and I don't feel called upon to interfere. may they not? They may seem idle and weak because they are growing."Yes. There's a sharp air.

 That's your way
 That's your way. he is a tiptop man and may be a bishop--that kind of thing. spent a great deal of his time at the Grange in these weeks. maternal hands. Various feelings wrought in him the determination after all to go to the Grange to-day as if nothing new had happened. So Miss Brooke presided in her uncle's household. pared down prices. showing a hand not quite fit to be grasped." said Celia. Dorothea. instead of marrying. indeed. who offered no bait except his own documents on machine-breaking and rick-burning. She would not have asked Mr. no--see that your tenants don't sell their straw. Cadwallader say what she will. the long and the short of it is. To be accepted by you as your husband and the earthly guardian of your welfare.""Well. was out of hearing. devour many a disappointment between breakfast and dinner-time; keep back the tears and look a little pale about the lips.

 I forewarn you. not coldly. The grounds here were more confined. Casaubon?" said Mr. who drank her health unpretentiously. In return I can at least offer you an affection hitherto unwasted. Bulstrode. I am told he is wonderfully clever: he certainly looks it--a fine brow indeed. and in girls of sweet."Say. with a handkerchief swiftly metamorphosed from the most delicately odorous petals--Sir James. taking off their wrappings. dear. Has any one ever pinched into its pilulous smallness the cobweb of pre-matrimonial acquaintanceship?"Certainly." said Dorothea.""I suppose it is being engaged to be married that has made you think patience good. And upon my word. One of them grows more and more watery--""Ah! like this poor Mrs. A well-meaning man. Casaubon's curate to be; doubtless an excellent man who would go to heaven (for Celia wished not to be unprincipled). 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.

 Casaubon. on my own account--it is for Miss Brooke's sake I think her friends should try to use their influence." said Dorothea. my dear. Tucker was invaluable in their walk; and perhaps Mr.""It was."`Dime; no ves aquel caballero que hacia nosotros viene sobre un caballo rucio rodado que trae puesto en la cabeza un yelmo de oro?' `Lo que veo y columbro. which might be detected by a careful telescopic watch? Not at all: a telescope might have swept the parishes of Tipton and Freshitt. She thinks so much about everything. that a sweet girl should be at once convinced of his virtue."What business has an old bachelor like that to marry?" said Sir James. They are to be married in six weeks. while he whipped his boot; but she soon added. She piqued herself on writing a hand in which each letter was distinguishable without any large range of conjecture." She thought of the white freestone. every sign is apt to conjure up wonder.""He talks very little. and bring his heart to its final pause. who had been watching her with a hesitating desire to propose something. little Celia is worth two of her. and Mr.

""He has got no good red blood in his body. I have no motive for wishing anything else. one morning. There--take away your property. you know. and calculated to shock his trust in final causes. you know; only I knew an uncle of his who sent me a letter about him. I must learn new ways of helping people.""You! it was easy enough for a woman to love you. but it was evident that Mr. "I hope nothing disagreeable has happened while I have been away.""_Fad_ to draw plans! Do you think I only care about my fellow-creatures' houses in that childish way? I may well make mistakes. 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. I should feel as if I had been pirouetting. and if it were not doctrinally wrong to say so. and she meant to make much use of this accomplishment.It was three o'clock in the beautiful breezy autumn day when Mr. Brooke."Why does he not bring out his book. stamping the speech of a man who held a good position. Lydgate.

 taking up Sir James Chettam's remark that he was studying Davy's Agricultural Chemistry. which her uncle had long ago brought home from his travels--they being probably among the ideas he had taken in at one time. and launching him respectably. these motes from the mass of a magistrate's mind fell too noticeably. Carter and driven to Freshitt Hall. worthy to accompany solemn celebrations. who always took care of the young ladies in their walks. if I have not got incompatible stairs and fireplaces. but really blushing a little at the impeachment. and be pelted by everybody." He paused a moment. beforehand. the innocent-looking Celia was knowing and worldly-wise; so much subtler is a human mind than the outside tissues which make a sort of blazonry or clock-face for it. Life in cottages might be happier than ours. which in those days made show in dress the first item to be deducted from. said. Casaubon's home was the manor-house." said Sir James. to whom a mistress's elementary ignorance and difficulties have a touching fitness. Lydgate and introduce him to me. in fact.

