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diff --git a/old/frmly10.txt b/old/frmly10.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..37a7d6c --- /dev/null +++ b/old/frmly10.txt @@ -0,0 +1,22493 @@ +Project Gutenberg's Etext Framley Parsonage, by Anthony Trollope +#8 in our series by Anthony Trollope + +Copyright laws are changing all over the world, be sure to check +the laws for your country before redistributing these files!!! + +Please take a look at the important information in this header. +We encourage you to keep this file on your own disk, keeping an +electronic path open for the next readers. Do not remove this. + +This should be the first thing seen when anyone opens the book. +Do not change or edit it without written permission. 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FOR PUBLIC DOMAIN ETEXTS*Ver.04.07.00*END* + + + + + +Etext typed by KENNETH DAVID COOPER <cooper.kd@bigpond.com> + + + + + +Framley Parsonage + +by Anthony Trollope + + + + +TABLE OF CONTENTS + +I 'OMNES OMNIA BONA DICERE' +II THE FRAMLEY SET, AND THE CHALDICOTE SET +III CHALDICOTES +IV A MATTER OF CONSCIENCE +V AMANTIUM IRAE AMORES INTEGRATIO +VI MR HAROLD SMITH'S LECTURE +VII SUNDAY MORNING +VIII GATHERUM CASTLE +IX THE VICAR'S RETURN +X LUCY ROBARTS +XI GRISELDA GRANTLY +XII THE LITTLE BILL +XIII DELICATE HINTS +XIV MR CRAWLEY OF HOGGLESTOCK +XV LADY LUFTON'S AMBASSADOR +XVI MRS PODGERS' BABY +XVII MRS PROUDIE'S CONVERSATSIONE +XVIII THE NEW MINISTER'S PATRONAGE +XIX MONEY DEALING +XX HAROLD SMITH IN CABINET +XXI WHY PUCK THE PONY WAS BEATEN +XXII HOGGLESTOCK PARSONAGE +XXIII THE TRIUMPH OF THE GIANTS +XXIV MAGNA EST VERITAS +XXV NON-IMPULSIVE +XXVI IMPULSIVE +XXVII SOUTH AUDLEY STREET +XXVIII DR THORNE +XXIX MISS DUNSTABLE AT HOME +XXX THE GRANTLY TRIUMPH +XXX1 SALMON FISHING IN NORWAY +XXXII THE GOAT AND THE COMPASSES +XXXIII CONSOLATION +XXXIV LADY LUFTON IS TAKEN BY SURPRISE +XXXV THE STORY OF KING COPHETUA +XXXVI KIDNAPPING AT HOGGLESTOCK +XXXVII MR SOWERBY WITHOUT COMPANY +XXXVIII IS THERE CAUSE OR JUST IMPEDIMENT? +XXXIX HOW TO WRITE A LOVE LETTER +XL INTERNECINE +XLI DON QUIXOTE +XLII TOUCHING PITCH +XLIII IS SHE NOT INSIGNIFICANT? +XLIV THE PHILISTINES AT THE PARSONAGE +XLV PALACE BLESSINGS +XLVI LADY LUFTON'S REQUEST +XLVII NEMESIS +XLVIII HOW THEY WERE ALL MARRIED, HAD TWO CHILDREN, AND + LIVED HAPPILY EVER AFTER + + + + +CHAPTER I + +'OMNES OMNIA BONA DICERE' + +When young Mark Robarts was leaving college, his father might well +declare that all men began to say all good things to him, and to +extol his fortune in that he had a son blessed with an excellent +disposition. This father was a physician living at Exeter. He was +a gentleman possessed of no private means, but enjoying a lucrative +practice, which had enabled him to maintain and educate a family +with all the advantages which money can give in this country. Mark +was his eldest son and second child; and the first page or two of +this narrative must be consumed in giving a catalogue of the good +things which chance and conduct together had heaped upon this young +man's head. + +His first step forward in life had arisen from his having been +sent, while still very young, as a private pupil to the house of a +clergyman, who was an old friend and intimate friend of his father's. +This clergyman had one other, and only one other, pupil--the +young Lord Lufton; and between the two boys, there had sprung +up a close alliance. While they were both so placed, Lady Lufton +had visited her son, and then invited young Robarts to pass +his next holidays at Framley Court. This visit was made; and it +ended in Mark going back to Exeter with a letter full of praise +from the widowed peeress. She had been delighted, she said, in +having such a companion for her son, and expressed a hope that the +boys might remain together during the course of their education. +Dr Robarts was a man who thought much of the breath of peers and +peeresses, and was by no means inclined to throw away any advantage +which might arise to his child from such a friendship. When, +therefore, the young lord was sent to Harrow, Mark Robarts went +there also. + +That the lord and his friend often quarrelled, and occasionally +fought,--the fact even that for a period of three months they never +spoke to each other--by no means interfered with the doctor's +hopes. Mark again and again stayed a fortnight at Framley Court, +and Lady Lufton always wrote about him in the highest terms. And +then the lads went together to Oxford, and here Mark's good fortune +followed him, consisting rather in the highly respectable manner in +which he lived, than in any wonderful career of collegiate +success. His family was proud of him, and the doctor was always +ready to talk of him to his patients; not because he was a +prize-man, and had gotten a scholarship, but on account of the +excellence of his general conduct. He lived with the best set--he +incurred no debts--he was fond of society, but able to avoid low +society--liked his glass of wine, but was never known to be drunk; +and above all things, was one of the most popular men in the +University. Then came the question of a profession for the young +Hyperion, and on this subject Dr Robarts was invited himself to go +over to Framley Court to discuss the matter with Lady Lufton. +Dr Robarts returned with a very strong conception that the Church +was the profession best suited to his son. + +Lady Lufton had not sent for Dr Robarts all the way from Exeter for +nothing. The living of Framley was in the gift of Lady Lufton's +family, and the next presentation would be in Lady Lufton's hands, +if it should fall vacant before the young lord was twenty-five +years of age, and in the young lord's hands if it should fall +afterwards. But the mother and the heir consented to give a joint +promise to Dr Robarts. Now, as the present incumbent was over +seventy, and as the living was worth 900 pounds a year, there could +be no doubt as to the eligibility of the clerical profession. And +I must further say, that the dowager and the doctor were justified +in their choice by the life and principles of the young man--as +far as any father can be justified in choosing such a profession +for his son, and as far as any lay impropriator can be justified in +making such a promise. Had Lady Lufton had a second son, that +second son would probably have had the living, and no one would +have thought it wrong;--certainly not if that second son had been +such a one as Mark Robarts. + +Lady Lufton herself was a woman who thought much on religious +matters, and would by no means have been disposed to place any one +in a living, merely because such a one had been her son's friend. +Her tendencies were High Church, and she was enabled to perceive +that those of young Mark Robarts ran in the same direction. She +was very desirous that her son should make an associate of his +clergyman, and by this step she would ensure, at any rate, that. +She was anxious that the parish vicar should be one with whom she +could herself fully co-operate, and was perhaps unconsciously +wishful that he might in some measure be subject to her influence. +Should she appoint an elder man, this might probably not be the +case to the same extent; and should her son have the gift, it might +probably not be the case at all. And, therefore, it was resolved +that the living should be given to young Robarts. + +He took his degree--not with any brilliancy, but quite in the +manner that his father desired; he then travelled for eight or ten +months with Lord Lufton and a college don, and almost immediately +after his return home was ordained. + +The living of Framley is in the diocese of Barchester; and, seeing +what were Mark's hopes with reference to that diocese, it was by no +means difficult to get him a curacy within it. But this curacy he +was not allowed long to fill. He had not been in it above a +twelvemonth, when poor old Dr Stopford, the then vicar of Framley, +was gathered to his fathers, and the full fruition of his rich +hopes fell upon his shoulders. + +But even yet more must be told of his good fortune before we can +come to the actual incidents of our story. Lady Lufton, who, as I +have said, thought much of clerical matters, did not carry her High +Church principles so far as to advocate celibacy for the clergy. On +the contrary, she had an idea that a man could not be a good parish +parson without a wife. So, having given to her favourite a +position in the world, and an income sufficient for a gentleman's +wants, she set herself to work to find him a partner in those +blessings. And here also, as in other matters, he fell in with the +views of his patroness--not, however, that they were declared to +him in that marked manner in which the affair of the living had +been broached. Lady Lufton was much too highly gifted with woman's +craft for that. She never told the young vicar that Miss Monsell +accompanied her ladyship's married daughter to Framley Court +expressly that he, Mark, might fall in love with her; but such was +in truth the case. + +Lady Lufton had but two children. The eldest, a daughter, had been +married some four or five years to Sir George Meredith, and this +Miss Monsell was a dear friend of hers. And how looms before me the +novelist's great difficulty. Miss Monsell--or rather, Mrs Mark +Robarts--must be described. As Miss Monsell, our tale will have to +take no prolonged note of her. And yet we will call her Fanny +Monsell, when we declare that she was one of the most pleasant +companions that could be brought near to a man, as the future +partner of his home, and owner of his heart. And if high +principles without asperity, female gentleness without weakness, a +love of laughter without malice, and a true loving heart, can +qualify a woman to be a parson's wife, then Fanny Monsell qualified +to fill that station. In person she was somewhat larger than +common. Her face would have been beautiful but that her mouth was +large. Her hair, which was copious, was of a bright brown; her +eyes also were brown, and, being so, were the distinctive feature +of her face, for brown eyes are not common. They were liquid, +large, and full either of tenderness or of mirth. Mark Robarts +still had his accustomed luck, when such a girl as this was brought +to Framley for his wooing. And he did woo her--and won her. For +Mark himself was a handsome fellow. At this time the vicar was about +twenty-five years of age, and the future Mrs Robarts was two or +three years younger. Nor did she come quite empty-handed to the +vicarage. It cannot be said that Fanny Monsell was an heiress, but +she had been left with a provision of some few thousand pounds. +This was so settled, that the interest of his wife's money paid the +heavy insurance on his life which young Robarts effected, and there +was left to him, over and above, sufficient to furnish his parsonage +in the very best style of clerical comfort, and to start him on the +road of life rejoicing. + +So much did Lady Lufton do for her protege, and it may well be +imagined that the Devonshire physician, sitting meditative over his +parlour fire, looking back, as men will look back on the upshot of +their life, was well contented with that upshot, as regarded his +eldest offshoot, the Rev. Mark Robarts, the vicar of Framley. + +But little has been said, personally, as to our hero himself, and +perhaps it may not be necessary to say much. Let us hope that by +degrees he may come forth upon the canvas, showing to the beholder +the nature of the man inwardly and outwardly. Here it may suffice +to say that he was not born heaven's cherub, neither was he born a +fallen devil's spirit. Such as his training made him, such he +was. He had large capabilities for good--and aptitude also for +evil, quite enough; quite enough to make it needful that he should +repel temptations as temptation only can be repelled. Much had +been done to spoil him, but in the ordinary acceptation of the word +he was not spoiled. He had too much tact, too much common sense, +to believe himself to be the paragon which his mother thought him. +Self-conceit was not, perhaps, his greatest danger. Had he +possessed more of it, he might have been a less agreeable man, but +his course before him might on that account have been the safer. In +person he was manly tall, and fair-haired, with a square forehead, +denoting intelligence rather than thought, with clear, white hands, +filbert nails, and a power of dressing himself in such a manner +that no one should ever observe of him that his clothes were either +good or bad, shabby or smart. + +Such was Mark Robarts when at the age of twenty-five, or a little +more, he married Fanny Monsell. The marriage was celebrated in his +own church, for Miss Monsell had no home of her own, and had been +staying for the last three months at Framley Court. She was given +away by Sir George Meredith, and Lady Lufton herself saw that the +wedding was what it should be, with almost as much care as she had +bestowed on that of her own daughter. The deed of marrying, the +absolute tying of the knot, was performed by the Very Reverend the +Dean of Barchester, an esteemed friend of Lady Lufton's. And Mrs +Arabin, the dean's wife, was of the party, though the distance from +Barchester to Framley is long, and the roads deep, and no railway +lends its assistance. And Lord Lufton was there of course; and +people protested that he would surely fall in love with one of the +four beautiful bridesmaids, of whom Blanche Robarts, the vicar's +second sister, was by common acknowledgement by far the most +beautiful. And there was there another and a younger sister of +Mark's--who did not officiate at the ceremony, though she was +present--and of whom no prediction was made, seeing that she was +then only sixteen, but of whom mention is made here, as it will come +to pass that my readers will know her hereafter. Her name was Lucy +Robarts. And then the vicar and his wife on their wedding tour, +the old curate taking care of the Framley souls the while. And in +due time they returned; and after a further interval, in due course +a child was born to them; and then another; and after that came a +period at which we will begin our story. But before doing so, may +I not assert that all men were right in saying all manner of good +things as to the Devonshire physician, and in praising his luck in +having such a son? + +'You were up at the house to-day, I suppose,' said Mark to his +wife, as he sat stretching himself in an easy chair in the +drawing-room, before the fire, previously to his dressing for +dinner. It was a November evening, and he had been out all day, +and on such occasions the aptitude for delay in dressing is very +powerful. A strong-minded man goes direct from the hall door to +his chamber without encountering the temptation of the drawing-room +fire. + +'No; but Lady Lufton was down here.' + +'Full of suggestions in favour of Sarah Thompson?' + +'Exactly so, Mark.' + +'And what did you say about Sarah Thompson?' + +'Very little as coming from myself: but I did hint that you +thought, or that I thought you thought, that one of the regular +trained schoolmistresses would be better.' + +'But her ladyship did not agree?' + +'Well, I won't exactly say that;--though I think that perhaps she +did not.' + +'I am sure she did not. When she has a point to carry, she is very +fond of carrying it.' + +'But, you see, in this affair of the school she is thinking more of +her protege than she does of the children.' + +'Tell her that, and I am sure she will give way.' And then again +they were both silent. And the vicar having thoroughly warmed +himself, as far as this might be done by facing the fire, turned +round and began the operation a tergo. + +'Come, Mark, it is twenty minutes past six. Will you go and +dress?' + +'I'll tell you what, Fanny: she must have her way about Sarah +Thompson. You can see her to-morrow and tell her so.' + +'I am sure, Mark, I would not give way, if I thought it wrong. Nor +would she expect it.' + +'If I persist this time, I shall certainly have to yield the next; +and then the next may probably be more important.' + +'But if it's wrong, Mark?' + +'I didn't say it was wrong. Besides, if it is wrong, wrong in some +infinitesimal degree, one must put up with it. Sarah Thompson is +very respectable; the only question is whether she can teach.' + +The young wife, though she did not say so, had some idea her +husband was in error. It is true that one must put up with wrong, +with a great deal of wrong. But no one need put up with wrong that +he can remedy. Why should he, the vicar, consent to receive an +incompetent teacher for the parish children, when he was able to +procure one that was competent? In such a case--so thought Mrs +Robarts to herself--she would have fought the matter out with Lady +Lufton. On the next morning, however, she did as she was bid, and +signified to the dowager that all objections to Sarah Thompson +would be withdrawn. + +'Ah! I was sure he would agree with me,' said her ladyship, 'when +he learned what sort of person she is. I know I had only to +explain;'--and then she plumed her feathers, and was very gracious; +for to tell the truth, Lady Lufton did not like to be opposed in +things which concerned the parish nearly. + +'And, Fanny,' said Lady Lufton, in her kindest manner, 'you are not +going anywhere on Saturday, are you?' + +'No, I think not.' + +'Then you must come to us. Justinia is to be here, you know,' Lady +Meredith was named Justinia--'and you and Mr Robarts had better +stay with us till Monday. He can have the little book-room all to +himself on Sunday. The Merediths go on Monday; and Justinia +won't be happy if you are not with her.' It would be unjust to say +that Lady Lufton had determined not to invite the Robartses if she +were not allowed to have her own way about Sarah Thompson. But +such would have been the result. As it was, however, she was all +kindness; and when Mrs Robarts made some little excuse, saying that +she was afraid she must return home in the evening, because of the +children, Lady Lufton declared that there was room enough at +Framley Court for baby and nurse, and so settled the matter in her +own way, with a couple of nods and three taps of her umbrella. This +was on a Tuesday morning, and on the same evening, before dinner, +the vicar again seated himself in the same chair before the +drawing-room fire, as soon as he had seen his horse led into the +stable. + +'Mark,' said his wife, 'the Merediths are to be at Framley on +Saturday and Sunday; and I have promised that we will go up and +stay over till Monday.' + +'You don't mean it! Goodness gracious, how provoking!' + +'Why? I thought you wouldn't mind it. And Justinia would think it +unkind if I were not there.' + +'You can go, my dear, and of course will go. But as for me, it's +impossible.' + +'But why, love?' + +'Why? Just now, at the school-house, I answered a letter that was +brought to me from Chaldicotes. Sowerby insists on my going over +there for a week or so; and I have said that I would.' + +'Go to Chaldicotes for a week, Mark?' + +'I believe I have even consented to ten days.' + +'And be away two Sundays?' + +'No, Fanny, only one. Don't be so censorious.' + +'Don't call me censorious, Mark; you know I am not so. But I am so +sorry. It is just what Lady Lufton won't like. Besides, you were +away in Scotland two Sundays last month.' + +'In September, Fanny. And that is being censorious.' + +'On, but Mark, dear Mark; don't say so. You know I don't mean it. +But Lady Lufton does not like those Chaldicotes people. You know +Lord Lufton was with you the last time you were there; and how annoyed +she was!' + +'Lord Lufton won't be there with me now, for he is still in +Scotland. And the reason why I am going is this; Harold Smith and +his wife will be there, and I am very anxious to know more of +them. I have no doubt that Harold Smith will be in the government +some day, and I cannot afford to neglect such a man's +acquaintance.' + +'But, Mark, what do you want of any government?' + +'Well, Fanny, of course I am bound to say that I want nothing; +neither in once sense do I; but, nevertheless, I shall go and meet +Harold Smith.' + +'Could you not be back before Sunday?' + +'I have promised to preach at Chaldicotes. Harold Smith's going to +lecture at Barchester, about the Australasian archipelago, and I am +to preach a charity sermon on the same subject. They want to send +out more missionaries.' + +'A charity sermon at Chaldicotes!' + +'And why not? The house will be quite full, you know! And I dare +say that the Arabins will be there.' + +'I think not; Mrs Arabin may get on well with Mrs Harold Smith, +though I doubt that; but I'm sure she's not fond of Mr Smith's +brother. I don't think she would stay at Chaldicotes.' + +'And the bishop will probably be there for a day or two.' + +'That is much more likely, Mark. If the pleasure of meeting Mrs +Proudie is taking you to Chaldicotes, I have not a word more to +say.' + +'I am not a bit more fond of Mrs Proudie than you are, Fanny,' said +the vicar, with something like vexation in the tone of his voice, +for he thought that his wife was hard upon him. 'But it is +generally thought that a parish clergyman does well to meet his +bishop now and then. And as I was invited there, especially to +preach while all these people are staying at the place, I could not +well refuse.' And then he got up, and taking his candlestick, +escaped to his dressing-room. + +'But what am I to say to Lady Lufton?' his wife said to him in the +course of the evening. + +'Just write her a note, and tell her that you find I had promised +to preach at Chaldicotes next Sunday. You'll go of course?' + +'Yes; but I know she'll be annoyed. You were away the last time +she had people there.' + +'It can't be helped. She must put it down against Sarah Thompson. +She ought not to expect to win always.' + +'I should not have minded it, if she had lost, as you call it, +about Sarah Thompson. That was a case in which you ought to have +had your own way.' + +'And this other is a case, in which I shall have it. It's a pity +that there should be such a difference; isn't it?' + +Then his wife perceived that, vexed as she was, it would be better +that she should say nothing further; and before she went to bed, +she wrote the note to Lady Lufton, as her husband recommended. + + + +CHAPTER II + +THE FRAMLEY SET, AND THE CHALDICOTES SET + +It will be necessary that I should say a word or two of some of the +people named in the few preceding pages, and also of the localities +in which they lived. Of Lady Lufton herself enough, perhaps, has +been written to introduce her to my readers. The Framley property +belonged to her son; but as Lufton Park--an ancient ramshackle +place in another county--had heretofore been the family residence +of the Lufton family, Framley Court had been apportioned to her for +her residence for life. Lord Lufton himself was still unmarried; +and as he had no establishment at Lufton Park--which indeed had not +been inhabited since his grandfather died--he lived with his mother +when it suited him to live anywhere in that neighbourhood. The +widow would fain have seen more of him than he allowed her to do. +He had a shooting lodge in Scotland, and apartments in London, and +a string of horses in Leicestershire--much to the disgust of the +country gentry around him, who held that their own hunting was as +good as any that England could afford. His lordship, however, paid +his subscription to the East Barsetshire park, and then thought +himself at liberty to follow his own pleasure as to his own +amusement. + +Framley itself was a pleasant country place, having about it +nothing of seigneurial dignity or grandeur, but possessing +everything necessary for the comfort of country life. The house +was a low building of two stories, built at different periods, and +devoid of all pretensions to any style of architecture; but the +rooms, though not lofty, were warm and comfortable, and the gardens +were trim and neat beyond all others in the county. Indeed, it was +for its gardens only that Framley Court was celebrated. Village +there was none, properly speaking. The high road went winding +about through the Framley paddocks, shrubberies, and wood-skirted +home fields, for a mile and a half, not two hundred yards of which +ran in a straight line; and there was a cross-road which passed +down through the domain, whereby there came to be a locality called +Framley Cross. Here stood the 'Lufton Arms', and here at Framley +Cross, the hounds occasionally would meet; for the Framley woods +were drawn in spite of the young lord's truant disposition; and +then, at the Cross also, lived the shoemaker, who kept the +post-office. + +Framley church was distant from this just a quarter of a mile, and +stood immediately opposite to the chief entrance to Framley Court. +It was but a mean, ugly building, having been erected about a +hundred years since, when all churches then built were made to be +mean and ugly; nor was it large enough for the congregation, some +of whom were thus driven to the dissenting chapels, the Sions and +Ebenezers, which had got themselves established on each side of the +parish, in putting down which Lady Lufton thought that her parson +was hardly as energetic as he might be. It was, therefore, a +matter near to Lady Lufton's heart to see a new church built, and +she was urgent in her eloquence both with her son and with the +vicar, to have this good work commenced. + +Beyond the church, but close to it, were the boy's school and +girl's school, two distinct buildings, which owed their erection to +Lady Lufton's energy; then came a neat little grocer's shop, the +neat grocer being the clerk and the sexton, and the neat grocer's +wife the pew-opener in the church. Podgens was their name, and +they were great favourites with her ladyship, both having been +servants up at the house. And here the road took a sudden turn to +the left, turning, as it were, away from Framley Court; and just +beyond the turn was the vicarage, so that there was a little garden +path running from the back of the vicarage grounds into the +churchyard, cutting the Podgens into an isolated corner of their +own;--from whence, to tell the truth, the vicar would have been +glad to banish them and their cabbages, could he have had the power +to do so. For has not the small vineyard of Naboth been always an +eyesore to neighbouring potentates? + +The potentate in this case had as little excuse as Ahab, for +nothing in the parsonage way could be more perfect than his +parsonage. It had all the details requisite for the house of a +moderate gentleman with moderate means, and none of those expensive +superfluities which immoderate gentlemen demand, or which +themselves demand immoderate means. And then the gardens and +paddocks were exactly suited to it; and everything was in good +order;--not exactly new, so as to be raw and uncovered, and +redolent of workmen; but just at that era of their existence in +which newness gives way to comfortable homeliness. + +Other village at Framley there was none. At the back of the Court, +up one of those cross-roads, there was another small shop or two, +and there was a very neat cottage residence, in which lived the +widow of a former curate, another protege of Lady Lufton's; and +there was a big, staring, brick house, in which the present curate +lived; but this was a full mile distant from the church, and +farther from Framley Court, standing on that cross-road which runs +from Framley Cross in a direction away from the mansion. This +gentleman, the Rev Evan Jones, might from his age, have been the +vicar's father; but he had been for many years curate at Framley; +and though he was personally disliked by Lady Lufton, as being Low +Church in his principles, and unsightly in his appearance, +nevertheless, she would not urge his removal. He had two or three +pupils in that large brick house, and, if turned out from these and +from his curacy, might find it difficult to establish himself +elsewhere. On this account mercy was extended to the Rev E Jones, +and, in spite of his red face and awkward big feet, he was invited +to dine at Framley Court, with his plain daughter, once in every +three months. + +Over and above these, there was hardly a house in the parish of +Framley, outside the bounds of Framley Court, except those of +farmers and farm labourers; and yet the parish was of large extent. + +Framley is in the eastern division of the county of Barsetshire, +which, as all the world knows, is, politically speaking, as true +blue a county as any in England. There have been backslidings even +here, it is true; but then, in what county have there not been such +backslidings? Where, in these pinchbeck days, can we hope to find +the old agricultural virtue in all its purity? But among these +backsliders, I regret to say, that men now reckon Lord Lufton. Not +that he is a violent Whig, or perhaps that is a Whig at all. But +he jeers and sneers at the old county doings; declares, when +solicited on the subject, that, as far as he is concerned, Mr +Bright may sit for the county, if he pleases; and alleges, that +being unfortunately a peer, he has no right ever to interest +himself in the question. All this is deeply regretted, for, in the +old days, there was no portion of the county more decidedly true +blue than the Framley district; and, indeed, up to the present day, +the dowager is able to give an occasional helping hand. + +Chaldicotes is the seat of Nathaniel Sowerby, Esq, who, at the +moment supposed to be now present, is one of the members for the +Western Division of Barsetshire. But this Western Division can +boast none of the fine political attributes which grace its twin +brother. It is decidedly Whig, and is almost governed in its +politics by one or two great Whig families. It has been said that +Mark Robarts was about to pay a visit to Chaldicotes, and it has +been hinted that his wife would have been as well pleased had this +not been the case. Such was certainly the fact; for she, dear, +prudent, excellent wife as she was, knew that Mr Sowerby was not +the most eligible friend in the world for a young clergyman, and +knew, also, that there was but one other house in the whole county +the name of which was so distasteful to Lady Lufton. The reasons +for this were, I may say, manifold. In the first place, Mr Sowerby +was a Whig, and was seated in Parliament mainly by that great Whig +autocrat the Duke of Omnium, whose residence was more dangerous +even than that of Mr Sowerby, and whom Lady Lufton regarded as an +impersonation of Lucifer upon earth. Mr Sowerby, too, was +unmarried--as indeed, also, was Lord Lufton, much to his mother's +grief. Mr Sowerby, it is true, was fifty, whereas the young lord +was as yet only twenty-five, but, nevertheless, her ladyship was +becoming anxious on the subject. In her mind every man was bound +to marry as soon as he could maintain a wife; and she held an +idea--a quite private tenet, of which she was herself but +imperfectly conscious--that men in general were inclined to neglect +this duty for their own selfish gratifications, that the wicked +ones encouraged the more innocent in this neglect, and that many +would not marry at all, were not unseen exercised against them by +the other sex. The Duke of Omnium was the head of all such +sinners, and Lady Lufton greatly feared that her son might be made +subject to the baneful Omnium influence, by means of Mr Sowerby and +Chaldicotes. And then Mr Sowerby was known to be a very poor man, +with a very large estate. He had wasted, men said, much on +electioneering, and more on gambling. A considerable portion of +his property had gone into the hands of the duke, who, as a rule, +bought up everything around him that was to be purchased. Indeed, +it was said of him by his enemies, that so covetous was he of +Barsetshire property, that he would lead a young neighbour on to +his ruin, that he might get his land. What--oh! what if he should +come to be possessed in this way of any of the fair acres of +Framley Court? What if he should become possessed of them all? It +can hardly be wondered at that Lady Lufton should not like +Chaldicotes. + +The Chaldicotes set, as Lady Lufton called them, were in every way +opposed to what a set should be according to her ideas. She liked +cheerful, quiet, well-to-do peaple, who loved their Church, their +country, and their Queen, and who were not too anxious to make +noise in the world. She desired that all the farmers round her +should be able to pay their rents without trouble, that all the old +women should have warm flannel petticoats, that the working men +should be saved from rheumatism by healthy food and dry houses, +that they should all be obedient to their pastors and masters-- +temporal as well as spiritual. That was her idea of loving her +country. She desired also that the copses should be full of +pheasants, the stubble-field of partridges, and the gorse covers of +foxes; in that way, also, she loved her country. She had ardently +longed, during the Crimean War, that the Russians might be +beaten--but not by the French, to the exclusion of the English, as +had seemed to her to be too much the case; and hardly by the +English under the dictatorship of Lord Palmerston. Indeed, she had +had but little faith in that war after Lord Aberdeen had been +expelled. If, indeed, Lord Derby could have come in! But now as +to this Chaldicotes set. After all, there was nothing so very +dangerous about them; for it was in London, not in the country, +that Mr Sowerby indulged, if he did so indulge, his bachelor +malpractices. Speaking of them as a set, the chief offender was Mr +Harold Smith, or perhaps his wife. He also was a member of +Parliament, and, as many thought, a rising man. His father had +been for many years a debater in the House, and had held high +office. Harold, in early life, had intended himself for the +Cabinet; and if working hard at his trade could ensure success, he +ought to obtain it sooner or later. He had already filled more +than one subordinate station, had been at the Treasury, and for a +month or two, at the Admiralty, astonishing official mankind by his +diligence. Those last-named few months had been under Lord Aberdeen, +with whom he had been forced to retire. He was a younger son, and +not possessed of any large fortune. Politics, as a profession, +was, therefore, of importance to him. He had in early life married +a sister of Mr Sowerby; and as the lady was some six or seven years +older than himself, and had brought with her but a scanty dowry, +people thought that in this matter Mr Harold Smith had not been +perspicacious. Mr Harold Smith was not personally a popular man +with any party, though some judged him to be eminently useful. He +was laborious, well-informed, and, on the whole, honest; but he was +conceited, long-winded, and pompous. + +Mrs Harold Smith was the very opposite of her lord. She was a +clever, bright woman, good-looking for her time of life--and she +was now over forty--with a keen sense of all the world's +pleasures. She was neither laborious, nor well-informed, nor +perhaps altogether honest -- what woman ever understood the +necessity or recognised the advantage of political honesty? But +then she was neither dull nor pompous, and if she was conceited, +she did not show it. She was a disappointed woman, as regards her +husband; seeing that she had married him on the speculation that he +would at once become politically important; and as yet Mr Smith had +not quite fulfilled the prophecies of his early life. + +And Lady Lufton, when she spoke of the Chaldicotes set, distinctly +included, in her own mind, the Bishop of Barchester, and his wife +and daughter. Seeing that Bishop Proudie was, of course, much a +man addicted to religion and to religious thinking, and that Mr +Sowerby himself had no particular religious sentiments whatever, +there would not at first sight appear to be ground for much +intercourse, and perhaps there was not much of such intercourse; +but Mrs Proudie and Mrs Harold Smith were firm friends of four or +five years standing--ever since the Proudies came into the diocese +for the bishop was usually taken to Chaldicotes whenever Mrs Smith +paid her brother a visit. Now Bishop Proudie was by no means a +High Church dignitary, and Lady Lufton had never forgiven him for +coming into that diocese. She had, instinctively, a high respect +for the episcopal office; but of Bishop Proudie himself she hardly +thought better than she did of Mr Sowerby, or of that fabricator of +evil, the Duke of Omnium. Whenever Mr Robarts would plead that in +going anywhere he would have the benefit of meeting the bishop, +Lady Lufton would slightly curl her upper lip. She could not say in +words that Bishop Proudie--bishop as he certainly must be +called--was no better than he ought to be; but by that curl of her +lip she did explain to those who knew her that such was the feeling +of her heart. + +And then it was understood--Mark Robarts, at least, had so heard, +and the information soon reached Framley Court--that Mr Supplehouse +was to make one of the Chaldicotes party. Now Mr Supplehouse was a +worse companion for a gentleman, young, High Church, conservative +county parson than even Harold Smith. He also was in Parliament, +and had been extolled during the early days of the Russian War by +some portion of the metropolitan daily press, as the only man who +could save the country. Let him be in the ministry, the Jupiter +had said, and there would be some hope of reform, some chance that +England's ancient glory would not be allowed in these perilous +times to go headlong into oblivion. And upon this the ministry, +not anticipating much salvation from Mr Supplehouse, but willing as +they usually are, to have the Jupiter at their back, did send for +that gentleman, and gave him some footing among them. But how can +a man to save a nation, and to lead a people, be content to fill +the chair of an under-secretary? Supplehouse was not content, and +soon gave it to be understood that his place was much higher than +any yet tendered to him. The seals of high office, or war to the +knife, was the alternative which he offered to a much-belaboured +Head of Affairs--nothing doubting that the Head of Affairs would +recognize the claimant's value, and would have before his eyes a +wholesome fear of the Jupiter. But the Head of Affairs, much +belaboured as he was, knew that he might swing his tomahawk. Since +that time he had been swinging his tomahawk, but not with so much +effect as had been anticipated. He also was very intimate with Mr +Sowerby, and was decidedly one of the Chaldecotes set. And there +were many others included in the stigma whose sins were political +or religious than moral. But they were gall and wormwood to Lady +Lufton, who regarded them as children of the Lost One, and grieved +with a mother's grief when she knew that her son was among them, +and felt all a patron's anger when she heard that her clerical +protege was about to seek such society. Mrs Robarts might well say +that Lady Lufton would be annoyed. + +'You won't call at the house before you go, will you?' the wife +asked on the following morning. He was to start after lunch on +that day, driving himself in his own gig, so as to reach +Chaldicotes, some twenty-four miles distant, before dinner. + +'No, I think not. What good should it do?' + +'Well, I can't explain; but I think I should call; partly, perhaps, +to show her that, as I had determined to go, I was not afraid of +telling her so.' + +'Afraid! That's nonsense, Fanny. I'm not afraid of her. But I +don't see why I should bring down upon myself the disagreeable +things she will say. Besides, I have not time. I must walk up and +see Jones about his duties; and then, what with getting ready, I +shall have enough to do to get off in time.' + +He paid his visit to Mr Jones, the curate, feeling no qualms of +conscience there, as he rather boasted of all the members of +Parliament he was going to meet, and of the bishop who would be +with them. Mr Evan Jones was only his curate, and in speaking to +him on the matter he could talk as though it were quite the proper +thing for a vicar to meet his bishop at the house of a county +member. And one would be inclined to say it was proper: only why +could he not talk of it in the same tone to Lady Lufton? And then, +having kissed his wife and children, he drove off, well pleased +with his prospect for the coming ten days, but already anticipating +some discomfort on his return. + +On the three following days, Mrs Robarts did not meet her +ladyship. She did not exactly take any steps to avoid such a +meeting, but she did not purposely go up to the big house. She +went to her school as usual, and made one or two calls among the +farmers' wives, but put no foot within the Framley Court grounds. +She was braver than her husband, but even she did not wish to +anticipate the evil day. On the Saturday, just before it began to +get dusk, she was thinking of preparing for the fatal plunge, her +friend, Lady Meredith, came to her. + +'So, Fanny, we shall again be so unfortunate to miss Mr Robarts,' +said her ladyship. + +'Yes. Did you ever know anything so unlucky? But he had promised +Mr Sowerby before he heard you were coming. Pray do not think that +he would have gone away had he known it.' + +'We should have been sorry to keep him from so much more amusing +party.' + +'Now, Justinia, you are unfair. You intend to imply that he has +gone to Chaldicotes, because he likes it better than Framley Court; +but that is not the case. I hope Lady Lufton does not think that +it is.' + +Lady Meredith laughed at she put her arm round her friend's waist. +'Don't lose your eloquence in defending him to me,' she said. +'You'll want all that for my mother.' + +'But is your mother angry?' asked Mrs Robarts, showing by her +countenance how eager she was for true tidings on the subject. + +'Well, Fanny, you know her ladyship as well as I do. She thinks so +very highly of the vicar of Framley, that she does begrudge him to +those politicians at Chaldicotes.' + +'But, Justinia, the bishop will be there, you know.' + +'I don't think that that consideration will reconcile my mother to +the gentleman's absence. He ought to be very proud, I know, to find +that he is so much thought of. But come, Fanny, I want you to walk +back with me, and you can dress at the house. And now we'll go and +look at the children.' + +After that, as they walked together to Framley Court, Mrs Robarts +made her friend promise that she would stand by her if any serious +attack were made on the absent clergyman. + +'Are you going up to your room to dress?' said the vicar's wife, as +soon as they were inside the porch leading into the hall. Lady +Meredith immediately knew what her friend meant, and decided that +the evil day should not be postponed. 'We had better go in and +have it over,' she said, 'and then we shall be comfortable for the +evening.' + +So the drawing-room door was opened, and there was Lady Lufton +alone on the sofa. + +'Now, mamma,' said the daughter, 'you mustn't scold Fanny much +about Mr Robarts. He has gone to preach a charity sermon before +the bishop, and under those circumstances, perhaps, he could not +refuse.' This was a stretch on the part of Lady Meredith--put in +with much good-nature, no doubt; but still a stretch; for no one +had supposed that the bishop would remain at Chaldicotes for the +Sunday. + +'How do you do, Fanny?' said Lady Lufton, getting up. 'I am not +going to scold her; and I don't know how you can talk nonsense, +Justinia. Of course we are very sorry not to have Mr Robarts; more +especially as he was not here the last Sunday that Sir George was +with us. I do like to see Mr Robarts in his own church, certainly; +and I don't like any other clergyman there as well. If Fanny takes +that for scolding, why--' + +'Oh! no, Lady Lufton; and it's so kind of you to say so. But Mr +Robarts was so sorry that he had accepted this invitation to +Chaldicotes, before he heard that Sir George was coming, and--' + +'Oh, I know that Chaldicotes has great attractions which we cannot +offer,' said Lady Lufton. + +'Indeed, it was not that. But he was asked to preach, you, know; +and Mr Harold Smith--' Poor Fanny was only making it worse. Had +she been worldly wise, she would have accepted the little +compliment implied in Lady Lufton's first rebuke, and then have +held her peace. + +'Oh, yes! The Harold Smiths! They are irresistible, I know. How +could any man refuse to join a party, graced both by Mrs Harold +Smith and Mrs Proudie--even though his duty should require him to +stay away?' + +'Now, mamma--' + +'Well, my dear, what am I to say? You would not wish me to tell a +fib. I don't like Mrs Harold Smith--at least, what I know of her; +for it has not been my fortune to meet her since her marriage. It +may be conceited; but to own the truth, I think that Mr Robarts +would be better off with us at Framley than with the Harold Smiths +at Chaldicotes--even though Mrs Proudie be thrown into the +bargain.' + +It was nearly dark, and therefore the rising colour in the face of +Mrs Robarts could not be seen. She, however, was too good a wife +to hear these things said without some anger within her bosom. She +could blame her husband in her own mind; but it was intolerable to +her that others should blame him in her hearing. + +'He would undoubtedly be better off,' she said; 'but then, Lady +Lufton, people can't always go exactly where they will be best +off. Gentlemen sometimes think--' + +'Well--well, my dear, that will do. He has not taken you, at any +rate; and so we will forgive him.' And Lady Lufton kissed her. 'As +it is,' and she affected a low whisper between the two young wives +'as it is, we must e'en put up with poor Evan Jones. He is to be +here to-night, and we must go and dress to receive him.' + +And so they went off. Lady Lufton was quite enough at heart to +like Mrs Robarts all the better for standing up for her absent +lord. + + + +CHAPTER III + +CHALDICOTES + +Chaldicotes is a house of much more pretension than Framley Court. +Indeed, if one looks at the ancient marks about it, rather than at +those of the present day, it is a place of very considerable +pretension. There is an old forest, not altogether belonging to +the property, but attached to it, called the Chase of Chaldicotes. +A portion of this forest comes up close behind the mansion, and of +itself gives a character and celebrity to the place. The Chase of +Chaldicotes--the greater part of it, at least--is, as all the world +knows, Crown property, and now, in these utilitarian days, is to be +deforested. In former times it was a great forest, stretching half +across the country, almost as far as Silverbridge; and there are +bits of it, here and there, still to be seen at intervals +throughout the whole distance; but the larger remaining portion, +consisting of aged hollow oaks, centuries old, and wide-spreading +withered beeches, stands in the two parishes of Chaldicotes and +Uffley. People still come from afar to see the oaks of Chaldicotes +and to hear their feet rustle among the thick autumn leaves. But +they will soon come no longer. The giants of past ages are to give +way to wheat and turnips; a ruthless Chancellor of the Exchequer, +disregarding old associations and rural beauty, requires money +returns from the lands; and the Close of Chaldicotes is to vanish +from the earth's surface. + +Some part of it, however, is the private property of Mr Sowerby, +who hitherto, through all his pecuniary distresses, has managed to +save from the axe and the auction-mart that portion of his paternal +heritage. The house of Chaldicotes is a large stone building, +probably of the time of Charles the Second. It is approached on +both fronts by a heavy double flight of stone steps. In the front +of the house a long, solemn, straight avenue through a double row +of lime-trees, leads away to lodge-gates, which stand in the +centre of the village of Chaldicotes; but to the rear the windows +open upon four different vistas, which run down through the forest: +four open green rides, which all converge together at a large iron +gateway, the barrier which divides the private grounds from the +Chase. The Sowerbys, for many generations, have been rangers of +the Chase of Chaldicotes, thus having almost as wide an authority +over the Crown forest as over their own. But now all this is to +cease for the forest will be disforested. + +It was nearly dark when Mark Robarts drove up through the avenue of +lime-trees to the hall-door; but it was easy to see that the house, +which was dead and silent as the grave through nine months of the +year, was now alive in all its parts. There were lights in many of +the windows, and a noise of voices came from the stables and +servants were moving about, and dogs barked, and the dark gravel +before the front steps was cut up with many a coach-wheel. + +'Oh, is that you, sir, Mr Robarts?' said a groom, taking the +parson's horse by the head, and touching his own hat. 'I hope I +see your reverence well?' + +'Quite well, Bob, thank you. All well at Chaldicotes?' + +'Pretty bobbish, Mr Robarts. Deal of life going on here now, sir. +The bishop and his lady came this morning.' + +'Oh--ah--yes! I understand they were to be here. Any of the young +ladies?' + +'One young lady. Miss Olivia, I think they call her, your +reverence.' + +'And how's Mr Sowerby?' + +'Very well, your reverence. He, and Mr Harold Smith, and Mr +Fothergill--that's the duke's man of business, you know--is getting +off their horses now in the stable-yard there.' + +'Home from hunting--eh, Bob?' + +'Yes, sir, just home, this minute.' And then Mr Robarts walked +into the house, his portmanteau following on a foot-boy's +shoulder. + +It will be seen that our young vicar was very intimate at +Chaldicotes; so much so that the groom knew him, and talked to him +about the people in the house. Yes; he was intimate there; much +more than he had given the Framley people to understand. Not that +he had wilfully and overtly deceived any one; not that he had ever +spoken a false word about Chaldicotes. But he had never boasted at +home that he and Sowerby were near allies. Neither had he told +them how often Mr Sowerby and Lord Lufton were together in London. +Why trouble women with such matters? Why annoy so excellent a +woman as Lady Lufton? And then Mr Sowerby was one whose intimacy +few young men would wish to reject. He was fifty, and had lived, +perhaps, not the most salutary life; but he dressed young, and +usually looked well. He was bald, with a good forehead, and +sparkling moist eyes. He was a clever man, and a pleasant +companion, and always good-humoured when it so suited him. He was +a gentleman, too, of high breeding and good birth, whose ancestors +had been known in that county--longer, the farmers around would +boast, than those of any other landowner in it, unless it be the Thornes +of Ullathorne, or perhaps the Greshams of Greshambury--much longer +than the De Courcys of De Courcy Castle. As for the Duke of +Omnium, he, comparatively speaking, was a new man. And then he was +a member of Parliament, a friend of some men in power, and of +others who might be there; a man who could talk about the world as +one knowing the matter of which he talked. And moreover, whatever +might be his ways of life at other times, when in the presence of a +clergyman he rarely made himself offensive to clerical tastes. He +neither swore, nor brought his vices on the carpet, nor sneered at +the faith of the Church. If he was no Churchman himself, he at +least knew how to live with those who were. + +How was it possible that such a one as our vicar should not relish +the intimacy of Mr Sowerby? It might be very well, he would say to +himself, for a woman like Lady Lufton to turn up her nose at +him--for Lady Lufton, who spent ten months of the year at Framley +Court, and who during those ten months, and for the matter of that, +during the two months also which she spent in London, saw no one +out of her own set. Women did not understand such things, the +vicar said to himself; even his own wife--good, and nice, and +sensible, and intelligent as she was--even she did not understand +that a man in the world must meet all sorts of men; and that in +these days it did not do for a clergyman to be a hermit. 'Twas thus +that Mark Robarts argued when he found himself called upon to +defend himself before the bar of his own conscience for going to +Chaldicotes and increasing his intimacy with Mr Sowerby. He did +know that Mr Sowerby was a dangerous man; he was aware that he was +over head and ears in debt; and that he had already entangled young +Lord Lufton in some pecuniary embarrassment; his conscience did +tell him that it would be well for him, as one of Christ's +soldiers, to look out for companions of a different stamp. But, +nevertheless, he went to Chaldicotes, not satisfied with himself +indeed, but repeating to himself a great many arguments why he +should be so satisfied. + +He was shown into the drawing-room at once, and there he found Mrs +Harold Smith, with Mrs and Miss Proudie, and a lady whom he had +never before seen, and whose name he did not at first hear +mentioned. + +'Is that Mr Robarts?' said Mrs Harold Smith, getting up to greet +him, and screening her pretended ignorance under the veil of +darkness. 'And have you really driven over four-and-twenty miles +of Barsetshire roads on such a day as this to assist us in our +little difficulties? Well, we can promise you gratitude at any +rate.' And then the vicar shook hands with Mrs Proudie, in that +deferential manner which is due from a vicar to his bishop's wife; +and Mrs Proudie returned the greeting with all that smiling +condescension which a bishop's wife should show to a vicar. Miss +Proudie was not quite so civil. Had Mr Robarts been still +unmarried, she also would have smiled sweetly; but she had been +exercising her smiles on clergymen too long to waste them now on a +married parish parson. + +'And what are the difficulties, Mrs Smith, in which I am to assist +you?' + +'We have six or seven gentlemen here, Mr Robarts, and they always +go hunting before breakfast, and they never come back--I was going +to say--till after dinner. I wish it were so, for then we should +not have to wait for them.' + +'Excepting Mr Supplehouse, you know,' said the unknown lady, in a +loud voice. + +'And he is generally shut up in the library, writing articles.' + +'He'd be better employed if he were trying to break his neck like +the others,' said the unknown lady. + +'Only he would never succeed,' says Mrs Harold Smith. 'But +perhaps, Mr Robarts, you are as bad as the rest; perhaps you too, +will be hunting to-morrow.' + +'My dear Mrs Smith!' said Mrs Proudie, in a tone denoting slight +reproach, and modified horror. + +'Oh! I forgot. No, of course, you won't be hunting, Mr Robarts; +you'll only be wishing that you could.' + +'Why can't he?' said the lady with a loud voice. + +'My dear Miss Dunstable! A clergyman hunt, while he is staying in +the same house with the bishop? Think of the proprieties!' + +'Oh--ah! The bishop wouldn't like it--wouldn't he? Now, do tell +me, sir, what would the bishop do to you if you did hunt?' + +'It would depend on his mood at the time, madam,' said Mr Robarts. +'If that were very stern, he might perhaps have me beheaded before +the palace gates.' + +Mrs Proudie drew herself up in her chair, showing that she did not +like the tone of the conversation; and Miss Proudie fixed her eyes +vehemently on her book, showing that Miss Dunstable and her +conversation were both beneath her notice. + +'If these gentlemen do not mean to break their necks to-night,' +said Mrs Harold Smith, 'I wish they'd let us know it. It's +half-past six already.' And then Mr Robarts gave them to +understand that no such catastrophe would be looked for that day, +as Mr Sowerby and the other sportsmen were within the stable-yard +when he entered the door. + +'Then, ladies, we may as well dress,' said Mrs Harold Smith. But +as she moved towards the door, it opened, and a short gentleman, +with a slow, quiet step, entered the room; but was not yet to be +distinguished through the dusk by the eyes of Mr Robarts. 'Oh! +bishop, is that you?' said Mrs Smith. 'Here is one of the +luminaries of your diocese.' And then the bishop, feeling through +the dark, made his way up to the vicar and shook him cordially by +the hand. He was delighted to meet Mr Robarts at Chaldicotes, he +said, quite delighted. Was he not going to preach on behalf of the +Papuan Mission next Sunday? Ah! so he was, the bishop had heard. It +was a good work, an excellent work!' And then Dr Proudie expressed +himself as much grieved that he should not remain at Chaldicotes, +and hear the sermon. It was plain that the bishop thought no ill +of him on account of his intimacy with Mr Sowerby. But then he +felt in his own heart that he did not much regard the bishop's +opinion. + +'Ah, Robarts, I'm delighted to see you,' said Mr Sowerby, when they +met on the drawing-room rug before dinner. 'You know Harold +Smith? Yes, of course you do. Well, who else is there? Oh! +Supplehouse. Mr Supplehouse, allow me to introduce to you my +friend Mr Robarts. It is he who will extract the five-pound note +out of your pocket next Sunday for these poor Papuans whom we are +going to Christianize. That is, if Harold Smith does not finish the +work out of hand at his Sunday lecture. And, Robarts, you have +seen the bishop, of course:' this he said in a whisper. 'A fine +thing to be a bishop, isn't it? I wish I had half your chance. +But, my dear fellow, I've made such a mistake. I haven't got a +bachelor parson for Miss Proudie. You must help me out, and take +her into dinner.' And then the great gong sounded, and off they +went in pairs. + +At dinner Mark found himself seated between Miss Proudie and the +lady whom he had heard named as Miss Dunstable. Of the former he was +not very fond, and, in spite of his host's petition, was not +inclined to play bachelor parson for her benefit. With the other +lady he would willingly have chatted during the dinner, only that +everybody else at table seemed to be intent on doing the same +thing. She was neither young, nor beautiful, nor peculiarly +ladylike; yet she seemed to enjoy a popularity which must have +excited the envy of Mr Supplehouse, and which certainly was not +altogether to the taste of Mrs Proudie--who, however, feted her as +much as did the others. So that our clergyman found himself unable +to obtain more than an inconsiderable share of the lady's +attention. + +'Bishop,' said she, speaking across the table, 'we have missed you +all day! we have had no one on earth to say a word to us.' + +'My dear Miss Dunstable, had I known that--But I really was engaged +on business of some importance.' + +'I don't believe in business of importance; do you, Mrs Smith?' + +'Do I not?' said Mrs Smith. 'If you were married to Mr Harold +Smith for one week, you'd believe in it.' + +'Should I, now? What a pity I can't have that chance of improving +my faith! But you are a man of business also, Mr Supplehouse; do +they tell me.' And she turned to her neighbour on her right hand. + +'I cannot compare myself to Mr Harold Smith,' said he. 'But +perhaps I may equal the bishop.' + +'What does a man do, now, when he sits himself down to business? +How does he set about it? What are his tools? A quire of blotting +paper, I suppose, to begin with?' + +'That depends, I should say, on his trade. A shoemaker begins by +waxing his thread.' + +'And Mr Harold Smith--?' + +'By counting up his yesterday's figures, generally, I should say; +or else by unrolling a ball of red tape. Well-docketed papers and +statistical facts are his forte.' + +'And what does a bishop do? Can you tell me that?' + +'He sends forth to his clergy either blessings or blowings-up, +according to the state of his digestive organs. But Mrs Proudie +can explain all that to you with the greatest accuracy.' + +'Can she now? I understand what you mean, but I don't believe a +word of it. The bishop manages his own affairs himself, quite as +much as you do, or Mr Harold Smith.' + +'I, Miss Dunstable?' + +'Yes, you.' + +'But I, unluckily, have not a wife to manage them for me.' + +'Then you should not laugh at those who have, for you don't know +what you may come to yourself, when you're married.' + +Mr Supplehouse began to make a pretty speech, saying that he would +be delighted to incur any danger in that respect to which he might +be subjected by the companionship of Miss Dunstable. But before he +was half through it, she had turned her back upon him, and began a +conversation with Mark Robarts. + +'Have you much work in your parish, Mr Robarts?' she asked. Now, +Mark was not aware that she knew his name or the fact of his having +a parish, and was rather surprised by the question. And he had not +quite liked the tone in which she had seemed to speak of the bishop +and his work. His desire for her further acquaintance was +therefore somewhat moderated, and he was not prepared to answer her +question with much zeal. + +'All parish clergymen have plenty of work, if they choose to do +it.' + +'Ah, that is it; is it not, Mr Robarts? If they choose to do it? A +great many do--many that I know, do; and see what a result they +have. But many neglect it--and see what a result they have. I +think it ought to be the happiest life that a man can lead, that of +a parish clergyman, with a wife and family and a sufficient +income.' + +'I think it is,' said Mark Robarts, asking himself whether the +contentment accruing to him from such blessings had made him +satisfied on all points. He had all these things of which Miss +Dunstable spoke, and yet he had told his wife, the other day, that +he could not afford to neglect the acquaintance of a rising +politician like Harold Smith. + +'What I find fault with is this,' continued Miss Dunstable, 'that +we expect clergymen to do their duty, and don't give them a sufficient +income--give them hardly any income at all. Is it not a scandal +that an educated gentleman with a family should be made to work +half his life, and perhaps the whole, for a pittance of seventy +pounds a year!' Mark said that it was a scandal, and thought of Mr +Evan Jones and his daughter; and thought also of his own worth, and +his own house, and his own nine hundred a year. + +'And yet clergymen are so proud--aristocratic would be a genteel +word, I know--that you won't take the money of common, ordinary +people. You must be paid from land and endowments, from tithe and +church property. You can't bring yourself to work for what you +earn, as lawyers and doctors do. It is better that curates should +starve than undergo such ignominy as that.' + +'It is a long subject, Miss Dunstable.' + +'A very long one; and that means that I am not to talk any more +about it.' + +'I did not mean that exactly.' + +'Oh, but you did, though Mr Robarts. And I can take a hint of that +kind when I get it. You clergymen like to keep those long subjects +for your sermons, when no one can answer you. Now if I have a +longing heart's desire for anything at all in this world, it is to +be able to get up into a pulpit, and preach a sermon.' + +'You can't conceive how soon that appetite would pall upon you, +after its first indulgence.' + +'That would depend upon whether I could get people to listen to +me. It does not pall upon Mr Spurgeon, I suppose.' Then her +attention was called away by some question from Mr Sowerby, and +Mark Robarts found himself bound to address his conversation to +Miss Proudie. Miss Proudie, however, was not thankful, and gave +him little but monosyllables for his pains. + +'Of course you know Harold Smith is going to give us a lecture +about these islanders.' Mr Sowerby said to him, as they sat round +the fire over their wine after dinner. Mark said that he had been +so informed, and should be delighted to be one of the listeners. + +'You are bound to do that, as he is going to listen to you the day +afterwards--or, at any rate, to pretend to do so, which is as much +as you will do for him. It'll be a terrible bore--the lecture, I +mean, not the sermon.' And he spoke very low in his friend's ear. +'Fancy having to drive ten miles after dusk, and ten miles back, to +hear Harold Smith talk for two hours about Borneo! One must do it, +you know.' + +'I dare say it will be very interesting.' + +'My dear fellow, you haven't undergone so many of these things as I +have. But he's right to do it. It's his line of life; and when a +man begins a thing he ought to go on with it. Where's Lufton this +time?' + +'In Scotland, when I last heard from him; but he's probably at +Melton now.' + +'It's deuced shabby of him, not hunting here in his own county. He +escapes all the bore of going to lectures, and giving feeds to the +neighbours; that's why he treats us so. He has no idea of his +duty, has he?' + +'Lady Lufton does all that, you know.' + +'I wish I'd a Mrs Sowerby here to do it for me. But then Lufton +has no constituents to look after--lucky dog! By the by, has he +spoken to you about selling that outlying bit of land of his in +Oxfordshire? It belongs to the Lufton property, and yet it +doesn't. In my mind it gives more trouble than it's worth.' Lord +Lufton had spoken to Mark about this sale and had explained to him +that such a sacrifice was absolutely necessary, in consequence of +certain pecuniary transactions between him, Lord Lufton and Mr +Sowerby. But it was found impracticable to complete the business +without Lady Lufton's knowledge, and her son had commissioned Mr +Robarts not only to inform her ladyship, but to talk her over and +to appease her wrath. This commission he had not yet attempted to +exercise, and it was probable that this visit to Chaldicotes would +not do much to facilitate the business. + +'They are the most magnificent islands under the sun,' said Harold +Smith to the bishop. + +'Are they, indeed!' said the bishop, opening his eyes wide, and +assuming a look of intense interest. + +'And the most intelligent people.' + +'Dear me!' said the bishop. + +'All they want is guidance, encouragement, instruction--' + +'And Christianity,' suggested the bishop. + +'And Christianity, of course,' said Mr Smith, remembering that he +was speaking to a dignitary of the Church. It was well to humour +such people, Mr Smith thought. But the Christianity was to be done +in the Sunday sermon, and was not part of his work. + +'And how do you intend to begin with them?' asked Mr Supplehouse, +the business of whose life it had been to suggest difficulties. + +'Begin with them--oh--why it's very easy to begin with them. The +difficulty is to go on with them, after the money is all spent. +We'll begin by explaining to them the benefits of civilization.' + +'Capital plan!' said Mr Supplehouse. 'But how do you set about it, +Smith?' + +'How do we set about it? How did we set about it with Australia +and America? It is very easy to criticize; but in such matters the +great thing is to put one's shoulder to the wheel.' + +'We sent our felons to Australia,' said Supplehouse, 'and they +began to work for us. And as to America, we exterminated the +people instead of civilizing them.' + +'We did not exterminate the inhabitants of India,' said Harold +Smith, angrily. + +'Nor have we attempted to Christianize them, as the bishop so +properly wishes to do with your islanders.' + +'Supplehouse, you are not fair,' said Mr Sowerby, 'neither to +Harold Smith nor to us--you are making him rehearse his lecture, +which is bad for him; and making us hear the rehearsal, which is +bad for us.' + +'Supplehouse belongs to a clique which monopolises the wisdom of +England,' said Harold Smith, 'or, at any rate, thinks that it +does. But the worst of them is that they are given to talk leading +articles.' + +'Better that, than talk articles which are not leading,' said Mr +Supplehouse. 'Some first-class official men do that.' + +'Shall I meet you at the duke's next week, Mr Robarts?' said the +bishop to him, soon after they had gone into the drawing-room. +Meet him at the duke's!---the established enemy of Barsetshire +mankind, as Lady Lufton regarded his grace! No idea of going to +the duke's had ever entered our hero's mind; nor had he been aware +that the duke was about to entertain anyone. + +'No, my lord, I think not. Indeed, I have no acquaintance with his +grace.' + +'Oh--ah! I did not know. Because Mr Sowerby is going; and so are +the Harold Smiths, and I think, Mr Supplehouse. An excellent man +is the duke;--that is, as regards the county interests,' added the +bishop, remembering that the moral character of his bachelor grace +was not the very best in the world. And then his lordship began to +ask some questions about the church affairs of Framley, in which a +little interest as to Framley Court was also mixed up, when he was +interrupted by a rather sharp voice, to which he instantly +attended. + +'Bishop,' said the rather sharp voice; and the bishop trotted +across the room to the back of the sofa, on which his wife was +sitting. 'Miss Dunstable thinks that she will be able to come to +us for a couple of days, after we leave the duke's.' + +'I shall be delighted above all things,' said the bishop, bowing +low to the dominant lady of the day. For be it known to all men, +that Miss Dunstable was the great heiress of that name. + +'Mrs Proudie is so very kind as to say that she will take me in, +with my poodle, parrot, and pet old woman.' + +'I tell Miss Dunstable that we shall have quite room for any of her +suite,' said Mrs Proudie. 'And that it will give us no trouble.' + +'"The labour we delight in physics pain"' said the gallant bishop, +bowing low, putting his hand upon his heart. In the meantime Mr +Fothergill had got hold of Mark Robarts. Mr Fothergill was a +gentleman and a magistrate of the county, but he occupied the +position of managing man on the Duke of Omnium's estate. He was +not exactly his agent; that is to say, he did not receive his +rents; but he 'managed' for him, saw people, went about the county, +wrote letters, supported the electioneering interest, did +popularity when it was too much trouble for the duke to do it +himself, and was, in fact, invaluable. People in West Barsetshire +would often say that they did not know what on earth the duke would +do, if it were not for Mr Fothergill. Indeed, Mr Fothergill was +useful to the duke. + +'Mr Robarts,' he said, 'I am very happy to have the pleasure of +meeting you--very happy indeed. I have often heard of you from our +friend Sowerby.' Mark bowed, and said that he was delighted to +have the honour of making Mr Fothergill's acquaintance. 'I am +commissioned by the Duke of Omnium,' continued Mr Fothergill, 'to +say how glad he will be if you will join his grace's party at +Gatherum Castle next week. The bishop will be there, and indeed +nearly all the whole set who are here now. The duke would have +written when he heard that you were to be at Chaldicotes; but +things were hardly quite arranged then, so his grace has left it +for me to tell you how happy he will be to make your acquaintance +in his own house. I have spoken to Sowerby,' continued Mr +Fothergill, 'and he very much hopes that you will be able to join +us.' + +Mark felt that his face became red when this proposition was made +to him. The party in the county to which he properly belonged--he +and his wife, and all that made him happy and respectable--looked +upon the Duke of Omnium with horror and amazement; and now he had +absolutely received an invitation to the duke's house! A +proposition was made to him that he should be numbered among the +duke's friends! + +And though in one sense he was sorry that the proposition was made +to him, yet in another he was proud of it. It is not every young +man, let his profession be what it may, who can receive overtures of +friendship from dukes without some elation. Mark, too, had risen +in the world, as far as he had yet risen, by knowing great people; +and he certainly had an ambition to rise higher; but he undoubtedly +had a feeling that the paths most pleasant for a clergyman's feet +were those which were trodden by the great ones of the earth. +Nevertheless, at the moment he declined the duke's invitation. He +was very much flattered, he said, but the duties of the parish +would require him to return from Chaldicotes to Framley. + +'You need not give an answer to-night, you know,' said Mr +Fothergill. 'Before the week is past, we will talk it over with +Sowerby and the bishop. It will be a thousand pities, Mr Robarts, +if you will allow me to say so, that you should neglect such an +opportunity of knowing his grace.' + +When Mark went to bed, his mind was still set against going to the +duke's; but, nevertheless, he did feel that it was a pity that he +should not do so. After all, was it necessary that he should obey +Lady Lufton in all things? + + + +CHAPTER IV + +A MATTER OF CONSCIENCE + + +It is no doubt very wrong to long after a naughty thing. But +nevertheless we all do so. One may say that hankering after +naughty things is the very essence of the evil into which we have +been precipitated by Adam's fall. When we confess that we are all +sinners, we confess that we all long after naughty things. And +ambition is a great vice--as Mark Antony told us a long time ago--a +reference to his own advancement, and not to the advancement of +others. But then, how many of us are there who are not ambitious +in this vicious manner? And there is nothing viler than the desire +to know great people--people of great rank, I should say; nothing +worse than the hunting of titles and worshipping of wealth. We all +know this, and say it every day of our lives. But presuming that a +way into the society of Park Lane was open to us, and a way also +into that of Bedford Row, how many of us are there who would prefer +Bedford Row, because it is so vile to worship wealth and title? + +I am led into these rather trite remarks by the necessity of +putting forward some sort of excuse for that frame of mind in which +the Rev Mark Robarts awoke on the morning after his arrival at +Chaldicotes. And I trust that the fact of his being a clergyman +will not be allowed to press against him unfairly. Clergymen are +subject to the same passions as other men; and, as far as I can +see, give way to them, in one line or another, almost as +frequently. Every clergyman should, by canonical rule, feel a +personal disinclination to a bishopric; but yet we do not believe +that such personal disinclination is generally very strong. Mark's +first thoughts when he woke on that morning flew back to Mr +Fothergill's invitation. The duke had sent a special message to +say how peculiarly glad he, the duke, would be to make acquaintance +with him, the parson! How much of this message had been of Mr +Fothergill's own manufacture, that Mark Robarts did not consider. +He had obtained a living at an age when other young clergymen are +beginning to think of a curacy, and he had obtained such a living +as middle-aged parsons in their dreams regard as a possible +Paradise for their old years. Of course he thought that all these +good things had been the results of his own peculiar merits. Of +course he felt that he was different from other parsons--more +fitted by nature for intimacy with great persons, more urbane, more +polished, and more richly endowed with modern clerical well-to-do +aptitudes. He was grateful to Lady Lufton for what she had done +for him; but perhaps not so grateful as he should have been. + +At any rate he was not Lady Lufton's servant, nor even her +dependant. So much he had repeated to himself on many occasions, +and had gone so far as to hint the same idea to his wife. In his +career as parish priest he must in most things be the judge of his +own actions--and in many also it was his duty to be the judge of +those of his patroness. The fact of Lady Lufton having placed him +in the living, could by no means make her the proper judge of his +actions. This he often said to himself; and he said as often that +Lady Lufton certainly had a hankering after such a judgement-seat. + +Of whom generally did prime ministers and official bigwigs think it +expedient to make bishops and deans? Was it not, as a rule, of +those clergymen who had shown themselves able to perform their +clerical duties efficiently, and able also to take their place with +ease in society? He was very well off certainly at Framley; but he +could never hope for anything beyond Framley, if he allowed himself +to regard Lady Lufton as a bugbear. Putting Lady Lufton and her +prejudices out of the question, was there any reason why he ought +not to accept the duke's invitation? He could not see that there +was any such reason. If any one could be a better judge on such a +subject than himself, it must be his bishop. And it was clear that +the bishop wished him to go to Gatherum Castle. + +The matter was still left open to him. Mr Fothergill had +especially explained that; and therefore his ultimate decision was +as yet within his own power. Such a visit would cost him some +money, for he knew that a man does not stay at great houses without +expense; and then, in spite of his good income, he was not very +flush of money. He had been down this year with Lord Lufton in +Scotland. Perhaps it might be more prudent for him to return +home. But then an idea came to him that it behoved him as priest +to break through that Framley thralldom under which he felt that he +did to a certain extent exist. Was it not the fact that he was +about to decline this invitation from fear of Lady Lufton? and if +so, was that a motive by which he ought to be actuated? It was +incumbent on him to rid himself of that feeling. And in this +spirit he got up and dressed. + +There was hunting again on that day; and as the hounds were to meet +near Chaldicotes, and to draw some converts lying on the verge of +the chase, the ladies were to go in carriages through the drives of +the forest, and Mr Robarts was to escort them on horseback. Indeed +it was one of those hunting days got up rather for the ladies than +for the sport. Great nuisances they are to steady, middle-aged +hunting men; but the young fellows like them because they have +thereby an opportunity of showing all their sporting finery, and of +doing a little flirtation on horseback. The bishop, also, had been +minded to be of the party; so, at least, he had said on the +previous evening; and a place in one of the carriages had been set +apart for him; but since that, he and Mrs Proudie had discussed the +matter in private, and at breakfast his lordship declared that he +had changed his mind. + +Mr Sowerby was one of those men who are known to be very poor--as +poor as debt can make a man--but who, nevertheless, enjoy all the +luxuries which money can give. It was believed that he could not +live in England out of jail but for his protection as a member of +Parliament; and yet it seemed that there was no end to his horses +and carriages, his servants and retinue. He had been at this work +for a great many years, and practice, they say, makes perfect. Such +companions are very dangerous. There is no cholera, no +yellow-fever, no small-pox, more contagious than debt. If one +lives habitually among embarrassed men, one catches it to a +certainty. No one had injured the community in this way more +fatally than Mr Sowerby. But still he carried on the game himself; +and now, on this morning, carriages and horses thronged at his +gate, as though he were as substantially rich as his friend the +Duke of Omnium. + +'Robarts, my dear fellow,' said Mr Sowerby, when they were well +under way down one of the glades of the forest,--for the place +where the hounds met was some four or five miles from the house of +Chaldicotes,--'ride on with me a moment. I want to speak to you. +And if I stay behind we shall never get to the hounds.' So Mark, +who had come expressly to escort the ladies, rode on alongside Mr +Sowerby in his pink coat. + +'My dear fellow, Fothergill tells me that you have some hesitation +about going to Gatherum Castle.' + +'Well, I did decline, certainly. You know I am not a man of +pleasure as you are. I have some duties to attend to.' + +'Gammon!' said Mr Sowerby; and as he said it, he looked with a kind +of derisive smile into the clergyman's face. + +'It is easy enough to say that, Sowerby; and perhaps I have no +right to expect that you should understand me.' + +'Ah, but I do understand you; and I say that it is gammon. I would +be the last man in the world to ridicule your scruples about duty, +if this hesitation on your part arose from any such scruple. But +answer me honestly, do you not know that such is not the case?' + +'I know nothing of the kind.' + +'Ah, but I think you do. If you persist in refusing this +invitation will it not be because you are afraid of making Lady +Lufton angry? I do not know what there can be in that woman that +she is able to hold both you and Lufton in leading-strings.' +Robarts, of course denied the charge, and protested that he was not +to be taken back to his parsonage by any fear of Lady Lufton. But +though he made such protest with warmth, he knew that he did so +ineffectually. Sowerby only smiled, and said that the proof of the +pudding was in the eating. + +'What is the good of a man keeping a curate if it be not to save +him from that sort of drudgery?' he asked. + +'Drudgery! If I were a drudge how could I be here to-day?' + +'Well, Robarts, look here. I am speaking now, perhaps, with more of +the energy of an old friend than circumstances fully warrant; but I +am an older man than you, and as I have a regard for you I do not +like to see you throw up a good game when it is in your hands.' + +'Oh, as far as that goes, Sowerby, I need hardly tell you that I +appreciate your kindness.' + +'If you are constant,' continued the man of the world, 'to live at +Framley all your life, and to warm yourself in the sunshine of the +dowager there, why, in such case, it may perhaps be useless for you +to extend the circle of your friends; but if you have higher ideas +than those, you will be very wrong to omit the present opportunity +of going to the duke's. I never knew the duke go so much out of +his way to be civil to a clergyman as he has done in this +instance.' + +'I am sure I am very much obliged to him.' + +'The fact is, that you may, if you please, make yourself popular in +the county; but you cannot do it by obeying Lady Lufton's behest. +She is a dear old woman, I am sure.' + +'She is, Sowerby; and you would say so, if you knew her.' + +'I don't doubt it; but it would not do for you or me to live +exactly according to her ideas. Now, here, in this case, the +bishop of the diocese is to be one of the party, and he has, I +believe, expressed a wish that you should be another.' + +'He asked me if I were going.' + +'Exactly; and Archdeacon Grantly will also be there.' + +'Will he?' asked Mark. Now, that would be a great point gained, +for Archdeacon Grantly was a close friend of Lady Lufton. + +'So I understand from Fothergill. Indeed, it will be very wrong of +you not to go, and I tell you plainly; and what is more, when you +talk about your duty--you having a curate as you do have--why, it +is gammon.' These last words he spoke looking back over his +shoulder as he stood up in his stirrups, for he had caught the eye +of the huntsman, who was surrounded by his hounds, and was now +trotting on to join him. During a great portion of the day, Mark +found himself riding by the side of Mrs Proudie, as that lady +leaned back in her carriage. And Mrs Proudie smiled on him +graciously, though her daughter would not do so. Mrs Proudie was +fond of having an attendant clergyman; and as it was evident that +Mr Robarts lived among nice people--titled dowagers, members of +Parliament, and people of that sort--she was quite willing to +install him as a sort of honorary chaplain pro tem. + +'I'll tell you what we have settled, Mrs Harold Smith and I,' said +Mrs Proudie to him. 'This lecture at Barchester will be so late on +Saturday evening, that you had all better come and dine with us.' +Mark bowed and thanked her, and declared that he should be very +happy to make one of such a party. Even Lady Lufton could not +object to this, although she was not especially fond of Mrs +Proudie. + +'And then they are to sleep at the hotel. It will really be too +late for ladies to think of going back so far at this time of the +year. I told Mrs Harold Smith, and Miss Dunstable, too, that we +could manage to make room at any rate for them. But they will not +leave the other ladies; so they go to the hotel for the +night. But, Mr Robarts, the bishop will never allow you to stay at +the inn, so of course you will take a bed at the palace.' + +It immediately occurred to Mark that as the lecture was to be given +on Saturday evening, the next morning would be Sunday; and, on that +Sunday, he would have to preach at Chaldicotes. 'I thought they +were all going to return the same night,' said he. + +'Well, they did intend it; but you see Mrs Smith is afraid.' + +'I should have to be back here on the Sunday morning, Mrs Proudie.' + +'Ah, yes, that is bad--very bad indeed. No one dislikes any +interference with the Sabbath any more than I do. Indeed, if I am +particular about anything it is about that. But some works are +works of necessity, Mr Robarts; are they not? Now you must +necessarily be back at Chaldicotes on Sunday morning!' And so the +matter was settled. Mrs Proudie was very firm in general in the +matter of Sabbath-day observances; but when she had to deal with +such persons as Mrs Harold Smith, it was expedient that she should +give way a little. 'You can start at noon as it's daylight, you +know, if you like it, Mr Robarts,' she said. + +There was not much to boast of as to the hunting, but it was a very +pleasant day for the ladies. The men rode up and down the grass +roads through the chase, sometimes in the greatest possible hurry +as though they never could go quick enough; and then the coachmen +would drive very fast also, though they did not know why, for a +fast pace of movement is another of those contagious diseases. And +then again the sportsmen would move at an undertaker's pace, when +the fox had traversed and the hounds would be at a loss to know +which was the hunt and which was the heel; and then the carriages +would go slowly, and the ladies would stand up and talk. And then +the time for lunch came; and altogether the day went pleasantly +enough. + +'And so that's hunting, is it?' said Miss Dunstable. + +'Yes, that's hunting,' said Mr Sowerby. + +'I did not see any gentlemen do anything that I could not do +myself, except there was one young man slipped off into the mud; +and I shouldn't like that.' + +'But there was no breaking of bones, was there, my dear?' said Mrs +Harold Smith. + +'And nobody caught any foxes,' said Miss Dunstable. 'The fact is, +Mrs Smith, that I don't think much more of their sport than I do of +their business. I shall take to hunting a pack of hounds myself +after this.' + +'Do, my dear, and I'll be your whipper-in. I wonder whether Mrs +Proudie would join us.' + +'I shall be writing to the duke to-night,' said Mr Fothergill to +Mark, as they were all riding up to the stable-yard together. 'You +will let me tell his grace that you will accept his invitation +--will you not?' + +'Upon my word, the duke is very kind,' said Mark. + +'He is very anxious to know you, I can assure you,' said +Fothergill. What could a young flattered fool of a parson do, but +say that he would go? Mark did say that he would go; and in the +course of the evening his friend Mr Sowerby congratulated him, and +the bishop joked with him and said that he knew that he would not +give up good company so soon; and Miss Dunstable said she would +make him her chaplain as soon as Parliament would allow quack +doctors to have such articles--an allusion which Mark did not +understand, till he learned that Miss Dunstable was herself the +proprietress of the celebrated Oil of Lebanon, invented by her late +respected father, and patented by him with such wonderful results +in the way of accumulated fortune; and Mrs Proudie made him quite +one of their party, talking to him about all manner of Church +subjects; and then at last, even Miss Proudie smiled on him, when +she learned that he had been thought worthy of a bed at the duke's +castle. And all the world seemed to be open to him. + +But he could not make himself happy that evening. On the next +morning he must write to his wife; and he could already see the +look of painful sorrow which would fall upon Fanny's brow when she +learned that her husband was going to be a guest at the Duke of +Omnium's. And he must tell her to send him money, and money was +scarce. And then, as to Lady Lufton, should he send her some +message, or should he not? In either case he must declare war +against her. And then did he not owe everything to Lady Lufton? +And thus in spite of all his triumphs he could not get himself to +bed in a happy frame of mind. + +On the next day, which was Friday, he postponed the disagreeable +task of writing. Saturday would do well; and on Saturday morning, +before they all started for Barchester, he did write. And his +letter ran as follows:- + +'Chaldicotes, November, 185- +'DEAREST LOVE, + + 'You will be astonished when I tell you how gay we all +are here, and what further dissipations are in store for +me. The Arabins, as you supposed, are not of our party; +but the Proudies are--as you supposed also. Your +suppositions are always right. And what will you think +when I tell you that I am to sleep at the palace on +Saturday? You know that there is to be a lecture in +Barchester on that day. Well; we must all go, of course, +as Harold Smith, one of our set here, is to give it. And +now it turns out that we cannot get back to the house the +same night because there is no moon; and Mrs Bishop would +not allow that my cloth should be contaminated by an +hotel;--very kind and conscientious, is it not? + +'But I have a more astounding piece of news for you than +this. There is to be a very great party at Gatherum +Castle next week, and they have talked me over into +accepting an invitation which the duke sent expressly to +me. I refused at first; but everybody here said that my +doing so would be so strange; and then they all wanted to +know my reason. When I came to render it, I did not know +what reason I had to give. The bishop is going, and he +thought it very odd that I should not go also, seeing +that I was asked. I know that my own darling will think, +and I know that she will not be pleased, and I must put +off my defence till I return to her from this +ogre-land--if ever I get back alive. But joking apart, +Fanny, I think that I should have been wrong to stand +out, when so much was said about it. I should have been +seeming to take upon myself to sit in judgement upon the +duke. I doubt if there be a single clergyman in the +diocese, under fifty years of age, who would have refused +the invitation under such circumstances--unless it be +Crawley, who is so mad on the subject that he thinks it +almost wrong to take a walk out of his own parish. I +must stay at Gatherum Castle over Sunday week--indeed, +we only go there on Friday. I have written to Jones +about his duties. I can make it up to him, as I know he +wishes to go to Wales at Christmas. My wanderings will +all be over then, and he may go for a couple of months if +he pleases. I suppose you will take my classes in the +school on Sunday, as well as your own; but pray make them +have a good fire. If this be too much for you, make Mrs +Podgens take the boys. Indeed I think that will be +better. + +'Of course you will tell her ladyship of my whereabouts. +Tell her from me, that as regards the bishop, as well as +regarding another great personage, the colour has been +laid on perhaps a little too thickly. Not that Lady +Lufton would ever like him. Make her understand that my +going to the duke's house has almost become a matter of +conscience with me. I have not known how to make it +appear that it would be right for me to refuse, without +absolutely making a party matter of it. I saw that it +would be said, that I, coming from Lady Lufton's parish, +could not go to the Duke of Omnium's. This I did not +choose. + +'I find that I shall want a little money before I leave +here, five or ten pounds--say ten pounds. If you cannot +spare it, get it from Davis. He owes me more than that, +a good deal. And now, God bless and preserve you, my +love. Kiss my darling bairns for papa, and give them my +blessing. +'Always and ever your own, +'M.R.' + +And then there was written, on an outside scrap, which was folded +round the full-written sheet of paper. 'Make it as smooth at +Framley Court as possible.' However strong, and reasonable, and +unanswerable the body of Mark's letter may have been, all his +hesitation, weakness, doubt, and fear, were expressed in that short +postscript. + + + +CHAPTER V + +AMANTIUM IRAE AMORIS INTERGRATIO + + +And now, with my reader's consent, I will follow the postman with +that letter to Framley; not by its own circuitous route indeed, or +by the same mode of conveyance; for that letter went into +Barchester by the Courcy night mail-cart, which, on its road, +passed through the villages of Uffey and Chaldicotes, reaching +Barchester in time for the up-mail from London. By that train, the +letter was sent towards the metropolis as far as the junction of +the Barset branch line, but there it was turned in its course, and +came down again by the main line as far as Silverbridge; at which +place, between six and seven in the morning, it was shouldered by +the Framley footpost messenger, and in due course delivered at the +Framley Parsonage exactly as Mrs Robarts had finished reading +prayers to the four servants. Or, I should say rather, that such +would in its usual course have been that letter's destiny. As it +was, however, it reached Silverbridge on Sunday, and lay there till +the Monday, as the Framley people have declined their Sunday post. +And then again, when the letter was delivered at the parsonage, on +that wet Monday morning, Mrs Robarts was not at home. As we are +all aware, she was staying with her ladyship at Framley Court. + +'Oh, but it's mortial wet,' said the shivering postman as he handed +in that and the vicar's newspaper. The vicar was a man of the +world and took The Jupiter. + +'Come in, Robin postman, and warm theeself awhile,' said Jemima the +cook, pushing a stool a little to one side, but still well in front +of the big kitchen fire. + +'Well, I dudna jist know how it'll be. The wery 'edges 'as eyes +and tells on me in Silverbridge, if I so much as steps to pick up a +blackberry.' + +'There hain't no hedges her, mon, nor yet no blackberries; so sit +thee down and warm theeself. That's better nor blackberries, I'm +thinking,' and she handed him a bowl of tea with a slice of buttered +toast. Robin postman took the proffered tea, put his dripping hat +on the ground, and thanked Jemima cook. 