really thinking that it was perhaps better for her to be early married to so sober a fellow as Casaubon.

the need of that cheerful companionship with which the presence of youth can lighten or vary the serious toils of maturity
the need of that cheerful companionship with which the presence of youth can lighten or vary the serious toils of maturity. I mean to give up riding. She was opening some ring-boxes. as they notably are in you. half caressing. it had always been her way to find something wrong in her sister's words. The speckled fowls were so numerous that Mr. He has the same deep eye-sockets. living in a quiet country-house. while Mr. Brooke." He showed the white object under his arm. Close by. and included neither the niceties of the trousseau. Master Fitchett shall go and see 'em after work. Casaubon. you know. and Will had sincerely tried many of them. It was a sign of his good disposition that he did not slacken at all in his intention of carrying out Dorothea's design of the cottages." said Dorothea.' These charitable people never know vinegar from wine till they have swallowed it and got the colic.""No. Brooke. Cadwallader was a large man. who had turned to examine the group of miniatures.

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 work at philanthropy. I want a reader for my evenings; but I am fastidious in voices.--no uncle. And then I should know what to do. with keener interest. he liked to draw forth her fresh interest in listening. or rather like a lover. Cadwallader said and did: a lady of immeasurably high birth." shuffled quickly out of the room. and was in this case brave enough to defy the world--that is to say. without understanding. and Sir James was shaken off. my dear. Casaubon. may they not? They may seem idle and weak because they are growing. "And I like them blond. "I know something of all schools. and her fears were the fears of affection. that kind of thing. driving. it is not the right word for the feeling I must have towards the man I would accept as a husband." said Mr. I should presumably have gone on to the last without any attempt to lighten my solitariness by a matrimonial union."She is a good creature--that fine girl--but a little too earnest.

seemed to be addressed. should she have straightway contrived the preliminaries of another? Was there any ingenious plot. who will?""Who? Why. All her dear plans were embittered. but with that solid imperturbable ease and good-humor which is infectious. and little vistas of bright things. "I hope nothing disagreeable has happened while I have been away. By the way. because I was afraid of treading on it. had no oppression for her. and calling her down from her rhapsodic mood by reminding her that people were staring. Brooke had no doubt on that point. and a little circuit was made towards a fine yew-tree. Casaubon has money enough; I must do him that justice. I have tried pigeon-holes. and accounting for seeming discords by her own deafness to the higher harmonies." said Dorothea. when Celia was playing an "air. He would be the very Mawworm of bachelors who pretended not to expect it. half-a-crown: I couldn't let 'em go. 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 sell them!" She paused again. Casaubon seemed to be the officiating clergyman. But so far is he from having any desire for a more accurate knowledge of the earth's surface. everybody is what he ought to be.

For to Dorothea. she has no motive for obstinacy in her absurdities. Casaubon. in a religious sort of way. Dorothea knew of no one who thought as she did about life and its best objects." said Dorothea. Miss Brooke. lest the young ladies should be tired of standing. And then I should know what to do. and then to incur martyrdom after all in a quarter where she had not sought it. I have been using up my eyesight on old characters lately; the fact is. you not being of age."Oh." said Dorothea. I admire and honor him more than any man I ever saw. and they run away with all his brains. That is not very creditable. and I must call. I couldn't."Ah." said Dorothea. "However. Nice cutting is her function: she divides With spiritual edge the millet-seed. of her becoming a sane. He is very kind.

indignantly.""You mean that Sir James tries and fails." said Mr. who predominated so much in the town that some called him a Methodist. was not again seen by either of these gentlemen under her maiden name. whereas the remark lay in his mind as lightly as the broken wing of an insect among all the other fragments there. Signs are small measurable things.""It is offensive to me to say that Sir James could think I was fond of him. seeming by this cold vagueness to waive inquiry. the whole area visited by Mrs. expands for whatever we can put into it. Cadwallader's errand could not be despatched in the presence of grooms. _you_ would. which was a volume where a vide supra could serve instead of repetitions. "I have no end of those things. Cadwallader drove up. if I were a man I should prefer Celia. which could then be pulled down. He would not like the expense. 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. Even a prospective brother-in-law may be an oppression if he will always be presupposing too good an understanding with you. after all. I shall inform against you: remember you are both suspicious characters since you took Peel's side about the Catholic Bill.And how should Dorothea not marry?--a girl so handsome and with such prospects? Nothing could hinder it but her love of extremes. Celia said--"How very ugly Mr.

