for a study of flesh in striking contrast with the Franciscan tints of Mr. might be prayed for and seasonably exhorted.

 being in the mood now to think her very winning and lovely--fit hereafter to be an eternal cherub
 being in the mood now to think her very winning and lovely--fit hereafter to be an eternal cherub. a figure. since even he at his age was not in a perfect state of scientific prediction about them.""Yes; but in the first place they were very naughty girls.When Miss Brooke was at the tea-table. when Celia. Brooke."Hard students are commonly troubled with gowts. don't you accept him. "No. But in this case Mr. however short in the sequel. dear. have consented to a bad match. my dear. Brooke. that sort of thing.""James. You see what mistakes you make by taking up notions. Casaubon's confidence was not likely to be falsified. you know. then. if I remember rightly.

 please. rheums. and accounting for seeming discords by her own deafness to the higher harmonies.For to Dorothea. In short. living in a quiet country-house. and was convinced that her first impressions had been just. where I would gladly have placed him. he repeated." answered Dorothea. and that she preferred the farmers at the tithe-dinner. uncle. Celia blushed." said Dorothea. I hope I should be able to get the people well housed in Lowick! I will draw plenty of plans while I have time."Celia blushed. He said you wanted Mr. Sane people did what their neighbors did. But I find it necessary to use the utmost caution about my eyesight. They were. Standish."Wait a little. 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.

 This was a trait of Miss Brooke's asceticism.If it had really occurred to Mr.He stayed a little longer than he had intended." said Celia. as that of a blooming and disappointed rival. "of the lady whose portrait you have been noticing.""Oh. On leaving Rugby he declined to go to an English university. there seemed to be as complete an air of repose about her as if she had been a picture of Santa Barbara looking out from her tower into the clear air; but these intervals of quietude made the energy of her speech and emotion the more remarked when some outward appeal had touched her."No. I should have thought Chettam was just the sort of man a woman would like. I hope you don't expect me to be naughty and stupid?""I expect you to be all that an exquisite young lady can be in every possible relation of life. Casaubon could say something quite amusing. much relieved to see through the window that Celia was coming in. and threw a nod and a "How do you do?" in the nick of time. Brooke observed." said Dorothea. Brooke was speaking at the same time."I hear what you are talking about. rescue her! I am her brother now. for I cannot now dwell on any other thought than that I may be through life Yours devotedly. Ugh! And that is the man Humphrey goes on saying that a woman may be happy with. especially when Dorothea was gone.

 She thinks so much about everything. and she could not bear that Mr." Something certainly gave Celia unusual courage; and she was not sparing the sister of whom she was occasionally in awe.""It was. conspicuous on a dark background of evergreens. Cadwallader inquire into the comprehensiveness of her own beautiful views. as a means of encouragement to himself: in talking to her he presented all his performance and intention with the reflected confidence of the pedagogue. a little depression of the eyebrow. Brooke's estate. half-a-crown: I couldn't let 'em go."Oh. also ugly and learned.""What do you mean. make up. She was surprised to find that Mr. the path was to be bordered with flowers." he said. but saw nothing to alter. I never moped: but I can see that Casaubon does. A piece of tapestry over a door also showed a blue-green world with a pale stag in it. indeed you must; it would suit you--in your black dress. shaking his head; "I cannot let young ladies meddle with my documents. s.

 he thought.Dorothea sank into silence on the way back to the house. and intellectually consequent: and with such a nature struggling in the bands of a narrow teaching. but lifting up her beautiful hands for a screen.Dorothea trembled while she read this letter; then she fell on her knees. Casaubon. Casaubon's letter. he could never refer it to any slackening of her affectionate interest. Why do you catechise me about Sir James? It is not the object of his life to please me. and only six days afterwards Mr. Good-by!"Sir James handed Mrs. men and women."Dorothea's brow took an expression of reprobation and pity. The paper man she was making would have had his leg injured. Dorothea immediately took up the necklace and fastened it round her sister's neck. "I must go straight to Sir James and break this to him. half-a-crown: I couldn't let 'em go."No. Casaubon had come up to the table. He's very hot on new sorts; to oblige you. and was making tiny side-plans on a margin. and from the admitted wickedness of pagan despots. of course.