'But I dudna jist know how +it'll be;' said he, 'only it do pour so tarmation heavy.' Which +among us, O my readers, could have withstood that temptation? + +Such was the circuitous course of Mark's letter; but as it left +Chaldicotes on Saturday evening and reached Mrs Robarts on the +following morning, or would have done but for the intervening +Sunday, doing all peregrinations during the night, it may be held +that its course of transport was not inconveniently arranged. We, +however, will travel by a much shorter route. Robin, in the course +of his daily travels, passed, first the post-office at Framley, +then Framley Court back entrance, and then the vicar's house, so +that on this wet morning Jemima cook was not able to make use of +his services in transporting the letter back to her mistress; for +Robin had got another village before him, expectant of his letters. + +'Why didn't thee leave it, mon, with Mr Applejohn at the Court?' Mr +Applejohn was the butler who took the letter-bag. 'Thee know'st as +how missus was there.' And then Robin, mindful of the tea and +toast, explained to her courteously how the law made it imperative +on him to bring the letter to the very house that was indicated, +let the owner of the letter be where she might; and he laid down +the law very satisfactorily with sundry long-worded quotations. Not +to much effect, however, for the housemaid called him an oaf; and +Robin would decidedly have had the worst of it had not the gardener +come in and taken his part. 'They woman knows nothin', and +understands nothin',' said the gardener. 'Give us hold of the +letter. I'll take it up to the house. It's the master's fist.' +And then Robin postman went on one way, and the gardener, he went +the other. The gardener never disliked an excuse for going to the +Court gardens, even on so wet a day as this. + +Mrs Robarts was sitting over the drawing-room fire with Lady +Meredith, when her husband's letter was brought to her. The +Framley Court letter-bag had been discussed at breakfast; but that +was now nearly an hour since, and Lady Lufton, as was her wont, was +away in her own room, writing her own letters, and looking after +her own matters: for Lady Lufton was a person who dealt in figures +herself, and understood business almost as well as Harold Smith. +And on that morning she also had received a letter which had +displeased her not a little. Whence arose the displeasure neither +Mrs Robarts nor Lady Meredith knew; but her ladyship's brow had +grown black at breakfast time; she had bundled up an +ominous-looking epistle in her bag, without speaking of it, and had +left the room immediately that breakfast was over. + +'There's something wrong,' said Sir George. + +'Mamma does fret herself so much about Ludovic's money matters,' +said Lady Meredith. Ludovic was Lord Lufton--Ludovic Lufton, +Baron Lufton of Lufton, in the county of Oxfordshire. + +'And yet I don't think Lufton gets much astray,' said Sir George, +as he sauntered out of the room. 'Well, Justy; we'll put off going +then till to-morrow; but remember, it must be the first train.' +Lady Meredith said she would remember, and then they went into the +drawing-room, and there Mrs Robarts received her letter. Fanny, +when she read it, hardly at first realised to herself the idea that +her husband, the clergyman of Framley, the family clerical friend +of Lady Lufton's establishment, was going to stay with the Duke of +Omnium. It was so thoroughly understood at Framley Court that the +duke and all belonging to him, was noxious and damnable. He was a +Whig, he was a bachelor, he was a gambler, he was immoral in every +way, he was a man of no Church principle, a corrupter of youth, a +sworn foe of young wives, a swallower up of small men's +patrimonies; a man whom mothers feared for their sons, and sisters +for their brothers; and worse again, whom fathers had cause to fear +for their daughters, and brothers for their sisters;--a man who, +with his belongings, dwelt, and must dwell, poles asunder from Lady +Lufton and her belongings! And it must be remembered that all +these evil things were fully believed by Mrs Robarts. Could it +really be that her husband was going to dwell in the halls of +Apollyon, to shelter himself beneath the wings of this very +Lucifer? A cloud of sorrow settled upon her face, and then she +read the letter again very slowly, not omitting the tell-tale +postscript. + +'Oh, Justinia!' at last she said. + +'What, have you got bad news, too?' + +'I hardly know how to tell you what has occurred. There; I suppose +you had better read it;' and she handed her husband's epistle to +Lady Meredith--keeping back, however, the postscript. + +'What on earth will her ladyship do now?' said Lady Meredith, as +she folded the paper, and replaced it in the envelope. + +'What had I better do, Justinia? how had I better tell her?' And +then the two ladies put their heads together, bethinking themselves +how they might best deprecate the wrath of Lady Lufton. It had been +arranged that Mrs Robarts should go back to the parsonage after +lunch, and she had persisted in her intention after it had been +settled that the Merediths were to stay over that evening. Lady +Meredith now advised her friend to carry out this determination +without saying anything about her husband's iniquities, and then to +send the letter up to Lady Lufton as soon as she reached the +parsonage. 'Mamma will never know that you received it here,' said +Lady Meredith. But Mrs Robarts would not consent to this. Such a +course seemed to her to be cowardly. She knew that her husband was +doing wrong; she felt that he knew it himself; but still it was +necessary that she should defend him. However terrible might be +the storm, it must break upon her own head. So she at once went +and tapped at Lady Lufton's private door; and as she did so Lady +Meredith followed her. + +'Come in,' said Lady Lufton, and the voice did not sound soft and +pleasant. When they entered, they found her sitting at her little +writing-table, with her head resting on her arm, and that letter +which she had received that morning was lying open on the table +before her. Indeed there were two letters now there, one from a +London lawyer to herself, and the other from her son to that London +lawyer. It needs only to be explained that the subject of those +letters was the immediate sale of that outlying portion of the +Lufton property in Oxfordshire, as to which Mr Sowerby once spoke. +Lord Lufton had told the lawyer that the thing must be done at +once, adding that his friend Robarts would have explained the whole +affair to his mother. And then the lawyer had written to Lady +Lufton, as was indeed necessary; but unfortunately Lady Lufton had +not hitherto heard a word of the matter. In her eyes the sale of +family property was horrible; the fact that a young man with some +fifteen or twenty thousand a year should require subsidiary money +was horrible; that her own son should have not written to her +himself was horrible; and it was also horrible that her own pet, +the clergyman whom she had brought there to be her son's friend, +should be mixed up in the matter; should be cognizant of it while +she was not cognizant; should be employed in it as a go-between and +agent in her son's bad courses. It was all horrible, and Lady +Lufton was sitting there with a black brow and an uneasy heart. As +regarded our poor parson, we may say that in this matter he was +blameless, except that he had hitherto lacked the courage to +execute his friend's commission. + +'What is it, Fanny?' said Lady Lufton, as soon as the door was +opened; 'I should have been down in half an hour if you wanted me, +Justinia.' + +'Fanny has received a letter which makes her wish to speak to you +at once,' said Lady Meredith. + +'What letter, Fanny?' Poor Fanny's heart was in her mouth; she +held it in her hand, but had not yet quite made up her mind whether +she would show it boldly to Lady Lufton. 'From Mr Robarts,' she +said. + +'Well; I suppose he is going to stay another week at Chaldicotes. +For my part I should be as well pleased;' and Lady Lufton's voice +was not friendly, for she was thinking of the farm in Oxfordshire. +The imprudence of the young is very sore to the prudence of their +elders. No woman could be less covetous, less grasping than Lady +Lufton; but the sale of a portion of the old family property was to +her as the loss of her own heart's blood. + +'Here is the letter, Lady Lufton; perhaps you had better read;' and +Fanny handed it to her, again keeping back the postscript. She had +read and re-read the letter downstairs, but could not make out +whether her husband had intended her to show it. From the line of +the argument, she thought that he must have done so. At any rate +he said for himself more than she could say for him, and so, +probably, it was best that her ladyship should see it. Lady Lufton +took it, and read it, and her face grew blacker and blacker. Her +mind was set against the writer before she began it, and every word +in it tended to make her feel more estranged from him. 'Oh, he is +going to the palace, is he? well; he must choose his own friends. +Harold Smith one of the party! It's a pity, my dear, he did not +see Miss Proudie before he met you, he might have lived to be the +bishop's chaplain. Gatherum Castle! You don't mean to tell me that +he is going there? Then I tell you fairly, Fanny, that I have done +with him.' + +'Oh, Lady Lufton, don't say that,' said Mrs Robarts, with tears in +her eyes. + +'Mamma, mamma, don't speak in that way,' said Lady Meredith. + +'But, my dear, what am I to say? I must speak in that way. You +would not wish me to speak falsehoods, would you? A man must +choose for himself, but he can't live with two different sets of +people; at least, not if I belong to one and the Duke of Omnium to +the other. The bishop going indeed! If there be anything that I +hate is hypocrisy.' + +'There is no hypocrisy in that, Lady Lufton.' + +'But I say there is, Fanny. Very strange, indeed! "Put off his +defence!" Why should a man need any defence to his wife if he acts +in a straightforward way? His own language condemns him. "Wrong +to stand out!" Now, will either of you tell me that Mr Robarts +would really have thought it wrong to refuse that invitation? I +say that is hypocrisy. There is no other word for it.' By this +time the poor wife, who had been in tears, was wiping them away and +preparing for action. Lady Lufton's extreme severity gave her +courage. She knew that it behoved her to fight for her husband +when he was thus attacked. Had Lady Lufton been moderate in her +remarks, Mrs Robarts would not have had a word to say. + +'My husband may have been ill-judged,' she said, 'but he is no +hypocrite.' + +'Very well, my dear, I dare say you know better than I; but to me +it looks extremely like hypocrisy; eh, Justinia?' + +'Oh, mamma, do be moderate.' + +'Moderate! That's all very well. How is one to moderate one's +feelings when one has been betrayed?' + +'You do not mean that Mr Robarts has betrayed you?' said the wife. + +'Oh, no; of course not.' And then she went on reading the letter: +'"Seem to have been standing in judgement upon the duke." Might he +not use the same argument as to going into any house in the +kingdom, however infamous? We must all stand in judgement one upon +another in that sense. "Crawley!" Yes; if he were a little more +like Mr Crawley it would be a good thing for me, and for the +parish, and for you too, my dear. God forgive me for bringing him +here; that's all.' + +'Lady Lufton, I must say that you are very hard upon him--very +hard. I did not expect it from such a friend.' + +'My dear, you ought to know me well enough to be sure that I shall +speak my mind. "Written to Jones"--yes; it is easy enough to write +to poor Jones. He had better write to Jones, and bid him do the +whole duty. Then he can go on and be the duke's domestic +chaplain.' + +'I believe my husband does as much of his own duty as any clergyman +in the whole diocese,' said Mrs Robarts, now again in tears. + +'And you are to take his work in the school; you and Mrs Podgens. +What with his curate and his wife and Mrs Podgens, I don't see why +he should come back at all.' + +'Oh, mamma,' said Justinia, 'pray, pray don't be so harsh to her.' + +'Let me finish it, my dear;--oh, here I come. "Tell her ladyship my +whereabouts." He little thought you'd show me this letter.' + +'Didn't he,' said Mrs Robarts, putting out her hand to get it back, +but in vain. 'I thought it was for the best; I did indeed.' + +'I had better finish it now, if you please. What is this? How does +he dare to send his ribald jokes to me in such a matter? No, I do +not suppose I ever shall like Dr Proudie; I have never expected +it. A matter of conscience with him! Well--well--well. Had I not +read it myself, I could not have believed it of him. I would not +positively have believed it. "Coming from my parish he could not +go to the Duke of Omnium!" And it is what I would wish to have +said. People fit for this parish should not be fit for the Duke of +Omnium's house. And I had trusted that he would have this feeling +more strongly than any one else in it. I have been deceived +--that's all.' + +'He has done nothing to deceive you, Lady Lufton.' + +'I hope he will not have deceived you, my dear. "More money." +There is your letter, Fanny. I am very sorry for it. I can say +nothing more.' And she folded up the letter and gave it back to +Mrs Robarts. 'I thought it right to show it to you,' said Mrs +Robarts. + +'It did not much matter whether you did or not; of course I must +have been told.' + +'He especially begs me to tell you.' + +'Why, yes; he could not very well have kept me in the dark on such +a matter. He could not neglect his own work, and go and live with +gamblers and adulterers at the Duke of Omnium's without my knowing +it.' And now Fanny Robarts's cup was full, full to overflowing. +When she heard these words she forgot all about Lady Lufton, all +about Lady Meredith, and remembered only her husband--that he was +her husband, and, in spite of his faults, a good and loving +husband;--and that other fact also she remembered, that she was his +wife. + +'Lady Lufton,' she said, 'you forget yourself in speaking in that +way of my husband.' + +'What!' said her ladyship; 'you are to show me such a letter as +that, and I am not to tell you what I think?' + +'Not if you think such hard things as that. Even you are not +justified in speaking to me in that way, and I will not hear it.' + +'Heighty-tighty!' said her ladyship. + +'Whether or no he is right in going to the Duke of Omnium's, I will +not pretend to judge. He is the judge of his own actions, and +neither you nor I.' + +'And when he leaves you with the butcher's bill unpaid and no money +to buy shoes for the children, who will be the judge then?' + +'Not you, Lady Lufton. If such bad days should ever come--and +neither you nor I have a right to expect them--I will not come to +you in my troubles; not after this.' + +'Very well, my dear. You may go to the Duke of Omnium if that +suits you better.' + +'Fanny, come away,' said Lady Meredith. 'Why should you try to +anger my mother?' + +'I don't want to anger her; but I won't hear him abused in that way +without speaking up for him. If I don't defend him, who will? Lady +Lufton has said terrible things about him; and they are not true.' + +'Oh, Fanny!' said Justinia. + +'Very well, very well!' said Lady Lufton. 'This is the sort of +return one gets.' + +'I don't know what you mean by return, Lady Lufton; but would you +wish me to stand quietly by and hear such things said of my +husband? He does not live with such people as you have named. He +does not neglect his duties. If every clergyman were as much in +his parish, it would be well for some of them. And in going to +such a house as the Duke of Omnium's it does make a difference that +he goes there in company with the bishop. I can't explain why, but +I know that it does.' + +'Especially when the bishop is coupled with the devil, as Mr +Robarts has done,' said Lady Lufton; 'he can join the duke with +them and then they'll stand for the three Graces, won't they, +Justinia?' And Lady Lufton laughed a bitter little laugh at her +own wit. + +'I suppose I may go now, Lady Lufton.' + +'Oh, yes; certainly, my dear.' + +'I am very sorry if I have made you angry with me; but I will not +allow any one to speak against Mr Robarts without answering them. +You have been very unjust to him; and even though I do anger you, I +must say so.' + +'Come, Fanny, this is too bad,' said Lady Lufton. 'You have been +scolding me for the last half-hour because I would not congratulate +you on this new friend that your husband has made, and now you are +going to begin it all over again. That is more than I can stand. +If you have nothing else particular to say, you might as well leave +me.' And Lady Lufton's face as she spoke was unbending, severe, +and harsh. Mrs Robarts had never before been so spoken to by her +old friend; indeed, she had never been so spoken to by any one, and +she hardly knew how to bear herself. + +'Very well, Lady Lufton,' she said; 'then I will go. Good-bye.' + +'Good-bye,' said Lady Lufton, and turning herself to her table she +began to arrange her papers. Fanny had never before left Framley +Court to go back to her own parsonage without a warm embrace. Now +she was to do so without even having her hand shaken. Had it come to +this, that there was absolutely to be a quarrel between them--a +quarrel for ever?' + +'Fanny is going, you know, mamma,' said Lady Meredith. 'She will +be home before you are down again.' + +'I cannot help it, my dear. Fanny must do as she pleases. I am +not to be the judge of her actions. She has just told me so.' Mrs +Robarts had said nothing of the kind, but she was far too proud to +point this out. So with a gentle step she retreated through the +door, and then Lady Meredith, having tried what a conciliatory +whisper with her mother would do, followed her. Alas, the +conciliatory whisper was altogether ineffectual. + +The two ladies said nothing as they descended the stairs, but when +they had regained the drawing-room they looked with black horror +into each other's faces. What were they to do now? Of such a +tragedy as this they had had no remotest preconception. Was it +absolutely the case that Fanny Robarts was to walk out of Lady +Lufton's house as a declared enemy--she who, before her marriage +as well as since, had been almost treated as an adopted daughter of +the family? + +'Oh, Fanny, why did you answer my mother in that way?' said Lady +Meredith. 'You saw that she was vexed. She had other things to +vex her besides this about Mr Robarts.' + +'And would not you answer any one who attacked Sir George?' + +'No, not my own mother. I would let her say what she pleased, and +leave Sir George to fight his own battles.' + +'Ah, but it is different with you. You are her daughter, and Sir +George--she would not dare to speak in that way as to Sir George's +doings.' + +'Indeed she would, if it pleased her. I am sorry I let you go up +there.' + +'It is as well that it should be over, Justinia. As those are her +thoughts about Mr Robarts, it is quite as well that we should know +them. Even for all that I owe to her, and all the love I bear to +you, I will not come to this house if I am to hear my husband +abused--not into any house.' + +'My dearest Fanny, we all know what happens when two angry people +get together.' + +'I was not angry when I went up to her; not in the least.' + +'It is no good looking back. What are we to do now?' + +'I suppose I had better go home,' said Mrs Robarts. 'I will go and +put my things up, and then I will send James for them.' + +'Wait till after lunch, and then you will be able to kiss my mother +before you leave us.' + +'No, Justinia; I cannot wait. I must answer Mr Robarts by this +post, and I must think what I have to say to him. I could not +write that letter here, and the post goes at four.' And Mrs Robarts +got up from her chair, preparatory to her final departure. + +'I shall come to you before dinner,' said Lady Meredith; 'and if I +can bring you good tidings, I shall expect you to come back here +with me. It is out of the question that I should go away from +Framley leaving you and my mother in enmity with each other.' To +this Mrs Robarts made no answer; and in a very few minutes +afterwards she was in her own nursery, kissing her children, and +teaching the elder one to say something about papa. But, even as +she taught him, the tears stood in her eyes, and the little fellow +knew that everything was not right. And there she sat till about +two, doing little odds and ends of things for the children, and +allowing that occupation to stand as an excuse to her for not +commencing her letter. But then there remained only two hours to +her, and it might be that the letter would be difficult in the +writing--would require thoughts and changes, and must needs be +copied, perhaps, more than once. As to the money, that she had in +the house--as much, at least, as Mark now wanted, though the +sending of it would leave her nearly penniless. She could, +however, in case of personal need, resort to Davis as declared by +him. + +So she got out her desk in the drawing-room and sat down and wrote +her letter. It was difficult though she found that it hardly took +so long as she expected. It was difficult, for she felt bound to +tell him the truth; and yet she was anxious not to spoil all his +pleasure among his friends. She told him, however, that Lady +Lufton was very angry, 'unreasonably angry, I must say,' she put +in, in order to show that she had not sided against him. 'And, +indeed, we have quite quarrelled, and this has made me unhappy, as +it will you, dearest; I know that. But we both know how good she +is at heart, and Justinia thinks that she had other things to +trouble her; and I hope it will all be made up before you come +home; only, dearest Mark, pray do not be longer than you said in +your last letter.' And then there were three or four paragraphs +about the babies, and two about the schools, which I may as well +omit. She had just finished her letter, and was carefully folding +it for its envelope, with the two whole five-pound notes +imprudently placed within it, when she heard a footstep on the +gravel path which led up from a small wicket to the front door. The +path ran near the drawing-room window, and she was just in time to +catch a glimpse of the last fold of a passing cloak. 'It is +Justinia,' she said to herself; and her heart became disturbed at +the idea of again discussing the morning's adventure. 'What am I +to do,' she had said to herself before. 'If she wants me to beg +her pardon? I will not own before her that he is in the wrong.' + +And then the door opened--for the visitor made her entrance without +the aid of any servant--and Lady Lufton herself stood before her. +'Fanny,' she said, 'I have come to beg your pardon.' + +'Oh, Lady Lufton!' + +'I was very much distressed when you came to me just now;--by more +things than one, my dear. But, nevertheless, I should not have +spoken to you of your husband as I did, and so I have come to beg +your pardon.' Mrs Robarts was past answering by the time that +this was said, at least in words; so she jumped up, and with her +eyes full of tears, threw herself into her old friend's arms. 'Oh, +Lady Lufton!' she sobbed forth again. + +'You will forgive me, won't you?' said her ladyship, as she +returned her young friend's caress. 'Well, that's right. I have +not been at all happy since you left my den this morning, and I +don't suppose you have. But, Fanny, dearest, we love each other +too well, and know each other too thoroughly, to have a long +quarrel, don't we?' + +'Oh, yes, Lady Lufton.' + +'Of course we do. Friends are not to be picked up on the road-side +every day; nor are they to be thrown away lightly. And now sit +down, my love, and let us have a little talk. There, I must take my +bonnet off. You have pulled the strings so that you have almost +choked me.' And Lady Lufton deposited her bonnet on the table, +and seated herself comfortably in the corner of the sofa. + +'My dear,' she said, 'there is no duty which any woman owes to any +other human being at all equal to that which she owes to her +husband, and, therefore, you were quite right to stand up for Mr +Robarts this morning.' Upon this Mrs Robarts said nothing, but she +got her hand within that of her ladyship's, and gave it a slight +squeeze. + +'And I loved you for what you were doing, all the time. I did, my +dear, though you were a little fierce, you know. Even Justinia +admits that, and she has been at me ever since you went away. And, +indeed, I did not know that it was in you to look in that way out +of those pretty eyes of yours.' + +'Oh, Lady Lufton!' + +'But I looked fierce enough myself, I dare say, so we'll say +nothing more about that; will we? But now, about this good man of +yours.' + +'Dear Lady Lufton, you must forgive him.' + +'Well, as you ask me, I will. We'll have nothing more said about +the duke, either now or when he comes back; not a word. Let me +see--he's to be back;--when is it?' + +'Wednesday week, I think.' + +'Ah, Wednesday. Well, tell him to come and dine up at the house on +Wednesday. He'll be in time, I suppose, and there shan't be a word +said about this horrid duke.' + +'I am so much obliged to you, Lady Lufton.' + +'But look here, my dear; believe me he's better off without such +friends.' + +'Oh, I know he is; much better off.' + +'Well, I'm glad you admit that, for I thought you seemed to be in +favour of the duke.' + +'Oh, no, Lady Lufton.' + +'That's right, then. And now, if you'll take my advice, you'll use +your influence, as good, dear sweet wife, as you are, to prevent +his going there any more. I'm an old woman and he is a young man, +and it's very natural that he should think me behind the times. I'm +not angry about that. But he'll find that it's better for him, +better for him in every way, to stick to his old friends. It will +be better for his peace of mind, better for his character as a +clergyman, better for his pocket, better for his children, and for +you--and better for his eternal welfare. The duke is not such a +companion as he should seek;--nor, if he is sought, should he allow +himself to be led away.' And then Lady Lufton ceased, and Fanny +Robarts kneeling at her feet sobbed, with her face hidden in her +friend's knees. She had not a word now to say as to her husband's +capability of judging for himself. + +'And now I must be going again; but Justinia has made me +promise--promise, mind you, most solemnly, that I would have you +back to dinner to-night,--by force if necessary. It was the only +way I could make my peace with her; so you must not leave me in the +lurch.' Of course Fanny said that she would go and dine at Framley +Court. + +'And you must not send that letter, by any means,' said her +ladyship, as she was leaving the room, poking with her umbrella at +the epistle, which lay directed on Mrs Robarts's desk. 'I can +understand well what it contains. You must alter it altogether, my +dear.' And then Lady Lufton left. + +Mrs Robarts instantly rushed to her desk and tore open the letter. +She looked at her watch and it was past four. She had hardly begun +when the postman came. 'Oh, Mary,' she said, 'do make him wait. If +he'll wait a quarter of an hour, I'll give him a shilling.' + +'There's no need of that, ma'am. Let him have a glass of beer.' + +'Very well, Mary; but don't give him too much, for fear he should +drop the letters about. I'll be ready in ten minutes.' And in +five minutes she had scrawled a very different sort of letter. But +he might want the money immediately, so she would not delay it a +day. + + + +CHAPTER VI + +MR HAROLD SMITH'S LECTURE + + +On the whole the party at Chaldicotes was very pleasant and the +time passed away quickly enough. Mr Robarts's chief friend there, +independently of Mr Sowerby, was Miss Dunstable, who seemed to take +a great fancy to him, whereas she was not very accessible to the +blandishments of Mr Supplehouse, nor more especially courteous to +her host than good manners required of her. But then Mr +Supplehouse and Mr Sowerby were both bachelors, while Mark Robarts +was a married man. With Mr Sowerby Robarts had more than one +communication respecting Lord Lufton and his affairs, which he +would willingly have avoided had it been possible. Sowerby was one +of those men who are always mixing up business with pleasure, and +who have usually some scheme in their mind which requires +forwarding. Men of this class have, as a rule, no daily work, no +regular routine of labour; but it may be doubted whether they do +not toil much more incessantly than those who have. + +'Lufton is so dilatory,' Mr Sowerby said. 'Why did he not arrange +this at once, when he promised it? And then he is afraid of that +old woman at Framley Court. Well, my dear fellow, say what you +will; she is an old woman, and she'll never be younger. But do +write to Lufton, and tell him that this delay is inconvenient to +me; he'll do anything for you, I know.' Mark said that he would +write, and, indeed, he did so; but he did not at first like the +tone of the conversation into which he was dragged. It was very +painful to him to hear Lady Lufton called an old woman, and hardly +less so to discuss the propriety of Lord Lufton's parting with his +property. This was irksome to him, till habit made it easy. But +by degrees his feelings became less acute, and he accustomed +himself to his friend Sowerby's mode of talking. + +And then on Saturday they went over to Barchester. Harold Smith +during the last forty-eight hours had become crammed to overflowing +with Sarawak, Labuan, New Guinea, and the Salomon Islands. As is +the case with all men labouring under temporary specialities, he +for the time had faith in nothing else, and was not content that +any one near him should have any other faith. They called him +Viscount Papua and Baron Borneo; and his wife, who headed the joke +against him, insisted on having her title. Miss Dunstable swore +that she would wed none but a South Sea Islander; and to Mark was +offered the income and duties of Bishop of Spices. Nor did the +Proudie family set themselves against these little sarcastic quips +with any overwhelming severity. It is sweet to unbend oneself at +the proper opportunity, and this was the proper opportunity for Mrs +Proudie's unbending. No mortal can be seriously wise at all +hours; and in these happy hours did that usually wise mortal, the +bishop, lay aside for awhile his serious wisdom. + +'We think of dining at five to-morrow, my Lady Papua,' said the +facetious bishop; 'will that suit his lordship and the affairs of +state? he, he, he!' And the good prelate laughed at the fun. How +pleasantly young men and women of fifty or thereabouts can joke and +flirt and poke their fun about, laughing and holding their sides, +dealing in little innuendoes and rejoicing in nicknames, when they +have no Mentors of twenty-five or thirty years near them to keep +them in order! The vicar of Framley might perhaps have been +regarded as such a Mentor, were it not for that capability of +adapting himself to the company immediately around him on which he +so much piqued himself. He therefore also talked to my Lady Papua, +and was jocose about the Baron--not altogether to the satisfaction +of Mr Harold Smith himself. For Mr Harold Smith was in earnest, +and did not quite relish these jocundities. He had an idea that he +could in about three minutes talk the British world into civilizing +New Guinea, and that the world of Barsetshire would be made to go +with him by one night's efforts. He did not understand why others +should be less serious, and was inclined to resent somewhat stiffly +the amenities of our friend Mark. + +'We must not keep the Baron waiting,' said Mark, as they were +preparing to start for Barchester. + +'I don't know what you mean by the Baron, sir,' said Harold Smith. +'But perhaps the joke will be against you, when you are getting up +in your pulpit to-morrow, and sending the hat round among the +clod-hoppers of Chaldicotes.' + +'Those who live in glass houses shouldn't throw stones, eh, Baron?' +said Miss Dunstable. 'Mr Robarts's sermon will be too near akin to +your lecture to allow of his laughing.' + +'If we can do nothing towards instructing the outer world till it's +done by the parsons,' said Harold Smith, 'the outer world will have +to wait a long time, I fear.' + +'Nobody can do anything of that kind short of a member of +Parliament and would-be minister,' whispered Mrs Harold. And so +they were all very pleasant together, in spite of a little fencing +with edge-tools, and at three o'clock the cortege of carriages +started for Barchester, that of the bishop, of course, leading the +way. His lordship, however, was not in it. + +'Mrs Proudie, I'm sure you'll let me go with you,' said Miss +Dunstable, at the last moment, as she came down the big stone +steps. 'I want to hear the rest of that story about Mr Slope.' Now +this upset everything. The bishop was to have gone with his wife, +Mrs Smith, and Mark Robarts; and Mr Sowerby had so arranged matters +that he could have accompanied Miss Dunstable in his phaeton. But +no one ever dreamed of denying Miss Dunstable anything. Of course +Mark gave way; but it ended in the bishop declaring that he had no +special predilection for his own carriage, which he did in +compliance with a glance from his wife's eye. Then other changes +of course followed, and, at last, Mr Sowerby and Harold Smith were +the joint occupants of the phaeton. The poor lecturer, as he +seated himself made some remark such as those he had been making +for the last two days--for out of a full heart the mouth speaketh. +But he spoke to an impatient listener. 'D-- the South Sea +Islanders,' said Mr Sowerby. 'You'll have it all your own way in a +few moments, like a bull in a china-shop; but for Heaven's sake let +us have a little peace till that time comes.' It appeared that Mr +Sowerby's little plan of having Miss Dunstable for his companion +was not quite insignificant; and, indeed, it may be said that but +few of his little plans were so. At the present moment he flung +himself back in the carriage and prepared for sleep. He could +further no plan of his by a tete-a-tete conversation with his +brother-in-law. And then Mrs Proudie began her story about Mr +Slope, or rather recommenced it. She was very fond of talking +about this gentleman, who had once been her pet chaplain, but was +now her bitterest foe; and in telling her story, she had sometimes +to whisper to Miss Dunstable, for there were one or two fie-fie +little anecdotes about a married lady, not altogether fit for young +Mr Robarts's ears. But Mrs Harold Smith insisted on having them +out loud, and Miss Dunstable would gratify that lady in spite of +Mrs Proudie's winks. + +'What, kissing her hand, and he a clergyman!' said Miss Dunstable. +'I did not think they ever did such things, Mr Robarts.' + +'Still waters run deep,' said Mrs Harold Smith. + +'Hush-h-h,' looked, rather than spoke, Mrs Proudie. 'The grief of +spirit which that bad man caused me nearly broke my heart, and all +the while, you know, he was courting--' and then Mrs Proudie +whispered a name. + +'What, the dean's wife?' shouted Miss Dunstable, in a voice which +made the coachman in the next carriage give a chuck to his horse as +he overheard her. + +'The archdeacon's sister-in-law!' screamed Mrs Harold Smith. + +'What might he have not attempted next?' said Miss Dunstable. + +'She wasn't the dean's wife then, you know,' said Mrs Proudie, +explaining. + +'Well, you are a gay set in the chapter, I must say,' said Miss +Dunstable. 'You ought to make one of them in Barchester, Mr +Robarts.' + +'Only perhaps Mrs Robarts might not like it,' said Mrs Harold +Smith. + +'And then the schemes which he tried on with the bishop!' said Mrs +Proudie. + +'It's all fair in love and war, you know,' said Miss Dunstable. + +'But he little knew whom he had to deal with when he began that,' +said Mrs Proudie. + +'The bishop was too many for him,' suggested Mrs Harold Smith, very +maliciously. + +'The bishop was not, somebody else was; and he was obliged to leave +Barchester in utter disgrace. He has since married the wife of +some tallow-chandler.' + +'The wife!' said Miss Dunstable. 'What a man!' + +'The widow, I mean; but it's all one to him.' + +'The gentleman was clearly born when Venus was in the ascendant,' +said Mrs Smith. 'You clergymen usually are, I believe, Mr +Robarts.' So that Mrs Proudie's carriage was by no means the +dullest as they drove into Barchester that day; and by degrees our +friend Mark became accustomed to his companions, and before they +reached the palace he acknowledged to himself that Miss Dunstable +was very good fun. We cannot linger over the bishop's dinner, +though it was very good of its kind; and as Mr Sowerby contrived to +sit next to Miss Dunstable, thereby overturning a little scheme +made by Mr Supplehouse, he again shone forth in unclouded good +humour. But Mr Harold Smith became impatient immediately on the +withdrawal of the cloth. The lecture was to begin at seven, and +according to his watch that hour had already come. He declared +that Sowerby and Supplehouse were endeavouring to delay matters in +order that the Barchesterians might become vexed and impatient; and +so the bishop was not allowed to exercise his hospitality in true +episcopal fashion. + +'You forget, Sowerby,' said Supplehouse, 'that the world here for +the last fortnight has been looking forward to nothing else.' + +'The world shall be gratified at once,' said Mrs Harold, obeying a +little nod from Mrs Proudie. 'Come, my dear,' and she took hold of +Miss Dunstable's arm, 'don't let us keep Barchester waiting. We +shall be ready in a quarter of an hour, shall we not, Mrs Proudie?' +and so they sailed off. + +'And we shall have time for one glass of claret, said the bishop. + +'There; that's seven by the cathedral,' said Harold Smith, jumping +up from his chair as he heard the clock. 'If the people have come +it would not be right in me to keep them waiting, and I shall go.' + +'Just one glass of claret, Mr Smith, and we'll be off,' said the +bishop. + +'Those women will keep me half an hour,' said Harold, filling his +glass, and drinking it standing. 'They do it on purpose.' + +It was rather late when they all found themselves in the big room +of the Mechanic's Institute; but I do not know whether this on the +whole did any harm. Most of Mr Smith's hearers, excepting the +party from the palace, were Barchester tradesmen with their wives +and families; and they waited, not impatiently, for the big +people. And then the lecture was gratis, a fact which is always +borne in mind by an Englishman, when he comes to reckon up and +calculate the way in which he is treated. When he pays his money, +then he takes his choice; he may be impatient or not as he likes. +His sense of justice teaches him so much, and in accordance with +that sense he usually acts. So the people on the benches rose +graciously when the palace party entered the room. Seats for them +had been kept in the front. There were three arm-chairs, which +were filled, after some little hesitation, by the bishop, Mrs +Proudie, and Miss Dunstable--Mrs Smith positively declining to take +one of them; though, as she admitted, her rank as Lady Papua of the +islands did give her some claim. And this remark, as it was made +quite out loud, reached Mr Smith's ears as he stood behind a little +table on a small raised dais, holding his white kid gloves; and it +annoyed him and rather put him out. He did not like that joke +about Lady Papua. And then the others of the party sat upon a +front bench covered with red cloth. 'We shall find this very hard +and very narrow about the second hour,' said Mr Sowerby, and Mr +Smith on his dais again overheard the words, and dashed his gloves +down to the table. He felt that all the room would hear it. + +And there were one or two gentlemen on the second seat who shook +hands with some of our party. There was Mr Thorne of Ullathorne, a +good-natured old bachelor, whose residence was near enough to +Barchester to allow of his coming in without much personal +inconvenience; and next to him was Mr Harding, an old clergyman of +the chapter, with whom Mrs Proudie shook hands very graciously, +making way for him to seat himself close behind her if he would so +please. But Mr Harding did not so please. Having paid his +respects to the bishop he returned quietly to the side of his old +friend Mr Thorne, thereby angering Mrs Proudie, as might easily be +seen by her face. And Mr Chadwick also was there, the episcopal +man of business for the diocese; but he also adhered to the two +gentlemen above named. And now that the bishop and the ladies had +taken their place, Mr Harold Smith hummed three times distinctly, +and then began. + +'It was,' he said, 'the most peculiar characteristic of the present +era in the British islands that those who were high placed before +the world in rank, wealth, and education were willing to come +forward and give their time and knowledge without fee or reward, +for the advantage and amelioration of those who did not stand so +high in the social scale.' And then he paused for a moment, during +which Mrs Smith remarked to Miss Dunstable that that was pretty +well for a beginning; and Miss Dunstable replied, 'that as for +herself she felt very grateful to rank, wealth and education.' Mr +Sowerby winked to Mr Supplehouse, who opened his eyes very wide and +shrugged his shoulders. But the Barchesterians took it all in good +part and gave the lecturer the applause of their hands and feet. +And then, well pleased, he recommenced--'I do not make these +remarks with reference to myself--' + +'I hope he's not going to be modest,' said Miss Dunstable. + +'It will be quite new if he is,' replied Mrs Smith. + +'--so much as to many noble and talented lords and members of the +Lower House who have lately from time to time devoted themselves to +this good work.' And then he went through a long list of peers and +members of Parliament, beginning, of course, with Lord Boanerges, +and ending with Mr Green Walker, a young gentleman who had lately +been returned by his uncle's interference for the borough of Crewe +Junction, and had immediately made his entrance into public life by +giving a lecture on the grammarians of the Latin language as +exemplified at Eton School. 'On the present occasion,' Mr Smith +continued, 'our object is to learn something as to those grand and +magnificent islands which lie far away, beyond the Indies, in the +Southern Ocean; the lands of which produce rich spices and glorious +fruits, and whose seas are embedded with pearls and corals--Papua +and the Philippines, Borneo and the Moluccas. My friends, you are +familiar with your maps, and you know the track which the equator +makes for itself through those distant oceans.' And then many +heads were turned down, and there was a rustle of leaves; for not a +few of those 'who stood not so high in the social scale' had +brought their maps with them, and refreshed their memories as to +the whereabouts of those wondrous islands. + +And then Mr Smith also, with a map in his hand, and pointing +occasionally to another large map which hung against the wall, went +into the geography of the matter. 'We might have found that out +from our atlases, I think, without coming all the way to +Barchester,' said that unsympathetic helpmate Mrs Harold, very +cruelly--most illogically too, for there be so many things which we +could find out ourselves by search, but which we never do find out +unless they be specially told to us; and why should not this +latitude and longitude of Labuan be one--or rather two of these +things? And then, when he had duly marked the path of the line +through Borneo, Celebes, and Gilolo, through the Macassar Strait +and the Molucca passage, Mr Harold Smith rose to a higher flight. +'But what,' said he, 'avails all that God can give to man, unless +man will open his hand to receive the gift? And what is this +opening of the hand but the process of civilization--yes, my +friends, the process of civilization? These South Sea islanders +have all that a kind Providence can bestow on them; but that all is +as nothing without education. That education and that civilization +it is for you to bestow upon them--yes, my friends, for you; for +you, citizens of Barchester as you are.' And then he paused again, +in order that the feet and hands might go to work. The feet and +hands did go to work, during which Mr Smith took a slight drink of +water. He was now quite in his element, and had got into the +proper way of punching the table with his fists. A few words +dropping from Mr Sowerby did now and again find their way to his +ears, but the sound of his own voice had brought with it the +accustomed charm, and he ran on from platitude to truism, and from +truism back to platitude, with an eloquence that was charming to +himself. + +'Civilization,' he exclaimed, lifting his eyes and his hands to the +ceiling. 'O Civilization--' + +'There will not be a chance for us now for the next hour and +a half,' said Mr Supplehouse, groaning. Harold Smith cast one eye +down at him, but it immediately flew back to the ceiling. + +'O Civilization! Thou that ennoblest mankind and makest him equal to +the gods, what is like unto thee?' Here Mrs Proudie showed evident +signs of disapprobation, which, no doubt would have been shared by +the bishop, had not that worthy prelate been asleep. But Mr Smith +continued unobservant; or at any rate, regardless. 'What is like +unto thee? Thou art the irrigating stream which makest fertile the +barren plain. Till thou comest all is dark and dreary; but at thy +advent the noontide sun shines out, the earth gives forth her +increase; the deep bowels of the rocks render up their tribute. +Forms which were dull and hideous become endowed with grace and +beauty, and vegetable existence rises to the scale of celestial +life. Then, too, Genius appears clad in a panoply of translucent +armour, grasping in his hand the whole terrestrial surface, and +making every rood of earth subservient to his purposes;--Genius, +the child of Civilization, the mother of the Arts!' The last +little bit, taken from the 'Pedigree of Progress', had a great +success, and all Barchester went to work with its hands and feet;-- +all Barchester, except that ill-natured aristocratic front row +together with the three arm-chairs at the corner of it. The +aristocratic front row now felt itself to be too intimate with +civilization to care much about it; and the three arm-chairs, or +rather that special one which contained Mrs Proudie, considered +that there was a certain heathenness, a papism sentimentality +almost amounting to infidelity, contained in the lecturer's +remarks, with which she, a pillar of the Church, could not put up, +seated as she was now in public conclave. + +'It is to civilization that we must look,' continued Mr Harold +Smith, descending from poetry to prose as a lecturer well knows +how, and thereby showing the value of both--'for any material +progress in these islands; and--' + +'And to Christianity,' shouted Mrs Proudie, to the great amazement +of the assembled people, and to the thorough wakening of the +bishop, who, jumping up in his chair at the sound of the well-known +voice, exclaimed, 'Certainly, certainly.' + +'Hear, hear, hear,' said those on the benches who particularly +belonged to Mrs Proudie's school of divinity in the city, and among +the voices was distinctly heard that of a new verger in whose +behalf she had greatly interested herself. + +'Oh, yes Christianity, of course,' said Harold Smith, upon whom +the interruption did not seem to have operated favourably. + +'Christianity and Sabbath-day observation,' exclaimed Mrs Proudie, +who, now that she had obtained the ear of the public, seemed well +inclined to keep it. 'Let us never forget that these islanders can +never prosper unless they keep the Sabbath holy.' Poor Mr Smith, +having been so rudely dragged from his high horse, was never able +to mount it again, and completed the lecture in a manner not at all +comfortable to himself. He had there, on the table before him, a +huge bundle of statistics, with which he had meant to convince the +reason of his hearers, after he had taken full possession of their +feelings. But they fell very dull and flat. And at the moment +when he was interrupted, he was about to explain that that material +progress to which he had alluded could not be attained without +money; and that it behoved them, the people of Barchester before +him, to come forward with their purses like men and brothers. He +did also attempt this; but from the moment of that fatal onslaught +from the arm-chair, it was clear to him, and to every one else, +that Mrs Proudie was now the hero of the hour. His time had gone +by, and the people of Barchester did not care a straw for his +appeal. From these causes the lecture was over a full twenty +minutes earlier than any one had expected, to the great delight of +Messrs Sowerby and Supplehouse, who, on that evening, moved and +carried a vote of thanks to Mrs Proudie. For they had gay doings +yet before they went to their beds. + +'Robarts, here one moment,' Mr Sowerby said, as they were standing +at the door of the Mechanic's Institute. Don't go off with Mr and +Mrs Bishop. We are going to have a little supper at the Dragon of +Wantly, and, after what we have gone through, upon my word, we want +it. You can tell one of the palace servants to let you in.' Mark +considered the proposal wistfully. He would fain have joined the +supper party had he dared, but he, like many others of his cloth, +had the fear of Mrs Proudie before his eyes. And a very merry +supper they had; but poor Mr Harold Smith was not the merriest of +the party. + + + +CHAPTER VII + +SUNDAY MORNING + + +It was, perhaps, quite as well on the whole for Mark Robarts, that +he did not go to that supper party. It was eleven o'clock before +they sat down and nearly two before the gentlemen were in bed. It +must be remembered that he had to preach, on the Sunday morning, a +charity sermon on behalf of a mission to Mr Harold Smith's +islanders; and, to tell the truth, it was a task for which he had +now very little inclination. When first invited to do this, he had +regarded the task seriously enough, as he always did regard +such work, and he completed his sermon for the occasion before he +left Framley; but, since that, an air of ridicule had been thrown +over the whole affair, in which he had joined without much thinking +of his own sermon, and this made him now heartily wish that he +could choose a discourse upon any other subject. He knew well that +the very points on which he had most insisted, were those which had +drawn most mirth from Miss Dunstable and Mrs Smith, and had +oftenest provoked his own laughter; and how was he now to preach on +those matters in a fitting mood, knowing, as he would know, that +these two ladies would be looking at him, would endeavour to catch +his eye, and would turn him into ridicule as they had already +turned the lecturer? In this he did injustice to one of those +ladies unconsciously. Miss Dunstable, with all her aptitude for +mirth, and we may almost fairly say for frolic, was in no way +inclined to ridicule religion or say anything which she thought +appertained to it. It may be presumed that among such things she did +not include Mrs Proudie, as she was willing enough to laugh at that +lady; but Mark, had he known her better, might have been sure that +she would have sat out his sermon with perfect propriety. + +As it was, however, he did feel considerable uneasiness; and in the +morning, he got up early, with the view of seeing what might be +done in the way of emendation. He cut out those parts which +referred most specially to the islands,--he rejected altogether +those names over which they had all laughed together so +heartily,--and he inserted a string of genial remarks, very useful, +no doubt, which he flattered himself would rob his sermon of all +similarity to Harold Smith's lecture. He had, perhaps, hoped, when +writing it, to create some little sensation; but now he would be +quite satisfied if it passed without remark. It had been arranged +that the party at the hotel should breakfast at eight and start at +half-past eight punctually, so as to enable them to reach +Chaldicotes in ample time to arrange their dresses before they went +to church. The church stood on the grounds, close to that long +formal avenue of lime-trees, but within the front gate. Their +walk, therefore, after reaching Mr Sowerby's house, would not be +long. + +Mrs Proudie, who was herself an early body, would not hear of her +guest--and he a clergyman--going out to the inn for his breakfast +on a Sunday morning. As regarded that Sabbath-day journey to +Chaldicotes, to that she had given her assent, no doubt with much +uneasiness of mind; but let them have as little desecration as +possible. It was therefore an understood thing that he was to +return with his friends; but he should not go without the advantage +of family prayers and family breakfast. And so Mrs Proudie on +retiring to rest gave the necessary orders, to the great annoyance +of her household. + +To the great annoyance, at least, of her servants! The bishop +himself did not make his appearance till a much later hour. He in +all things now supported his wife's rule; in all things now, I say; +for there had been a moment, when in the first flush and pride of +his episcopacy, other ideas had filled his mind. Now, however, he +gave no opposition to that good woman with whom Providence had +blessed him; and in return to his little personal comforts. With +what surprise did the bishop now look back upon that unholy war +which he had once been tempted to wage against the wife of his bosom? +Nor did any of the Miss Proudies show themselves at that early +hour. They, perhaps, were absent on a different ground. With them +Mrs Proudie had not been so successful as with the bishop. They +had wills of their own which became stronger and stronger every +day. Of the three with whom Mrs Proudie was blessed one was +already in a position to exercise that will in a legitimate way +over a very excellent young clergyman in the diocese, the Rev. +Optimus Grey; but the other two, having as yet no such opening for +their powers of command, were perhaps a little too much inclined to +keep themselves in practice at home. But at half-past seven +punctually Mrs Proudie was there, and so was the domestic chaplain; +so was Mr Robarts, and so were the household servants--all +excepting one lazy recreant. 'Where is Thomas?' said she of the +Argus eyes, standing up with her book of family prayers in her +hand. 'So please you, ma'am, Tummas be bad with the tooth-ache.' +'Tooth-ache!' exclaimed Mrs Proudie; but her eyes said more +terrible things than that. 'Let Thomas come to me before church.' +And then they proceeded to prayers. These were read by the +chaplain, as it was proper and decent that they should be; but I +cannot but think that Mrs Proudie a little exceeded her office in +taking upon herself to pronounce the blessing when the prayers were +over. She did it, however, in a clear, sonorous voice, and perhaps +with more personal dignity than was within the chaplain's compass. + +Mrs Proudie was rather stern at breakfast, and the vicar of Framley +felt an unaccountable desire to get out of the house. In the first +place she was not dressed with her usual punctilious attention to +the proprieties of her high situation. It was evident that there +was to be a further toilet before she sailed up the middle of the +cathedral choir. She had on a large loose cap with no other +strings than those which were wanted of tying it beneath her chin, +a cap with which the household and the chaplain were well +acquainted, but which seemed ungracious in the eyes of Mr Robarts, +after all the well-dressed holiday doings of the last week. She +wore also a large, loose, dark-coloured wrapper, which came well up +round her neck, and which was not buoyed out, as were her dresses +in general, with an under mechanism of petticoats. It clung to her +closely, and added to the inflexibility of her general appearance. +And then she had encased her feet in large carpet slippers, which +no doubt were comfortable, but which struck her visitor as being +strange and unsightly. 'Do you find difficulty in getting your +people together for early morning prayers?' she said, as she +commenced her operations with the teapot. + +'I can't say that I do,' said Mark. 'But then we are seldom so +early as this.' + +'Parish clergymen should be early, I think,' said she. 'It sets a +good example in the village.' + +'I am thinking of having morning prayers in the church,' said Mr +Robarts. + +'That's nonsense,' said Mrs Proudie, 'and usually means worse than +nonsense. I know what that comes to. If you have three services +on a Sunday and domestic prayers at home, you do very well.' And +so saying she handed him his cup. + +'But I have not three services on Sunday, Mrs Proudie.' + +'Then I think you should have. Where can the poor people be so +well off on Sundays as in church? The bishop intends to express a +very strong opinion on this subject in his next charge; and then I +am sure you will attend to his wishes.' To this Mark made no +answer, but devoted himself to his egg. + +'I suppose you have not a very large establishment at Framley?' +asked Mrs Proudie. + +'What, at the parsonage?' + +'Yes; you live at the parsonage, don't you?' + +'Certainly--well; not very large, Mrs Proudie; just enough to do +the work, make things comfortable, and look after the children.' + +'It is a very fine living,' said she; 'very fine. I don't remember +that we have anything so good ourselves,--except at Plumstead, the +archdeacon's place. He has managed to butter his bread very well.' + +'His father was bishop of Barchester.' + +'Oh, yes, I know all about him. Only for that he would barely have +risen to archdeacon, I suspect. Let me see; yours is 800 pounds, is +it not, Mr Robarts? And you such a young man! I suppose you have +insured your life highly.' + +'Pretty well, Mrs Proudie.' + +'And then, too, your wife had some little fortune, had she not? We +cannot all fall on our feet like that; can we, Mr White?' and Mrs +Proudie was an imperious woman; but then so also was Lady Lufton; +and it may therefore be said that Mr Robarts ought to have been +accustomed to feminine domination; but as he sat there munching his +toast he could not but make a comparison between the two. Lady +Lufton in her little attempts sometimes angered him; but he +certainly thought, comparing that lady and the clerical together, +that the rule of the former was the lighter and the pleasanter. But +then Lady Lufton had given him a living and a wife, and Mrs Proudie +had given him nothing. Immediately after breakfast Mr Robarts +escaped to the Dragon of Wantly, partly because he had had enough +of the matutinal Mrs Proudie, and partly also in order that he +might hurry his friends there. He was already becoming fidgety +about the time, as Harold Smith had been on the preceding evening; +and he did to give Mrs Smith credit for much punctuality. When he +arrived at the inn he asked if they had done breakfast, and was +immediately told that not one of them was yet down. It was already +half-past eight, and they ought to be now under weigh on the road. +He immediately went to Mr Sowerby's room, and found that gentleman +shaving himself. 'Don't be a bit uneasy,' said Mr Sowerby. 'You +and Smith shall have my phaeton, and those horses will take you +there in an hour. Not, however, but what we shall all be in time. +We'll send round to the whole party and ferret them out.' And then +Mr Sowerby, having evoked manifold aid with various peals of the +bell, sent messengers, male and female, flying to all the different +rooms. + +'I think I'll hire a gig and go over at once,' said Mark. 'It would +not do for me to be late, you know.' + +'It won't do for any of us to be late; and it's all nonsense about +hiring a gig. It would be just throwing a sovereign away, and we +should pass you on the road. Go down and see that the tea is made, +and all that; and make them have the bill ready; and, Robarts, you +may pay it too, if you like it. But, I believe we may as well +leave that to Baron Borneo--eh?' And then Mark did go down and +make the tea, and he did order the bill; and then he walked about +the room, looking at his watch, and nervously waiting for the +footsteps of his friends. And as he was so employed, he bethought +himself whether it was fit that he should be so doing on a Sunday +morning; whether it was good that he should be waiting there, in +painful anxiety, to gallop over a dozen miles in order that he +might not be too late with his sermon; whether his own snug room at +home, with Fanny opposite to him, and his bairns crawling on the +floor, with his own preparations for his own quiet service, and the +warm pressure of Lady Lufton's hand when that service should be +over, was not better than all this. He could not afford not to +know Harold Smith, and Mr Sowerby, and the Duke of Omnium, he had +said to himself. He had to look to rise in the world, as other men +did. But what pleasure had come to him as yet from these +intimacies? How much had he hitherto done towards his rising? To +speak the truth he was not over well pleased with himself, as he +made Mrs Harold Smith's tea and ordered Mr Sowerby's mutton-chops +on that Sunday morning. + +At a little after nine they all assembled; but even then he could +not make the ladies understand that there was any cause for hurry; +at least Mrs Smith, who was the leader of the party, would not +understand it. When Mark again talked of hiring a gig, Miss +Dunstable indeed said that she would join him; and seemed to be so +far earnest in the matter that Mr Sowerby hurried through his +second egg in order to prevent such a catastrophe. And then Mark +absolutely did order the gig; whereupon Mrs Smith remarked that in +such case she need not hurry herself; but the waiter brought up +word that all the horses of the hotel were out, excepting one pair, +neither of which could go in single harness. Indeed, half of their +stable establishment was already secured by Mr Sowerby's own party. +'Then let me have the pair,' said Mark, almost frantic with delay. + +'Nonsense, Robarts; we are ready now. He won't want them, James. +Come, Supplehouse, have you done?' + +'Then I am to hurry myself, am I?' said Mrs Harold Smith. 'What +changeable creatures you are! May I be allowed half a cup of tea, +Mr Robarts?' Mark, who was now really angry, turned away to the +window. There was no charity in these people, he said to himself. +They knew the nature of his distress, and yet they only laughed at +him. He did not, perhaps, reflect that he had assisted in the joke +against Mr Harold Smith on the previous evening. 'James,' said he +turning to the waiter, 'let me have that pair of horses +immediately, if you please.' + +'Yes, sir, round in fifteen minutes, sir: only Ned, sir, the +post-boy, sir; I fear he's at his breakfast, sir; but we'll have +him here in less than no time, sir!' But before Ned and the pair +were there, Mrs Smith had absolutely got her bonnet on, and at ten +they started. Mark did share the phaeton with Harold Smith, but +the phaeton did not go any faster than the other carriages. They +led the way, indeed, but that was all; and when the vicar's watch +told him that it was eleven, they were still a mile from +Chaldicotes gate, although the horses were in lather of steam; and +they had just only entered the village when the church bell ceased +to be heard. + +'Come, you are in time, after all,' said Harold Smith. 'Better time +than I was last night.' Robarts could not explain to him that the +entry of a clergyman into church, of a clergyman who is going to +assist in the service, should not be made at the last minute, that +it should be staid and decorous, and not done in scrambling haste, +with running feet and scant breath. + +'I suppose we'll stop here, sir,' said the postillion, as he pulled +up his horses short of the church-door, in the midst of the people +who were congregating together ready for the service. But Mark had +not anticipated being so late, and said at first that it was +necessary that he should go on to the house; then, when the horses +had again begun to move, he remembered that he could send for his +gown, and as he got out of the carriage he gave his orders +accordingly. And now the other two carriages were there, and so +there was a noise and confusion at the door--very unseemly, as Mark +felt it; and the gentlemen spoke in loud voices, and Mrs Harold +Smith declared that she had no Prayer-Book, and was much too tired +to go in at present; she would go home and rest herself, she said. +And two other ladies of the party did so also, leaving Miss +Dunstable to go alone;--for which, however, she did not care one +button. And then one of the party, who had a nasty habit of +swearing, cursed at something as he walked in close to Mark's +elbow; and so they made their way up the church as the Absolution +was being read, and Mark Robarts felt thoroughly ashamed of +himself. If his rising in the world brought him in contact with +such things as these, would it not be better for him that he should +do without rising? His sermon went off without any special +notice. Mrs Harold Smith was not there, much to his satisfaction; +and the others who were did not seem to pay any special attention +to it. The subject had lost its novelty; except with the ordinary +church congregation, the farmers and labourers of the parish; and +the 'quality' in the squire's great pew were content to show their +sympathy by a moderate subscription. Miss Dunstable, however, gave +a ten-pound note, which swelled up the sum total to a respectable +amount--for such a place as Chaldicotes. + +'And now I hope I may never hear another word about New Guinea,' +said Mr Sowerby, as they clustered round the drawing-room fire +after church. 'That subject may be regarded as killed, eh, Harold?' + +'Certainly murdered last night,' said Mrs Harold, 'by that awful +woman, Mrs Proudie.' + +'I wonder you did not make a dash at her and pull her out of the +arm-chair,' said Miss Dunstable. 'I was expecting it, and thought +that I should come to grief in the scrimmage.' + +'I never knew such a brazen-faced thing before,' said Miss Kerrigy, +a travelling friend of Miss Dunstable's. + +'Nor I--never; in a public place, too,' said Dr Easyman, a medical +gentleman, who also often accompanied her. + +'As for brass,' said Mr Supplehouse, 'she would never stop at +anything for want of that. It is well that she has enough, for the +poor bishop is but badly provided.' + +'I hardly heard what it was she did say,' said Harold Smith; 'so I +could not answer her, you know. Something about Sundays, I believe.' + +'She hoped you would not put the South Sea Islanders up to Sabbath +travelling,' said Mr Sowerby. + +'And specially begged that you would establish Lord's-day schools,' +said Mrs Smith; and then they all went to work, and picked Mrs +Proudie to pieces from the top ribbons of her cap down to the sole +of her slipper. + +'And then she expects the poor parsons to fall in love with her +daughters. That's the hardest thing of all,' said Miss Dunstable. +But, on the whole, when our vicar went to bed, he did not feel that +he had spent a profitable Sunday. + + + +CHAPTER VIII + +GATHERUM CASTLE + + +On the Tuesday morning Mark did receive his wife's letter, and the +ten-pound note, whereby a strong proof was given of the honesty of +the post-office people in Barsetshire. That letter, written as it +had been in a hurry, while Robin post-boy was drinking a single +mug of beer,--well, what of it if he half filled a second +time?---was nevertheless eloquence of his wife's love and of her +great triumph. 'I have only half a moment to send the money,' she +said, 'for the postman is here waiting. When I see you, I'll +explain why I am so hurried. Let me know you get it safe. It is +all right now, and Lady Lufton was here not a minute ago. She did +not quite like it; about Gatherum Castle, I mean; but you'll hear +nothing about it. Only remember that you must dine at Framley +Court on Wednesday week. I have promised that for you. You will, +won't you, dearest? I shall come and fetch you away if you attempt +to stay longer than you have said. But I'm sure you won't. God +bless you, my own one! Mr Jones gave us the same sermon he +preached the second Sunday after Easter. Twice in the same year is +too often. God bless you! The children are quite well. Mark +sends you a big kiss.---Your own F.' + +Robarts, as he read this letter and crumpled the note up into his +pocket, felt that it was much more satisfactory than he deserved. +He knew that there must have been a fight, and that his wife, +fighting loyally on his behalf, had got the best of it; and he knew +also that her victory had not been owing to the goodness of her +cause. He frequently declared to himself that he would not be +afraid of Lady Lufton; but nevertheless these tidings that no +reproaches were to be made to him afforded him great relief. On +the following Friday they all went to the duke's, and found that +the bishop and Mrs Proudie were there before them; as were also +sundry other people, mostly of some note either in the estimation +of the world at large or that of West Barsetshire. Lord Boanerges +was there, an old man who would have his own way in everything, and +who was regarded by all men--apparently even the duke himself--as +an intellectual king, by no means of the constitutional kind--as an +intellectual emperor, rather, who took upon himself to rule all +questions of mind without the assistance of any ministers +whatever. And Baron Brawl was of the party, one of Her Majesty's +puisne Judges, as jovial a guest as ever entered a county house; +but given to be rather sharp withal in his jovialities. And there +was Mr Green Walker, a young but rising man, the same who lectured +not long since on a popular subject to his constituents at the +Crewe Junction. Mr Green Walker was a nephew of the Marchioness of +Hartletop, and the Marchioness of Hartletop was a friend of the +Duke of Omnium's. Mr Mark Robarts was certainly elated when he +ascertained who composed the company of which he had been so +earnestly pressed to make a portion. Would it have been wise in +him to forgo this on account of the prejudices of Lady Lufton? + +As the guests were so many and so great, the huge front portals of +Gatherum Castle were thrown open and the vast hall, adorned with +trophies--with marble busts from Italy and armour from Wardour +Street--was thronged with gentlemen and ladies, and gave forth +unwonted echoes to many a footstep. His grace himself, when Mark +arrived there with Sowerby and Miss Dunstable--for in this instance +Miss Dunstable did travel in the phaeton, while Mark occupied a +seat in the dicky--his grace himself was at this moment in the +drawing-room and nothing could exceed his urbanity. + +'Oh, Miss Dunstable!' he said, taking that lady by the hand, and +leading her up to the fire, 'now I feel for the first time that +Gatherum Castle has not been built for nothing.' + +'Nobody ever supposed it was, your grace,' said Miss Dunstable. 'I +am sure the architect did not think so when his bill was paid.' And +Miss Dunstable put her toes on the fender to warm them with as much +self-possession as though her father had been a duke also, instead +of a quack doctor. + +'We have given the strictest orders about the parrot--,' said the +duke. + +'Ah! but I have not brought him after all;' said Miss Dunstable. + +'--and I have had an aviary built on purpose,--just such as parrots +are used to in their own country. Well, Miss Dunstable, I do call +that unkind. Is it too late to send for him?' + +'He and Dr Easyman are travelling together. The truth was, I could +not rob the doctor of his companion.' + +'Why? I have had another aviary built for him. I declare, Miss +Dunstable, the honour you are doing me is shorn of half its glory. +But the poodle--I still trust in the poodle.' + +'And your grace's trust shall not in that respect be in vain. +Where is he, I wonder?' And Miss Dunstable looked round as though +she expected that somebody would certainly have brought her dog in +after her. 'I declare I must go and look for him,--only think if +they were to put him among your grace's dogs,--how his morals would +be destroyed!' + +'Miss Dunstable, is that intended to be personal?' but the lady had +turned away from the fire, and the duke was able to welcome his +other guests. This he did with much courtesy. 'Sowerby,' he said, +'I am glad you have survived the lecture. I can assure you I had +fears for you.' + +'I was brought back to life after considerable delay by the +administration of tonics at the Dragon of Wantly. Will your grace +allow me to present to you Mr Robarts, who on that occasion was not +so fortunate. It was found necessary to carry him off to the +palace, where he was obliged to undergo very vigorous treatment.' +And then the duke shook hands with Mr Robarts, assuring him that he +was most happy to make his acquaintance. He had often heard of him +since he came into the county; and then he asked after Lord Lufton, +regretting that he had been unable to induce his lordship to come +to Gatherum Castle. + +'But you had a diversion at the lecture, I am told,' continued the +duke. 'There was a second performance, was there not, who almost +eclipsed poor Harold Smith?' And then Mr Sowerby gave an amusing +sketch of the little Proudie episode. + +'It has, of course, ruined your brother-in-law for ever as a +lecturer,' said the duke, laughing. + +'If so, we shall feel ourselves under the deepest obligations to +Mrs Proudie,' said Mr Sowerby. And then Harold Smith himself came +up and received the duke's sincere and hearty congratulations on +the success of his exercise at Barchester. Mark Robarts had now +turned away, and his attention was suddenly arrested by the loud +voice of Miss Dunstable, who had stumbled across some very dear +friends in her passage through the rooms, and who by no means hid +from the public her delight upon the occasion. + +'Well--well--well!' she exclaimed, and then she seized upon a very +quiet-looking well-dressed, attractive young woman who was walking +towards her, in company with a gentleman. The gentleman and lady, +as it turned out, were husband and wife. 'Well--well--well! I +hardly hoped for this.' And then she took hold of the lady and +kissed her enthusiastically, and after that grasped both the +gentleman's hands, shaking them stoutly. + +'And what a deal I shall have to say to you!' she went on. 'You'll +upset all my other plans. But, Mary, my dear, how long are you +going to stay here? I go--let me see--I forget when, but it's all +put down in a book upstairs. But the next stage is at Mrs +Proudie's. I shan't meet you there, I suppose. And now, Frank, +how's the governor?' The gentleman called Frank declared that the +governor was all right--'mad about the hounds, of course, you +know.' + +'Well, my dear, that's better than the hounds being mad about him. +But talking of hounds, Frank, how badly they manage their foxes at +Chaldicotes! I was out hunting all one day--' + +'You out hunting!' said the lady called Mary. + +'And why shouldn't I go out hunting? I'll tell you what, Mrs +Proudie was out hunting too. But they didn't catch a single fox; +and, if you must have the truth, it seemed to me to be rather +slow.' + +'You were in the wrong division of the county,' said the gentleman +called Frank. + +'Of course I was. When I really want to practise hunting I'll go +to Greshambury; not a doubt about that.' + +'Or go to Boxall Hill,' said the lady; 'you'll find quite as much +zeal there as at Greshambury.' + +'And more discretion, you should add,' said the gentleman. + +'Ha! Ha! Ha!,' laughed Miss Dunstable; 'your discretion indeed! +But you have not told me a word about Lady Arabella.' + +'My mother is quite well,' said the gentleman. + +'And the doctor? By the by, my dear, I've had such a letter from +the doctor; only two days ago. I'll show it to you upstairs +to-morrow. But, mind, it must be a positive secret. If he goes on +in this way he'll get himself into the Tower or Coventry, or a +blue-book, or some dreadful place.' + +'Why? what has he said?' + +'Never mind, Master Frank; I don't mean to show you this letter, +you may be sure of that. But if your wife will swear three times +on a poker and tongs that she won't reveal, I'll show it to her. +And you are quite settled at Boxall Hill, are you?' + +'Frank's horses are settled; and the dogs nearly so,' said Frank's +wife; 'but I can't boast much of anything else yet.' + +'Well, there's a good thing coming. I must go and change my things +now. But, Mary, mind you get near me this evening; I have such a +deal to say to you.' And then Miss Dunstable marched out of the room. + +All this had been said in so loud a voice that it was, as a matter +of course, overheard by Mark Robarts--that part of the conversation +of course I mean which had come from Miss Dunstable. And then Mark +learned that this was young Frank Gresham of Boxall Hill, son of +old Mr Gresham of Greshambury. Frank had lately married a great +heiress; a greater heiress, men said, even than Miss Dunstable; and +as the marriage was hardly as yet more than six months old the +Barsetshire world was still full of it. + +'The two heiresses seem to be very loving, don't they?' said Mr +Supplehouse. 'Birds of a feather flock together, you know. But +they did say some little time ago that young Gresham was to have +married Miss Dunstable herself. + +'Miss Dunstable! why, she might almost be his mother,' said Mark. + +'That made little difference. He was obliged to marry money, and I +believe there is no doubt that he did at one time propose to Miss +Dunstable.' + +'I have a letter from Lufton,' Mr Sowerby said to him the next morning. +'He declares that the delay was all your fault. You were to have +told Lady Lufton before you did anything, and he was waiting to +write about it till he heard from you. It seems that you never +said a word to her ladyship on the subject.' + +'I never did, certainly. My commission from Lufton was to break +the matter to her when I found her in a proper humour for receiving +it. If you knew Lady Lufton as well as I do, you would know that +it is not every day that she would be in a humour for such things.' + +'And so I was to be kept waiting indefinitely because you two +between you were afraid of an old woman! However, I have not a +word to say against her, and the matter is settled now.' + +'Has the farm been sold?' + +'Not a bit of it. The dowager would not bring her mind to suffer +such profanation for the Lufton acres, and so she sold five +thousand pounds out of the funds and sent the money to Lufton as a +present;--sent it to him without saying a word, only hoping that it +would suffice for his wants. I wish I had a mother, I know.' + +Mark found it impossible at the moment to make any remark upon what +had been told him, but he felt a sudden qualm of conscience and a +wish that he was back at Framley instead of Gatherum Castle at the +present moment. He knew a good deal respecting Lady Lufton's +income and the manner in which it was spent. It was very handsome +for a single lady, but then she lived in a free and open-handed +style; her charities were noble; there was no reason why she should +save money, and her annual income was usually spent within the +year. Mark knew this, and he knew also that nothing short of an +impossibility to maintain them would induce her to lessen her +charities. She had now given away a portion of her principal to +save the property of her son--her son, who was so much more opulent +than herself--upon whose means, too, the world made fewer effectual +claims. And Mark knew, too, something of the purpose for which +this money had gone. There had been unsettled gambling claims +between Sowerby and Lord Lufton, originating in affairs of the +turf. It had now been going on for four years, almost from the +period when Lord Lufton had become of age. He had before now +spoken to Robarts on the matter with much bitter anger, alleging +that Mr Sowerby was treating him badly, nay, dishonestly--that he +was claiming money that was not due to him; and then he declared +more than once that he would bring the matter before the Jockey +Club. But Mark, knowing that Lord Lufton was not clear-sighted in +these matters, and believing it to be impossible that Mr Sowerby +should actually endeavour to defraud his friend, had smoothed down +the young lord's anger, and remonstrated him to get the case +referred to some private arbiter. All this had afterwards been +discussed between Robarts and Mr Sowerby himself, and hence had +originated their intimacy. The matter was so referred, Mr Sowerby +naming the referee; and Lord Lufton when the matter was given +against him, took it easily. His anger was over by that time. +'I've been clean done among them,' he said to Mark, laughing; 'but +it does not signify; a man must pay for his experience. Of course, +Sowerby thinks it all right; I am bound to suppose so.' And then +there had been some further delay as to the amount, and part of the +money had been paid to a third person, and a bill had been given, +and Heaven and the Jews only knew how much money Lord Lufton had +paid in all; and now it was ended by his handing over to some +wretched villain of a money-dealer, on behalf of Mr Sowerby, the +enormous sum of five thousand pounds, which had been deducted from +the means of Lady Lufton! + +Mark, as he thought of all this, could not but feel a certain +animosity against Mr Sowerby--could not but suspect that he was a +bad man. Nay, must he not have known that, he was very bad? And +yet he continued walking with him through the duke's grounds, still +talking about Lord Lufton's affairs, and still listening with +interest to what Sowerby told him of his own. 'No man was ever +robbed as I have been,' said he. 'But I shall win through yet, in +spite of them all. But those Jews, Mark!'--he had become very +intimate with him in these latter days--'whatever you do, keep +clear of them. Why, I could paper a room with their signatures; and +yet I never had a claim upon one of them, though they always have +claims in me!' + +I have said that this affair of Lord Lufton's was ended, but it now +appeared to Mark that it was not quite ended. 'Tell Lufton, you +know,' said Sowerby, 'that every bit of paper with his name has +been taken up, except what that ruffian Tozer has. Tozer may have +one bill, I believe,--something that was not given up when it was +renewed. But I'll make my lawyer Gumption get that up. It may +cost ten pounds or twenty pounds, not more. You'll remember that +when you see Lufton, will you?' + +'You'll see Lufton, in all probability, before I shall.' + +'Oh, did not I tell you? He's going to Framley Court at once; +you'll find him there when you return.' + +'Find him at Framley?' + +'Yes; this little cadeau from his mother has touched his filial +heart. He is rushing home to Framley to pay back the dowager's +hard moidores in soft caresses. I wish I had a mother; I know +that.' And Mark still felt that he feared Mr Sowerby, but he could +not make up his mind to break away from him. + +And there was much talk of politics just then at the castle. Not +that the duke joined in with any enthusiasm. He was a Whig--a huge +mountain of a colossal Whig--all the world knew that. No opponent +would have dreamed of tampering with his Whiggery, nor would any +brother Whig have dreamed of doubting it. But he was a Whig who +gave very little practical support to any set of men, and very +little practical opposition to any other set. He was above +troubling himself with such sublunar matters. At election time he +supported, and always carried, Whig candidates; and in return he +had been appointed lord lieutenant of the county by one Whig +minister, and had received the Garter from another. But these +things were a matter of course to a Duke of Omnium. He was born to +be a lord lieutenant and a Knight of the Garter. But not the less +on account of his apathy, or rather quiescence, was it thought that +Gatherum Castle was a fitting place in which politicians might +express to each other their present hopes and future aims, and +concoct together little plots in a half-serious and half-mocking +way. Indeed it was hinted that Mr Supplehouse and Harold Smith, +with one or two others, were at Gatherum for this express purpose. +Mr Fothergill, too, was a noted politician, and was supposed to +know the duke's mind well; and Mr Green Walker, the nephew of the +marchioness, was a young man whom the duke desired to have brought +forward. Mr Sowerby also was the duke's own member, and so the +occasion suited well for the interchange of a few ideas. + +The then prime minister, angry as many men were with him, had not +been altogether unsuccessful. He had brought the Russian war to a +close, which, if not glorious, was at any rate much more so than +Englishmen at one time ventured to hope. And he had had wonderful +luck with that Indian Mutiny. It is true that many of those even +who voted with him would declare that this was in no way +attributable to him. Great men had risen in India and done all +that. Even his minister there, the Governor whom he had sent out, +was not allowed in those days any credit for the success which was +achieved under his orders. There was great reason to doubt the man +at the helm. But nevertheless he had been lucky. There is no +merit in a public man like success! But now, when the evil days +were wellnigh over, came the question whether he had not been too +successful. When a man has nailed fortune to his chariot-wheels +he is apt to travel about in rather a proud fashion. There are +servants who think that their masters cannot do without them; and +the public also may occasionally have some such servant. What if +this too successful minister were one of them! And then a +discreet, commonplace, zealous member of the Lower House does not +like to be jeered at, when he does his duty by his constituents and +asks a few questions. An all-successful minister who cannot keep +his triumph to himself, but must needs drive about in a proud +fashion, laughing at commonplace zealous members--laughing even +occasionally at members who are by no means commonplace, which is +outrageous!---may it not be as well to ostracize him for a while?' + +'Had we not better throw in our shells against him?' says Mr Harold +Smith. + +'Let us throw in our shells by all means,' says Mr Supplehouse, +mindful of the Juno of his despised charms. And when Mr +Supplehouse declares himself an enemy, men know how much it means. +They know that that much-belaboured head of affairs must succumb to +the terrible blows which are now in store for him. 'Yes, we will +throw in our shells.' And Mr Supplehouse rises from his chair with +gleaming eyes. 'Has not Greece as noble a son as him? Aye, and much +nobler, traitor that he is. We must judge a man by his friends,' +says Mr Supplehouse; and he points away to the East, where +our dear allies the French are supposed to live, and where our head +of affairs is supposed to have too close intimacy. + +They all understand this, even Mr Green Walker. 'I don't know that +he is any good to any of us at all, now,' says the talented member +for the Crewe-Junction. 'He's a great deal too uppish to suit my +book; and I know a great many people that think so too. There's my +uncle--' + +'He's the best fellow in the world,' said Mr Fothergill, who felt, +perhaps, that that coming revelation about Mr Green Walker's uncle +might not be of use to them; 'but the fact is one gets tired of the +same man always. One does not like his partridge every day. As +for me, I have nothing to do with it myself; but I would certainly +like to change the dish.' + +'If we're merely to do as we are bid, and have no voice of our own, +I don't see what's the good of going to the shop at all,' said Mr +Sowerby. + +'Let's have a change, then,' said Mr Sowerby. 'The matter's pretty +much in our own hands.' + +'Altogether,' said Mr Green Walker. 'That's what my uncle always +says.' + +'The Manchester men will only be too happy for the chance,' said +Harold Smith. + +'And as for the high and dry gentlemen,' said Mr Sowerby, 'it's not +very likely that they will object to pick up the fruit when we +shake the tree.' + +'As to picking up the fruit, that's as may be,' said Mr +Supplehouse. Was he not the man to save the nation? and if so, +why should he not pick up the fruit himself? Had not the greatest +power in the country pointed him out as such a saviour? What +though the country at the present moment needed no more saving, +might there not, nevertheless, be a good time coming? Were there +not rumours of other wars still prevalent?---if indeed the actual +war then going on was being brought to a close without his +assistance by some other species of salvation? He thought of that +country to which he had pointed, and of that friend of his enemies, +and remembered that there might be still work for a mighty +saviour. The public mind was now awake, and understood what it was +about. When a man gets into his head an idea that the public voice +calls for him, it is astonishing how great becomes his trust in the +wisdom of the public. Vox populi, vox Dei. 'Has it not been so +always?' he says to himself, as he gets up and as he goes to bed. +And then Mr Supplehouse felt that he was the master mind there at +Gatherum Castle, and that those there were all puppets in his +hands. It is such a pleasant thing to feel that one's friends are +puppets, and that the strings are in one's own possession. But +what if Mr Supplehouse himself were a puppet? Some months +afterwards, when the much-belaboured head of affairs was in very +truth made to retire, when unkind shells were thrown against him in +great numbers, when he exclaimed, 'Et tu, Brute!' till the words +were stereotyped upon his lips, all men in all places talked much +about the great Gatherum Castle confederation. The Duke of Omnium, +the world said, had taken into his high consideration the state of +affairs, and seeing with his eagle's eye that the welfare of his +countrymen at large required that some great step should be +initiated, he had at once summoned to his mansion many members of +the Lower House, and some also of the House of Lords,--mention was +here especially made of the all-venerable and all-wise Lord +Boanerges; and men went on to say that there, in deep conclave, he +had made known to them his views. It was thus agreed that the head +of affairs, Whig as he was, must fall. The country required it, +and the duke did his duty. This was the beginning, the world said, +of that celebrated confederation, by which the ministry was +overturned, and--as the Goody Twoshoes added--the country saved. +But the Jupiter was not far wrong. All the credit was due to the +Jupiter--in that, as in everything else. + +In the meantime the Duke of Omnium entertained his guests in the +quiet princely style, but did not condescend to have much +conversation on politics either with Mr Supplehouse or with Mr +Harold Smith. And as for Lord Boanerges, he spent the morning on +which the above-mentioned conversation took place in teaching Miss +Dunstable to blow soap-bubbles on scientific principles. + +'Dear, dear!' said Miss Dunstable, as sparks of knowledge came +flying in upon her mind. 'I always thought that a soap-bubble was +a soap-bubble, and I never asked the reason why. Once doesn't, you +know, my lord.' + +'Pardon me, Miss Dunstable,' said the old lord, 'one does; but nine +hundred and ninety-nine do not.' + +'And the nine hundred and ninety-nine have the best of it,' said +Miss Dunstable. 'What pleasure can one have in a ghost after one +has seen the phosphorus rubbed on?' + +'Quite true, my dear lady. "If ignorance be bliss, 'tis folly to +be wise." It all lies in the "if".' + +Then Miss Dunstable began to sing:- + + '"Did I not own Jehovah's power + How vain were all I know."' + +'Exactly, exactly, Miss Dunstable,' said his lordship; 'but why not +own the power and trace the flower as well? Perhaps one might help +the other.' Upon the whole, I am afraid that Lord Boanerges got +the best of it. But, then, that is his line. He has been getting +the best of it all his life. + +It was observed by all that the duke was especially attentive to +young Mr Frank Gresham, the gentleman on whose wife Miss Dunstable +seized so vehemently. This Mr Gresham was the richest commoner in +the county, and it was rumoured that at the next election he would +be one of the members for the East Riding. Now the duke had little +or nothing to do with the East Riding, and it was well known that +young Gresham would be brought forward as a strong Conservative. +But, nevertheless, his acres were so extensive and his money so +plentiful that he was worth a duke's notice. Mr Sowerby, also, was +almost more than civil to him, as was natural, seeing that this +very young man by a mere scratch of his pen could turn a scrap of +paper into a bank note of almost fabulous value. + +'So you have the East Barsetshire hounds at Boxall Hill; have you +not,' said the duke. + +'The hounds are there,' said Frank. 'But I am not the master.' + +'Oh! I understood--' + +'My father has them. But he finds Boxall Hill more centrical than +Greshambury. The dogs and horses have to go shorter distances.' + +'Boxall Hill is very centrical.' + +'Oh, exactly!' + +'And your young gorse coverts are doing well?' + +'Pretty well--gorse won't thrive everywhere, I find. I wish it +would.' + +'That's just what I say to Fothergill; and then where there's much +woodland you can't get the vermin to leave it.' + +'But we haven't a tree at Boxall Hill,' said Mr Gresham. + +'Ah, yes; you're new there, certainly; you've enough of it at +Greshambury in all conscience. There's a larger extent of wood +there than we have; isn't there, Fothergill?' Mr Fothergill said +that the Greshambury woods were very extensive, but that, perhaps, +he thought-- + +'Oh, ah! I know,' said the duke. 