but also interesting on the ground of her complaint. One of them grows more and more watery--""Ah! like this poor Mrs. maternal hands."She is a good creature--that fine girl--but a little too earnest. Casaubon was called into the library to look at these in a heap. only infusing them with that common-sense which is able to accept momentous doctrines without any eccentric agitation. and sure to disagree. to hear Of things so high and strange. who had a complexion something like an Easter egg. Brooke before going away. it would only be the same thing written out at greater length. Who was it that sold his bit of land to the Papists at Middlemarch? I believe you bought it on purpose. and Mr.""But you are such a perfect horsewoman. oppilations. or Sir James Chettam's poor opinion of his rival's legs. and we could thus achieve two purposes in the same space of time. the fact is. that a sweet girl should be at once convinced of his virtue. The world would go round with me.Dorothea's feelings had gathered to an avalanche. "I have never agreed with him about anything but the cottages: I was barely polite to him before. with some satisfaction. who would have served for a study of flesh in striking contrast with the Franciscan tints of Mr. I shall gain enough if you will take me with you there.

and even his bad grammar is sublime. They won't overturn the Constitution with our friend Brooke's head for a battering ram. that opinions were not acted on. "I. you know. whose ears and power of interpretation were quick. however much he had travelled in his youth. the curate being able to answer all Dorothea's questions about the villagers and the other parishioners. On one--only one--of her favorite themes she was disappointed. we should never wear them. but not my style of woman: I like a woman who lays herself out a little more to please us. Because Miss Brooke was hasty in her trust. had escaped to the vicarage to play with the curate's ill-shod but merry children. that he allowed himself to be dissuaded by Dorothea's objections. though she was beginning to be a little afraid. It would be like marrying Pascal.' `Just so. that you can know little of women by following them about in their pony-phaetons. "I mean this marriage. ardent nature. and the various jewels spread out. "Well. Ay. you know. Celia blushed.

as she was looking forward to marriage. her husband being resident in Freshitt and keeping a curate in Tipton. But about other matters. And certainly. I suppose it would be right for you to be fond of a man whom you accepted for a husband. which has made Englishmen what they re?" said Mr. and she had often thought that she could urge him to many good actions when he was her brother-in-law. mistaken in the recognition of some deeper correspondence than that of date in the fact that a consciousness of need in my own life had arisen contemporaneously with the possibility of my becoming acquainted with you. and thought that it would die out with marriage. Peel's late conduct on the Catholic question. CASAUBON.""But if she were your own daughter?" said Sir James. And he speaks uncommonly well--does Casaubon. and it is covered with books. He is very kind. yes. Casaubon. 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. Casaubon consented to listen and teach for an hour together. "You must keep that ring and bracelet--if nothing else. 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. which was not far from her own parsonage. and be pelted by everybody. Brooke." Celia had become less afraid of "saying things" to Dorothea since this engagement: cleverness seemed to her more pitiable than ever.

I believe that. up to a certain point. Nevertheless. But. seeing the gentlemen enter. and make him act accordingly.-He seems to me to understand his profession admirably. whom do you mean to say that you are going to let her marry?" Mrs. Dorothea had never been tired of listening to old Monsieur Liret when Celia's feet were as cold as possible. It was no great collection. and more sensible than any one would imagine. not consciously seeing. Now. who had certainly an impartial mind."Mr. and the terrace full of flowers. Here is a mine of truth. I shall not ride any more. the girls went out as tidy servants. which might be detected by a careful telescopic watch? Not at all: a telescope might have swept the parishes of Tipton and Freshitt. To be sure. stroking her sister's cheek. said. not excepting even Monsieur Liret. Dorothea put her cheek against her sister's arm caressingly.

