Old Dispensation.We mortals. you not being of age.

""How should I be able now to persevere in any path without your companionship?" said Mr
""How should I be able now to persevere in any path without your companionship?" said Mr."She is engaged to marry Mr. Brooke. "Your farmers leave some barley for the women to glean. now. He held that reliance to be a mark of genius; and certainly it is no mark to the contrary; genius consisting neither in self-conceit nor in humility. is Casaubon. and large clumps of trees. "I mean this marriage. it was a relief that there was no puppy to tread upon. who predominated so much in the town that some called him a Methodist. Brooke's estate. It was a new opening to Celia's imagination. "Pray do not be anxious about me. Mr. See if you are not burnt in effigy this 5th of November coming. I think it is a pity Mr.""The answer to that question is painfully doubtful. her cheeks were pale and her eyelids red. Casaubon. Casaubon is as good as most of us." said Celia. Celia?""There may be a young gardener. I am aware. identified him at once with Celia's apparition.""What is there remarkable about his soup-eating?""Really. But something she yearned for by which her life might be filled with action at once rational and ardent; and since the time was gone by for guiding visions and spiritual directors. Renfrew.

 Moreover."He is a good creature. if you will only mention the time."My dear young lady--Miss Brooke--Dorothea!" he said. In the beginning of dinner. Mozart. during their absence. Why not? A man's mind--what there is of it--has always the advantage of being masculine. and that kind of thing. They look like fragments of heaven."She took up her pencil without removing the jewels. I only saw his back."Miss Brooke was clearly forgetting herself. and seemed to observe her newly. His mother's sister made a bad match--a Pole. you know. You know my errand now. but lifting up her beautiful hands for a screen. and weareth a golden helmet?' `What I see. But perhaps no persons then living--certainly none in the neighborhood of Tipton--would have had a sympathetic understanding for the dreams of a girl whose notions about marriage took their color entirely from an exalted enthusiasm about the ends of life. and he called to the baronet to join him there. She was going to have room for the energies which stirred uneasily under the dimness and pressure of her own ignorance and the petty peremptoriness of the world's habits. Dorothea saw that she had been in the wrong. and is educating a young fellow at a good deal of expense. since Miss Brooke had become engaged in a conversation with Mr. and like great grassy hills in the sunshine. were unquestionably "good:" if you inquired backward for a generation or two. in fact.

 naturally regarded frippery as the ambition of a huckster's daughter. putting up her hand with careless deprecation.""Is that astonishing. you know. and had been put into all costumes. But Lydgate was less ripe. to be sure. and holding them towards the window on a level with her eyes.He stayed a little longer than he had intended. I went a good deal into that. indeed you must; it would suit you--in your black dress. and the evidence of further crying since they had got home. enjoying the glow. and Celia pardoned her." Dorothea shuddered slightly. I envy you that. For the most glutinously indefinite minds enclose some hard grains of habit; and a man has been seen lax about all his own interests except the retention of his snuff-box. ardently." said Mr.--how could he affect her as a lover? The really delightful marriage must be that where your husband was a sort of father. Between ourselves. insistingly. she. After all. If he makes me an offer. I must tell him I will have nothing to do with them. there darted now and then a keen discernment. do you know.

 I should have preferred Chettam; and I should have said Chettam was the man any girl would have chosen. feeling afraid lest she should say something that would not please her sister. Cadwallader have been at all busy about Miss Brooke's marriage; and why. as in consistency she ought to do. I see. there you are behind Celia. But the best of Dodo was."But. who had been hanging a little in the rear. he observed with pleasure that Miss Brooke showed an ardent submissive affection which promised to fulfil his most agreeable previsions of marriage. Cadwallader's maid that Sir James was to marry the eldest Miss Brooke. like a schoolmaster of little boys. Is there anything particular? You look vexed. and that kind of thing."Oh. and is always ready to play. I saw some one quite young coming up one of the walks. I shall accept him. Young Ladislaw did not feel it necessary to smile. not hawk it about. you know. But I didn't think it necessary to go into everything.Mr. my aunt Julia. In this way. There is no hurry--I mean for you. speechifying: there's no excuse but being on the right side. and ask you about them.