'The Black Forest in its old +days was nothing to Gatherum woods, according to Fothergill. And +then, again, nothing in East Barsetshire could be equal to anything +in West Barsetshire. Isn't that it; eh, Fothergill?' Mr +Fothergill professed that he had been brought up in that faith and +intended to die in it. + +'Your exotics at Boxall Hill are very fine, magnificent!' + +'I'd sooner have one full-grown oak standing in its pride alone,' +said young Gresham, rather grandiloquently, 'than all the exotics +in the world.' + +'They'll come in due time,' said the duke. + +'But the due time won't be in my days. And so they're going to cut +down Chaldicotes Forest, are they, Mr Sowerby.' + +'Well, I can't tell you that. They are going to disforest it. I +have been ranger since I was twenty-two, and I don't yet know +whether that means cutting down.' + +'Not only cutting down, but rooting up,' said Mr Fothergill. + +'It's a murderous shame,' said Frank Gresham; 'and I will say one +thing, I don't think any but a Whig government would do it.' + +'Ha, ha, ha!' said his grace. 'At any rate, I'm sure of this,' he +said, 'that if a Conservative government did do so, the Whigs would +be just as indignant as you are now.' + +'I'll tell you what you ought to do, Mr Gresham,' said Sowerby; +'put in an offer for the whole of the West Barsetshire Crown +property; they will be very glad to sell it.' + +'And we should be delighted to welcome you on this side of the +border,' said the duke. Young Gresham did feel rather flattered. +There were not many men in the county to whom such an offer could be +made without an absurdity. It might be doubted whether the duke +himself could purchase the chase of Chaldicotes with ready money; +but that he, Gresham, could do so--he and his wife between them--no +man did doubt. And then Mr Gresham thought of a former day when he +had once been at Gatherum Castle. He had been poor enough then, +and the duke had not treated him in the most courteous manner in +the world. How hard it is for a rich man not to lean upon his +riches! harder, indeed, than for a camel to go through the eye of +a needle. + +All Barsetshire knew--at any rate all West Barsetshire--that Miss +Dunstable had been brought down in those parts in order that Mr +Sowerby might marry her. It was not surmised that Miss Dunstable +herself had had any previous notice of this arrangement, but it was +supposed that the thing would turn out as a matter of course. Mr +Sowerby had no money, but then he was witty, clever, good-looking, +and a member of Parliament. He lived before the world, represented +an old family, and had an old place. How could Miss Dunstable +possibly do better? She was not so young now, and it was time that +she should look about her. The suggestion, as regarded Mr Sowerby, +was certainly true, and was not the less so as regarded some of Mr +Sowerby's friends. His sister, Mrs Harold Smith, had devoted +herself to the work, and with this view had run up a dear +friendship with Miss Dunstable. The bishop had intimated, nodding +his head knowingly, that it would be a very good thing. Mrs +Proudie had given her adherence. Mr Supplehouse had been made to +understand that it must be a case of 'Pawn off' with him, as long +as he remained in that part of the world; and even the duke himself +had desired Mr Fothergill to manage it. + +'He owes me an enormous sum of money,' said the duke, who held all +Mr Sowerby's title-deeds, 'and I doubt whether the security will be +sufficient.' + +'Your grace will find the security quite insufficient,' said Mr +Fothergill; 'but nevertheless it would be a good match.' + +'Very good,' said the duke. And then it became Mr Fothergill's duty +to see that Mr Sowerby and Miss Dunstable became man and wife as +speedily as possible. Some of the party, who were more wide awake +than others, declared that he had made the offer; others that he +was just going to do so; and one very knowing lady went so far at +one time as to say that he was making it that moment. Bets also +were laid as to the lady's answer, as to the terms of the +settlement, and as to the period of the marriage--of all which poor +Miss Dunstable of course knew nothing. Mr Sowerby, in spite of the +publicity of his proceedings, proceeded in this matter very well. +He said little about it, to those who joked with him, but carried +on the fight with what best knowledge he had in these matters. But +so much it is given to us to declare with certainty, that he had +not proposed on the evening previous to the morning fixed for the +departure of Mark Robarts. During the last two days Mr Sowerby's +intimacy with Mark had grown warmer and warmer. He had talked to the +vicar confidentially about the doings of these bigwigs now present +at the castle, as though there were no other guests there with whom +he could speak in so free a manner. He confided, it seemed, much +more in Mark than in his brother-in-law, Harold Smith, or in any of +his brother members of Parliament, and had altogether opened his +heart to him in this affair of his anticipated marriage. Now Mr +Sowerby was a man of mark in the world, and all this flattered our +young clergyman not a little. On that evening before Robarts went +away Sowerby asked him to come up to his bedroom when the whole +party was breaking up, and there got him into an easy chair while +he, Sowerby, walked up and down the room. + +'You can hardly tell, my dear fellow,' said he, 'the state of +nervous anxiety in which this puts me.' + +'Why don't you ask her and have done with it? She seems to me to +be fond of your society.' + +'Ah, it is not that only; there are wheels within wheels;' and then +he walked once or twice up and down the room, during which Mark +thought that he might as well go to bed. + +'Not that I mind telling you everything,' said Sowerby. 'I am +infernally hard up for a little ready money, just at the present +moment. It may be, and indeed I think it will be, the case that I +shall be ruined in this matter for the want of it.' + +'Could not Harold Smith give it to you?' + +'Ha, ha, ha! you don't know Harold Smith. Did you ever hear of +his lending a man a shilling in his life?' + +'Or Supplehouse?' + +'Lord love you. You see me and Supplehouse together here, and he +comes and stays at my house, and all that; but Supplehouse and I +are no friends. Look you here, Mark--I would do more for your +little finger than for his whole hand, including the pen which he +holds in it. Fothergill indeed might--but then I know Fothergill +is pressed himself at the present moment. It is deuced hard, isn't +it? I must give up the whole game if I can't put my hand upon +L400, within the next two days.' + +'Ask her for it, herself.' + +'What, the woman I wish to marry! No, Mark, I'm not quite come to +that. I would sooner lose her than that.' Mark sat silent, gazing +at the fire and wishing that he was in his own bedroom. He had an +idea that Mr Sowerby wished him to produce the L400, and he knew +also that he had not L400 in the world, and that if he had he would +be acting very foolishly to give it to Mr Sowerby. But, +nevertheless, he felt half fascinated by the man, and half afraid +of him. + +'Lufton owes it to me to do more than this,' continued Mr Sowerby, +'but then Lufton is not here.' + +'Why, he has just paid five thousand pounds to you.' + +'Paid five thousand pounds to me! Indeed he has done no such +thing; not a sixpence of it came into my hands. Believe me, Mark, +you don't know the whole of that yet. Not that I mean to say a +word against Lufton. He is the soul of honour; though so deucedly +dilatory in money matters. He thought he was right all through +that affair, but no man was ever so confoundedly wrong. Why, don't +you remember that that was the very view you took yourself.' + +'I remember saying that I thought he was mistaken.' + +'Of course he was mistaken. And dearly that mistake cost me. I +had to make good the money for two or three years. And my property +is not like his--I wish it were.' + +'Marry Miss Dunstable, and that will set it all right for you.' + +'Ah! so I would if I had this money. At any rate I would bring it +to the point. Now, I tell you what, Mark, if you'll assist me at +this strait I'll never forget it. And the time will come round +when I may be able to do something for you.' + +'I have not got a hundred, no, not fifty pounds by me in the +world.' + +'Of course you've not. Men don't walk about the streets with L400 +in their pockets. I don't suppose there is a single man here in +the house with such a sum at his banker's, unless it is the duke.' + +'What is it you want, then?' + +'Why, your name, to be sure. Believe me, my dear fellow, I would +not ask you really to put your hand into your pocket to such a tune +as that. Allow me to draw on you for that amount at three months. +Long before that time I shall be flush enough.' And then, before +Mark could answer, he had a bill stamp and pen and ink out on the +table before him, and was filling in the bill as though his friend +had already given his consent. + +'Upon my word, Sowerby, I had rather not do that.' + +'Why? what are you afraid of?'--Mr Sowerby asked this very +sharply. 'Did you ever hear of my having neglected to take up a +bill when it fell due?' Robarts thought that he had heard of such a +thing; but in his confusing he was not exactly sure, and so he said +nothing. + +'No, my boy; I have not come to that. Look here: just you write, +"Accepted, Mark Robarts," across that, and then you shall never +hear of the transaction again; and you will have obliged me for +ever.' + +'As a clergyman it would be wrong of me,' said Robarts. + +'As a clergyman! Come, Mark. If you don't like to do as much as +that for a friend, say so; but don't let me have that sort of +humbug. If there be one class of men whose names would be found +more frequent on the backs of bills in the provincial banks than +another, clergymen are that class. Come, old fellow, you won't +throw me over when I am so hard pushed.' Mark Robarts took the pen +and signed the bill. It was the first time in his life that he had +ever done such an act. Sowerby then shook him cordially by the +hand, and he walked off to his own bedroom a wretched man. + + + +CHAPTER IX + +THE VICAR'S RETURN + +The next morning Mr Robarts took leave of all his grand friends +with a heavy heart. He had lain awake half the night thinking of +what he had done and trying to reconcile himself to his position. +He had not well left Mr Sowerby's room before he felt certain that +at the end of three months he would again be troubled about that +400L. As he went along the passage, all the man's known +antecedents crowded upon him much quicker than he could remember +them when seated in that arm-chair with the bill stamp before him, +and the pen and ink ready to his hand. He remembered what Lord +Lufton had told him--how he had complained of having been left in +the lurch; he though of all the stories current throughout the +entire country as to the impossibility of getting money from +Chaldicotes; he brought to mind the known character of the man, and +then he knew that he must prepare himself to make good a portion at +least of that heavy payment. Why had he come to this horrid +place? Had he not everything at home at Framley at which the heart +of man could desire? No; the heart of man can desire deaneries--the +heart, that is, of the man vicar; and the heart of the man dean can +desire bishoprics; and before the eyes of the man bishop does there +not loom the transcendental glory of Lambeth? He had owned to himself +that he was ambitious; but he had to own to himself now that he had +hitherto taken but a sorry path towards the object of his ambition. +On the next morning at breakfast-time, before his horse and gig arrived +for him, no one was so bright as his friend Sowerby. 'So you are off, +are you?' said he. + +'Yes, I shall go this morning.' + +'Say everything that's kind from me to Lufton. I may possibly see +him hunting; otherwise we shan't meet till the spring. As to my +going to Framley, that's out of the question. Her ladyship would +look for my tail, and swear that she smelt brimstone. By-bye, old +fellow!' + +The German student when he first made his bargain with the devil +felt an indescribable attraction to his new friend; and such was +the case now with Robarts. He shook Sowerby's hand very warmly, +said that he hoped he should meet him soon somewhere, and professed +himself specially anxious to hear how that affair with the lady +came off. As he had made his bargain--as he had undertaken to pay +nearly half a year's income for his dear friend--ought he not to +have as much value as possible for his money? If the dear +friendship of this flash member of Parliament did not represent +that value, what else did so? But then he felt, or fancied that he +felt, that Mr Sowerby did not care for him so much this morning as +he had done on the previous evening. 'By-bye,' said Mr Sowerby, +but he spoke no word as to such future meetings, nor did he even +promise to write. Mr Sowerby probably had many things on his mind; +and it might be that it behoved him, having finished one piece of +business, immediately to look for another. + +The sum for which Robarts had made himself responsible--which he +so much feared that he would be called upon to pay--was very +nearly half a year's income; and as yet he had not put by one +shilling since he had been married. When he found himself settled +in his parsonage, he found also that all the world regarded him as +a rich man. He had taken the dictum of all the world as true, and +had set himself to work to live comfortably. He had no absolute +need of a curate; but he could afford the 70L--as Lady Lufton had +said rather injudiciously; and by keeping Jones in the parish he +would be acting charitably to a brother clergyman, and would also +place himself in a more independent position. Lady Lufton had +wished to see her pet clergyman well-to-do and comfortable; but +now, as matters had turned out, she much regretted this affair of +the curate. Mr Jones, she said to herself more than once, must be +made to depart from Framley. He had given his wife a +pony-carriage, and for himself he had a saddle-horse, and a second +horse for his gig. A man in his position, well-to-do, as he was, +required as much as that. He had a footman also, and a gardener and +a groom. The two latter were absolutely necessary, but about the +former there had been a question. His wife had been decidedly +hostile to the footman; but in all such matters as that, to doubt +is to be lost. When the footman had been discussed for a week it +became quite clear to the master he also was a necessity. + +As he drove home that morning he pronounced to himself the doom of +that footman, and the doom also of that saddle-horse. They at any +rate should go. And then he would spend no more money in trips to +Scotland; and above all, he would keep out of the bedrooms of +impoverished members of Parliament at the witching hour of +midnight. Such resolves did he make to himself wearily how that +400L might be made to be forthcoming. As to any assistance in the +matter from Sowerby--of that he gave himself no promise. But he +almost felt himself happy again as his wife came out into the porch +to meet him with a silk shawl over her head, and pretending to +shiver as she watched him descending from his gig. 'My dear old +man,' she said, as she led him into the warm drawing-room with all +his wrappings still around him, 'you must be starved.' But Mark +during the whole drive had been thinking too much of that +transaction in Mr Sowerby's bedroom to remember that he was cold. +Now he had his arms round his own dear Fanny's waist; but was he to +tell her of that transaction? At any rate he would not do it now, +while his two boys were in his arms, rubbing the moisture from his +whiskers with his kisses. After all, what is there equal to coming +home? + +'And so Lufton is here. I say, Frank, gently, old boy,'--Frank +was his eldest son--'you'll have baby into the fender.' + +'Let me take baby; it's impossible to hold the two of them, they +are so strong,' said the proud mother. 'Oh, yes, he came home +early yesterday.' + +'Have you seen him?' + +'He was here yesterday, with her ladyship; and I lunched there +to-day. The letter came, you know, in time to stop the Merediths. +They don't go till to-morrow, so you will meet them after all. Sir +George is wild about it, but Lady Lufton would have her way. You +never saw her in such a state as she is.' + +'Good spirit, eh!' + +'I should think so. All Lord Lufton's horses are coming, and he's +to be there till March.' + +'Till March!' + +'So her ladyship whispered to me. She could not conceal her +triumph at his coming. He's going to give up Leicestershire this +year altogether. I wonder what has brought it all about?' Mark +knew very well what had brought it about; he had been made +acquainted, as the reader has also, with the price which Lady +Lufton had purchased her son's visit. But no one had told Mrs +Robarts that the mother had made her son a present of five thousand +pounds. + +'She's in a good humour about everything now,' continued Fanny; 'so +you need say nothing at all about Gatherum Castle.' + +'But she was very angry when she first heard it; was she not?' + +'Well, Mark, to tell the truth, she was; and we had quite a scene +there up in her own room upstairs--Justinia and I. She had heard +something else that she did not like at the same time; and +then--but you know her way. She blazed up quite a lot.' + +'And said all manner of things about me.' + +'About the duke she did. You know she never did like the duke; and +for the matter of that, neither do I. I tell you that fairly, +Master Mark.' + +'The duke is not so bad as he's painted.' + +'Ah, that's what you say about another great person. However, he +won't come here to trouble us, I suppose. And then I left her, not +in the best temper in the world; for I blazed up too, you must +know.' + +'I am sure you did,' said Mark, pressing his arm round her waist. + +'And then we were going to have a dreadful war, I thought; and I +came home and wrote such a doleful letter to you. But what should +happen when I had just closed it, but in came her ladyship--all +alone, and--But I can't tell you what she did or said, only she +behaved beautifully; just like herself too; so full of love and +truth and honesty. There's nobody like her, Mark; and she's better +than all the dukes that ever wore--whatever dukes do wear.' + +'Horns and hoofs; that's their usual apparel, according to you and +Lady Lufton,' said he, remembering what Mr Sowerby had said of +himself. + +'You may say what you like about me, Mark, but you shan't abuse +Lady Lufton. And if horns and hoofs mean wickedness and +dissipation, I believe it's not far wrong. But get off your big +coat and make yourself comfortable.' And that was all the scolding +that Mark Robarts got from his wife on the occasion of his great +iniquity. + +'I will certainly tell her about this bill transaction,' he said to +himself; 'but not to-day; not till after I have seen Lufton.' That +evening they dined at Framley Court, and there they met the young +lord; they found also Lady Lufton still in high good-humour. Lord +Lufton himself was a fine, bright-looking young man; not as tall +as Mark Robarts, and with perhaps less intelligence marked on his +face; but his features were finer, and there was in his countenance +a thorough appearance of good-humour and sweet temper. It was +indeed a pleasant face to look upon, and dearly Lady Lufton loved +to gaze at it. + +'Well, Mark, so you have been among the Philistines?' that was his +lordship's first remark. Robarts laughed as he took his friend's +hands, and bethought himself how truly that was the case; that he +was, in very truth, already 'himself in bonds under Philistian +yoke'. Alas, alas, it is very hard to break asunder the bonds of +the latter-day Philistines. When a Samson does now and then pull a +temple down about their ears, is he not sure to be engulfed in the +ruin with them? There is not horse-leech that sticks so fast as +your latter-day Philistine. + +'So you have caught Sir George, after all,' said Lady Lufton; and +that was nearly all she said in allusion to his absence. There was +afterwards some conversation about the lecture, and from her +ladyship's remarks it certainly was apparent that she did not like +the people among whom the vicar had been lately staying; but she +said no word that was personal to him himself, or that could be taken +as a reproach. The little episode of Mrs Proudie's address in the +lecture-room had already reached Framley, and it was only to be +expected that Lady Lufton should enjoy the joke. She would affect +to believe that the body of the lecture had been given by the +bishop's wife; and afterwards, when Mark described her costume at +that Sunday morning breakfast table, Lady Lufton would assume that +such had been the dress in which she had addressed her faculties in +public. + +'I would have given a five-pound note to have heard it,' said Sir +George. + +'So would not I,' said Lady Lufton. 'When one hears of such things +described as graphically as Mr Robarts now tells it, one can hardly +help laughing. But it would me great pain to see the wife of one +of our bishops place herself in such a situation. For he is a +bishop after all.' + +'Well, upon my word, my lady, I agree with Meredith,' said Lord +Lufton. 'It must have been good fun. As it did happen, you +know,--as the Church was doomed to disgrace,--I should like to have +heard it.' + +'I know you would have been shocked, Ludovic.' + +'I should have got over it in time, mother. It would have been +like a bull-fight, I suppose--horrible to see, no doubt, but +extremely interesting. And Harold Smith, Mark; what did he do all +the while?' + +'It didn't take so very long, you know,' said Robarts. + +'And the poor bishop,' said Lady Meredith; 'how did he look? I +really do pity him.' + +'Well, he was asleep, I think.' + +'What, slept through it all?' said Sir George. + +'It awakened him; and then he jumped up and said something.' + +'What, out loud, too?' + +'Only one word or so.' + +'What a disgraceful scene,' said Lady Lufton. 'To those who +remember the good old man who was in the diocese before him, it is +perfectly shocking. He confirmed you, Ludovic, and you ought to +remember him. It was over at Barchester, and you went and lunched +with him afterwards.' + +'I do remember; and especially this, that I never ate such tarts in +my life, before or since. The old man particularly called my +attention to them, and seemed remarkably pleased that I concurred +in his sentiments. There are no such tarts as those going to the +palace now, I'll be bound.' + +'Mrs Proudie will be very happy to do her best for you if you will +go and try,' said Sir George. + +'I beg that he will do no such thing,' said Lady Lufton; and that +was the only severe word she said about any of Mark's visitings. As +Sir George Meredith was there, Robarts could say nothing then to +Lord Lufton about Mr Sowerby and Mr Sowerby's money affairs; but he +did make an appointment for a tete-a-tete on the next morning. + +'You must come down and see my nags, Mark; they came to-day. The +Merediths will be off at twelve, and then we can have an hour +together.' Mark said he would, and then went home with his wife +under his arm. + +'Well now, is not she kind?' said Fanny, as soon as they were out +on the gravel together. + +'She is kind; kinder than I can tell you at present. But did you +ever know anything so bitter as she is to the poor bishop? And +really the bishop is not so bad.' + +'Yes; and I know something more bitter; and that is what she thinks +of the bishop's wife. And you know, Mark, it was so unladylike, +her getting up in that way. What must the people at Barchester +think of her?' + +'As far as I could see, the people of Barchester liked it.' + +'Nonsense, Mark; they could not. But never mind that now. I want +you to own that she is good.' And then Mrs Robarts went on with +another long eulogy on the dowager. Since that affair of the +pardon-begging at the parsonage, Mrs Robarts hardly knew how to +think well enough of her friend. And the evening had been so +pleasant after that dreadful storm and threatenings of hurricanes; +her husband had been so well received after his lapse of judgement; +the wounds that had looked so sore had been so thoroughly healed, +and everything was so pleasant. How all of this would have been +changed had she known of that little bill! At twelve the next +morning the lord and the vicar were walking through the Framley +stables together. Quite a commotion had been made there, for the +larger portion of those buildings had been of late years seldom +been used. But now all was crowding and activity. Seven or eight +precious animals had followed Lord Lufton from Leicestershire, and +all of them required dimensions that were thought to be rather +excessive by the Framley old-fashioned groom. My lord, however, +had a head man of his own who took the matter quite into his own +hands. Mark, priest as he was, was quite worldly enough to be fond +of a good horse; and for some little time allowed Lord Lufton to +decant on the merit of this four-year-old filly, and that +magnificent Rattlebones colt, out of a Mousetrap mare; but he had +other things that lay heavy on his mind, and after bestowing half +an hour on the stud, he contrived to get his friend away to the +shrubbery walks. + +'So you have settled with old Sowerby,' Robarts began by saying. + +'Settled with him; yes, but do you know the price?' + +'I believe that you have paid five thousand pounds.' + +'Yes, and about three before; and that is a matter in which I did +not really owe one shilling. Whatever I do in future, I'll keep +out of Sowerby's grip.' + +But you don't think he was unfair to you.' + +'Mark, to tell you the truth, I have banished the affair from my +mind, and don't wish to take it up again. My mother has paid the +money to save the property, and of course I must pay her back. But +I think I may promise that I will not have any more money dealings +with Sowerby. I will not say that he is dishonest, but at any rate +he is sharp.' + +'Well, Lufton; what will you say when I tell you that I have put my +name to a bill for him, for four hundred pounds?' + +'Say; why I should say--; but you're joking; a man in your position +would never do such a thing.' + +'But I have done it.' Lord Lufton gave a long low whistle. + +'He asked me the last night that I was there, making a great favour +of it, and declaring that no bill of his had ever been +dishonoured.' + +Lord Lufton whistled again. 'No bill of his dishonoured! Why, the +pocket-books of the Jews are stuffed full of his dishonoured +papers! And you have really given him your name for four hundred +pounds?' + +'I have certainly.' + +'At what date?' + +'Three months.' + +'And have you thought where you are to get the money?' + +'I know very well that I can't get it, not at least by that time. +The bankers must renew it for me, and I must pay it be degrees. +That is, if Sowerby really does not take it up.' + +'It is just as likely he will take up the National Debt.' Robarts +then told him about the projected marriage with Miss Dunstable, +giving it as his opinion that the lady would probably accept the +gentleman. + +'Not at all improbable,' said his lordship, 'for Sowerby is an +agreeable fellow; and if it be so, he will have all that he wants +for life. But his creditors will gain nothing. The duke, who has +his title-deeds, will doubtless get his money, and the estate will +in fact belong to the wife. But the small fry, such as you, will +not get a shilling.' Poor Mark! He had an inkling of this before; +but it had hardly presented itself to him in such certain terms. It +was then, a positive fact, that in punishment for his weakness in +having signed the bill he would have to pay, not only four hundred +pounds, but four hundred pounds with interest, and expenses of +renewal, and commission and bill stamps. Yes; he had certainly got +among the Philistines during his visit to the duke. It began to +appear to him pretty clearly that it would have been better for him +to have relinquished altogether the glories of Chaldicotes and +Gatherum Castle. + +And now, how was he to tell his wife? + + + +CHAPTER X + +LUCY ROBARTS + +And now, how was he going to tell his wife? That was the +consideration heavy on Mark Robarts's mind when last we left him; +and he turned the matter over in his thoughts before he could bring +himself to a resolution. At last he did so, and one may say that +it was not altogether a bad one, if only he could carry it out. He +would ascertain in what bank that bill of his had been discounted. +He would ask Sowerby, and if he could not learn from him, he would +go to the three banks in Barchester. That it had been taken to one +of them he felt tolerably certain. He would explain to the manager +his conviction that he would have to make good the amount, his +inability to do so at the end of three months, and the whole state +of his income; and then the banker would explain to him how the +matter might be arranged. He thought that he could pay 50L every +three months with interest. As soon as this should have been +concerted with the banker, he would let is wife know all about it. +Were he to tell her at the present moment, while the matter was all +unsettled, the intelligence would frighten her into illness. But +on the next morning there came to him tidings by the hands of Robin +postman, which for a long while upset all his plans. The letter +was from Exeter. His father had been taken ill, and had very +quickly been pronounced to be in danger. That evening--the evening +on which his sister wrote--the old man was much worse, and it was +desirable that Mark should go off to Exeter as quickly as +possible. Of course he went to Exeter--again leaving the Framley +souls at the mercy of the Welsh Low Churchman. Framley is only +four miles from Silverbridge, and at Silverbridge he was on the +direct road to the West. He was, therefore, at Exeter before +nightfall on that day. But, nevertheless, he arrived there too +late to see his father again alive. The old man's illness had been +sudden and rapid, and he expired without again seeing his eldest +son. Mark arrived at the house of mourning just as they were +learning to realize the full change in their position. + +The doctor's career had been on the whole successful, but +nevertheless, he did not leave behind him as much money as the +world had given him credit for possessing. Who ever does? Dr +Robarts had educated a large family, had always lived with every +comfort, and had never possessed a shilling but what he had earned +himself. A physician's fees come in, no doubt, with comfortable +rapidity as soon as rich old gentlemen and middle-aged ladies begin +to put their faith in him; but fees run out almost with equal +rapidity when a wife and seven children are treated to everything +that the world considers most desirable. Mark, as we have seen, +had been educated at Harrow and Oxford, and it may be said, +therefore, that he had received his patrimony early in life. For +Gerald Robarts, the second brother, a commission had been bought in +a crack regiment. He also had been lucky, having lived and become +a captain in the Crimea; and the purchase-money was lodged for his +majority. And John Robarts, the youngest was clerk in the Petty +Bag Office, and was already assistant private secretary to Lord +Petty Bag himself--a place of considerable trust, if not hitherto +of large emolument: and on his education money had been spent +freely, for in these days a young man cannot get into the Petty Bag +Office without knowing at least three modern languages; and he must +be well up in trigonometry too, in Bible theology, or in one dead +language--at his option. And the doctor had four daughters. The +two elder were married, including that Blanche with whom Lord +Lufton was to have fallen in love at the vicar's wedding. A +Devonshire squire had done this in the lord's place; but on +marrying her it was necessary that he should have a few thousand +pounds, two or three perhaps, and the old doctor had managed that +they should be forthcoming. The elder sister had not been sent +away from the paternal mansions quite empty handed. There were, +therefore, at the time of the doctor's death, two children left at +home, of whom one only, Lucy, the younger will come much across us +in the course of our story. + +Mark stayed for ten days at Exeter, he and the Devonshire squire +having been named as executors in the will. In this document it +was explained that the doctor trusted that providence had been made +for most of his children. As for his dear son Mark, he said, he +was aware that he need be under no uneasiness. On hearing this +read Mark smiled sweetly, and looked very gracious; but, +nevertheless, his heart did sink somewhat within him, for there had +been a hope that a small windfall, coming now so opportunely, might +enable him to rid himself at once of that dreadful Sowerby +incubus. And then the will went on to declare that Mary, and +Gerald, and Blanche, had also, by God's providence, been placed +beyond want. And here, looking into the squire's face, one might +have thought that his heart fell a little also; for he had not so +full a command of his feelings as his brother-in-law, who had been +so much more before the world. To John, the assistant private +secretary, was left a legacy of a thousand pounds; and to Jane and +Lucy certain sums in certain four per cents., which were quite +sufficient to add an efficient value to the hands of those young +ladies in the eyes of the most prudent young would be Benedicts. +Over and beyond this there was nothing but the furniture, which he +desired might be sold, and the proceeds divided among them all. It +might come to sixty or seventy pounds a piece, and pay the expenses +incidental on is death. And then all men and women there and +thereabouts said that old Dr Robarts had done well. His life had +been good and prosperous, and his will was just. And Mark, among +others, so declared--and was so convinced in spite of his own +little disappointment. And on the third morning after the reading +of the will Squire Crowdy, of Creamclotted Hall, altogether got +over his grief, and said that it was all right. And then it was +decided that Jane should go home with him--for there was a brother +squire who, it was thought, might have an eye to Jane;--and Lucy, +the younger, should be taken to Framley Parsonage. In a fortnight +from the receipt of that letter, Mark arrived at his own house with +his sister Lucy under his wing. + +All this interfered greatly with Mark's wise resolution as to the +Sowerby incubus. In the first place, he could not get to +Barchester as soon as he had intended, and then an idea came across +him that possibly it might be well that he should borrow the money +of his brother John, explaining the circumstances, of course, and +paying him due interest. But he had not liked to broach the +subject when they were there in Exeter, standing, as it were, over +their father's grave, and so the matter was postponed. There was +still ample time for arrangement before the bill would come due, +and he would not tell Fanny till he had made up his mind what that +arrangement would be. It would kill her, he said to himself over +and over again, were he to tell her of it without being able to +tell her also that the means of liquidating the debt were to be +forthcoming. + +And now I must say a word about Lucy Robarts. If one might only go +on without those descriptions how pleasant it would be! But Lucy +Robarts has to play a forward part in this little drama, and those +who care for such matters must be made to understand something of +her form and likeness. When last we mentioned her as appearing, +though not in any promising position, at her brother's wedding, she +was only sixteen; but now, at the time of her father's death, +somewhat over two years having since elapsed, she was nearly +nineteen. Laying aside for the sake of clearness that indefinite +term of girl--for girls are girls from the age of three up to +forty-three, if not previously married--dropping that generic word, +we may say that then, at that wedding of her brother, she was a +child; and now, at the death of her father, she was a woman. +Nothing, perhaps, adds so much to womanhood, turns the child so +quickly into a woman, as such death-bed scenes as these. Hitherto +but little has fallen to Lucy to do in the way of woman's duties. +Of money transactions she had known nothing, beyond a jocose +attempt to make her annual allowance of twenty-five pounds cover +all her personal wants--an attempt which was mad jocose by the +loving bounty of her father. Her sister, who was three years her +elder--for John came in between them--had managed the house; that +is, she had made the tea and talked to the housekeeper about the +dinners. But Lucy had sat at her father's elbow, had read to him +of evenings when he went to sleep, had brought him his slippers and +looked after the comforts of his easy chair. All this she had done +as a child; but when she stood at the coffin head, and knelt at the +coffin side, then she was a woman. + +She was smaller in stature than either of her three sisters, to all +of whom had been acceded the praise of being fine woman--a eulogy +which the people of Exeter, looking back at the elder sisters, and +the general remembrance of them which pervaded the city, were not +willing to extend to Lucy. 'Dear--dear!' had been said of her; +'poor Lucy is not like a Robarts at all; is she, now, Mrs +Pole?'--for as the daughters had become fine women, so had the sons +grown into stalwart men. And then Mrs Pole had answered: 'Not a +bit; is she, now? Only think what Blanche was at her age. But she +has fine eyes, for all that; and they do say she is the cleverest +of them all.' And that, too, is so true a description of her that +I do know that I can add much to it. She was not like Blanche; for +Blanche had bright complexion, and a fine neck, and a noble bust, +et vera incessu patuit Dea--a true goddess, that is, as far as the +eye went. She had a grand idea, moreover, of an apple-pie, and had +not reigned eighteen months at Creamclotted Hall before she knew +all the mysteries of pigs and milk, and most of those appertaining +to cider and green cheese. + +Lucy had no neck at all worth speaking of,--no neck, I mean, that +ever produced eloquence; she was brown, too, and had addicted +herself in nowise, as she undoubtedly should have done, to larder +utility. In regard to the neck and colour, poor girl, she could +not help herself; but in that other respect she must be held as +having wasted her opportunities. But then what eyes she had! Mrs +Pole was right there. They flashed upon you, not always softly; +indeed not often softly if you were a stranger to her; but whether +softly or savagely, with a brilliancy that dazzled you as you +looked at them. And who shall say of what colour they were? Green, +probably, for most eyes are green--green or grey, if green be +thought uncomely for an eye-colour. But it was not their colour, +but their fire, which struck one with such surprise. + +Lucy Robarts was thoroughly a brunette. Sometimes the dark tint of +her cheek was exquisitely rich and lovely, and the fringes of her +eyes were long and soft, and her small teeth, which one so seldom +saw, were white as pearls, and her hair, though short, was +beautifully soft--by no means black, but yet of so dark a shade of +brown. Blanche, too, was noted for fine teeth. They were white +and regular and lofty as a new row of houses in a French city. But +then when she laughed she was all teeth; as she was all neck when +she sat at the piano. But Lucy's teeth!---it was only now and +again, when in some sudden burst of wonder she would sit for a +moment with her lips apart, that the fine finished lines and dainty +pearl-white colour of that perfect set of ivory could be seen. Mrs +Pole would have said a word of her teeth also, but that to her they +had never been made visible. 'But they do say that she is the +cleverest of them all,' Mrs Pole had added, very properly. The +people of Exeter had expressed such an opinion, and had been quite +just in doing so. I do not know how it happens, but it always does +happen, that everybody in every small town knows which is the +brightest-witted in every family. In that respect Mrs Pole had +only expressed public opinion, and public opinion was right. Lucy +Robarts was blessed with an intelligence keener than that of her +brothers and sisters. + +'To tell the truth, Mark, I admire Lucy more than I do Blanche.' +This had been said by Mrs Robarts within a few hours of her having +assumed that name. 'She's not a beauty, I know, but yet I do.' + +'My dearest Fanny!' Mark had answered in a tone of surprise. + +'I do then; of course people won't think so; but I never seem to +care about regular beauties. Perhaps I envy them too much.' What +Mark said next need not be repeated, but everybody may be sure that +it contained more gross flattery for his young bride. He +remembered this, however, and had always called Lucy his wife's +pet. Neither of the sisters had since been at Framley; and though +Fanny had spent a week at Exeter on the occasion of Blanche's +marriage, it could hardly be said that she was very intimate with +them. Nevertheless, when it became expedient that one of them shoud +go to Framley, the remembrance of what his wife had said +immediately induced Mark to make the offer to Lucy; and Jane, who +was of a kindred soul with Blanche, was delighted to go to +Creamclotted Hall. The acres of Heavybed House, down in that fat +Totnes country, adjoined those of Creamclotted Hall, and Heavybed +House still wanted a mistress. + +Fanny was delighted when the news reached her. It would of course +be proper that one of his sisters should live with Mark under their +present circumstances, and she was happy to think that that quiet +little bright-eyed creature was to come and nestle with her under +the same roof. The children should so love her--only not quite so +much as they loved mamma; and the snug little room that looks out +over the porch, in which the chimney never smokes, should be made +ready for her; and she should be allowed her share of driving the +pony--which was a great sacrifice of self on the part of Mrs +Robarts--and Lady Lufton's best good-will should be bespoken. In +fact, Lucy was not unfortunate in the destination that was laid out +for her. Lady Lufton had of course heard of the doctor's death, +and had sent all manner of kind messages to Mark, advising him not +to hurry home by any means until everything was settled at Exeter. +And then she was told of the new-comer that was expected in the +parish. When she heard that it was Lucy, the younger, she was +satisfied; for Blanche's charms, though indisputable, had not been +altogether to her taste. If a second Blanche were to arrive there +what danger might there not be for young Lord Lufton! 'Quite +right,' said her ladyship, 'just what he ought to do. I think I +remember the young lady; rather small, is she not, and very +retiring?' + +'Rather small and very retiring. What a description!' + +'Never mind, Ludovic; some young ladies must be small, and some at +least ought to be retiring. We shall be delighted to make her +acquaintance.' + +'I remember your other sister-in-law very well,' said Lord Lufton. +'She was a beautiful woman.' + +'I don't think you will consider Lucy a beauty,' said Mrs Robarts. + +'Small, retiring, and--'so far Lord Lufton had gone, when Mrs +Robarts finished by the work 'plain'. She had liked Lucy's face, +but she had thought that others probably did not think so. + +'Upon my word,'said Lady Lufton, 'you don't deserve to have a +sister-in-law. I remember her very well, and can say that she is +not plain. I was very much taken with her manner at your wedding, +my dear, and thought more of her than I did of the beauty, I can +tell you.' + +'I must confess I do not remember her at all,' said his lordship. +And so the conversation ended. And then at the end of the +fortnight Mark arrived with his sister. They did not reach Framley +till long after dark--somewhere between six and seven--and by this +time it was December. There was snow on the ground, and frost in +the air, and no moon, and cautious men when they went on the roads +had their horses' shoes socked. Such being the state of the +weather, Mark's gig had been nearly filled with cloaks and shawls +when it was sent over to Silverbridge. And a cart was sent for +Lucy's luggage, and all manner of preparations had been made. Three +times had Fanny gone herself to see that the fire burned brightly +in the little room over the porch, and at the moment that the sound +of the wheels was heard she was engaged in opening her son's mind +as to the nature of an aunt. Hitherto papa and mamma and Lady +Lufton were all that he had known, excepting, of course, the +satellites of the nursery. And then in three minutes Lucy was +standing by the fire. Those three minutes had been taken up by +embraces between the husband and wife. Let who would be brought as +a visitor to the house, after a fortnight's absence, she would kiss +him before she would welcome anyone else. But then she turned to +Lucy, and began to assist her with her cloaks. + +'Oh, thank you,' said Lucy; 'I'm not cold,--not very at least. +Don't trouble yourself: I can do it.' But here she had made a +false boast, for her fingers had been so numbed that she could not +do or undo anything. They were all in black, of course; but the +sombreness of Lucy's clothes struck Fanny much more than her own. +They seemed to have swallowed her up in their blackness, and to +have made her almost an emblem of death. She did not look up, but +kept her face turned towards the fire, and seemed almost afraid of +her position. + +'She may say what she likes, Fanny,' said Mark, 'but she is very +cold. And so am I,--cold enough. You had better go up with her to +her room. We won't do much in the dressing way to-night; eh, +Lucy?' In the bedroom Lucy thawed a little, and Fanny, as she +kissed her, said to herself that she had been wrong as to that work +'plain'. Lucy, at any rate, was not plain. + +'You'll be used to us soon,' said Fanny, 'and then I hope we shall +make you comfortable.' And she took her sister-in-law's hand and +pressed it. Lucy looked up at her, and her eyes were then tender +enough. 'I am sure I shall be happy here,' she said, 'with you. +But--but--dear papa!' And then they got into each other's arms, +and had a great bout of kissing and crying. 'Plain,' said Fanny to +herself, as at last she got her guest's hair smoothed, and the +tears washed from her eyes--'plain! She has the loveliest +countenance that I ever looked at in my life!' + +'Your sister is quite beautiful,' she said to Mark, as they talked +her over alone before they went to sleep that night. + +'No, she's not beautiful; but she's a very good girl, and clever +enough, too, in her sort of way.' + +'I think her perfectly lovely. I never such eyes in my life +before.' + +'I'll leave her in your hands, then; you shall get her a husband.' + +'That mayn't be so easy. I don't think she'd marry anybody.' + +'Well, I hope not. But she seems to me to be exactly cut out for +an old maid;--to be Aunt Lucy for ever and ever to your bairns.' + +'And so she shall, with all my heart. But I don't think she will, +very long. I have no doubt she will be hard to please; but if I +were a man I should fall in love with her at once. Did you ever +observe her teeth, Mark?' + +'I don't think I ever did.' + +'You wouldn't know whether any one had a tooth in their head, I +believe.' + +'No one except you, my dear; and I know all yours by heart.' + +'You are a goose.' + +'And a very sleepy one; so, if you please, I'll go to roost.' And +thus there was nothing more said about Lucy's beauty on that +occasion. + +For the first two days Mrs Robarts did not make much of her +sister-in-law. Lucy, indeed, was not demonstrative; and she was, +moreover, one of those few persons--for they are very few--who are +contented to go on with their existence without making themselves +the centre of any special outward circle. To the ordinary run of +minds it is impossible not to do this. A man's own dinner is to +himself so important that he cannot bring himself to believe that +it is a matter utterly indifferent to every one else. A lady's +collection of baby-clothes, in early years, and of house linen and +curtain-fringes in later life, is so very interesting to her own +eyes, that she cannot believe but what other people will rejoice to +behold it. I would not, however, be held to regarding this +tendency as evil. It leads to conversation of some sort among +people, and perhaps to a kind of sympathy. Mrs Jones will look at +Mrs White's linen chest, hoping that Mrs White may be induced to +look at hers. One can only pour out of a jug that which is in it. +For the most of us, if we do not talk of ourselves, or at any rate +of the individual circles of which we are the centre, we can talk +of nothing. I cannot hold with those who wish to put down the +insignificant chatter of the world. As for myself, I am always +happy to look at Mrs Jones's linen, and never omit an opportunity +of giving her the details of my own dinners. But Lucy Robarts had +not this gift. She had come there as a stranger into her +sister-in-law's house, and at first seemed as though she would be +contented in simply having her corner in the drawing-room and her +place at the parlour table. She did not seem to need the comforts +of condolences and open-hearted talking. I do not mean to say that +she was moody, that she did not answer when she was spoken to, or +that she took no notice of the children; but she did not at once +throw herself and all her hopes and sorrows into Fanny's heart, +Fanny would have had her do. + +Mrs Robarts herself was what we call demonstrative. When she was +angry with Lady Lufton she showed it. And as since that time her +love and admiration for Lady Lufton had increased, she showed that +also. When she was in any way displeased with her husband, she +could not hide it, even though she tried to do so, and fancied +herself successful;--no more than she could hide her warm, +constant, overflowing woman's love. She could not walk through a +room laughing on her husband's arm without seeming to proclaim to +every one there that she thought him the best man in it. She was +demonstrative, and therefore she was the more disappointed in that +Lucy did not rush at once with all her cares into her open heart. +'She is so quiet,' Fanny said to her husband. + +'That's her nature,' said Mark. 'She always was quiet as a child. +While we were smashing everything, she would never crack a teacup.' + +'I wish she would break something now,'said Fanny, 'and then +perhaps we should get to talk about it.' But she did not on this +account give over loving her sister-in-law. She probably valued +her the more, unconsciously, for not having those aptitudes with +which she herself was endowed. And then after two days, Lady +Lufton called; of course it may be supposed that Fanny had said a +good deal to her new inmate about Lady Lufton. A neighbour of that +kind in the country exercises so large an influence upon the whole +tenor of one's life, that to abstain from such talk is out of the +question. Mrs Robarts had been brought up almost under the +dowager's wing, and of course she regarded her as being worthy of +much talking. Do not let persons on this account suppose that Mrs +Robarts was a tuft-hunter, or a toad-eater. If they do not see the +difference, they have yet got to study the earliest principles of +human nature. + +Lady Lufton called, and Lucy was struck dumb. Fanny was +particularly anxious that her ladyship's first impression should be +favourable, and to effect this, she especially endeavoured to throw +the two together during that visit. But in this she was unwise. +Lady Lufton, however, had woman-craft enough not to be led into +any egregious error by Lucy's silence. 'And what day will you come +and dine with us?' said Lady Lufton, turning expressly to her old +friend Fanny. + +'Oh, do you name the day. We never have many engagements, you +know.' + +'Will Thursday, do Miss Robarts? You will meet nobody you know, +only my son; so you need not regard it as going out. Fanny here +will tell you that stepping over to Framley Court is no more going +out, than when you go from one room to another in the parsonage. Is +it, Fanny?' Fanny laughed, and said that stepping over to Framley +Court certainly was done so often that perhaps they did not think +so much about it as they ought to do. + +'We consider ourselves as a sort of happy family here, Miss +Robarts, and are delighted to have the opportunity of including you +in the menage.' Lucy gave her ladyship one of her sweetest smiles, +but what she said at that moment was inaudible. It was plain, +however, that she could not bring herself even to go as far as +Framley Court for her dinner at present. 'It was very kind of lady +Lufton,'she said to Fanny; 'but it was so very soon, and--and if +they would only go without her, she would be so happy.' But as the +object was to go with her--expressly to take her there--the dinner +was adjourned for a short time--sine die. + + + +CHAPTER XI + +GRISELDA GRANTLY + +It was nearly a month after this that Lucy was first introduced to +Lord Lufton, and then it was brought about only by accident. During +that time Lady Lufton had been often at the parsonage, and had in a +certain degree learned to know Lucy; but the stranger in the parish +had never yet plucked up courage to accept one of the numerous +invitations that had reached her. Mr Robarts and his wife had +frequently been at Framley Court, but the dreaded day of Lucy's +initiation had not yet arrived. She had seen Lord Lufton in +church, but hardly as to know him, and beyond that she had not seem +him at all. One day, however,--or rather, one evening, for it was +already dusk--he overtook her and Mrs Robarts on the road walking +towards the vicarage. He had his gun on his shoulder, three +pointers were at his heels, and a game-keeper followed a little in +the rear. + +'How are you Mrs Robarts?' he said, almost before he had overtaken +them. 'I have been chasing you along the road for the last +half-mile. I never knew ladies walk so fast.' + +'We should be frozen if we were to dawdle about as you gentlemen +do,' and then she stopped and shook hands with him. She forgot at +the moment that Lucy and he had not met, and therefore she did not +introduce them. + +'Won't you make me known to your sister-in-law!' said he taking off +his hat, and bowing to Lucy. 'I have never yet had the pleasure of +meeting her, though we have been neighbours for a month or more.' +Fanny made her excuses and introduced them, and then they went on +till they came to Framley Gate, Lord Lufton talking to them both, +and Fanny answering for the two, and there they stopped for a +moment. + +'I am surprised to see you alone,' Mrs Robarts had just said; 'I +thought that Captain Culpepper was with you.' + +'The captain has left me for this one day. If you'll whisper, I'll +tell you where he has gone. I dare not speak it out loud, even to +the woods.' + +'To what terrible place can he have taken himself? I'll have no +whispering about such horrors.' + +'He has gone to--to--but you'll promise not to tell my mother?' + +'Do you promise then?' + +'Oh, yes! I will promise, because I am sure Lady Lufton won't ask +me as to Captain Culpepper's whereabouts. We won't tell; will we +Lucy?' + +'He has gone to Gatherum Castle for a day's peasant-shooting. Now, +mind you must not betray us. Her ladyship supposes that he is shut +up in his room with a toothache. We did not dare to mention the +name to her.' and then it appeared that Mrs Robarts had some +engagement which made it necessary that she should go up and see +Lady Lufton, whereas Lucy was intending to walk on to the parsonage +alone. + +'And I have promised to go to your husband,' said Lord Lufton; 'or +rather to your husband's dog, Ponto. And I will do two other good +things--I will carry a brace of pheasants with me, and protect Miss +Robarts from the evil spirits of the Framley roads.' And so Mrs +Robarts turned at the gate, and Lucy and his lordship walked off +together. Lord Lufton, though he had never before spoken to Miss +Robarts, had already found out that she was by no means plain. +Though he had hardly seen her except at church, he had already made +himself certain that the owner of that face must be worth knowing, +and was not sorry to have the present opportunity of speaking to +her. 'So you have an unknown damsel shut up in your castle,' he +had once said to Mrs Robarts. 'If she be kept a prisoner much +longer, I shall find it my duty to come and release her by force of +arms.' He had been there twice with the object of seeing her, but +on both occasions Lucy had managed to escape. Now we may say she +was fairly caught, and Lord Lufton, taking a pair of pheasants from +the gamekeeper, and swinging them over his shoulder, walked off +with his prey. 'You have been here a long time,' he said, 'without +our having had the pleasure of seeing you.' + +'Yes, my lord,' said Lucy. Lords had not been frequent among her +acquaintance hereto. + +'I will tell Mrs Robarts that she has been confining you illegally, +and that we shall release you by force or stratagem.' + +'I-I-I have had a great sorrow lately.' + +'Yes, Miss Robarts; I know you have; and I am only joking, you +know. But I do hope that now you will be able to come among us. My +mother is so anxious that you should do so.' + +'I am sure she is very kind, and you also--my lord.' + +'I never knew my own father,' said Lord Lufton, speaking gravely. +'But I can well understands what a loss you have had.' And then, +after pausing a moment, he continued, 'I remember Dr Robarts well.' + +'Do you, indeed?' said Lucy, turning sharply towards him, and +speaking now with some animation in her voice. Nobody had yet +spoken to her about her father since she had been at Framley. It +had been as though the subject was a forbidden one. And how +frequently is this the case? When those we love are dead, our +friends dread to mention them, though to us who are bereaved no +subject would be so pleasant as their names. But we rarely +understand how to treat our own sorrow or those of others. + +There was once a people in some land--and they may be still there +for what I know--who thought it sacrilegious to stay the course of +a raging fire. If a house were being burned, burn it must, even +though there were facilities for saving it. For who would dare to +interfere with the course of the god? Our idea of sorrow is much +the same. We think it wicked, or at any rate heartless, to put it +out. If a man's wife be dead, he should go about lugubrious with +long face, for at least two years, or perhaps with full length for +eighteen months, decreasing gradually during the other six. If he +be a man who can quench his sorrow--put out his fire as it were--in +less time than that, let him at any rate not show his power! + +'Yes, I remember him,' continued Lord Lufton. 'He came twice to +Framley, while I was still a boy, consulting with my mother about +Mark and myself--whether the Eton floggings were not more +efficacious than those of Harrow. He was very kind to me, +foreboding all manner of good things on my behalf.' + +'He was very kind to every one,' said Lucy. + +'I should think he would have been--a kind, good, genial man --just +the man to be adored by his own family.' + +'Exactly; and so he was. I do not remember that I ever heard an +unkind word from him. There was not a hard tone in his voice. And +he was generous as the day.' Lucy, we have said, was not generally +demonstrative, but now, on this subject, and with this absolute +stranger, she became almost eloquent. + +'I do not wonder that you should feel his loss, Miss Robarts.' + +'Oh, I do feel it. Mark is the best of brothers, and, as for +Fanny, she is too kind and too good to me. But I had always been +specially my father's friend. For the last year or two we had +lived so much together!' + +'He was an old man when he died, was he not?' + +'Just seventy, my lord.' + +'Ah, then he was old. My mother is only fifty, and we sometimes +call her an old woman. Do you think she looks older than that? We +all say that she makes herself out to be so much more ancient than +she need do.' + +'Lady Lufton does not dress young.' + +'That is it. She never has, in my memory. She always used to wear +black when I first recollect her. She has given that up now; but +she is still very sombre; is she not?' + +'I do not like ladies to dress very young, that is, ladies of +--of--' + +'Ladies of fifty, shall we say?' + +'Very well; ladies of fifty, if you like it.' + +'Then I am sure you will like my mother.' + +They had now turned up through the parsonage wicket, a little gate +that opened into the garden at a point on the road nearer than the +chief entrance. 'I suppose I shall find Mark up at the house?' +said he. + +'I dare say you will, my lord.' + +'Well, I'll go round this way, for my business is partly in the +stable. You see I am quite at home here, though you never have +seen me before. But Miss Robarts, now that the ice is broken, I +hope that we may be friends.' He then put out his hand, and when +she gave him hers he pressed it almost as an old friend might have +done. And, indeed, Lucy had talked to him almost as though he were +an old friend. For a minute or two she had forgotten that he was a +lord and a stranger--had forgotten also to be still and guarded as +was her wont. Lord Lufton had spoken to her as though he had +really cared to know her; and she, unconsciously, had been taken by +the compliment. Lord Lufton, indeed, had not thought much about +it--excepting as thus, that he liked the glance of a pair of bright +eyes, as most other men do like it. But, on this occasion, the +evening had been so dark, that he had hardly seen Lucy's eyes at +all. + +'Well, Lucy, I hope you liked your companion,' Mrs Robarts said, as +the three of them clustered round the drawing-room fire before +dinner. + +'Oh yes; pretty well,' said Lucy. + +'That is not at all complimentary to his lordship.' + +'I did not mean to be complimentary, Fanny.' + +'Lucy is a great deal too matter-of-fact for compliments,' said +Mark. + +'What I meant was, that I had no great opportunity for judging, +seeing that I was only with Lord Lufton for about ten minutes.' + +'Ah! but there are girls here who would give their eyes for ten +minutes of Lord Lufton to themselves. You do not know how he's +valued. He has the character of being always able to make himself +agreeable to ladies at half a minute's warning.' + +'Perhaps he had not the half-minute's warning in this case,' said +Lucy,--hypocrite that she was. + +'Poor Lucy,' said her brother; 'he was coming up to see Ponto's +shoulder, and I am afraid he was thinking more about the dog than +you.' + +'Very likely,' said Lucy; and then they went in to dinner. Lucy had +been a hypocrite, for she had confessed to herself, while dressing, +that Lord Lufton had been very pleasant; but then it is allowed to +young ladies to be hypocrites when the subject under discussion is +the character of a young gentleman. + +Soon after that Lucy did dine at Framley Court. Captain Culpepper, +in spite of his enormity with reference to Gatherum Castle, was +still staying there, as was also a clergyman from the neighbourhood +of Barchester with his wife and daughter. This was Archdeacon +Grantly, a gentleman whom we have mentioned before, and who was as +well known in the diocese as the bishop himself, and more thought +of by many clergymen than even that illustrious prelate. Miss +Grantly was a young lady not much older than Lucy Robarts, and she +also was quiet, and not given to much talking in open company. She +was decidedly a beauty; but somewhat statuesque in her loveliness. +Her forehead was high and whit, but perhaps too like marble to +gratify the taste of those who are fond of flesh and blood. Her +eyes were large and exquisitely formed, but they seldom showed much +emotion. She, indeed, was impassible herself, and betrayed but +little of her feelings. Her nose was nearly Grecian, not coming +absolutely in a straight line from her forehead, but doing so +nearly enough to entitle it to be considered as classical. Her +mouth, too, was very fine--artists, at least, said so, and +connoisseurs in beauty; but to me she always seemed as though she +wanted fulness of lip. But the exquisite symmetry of her cheek and +chin and lower face no man could deny. Her hair was light, and +being always dressed with considerable care, did not detract from +her appearance; but it lacked that richness which gives such +luxuriance to feminine loveliness. She was tall and slight, and +very graceful in her movements; but there were those who thought +that she wanted the ease and abandon of youth. They said that she +was too composed and stiff for her age, and that she gave but +little to society beyond the beauty of her form and face. There +can be no doubt, however, that she was considered by most men and +women to be the beauty of Barsetshire, and that gentlemen from +neighbouring counties would come many miles through dirty roads on +the mere hope of being able to dance with her. Whatever attractions +she may have lacked, she had at any rate created for herself a +great reputation. She had spent two months of the last spring in +London, and even there she had made a sensation; and people had +said that Lord Dumbello, Lady Hartletop's eldest son, had been +peculiarly struck with her. + +It may be imagined that the archdeacon was proud of her, and so, +indeed, was Mrs Grantly--more proud, perhaps, of her daughter's +beauty, than so excellent a woman should have allowed herself to be +of such an attribute. Griselda--that was her name--was now an only +daughter. One sister she had had, but that sister had died. There +were two brothers also left, one in the Church, and the other in +the Army. That was the extent of the archdeacon's family, and as +the archdeacon was a very rich man--he was the only child of his +father, who had been Bishop of Barchester for a great many years; +and in those years it had been worth a man's while to be Bishop of +Barchester--it was supposed that Miss Grantly would have a large +fortune. Mrs Grantly, however, had been heard to say, that she was +in no hurry to see her daughter established in the world;--ordinary +young ladies are merely married, but those of real importance are +established;--and this, if anything, added to the value of the +prize. Mothers sometimes depreciate their wares by an undue +solicitude to dispose of them. But to tell the truth openly and at +once--a virtue for which a novelist does not receive very much +commendation --Griselda Grantly was, to a certain extent, already +given away. Not that she, Griselda, knew anything about it, or +that the thrice happy gentleman had been made aware of his good +fortune; nor even had the archdeacon been told. But Mrs Grantly +and Lady Lufton had been closeted together more than once, and +terms had been signed and sealed between them. Not signed on +parchment, and sealed with wax, as is the case with treaties made +by kings and diplomats--to be broken by the same; but signed with +little words, and sealed with certain pressings of the hand--a +treaty which between two such contracting parties would be binding +enough. And by the terms of this treaty Griselda Grantly was to +become Lady Lufton. Lady Lufton had hitherto been fortuned in her +matrimonial speculations. She had selected Sir George for her +daughter, and Sir George, with the utmost good nature, had fallen +in with her views. She had selected Fanny Monsell for Mr Robarts, +and Fanny Monsell had not rebelled against her for a moment. There +was a prestige of success about her doings, and she felt almost +confident that her dear son Ludovic must fall in love with +Griselda. As to the lady herself, nothing, Lady Lufton thought, +could be much better than such a match for her son. Lady Lufton, I +have said, was a good Churchwoman, and the archdeacon was the very +type of that branch of the Church which she venerated. The +Grantlys, too, were of a good family--not noble, indeed; but in +such matters Lady Lufton did not want everything. She was one of +those persons who, in placing their hopes at a moderate pitch, may +fairly trust to see them realized. She would fain that her son's +wife should be handsome; this she wished for his sake, that he +might be proud of his wife, and because men love to look on +beauty. But she was afraid of vivacious beauty, of those soft, +sparkling feminine charms which spread out as lures for all the +world, soft dimples, laughing eyes, luscious lips, conscious +smiles, and easy whispers. What if her son should bring her home a +rattling, rapid-spoken, painted piece of Eve's flesh such as this? +Would not the glory and joy of her life be over, even though such +child of their first mother should have come forth to the present +day ennobled by the blood of two dozen successive British peers? + +And then, too, Griselda's money would not be useless. Lady Lufton, +with all her high flown ideas, was not an imprudent woman. She +knew that her son had been extravagant, though she did not believe +that he had been reckless; and she was well content to think that +some balsam from the old bishop's coffers should be made to cure +the slight wounds which his early imprudence might have inflicted +on the carcass of the family property. And thus, in this way, and +for these reasons, Griselda Grantly had been chosen out from all +the world to be the future Lady Lufton. Lord Lufton had met +Griselda more than once already; had met her before these high +contracting parties had come to any terms whatsoever, and had +evidently admired her. Lord Dumbello had remained silent one whole +evening in London with effable disgust, because Lord Lufton had +been rather particular in his attentions; but then Lord Dumbello's +muteness was his most eloquent mode of expression. Both Lady +Hartletop and Mrs Grantly, when they saw him, knew very well what +he meant. But that match would not exactly have suited Mrs +Grantly's views. The Hartletop people were not in her line. They +belonged altogether to another set, being connected, as we have +heard before, with the Omnium interest--'those horrid Gatherum +people', as Lady Lufton would say to her, raising her hands and +eyebrows, and shaking her head. Lady Lufton probably thought that +they ate babies in pies during their midnight orgies at Gatherum +Castle; and that widows were kept in cells, and occasionally put on +racks for the amusement of the duke's guests. + +When the Robarts's party entered the drawing-room the Grantlys were +already there, and the archdeacon's voice sounded loud and imposing +in Lucy's ears, as she heard him speaking while she was yet on the +threshold of the door. 'My dear Lady Lufton, I would believe +anything on earth about her --anything. There is nothing too +outrageous for her. Had she insisted on going there with the +bishop's apron on, I should not have been surprised.' And then +they all knew that the archdeacon was talking about Mrs Proudie, +for Mrs Proudie was his bugbear. + +Lady Lufton after receiving her guests introduced Lucy to Griselda +Grantly. Miss Grantly smiled graciously, bowed slightly, and then +remarked in the lowest voice possible that it was exceedingly +cold. A low voice, we know, is an excellent thing in a woman. +Lucy, who thought that she was bound to speak, said that it was +cold, but that she did not mind it when she was walking. And then +Griselda smiled again, somewhat less graciously than before, and so +the conversation ended. Miss Grantly was the elder of the two, and +having seem most of the world, should have been the best able to +talk, but perhaps she was not very anxious for a conversation with +Miss Robarts. + +'So, Robarts, I hear that you have been preaching at Chaldicotes,' +said the archdeacon, still rather loudly. 'I saw Sowerby the other +day, and he told me that you gave them the fag end of Mrs Proudie's +lecture.' + +'It was ill-natured of Sowerby to say the fag end,' said Robarts. +'We divided the matter into thirds. Harold Smith took the first +part, I the last--' + +'And the lady the intervening portion. You have electrified the +county between you; but I am told that she had the best of it.' + +'I was so sorry that Mr Robarts went there,' said Lady Lufton, as +she walked into the dining-room leaning on the archdeacon's arm. + +'I am inclined to think he could not very well have helped +himself,' said the archdeacon, who was never willing to lean +heavily on a brother parson, unless on one who had utterly and +irrevocably gone away from his side of the Church. + +'Do you think not, archdeacon?' + +'Why, no; Sowerby is a friend of Lufton's--' + +'Not particularly,' said poor Lady Lufton, in a deprecating tone. + +'Well, they have been intimate;' and Robarts, when he was asked to +preach at Chaldicotes, could not well refuse.' + +'But then he went afterwards to Gatherum Castle. Not that I am +vexed with him at all now, you understand. But it is auch a +dangerous house, you know.' + +'So it is.--But the very fact of the duke's wishing to have a +clergyman there, should always be taken as a sign of grace, Lady +Lufton. The air was impure, no doubt; but it was less impure with +Robarts there than it would have been without him. But, gracious +heavens! what blasphemy have I been saying about impure air? Why, +the bishop was there!' + +'Yes, the bishop was there,' said Lady Lufton, and they both +understood each other thoroughly. + +Lord Lufton took out Mrs Grantly to dinner, and matters were so +arranged that Miss Grantly sat on is other side. There was no +management apparent in this to anybody; but there she was, while +Lucy was placed between her brother and Captain Culpepper. Captain +Culpepper was a man with an enormous moustache, and a great +aptitude for slaughtering game; but as he had no other strong +characteristics it was not probable that he would make himself very +agreeable to poor Lucy. She had seen Lord Lufton once, for two +minutes, since the day of that walk, and then he had addressed her +quite like an old friend. It had been in the parsonage +drawing-room, and Fanny had been there. Fanny was now so well +accustomed to his lordship, that she thought but little of this, +but to Lucy it had been very pleasant. He was not forward or +familiar, but kind and gentle, and pleasant; and Lucy did feel that +she liked him. Now, on this evening, he had hitherto hardly spoken +to her; but then she knew that there were other people in the +company to whom he was bound to speak. She was not exactly +humble-minded in the usual sense of the word; but she did recognise +the fact that her position was less important than that of other +people there, and that therefore it was probable that to a certain +extent she would be overlooked. But not the less would she have +liked to occupy the seat to which Miss Grantly had found her way. +She did not want to flirt with Lord Lufton; she was not such a fool +as that; but she would have liked to have heard the sound of his +voice close to her ear, instead of that of Captain Culpepper's +knife and fork. This was the first occasion on which she had +endeavoured to dress herself with care since her father had died; +and now, sombre though she was in her deep mourning, she did look +very well. + +'There is an expression about her forehead that is full of poetry,' +said Fanny to her husband. + +'Don't you turn her head, Fanny, and make her believe that she is a +beauty,' Mark had answered. + +'I doubt it is not so easy to turn her head, Mark. There is more +in Lucy than you imagine, and so you will find out before long.' So +it was thus that Mrs Robarts prophesied about her sister-in-law. +Had she been asked she might perhaps have said that Lucy's presence +would be dangerous to the Grantly interest at Framley Court. + +Lord Lufton's voice was audible enough as he went on talking to +Miss Grantly--his voice, but not his words. He talked in such a +way that there was no appearance of whispering, and yet the person +to whom he spoke, and she only, could hear what he said. Mrs +Grantly the while conversed constantly with Lucy's brother, who sat +at Lucy's left hand. She never lacked for subjects on which to +speak to a country clergyman of the right sort, and thus Griselda +was left quite uninterrupted. But Lucy could not but observe that +Griselda herself seemed to have very little to say--or at any rate +to say very little. Every now and then she did open her mouth, and +some word or brace of words would fall from it. But for the most +part she seemed to be content in the fact that Lord Lufton was +paying her attention. She showed no animation, but sat there still +and graceful, composed and classical, as she always was. Lucy, who +could not keep her ears from listening or her eyes from looking, +thought that had she been there she would have endeavoured to take +a more prominent part in the conversation. But then Griselda +Grantly probably know much better than Lucy did how to comport +herself in such a situation. Perhaps it might be that young men +such as Lord Lufton, liked to hear the sound of their own voices. + +'Immense deal of game about here,' Captain Culpepper said to her +towards the end of dinner. It was the second attempt he had made; +on the former he had asked her whether she knew any fellows of the +9th. + +'Is there?' said Lucy. 'Oh! I saw Lord Lufton the other day with +a great armful of pheasants.' + +'An armful! Why we had seven cartloads the other day at Gatherum.' + +'Seven cartloads of pheasants!' said Lucy, amazed. + +'That's not so much. We had eight guns, you know. Eight guns will +do a deal of work when the game has been well got together. They +manage all that capitally at Gatherum. Been at the duke's, eh?' +Lucy had heard the Framley report as to Gatherum Castle, and said +with a sort of shudder that she had never been at that place. After +this, Captain Culpepper troubled her no further. + +When the ladies had taken themselves to the drawing-room Lucy found +herself hardly better off than she had been at the dinner-table. +Lady Lufton and Mrs Grantly got themselves on to a sofa together, +and there chatted confidently into each other's ears. Her ladyship +had introduced Lucy to Miss Grantly, and then she naturally thought +that the young people might do very well together. Mrs Robarts did +attempt to bring about a joint conversation, which should include +the three, and for ten minutes or so she worked hard at it. But it +did not thrive. Miss Grantly was monosyllabic, smiling, however, +at every monosyllable; and Lucy found that nothing would occur to +her at that moment worthy of being spoken. There she sat, still and +motionless, afraid to take up a book, and thinking in her heart how +much happier she would have been at home at the parsonage. She was +not made for society; she felt sure of that; and another time she +would let Mark and Fanny come to Framley Court by themselves. And +then the gentlemen came in, and there was another stir in the +room. Lady Lufton got up and bustled about; she poked the fire and +shifted the candles, spoke a few words to Dr Grantly, whispered +something to her son, patted Lucy on the cheek, told Fanny, who was +a musician, that they would have a little music, and ended by +putting her two hands on Griselda's shoulders and telling her that +the fit of her frock was perfect. For Lady Lufton, though she did +dress old herself, as Lucy had said, delighted to see those around +her neat and pretty, jaunty and graceful. 'Dear Lady Lufton!' said +Griselda, putting up her hand so as to press the end of her +ladyship's fingers. It was the first piece of animation she had +shown, and Lucy Robarts watched it all. And then there was music, +Lucy neither played nor sang; Fanny did both, and for an amateur +she did both well. Griselda did not sing, but she played; and did +so in a manner that showed that neither her own labour nor her +father's money had been spared in her instruction. Lord Lufton +sang also, a little, and Captain Culpepper a very little; so that +they got up a concert among them. In the meantime the doctor and +Mark stood talking together on the rug before the fire; the two +mothers sat contented, watching the billings and the cooings of +their offspring--and Lucy sat alone, turning over the leaves of a +book of pictures. She made up her mind fully, then and there, that +she was quite unfitted by disposition for such work as this. She +cared for no one, and no one cared for her. Well, she must go +through with it now; but another time she would know better. With +her own book and a fireside she never felt herself to be miserable +as she was now. She had turned her back to the music for she was +sick of seeing Lord Lufton watch the artistic motion of Miss +Grantly's fingers, and was sitting at a small table as far away +from the piano as a long room would permit, when she was suddenly +roused from her reverie of self-reproach by a voice close behind +her: 'Miss Robarts,' said the voice, 'why have you cut us all?' And +Lucy felt that, though she heard the voice plainly, nobody else +did. Lord Lufton was now speaking to her as he had before spoken +to Miss Grantly. + +'I don't play, my lord,' said Lucy, 'nor yet sing.' + +'That would have made your company so much more valuable to us, for +we are terribly badly off for listeners. Perhaps you don't like +the music?' + +'I do like it,--sometimes very much.' + +'And when are the sometimes? But we shall find it all out in +time. We shall have unravelled all you mysteries, and read all +your riddles by--when shall I say?---by the end of winter.' + +'I do not know that I have got any mysteries.' + +'Oh, but you have! It is very mysterious in you to come and sit +here--with you back to us all--' + +'Oh, Lord Lufton; if I have done wrong--!' and poor Lucy almost +started from her chair, and a deep flush came across her dark neck. + +'No--no; you have done no wrong. I was only joking. It is we who +have done you wrong in leaving you to yourself--you who are the +greatest stranger among us.' + +'I have been very well, thank you. I don't care about being left +alone. I have always been used to it.' + +'Ah! but we must break you of the habit. We won't allow you to +make a hermit of yourself. But the truth is, Miss Robarts, you +don't know us yet, and therefore you are not quite happy among us.' + +'Oh! Yes I am; you are all very good to me.' + +'You must let us be good to you. At any rate, you must let me do +so. You know, don't you, that Mark and I have been dear friends +since we were seven years old. His wife has been my sister's +dearest friend almost as long; and now that you are with them, you +must be a dear friend too. You won't refuse the offer, will you?' + +'Oh, no' she said quite in a whisper; and, indeed, she could hardly +raise her voice above a whisper, fearing that tears would fall from +her tell-tale eyes. + +'Dr and Mrs Grantly will have gone in a couple of days, and then we +must get you down here. Miss Grantly is to remain for Christmas, +and you two must become bosom friends.' Lucy smiled, and tried to +look pleased, but she felt that she and Griselda Grantly could +never be bosom friends--could never have anything in common between +them. She felt sure that Griselda despised her, little, brown, +plain, and unimportant as she was. She herself could not despise +Griselda in turn; indeed she could not but admire Miss Grantly's +great beauty and dignity of demeanour; but she knew that she could +never love her. It is hardly possible that the proud-hearted +should love those who despise them; and Lucy Robarts was very +proud-hearted. + +'Don't you think she is very handsome?' said Lord Lufton. + +'Oh, very,' said Lucy. 'Nobody can doubt that.' + +'Ludovic,' said Lady Lufton--not quite approving of her son's +remaining so long at the back of Lucy's chair--'won't you give us +another song? Mrs Robarts and Miss Grantly are still at the +piano.' + +'I have sung away all that I know, mother. There's Culpepper has +not had a chance yet. He has got to give us his dreams--how he +"dreamt that he dwelt in marble halls"!' + +'I sung that an hour ago,' said the captain, not over-pleased. + +'But you certainly have not told us how "your little lovers +came"!' The captain, however, would not sing any more. And then +the party was broken up, and the Robartses went home to their +parsonage. + + + +CHAPTER XII + +THE LITTLE BILL + +Lucy, during those last fifteen minutes of her sojourn in the +Framley Court drawing-room, somewhat modified the very strong +opinion she had before formed as to her unfitness for such +society. It was very pleasant sitting there, in that easy chair, +while Lord Lufton stood at the back of it saying nice, soft, +good-natured words to her. She was sure that in a little time she +could feel a true friendship for him, and that she could do so +without any risk of falling in love with him. But then she had a +glimmering of an idea that such a friendship would be open to all +manner of remarks, and would hardly be compatible with the world's +ordinary ways. At any rate it would be pleasant to be at Framley +Court, if he would come and occasionally notice her. But she did +not admit to herself that such a visit would be intolerable if his +whole time was devoted to Griselda Grantly. She neither admitted +it, nor thought it; but nevertheless, in a strange unconscious way, +such a feeling did find entrance in her bosom. And then the +Christmas holidays passed away. How much of this enjoyment fell to +her share, and how much of this suffering she endured, we will not +attempt accurately to describe. Miss Grantly remained at Framley +Court up to Twelfth Night, and the Robartses also spent most of the +season at the house. Lady Lufton, no doubt, had hoped that +everything might have been arranged on this occasion in accordance +with her wishes, but such had not been the case. Lord Lufton had +evidently admired Miss Grantly very much: indeed, he had said so +to his mother half a dozen times; but it may almost be questioned +whether the pleasure Lady Lufton derived from this was not more +than neutralized by an opinion he once put forward that Griselda +Grantly wanted some of the fire of Lucy Robarts. + +'Surely, Ludovic, you would never compare the two girls' said Lady +Lufton. + +'Of course not. They are the very antipodes to each other. Miss +Grantly would probably be more to my taste; but then I am wise +enough to know that it is so because my taste is a bad taste.' + +'I know no man with a more accurate or refined taste in such +matters,' said Lady Lufton. Beyond this she did not dare to go. +She knew very well that her strategy would be vain should her son +learn that she had a strategy. To tell the truth, Lady Lufton was +becoming somewhat indifferent to Lucy Robarts. She had been very +kind to the little girl; but the little girl seemed hardly to +appreciate the kindness as she should do--and then Lord Lufton +would talk to Lucy, 'which was so unnecessary, you know;' and Lucy, +had got into a way of talking quite freely with Lord Lufton, having +completely dropped that short, spasmodic, ugly exclamation of 'my +lord'. And so the Christmas festivities were at an end, and +January wore itself away. During the greater part of this month +Lord Lufton did not remain at Framley, but was nevertheless in the +county, hunting with the hounds of both divisions, and staying at +various houses. Two or three nights he spent at Chaldicotes; and +one--let it only be told in an under voice--at Gatherum Castle! Of +this he said nothing to Lady Lufton. 'Why make her unhappy?' as he +said to Mark. But Lady Lufton knew it, though she said not a word +to him--knew it, and was unhappy. 'If he would only marry +Griselda, there would be an end of that danger,' she said to +herself. + +And now we must go back a while to the vicar and his little bill. +It will be remembered, that his first idea with reference to that +trouble, after the reading of his father's will, was to borrow the +money from his brother John. John was down at Exeter at the time, +and was to stay one night at the parsonage on his way to London. +Mark would broach the matter to him on the journey, painful though +it would be to him to tell the story of his own folly to a brother +much younger than himself, and who had always looked up to him, +clergyman and full-blown vicar as he was, with a deference greater +than that which such difference in age required. The story was +told, however; but was told in vain, as Mark found out before he +reached Framley. His brother John immediately declared that he +would lend him the money, of course--eight hundred, if his brother +wanted it. He, John, confessed that, as regarded the remaining +two, he should like to feel the pleasure of immediate possession. +As for interest, he would not take any--take interest from a +brother; of course not. Well, if Mark made such a fuss about it he +supposed he must take it; but would rather not. Mark should have +his own way, and do just what he liked. + +This was all very well, and Mark had fully made up his mind that +his brother should not be kept long out of his agony. But then +arose the question how was that money to be reached? He, Mark, was +executor, or one of the executors under his father's will, and, +therefore, no doubt, could put his hand upon it; but his brother +wanted five months of being of age, and could not therefore as yet +be put legally in possession of his legacy. 'That is a bore,' said +the assistant private secretary to the Lord Petty Bag, thinking, +perhaps, as much of his own immediate wish for ready cast as he did +of his brother's necessities. Mark felt that it was a bore, but +there was nothing more to be done in that direction. He must now +find out far the bankers would assist him. + +Some week or two after his return to Framley he went over to +Barchester, and called there on a certain Mr Forrest, the manager +of one of the banks, with whom he as acquainted; and with many +injunctions as to secrecy told this manager the whole of his +story. At first he concealed the name of his friend Sowerby, but +it soon appeared that no such concealment was to any avail. 'That +Sowerby, of course,' said Mr Forrest. 'I know you are intimate +with him; and all his friends go through that, sooner or later.' It +seemed to Mark as though Mr Forrest made very light of the whole +transaction. + +'I cannot pay the bill when it is due,' said Mark. + +'Oh, no, of course not,' said Mr Forrest. 'It's never very +convenient to hand out four hundred pounds at a blow. Nobody will +expect you to pay it.' + +'But I suppose I shall have to do it sooner or later.' + +'Well, that's as may be. It will depend partly on how you manage +with Sowerby, and partly on the hands it goes into. As the bill has +your name on it, they'll have patience as long as the interest is +paid, and the commissions on renewal.' Mr Forrest said that he was +sure that the bill was not in Barchester; Mr Sowerby would not, he +thought, have brought it to a Barchester bank. The bill was +probably in London, but doubtless would be sent to Barchester for +collection. 'If it comes in my way,' said Mr Forrest, 'I will give +you plenty of time, so that you may manage about the renewal with +Sowerby. I suppose he'll pay the expense of doing that.' + +Mark's heart was somewhat lighter as he left the bank. Mr Forrest +had made so little of the whole transaction that he felt himself +justified in making little of it also. 'It may be as well,' said he +to himself, as he drove home, 'not to tell Fanny anything about it +till the three months have run round. I must make some arrangement +then.' And in this way his mind was easier during the last of +those three months than he had been during the two former. That +feeling of over-due bills, of bills coming due, of accounts +overdrawn, of tradesmen unpaid, of general money cares, is very +dreadful at first; but it is astonishing how soon men get used to +it. A load which would crash a man at first becomes, by habit, not +only endurable, but easy and comfortable to the bearer. The +habitual debtor goes along jaunty and with elastic step, almost +enjoying the excitement of his embarrassments. There was Mr +Sowerby himself; who ever saw a cloud on his brow? It made one +almost in love with ruin to be in his company. And even now, +already, Mark Robarts was thinking to himself quite comfortably +about this bill;--how very pleasantly those banker managed these +things. Pay it! No; no one will be so unreasonable as to expect +you to do that! And then Mr Sowerby certainly was a pleasant +fellow, and gave a man something in return for his money. It was +still a question with Mark whether Lord Lufton had not been too +hard on Sowerby. Had that gentleman fallen across his clerical +friend at the present moment, he might no doubt gotten from him an +acceptance for another four hundred pounds. + +One is almost inclined to believe that there is something +pleasurable in the excitement of such embarrassments, as there is +also in the excitement of drink. But then, at last, the time does +come when the excitement is over, and when nothing but the misery +is left. If there be an existence of wretchedness on earth it must +be that of the elderly, worn-out roue, who has run this race of +debt and bills of accommodation and acceptances--of what, if we +were not in these days somewhat afraid of good broad English, we +might call lying and swindling, falsehood and fraud--and who, +having ruined all whom he should have loved, having burnt up every +one who would trust him much, and scorched all who would trust him +a little, is at last left to finish his life with such bread and +water as these men get, without one honest thought to strengthen +his sinking heart, or one honest friend to hold his shivering +hand! If a man could only think of that, as he puts his name to +the first little bill, as to which he is so good-naturedly assured +that it can easily be renewed. + +When the three months had nearly run out, it so happened that +Robarts met is friend Sowerby. Mark had once to twice ridden with +Lord Lufton as far as the meet of the hounds, and may, perhaps, +have gone a field or two farther on some occasions. The reader +must not think that he had taken to hunting, as some parsons do; +and it is singular enough that whatever they do so they always show +a special aptitude for the pursuit, as though hunting were an +employment peculiarly congenial with the care of souls in the +country. Such a thought would do our vicar justice. But when Lord +Lufton would ask him what on earth could be the harm of riding +along the roads to look at the hounds, he hardly knew what sensible +answer to give his lordship. It would be absurd to say that his +time would be better employed at home in clerical matters, for it +was notorious that he had not clerical pursuits for the employment +of half his time. In this way, therefore, he had got into the +habit of looking at the hounds, and keeping up his acquaintance in +the county, meeting Lord Dumbello, Mr Green Walker, Harold Smith, +and other such like sinners; and on one such occasion, as the three +months were nearly closing, he did meet Mr Sowerby. 