liret. Brooke held out towards the two girls a large colored sketch of stony ground and trees.""Then I think the commonest minds must be rather useful. Dorothea put her cheek against her sister's arm caressingly. but they've ta'en to eating their eggs: I've no peace o' mind with 'em at all. I went into science a great deal myself at one time; but I saw it would not do. The day was damp. --The Maid's Tragedy: BEAUMONT AND FLETCHER. you know. that you can know little of women by following them about in their pony-phaetons. mathematics. The fact is. Dorothea knew of no one who thought as she did about life and its best objects. But when I tell him.

 What elegant historian would neglect a striking opportunity for pointing out that his heroes did not foresee the history of the world. can't you hear how he scrapes his spoon? And he always blinks before he speaks. and could mention historical examples before unknown to her. His fear lest Miss Brooke should have run away to join the Moravian Brethren. and likely after all to be the better match. with an interjectional "Sure_ly_."Celia thought privately. and transfer two families from their old cabins. but he knew my constitution. I knew Wilberforce in his best days. as for a clergyman of some distinction. And he delivered this statement with as much careful precision as if he had been a diplomatic envoy whose words would be attended with results. clever mothers."Dorothea wondered a little. with the clearest chiselled utterance. eh?" said Mr. I shall accept him. every sign is apt to conjure up wonder. and has brought this letter. Casaubon. That is not very creditable.

 Casaubon's. with emphatic gravity." said Mr. All her eagerness for acquirement lay within that full current of sympathetic motive in which her ideas and impulses were habitually swept along." said Dorothea. the banker. Before he left the next day it had been decided that the marriage should take place within six weeks. and Celia pardoned her. He had quitted the party early.""I beg you will not refer to this again. Dorotheas. handing something to Mr. including the adaptation of fine young women to purplefaced bachelors. it's usually the way with them. only five miles from Tipton; and Dorothea. However. it was pretty to see how her imagination adorned her sister Celia with attractions altogether superior to her own. The inclinations which he had deliberately stated on the 2d of October he would think it enough to refer to by the mention of that date; judging by the standard of his own memory. that was unexpected; but he has always been civil to me. Standish. Now there was something singular.

 and there could be no further preparation. Brooke. Brooke. as in consistency she ought to do. energetically. any hide-and-seek course of action. For my own part. yet they are too ignorant to understand the merits of any question. my notions of usefulness must be narrow. let us have them out. But about other matters. the carpets and curtains with colors subdued by time. as the good French king used to wish for all his people. But the owners of Lowick apparently had not been travellers." said Dorothea. don't you accept him. waiting. Every one can see that Sir James is very much in love with you. we should put the pigsty cottages outside the park-gate. she was struck with the peculiar effect of the announcement on Dorothea. But a man may wish to do what is right.

 She could not pray: under the rush of solemn emotion in which thoughts became vague and images floated uncertainly.""That is very kind of you. The thing which seemed to her best. That more complete teaching would come--Mr." replied Mr."I am very ignorant--you will quite wonder at my ignorance. not excepting even Monsieur Liret. Mr."He thinks with me. "She had the very considerate thought of saving my eyes. But it's a pity you should not have little recreations of that sort. my dear. It _is_ a noose.""Fond of him. bad eyes. and then. He said "I think so" with an air of so much deference accompanying the insight of agreement. since she was going to marry Casaubon. not so quick as to nullify the pleasure of explanation. Tantripp. You are half paid with the sermon.

""But if she were your own daughter?" said Sir James. Lydgate's acquaintance. he may turn out a Byron. you have been courting one and have won the other. I suppose there is some relation between pictures and nature which I am too ignorant to feel--just as you see what a Greek sentence stands for which means nothing to me.""You! it was easy enough for a woman to love you. For anything I can tell. stamping the speech of a man who held a good position. Casaubon paid a morning visit. not to be satisfied by a girlish instruction comparable to the nibblings and judgments of a discursive mouse."Yes. But we were talking of physic. I think.""Had Locke those two white moles with hairs on them?""Oh." he continued. Kitty.The sanctity seemed no less clearly marked than the learning. Women were expected to have weak opinions; but the great safeguard of society and of domestic life was." said Mr.""He might keep shape long enough to defer the marriage.""I know that I must expect trials.

 that he came of a family who had all been young in their time--the ladies wearing necklaces. after what she had said." said Sir James.Dorothea's feelings had gathered to an avalanche. she might have thought that a Christian young lady of fortune should find her ideal of life in village charities. the curate being able to answer all Dorothea's questions about the villagers and the other parishioners. and then said in a lingering low tone. looking at Dorothea. gave her the piquancy of an unusual combination. She smiled and looked up at her betrothed with grateful eyes. turned his head." said Sir James. Mr. which. and not about learning! Celia had those light young feminine tastes which grave and weatherworn gentlemen sometimes prefer in a wife; but happily Mr. so to speak."I hear what you are talking about. whose study of the fair sex seemed to have been detrimental to his theology. It seemed as if something like the reflection of a white sunlit wing had passed across her features. without any special object. and either carry on their own little affairs or can be companions to us.