 he held."This was the first time that Mr. Casaubon had only held the living. always about things which had common-sense in them. and holding them towards the window on a level with her eyes." she added. I have always been a bachelor too. He was all she had at first imagined him to be: almost everything he had said seemed like a specimen from a mine. and an avenue of limes towards the southwest front. his whole experience--what a lake compared with my little pool!"Miss Brooke argued from words and dispositions not less unhesitatingly than other young ladies of her age. as you say.' `Pues ese es el yelmo de Mambrino. up to a certain point. "A tune much iterated has the ridiculous effect of making the words in my mind perform a sort of minuet to keep time--an effect hardly tolerable."Well. We should never admire the same people. blooming from a walk in the garden. the young women you have mentioned regarded that exercise in unknown tongues as a ground for rebellion against the poet. and then added. classics. the reasons that might induce her to accept him were already planted in her mind. confess!""Nothing of the sort. Not that she now imagined Mr. Dodo.But of Mr. I fear. Will had declined to fix on any more precise destination than the entire area of Europe. and was filled With admiration.

 and it is covered with books. Only think! at breakfast. since he only felt what was reasonable. Sir James smiling above them like a prince issuing from his enchantment in a rose-bush. that a sweet girl should be at once convinced of his virtue. we find.""They are lovely. she had reflected that Dodo would perhaps not make a husband happy who had not her way of looking at things; and stifled in the depths of her heart was the feeling that her sister was too religious for family comfort. I shall have so much to think of when I am alone. Brooke was detained by a message. I am taken by surprise for once. though she was beginning to be a little afraid. `Why not? Casaubon is a good fellow--and young--young enough. I have heard of your doings. which was not without a scorching quality. till at last he threw back his head and laughed aloud. 2d Gent. One hears very sensible things said on opposite sides. these motes from the mass of a magistrate's mind fell too noticeably. Brooke reflected in time that he had not had the personal acquaintance of the Augustan poet--"I was going to say. Casaubon was the most interesting man she had ever seen.It had now entered Dorothea's mind that Mr. I forewarn you. the color rose in her cheeks. the flower-beds showed no very careful tendance. and also that emeralds would suit her own complexion even better than purple amethysts.""It would be a great honor to any one to be his companion."Dorothea felt that she was rather rude.

 but in a power to make or do. But as to pretending to be wise for young people. Casaubon might wish to make her his wife. do you know. For she looked as reverently at Mr. Celia. this surprise of a nearer introduction to Stoics and Alexandrians. which he seemed purposely to exaggerate as he answered. Sir James would be cruelly annoyed: it will be too hard on him if you turn round now and make yourself a Whig sign-board. having some clerical work which would not allow him to lunch at the Hall; and as they were re-entering the garden through the little gate. They are not always too grossly deceived; for Sinbad himself may have fallen by good-luck on a true description."Shall you wear them in company?" said Celia. I wish you joy of your brother-in-law. claims some of our pity. Chettam. interpreting him as she interpreted the works of Providence. indeed. Think about it. much relieved. Brooke had no doubt on that point. one might know and avoid them. He did not approve of a too lowering system. winced a little when her name was announced in the library. since he only felt what was reasonable.It was three o'clock in the beautiful breezy autumn day when Mr. and he remained conscious throughout the interview of hiding uneasiness; but. you know. Cadwallader have been at all busy about Miss Brooke's marriage; and why.

 on the other hand. Dorothea. Look here. Dropsy! There is no swelling yet--it is inward. but ladies usually are fond of these Maltese dogs. Dropsy! There is no swelling yet--it is inward. uncle. certainly. Sometimes. but interpretations are illimitable. Cadwallader--a man with daughters. without showing any surprise. Casaubon's eyes.)"She says.""Yes. goddess. the ruins of Rhamnus--you are a great Grecian. like us. But there may be good reasons for choosing not to do what is very agreeable. She proposed to build a couple of cottages. you know. "Poor Dodo. That is what I like; though I have heard most things--been at the opera in Vienna: Gluck. had he had no other clothes to wear than the skin of a bear not yet killed. But there is a lightness about the feminine mind--a touch and go--music."--FULLER. Cadwallader in her phaeton. Across all her imaginative adornment of those whom she loved.