'Look here, +Sowerby, I want to speak to you for half a moment. What are you +doing about that bill?' + +'Bill--bill? what bill?---which bill? The whole bill, and nothing +but the bill. That seems to be the conversation nowadays of all +men, noon and night?' + +'Don't you know the bill I signed for you for four hundred pounds?' + +'Did you though? Was not that rather green of you?' This did seem +strange to Mark. Could it really be the fact that Mr Sowerby had +so many bills flying about that he had absolutely forgotten that +occurrence in the Gatherum Castle bedroom? And then to be called +green by by the very man whom he had obliged! + +'Perhaps I was,' said Mark, in a tone that showed that he was +somewhat piqued. 'But all the same I should be glad to know how it +will be taken up?' + +'Oh, Mark, what a ruffian you are to spoil my day's sport in this +way. Any man but a parson would be too good a Christian for such +intense cruelty. But let me see--four hundred pounds? Oh, +yes--Tozer has it.' + +'And what will Tozer do with it?' + +'Make money of it; whatever way he may go to work he will do that.' + +'But will Tozer bring it to me on the 20th?' + +'Oh, Lord, no! Upon my work, Mark, you are deliciously green. A +cat would as soon think of killing a mouse directly she got it into +her claws. But, joking apart, you need not trouble yourself. Maybe +you will hear no more about it; or, perhaps, which no doubt is more +probable, I may have to send it to you to be renewed. But you need +do nothing till you hear from me or somebody else.' + +'Only do not let any one come down upon me for the money.' + +'There is not the slightest fear of that. Tally-ho, old fellow! +He's away. Tally-ho, right over by Gossetts' barn. Come along, +and never mind Tozer--"Sufficient for the day is the evil +thereof."' And away they both went together, parson and member of +Parliament. And then again on that occasion Mark went home with a +sort of feeling that the bill did not matter. Tozer would manage +it somehow; and it was quite clear that it would not do to tell his +wife of it just at present. + +On the 21st of that month of February, however, he did receive a +reminder that the bill and all concerning it had not merely been a +farce. This was a letter from Mr Sowerby, dated from Chaldicotes, +though not bearing the Barchester post-mark, in which that +gentleman suggested a renewal--not exactly of the old bill, but of +a new one. It seemed to Mark that the letter had been posted in +London. If I give it entire, I shall, perhaps, most quickly +explain its import: + +'Chaldicotes,--20th February, 185-. +'MY DEAR MARK, +'"Lend not thy name to money dealers, for +the same is the destruction and a snare." If that +be not in the Proverbs, it ought to be. Tozer has +given me certain signs of his being alive and +strong this cold weather. As we can neither of us +take up that bill for 400L at the moment, we must +renew it, and pay him his commission and interest, +with all the rest of his perquisites, and +pickings, and stealings--from all which, I can +assure you, Tozer does not keep his hands as he +should do. To cover this and some other little +outstanding trifles, I have filled in the new bill +for 500L, making it due 23rd May next. Before +that time, a certain accident will, I trust, have +occurred to your improvident friend. By the by, I +never told you how she went off from Gatherum +Castle, the morning after you left us, with the +Greshams. Cart-ropes would not hold her, even +though the duke held them; which he did, with all +the strength of his ducal hands. She would go +meet some doctor of theirs, and so I was put off +for that time; but I think that the matter stands +in a good train. + +'Do not lose a post in sending back the bill +accepted, as Tozer can annoy you--nay, +undoubtedly will, if the matter be not in his +hand, duly signed by both of us, the day after +to-morrow. He is an ungrateful brute; he has lived +on me for these eight years and would not let me +off a single squeeze now to save my life. But I +am specially anxious to save you from the +annoyance and cost of lawyers' letters; and if +delayed, it might get to the papers. Put it under +cover to me, at No 7, Duke Street, St James's. I +shall be in town by that time. + +'Good-bye, old fellow. That was a decent +brush we had the other day from Cobbold's Ashes. I +wish I could get that brown horse from you. I +would not mind going to a hundred and thirty. +Yours ever, +'N. SOWERBY' + +When Mark had read it through he looked down on his table to see +whether the old bill had fallen from the letter; but no, there was +no enclosure, and had been no enclosure but the new bill. And then +he read the letter through again, and found that there was no word +about the old bill--not a syllable, at least, as to its +whereabouts. Sowerby did not even say that it would remain in his +own hands. Mark did not in truth know much about such things. It +might be that the very fact of his signing this second document +would render that first document null and void; and from Sowerby's +silence on the subject, it might be argued that this was so well +known to be the case, that he had not thought of explaining it. But +yet Mark could not see how this could be so. But what was he to +do? That threat of cost and lawyers, and specially of the +newspapers, did have its effect on him--as no doubt it was intended +to do. And then he was utterly dumbfounded by Sowerby's impudence +ind drawing on him for 500L instead of 400L, 'covering,' as Sowerby +so good-humouredly said, 'sundry little outstanding trifles'. + +But, at last, he did sign the bill, and sent it off, as Sowerby had +directed. What else was he to do? Fool that he was. A man always +can do right, even though he has done wrong before. But that +previous wrong adds so much difficulty to the path--a difficulty +which increases in tremendous ratio, till a man at last is choked +in his struggling, and is drowned beneath the waters. And then he +put away Sowerby's letter carefully, locking it up from his wife's +sight. It was a letter that no parish clergyman should have +received. So much he acknowledged to himself. But nevertheless it +was necessary that he should keep it. And now again for a few hours +this affair made him very miserable. + + + +CHAPTER XIII + +DELICATE HINTS + +Lady Lufton had been greatly rejoiced at that good deed which her +son did in giving up his Leicestershire hunting, and coming to +reside for the winter at Framley. It was proper, and becoming, and +comfortable in the extreme. An English nobleman ought to hunt in +the county where he himself owns the fields over which he rides; he +ought to receive the respect and honour due to him from his own +tenants; he ought to sleep under a roof of his own, and he ought +also--so Lady Lufton thought--to fall in love with a young embryo +bride of his mother's choosing. And then it was so pleasant to +have him there in the house. Lady Lufton was not a woman who +allowed her life to be what people in common parlance call dull. +She had too many duties, and thought too much of them, to allow of +her suffering from tedium and ennui. But nevertheless the house +was more joyous to her when he was there. There was a reason for +some little gaiety, which would never have been attracted thither +by herself, but by which, nevertheless, she did enjoy when it was +brought about by his presence. She was younger and brighter when +he was there, thinking more of the future and less of the past. She +could look at him, and that alone was happiness to her. And then +he was pleasant-mannered with her; joking with her on her little +old-world prejudices in a tone that was musical to her ear as +coming from him; smiling on her, reminding her of those smiles +which she had loved so dearly when as yet he was still her own, +lying there in his little bed beside her chair. He was kind and +gracious to her, behaving like a good son, at any rate while he was +there in her presence. When we add to this, her fears that he +might not be so perfect in his conduct when absent, we may well +imagine that Lady Lufton was pleased to have him at Framley Court. + +She had hardly said a word to him as that five thousand pounds. +Many a night, as she lay thinking on her pillow, she said to +herself that no money had ever been better expended, since it had +brought him back to his own home. He had thanked her for it in his +own open way, declaring that he would pay it back to her during the +coming year, and comforting her heart by his rejoicing that the +property had not been sold. 'I don't like the idea of parting with +an acre of it,' he had said. + +'Of course not, Ludovic. Never let the estate decrease in your +hands. It is only by such resolutions as that that English +noblemen and English gentlemen can preserve their country. I +cannot bear to see property changing hands.' + +'Well, I suppose it's a good thing to have land in the market +sometimes, so that the millionaires may know what to do with their +money.' + +'God forbid that yours should be there!' And the widow made a +little mental prayer that her son's acres might be protected from +the millionaires and other Philistines. + +'Why, yes; I don't exactly want to see a Jew tailor investing his +earnings at Lufton.' said the lord. + +'Heaven forbid!' said the widow. All this, as I have said, was +very nice. It was manifest to her ladyship, from his lordship's +way of talking, that no vital injury had as yet been done: he had +no cares on his mind, and spoke freely about the property: but +nevertheless there were clouds even now, at this period of bliss, +which somewhat obscured the brilliancy of Lady Lufton's sky. Why +was Ludovic so slow in that affair of Griselda Grantly? Why so +often in these latter winter days did he saunter over to the +parsonage? And then that terrible visit to Gatherum Castle! What +actually did happen at Gatherum Castle, she never knew. We, +however, are more intrusive, less delicate in our enquiries, and we +can say. He had a very bad day's sport with the West Barsetshire. +The county is altogether short of foxes, and some one who +understands the matter must take that point up before they can do +any good. And after that he had had rather a dull dinner with the +duke. Sowerby had been there, and in the evening he and Sowerby +had played billiards. Sowerby had won a pound or two, and that had +been the extent of the damage done. But those saunterings over to +the parsonage might be more dangerous. Not that it ever occurred +to Lady Lufton as possible that her son should fall in love with +Lucy Robarts. Lucy's personal attraction were not of a nature to +give grounds for such a fear as that. But he might turn the girl's +head with his chatter; she might be fool enough to fancy any folly; +and, moreover, people would talk. Why should he go to the +parsonage now more frequently than he had ever done before Lucy +came there? + +And then her ladyship, in reference to the same trouble, hardly +knew how to manage her invitations to the parsonage. These +hitherto had been very frequent, and she had been in the habit of +thinking that they could hardly be too much so; but now she was +almost afraid to continue the custom. She could not ask the parson +and his wife without Lucy; and when Lucy was there, her son would +pass the greater part of the evening in talking to her, or playing +chess with her. Now this did disturb Lady Lufton not a little. And +then Lucy took it all so quietly. On her first arrival at Framley +she had been so shy, so silent, and so much awestruck by the +grandeur of Framley Court, that Lady Lufton had sympathized with +her and encouraged her. She had endeavoured to moderate the blaze +of her own splendour, in order that Lucy's unaccustomed eyes might +not be dazzled. But all this was changed now. Lucy could listen +to the young lord's voice by the hour together--without being +dazzled in the least. Under these circumstances two things occurred +to her. She would speak either to her son or to Fanny Robarts, and +by a little diplomacy have this evil remedied. And then she had to +determine on which step she would take. 'Nothing could be more +reasonable than Ludovic.' So at least she said to herself over and +over again. But then Ludovic understood nothing about such +matters; and had, moreover, a habit, inherited from his father, of +taking the bit between his teeth whenever he suspected +interference. Drive him gently without pulling his mouth about, +and you might take him anywhere, almost at any pace; but a smart +touch, let it be ever so slight, would bring him on his haunches, +and then it might be a question whether you could get him another +mile that day. So that on the whole Lady Lufton thought that the +other plan would be the best. I have no doubt that Lady Lufton was +right. + +She got Fanny up into her own den one afternoon, and seated her +discreetly in an easy arm-chair, making her guest take off her +bonnet, and showing by various signs that her visit was regarded as +one of great moment. 'Fanny,' she said, 'I want to speak to you +about something that is important and necessary to mention, and yet +it is a very delicate affair to speak of.' Fanny opened her eyes +and said that she hoped that nothing was wrong. 'No, my dear, I +think nothing is wrong: I hope so, and I think I may say I'm sure +of it; but then it's always well to be on one's guard.' + +'Yes, it is,' said Fanny, who knew that something unpleasant was +coming--something as to which she might be called upon to differ +from her ladyship. Mrs Robarts's own fears, however, were running +entirely in the direction of her husband;--and, indeed, Lady Lufton +had a word to two to say on that subject also, only not exactly +now. A hunting parson was not at all to her taste; but that matter +might be allowed to remain in abeyance for a few days. + +'Now, Fanny, you know that we have all liked your sister-in-law, +Lucy, very much.' And then Mrs Robarts's mind was immediately +opened, and she knew the rest as well as though it had been all +spoken. 'I need hardly tell you that, for I an sure we have shown +it.' + +'You have indeed, as you always do.' + +'And you must not think that I am going to complain,' continued +Lady Lufton. + +'I hope there is nothing to complain of,' said Fanny, speaking by +no means in a defiant tone, but humbly as it were, and deprecating +her ladyship's wrath. Fanny had gained one signal victory over +Lady Lufton, and on that account, with a prudence equal to her +generosity, felt that she could afford to be submissive. It might, +perhaps, not be long before she would be equally anxious to conquer +again. + +'Well, no; I don't think there is,' said Lady Lufton. 'Nothing to +complain of; but a little chat between you and me may, perhaps, set +matters right, which, otherwise, might become troublesome.' + +'Is it about Lucy?' + +'Yes, my dear--about Lucy. She is a very nice, good girl, and a +credit to her father--' + +'And a great comfort to us,' said Fanny. + +'I am sure she is; she must be a very pleasant companion to you, +and so useful about the children; but--' And then Lady Lufton +paused for moment; for she, eloquent and discreet as she always +was, felt herself rather at a loss for words to express her exact +meaning. + +'I don't know what I should do without her,' said Fanny, speaking +with the object of assisting her ladyship in her embarrassment. + +'But the truth is this: she and Lord Lufton are getting in the way +of being too much together--of talking to each other too +exclusively. I am sure you must have noticed it, Fanny. It is not +that I suspect any evil. I don't think that I am suspicious by +nature.' + +'Oh! no,' said Fanny. + +'But they will each of them get wrong ideas about the other, and +about themselves. Lucy will, perhaps, think that Ludovic means +more than he does, and Ludovic will--' But it was not quite so easy +to say what Ludovic might do or think; but Lady Lufton went on: + +'I am sure that you understand me, Fanny, with your excellent sense +and tact. Lucy is clever, and amusing, and all that; and Ludovic, +like all young men, is perhaps ignorant that his attentions may be +taken to mean more than he intends--' + +'You don't think that Lucy is in love with him?' + +'On, dear no--nothing of the kind. If I thought it had come to +that, I should recommend that she should be sent away altogether. I +am sure she is not so foolish as that.' + +'I don't think there is anything in it at all, Lady Lufton.' + +'I don't think there is, my dear, and therefore I would not for +worlds make any suggestion about it to Lord Lufton. I would not +let him suppose that I suspected Lucy of being so imprudent. But +still, it may be well that you should just say a word to her. A +little management now and then, in such matters is so useful.' + +'But what shall I say to her?' + +'Just explain to her that any young lady who talks so much to the +same young gentleman will certainly be observed--that people will +accuse her of setting her cap at Lord Lufton. Not that I suspect +her--I give her credit for too much proper breeding: I know her +education has been good, and her principles are upright. But +people will talk of her. You must understand that, Fanny, as well +as I do.' Fanny could not help meditating whether proper feeling, +education, and upright principles did forbid Lucy Robarts to fall +in love with Lord Lufton; but her doubts on this subject, if she +held any, were not communicated to her ladyship. It had never +entered into her mind that a match was possible between Lord Lufton +and Lucy Robarts, nor had she the slightest wish to encourage it +now that the idea was suggested to her. On such a matter she would +sympathize with Lady Lufton, though she did not completely agree +with her as to the expediency of any interference. Nevertheless, +she at once offered to speak to Lucy. 'I don't think that Lucy has +any idea in her head upon the subject,' said Mrs Robarts. + +'I dare say not--I don't suppose she has. But young ladies +sometimes allow themselves to fall in love, and then to think +themselves very ill-used just because they have had no idea in +their head.' + +'I will put her on her guard if you wish it, Lady Lufton.' + +'Exactly, my dear; that is just it. Put her on her guard--that is +all that is necessary. She is a dear, good, clever girl, and it +would be very sad if anything were to interrupt our comfortable way +of getting on with her.' Mrs Robarts knew to a nicety the exact +meaning of this threat. If Lucy should persist in securing to +herself so much of Lord Lufton's time and attention, her visits to +Framley Court must become less frequent. Lady Lufton would do +much, very much indeed, for her friends at the parsonage; but not +even for them could she permit her son's prospects in life to be so +endangered. There was nothing more said between them, and Mrs +Robarts got up to take her leave, having promised to speak to Lucy. + +'You manage everything so perfectly,' said Lady Lufton, as she +pressed Mrs Robarts's hand, 'that I am quite at ease now that I +find you will agree with me.' Mrs Robarts did not exactly agree +with her ladyship, but she hardly thought it worth her while to say +so. Mrs Robarts immediately started off on her walk to her won +home, and when she had got out of the grounds into the road, where +it makes a turn towards the parsonage, nearly opposite to Podgens' +shop, she saw Lord Lufton on horseback, and Lucy standing beside +him. It was already five o'clock, and it was getting dusk; but as +she approached, or rather as she came suddenly within sight of +them, she could see that they were in close conversation. Lord +Lufton's face was towards her, and his horse was standing still; he +was leaning over towards his companion, and the whip, which he held +in his right hand, hung almost over her arm and down her back, as +though his hand had touched and perhaps rested on her shoulder. She +was standing by his side, looking up into his face, with one gloved +hand resting on the horse's neck. Mrs Robarts, as she saw them, +could not but own that there might be cause for Lady Lufton's +fears. But then Lucy's manner, as Mrs Robarts approached, was +calculated to dissipate any such fears and to prove that there was +no ground for them. She did not move from her position, or allow +her hand to drop, or show that she was in any way either confused +or conscious. She stood her ground, and when her sister-in-law +came up was smiling and at her ease. 'Lord Lufton wants me to +learn to ride,' said she. + +'To learn to ride!' said Fanny, not knowing what answer to make to +such a proposition. + +'Yes,' said he. 'This horse would carry her beautifully: he is as +quiet as a lamb, and I made Gregory go out with him yesterday with +a sheet hanging over him like a lady's habit, and the man got up +into a lady's saddle.' + +'I think Gregory would make a better hand of it than Lucy.' + +'The horse cantered with him as though he had carried a lady all +his life, and his mouth is like velvet; indeed, that is his +fault--he is too soft-mouthed.' + +'I suppose that's the same sort of thing as a man being soft- +hearted,' said Lucy. + +'Exactly; you ought to ride them both with a very light hand. They +are difficult cattle to manage, but very pleasant when you know how +to do it.' + +'But you see I don't know how to do it,' said Lucy. + +'As regards the horse, you will learn in two days, and I do hope +you will try. Don't you think it will be an excellent thing for +her, Mrs Robarts?' + +'Lucy has got no habit,' said Mrs Robarts, making use of the excuse +common on all such occasions. + +'There is one of Justinia's in the house, I know. She always +leaves one here, in order that she may be able to ride when she +comes.' + +'She would not think of taking such a liberty with Lady Meredith's +things,' said Fanny, almost frightened at the proposal. + +'Of course it is out of the question, Fanny,' said Lucy, now +speaking rather seriously. 'In the first place, I would not take +Lord Lufton's horse; in the second place, I would not take Lady +Meredith's habit; in the third place, I should be a great deal too +much frightened; and, lastly, it is quite out of the question for a +great many other very good reasons.' + +'Nonsense,' said Lord Lufton. + +'A great deal of nonsense,' said Lucy, laughing, 'but all of it of +Lord Lufton's talking. But we are getting cold--are we not, +Fanny?---so we will wish you good-night.' And then the two ladies +shook hands with him, and walked on towards the parsonage. That +which astonished Mrs Robarts the most in all this was the perfectly +collected manner in which Lucy spoke and conducted herself. This, +connected, as she could not but connect, with the air of chagrin +with which Lord Lufton received Lucy's decision, made it manifest +to Mrs Robarts that Lord Lufton was annoyed because Lucy would not +consent to learn to ride; whereas she, Lucy herself, had given her +refusal in a firm and decided tone, as though resolved that nothing +more should be said about it. They walked on in silence for a +minute or two, till they reached the parsonage gates, and then Lucy +said, laughing, 'Can't you fancy me sitting on that great big +horse? I wonder what Lady Lufton would say if she saw me there, +and his lordship giving me my first lesson?' + +'I don't think she would like it,' said Fanny. + +'I'm sure she would not. But I will not try her temper in that +respect. Sometimes I fancy she does to even like seeing Lord +Lufton talking to me.' + +'She does not like it, Lucy, when she sees him flirting with you.' +This Mrs Robarts said rather gravely, whereas Lucy had been +speaking in a half-bantering tone. As soon as even the word +flirting was out of Fanny's mouth, she was conscious that she had +been guilty of an injustice in using it. She had wished to say +something which would convey to her sister-in-law an idea of what +Lady Lufton would dislike; but in doing so, she had unintentionally +brought against her an accusation. + +'Flirting, Fanny!' said Lucy, standing still in the path, and +looking up into her companion's face with all her eyes. 'Do you +mean to say that I have been flirting with Lord Lufton?' + +'I did not say that.' + +'Or that I have allowed him to flirt with me?' + +'I did not mean to shock you, Lucy.' + +'What did you mean, Fanny?' + +'Why, just this: that Lady Lufton would not be pleased if he paid +you marked attentions, and if you received them; just like that +affair of riding; it was better to decline it.' + +'Of course I declined it; of course I never dreamt of accepting +such an offer. Go riding about the country on his horses! What +have I done, Fanny, that you should suppose such a thing?' + +'You have done nothing, dearest.' + +'Then why did you speak as you did just now?' + +'Because I wished to put you on your guard. You know, Lucy, that I +do not intend to find fault with you; but you may be sure, as a +rule, that intimate friendships between young gentlemen and young +ladies are dangerous things.' They then walked up to the hall-door +in silence. When they reached it, Lucy stood in the doorway +instead of entering it, and said, 'Fanny, let us take another turn +together if you are not tired.' + +'No, I'm not tired.' + +'It will be better that I should understand you at once,'--and +then they again moved away from the house. 'Tell me truly now, do +you think that Lord Lufton and I have been flirting?' + +'I do think he is a little inclined to flirt with you.' + +'And Lady Lufton has been asking you to lecture me about it?' Poor +Mrs Robarts hardly knew what to say. She thought well of all the +persons concerned; and was very anxious to behave well by all of +them;--was particularly anxious to create no ill feeling, and +wished that everybody would be comfortable, and on good terms with +everybody else. But yet the truth was forced out of her when this +question was asked so suddenly. 'Not to lecture you, Lucy,' she +said at last. + +'Well, to preach to me, or to talk to me, or to give me a lesson; +to say something that shall drive me to put my back up against Lord +Lufton?' + +'To caution you, dearest. Had you heard what she said, you would +hardly have felt angry with Lady Lufton.' + +'Well, to caution me. It is such a pleasant thing for a girl to be +cautioned against falling in love with a gentleman, especially when +the gentleman is very rich, and a lord, and all that sort of +thing.' + +'Nobody for a moment attributes anything wrong to you, Lucy.' + +'Anything wrong--no. I don't know whether it would be anything +wrong, even if I were to fall in love with him. I wonder whether +they cautioned Griselda Grantly when she was here? I suppose when +young lords go about, all the girls are cautioned as a matter of +course. Why do they not label him "dangerous"?' And then they +were again silent for a moment, as Mrs Robarts did not feel that +she had anything further to say on the matter. + +'"Poison" should be the word with any one so fatal as Lord Lufton; +and he ought to be made up of some particular colour; for fear he +should be swallowed by mistake.' + +'You will be safe, you see,' said Fanny laughing, 'as you have been +specially cautioned as to this individual bottle.' + +'Ah! but what's the use of that after I have had so many doses? It +is no good telling me about it now; when the mischief is +done,--after I have been taking it for I don't know how long. +Dear! Dear! Dear! And I regarded it as a more commonplace +powder, good for the complexion. I wonder whether it's too late, +or whether there's any antidote?' Mrs Robarts did not always quite +understand her sister-in-law, and now she was a little at a loss. +'I don't think there' much harm done yet on either side,' said she, +cheerily. + +'Ah! you don't know, Fanny. But I do think that if I die--as I +shall--I feel I shall;--and if so, I do think it ought to go very +hard with Lady Lufton. Why didn't she label him "dangerous" in +time?' And then they went into the house and up to their own +rooms. It was difficult for any one to understand Lucy's state of +mind at present, and it can hardly be said that she understood it +herself. She felt that she had received a severe blow in having +been thus made the subject of remark with reference to Lord +Lufton. She knew that her pleasant evenings at Framley Court were +now over, and that she could not again talk to him in an +unrestrained tone and without embarrassment. She had felt the air +of the whole place to be very cold before her intimacy with him, +and now it must be cold again. Two homes had been open to her; +Framley Court and the parsonage; and no, as far as comfort was +concerned, she must confine herself to the latter. She could not +again be comfortable in Lady Lufton's drawing-room. But then she +could not help asking herself whether Lady Lufton was not right. +She had had courage enough, and presence of mind, to joke about the +matter when her sister-in-law spoke to her, and yet she was quite +aware that it was no joking matter. Lord Lufton had not absolutely +made love to her, but had latterly spoken to her in a manner which +she knew was not compatible with that ordinary comfortable +masculine friendship with the idea of which she had once satisfied +herself. Was not Fanny right when she said that intimate +friendships of that nature were dangerous things? + +Yes, Lucy, very dangerous. Lucy, before she went to bed that +night, had owned to herself that they were so; and lying there with +sleepless eyes and a moist pillow, she was driven to confess that +the label would in truth be now too late, that the caution had come +to her after the poison had been swallowed. Was there any +antidote? That was all that was left for her to consider. But, +nevertheless, on the following morning she could appear quite at +her ease. And when Mark had left the house after breakfast, she +could still joke with Fanny as to Lady Lufton's poisoned cupboard. + + + +CHAPTER XIV + +MR CRAWLEY OF HOGGLESTOCK + +And then there was that other trouble in Lady Lufton's mind, the +sins, namely, of her selected parson. She had selected him, and +she was by no means inclined to give him up, even though his sins +against parsondom were grievous. Indeed she was a woman not prone +to give up anything, and of all things not prone to give up a +protege. The very fact that she herself had selected him was the +strongest argument in his favour. But his sins against parsondom +were becoming very grievous in her eyes, and she was at a loss to +know what steps to take. She hardly dared to take him to task, him +himself. Were she to do so, and should he then tell her to mind +her own business--as he probably might do, though not in those +words--there would be a schism in the parish; and almost anything +would be better than that. The whole work of her life would be +upset, all the outlets of her energy would be impeded, if not +absolutely closed, if a state of things were to come to pass in +which she and the parson of her parish should not be on good terms. + +But what was to be done? Early in the winter he had gone to +Chaldicotes and to Gatherum Castle, consorting with gamblers, +Whigs, atheists, men of loose pleasure, and Proudieites. That she +had condoned; and now he was turning out a hunting parson on her +hands. It was all very well for Fanny to say that he merely looked +at the hounds as he made about his parish. Fanny might be +deceived. Being his wife, it might be her duty not to see her +husband's iniquities. But Lady Lufton could not be deceived. She +knew very well in what part of the county Cobbold's Ashes lay. It +was not in Framley parish, nor in the next parish to it. It was +half-way across to Chaldicotes--to the western division; and she +had heard of that run in which two horses had been killed, and in +which Parson Robarts had won immortal glory among West Barsetshire +sportsmen. It was not easy to keep Lady Lufton in the dark as to +matters occurring in her own county. + +All those things she knew, but as yet had not noticed, grieving +over them in her own heart the more on that account. Spoken grief +relieves itself; and when one can give counsel, one always hopes at +least that that counsel will be effective. To her son she had +said, more than once, that it was a pity that Mr Robarts should +follow the hounds--'The world has agreed that it is unbecoming in a +clergyman,' she would urge, in her deprecatory tone. But her son +would by no means give her any comfort. 'He doesn't hunt, you +know--not as I do,' he would say. 'And if he did, I really don't +see the harm of it. A man must have some amusement, even if he is +an archbishop.' 'He has amusement at home,' Lady Lufton would +answer. 'What does his wife do--and his sister?' This allusion to +Lucy, however, was very soon dropped. + +Lord Lufton would in no wise help her. He would not even passively +discourage the vicar, or refrain from offering to give him a seat +in going to the meets. Mark and Lord Lufton had been boys +together, and his lordship knew that Mark in his heart would enjoy +a brush across the country quite as well himself; and then what was +the harm of it? Lady Lufton's best aid had been in Mark's own +conscience. He had taken himself to task more than once, and had +promised himself that he would not become a sporting parson. +Indeed, where would be his hopes of ulterior promotion, if he +allowed himself to degenerate so far as that? It had been his +intention, in reviewing what he considered to be the necessary +proprieties of clerical life, in laying out his own future mode of +living, to assume no peculiar sacerdotal strictness; he would not +be known as a denouncer of dancing or of card-tables, of theatres +or of novel-reading; he would take the world around him, as he +found it, endeavouring by precept and practice to lend a hand to +the gradual amelioration which Christianity is producing; but he +would attempt no sudden or majestic reforms. Cake and ale would +still be popular, and ginger be hot in the mouth, let him preach +ever so--let him be never so solemn as a hermit; but a bright face, +a true trusting heart, an strong arm, and an humble mind, might do +much in teaching those around him that men may be gay and yet not +profligate, that women may be devout and yet not be dead to the +world. + +Such had been his ideas as to his own future life; and though many +would think that, as a clergyman, he should have gone about his +work with more serious devotion of thought, nevertheless there was +some wisdom in them;--some folly also undoubtedly, as appeared by +the troubles into which they had led him. 'I will not affect to +think that to be bad,' said he to himself, 'which in my heart of +hearts does not seem to be bad.' And thus he resolved that he +might live without contamination among hunting squires. And then, +being a man only to prone by nature to do as other did around him, +he found by degrees that that could hardly be wrong for him which +he admitted to be right for others. + +But still his conscience upbraided him, and he declared to himself +more than once that after this year he would hunt no more. And +then his own Fanny would look at him on his return home on those +days in a manner that would cut him to the heart. She would say +nothing to him. She never inquired in a sneering tone; and with +angry eyes, whether he had enjoyed his day's sport; but when he +spoke of it, she could not answer with enthusiasm; and in other +matters which concerned him she was always enthusiastic. After a +while, too, he made matters worse, for about the end of March, he +did another very foolish thing. He almost consented to buy an +expensive horse from Sowerby--an animal which he by no means +wanted, and which, if once possessed, would certainly lead him into +further trouble. A gentleman, when he has a good horse in his +stable, does not like to leave him there eating his head off. If +he be a gig-horse, the owner of him will be keen to drive a gig; if +a hunter, the happy possessor will wish to be with a pack of +hounds. + +'Mark,' Sowerby said to him one day, when they were out together, +'this brute of mine is so fresh, I can hardly ride him; you are +young and strong; change with me for an hour or so.' And then they +did change, and the horse on which Robarts found himself mounted +went away with him beautifully. + +'He's a splendid animal,' said Mark, when they again met. + +'Yes, for a man of your weight. He's thrown away upon me;--too +much of a horse for my purposes. I don't get along now quite as +well as I used to do. He is a nice sort of hunter; just rising +six, you know.' How it came to pass that the price of the splendid +animal was mentioned between them, I need not describe with +exactness. But it did come to pass that Mr Sowerby told the parson +that the horse could be his for one hundred and thirty pounds. 'And +I really wish you'd take him,' said Sowerby. 'It would be the +means of partially relieving my mind of a great weight.' Mark +looked up into his friend's face with an air of surprise, for he +did not at the moment understand how this should be the case. + +'I'm afraid, you know, that you will have to put your hand into +your pocket sooner or later for that accursed bill'--Mark shrank +as the profane words struck his ears--'and I should be glad to +think that you had got something in hand in the way of value.' + +'Do you mean that I shall have to pay the whole sum of five hundred +pounds?' + +'Oh! dear, no; nothing of the kind. But something I dare say you +will have to pay: if you like to take Dandy for a hundred and +thirty, you can be prepared for that amount when Tozer comes to +you. The horse is dog cheap, and you will have a long day for you +money.' Mark, at first, declared, in a quiet determined tone, that +he did not want the horse; but it afterwards appeared to him that +if he were so fated that he must pay a portion of Mr Sowerby's +debts, he might as repay himself to any extent within his power. It +would be as well perhaps that he should take the horse and sell +him. It did not occur to him that by so doing he would put it in +Mr Sowerby's power to say that some valuable consideration had +passed between them with reference to this bill, and that he would +be aiding that gentleman in preparing an inextricable confusion in +money matters between them. Mr Sowerby well knew the value of +this. It would enable him to make a plausible story, as he had +done in that other case of Lord Lufton. 'Are you going to have +Dandy?' Sowerby said to him again. + +'I can't say that I will just at present,' said the parson. 'What +should I do with him now the season's over?' + +'Exactly, my dear fellow; and what do I do want of him now the +season's over? If it were the beginning of October instead of the +end of March, Dandy would be up at two hundred and thirty instead +of one: in six months' time that horse would be worth anything you +like to ask for him. Look at his bone.' The vicar did look at his +bones, examining the brute with a very knowing and unclerical +manner. He lifted the animal's four feet, one after another, +handling the frogs, and measuring with his eye the proportion of +his parts; he passed his hand up and down his legs, spanning the +bones of the lower joint; he peered into his eyes, took into +consideration the width of his chest, the dip of his back, the form +of his ribs, the curve of his haunches, and the capabilities for +breathing when pressed by work. And then he stood away a little, +eyeing him from the side, and taking in a general idea of the form +and make of the whole. 'He seems to stand over a little, I think,' +said the parson. + +'It's the lie of the ground. Move him about, Bob. There now, let +him stand there.' + +'He's not perfect,' said Mark. 'I don't quite like his heels; but +no doubt he's a niceish cut of horse.' + +'I rather think he is. If he were perfect, as you say, he would +not be going into your stables for a hundred and thirty. Do you +ever remember to have seen a perfect horse?' + +'Your mare Mrs Gamp was as nearly perfect as possible.' + +'Even Mrs Gamp had her faults. In the first place she was a bad +feeder. But one certainly doesn't often come across anything much +better than Mrs Gamp.' And thus the matter was talked over between +them with much stable conversation, all of which tended to make +Sowerby more and more oblivious of his friend's sacred profession, +and perhaps to make the vicar himself too frequently oblivious of +it also. But no; he was not oblivious of it. He was even mindful +of it; but mindful of it in such a manner that his thoughts on the +subject were nowadays always painful. + +There is a parish called Hogglestock lying away quite in the +northern extremity of the eastern division of the county--lying +also on the borders of the western division. I almost fear that it +will become necessary, before this history be completed, to provide +a map of Barsetshire for the due explanation of all these +localities. Framley is also in the northern portion of the county, +but just to the south of the grand trunk line of railway from which +the branch to Barchester strikes off at a point some thirty miles +nearer to London. The station for Framley Court is Silverbridge, +which is, however, in the western division of the county. +Hogglesock is to the north of the railway, the line of which, +however, runs through a portion of the parish, and it adjoins +Framley, though the churches are as much as seven miles apart. +Barsetshire, taken altogether, is a pleasant green tree-becrowded +county, with large husky hedges, pretty damp deep lanes, and roads +with broad grass margins running along them. Such is the general +nature of the county; but just up in its northern extremity this +nature alters. There it is bleak and ugly, with low artificial +hedges, and without wood; not uncultivated, as it is all portioned +out into new-looking large fields, bearing turnips, and wheat, and +mangel, all in due course of agricultural rotation; but it has none +of the special beauties of English cultivation. There is not a +gentleman's house in the parish of Hogglestock besides that of the +clergyman; and this, though it is certainly the house of a +gentleman, can hardly be said to be fit to be so. It is ugly, and +straight, and small. It produces cabbages, but no trees: potatoes +of, I believe, an excellent description, but hardly any flowers, +and nothing worthy of the name of a shrub. Indeed the whole parish +of Hogglestock should have been in the adjoining county, which is +by no means so attractive as Barsetshire;--a fact well known to +those few of my readers who are well acquainted with their own +country. + +Mr Crawley, whose name has been mentioned in these pages, was the +incumbent of Hogglestock. On what principle the remuneration of +our parish clergymen was settled when the original settlement was +made, no deepest, keenest, lover of middle-aged ecclesiastical +black-letter learning can, I take it, now say. That priests were +to be paid from tithes of the parish produce, out of which tithes +certain other good things were to be bought and paid for, such as +church repairs and education, of so much the most have an inkling. +That a rector, being a big sort of parson, owned the tithes of his +parish in full,--or at any rate that part of them intended for the +clergyman,--and that a vicar was somebody's deputy, and therefore +entitled only to little tithes, as being of a little body: of so +much we that are simple in such matters have a general idea. But +one cannot conceive that even in this way any approximation could +have been made, even in these old medieval days, towards a fair +proportioning of the pay to the work. At any rate, it is clear +enough that there is no such approximation now. And what a screech +would there not be among the clergy of the Church, even in these +reforming days, if any over-bold reformer were to suggest that such +an approximation should be attempted? Let those who know +clergymen, and like them, and have lived with them, only fancy it! +Clergymen to be paid, not according to the temporalities of any +living which they may have acquired, either by merit or favour, but +in accordance with the work to be done! O Doddington! And O +Stanhope, think of this, if an idea so sacrilegious can find +entrance into your warm ecclesiastical bosoms! Ecclesiastical work +to be bought and paid of according to its quantity and quality! + +But, nevertheless, one may prophesy that we Englishmen must come to +this, disagreeable as the idea undoubtedly is. Most +pleasant-minded Churchmen feel, I think, on this subject pretty +much in the same way. Our present arrangement of parochial incomes +is beloved as being time-honoured, gentlemanlike, English, and +picturesque. We would fain adhere to it closely as long as we can, +but we know that we do so by the force of our prejudice, and not by +that of our judgement. A time-honoured, gentlemanlike, English, +picturesque arrangement is so far very delightful. But are there +not other attributes very desirable--nay, absolutely necessary--in +respect to which this time-honoured, picturesque arrangement is so +very deficient? + +How pleasant it was, too, that one bishop should be getting fifteen +thousand a year, and another with an equal care of parsons only +four? That a certain prelate could get twenty thousand one year +and his successor in the same diocese only five the next? There +was something in it pleasant and picturesque; it was an arrangement +endowed with feudal charms, and the change which they had made was +distasteful to many of us. A bishop with a regular salary, and no +appanage of land and land-bailiffs, is only half a bishop. Let any +man prove to me the contrary ever so thoroughly--me prove it to my +own self ever so often--my heart in this matter is not thereby a +whit altered. One liked to know that there was a dean or two who +got his three thousand a year, and that old Dr Purple held four +stalls, one of which was golden, and the other three silver-gilt! +Such knowledge was always so pleasant to me! A golden stall! How +sweet is the ground thereof to church-loving ears! But bishops +have been shorn of their beauty, and deans are in their decadence. +A utilitarian age requires the fatness of the ecclesiastical land, +in order that it may be divided out into small portions of +provender, on which necessary working clergymen may live, --into +portions so infinitely small that working clergyman can hardly +live. And the full-blown rectors and vicars, with full-blown +tithes--with tithes when too full-blown for strict utilitarian +principles--will necessarily follow. Stanhope and Doddington must +bow their heads, with such compensation for temporal rights as may +be extracted,--but in other trades, professions, and lines of life, +men are paid according to their work. Let it be so in the Church. +Such will sooner or later be the edict of a utilitarian, reforming, +matter-of-fact House of Parliament. + +I have a scheme of my own on the subject, which I will not +introduce here, seeing that neither men nor women would read it. +And with reference to this matter, I will only here further explain +that all these words have been brought about by the fact, necessary +to be here stated, that Mr Crawley only received one hundred and +thirty pounds a year for performing the whole parochial duty of the +parish of Hogglestock. And Hogglestock is a large parish. It +includes two populous villages, abounding in brickmakers, a race of +men very troublesome to a zealous parson who won't let men go +rollicking to the devil without interference. Hogglestock has full +work for two men; and yet all the funds therein applicable to +parson's work is this miserable stipend of one hundred and thirty +pounds a year. It is a stipend neither picturesque nor +time-honoured, nor feudal, for Hogglestock takes rank only as a +perpetual curacy. + +Mr Crawley has been mentioned before as a clergyman of whom Mr +Robarts said, that he almost thought it wrong to take a walk out of +his own parish. In so saying Mark Robarts of course burlesqued his +brother parson; but there can be no doubt that Mr Crawley was a +strict man,--a strict, stern, unpleasant man, and one who feared +God and his own conscience. We must say a word or two of Mr +Crawley and his concerns. He was now some forty years of age, but +of these he had not been in possession even of his present benefice +for more than four or five. The first ten years of his life as a +clergyman had been passed in performing the duties and struggling +through the life of a curate in a bleak, ugly, cold parish on the +northern coast of Cornwall. It had been a weary life and a fearful +struggle, made up of duties ill requited and not always +satisfactorily performed, of love and poverty, of increasing cares, +of sickness, debt, and death. For Mr Crawley had married almost as +soon as he was ordained, and children had been born to him in that +chill, comfortless Cornish village. He had married a lady +well-educated and softly nurtured, but not dowered with worldly +wealth. They two had gone forth determined to fight bravely +together; to disregard the world and the world's ways, looking only +to God and to each other for their comfort. They would give up +ideas of gentle living, of soft raiment, and delicate feeding. +Others,--those that work with their hands, even the betterment of +such workers--could live in decency and health upon even such +provisions as he could earn as a clergyman. In such manner would +they live, so poorly and so decently, working out their work, not +with their hands but with their hearts. + +And so they had established themselves, beginning the world with +bare-footed little girl of fourteen to aid them in the small +household matters; and for a while they had both kept heart, loving +each other dearly, and prospering somewhat in their work. But a +man who has once walked the world as a gentleman knows to what it +is to change his position, and place himself lower down in the +social rank. Much less can he know what it is to put down the +woman he loves. There are a thousand things, mean and trifling in +themselves, which a man despises when he thinks of them in his +philosophy, but to dispense with which puts is philosophy to so +stern a proof. Let any plainest man who reads this think of his +usual mode of getting himself into is matutinal garments, and +confess how much such a struggle would cost him. And then children +had come. The wife of the labouring man does rear her children, +and often rears them in health, without even so may appliances of +comfort as found their way into Mrs Crawley's cottage; but the task +to her was almost more than she could accomplish. Not that she +ever fainted, or gave way: she was made of the sterner metal of the +two, and could last on while he was prostrate. + +And sometimes he was prostrate--prostrate in soul and spirit. Then +would he complain with bitter voice, crying out that the world was +too hard for him, that his back was broken with his burden, that +his God had deserted him. For days and days, in such moods, he +would stay within his cottage, never darkening the door or seeing +other face than those of his own inmates. Those days were terrible +both to him and her. He would sit there unwashed, with his unshorn +face resting on his hand, with an old dressing-gown hanging loose +about him, hardly tasting food, seldom speaking, striving to pray, +but striving so frequently in vain. And then he would rise from +his chair, and, with a burst of frenzy, call upon his Creator to +remove him from this misery. In these moments she never deserted +him. At one period they had had four children, and though the +whole weight of this young brood rested on her arms, on her +muscles, on her strength of mind and body, she never ceased in her +efforts to comfort him. Then, at length, falling utterly upon the +ground, he would pour forth piteous prayers for mercy, and after a +night of sleep would once more go forth to his work. + +But she never yielded to despair: the struggle was never beyond her +powers of endurance. She had possessed her share of woman's +loveliness, but that was now all gone. Her colour quickly faded, +and the fresh, soft tints soon deserted her face and forehead. She +became thin, and rough, and almost haggard; thin till her +cheek-bones were nearly pressing through her skin, till her elbows +were sharp, and her finger-bones as those of a skeleton. Her eye +did not lose its lustre, but it became unnaturally bright, +prominent, and too large for her wan face. The soft brown locks, +which she had once loved to brush back, scorning, as she would +boast to herself, to care that they should be seen, were now sparse +enough and all untidy and unclean. It was matter of little thought +now whether they were seen or not. Whether he could be made fit to +go into his pulpit--whether they might be fed--those four +innocents--and their backs kept from the cold wind--that was now +the matter of her thought. And then two of them died, and she went +forth herself to see them laid under the frost-bound sod, lest he +should faint in his work over their graves. For he would ask aid +from no man--such at least was his boast through all. Two of them +died, but their illness had been long; and then debts came upon +them. Debt, indeed, had been creeping on them with slow but sure +feet during the last five years. Who can see his children hungry, +and not take bread if it be offered? Who can see his wife lying in +sharpest want, and not seek a remedy if there be a remedy within +reach? So debt had come upon them, and rude men pressed for small +sums of money--for sums small to the world, but impossibly large to +them. And he would hide himself within there, in that cranny of an +inner chamber--hide himself with deep shame from the world, with +shame and a sinking heart, and a broken spirit. + +But had such a man no friend? it will be said. Such men, I take +it, do not make many friends. But this man was not utterly +friendless. Almost every year one visit was paid to him in his +Cornish curacy, by a brother clergyman, an old college friend, who, +as far as might in him lie, did give aid to the curate and his +wife. This gentleman would take up his abode for a week at a +farmer's in the neighbourhood, and though he found Mr Crawley in +despair, he would leave him with some drops of comfort in his +soul. Nor were the benefits in this respect al on one side. Mr +Crawley, though at some periods weak enough himself, could be +strong for others; and, more than once, was strong to the great +advantage of this man whom he loved. And then, too, pecuniary +assistance was forthcoming--in those earlier years not in great +amount, for this friend was not then among the rich ones of the +earth--but in amount sufficient for that moderate hearth, if only +its acceptance could have been managed. But in that matter there +were difficulties without end. Of absolute money tenders Mr +Crawley would accept none. But a bill here and there was paid, the +wife assisting; and shoes came for Kate--till Kate was placed +beyond the need of shoes; and cloth for Harry and Frank, found its +way surreptitiously in beneath the cover of that wife's solitary +trunk--cloth with which those lean fingers worked garments for the +two boys, to be worn--such was God's will--only by the one. + +Such were Mr and Mrs Crawley in their Cornish curacy, and during +their severest struggles. To one who thinks that a fair day's work +is worth a fair day's wages, it seems hard enough that a man should +work so hard and receive so little. There will be those who think +that the fault was all his own in marrying so young. But still +there remains that question, Is not a fair day's work worth a fair +day's wages? This man did work hard--at a task perhaps the hardest +of any that a man may do; and for ten years he earned some seventy +pounds a year. Will any one say that he received fair wages for +his fair work, let him be married or single? And yet, there are so +many who would fain pay their clergy, if they only knew how to +apply their money! But that is a long subject, as Mr Robarts had +told Miss Dunstable. Such was Mr Crawley in his Cornish curacy. + + + +CHAPTER XV + +LADY LUFTON'S AMBASSADOR + + +And then, in the days which followed, that friend of Mr Crawley's, +whose name, by the by, is yet to be mentioned, received quick and +great promotion. Mr Arabin by name he was then; Dr Arabin +afterwards, when that quick and great promotion reached its +climax. He had been simply a Fellow of Lazarus in those former +years. Then he became vicar of St Ewold's, in East Barsetshire, +and had not yet got himself settled there when he married the widow +Bold, a widow with belongings in land and funded money, and with +but one small baby as an encumbrance. Nor had he even yet married +her, had only engaged himself so to do, when they made him Dean of +Barchester--all of which may be read in the diocesan and county +chronicles. And now that he was wealthy, the new dead did contrive +to pay the debts of his poor friend, some lawyer of Camelford +assisting him. It was but a paltry schedule after all, amounting +in the total to something not much above a hundred pounds. And +then, in the course of eighteen months, this poor piece of +preferment fell the dean's way, this incumbency of Hogglestock with +its stipend reaching one hundred and thirty pounds a year. Even +that was worth double the Cornish curacy, and there was, moreover, +a house attached to it. Poor Mrs Crawley, when she heard of it, +thought that their struggles of poverty were now well-nigh over. +What might not be done with a hundred and thirty pounds by people +who had lived for ten years on seventy? + +And so they moved away out of that cold, bleak country, carrying +with them their humble household goods, and settled themselves in +another country, cold and bleak also, but less terribly so than the +former. They settled themselves, and again began their struggles +against man's hardness and the devil's zeal. I have said that Mr +Crawley was a stern, unpleasant man; and it certainly was so. The +man must be made of very sterling stuff, whom continued and +undeserved misfortune does not make unpleasant. This man had so +far succumbed to grief, that it had left upon him its marks, +palpable and not to be effaced. He cared little for society, +judging men to be doing evil who did care for it. He knew as a +fact, and believed with all his heart, that these sorrows had come +to him from the hand of God, and that they would work for his weal +in the long run; but not the less did they make him morose, silent +and dogged. He had always at his heart a feeling that he and his +had been ill-used, and too often solaced himself, at the devil's +bidding, with the conviction that eternity would make equal that +which life in this world had made so unequal; the last bait that +with which the devil angles after those who are struggling to elude +his rod and line. + +The Framley property did not run into the parish of Hogglestock; +but nevertheless Lady Lufton did what she could in the way of +kindness to these new-comers. Providence had not supplied +Hogglestock with a Lady Lufton, or with any substitute in the shape +of lord or lady, squire or squiress. The Hogglestock farmers, male +and female, were a rude, rough set, not bordering in their social +rank on the farmer gentle; and Lady Lufton, knowing this, and +hearing something of these Crawleys from Mrs Arabin the dean's +wife, trimmed her lamps, so that they should shed a wider light, +and pour forth some of their influence on that forlorn household. +And as regards Mrs Crawley, Lady Lufton by no means found that her +work was thrown away. Mrs Crawley accepted her kindness with +thankfulness, and returned to some of the softness of life under +her hand. As for dining at Framley Court, that was out of the +question. Mr Crawley, she knew, would not hear of it, even if +other things were fitting and appliances were at command. Indeed +Mrs Crawley at once said that she felt herself unfit to go through +such a ceremony with anything like comfort. The dean, she said, +would talk of their going to stay at the deanery; but she thought +it quite impossible that either of them should endure even that. +But, all the same, Lady Lufton was a comfort to her; and the poor +woman felt that it was well to have a lady near her in case of +need. + +The task was much harder with Mr Crawley, but even with him it was +not altogether unsuccessful. Lady Lufton talked to him of his +parish and of her own; made Mark Robarts go to him, and by degrees +did something towards civilizing him. Between him and Robarts too +there grew up an intimacy rather than a friendship. Robarts would +submit his opinion on matters of ecclesiastical and even +theological law, would listen to him with patience, would agree +with him where he could, and differ with him mildly when he could +not. For Robarts was a man who made himself pleasant to all men. +And thus, under Lady Lufton's wing, there grew up a connexion +between Framley and Hogglestock, in which Mrs Robarts also +assisted. And now that Lady Lufton was looking about her, to see +how she might best bring proper clerical influence to bear upon her +own recreant fox-hunting parson, it occurred to her that she might +use Mr Crawley in the matter. Mr Crawley would certainly be on her +side as far as opinion went, and would have no fear in expressing +his opinion to his brother clergyman. So she sent for Mr Crawley. +In appearance he was the very opposite of Mark Robarts. He was a +lean, slim, meagre man, with shoulders slightly curved, and pale, +lank locks of ragged hair; his forehead was high, but his face was +narrow; his small grey eyes were deeply sunken in his head, his +nose was well-formed, his lips thin, and his mouth expressive. +Nobody could look at him without seeing that there was a purpose +and a meaning in his countenance. He always wore, in summer and +winter, a long dusky grey coat, which buttoned close up to his neck +and descended almost to his heels. He was full six feet high, but +being so slight in build, he looked as though he were taller. He +came at once at Lady Lufton's bidding, putting himself into the gig +beside the servant, to whom he spoke no single word during the +journey. And the man, looking into his face, was struck with +taciturnity. Now Mark Robarts would have talked with him the whole +way from Hogglestock to Framley Court; discoursing partly as to +horses and land, but partly also as to higher things. And then +Lady Lufton opened her mind and told her griefs to Mr Crawley, +urging, however, through the whole length of her narrative, that Mr +Robarts was an excellent parish clergyman,--'just such a clergyman +in his church as I would wish him to be,' she explained, with the +view of saving herself from an expression of any of Mr Crawley's +special ideas as to church teaching, and of confining him to the +one subject-matter in hand; 'but he got his living so young, Mr +Crawley, that he is hardly quite as steady as I should wish him to +be. It has been as much my fault as his own in placing him in such +a position so early in life.' + +'I think it has,' said Mr Crawley, who might perhaps be a little +sore on the subject. + +'Quite so, quite so,' continued her ladyship, swallowing down a +certain sense of anger. 'But that is done now, and is past cure. +That Mr Robarts will become a credit to his profession, I do not +doubt, for his heart is in the right place and his sentiments are +good; but I fear that at present he is succumbing to temptation.' + +'I am told that he hunts two or three times a week. Everybody is +talking about it.' + +'No, Mr Crawley; not two or three times a week; very seldom above +once, I think. And then I do believe he does it more with the view +of being with Lord Lufton than anything else.' + +'I cannot see that that would make the matter better,' said Mr +Crawley. + +'It would show that he was not strongly imbued with a taste which I +cannot but regard as vicious in a clergyman.' + +'It must be vicious in all men,' said Mr Crawley. 'It is in itself +cruel, and leads to idleness and profligacy.' Again Lady Lufton +made a gulp. She had called Mr Crawley thither to her aid, and +felt that it would be inexpedient to quarrel with him. But she did +not like to be told that her son's amusement was idle and +profligate. She had always regarded hunting as a proper pursuit +for a country gentleman. It was, indeed, in her eyes one of the +peculiar institutions of country life in England, and it may be +almost said that she looked upon the Barsetshire Hunt as something +sacred. She could not endure to hear that a fox was trapped, and +allowed her turkeys to be purloined without a groan. Such being +the case, she did not like being told that it was vicious, and had +by no means wished to consult Mr Crawley on that matter. But +nevertheless she swallowed her wrath. + +'It is at any rate unbecoming in a clergyman,' she said; 'and as I +know that Mr Robarts places a high value on your opinion, perhaps +you will not object to advise him to discontinue it. He might +possibly feel aggrieved were I to interfere personally on such a +question.' + +'I have no doubt he would,' said Mr Crawley. 'It is not within a +woman's province to give counsel to a clergyman on such a subject, +unless she be very near and very dear to him--his wife, or mother, +or sister.' + +'As living in the same parish, you know, and being, perhaps--' the +leading person in it, and the one who naturally rules the others. +Those would have been the fitting words for the expression of +her ladyship's ideas; but she remembered herself, and did not use +them. She had made up her mind that, great as her influence ought +to be, she was not the proper person to speak to Mr Robarts as to +his pernicious, unclerical habits, and she would not now depart +from her resolve by attempting to prove that she was the proper +person. + +'Yes,' said Mr Crawley, 'just so. All that would entitle him to +offer you his counsel if he thought that your mode of life was such +as to require it, but could by no means justify in addressing +yourself to him.' This was very hard upon Lady Lufton. She was +endeavouring with all her woman's strength to do her best, and +endeavouring so to do it that the feelings of the sinner might be +spared; and yet the ghostly comforter whom she had evoked to her +aid, treated her as though she were arrogant and overbearing. She +acknowledged the weakness of her own position with reference to her +parish clergyman by calling in the aid of Mr Crawley; and, under +such circumstances, he might, at any rate, have abstained from +throwing her weakness in her teeth. + +'Well, sir; I hope my mode of life may not require it; but that is +not exactly to the point; what I wish to know is, whether you will +speak to Mr Robarts?' + +'Certainly I will', said he. + +'Then I shall be much obliged to you. But, Mr Crawley, pray +--pray, remember this: I would not on any account wish that you +should be harsh with him. He is an excellent young man, and--' + +'Lady Lufton, if I do this, I can only do it in my own way, as best +I may, using such words as God may give me at the time. I hope +that I am harsh to no man; but it is worse than useless, in all +cases, to speak anything but the truth.' + +'Of course--of course.' + +'If the ears be too delicate to hear the truth, the mind will be +too perverse to profit by it.' And then Mr Crawley got up to take +his leave. But Lady Lufton insisted that he should go with her to +luncheon. He hummed and ha'd and would fain have refused, but on +this subject she was peremptory. It might be that she was unfit to +advise a clergyman as to his duties, but in a matter of hospitality +she did know what she was about. Mr Crawley should not leave the +house without refreshment. As to this, she carried her point; and +Mr Crawley,--when the matter before him was cold roast beef and hot +potatoes, instead of the relative position of a parish priest and +his parishioner--became humble, submissive, and almost timid. Lady +Lufton recommended Madeira instead of sherry, and Mr Crawley obeyed +at once, and was, indeed, perfectly unconscious of the difference. +Then there was a basket of seakale in the gig for Mrs Crawley; that +he would have left behind had he dared, but he did not dare. Not a +word was said to him as to the marmalade for the children which was +hidden under the seakale, Lady Lufton feeling well aware that that +would find its way to its proper destination without any necessity +for his co-operation. And then Mr Crawley returned home in the +Framley Court gig. + +Three or four days after this he walked over to Framley parsonage. +This he did on a Saturday, having learned that the hounds never +hunted on that day; and he started early, so that he might be sure +to catch Mr Robarts before he went out on his parish business. He +was quite early enough to attain this object, for when he reached +the parsonage door at about half-past nine, the vicar, with his +wife and sister, were just sitting down to breakfast. 'Oh, +Crawley,' said Robarts, before the other had well spoken, 'you are +a capital fellow;' and then he got him a chair, and Mrs Robarts had +poured him out tea, and Lucy had surrendered to him a knife and +plate, before he knew under what guise to excuse his coming among +them. + +'I hope you will excuse this intrusion,' at last he muttered; 'but +I have a few words of business to which I will request your +attention presently.' + +'Certainly,' said Robarts, conveying a broiled kidney on to the +plate before Mr Crawley; 'but there is no preparation for business +like a good breakfast. Lucy, where are the eggs?' And then, John, +in livery, brought in the fresh eggs. 'Now, we shall do. I always +eat my eggs while they're hot, Crawley, and I advise you to do the +same.' To all this, Mr Crawley said very little, and he was not at +all home under the circumstances. Perhaps a thought did pass +across his brain, as to the difference between the meal which he +had left on his own table, and that which he now saw before him; +and as to any cause which might exist for such difference. But, if +so, it was a very fleeting thought, for he had far other matter, +now fully occupying his mind. And then the breakfast was over, and +in a few minutes the two clergymen found themselves together in the +parsonage study.' + +'Mr Robarts,' began the senior, when he had seated himself +uncomfortably on one of the ordinary chairs at the farther side of +the well-stored library table, while Mark was sitting at his ease +in his own arm-chair by the fire. 'I have called upon you on an +unpleasant business.' Mark's mind immediately flew off to Mr +Sowerby's bill, but he could not think it possible that Mr Crawley +could have had anything to do with that. + +'But as a brother clergyman, and as one who esteems you much and +wishes you well, I have thought myself bound to take this matter in +hand.' + +'What matter is it Crawley?' + +'Mr Robarts, men say that your present mode of life is one not +befitting a soldier in Christ's army.' + +'Men say so? What men?' + +'The men around you, of your own neighbourhood; those who watch +your life, and know all your doings; those who look to see you +walking as a lamp to guide their feet, but find you consorting with +horse-jockeys and hunters, galloping after hounds, and taking your +place among the vainest of worldly pleasure-seekers. Those who +have a right to expect an example of good living, and think they do +not see it.' Mr Crawley had gone at once to the root of the +matter, and in doing so had certainly made his own task much the +easier. There is nothing like going to the root of the matter at +once when one has on hand an unpleasant piece of business. + +'And have such men deputed you to come here?' + +'No one has or could depute me. I have come to speak my own mind, +not that of any other. But I refer to what those around you think +and say, because it is to them that your duties are due. You owe +it to those around you to live a godly, cleanly life;--as you owe it +also, in a much higher way, to your Father who is in heaven. I now +make bold to ask you whether you are doing your best to lead such a +life as that?' And then he remained silent, waiting for an answer. +He was a singular man; so humble and meek, so unutterably +inefficient and awkward in the ordinary intercourse of life, but one +so bold and enterprising, almost eloquent, on the one subject which +was the work of his mind! As he sat there, he looked into his +companion's face from out his sunken grey eyes with a gaze which +made his victim quail. And then he repeated his words: 'I now make +bold to ask you, Mr Robarts, whether you are doing your best to +lead such a life as may become a parish clergyman among his +parishioners?' And again he paused for an answer. + +'There are but few of us,' said Mark, in a low tone, 'who could +safely answer that question in the affirmative.' + +'But are there many, think you, among us who would find the +question so unanswerable as yourself? And even were there many, +would you, young, enterprising, and talented as you are, be content +to be numbered among them? Are you satisfied to be a castaway +after you have taken upon yourself Christ's armour? If you will +say so, I am mistaken in you, and will go my way.' There was again +a pause, and then he went on. 'Speak to me, my brother, and open +your heart, if it be possible.' And rising from his chair, he +walked across the room, and laid his hand tenderly upon Mark's +shoulder. Mark had been sitting lounging in his chair, and had at +first, for a moment only, thought to brazen it out. But all idea +of brazening had now left him. He had raised himself from his +comfortable ease, and was leaning forward with his elbow on the +table; but now, when he heard these words, he allowed his head to +sink upon his arms, and he buried his face between his hands. + +'It is a terrible falling off,' continued Crawley: 'terrible in the +fall, but doubly terrible through that difficulty of returning. But +it cannot be that it should content you to place yourself as one +among those thoughtless sinners, for the crushing of whose sin you +have been placed among them. You become a hunting parson, and ride +with a happy mind among blasphemers and mocking devils--you, whose +aspirations were so high, who have spoken so often and so well of +the duties of a minister of Christ; you, who can argue in your +pride as to the petty details of your Church, as though the broad +teachings of its great and simple lessons were not enough for your +energies! It cannot be that I have a hypocrite beside me in all +those eager controversies!' + +'Not a hypocrite--not a hypocrite,' said Mark, in a tone which was +almost reduced to sobbing. + +'But a castaway! Is it so I must call you? No, Mr Robarts, not a +castaway; neither a hypocrite, nor a castaway; but one who in +walking has stumbled in the dark, and bruised his feet among the +stones. Henceforth let him take a lantern in his hand, and look +warily to his path, and walk cautiously among the thorns and +rocks--cautiously, but yet boldly, with manly courage, but +Christian meekness, as all men should walk on their pilgrimage +through this vale of tears.' And then, without giving his +companion time to stop him he hurried out of the room, and from the +house, and without again seeing any of the others of the family, +stalked back on his road to Hogglestock, thus trampling fourteen +miles through the deep mud in performance of the mission on which +he had been sent. + +It was some hours before Mr Robarts left his room. As soon as he +found that Crawley was really gone, and that he should see him no +more, he turned the lock of his door, and sat himself down to think +of his present life. At about eleven his wife knocked, not knowing +whether that other strange clergyman were there or no, for none had +seen his departure. But Mark, answering cheerily, desired that he +might be left to his studies. Let us hope that his thoughts and +mental resolves were then of service to him. + + + +CHAPTER XVI + +MRS PODGENS' BABY + + +The hunting season had now nearly passed away, and the great ones +of the Barsetshire world were thinking of the glories of London. Of +these glories Lady Lufton always thought with much inquietude of +mind. She would fain have remained throughout the whole year at +Framley Court, did not certain grave considerations render such a +course on her part improper in her own estimation. All the Lady +Luftons of whom she had heard, dowager and ante-dowager, had always +had their seasons in London, till old age had incapacitated them +for such doings--sometimes for clearly long after the arrival of +such period. And then she had an idea, perhaps not altogether +erroneous, that she annually imported back with her into the +country somewhat of the passing civilization of the times:--may we +not say an idea that certainly was not erroneous? For how +otherwise is it that the forms of new caps and remodelled shapes +for women's waists find their way down into agricultural parts, and +that the rural eye learns to appreciate grace and beauty? There +are those who think that remodelled waists and new caps had better +be kept to the towns; but such people, if they would follow out +their own argument, would wish to see plough-boys painted with +ruddle and milkmaids covered with skins. For those and other +reasons Lady Lufton always went to London in April, and stayed +there till the beginning of June. But for her this was usually a +period of penance. In London she was no very great personage. She +had never laid herself out for greatness of that sort, and did not +shine as lady-patroness or state secretary in the female cabinet of +fashion. She was dull and listless, and without congenial pursuits +in London, and spent her happiest moments in reading accounts of +what was being done at Framley, and in writing orders for further +local information of the same kind. But on this occasion there was +a matter of vital import to give an interest of its own to her +visit to town. She was to entertain Griselda Grantly, and, as far +as might be possible, to induce her son to remain in Griselda's +society. The plan of the campaign was to be as follows:--Mrs +Grantly and the archdeacon were in the first place to go up to +London for a month, taking Griselda with them; and then, when they +returned to Plumstead, Griselda was to go to Lady Lufton. This +arrangement was not at all points agreeable to Lady Lufton, for she +knew that Mrs Grantly did not turn her back on the Hartletop people +quite as cordially as she should do, considering the terms of the +Lufton-Grantly family treaty. But then Mrs Grantly might have +alleged in excuse the slow manner in which Lord Lufton was proceeding +in the making and declaring of his love, and the absolute necessity +which there is for two strings to one bow, when one string may be +in any way doubtful. Could it be possible that Mrs Grantly had +heard anything of that unfortunate Platonic friendship with Lucy +Robarts? + +There came a letter from Mrs Grantly just about the end of March, +which added much to Lady Lufton's uneasiness, and made her more +than ever anxious to be herself on the scene of action, and to have +Griselda in her own hands. After some communications of mere +ordinary importance with reference to the London world in general +and the Lufton-Grantly world in particular, Mrs Grantly wrote +confidentially about her daughter:--'It would be useless to deny,' +she said, with a mother's pride and a mother's humility, 'that she +is very much admired. She is asked out a great deal more than I +can take her, and to houses to which I myself by no means wish to +go. I could not refuse her as to Lady Hartletop's first ball, for +there will be nothing else yea like them; and of course when with +you, dear Lady Lufton, that house will be out of the question. So +indeed would it be with me, were I myself only concerned. The duke +was there, of course, and I really wonder Lady Hartletop should not +be more discreet in her own drawing-room when all the world is +there. It is clear to me that Lord Dumbello admires Griselda much +more than I could wish. She, dear girl, has such excellent sense +that I do not think it likely that her head should be turned by it; +but with how many girls would not the admiration of such a man be +irresistible? The marquis, you know, is very feeble, and I am told +that since this rage for building has come on, the Lancashire +property is over two hundred thousand a year! I do not think that +Lord Dumbello has said much to her. Indeed it seems to me that he +never does say much to any one. But he always stands to dance with +her, and I see that he is uneasy and fidgety when she stands up +with any other partner whom he could care about. It was really +embarrassing to see him the other night at Miss Dunstable's, when +Griselda was dancing with a certain friend of ours. But she did +look very well that evening, and I have seldom seen her more +animated!' + +All this, and a great deal more of the same sort in the same +latter, tended to make Lady Lufton anxious to be in London. It was +quite certain--there was no doubt of that, at any rate--that +Griselda would see no more of Lady Hartletop's meretricious +grandeur when she had been transferred to Lady Lufton's +guardianship. And she, Lady Lufton, did wonder that Mrs Grantly +should have taken her daughter to such a house. All about Lady +Hartletop was known to the world. It was known that it was almost +the only house in London at which the Duke of Omnium was constantly +to be met. Lady Lufton herself would almost as soon think of +taking a young girl to Gatherum Castle; and on these accounts she +did feel rather angry with her friend Mrs Grantly. But then +perhaps she did not sufficiently calculate that Mrs Grantly's +letter had been written purposely to produce such feelings--with +the express view of awakening her ladyship to the necessity of +action. Indeed, in such a matter as this, Mrs Grantly was a more +able woman than Lady Lufton--more able to see her way and to follow +it out. The Lufton-Grantly alliance was in her mind the best, +seeing that she did not regard money as everything. But failing +that, the Hartletop-Grantly alliance was not bad. Regarding it as +a second string to her bow, she thought that it was not at all +bad. Lady Lufton's reply was very affectionate. She declared how +happy she was to know that Griselda was enjoying herself; she +insinuated that Lord Dumbello was known to the world as a fool, and +his mother as--being not a bit better than she ought to be; and +then she added that circumstances would bring herself up to town +four days sooner than she had expected, and that she hoped her dear +Griselda would come to her at once. Lord Lufton, she said, though +he would not sleep in Bruton Street--Lady Lufton lived in Bruton +Street--had promised to pass there as much of his time as his +parliamentary duties would permit. + +O Lady Lufton! Lady Lufton! did not it occur to you when you +wrote those last words intending that they should have so strong an +effect on the mind of your correspondent that you were telling +a--tarradiddle? Was it not the case that you had said to your son, +in your own dear, kind, motherly way: 'Ludovic, we shall see +something of you in Bruton Street this year, shall we not? Griselda +Grantly will be with me, and we must not let her be dull--must +we?' And then had he not answered, 'Oh, of course, mother,' and +sauntered out of the room, not altogether graciously? Had he, or +you, said a word about his parliamentary duties? Not a word! O +Lady Lufton! have you not written a tarradiddle to your friend? In +these days we are becoming very strict about truth with our +children; terribly strict occasionally, when we consider the +natural weakness of the moral courage at the ages of ten, twelve, +and fourteen. But I do not know that we are at all increasing the +measure of strictness with which we, grown-up people, regulate our +own truth and falsehood. Heaven forbid that I should be thought to +advocate falsehood in children; but an untruth is more pardonable +in them than in parents. Lady Lufton's tarradiddle was of a nature +that is usually considered excusable--at least with grown-up +people; but, nevertheless, she would have been nearer to perfection +could she have confined herself to the truth. Let us suppose that +a boy were to write home from school, saying that another boy had +promised to come and stay with him, that other having given no such +promise--what a very naughty boy would that first boy be in the eyes +of his pastors and masters! + +That little conversation between Lord Lufton and his mother--in +which nothing was said about his lordship's parliamentary +duties--took place on the evening before he started for London. On +that occasion he certainly was not in the best humour, nor did he +behave to his mother in the kindest manner. He had then left the +room when she began to talk about Miss Grantly; and once again in +the course of the evening, when his mother, not very judiciously, +said a word or two about Griselda's beauty; he had remarked that +she was no conjurer, and would hardly set the Thames on fire. 'If +she were a conjurer,' said Lady Lufton, rather piqued, 'I should +not now be going to take her out in London. I know many of those +sort of girls whom you call conjurers; they can talk for ever, and +always talk loudly or in a whisper. I don't like them, and I am +sure that you do not in your heart.' + +'Oh, as to liking them in my heart--that is being very +particular.' + +'Griselda Grantly is a lady, and as such I shall be happy to have +her with me in town. She is just the girl that Justinia will like +to have with her.' + +'Exactly,' said Lord Lufton. 'She will do exceedingly well for +Justinia.' Now this was not good-natured on the part of Lord +Lufton; and his mother felt it the more strongly, inasmuch as it +seemed to signify that he was setting his back up against the +Lufton-Grantly alliance. She had been pretty sure that he would do +so in the event of his suspecting that a plot was being laid to +catch him; and now it almost appeared that he did suspect such a +plot. Why else sarcasm as to Griselda doing very well for his +sister? + +And now we must go back and describe a little scene at Framley, +which will account for his Lordship's ill-humour and suspicions, +and explain how it came to pass that he so snubbed his mother. This +scene took place about ten days after the evening on which Mrs +Robarts and Lucy were walking together in the parsonage garden, and +during those ten days Lucy had not once allowed herself to be +entrapped into any special conversation with the young peer. She +had dined at Framley Court during that interval, and had spent a +second evening there; Lord Lufton had also been up at the parsonage +on three or four occasions, and had looked for her in her usual +walks; but, nevertheless, they had never come together in their old +familiar way, since the day on which Lady Lufton had hinted her +fears to Mrs Robarts. + +Lord Lufton had very much missed her. At first he had not +attributed this change to a purposed scheme of action on the part +of any one; nor, indeed, had he much thought about it, although he +had felt himself to be annoyed. But as the period fixed for his +departure grew near, it did occur to him as very odd that he should +never hear Lucy's voice unless when she said a few words to his +mother, or to her sister-in-law. And then he made up his mind that +he would speak to her before he went, and that the mystery should +be explained to him. And he carried out his purpose, calling at +the parsonage on one special afternoon; and it was on the evening +of the same day that his mother sang the praises of Griselda +Grantly so inopportunely. Robarts, he knew, was then absent from +home, and Mrs Robarts was with his mother down at the house, +preparing lists of the poor people to be specially attended to in +Lady Lufton's approaching absence. Taking advantage of this, he +walked boldly in through the parsonage garden; asked the gardener, +with an indifferent voice, whether either of the ladies were at +home, and then caught poor Lucy exactly on the doorstep of the +house. + +'Were you going in or out, Miss Robarts?' + +'Well, I was going out,' said Lucy; and she began to consider how +best she might get quit of any prolonged encounter. + +'Oh, going out, were you? I don't know whether I may offer to--' + +'Well, Lord Lufton, not exactly, seeing that I am about to pay a +visit to our near neighbour, Mrs Podgens. Perhaps, you have no +particular call towards Mrs Podgens's just at present, or to her +new baby?' + +'And have you any particular call that way?' + +'Yes, and especially to Baby Podgens. Baby Podgens is a real +little duck--only just two days old.' And Lucy, as she spoke, +progressed a step or two, as though she were determined not to +remain there talking on the doorstep. A slight cloud came across +his brow as he saw this, and made him resolve that she should not +gain her purpose. He was not going to be foiled in that way by +such a girl as Lucy Robarts. He had come there to speak to her, +and speak to her he would. There had been enough of intimacy +between them to justify him in demanding, at any rate, as much as +that. + +'Miss Robarts,' he said, 'I am starting for London to-morrow, and +if I do not say good-bye to you now, I shall not be able to do so +at all.' + +'Good-bye, Lord Lufton,' she said, giving him her hand, and smiling +on him with her old genial, good-humoured, racy smile. 'And mind +you bring into Parliament that law which you promised me for +defending my young chickens.' + +He took her hand, but that was not all he wanted. 'Surely Mrs +Podgens and her baby can wait ten minutes. I shall not see you +again for months to come, and yet you seem to begrudge me two +words.' + +'Not two hundred if they can be of any service to you,' said she, +walking cheerily back into the drawing-room; 'only I did not think +it worth while to waste your time, as Fanny is not here.' She was +infinitely more collected, more master of herself than he was. +Inwardly, she did tremble at the idea of what was coming, but +outwardly she showed no agitation--none as yet; if only she could +so possess herself as to refrain from doing so, when she heard what +he might have to say to her. + +He hardly knew what it was for the saying of which he had so +resolutely come hither. He had by no means made up his mind that +he loved Lucy Robarts; nor had he made up his mind that, loving +her, he would, or that, loving her, he would not, make her his +wife. He had never used his mind in the matter in any way, either +for good or evil. He had learned to like her and to think that she +was very pretty. He had found out that it was very pleasant to +talk to her; whereas, talking to Griselda Grantly, and, indeed, to +some other young ladies of his acquaintance, was often hard work. +The half-hours which he had spent with Lucy had always been +satisfactory to him. He had found himself to be more bright with +her than with other people, and more apt to discuss subjects worth +discussing; and thus it had come about that he thoroughly liked +Lucy Robarts. As to whether his affection was Platonic or +anti-Platonic he had never asked himself; but he had spoken +words to her, shortly before that sudden cessation of their +intimacy, which might have been taken as anti-Platonic by any girl +so disposed to regard them. He had not thrown himself at her feet, +and declared himself to be devoured by a consuming passion; but he +had touched her hand as lovers touch those of women whom they love; +he had had his confidences with her, talking to her of his own +mother, of his sister, and of his friends; and he had called her +his own dear friend Lucy. All this had been very sweet to her, but +very poisonous also. She had declared to herself very frequently +that her liking for this young nobleman was purely a feeling of +mere friendship as was that of her brother; and she had professed +to herself that she would give the lie to the world's cold sarcasms +on such subjects. But she had now acknowledged that the sarcasms +of the world on that matter, cold though they may be, are not the +less true; and having so acknowledged, she had resolved that all +close alliance between herself and Lord Lufton must be at an end. +She had come to a conclusion, but he had come to none; and in this +frame of mind he was now there with the object of reopening that +dangerous friendship which she had had the sense to close. + +'And so you are going to-morrow?' she said, as soon as they were +both within the drawing-room. + +'Yes: I'm off by the early train to-morrow morning, and Heaven +knows when we may meet again.' + +'Next winter, shall we not?' + +'Yes, for a day or two, I suppose. I do not know whether I shall +pass another winter here. Indeed, one can never say where one will +be.' + +'No, one can't; such as you, at least, cannot. I am not of a +migratory tribe myself.' + +'I wish you were.' + +'I'm not a bit obliged to you. Your nomad life does not agree with +young ladies.' + +'I think they are taking to it pretty freely then. We have +unprotected young women all about the world.' + +'And great bores you find them, I suppose?' + +'No; I like it. The more we can get out of old-fashioned grooves +the better I am pleased. I should be a Radical to-morrow--a +regular man of the people--only I should break my mother's heart.' + +'Whatever you do, Lord Lufton, do not do that.' + +'That is why I like you so much,' he continued, 'because you +get out of the grooves.' + +'Do I?' + +'Yes; and go along by yourself, guiding your own footsteps; not +carried hither and thither, just as your grandmother's old tramway +may chance to take you.' + +'Do you know I have a strong idea that my grandmother's old tramway +will be the safest and the best after all? I have not left it very +far, and I certainly mean to go back to it.' + +'That's impossible! An army of old women, with coils of rope made +out of time-honoured prejudices, could not draw you back.' + +'No, Lord Lufton, that is true. But one--' and then she stopped +herself. She could not tell him that one loving mother, anxious +for her only son, had sufficed to do it. She could not explain to +him that this departure from the established tramway had already +broken her own rest, and turned her peaceful happy life into a +grievous battle. + +'I know you are trying to go back,' he said. 