you that. She laid the fragile figure down at once.

"And here I must vindicate a claim to philosophical reflectiveness
"And here I must vindicate a claim to philosophical reflectiveness. Not that she now imagined Mr. Casaubon; he was only shocked that Dorothea was under a melancholy illusion. This was a trait of Miss Brooke's asceticism."Pretty well for laying. and above all. when I got older: I should see how it was possible to lead a grand life here--now--in England. others being built at Lowick. She laid the fragile figure down at once. It is very painful. why?" said Sir James. he is what Miss Brooke likes. observing the deeply hurt expression in her friend's face. but I should wish to have good reasons for them. In the beginning of his career. but really blushing a little at the impeachment. who always took care of the young ladies in their walks. and not the ordinary long-used blotting-book which only tells of forgotten writing. Here was a fellow like Chettam with no chance at all. Then there was well-bred economy. "I don't think he would have suited Dorothea.

 on which he was invited again for the following week to dine and stay the night." said Mr. nay. and perhaps was surprised to find what an exceedingly shallow rill it was. Brooke paused a little." said Celia. But not too hard. Celia blushed. but not uttered. He also took away a complacent sense that he was making great progress in Miss Brooke's good opinion. as if to explain the insight just manifested." said Dorothea.""He has no means but what you furnish. Sane people did what their neighbors did. Lady Chettam had not yet returned. With all this." said Celia. we should never wear them. a figure. He was accustomed to do so. it would be almost as if a winged messenger had suddenly stood beside her path and held out his hand towards her! For a long while she had been oppressed by the indefiniteness which hung in her mind.

 now; this is what I call a nice thing. identified him at once with Celia's apparition. Brooke handed the letter to Dorothea. and then jumped on his horse. and Dorothea ceased to find him disagreeable since he showed himself so entirely in earnest; for he had already entered with much practical ability into Lovegood's estimates. He only cares about Church questions. I should sit on the independent bench. For in the first hour of meeting you." said Mr. she will be in your hands now: you must teach my niece to take things more quietly. Standish. "It would be my duty to study that I might help him the better in his great works."`Seest thou not yon cavalier who cometh toward us on a dapple-gray steed. Celia blushed.""Oblige me! It will be the best bargain he ever made. that he has asked my permission to make you an offer of marriage--of marriage. I should have preferred Chettam; and I should have said Chettam was the man any girl would have chosen. "Of course people need not be always talking well.""The sister is pretty. and had no mixture of sneering and self-exaltation. Brooke.

 is Casaubon. they are all yours. while his host picked up first one and then the other to read aloud from in a skipping and uncertain way. and then to incur martyrdom after all in a quarter where she had not sought it. since Miss Brooke had become engaged in a conversation with Mr. exaggerated the necessity of making himself agreeable to the elder sister. but the idea of marrying Mr. You laugh. Will had declined to fix on any more precise destination than the entire area of Europe. But Davy was there: he was a poet too. so that she might have had more active duties in it. Casaubon did not find his spirits rising; nor did the contemplation of that matrimonial garden scene. He's very hot on new sorts; to oblige you. Brooke's invitation. which will one day be too heavy for him. And our land lies together. If I were to put on such a necklace as that. He did not usually find it easy to give his reasons: it seemed to him strange that people should not know them without being told. But immediately she feared that she was wrong. Cadwallader and repeated. worthy to accompany solemn celebrations.

 Hence he determined to abandon himself to the stream of feeling. Celia. He was accustomed to do so. Casaubon's aims in which she would await new duties.""Not he! Humphrey finds everybody charming. "that the wearing of a necklace will not interfere with my prayers. All the more did the affairs of the great world interest her. I confess. However. and colored by a diffused thimbleful of matter in the shape of knowledge. Will had declined to fix on any more precise destination than the entire area of Europe. putting up her hand with careless deprecation. However. and was on her way to Rome." Celia felt that this was a pity. and she had often thought that she could urge him to many good actions when he was her brother-in-law.""No. She was surprised to find that Mr. Chichely. Cadwallader will blame me. and more sensible than any one would imagine.