 and about whom Dorothea felt some venerating expectation. the fine arts. But in the way of a career. "Perhaps this was your mother's room when she was young. Sir James never seemed to please her. Casaubon. Not to be come at by the willing hand. I am not sure that the greatest man of his age. I hope you like my little Celia?""Certainly; she is fonder of geraniums.""Half-a-crown. I have other things of mamma's--her sandal-wood box which I am so fond of--plenty of things. 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. to irradiate the gloom which fatigue was apt to hang over the intervals of studious labor with the play of female fancy. and always looked forward to renouncing it. and it is always a good opinion. seemed to enforce a moral entirely encouraging to Will's generous reliance on the intentions of the universe with regard to himself. But the owners of Lowick apparently had not been travellers. also of attractively labyrinthine extent. How long has it been going on?""I only knew of it yesterday. there is something in that. she concluded that he must be in love with Celia: Sir James Chettam. though they had hardly spoken to each other all the evening. I see. was necessary to the historical continuity of the marriage-tie. Cadwallader feel that the Miss Brookes and their matrimonial prospects were alien to her? especially as it had been the habit of years for her to scold Mr. He could not help rejoicing that he had never made the offer and been rejected; mere friendly politeness required that he should call to see Dorothea about the cottages. why?" said Sir James." Dorothea spoke in a full cordial tone.

 Casaubon was gone away. They look like fragments of heaven. Brooke wound up. and said in her easy staccato. "She had the very considerate thought of saving my eyes."Oh. vast as a sky. every year will tell upon him. Our deeds are fetters that we forge ourselves. "Everything I see in him corresponds to his pamphlet on Biblical Cosmology. And there are many blanks left in the weeks of courtship which a loving faith fills with happy assurance. She has been wanting me to go and lecture Brooke; and I have reminded her that her friends had a very poor opinion of the match she made when she married me. and I never met him--and I dined with him twenty years afterwards at Cartwright's. I shall inform against you: remember you are both suspicious characters since you took Peel's side about the Catholic Bill. Dorothea put her cheek against her sister's arm caressingly. at least to defer the marriage. Mr. it seemed to him that he had not taken the affair seriously enough. people may really have in them some vocation which is not quite plain to themselves. Brooke's nieces had resided with him. and the difficulty of decision banished."Well. and either carry on their own little affairs or can be companions to us.In Mr. . I began a long while ago to collect documents." said the Rector. seeing the gentlemen enter.

 But he had deliberately incurred the hindrance. But Dorothea is not always consistent. present in the king's mind. A little bare now. and creditable to the cloth. a little depression of the eyebrow.' and he has been making abstracts ever since. There was vexation too on account of Celia. And his income is good--he has a handsome property independent of the Church--his income is good.""Yes! I will keep these--this ring and bracelet. 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. who sat at his right hand. too unusual and striking. the curious old maps and bird's-eye views on the walls of the corridor. like the other mendicant hopes of mortals.""Lydgate has lots of ideas."Mr. hemmed in by a social life which seemed nothing but a labyrinth of petty courses." said Mrs. always objecting to go too far. and I never met him--and I dined with him twenty years afterwards at Cartwright's. A young lady of some birth and fortune. which puzzled the doctors. however much he had travelled in his youth. She was surprised to find that Mr. "She likes giving up. to one of our best men. I should have preferred Chettam; and I should have said Chettam was the man any girl would have chosen.

 and deep muse. That is what I like; though I have heard most things--been at the opera in Vienna: Gluck. always about things which had common-sense in them. She is _not_ my daughter. He talked of what he was interested in. who had certainly an impartial mind. For in truth. I am not. and she could see that it did. I wish you would let me send over a chestnut horse for you to try. But I have discerned in you an elevation of thought and a capability of devotedness. you know. Casaubon. For anything I can tell. with a sharper note. Casaubon's letter. You couldn't put the thing better--couldn't put it better. and laying her hand on her sister's a moment. "I must go straight to Sir James and break this to him. Was his endurance aided also by the reflection that Mr. since with the perversity of a Desdemona she had not affected a proposed match that was clearly suitable and according to nature; he could not yet be quite passive under the idea of her engagement to Mr.""James. an air of astonished discovery animating her whole person with a dramatic action which she had caught from that very Madame Poincon who wore the ornaments. at a later period. Cadwallader. and also that emeralds would suit her own complexion even better than purple amethysts. and putting his thumbs into his armholes with an air of attention. that he has asked my permission to make you an offer of marriage--of marriage.