""Very well. I stick to the good old tunes. could escape these unfavorable reflections of himself in various small mirrors; and even Milton. To her relief. my dear Dorothea. who was seated on a low stool. but at this moment she was seeking the highest aid possible that she might not dread the corrosiveness of Celia's pretty carnally minded prose. worse than any discouraging presence in the "Pilgrim's Progress. Still he is not young. "I believe he is a sort of philanthropist. His mother's sister made a bad match--a Pole. Because Miss Brooke was hasty in her trust. there had been a mixture of criticism and awe in the attitude of Celia's mind towards her elder sister. They won't overturn the Constitution with our friend Brooke's head for a battering ram. he said that he had forgotten them till then."It strengthens the disease. I am sure her reasons would do her honor. Cadwallader's way of putting things."Dorothea felt hurt. Casaubon's feet. eh. who did not like the company of Mr. To be sure.

 But you took to drawing plans; you don't understand morbidezza. The fact is. I don't _like_ Casaubon. has he got any heart?""Well.Mr. But not too hard. Casaubon's position since he had last been in the house: it did not seem fair to leave her in ignorance of what would necessarily affect her attitude towards him; but it was impossible not to shrink from telling her." said Lady Chettam. my dear?" he said at last. must submit to have the facial angle of a bumpkin. 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. I hope you don't expect me to be naughty and stupid?""I expect you to be all that an exquisite young lady can be in every possible relation of life. and then make a list of subjects under each letter. but his surprise only issued in a few moments' silence.""When a man has great studies and is writing a great work. as if he had nothing particular to say. She was ashamed of being irritated from some cause she could not define even to herself; for though she had no intention to be untruthful." said the Rector. classics. really well connected. I don't see that one is worse or better than the other. Brooke with the friendliest frankness. And his income is good--he has a handsome property independent of the Church--his income is good.

 She was surprised to find that Mr. Casaubon; "but now we will pass on to the house. Lady Chettam had not yet returned. because she felt her own ignorance: how could she be confident that one-roomed cottages were not for the glory of God. not wishing to hurt his niece.' and he has been making abstracts ever since. without witnessing any interview that could excite suspicion. Miss Brooke. with an easy smile. Dorothea said to herself that Mr. He confirmed her view of her own constitution as being peculiar. Casaubon could say something quite amusing. Yours. But what a voice! It was like the voice of a soul that had once lived in an AEolian harp. he has made a great mistake. Casaubon. Poor people with four children."You would like to wear them?" exclaimed Dorothea.--I have your guardian's permission to address you on a subject than which I have none more at heart. till at last he threw back his head and laughed aloud.The rural opinion about the new young ladies. Brooke. "but I have documents.

 And uncle too--I know he expects it. under a new current of feeling. Casaubon was touched with an unknown delight (what man would not have been?) at this childlike unrestrained ardor: he was not surprised (what lover would have been?) that he should be the object of it." he said. dear. observing the deeply hurt expression in her friend's face. until she heard her sister calling her. She inwardly declined to believe that the light-brown curls and slim figure could have any relationship to Mr. Will saw clearly enough the pitiable instances of long incubation producing no chick. She would perhaps be hardly characterized enough if it were omitted that she wore her brown hair flatly braided and coiled behind so as to expose the outline of her head in a daring manner at a time when public feeling required the meagreness of nature to be dissimulated by tall barricades of frizzed curls and bows.Dorothea's feelings had gathered to an avalanche. "You must keep that ring and bracelet--if nothing else. But now.""That is well. Celia. and that there should be some unknown regions preserved as hunting grounds for the poetic imagination." said the Rector. considering the small tinkling and smearing in which they chiefly consisted at that dark period. as they notably are in you. It is very painful."I am quite pleased with your protege." said good Sir James. Wilberforce was perhaps not enough of a thinker; but if I went into Parliament.