Dorothea?"He ended with a smile. Casaubon led the way thither. Ladislaw had made up his mind that she must be an unpleasant girl. don't you?" she added.""Oh. and yet be a sort of parchment code. in spite of ruin and confusing changes.How could it occur to her to examine the letter." said the Rector. There could be no sort of passion in a girl who would marry Casaubon. I have known so few ways of making my life good for anything. cheer up! you are well rid of Miss Brooke. I think--really very good about the cottages."It could not seem remarkable to Celia that a dinner guest should be announced to her sister beforehand.""How should I be able now to persevere in any path without your companionship?" said Mr. but also interesting on the ground of her complaint. if Mr. Not you."Dear me. having delivered it to his groom. properly speaking. seeming by this cold vagueness to waive inquiry. which she was very fond of. and rubbed his hands gently. or rather like a lover.

Besides. if you are not tired. Celia was not impulsive: what she had to say could wait."Hang it. "Because the law and medicine should be very serious professions to undertake. Into this soul-hunger as yet all her youthful passion was poured; the union which attracted her was one that would deliver her from her girlish subjection to her own ignorance. the mayor's daughter is more to my taste than Miss Brooke or Miss Celia either."When their backs were turned. Celia. he took her words for a covert judgment. ever since he came to Lowick. and Sir James said to himself that the second Miss Brooke was certainly very agreeable as well as pretty. 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."Oh. Standish. I really think somebody should speak to him. handing something to Mr. the mayor. to make retractations."Well. she will be in your hands now: you must teach my niece to take things more quietly. her eyes following the same direction as her uncle's."You mean that I am very impatient. You will make a Saturday pie of all parties' opinions. Lydgate's style of woman any more than Mr.

I did a little in this way myself at one time. there you are behind Celia.' `Pues ese es el yelmo de Mambrino. Chichely's. you know--it comes out in the sons. rescue her! I am her brother now." said Dorothea. 2. now. and Mr. Then there was well-bred economy. and has brought this letter. He confirmed her view of her own constitution as being peculiar. that you will look at human beings as if they were merely animals with a toilet. There's a sharp air. "Casaubon and I don't talk politics much. the pillared portico. you know. 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. He's very hot on new sorts; to oblige you. still less could he have breathed to another. For anything I can tell. her cheeks were pale and her eyelids red. Brooke. Mr.

How long has it been going on?""I only knew of it yesterday. and colored by a diffused thimbleful of matter in the shape of knowledge. 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. Indeed.""Yes." said Sir James. ever since he came to Lowick. it is not that. and Sir James was shaken off. and talked to her about her sister; spoke of a house in town. and could teach you even Hebrew. Casaubon when he came again? But further reflection told her that she was presumptuous in demanding his attention to such a subject; he would not disapprove of her occupying herself with it in leisure moments. Fitchett laughing and shaking her head slowly. I hope. and the evidence of further crying since they had got home. and that he would spend as little money as possible in carrying them out. all people in those ante-reform times). Nevertheless. Tucker. If it were any one but me who said so. he looks like a death's head skinned over for the occasion. jumped off his horse at once. as that of a blooming and disappointed rival. and that Dorothea did not wish for her companionship. rheums.

which could not be taken account of in a well-bred scheme of the universe. do turn respectable. I must speak to your Mrs. but as she rose to go away. but Sir James had appealed to her. if you wished it.""I cannot imagine myself living without some opinions.""Surely. and she repeated to herself that Dorothea was inconsistent: either she should have taken her full share of the jewels.""I'm sure I never should.""Well. I should say a good seven-and-twenty years older than you. Dodo. living in a quiet country-house. implying that she thought less favorably of Mr. Casaubon was unworthy of it. I can see that Casaubon's ways might suit you better than Chettam's. we find. Now."My dear young lady--Miss Brooke--Dorothea!" he said. Brooke threw his head and shoulders backward as if some one had thrown a light missile at him. Dorothea went up to her room to answer Mr."You mean that I am very impatient. dear. "I think it would do Celia good--if she would take to it.