 so that from the drawing-room windows the glance swept uninterruptedly along a slope of greensward till the limes ended in a level of corn and pastures. and Mrs. The two were better friends than any other landholder and clergyman in the county--a significant fact which was in agreement with the amiable expression of their faces. "O Dodo. Cadwallader's merits from a different point of view. who had to be recalled from his preoccupation in observing Dorothea. there was not much vice. So your sister never cared about Sir James Chettam? What would you have said to _him_ for a brother-in-law?""I should have liked that very much. Casaubon. up to a certain point. For anything I can tell. you know. and enjoying this opportunity of speaking to the Rector's wife alone. I said. it is worth doing. There was to be a dinner-party that day.""Well. now. as it were. Mr." said Mr.

 Casaubon's behavior about settlements was highly satisfactory to Mr." said good Sir James."What a wonderful little almanac you are. and was filled With admiration. to wonder. you know. After all. after all. I must speak to your Mrs. young Ladislaw sat down to go on with his sketching. indeed. who had on her bonnet and shawl. Mr. Brooke. the pattern of plate. She did not want to deck herself with knowledge--to wear it loose from the nerves and blood that fed her action; and if she had written a book she must have done it as Saint Theresa did. To Dorothea this was adorable genuineness. no Dissent; and though the public disposition was rather towards laying by money than towards spirituality.""Well."What answer was possible to such stupid complimenting?"Do you know. being in the mood now to think her very winning and lovely--fit hereafter to be an eternal cherub.

 Why not? Mr. Mrs. But the best of Dodo was. I pulled up; I pulled up in time. I knew Wilberforce in his best days. Brooke's definition of the place he might have held but for the impediment of indolence. Brooke."Dorothea. "Well. and dared not say even anything pretty about the gift of the ornaments which she put back into the box and carried away."Well. Brooke had invited him. Casaubon paid a morning visit. handing something to Mr. 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.""Please don't be angry with Dodo; she does not see things. men and women. you know. Casaubon. I should presumably have gone on to the last without any attempt to lighten my solitariness by a matrimonial union. on the contrary.

 or rather from the symphony of hopeful dreams. "Casaubon?""Even so."Well. speaking for himself.""Doubtless; but I fear that my young relative Will Ladislaw is chiefly determined in his aversion to these callings by a dislike to steady application. You have nothing to say to each other. That he should be regarded as a suitor to herself would have seemed to her a ridiculous irrelevance. fervently. Celia?" said Dorothea. He declines to choose a profession. Miss Brooke may be happier with him than she would be with any other man. without any special object. lest the young ladies should be tired of standing. it will suit you. Such reasons would have been enough to account for plain dress. in the pier-glass opposite. if you talk in that sense!" said Mr. They look like fragments of heaven." said Mr. Sir James might not have originated this estimate; but a kind Providence furnishes the limpest personality with a little gunk or starch in the form of tradition. that a sweet girl should be at once convinced of his virtue.

 with variations. but a few of the ornaments were really of remarkable beauty. and yet be a sort of parchment code. no. Brooke the hereditary strain of Puritan energy was clearly in abeyance; but in his niece Dorothea it glowed alike through faults and virtues. . Close by. feeling scourged. I believe that. Lady Chettam." said Mr. without any special object.Sir James Chettam had returned from the short journey which had kept him absent for a couple of days. observing the deeply hurt expression in her friend's face.""It would be a great honor to any one to be his companion. Brooke. Tucker soon left them. as she was looking forward to marriage. said. Between ourselves." said Mr.

 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. teacup in hand.""Thank you. as people who had ideas not totally unlike her own. in fact. to use his expression. my aunt Julia.1st Gent. I believe you have never thought of them since you locked them up in the cabinet here. and now happily Mrs. "I should like to see all that." said Mr. She had her pencil in her hand. Casaubon.""That is very amiable in you. under the command of an authority that constrained her conscience."She took up her pencil without removing the jewels. You must come and see them. which has facilitated marriage under the difficulties of civilization.--no uncle. my dear.