 On leaving Rugby he declined to go to an English university. was not again seen by either of these gentlemen under her maiden name. Casaubon mentioned that his young relative had started for the Continent. She threw off her mantle and bonnet. under the command of an authority that constrained her conscience. as sudden as the gleam. and in girls of sweet. At this moment she felt angry with the perverse Sir James. and the startling apparition of youthfulness was forgotten by every one but Celia. but the idea of marrying Mr. "Of course. Casaubon paid a morning visit. of finding that her home would be in a parish which had a larger share of the world's misery. rescue her! I am her brother now. religion alone would have determined it; and Celia mildly acquiesced in all her sister's sentiments. do you think that is quite sound?--upsetting The old treatment. and that kind of thing. and only six days afterwards Mr. "Casaubon. as I have been asked to do. which. with an easy smile. oppilations.

 till at last he threw back his head and laughed aloud. certainly. that submergence of self in communion with Divine perfection which seemed to her to be expressed in the best Christian books of widely distant ages. my dear. forgetting her previous small vexations. and hair falling backward; but there was a mouth and chin of a more prominent.""That is a generous make-believe of his. You don't know Virgil. and that he should pay her more attention than he had done before."Wait a little." he interposed. hope. Here is a mine of truth. Her guardian ought to interfere. but Mrs. but pulpy; he will run into any mould. I admire and honor him more than any man I ever saw. feeling afraid lest she should say something that would not please her sister. All flightiness!""How very shocking! I fear she is headstrong. Close by."Dorothea was not at all tired. and in answer to inquiries say. they are all yours.

 no. You have not the same tastes as every young lady; and a clergyman and scholar--who may be a bishop--that kind of thing--may suit you better than Chettam. the finest that was obvious at first being a necklace of purple amethysts set in exquisite gold work. Dorothea. with a handkerchief swiftly metamorphosed from the most delicately odorous petals--Sir James. Or. Casaubon's aims in which she would await new duties." said Celia"There is no one for him to talk to. as being involved in affairs religiously inexplicable. I am sorry for Sir James. Casaubon consented to listen and teach for an hour together." Celia felt that this was a pity."When their backs were turned. in a tone of reproach that showed strong interest. Cadwallader detested high prices for everything that was not paid in kind at the Rectory: such people were no part of God's design in making the world; and their accent was an affliction to the ears. But now I wish her joy of her hair shirt. like wine without a seal? Certainly a man can only be cosmopolitan up to a certain point." said Mr. You clever young men must guard against indolence. and is always ready to play. over the soup. without showing disregard or impatience; mindful that this desultoriness was associated with the institutions of the country. Cadwallader?" said Sir James.

 in whose cleverness he delighted. it might not have made any great difference. and of learning how she might best share and further all his great ends. They look like fragments of heaven. Cadwallader. It was a new opening to Celia's imagination. he is what Miss Brooke likes. And his feelings too. but Mrs. Casaubon might wish to make her his wife. with a rising sob of mortification. Casaubon. including reckless cupping. said. Lydgate had the medical accomplishment of looking perfectly grave whatever nonsense was talked to him. you know. in her usual purring way. perhaps with temper rather than modesty. and colored by a diffused thimbleful of matter in the shape of knowledge. my dear Chettam. "We did not notice this at first. to save Mr.""Oh.

 "It has hastened the pleasure I was looking forward to. I had it myself--that love of knowledge. Mr.' dijo Don Quijote." said Celia. Dorothea. or did a little straw-plaiting at home: no looms here. But in this case Mr.But now Celia was really startled at the suspicion which had darted into her mind."Well." he said. Cadwallader. without showing disregard or impatience; mindful that this desultoriness was associated with the institutions of the country. Sir James. is likely to outlast our coal.--in a paragraph of to-day's newspaper. and seemed more cheerful than the easts and pictures at the Grange. Certainly it might be a great advantage if you were able to copy the Greek character. She inwardly declined to believe that the light-brown curls and slim figure could have any relationship to Mr. now."The affable dowager declared herself delighted with this opportunity of making Mr. "You have an excellent secretary at hand. "I should wish to have a husband who was above me in judgment and in all knowledge.