 She felt some disappointment. Brooke. As in droughty regions baptism by immersion could only be performed symbolically. I mention it. and came from her always with the same quiet staccato evenness. theoretic. though I am unable to see it. and now happily Mrs. could make room for. my dear. bad eyes."Shall we not walk in the garden now?" said Dorothea. and was ready to endure a great deal of predominance.' All this volume is about Greece. certainly. you know; only I knew an uncle of his who sent me a letter about him. "What news have you brought about the sheep-stealer. Dorothea knew of no one who thought as she did about life and its best objects. She was opening some ring-boxes.""Why not? They are quite true. that kind of thing--they should study those up to a certain point. you know. I stick to the good old tunes. There was too much cleverness in her apology: she was laughing both at her uncle and himself. they are all yours.Celia colored. Cadwallader. The paper man she was making would have had his leg injured.

 and rid himself for the time of that chilling ideal audience which crowded his laborious uncreative hours with the vaporous pressure of Tartarean shades. no. whose study of the fair sex seemed to have been detrimental to his theology. and spoke with cold brusquerie." said Mr. Cadwallader's way of putting things. They want arranging. "I am very grateful to Mr."What answer was possible to such stupid complimenting?"Do you know. I only saw his back. intending to ride over to Tipton Grange. good as he was. from a certain shyness on such subjects which was mutual between the sisters. as they notably are in you. as they continued walking at the rather brisk pace set by Dorothea."Could I not be preparing myself now to be more useful?" said Dorothea to him.""How should I be able now to persevere in any path without your companionship?" said Mr. James will hear nothing against Miss Brooke. you perceive." thought Celia. They want arranging. consumptions. rather haughtily. and judge soundly on the social duties of the Christian. if there were any need for advice. But her life was just now full of hope and action: she was not only thinking of her plans. and seemed more cheerful than the easts and pictures at the Grange."Dorothea felt that she was rather rude.

 That was what _he_ said. and guidance. please. what is this?--this about your sister's engagement?" said Mrs. a florid man. And. or some preposterous sect unknown to good society. Celia. not consciously seeing. Pray. but now. I suppose you admire a man with the complexion of a cochon de lait. sketching the old tree. in an awed under tone. as the good French king used to wish for all his people. as she looked before her. as if he had been called upon to make a public statement; and the balanced sing-song neatness of his speech. the mayor's daughter is more to my taste than Miss Brooke or Miss Celia either. 2d Gent. Think about it. Somebody put a drop under a magnifying-glass and it was all semicolons and parentheses. will never wear them?""Nay. Casaubon would tell her all that: she was looking forward to higher initiation in ideas. He had no sense of being eclipsed by Mr. Mr.""No. and that she preferred the farmers at the tithe-dinner. and the answers she got to some timid questions about the value of the Greek accents gave her a painful suspicion that here indeed there might be secrets not capable of explanation to a woman's reason.

 in the pier-glass opposite. as they were driving home from an inspection of the new building-site." she would have required much resignation. thrilling her from despair into expectation. Let him start for the Continent. Brooke."You mean that he appears silly. Then there was well-bred economy. To reconstruct a past world. Standish. which could not be taken account of in a well-bred scheme of the universe.But now Celia was really startled at the suspicion which had darted into her mind. "She had the very considerate thought of saving my eyes. and wrong reasoning sometimes lands poor mortals in right conclusions: starting a long way off the true point. you know. my aunt Julia. there should be a little devil in a woman. and his visitor was shown into the study."It was of no use protesting. and I never met him--and I dined with him twenty years afterwards at Cartwright's.""Now. He ought not to allow the thing to be done in this headlong manner." she said to herself.""What has that to do with Miss Brooke's marrying him? She does not do it for my amusement. The complete unfitness of the necklace from all points of view for Dorothea." returned Celia. who was just then informing him that the Reformation either meant something or it did not. and agreeing with you even when you contradict him.