'Do you think that I +have eyes and cannot see? Come, Lucy, you and I have been friends, +and we must not part in this way. My mother is a paragon among +women. I say it in earnest;--a paragon among women: and her love +for me is the perfection of motherly love.' + +'It is, it is; and I am so glad that you acknowledge it.' + +'I should be worse than a brute did I not do so; but, nevertheless, +I cannot allow her to lead me in all things. Were I to do so, I +should cease to be a man.' + +'Where can you find any one who will counsel you so truly?' + +'But, nevertheless, I must rule myself. I do not know whether my +suspicions may be perfectly just, but I fancy that she has created +this estrangement between you and me. Has it not been so?' + +'Certainly not by speaking to me,' said Lucy, blushing ruby-red +through every vein of her deep-tinted face. But though she could +not command her blood, her voice was still under her control--her +voice and her manner. + +'But has she not done so? You, I know, will tell me nothing but +the truth.' + +'I will tell you nothing on this matter, Lord Lufton, whether true +or false. It is a subject on which it does not concern me to +speak.' + +'Ah! I understand,' he said; and rising from his chair, he stood +against the chimney-piece with his back to the fire. 'She cannot +leave me alone to choose for myself, my friends, and my own--;' but +he did not fill up the void. + +'But why tell me this, Lord Lufton?' + +'No! I am not to choose my own friends, though they be amongst the +best and purest of God's creatures. Lucy, I cannot think that you +have ceased to have a regard for me. That you had a regard for me, +I am sure.' She felt that it was most unmanly of him to seek her +out, and hunt her down, and then throw upon her the whole weight of +the explanation that his coming thither made necessary. But, +nevertheless, the truth must be told, and with God's help she would +find strength for the telling of it. + +'Yes, Lord Lufton, I had a regard for you--and have. By that word +you mean something more than the customary feeling of acquaintance +which may ordinarily prevail between a gentleman and a lady of +different families, who have known each other so short a time as we +have done.' + +'Yes, something much more,' said he with energy. + +'Well, I will not define the much--something closer than that?' + +'Yes, and warmer, and dearer, and more worthy of two human +creatures who value each other's minds and hearts.' + +'Some such closer regard I have felt for you--very foolishly. +Stop! You have made me speak, and do not interrupt me now. Does +not your conscience tell you that in doing so I have unwisely +deserted those wise old grandmother's tramways of which you spoke +just now? It has been pleasant to me to do so. I have liked the +feeling of independence with which I thought that I might indulge +in an open friendship with such as you are. And your rank, so +different from my own, has doubtless made this more attractive.' + +'Nonsense!' + +'Ah! but it has. I know it now. But what will the world say of +me as to such an alliance?' + +'The world!' + +'Yes, the world. I am not such a philosopher as to disregard it, +though you may afford to do so. The world will say that, I, the +parson's sister, set my cap at the young lord, and that the young +lord has made a fool of me.' + +'The world shall say no such thing!' said Lord Lufton, very +imperiously. + +'Ah! but it will. You can no more stop it, than King Canute could +the waters. Your mother has interfered wisely to spare me from +this; and the only favour that I can ask you is, that you will +spare me also.' And then she got up, as though she intended at +once to walk forth to her visit to Mrs Podgens's baby. + +'Stop, Lucy!' he said, putting himself between her and the door. + +'It must not be Lucy any longer, Lord Lufton; I was madly foolish +when I first allowed it.' + +'By heavens! But it shall be Lucy--Lucy before all the world. My +Lucy, my own Lucy--my heart's best friend, and chosen love. Lucy, +there is my hand. How long you may have had my heart it matters +not to say now.' The game was at her feet now, and no doubt she +felt her triumph. Her ready wit and speaking lip, not her beauty, +had brought him to her side; and now he was forced to acknowledge +that her power over him had been supreme. Sooner than leave her he +would risk all. She did feel her triumph; but there was nothing in +her face to tell him that she did so. As to what she would now do +she did not for a moment doubt. He had been precipitated into the +declaration he had made not by his love, but by his embarrassment. +She had thrown in his teeth the injury which he had done her, and +he had then been moved by his generosity to repair that injury by +the noblest sacrifice which he could make. But Lucy Robarts was +not the girl to accept a sacrifice. He had stepped forward, as +though he were going to clasp her round the waist, but she receded, +and got beyond the reach of his hand. 'Lord Lufton!' she said, +'when you are more cool you will know that this is wrong. The best +for both of us now is to part.' + +'Not the best thing, but the very worst, till we perfectly +understand each other.' + +'Then perfectly understand me, that I cannot be your wife.' + +'Lucy! do you mean that you cannot learn to love me?' + +'I mean that I shall not try. Do not persevere in this, or you +will have to hate yourself for your own folly.' + +'But I will persevere till you accept my love, or say with your +hand on your heart that you cannot and will not love me.' + +'Then I must beg you to let me go,' and having so said, she paused +while he walked once or twice hurriedly up and down the room. 'And +Lord Lufton,' she continued, 'if you will leave me now, the words +you have spoken shall be as though they had never been uttered.' + +'I care not who knows they have been uttered. The sooner that they +are known to all the world the better I shall be pleased, unless +indeed--' + +'Think of your mother, Lord Lufton.' + +'What can I do better than give her as a daughter the best and +sweetest girl I have ever met? When my mother really knows you, +she will love you as I do. Lucy, say one word to me of comfort.' + +'I will say no word that shall injure your future comfort. It is +impossible that I should be your wife.' + +'Do you mean that you cannot love me?' + +'You have no right to press me any further,' she said; and sat down +upon the sofa, with an angry frown upon her forehead. + +'By heavens,' he said, 'I will take no such answer from you till +you put your hand upon your heart, and say that you cannot love +me.' + +'Oh, why should you press me so, Lord Lufton?' + +'Why, because my happiness depends upon it; because it behoves me +to know the very truth. It has come to this, that I love you with +my whole heart, and I must know how your heart stands towards me.' +She had now again risen from the sofa, and was looking steadily in +his face. + +'Lord Lufton,' she said, 'I cannot love you,' and as she spoke she +did put her hand, as he had desired, upon her heart. + +'Then God help me! for I am wretched. Good-bye, Lucy,' and he +stretched his hand to her. + +'Good-bye, my lord. Do not be angry with me.' + +'No, no, no!' and without further speech he left the room, and the +house and hurried home. It was hardly surprising that he should +that evening tell his mother that Griselda Grantly would be a +companion sufficiently good for his sister. He wanted no such +companion. + +And when he was well gone--absolutely out of sight from the +window--Lucy walked steadily up to her room, locked the door, and +then threw herself on the bed. Why--oh! why had she told such a +falsehood? Could anything justify her in a lie? was it not a +lie--knowing as she did that she loved him with all her loving +heart? But, then, his mother! and the sneers of the world, which +would have declared that she had set her trap, and caught the +foolish young lord! Her pride would not have submitted to that. +Strong as her love was, yet her pride was, perhaps stronger-- +stronger at any rate during that interview. But how was +she to forgive herself the falsehood she had told? + + + +CHAPTER XVII + +MRS PROUDIE'S CONVERSAZIONE + + +It was grievous to think of the mischief and danger into which +Griselda Grantly was brought by the worldliness of her mother in +those few weeks previous to Lady Lufton's arrival in town--very +grievous, at least, to her ladyship, as from time to time she heard +of what was done in London. Lady Hartletop's was not the only +objectionable house at which Griselda was allowed to reap fresh +fashionable laurels. It had been stated openly in the Morning Post +that that young lady had been the most admired among the beautiful +at one of Miss Dunstable's celebrated soirees and then she was +heard of as gracing the drawing-room at Mrs Proudie's +conversazione. + +Of Miss Dunstable herself Lady Lufton was not able openly to allege +any evil. She was acquainted, Lady Lufton knew, with very many +people of the right sort, and was the dear friend of Lady Lufton's +highly conservative and not very distant neighbours, the Greshams. +But then she was also acquainted with so many people of the bad +sort. Indeed, she was intimate with everybody, from the Duke of +Omnium to old Dowager Lady Goodgaffer, who had represented all the +cardinal virtues of the last quarter of a century. She smiled with +equal sweetness on treacle and on brimstone; was quite at home at +Exeter Hall, having been consulted--so the world said, probably not +with exact truth--as to the selection of more than one disagreeable +Low Church bishop; and was not less frequent in her attendance at +the ecclesiastical doings of a certain terrible prelate in the +Midland counties, who was supposed to favour stoles and vespers, +and to have no proper Protestant hatred for auricular confession +and fish on Fridays. Lady Lufton, who was very staunch, did not +like this, and would say of Miss Dunstable that it was impossible +to serve both God and Mammon. But Mrs Proudie was much more +objectionable to her. Seeing how sharp was the feud between the +Proudies and the Grantlys down in Barsetshire, how absolutely +unable they had always been to carry a decent face towards each +other in Church matters, how they headed two parties in the +diocese, which were, when brought together, as oil and vinegar, in +which battles the whole Lufton influence had always been brought to +bear on the Grantly side;--seeing all this, I say, Lady Lufton was +surprised to hear that Griselda had been taken to Mrs Proudie's +evening exhibition. 'Had the archdeacon been consulted about it,' +she said to herself, 'this would never have happened.' But there +she was wrong, for in matters concerning his daughter's +introduction to the world the archdeacon never interfered. + +On the whole, I am inclined to think that Mrs Grantly understood +the world better than did Lady Lufton. In her heart of hearts Mrs +Grantly hated Mrs Proudie--that is, with that sort of hatred one +Christian lady allows herself to feel towards another. Of course +Mrs Grantly forgave Mrs Proudie all her offences, and wished her +well, and was at peace with her, in the Christian sense of the +word, as with all other women. But under this forbearance and +meekness, and perhaps, we may say, wholly unconnected with it, +there was certainly a current of antagonistic feeling which, in the +ordinary unconsidered language of every day, men and women do call +hatred. This raged before the eyes of all mankind. But, +nevertheless, Mrs Grantly took Griselda to Mrs Proudie's evening +parties in London. In these days Mrs Proudie considered herself to +be by no means the least among bishop's wives. She had opened the +season this year in a new house in Gloucester Place, at which the +reception rooms, at any rate, were all that a lady bishop could +desire. Here she had a front drawing-room of very noble +dimensions, a second drawing-room rather noble also, though it had +lost one of its back corners awkwardly enough, apparently in a +jostle with the neighbouring house; and then there was a +third--shall we say drawing-room, or closet?---in which Mrs Proudie +delighted to be seen sitting, in order that the world might know +that there was a third room; altogether a noble suite, as Mrs +Proudie herself said in confidence to more than one clergyman's +wife from Barsetshire. 'A noble suite, indeed Mrs Proudie!' the +clergymen's wives from Barsetshire would usually answer. + +For some time Mrs Proudie was much at a loss to know by what sort +of party or entertainment she would make herself famous. Balls and +suppers were of course out of the question. She did not object to +her daughters dancing all night at other houses--at least, of late +she had not objected, for the fashionable world required it, and +the young ladies had perhaps a will of their own--but dancing at +her house--absolutely under the shade of the bishop's apron--would +be a sin and a scandal. And then as to suppers--of all modes in +which one may extend one's hospitality to a large acquaintance, +they are the most costly. 'It is horrid to think that we should go +out among our friends for the mere sake of eating and drinking,' +Mrs Proudie would say to the clergymen's wives from Barsetshire. +'It shows such a sense of sensual propensity.' + +'Indeed it does, Mrs Proudie; and is so vulgar too!' those ladies +would reply. But the elder among them would remember with regret, +the unsparing, open-handed hospitality of Barchester Palace in the +good old days of Bishop Grantly--God rest his soul! One old +vicar's wife there was whose answer had not been so courteous-- + +'When we are hungry, Mrs Proudie,' she had said, 'we do all have +sensual propensities.' + +'It would be much better, Mrs Athill, if the world would provide +for all that at home,' Mrs Proudie had rapidly replied; with which +opinion I must her profess that I cannot by any means bring myself +to coincide. But a conversazione would give play to no sensual +propensity, nor occasion that intolerable expense which the +gratification of sensual propensities too often produce. Mrs +Proudie felt that the word was not at all that she could have +desired. It was a little faded by old use and present oblivion, +and seemed to address itself to that portion of the London world +that is considered blue, rather than fashionable. But, +nevertheless, there was a spirituality about it which suited her, +and one may also say an economy. And then as regarded fashion, it +might perhaps not be beyond the power of a Mrs Proudie to begild +the word with a newly burnished gilding. Some leading person must +produce fashion at first hand, and why not Mrs Proudie? + +Her plan was to set the people by the ears talking, if talk they +would, or to induce them to show themselves there inert if no more +be could got from them. To accommodate with chairs and sofas as +many as the furniture of her noble suite of rooms would allow, +especially with the two chairs and padded bench against the walls +in the back closet--the small inner drawing-room, as she +would call it to the clergymen's wives from Barsetshire--and to +let the others stand about upright, or 'group themselves' as she +described it. Then four times during the two hours' period of her +conversazione tea and cake were to be handed around on salvers. It +is astonishing how far a very little cake will go in this way, +particularly if administered tolerably early after dinner. The men +can't eat it, and the women, having no plates and no table, are +obliged to abstain. Mrs Jones knows she cannot hold a piece of +crumbly cake in her hand till it be consumed without doing serious +injury to her best dress. When Mrs Proudie, with her weekly books +before her, looked into the financial upshot of her conversazione, +her conscience told her that she had done the right thing. Going +out to tea is not a bad thing, if one can contrive to dine early, +and then be allowed to sit round a big table with a tea urn in the +middle. I would, however, suggest that breakfast cups should +always be provided for the gentlemen. And then with pleasant +neighbours,--or more especially with a pleasant neighbour,--the +affair is not, according to my taste, by any means the worst phase +of society. But I do dislike that handing round, unless it be of a +subsidiary thimbleful when the business of the social intercourse +has been dinner. + +And indeed this handing round has become a vulgar and an +intolerable nuisance among us second-class gentry with our eight +hundred a year--there or thereabouts;--doubly intolerable as being +destructive of our natural comforts, and a wretchedly vulgar aping +of men with large incomes. The Duke of Omnium and Lady Hartletop +are undoubtedly wise to have everything handed round. Friends of +mine who occasionally dine at such houses tell me that they get +their wine quite as quickly as they can drink it, that their mutton +is brought to them without delay, and that the potato bearer +follows quick upon the heels of carnifer. Nothing can be more +comfortable, and we may no doubt acknowledge that these first-class +grandees do understand their material comforts. But we of the +eight hundred can no more come up to them in this than we can in +their opera-boxes and equipages. May I not say that the usual +tether of this class, in the way of carnifers, cupbearers, and the +rest, does not reach beyond neat-handed Phyllis and the +greengrocer? and that Phyllis, neat-handed as she probably is, and +the greengrocer, though he be ever so active, cannot administer a +dinner to twelve people who are prohibited by a Medo-Persian law +from all self-administration whatever? And may I not further say +that the lamentable consequence to us eight hundreders, dining out +among each other is this, that we too often get no dinner at all. +Phyllis, with the potatoes, cannot reach us till our mutton is +devoured, or in a lukewarm state past our power of managing; and +Ganymede, the greengrocer, though we admire the skill of his +necktie and the whiteness of his unexceptionable gloves, fails to +keep us going in sherry. Seeing a lady the other day in this +strait, left without a small modicum of stimulus which was no doubt +necessary for her good digestion. I ventured to ask her to drink +wine with me. But when I bowed my head at her, she looked at me +with all her eyes, struck with amazement. Had I suggested that she +should join me in a wild Indian war-dance, with nothing on but +paint, her face could not have shown greater astonishment. And yet +I should have thought she might have remembered the days when +Christian men and women used to drink wine with each other. God be +with the good old days when I could hob-nob with my friend over the +table as often as I was inclined to lift my glass to my lips, and +make a long arm for the hot-potato whenever the exigencies of my +plate required it. + +I think it may be laid down as a rule in affairs of hospitality, +that whatever extra luxury or grandeur we introduce at our tables +when guests are with us, should be introduced for the advantage of +the guest and not for our own. If, for instance, our dinner be +served in a manner different from that usual to us, it should be so +served in order that our friends may with more satisfaction eat our +repast than our everyday practice would produce on them. But the +change should by no means be made to their material detriment in +order that our fashion may be acknowledged. Again, if I decorate my +sideboard and table, wishing that the eyes of my visitors may rest +on that which is elegant and pleasant to the sight, I act in that +matter with a becoming sense of hospitality; but if my object be to +kill Mrs Jones with envy at the sight of all my silver trinkets, I +am a very mean-spirited fellow. This, in a broad way, will be +acknowledged; but if we would bear in mind the same idea at all +times,--on occasions when the way perhaps may not be so broad, when +more thinking may be required to ascertain what is true +hospitality,--I think we of the eight hundred would make a greater +advance towards really entertaining our own friends than by any +rearrangement of the actual meats and dishes which we set before +them. + +Knowing as we do, that the terms of the Lufton-Grantly alliance had +been so solemnly ratified between the two mothers, it is perhaps +hardly open to us to suppose that Mrs Grantly was induced to take +her daughter to Mrs Proudie's by any knowledge which she may have +acquired that Lord Dumbello had promised to grace the bishop's +assembly. It is certainly the fact that high contracting parties +do sometimes allow themselves a latitude which would be considered +dishonest by contractors of a lower sort; and it may be possible +that the archdeacon's wife did think of that second string with +which her bow was furnished. Be that as it may, Lord Dumbello was +at Mrs Proudie's, and it did so come to pass that Griselda was +seated at a corner of a sofa close to which a vacant space in which +his lordship could--"group himself". They had not been long there +before Lord Dumbello did group himself. 'Fine day,' he said, +coming up and occupying the vacant position by Miss Grantly's +elbow. + +'We are driving to-day, and we thought it rather cold,' said +Griselda. + +'Deuced cold,' said Lord Dumbello, and then he adjusted his white +cravat and touched up his whiskers. Having got so far, he did not +proceed to any immediate conversational efforts; nor did Griselda. +But he grouped himself again as became a marquis, and gave very +intense satisfaction to Mrs Proudie. + +'This is so kind of you, Lord Dumbello,' said that lady, coming up +to him and shaking his hand warmly; 'so very kind of you to come to +my poor little tea-party.' + +'Uncommonly pleasant, I call it,' said his lordship. 'I like this +sort of thing--no trouble, you know.' + +'No; that is the charm of it; isn't it? no trouble, or fuss, or +parade. That's what I always say. According to my ideas, society +consists in giving people facility for an interchange of +thoughts--what we call conversation.' + +'Aw, yes, exactly.' + +'Not in eating and drinking together--eh, Lord Dumbello? And yet +the practice of our lives would seem to show that the indulgence of +this animal propensities can alone suffice to bring people +together. The world in this has surely made a great mistake.' + +'I like a good dinner all the same,' said Lord Dumbello. + +'Oh, yes, of course--of course. I am by no means one of those who +would pretend to preach that our tastes have not been given to us +for our enjoyment. Why should things be nice if we are not to like +them?' + +'A man who can really give a good dinner has learned a great deal,' +said Lord Dumbello, with unusual animation. + +'An immense deal. It is quite an art in itself: and one which I, +at any rate, by no means despise. But we cannot always be +eating--can we?' + +'No,' said Lord Dumbello, 'not always.' And he looked as though he +lamented that his powers should be so circumscribed. And then Mrs +Proudie passed on to Mrs Grantly. The two ladies were quite +friendly in London; though down in their own neighbourhood they +waged a war so internecine in its nature. But nevertheless Mrs +Proudie's manner might have showed to a very close observer that +she knew the difference between a bishop and an archdeacon. 'I am +delighted to see you,' said she. 'No, don't mind moving; I won't +sit down just at present. But why didn't the archdeacon come?' + +'It was quite impossible; it was indeed,' said Mrs Grantly. 'The +archdeacon never has a moment in London that he can call his own.' + +'You don't stay up very long, I believe.' + +'A good deal longer than either of us like, I can assure you. +London life is a perfect nuisance to me.' + +'But people in a certain position must go through with it, you +know,' said Mrs Proudie. 'The bishop, for instance, must attend +the House.' + +'Must he?' asked Mrs Grantly, as though she were not at all well +informed with reference to this branch of a bishop's business. 'I +am very glad that archdeacons are under no such liability.' + +'Oh, no; there's nothing of that sort,' said Mrs Proudie, very +seriously. 'But how uncommonly well Miss Grantly is looking! I do +hear that she has quite been admired.' This phrase certainly was a +little hard for the mother to bear. All the world had acknowledged, +so Mrs Grantly had taught herself to believe, that Griselda was +undoubtedly the beauty of the season. Marquises and lords were +already contending for her smiles, and paragraphs had been written +in newspapers as to her profile. It was too hard to be told, after +that, that her daughter had been 'quite admired.' Such a phrase +might suit a pretty little red-cheeked milkmaid of a girl. + +'She cannot, of course, come near your girls in that respect,' said +Mrs Grantly, very quietly. Now the Miss Proudies had not elicited +from the fashionable world any very loud encomiums on their +beauty. Their mother felt the taunt in its fullest force, but she +would not essay to do battle on the present arena. She jotted down +the item in her mind, and kept it over for Barchester and the +chapter. Such debts as those she usually paid on some day, if the +means of doing so were at all within her power. 'But there is Miss +Dunstable, I declare,' she said, seeing that that lady had entered +the room; and away went Mrs Proudie to welcome her distinguished +guest. + +'And so this is a conversazione, is it,' said that lady, speaking, +as usual, not in a suppressed voice. 'Well, I declare, it's very +nice. It means conversation, don't it, Mrs Proudie?' + +'Ha, ha, ha! Miss Dunstable, there is nobody like you, I declare.' + +'Well, but don't it? and tea and cake? and then, when we're tired +of talking, we go away, isn't that it?' + +'But you must not be tired for these three hours yet.' + +'Oh, I am never tired of talking; all the world knows that. How +do, bishop? A very nice sort of thing this conversazione, isn't it +now?' The bishop rubbed his hands together and smiled, and said +that he thought it was rather nice. + +'Mrs Proudie is so fortunate in all her little arrangements,' said +Miss Dunstable. + +'Yes, yes,' said the bishop. 'I think she is happy in these +matters. I do flatter myself that she is so. Of course, Miss +Dunstable, you are accustomed to things on a much grander scale.' + +'I! Lord bless you, no! Nobody hates grandeur so much as I do. +Of course I must do as I am told. I must live in a big house, and +have three footmen six feet high. I must have a coachman with a +top-heavy wig, and horses so big that they frighten me. If I did +not, I should be made out a lunatic and declared unable to manage +my own affairs. But as for grandeur, I hate it. I certainly think +that I shall have some of these conversaziones. I wonder whether +Mrs Proudie will come and put me up to a wrinkle or two.' The +bishop again rubbed his hands, and said that he was sure she would. +He never felt quite at his ease with Miss Dunstable, as he rarely +could ascertain whether or no she was earnest in what she was +saying. So he trotted off, muttering some excuse as he went, and +Miss Dunstable chuckled with an inward chuckle at his too evident +bewilderment. Miss Dunstable was by nature kind, generous, and +open-hearted; but she was living now very much with people who, +kindness, generosity, and open-heartedness were thrown away. She +was clever also, and could be sarcastic; and she found that those +qualities told better in the world around her than generosity and +an open heart. And so she went on from month to month, and year to +year, not progressing in a good spirit as she might have done, but +still carrying within her bosom a warm affection for those she +could really love. And she knew that she was hardly living as she +should live,--that the wealth which she affected to despise was +eating into the soundness of her character, not by its splendour, +but by the style of life which it had seemed to produce as a +necessity. She knew that she was gradually becoming irreverent, +scornful, and prone to ridicule; but yet, knowing this, and hating +it, she hardly knew how to break from it. She had seen so much of +the blacker side of human nature that blackness no longer startled +her as it should do. She had been the prize at which so many +ruined spendthrifts had aimed; so many pirates had endeavoured to +run her down while sailing in the open waters of life, that she had +ceased to regard such attempts on her money-bags as unmanly or +over-covetous. She was content to fight her own battle with her +own weapons, feeling secure in her own strength of purpose and +strength of wit. + +Some few friends she had whom she really loved,--among whom her +inner self could come out and speak boldly what it had to say with +its own true voice. And the woman who thus so spoke was very +different from that Miss Dunstable whom Mrs Proudie courted, and +the Duke of Omnium feted, and Mrs Harold Smith claimed as her bosom +friend. If only she could find among such one special companion on +whom her heart might rest, who would help her to bear the heavy +burdens of her world! But where was she to find such a +friend?---she with her keen wit, her untold money, and loud +laughing voice. Everything about her was calculated to attract +those whom she could not value, and to scare from her the sort of +friend to whom she would fain have linked her lot. And then she +met Mrs Harold Smith, who had taken Mrs Proudie's noble suite of +rooms in her tour of the evening, and was devoting to them a period +of twenty minutes. 'And so I may congratulate you,' Miss Dunstable +said eagerly to her friend. + +'No, in mercy's name, do no such thing, or you may too probably +have to uncongratulate me again; and that will be so unpleasant.' + +'But they told me that Lord Brock had sent for him yesterday.' Now +at this period Lord Brock was Prime Minister. + +'So he did, and Harold was with him backwards and forwards all the +day. But he can't shut his eyes and open his mouth, and see what +God will send him, as a wise and prudent man should do. He is +always for bargaining, and no Prime Minister likes that.' + +'I would not be in his shoes if, after all, he has to come home and +say that the bargain is off.' + +'Ha, ha, ha! Well I should not take it very quietly. But what can +we poor women do, you know? When it is settled, my dear, I'll send +you a line at once.' And then Mrs Harold Smith finished her course +round the rooms, and regained her carriage within the twenty +minutes. + +'Beautiful profile, has she not?' said Miss Dunstable, somewhat +later in the evening, to Mrs Proudie. Of course, the profile +spoken of belonged to Miss Grantly. + +'Yes, it is beautiful, certainly,' said Mrs Proudie. 'The pity is +that it means nothing.' + +'The gentlemen seem to think that it means a good deal.' + +'I am not sure of that. She has no conversation, you see; not a +word. She has been sitting there with Lord Dumbello at her elbow +for the last hour, and yet she has hardly opened her mouth three +times.' + +'But, my dear Mrs Proudie, who on earth could talk to Lord +Dumbello?' Mrs Proudie thought that her own daughter Olivia would +undoubtedly be able to do so, if only she could get the +opportunity. But, then, Olivia had so much conversation. And while +the two ladies were yet looking at the youthful pair, Lord Dumbello +did speak again. 'I think I have had enough of this now,' said he, +addressing himself to Griselda. + +'I suppose you have other engagements,' said she. + +'Oh, yes; and I believe I shall go to Lady Clantelbrocks.' And then +he took his departure. No other word was spoken that evening +between him and Miss Grantly beyond those given in this chronicle, +and yet the world declared that he and that young lady had passed +the evening in so close a flirtation as to make the matter more +than ordinarily particular; and Mrs Grantly, as she was driven home +to her lodgings, began to have doubts in her mind whether it would +be wise to discountenance so great an alliance as that which the +head of the great Hartletop family now seemed so desirous to +establish. The prudent mother had not yet spoken a word to her +daughter on these subjects, but it might soon become necessary to +do so. It was all very well for Lady Lufton to hurry up to town, +but of what service would that be, if Lord Lufton were not to be +found in Bruton Street? + + + +CHAPTER XVIII + +THE NEW MINISTER'S PATRONAGE + + +At that time, just as Lady Lufton was about to leave Framley for +London, Mark Robarts received a pressing letter, inviting him also +to go up to the metropolis for a day or two--not for pleasure, but +on business. The letter was from his indefatigable friend +Sowerby. 'My dear Robarts,' the letter ran:--'I have just heard +that poor little Burslem, the Barsetshire prebendary, is dead. We +must all die some day, you know--as you have told your parishioners +from the Framley pulpit more than once, no doubt. The stall must +be filled up, and why should not you have it as well as another? +It is six hundred a year and a house. Little Burslem had nine, but +the good old times are gone. Whether the house is lettable or not +under the present ecclesiastical regime, I do not know. It used to +be so, for I remember Mrs Wiggins, the tallow-chandler's widow, +living in old Stanhope's house. + +'Harold Smith has just joined the Government as Lord Petty Bag, and +could, I think, at the present moment, get this for asking. He +cannot well refuse me, and, if you will say the word, I will speak +to him. You had better come up yourself; but say the word "Yes" or +"No" by the wires. + +'If you say "Yes", as of course you will, do not fail to come up. +You will find me at the "Travellers", or at the House. The stall +will just suit you,--will give you no trouble, improve your +position, and give some little assistance towards bed and board, +and rack and manger. --Yours ever faithfully, N. SOWERBY, + +'Singularly enough, I hear your brother is private secretary to the +new Lord Petty Bag. I am told that his chief duty will consist in +desiring the servants to call my sister's carriage. I have only +seen Harold once since he accepted office; but my Lady Petty Bag +says that he has certainly grown an inch since that occurrence.' + +This was certainly very good-natured on the part of Mr Sowerby, and +showed that he had a feeling within his bosom that he owed +something to his friend the parson for the injury he had done him. +And such was in truth the case. A more reckless being than the +member for West Barsetshire could not exist. He was reckless for +himself, and reckless for all others with whom he might be +concerned. He could ruin his friends with as little remorse he had +ruined himself. All was fair game that came in the way of his net. +But, nevertheless, he was good-natured, and willing to move heaven +and earth to do a friend a good turn, if it came in his way to do +so. He did really love Mark Robarts as much as it was given to him +to love any among his acquaintance. He knew that he had already +done him an almost irreparable injury, and might very probably +injure him still deeper before he had done with him. That he would +undoubtedly do so, if it came in his way, was very certain. But +then, if it also came in his way to repay his friend by any side +blow he would also undoubtedly do that. Such an occasion had now +come, and he had desired his sister to give the new Lord Petty Bag +no rest till he should have promised to use all his influence in +getting the vacant prebend for Mark Robarts. + +This letter of Sowerby's Mark immediately showed to his wife. How +lucky, thought he to himself, that not a word was said in it about +those accursed money transactions! Had he understood Sowerby +better he would have known that that gentleman never said anything +about money transactions until it became absolutely necessary. 'I +know you don't like Mr Sowerby,' he said; 'but you must own that +this is very good natured.' + +'It is the character I hear of him that I don't like,' said Mrs +Robarts. + +'But what shall I do now, Fanny? As he says, why should not I have +the stall as well as another?' + +'I suppose it would not interfere with your parish?' + +'Not in the least, at the distance we are. I did think of giving +up old Jones; but if I take this, of course I must keep the +curate.' His wife could not find it in her heart to dissuade him +from accepting promotion when it came in his way--what vicar's +wife would have so persuaded her husband? But yet she did not +altogether like it. She feared that Greek from Chaldicotes, even +when he came with the present of a prebendal stall in his hands. +And then what would Lady Lufton say? + +'And do you think that you must go up to London, Mark?' + +'Oh, certainly; that is, if I intend to accept Harold Smith's kind +offices in the matter.' + +'I suppose it will be better to accept them,' said Fanny, feeling +perhaps that it would be useless in her to hope that they should +not be accepted. + +'Prebendal stalls, Fanny, don't generally go begging long among +clergymen. How could I reconcile it to the duty I owe my children +to refuse such an increase to my income?' And so it was settled +that he should at once drive to Silverbridge and send off a message +by telegraph, and that he should himself proceed to London on the +following day. 'But you must see Lady Lufton first, of course,' +said Fanny, as soon as all this was settled. Mark would have +avoided this if he could have decently done so, but he felt that it +would be impolite, as well as indecent. And why should he be +afraid to tell Lady Lufton that he hoped to receive this piece of +promotion from the present Government? There was nothing +disgraceful in a clergyman becoming a prebendary of Barchester. +Lady Lufton herself had always been very civil to the prebendaries, +and especially to little Dr Burslem, the meagre little man who had +just now paid the debt of nature. She had always been very fond of +the chapter, and her original dislike to Bishop Proudie had been +chiefly on his interference, or on that of his wife or chaplain. +Considering these things Mark Robarts tried to make himself believe +that Lady Lufton would be delighted at his good fortune. But yet +he did not believe it. She at any rate would revolt from the gift +of the Greek of Chaldicotes. 'Oh, indeed,' she said, when the +vicar had with some difficulty explained to her all the +circumstances of the case. 'Well, I congratulate you, Mr Robarts, +on your powerful new patron.' + +'You will probably feel with me, Lady Lufton, that the benefice is +one which I can hold without any detriment to me in my position +here at Framley,' said he, prudently resolving to let the slur upon +his friends pass by unheeded. + +'Well, I hope so. Of course, you are a very young man, Mr Robarts, +and these things have generally been given to clergymen more +advanced in life.' + +'But you do not mean to say that you think I ought to refuse it?' + +'What my advice to you might be if you really came to me for +advice, I am hardly prepared to say at so very short a notice. You +seem to have made up your mind, and therefore I need not consider +it. As it is, I wish you joy, and hope that it may turn out to +your advantage in every way.' + +'You understand, Lady Lufton, that I have by no means got it yet.' + +'Oh, I thought it had been offered to you: I thought you spoke of +this new minister as having all that in his own hand.' + +'Oh dear no. What may be the amount of his influence in that +respect I do not at all know. But my correspondent assures me--' + +'Mr Sowerby, you mean. Why don't you call him by his name?' + +'Mr Sowerby assures me that Mr Smith will ask for it; and thinks it +most probable that his request will be successful.' + +'Oh, of course. Mr Sowerby and Mr Harold Smith together would no +doubt be successful in anything. They are the sort of men who are +successful nowadays. Well, Mr Robarts, I wish you joy.' And she +gave him her hand in token of her sincerity. Mark took her hand, +resolving to say nothing further on that occasion. That Lady +Lufton was not now cordial with him, as she used to be, he was well +aware; and sooner or later he was determined to have the matter out +with her. He would ask her why she so constantly met with him in a +taunt, and so seldom greeted him with that kind old affectionate +smile which he knew and appreciated so well. That she was honest +and true he was quite sure. If he asked her the question plainly, +she would answer him openly. And if he could induce her to say +that she would return to her old ways, return to them she would in +a hearty manner. But he could not do this just at present. It was +but a day or two since Mr Crawley had been with him; and was it not +probable that Mr Crawley had been sent hither by Lady Lufton? His +own hands were not clean enough for a remonstrance at the present +moment. He would cleanse them, and then he would remonstrate. +'Would you like to live part of the year in Barchester?' he said to +his wife and sister that evening. + +'I think that the two houses are only a trouble,' said his wife. +'And we have been happy here.' + +'I have always liked a cathedral town,' said Lucy; 'and I am +particularly fond of the close.' + +'And Barchester Close is the closest of all closes,' said Mark. +'There is not a single house within the gateways that does not +belong to the chapter.' + +'But if we are to keep up two houses, the additional income will +soon be wasted,' said Fanny, prudently. + +'The thing would be to let the house furnished every summer,' said +Lucy. + +'But I must take my residence as the terms come,' said the vicar; +'and I certainly should not like to be away from Framley all the +winter; I should never see anything of Lufton.' And perhaps he +thought of his hunting and then thought again of the cleansing of +his hands. + +'I should not a bit mind being away during winter,' said Lucy, +thinking of what the last winter had done for her. + +'But where on earth should we find money to furnish one of those +large, old-fashioned houses? Pray, Mark, do not do anything +rash.' And the wife laid her hand affectionately on her husband's +arm. In this manner the question of the prebend was discussed +between them on the evening before he started for London. Success +had at last crowned the earnest effort with which Harold Smith had +carried on the political battle of his life for the last ten +years. The late Lord Petty Bag had resigned in disgust, having +been unable to digest the Prime Minister's ideas on Indian Reform, +and Mr Harold Smith, after sundry hitches in the business, was +installed in his place. It was said that Harold Smith was not +exactly the man whom the Premier would himself have chosen for that +high office; but the Premier's hands were a good deal tied by +circumstances. The last great appointment he had made had been +terribly unpopular,--so much so as to subject him, popular as he +undoubtedly was himself, to a screech from the whole nation. The +Jupiter, with withering scorn, had asked whether vice of every kind +was to be considered, in these days of Queen Victoria, as a +passport to the Cabinet. Adverse members of both Houses had +arrayed themselves in a pure panoply of morality, and thundered +forth their sarcasms with the indignant virtue and keen discontent +of political Juvenals; and even his own friends had held up their +hands in dismay. Under these circumstances he had thought himself +obliged in the present instance to select a man who would not be +especially objectionable to any party. Now Harold Smith lived with +his wife, and his circumstances were not more than ordinarily +embarrassed. He kept no racehorses; and, as Lord Brock now heard +for the first time, gave lectures in provincial towns on popular +subjects. He had a seat which was tolerably secure, and could talk +to the House by the yard if required to do so. Moreover, Lord +Brock had a great idea that the whole machinery of his own ministry +would break to pieces very speedily. His own reputation was not +bad, but it was insufficient for himself and lately for that +selected friend of his. Under all the circumstances combined, he +chose Harold Smith to fill the vacant office of Lord Petty Bag; and +very proud the Lord Petty Bag was. For the last three or four +months, he and Mr Supplehouse had been agreeing to consign the +ministry to speedy perdition. 'This sort of dictatorship will +never do,' Harold Smith had himself said, justifying that future +vote of his as to want of confidence in the Queen's Government. And +Mr Supplehouse in this matter had fully agreed with him. He was a +Juno whose form that wicked old Paris had utterly despised, and he, +too, had quite made up his mind as to the lobby in which he would +be found when that day of vengeance should arrive. But now things +were much altered in Harold Smith's views. The Premier had shown +his wisdom in seeking for new strength where strength ought to be +sought, and introducing new blood into the body of his ministry. +The people would now feel fresh confidence, and probably the House +also. As to Mr Supplehouse--he would use all his influence on +Supplehouse. But after all, Mr Supplehouse was not everything. + +On the morning after the vicar's arrival in London he attended at +the Petty Bag Office. It was situated in the close neighbourhood +of Downing Street and the higher governmental gods; and though the +building itself was not much, seeing that it was shored up on one +side, that it bulged out on the front, was foul with smoke, dingy +with dirt, and was devoid of any single architectural grace or +modern scientific improvement, nevertheless its position gave it a +status in the world which made the clerks in the Lord Petty Bag's +office quite respectable in their walk of life. Mark had seen his +friend Sowerby on the previous evening, and had then made an +appointment with him for the following morning, at the new +minister's office. And now he was there a little before his time, +in order that he might have a few moments' chat with his brother. +When Mark found himself in the private secretary's room he was +quite astonished to see the change in his brother's appearance +which the change in his official rank had produced. Jack Robarts +had been a well-built, straight-legged, lissom young fellow, +pleasant to the eye because of his natural advantages, but rather +given to a harum-scarum style of gait, and occasionally careless, +not to say slovenly, of dress. But now he was the very pink of +perfection. His jaunty frock-coat fitted him to perfection; not a +hair of his head was out of place; his waistcoat and trousers were +glossy and new, and his umbrella, which stood in the umbrella-stand +in the corner, was tight and neat, and small and natty. 'Well, +John, you've become quite a great man,' said his brother. + +'I don't know much about that,' said John; 'but I find that I have +an enormous deal of fagging to go through.' + +'Do you mean work? I thought you had about the easiest berth in +the whole Civil Service.' + +'Ah! that's just the mistake people make. Because we don't cover +whole reams of foolscap paper at the rate of fifteen lines to a +page, and five words to a line, people think that we private +secretaries have got nothing to do. Look here,' and he tossed over +scornfully a dozen or so of little notes. 'I tell you what, Mark; +it is no easy matter to manage the patronage of a Cabinet +minister. Now I am bound to write to every one of these fellows a +letter that will please him; and yet I shall refuse to every one of +them the request which he asks.' + +'That must be difficult.' + +'Difficult is no word for it. But, after all, it consists chiefly +in the knack of the thing. One must have the wit "from such a +sharp and waspish word as No to pluck the sting". I do it every +day, and I really think that the people like it.' + +'Perhaps your refusals are better than people's acquiescences.' + +'I don't mean that at all. We private secretaries have all to do +the same thing. Now, would you believe it? I have used up three +lifts of notepaper already in telling people that there is no +vacancy for a lobby messenger in the Petty Bag Office. Seven +peeresses have asked for it for their favourite footmen. But +there--there's the Lord Petty Bag!' A bell rang and the private +secretary, jumping up from his notepaper, tripped away quickly to +the great man's room. 'He'll see you at once,' said he, returning. +'Buggins, show the Reverend Mr Robarts to the Lord Petty Bag.' +Buggins was the messenger for whose vacant place all the peeresses +were striving with so much animation. And then Mark, following +Buggins for two steps, was ushered into the next room. + +If a man be altered by becoming a private secretary, he is much +more altered by being made a Cabinet minister. Robarts, as he +entered the room, could hardly believe that this was the same +Harold Smith whom Mrs Proudie bothered so cruelly in the +lecture-room at Barchester. Then he was cross, and touchy, and +uneasy, and insignificant. Now, as he stood smiling on the +hearth-rug of his official fire-place, it was quite pleasant to see +the kind, patronizing smile which lighted up his features. He +delighted to stand there, with his hands in his trousers' pocket, +the great man of the place, conscious of his lordship, and feeling +himself every inch a minister. Sowerby had come with him, and was +standing a little in the background, from which position he winked +occasionally at the parson over the minister's shoulder. 'Ah, +Robarts, delighted to see you. How odd, by the by, that your +brother should be my private secretary!' Mark said that it was a +singular coincidence. + +'A very smart young fellow, and, if he minds himself, he'll do +well.' + +'I'm quite sure he'll do well,' said Mark. + +'Ah! well, yes; I think he will. And now, what can I do for you, +Robarts?' Hereupon Mr Sowerby struck in, making it apparent by his +explanation that Mr Robarts himself by no means intended to ask for +anything; but that, as his friends had thought that this stall at +Barchester might be put into his hands with more fitness than in +those of any other clergyman of the day, he was willing to accept a +piece of preferment from a man whom he respected so much as he did +the new Lord Petty Bag. The minister did not quite like this, as +it restricted him from much of his condescension, and robbed him of +the incense of a petition which he had expected Mark Robarts would +make to him. But, nevertheless, he was very gracious. 'He could +not take it upon himself to declare,' he said, 'what might be Lord +Brock's pleasure with reference to the preferment at Barchester +which was vacant. He had certainly already spoken to his lordship +on the subject, and had perhaps some reason to believe that his own +wishes would be consulted. No distinct promise had been made, but +he might perhaps go so far as to say that he expected such result. +If so, it would give him the greatest pleasure in the world to +congratulate Mr Robarts on the possession of the stall--a stall +which he was sure Mr Robarts would fill with dignity, piety, and +brotherly love.' And then, when he had finished, Mr Sowerby gave a +final wink, and said that he regarded the matter as settled. + +'No, not settled, Nathaniel,' said the cautious minister. + +'It's the same thing,' rejoined Sowerby. 'We all know what all +that flummery means. Men in office, Mark, never do make a distinct +promise,--not even to themselves of the leg of mutton which is +roasting before their kitchen fires. It is so necessary in these +days to be safe; is it not, Harold?' + +'Most expedient,' said Harold Smith, shaking his head wisely. +'Well, Robarts, who is it now?' This he had said to his private +secretary, who came to notice the arrival of some bigwig. 'Well, +yes. I will say good morning, with your leave, for I am a little +hurried. And remember, Mr Robarts, I will do what I can for you; +but you must distinctly understand that there is no promise.' + +'Oh, no promise at all,' said Sowerby--'of course not.' And then, +as he sauntered up Whitehall towards Charing Cross, with Robarts on +his arm, he again pressed upon him the sale of that invaluable +hunter, who was eating his head off his shoulders in the stable at +Chaldicotes. + + + +CHAPTER XIX + +MONEY DEALINGS + + +Mr Sowerby, in his resolution to obtain this good gift for the vicar +of Framley, did not depend quite alone on the influence of his near +connexion with the Lord Petty Bag. He felt the occasion to be one +on which he might endeavour to move even higher powers than that, +and therefore he had opened the matter to the duke--not by direct +application, but through Mr Fothergill. No man who understood +matters ever thought of going direct to the duke in such an affair +as that. If one wanted to speak about a woman or a horse or a +picture the duke could, on occasions, be affable enough. But +through Mr Fothergill the duke was approached. It was represented, +with some cunning, that this buying over of the Framley clergyman +from the Lufton side would be a praiseworthy spoiling of the +Amalekites. The doing so would give the Omnium interest a hold +even in the cathedral close. And then it was known to all men that +Mr Robarts had considerable influence over Lord Lufton himself. So +guided, the Duke of Omnium did say two words to the Prime Minister, +and two words from the duke went a great way, even with Lord +Brock. The upshot of all this was, that Mark Robarts did get the +stall; abut he did not hear the tidings of his success till some +days after his return to Framley. + +Mr Sowerby did not forget to tell him of the great effort--the +unusual effort, as he of Chaldicotes called it--which the duke had +made on the subject. 'I don't know when he has done such a thing +before,' said Sowerby; 'and you may be quite sure of this, he would +not have done it now, had you not gone to Gatherum Castle when he +asked you: indeed, Fothergill would have known that it was vain to +attempt it. And I'll tell you what, Mark--it does not do for me to +make little of my own nest, but I truly believe the duke's word +will be more efficacious than the Lord Petty Bag's solemn +adjuration.' Mark, of course, expressed his gratitude in proper +terms, and did buy the horse for a hundred and thirty pounds. 'He's +as well worth it,' said Sowerby, 'as any animal that ever stood on +four legs; and my only reason for pressing him on you is, that when +Tozer's day does come round, I know you will have to stand us to +something about that tune.' It did not occur to Mark to ask him +why the horse should not be sold to some one else, and the money +forthcoming in the regular way. But this would not have suited Mr +Sowerby. + +Mark knew that the beast was good, and as he walked to his lodgings +was half proud of his new possession. But then, how would he +justify it to his wife, or how introduce the animal into his +stables without attempting any justification in the matter? And +yet, looking to the absolute amount of his income, surely he might +feel himself entitled to buy a new horse when it suited him. He +wondered what Mr Crawley would say when he heard of the new +purchase. He had lately fallen into a state of much wondering as +to what his friends and neighbours would say about him. He had now +been two days in town, and was to go down after breakfast on the +following morning so that he might reach home by Friday afternoon. +But on that evening, just as he was going to bed, he was surprised +by Lord Lufton coming into the coffee room at his hotel. He walked +in with a hurried step, his face was red, and it was clear that he +was very angry. 'Robarts,' said he, walking up to his friend and +taking the hand that was extended to him, 'do you know anything +about this man Tozer?' + +'Tozer--what Tozer. I have heard Sowerby speak of such a man.' + +'Of course you have. If I do not mistake you have written to me +about him yourself.' + +'Very probably. I remember Sowerby mentioning the man with +reference to your affairs. But why do you ask me?' + +'This man has not only written to me, but has absolutely forced his +way into my rooms when I was dressing for dinner; and absolutely +had the impudence to tell me that if I did not honour some bill +which he holds for eight hundred pounds he would proceed against +me.' + +'But you settled all that matter with Sowerby?' + +'I did settle it at very great cost to me. Sooner than have a +fuss, I paid him through the nose--like a fool that I +was--everything that he claimed. This is an absolute swindle, and +if it goes on I will expose it as such.' Robarts looked round the +room, but luckily there was not a soul in it but themselves. 'You +do not mean that Sowerby is swindling you?' said the clergyman. + +'It looks very like it,' said Lord Lufton; 'and I tell you fairly +that I am not in a humour to endure any more of this sort of +thing. Some years ago I made an ass of myself through that man's +fault. But four thousand pounds should have covered the whole of +what I really lost. I have now paid more than three times that +sum; and, by heavens! I will not pay more without exposing the +whole affair.' + +'But, Lufton, I do not understand. What is this bill?--has it +your name on it?' + +'Yes, it has: I'll not deny my name, and if there be absolute need, +I will pay it; but, if I do so, my lawyer will sift it, and it +shall go before a jury.' + +'But I thought all those bills were paid.' + +'I left it to Sowerby to get up the old bills when they were +renewed, and now one of them has in truth been already honoured is +brought against me.' Mark could not but think of the two documents +which he himself had signed, and both of which were now undoubtedly +in the hands of Tozer, or of some other gentleman of the same +profession;--which both might be brought against him, the second as +soon as he should have satisfied the first. And then he remembered +that Sowerby had said something to him about an outstanding bill, +for the filling up of which some trifle must be paid, and of this +he reminded Lord Lufton. + +'And do you call eight hundred pounds a trifle? If so, I do not.' + +'They will probably make no such demand as that.' + +'But I tell you they do make such a demand, and have made it. The +man whom I saw, and who told me that he was Tozer's friend, but who +was probably Tozer himself, positively swore to me that he would be +obliged to take legal proceedings if the money were not forthcoming +within a week or ten days. When I explained to him that it was an +old bill that had been renewed, he declared that his friends had +given full value for it.' + +'Sowerby said that you would probably have to pay ten pounds to +redeem it. I should offer the man some such sum as that.' + +'My intention is to offer the man nothing, but to leave the affair +in the hands of my lawyer with instructions to him to spare none; +neither myself nor any one else. I am not going to allow such a man +as Sowerby to squeeze me like an orange.' + +'But, Lufton, you seem as though you were angry with me.' + +'No, I am not. But I think it is as well to caution you about this +man; my transactions with him lately have chiefly been through you, +and therefore--' + +'But they have only been so through his and your wish: because I +have been anxious to oblige you both. I hope you don't mean to say +that I am concerned in these bills.' + +'I know that you are concerned in bills with him.' + +'Why, Lufton, am I to understand then, that you are accusing me of +having any interest in these transactions which you have called +swindling?' + +'As far as I am concerned there has been swindling, and there is +swindling going on now.' + +'But you do not answer my question. Do you bring any accusation +against me? If so, I agree with you that you had better go to your +lawyer.' + +'I think that is what I shall do.' + +'Very well. But, upon the whole, I never heard of a more +unreasonable man, or of one whose thoughts are more unjust than +yours. Solely with the view of assisting you, and solely at your +request, I spoke to Sowerby about these money transactions of +yours. Then, at his request, which originated out of your request, +he using me as his ambassador to you, as you had used me as yours +to him, I wrote and spoke to you. And now this is the upshot.' + +'I bring no accusation against you, Robarts; but I know you have +dealings with this man. You have told me so yourself.' + +'Yes, at his request to accommodate him. I have put my name to a +bill.' + +'Only to one?' + +'Only to one; and then to that same renewed, or not exactly the +same, but to one which stands for it. The first was for four +hundred pounds; the last for five hundred.' + +'All which you will have to make good, and the world will of course +tell you that you have paid that price for this stall at +Barchester.' This was terrible to be borne. He had heard much +lately which had frightened and scared him, but nothing so terrible +as this; nothing which so stunned him, or conveyed to his mind so +frightful a reality of misery and ruin. He made no immediate +answer, but standing on the hearth-rug with his back to the fire, +looked up the whole length of the room. Hitherto his eyes had been +fixed upon Lord Lufton's face, but now it seemed to him as though +he had but little more to do with Lord Lufton. Lord Lufton and +Lord Lufton's mother were neither to be counted among those who +wished him well. Upon whom indeed could he now count, except that +wife of his bosom upon whom he was bringing all this wretchedness? +In that moment of agony ideas ran quickly through his brain. He +would immediately abandon his preferment at Barchester, of which it +might be said with so much colour that he had bought it. He would +go to Harold Smith, and say positively that he declined it. Then +he would return home and tell his wife all that had occurred;--tell +the whole also to Lady Lufton, if that might still be of service. +He would make arrangement for the payment of both those bills as +they might be presented, asking no questions as to the justice of +the claim, making no complaint to any one, not even to Sowerby. He +would put half his income, if half were necessary, into the hands +of Forrest the banker, till all was paid. He would sell every +horse he had. He would part with his footman and groom, and at any +rate strive like a man to get again a firm footing on good ground. +Then, at that moment, he loathed with his whole soul the position +in which he had found himself placed, and his own folly which had +placed him there. How could he reconcile it to his conscience that +he was there in London with Sowerby and Harold Smith, petitioning +for Church preferment to a man who should have been altogether +powerless in such a matter, buying horses, and arranging about past +due bills? He did not reconcile it to his conscience. Mr Crawley +had been right when he told him that he was a castaway. + +Lord Lufton whose anger during the whole interview had been +extreme, and who had become more angry the more he talked, had now +walked once or twice up and down the room; and as he so walked the +idea did occur to him that he had been unjust. He had come there +with the intention of exclaiming against Sowerby, and of inducing +Robarts to convey to that gentleman, that if he, Lord Lufton, were +made to undergo any further annoyance about this bill, the whole +affair should be thrown into the lawyer's hands; but instead of +doing this, he had brought an accusation against Robarts. That +Robarts had latterly become Sowerby's friend rather than his own in +all these horrid money dealings, had galled him; and now he had +expressed himself in terms much stronger than he had intended to +use. 'As to you personally, Mark,' he said, coming back to the +spot on which Robarts was standing, 'I do not wish to say anything +that shall annoy you.' + +'You have said quite enough, Lufton.' + +'You cannot be surprised that I should be angry and indignant at +the treatment I have received.' + +'You might, I think, have separated in your mind those who have +wronged you, if there has been such wrong, from those who have only +endeavoured to do your will and pleasure for you. That I, as a +clergyman, have been very wrong in taking any part whatsoever in +these matters, I am well aware. That as a man I have been +outrageously foolish in lending my name to Mr Sowerby, I also know +well enough; it is, perhaps, as well that I should be told of this +somewhat rudely; but I certainly did not expect the lesson to come +from you.' + +'Well, there has been mischief enough. The question is, what we +had better now both do?' + +'You have said what you mean to do. You will put the affair in the +hands of your lawyer.' + +'Not with any object of exposing you.' + +'Exposing me, Lord Lufton! Why, one would think that I had had the +handling of your money.' + +'You will misunderstand me. I think no such thing. But do you not +know yourself that if legal steps be taken in this wretched affair, +your arrangements with Sowerby will be brought to light?' + +'My arrangements with Sowerby will consist in paying or having to +pay, on his account, a large sum of money, for which I have never +had and shall never have any consideration whatever.' + +'And what will be said about this stall at Barchester?' + +'After the charge which you brought against me just now, I shall +decline to accept it.' At this moment three or four other +gentlemen entered the room, and the conversation between the two +friends was stopped. They still remained standing near the fire, +but for a few minutes neither of them said anything. Robarts was +waiting till Lord Lufton should go away, and Lord Lufton had not +yet said that which he had come to say. At last he spoke again, +almost in a whisper: 'I think it will be best to ask Sowerby to +come to my rooms to-morrow, and I think also that you should meet +him there.' + +'I do not see any necessity for my presence,' said Robarts. 'It +seems probable that I shall suffer enough for meddling with your +affairs, and I will do so no more.' + +'Of course, I cannot make you come; but I think it will be only +just to Sowerby, and it will be a favour to me.' Robarts again +walked up and down the room for half a dozen times, trying to +resolve what it would most become him to do in the present +emergency. If his name were dragged before the courts;--if he +should be shown up in the public papers as having been engaged in +accommodation bills, that would certainly be ruinous to him. He +had already learned from Lord Lufton's innuendoes what he might +expect to hear as the public version of his share in these +transactions! And then his wife,--how would she bear such +exposure? 'I will meet Mr Sowerby at your rooms to-morrow, on one +condition,' he at last said. + +'And what is that?' + +'That I receive you positive assurance that I am not suspected by +you of having had any pecuniary interest whatever in any matters +with Mr Sowerby, either as concerns your affairs of those of +anybody else.' + +'I have never suspected you of any such thing. But I have thought +that you were compromised with him.' + +'And so I am--I am liable for these bills. But you ought to have +known, and do know, that I have never received a shilling on +account of such liability. I have endeavoured to oblige a man whom +I regarded first as your friend, and then as my own; and this has +been the result.' Lord Lufton did at last give him the assurance +that he desired, as they sat with their heads together over one of +the coffee-room tables; and then Robarts promised that he would +postpone his return to Framley till the Saturday, so that he might +meet Sowerby at Lord Lufton's chambers in the Albany on the +following afternoon. As soon as this was arranged, Lord Lufton +took his leave and went his way. + +After this poor Mark had a very uneasy night of it. It was clear +enough that Lord Lufton had thought, if he did not still think, +that the stall at Barchester was to be given as pecuniary +recompense in return for certain money accommodation to be afforded +by the nominee to the dispenser of this patronage. Nothing on +earth could be worse than this. In the first place it would be +simony; and then it would be simony beyond all description mean and +simoniacal. The very thought of it filled Mark's soul with horror +and dismay. It might be that Lord Lufton's suspicions were now at +rest; but others would think the same thing, and their suspicions +it would be impossible to allay; those others would consist of the +outer world, which is always eager to gloat over the detected vice +of a clergyman. And that wretched horse which he had purchased, +and the purchase of which should have prohibited him from saying +that nothing of value had accrued to him in these transactions with +Mr Sowerby! what was he to do about that? And then of late he had +been spending, and had continued to spend, more money than he could +afford. This very journey of his up to London would be most +imprudent, if it should become necessary for him to give up all +hope of holding the prebend. As to that he had made up his mind; +but then again he unmade it, as men always do in such troubles. +That line of conduct which he had laid down for himself in the +first moments of his indignation against Lord Lufton, by adopting +which he would have to encounter poverty, and ridicule, and +discomfort, the annihilation of his high hopes, and the ruin of his +ambition--that, he said to himself over and over again, would now +be the best for him. But it is so hard for us to give up our high +hopes, and willingly encounter poverty, ridicule and discomfort! + +On the following morning, however, he boldly walked down to the +Petty Bag Office, determined to let Harold Smith know that he was +no longer desirous of the Barchester stall. He found his brother +there, still writing artistic notes to anxious peeresses on the +subject of Buggins's non-vacant situation; but the great man of the +place, the Lord Petty Bag himself, was not there. He might +probably look in when the House was beginning to sit, perhaps at +four or a little after; but he certainly would not be at the office +in the morning. The functions of the Lord Petty Bag he was no +doubt performing elsewhere. Perhaps he had carried his work home +with him--a practice which the world should know is not uncommon +with civil servants of exceeding zeal. Mark did think of opening +his heart to his brother, and of leaving a message with him. But +his courage failed him, or perhaps it might be more correct to say +that his prudence prevented him. It would be better for him, he +thought, to tell his wife before he told anyone else. So he merely +chatted with his brother for half an hour and then left him. The +day was very tedious till the hour came at which he was to attend +at Lord Lufton's rooms; but at last it did come, and just as the +clock struck he turned out of Piccadilly into Albany. As he was +going across the court before he entered the building, he was +greeted by a voice just behind him. 'As punctual as the big clock +on Barchester tower,' said Mr Sowerby. 'See what it is to have a +summons from a great man, Mr Prebendary.' He turned round and +extended his hand mechanically to Mr Sowerby, and as he looked at +him he thought he had never before seen him so pleasant in +appearance, so free from care, and so joyous in demeanour. + +'You have heard from Lord Lufton,' said Mark, in a voice that was +certainly very lugubrious. + +'Heard from him! oh, yes, of course I have heard from him. I'll +tell you what it is, Mark,' and he now spoke almost in a whisper as +they walked together along the Albany passage, 'Lufton is a child +in money matters--a perfect child. The dearest finest fellow in +the world, you know; but a perfect baby in money matters.' And +then they entered his lordship's rooms. Lord Lufton's countenance +also was lugubrious enough, but this did not in the least abash +Sowerby, who walked quickly up to the young lord with his gait +perfectly self-possessed and his face radiant with satisfaction. + +'Well, Lufton, how are you?' said he. 'It seems that my worthy +friend Tozer has been giving you some trouble?' Then Lord Lufton +with a face by no means radiant with satisfaction again began the +story of Tozer's fraudulent demand upon him. Sowerby did not +interrupt him, but listened patiently to the end;--quite patiently, +although Lord Lufton, as he made himself more and more angry by the +history of his own wrongs, did not hesitate to pronounce certain +threats against Mr Sowerby, as he had pronounced them before Mark +Robarts. He would not, he said, pay a shilling, except through his +lawyer; and he would instruct his lawyer, that before he paid +anything, the whole matter should be exposed openly in court. He +did not care, he said, what might be the effect on himself or on +any one else. He was determined that the whole case should go to a +jury. 'To grand jury, and special jury, and common jury, and Old +Jewry, if you like,' said Sowerby. 'The truth is, Lufton, you lost +some money, and as there was some delay in paying it, you have been +harassed.' + +'I have paid more that I lost three times over,' said Lord Lufton, +stamping his foot. + +'I will not go into that question now. It was settled as I thought +some time ago by persons to whom you yourself referred it. But +will you tell me this: why on earth should Robarts be troubled in +this matter? What has he done?' + +'Well, I don't know. He arranged the matter with you.' + +'No such thing. He was kind enough to carry a message from you to +me, and to convey a return message from me to you. That has been +his part in it.' + +'You don't suppose that I want to implicate him: do you?' + +'I don't think you want to implicate any one, but you are +hot-headed and difficult to deal with, and very irrational into the +bargain. And, what is worse, I must say you are a little +suspicious. In all this matter I have harassed myself greatly to +oblige you, and in return I have got more kicks than halfpence.' + +'Did you not give this bill to Tozer--the bill which he now holds?' + +'In the first place he does not hold it; and in the next place I +did not give it to him. These things pass through scores of hands +before they reach the man who makes the application for payment.' + +'And who came to me the other day?' + +'That, I take it, was Tom Tozer, a brother of our Tozer's.' + +'Then he holds the bill, for I saw it with him.' + +'Wait a moment; that is very likely. I sent you word that you +would have to pay for taking it up. Of course they don't abandon +those sort of things without some consideration.' + +'Ten pounds, you said,' observed Mark. + +'Ten or twenty; some such sum as that. But you were hardly so soft +as to suppose that the man would ask for such a sum. Of course he +would demand the full payment. There is the bill, Lord Lufton,' +and Sowerby, producing a document, handed it across the table to +his lordship. 'I gave five-and-twenty pounds for it this morning.' +Lord Lufton took the paper and looked at it. + +'Yes,' said he, 'that's the bill. What am I to do with it now?' + +'Put it with the family archives,' said Sowerby,--'or behind the +fire, just which you please.' + +'And this is the last of them? Can no other be brought up?' + +'You know better than I do what paper you may have put your hand +to. A know of no other. At the last renewal that was the only +outstanding bill of which I was aware.' + +'And you have paid five-and-twenty pounds for it?' + +'I have. Only that you have been in such a tantrum about it, and +would have made such a noise this afternoon if I had not brought +it, I might have had it for fifteen or twenty. In three or four +days they would have taken fifteen.' + +'The odd ten pounds does not signify, and I'll pay you the +twenty-five of course,' said Lord Lufton, who now began to feel a +little ashamed of himself. + +'You may do as you please about that.' + +'Oh! it's my affair, as a matter of course. Any amount of that +kind I don't mind,' and he sat down to fill in a cheque for the +money. + +'Well, now, Lufton, let me say a few words to you,' said Sowerby, +standing with his back against the fireplace, and playing with a +small cane which he held in his hand. 'For heaven's sake try and +be a little more charitable to those around you. When you become +fidgety about anything, you indulge in language which the world +won't stand, though men who know you as well as Robarts and I may +consent to put up with it. You have accused me, since I have been +here, of all manner of iniquity--' + +'Now, Sowerby--' + +'My dear fellow, let me have my say out. You have accused me, I +say, and I believe that you have accused him. But it has never +occurred to you, I dare say, to accuse yourself.' + +'Indeed it has.' + +'Of course you have been wrong in having to do with such men as +Tozer. I have also been very wrong. It wants no great moral +authority to tell us that. Pattern gentlemen don't have dealings +with Tozer, and very much the better they are for not having them. +But a man should have back enough to bear the weight which he +himself puts on it. Keep away from Tozer, if you can, for the +future; but if you do deal with him, for heaven's sake keep your +temper.' + +'That's all very fine, Sowerby; but you know as well as I do--' + +'I know this,' said the devil, quoting Scripture, as he folded up +the cheque for twenty-five pounds, and put it in his pocket, 'that +when a man sows tares, he won't reap wheat, and it's no use to +expect it. I am tough in these matters, and can bear a great +deal--that is, if I be not pushed too far,' and he looked full into +Lord Lufton's face as he spoke; 'but I think you have been very +hard upon Robarts.' + +'Never mind me, Sowerby; Lord Lufton and I are very old friends.' + +'And may therefore take a liberty with each other. Very well. And +now I've done my sermon. My dear dignitary, allow me to +congratulate you. I hear from Fothergill that that little affair +of yours has been definitely settled.' Mark's face again became +clouded. 'I rather think,' said he, 'that I shall decline the +presentation.' + +'Decline it!' said Sowerby, who, having used his utmost efforts to +obtain it, would have been more absolutely offended by such +vacillation on the vicar's part than by any personal abuse which +either he or Lord Lufton could heap upon him. + +'I think I shall,' said Mark. + +'And why?' Mark looked up at Lord Lufton, and then remained silent +for a moment. + +'There can be no occasion for such a sacrifice under the present +circumstances,' said his lordship. + +'And under what circumstances could there be occasion for it?' +asked Sowerby. 'The Duke of Omnium has used some little influence +to get the place for you as a parish clergyman belonging to his +county, and I should think it monstrous if you were to reject it.' +And then Robarts openly stated the whole reasons, explaining +exactly what Lord Lufton had said with reference to the bill +transactions, and to the allegation which would be made as to the +stall having been given in payment for the accommodation. + +'Upon my word that's too bad,' said Sowerby. + +'Now, Sowerby, I won't be lectured,' said Lord Lufton. + +'I have done my lecture,' said he, aware, perhaps, that it would +not do for him to push his friend too far, 'and I shall not give a +second. But, Robarts, let me tell you this: as far as I know, +Harold Smith has had little or nothing to do with the appointment. +The duke has told the Prime Minister that he was very anxious that +a parish clergyman from the county should go to the chapter, and +then, at Lord Brock's request, he named you. If under those +circumstances you talk of giving it up, I shall believe you to be +insane. As for the bill which you accepted for me, you need have +no uneasiness about it. The money will be ready; but of course, +when that time comes, you will let me have the hundred and thirty +for--' And then Mr Sowerby took his leave, having certainly made +himself master of the occasion. If a man of fifty have his wits +about him, and be not too prosy, he can generally make himself +master of the occasion, when his companions are under thirty. +Robarts did not stay at the Albany long after him, but took his +leave, having received some assurances of Lord Lufton's regret for +what had passed and many promises of his friendship for the +future. Indeed Lord Lufton was a little ashamed of himself. 'And +as for the prebend, after what has passed, of course you must +accept it.' Nevertheless his lordship had not omitted to notice Mr +Sowerby's hint about the horse and the hundred and thirty pounds. + +Robarts, as he walked back to his hotel, thought that he certainly +would accept the Barchester promotion, and was very glad that he +had said nothing on the subject to his brother. On the whole his +spirits were much raised. That assurance of Sowerby's about the +bill was very comforting to him; and, strange to say, he absolutely +believed it. In truth, Sowerby had been completely the winning +horse at the late meeting, that both Lord Lufton and Robarts were +inclined to believe almost anything he said;--which was not always +the case with either of them. + + + +CHAPTER XX + +HAROLD SMITH IN CABINET + + +For a few days the whole Harold Smith party held their heads very +high. It was not only that their man had been made a Cabinet +minister; but a rumour had got abroad that Lord Brock, in selecting +him, had amazingly strengthened his party, and done much to cure +the wounds which his own arrogance and lack of judgement had +inflicted on the body politic of his Government. So said the +Harold-Smithians, much elated. And when we consider what Harold +had himself achieved, we need not be surprised that he himself was +somewhat elated also. It must be a proud day for any man when he +first walks into a Cabinet. But when a humble-minded man thinks of +such a phase of life, his mind becomes lost in wondering what a +Cabinet is. Are they gods that attend there or men? Do they sit +on chairs, or hang about on clouds? When they speak, is the music +of the spheres audible in their Olympian mansion, making heaven +drowsy with its harmony? In what way do they congregate? In what +order do they address each other? Are the voices of all the +deities free and equal? If plodding Themis from the Home +Department, or Ceres from the Colonies, heard with as rapt +attention as powerful Pallas of the Foreign Office, the goddess +that is never seen without her lance and helmet? Does our +Whitehall Mars make eyes there at bright young Venus of the Privy +Seal, disgusting that quaint tinkering Vulcan, who is blowing his +bellows at our Exchequer, not altogether unsuccessfully? Old +Saturn of the Woolsack sits there mute, we will say, a relic of +other days, as seated in this divan. The hall in which he rules is +now elsewhere. Is our Mercury of the Post Office ever ready to fly +nimbly from globe to globe, as great Jove may order him, while +Neptune, unaccustomed to the waves, offers needful assistance to +the Apollo of the India Board? How Juno sits apart, glum and huffy, +uncared for, Council President though she be, great in name, but +despised among gods--that we can guess. If Bacchus and Cupid share +Trade and the Board of Words between them, the fitness of things +will have been as fully consulted as is usual. And modest Diana of +the Petty Bag, latest summoned to these banquets of ambrosia,--does +she not cling retiring near the doors, hardly able as yet to make +her low voice heard among her brother deities? But Jove, great +Jove--old Jove, the King of Olympus, hero among gods and men, how +does he carry himself in these councils summoned by his voice? Does +he lie there at his ease, with his purple cloak cut from the +firmament round his shoulders? Is his thunderbolt ever at his hand +to reduce a recreant god to order? Can he proclaim silence in that +immortal hall? Is it not there, as elsewhere, in all places, and +among all nations, that a king of gods and a king of men is and +will be king, rules and will rule, over those who are smaller than +himself? + +Harold Smith, when he was summoned to the august hall of divine +councils, did feel himself to be a proud man; but we may perhaps +conclude that at the first meeting or two he did not attempt to +take a very leading part. Some of my readers may have sat at +vestries, and will remember how mild, and, for the most part, mute +is a new-comer at their board. He agrees generally, with abated +enthusiasm; but should he differ, he apologizes for the liberty. +But anon, when the voices of his colleagues have become habitual in +his ears--when the strangeness of the room is gone, and the table +before him is known and trusted--he throws off his awe and dismay, +and electrifies his brotherhood by the vehemence of his declamation +and the violence of his thumping. So let us suppose it will be +with Harold Smith, perhaps in the second or third season of his +Cabinet practice. Alas! alas! that such pleasures should be so +fleeting! And then, too, there came upon him a blow which somewhat +modified his triumph--a cruel, dastard blow, from a hand which +should have been friendly to him, from one to whom he had fondly +looked to buoy him up in the great course that was before him. It +had been said by his friends that in obtaining Harold Smith's +services the Prime Minister had infused new young healthy blood +into his body. Harold himself had liked the phrase, and had seen +at a glance how it might have been made to tell by some friendly +Supplehouse or the like. But why should a Supplehouse out of +Elysium be friendly to a Harold Smith within it? Men lapped in +Elysium, steeped to the neck in bliss, must expect to see their +friends fall off from them. Human nature cannot stand it. If I +want to get anything from my old friend Jones, I like to see him +shoved up into a high place. But if Jones, even in his high place, +can do nothing for me, then his exaltation above my head is an +insult and an injury. Who ever believes his own dear intimate +companion to be fit for the highest promotion? Mr Supplehouse had +known Mr Smith too closely to think much of his young blood. + +Consequently, there appeared an article in the Jupiter, which was +by no means complimentary to the ministry in general. It harped a +good deal on the young-blood view of the question, and seemed to +insinuate that Harold Smith was not much better than diluted +water. 'The Prime Minister,' the article said, 'having lately +recruited his impaired vigour by a new infusion of aristocratic +influence of the highest moral tone, had again added to himself +another tower of strength chosen from among the people. What might +he not hope, now that he possessed the services of Lord Brittleback +and Mr Harold Smith! Revoted in a Medea's cauldron of such +potency, all his effete limbs--and it must be acknowledged that +some of them had become very effete--would come forth young and +round and robust. A new energy would diffuse itself through every +department; India would be saved and quieted; the ambition of +France would be tamed; evenhanded reform would remodel our courts +of law and parliamentary elections; and Utopia would be realized. +Such, it seems, is the result expected in the ministry from Mr +Harold Smith's young blood!' + +This was cruel enough, but even this was hardly so cruel as the +words with which the article ended. By that time irony had been +dropped, and the writer spoke out earnestly his opinion on the +matter. 'We beg to assure Lord Brock,' said the article, 'that +such alliances as these will not save him from the speedy fall with +which his arrogance and want of judgement threaten to overwhelm +it. As regards himself we shall be sorry to hear of his +resignation. He is in many respects the best statesman that we +possess for the emergencies of the present period. But if he be so +ill-judged as to rest on such men as Mr Harold Smith and Lord +Brittleback for his assistants in the work which is before him, he +must not expect that the country will support him. Mr Harold Smith +is not made of the stuff from which Cabinet ministers should be +formed.' Mr Harold Smith, as he read this, seated at his +breakfast-table, recognized, or said that he recognized, the hand +of Mr Supplehouse in every touch. That phrase about the effete +limbs was Supplehouse all over, as was also the realization of +Utopia. 'When he wants to be witty, he always talks about Utopia,' +said Mr Harold Smith--to himself: for Mrs Harold Smith was not +usually present in the flesh at these matutinal meals. And then he +went down to his office, and saw in the glance of every man that he +met an announcement that that article in the Jupiter had been read. +His private secretary tittered in evident allusion to the article, +and the way in which Buggins took his coat made it clear that it +was well known in the messengers' lobby. 'He won't have to fill up +my vacancy when I go,' Buggins was saying to himself. And then in +the course of the morning came the Cabinet council, the second that +he had attended, and he read in the countenance of every god and +goddess there assembled that their chief was thought to have made +another mistake. If Mr Supplehouse could have been induced to +write in another strain, then indeed that new blood might have been +felt to have been efficacious. + +All this was a great drawback to his happiness, but still it could +not rob him of the fact of his position. Lord Brock could not ask +him to resign because the Jupiter had been written against him; nor +was Lord Brock the man to desert a new colleague for such a +reason. So Harold Smith girded his loins, and went about his +duties of the Petty Bag with a new zeal. 'Upon my word, the +Jupiter is right,' said young Robarts to himself, as he finished +his fourth dozen of private notes explanatory of everything in and +about the Petty Bag Office. Harold Smith required that his private +secretary's notes should be so terribly precise. But nevertheless, +in spite of his drawbacks, Harold Smith was happy in his new +honours, and Mrs Harold Smith enjoyed them also. She certainly, +among her acquaintances, did quiz the new Cabinet minister not a +little, and it may be a question whether she was not as hard upon +him as the writer in the Jupiter. She whispered a great deal to +Miss Dunstable about new blood, and talked of going down to +Westminster Bridge to see whether the Thames were really on fire. +But though she laughed, she triumphed, and though she flattered +herself that she bore her honours without any outward sign, the +world knew that she was triumphing, and ridiculed her elation. + +About this time she also gave a party--not a pure-minded +conversazione like Mrs Proudie, but a downright wicked worldly +dance, at which there were fiddles, ices, and champagne sufficient +to run away with the first quarter's salary accruing to Harold +Smith from the Petty Bag Office. To us this ball is chiefly +memorable from the fact that Lady Lufton was among the guests. +Immediately on her arrival in town she received cards from Mrs H +Smith for herself and Griselda, and was about to send back a reply +at once declining the honour. What had she to do at the house of +Mr Sowerby's sister? But it so happened that at that moment her +son was with her, and as he expressed a wish that she should go, +she yielded. Had there been nothing in his tone of persuasion more +than ordinary,--had it merely had reference to herself--she would +have smiled on him for his kind solicitude, have made out some +occasion for kissing his forehead as she thanked him, and would +still have declined. But he had reminded her both of himself and +Griselda. 'You might as well go, mother, for the sake of meeting +me,' he said; 'Mrs Harold Smith caught me the other day, and would +not liberate me till I had given her a promise.' + +'That is an attraction, certainly,' said Lady Lufton. 'I do like +going to a house when I know that you will be there.' + +'And now that Miss Grantly is with you--you owe it to her to do the +best you can for her.' + +'I certainly do, Ludovic; and I have to thank you for reminding me +of my duty so gallantly.' And so she said that she would go to Mrs +Harold Smith's. Poor lady! She gave much more weight to those few +words about Miss Grantly than they deserved. It rejoiced her heart +to think that her son was anxious to meet Griselda--that he should +perpetrate this little ruse in order to gain his wish. But he had +spoken out of the mere emptiness of his mind, without thought of +what he was saying, excepting that he wished to please his mother. +But nevertheless he went to Mrs Harold Smith's, and when there he +did dance more than once with Griselda Grantly--to the manifest +discomfiture of Lord Dumbello. He came in late, and at the moment +Lord Dumbello was moving slowly up the room, with Griselda on his +arm, while Lady Lufton was sitting near looking on with unhappy +eyes. And then Griselda sat down, with Lord Dumbello stood mute at +her elbow. + +'Ludovic,' whispered his mother, 'Griselda is absolutely bored by +that man, who follows like a ghost. Do go and rescue her.' He did +go and rescue her, and afterwards danced with her for the best part +of an hour consequently. He knew that the world gave Lord Dumbello +the credit of admiring the young lady, and was quite alive to the +pleasure of filling his brother nobleman's heart with jealousy and +anger. Moreover, Griselda was in his eyes very beautiful, and had +she been one whit more animated, or had his mother's tactics been but +a thought better concealed, Griselda might have been asked that +night to share the vacant throne at Lufton, in spite of all that +had been said and sworn in the drawing-room of Framley parsonage. +It must be remembered that our gallant, gay Lothario had passed +some considerable number of days with Miss Grantly in his mother's +house, and the danger of such contiguity must be remembered also. +Lord Lufton was by no means a man capable of seeing beauty unmoved +or of spending hours with a young lady without some approach to +tenderness. Had there been no such approach it is probable that Lady +Lufton would not have pursued the matter. But, according to her +ideas on such subjects, her son Ludovic had on some occasions shown +quite sufficient partiality for Miss Grantly to justify her in her +hopes, and to lead her to think that nothing but opportunity was +wanted. Now, at this ball of Mrs Smith's, he did, for a while, +seem to be taking advantage of such opportunity, and his mother's +heart was glad. If things should turn out well on this evening she +would forgive Mrs Harold Smith all her sins. And for a while it +looked as though things would turn out well. Not that it must be +supposed that Lord Lufton had come there with any intention of +making love to Griselda, or that he ever had any fixed thought that +he was doing so. Young men in such matters are so often without +any fixed thoughts! They are such absolute moths. They amuse +themselves with the light of the beautiful candle, fluttering +about, on and off, in and out of the flame with dazzled eyes, till +in a rash moment they rush in too near the wick, and then fall with +singed wings and crippled legs, burnt up and reduced to tinder by +the consuming fire of matrimony. Happy marriages, men say, are +made in heaven, and I believe it. Most marriages are fairly happy, +in spite of Sir Cresswell Cresswell; and yet how little care is +taken on earth towards such a result!