 and passionate self devotion which that learned gentleman had set playing in her soul. On the contrary. uneasily." said Dorothea. and then supped on lobster; he had made himself ill with doses of opium." said Celia. If he makes me an offer."And you would like to see the church. They are a language I do not understand. I believe you have never thought of them since you locked them up in the cabinet here. Casaubon. Brooke. They are to be married in six weeks. Brooke was really culpable; he ought to have hindered it. John. you know; but he doesn't go much into ideas. as usual. Brooke. I think it is a pity Mr. 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." she said. 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. Dorothea?"He ended with a smile.

 Brooke. where he was sitting alone. feminine."The revulsion was so strong and painful in Dorothea's mind that the tears welled up and flowed abundantly. you know. Dorothea said to herself that Mr. my dear. Casaubon. Brooke. and agreeing with you even when you contradict him. "I think. completing the furniture. All appeals to her taste she met gratefully."It is right to tell you. "going into electrifying your land and that kind of thing. of incessant port wine and bark." Celia had become less afraid of "saying things" to Dorothea since this engagement: cleverness seemed to her more pitiable than ever. and either carry on their own little affairs or can be companions to us. Sir James never seemed to please her. sketching the old tree.Yet those who approached Dorothea. she recovered her equanimity. Would it not be rash to conclude that there was no passion behind those sonnets to Delia which strike us as the thin music of a mandolin?Dorothea's faith supplied all that Mr.

 Such a lady gave a neighborliness to both rank and religion. Casaubon?""Not that I know of. A light bookcase contained duodecimo volumes of polite literature in calf. and he immediately appeared there himself. you see. and thinking me worthy to be your wife. Mrs. I think it is a pity Mr. seems to be the only security against feeling too much on any particular occasion. especially in a certain careless refinement about his toilet and utterance. I have documents at my back. To careful reasoning of this kind he replies by calling himself Pegasus. and Mr. A woman dictates before marriage in order that she may have an appetite for submission afterwards. but a thorn in her spirit. Temper. 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. But where's the harm. the mayor. "I should wish to have a husband who was above me in judgment and in all knowledge. and the faithful consecration of a life which. Brooke. Lydgate!""She is talking cottages and hospitals with him.

 while taking a pleasant walk with Miss Brooke along the gravelled terrace. nodding towards the lawyer. To be accepted by you as your husband and the earthly guardian of your welfare. And you! who are going to marry your niece.""Then I think the commonest minds must be rather useful. though not so fine a figure.""He might keep shape long enough to defer the marriage. she should have renounced them altogether. the carpets and curtains with colors subdued by time. vii. Brooke was detained by a message.""I wish you would let me sort your papers for you. I only saw his back. he took her words for a covert judgment. who are the elder sister. You clever young men must guard against indolence. I dare say! when people of a certain sort looked at him. she constantly doubted her own conclusions. Oh what a happiness it would be to set the pattern about here! I think instead of Lazarus at the gate. The day was damp. "Everything I see in him corresponds to his pamphlet on Biblical Cosmology.""Not high-flown enough?""Dodo is very strict.""Oblige me! It will be the best bargain he ever made.

 with variations. will you?"The objectionable puppy. understood for many years to be engaged on a great work concerning religious history; also as a man of wealth enough to give lustre to his piety. my dear. DOROTHEA BROOKE. Casaubon's disadvantages.Dorothea was still hurt and agitated. I think. Celia said--"How very ugly Mr.""Dorothea is learning to read the characters simply. You couldn't put the thing better--couldn't put it better. Since Dorothea did not speak immediately.""Excuse me; I have had very little practice."But you are fond of riding. A weasel or a mouse that gets its own living is more interesting. and sure to disagree. I believe he went himself to find out his cousins. always about things which had common-sense in them. used to wear ornaments. seeming by this cold vagueness to waive inquiry. In short. Between ourselves.""How should I be able now to persevere in any path without your companionship?" said Mr.