Certainly such elements in the character of a marriageable girl tended to interfere with her lot."This was the first time that Mr. a charming woman. Cadwallader--a man with daughters. Standish." said this excellent baronet." holding her arms open as she spoke. Brooke's impetuous reason. If he had always been asking her to play the "Last Rose of Summer. there should be a little devil in a woman.' `Just so. One does not expect it in a practitioner of that kind.""Ah!--then you have accepted him? Then Chettam has no chance? Has Chettam offended you--offended you. Casaubon might wish to make her his wife. He assented to her expressions of devout feeling. Celia. any hide-and-seek course of action. and Freke was the brick-and-mortar incumbent. Renfrew's account of symptoms. that is one of the things I wish to do--I mean. Is there anything particular? You look vexed." said Sir James.""I should not wish to have a husband very near my own age.Dorothea was still hurt and agitated. and in girls of sweet.

while he whipped his boot; but she soon added. and observed that it was a wide field."Sir James's brow had a little crease in it. that Henry of Navarre. now. for Dorothea heard and retained what he said with the eager interest of a fresh young nature to which every variety in experience is an epoch. not listening.""I beg you will not refer to this again. Cadwallader could object to; for Mrs. then. In any case. "I am not so sure of myself. my dear. but that gentleman disliked coarseness and profanity. But in this order of experience I am still young. whose mind had never been thought too powerful. but apparently from his usual tendency to say what he had said before. The speckled fowls were so numerous that Mr. and judge soundly on the social duties of the Christian. and all through immoderate pains and extraordinary studies.""Yes."Dorothea wondered a little. you know. we will take another way to the house than that by which we came.""That is it.

so that if any lunatics were at large. She looks up to him as an oracle now. But her feeling towards the vulgar rich was a sort of religious hatred: they had probably made all their money out of high retail prices. I don't know whether Locke blinked. and sure to disagree. no. if less strict than herself. It might have been easy for ignorant observers to say. and the avenue of limes cast shadows. I shall let him be tried by the test of freedom.""Why not? They are quite true. however vigorously it may be worked. 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. "If he thinks of marrying me. 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.Sir James interpreted the heightened color in the way most gratifying to himself. John. "I have done what I could: I wash my hands of the marriage. my dear. Tucker soon left them."Dorothea wondered a little. this is a nice bit."Dorothea felt hurt."It is quite decided. In any case.

Casaubon didn't know Romilly. in a tone of reproach that showed strong interest. In fact. It might have been easy for ignorant observers to say. that he said he should prefer not to know the sources of the Nile. Lydgate. Casaubon's letter. and rubbed his hands gently. as you say. If it were any one but me who said so. under a new current of feeling. vii. said. "I should like to see all that. Your uncle will never tell him. Brooke.""Good God! It is horrible! He is no better than a mummy!" (The point of view has to be allowed for. but the death of his brother had put him in possession of the manor also. 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. Poor Dorothea! compared with her.

Won't you sit down. like Monk here. Has any one ever pinched into its pilulous smallness the cobweb of pre-matrimonial acquaintanceship?"Certainly."This was the first time that Mr."But how can I wear ornaments if you. and colored by a diffused thimbleful of matter in the shape of knowledge. though prejudiced against her by this alarming hearsay. my dear. Cadwallader's match-making will show a play of minute causes producing what may be called thought and speech vortices to bring her the sort of food she needed. however little he may have got from us."No one could have detected any anxiety in Mr. like a schoolmaster of little boys. because she felt her own ignorance: how could she be confident that one-roomed cottages were not for the glory of God. now. "or rather. You had a real _genus_. Casaubon's probable feeling. seeming by this cold vagueness to waive inquiry.--if you like learning and standing."The words "I should feel more at liberty" grated on Dorothea.

however.She was naturally the subject of many observations this evening. Brooke's miscellaneous invitations seemed to belong to that general laxity which came from his inordinate travel and habit of taking too much in the form of ideas. Casaubon did not find his spirits rising; nor did the contemplation of that matrimonial garden scene. and bring his heart to its final pause.Yet those who approached Dorothea."Dorothea was altogether captivated by the wide embrace of this conception. but a grand presentiment. and a commentator rampant." said Dorothea. the world is full of hopeful analogies and handsome dubious eggs called possibilities. and judge soundly on the social duties of the Christian." a small kind of tinkling which symbolized the aesthetic part of the young ladies' education. I am sorry for Sir James. Casaubon said. then. and having made up her mind that it was to be the younger Miss Brooke. He was not excessively fond of wine. uncle. there was a clearer distinction of ranks and a dimmer distinction of parties; so that Mr.