---'I hope my mother is using +you well?' said Lord Lufton to Griselda, as they were standing +together in a doorway between the dances. + +'Oh, yes; she is very kind.' + +'You have been rash to trust yourself in the hands of so very staid +and demure a person. And, indeed, you owe your presence to Mrs +Harold Smith's first Cabinet ball altogether to me. I don't know +whether you are aware of that.' + +'Oh, yes; Lady Lufton told me.' + +'And are you grateful or otherwise? Have I done you an injury or a +benefit? Which do you find best, sitting with a novel in the +corner of a sofa in Bruton Street, or pretending to dance polkas +here with Lord Dumbello?' + +'I don't know what you mean. I haven't stood up with Lord Dumbello +all the evening. We were going to dance a quadrille, but we +didn't.' + +'Exactly; just what I say;--pretending to do it. Even that's a +good deal for Lord Dumbello, isn't it?' And then Lord Lufton, not +being a pretender himself, put his arm round her waist, and away +they went up and down the room, and across and about, with an +energy which showed that what Griselda lacked in her tongue, she +made up with her feet. Lord Dumbello, in the meantime, stood by, +observant, thinking to himself that Lord Lufton was a glib-tongued, +empty-headed ass, and reflecting that if his rival were to break +the tendons of his leg in one of those rapid evolutions, or +suddenly come by any other dreadful misfortune, such as the loss of +all his property, absolute blindness, or chronic lumbago, it would +only serve him right. And in that frame of mind he went to bed, in +spite of the prayer which no doubt he said as to his forgiveness of +other people's trespasses. And then, when they were again +standing, Lord Lufton, in the little intervals between his violent +gasps for fresh breath, asked Griselda if she liked London. 'Pretty +well,' said Griselda, gasping also a little herself. + +'I am afraid--you were very dull--down at Framley.' + +'Oh, no;--I liked it particularly.' + +'It was a great bore when you went--away, I know. There wasn't a +soul--about the house worth speaking to.' And they remained silent +for a minute till their lungs had become quiescent. + +'Not a soul,' he continued--not of falsehood prepense, for he +was not in fact thinking of what he was saying. It did not occur +to him at the moment that he had truly found Griselda's going a +great relief, and that he had been able to do more in the way of +conversation with Lucy Robarts in one hour than with Miss Grantly +during a month of intercourse in the same house. But, +nevertheless, we should not be hard upon him. All is fair in love +and war; and if this was not love, it was the usual thing that +stands in counterpart for it. + +'Not a soul,' said Lord Lufton. 'I was very nearly hanging myself +in the Park next morning--only it rained.' + +'What nonsense! You had your mother to talk to.' + +'Oh, my mother,--yes; and you may tell me too, if you please, that +Captain Culpepper was there. I do love my mother dearly; but do +you think that she could make up for your absence?' And then his +voice was very tender, and so were his eyes. + +'And Miss Robarts; I thought you admired her very much?' + +'What, Lucy Robarts?' said Lord Lufton, feeling that Lucy's name +was more than he at present knew how to manage. Indeed that name +destroyed all the life there was in that little flirtation. 'I do +like Lucy Robarts, certainly. She is very clever; but it so +happened that I saw little or nothing of her after you were gone.' +To this Griselda made no answer, but drew herself up, and looked as +cold as Diana when she froze Orion in the cave. Nor could she be +got to give more then monosyllabic answers to the three or four +succeeding attempts at conversation which Lord Lufton made. And +then they danced again, but Griselda's steps were by no means so +lively as before. What took place between them on that occasion +was very little more than what has been here related. There may +have been an ice or a glass of lemonade into the bargain, and +perhaps the faintest possible attempt at hand-pressing. But if so, +it was all on one side. To such overtures as that Griselda Grantly +was as cold as any Diana. But little as all this was, it was +sufficient to fill Lady Lufton's mind and heart. No mother with +six daughters was ever more anxious to get them off her hands, than +Lady Lufton was to see her son married,--married, that is, to some +girl of the right sort. And now it really did seem as though he +were actually going to comply with her wishes. She had watched him +during the whole evening, painfully endeavouring not to be observed +in doing so. She had seen Lord Dumbello's failure and wrath, and +she had seen her son's victory and pride. Could it be the case that +he had already said something, which was still allowed to be +indecisive only through Griselda's coldness? Might it not be the +case, that by some judicious aid on her part, that indecision might +be turned into certainty, and that coldness into warmth? But then +any such interference requires so delicate a touch,--as Lady Lufton +was well aware.--'Have you had a pleasant evening?' Lady Lufton +said, when she and Griselda were seated together with their feet on +the fender of her ladyship's dressing-room. Lady Lufton had +especially invited her guest into this, her most private sanctum, +to which as a rule none had admittance but her daughter, and +sometimes Fanny Robarts. But to what sanctum might not such a +daughter-in-law as Griselda have admittance? 'Oh, yes--very,' said +Griselda. + +'It seemed to me that you bestowed most of your smiles upon +Ludovic.' And Lady Lufton put on a look of good pleasure that such +should have been the case. + +'Oh! I don't know,' said Griselda; 'I did dance with him two or +three times.' + +'Not once too often to please me, my dear. I like to see Ludovic +dancing with my friends.' + +'I am sure I am very much obliged to you, Lady Lufton.' + +'Not at all, my dear. I don't know where he could get so nice a +partner.' And then she paused a moment, not feeling how far she +might go. In the meantime Griselda sat still, staring at the hot +coals. 'Indeed, I know that he admires you very much,' continued +Lady Lufton.--'Oh! no, I am sure he doesn't,' said Griselda; and +then there was another pause. + +'I can only say this,' said Lady Lufton, 'that if he does do +so--and I believe he does--it would give me very great pleasure. +For you know, my dear, that I am very fond of you myself.' + +'Oh! thank you,' said Griselda, and stared at the coals more +perseveringly than before. + +'He is a young man of a most excellent disposition--though he is my +own son, I will say that--and if there should be anything between +you and him--' + +'There isn't, indeed, Lady Lufton.' + +'But if there should be, I should be delighted to think that +Ludovic had made so good a choice.' + +'But there will never be anything of the sort, I'm sure, Lady +Lufton. He is not thinking of such a thing in the least.' + +'Well, perhaps he may, some day. And now, good night, my dear.' + +'Good night, Lady Lufton.' And Griselda kissed with the utmost +composure, and betook herself to her own bedroom. Before she +retired to sleep she looked carefully to her different articles of +dress, discovering what amount of damage the evening's wear and +tear might have inflicted. + + + +CHAPTER XXI + +WHY PUCK, THE PONY, WAS BEATEN + + +Mark Robarts returned home the day after the scene at the Albany, +considerably relieved in spirit. He now felt that he might accept +the stall without discredit to himself as a clergyman in doing so. +Indeed, after what Mr Sowerby had said, and after Lord Lufton's +assent to it, it would have been madness, he considered, to decline +it. And then, too, Mr Sowerby's promise about the bills was very +comfortable to him. After all, might it not be possible that he +might get rid of all these troubles with no other drawback than +that of having to pay L 130 for a horse that was well worth the +money? + +On the day after his return he received proper authentic tidings of +his presentation to the prebend. He was, in fact, already +prebendary, or would be as soon as the dean and chapter had gone +through the form of instituting him in his stall. The income was +already his own; and the house also would be given up to him in a +week's time--a part of the arrangement with which he would most +willingly have dispensed had it been at all possible to do. His +wife congratulated him nicely, with open affection, and apparent +satisfaction at the arrangement. The enjoyment of one's own +happiness at such windfalls depends so much on the free and freely +expressed enjoyment of others! Lady Lufton's congratulations had +nearly made him throw up the whole thing; but his wife's smiles +re-encouraged him; and Lucy's warm and eager joy made him feel +quite delighted with Mr Sowerby and the Duke of Omnium. And then +that splendid animal, Dandy, came home to the parsonage stables, +much to the delight of the groom and gardener, and of the assistant +stable boy who had been allowed to creep into the establishment, +unawares, as it were, since 'master' had taken so keenly to +hunting. But this satisfaction was not shared in the +drawing-room. The horse was seen on his first journey round to the +stable gate, and questions were immediately asked. It was a horse, +Mark said, 'which he had bought from Mr Sowerby some little time +since, with the object of obliging him. He, Mark, intended to see +him again, as soon as he could do so judiciously.' This, as I have +said above was not satisfactory. Neither of the two ladies at +Framley parsonage knew much about horses, or of the manner in which +one gentleman might think it proper to oblige another by purchasing +the superfluities of his stable; but they did both feel that there +were horses enough in the parsonage stable without Dandy, and that +the purchasing of a hunter with a view of immediately selling him +again, was, to say the least of it, an operation hardly congenial +with the usual tastes and pursuits of a clergyman. 'I hope you did +not give very much money for him, Mark,' said Fanny. + +'Not more than I shall get again,' said Mark; and Fanny saw from +the form of his countenance that she had better not pursue the +subject any further at that moment. + +'I suppose I shall have to go into residence almost immediately,' +said Mark, recurring to the more agreeable subject of the stall. + +'And shall we all have to go and live at Barchester at once?' asked +Lucy. + +'The house will not be furnished, will it, Mark?' said his wife. 'I +don't know how we shall get on.' + +'Don't frighten yourselves. I shall take lodgings in Barchester.' + +'And we shall not see you all the time,' said Mrs Robarts with +dismay. But the prebendary explained that he would be backwards +and forwards at Framley every week, and that in all probability he +would only sleep at Barchester on the Saturdays, and Sundays--and, +perhaps, not always then. + +'It does not seem very hard work, that of a prebendary,' said Lucy. + +'But it is very dignified,' said Fanny. 'Prebendaries are +dignitaries of the Church--are they not, Mark?' + +'Decidedly,' said he; 'and their wives also, by special canon law. +The worst of it is that both of them are obliged to wear wigs.' + +'Shall you have a hat, Mark, with curly things at the side, and +strings through to hold them up?' asked Lucy. + +'I fear that does not come within my perquisites.' + +'Nor a rosette? Then I shall never believe that you are a +dignitary. Do you mean to say that you will wear a hat like a +common parson--like Mr Crawley, for instance?' + +'Well--I believe I may give a twist to the leaf; but I am by no +means sure till I shall have consulted the dean in chapter.' + +And thus at the parsonage they talked over the good things that +were coming to them, and endeavoured to forget the new horse, and +the hunting boots that had been used so often during the last +winter, and Lady Lufton's altered countenance. It might be that +the evils would vanish away, and the good things alone remain to +them. It was now the month of April, and the fields were beginning +to look green, and the wind had got itself out of the east and was +soft and genial, and the early spring flowers were showing their +bright colours in the parsonage garden, and all things were sweet +and pleasant. This was a period of the year that was usually dear +to Mrs Robarts. Her husband was always a better parson when the +warm months came than he had been during the winter. The distant +county friends whom she did not know and of whom she did not +approve, went away when the spring came, leaving their houses +innocent and empty. The parish duty was better attended to, and +perhaps domestic duties also. At such period he was a pattern +parson and a pattern husband, atoning to his own conscience for +past shortcomings by present zeal. And then, though she had never +acknowledged it to herself, the absence of her dear friend Lady +Lufton was perhaps in itself not disagreeable. Mrs Robarts did +love Lady Lufton heartily; but it must be acknowledged of her +ladyship, that with all her good qualities, she was inclined to be +masterful. She liked to rule, and she made people feel that she +liked it. Mrs Robarts would never have confessed that she laboured +under a sense of thraldom; but perhaps she was mouse enough to +enjoy the temporary absence of her kind-hearted cat. When Lady +Lufton was away Mrs Robarts herself had more play in the +parish. And Mark also was not unhappy, though he did not find it +practicable immediately to turn Dandy into money. Indeed, just at +this moment, when he was a good deal over at Barchester, going +through those deep mysteries before a clergyman can become one of +the chapter, Dandy was rather a thorn in his side. Those wretched +bills were to come due early in May, and before the end of April +Sowerby wrote to him saying that he was doing his utmost to provide +for the evil day; but that if the price of Dandy could be remitted +to him at once, it would greatly facilitate his object. Nothing +could be more different than Mr Sowerby's tone about money at +different times. When he wanted to raise the wind, everything was +so important; haste and superhuman efforts and men running to and +fro with blank acceptances in their hands, could alone stave off +the crack of doom; but at other times, when retaliatory +applications were made to him, he could prove with the easiest +voice and most jaunty manner that everything was quite serene. Now, +at this period, he was in that mood of superhuman efforts, and he +called loudly for the hundred and thirty pounds for Dandy. After +what had passed, Mark could not bring himself to say that he would +pay nothing till the bills were safe; and therefore with the +assistance of Mr Forrest of the Bank, he did remit the price of +Dandy to his friend Sowerby in London. + +And Lucy Robarts--we must now say a word of her. We have seen how, +on that occasion, when the world was at her feet, she had sent her +noble suitor away, not only dismissed, but so dismissed that he +might be taught never again to offer to her the sweet incense of +his vows. She had declared to him plainly that she did not love +him and could not love him, and had thus thrown away not only +riches and honour and high station, but more than that--much worse +than that--she had flung away from her the lover to whose love her +warm heart clung. That her love did cling to him, she knew even +then, and owned more thoroughly as soon as he was gone. So much of +her pride had done for her, and that strong resolve that Lady +Lufton should not scowl on her and tell her that she had entrapped +her son. I know it will be said of Lord Lufton himself that, +putting aside his peerage and broad acres, and handsome, sonsy +face, he was not worth a girl's care and love. That will be said +because people think that heroes in books should be so much better +than heroes got up for the world's common wear and tear. I may as +well confess that of absolute, true heroism there was only a +moderate admixture in Lord Lufton's composition; but what would the +world come to if none but absolute true heroes were to be thought +worthy of woman's love? What would the men do? Lucy Robarts in +her heart did not give her dismissed lover credit for much more +heroism than did truly appertain to him;--did not, perhaps, give +him full credit for a certain amount of heroism which did really +appertain to him; but, nevertheless, she would have been very glad +to take him could she have done so without wounding her pride. + +That girls should not marry for money we are all agreed. A lady +who can sell herself for a title or an estate, for an income or a +set of family diamonds, treats herself as a farmer treats his sheep +and oxen--makes hardly more of herself, of her own inner self, in +which are comprised a mind and soul, than the poor wretch of her +own sex who earns her bread in the lowest stage of degradation. But +a title, and an estate, and an income, are matters which will weigh +in the balance with all Eve's daughters--as they do with all Adam's +sons. Pride of place, and the power of living well in front of the +world's eye, are dear to us all;--are, doubtless, intended to be +dear. Only in acknowledging so much, let us remember that there +are prices at which these good things may be too costly. Therefore, +being desirous, too, of telling the truth in this matter, I must +confess that Lucy did speculate with some regret on what it would +have been to be Lady Lufton. To have been the wife of such a man, +the owner of such a heart, the mistress of such a destiny--what +more or what better could the world have done for her? And now she +had thrown all that aside because she would not endure that Lady +Lufton should call her a scheming, artful girl! Actuated by that +fear she had repulsed him with a falsehood, though the matter was +one on which it was so terribly expedient that she should tell the +truth. And yet she was cheerful with her brother and +sister-in-law. It was when she was quite alone, at night in her +own room, or in her solitary walks, that a single silent tear would +gather in the corner of her eye and gradually moisten her eyelids. +'She never told her love,' nor did she allow concealment to 'feed +on her damask cheek'. In all her employments, in her ways about +the house, and her accustomed quiet mirth, she was the same as +ever. In this she showed the peculiar strength which God had given +her. But not the less did she in truth mourn for her lost love and +spoiled ambition. 'We are going to drive over to Hogglestock this +morning,' Fanny said one day at breakfast. 'I suppose, Mark, you +won't go with me?' + +'Well, no; I think not. The pony carriage is wretched for three.' + +'Oh, as for that, I should have thought the new horse might have +been able to carry you as far as that. I heard you say you wanted +to see Mr Crawley.' + +'So I do; and the new horse, as you call him, shall carry me there +to-morrow. Will you say that I'll be over about twelve o'clock?' + +'You had better say earlier, as he is always out about the parish.' + +'Very well, say eleven. It is parish business about which I am +going, so it need not irk his conscience to stay in for me.' + +'Well, Lucy, we must drive ourselves, that's all. You shall be +charioteer going, and then we'll change coming back.' To all which +Lucy agreed, and as soon as their work in the school was over they +started. Not a word had been spoken between them about Lord Lufton +since that evening, now more than a month ago, on which they had +been walking together in the garden. Lucy had so demeaned herself +on that occasion to make her sister-in-law quite sure that there +had been no love passages up to that time; and nothing had since +occurred which had created any suspicion in Mrs Robarts's mind. She +had seen at once that all the close intimacy between them was over, +and thought that everything was as it should be. + +'Do you know, I have an idea,' she said in the pony carriage that +day, 'that Lord Lufton will marry Griselda Grantly.' Lucy could not +refrain from giving a little check at the reins which she was +holding, and she felt that the blood rushed quickly to her heart. +But she did not betray herself. 'Perhaps he may,' she said, and +then gave the pony a little touch with her whip. + +'Oh, Lucy, I won't have Puck beaten. He was going very nicely.' + +'I beg Puck's pardon. But you see when one is trusted with a whip +one feels such a longing to use it.' + +'Oh, but you should keep it still. I feel almost certain that Lady +Lufton would like such a match.' + +'I dare say she might. Miss Grantly will have a large fortune, I +believe.' + +'It is not that altogether: but she is the sort of young lady that +Lady Lufton likes. She is ladylike and very beautiful--' + +'Come, Fanny!' + +'I really think she is; not what I would call lovely, you know, but +very beautiful. And then she is quiet and reserved; she does not +require excitement, and I am sure is conscientious in the +performance of her duties.' + +'Very conscientious, I have no doubt,' said Lucy, with something +like a sneer in her tone. 'But the question, I suppose, is, +whether, Lord Lufton likes her.' + +'I think he does,--in a sort of way. He did not talk to her so +much as he did to you--' + +'Ah! that was all Lady Lufton's fault, because she didn't have him +properly labelled.' + +'There does not seem to have been much harm done?' + +'Oh! by God's mercy, very little. As for me, I shall get over it +in three or four years I don't doubt--that's if I can get ass's +milk and a change of air.' + +'We'll take you to Barchester for that. But as I was saying, I really +do think that Lord Lufton likes Griselda Grantly.' + +'Then I really do think that he has uncommon bad taste,' said Lucy, +with a reality in her voice differing much from the tone of banter +she had hitherto used. + +'What, Lucy!' said her sister-in-law, looking at her. 'Then I fear +we shall really want the ass's milk.' + +'Perhaps, considering my position, I ought to know nothing of Lord +Lufton, for you say that it is very dangerous for young ladies to +know young gentlemen. But I do know enough of him to understand +that he ought not to like such a girl as Griselda Grantly. He +ought to know that she is a mere automaton, cold, lifeless, +spiritless, and even vapid. There is, I believe, nothing in her +mentally, whatever may be her moral excellences. To me she is more +absolutely like a statue than any other human being I ever saw. To +sit still and be admired is all that she desires; and if she cannot +get that, to sit still and not be admired would almost suffice for +her. I do not worship Lady Lufton as you do; but I think quite +well enough of her to wonder that she could choose such a girl as +that for her son's wife. That she does wish it I do not doubt. But +I shall indeed be surprised if he wishes it also.' And then as she +finished her speech, Lucy again flogged the pony. This she did in +vexation, because she felt that the tell-tale blood had suffused +her face. + +'Why, Lucy, if he were your brother you could not be more eager +about it.' + +'No, I could not. He is the only man friend with whom I was ever +intimate, and I cannot bear to think that he should throw himself +away. It's horridly improper to care about such a thing, I have no +doubt.' + +'I think we might acknowledge that if he and his mother are both +satisfied, we may be satisfied also.' + +'I shall not be satisfied. It's no use your looking at me, Fanny. +You will make me talk of it, and I won't tell a lie on the +subject. I do like Lord Lufton very much; and I do dislike +Griselda Grantly almost as much. Therefore I shall not be +satisfied if they become man and wife. However, I do not suppose +that either of them will ask my consent; nor is it probable that +Lady Lufton will do so.' And then they went on for perhaps a +quarter of a mile without speaking. + +'Poor Puck!' Lucy at last said. 'He shan't be whipped any more, +shall he, because Miss Grantly looks like a statue? And, Fanny, +don't tell Mark to put me into a lunatic asylum. I also know a +hawk from a heron, and that's why I don't like to see such a very +unfitting marriage.' There was then nothing more said on the +subject, and in two minutes they arrived at the house of the +Hogglestock clergyman. Mrs Crawley had brought two of the children +with her when she came from the Cornish curacy to Hogglestock, and +two other babies had been added to her cares since then. One of +these was now ill with croup, and it was with the object of +offering to the mother some comfort and solace, that the present +visit was made. The two ladies got down from their carriage, +having obtained the services of a boy to hold Puck, and soon found +themselves in Mrs Crawley's single sitting-room. She was sitting +there with her foot on the board of a child's cradle, rocking it, +while an infant about three months old was lying in her lap. For +the elder one, who was the sufferer, had in her illness usurped the +baby's place. Two other children, considerably older, were also in +the room. The eldest was a girl perhaps nine years of age, and the +other a boy three years her junior. These were standing at their +father's elbow, who was studiously endeavouring to initiate them in +the early mysteries of grammar. To tell the truth, Mrs Robarts +would much preferred that Mr Crawley had not been there, for she +had with her and about her certain contraband articles, presents +for the children, as they were to be called, but in truth relief +for that poor, much-tasked mother, which they knew it would be +impossible to introduce in Mr Crawley's presence. She, as we have +said, was not quite so gaunt, not altogether so haggard as in the +latter of those dreadful Cornish days. Lady Lufton and Mrs Arabin +between them, and the scanty comfort of their improved, though +still wretched, income, had done something towards bringing her +back to the world in which she had lived in the soft days of her +childhood. But even the liberal stipend of a hundred and thirty +pounds a year--liberal according to the scale by which the incomes +of clergymen in our new districts are now apportioned--would not +admit of a gentleman with his wife and four children living with +the ordinary comforts of an artisan's family. As regards the mere +eating and drinking, the amount of butcher's meat and tea and +butter, they of course were used in quantities which any artisan +would have regarded as compatible only with demi-starvation. +Better clothing for her children was necessary, and better clothing +for him. As for her own raiment, the wives of artisans would have +been content to put up with Mrs Crawley's best gown. The stuff of +which it was made had been paid for by her mother when she with +much difficulty bestowed upon her daughter her modest wedding +trousseau. + +Lucy had never seen Mrs Crawley. These visits to Hogglestock were +not frequent, and had generally been made by Lady Lufton and Mrs +Robarts together. It was known that they were distasteful to Mr +Crawley, who felt a savage satisfaction in being left to himself. +It may almost be said of him that he felt angry with those who +relieved him, and he had certainly never as yet forgiven the Dean +of Barchester for paying his debts. The dean had also given him +his present living; and consequently his old friend was not now so +dear to him as when in old days he could come down to that +farm-house, almost as penniless as the curate himself. Then they +would walk together for hours along the rock-bound shore, listening +to the waves, discussing deep polemical mysteries, sometimes with +hot fury, then again with tender, loving charity, but always with a +mutual acknowledgement of each other's truth. Now they lived +comparatively near together, but no opportunities arose for such +discussions. At any rate once a quarter Mr Crawley was pressed by +his old friend to visit him at the deanery, and Dr Arabin had +promised that no one else should be in the house if Mr Crawley +objected to society. But this was not what he wanted. The finery +and grandeur of the deanery, the comfort of that warm, snug, +library, would silence him at once. Why did not Dr Arabin come out +there to Hogglestock, and tramp with him through the dirty lanes as +they used to tramp? Then he could have enjoyed himself; then he +could have talked; then old days would have come back to them. But +now!--'Arabin always rides on a sleek, fine horse, nowadays,' he +once said to his wife with a sneer. His poverty had been so +terrible to himself that it was not in his heart to love a rich +friend. + + + +CHAPTER XXII + +HOGGLESTOCK PARSONAGE + + +At the end of the last chapter, we left Lucy Robarts waiting for an +introduction to Mrs Crawley, who was sitting with one baby in her +lap while she was rocking another who lay in a cradle at her feet. +Mr Crawley, in the meanwhile, had risen from his seat with his +finger between the leaves of an old grammar out of which he had +been teaching his two elder children. The whole Crawley family was +thus before them when Mrs Robarts and Lucy entered the +sitting-room. 'This is my sister-in-law, Lucy,' said Mrs Robarts. +'Pray don't move now, Mrs Crawley; or if you do, let me take +baby.' And she put out her arms and took the infant into them, +making him quite at home there; for she had work of this kind of +her own, at home, which she by no means neglected, though the +attendance of nurses was more plentiful with her than at +Hogglestock. Mrs Crawley did get up and told Lucy that she was +glad to see her, and Mr Crawley came forward, grammar in hand, +looking humble and meek. Could we have looked into the innermost +spirit of him and his life's partner, we should have seen that +mixed with the pride of his poverty there was some feeling of +disgrace that he was poor, but that with her, regarding this +matter, there was neither pride nor shame. The realities of life +had become so stern to her that the outward aspects of them were as +nothing. She would have liked a new gown because it would have +been useful; but it would have been nothing to her if all the +county knew that the one in which she went to church had been +turned three times. It galled him, however, to think that he and +his were so poorly dressed. 'I am afraid you can hardly find a +chair, Miss Robarts,' said Mr Crawley. + +'Oh, yes, there is nothing here but this young gentleman's +library,' said Lucy, moving a pile of ragged, coverless books onto +the table. 'I hope he'll forgive me for moving them.' + +'They are not Bob's,--at least, not the most of them,--but mine,' +said the girl. + +'But some of them are mine,' said the boy; 'ain't they, Grace?' + +'And are you a great scholar?' asked Lucy, drawing the child to +her. + +'I don't know,' said Grace, with a sheepish face. 'I am in Greek +Delectus and the irregular verbs.' + +'Greek Delectus and the irregular verbs!' And Lucy put up her +hands with astonishment. + +'And she knows an ode of Horace all by heart,' said Bob. + +'An ode of Horace!' said Lucy, still holding the young shamefaced +prodigy close to her knees. + +'It is all that I can give them,' said Mr Crawley, apologetically. +'A little scholarship is the only fortune that has come my way, and +I endeavour to share that with my children.' + +'I believe men may say that it is the best fortune any of us can +have,' said Lucy, thinking, however, in her own mind, that Horace +and the irregular Greek verbs savoured too much of precocious +forcing in a young lady of nine years old. But, nevertheless, Grace +was a pretty, simple-looking girl, and clung to her ally closely, +and seemed to like being fondled. So that Lucy anxiously wished +that Mr Crawley could be got rid of and the presents produced. + +'I hope you have left Mr Robarts quite well,' said Mr Crawley, with +a stiff, ceremonial voice, differing very much from that in which +he had so energetically addressed his brother clergyman when they +were alone together in the study at Framley. 'He is quite well, +thank you. I suppose you have heard of his good fortune?' + +'Yes; I have heard of it,' said Mr Crawley, gravely. 'I hope that +his promotion may tend in every way to his advantage here and +hereafter.' It seemed, however, to be manifest from the manner in +which he expressed his kind wishes that his hopes and expectation +did not go hand in hand together. + +'By the by, he desired us to say that he will call here to-morrow; +at about eleven, didn't he say, Fanny?' + +'Yes; he wishes to see you about some parish business, I think,' +said Mrs Robarts, looking up for a moment from the anxious +discussion in which she was already engaged with Mrs Crawley on +nursery matters. + +'Pray tell him,' said Mr Crawley, 'that I shall be happy to see +him; though, perhaps, now that new duties have been thrown upon +him, it will be better that I should visit him at Framley.' + +'His new duties do not disturb him much as yet,' said Lucy. 'And +his riding over here will be no trouble to him.' + +'Yes; there he has the advantage over me. I unfortunately have no +horse.' And then Lucy began petting the little boy, and by degrees +slipped a small bag of gingerbread-nuts out of her muff into his +hands. She had not the patience necessary for waiting, as had her +sister-in-law. The boy took the bag, peeped into it, and then +looked up into her face. + +'What is that, Bob?' said Mr Crawley. + +'Gingerbread,' faltered Bobby, feeling that a sin had been +committed, though, probably feeling also that he himself could +hardly as yet be accounted as deeply guilty. + +'Miss Robarts,' said the father, 'we are very much obliged to you; +but our children are hardly used to such things.' + +'I am a lady with a weak mind, Mr Crawley, and always carry things +of this sort about with me when I go to visit children; so you must +forgive me, and allow your little boy to accept them.' + +'Oh, certainly, Bob, my child, give the bag to your mamma, and she +will let you and Grace have them, one at a time.' And then the bag +in a solemn manner was carried over to their mother, who, taking it +from her son's hands, laid it high on a bookshelf. + +'And not one now?' said Lucy Robarts, very piteously. 'Don't be so +hard, Mr Crawley,--not upon them, but upon me. May I not learn +whether they are good of their kind?' + +'I am sure they are very good; but I think their mamma will prefer +their being put by for the present.' This was very discouraging to +Lucy. If one small bag of gingerbread-nuts created so great a +difficulty, how was she to dispose of the pot of guava jelly and a +box of bonbons, which were still in her muff; or how distribute the +packet of oranges with which the pony carriage was laden? And +there was jelly for the sick child, and chicken broth, which was, +indeed, another jelly; and, to tell the truth openly, there was +also a joint of fresh pork and a basket of eggs from the Framley +parsonage farmyard, which Mrs Robarts was to introduce, should she +find herself capable of doing so; but which would certainly be cast +out with utter scorn by Mr Crawley, if tendered in his immediate +presence. There had also been a suggestion as to adding two or +three bottles of port: but the courage of the ladies had failed +them on that head, and the wine was not now added to their +difficulties. Lucy found it very difficult to keep up a +conversation with Mr Crawley--the more so as Mrs Robarts and Mrs +Crawley presently withdrew into a bedroom, taking the two younger +children with them. 'How unlucky,' thought Lucy, 'that she has not +got my muff with her!' But the muff lay in her lap, ponderous with +its rich enclosures. + +'I suppose you will live in Barchester for a portion of the year +now,' said Mr Crawley. + +'I really do not know as yet; Mark talks of taking lodgings for his +first month's residence.' + +'But he will have the house, will he not?' + +'Oh, yes; I suppose so.' + +'I fear he will find it interfere with his own parish--with his +general utility there: the schools, for instance.' + +'Mark thinks that, as he is so near, he need not be much absent +from Framley, even during his residence. And then Lady Lufton is +so good about the schools.' + +'Ah! yes: but Lady Lufton is not a clergyman, Miss Robarts.' It +was on Lucy's tongue to say that her ladyship was pretty nearly as +bad, but she stopped herself. At this moment Providence sent great +relief to Miss Robarts in the shape of Mrs Crawley's red-armed +maid-of-all-work, who, walking up to her master, whispered into his +ear that he was wanted. It was the time of day at which his +attendance was always required in his parish school; and that +attendance being so punctually given, those who wanted him looked +for him there at this hour, and if he were absent, did not scruple +to send for him. 'Miss Robarts, I am afraid you must excuse me,' +said he, getting up and taking his hat and stick. Lucy begged that +she might not be at all in the way, and already began to speculate +how she might best unload her treasures. 'Will you make my +compliments to Mrs Robarts, and say that I am sorry to miss the +pleasure of wishing her good-bye? But I shall probably see her as +she passes the school-house.' And then, stick in hand, he walked +forth, and Lucy fancied that Bobby's eyes immediately rested on the +bag of gingerbread-nuts. + +'Bob,' said she, almost in a whisper, 'do you like sugar-plumbs?' + +'Very much, indeed,' said Bob, with exceeding gravity, and with his +eye upon the window to see whether his father had passed. + +'Then come here,' said Lucy. But as she spoke the door again +opened, and Mr Crawley reappeared. 'I have left a book behind me,' +he said; and coming back through the room, he took up the well-worn +Prayer Book which accompanied him in all his wanderings through the +parish. Bobby, when he saw his father, had retreated a few steps +back, as also did Grace, who, to confess the truth, had been +attracted by the sound of sugar-plumbs, in spite of the irregular +verbs. And Lucy withdrew her hand from the muff and looked +guilty. Was she not deceiving the good man--nay, teaching his own +children to deceive him? But there are men made of such stuff that +an angel could hardly live with them without some deceit. 'Papa's +gone now,' whispered Bobby; 'I saw him turn round the corner.' He, +at any rate, had learned his lesson--as it was natural that he +should do. Some one else, also, had learned that papa was gone; +for while Bob and Grace were still counting the big lumps of +sugar-candy, each employed the while for inward solace with an inch +of barley-sugar, the front-door opened, and a big basket, and a +bundle done up in kitchen cloth, made surreptitious entrance into +the house, and were quickly unpacked by Mrs Robarts herself on the +table in Mrs Crawley's bedroom. + +'I did venture to bring them,' said Fanny, with a look of shame, +'for I know how a sick child occupies the whole house.' + +'Ah! my friend,' said Mrs Crawley, taking hold of Mrs Robarts's +arm and looking into her face, 'that sort of shame is over with +me. God has tried us with want, and for my children's sake I am +glad of such relief.' + +'But will he be angry?' + +'I will manage it. Dear Mrs Robarts, you must not be surprised at +him. His lot is sometimes very hard to bear; such things are so +much worse for a man than for a woman.' Fanny was not quite +prepared to admit this in her own heart, but she made no reply on +that head. 'I am sure I hope we may be able to be of use to you,' +she said, 'if you will only look upon me as an old friend, and +write to me if you want me. I hesitate to come frequently for fear +that I should offend him.' And then, by degrees, there was +confidence between them, and the poverty-stricken helpmate of the +perpetual curate was able to speak of the weight of her burden to +the well-to-do young wife of the Barchester prebendary. It was +hard, the former said, to feel herself so different from the wives +of other clergymen around her--to know that they lived softly, +while she, with all the work of her hands, and unceasing struggle +of her energies, could hardly manage to place wholesome food before +her husband and children. It was a terrible thing--a grievous +thing to think of, that all the work of her mind should be given up +to such subjects as these. But, nevertheless, she could bear it, +she said, as long he would carry himself like a man, and face his +lot boldly before the world. And then she told how he had been +better there at Hogglestock than in their former residence down in +Cornwall, and in warm language she expressed her thanks to the +friend who had done so much for them. 'Mrs Arabin told me that she +was so anxious you should go to them,' said Mrs Robarts. + +'Ah, yes; but that, I fear, is impossible. The children, you know, +Mrs Robarts.' + +'I would take care of two of them for you.' + +'Oh, no; I could not punish you for your goodness in that way. But +he would not go. He could go and leave me at home. Sometimes I +have thought that it might be so, and I have done all in my power +to persuade him. I have told him that if he could mix once more +with the world, with the clerical world, you know, that he would be +better fitted for the performance of his own duties. But he +answers me angrily, that it is impossible--that his coat is not fit +for the dean's table,' and Mrs Crawley almost blushed as she spoke +of such a reason. + +'What! with an old friend like Dr Arabin? Surely that must be +nonsense.' + +'I know that it is. The dean would be glad to see him with any +coat. But the fact is that he cannot bear to enter the house of a +rich man unless his duty calls him there.' + +'But surely that is a mistake?' + +'It is a mistake. But what can I do? I fear that he regards the +rich as his enemies. He is pining for the solace of some friend to +whom he could talk--for some equal with a mind educated like his +own, to whose thoughts he could listen, and to whom he could speak +his own thoughts. But such a friend must be equal, not only in +mind, but in purse; and where can he ever find such a man as that?' + +'But you may get better preferment.' + +'Ah, no; and if he did, we are hardly fit for it now. If I could +think that I could educate my children; if I could only do +something for my poor Grace--' In answer to this Mrs Robarts said a +word or two, but not much. She resolved, however, that if she +could get her husband's leave, something should be done for Grace. +Would it not be a good work? and was it not incumbent on her to +make some kindly use of all the goods with which Providence had +blessed herself? And then they went back to the sitting-room, each +again with a young child in her arms. Mrs Crawley having stowed +away in the kitchen the chicken broth and the leg of pork and the +supply of eggs. Lucy had been engaged the while with the children, +and when the two married ladies entered, they found that a shop had +been opened at which all manner of luxuries were being readily sold +and purchased at marvellously easy prices; the guava jelly was +there, and the oranges, and the sugar-plums, red and yellow and +striped; and, moreover, the gingerbread had been taken down in the +audacity of their commercial speculations, and the nuts were spread +out upon a board, behind which Lucy stood as shop-girl, disposing +of them for kisses. 'Mamma, mamma,' said Bobby, running up to his +mother, 'you must buy something of her,' and he pointed with his +fingers to the shop-girl. 'You must give her two kisses for that +heap of barley-sugar.' Looking at Bobby's mouth at the time, one +would have said that his kisses might be dispensed with. + +When they were again in the pony carriage behind the impatient +Puck, and were well away from the door, Fanny was the first to +speak. 'How very different those two are,' she said; 'different in +their minds, and how false is his shame!' + +'But how much higher toned is her mind than his! How weak he is in +many things, and how strong she is in everything! How false is his +pride, and how false his shame!' + +'But we must remember what he has to bear. It is not every one +that can endure such a life as his without false pride and false +shame.' + +'But she has neither,' said Lucy. + +'Because you have one hero in a family, does that give you a right +to expect another?' said Mrs Robarts. 'Of all my own acquaintance, +Mrs Crawley, I think, comes nearest to heroism.' And then they +passed by the Hogglestock School, and Mr Crawley, when he heard the +noise of the wheels, came out. 'You have been very kind,' said he, +'to remain so long with my poor wife.' + +'We had a great many things to talk about, after you went.' + +'It is very kind of you, for she does not often see a friend +nowadays. Will you have the goodness to tell Mr Robarts that I shall +be here at the school, at eleven o'clock to-morrow?' And then he +bowed, taking off his hat to them, and they drove on. + +'If he really does care about her comfort, I shall not think so +badly of him,' said Lucy. + + + +CHAPTER XXIII + +THE TRIUMPH OF THE GIANTS + +And now about the end of April news arrived almost simultaneously +in all quarters of the habitable globe that was terrible in its +import to one of the chief persons of our history;--some may think +to the chief person of it. All high parliamentary people will +doubtless so think, and the wives and daughters of such. The +Titans warring against the gods had been for awhile successful. +Thyphoeus and Mimas, Porphyrion and Rhoecus, the giant brood of +old, steeped in ignorance and wedded to corruption, had scaled the +heights of Olympus, assisted by that audacious flinger of deadly +ponderous missiles, who stands ever ready with his terrific +sling--Supplehouse, the Enceladus of the press. And in this +universal cataclysm of the starry councils, what could a poor Diana +do, Diana of the Petty Bag, but abandon her pride of place to some +rude Orion? In other words, the ministry had been compelled to +resign, and with them Mr Harold Smith. 'And so poor Harold is out, +before he has well tasted the sweets of office,' said Sowerby, +writing to his friend the parson; 'and as far as I know, the only +piece of Church patronage which has fallen in the way of the +ministry since he joined it, has made its way down to Framley--to +my great joy and contentment.' But it hardly tended to Mark's joy +and contentment on the same subject that he should be so often +reminded of the benefit conferred upon him. + +Terrible was this break-down of the ministry, and especially to +Harold Smith, who to the last had had confidence in that theory of +new blood. He could hardly believe that a large majority of the +House should vote against a Government which he had only just +joined. 'If we are to go in this way,' he said to his young friend +Green Walker, 'the Queen's Government cannot be carried on.' That +alleged difficulty as to carrying on the Queen's Government has +been frequently mooted in late years since a certain great man +first introduced the idea. Nevertheless, the Queen's Government is +carried on, and the propensity and aptitude of men for this work +seems to be not at all on the decrease. If we have but few young +statesmen, it is because the old stagers are so fond of the rattle +of their harness. + +'I really do not see how the Queen's Government is to be carried +on,' said Harold Smith to Green Walker, standing in a corner of one +of the lobbies of the House of Commons on the first of those days +of awful interest, in which the Queen was sending for one crack +statesman after another; and some anxious men were beginning to +doubt whether or no we should, in truth, be able to obtain the +blessing of another Cabinet. The gods had all vanished from their +places. Would the giants be good enough to do anything for us or +no? There were men who seemed to think that the giants would +refuse to do anything for us. 'The House will now be adjourned +over till Monday, and I would not be in Her Majesty's shoes for +something,' said Mr Harold Smith. + +'By Jove! no,' said Green Walker, who in these days was a staunch +Harold Smithian, having felt a pride in joining himself on as a +substantial support of a Cabinet minister. Had he contented himself +with being merely a Brockite, he would have counted as nobody. 'By +Jove! no,' and Green Walker opened his eyes and shook his head as +he thought of the perilous condition in which Her Majesty must be +placed. 'I happen to know that Lord -- won't join them unless he has +the Foreign Office,' and he mentioned some hundred-handed Gyas +supposed to be of the utmost importance to the counsels of the +Titans. + +'And that, of course, is impossible. I don't see what on earth +they are to do. There's Sidonia; they do say that he's making some +difficulty now.' Now Sidonia was another giant, supposed to be +very powerful. + +'We all know that the Queen won't see him,' said Green Walker, who, +being a member of parliament for the Crewe Junction, and nephew to +Lord Hartletop, of course had perfectly correct means of +ascertaining what the Queen would do, and what she would not. + +'The fact is,' said Harold Smith, recurring again to his own +situation as an ejected god, 'that the House does not in the least +understand what it is about;--doesn't know what it wants. The +question I would like to ask them is this: do they intend that the +Queen shall have a Government, or do they not? Are they prepared +to support such men as Sidonia and Lord De Terrier? If so, I am +their obedient humble servant; but I shall be very much surprised, +that's all.' Lord De Terrier was at this time recognized by all men +as the leader of the giants. + +'And so shall I, deucedly surprised. They can't do it, you know. +There are the Manchester men. I ought to know something about them +down in my country; and I say they can't support Lord De Terrier. +It wouldn't be natural.' + +'Natural! Human nature has come to an end, I think,' said Harold +Smith, who could hardly understand that the world should conspire +to throw over a Government which he had joined, and that, too, +before the world had waited to see how much he would do for it; +'the fact is, Walker, we have no longer among us any strong feeling +of party.' + +'No, not a d-,' said Green Walker, who was very energetic in his +present political aspirations. + +'And till we can recover that, we shall never be able to have a +Government firm-seated and sure-handed. Nobody can count on men +from one week to another. The very members who in one month place +a minister in power, are the very first to vote against him in the +next.' + +'We must put a stop to that sort of thing, otherwise we shall never +do any good.' + +'I don't mean to deny that Brock was wrong with reference to Lord +Brittleback. I think he was wrong, and I said so all through. But, +heavens on earth--!' and instead of completing his speech, Harold +Smith turned away his head, and struck his hands together in token +of his astonishment at the fatuity of the age. What he probably +meant to express was this: that if such a good deed as that late +appointment made at the Petty Bag Office were not held sufficient +to atone for that other evil deed to which he had alluded, there +would be an end of justice in sublunary matters. Was no offence to +be forgiven, even when so great virtue had been displayed? 'I +attribute it all to Supplehouse,' said Green Walker, trying to +console his friend. + +'Yes,' said Harold Smith, now verging on the bounds of +parliamentary eloquence, although he still spoke with bated breath, +and to one solitary hearer. 'Yes; we are becoming the slaves of a +mercenary and irresponsible press--of one single newspaper. There +is a man endowed with no great talent, enjoying no public +confidence, untrusted as a politician, and unheard of even as a +writer by the world at large, and yet, because he is on the staff +of the Jupiter, he is able to overturn a Government and throw the +whole country into dismay. It is astonishing to me that a man like +Lord Brock should allow himself to be so timid.' And nevertheless +it was not yet a month since Harold Smith had been counselling +with Supplehouse how a series of strong articles in the Jupiter, +together with the expected support of the Manchester men, might +probably be effective in hurling the minister from his seat. But +at that time the minister had not revigorated himself with young +blood. 'How the Queen's Government is to be carried on, that is +the question now,' Harold Smith repeated. A difficulty which had +not caused him much dismay at that period, about a month since, to +which we have alluded. At this moment Sowerby and Supplehouse +together joined them, having come out of the House, in which some +unimportant business had been completed, after the minister's +notice of adjournment. + +'Well, Harold,' said Sowerby, 'what do you say to your governor's +statement?' + +'I have nothing to say to it,' said Harold Smith, looking up very +solemnly from under the penthouse of his hat, and, perhaps rather +savagely. Sowerby had supported the Government in the late crisis; +but why was he now seen herding with such a one as Supplehouse? + +'He did it pretty well, I think,' said Sowerby. + +'Very well, indeed,' said Supplehouse; 'as he always does those +sort of things. No man makes so good an explanation of +circumstances, or comes out with so telling a personal statement. +He ought to keep himself in reserve for those sort of things.' + +'And who in the meantime is to carry on the Queen's Government?' +said Harold Smith, looking very stern. + +'That should be left to men of lesser mark,' said he of the +Jupiter. 'The points as to which one really listens to a minister, +the subjects about which men really care, are always personal. How +many of us are truly interested as to the best mode of governing +India? But in a question touching the character of a prime +minister we all muster together like bees round a sounding cymbal.' + +'That arises from envy, malice, and all uncharitableness,' said +Harold Smith. + +'Yes; and from picking and stealing, evil speaking, lying, and +slandering,' said Mr Sowerby. + +'We are so prone to desire and covet other men's places,' said +Supplehouse. + +'Some men are so,' said Sowerby; 'but it is the evil speaking, +lying, and slandering, which does the mischief. Is it not, +Harold?' + +'And in the meantime, how is the Queen's Government to be carried +on?' said Mr Green Walker. On the following morning it was known +that Lord De Terrier was with the Queen at Buckingham Palace, and +at about twelve a list of the new ministry was published, which +must have been in the highest degree satisfactory to the whole +brood of giants. Every son of Tellus was included in it, as were +also very many of the daughters. But then, late in the afternoon, +Lord Brock was again summoned to the palace, and it was thought in +the West End among the clubs that the gods had again a chance. 'If +only,' said the Purist, an evening paper which was supposed to be +very much in the interest of Mr Harold Smith, 'if only Lord Brock +can have the wisdom to place the right men in the right places. It +was only the other day that he introduced Mr Smith into his +Government. That this was a step in the right direction every one +acknowledged, though unfortunately it was made too late to prevent +the disturbance which has since occurred. It now appears probable +that his lordship will again have an opportunity of selecting a +list of statesmen with a view of carrying on the Queen's +Government; and it is to be hoped that such men as Mr Smith may be +placed in situations in which their talents, industry, and +acknowledged official aptitudes, may be of permanent service to the +country.' Supplehouse, when he read this at the club with Mr +Sowerby at his elbow, declared that the style was too well marked +to leave any doubt as to the author; but we ourselves are not +inclined to think that Mr Harold Smith wrote the article himself, +although it may be probable that he saw it in type. But the +Jupiter the next morning settled the whole question, and made it +known to the world that, in spite of all the sendings and +resendings, Lord Brock and the gods were permanently out, and Lord +De Terrier and the giants permanently in. That fractious giant who +would only go to the Foreign Office, had, in fact, gone to some +sphere of much less important duty, and Sidonia, in spite of the +whispered dislike of an illustrious personage, opened the campaign +with all the full appanages of a giant of the highest standing. 'We +hope,' said the Jupiter, 'that Lord Brock may not yet be too old to +take a lesson. If so, the present decision of the House of +Commons, and we may say of the country also, may teach him not to +put his trust in such princes as Lord Brittleback, or +such broken reeds as Mr Harold Smith.' Now this parting blow we +always thought to be exceedingly unkind, and altogether unnecessary, +on the part of Mr Supplehouse. + +'My dear,' said Mrs Harold Smith, when she first met Miss Dunstable +after the catastrophe was known, 'how am I possibly to endure this +degradation?' And she put her deeply laced handkerchief to her +eyes. + +'Christian resignation,' suggested Miss Dunstable. + +'Fiddlestick!' said Mrs Harold Smith. 'You millionaires always +talk of Christian resignation, because you never are called on to +resign anything. If I had any Christian resignation, I shouldn't +have cared for such pomps and vanities. Think of it, my dear; a +Cabinet minister's wife for only three weeks!' + +'How does poor Mr Smith endure it?' + +'What? Harold? He only lives on the hope of vengeance. When he +has put an end to Mr Supplehouse he will be content to die.' And +then there were further explanations in both Houses of Parliament, +which were altogether satisfactory. The high-bred, courteous giants +assured the gods that they had piled Pelion on Ossa and thus +climbed up into power, very much in opposition to their good-wills; +for they, the giants themselves, preferred the sweets of dignified +retirement. But the voice of the people had been too strong for +them; the effort had been made, not by themselves, but by others, +who were determined that the giants should be at the head of +affairs. Indeed, the spirit of the times was so clearly in favour +of giants that there had been no alternative. So said Briareus to +the Lords and Orion to the Commons. And then the gods were +absolutely happy in ceding their places; and so far were they from +any uncelestial envy or malice which might not be divine, that they +promised to give the giants all the assistance in their power in +carrying on the work of the government; upon which the giants +declared how deeply indebted they would be for such valuable +counsel and friendly assistance. All this was delightful in the +extreme; but not the less did ordinary men seem to expect that the +usual battle would go on in the old customary way. It is easy to +love one's enemy when one is making fine speeches; but so difficult +to do so in the actual everyday work of life. But there was and +always has been this peculiar good point about the giants, that +they are never too proud to follow in the footsteps of the gods. +If the gods, deliberating painfully together, have elaborated any +skilful project, the giants are always willing to adopt it as their +own, not treating the bantling as a foster child, but praising it +and pushing it so that men should regard it as the undoubted +offspring of their own brains. Now just at this time there had +been a plan much thought of for increasing the number of bishops. +Good active bishops were very desirable, and there was a strong +feeling among certain excellent Churchmen that there could hardly +be too many of them. Lord Brock had his measures cut and dry. +There should be a Bishop of Westminster to share the Herculean +toils of the metropolitan prelate, and another up in the North to +Christianize the mining interests and wash white the blackamoors of +Newcastle: Bishop of Beverley he should be called. But, in +opposition to this, the giants, it was known, had intended to put +forth the whole measure of their brute force. More curates, they +said, were wanting, and district incumbents; not more bishops +rolling in carriages. That bishops should roll in carriages was +very good; but of such blessings the English world for the present +had enough. And therefore Lord Brock and the gods had had much +fear as to their little project. But now, immediately on the +accession of the giants, it was known that the bishop bill was to +be gone on with immediately. Some small changes would be effected +so that the bill should be gigantic rather than divine; but the +result would be altogether the same. It must, however, be admitted +that bishops appointed by ourselves may be very good things, +whereas those appointed by our adversaries will be anything but +good. And, no doubt, this feeling went a long way with the +giants. Be that as it may, the new bishop bill was to be their +first work of government, and it was to be brought forward and +carried, and the new prelates selected and put into their chairs +all at once,--before the grouse should begin to crow and put an end +to the doings of gods as well as giants. Among other minor effects +arising from this decision was the following, that Archdeacon and +Mrs Grantly returned to London, and again took the lodgings in +which they had been staying. On various occasions also during the +first week of this second sojourn, Dr Grantly might be seen +entering the official chambers of the First Lord of the Treasury. +Much counsel was necessary among High-Churchmen of great repute +before any fixed resolution could wisely be made in such a matter +as this; and few Churchmen stood in higher repute than the +Archdeacon of Barchester. And then it began to be rumoured in the +world that the minister had disposed at any rate of the see of +Westminster. This present time was a very nervous one for Mrs +Grantly. What might be the aspirations of the archdeacon himself, +we will not stop to inquire. It may be that time and experience +had taught him the futility of earthly honours, and made him +content with the comfortable opulence of his Barsetshire rectory. +But there is no theory of Church discipline which makes it +necessary that a clergyman's wife should have an objection to a +bishopric. The archdeacon probably was only anxious to give a +disinterested aid to the minister, but Mrs Grantly did long to sit +in high places, and be at any rate equal to Mrs Proudie. It was +for her children, she said to herself, that she was thus anxious-- +that they should have a good position before the world and the +means of making the best of themselves. 'One is able to do +nothing, you know, shut up there, down at Plumstead,' she had +remarked to Lady Lufton on the occasion of her first visit to +London, and yet the time was not long past when she had thought +that rectory house at Plumstead to be by no means insufficient or +contemptible. And then there came the question whether or no +Griselda should go back to her mother; but this idea was very +strongly opposed by Lady Lufton, and ultimately with success. +'I really think the dear girl is very happy with me,' said Lady +Lufton; 'and if ever she is to belong to me more closely, it will +be so well that we should know and love one another.' + +To tell the truth, Lady Lufton had been trying hard to know and +love Griselda, but hitherto she had scarcely succeeded to the full +extent of her wishes. That she loved Griselda was certain,--with +that sort of love which springs from a person's volition and not +from the judgement. She had said all along to herself and others +that she did love Griselda Grantly. She had admired the young +lady's face, liked her manner, approved of her fortune and family, +and had selected her for a daughter-in-law in a somewhat impetuous +manner. Therefore she loved her. But it was by no means clear to +Lady Lufton that she did as yet know her young friend. The match +was a plan of her own, and therefore she stuck to it as warmly as +ever, but she began to have some misgivings whether or no the dear +girl would be to her herself all that she had dreamed of in a +daughter-in-law. 'But, dear Lady Lufton,' said Mrs Grantly, 'is it +not possible that we may put her affections to too severe a test? +What, if she should learn to regard him, and then--' + +'Ah! if she did, I should have no fear of the result. If she +showed anything like love for Ludovic, he would be at her feet in a +moment. He is impulsive, but she is not.' + +'Exactly, Lady Lufton. It is his privilege to be impulsive and to +sue for her affection, and hers to have her love sought for without +making any demonstration. It is perhaps the fault of young ladies +of the present day that they are too impulsive. They assume +privileges which are not their own, and thus lose those which are.' + +'Quite true! I quite agree with you. It is probably that very +feeling that has made me think so highly of Griselda. But then--' +But then a young lady, though she need not jump down a gentleman's +throat, or throw herself into his face, may give some signs that +she is made of flesh and blood; especially when her papa and mamma +all belonging to her are so anxious to make that path of her love +run smooth. That was what was passing through Lady Lufton's mind; +but she did not say it all; she merely looked it. + +'I don't think she will ever allow herself to indulge in an +unauthorized passion,' said Mrs Grantly. + +'I am sure she will not,' said Lady Lufton, with ready agreement, +fearing perhaps in her heart that Griselda would never indulge in +any passion authorized or unauthorized. + +'I don't know whether Lord Lufton sees much of her now,' said Mrs +Grantly, thinking perhaps of that promise of Lady Lufton's with +reference to his lordship's spare time. + +'Just lately, during these changes, you know, everybody has been so +much engaged. Ludovic has been constantly at the House, and then +men find it so necessary to be at their clubs just now.' + +'Yes, yes, of course,' said Mrs Grantly, who was not at all +disposed to think little of the importance of the present crisis, +or to wonder that men should congregate together when such deeds +were to be done as those which now occupied the breasts of the +Queen's advisers. At last, however, the two mothers perfectly +understood each other. Griselda was still to remain with Lady +Lufton; and was to accept her ladyship's son, if he could only be +induced to exercise his privilege of asking her; but in the +meantime, as this seemed to be doubtful, Griselda was not to be +debarred from her privilege of making what use she could of any +other string which she might have to her bow. + +'But, mamma,' said Griselda, in a moment of unwatched intercourse +between the mother and daughter, 'is it really true that they are +going to make papa a bishop?' + +'We can tell nothing as yet, my dear. People in the world are +talking about it. Your papa has been a good deal with Lord De +Terrier.' + +'And isn't he Prime Minister?' + +'Oh, yes; I am happy to say that he is.' + +'I thought the Prime Minister could make any one a bishop that he +chooses,--any clergyman, that is.' + +'But there is no see vacant,' said Mrs Grantly. + +'Then there isn't any chance,' said Griselda, looking very glum. + +'They are going to have an Act of Parliament for making two more +bishops. That's what they are talking about at least. And if they +do--' + +'Papa will be made Bishop of Westminster--won't he? And we shall +live in London.' + +'But you must not talk about it, my dear.' + +'No, I won't. But, mamma, a Bishop of Westminster will be higher +than a Bishop of Barchester, won't he? I shall so like to be able +to snub the Miss Proudies.' It will therefore be seen that there +were matters on which even Griselda Grantly could be animated. Like +the rest of her family she was devoted to the Church. Late on that +afternoon the archdeacon returned home to dine in Mount Street, +having spent the whole of the day between the Treasury chambers, a +meeting of Convocation, and his club. And when he did get home it +was soon manifest to his wife that he was not laden with good +news. 'It is almost incredible,' he said, standing with his back +to the drawing-room fire. + +'What is incredible?' said his wife, sharing her husband's anxiety +to the full. + +'If I had not learned it as a fact, I would not have believed it, +even of Lord Brock,' said the archdeacon. + +'Learned what?' said the anxious wife. + +'After all, they are going to oppose the bill.' + +'Impossible!' said Mrs Grantly. + +'But they are.' + +'The bill for the two new bishops, archdeacon? Oppose their own +bill?' + +'Yes--oppose their own bill. It is almost incredible; but so it +is. Some changes have been forced upon us; little things which +they had forgotten--quite minor matters; and they now say that they +will be obliged to divide against us on these twopenny-halfpenny, +hair-splitting points. It is Lord Brock's own doing too, after all +that he has said about abstaining from factious opposition to the +Government.' + +'I believe there is nothing too bad or too false for that man,' +said Mrs Grantly. + +'After all they said, too, when they were in power themselves, as +to the present Government opposing the cause of religion! They +declare now that Lord De Terrier cannot be very anxious about it, +as he had so many good reasons against it a few weeks ago. Is it +not dreadful that there should be such double-dealing in men in +such positions?' + +'It is sickening,' said Mrs Grantly. And then there was a pause +between them as the thought of the injury that was done to them. + +'But, archdeacon--' + +'Well?' + +'Could you not give up those small points and shame them into +compliance?' + +'Nothing would shame them.' + +'But would it not be well to try?' The game was so good a one, and +the stake so important, that Mrs Grantly felt that it would be +worth playing for to the last. + +'It is no good.' + +'But I certainly would suggest it to Lord De Terrier. I am sure +the country would go along with him; at any rate the Church would.' + +'It is impossible,' said the archdeacon. 'To tell the truth, it +did occur to me. But some of them down there seemed to think that +it would not do.' Mrs Grantly sat awhile on the sofa, still +meditating in her mind whether there might not yet be some escape +from so terrible a downfall. + +'But, archdeacon--' + +'I'll go upstairs and dress,' said he, in despondency. + +'But, archdeacon, surely the present ministry may have a majority +on such a subject as that; I thought they were sure of a majority +now.' + +'No; not sure.' + +'But at any rate the chances are in their favour? I do hope +they'll do their duty, and exert themselves to keep their members +together.' And then the archdeacon told out the whole truth. + +'Lord De Terrier says that under the present circumstances he will +not bring the matter forward this session at all. So we had better +go back to Plumstead.' Mrs Grantly then felt that there was +nothing further to be said, and it will be proper that the +historian should drop a veil over their sufferings. + + + +CHAPTER XXIV + +MAGNA EST VERITAS + +It was made known to the reader that in the early part of the +winter Mr Sowerby had a scheme for retrieving his lost fortunes, +and setting himself right in the world, by marrying that rich +heiress, Miss Dunstable. I fear my friend Sowerby does not, at +present, stand high in the estimation of those who have come with +me thus far in this narrative. He has been described as a +spendthrift and gambler, and as one scarcely honest in his +extravagance and gambling. But nevertheless there are worse men +than Mr Sowerby, and I am not prepared to say that, should he be +successful with Miss Dunstable, that lady would choose by any means +the worst of the suitors who are continually throwing themselves at +her feet. Reckless as this man always appeared to be, reckless as +he absolutely was, there was still within his heart a desire for +better things, and in his mind an understanding that he had +hitherto missed the career of an honest English gentleman. He was +proud of his position as a member for his county, though hitherto +he had done so little to grace it; he was proud of his domain at +Chaldicotes, though the possession of it had so nearly passed out +of his own hands; he was proud of the old blood that flowed in his +veins; and he was proud also of that easy, comfortable, gay manner, +which went so far in the world's judgement to atone for his +extravagance and evil practices. If only he could get another +chance, as he now said to himself, things should go very +differently with him. He would utterly forswear the whole company +of Tozers. He would cease to deal in bills, and to pay Heaven only +knows how many hundred per centum for his moneys. He would no +longer prey upon his friends, and would redeem his title-deeds +from the Duke of Omnium. If only he could get another chance! Miss +Dunstable's fortune would do all this and ever so much more, and +then, moreover, Miss Dunstable was a woman whom he really liked. +She was not soft, feminine, or pretty, nor was she very young; but +she was clever, self-possessed, and quite able to hold her own in +any class; and as to age, Mr Sowerby was not very young himself. +In making such a match he would have no cause of shame. He could +speak of it before his friends without any fear of their grimaces, +and ask them to his house, with the full assurance that the head of +his table would not disgrace him. And then as the scheme grew +clearer and clearer to him, he declared to himself that if he +should be successful, he would use her well, and not rob her of her +money--beyond what was absolutely necessary. He had intended to +have laid his fortunes at her feet at Chaldicotes; but the lady had +been coy. Then the deed was to have been done at Gatherum Castle, +but the lady ran away from Gatherum Castle just at the time on +which he had fixed. And since that, one circumstance after another +had postponed the affair in London, till now at last he was +resolved that he would know his fate, let it be what it might. +If he could not contrive that things should speedily be arranged, +it might come to pass that he would be altogether debarred from +presenting himself to the lady as Mr Sowerby of Chaldicotes. +Tidings had reached him, through Mr Fothergill, that the duke would +be glad to have matters arranged; and Mr Sowerby well knew the +meaning of that message. + +Mr Sowerby was not fighting this campaign alone, without the aid of +an ally. Indeed, no man ever had a more trusty ally in any +campaign than he had in this. And it was this ally, the only +faithful comrade that clung to him through good and ill during his +whole life, who first put it into his head that Miss Dunstable was +a woman and might be married. 'A hundred needy adventurers have +attempted it, and failed already,' Mr Sowerby had said, when the +plan was first proposed to him. + +'But, nevertheless, she will some day marry some one; and why not +you as well as another?' his sister had answered. For Mrs Harold +Smith was the ally of whom I have spoken. Mrs Harold Smith, +whatever may have been her faults, could boast of this virtue--that +she loved her brother. He was probably the only human being that +she did love. Children she had none; and as for her husband, it +had never occurred to her to love him. She had married him for a +position; and being a clever woman, with a good digestion and +command of her temper, had managed to get through the world without +much of that unhappiness which usually follows ill-assorted +marriages. At home she managed to keep the upper hand, but she did +so in an easy, good-humoured way that made her rule bearable; and +away from home she assisted her lord's political standing, though +she laughed more keenly than any one else at his foibles. But the +lord of her heart was her brother; and in all his scrapes, all his +extravagances, and all his recklessness, she had ever been willing +to assist him. With the view of doing this she had sought the +intimacy of Miss Dunstable, and for the last year past had indulged +every caprice of that lady. Or rather, she had had the wit to +learn that Miss Dunstable was to be won, not by the indulgence of +caprice, but by free and easy intercourse, with a dash of fun, and, +at any rate, a semblance of honesty. Mrs Harold Smith was not, +perhaps, herself very honest by disposition; but in these latter +days she had taken up a theory of honesty for the sake of Miss +Dunstable--not altogether in vain, for Miss Dunstable and Mrs +Harold Smith were very intimate. + +'If I am to do it at all, I must not wait any longer,' said Mr +Sowerby to his sister a day or two after the final breakdown of the +gods. The affection of the sister for the brother may be imagined +from the fact that at such a time she could give up her mind to +such a subject. But, in truth, her husband's position as Cabinet +minister was as nothing as compared with her brother's position as +a county gentleman. 'One time is as good as another.' + +'You mean that you would advise me to ask her at once.' + +'Certainly. But you must remember, Nat, that you will have no easy +task. It will not do for you to kneel down and swear that you love +her.' + +'If I do it at all, I shall certainly do it without kneeling--you +may be sure of that, Harriet.' + +'Yes, and without swearing that you love her. There is only one +way in which you can be successful with Miss Dunstable--you must +tell her the truth.' + +'What! tell her that I am ruined, horse, foot, and dragoons, and +then bid her help me out of the mire?' + +'Exactly: that will be your only chance, strange as it may appear.' + +'This is very different from what you used to say, down at +Chaldicotes.' + +'So it is; but I know her much better than I did when we were +there. Since then I have done but little else than study the +freaks of her character. If she really likes you--and I think she +does--she could forgive you any other crime but that of swearing +that you loved her.' + +'I should hardly know how to propose without saying something about +it.' + +'But you must say nothing--not a word; you must tell her that you +are a gentleman of good blood and high station, but sadly out at +elbows.' + +'She knows that already.' + +'Of course she does; but she must know it as coming directly from +your mouth. And then tell her that you propose to set yourself +right by marrying her--by marrying her for the sake of her money.' + +'That will hardly win her, I should say.' + +'If it does not, no other way, that I know of, will do so. As I +told you before, it will be no easy task. Of course you must make +her understand that her happiness shall be cared for; but that must +not be put prominently forward as your object. Your first object +is her money, and your only chance for success is in telling the +truth.' + +'It is very seldom that a man finds himself in such a position as +that,' said Sowerby, walking up and down his sister's room; 'and, +upon my word, I don't think that I am up to the task. I should +certainly break down. I don't believe there's a man in London +could go to a woman with such a story as that, and then ask her to +marry him.' + +'If you cannot, you may as well give it up,' said Mrs Harold +Smith. 'But if you can do it--if you can go through with it in +that manner--my own opinion is that your chance of success would +not be bad. The fact is,' added the sister after a while, during +which her brother was continuing his walk and meditating on the +difficulties of his position--'the fact is, you men never +understand a woman; you give her credit neither for her strength, +nor for her weakness. You are too bold, and too timid: you think +she is a fool and tell her so, and yet never can trust her to do a +kind action. Why should she not marry you with the intention of +doing you a good turn? After all, she would lose very little: +there is the estate, and if she redeemed it, it would belong to her +as well as you.' + +'It would be a good turn, indeed. I fear I should be too modest to +put it to her in that way.' + +'Her position would be much better as your wife than it is at +present. You are good-humoured and good-tempered, you would intend +to treat her well, and, on the whole, she would be much happier as +Mrs Sowerby, of Chaldicotes, than she can be in her present +position.' + +'If she cared about being married, I suppose she could be a peer's +wife to-morrow.' + +'But I don't think she cares about being a peer's wife. A needy +peer might perhaps win her in the way that I propose to you; but +then a needy peer would not know how to set about it. Needy peers +have tried--half a dozen I have no doubt--and have failed, because +they have pretended that they were in love with her. It may be +difficult, but your only chance is to tell her the truth.' + +'And where shall I do it?' + +'Here if you choose; but her own house will be better.' + +'But I never can see her there--at least, not alone. I believe she +is never alone. She always keeps a lot of people round her in +order to stave off her lovers. Upon my word, Harriet, I think I'll +give it up. It is impossible that I should make such a declaration +to her as that you propose.' + +'Faint heart, Nat--you know the rest.' + +'But the poet never alluded to such a wooing as that you have +suggested. I suppose I had better begin with a schedule of my +debts, and make reference, if she doubts me, to Fothergill, the +sheriff's officers, and the Tozer family.' + +'She will not doubt you, on that head; nor will she be a bit +surprised.' Then there was again a pause, during which Mr Sowerby +still walked up and down the room, thinking whether or no he might +possibly have any chance of success in so hazardous an enterprise. + +'I tell you what, Harriet,' at last he said; 'I wish you'd do it +for me.' + +'Well,' said she, 'if you really mean it, I will make the attempt.' + +'I am sure of this, that I shall never make it myself. I +positively should not have the courage to tell her in so many +words, that I wanted to marry her for her money.' + +'Well, Nat, I will attempt it. At any rate, I am not afraid of +her. She and I are excellent friends, and, to tell the truth, I +think I like her better than any other woman that I know; but I +never should have been intimate with her, had it not been for your +sake.' + +'And now you will have to quarrel with her, also for my sake?' + +'Not at all. You'll find that whether she accedes to my +proposition or not, we shall continue to be friends. I do not +think that she would die for me--nor I for her. But as the world +goes we suit each other. Such a little trifle as this will not +break our loves.' And so it was settled. On the following day Mrs +Harold Smith was to find an opportunity of explaining the whole +matter to Miss Dunstable, and was to ask that lady to share her +fortune--some incredible number of thousands of pounds--with the +bankrupt member for West Barsetshire, who in return was to bestow +on her--himself and his debts. Mrs Harold Smith had spoken no more +than the truth in saying that she and Miss Dunstable suited one +another. And she had not improperly described their friendship. +They were not prepared to die, one for the sake of the other. They +had said nothing to each other of mutual love and affection. They +never kissed, or cried, or made speeches, when they met or when +they parted. There was no great benefit for which either had to be +grateful to the other; no terrible injury which either had +forgiven. But they suited each other; and this, I take it, is the +secret of most of pleasantest intercourse in the world. And it was +almost grievous that they should suit each other, for Miss +Dunstable was much the worthier of the two, had she but known it +herself. It was almost to be lamented that she should have found +herself able to live with Mrs Harold Smith on terms that were +perfectly satisfactory to herself. Mrs Harold Smith was worldly, +heartless--to all the world but her brother--and, as has been above +hinted, almost dishonest. Miss Dunstable was not worldly, though +it was possible that her present style of life might make her so; +she was affectionate, fond of truth, and prone to honesty, if those +around would but allow her to exercise it. But she was fond of +ease and humour, sometimes of wit that might almost be called +broad, and she had a thorough love of ridiculing the world's +humbugs. In all the propensities Mrs Harold Smith indulged her. + +Under these circumstances they were now together almost every day. +It had become quite a habit with Mrs Harold Smith to have herself +driven early in the forenoon to Miss Dunstable's house; and that +lady, though she could never be found alone by Mr Sowerby, was +habitually so found by his sister. And after that they would go +out together, or each separately as fancy or the business of the +day might direct them. Each was easy to the other in this +alliance, and they so managed that they never trod on each other's +corns. On the day following the agreement made between Mr Sowerby +and Mrs Harold Smith, that lady as usual called on Miss Dunstable, +and soon found herself alone with her friend in a small room which +the heiress kept solely for her own purposes. On special occasions +persons of various sorts were there admitted; occasionally a parson +who had a church to build, or a dowager laden with the last morsel +of town slander, or a poor author who could not get due payment for +the efforts of his brain, or a poor governess on whose feeble +stamina the weight of the world had borne too hardly. But men who +by possibility could be lovers did not make their way thither, nor +women who could be bores. In these latter days, that is, during +the present London season, the doors of it had been oftener open to +Mrs Harold Smith than to any other person. And now the effort was +to be made with the object of which all this intimacy had been +effected. As she came thither in her carriage, Mrs Harold Smith +herself was not altogether devoid of that sinking of the heart +which is so frequently the forerunner of any difficult and +hazardous undertaking. She had declared that she would feel no +fear in making the little proposition. But she did feel something +very like it: and when she made her entrance into the little room +she certainly wished that the work was done and over. + +'How is poor Mr Smith to-day?' asked Miss Dunstable, with an air of +mock condolence, as her friend seated herself in her accustomed +easy chair. The downfall of the gods was as yet a history hardly +three days old, and it might well be supposed that the late of the +Petty Bag had hardly recovered from his misfortune. 'Well, he is +better, I think, this morning; at least I should judge so from the +manner in which he confronted his eggs. But still I don't like the +way he handles the carving-knife. I am sure he is always thinking +of Mr Supplehouse at those moments.' + +'Poor man! I mean Supplehouse. After all, why shouldn't he follow +his trade as well as another? Live and let live, that's what I +say.' + +'Aye, but it's kill and let kill with him. That is what Horace +says. However, I am tired of all that now, and I came here to-day +to talk about something else.' + +'I rather like Mr Supplehouse myself,' exclaimed Miss Dunstable. +'He never makes any bones about the matter. He has a certain work +to do, and a certain cause to serve--namely, his own; and in order +to do that work, and serve that cause, he uses such weapons as God +has placed in his hands.' + +'That's what the wild beasts do.' + +'And where will you find men honester than they? The tiger tears +you up because he is hungry and wants to eat you. That's what +Supplehouse does. But there are so many among us tearing up one +another without any excuse of hunger. The mere pleasure of +destroying is reason enough. + +'Well, my dear, my mission to you to-day is certainly not one of +destruction, as you will admit when you hear it. It is one, +rather, very absolutely of salvation. I have come to make love to +you.' + +'Then the salvation, I suppose, is not for myself,' said Miss +Dunstable. It was quite clear to Mrs Harold Smith that Miss +Dunstable had immediately understood the whole purport of this +visit, and that she was not in any great measure surprised. It did +not seem from the tone of the heiress's voice, or from the serious +look which at once settled on her face, that she would be prepared +to give very ready compliance. But then great objects can only be +won with great efforts. + +'That's as may be,' said Mrs Harold Smith. 'For you and another +also, I hope. But I trust, at any rate, that I may not offend +you?' + +'Oh, laws, no; nothing of that kind ever offends me now.' + +'Well, I suppose you're used to it.' + +'Like the eels, my dear. I don't mind it the least in the +world--only sometimes, you know, it is a little tedious.' + +'I'll endeavour to avoid that, so I may as well break the ice at +once. You know enough of Nathaniel's affairs to be aware that he +is not a very rich man.' + +'Since you do ask me about it, I suppose there's no harm in saying +that I believe him to be a very poor man.' + +'Not the least harm in the world, but just the reverse. Whatever +may come of this, my wish is that the truth should be told +scrupulously on all sides; the truth, the whole truth, and nothing +but the truth.' + +'Magna est veritas,' said Miss Dunstable. 'The Bishop of +Barchester taught me as much Latin as that at Chaldicotes; and he +did add some more, but there was a long word, and I forgot it.' + +'The bishop was quite right, my dear, I'm sure. But if you go to +your Latin, I'm lost. As we were just now saying, my brother's +pecuniary affairs are in a very bad state. He has a beautiful +property of his own, which has been in the family for I can't say +how many centuries--long before the Conquest, I know.' + +'I wonder what my ancestors were then?' + +'It does not much signify to any of us,' said Mrs Harold Smith, +with a moral shake of her head, 'what our ancestors were; but it's +a sad thing to see an old property go to ruin.' + +'Yes, indeed; we none of us like to see our property going to ruin, +whether it be old or new. I have some of that sort of feeling +already, although mine was only made the other day out of an +apothecary's shop.' + +'God forbid that I should ever help you ruin it,' said Mrs Harold +Smith. 'I should be sorry to be the means of your losing a +ten-pound note.' + +'Magna est veritas, as the dear bishop said,' exclaimed Miss +Dunstable. 'Let us have the truth, the whole truth, and nothing +but the truth, as we agreed just now.' Mrs Harold Smith did begin +to find that the task before her was difficult. There was a +hardness about Miss Dunstable when matters of business were +concerned on which it seemed almost impossible to make any +impression. It was not that she had evinced any determination to +refuse the tender of Mr Sowerby's hand; but she was so painfully +resolute not to have dust thrown in her eyes! Mrs Harold Smith had +commenced with a mind fixed upon avoiding what she called humbug; +but this sort of humbug had become so prominent a part of her usual +rhetoric, that she found it very hard to abandon it. 'And that's +what I wish,' said she. 'Of course my chief object is to secure my +brother's happiness.' + +'That's very unkind to poor Mr Harold Smith.' + +'Well, well, well--you know what I mean.' + +'Yes, I think I do know what you mean. Your brother is a gentleman +of good family, but of no means.' + +'Not quite as bad as that.' + +'Of embarrassed means, then, or anything that you will; whereas I +am a lady of no family, but of sufficient wealth. You think that +if you brought us together and made a match of it, it would be a +very good thing for--for whom?' said Miss Dunstable. + +'Yes, exactly,' said Mrs Harold Smith. + +'For which of us? Remember the bishop now and his nice little bit +of Latin.' + +'For Nathaniel then,' said Mrs Harold Smith, boldly. 'It would be +a very good thing for him.' And a slight smile came across her +face as she said it. 'Now that's honest, or the mischief is in +it.' + +'Yes, that's honest enough. And did he send you here to tell me +this?' + +'Well, he did that, and something else.' + +'And now let's have the something else. The really important part, +I have no doubt, has been spoken.' + +'No, by no means, by no means all of it. But you are so hard on +one, my dear, with your running after honesty, that one is not able +to tell the real facts as they are. You make one speak in such a +bald, naked way.' + +'Ah, you think that anything naked must be indecent; even truth.' + +'I think it is more proper-looking, and better suited, too, for the +world's work, when it goes about with some sort of garment on it. +We are so used to a leaven of falsehood in all we hear and say, +nowadays, that nothing is more likely to deceive us than the +absolute truth. If a shopkeeper told me that his wares were simply +middling, of course, I should think that they were not worth a +farthing. But all that has nothing to do with my poor brother. +Well, what was I saying?' + +'You were going to tell me how well he will use me, no doubt.' + +'Something of that kind.' + +'That he wouldn't beat me; or spend all my money if I managed to +have it tied up out of his power; or look down on me with contempt +because my father was an apothecary! Was not that what you were +going to say?' + +'I was going to tell you that you might be more happy as Mrs +Sowerby of Chaldicotes than you can be as Miss Dunstable--' + +'Of Mount Lebanon. And had Mr Sowerby no other message to +send?