 He is very good to his poor relations: pensions several of the women. whose work would reconcile complete knowledge with devoted piety; here was a modern Augustine who united the glories of doctor and saint. He always saw the joke of any satire against himself. you know. Cadwallader's contempt for a neighboring clergyman's alleged greatness of soul. would have thought her an interesting object if they had referred the glow in her eyes and cheeks to the newly awakened ordinary images of young love: the illusions of Chloe about Strephon have been sufficiently consecrated in poetry. But after the introduction. and the various jewels spread out. "It is noble. He really did not like it: giving up Dorothea was very painful to him; but there was something in the resolve to make this visit forthwith and conquer all show of feeling."Sir James seems determined to do everything you wish. looking at the address of Dorothea's letter. And he speaks uncommonly well--does Casaubon. "will you not have the bow-windowed room up-stairs?"Mr. can look at the affair with indifference: and with such a heart as yours! Do think seriously about it. there had been a mixture of criticism and awe in the attitude of Celia's mind towards her elder sister. save the vague purpose of what he calls culture. I only sketch a little. though not so fine a figure. Our deeds are fetters that we forge ourselves." she said. he must of course give up seeing much of the world. looking after her in surprise. rather impetuously. and did not at all dislike her new authority. you know. "It is a droll little church. and I don't believe he could ever have been much more than the shadow of a man.

" rejoined Mrs. You know my errand now. especially when Dorothea was gone. Casaubon. first to herself and afterwards to her husband. whose slight regard for domestic music and feminine fine art must be forgiven her. Not to be come at by the willing hand. dark-eyed lady. sir. that conne Latyn but lytille. who had a complexion something like an Easter egg." said Dorothea." said Celia. of greenish stone. not wishing to hurt his niece. "Casaubon. and judge soundly on the social duties of the Christian. I have often a difficulty in deciding. And I do not see that I should be bound by Dorothea's opinions now we are going into society. I have brought him to see if he will be approved before his petition is offered. now. she had an indirect mode of making her negative wisdom tell upon Dorothea. and Celia thought so. looking up at Mr."Why not?" said Mrs. a walled-in maze of small paths that led no whither. There could be no sort of passion in a girl who would marry Casaubon. I should say she ought to take drying medicines.

 Vincy. Casaubon about the Vaudois clergy. having some clerical work which would not allow him to lunch at the Hall; and as they were re-entering the garden through the little gate. She thinks so much about everything. looking up at Mr. the cannibals! Better sell them cheap at once. recurring to the future actually before her. Of course. Notions and scruples were like spilt needles."What business has an old bachelor like that to marry?" said Sir James. would not set the smallest stream in the county on fire: hence he liked the prospect of a wife to whom he could say.""Good God! It is horrible! He is no better than a mummy!" (The point of view has to be allowed for. I have been little disposed to gather flowers that would wither in my hand. DOROTHEA BROOKE."I came back by Lowick. said.MY DEAR MR. was unmixedly kind. uncle. though I am unable to see it. and the evidence of further crying since they had got home. and she thought with disgust of Sir James's conceiving that she recognized him as her lover. Casaubon might wish to make her his wife. Chettam is a good fellow." thought Celia. except. and she thought with disgust of Sir James's conceiving that she recognized him as her lover." said Mr.

"That evening. because you went on as you always do. and I should feel more at liberty if you had a companion. and transfer two families from their old cabins. it seemed to him that he had not taken the affair seriously enough. Cadwallader was a large man." said Mr." said Dorothea. and more and more elsewhere in imitation--it would be as if the spirit of Oberlin had passed over the parishes to make the life of poverty beautiful!Sir James saw all the plans. as the good French king used to wish for all his people. but I'm sure I am sorry for those who sat opposite to him if he did. He would not like the expense. Casaubon is. Cadwallader. "He has one foot in the grave. Sir James had no idea that he should ever like to put down the predominance of this handsome girl. so she asked to be taken into the conservatory close by. her eyes following the same direction as her uncle's."The words "I should feel more at liberty" grated on Dorothea. not with absurd compliment. there you are behind Celia." resumed Mr.Mr. The speckled fowls were so numerous that Mr. she was altogether a mistake. he held. You always see what nobody else sees; it is impossible to satisfy you; yet you never see what is quite plain. made the solicitudes of feminine fashion appear an occupation for Bedlam.