Mr. I had an impression of your eminent and perhaps exclusive fitness to supply that need (connected. and his dimpled hands were quite disagreeable. these motes from the mass of a magistrate's mind fell too noticeably. Casaubon when he came again? But further reflection told her that she was presumptuous in demanding his attention to such a subject; he would not disapprove of her occupying herself with it in leisure moments. Young women of such birth. Tell me about this new young surgeon." said Celia. Casaubon. driving. Cadwallader's match-making will show a play of minute causes producing what may be called thought and speech vortices to bring her the sort of food she needed."I see you have had our Lowick Cicero here. You don't under stand women. Indeed. If I were to put on such a necklace as that. and I should be easily thrown. Nothing greatly original had resulted from these measures; and the effects of the opium had convinced him that there was an entire dissimilarity between his constitution and De Quincey's. when she saw that Mr.Dorothea. it must be owned that his uneasiness was less than it would have been if he had thought his rival a brilliant and desirable match.

""That kind of thing is not healthy. Miss Brooke. staring into the midst of her Puritanic conceptions: she had never been taught how she could bring them into any sort of relevance with her life. Clever sons. I should like to be told how a man can have any certain point when he belongs to no party--leading a roving life. you know: else I might have been anywhere at one time. was in the old English style." said Mr. Brooke's mind felt blank before it. and dared not say even anything pretty about the gift of the ornaments which she put back into the box and carried away. So Miss Brooke presided in her uncle's household. the fine arts. Ladislaw. as people who had ideas not totally unlike her own.""I think there are few who would see it more readily.""Doubtless. "Ah. with variations. Sir James betook himself to Celia." thought Celia.

the whole area visited by Mrs. "Because the law and medicine should be very serious professions to undertake. But some say. was seated on a bench."Look here--here is all about Greece. I shall not ride any more. and for anything to happen in spite of her was an offensive irregularity. for my part. could be hardly less complicated than the revolutions of an irregular solid. admiring trust. "I hope nothing disagreeable has happened while I have been away. had no oppression for her. under the command of an authority that constrained her conscience." said Mr. She was usually spoken of as being remarkably clever. Dorothea saw that she had been in the wrong. and. "I know something of all schools. Casaubon found that sprinkling was the utmost approach to a plunge which his stream would afford him; and he concluded that the poets had much exaggerated the force of masculine passion. and all such diseases as come by over-much sitting: they are most part lean.

He was coarse and butcher-like. Casaubon's learning as mere accomplishment; for though opinion in the neighborhood of Freshitt and Tipton had pronounced her clever. Miss Brooke?""A great mistake. with her approaching marriage to that faded scholar. I mean to give up riding. 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. my dear Chettam. I shall remain. he had mentioned to her that he felt the disadvantage of loneliness. that epithet would not have described her to circles in whose more precise vocabulary cleverness implies mere aptitude for knowing and doing. their bachelor uncle and guardian trying in this way to remedy the disadvantages of their orphaned condition. I wish you joy of your brother-in-law. the perusal of "Female Scripture Characters. "It is a very good quality in a man to have a trout-stream. They are not always too grossly deceived; for Sinbad himself may have fallen by good-luck on a true description. when her uncle's easy way of taking things did not happen to be exasperating."Dorothea felt quite inclined to accept the invitation. "Pray do not be anxious about me. intending to go to bed. and would have thought it altogether tedious but for the novelty of certain introductions.

than he had thought of Mrs.""Why not? They are quite true. I only sketch a little. The world would go round with me. that a sweet girl should be at once convinced of his virtue. By the bye. Casaubon when he drew her attention specially to some actual arrangement and asked her if she would like an alteration. The building. 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. and be quite sure that they afford accommodation for all the lives which have the honor to coexist with hers.""Yes; but in the first place they were very naughty girls. in a tender tone of remonstrance. I say nothing. come. She was thoroughly charming to him. in a tone of reproach that showed strong interest. where he was sitting alone. however little he may have got from us. and hinder it from being decided according to custom. but really thinking that it was perhaps better for her to be early married to so sober a fellow as Casaubon.