---nothing about love, or anything of that sort? I should +like, you know, to understand what his feelings are before I take +such a leap.' + +'I do believe he has as true a regard for you as any man of his age +does have--' + +'For any woman of mine. That is not putting it in a very devoted +way certainly; but I am glad to see that you remember the bishop's +maxim.' + +'What would you have me say? If I told you that he was dying for +love, you would say, I was trying to cheat you; and now because I +don't tell you so, you say that he is wanting of devotion. I must +say you are hard to please.' + +'Perhaps I am, and very unreasonable into the bargain. I ought to +ask no questions of the kind when your brother proposes to do me so +much honour. As for my expecting the love of a man who condescends +to wish to be my husband, that, of course, would be monstrous. What +right can I have to think that any man should love me? It ought to +be enough for me to know that as I am rich, I can get a husband. +What business can such as I have to inquire whether the gentleman +who would so honour me really would like my company, or would only +deign to put up with my presence in the household?' + +'Now, my dear Miss Dunstable--' + +'Of course I am not so much an ass to expect that any gentleman +should love me; and I feel that I ought to be obliged to your +brother for sparing me the string of complimentary declarations +which are usual on such occasions. He, at any rate, is not +tedious--or rather you on his behalf; for no doubt his own time is +so occupied with his parliamentary duties that he cannot attend to +this little matter himself. I do feel grateful to him; and perhaps +nothing more will be necessary than to give him a schedule of the +property, and name an early day for putting him possession.' Mrs +Smith did feel that she was rather badly used. This Miss +Dunstable, in their mutual confidences, had so often ridiculed the +love-making grimaces of her mercenary suitors--had spoken so +fiercely against those who had persecuted her, not because they had +desired her money, but on account of their ill-judgement in +thinking her to be a fool--that Mrs Smith had a right to expect +that the method she had adopted for opening the negotiation would be +taken in a better spirit. Could it be possible, after all, thought +Mrs Smith to herself, that Miss Dunstable was like other women, and +that she did like to have men kneeling at her feet? Could it be +the case that she had advised her brother badly, and that it would +have been better for him to have gone about his work in the +old-fashioned way? 'They are very hard to manage,' said Mrs Harold +Smith to herself, thinking of her own sex. + +'He was coming here himself,' said she, 'but I advised him not to +do so.' + +'That was kind of you.' + +'I thought that I could explain to you more openly and more freely, +what his intentions really are.' + +'Oh! I have no doubt that they are honourable,' said Miss +Dunstable. 'He does not want to deceive me in that way, I am +sure.' It was impossible to help laughing, and Mrs Harold Smith +did laugh. 'Upon my word, you would provoke a saint,' said she. + +'I am not likely to get into such company by the alliance that you +are suggesting to me. There are not many saints usually at +Chaldicotes, I believe;--always excepting the dear bishop and his +wife.' + +'But, my dear, what am I to say to Nathaniel?' + +'Tell him, of course, how much obliged to him I am.' + +'Do listen to me one moment. I dare say that I have done wrong to +speak to you in such a bold, unromantic way.' + +'Not at all. The truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the +truth. That's what we agreed upon. But one's first efforts in +any line are always apt to be a little uncouth.' + +'I will send Nathaniel to you himself.' + +'No, do not do so. Why torment either him or me? I do like your +brother; in a certain way, I like him much. But no earthly +consideration would induce me to marry him. Is it not so glaringly +plain that he would marry me for my money only, that you have not +even dared to suggest any other reason?' + +'Of course it would have been nonsense to say that he had no regard +whatever towards your money.' + +'Of course it would--absolute nonsense. He is a poor man with a +good position, and he wants to marry me because I have got that +which he wants. But, my dear, I do not want that which he has got, +and therefore the bargain would not be a fair one.' + +'But he would do his best to make you happy.' + +'I am so much obliged to him; but you see, I am very happy as I +am. What should I gain?' + +'A companion whom you confess you like.' + +'Ah! but I don't know that I should like too much even of such a +companion as your brother. No, my dear--it won't do. Believe me +when I tell you, once for all, that it won't do.' + +'Do, you mean, then, Miss Dunstable, that you'll never marry?' + +'To-morrow--if I met any one that I fancied, and he would have me. +But I rather think that any that I may fancy won't have me. In the +first place, if I marry any one, the man must be quite indifferent +to my money.' + +'Then you'll not find him in the world, my dear.' + +'Very possibly not,' said Miss Dunstable. All that was further +said upon the subject need not be here repeated. Mrs Harold Smith +did not give up her cause quite at once, although Miss Dunstable +had spoken so plainly. She tried to explain how eligible would be +her friend's situation as mistress of Chaldicotes, when Chaldicotes +should owe no penny to any man; and went so far as to hint that the +master of Chaldicotes, if relieved of his embarrassments and known +as a rich man, might in all probability be found worthy of a +peerage when the gods should return to Olympus. Mr Harold Smith, +as a Cabinet minister, would, of course, do his best. But it was +all of no use. 'It's not my destiny,' said Miss Dunstable, 'and +therefore do not press it any longer.' + +'But we shall not quarrel,' said Mrs Harold Smith, almost tenderly. + +'Oh, no--why should we quarrel?' + +'And you won't look glum at my brother?' + +'Why should I look glum at him? But, Mrs Smith, I'll do more than +not looking glum at him. I do like you, and I do like your +brother, and if I can in any moderate way assist him in his +difficulties, let him tell me so.' Soon after this, Mrs Harold +Smith went her way. Of course, she declared in a very strong +manner that her brother could not think of accepting from Miss +Dunstable any such pecuniary assistance as that offered--and, to +give her her due, such was the feeling of her mind at the moment; +but as she went to meet her brother and gave him an account of this +interview, it did occur to her that possibly Miss Dunstable might +be a better creditor than the Duke of Omnium for the Chaldicotes +property. + + + +CHAPTER XXV + +NON-IMPULSIVE + +It cannot be held as astonishing, that that last decision on the +part of the giants in the matter of the two bishoprics should have +disgusted Archdeacon Grantly. He was a politician, but not a +politician as they were. As is the case with all exoteric men, his +political eyes saw a short way only, and his political aspirations +were as limited. When his friends came into office, that bishop +bill, which as the original product of his enemies had been +regarded by him as being so pernicious--for was it not about to be +made law in order that other Proudies and such like might be +hoisted up into high places and large incomes, to the terrible +detriment of the Church?---that bishop bill, I say, in the hands of +his friends, had appeared to him to be a means of almost national +salvation. And then, how great had been the good fortune of the +giants in this matter! Had they been the originators of such a +measure they would not have had a chance of success; but now--now +that the two bishops were falling into their mouths out of the weak +hands of the gods, was not their success ensured? So Dr Grantly +had girded up his loins and marched up to the fight, almost +regretting that the triumph would be so easy. The subsequent +failure was very trying to his temper as a party man. It always +strikes me that the supporters of the Titans are in this respect +much to be pitied. The giants themselves, those who are actually +handling Pelion and breaking their shins over the lower rocks of +Ossa, are always advancing in some sort towards the councils of +Olympus. Their highest policy is to snatch some ray from heaven. +Why else put Pelion on Ossa, unless it be that a furtive hand, +making its way through Jove's windows, may pluck forth a +thunderbolt or two, or some article less destructive, but of +manufacture equally divine? And in this consists the wisdom of +higher giants--that, in spite of their mundane antecedents, +theories and predilections, they can see that articles of divine +manufacture are necessary. But then they never carry their +supporters with them. Their whole army is an army of martyrs. +'For twenty years I have stuck to them, and see how they have treated +me!' Is not that always the plaint of an old giant-slave? 'I have +been true to my party all my life, and where am I now?' he says. +Where, indeed, my friend? Looking about you, you begin to learn +that you cannot describe your whereabouts. I do not marvel at +that. No one finds himself planted at last in so terribly foul a +morass, as he would fain stand still for ever on dry ground. + +Dr Grantly was disgusted; and although he was himself too true and +thorough in all his feelings, to be able to say aloud that any +giant was wrong, still he had a sad feeling within his heart that +the world was sinking from under him. He was still sufficiently +exoteric to think that a good stand-up fight in a good cause was a +good thing. No doubt he did wish to be Bishop of Westminster, and +was anxious to compass that preferment by any means that might +appear to him to be fair. And why not? But this was not the end +of his aspirations. He wished that the giants might prevail in +everything, in bishoprics as in all other matters; and he could not +understand that they should give way on the very first appearance +of a skirmish. In his open talk he was loud against many a god; +but in his heart of hearts he was bitter enough against both +Porphyrion and Orion. + +'My dear doctor, it would not do;--not in this session; it would +not indeed.' So had spoken to him a half-fledged but especially +esoteric young monster-cub at the Treasury, who considered himself +as up to all the dodges of his party, and regarded the army of +martyrs who supported it as a rather heavy, but very useful +collection of fogies. Dr Grantly had not cared to discuss the +matter with the half-fledged monster-cub. The best licked of all +the monsters, the giant most like a god of them all, had said a +word or two to him; and he also had said a word or two to that +giant. Porphyrion had told him that the bishop bill would not do; +and he, in return, speaking with a warm face, and blood on his +cheeks, had told Porphyrion that he saw no reason why the bill +should not do. The courteous giant had smiled as he shook his +ponderous head, and then the archdeacon had left him, unconsciously +shaking some dust from his shoes, as he paced the passages of the +Treasury chambers for the last time. As he walked back to his +lodgings in Mount Street, many thoughts, not altogether bad in +their nature, passed through his mind. Why should he trouble +himself about a bishopric? Was he not well as he was, in his +rectory down at Plumstead? Might it not be ill for him at his age +to transplant himself into new soil, to engage in new duties, and +live among new people? Was he not useful at Barchester, and +respected also; and might it not be possible that up there at +Westminster, he might be regarded merely as a tool with which other +men could work? He had not quite liked the tone of that specially +exoteric young monster-cub, who had clearly regarded him as a +distinguished fogy from the army of martyrs. He would take his +wife back to Barsetshire, and there live contented with the good +things which Providence had given him. + +Those high political grapes had become sour, my sneering friends +will say. Well? Is it not a good thing that grapes should become +sour which hang out of reach? Is he not wise who can regard all +grapes as sour which are manifestly too high for his hand? Those +grapes of the Treasury bench, for which gods and giants fight, +suffering so much when they are forced to abstain from eating, and +so much more when they do eat,--those grapes are very sour to me. +I am sure that they are indigestible, and that those who eat them +undergo all the ills which the Revalenta Arabica is prepared to +cure. And so it was now with the archdeacon. He thought of the +strain which would have been put on his conscience had he come up +there to sit in London as Bishop of Westminster; and in this frame +of mind he walked home to his wife. During the first few moments +of his interview with her all his regrets had come back upon him. +Indeed, it would have hardly suited for him then to have preached +this new doctrine of rural contentment. The wife of his bosom, +whom he so fully trusted--had so fully loved--wished for grapes +that hung high upon the wall, and he knew that it was past his +power to teach her at the moment to drop her ambition. Any +teaching that he might effect in that way, must come by degrees. +But before many minutes were over he had told her of her fate and +of his own decision. 'So we had better go back to Plumstead,' he +said; and she had not dissented. + +'I am sorry for poor Griselda's sake,' Mrs Grantly had remarked +later in the evening, when they were again together. + +'But I thought she was to remain with Lady Lufton?' + +'Well; so she will for a little time. There is no one with whom I +would so soon trust her out of my own care as with Lady Lufton. She +is all that one can desire.' + +'Exactly; and as far as Griselda is concerned, I cannot say that I +think she is to be pitied.' + +'Not to be pitied, perhaps,' said Mrs Grantly. 'But, you see, +archdeacon, Lady Lufton, of course, has her own views.' + +'Her own views?' + +'It is hardly any secret that she is very anxious to make a match +between Lord Lufton and Griselda. And though that might be a very +proper arrangement if it were fixed--' + +'Lord Lufton marry Griselda!' said the archdeacon, speaking quick +and raising his eyebrows. His mind had as yet been troubled by but +few thoughts respecting his child's future establishment. 'I had +never dreamt of such a thing.' + +'But other people have done more than dreamt of it, archdeacon. As +regards the match itself, it would, I think, be unobjectionable. +Lord Lufton will not be a very rich man, but his property is +respectable, and as far as I can learn, his character is on the +whole good. If they like each other, I should be contented with +such a marriage. But, I must own, I am not quite satisfied at the +idea of leaving her all alone with Lady Lufton. People will look +on it as a settled thing, when it is not settled--and very probably +may not be settled; and that will do the poor girl harm. She is +very much admired; there can be no doubt of that; and Lord +Dumbello--' + +The archdeacon opened his eyes still wider. He had had no idea +that such a choice of sons-in-law was being prepared for him; and, +to tell the truth, was almost bewildered by the height of his +wife's ambition. Lord Lufton, with his barony and twenty thousand +a year, might be accepted as just good enough; but failing him +there was an embryo marquis, whose fortune would be more than ten +times as great, all ready to accept his child! And then he +thought, as husbands sometimes will think, of Susan Harding as she +was when he had gone a-courting to her under the elms before the +house in the warden's garden, at Barchester, and of dear old Mr +Harding, his wife's father, who still lived, in humble lodgings in +that city; and as he thought, he wondered at and admired the +greatness of that lady's mind. 'I never can forgive Lord De +Terrier,' said the lady, connecting various points together in her +mind. + +'That's nonsense,' said the archdeacon. 'You must forgive him.' + +'And I must confess that it annoys me to leave London at present.' + +'It can't be helped,' said the archdeacon, somewhat gruffly; for he +was a man who, on certain points, chose to have his own way--and +had it. + +'Oh, no: I know it can't be helped,' said Mrs Grantly, in a tone +which implied a deep injury. 'I know it can't be helped. Poor +Griselda!' And then they went to bed. On the next morning +Griselda came to her, and in an interview that was strictly +private, her mother said more to her than she had ever yet spoken, +as to the prospects of her future life. Hitherto, on this subject, +Mrs Grantly had said little or nothing. She would have been well +pleased that her daughter should have received the incense of Lord +Lufton's vows--or, perhaps, as well pleased had it been the incense +of Lord Dumbello's vows--without any interference on her part. In +such case her child, she knew, would have told her with quite +sufficient eagerness, and the matter in either case would have been +arranged as a pretty love match. She had no fear of any +impropriety or of any rashness on Griselda's part. She had +thoroughly known her daughter when she boasted that Griselda would +never indulge in an unauthorized passion. But as matters now +stood, with those two strings to her bow, and with that +Lufton-Grantly alliance treaty in existence--of which she, Griselda +herself knew nothing--might it not be possible that the poor child +should stumble through want of adequate direction? Guided by these +thoughts, Mrs Grantly had resolved to say a few words before she +left London. So she wrote a line to her daughter, and Griselda +reached Mount Street at two o'clock in Lady Lufton's carriage, +which during the interview, waited for her at the beer-shop round +the corner. + +'And papa won't be Bishop of Westminster?' said the young lady, +when the doings of the giants had been sufficiently explained to +make her understand that all those hopes were over. + +'No, my dear; at any rate not now.' + +'What a shame! I thought it was all settled. What's the good, +mamma, of Lord De Terrier being Prime Minister, if he can't make +whom he likes a bishop?' + +'I don't think that Lord De Terrier has behaved at all well to your +father. However, that's a long question, and we can't go into it +now.' + +'How glad those Proudies will be!' Griselda would have talked by +the hour on this subject had her mother allowed her, but it was +necessary that Mrs Grantly should go to other matters. She began +about Lady Lufton, saying what a dear woman her ladyship was; and +then went on to say that Griselda was to remain in London as long +as it suited her friend and hostess to stay there with her; but +added, that this might probably not be very long, as it was +notorious that Lady Lufton, when in London, was always in a hurry +to get back to Framley. + +'But I don't think she is in such a hurry this year, mamma,' said +Griselda, who in the month of May preferred Bruton Street to +Plumstead, and had no objection whatever to the coronet on the +panels of Lady Lufton's coach. And then Mrs Grantly commenced her +explanation--very cautiously. 'No, my dear, I dare say she is not +in such a hurry this year,--that is, as long as you remain with +her.' + +'I am sure she is very kind.' + +'She is very kind, and you ought to love her very much. I know I +do. I have no friend in the world for whom I have a greater regard +than for Lady Lufton. It is that which makes me happy to leave you +with her.' + +'All the same, I wish you and papa had remained up; that is, if +they had made papa a bishop.' + +'It's no good thinking of that now, my dear. What I particularly +wanted to say to you was this: I think you should know what are the +ideas which Lady Lufton entertains.' + +'Her ideas!' said Griselda, who had never troubled herself much in +thinking about other people's thoughts. + +'Yes, Griselda. While you were staying down at Framley Court, and +also, I suppose, since you have been up here in Bruton Street, you +must have seen a good deal of--Lord Lufton.' + +'He doesn't come very often to Bruton Street,--that is to say, not +very often.' + +'H-m,' ejaculated Mrs Grantly, very gently. She would willingly +have repressed the sound altogether, but it had been too much for +her. If she found reason to think that Lady Lufton was playing her +false, she would immediately take her daughter away, break up the +treaty, and prepare for the Hartletop alliance. Such were the +thoughts that ran through her mind. But she knew all the while +that Lady Lufton was not false. The fault was not with Lady +Lufton; nor, perhaps, altogether with Lord Lufton. Mrs Grantly had +understood the full force of the complaint which Lady Lufton had +made against her daughter; and though she had of course defended +her child, and on the whole had defended her successfully, yet she +confessed to herself that Griselda's chance of a first-rate +establishment would be better if she were a little more impulsive. +A man does not wish to marry a statue, let the statue be ever so +statuesque. She could not teach her daughter to be impulsive, any +more than she could teach her to be six feet high; but might it not +be possible to teach her to seem so? The task was a very delicate +one, even for a mother's hand. 'Of course he cannot be at home now +as much as he was down at the country, when he was living in the +same house,' said Mrs Grantly, whose business it was to take Lord +Lufton's part at the present moment. 'He must be at his club and +at the House of Lords, and in twenty places.' + +'He is very fond of going to parties, and he dances beautifully.' + +'I am sure he does. I have seen as much as that myself, and I +think I know some one with whom he likes to dance.' And the mother +gave the daughter a loving little squeeze. + +'Do you mean me, mamma?' + +'Yes, I do mean you, my dear. And is it not true? Lady Lufton +says that he likes dancing with you better than with any one else +in London.' + +'I don't know,' said Griselda, looking down upon the ground. Mrs +Grantly thought that this upon the whole was rather a good +opening. It might have been better. Some point of interest more +serious in its nature than that of a waltz might have been found on +which to connect her daughter's sympathies with those of her future +husband. But any point of interest was better than none; and it is +so difficult to find points of interest in persons who by their +nature are not impulsive. + +'Lady Lufton says so, at any rate,' continued Mrs Grantly, ever so +cautiously. 'She thinks that Lord Lufton likes no partner better. +What do you think yourself, Griselda?' + +'I don't know, mamma.' + +'But young ladies must think of such things, must they not?' + +'Must they, mamma?' + +'I suppose they do, don't they? The truth is, Griselda, that Lady +Lufton thinks that if--Can you guess what she thinks?' + +'No, mamma.' But that was a fib on Griselda's part. + +'She thinks that my Griselda would make the best possible wife in +the world for her son: and I think so too. I think her son will be +a very fortunate man if he can get such a wife. And now what do +you think, Griselda?' + +'I don't think anything, mamma.' But that would not do. It was +absolutely necessary that she should think, and absolutely +necessary that her mother should tell her so. Such a degree of +unimpulsiveness as this would lead to--Heaven knows what results! +Lufton-Grantly treaties and Hartletop interests would be all thrown +away upon a young lady who would not think anything of a noble +suitor sighing for her smiles. Besides, it was not natural. +Griselda, as her mother knew, had never been a girl of headlong +feeling; but still she had had her likes and dislikes. In that +matter of the bishopric she was keen enough; and no one could +evince a deeper interest in the subject of a well-made new dress +than Griselda Grantly. It was not possible that she should be +indifferent as to her future prospects, and she must know that +those prospects depended mainly on her marriage. Her mother was +almost angry with her, but nevertheless she went on very gently. + +'You don't think anything! But, my darling, you must think. You +must make up your mind what would be your answer if Lord Lufton +were to propose to you. That is what Lady Lufton wishes him to +do.' + +'But he never will, mamma.' + +'And if he did?' + +'But I'm sure he never will. He doesn't think of such a thing at +all--and--and--' + +'And what, my dear?' + +'I don't know, mamma.' + +'Surely you can speak out to me, dearest! All I care about is your +happiness. Both Lady Lufton and I think that it would be a happy +marriage if you both cared for each other enough. She thinks that +he is fond of you. But if he were ten times Lord Lufton I would +not tease you about it if I thought that you could not learn to +care about him. What was it you were going to say, my dear?' + +'Lord Lufton thinks a great deal more about Lucy Robarts than he +does of--of--of any one else, I believe,' said Griselda, showing +now some little animation by her manner, 'dumpy little black thing +that she is.' + +'Lucy Robarts!' said Mrs Grantly, taken by surprise at finding that +her daughter was moved by such a passion as jealousy, and feeling +also perfectly assured that there could not be any possible ground +for jealousy in such a direction as that. 'Lucy Robarts, my dear! +I don't suppose Lord Lufton ever thought of speaking to her, except +in the way of civility.' + +'Yes, he did, mamma! Don't you remember at Framley?' Mrs Grantly +began to look back in her mind, and she thought she did remember +having once observed Lord Lufton speaking in rather a confidential +manner with the parson's sister. But she was sure there was +nothing in it. If that were the reason why Griselda was so cold to +her proposed lover, it would be a thousand pities that it should not +be removed. 'Now you mention her, I do remember the young lady,' +said Mrs Grantly, 'a dark girl, very low, and without much figure. +She seemed to me to keep very much in the background.' + +'I don't know much about that, mamma.' + +'As far as I saw her, she did. But, my dear Griselda, you should +not allow yourself to think of such a thing. Lord Lufton, of +course, is bound to be civil to any young lady in his mother's +house, and I am quite sure that he has no other idea whatever with +regard to Miss Robarts. I certainly cannot speak as to her +intellect, for I do not think she opened her mouth in my presence; +but--' + +'Oh! she has plenty to say for herself, when she pleases. She's a +sly little thing.' + +'But, at any rate, my dear, she has no personal attractions +whatever, and I do not at all think that Lord Lufton is a man to be +taken by--by--by anything that Miss Robarts might do or say.' As +those words 'personal attractions' were uttered, Griselda managed +so to turn her neck to catch a side view of herself in one of the +mirrors on the wall, and then she bridled herself up, and made a +little play with her eyes, and looked, as her mother thought, very +well. 'It is all nothing to me, mamma, of course,' she said. + +'Well, my dear, perhaps not. I don't say that it is. I do not +wish to put the slightest constraint upon your feelings. If I did +not have the most thorough dependence on your good sense and high +principles, I should not speak to you in this way. But as I have, +I thought it best to tell you that both Lady Lufton and I should be +well pleased if we thought that you and Lord Lufton were fond of +each other. + +'I am sure he never thinks of such a thing, mamma.' + +'And as for Lucy Robarts, pray get that idea out of your head; if +not for your sake, then for his. You should give him credit for +better taste.' But it was not so easy to take anything out of +Griselda's head that she had once taken into it. 'As for tastes, +mamma, there is no accounting for them,' she said; and then the +colloquy on that subject was over. The result of it on Mrs +Grantly's mind was a feeling amounting almost to a conviction in +favour of the Dumbello interest. + + + +CHAPTER XXVI + +IMPULSIVE + +I trust my readers will all remember how Puck the pony was beaten +during that drive to Hogglestock. It may be presumed that Puck +himself on that occasion did not suffer much. His skin was not so +soft as Mrs Robarts's heart. The little beast was full of oats and +all the good things of this world, and therefore, when the whip +touched him, he would dance about and shake his little ears, and +run on at a tremendous pace for twenty yards, making his mistress +think that he had endured terrible things. But, in truth, during +those whippings Puck was not the chief sufferer. Lucy had been +forced to declare--forced by the strength of her own feelings, and +by the impossibility of assenting to the propriety of a marriage +between Lord Lufton and Miss Grantly,--she had been forced to +declare that she did care about Lord Lufton as much as though he +were her brother. She had said all this to herself--nay, much more +than this--very often. But now she had said it out loud to her +sister-in-law; and she knew that what she had said was remembered, +considered, and had, to a certain extent, become the cause of +altered conduct. Fanny alluded very seldom to the Luftons in +casual conversation, and never spoke about Lord Lufton unless when +her husband made it impossible that she should not speak of him. +Lucy had attempted on more than one occasion to remedy this, by +talking about the young lord in a laughing, and, perhaps, +half-jeering way; she had been sarcastic as to his hunting and +shooting, and had boldly attempted to say a word in joke about his +love for Griselda. But she felt that she had failed; that she had +failed altogether as regarded Fanny; and that as to her brother, +she would more probably be the means of opening his eyes, than have +any effect in keeping them closed. So she gave up her efforts and +spoke no further word about Lord Lufton. Her secret had been +told, and she knew that it had been told. At this time the two +ladies were left a great deal alone together in the drawing-room at +the parsonage; more, perhaps, than had ever yet been the case since +Lucy had been there. Lady Lufton was away, and therefore the +almost daily visit to Framley Court was not made; and Mark in these +days was a great deal at Barchester, having, no doubt, very onerous +duties to perform before he could be admitted as one of the +chapter. He went into, what he was pleased to call residence, +almost at once. That is, he took his month of preaching, aiding +also, in some slight and very dignified way, in the general Sunday +morning services. He did not exactly live at Barchester, because +the house was not ready. That at least was the assumed reason. +The chattels of Dr Stanhope, the late prebendary, had not been as +yet removed, and there was likely to be some little delay, +creditors asserting their right to them. This might have been very +inconvenient to a gentleman anxiously expecting the excellent house +which the liberality of past ages had provided for his use; but it +was not so felt by Mr Robarts. If Dr Stanhope's family or +creditors would keep the house for the next twelve months, he would +be well pleased. And by this arrangement he was enabled to get +through his first month of absence from the church at Framley +without any notice from Lady Lufton, seeing that Lady Lufton was in +London all the time. This was also convenient, and taught our +young prebendary to look in his new preferment more favourably than +he had hitherto done. + +Fanny and Lucy were thus left much alone: and as out of the full +head the mouth speaks, so is the full heart more prone to speak at +such periods of confidence as these. Lucy, when she first thought +of her own state, determined to endow herself with a powerful gift +of reticence. She would never tell her love, certainly; but +neither would she let concealment feed on her damask cheek, nor +would she ever be found for a moment sitting like Patience on a +monument. She would fight her own fight bravely within her own +bosom, and conquer her enemy altogether. She would either preach, +or starve, or weary her love into subjection, and no one should be +a bit the wiser. She would teach herself to shake hands with Lord +Lufton without a quiver, and would be prepared to like his wife +amazingly--unless indeed that wife should be Griselda Grantly. Such +were her resolutions; but at the end of the first week they were +broken into shivers and scattered to the winds. They had been +sitting in the house together the whole of one wet day; and as Mark +was to dine at Barchester with the dean, they had had dinner early, +eating with the children almost in their laps. It is so that +ladies do, when their husbands leave them to themselves. It was +getting dusk towards evening, and they were sitting in the +drawing-room, the children now having retired, when Mrs Robarts for +the fifth time since her visit to Hogglestock began to express her +wish that she could do some good to the Crawleys,--to Grace Crawley +in particular, who, standing up there at her father's elbow, +learning Greek irregular verbs, had appeared to Mrs Robarts to be +an especial object of pity. + +'I don't know how to set about it,' said Mrs Robarts. Now any +allusion to that visit to Hogglestock always drove Lucy's mind back +to the consideration of the subject which had most occupied it at +the time. She at such moments remembered how she had beaten Puck, +and how in her half-bantering but still too serious manner she had +apologized for doing so, and had explained the reason. And +therefore she did not interest herself about Grace Crawley as +vividly as she should have done. 'No; one never does,' she said. + +'I was thinking about it all day as I drove home,' said Fanny. 'The +difficulty is this: What can we do with her?' + +'Exactly,' said Lucy, remembering the very point of the road at +which she had declared that she did like Lord Lufton very much. + +'If we could have her here for a month or so and then send her to +school;--but I know Mr Crawley would not allow us to pay for her +schooling.' + +'I don't think he would,' said Lucy, with her thoughts far removed +from Mr Crawley and his daughter Grace. + +'And then we should not know what to do with her, should we?' + +'No; you would not.' + +'It would never do to have the poor girl about the house here, with +no one to teach her anything. Mark would not teach her Greek +verbs, you know.' + +'I suppose not.' + +'Lucy, you are not attending to a word I say to you, and I don't +think you have for the last hour. I don't believe you know what I +am talking about.' + +'Oh, yes, I do--Grace Crawley; I'll try and teach her if you like, +only I don't know anything myself.' + +'That's not what I mean at all, and you know I would not ask you to +take such a task on yourself. But I do think you might talk it +over with me.' + +'Might I? very well; I will. What is it? Oh, Grace Crawley--you +want to know who is to teach her the irregular Greek verbs. Oh, +dear, Fanny, my head does ache so; pray don't be angry with me.' +And then Lucy, throwing herself back on the sofa, put one hand up +painfully to her forehead, and altogether gave up the battle. Mrs +Robarts was by her side in a moment. + +'Dearest Lucy, what is it makes your head ache so often now? You +used not to have those headaches.' + +'It's because I'm growing stupid: never mind. We will go on about +poor Grace. It would not do to have a governess, would it?' + +'I can see that you are not well, Lucy,' said Mrs Robarts, with a +look of deep concern. 'What is it, dearest? I can see that +something is the matter.' + +'Something the matter! No, there's not; nothing worth talking of. +Sometimes I think I'll go back to Devonshire and live there. I +could stay with Blanche for a time, and then get a lodging in +Exeter.' + +'Go back to Devonshire!' and Mrs Robarts looked as though she +thought that her sister-in-law was going mad. 'Why do you want to +go away from us? This is to be your own, own home, always now.' + +'Is it? Then I am in a bad way. Oh dear, oh dear, what a fool I +am! What an idiot I've been! Fanny, I don't think I can stay here; +and I do wish I'd never come. I do--do--do, though you look at me +so horribly,' and jumping up she threw herself into her +sister-in-law's arms and began kissing her violently. 'Don't +pretend to be wounded, for you know that I love you. You know that +I could live with all my life, and think you were perfect--as you +are; but--' + +'Has Mark said anything?' + +'Not a word--not a ghost of a syllable. It is not Mark; oh, +Fanny!' + +'I am afraid I know what you mean,' said Mrs Robarts in a low +tremulous voice, and with deep sorrow painted on her face. + +'Of course you do; of course you know; you have known it all along; +since that day in the pony carriage. I knew that you knew it. You +do not dare to mention his name; would not that tell me that you +know it? And I, I am hypocrite enough for Mark; but my hypocrisy +won't pass muster before you. And, now, had I not better go to +Devonshire?' + +'Dearest, dearest Lucy.' + +'Was I not right about that labelling? O heavens! what idiots we +girls are! That a dozen soft words should have bowled me over like +a ninepin, and left me without an inch of ground to call my own. +And I was so proud of my own strength; so sure that I should never +be missish, and spoony, and sentimental! I was so determined to +like him as Mark does, or you--' + +'I shall not like him at all if he has spoken words to you that he +should not have spoken.' + +'But he has not.' And then she stopped a moment to consider. 'No, +he has not. He never said a word to me that would make you angry +with him if you knew of it. Except, perhaps, that he called me +Lucy; and that was my fault, not his.' + +'Because you talked of soft words.' + +'Fanny, you have no idea what an absolute fool I am, what an +unutterable ass. The soft words of which I tell you were of the +kind which he speaks to you when he asks you how the cow gets on +which he sent to you from Ireland, or to Mark about Ponto's +shoulder. He told me that he knew papa, and that he was at school +with Mark, and that as he was such good friends with you here at +the parsonage, he must be good friends with me too. No; it has not +been his fault. The soft words which did the mischief were such as +those. But how well his mother understood the world! In order to +have been safe, I should not have dared to look at him.' + +'But, dearest Lucy--' + +'I know what you are going to say, and I admit it all. He is no +hero. There is nothing on earth wonderful about him. I never +heard him say a single word of wisdom, or utter a thought that was +akin to poetry. He devotes all his energies to riding after a fox +or killing poor birds, and I never heard of his doing a single +great action in my life. And yet--' Fanny was so astounded by the +way her sister-in-law went on, that she hardly knew how to speak. +'He is an excellent son, I believe,' at last she said. + +'Except when he goes to Gatherum Castle. I'll tell you what he +has: he has fine straight legs, and a smooth forehead, and a +good-humoured eye, and white teeth. Was it possible to see such a +catalogue of perfections, and not fall down, stricken to the very +bone? But it was not that that did it all, Fanny. I could have +stood against that. I think I could at least. It was his title +that killed me. I had never spoken to a lord before. Oh, me! what +a fool, what a beast I have been!' And then she burst out into +tears. Mrs Robarts, to tell the truth, could hardly understand +poor Lucy's ailment. It was evident enough that her misery was +real; but yet she spoke of herself and her sufferings with so much +irony, with so near an approach to joking, that it was very hard to +tell how far she was in earnest. Lucy, too, was so much given to a +species of badinage which Mrs Robarts did not always quite +understand, that the latter was afraid sometimes to speak out what +came uppermost to her tongue. But now that Lucy was absolutely in +tears, and was almost breathless with excitement, she could not +remain silent any longer. 'Dearest Lucy, pray do not speak in that +way; it will all come right. Things always do come right when no +one has acted wrongly.' + +'Yes, when nobody has done wrongly. That's what papa used to call +begging the question. But I'll tell you what, Fanny; I will not be +beaten. I will either kill myself or get through it. I am so +heartily self-ashamed that I owe it to myself to fight the battle +out.' + +'To fight what battle, dearest?' + +'This battle. Here, now, at the present moment I could not meet +Lord Lufton. I should have to run like a scared fowl if he were to +show himself within the gate; and I should not dare to go out of +the house, if I knew that he was in the parish.' + +'I don't see that, for I am sure you have not betrayed yourself.' + +'Well, no; as for myself, I believe I have done the lying and the +hypocrisy pretty well. But, dearest Fanny, you don't know half; +and you cannot and must not know.' + +'But I thought you said there had been nothing whatever between +you.' + +'Did I? Well, to you I have not said a word that was not true. I +said that he had spoken nothing that it was wrong for him to say. +It could not be wrong--But never mind. I'll tell you what I mean to +do. I have been thinking of it for the last week--only I shall +have to tell Mark.' + +'If I were you, I would tell him all.' + +'What, Mark! If you do, Fanny, I'll never, never, never speak to +you again. Would you--when I have given you all my heart in true +sisterly love?' Mrs Robarts had to explain that she had not +proposed to tell anything to Mark herself, and was persuaded, +moreover, to give a solemn promise that she would not tell anything +to him unless specially authorized to do so. + +'I'll go into a home, I think,' continued Lucy. 'You know what +these homes are?' Mrs Robarts assured her that she knew very well, +and then Lucy went on: 'A year ago I should have said that I was +the last girl in England to think of such a life, but I do believe +now that it would be the best thing for me. And then I'll starve +myself, and flog myself, and, in that way I'll get back my own mind +and my own soul.' + +'Your own soul, Lucy,' said Mrs Robarts, in a tone of horror. + +'Well, my own heart, if you like it better; but I hate to hear +myself talking about hearts. I don't care for my heart. I'd let +it go--with this popinjay lord or any one else, so that I could +read, and talk, and walk, and sleep, and eat, without always +feeling that I was wrong here--here--here--' and she pressed her +hand vehemently against her side. 'What is it that I feel, Fanny? +Why am I so weak in body that I cannot take exercise? Why cannot I +keep my mind on a book for one moment? Why can I not write two +sentences together? Why should every mouthful that I eat stick in +my throat? Oh, Fanny, is it his legs, think you, or is it his +title?' Through all her sorrow--and she was very sorrowful--Mrs +Robarts could not help smiling. And, indeed, there was every now +and then something even in Lucy's look that was almost comic. She +acted the irony so well with which she strove to throw ridicule on +herself! 'Do laugh at me,' she said. 'Nothing on earth will do me +so much good as that; nothing, unless it be starvation and a whip. +If you would only tell me that I must be a sneak and an idiot to +care for a man because he is good-looking and a lord!' + +'But that has not been the reason. There is a great deal more in +Lord Lufton than that; and since I must speak, dear Lucy, I cannot +but say that I should not wonder at your being in love with him, +only--only that--' + +'Only what? Come, out with it. Do not mince matters, or think +that I shall be angry with you because you scold me.' + +'Only that I should have thought that you would have been too +guarded to have--have cared for any gentleman till--till he had +shown that he cared for you.' + +'Guarded! Yes, that's it; that's just the word. But it's he that +should have been guarded. He should have had a fire-guard hung +before him, or a love-guard, if you will. Guarded! Was I not +guarded, till you all would drag me out? Did I want to go there? +And when I was there, did I not make a fool of myself, sitting in a +corner, and thinking how much better placed I should have been down +in the servants' hall. Lady Lufton--she dragged me out, and then +cautioned me, and then, then--Why is Lady Lufton to have it all her +own way? Why am I to be sacrificed for her? I did not want to +know Lady Lufton, or any one belonging to her.' + +'I cannot think that you have any cause to blame Lady Lufton, nor, +perhaps, to blame anybody very much.' + +'Well, no, it has been all my own fault; though, for the life of +me, Fanny, going back and back, I cannot see where I took the first +false step. I do not know where I went wrong. One wrong thing I +did, and it is the only thing that I do not regret.' + +'What was that, Lucy?' + +'I told him a lie.' + +Mrs Robarts was altogether in the dark, and feeling that she was +so, she knew that she could not give counsel as a friend or +sister. Lucy had begun by declaring--so Mrs Robarts thought--that +nothing had passed between her and Lord Lufton but words of most +trivial import, and yet she now accused herself of falsehood, and +declared that that falsehood was the only thing which she did not +regret! + +'I hope not,' said Mrs Robarts. 'If you did, you were very unlike +yourself.' + +'But I did, and were he here again, speaking to me in the same way, +I should repeat it. I know I should. If I did not, I should have +all the world on me. You would frown on me, and be cold. My +darling Fanny, how would you look if I really displeasured you?' + +'I don't think you will do that, Lucy.' + +'But if I told him the truth, I should, should I not? Speak now. +But no, Fanny, you need not speak. It was not the fear of you; no, +nor even of her: though Heaven knows that her terrible glumness +would be quite unendurable.' + +'I cannot understand you, Lucy. What truth or what untruth can you +have told him, if, as you say, there has been nothing between you +but ordinary conversation?' + +Lucy then got up from the sofa, and walked twice the length of the +room before she spoke. Mrs Robarts had all the ordinary +curiosity--I was going to say, of a woman, but I mean to say, of +humanity; and she had, moreover, all the love of a sister. She was +both curious and anxious, and remained sitting where she was, +silent, and her eyes fixed on her companion. 'Did I say so?' Lucy +said at last. 'No, Fanny, you have mistaken me--I did not say +that. Ah, yes, about the cow and the dog. All that was true. I +was telling you of what his soft words had been while I was +becoming such a fool. Since that he has said more.' + +'What more has he said, Lucy?' + +'I yearn to tell you, if only I can trust you;' and Lucy knelt down +at the feet of Mrs Robarts, looking up into her face and smiling +through the remaining drops of her tears. 'I would fain tell you, +but I do not know you yet--whether you are quite true. I could be +true--true against all the world, if my friend told me. I will +tell you, Fanny, if you say that you can be true. But if you doubt +yourself, if you must whisper all to Mark--then let us be silent.' + +There was something almost awful in this to Mrs Robarts. Hitherto, +since their marriage, hardly a thought had passed through her mind +which she had not shared with her husband. But now all this had +come upon her so suddenly, that she was unable to think whether it +would be well that she should become the depository of such a +secret--not to be mentioned to Lucy's brother, not to be mentioned +to her own husband. But who ever yet was offered a secret and +declined it? Who at least ever declined a love secret? What +sister could do so? Mrs Robarts, therefore, gave the promise, +smoothing Lucy's hair as she did so, and kissing her forehead and +looking into her eyes, which, like a rainbow, were the brighter for +her tears. 'And what has he said to you, Lucy?' + +'What? Only this, that he asked me to be his wife.' + +'Lord Lufton proposed to you?' + +'Yes; he proposed to me. It is not credible, is it? You cannot +bring yourself to believe such a thing happened, can you?' And +Lucy rose again to her feet, as the idea of the scorn with which +she felt others would treat her--with which she had treated +herself--made the blood rise to her cheek. 'And yet it is not a +dream--I think that it is not a dream. I think that he really +did.' + +'Think, Lucy!' + +'Well, I may say that I am sure.' + +'A gentleman would not make you a formal proposal and leave you in +doubt as to what he meant.' + +'Oh dear, no. There was no doubt at all of that kind--none in the +least. Mr Smith, in asking Miss Jones to do him the honour of +becoming Mrs Smith, never spoke more plainly. I was alluding to +the possibility of having dreamt it all.' + +'Lucy!' + +'Well, it was not a dream. Here, standing here, on this very +spot--on that flower of the carpet--he begged me a dozen times to +be his wife. I wonder whether you and Mark would let me cut it out +and keep it.' + +'And what answer did you make to him?' + +'I lied to him, and told him that I did not love him.' + +'You refused him?' 'Yes; I refused a live lord. There is some +satisfaction in having that to think of, is there not? Fanny, was +I wicked to tell that falsehood?' + +'And why did you refuse him?' + +'Why? Can you ask? Think of what it would have been to go down to +Framley Court, and to tell her ladyship, in the course of +conversation, that I was engaged to her son. Think of Lady +Lufton. But yet it was not that, Fanny. Had I thought that it was +good for him, that he would not have repented, I would have braved +anything--for his sake. Even for your frown, for you would have +frowned. You would have thought it sacrilege for me to marry Lord +Lufton! You know you would.' + +Mrs Robarts hardly knew how to say what she thought, or indeed what +she ought to think. It was a matter on which much meditation would +be required before she could give advice, and there was Lucy +expecting counsel from her at that very moment. If Lord Lufton +really loved Lucy Robarts, and was loved by Lucy Robarts, why +should not they two become man and wife? And yet she did feel that +it would be--perhaps not sacrilege, as Lucy had said, but something +almost as troublesome. What would Lady Lufton say, or think and +feel? What would she say, and think, and feel as to that parsonage +from which so deadly a blow would fall upon her? Would she not +accuse the vicar and the vicar's wife of the blackest ingratitude? +Would life be endurable at Framley under such circumstances as +those? + +'What you tell me so surprises me, that I hardly as yet know how to +speak about it,' said Mrs Robarts. + +'It was amazing, was it not? He must have been insane at the time; +there can be no other excuse for him. I wonder whether there is +anything of that sort in the family?' + +'What; madness?' said Mrs Robarts, quite in earnest. + +'Well, don't you think he must have been mad when such an idea as +that came into his head? But you don't believe it; I can see +that. And yet it is as true as heaven. Standing exactly here, on +this spot, he said that he would persevere till I accepted his +love. I wonder what made me specially observe that both his feet +were within the lines of that division.' + +'And you would not accept his love?' + +'No; I would have nothing to say to it. Look you, I stood here, +and putting my hand upon my heart--for he bade me do that--I said +that I could not love him.' + +'And what then?' + +'He went away--with a look as though he were heart-broken. He +crept away slowly, saying that he was the most wretched soul +alive. For a minute I believed him, and could almost have called +him back; but no, Fanny, do not think that I am over proud, or +conceited about my conquest. He had not reached the gate before he +was thanking God for his escape.' + +'That I do not believe.' + +'But I do; and I thought of Lady Lufton too. How could I bear that +she should scorn me, and accuse me of stealing her son's heart? I +know that it is better as it is; but tell me--is a falsehood +always wrong, or can it be possible that the end should justify the +means? Ought I to have told him the truth, and to have let him +know that I could almost kiss the ground on which he stood?' + +This was a question for the doctors which Mrs Robarts would take +upon herself to answer. She would not make that falsehood a matter +of accusation, but neither would she pronounce for it any +absolution. In that matter Lucy must regulate her own conscience. + +'And what shall I do next?' said Lucy, still speaking in a tone +that was half tragic and half jeering. + +'Do?' said Mrs Robarts. + +'Yes, something must be done. If I were a Mediterranean I should +go to Switzerland, of course; or, as the case is a bad one, perhaps +as far as Hungary. What is it that girls do? They don't die +nowadays, I believe.' + +'Lucy, I do not believe that you care for him one jot. If you were +in love you would not speak of it like that.' + +'There, there. That's my only hope. If I could laugh at myself +till it had become incredible to you, I also, by degrees, should +cease to believe that I had cared for him. But, Fanny, it is very +hard. If I were to starve, and rise before daybreak, and pinch +myself, or do some nasty work,--clean the pots and pans and the +candlesticks; that I think would do the most good. I have got a +piece of sack-cloth, and I mean to wear that, when I have made it +up.' + +'You are joking now, Lucy, I know.' + +'No, by my word; not in the spirit of what I am saying. How shall +I act upon my heart, if I do not go through the blood and flesh?' + +'Do you not pray that God will give you strength to bear these +troubles?' + +'But how is one to word one's prayer, or how even to word one's +wishes? I do not know what is the wrong that I have done. I say +it boldly; in this matter I cannot see my own fault. I have simply +found that I have been a fool.' + +It was now quite dark in the room, or would have been so to any one +entering afresh. They had remained there talking till their eyes +had become accustomed to the gloom, and would still have remained, +had they not suddenly been disturbed by the sound of a horse's +feet. + +'There is Mark,' said Fanny, jumping up and running to the bell, +that lights might be ready when he should enter. + +'I thought he remained in Barchester to-night.' + +'And so did I; but he said it might be doubtful. What shall we do +if he has not dined?' That, I believe, is always the first thought +in the mind of a good wife when her husband returns home. Has he +had his dinner? What can I give him for dinner? Will he like his +dinner? Oh dear, oh dear! there is nothing in the house but cold +mutton. But on this occasion the lord of the mansion had dined, +and came home radiant with good humour, and owing, perhaps, a +little of his radiance to the dean's claret. 'I have told them,' +said he, 'that they may keep possession of the house for the next +two months, and they have agreed to that arrangement.' + +'That is very pleasant,' said Mrs Robarts. + +'And I don't think we shall have so much trouble about the +dilapidation after all.' + +'I am very glad of that,' said Mrs Robarts. But nevertheless she +was thinking more of Lucy than of the house in Barchester Close. + +'You won't betray me,' said Lucy, as she gave her sister-in-law a +parting kiss at night. + +'No; not unless you give me permission.' + +'Ah; I shall never do that.' + + + +CHAPTER XXVII + +SOUTH AUDLEY STREET + +The Duke of Omnium had notified to Mr Fothergill his wish that some +arrangement should be made about the Chaldicotes mortgages, and Mr +Fothergill had understood what the duke meant as well as though his +instructions had been written down with all a lawyer's verbosity. +The duke's meaning was this, that Chaldicotes was to be swept up +and garnered, and made part and parcel of the Gatherum property. It +had seemed to the duke that that affair between his friend and Miss +Dunstable was hanging fire, and, therefore, it would be well that +Chaldicotes should be swept up and garnered. And, moreover, +tidings had come into the western division of the county that young +Frank Gresham of Boxall Hill was in treaty with the Government for +the purchase of all that Crown property called the Chace of +Chaldicotes. It had been offered to the duke, but the duke had +given no definite answer. Had he got his money back from Mr +Sowerby he could have forestalled Mr Gresham; but now that did not +seem to be probable, and his grace resolved that either the one +property or the other should be garnered. Therefore Mr Fothergill +went up to town, and therefore Mr Sowerby was, most unwillingly, +compelled to have a business interview with Mr Fothergill. In the +meantime, since last we saw him, Mr Sowerby had learned from his +sister the answer which Miss Dunstable had given to his +proposition, and knew that he had no further hope in that +direction. There was no further hope thence of absolute +deliverance, but there had been a tender of money service. To give +Mr Sowerby his due, he had at once declared that it would be quite +out of the question that he should now receive any assistance of +that sort from Miss Dunstable; but his sister had explained to him +that it would be mere business transaction; that Miss Dunstable +would receive her interest; and that, if she would be content with +four per cent, whereas the duke received five, and other creditors +six, seven, eight, ten, and Heaven only knows how much more, it +might be well for all parties. He, himself, understood, as well as +Fothergill had done, what was the meaning of the duke's message. +Chaldicotes was to be gathered and garnered, as had been done with +so many another fair property lying in those regions. It was to be +swallowed whole, and the master was to walk out from his old family +hall, to leave the old woods that he loved, to give up utterly to +another the parks and paddocks and pleasant places which he had +known from his earliest infancy, and owned from his earliest +manhood. + +There can be nothing more bitter to a man than such a surrender. +What, compared to this, can be the loss of wealth to one who has +himself made it, and brought it together, but has never actually +seen it with his bodily eyes? Such wealth has come by one chance, +and goes by another: the loss of it is part of the game which the +man is playing; and if he cannot lose as well as win, he is a poor, +weak, cowardly creature. Such men, as a rule, do know how to bear +a mind fairly equal to adversity. But to have squandered the acres +which have descended from generation to generation; to be the +member of one's family that has ruined that family; to have +swallowed up in one's own maw all that should have graced one's +children, and one's grandchildren! It seems to me that the +misfortunes of this world can hardly go beyond that! Mr Sowerby, +in spite of his recklessness and that dare-devil gaiety which he +knew so well how to wear and use, felt all this as keenly as any +man could feel it. It had been absolutely his own fault. The +acres had come to him all his own, and now, before his death, every +one of them would have gone bodily into that greedy maw. The duke +had bought up nearly all the debts which had been secured upon the +property, and now could make a clean sweep of it. Sowerby, when he +received that message from Mr Fothergill, knew well that this was +intended; and he knew well also, that when once he should cease to +be Mr Sowerby of Chaldicotes, he need never again hope to be +returned as member for West Barsetshire. This world would for him +be all over. And what must such a man feel when he reflects that +this world for him is all over? On the morning in question he went +to his appointment, still bearing a cheery countenance. Mr +Fothergill, when in town on such business as this, always had a +room at his service in the house of Messrs Gumption & Gagebee, the +duke's London law agents, and it was thither that Mr Sowerby had +been summoned. The house of business of Messrs Gumption & Gagebee +was in South Audley Street; and it may be said that there was no +spot on the whole earth which Mr Sowerby hated as he did the +gloomy, dingy back sitting-room upstairs in that house. He had +been there very often, but had never been there without annoyance. +It was a horrid torture-chamber, kept for such dread purposes as +these, and no doubt had been furnished, and papered, and curtained +with the express object of finally breaking down the spirits of +such poor country gentlemen as chanced to be involved. Everything +was of a brown crimson,--of a crimson that had become brown. +Sunlight, real genial light of the sun, never made its way there, +and no amount of candles could illuminate the gloom of that +brownness. The windows were never washed; the ceiling was of a +dark brown; the old Turkey carpet was thick with dust, and brown +withal. The ungainly office-table, in the middle of the room, had +been covered with black leather, but that was now brown. There was +a bookcase full of dingy brown law books in a recess on one side of +the fireplace, but no one had touched them for years, and over the +chimney-piece hung some old legal pedigree table, black with soot. +Such was the room which Mr Fothergill always used in the business +house of Messrs Gumption & Gagebee, in South Audley Street, near to +Park Lane. + +I once heard this room spoken of by an old friend of mine, one Mr +Gresham of Greshambury, the father of Frank Gresham, who was now +about to purchase that part of the Chace of Chaldicotes which +belonged to the Crown. He also had had evil days, though now +happily they were past and gone; and he, too, had sat in that room, +and listened to the voice of men who were powerful over his +property, and intended to use that power. The idea which he left +on my mind was much the same as that which I had entertained, when +a boy, of a certain room in the castle of Udolpho. There was a +chair in that Udolpho room in which those who sat were dragged out +limb by limb, the head one way and the legs another; the fingers +were dragged off from the hands, and the teeth out from the jaws, +and the hair off the head, and the flesh from the bones, and the +joints from their sockets, till there was nothing left but a +lifeless trunk seated in the chair. Mr Gresham, as he told me, +always sat in the same seat, and the tortures were suffered when so +seated, the dislocations of his property which he was forced to +discuss, the operations of his very self which he was forced to +witness, made me regard that room as worse than the chamber of +Udolpho. He, luckily--a rare instance of good fortune--had lived +to see all his bones and joints put together again, and flourishing +soundly; but he never could speak of the room without horror. 'No +consideration on earth,' he once said to me, very solemnly,--'I say +none, should make me again enter that room.' And indeed this +feeling was so strong with him, that from the day when his affairs +took a turn he would never even walk down South Audley Street. On +the morning in question into this torture-chamber Mr Sowerby went, +and there, after some two or three minutes, he was joined by Mr +Fothergill. + +Mr Fothergill was, in one respect, like to his friend Sowerby. He +enacted two together different persons on occasions which were +altogether different. Generally speaking, with the world at large, +he was a jolly, rollicking, popular man, fond of eating and +drinking, known to be devoted to the duke's interests, and supposed +to be somewhat unscrupulous, or at any rate hard, when they were +concerned; but in other respects a good-natured fellow: and there +was a report about that he had once lent somebody money, without +charging him interest or taking security. On the present occasion +Sowerby saw at a glance that he had come thither with all the +aptitudes and appurtenances of his business about him. He walked +into the room with a short, quick step; there was no smile on his +face as he shook hands with his old friend; he brought with him a +box laden with papers and parchments, and he had not been a minute +in the room before he was seated in one of the old dingy chairs. +'How long have you been in town, Fothergill?' said Sowerby, still +standing with his back against the chimney. He had resolved on +only one thing--that nothing should induce him to touch, look at, +or listen to any of those papers. He knew well enough that no good +would come of that. He also had his own lawyers, to see that he +was pilfered according to rule. + +'How long? Since the day before yesterday. I never was so busy in +my life. The duke, as usual, wants to have everything done at +once.' + +'If he wants to have all that I owe him paid at once, he is like to +be out in his reckoning.' + +'Ah, well; I'm glad you are ready to come quickly to business, +because it's always best. Won't you come and sit down here?' + +'No, thank you. I'll stand.' + +'But we shall have to go through these figures, you know.' + +'Not a figure, Fothergill. What good would it do? None to me, and +none to you either, as I take it. If there is anything wrong, +Potter's fellows will find it out. What is it the duke wants?' + +'Well; to tell the truth, he wants his money.' + +'In one sense, and that the main sense, he has got it. He gets his +interest regularly, does not he?' + +'Pretty well for that, seeing how times are. But, Sowerby, that's +a nonsense. You understand the duke as well as I do, and you know +very well what he wants. He has given you time, and if you had +taken any steps towards getting the money, you might have saved the +property.' + +'A hundred and eighty thousand pounds! What steps could I take to +get that? Fly a bill, and let Tozer have it to get cash on it in +the City!' + +'We hoped you were going to marry.' + +'That's all off.' + +'Then I don't think you can blame the duke for looking for his +own. It does not suit him to have so large a sum standing out any +longer. You see, he wants land, and will have it. Had you paid +off what you owed him, he would have purchased the Crown property; +and now, it seems young Gresham has bid against him, and is to have +it. This has riled him, and I may as well tell you fairly, that he +is determined to have either money or marbles.' + +'You mean that I am to be dispossessed. Then I must say the duke is +treating me most uncommonly ill.' + +'Well, Sowerby, I can't see it.' + +'I can, though. He has his money like clock-work; and he has +bought up these debts from persons who would have never disturbed +me as long as they got their interest.' + +'Haven't you had the seat?' + +'The seat! and it is expected that I am to pay for that?' + +'I don't see that any one is asking you to pay for it. You are +like a great many other people that I know. You want to eat your +cake and have it. You have been eating it for the last twenty +years, and now you think yourself very ill-used because the duke +wants to have his turn.' + +'I shall think myself very ill-used if he sells me out--worse than +ill-used. I do not want to use strong language, but it will be +more than ill-usage. I can hardly believe that he really means to +treat me in that way.' + +'It is very hard that he should want his own money!' + +'It is not his money he wants. It is my property.' + +'And has he not paid for it? Have you not had the price of your +property? Now, Sowerby, it is of no use for you to be angry; you +have known for the last three years what was coming on you as well +as I did. Why should the duke lend you money without an object? +Of course he has his own views. But I do say this; he has not hurried +you; and had you been able to do anything to save the place you +might have done it. You have had time enough to look about you.' +Sowerby still stood in the place in which he had first fixed +himself, and now for awhile he remained silent. His face was very +stern, and there was in his countenance none of those winning looks +which often told so powerfully with his young friends,--which had +caught Lord Lufton and had charmed Mark Robarts. The world was +going against him, and things around him were coming to an end. He +was beginning to perceive that he had in truth eaten his cake and +that there was now little left for him to do,--unless he chose to +blow out his brains. He had said to Lord Lufton that a man's back +should be broad enough for any burden with which he himself might +load it. Could he now boast that his back was broad enough and +strong enough for this burden? But he had even then, at that +bitter moment, a strong remembrance that it behoved him still to be +a man. His final ruin was coming on him, and he would soon be +swept away out of the knowledge and memory of those with whom he +had lived. But, nevertheless, he would bear himself well to the +last. It was true that he had made his own bed, and he understood +the justice which required him to lie upon it. + +During this time Fothergill occupied himself with the papers. He +continued to turn over one sheet after another, as though he were +deeply engaged in money considerations and calculations. But, in +truth, during all that time he did not read a word. There was +nothing there for him to read. The reading and writing, and the +arithmetic in such matters, are done by underlings--not by such big +men as Mr Fothergill. His business was to tell Sowerby that he was +to go. All those records there were of little use. The duke had +the power; Sowerby knew the duke had the power; and Fothergill's +business was to explain that the duke meant to exercise his power. +He was used to the work, and went on turning over the papers and +pretending to read them, as though his doing so were of the +greatest moment. 'I shall see the duke myself,' Mr Sowerby said at +last, and there was something almost dreadful in the sound of his +voice. + +'You know the duke won't see you on a matter of this kind. He never +speaks to any one about money; you know that as well as I do.' + +'By --, but he shall speak to me. Never speak to any one about +money! Why is he ashamed to speak of it when he loves it so +dearly? He shall see me.' + +'I have nothing further to say, Sowerby. Of course I shan't ask +his grace to see you; and if you force your way in on him, you know +what will happen. It won't be my doing if he is set against you. +Nothing that you say to me in that way,--nothing that anybody ever +says,--goes beyond myself.' + +'I shall manage the matter through my own lawyer,' said Sowerby; +and then he took his hat, and, without uttering another word, left +the room. + +We know not what may be the nature of that eternal punishment to +which those will be doomed who shall be judged to have been evil to +the last; but methinks that no more terrible torment can be devised +than the memory of self-imposed ruin. What wretchedness can exceed +that of remembering from day to day that the race has been all run, +and has been altogether lost; that the last chance has gone, and +has gone in vain; that the end has come, and with it disgrace, +contempt, and self-scorn--disgrace that never can be redeemed, +contempt that never can be removed, and self-scorn that will eat +into one's vitals for ever? Mr Sowerby was now fifty; he had +enjoyed the chances in life; and as he walked back, up South Audley +Street, he could not but think of the uses he had made of them. He +had fallen into the possession of a fine property on the attainment +of manhood; he had been endowed with more than average gifts of +intellect; never-failing health had been given to him, and a vision +fairly clear in discerning good from evil; and now to what a pass +he had brought himself! And that man Fothergill had put all this +before him in so terribly clear a light! Now that the day for his +final demolishment had arrived, the necessity that he should be +demolished--finished away at once, out of sight and out of +mind--had not been softened, or, as it were, half hidden, by any +ambiguous phrase. 'You have had your cake, and eaten it--eaten it +greedily. Is not that sufficient for you? Would you eat your cake +twice? Would you have a succession of cakes? No, my friend; there +is no succession of these cakes for those who eat them greedily. +Your proposition is not a fair one, and we who have the whip-hand +of you will not listen to it. Be good enough to vanish. Permit +yourself to be swept quietly into the dunghill. All that there was +about you of value has departed from you; and allow me to say that +you are now--rubbish.' And then the ruthless besom comes with +irresistible rush, and the rubbish is swept away into the pit, +there to be hidden for ever from the light. And the pity of it is +this--that a man, if he will only restrain his greed, may eat his +cake and yet have it; aye, and in so doing will have twice more the +flavour of the cake than he who with gourmandizing maw will devour +his dainty all at once. Cakes in this world will grow by being fed +on, if only the feeder be not too insatiate. On all which wisdom +Mr Sowerby pondered with sad heart and very melancholy mind as he +walked away from the premises of Messrs Gumption & Gagebee. His +intention had been to go down to the House after leaving Mr +Fothergill, but the prospect of immediate ruin had been too much +for him, and he knew that he was not fit to be seen at once among +the haunts of men. And he had intended also to go down to +Barchester early on the following morning--only for a few hours, +that he might make further arrangements respecting that bill which +Robarts had accepted for him. That bill--the second one--had now +become due, and Mr Tozer had been with him. + +'Now it ain't no use in life, Mr Sowerby,' Tozer had said. 'I ain't +got the paper myself, nor didn't hold it, not two hours. It went +away through Tom Tozer; you knows that, Mr Sowerby, as well as I +do.' Now, whenever Tozer, Mr Sowerby's Tozer, spoke of Tom Tozer, +Mr Sowerby knew that seven devils were being evoked, each worse +than the first devil. Mr Sowerby did feel something like sincere +regard, or rather love, for that poor parson whom he inveigled into +mischief, and would fain save him, if it were possible, from the +Tozer fang. Mr Forrest, of the Barchester bank, would probably +take up that last five hundred pound bill, on behalf of Mr +Robarts,--only it would be needful that he, Sowerby, should run +down and see that it was properly done. As to the other bill--the +former and lesser one--as to that, Mr Tozer would probably be quiet +for a while. Such had been Sowerby's programme for these two +days; but now--what further possibility was there now that he +should care for Robarts, or any other human being; he that was to be +swept away at once into the dung-heap? In this frame of mind he +walked up South Audley Street, and crossed one side of Grosvenor +Square, and went almost mechanically into Green Street. At the +farther end of Green Street, near to Park Lane, lived Mr and Mrs +Harold Smith. + + + +CHAPTER XXVIII + +DR THORNE + +When Miss Dunstable met her friends the Greshams--young Frank +Gresham and his wife--at Gatherum Castle, she immediately asked +after one Dr Thorne, who was Mrs Gresham's uncle. Dr Thorne was an +old bachelor, in whom both as a man and a doctor Miss Dunstable was +inclined to place much confidence. Not that she had ever entrusted +the cure of her bodily ailments to Dr Thorne--for she kept a doctor +of her own, Dr Easyman, for this purpose--and it may moreover be +said that she rarely had bodily ailments requiring the care of any +doctor. But she always spoke of Dr Thorne among her friends as a +man of wonderful erudition and judgement; and had once or twice +asked and acted on his advice in matters of much moment. Dr Thorne +was not a man accustomed to the London world; he kept no house +there, and seldom even visited the metropolis; but Miss Dunstable +had known him at Greshamsbury, where he lived, and there had for +some months past grown up a considerable intimacy between them. He +was now staying at the house of his niece, Mrs Gresham; but the +chief reason of his coming up had been a desire expressed by Miss +Dunstable, that he should do so. She had wished for his advice; +and at the instigation of his niece he had visited London and given +it. The special piece of business as to which Dr Thorne had thus +been summoned from the bedside of Lady Arabella Gresham, to whose +son his niece was married, related to certain large money +interests, as to which one might have imagined that Dr Thorne's +advice would not be peculiarly valuable. He had never been much +versed in such matters on his own account, and was knowing neither +in the ways of the share market, nor in the prices of land. But +Miss Dunstable was a lady accustomed to have her own way, and to be +indulged in her own wishes without being called on to give adequate +reasons for them. 'My dear,' she said to young Mrs Gresham, 'if +your uncle don't come up to London now, when I make such a point +of it, I shall think that he is a bear and a savage; and I +certainly will never speak to him again,--or to Frank--or to you; +so you had better see to it.' Mrs Gresham had not probably taken +her friend's threat as meaning quite all that it threatened. Miss +Dunstable habitually used strong language; and those who knew her +well, generally understood when she was to be taken as expressing +her thoughts by figures of speech. In this instance she had not +meant it at all; but, nevertheless, Mrs Gresham had used violent +influence in bringing the poor doctor up to London. 'Besides,' +said Miss Dunstable, 'I have resolved on having the doctor at my +conversazione, and if he won't come of himself, I shall go down and +fetch him. I have set my heart on trumping my dear friend Mrs +Proudie's best card; so I mean to get everybody!' + +The upshot of all this was, that the doctor did come up to town, +and remained the best part of a week at his niece's house in +Portman Square--to the great disgust of Lady Arabella, who +conceived that she must die if neglected for three days. As to the +matter of business, I have no doubt but that he was of great use. +He was possessed of common sense and an honest purpose; and I am +inclined to think that they are often a sufficient counterpoise to +considerable amount of worldly experience also--! True! but then +it is difficult to get everything. But with that special matter of +business we need not have any further concern. We will presume it +to have been discussed and completed, and will not dress ourselves +for Miss Dunstable's conversazione. But it must not be supposed +that she was so poor in genius as to call her party openly by a +name borrowed for the nonce from Mrs Proudie. It was only among +her specially intimate friends, Mrs Harold Smith and some few dozen +others, that she indulged in this little joke. There had been +nothing in the least pretentious about the card with which she +summoned her friends to her house on this occasion. She had merely +signified in some ordinary way, that she would be glad to see them +as soon after nine o'clock on Thursday evening, the -- instant, as +might be convenient. But all the world understood that all the +world was to be gathered together at Miss Dunstable's house on the +night in question--that an effort was to be made to bring together +people of all classes, gods and giants, saints and sinners, those +rabid through the strength of their morality, such as our dear +friend Lady Lufton, and those who were rabid in the opposite +direction, such as Lady Hartletop, the Duke of Omnium, and Mr +Sowerby. An orthodox martyr had been caught from the East, and an +oily latter-day St Paul, from the other side of the water--to the +horror and amazement of Archdeacon Grantly, who had come up all the +way from Plumstead to be present on the occasion. Mrs Grantly also +had hankered to be there; but when she heard of the presence of the +latter-day St Paul, she triumphed loudly over her husband, who had +made no offer to take her. That Lords Brock and De Terrier were to +be at the gathering was nothing. The pleasant king of the gods and +the courtly chief of the giants could shake hands with each other +in any house with the greatest pleasure; but men were to meet who, +in reference to each other, could shake nothing but their heads or +their fists. Supplehouse was to be there, and Harold Smith, who +now hated the enemy with a hatred surpassing that of women--or even +of politicians. The minor gods, it was thought, would congregate +together in one room, very bitter in their present state of +banishment; and the minor giants in another, terribly loud in their +triumph. That is the fault of the giants, who, otherwise, are not +bad fellows; they are unable to endure the weight of any temporary +success. When attempting Olympus--and this work of attempting is +doubtless their natural condition--they scratch and scramble, +diligently using both toes and fingers, with a mixture of +good-humoured virulence and self-satisfied industry that is +gratifying to all parties. But, whenever their efforts are +unexpectedly, and for themselves unfortunately successful, they are +so taken aback that they lose the power of behaving themselves with +even gigantesque propriety. + +Such, so great and so various, was to be the intended gathering +at Miss Dunstable's house. She herself laughed, and quizzed +herself--speaking of the affair to Mrs Harold Smith as though it +were an excellent joke, and to Mrs Proudie as though she were +simply emulous of rivalling those world-famous assemblies of +Gloucester Place; but the town at large knew that an effort was +being made, and it was supposed that even Miss Dunstable was +somewhat nervous. In spite of her excellent joking it was presumed +that she would be unhappy if she failed. To Mrs Frank Gresham she +did speak with some little seriousness. 'But why on earth should +you give yourself all this trouble?' that lady had said, when Miss +Dunstable owned that she was doubtful, and unhappy in her doubts, +as to the coming of one of the great colleagues of Mr Supplehouse. +'When such hundreds are coming, big wigs and little wigs of all +shades, what can it matter whether Mr Towers be there or not?' But +Miss Dunstable had answered almost with a screech-- + +'My dear, it will be nothing without him. You don't understand; +but the fact is that Tom Towers is everybody and everything at +present.' And then, by no means for the first time, Mrs Gresham +began to lecture her friend as to her vanity; in answer to which +lecture Miss Dunstable mysteriously hinted, that if she were only +allowed her full swing on this occasion,--if all the world would +now indulge her, she would--She did not quite say what she would +do, but the inference drawn by Mrs Gresham was this: that if the +incense now offered on the altar of Fashion were accepted, Miss +Dunstable would at once abandon the pomp and vanities of this +wicked world, and all the sinful lusts of the flesh. + +'But the doctor will stay, my dear? I hope I may look on that as +fixed.' Miss Dunstable, in making this demand on the doctor's +time, showed an energy quite equal to that with which she invoked +the gods that Tom Towers might not be absent. Now, to tell the +truth, Dr Thorne had at first thought it very unreasonable that he +should be asked to remain up in London in order that he might be +present at an evening party, and had for a while pertinaciously +refused; but when he learned that three or four prime ministers +were expected, and that it was possible that even Tom Towers might +be there in the flesh, his philosophy also had become weak, and he +had written to Lady Arabella to say that his prolonged absence for +two days further must be endured, and that the mild tonics, morning +and evening, might be continued. But why should Miss Dunstable be +so anxious that Dr Thorne should be present on this grand +occasion? Why, indeed, should she be so frequently inclined to +summon him away from his country practice, his compounding board, +and his useful ministrations to rural ailments? The doctor was +connected with her by no ties of blood. Their friendship, intimate +as it was, had as yet been but of short date. She was a very rich +woman, capable of purchasing all manner of advice and good counsel, +whereas he was so far from being rich, that any continued +disturbance to his practice might be inconvenient to him. +Nevertheless, Miss Dunstable seemed to have no more compunction in +making calls upon his time, than she might have felt had he been +her brother. No ideas on this matter suggested themselves to the +doctor himself. He was a simple-minded man, taking things as they +came, and especially so taking things that came pleasantly. He +liked Miss Dunstable, and was gratified by her friendship, and did +not think of asking himself whether she had a right to put him to +trouble and inconvenience. But such ideas did occur to Mrs +Gresham, the doctor's niece. Had Miss Dunstable any object, and if +so, what object? Was it simply veneration for the doctor, or was +it caprice? Was it eccentricity--or could it possibly be love? In +speaking of the ages of these two friends it may be said in round +terms that the lady was well past forty, and that the gentleman was +well past fifty. Under such circumstances could it be love? The +lady, too, was one who had had offers almost by the dozen,--offers +from men of rank, from men of fashion, and from men of power; from +men endowed with personal attractions, with pleasant manners, with +cultivated tastes, and with eloquent tongues. Not only had she +loved none such, but by none such had she been cajoled into an idea +that it was possible that she could love them. That Dr Thorne's +tastes were cultivated, and his manners pleasant, might probably be +admitted by three or four old friends in the country who valued +him; but the world in London, that world to which Miss Dunstable +was accustomed, and which was apparently becoming dearer to her day +by day, would not have regarded the doctor as a man likely to +become the object of a lady's passion. But nevertheless the idea +did occur to Mrs Gresham. She had been brought up at the elbow of +the country practitioner; she had lived with him as though she had +been his daughter; she had been for years the ministering angel of +his household; and, till her heart had opened to the natural +love of womanhood, all her closest sympathies had been with him. In +her eyes the doctor was all but perfect; and it did not seem to her +to be out of the question that Miss Dunstable should have fallen in +love with her uncle. + +Miss Dunstable once said to Mrs Harold Smith that it was possible +that she might marry, the only condition then expressed being this, +that the man elected should be one who was quite indifferent as to +money. Mrs Harold Smith, who, by her friends, was presumed to know +the world with tolerable accuracy, had replied that such a man Miss +Dunstable would never find in this world. All this had passed in +that half-comic of banter which Miss Dunstable so commonly used +when conversing with such friends as Mrs Harold Smith; but she had +spoken words of the same import more than once to Mrs Gresham; and +Mrs Gresham, putting two and two together as women do, had made +four of the little sum; and as the final result of the calculation, +determined that Miss Dunstable would marry Dr Thorne if Dr Thorne +would ask her. And then Mrs Gresham began to rethink herself of +two other questions. Would it be well that her uncle should marry +Miss Dunstable? and if so, would it be possible to induce him to +make such a proposition? After the consideration of many pros and +cons, and the balancing of very various arguments, Mrs Gresham +thought that the arrangement on the whole might not be a bad one. +For Miss Dunstable she herself had a sincere affection, which was +shared by her husband. She had often grieved at the sacrifices +Miss Dunstable made to the world, thinking that her friend was +falling into vanity, indifference, and an ill mode of life; but +such a marriage as this would probably cure all that. And then as +to Dr Thorne himself, to whose benefit were of course applied to +Mrs Gresham's most earnest thoughts in this matter, she could not +but think that he would be happier married than he was single. In +point of temper, no woman could stand higher than Miss Dunstable; +no one had ever heard of her being in an ill-humour; and then +though Mrs Gresham was gifted with a mind which was far removed +from being mercenary, it was impossible not to feel that some +benefit must accrue from the bride's wealth. Mary Thorne, the +present Mrs Frank Gresham, had herself been a great heiress. +Circumstances had weighed her hand with enormous possessions, and +hitherto she had not realized the truth of that lesson which would +teach us to believe that happiness and riches are incompatible. +Therefore she resolved that it might be well if the doctor and Miss +Dunstable were brought together. But could the doctor be induced +to make such an offer? Mrs Gresham acknowledged a terrible +difficulty in looking at the matter from that point of view. Her +uncle was fond of Miss Dunstable; but she was sure that an idea of +such a marriage had never entered his head; that it would be very +difficult--almost impossible--to create such an idea; and that if +the idea were there, the doctor could hardly be instigated to make +the proposition. Looking at the matter as a whole, she feared that +the match was not practicable. + +On the day of Miss Dunstable's party, Mrs Gresham and her uncle +dined together alone in Portman Square. Mr Gresham was not yet in +Parliament, but an almost immediate vacancy was expected in his +division of the county, and it was known that no one could stand +against him with any chance of success. This threw him much among +the politicians of his party--those giants, namely, who it would +be his business to support--and on this account he was a good deal +away from his own house at the present moment. 'Politics make a +terrible demand on a man's time,' he said to his wife; and then +went down to dine at his club in Pall Mall, with sundry other young +philogeants. On men of that class politics do make a great +demand--at the hour of dinner and thereabouts. + +'What do you think of Miss Dunstable?' said Mrs Gresham to her +uncle, as they sat together over their coffee. She added nothing +to the question, but asked it in all its baldness. + +'Think about her!' said the doctor; 'well, Mary, what do you think +about her? I dare say we think the same.' + +'But that's not the question. What do you think about her? Do you +feel she's honest?' + +'Honest? Oh, yes, certainly--very honest, I should say.' + +'And good-tempered?' + +'Uncommonly good-tempered.' + +'And affectionate?' + +'Well, yes; and affectionate. I should certainly say that she is +affectionate.' + +'I'm sure she's clever.' + +'Yes, I think she's clever.' + +'And, and--and womanly in her feelings.' Mrs Gresham felt that she +could not quite say lady-like, though she would fain have done so +if she dared. + +'Oh, certainly,' said the doctor. 