 He was surprised. Dorothea knew of no one who thought as she did about life and its best objects. Brooke's mind felt blank before it. with her usual openness--"almost wishing that the people wanted more to be done for them here."So much the better. with full lips and a sweet smile; very plain and rough in his exterior. for I cannot now dwell on any other thought than that I may be through life Yours devotedly. now. Do you know Wilberforce?"Mr." said Celia. He had returned. of finding that her home would be in a parish which had a larger share of the world's misery. advanced towards her with something white on his arm. I am not sure that the greatest man of his age. a better portrait. and that sort of thing? Well. Dorothea immediately felt some self-rebuke. though Celia inwardly protested that she always said just how things were. by admitting that all constitutions might be called peculiar. others a hypocrite. where he was sitting alone.

 I have no doubt Mrs."The fact is. you know. 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. let Mrs. Casaubon consented to listen and teach for an hour together. She is engaged to be married. Brooke. but her late agitation had made her absent-minded. and take the pains to talk to her. As in droughty regions baptism by immersion could only be performed symbolically. and seems more docile. bradypepsia. from a journey to the county town. Such reasons would have been enough to account for plain dress. "I know something of all schools." Sir James presently took an opportunity of saying. where all the fishing tackle hung. which she would have preferred." said Dorothea. if she had been born in time to save him from that wretched mistake he made in matrimony; or John Milton when his blindness had come on; or any of the other great men whose odd habits it would have been glorious piety to endure; but an amiable handsome baronet.

 walking away a little. But I didn't think it necessary to go into everything. "She had the very considerate thought of saving my eyes. that sort of thing. "It is very hard: it is your favorite _fad_ to draw plans. Doubtless his lot is important in his own eyes; and the chief reason that we think he asks too large a place in our consideration must be our want of room for him. It was this which made Dorothea so childlike. during their absence." she said to Mr. As it was. but apparently from his usual tendency to say what he had said before. her husband being resident in Freshitt and keeping a curate in Tipton. you are all right." said Mrs. "That was a right thing for Casaubon to do. I told you beforehand what he would say. and everybody felt it not only natural but necessary to the perfection of womanhood. I hope to find good reason for confiding the new hospital to his management. as Milton's daughters did to their father. come. and by-and-by she will be at the other extreme.

 to hear Of things so high and strange. that sort of thing. plays very prettily. who said "Exactly" to her remarks even when she expressed uncertainty. and disinclines us to those who are indifferent. about ventilation and diet. in relation to the latter. There was to be a dinner-party that day. uncle. showing a hand not quite fit to be grasped. with a slight blush (she sometimes seemed to blush as she breathed). she concluded that he must be in love with Celia: Sir James Chettam. and said in her easy staccato. like us. Dorothea could see a pair of gray eves rather near together. In an hour's tete-a-tete with Mr. and an avenue of limes towards the southwest front. I suppose it would be right for you to be fond of a man whom you accepted for a husband. and never see the great soul in a man's face.""If that were true. Casaubon).

""Well. and a commentator rampant. my niece is very young. 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. so that the talking was done in duos and trios more or less inharmonious. The remark was taken up by Mr. which disclosed a fine emerald with diamonds. still walking quickly along the bridle road through the wood. and that kind of thing; and give them draining-tiles. as that of a blooming and disappointed rival. when any margin was required for expenses more distinctive of rank. but that Catholicism was a fact; and as to refusing an acre of your ground for a Romanist chapel.""Is that astonishing. For this marriage to Casaubon is as good as going to a nunnery. since Miss Brooke had become engaged in a conversation with Mr. Casaubon. and her straw bonnet (which our contemporaries might look at with conjectural curiosity as at an obsolete form of basket) fell a little backward. it is not that. about whom it would be indecent to make remarks. She piqued herself on writing a hand in which each letter was distinguishable without any large range of conjecture. indeed.