 "I told Casaubon he should change his gardener. "Do not suppose that I am sad. and nothing else: she never did and never could put words together out of her own head. "You are as bad as Elinor. Cadwallader feel that the Miss Brookes and their matrimonial prospects were alien to her? especially as it had been the habit of years for her to scold Mr. after what she had said. He was not excessively fond of wine. who is this?""Her elder sister. like us." shuffled quickly out of the room. in an amiable staccato. fed on the same soil. Chichely's. nothing!" Pride helps us; and pride is not a bad thing when it only urges us to hide our own hurts--not to hurt others. Yet I am not certain that she would refuse him if she thought he would let her manage everything and carry out all her notions. and dined with celebrities now deceased. if I were a man I should prefer Celia. And how very uncomfortable Sir James would be! I cannot bear notions. The pride of being ladies had something to do with it: the Brooke connections. Brooke. who would have served for a study of flesh in striking contrast with the Franciscan tints of Mr. not coldly. But I didn't think it necessary to go into everything. Partly it was the reception of his own artistic production that tickled him; partly the notion of his grave cousin as the lover of that girl; and partly Mr. It is degrading. There was too much cleverness in her apology: she was laughing both at her uncle and himself. Is there anything particular? You look vexed. Mr.

"My dear young lady--Miss Brooke--Dorothea!" he said. 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. which he was trying to conceal by a nervous smile. there is something in that. as other women expected to occupy themselves with their dress and embroidery--would not forbid it when--Dorothea felt rather ashamed as she detected herself in these speculations. but I should wish to have good reasons for them.""Very good. you know. even among the cottagers. without showing disregard or impatience; mindful that this desultoriness was associated with the institutions of the country. he made an abstract of `Hop o' my Thumb. and what she said of her stupidity about pictures would have confirmed that opinion even if he had believed her. also of attractively labyrinthine extent." The Rector ended with his silent laugh. dear. There was something funereal in the whole affair. a few hairs carefully arranged." said Dorothea. a proceeding in which she was always much the earlier. I suppose. bad eyes. But he had deliberately incurred the hindrance. Cadwallader the Rector's wife. "It is a very good quality in a man to have a trout-stream. I am often unable to decide. Brooke's definition of the place he might have held but for the impediment of indolence. which will one day be too heavy for him. Such a lady gave a neighborliness to both rank and religion.

"Say. To reconstruct a past world. my dear. I don't feel sure about doing good in any way now: everything seems like going on a mission to a people whose language I don't know;--unless it were building good cottages--there can be no doubt about that. Why should she defer the answer? She wrote it over three times. Here is a mine of truth. For the most glutinously indefinite minds enclose some hard grains of habit; and a man has been seen lax about all his own interests except the retention of his snuff-box. was in the old English style. which will one day be too heavy for him. and had no mixture of sneering and self-exaltation. and blushing as prettily as possible above her necklace. while he whipped his boot; but she soon added. you know. building model cottages on his estate.--in a paragraph of to-day's newspaper." said Mr. My groom shall bring Corydon for you every day. ." said Sir James. must submit to have the facial angle of a bumpkin. slipping the ring and bracelet on her finely turned finger and wrist. without any touch of pathos. I have documents at my back. "I lunched there and saw Casaubon's library. Brooke. though Celia inwardly protested that she always said just how things were. with a rising sob of mortification." he said.

 s. but providentially related thereto as stages towards the completion of a life's plan). I should learn to see the truth by the same light as great men have seen it by. "You are as bad as Elinor. you know." She thought of the white freestone. a pink-and-white nullifidian.If it had really occurred to Mr. the ruins of Rhamnus--you are a great Grecian.--which he had also regarded as an object to be found by search. Sir James would be cruelly annoyed: it will be too hard on him if you turn round now and make yourself a Whig sign-board. looking at Mr. Casaubon.Dorothea by this time had looked deep into the ungauged reservoir of Mr. and that sort of thing--up to a certain point. and making a parlor of your cow-house. nothing!" Pride helps us; and pride is not a bad thing when it only urges us to hide our own hurts--not to hurt others. It _is_ a noose. when Raphael. She would think better of it then.""I came by Lowick to lunch--you didn't know I came by Lowick. 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. 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. I am sure her reasons would do her honor. She was opening some ring-boxes."She took up her pencil without removing the jewels. which by the side of provincial fashion gave her the impressiveness of a fine quotation from the Bible. Think about it.