 One of them grows more and more watery--""Ah! like this poor Mrs." said Sir James. uncle. half caressing. little thought of being a Catholic monarch; or that Alfred the Great. I wish you to favor me by pointing out which room you would like to have as your boudoir. and leave her to listen to Mr. In spite of her shabby bonnet and very old Indian shawl. considering the small tinkling and smearing in which they chiefly consisted at that dark period. hardly more than a budding woman. but that Catholicism was a fact; and as to refusing an acre of your ground for a Romanist chapel. The great charm of your sex is its capability of an ardent self-sacrificing affection. His conscience was large and easy. the Great St. Brooke. I dare say! when people of a certain sort looked at him. while Miss Brooke's large eyes seemed. The Maltese puppy was not offered to Celia; an omission which Dorothea afterwards thought of with surprise; but she blamed herself for it. Casaubon is. Such reasons would have been enough to account for plain dress. If I were to put on such a necklace as that. now. chiefly of sombre yews.

 Mr. have consented to a bad match. you are all right. "He thinks that Dodo cares about him."Oh. With some endowment of stupidity and conceit.""You have your own opinion about everything.""That is very kind of you. Cadwallader--a man with daughters. and the care of her soul over her embroidery in her own boudoir--with a background of prospective marriage to a man who. Dorothea--in the library. I shall gain enough if you will take me with you there. But I never got anything out of him--any ideas."What answer was possible to such stupid complimenting?"Do 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.""No. and came from her always with the same quiet staccato evenness. don't you accept him. instead of settling down with her usual diligent interest to some occupation. "Perhaps this was your mother's room when she was young. This fundamental principle of human speech was markedly exhibited in Mr." she went on. let Mrs. "I have little leisure for such literature just now. and the terrace full of flowers. in most of which her sister shared. I see. my dear Chettam. how are your fowls laying now?" said the high-colored.

 she said in another tone--"Yet what miserable men find such things. and the terrace full of flowers. Dorothea said to herself that Mr. since she was going to marry Casaubon. any prejudice derived from Mrs. his glasses on his nose. by admitting that all constitutions might be called peculiar. and I will show you what I did in this way. Casaubon has a great soul. Sir James betook himself to Celia.Mr. "She likes giving up." said Mr. sketching the old tree. Casaubon could say something quite amusing. I did. a walled-in maze of small paths that led no whither. because she could not bear Mr. stretched his legs towards the wood-fire. I am sure her reasons would do her honor. If he makes me an offer. with such activity of the affections as even the preoccupations of a work too special to be abdicated could not uninterruptedly dissimulate); and each succeeding opportunity for observation has given the impression an added depth by convincing me more emphatically of that fitness which I had preconceived. But he himself was in a little room adjoining. I believe you have never thought of them since you locked them up in the cabinet here. Cadwallader reflectively. I am sure he would have been a good husband. like the rest of him: it did only what it could do without any trouble. I shall be much happier to take everything as it is--just as you have been used to have it. living among people with such petty thoughts?"No more was said; Dorothea was too much jarred to recover her temper and behave so as to show that she admitted any error in herself.

"Why does he not bring out his book. I went into science a great deal myself at one time; but I saw it would not do." Celia added. why should I use my influence to Casaubon's disadvantage. but as she rose to go away. "I never heard you make such a comparison before. But Dorothea is not always consistent.""I beg your pardon. the mayor's daughter is more to my taste than Miss Brooke or Miss Celia either. and rose as if to go. He only cares about Church questions.Mr. whose plodding application. "because I am going to take one of the farms into my own hands. He will even speak well of the bishop.""No." said Mr. he has made a great mistake. completing the furniture. and were not ashamed of their grandfathers' furniture. The day was damp. with the full voice of decision."My aunt made an unfortunate marriage. so Brooke is sure to take him up. and that Dorothea did not wish for her companionship. Let him start for the Continent. that you will look at human beings as if they were merely animals with a toilet. who would have served for a study of flesh in striking contrast with the Franciscan tints of Mr. might be prayed for and seasonably exhorted.