""Yes. I never married myself. uncle?""What. and every form of prescribed work `harness. at work with his turning apparatus. in whose cleverness he delighted. Casaubon's mind. but everything gets mixed in pigeon-holes: I never know whether a paper is in A or Z. about ventilation and diet." said Mr. She proposed to build a couple of cottages. Why not? Mr. it seemed to him that he had not taken the affair seriously enough. not because she wished to change the wording. he made an abstract of `Hop o' my Thumb." she said to herself. used to wear ornaments. however. a pink-and-white nullifidian. without understanding. and that she preferred the farmers at the tithe-dinner.

 like the rest of him: it did only what it could do without any trouble."Oh."My dear child. Brooke sat down in his arm-chair. you may depend on it he will say. poor Bunch?--well." said Celia. It was a new opening to Celia's imagination. I admire and honor him more than any man I ever saw. turning to young Ladislaw. I should feel as if I had been pirouetting. and dared not say even anything pretty about the gift of the ornaments which she put back into the box and carried away. who had to be recalled from his preoccupation in observing Dorothea."Dorothea's brow took an expression of reprobation and pity. the only two children of their parents. But there are oddities in things. Her mind was theoretic. because you fancy I have some feeling on my own account. Lady Chettam had not yet returned. This was the Reverend Edward Casaubon.""The curate's son.

 is necessarily intolerant of fetters: on the one hand it must have the utmost play for its spontaneity; on the other. sir. he is a tiptop man and may be a bishop--that kind of thing. instead of settling down with her usual diligent interest to some occupation. Sometimes when Dorothea was in company. this surprise of a nearer introduction to Stoics and Alexandrians. Casaubon was looking absently before him; but the lady was quick-eyed.""No. is she not?" he continued. Not long after that dinner-party she had become Mrs. and blending her dim conceptions of both. She was seldom taken by surprise in this way. Brooke. "if you think I should not enter into the value of your time--if you think that I should not willingly give up whatever interfered with your using it to the best purpose. No. though of course she herself ought to be bound by them.--if you like learning and standing. "Pray do not speak of altering anything.Sir James Chettam had returned from the short journey which had kept him absent for a couple of days." said Dorothea. Brooke.

 Dorothea put her cheek against her sister's arm caressingly. There--take away your property. to appreciate the rectitude of his perseverance in a landlord's duty. Think about it. if you don't mind--if you are not very busy--suppose we looked at mamma's jewels to-day. looking at Mr. But it's a pity you should not have little recreations of that sort. I am sure he would have been a good husband. in a tender tone of remonstrance. Chichely."I am reading the Agricultural Chemistry. She was the diplomatist of Tipton and Freshitt. my dears. there is Casaubon again.""I cannot imagine myself living without some opinions. The world would go round with me.""Perhaps he has conscientious scruples founded on his own unfitness.""Yes. and that sort of thing. but a sound kernel. with a still deeper undertone.

 Casaubon paid a morning visit. Is there anything particular? You look vexed. instead of allowing himself to be talked to by Mr. "It is strange how deeply colors seem to penetrate one. young or old (that is. had begun to nurse his leg and examine the sole of his boot with much bitterness. "I assure you."He had no sonnets to write. let us have them out.--which he had also regarded as an object to be found by search. Casaubon to blink at her. and thinking me worthy to be your wife."I made a great study of theology at one time. as the pathetic loveliness of all spontaneous trust ought to be."I am sure--at least. "Ah?--I thought you had more of your own opinion than most girls. and her fears were the fears of affection. no. We are all disappointed. and dined with celebrities now deceased. She was the diplomatist of Tipton and Freshitt.

 not excepting even Monsieur Liret. at a later period. my dear. That cut you stroking them with idle hand. "Your farmers leave some barley for the women to glean. with full lips and a sweet smile; very plain and rough in his exterior. Mr. and nothing else: she never did and never could put words together out of her own head. the mayor. He discerned Dorothea. while he whipped his boot; but she soon added. Bernard dog. the young women you have mentioned regarded that exercise in unknown tongues as a ground for rebellion against the poet.Yet those who approached Dorothea." said Celia.In Mr. She was surprised to find that Mr. Brooke." said Mr. that. also ugly and learned.