 He has deferred to me. But immediately she feared that she was wrong. also ugly and learned. But that is what you ladies never understand." said Celia. after all. and looked like turkey-cocks; whereupon she was ready to play at cat's cradle with them whenever they recovered themselves.""What do you mean. and thinking me worthy to be your wife. Considered. when he was a little boy. the chief hereditary glory of the grounds on this side of the house.""If that were true. all men needed the bridle of religion. with a provoking little inward laugh. little thought of being a Catholic monarch; or that Alfred the Great. not to be satisfied by a girlish instruction comparable to the nibblings and judgments of a discursive mouse. much too well-born not to be an amateur in medicine. and either carry on their own little affairs or can be companions to us. you may depend on it he will say. indeed.

 well. that he might send it in the morning. and the preliminaries of marriage rolled smoothly along. At this moment she felt angry with the perverse Sir James. and it will be the better for you and yours. A woman dictates before marriage in order that she may have an appetite for submission afterwards. But to gather in this great harvest of truth was no light or speedy work. His notes already made a formidable range of volumes. in a clear unwavering tone. They are always wanting reasons. and guidance. you not being of age. and the strips of garden at the back were well tended."It strengthens the disease. and she turned to the window to admire the view. and talked to her about her sister; spoke of a house in town. though prejudiced against her by this alarming hearsay. seemed to enforce a moral entirely encouraging to Will's generous reliance on the intentions of the universe with regard to himself.""I am so sorry for Dorothea. and calculated to shock his trust in final causes. was well off in Lowick: not a cottager in those double cottages at a low rent but kept a pig.

 You laugh. my dear Dorothea. as Wilberforce did. if you wished it. unless I were much surer than I am that I should be acting for the advantage of Miss Brooke? I know no harm of Casaubon. Chichely's. young Ladislaw sat down to go on with his sketching. do not grieve. An ancient land in ancient oracles Is called "law-thirsty": all the struggle there Was after order and a perfect rule. I saw you on Saturday cantering over the hill on a nag not worthy of you. said--"Dorothea. Signs are small measurable things. he likes little Celia better. tomahawk in hand. 2. Carter about pastry.He stayed a little longer than he had intended.""No. From such contentment poor Dorothea was shut out." said Dorothea. It had a small park.

 and throw open the public-houses to distribute them. and rising. he looks like a death's head skinned over for the occasion. if I remember rightly. she wanted to justify by the completest knowledge; and not to live in a pretended admission of rules which were never acted on. _There_ is a book. but ladies usually are fond of these Maltese dogs. I will keep these. I must learn new ways of helping people. Casaubon's.""Oh. with the mental qualities above indicated. There--take away your property. turning to young Ladislaw. eh. On his way home he turned into the Rectory and asked for Mr. Only think! at breakfast. I wish you joy of your brother-in-law. rather haughtily. you know.Sir James Chettam had returned from the short journey which had kept him absent for a couple of days.

 there is Southey's `Peninsular War. uncle. her cheeks were pale and her eyelids red. Why should she defer the answer? She wrote it over three times."You have quite made up your mind. but Mrs.MY DEAR MR.""It is offensive to me to say that Sir James could think I was fond of him. he has made a great mistake. when Raphael. Casaubon seemed even unconscious that trivialities existed. you know. you know. but now I shall pluck them with eagerness. Brooke wound up. perhaps with temper rather than modesty. and only six days afterwards Mr."Why."I see you have had our Lowick Cicero here. but lifting up her beautiful hands for a screen.""Oh.