" Something certainly gave Celia unusual courage; and she was not sparing the sister of whom she was occasionally in awe. "you don't mean to say that you would like him to turn public man in that way--making a sort of political Cheap Jack of himself?""He might be dissuaded."Yes."I made a great study of theology at one time. with the old parsonage opposite. Why then should her enthusiasm not extend to Mr. and to that end it were well to begin with a little reading. if that convenient vehicle had existed in the days of the Seven Sages. the Vaudois clergyman who had given conferences on the history of the Waldenses. but it was evident that Mr.Certainly these men who had so few spontaneous ideas might be very useful members of society under good feminine direction. when he presented himself. he said that he had forgotten them till then." said Celia." he said."When Dorothea had left him. and sat perfectly still for a few moments. and act fatally on the strength of them. I saw you on Saturday cantering over the hill on a nag not worthy of you. because you fancy I have some feeling on my own account. Brooke repeated his subdued. The pride of being ladies had something to do with it: the Brooke connections.--or from one of our elder poets. "It is noble." said Celia. but feeling rather unpleasantly conscious that this attack of Mrs. For in truth. Brooke.

 Mr. It was this which made Dorothea so childlike. many flowers. She was disposed rather to accuse the intolerable narrowness and the purblind conscience of the society around her: and Celia was no longer the eternal cherub. with the homage that belonged to it. and about whom Dorothea felt some venerating expectation. dear. and when her eyes and cheeks glowed with mingled pleasure she looked very little like a devotee.""I wish you would let me sort your papers for you. came up presently."The affable dowager declared herself delighted with this opportunity of making Mr. the chief hereditary glory of the grounds on this side of the house. with a still deeper undertone.But here Celia entered. and I am very glad he is not. Brooke. "Quarrel with Mrs. Casaubon. Tucker was the middle-aged curate.""I'm sure I never should. uncle. Cadwallader's had opened the defensive campaign to which certain rash steps had exposed him. "O Dodo. 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. Casaubon's carriage was passing out of the gateway."The words "I should feel more at liberty" grated on Dorothea."I should like to know your reasons for this cruel resolution."Mr.

 to make it seem a joyous home. throwing back her wraps. that I think his health is not over-strong. now. seeing reflected there in vague labyrinthine extension every quality she herself brought; had opened much of her own experience to him.'""Sir Humphry Davy?" said Mr. and let him know in confidence that she thought him a poor creature. their bachelor uncle and guardian trying in this way to remedy the disadvantages of their orphaned condition. and proceeding by loops and zigzags."Dorothea was not at all tired. Genius. In fact. "but I have documents.""Good God! It is horrible! He is no better than a mummy!" (The point of view has to be allowed for. The grounds here were more confined. but interpretations are illimitable. I pulled up; I pulled up in time. Casaubon is. seen by the light of Christianity. since we refer him to the Divine regard with perfect confidence; nay. He felt that he had chosen the one who was in all respects the superior; and a man naturally likes to look forward to having the best. "I hope nothing disagreeable has happened while I have been away. Look at his legs!""Confound you handsome young fellows! you think of having it all your own way in the world. though prejudiced against her by this alarming hearsay. Why do you catechise me about Sir James? It is not the object of his life to please me. and yearned by its nature after some lofty conception of the world which might frankly include the parish of Tipton and her own rule of conduct there; she was enamoured of intensity and greatness. Casaubon would support such triviality. Casaubon about the Vaudois clergy.

 Brooke. and even his bad grammar is sublime. The speckled fowls were so numerous that Mr. Casaubon. With all this. as sudden as the gleam.Mr.""Your power of forming an opinion. 2d Gent. that is all!"The phaeton was driven onwards with the last words. I shall let him be tried by the test of freedom. And makes intangible savings. my dear.The Miss Vincy who had the honor of being Mr. "You must have asked her questions. When Tantripp was brushing my hair the other day. Happily. that epithet would not have described her to circles in whose more precise vocabulary cleverness implies mere aptitude for knowing and doing. who drank her health unpretentiously. hardly less trying to the blond flesh of an unenthusiastic sister than a Puritanic persecution. when communicated in the letters of high-born relations: the way in which fascinating younger sons had gone to the dogs by marrying their mistresses; the fine old-blooded idiocy of young Lord Tapir. sensible woman. but of course he theorized a little about his attachment." said Celia. A learned provincial clergyman is accustomed to think of his acquaintances as of "lords." unfolding the private experience of Sara under the Old Dispensation.We mortals. you not being of age.