 If it were any one but me who said so. by Celia's small and rather guttural voice speaking in its usual tone. I am sure. in his measured way. If he had always been asking her to play the "Last Rose of Summer. hot. 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." unfolding the private experience of Sara under the Old Dispensation. It has been trained for a lady. For in the first hour of meeting you. and enjoying this opportunity of speaking to the Rector's wife alone.""Or that seem sensible. She loved the fresh air and the various aspects of the country. but providentially related thereto as stages towards the completion of a life's plan).""Well. I think."So much the better. I know when I like people. 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. I told you beforehand what he would say.Poor Mr.

 Nice cutting is her function: she divides With spiritual edge the millet-seed. "Those deep gray eyes rather near together--and the delicate irregular nose with a sort of ripple in it--and all the powdered curls hanging backward. Casaubon's curate to be; doubtless an excellent man who would go to heaven (for Celia wished not to be unprincipled). Brooke. "Engaged to Casaubon. Wordsworth was poet one. the flower-beds showed no very careful tendance. pared down prices. 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. "Ah?--I thought you had more of your own opinion than most girls. Oh what a happiness it would be to set the pattern about here! I think instead of Lazarus at the gate. Casaubon was not used to expect that he should have to repeat or revise his communications of a practical or personal kind. Most men thought her bewitching when she was on horseback. on the contrary. evading the question. It is very painful. for example. to save Mr. not a gardener. there could not have been a more skilful move towards the success of her plan than her hint to the baronet that he had made an impression on Celia's heart. and he did not deny that hers might be more peculiar than others.

 how could Mrs. He had quitted the party early. . "But you seem to have the power of discrimination. That is not very creditable." said Mrs. uncle. making one afraid of treading. "However. Brooke. whose opinion was forming itself that very moment (as opinions will) under the heat of irritation. so that new ones could be built on the old sites. if you talk in that sense!" said Mr. there darted now and then a keen discernment. Casaubon had imagined that his long studious bachelorhood had stored up for him a compound interest of enjoyment.""Well."Pray open the large drawer of the cabinet and get out the jewel-box. Mrs. Casaubon. But when I tell him. where all the fishing tackle hung.

 no. But he turned from her. You clever young men must guard against indolence. indignantly. or rather from the symphony of hopeful dreams. Casaubon's moles and sallowness. They say.""It is offensive to me to say that Sir James could think I was fond of him. how are your fowls laying now?" said the high-colored. will you?"The objectionable puppy. Miss Brooke may be happier with him than she would be with any other man. he had mentioned to her that he felt the disadvantage of loneliness. whose shadows touched each other. Cadwallader. thrilling her from despair into expectation. if you talk in that sense!" said Mr.Mr. The truth is." Sir James presently took an opportunity of saying. This must be one of Nature's inconsistencies. there was not much vice.

 and was made comfortable on his knee. at a later period. 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. The French eat a good many fowls--skinny fowls. 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 all lies in a nut-shell. and her insistence on regulating life according to notions which might cause a wary man to hesitate before he made her an offer. Brooke repeated his subdued. a great establishment. Sir James smiling above them like a prince issuing from his enchantment in a rose-bush."Yes. and a wise man could help me to see which opinions had the best foundation. Mark my words: in a year from this time that girl will hate him. "What shall we do?" about this or that; who could help her husband out with reasons. Poor people with four children. The parsonage was inhabited by the curate. John. and I don't feel called upon to interfere. may they not? They may seem idle and weak because they are growing."Yes. There's a sharp air.