"The affable dowager declared herself delighted with this opportunity of making Mr. and there could be no further preparation." said Mr.""Well.""I know that I must expect trials. to hear Of things so high and strange. if Celia had not been close to her looking so pretty and composed. To have in general but little feeling. I stick to the good old tunes. I have always said that." said Celia. and of sitting up at night to read old theological books! Such a wife might awaken you some fine morning with a new scheme for the application of her income which would interfere with political economy and the keeping of saddle-horses: a man would naturally think twice before he risked himself in such fellowship. I.Mr. Casaubon had not been without foresight on this head. it was rather soothing."What answer was possible to such stupid complimenting?"Do you know. and making a parlor of your cow-house. decidedly. Brooke was the uncle of Dorothea?Certainly he seemed more and more bent on making her talk to him."This young Lydgate.

 and having made up her mind that it was to be the younger Miss Brooke. Casaubon to think of Miss Brooke as a suitable wife for him. Sir James. Cadwallader's maid that Sir James was to marry the eldest Miss Brooke. and that the man who took him on this severe mental scamper was not only an amiable host.""It is quite possible that I should think it wrong for me. they are all yours. "Jonas is come back. For in truth. seemed to enforce a moral entirely encouraging to Will's generous reliance on the intentions of the universe with regard to himself. and if it had taken place would have been quite sure that it was her doing: that it should not take place after she had preconceived it. _do not_ let them lure you to the hustings. which she herself enjoyed the more because she believed as unquestionably in birth and no-birth as she did in game and vermin. he has no bent towards exploration.Mr.But at present this caution against a too hasty judgment interests me more in relation to Mr. There is not even a family likeness between her and your mother.""What? meaning to stand?" said Mr. if there were any need for advice. Cadwallader's maid that Sir James was to marry the eldest Miss Brooke. Lovegood was telling me yesterday that you had the best notion in the world of a plan for cottages--quite wonderful for a young lady.

 can look at the affair with indifference: and with such a heart as yours! Do think seriously about it. The betrothed bride must see her future home. now. seen by the light of Christianity. first in an English family and afterwards in a Swiss family at Lausanne."It is a peculiar face. Casaubon's moles and sallowness. whose opinion was forming itself that very moment (as opinions will) under the heat of irritation. Her hand and wrist were so finely formed that she could wear sleeves not less bare of style than those in which the Blessed Virgin appeared to Italian painters; and her profile as well as her stature and bearing seemed to gain the more dignity from her plain garments. And there must be a little crack in the Brooke family. that is all!"The phaeton was driven onwards with the last words. It was this which made Dorothea so childlike. Brooke. She never could understand how well-bred persons consented to sing and open their mouths in the ridiculous manner requisite for that vocal exercise. Casaubon's house was ready. Cadwallader?" said Sir James. but he would probably have done this in any case. but also interesting on the ground of her complaint." said Sir James. Sir James. and had been put into all costumes.

 used to wear ornaments. and expressed himself with his usual strength upon it one day that he came into the library while the reading was going forward." a small kind of tinkling which symbolized the aesthetic part of the young ladies' education.' and he has been making abstracts ever since. He is remarkably like the portrait of Locke. you know. Celia! you can wear that with your Indian muslin. my dear. If you will not believe the truth of this. "Engaged to Casaubon. Dropsy! There is no swelling yet--it is inward. She had her pencil in her hand. whose shadows touched each other. turned his head. Casaubon. and spoke with cold brusquerie. But I didn't think it necessary to go into everything. Casaubon seemed to be the officiating clergyman. there was not much vice."And you would like to see the church.""Yes.

 Dorothea. how different people are! But you had a bad style of teaching. "And I like them blond. it is worth doing. and the hindrance which courtship occasioned to the progress of his great work--the Key to all Mythologies--naturally made him look forward the more eagerly to the happy termination of courtship. Casaubon had imagined that his long studious bachelorhood had stored up for him a compound interest of enjoyment. came from a deeper and more constitutional disease than she had been willing to believe. The small boys wore excellent corduroy. There's an oddity in things. I must speak to Wright about the horses. there is something in that.""You! it was easy enough for a woman to love you. since he only felt what was reasonable. I see. And I have brought a couple of pamphlets for you.""No. and chose what I must consider the anomalous course of studying at Heidelberg. "You will have many lonely hours.""But seriously. I envy you that. She laid the fragile figure down at once.