'But, Mary, why are you +dissecting Miss Dunstable's character with so much ingenuity?' + +'Well, uncle, I will tell you why; because--' and Mrs Gresham, +while she was speaking, got up from her chair, and going round the +table to her uncle's side, put her arm round his neck till her face +was close to his, and then continued speaking as she stood behind +him out of his sight--'because--I think that Miss Dunstable is--is +very fond of you; and that it would make her happy if you +would--ask her to be your wife.' + +'Mary!' said the doctor, turning round with an endeavour to look +his niece in the face. + +'I am quite in earnest, uncle--quite in earnest. From little +things that she has said, and little things that I have seen, I do +believe what I now tell you.' + +'And you want me to--' + +'Dear uncle; my own one darling uncle, I want you only to do that +which will make you--make you happy. What is Miss Dunstable to me +compared to you?' And then she stooped down and kissed him. The +doctor was apparently too much astounded by the intimation given +him to make any further immediate reply. His niece, seeing this, +left him that she might go and dress; and when they met again in the +drawing-room Frank Gresham was with them. + + + +CHAPTER XXIX + +MISS DUNSTABLE AT HOME + +Miss Dunstable did not look like a love-lorn maiden, as she stood +in a small ante-chamber at the top of her drawing-room stairs, +receiving her guests. Her house was one of those abnormal +mansions, which are to be seen here and there in London, built in +compliance rather with the rules of rural architecture, than with +those which usually govern the erection of city streets and town +terraces. It stood back from its brethren, and alone, so that its +owner could walk around it. It was approached by a short +carriage-way; the chief door was in the back of the building; and +the front of the house looked on to one of the parks. Miss +Dunstable in procuring it had had her usual luck. It had been +built by an eccentric millionaire at an enormous cost; and the +eccentric millionaire, after living in it for twelve months, had +declared that it did not possess a single comfort, and that it was +deficient in most of those details which, in point of house +accommodation, are necessary to the very existence of man. +Consequently the mansion was sold, and Miss Dunstable was the +purchaser. Cranbourn House it had been named, and its present +owner had made no change in that respect; but the world at large +very generally called it Ointment Hall, and Miss Dunstable herself +as frequently used that name for it as any other. It was +impossible to quiz Miss Dunstable with any success, because she +always joined in the joke herself. Not a word further had passed +between Mrs Gresham and Dr Thorne on the subject of their last +conversation; but the doctor, as he entered the lady's portals +amongst a tribe of servants and in a glare of light, and saw the +crowd before him and the crowd behind him, felt that it was quite +impossible that he should ever be at home there. It might be all +right that a Miss Dunstable should live in this way, but it could +not be right that the wife of Dr Thorne should so live. But all +this was a matter of the merest speculation, for he was well +aware--as he said to himself a dozen times--that his niece had +blundered strangely in her reading of Miss Dunstable's character. + +When the Gresham party entered the ante-room into which the +staircase opened, they found Miss Dunstable standing there +surrounded by a few of her most intimate allies. Mrs Harold Smith +was sitting quite close to her; Dr Easyman was reclining on a sofa +against the wall, and the lady who habitually lived with Miss +Dunstable was by his side. One or two others were there also, so +that a little running conversation was kept up in order to relieve +Miss Dunstable of the tedium which might otherwise be engendered by +the work she had in hand. As Mrs Gresham, leaning on her husband's +arm, entered the room, she saw the back of Mrs Proudie, as that +lady made her way through the opposite door, leaning on the arm of +the bishop. Mrs Harold Smith had apparently recovered from the +annoyance which she must no doubt have felt when Miss Dunstable so +utterly rejected her suit on behalf of her brother. If any feeling +had existed, even for a day, calculated to put a stop to the +intimacy between the two ladies, that feeling had altogether died +away, for Mrs Harold Smith was conversing with her friend, quite in +the old way. She made some remark on each of the guests as they +passed by, and apparently did so in a manner satisfactory to the +owner of the house, for Miss Dunstable answered with her kindest +smiles, and in that genial, happy tone of voice which gave its +peculiar character to her good humour: 'She is quite convinced that +you are a mere plagiarist in what you are doing,' said Mrs Harold +Smith, speaking of Mrs Proudie. + +'And so I am. I don't suppose there can be anything very original +nowadays about an evening party.' + +'She thinks you are copying her.' + +'And why not? I copy everybody that I see, more or less. You did +not at first begin to wear petticoats out of your own head? If Mrs +Proudie has any such pride as that, pray don't rob her of it. +Here's the doctor and the Greshams. Mary, my darling, how are +you?' and in spite of all her grandeur of apparel, Miss Dunstable +took hold of Mrs Gresham and kissed her--to the disgust of the +dozen and half of the distinguished fashionable world who were +passing up the stairs behind. The doctor was somewhat repressed in +his mode of address by the communication which had so lately been +made to him. Miss Dunstable was now standing on the very top of +the pinnacle of wealth, and seemed to him to be not only so much +above his reach, but also so far removed from his track of life, +that he could not in any way put himself on a level with her. He +could neither aspire so high nor descend so low; and thinking of +this he spoke to Miss Dunstable as though there were some great +distance between them,--as though there had been no hours of +intimate friendship down at Greshambury. There been such hours, +during which Miss Dunstable and Dr Thorne had lived as though they +belonged to the same world: and this at any rate may be said of +Miss Dunstable, that she had no idea of forgetting them. + +Dr Thorne merely gave her his hand, and then prepared to pass on. + +'Don't go, doctor,' she said; 'for heaven's sake, don't go yet. I +don't know when I may catch you if you get in there. I shan't be +able to follow you for the next two hours. Lady Meredith, I am so +much obliged to you for coming--your mother will be here, I hope. +Oh, I am so glad! From her you know that is quite a favour. You, +Sir George, are half a sinner yourself, so I don't think so much +about it.' + +'Oh, quite so,' said Sir George; 'perhaps rather the largest half.' + +'The men divide the world into gods and giants,' said Miss +Dunstable. 'We women have our divisions also. We are saints or +sinners according to our party. The worst of it is, that we rat +almost as often as you do.' Whereupon Sir George laughed, and +passed on. + +'I know, doctor, you don't like this kind of thing,' she continued, +'but there is no reason why you should indulge yourself altogether +in your way, more than another, is there, Frank?' + +'I am not so sure but he does like it,' said Mr Gresham. 'There are +some of your reputed friends whom he owns that he is anxious to +see.' + +'Are there? Then there is some hope of his ratting too. But he'll +never make a good staunch sinner; will he, Mary? You're too old to +learn new tricks; eh, doctor?' + +'I am afraid I am,' said the doctor with a faint laugh. + +'Does Dr Thorne rank himself among the army of saints?' asked Mrs +Harold Smith. + +'Decidedly,' said Miss Dunstable. 'But you must always remember +that there are saints of different orders; are there not, Mary? and +nobody supposes that the Franciscans and the Dominicans agree very +well together. Dr Thorne does not belong to the school of St +Proudie, of Barchester; he would prefer the priestess whom I see +coming round the corner of the staircase, with a very famous young +novice at her elbow.' + +'From all that I can hear, you will have to reckon with Miss +Grantly among the sinners,' said Mrs Harold Smith--seeing that Lady +Lufton with her young friend was approaching--'unless indeed, you +can make a saint of Lady Hartletop.' And then Lady Lufton entered +the room, and Miss Dunstable came forward to meet her with more +quiet respect in her manner than she had as yet shown to many of +her guests. 'I am much obliged to you for coming, Lady Lufton,' +she said, 'and the more so, for bringing Miss Grantly with you.' +Lady Lufton uttered some pretty little speech, during which Dr +Thorne came up and shook hands with her; as did also Frank Gresham +and his wife. There was a county acquaintance between the Framley +people and the Greshambury people, and therefore there was a little +general conversation before Lady Lufton passed out of the small +room into what Mrs Proudie would have called the noble suite of +apartments. 'Papa will be here,' said Miss Grantly; 'at least so I +understand. I have not seen him yet myself.' + +'Oh yes, he has promised me,' said Miss Dunstable; 'and the +archdeacon, I know, will keep his word. I should by no means have +the proper ecclesiastical balance without him.' + +'Papa always does keep his word,' said Miss Grantly, in a tone that +was almost severe. She had not at all understood poor Miss +Dunstable's little joke, or at any rate, she was too dignified to +respond to it. + +'I understand that old Sir John is to accept the Chiltern Hundreds +at once,' said Lady Lufton, in a half whisper to Frank Gresham. + +Lady Lufton had always taken a keen interest in the politics of +East Barsetshire, and was now desirous of expressing her +satisfaction that a Gresham should again sit for the county. The +Greshams had been old county members for Barsetshire, time out of +mind. + +'Oh yes; I believe so,' said Frank, blushing. He was still young +enough to feel most ashamed of putting himself forward for such +honours. + +'There will be no contest, of course,' said Lady Lufton, +confidently. 'There seldom is in East Barsetshire, I am happy to +say. But if there were, every tenant at Framley would vote on the +right side; I can assure you of that. Lord Lufton was saying to me +only this morning.' Frank Gresham made a pretty little speech in +reply, such as young sucking politicians are expected to make; and +this, with sundry other small courteous murmurings, detained the +Lufton party for a minute or two in the ante-chamber. In the +meantime the world was pressing on and passing to the four or five +large reception-rooms--the noble suite which was already piercing +poor Mrs Proudie's heart with envy to the very core. 'These are +the sort of rooms,' she said to herself unconsciously, 'which ought +to be provided by the country for the use of the bishops.' + +'But the people are not brought enough together,' she said to her +lord. + +'No, no; I don't think they are,' said the bishop. + +'And that is so essential for a conversazione,' continued Mrs +Proudie. 'Now in Gloucester Place--' But we will not record all +her adverse criticisms, as Lady Lufton is waiting for us in the +ante-room. And now another arrival of moment had taken place;--and +arrival indeed of very great moment. To tell the truth, Miss +Dunstable's heart had been set upon having two special persons; and +though no stone had been left unturned,--no stone which could be +turned with discretion,--she was still left in doubt as to both +these two wondrous potentates. At the very moment of which we are +now speaking, light and airy as she appeared to be--for it was her +character to be light and airy--her mind was torn with doubts. If +the wished-for two would come, her evening would be thoroughly +successful; but if not, all her trouble would have been thrown +away, and the thing would have been a failure; and there were +circumstances connected with the present assembly which made Miss +Dunstable very anxious that she should not fail. That the two +great ones of the earth were Tom Towers of the Jupiter, and the +Duke of Omnium, need hardly be expressed in words. And now, at +this very moment, as Lady Lufton was making her civil speeches to +young Gresham, apparently in no hurry to move on, and while Miss +Dunstable was endeavouring to whisper something into the doctor's +ear, which would make him feel himself at home in this new world, a +sound was heard which made that lady know that half her wish had at +any rate been granted to her. A sound was heard--but only by her +own and one other attentive pair of ears. Mrs Harold Smith had +also caught the name, and knew that the duke was approaching. There +was great glory and triumph in this; but why had his grace come at +so unchancy a moment? Miss Dunstable had been fully aware of the +impropriety of bringing Lady Lufton and the Duke of Omnium into the +same house at the same time; but when she had asked Lady Lufton, +she had been led to believe that there was no hope of obtaining the +duke; and then, when that hope had dawned upon her, she had +comforted herself with the reflection that the two suns, though +they might for some few minutes be in the same hemisphere, could +hardly be expected to clash, or come across each other's orbits. +Her rooms were large and would be crowded; the duke would probably +do little more than walk through them once, and Lady Lufton would +certainly be surrounded by persons of her own class. Thus Miss +Dunstable had comforted herself. But now all things were going +wrong, and Lady Lufton would find herself in close contiguity to +the nearest representative of the Satanic agency, which, according +to her ideas, was allowed to walk this nether English world of +ours. Would she scream? or indignantly retreat out of the +house?--or would she proudly raise her head, and with outstretched +hand and audible voice, boldly defy the devil and all his works? +In thinking of these things as the duke approached Miss Dunstable +almost lost her presence of mind. But Mrs Harold Smith did not +lose hers. 'So here at last is the duke,' she said, in a tone +intended to catch the express attention of Lady Lufton. + +Mrs Smith had calculated that there might still be time for her +ladyship to pass on and avoid the interview. But Lady Lufton, if +she heard the words, did not completely understand them. At any +rate they did not convey to her mind at the moment the meaning they +were intended to convey. She paused to whisper a last little +speech to Frank Gresham, and then looking round, found that the +gentleman who was pressing against her dress was--the Duke of +Omnium! On this great occasion, when the misfortune could no +longer be avoided, Miss Dunstable was by no means beneath herself +or her character. She deplored the calamity, but she now saw that +it was only left to her to make the best of it. The duke had +honoured her by coming to her house, and she was bound to welcome +him, though in doing so she should bring Lady Lufton to her last +gasp. 'Duke,' she said, 'I am greatly honoured by this kindness on +the part of your grace. I hardly expected that you would be so +good to me.' + +'The goodness is all on the other side,' said the duke, bowing over +her hand. And then in the usual course of things this would have +been all. The duke would have walked on and shown himself, would +have said a word or two to Lady Hartletop, to the bishop, to Mr +Gresham, and such like, and would have left the rooms by another +way, and quietly escaped. This was the duty expected from him, and +this he would have done, and the value of the party would have been +increased by thirty per cent. by such doing; but now, as it was, +the newsmongers of the West End were likely to get much more out of +it. + +Circumstances had so turned out, that he had absolutely been +pressed close against Lady Lufton, and she, when she heard the +voice, and was made positively acquainted with the fact of the +great man's presence by Miss Dunstable's words, turned round +quickly, but still with much feminine dignity, removing her dress +from the contact. In doing this she was brought absolutely face to +face with the duke, so that each could not but look full at the +other. 'I beg your pardon,' said the duke. They were the only +words that had ever passed between them, nor have they spoken to +each other since; but simple as they were, accompanied by the +little by-play of the speakers, they gave rise to a considerable +amount of ferment in the fashionable world. Lady Lufton, as she +retreated back on to Dr Easyman, curtsied low; she curtsied low and +slowly, and with a haughty arrangement of her drapery that was all +her own; but the curtsy, though it was eloquent, did not say half +so much,--did not reprobate the habitual iniquities of the duke +with a voice nearly so potent, as that which was expressed in the +gradual fall of her eye, and the gradual pressure of her lips. When +she commenced her curtsy she was looking full in her foe's face. By +the time that she had completed it her eyes were turned upon the +ground, but there was an ineffable amount of scorn expressed in the +lines of her mouth. She spoke no word and retreated, as modest +virtue and feminine weakness must ever retreat, before barefaced +vice and virile power; but nevertheless she was held by all the +world to have had the best of the encounter. The duke, as he +begged her pardon, wore in his countenance that expression of +modified sorrow which is common to any gentleman who is supposed by +himself to have incommoded a lady. But over and above this,--or +rather under it,--there was a slight smile of derision, as though +it were impossible for him to look upon the bearing of Lady Lufton +without some amount of ridicule. All this was legible to eyes so +keen as those of Miss Dunstable and Mrs Harold Smith, and the duke +was known to be a master of this silent inward sarcasm; but even by +them,--by Miss Dunstable and Mrs Harold Smith,--it was admitted +that Lady Lufton had conquered. When her ladyship again looked up, +the duke had passed on; she then resumed the care of Miss Grantly's +hand, and followed in among the company. + +'That is what I call unfortunate,' said Miss Dunstable, as soon as +both belligerents had departed from the field of battle. 'The +Fates sometimes will be against me.' + +'But they have not been all against you here,' said Mrs Harold +Smith. 'If you could arrive at her ladyship's private thoughts +to-morrow morning, you would find her to be quite happy in having met +the duke. It will be years before she has done boasting of her +triumph, and it will be talked of by the young ladies of Framley +for the next three generations.' + +The Gresham party, including Dr Thorne, had remained in the +ante-chamber during the battle. The whole combat did not occupy +above two minutes, and the three of them were hemmed off from +escape by Lady Lufton's retreat into Dr Easyman's lap; but now +they, too, essayed to pass on. + +'What, will you desert me,' said Miss Dunstable. 'Very well; but I +shall find you out by and by. Frank, there is to be some dancing +in one of the rooms,--just to distinguish the affair from Mrs +Proudie's conversazione. It would be stupid, you know, if all +conversazione's were alike; wouldn't it? So I hope you will go and +dance.' + +'There will, I presume, be another variation at feeding time,' said +Mrs Harold Smith. + +'Oh, yes, certainly; I am the most vulgar of all wretches in that +respect. I do love to set people eating and drinking.--Mr +Supplehouse, I am delighted to see you; but do tell me--' and then +she whispered with great energy into the ear of Mr Supplehouse, and +Mr Supplehouse again whispered into her ear. 'You think he will, +then?' said Miss Dunstable. Mr Supplehouse assented; he did think +so; but he had no warrant for stating the circumstance as a fact. +And then he passed on, hardly looking at Mrs Harold Smith as he +passed. + +'What a hang-dog countenance he has,' said that lady. + +'Ah, you're prejudiced, my dear, and no wonder; as for myself, I +always liked Supplehouse. He means mischief; but then mischief is +his trade, and he does not conceal it. If I were a politician, I +should as soon think of being angry with Mr Supplehouse for turning +against me as I am now with a pin pricking me. It's my own +awkwardness, and I ought to have known how to use the pin more +craftily.' + +'But you must detest a man who professes to stand by his party, and +then does his best to ruin it.' + +'So many have done that, my dear; and with much more success than +Mr Supplehouse! All is fair in love and war,--and why not add +politics to the list? If we could only agree to do that, it would +save us from such a deal of heartburning, and would make none of us +a bit the worse.' + +Miss Dunstable's rooms, large as they were--'a noble suite of rooms +certainly, though perhaps a little too--too--too scattered, we will +say, eh, bishop?' were now nearly full, and would have been +inconveniently crowded, were it not that many who came only +remained for half an hour or so. Space, however, had been kept for +the dancers--much to Mrs Proudie's consternation. Not that she +disapproved of dancing in London, as a rule; but she was indignant +that the laws of a conversazione as re-established by herself in +the fashionable world, should be so violently infringed. + +'Conversaziones will come to mean nothing,' she said to the bishop, +putting great stress on the latter word, 'nothing at all, if they +are to be treated in this way.' + +'No, they won't; nothing in the least,' said the bishop. + +'Dancing may be very well in its place,' said Mrs Proudie. + +'I have never objected to it myself; that is, for the laity,' said +the bishop. + +'But when people profess to assemble for higher objects,' said Mrs +Proudie, 'they ought to act up to the professions.' + +'Otherwise they are no better than hypocrites,' said the bishop. + +'A spade should be called a spade,' said Mrs Proudie. + +'Decidedly,' said the bishop, assenting. + +'And when I undertook the trouble and expense of introducing +conversaziones,' continued Mrs Proudie, with an evident feeling +that she had been ill-used, 'I had no idea of seeing the word +so--so--so misinterpreted;' and then observing certain desirable +acquaintances at the side of the room, she went across, leaving the +bishop to fend for himself. + +Lady Lufton, having achieved her success, passed on to the dancing, +whither it was not probable that her enemy would follow her, and +she had not been there very long before she was joined by her son. +Her heart at the present moment was not quite satisfied at the +state of affairs with reference to Griselda. She had gone so far +as to tell her young friend what were her own wishes; she had +declared her desire that Griselda should become her +daughter-in-law; but in answer to this Griselda herself had +declared nothing. It was, to be sure, no more than natural that a +young lady so well brought up as Miss Grantly should show no signs +of passion till she was warranted in showing them by the +proceedings of the gentleman; but notwithstanding this, fully aware +as she was of the propriety of such reticence--Lady Lufton did +think that to her Griselda might have spoken some word evincing +that the alliance would be satisfactory to her. Griselda, however, +had spoken no such word, nor had she uttered a syllable to show +that she would accept Lord Lufton if he did offer. Then again she +had uttered no syllable to show that she would not accept him; but, +nevertheless, although she knew that the world had been talking +about her and Lord Dumbello, she stood up to dance with the future +marquess on every possible occasion. All this did give annoyance +to Lady Lufton, who began to bethink herself that if she could not +quickly bring her little plan to a favourable issue, it might be +well for her to wash her hands of it. She was still anxious for +the match on her son's account. Griselda would, she did not doubt, +make a good wife; but Lady Lufton was not so sure as she once had +been that she herself would be able to keep up so strong a feeling +for her daughter-in-law as she had hitherto hoped to do. 'Ludovic, +have you been here long?' she said, smiling as she always did smile +when her eyes fell upon her son's face. + +'This instant arrived; and I hurried on after you, as Miss +Dunstable told me you were here. What a crowd she had? Did you +see Lord Brock?' + +'I did not observe him.' + +'Or Lord De Terrier? I saw them both in the centre room.' + +'Lord De Terrier did me the honour of shaking hands with me as I +passed through.' + +'I never saw such a mixture of people. There is Mrs Proudie going +out of her mind because you are all going to dance.' + +'The Miss Proudies dance,' said Griselda Grantly. + +'But not at the conversaziones. You don't see the difference. And +I saw Spermoil there, looking as pleased as Punch. He had quite a +circle of his own round him, and was chattering away as though he +were quite accustomed to the wickedness of the world.' + +'There certainly are people here whom one would not have wished to +meet, had one thought of it,' said Lady Lufton, mindful of her late +engagement. + +'But it must be all right, for I walked up the stairs with the +archdeacon. That is an absolute proof, is it not, Miss Grantly?' + +'I have no fears. When I am with your mother I know I must be +safe.' + +'I am not so sure of that,' said Lord Lufton, laughing. 'Mother, +you hardly know the worst of it yet. Who is here, do you think?' + +'I know whom you mean; I have seen him,' said Lady Lufton, very +quietly. + +'We came across him just at the top of the stairs,' said Griselda, +with more animation in her face than ever Lord Lufton had seen +there before. + +'What; the duke?' + +'Yes, the duke,' said Lady Lufton. 'I certainly should not have +come had I expected to be brought in contact with that man. But it +was an accident, and on such an occasion as this it could not be +helped.' Lord Lufton at once perceived, by the tone of his +mother's voice and by the shades of her countenance, that she had +absolutely endured some personal encounter with the duke, and also +that she was by no means so indignant at the occurrence as might +have been expected. There she was, still in Miss Dunstable's house, +and expressing no anger as to Miss Dunstable's conduct. Lord +Lufton could hardly have been more surprised had he seen the duke +handing his mother down to supper; he said, however, nothing +further on the subject. + +'Are you going to dance, Ludovic?' said Lady Lufton. + +'Well, I am not sure that I do not agree with Mrs Proudie in +thinking that dancing would contaminate a conversazione. What are +your ideas, Miss Grantly?' Griselda was never very good at a joke, +and imagined that Lord Lufton wanted to escape the trouble of +dancing with her. This angered her. For the only species of +love-making, or flirtation, or sociability between herself as a +young lady, and any other self as a young gentleman, which +recommended itself to her taste, was to be found in the amusement +of dancing. She was altogether at variance with Mrs Proudie on +this matter, and gave Miss Dunstable great credit for her +innovation. In society Griselda's toes were more serviceable to +her than her tongue, and she was to be won by a rapid twirl much +more probably than by a soft word. The offer of which she would +approve would be conveyed by two all but breathless words, during a +spasmodic pause in a waltz; and then as she lifted up her arm to +receive the accustomed support at her back, she might just find +power enough to say, 'you--must ask--papa.' After that she would +not care to have the affair mentioned till everything was properly +settled. + +'I have not thought about it,' said Griselda, turning her face away +from Lord Lufton. + +It must not, however, be supposed that Miss Grantly had not thought +about Lord Lufton, or that she had not considered how great might +be the advantage of having Lady Lufton on her side is she made up +her mind that she did wish to become Lord Lufton's wife. She knew +well that now was her time for a triumph, now in this very first +season of her acknowledged beauty; and she knew also that young, +good-looking bachelor lords do not grow in hedges like +blackberries. Had Lord Lufton offered to her, she would have +accepted him at once without any remorse as to the greater glories +which might appertain to a future Marchioness of Hartletop. In +that direction she was not without sufficient wisdom. But then +Lord Lufton had not offered to her, nor given any signs that he +intended to do so; and to give Griselda Grantly her due, she was +not a girl to make the first overture. Neither had Lord Dumbello +offered; but he had given signs,--dumb signs, such as birds give to +each other, quite as intelligible as verbal signs to a girl who +preferred the use of her toes to that of her tongue. 'I have not +thought about it,' said Griselda, very coldly, and at that moment a +gentleman stood before her and asked her hand for the next dance. +It was Lord Dumbello; and Griselda, making no reply except by a +slight bow, got up and put her hand within her partner's arm. + +'Shall I find you here, Lady Lufton, when we have done?' she said; +and then started off among the dancers. When the work before one +is dancing the proper thing for a gentleman to do is, at any rate, +to ask a lady; this proper thing Lord Lufton had omitted, and now +the prize was taken away from under his very nose. + +There was clearly an air of triumph about Lord Dumbello as he +walked away with the beauty. The world had been saying that Lord +Lufton was to marry her, and the world had also been saying that +Lord Dumbello admired her. Now this had angered Lord Dumbello, and +make him feel as though he walked about, a mark of scorn, as a +disappointed suitor. Had it not been for Lord Lufton, perhaps he +would not have cared so much for Griselda Grantly; but circumstances +had so turned out that he did care for her, and felt it to be +incumbent upon him, as the heir to a marquisate, to obtain what he +wanted, let who would have a hankering after the same article. It +is in this way that pictures are so well sold at auctions; and Lord +Dumbello regarded Miss Grantly as being now subject to the +auctioneer's hammer, and conceived that Lord Lufton was bidding +against him. There was, therefore, an air of triumph about him as +he put his arm round Griselda's waist, and whirled her up and down +the room in obedience to the music. Lady Lufton and her son were +left together looking at each other. Of course, he had intended to +ask Griselda to dance, but it cannot be said that he very much +regretted his disappointment. Of course also Lady Lufton had +expected that her son and Griselda would stand up together, and she +was a little inclined to be angry with her protegee. 'I think she +might have waited a minute,' said Lady Lufton. + +'But why, mother? There are certain things for which no one ever +waits: to give a friend, for instance, the first passage through a +gate out hunting and such like. Miss Grantly was quite right to +take the first that offered.' Lady Lufton had determined to learn +what was to be the end of this scheme of hers. She could not have +Griselda always with her, and if anything were to be arranged it +must be arranged now, while both of them were in London. At the +close of the season Griselda would return to Plumstead, and Lord +Lufton would go--nobody as yet knew where. It would be useless to +look forward to further opportunities. If they did not contrive to +love each other now, they would never do so. Lady Lufton was +beginning to fear that her plan would not work, but she made up her +mind that she would learn the truth then and there--at least as far +as her son was concerned. + +'Oh, yes; quite so;--if it is equal to her with which she dances,' +said Lady Lufton. + +'Quite equal, I should think--unless it be that Dumbello is +longer-winded than I am.' + +'I am sorry to hear you speak of her in that way, Ludovic.' + +'Why sorry, mother?' + +'Because I had hoped--that you and she would have liked each +other.' This she said in a serious tone of voice, tender and sad, +looking up into his face with a plaintive gaze, as though she knew +that she were asking of him some great favour. + +'Yes, mother; I have known that you have wished that.' + +'You have known it, Ludovic!' + +'Oh, dear, yes; you are not at all sharp at keeping your secrets +from me. And, mother, at one time, for a day or so, I thought that +I could oblige you. You have been so good to me, that I would +almost do anything for you.' + +'Oh, no, no, no,' she said, deprecating his praise, and the +sacrifice which he seemed to offer of his own hopes and +aspirations. 'I would not for worlds have you do so for my sake. +No mother ever had a better son, and my only ambition is for your +happiness.' + +'But, mother, she would not make me happy. I was mad enough for a +moment to think that she could do so--for a moment I did think so. +There was one occasion on which I would have asked her to take me, +but--' + +'But what, Ludovic?' + +'Never mind, it passed away; and now I shall never ask her. Indeed +I do not think she would have me. She is ambitious, and flying at +higher game than I am. And I must say this for her, that she knows +well what she is doing, and plays her cards as though she had been +born with them in her hand.' + +'You will never ask her?' + +'No, mother; had I done so, it would have been for the love of +you--only for the love of you.' + +'I would not for worlds that you should do that.' + +'Let her have Dumbello; she will make an excellent wife for him, +just the wife that he will want. And you, you will have been so +good to her in assisting her to such a matter.' + +'But, Ludovic, I am so anxious to see you settled.' + +'All in good time, mother.' + +'Ah, but the good time is passing away. Years run so very +quickly. I hope you think of marrying, Ludovic.' + +'But, mother, what if I brought you a wife that you do not +approve?' + +'I will approve of any one that you love; that is--' + +'That is, if you love her also; eh, mother?' + +'But I rely with such confidence on your taste. I know that you +can like no one that is not ladylike and good.' + +'Ladylike and good; will that suffice?' said he, thinking of Lucy +Robarts. + +'Yes; it will suffice if you love her. I don't want you to care +for money. Griselda will have a fortune that would have been +convenient; but I do not wish you to care for that.' And thus, as +they stood together in Miss Dunstable's crowded room, the mother +and son settled between themselves that the Lufton-Grantly alliance +treaty was not to be ratified. 'I suppose I must let Mrs Grantly +know,' said Lady Lufton to herself, as Griselda returned to her +side. There had not been above a dozen words spoken between Lord +Dumbello and his partner, but that young lady also had now fully +made up her mind that the treaty above mentioned should never be +brought into operation. + +We must go back to our hostess, whom we should not have left for so +long a time, seeing that this chapter is written to show how well +she could conduct herself in great emergencies. She had declared +that after awhile she would be able to leave her position near the +entrance door, and find out her own peculiar friends among the +crowd; but the opportunity for doing so did not come till very late +in the evening. There was a continuation of arrivals; she was +wearied to death with making little speeches, and had more than +once declared that she must depute Mrs Harold Smith to take her +place. That lady stuck to her through all her labours with +admirable constancy, and made the work bearable. Without some such +constancy on a friend's part, it would have been unbearable; and it +must be acknowledged that this was much to the credit of Mrs Harold +Smith. Her own hopes with reference to the great heiress had all +been shattered, and her answer had been given to her in very plain +language. But, nevertheless, she was true to her friendship, and +was almost as willing to endure the fatigue on this occasion as +though she had a sister-in-law's right in the house. At about one +o'clock her brother came. He had not yet seen Miss Dunstable since +the offer had been made, and had now with great difficulty been +persuaded by his sister to show himself. + +'What can be the use?' said he. 'The game is up with me +now;'--meaning, poor ruined ne'er-do-well, not only that that game +with Miss Dunstable was up, but that the great game of his whole +life was being brought to an uncomfortable termination. + +'Nonsense,' said his sister; 'do you mean to despair because a man +like the Duke of Omnium wants his money? What has been good +security for him will be good security for another;' and then Mrs +Harold Smith made herself more agreeable then ever to Miss +Dunstable. + +When Miss Dunstable was nearly worn out, but was still endeavouring +to buoy herself up by a hope of the still-expected great +arrival--for she knew that the hero would show himself only at a +very late hour if it were to be her good fortune that he showed +himself at all--Mr Sowerby walked up the stairs. He had schooled +himself to go through with this ordeal with all the cool effrontery +which was at his command; but it was clearly to be seen that all +his effrontery did not stand him in sufficient stead, and that the +interview would have been embarrassing had it not been for the +genuine good-humour of the lady. 'Here is my brother,' said Mrs +Harold Smith, showing by the tremulousness of the whisper that she +looked forward to the meeting with some amount of apprehension. + +'How do you do, Mr Sowerby?' said Miss Dunstable, walking almost +into the doorway to welcome him. 'Better late than never.' + +'I have only just got away from the House,' said he, as he gave her +his hand. + +'Oh, I know well that you are sans reproche among senators--as Mr +Harold Smith is sans peur;--eh, my dear?' + +'I must confess that you have contrived to be uncommonly severe +upon them both,' said Mrs Harold, laughing; 'and as regards poor +Harold, most undeservedly so; Nathaniel is here, and may defend +himself.' + +'And no one is better able to do so on all occasions. But, my dear +Mr Sowerby, I am dying of despair. Do you think he'll come?' + +'He? who?' + +'You stupid man--as if there were more than one he! There were +two, but the other has been.' + +'Upon my word, I don't understand,' said Mr Sowerby, now again at +his ease. 'But can I do anything? Shall I go and fetch anyone? +Oh, Tom Towers; I fear I can't help you. But here he is at the +foot of the stairs!' And then Mr Sowerby stood back with his +sister to make way for the great representative man of the age. + +'Angels and ministers of grace assist me!' said Miss Dunstable. +'How on earth am I to behave myself? Mr Sowerby, do you think +that I ought to kneel down? My dear, will he have a reporter at +his back in the royal livery?' And then Miss Dunstable advanced +two or three steps--not into the doorway, as she had done for Mr +Sowerby--put out her hand, and smiled her sweetest on Mr Towers of +the Jupiter. + +'The honour done is all conferred on me,' and he bowed and curtsied +with very stately grace. Each thoroughly understood the badinage +of the other; and then, in a few moments, they were engaged in very +easy conversation. + +'By the by, Sowerby, what do you think of this threatened +dissolution?' said Tom Towers. + +'We are all in the hands of Providence,' said Mr Sowerby, striving +to take the matter without any outward show of emotion. But the +question was one of terrible import to him, and up to this time he +had heard of no such threat. Nor had Mrs Harold Smith, nor Miss +Dunstable, nor had a hundred others who now either listened to the +vaticinations of Mr Towers, or to the immediate report made of +them. But it is given to some men to originate such tidings, and +the performance of the prophecy is often brought about by the +authority of the prophet. On the following morning the rumour that +there would be a dissolution was current in all high circles. 'They +have no conscience in such matters; no conscience whatever,' said a +small god, speaking of the giants--a small god, whose constituency +was expensive. Mr Towers stood there chatting for about twenty +minutes, and then took his departure without making his way into +the room. He had answered the purpose for which he had been +invited, and left Miss Dunstable in a happy frame of mind. + +'I am very glad he came,' said Mrs Harold Smith, with an air of +triumph. + +'Yes, I am glad,' said Miss Dunstable, 'though I am thoroughly +ashamed that I should be so. After all, what good has he done to +me or to anyone?' And having uttered this moral reflection, she +made her way into the rooms, and soon discovered Dr Thorne standing +by himself against the wall. + +'Well, doctor,' said Miss Dunstable, 'where are Mary and Frank? You +do not look at all comfortable, standing here by yourself.' + +'I am quite as comfortable as I expected, thank you,' said he. +'They are in the room somewhere, and, as I believe, equally happy.' + +'That's spiteful of you, doctor, to speak in that way. What would +you say if you were called on to endure all that I have gone +through this evening?' + +'There is no accounting for tastes, but I presume you like it?' + +'I am not so sure of that. Give me your arm and let me get some +supper. One always likes the idea of having done hard work, and +one always likes to have been successful.' + +'We all know that virtue is its own reward,' said the doctor. + +'Well, that is something hard upon me,' said Miss Dunstable, as she +sat down to table. 'And you really think that no good of any sort +can come from my giving such a party as this?' + +'Oh, yes; some people, no doubt, have been amused.' + +'It is all vanity in your estimation,' said Miss Dunstable; 'vanity +and vexation of spirit. Well; there is a good deal of the latter, +certainly. Sherry, if you please. I would give anything for a +glass of beer, but that is out of the question. Vanity and +vexation of spirit! And yet I meant to do good.' + +'Pray, do not suppose I am condemning you, Miss Dunstable.' + +'Ah, but I do suppose it. Not only you, but another also, whose +judgement I care for, perhaps, more than yours; and that, let me +tell you, is saying a great deal. You do condemn me, Dr Thorne, +and I also condemn myself. It is not that I have done wrong, but +the game is not worth the candle.' + +'Ah; that is the question.' + +'The game is not worth the candle. And yet it was a triumph to +have both the duke and Tom Towers. You must confess that I have +not managed badly.' Soon after that the Greshams went away, and in +an hour's time or so, Miss Dunstable was allowed to drag herself to +her own bed. + +That is the great question to be asked on all such occasions, 'Is +the game worth the candle?' + + + +CHAPTER XXX + +THE GRANTLY TRIUMPH + +It has been mentioned cursorily--the reader, no doubt, will have +forgotten it--that Mrs Grantly was not specially invited by her +husband to go up to town with a view of being present at Miss +Dunstable's party. Mrs Grantly said nothing on the subject, but +she was somewhat chagrined; not on account of the loss she +sustained with reference to that celebrated assembly, but because +she felt that her daughter's affairs required the supervision of a +mother's eye. She also doubted the final ratification of that +Lufton-Grantly treaty, and, doubting it, she did not feel quite +satisfied that her daughter should be left in Lady Lufton's hands. +She had said a word or two to the archdeacon before he went up, but +only a word or two, for she hesitated to trust him in so delicate a +matter. She was, therefore, not a little surprised at receiving a +letter from him desiring her immediate presence in London. She was +surprised; but her heart was filled rather with hope than dismay, +for she had full confidence in her daughter's discretion. On the +morning after the party, Lady Lufton and Griselda had breakfasted +together as usual, but each felt that the manner of the other was +altered. Lady Lufton thought that her young friend was somewhat +less attentive, and perhaps less meek in her demeanour than usual; +and Griselda felt that Lady Lufton was less affectionate. Very +little, however, was said between them, and Lady Lufton expressed +no surprise when Griselda begged to be left alone at home, instead +of accompanying her ladyship when the carriage came to the door. +Nobody called in Bruton Street that afternoon--no one, at least, +was let in--except the archdeacon. He came there late in the day, +and remained with his daughter till Lady Lufton returned. Then he +took his leave, with more abruptness than was usual with him, and +without saying anything special to account for the duration of his +visit. Neither did Griselda say anything special; and so the +evening wore away, each feeling in some unconscious manner that she +was on less intimate terms with the other than had previously been +the case. + +On the next day Griselda would not go out, but at four o'clock a +servant brought a letter to her from Mount Street. Her mother had +arrived in London and wished to see her at once. Mrs Grantly sent +her love to Lady Lufton, and would call at half-past five, or at +any later hour at which it might be convenient for Lady Lufton to +see her. Griselda was to stay and dine in Mount Street; so said +the letter. Lady Lufton declared that she would be very happy to +see Mrs Grantly at the hour named; and then, armed with this +message, Griselda started for her mother's lodgings. 'I'll send +the carriage for you,' said Lady Lufton. 'I suppose about ten will +do.' + +'Thank you,' said Griselda, 'that will do very nicely;' and then +she went. Exactly at half-past five Mrs Grantly was shown into +Lady Lufton's drawing-room. Her daughter did not come with her, +and Lady Lufton could see by the expression of her friend's face +that business was to be discussed. Indeed, it was necessary that +she herself should discuss business, for Mrs Grantly must now be +told that the family treaty could not be ratified. The gentleman +declined the alliance, and poor Lady Lufton was uneasy in her mind +at the nature of the task before her. + +'Your coming up has been rather unexpected,' said Lady Lufton, as +soon as her friend was seated on the sofa. + +'Yes, indeed; I got a letter from the archdeacon only this morning, +which made it absolutely necessary that I should come.' + +'No bad news, I hope?' said Lady Lufton. + +'No; I can't call it bad news. But, dear Lady Lufton, things won't +always turn out exactly as one would have them.' + +'No, indeed,' said her ladyship, remembering that it was incumbent +on her to explain to Mrs Grantly now at this present interview the +tidings with which her mind was fraught. She would, however, let +Mrs Grantly first tell her own story, feeling, perhaps, that the +one might possibly bear upon the other. + +'Poor dear Griselda!' said Mrs Grantly, almost with a sigh. 'I +need not tell you, Lady Lufton, what my hopes were regarding her.' + +'Has she told you anything--anything that--' + +'She would have spoken to you at once--and it was due to you that +she should have done so--but she was timid; and not unnaturally +so. And then it was right that she should see her father and me +before she quite made up her mind. But I may say that it is +settled now.' + +'What is settled?' asked Lady Lufton. + +'Of course it is impossible for anyone to tell beforehand how these +things will turn out,' continued Mrs Grantly, beating about the +bush rather more than was necessary. 'The dearest wish of my heart +was to see her married to Lord Lufton. I should so much have +wished to have her in the same county with me, and such a match as +that would have fully satisfied my ambition.' + +Well, I should think it might!' Lady Lufton did not say this out +loud, but she thought it. Mrs Grantly was absolutely speaking of a +match between her daughter and Lord Lufton as though she would have +displayed some Christian moderation in putting up with it! Griselda +Grantly might be a very nice girl; but even she--so thought Lady +Lufton at the moment--might possibly be priced too highly. + +'Dear Mrs Grantly,' she said, 'I have foreseen for the last few +days that our mutual hopes in this respect would not be gratified. +Lord Lufton, I think;--but perhaps it is not necessary to +explain--Had you not come up to town, I should have written to +you,--probably today. Whatever may be dear Griselda's fate in +life, I sincerely hope that she may be happy.' + +'I think she will,' said Mrs Grantly, in a tone that expressed much +satisfaction. + +'Has--anything--' + +'Lord Dumbello proposed to Griselda the other night, at Miss +Dunstable's party,' said Mrs Grantly, with her eyes fixed upon the +floor, and assuming on the sudden much meekness in her manner; 'and +his lordship was with the archdeacon yesterday, and again this +morning. I fancy he is in Mount Street at the present moment.' + +'Oh, indeed!' said Lady Lufton. She would have given worlds to +have possessed at the moment sufficient self-command to have +enabled her to express in her tone and manner unqualified +satisfaction of the tidings. But she had not such self-command, +and was painfully aware of her own deficiency. + +'Yes,' said Mrs Grantly. 'And as it is all so far settled, and as +I know you are so kindly anxious about dear Griselda, I thought it +right to let you know at once. Nothing can be more upright, +honourable, and generous, than Lord Dumbello's conduct; and, on the +whole, the match is one with which I and the archdeacon cannot but +be contented.' + +'It is certainly a great match,' said Lady Lufton. 'Have you seen +Lady Hartletop yet?' + +Now Lady Hartletop could not be regarded as an agreeable connexion, +but this was the only word which escaped from Lady Lufton that +could be considered in any way disparaging, and, on the whole, I +think she behaved well. + +'Lord Dumbello is so completely his own master that that has not +been necessary,' said Mrs Grantly. 'The marquess has been told, and +the archdeacon will see him either to-morrow or the day after.' +There was nothing left for Lady Lufton but to congratulate her +friend, and this she did in words perhaps not very sincere, but +which, on the whole, were not badly chosen. + +'I am sure I hope she will be very happy,' said Lady Lufton, 'and I +trust that the alliance'--the word was very agreeable to Mrs +Grantly's ear--'will give unalloyed gratification to you and her +father. The position which she is called to fill is a very +splendid one, but I do not think that it is above her merits.' This +was very generous, and so Mrs Grantly felt it. She had expected +that her news would be received with the coldest shade of civility, +and she was quite prepared to do battle if there was occasion. But +she had no wish for war, and was almost grateful to Lady Lufton for +her cordiality. + +'Dear Lady Lufton,' she said, 'it is so kind of you to say so. I +have told no one else, and of course would tell no one till you +knew it. No one has known her and understood her so well as you +have done. And I can assure you of this, that there is no one to +whose friendship she looks forward in her new sphere of life with +half so much pleasure as she does yours.' Lady Lufton did not say +much further. She could not declare that she expected much +gratification from an intimacy with the future Marchioness of +Hartletop. The Hartletops and Luftons must, at any rate for her +generation, live in a world apart, and she had not said all that +her old friendship with Mrs Grantly required. Mrs Grantly +understood all this quite as well as did Lady Lufton; but then Mrs +Grantly was much the better woman of the world. It was arranged +that Griselda should come back to Bruton Street for the night, and +that her visit should then be brought to a close. + +'The archdeacon thinks that for the present I had better remain in +town,' said Mrs Grantly, 'and under the very peculiar circumstances +Griselda will be--perhaps more comfortable with me.' To this Lady +Lufton entirely agreed; and so they parted, excellent friends, +embracing each other in a most affectionate manner. That evening +Griselda did return to Bruton Street, and Lady Lufton had to go +through the further task of congratulating her. This was the more +disagreeable of the two, especially so as it had to be thought over +beforehand. But the young lady's excellent good sense and sterling +qualities make the task comparatively an easy one. She neither +cried, nor was impassioned, nor went into hysterics, nor showed any +emotion. She did not even talk of her noble Dumbello,--her +generous Dumbello. She took Lady Lufton's kisses almost in +silence, thanked her gently for her kindness, and made no allusion +to her own future grandeur. + +'I think I should like to go to bed early,' she said, 'as I must +see to my packing up.' + +'Richards will do all that for you, my dear.' + +'Oh, yes, thank you, nothing can be kinder than Richards. But I'll +just see to my own dresses.' And so she went to bed early. + +Lady Lufton did not see her son for the next two days, but when she +did, of course she said a word or two about Griselda. 'You have +heard the news, Ludovic?' she asked. + +'Oh, yes; it's at all the clubs. I have been overwhelmed with +presents of willow branches.' + +'You, at any rate, have nothing to regret,' she said. + +'Nor you either, mother. I am sure you do not think you have. Say +that you do not regret it. Dearest mother, say so for my sake. Do +you not know in your heart of hearts that she was not suited to be +happy as my wife--or to make me happy.' + +'Perhaps not,' said Lady Lufton, sighing. And then she kissed her +son, and declared to herself that no girl in England could be good +enough for him. + + + +CHAPTER XXXI + +SALMON FISHING IN NORWAY + +Lord Dumbello's engagement with Griselda Grantly was the talk of +the town for the next ten days. It formed, at least, one of two +subjects which monopolized attention, the other being that dreadful +rumour, first put in motion by Tom Towers at Miss Dunstable's party, +as to a threatened dissolution of Parliament. 'Perhaps after all, +it will be the best thing for us,' said Mr Green Walker, who felt +himself to be tolerably safe at Crewe Junction. + +'I regard it as a most wicked attempt,' said Harold Smith, who was +not equally secure in his own borough, and to whom the expense of +an election was disagreeable. 'It is done in order that they may +get the time to tide over the autumn. They won't gain ten votes by +a dissolution, and less than forty would hardly give them a +majority. But they have no sense of public duty--none whatever. +Indeed I don't know who has.' + +'No, by Jove; that's just it. That's what my aunt Lady Hartletop +says; there is no sense of duty left in the world. By the by, what +an uncommon fool Dumbello is making himself!' And then the +conversation went off to that other topic. + +Lord Lufton's joke against himself about the willow branches was +all very well, and nobody dreamed that his heart was sore in that +matter. The world was laughing at Lord Dumbello for what it chose +to call a foolish match, and Lord Lufton's friends talked to him +about it as though they had never suspected that he could have made +an ass of himself in the same direction; but, nevertheless, he was +not altogether contented. He by no means wished to marry Griselda; +he had declared himself a dozen times since he had first suspected +his mother's manoeuvres that no consideration on earth should +induce him to do so; he had pronounced her to be cold, insipid, and +unattractive in spite of her beauty: and yet he felt almost angry +that Lord Dumbello should have been successful. And this, too, was +the more inexcusable, seeing that he had never forgotten Lucy +Robarts, had never ceased to love her, and that, in holding those +various conversations within his own bosom, he was as loud in Lucy's +favour as he was in dispraise of Griselda. + +'Your hero, then,' I hear some well-balanced critic say, 'is not +worth very much.' In the first place Lord Lufton is not my hero; +and in the next place, a man may be very imperfect and yet worth a +great deal. A man may be as imperfect as Lord Lufton, and yet +worthy of a good mother and a good wife. If not, how many of us +are unworthy of the mothers and wives we have! It is my belief +that few young men settle themselves down to the work of the world, +to the begetting of children, and carving and paying and struggling +and fretting for the same, without having first been in love with +four or five possible mothers for them, and probably with two or +three at the same time. And yet these men are, as a rule, worthy +of the excellent wives that ultimately fall to their lot. In this +way, Lord Lufton had, to a certain extent, been in love with +Griselda. There had been one moment in his life in which he would +have offered her his hand, had not her discretion been so +excellent; and though that moment never returned, still he suffered +from some feeling akin to disappointment when he learned that +Griselda had been won and was to be worn. He was, then, a dog in a +manger, you will say. Well; and are we not all dogs in the manger +more or less actively? Is not that manger-doggishness one of the +most common phases of the human heart? But not the less was Lord +Lufton truly in love with Lucy Robarts. Had he fancied that any +Dumbello was carrying on a siege before that fortress, his vexation +would have manifested itself in a very different manner. He could +joke about Griselda Grantly with a frank face and a happy tone of +voice; but had he heard of any tidings of a similar import with +reference to Lucy, he would have been past all joking, and I must +doubt whether it would not even have affected his appetite. +'Mother,' he said to Lady Lufton, a day or two after the +declaration of Griselda's engagement, 'I am going to Norway to +fish.' + +'To Norway,--to fish?' + +'Yes. We've got a rather nice party. Clontarf is going, and +Culpepper--' + +'What--that horrid man!' + +'He's an excellent hand at fishing; and Haddington Peebles, +and--and--there'll be six of us altogether; and we start this day +week.' + +'That's rather sudden, Ludovic.' + +'Yes, it is sudden; but we're sick of London. I should not care to +go so soon myself, but Clontarf and Culpepper say that the season +is early this year. I must go down to Framley before I +start--about my horses: and therefore I came to tell you that I +shall be there to-morrow.' + +'At Framley to-morrow? If you could put it off for three days I +should be going myself.' But Lord Lufton could not put it off for +three days. It may be that on this occasion he did not wish for +his mother's presence at Framley while he was there; that he +conceived that he should be more at his ease in giving orders about +his stable if he were alone while so employed. At any rate he +declined her company, and on the following morning did go down to +Framley by himself. + +'Mark,' said Mrs Robarts, hurrying into her husband's book-room +about the middle of the day, 'Lord Lufton is at home. Have you +heard it?' + +'What! Here at Framley?' + +'He is over at Framley Court; so the servants say. Carson saw him +in the paddock with some of the horses. Won't you go and see him?' + +'Of course I will,' said Mark, shutting up his papers. 'Lady +Lufton can't be here, and if he is alone he will probably come and +dine.' + +'I don't know about that,' said Mrs Robarts, thinking of poor Lucy. + +'He is not in the least particular. What does for us will do for +him. I shall ask him, at any rate.' And without further parley +the clergyman took up his hat and went off in search of his +friend. Lucy Robarts had been present when the gardener brought in +tidings of Lord Lufton's arrival at Framley, and was aware that +Fanny had gone to tell her husband. + +'He won't come here, will he?' she said, as soon as Mrs Robarts had +returned. + +'I can't say,' said Fanny. 'I hope not. He ought not to do so, +and I don't think he will. But Mark says that he will ask him to +dinner.' + +'Then, Fanny, I must be taken ill. There is nothing else for it.' + +'I don't think he will come. I don't think he can be so cruel. +Indeed, I feel sure that he won't; but I thought it right to tell +you.' Lucy also conceived that it was improbable that Lord Lufton +should come to the parsonage under the present circumstances; and +she declared to herself that it would not be possible that she +should appear at table if he did so; but, nevertheless, the idea of +his being at Framley was, perhaps, not altogether painful to her. +She did not recognize any pleasure as coming to her from his +arrival, but still there was something in his presence which was, +unconsciously to herself, soothing to her feelings. But that +terrible question remained;--How was she to act if it should turn +out that he was coming to dinner? + +'If he does come, Fanny,' she said solemnly, after a pause, 'I must +keep to my own room, and leave Mark to think what he pleases. It +will be better for me to make a fool of myself there, than in his +presence in the drawing-room.' + +Mark Robarts took his hat and stick and went over at once to the +home paddock, in which he knew that Lord Lufton was engaged with +the horses and grooms. He also was in no supremely happy frame of +mind for his correspondence with Mr Tozer was on the increase. He +had received notice from that indefatigable gentleman that certain +'overdue bills' were now lying at the bank in Barchester, and were +very desirous of his, Mr Robarts's, notice. A concatenation of +certain peculiarly unfortunate circumstances made it indispensably +necessary that Mr Tozer should be repaid, without further loss of +time, the various sums of money which he had advanced on the credit +of Mr Robarts's name, &c, &c, &c. No absolute threat was put forth, +and, singular to say, no actual amount was named. Mr Robarts, +however, could not but observe, with a most painfully +accurate attention, that mention was made, not of an overdue bill, +but of overdue bills. What if Mr Tozer were to demand from him the +instant repayment of nine hundred pounds? Hitherto he had merely +written to Mr Sowerby, and he might have had an answer from that +gentleman this morning, but no such answer had as yet reached him. +Consequently he was not, at the present moment, in a very happy +frame of mind. + +He soon found himself with Lord Lufton and the horses. Four or +five of them were being walked slowly about the paddock in the care +of as many men or boys, and the sheets were being taken off +them--off one after another, so that their master might look at +them with the more accuracy and satisfaction. But though Lord +Lufton was thus doing his duty, and going through his work, he was +not doing it with his whole heart,--as the head groom perceived +very well. He was fretful about the nags, and seemed anxious to +get them out of his whole sight as soon as he had made a decent +pretext of looking at them. 'How are you, Lufton?' said Robarts, +coming forward. 'They told me that you were down, and so I came +across at once.' + +'Yes; I only got here this morning, and should have been over with +you directly. I am going to Norway for six weeks or so, and it +seems that the fish are so early this year that we must start at +once. I have a matter on which I want to speak to you before I +leave; and, indeed, it was that which brought me down more than +anything else.' There was something hurried and not altogether +easy about his manner as he spoke, which struck Robarts, and made +him think that this promised matter to be spoken would not be +agreeable in discussion. He did not know whether Lord Lufton might +not again be mixed up with Tozer and the bills. + +'You will dine with us to-day?' he said, 'if, as I suppose, you are +all alone.' + +'Yes, I am all alone.' + +'Then you will come?' + +'Well, I don't quite know. No, I don't think I can go over to +dinner. Don't look so disgusted. I'll explain it all to you +just now.' What could there be in the wind; and how was it +possible that Tozer's bill should make it inexpedient for Lord +Lufton to dine at the parsonage? Robarts, however, said nothing +further about it at the moment, but turned off to look at the +horses. + +'They are an uncommonly nice set of animals,' said he. + +'Well, yes; I don't know. When a man has four or five horses to +look at, somehow or other he never has one fit to go. That chestnut +mare is a picture, now that nobody wants her; but she wasn't able +to carry me well to hounds a single day last winter. Take them in, +Pounce; that'll do.' + +'Won't your lordship run your eye over the old black 'oss?' said +Pounce, the head groom, in a melancholy tone; 'he's as fine, +sir--as fine as a stag.' + +'To tell you the truth, I think they're too fine; but that'll do; +take them in. And now, Mark, if you're at leisure, we'll take a +turn round the place.' Mark, of course, was at leisure, and so +they started on their walk. + +'You're too difficult to please about your stable,' Robarts began. + +'Never mind about the stable now,' said Lord Lufton. 'The truth +is, I am not thinking about it. Mark,' he then said, very +abruptly, 'I want you to be frank with me. Has your sister ever +spoken to you about me?' + +'My sister; Lucy?' + +'Yes; your sister Lucy.' + +'No, never; at least nothing special; nothing that I can remember +at the moment.' + +'Nor your wife?' + +'Spoken about you!---Fanny? Of course she has, in the ordinary +way. It would be impossible that she should not. But what do you +mean?' + +'Have either of them told you that I made an offer to your sister?' + +'That you made an offer to Lucy?' + +'Yes, that I made an offer to Lucy.' + +'No; nobody has told me so. I have never dreamed of such a thing; +nor, as far as I believe, have they. If anybody has spread such a +report, or said that either of them have hinted at such a thing, it +is a base lie. Good heavens! Lufton, for what do you take them?' + +'But I did,' said his lordship. + +'Did what?' said the parson. + +'I did make your sister an offer.' + +'You made Lucy an offer of marriage?' + +'Yes, I did;--in as plain language as a gentleman could use to a +lady.' + +'And what answer did she make?' + +'She refused me. And now, Mark, I have come down here with the +express purpose of making that offer again. Nothing could be more +decided than your sister's answer. It struck me as being almost +uncourteously decided. But still it is possible that circumstances +may have weighed with her which ought not to weigh with her. If +her love be not given to anyone else, I may still have a chance of +it. It's the old story of faint heart, you know; at any rate, I +mean to try my luck again; and thinking over it with deliberate +purpose, I have come to the conclusion that I ought to tell you +before I see her.' + +Lord Lufton in love with Lucy! As these words repeated themselves +over and over again within Mark Robarts's mind, his mind added to +them notes of surprise without end. How had it come about--and +why? In his estimation his sister Lucy was a very simple girl--not +plain indeed, but by no means beautiful; certainly not stupid, but +by no means brilliant. And then, he would have said, that of all +the men he knew, Lord Lufton would have been the last to fall in +love with such a girl as his sister. And now, what was he to say +or do? What views was he bound to hold? In what direction should +he act? There was Lady Lufton on the one side, to whom he owed +everything. How would life be possible to him in that +parsonage--within a few yards of her elbow--if he consent to +receive Lord Lufton as the acknowledged suitor of his sister? It +would be a great match for Lucy, doubtless; but--. Indeed he could +not bring himself to believe that Lucy could in truth become the +absolute reigning queen of Framley Court. + +'Do you think that Fanny knows anything of all this?' he said after +a moment or two. + +'I cannot possibly tell. If she does it is not with my knowledge. +I should have thought that you could best answer that.' + +'I cannot answer it at all,' said Mark. 'I, at least, have had no +remotest idea of such a thing.' + +'Your ideas of it now need not be at all remote,' said Lord Lufton, +with a faint smile; 'and you may know it as a fact. I did make her +an offer of marriage; I was refused; I am going to repeat it; and I +am now taking you into my confidence, in order that, as her +brother, and as my friend, you may give me such assistance as you +can.' They then walked on in silence for some yards, after which +Lord Lufton added: 'And now I'll dine with you to-day if you wish +it.' Mr Robarts did not know what to say; he could not bethink +himself what answer duty required of him. He had no right to +interfere between his sister and such a marriage if she herself +should wish it; but still there was something terrible in the +thought of it! He had a vague conception that it must come to +evil; that the project was a dangerous one; and that it could not +finally result happily for any of them. What would Lady Lufton +say? That undoubtedly was the chief source of his dismay. + +'Have you spoken to your mother about this?' he said. + +'My mother? No; why speak to her till I know my fate? A man does +not like to speak much of such matters if there be a probability of +its being rejected. I tell you because I do not like to make my +way into your house under a false pretence.' + +'But what would Lady Lufton say?' + +'I think it probable that she would be displeased on the first +hearing of it; that in four-and-twenty hours she would be +reconciled; and that after a week or so Lucy would be her dearest +favourite and the Prime Minister of all her machinations. You +don't know my mother as well as I do. She would give her head off +her shoulders to do me a pleasure.' + +'And for that reason,' said Mark Robarts, 'you ought, if possible, +to do her pleasure.' + +'I cannot absolutely marry the wife of her choosing, if you mean +that,' said Lord Lufton. They went on walking about the garden for +an hour, but they hardly got any farther than the point to which we +have now brought them. Mark Robarts could not make up his mind on +the spur of the moment; nor, as he said more than once to Lord +Lufton, could he be at all sure that Lucy would in any way be +guided by him. It was, therefore, at last settled between them +that Lord Lufton should come to the parsonage immediately after +breakfast on the following morning. It was agreed also that the +dinner had better not come off, and Robarts promised that he would, +if possible, have determined by the morning as to what advice he +would give his sister. He went directly home to the parsonage from +Framley Court, feeling that he was altogether in the dark till he +should have consulted with his wife. How would he feel if Lucy +were to become Lady Lufton? And how would he look Lady Lufton in +the face in telling her that such was to be his sister's destiny? +On returning home he immediately found his wife, and had not been +closeted with her five minutes before he knew, at any rate, all +that she knew. 'And you mean to say that she does love him?' said +Mark. + +'Indeed she does; and is it not natural that she should? When I saw +them so much together I feared that she would. But I never thought +that he would care for her.' Even Fanny did not as yet give Lucy +credit for half her attractiveness. After an hour's talking the +interview between the husband and wife ended in a message to Lucy, +begging her to join them both in the book-room. + +'Aunty Lucy,' said a chubby little darling, who was taken up into +his aunt's arms as he spoke, 'Papa and Mamma 'ant 'oo' in te tuddy, +and I must go wis' oo.' Lucy, as she kissed the boy and pressed +his face against her own, felt that her blood was running quick to +her heart. + +'Mustn't oo' go wis me, my own one?' she said as she put her +playfellow down; but she played with the child only because she did +not wish to betray, even to him, that she was hardly mistress of +herself. She knew that Lord Lufton was at Framley; she knew that +her brother had been to him; she knew that a proposal had been made +that he should come there to dinner. Must it not, therefore, be +the case that this call to a meeting in the study had arisen out of +Lord Lufton's arrival at Framley? And yet, how could it have done +so? Had Fanny betrayed her in order to prevent the dinner +invitation? It could not be possible that Lord Lufton himself +should have spoken on the subject! And then again she stooped to +kiss the child, rubbed her hands across her forehead to smooth her +hair, and erase, if that might be possible, the look of care which +she wore, and then descended slowly to her brother's sitting-room. +Her hand paused for a second on the door ere she opened it, but she +had resolved that, come what might, she would be brave. She pushed +it open and walked in with a bold front, with eyes wide open, and a +slow step. 'Frank says that you want me,' she said. Mr Robarts +and Fanny were both standing up by the fireplace, and each waited a +second for the other to speak, when Lucy entered the room, and then +Fanny began,-- + +'Lord Lufton is here, Lucy.' + +'Here! Where? At the parsonage?' + +'No, not at the parsonage; but over at Framley Court,' said Mark. + +'And he promises to call here after breakfast to-morrow' said +Fanny. And then again there was a pause. Mrs Robarts hardly dared +to look Lucy in the face. She had not betrayed her trust, seeing +that the secret had been told to Mark, not by her, but by Lord +Lufton; but she could not but feel that Lucy would think that she +had betrayed it. + +'Very well,' said Lucy, trying to smile; 'I have no objection in +life.' + +'But, Lucy, dear,'--and now Mrs Robarts put her arm round her +sister-in-law's waist--'he is coming here especially to see you.' + +'Oh; that makes a difference. I am afraid that I shall be-- +engaged.' + +'He has told everything to Mark,' said Mrs Robarts. Lucy now felt +that her bravery was almost deserting her. She hardly knew which +way to look or how to stand. Had Fanny told everything also? There +was so much that Fanny knew that Lord Lufton could not have known. +But, in truth, Fanny had told all--the whole story of Lucy's love, +and had described the reasons which had induced her to reject her +suitor; and had done so in words which, had Lord Lufton heard them, +would have made him twice as passionate in his love. And then it +certainly did occur to Lucy to think why Lord Lufton should have +come to Framley and told all of his story to her brother. She +attempted for a moment to make herself believe that she was angry +with him for doing so. But she was not angry. She had not time to +argue much about it, but there came upon her a gratified sensation +of having been remembered, and thought of, and--loved. Must it not +be so? Could it be possible that he himself would have told this +tale to her brother, if he did not still love her? Fifty times she +had said to herself that his offer had been an affair of the +moment, and fifty times she had been unhappy in so saying. But +this new coming of his could not be an affair of the moment. She +had been the dupe, she had thought, of an absurd passion on her own +part; but now--how was it now? She did not bring herself to think +that she should ever be Lady Lufton. She had still, in some +perversely obstinate manner, made up her mind against that result. +But yet, nevertheless, it did in some unaccountable manner satisfy +her to feel that Lord Lufton had himself come down to Framley and +himself told his story. 'He has told everything to Mark,' said Mrs +Robarts; and then again there was a pause for a moment, during +which these thoughts passed through Lucy's mind. + +'Yes,' said Mark, 'he has told me all, and he is coming here +to-morrow morning that he may receive an answer from yourself.' + +'What answer?' said Lucy, trembling. + +'Nay, dearest; who can say that but yourself?' and her +sister-in-law, as she spoke, pressed against her. 'You must say +that yourself.' Mrs Robarts in her long conversation with her +husband, had pleaded strongly on Lucy's behalf, taking as it were a +part against Lady Lufton. She had said that if Lord Lufton +persevered in his suit, they at the parsonage could not be +justified in robbing Lucy of all that she had won for herself, in +order to do Lady Lufton's pleasure. + +'But she will think,' said Mark, 'that we have plotted and +intrigued for this. She will call us ungrateful, and will make +Lucy's life wretched.' To which his wife had answered, that all +must be left in God's hands. They had not plotted or intrigued. +Lucy, though loving the man in her heart of hearts, had already +once refused him, because she would not be thought to have snatched +at so great a prize. But if Lord Lufton loved her so warmly that +he had come down there in this manner, on purpose, as he himself +had put it, that he might learn his fate, then--so argued Mrs +Robarts--they two, let their loyalty to Lady Lufton be ever so +strong, could not justify it to their consciences to stand between +Lucy and her lover. Mark had still somewhat demurred to this, +suggesting how terrible would be their plight if they should now +encourage Lord Lufton, and if he, after such encouragement, when +they should have quarrelled with Lady Lufton, should allow himself +to led away from his engagement by his mother. To which Fanny had +answered that justice was justice, and that right was right. +Everything must be told to Lucy, and she must judge for herself. + +'But I do not know what Lord Lufton wants,' said Lucy, with her +eyes fixed upon the ground, and now trembling more than ever. 'He +did come to me, and I did give him an answer.' + +'And is that answer to be final?' said Mark--somewhat cruelly, for +Lucy had not yet been told that her lover had made any repetition +of his proposal. Fanny, however, determined that no injustice +should be done, and therefore she at last continued the story. + +'We know that you did give him an answer, dearest; but gentlemen +sometimes will not put up with one answer on such a subject. Lord +Lufton has declared to Mark that he means to ask again. He has +come down here on purpose to do so.' + +'And Lady Lufton--' said Lucy, speaking hardly above a whisper, and +still hiding her face as she leaned against her sister's shoulder. + +'Lord Lufton has not spoken to his mother about it,' said Mark; and +it immediately became clear to Lucy, from the tone of her brother's +voice, that he, at least, would not be pleased, should she accept +her lover's vow. + +'You must decide out of your own heart, dear,' said Fanny, +generously. 'Mark and I know how well you have behaved, for I have +told him everything.' Lucy shuddered and leaned closer against her +sister as this was said to her. 'I had no alternative, +dearest, but to tell him. It was best so; was it not? But nothing +has been told to Lord Lufton. Mark would not let him come here +to-day because it would have flurried you, and he wished to give +you time to think. But you can see him to-morrow morning--can you +not?--and then answer him.' + +Lucy now stood perfectly silent, feeling that she dearly loved her +sister-in-law's for her sisterly kindness--for that sisterly wish +to promote her sister's love; but still there was in her mind a +strong resolve not to allow Lord Lufton to come there under the +idea that he would be received as a favoured lover. Her love was +powerful, but so also was her pride; and she could not bring herself +to bear the scorn which would lay in Lady Lufton's eyes. 'His +mother will despise me, and then he will despise me too,' she said +to herself; and with a strong gulp of disappointed love and +ambition she determined to persist. 'Shall we leave you now, dear; +and speak of it again to-morrow morning before he comes?' said +Fanny. + +'That will be the best,' said Mark. 'Turn it in your mind every +way to-night. Think of it when you have said your prayers--and, +Lucy, come here to me;'--then, taking her in his arms, he kissed +her with a tenderness that was not customary with him towards her. +'It is fair,' said he, 'that I should tell you this: that I have +perfect confidence in your judgement and feeling; and that I will +stand by you as your brother in whatever decision you may come to. +Fanny and I both think that you have behaved excellently, and are +both of us sure that you will do what is best. Whatever you do I +will stick to you;--and so will Fanny.' + +'Dearest, dearest Mark!' + +'And now we will say nothing more about it till to-morrow morning,' +said Fanny. But Lucy felt that this saying nothing more about it +till to-morrow morning would be tantamount to an acceptance on her +part of Lord Lufton's offer. Mrs Robarts knew, and Mr Robarts also +now knew, the secret of her heart; and if, such being the case, she +allowed Lord Lufton to come there with the acknowledged purpose of +pleading his own suit, it would be impossible for her not to +yield. If she were resolved that she would not yield, now was the +time for her to stand her ground and make her fight. 'Do not go, +Fanny; at least not quite yet,' she said. + +'Well, dear?' + +'I want you to stay while I tell Mark. He must not let Lord Lufton +come here to-morrow.' + +'Not let him!' said Mrs Robarts. Mr Robarts said nothing, but he +felt his sister rising in his esteem from minute to minute. + +'No; Mark must bid him not come. He will not wish to pain me when +it will do no good. Look here, Mark;' and she walked over to her +brother, and put both her hands upon his arm. 'I do love Lord +Lufton. I had not such meaning or thought when I first knew him. +But I do love him--I love him dearly;--almost as well as Fanny +loves you, I suppose. You may tell him so if you think proper--nay, +you must tell him so, or he will not understand me. But tell him +this, as coming from me: that I will never marry him, unless his +mother asks me.' + +'She will not do that, I fear,' said Mark, sorrowfully. + +'No; I suppose not,' said Lucy, now regaining her courage. 'If I +thought it probable that she should wish me to be her +daughter-in-law, it would not be necessary that I should make such +a stipulation. It is because she will not wish it; because she +would regard me as unfit to--to--mate with her son. She would hate +me, and perhaps would cease to love me. I could not bear her eye +upon me, if she thought that I had injured her son. Mark, you will +go to him now; will you not? and explain this to him;--as much of +it as necessary. Tell him, that if his mother asks me, I +will--consent. But that as I know that she never will, he is to +look upon all that he has said as forgotten. With me it shall be +the same as though it were forgotten.' Such was her verdict, and +so confident were they both of her firmness--of her obstinacy Mark +would have called it on any other occasion,--that they neither of +them sought to make her alter it. + +'You will go to him now--this afternoon; will you not?' she said; +and Mark promised that he would. He could not but feel that he +himself was greatly relieved. Lady Lufton might, probably, hear +that her son had been fool enough to fall in love with the parson's +sister; but under existing circumstances she could not consider +herself aggrieved either by the parson or by his sister. Lucy was +behaving well, and Mark was proud of her. Lucy was behaving with +fierce spirit, and Fanny was grieving for her. + +'I'd rather be by myself till dinner-time,' said Lucy, as Mrs +Robarts prepared to go with her out of the room. 'Dear Fanny, +don't look so unhappy; there's nothing to make us unhappy. I told +you I should want goat's milk, and that will be all.' Robarts, +after sitting for an hour with his wife, did return again to +Framley Court; and, after a considerable search, found Lord Lufton +returning home to a late dinner. + +'Unless my mother asks her,' said he, when the story had been told +him. 'That is nonsense. Surely you told her that such is not the +way of the world.' Robarts endeavoured to explain to him that Lucy +could not endure to think that her husband's mother should look on +her with disfavour. + +'Does she think that my mother dislikes her; her specially?' asked +Lord Lufton. No; Robarts could not suppose that such was the case; +but Lady Lufton might probably think that a marriage with a +clergyman's sister would be a mesalliance. + +'That is out of the question,' said Lord Lufton; 'as she has +specially wanted me to marry a clergyman's daughter for some time +past. But, Mark, that is absurd talking about my mother. A man in +these days is not to marry as his mother bids him.' Mark could +only assure him, in answer to all this, that Lucy was very firm in +what she was doing, that she had quite made up her mind, and that +she altogether absolved Lord Lufton from any necessity to speak to +his mother, if he did not think well of doing so. But all this was +to very little purpose. 'She does love me then,' said Lord Lufton. + +'Well,' said Mark, 'I will not say whether she does or does not. I +can only repeat her own message. She cannot accept you, unless she +does so at your mother's request.' And having said that again, he +took his leave, and went back to the parsonage. Poor Lucy, having +finished her interview with so much dignity, having fully satisfied +her brother, and declined any immediate consolation from her +sister-in-law, betook herself to her own bedroom. She had to think +over what had been said and done, and it was necessary that she +should be alone to do so. It might be that, when she came to +reconsider the matter, she would not be quite so well satisfied as +was her brother. Her grandeur of demeanour and slow propriety of +carriage lasted her till she was well into her own room. There are +animals who, when they are ailing in any way, contrive to hide +themselves, ashamed, as it were, that the weakness of their +suffering, should be witnessed. Indeed, I am not sure whether all +dumb animals do not do so more or less; and in this respect Lucy +was like a dumb animal. Even in her confidences with Fanny she +made a joke of her own misfortunes, and spoke of her heart ailments +with self-ridicule. But now, having walked up the staircase with +no hurried step, and having deliberately locked the door, she +turned herself round to suffer in silence and solitude--as do the +beasts and birds. She sat herself down on a low chair, which stood +at the foot of her bed, and, throwing back her head, held her +handkerchief across her eyes and forehead, holding it tight in both +her hands; and then she began to think. She began to think and +also to cry, for the tears came running down from beneath her +handkerchief; and low sobs were to be heard--only that the animal +had taken itself off, to suffer in solitude. Had she not thrown +from her all her chances of happiness? Was it possible that he +should come to her yet again--a third time? No; it was not +possible. The very mode and pride of this, her second rejection of +him, made it impossible. In coming to her determination, and +making her avowal, she had been actuated by the knowledge that Lady +Lufton would regard such a marriage with abhorrence. Lady Lufton +would not and could not ask her to condescend to be her son's +bride. Her chance of happiness, of glory, of ambition, of love, +was all gone. She had sacrificed not only herself, but him. When +first he came there--when she had meditated over his first +visit--she had hardly given him much credit for deep love; but +now--there could be no doubt that he loved her now. After his +season in London, his days and nights were passed with all that was +beautiful, he had returned there, to that little country parsonage, +that he might again throw himself at her feet. And she--she had +refused to see him, though she loved him with all her heart, she +had refused to see him because she was so vile a coward that she +could not bear the sour looks of an old woman! 'I will come down +directly,' she said, when Fanny at last knocked at the door, +begging to be admitted. 'I won't open it, love, but I will be with +you in ten minutes; I will, indeed.' And so she was, not perhaps, +without traces of tears, discernible by the experienced eye of Mrs +Robarts, but yet with a smooth brow, and voice under her own +command. + +'I wonder whether she really loves him,' Mark said to his wife that +night. + +'Love him!' his wife had answered: 'indeed she does; and, Mark, do +not be led away be the stern-quiet of her demeanour. To my +thinking she is a girl who might almost die for her love. + +On the next day Lord Lufton left Framley; and started, according to +his arrangements, for the Norway salmon fishing. + + + +CHAPTER XXXII + +THE GOAT AND COMPASSES + +Harold Smith had been made unhappy by that rumour of a dissolution; +but the misfortune to him would be as nothing compared to the +severity with which it would fall on Mr Sowerby. Harold Smith +might or might not lose his borough; but Mr Sowerby would +undoubtedly lose his county; and, in losing that, he would lose +everything. He felt very certain that the duke would not support +him again, let who would be master of Chaldicotes; and as he +reflected on these things he found it very hard to keep up his +spirits. Tom Towers, it seems, had known all about it, as he +always does. The little remark which had dropped from him at Miss +Dunstable's, made, no doubt, after mature deliberation, and with +profound political motives, was the forerunner, only by twelve +hours, of a very general report that the giants had not a majority +in Parliament, generous as had been the promises of support +disinterestedly made to them by the gods. This indeed was +manifest, and therefore they were going to the country, although +they had been deliberately warned by a very prominent scion of +Olympus that if they did do so that disinterested support must be +withdrawn. This threat did not seem to weigh much, and by two +o'clock on the day following Miss Dunstable's party, the fiat was +presumed to have gone forth. The rumour had begun with Tom Towers, +but by that time it had reached Buggins at the Petty Bag Office. +'It won't make no difference to hus, sir; will it, Mr Robarts?' +said Buggins, as he leaned respectfully against the wall near the +door, in the room of the private secretary at that establishment. + +A good deal of conversation, miscellaneous, special, and political, +went on between young Robarts and Buggins in the course of the day; +as was natural, seeing that they were thrown in these evil times +very much upon each other. The Lord Petty Bag of the present +ministry was not such a one as Harold Smith. He was a giant +indifferent to his private notes, and careless of the duties even of +patronage; he rarely visited the office, and as there were no other +clerks in the establishment--owing to a root and branch reform +carried out in the short reign of Harold Smith--to whom could young +Robarts talk, if not to Buggins? 'No; I suppose not,' said +Robarts, as he completed on his blotting-paper an elaborate picture +of a Turk seated on a divan. + +''Cause, you see, sir, we're in the Upper 'Ouse, now--as I always +thinks we ought to be. I don't think it ain't constitutional for +the Petty Bag to be in the Commons, Mr Robarts. Hany ways, it +never usen't.' + +'They're changing all those sort of things nowadays, Buggins,' said +Robarts, giving the final touch to the Turk's smoke. + +'Well; I'll tell you what, Mr Robarts: I think I'll go. I can't +stand all these changes. I'm turned of sixty now, and don't want +any 'stifficates. I think I'll take my pension and walk. The +hoffice ain't the same place at all since it come down among +the Commons.' And then Buggins retired sighing, to console himself +with a pot of porter behind a large open office ledger, set up on +end on a small table in the little lobby outside the private +secretary's room. Buggins sighed again as he saw that the date made +visible on the open book was almost as old as his own appointment; +for such a book as this lasted long in the Petty Bag Office. A +peer of high degree had been Lord Petty Bag in those days; one whom +a messenger's heart could respect with infinite veneration, as he +made his unaccustomed visits to the office with much +solemnity--perhaps four times during the season. The Lord Petty +Bag then was highly regarded by his staff, and his coming among +them was talked about for some hours previously and for some days +afterwards; but Harold Smith had bustled in and out like the +managing clerk in a Manchester house. 'The service is going to the +dogs,' said Buggins to himself, as he put down the porter pot, and +looked up over the book at a gentleman who presented himself at the +door. 'Mr Robarts in his room?' said Buggins, repeating the +gentleman's words. 'Yes, Mr Sowerby; you'll find him there--first +door to the left.' And then, remembering that the visitor was a +county member--a position which Buggins regarded as next to that of +a peer--he got up, and opening the private secretary's door, +ushered in the visitor. + +Young Robarts and Sowerby had, of course, become acquainted in the +days of Harold Smith's reign. During that short time the member +for East Barset had on most days dropped in at the Petty Bag Office +for a minute or two, finding out what the energetic Cabinet +minister was doing, chatting on semi-official subjects, and +teaching the private secretary to laugh at his master. There was +nothing, therefore, in his present visit which need appear to be +singular, or which required any immediate special explanation. He +sat himself down in his ordinary way, and began to speak of the +subject of the day. 'We're all to go,' said Sowerby. + +'So I hear,' said the private secretary. 'It will give me no +trouble, for, as the respectable Buggins says, we're in the Upper +House now.' + +'What a delightful time those lucky dogs of lords do have!' said +Sowerby. 'No constituents, no turning out, no fighting, no +necessity for political opinions; and, as a rule, no such opinions +at all!' + +'I suppose you're tolerably safe in East Barsetshire?' said +Robarts. 'The duke has it pretty much his own way there.' + +'Yes; the duke does have it pretty much his own way. By the by, +where is your brother?' + +'At home,' said Robarts; 'at least I presume so.' + +'At Framley or at Barchester? I believe he was in residence at +Barchester not long since.' + +'He's at Framley now, I know. I got a letter only yesterday from +his wife, with a commission. He was there, and Lord Lufton had +just left.' + +'Yes; Lufton was down. He started for Norway this morning. I want +to see your brother. You have not heard from him yourself, have +you?' + +'No; not lately. Mark is a bad correspondent. He would not do at +all for a private secretary.' + +'At any rate, not to Harold Smith. But you are sure I should not +catch him at Barchester?' + +'Send down by telegraph, and he would meet you.' + +'I don't want to do that. A telegraph message makes such a fuss in +the country, frightening people's wives, and setting all the horses +about the place galloping.' + +'What is it about?' + +'Nothing of any great consequence. I didn't know whether he might +have told you. I'll write down by to-night's post, and then he can +meet me at Barchester to-morrow. Or do you write. There's nothing +I hate so much as letter-writing; just tell him that I called, and +that I shall be much obliged if he can meet me at the Dragon of +Wantly--say at two to-morrow. I will go down by the express.' + +Mark Robarts, in talking over this coming money trouble with +Sowerby, had once mentioned that if it were necessary to take up +the bill for a short time he might be able to borrow the money from +his brother. So much of the father's legacy still remained in the +hands of the private secretary as would enable him to produce the +amount of the latter bill, and there could be no doubt that he +would lend it if asked. Mr Sowerby's visit to the Petty Bag Office +had been caused by a desire to learn whether any such request had +been made--and also by a half-formed resolution to make the request +himself if he should find that the clergyman had not done so. It +seemed to him to be a pity that such a sum should be lying about, +as it were, within reach, and that he should not stoop to put his +hands on it. Such abstinence would be so contrary to him as it is +for a sportsman to let pass a cock-pheasant. But yet something +like remorse touched his heart as he sat there balancing himself on +his chair in the private secretary's room, and looking at the young +man's open face. + +'Yes; I'll write to him,' said John Robarts; 'but he hasn't said +anything to me about anything particular.' + +'Hasn't he? It does not much signify. I only mentioned it because +I thought I understood him to say that he would.' And then Mr +Sowerby went on swinging himself. How was it that he felt so +averse to mention that little sum of 500L to a young man like John +Robarts, a fellow without wife or children or calls on him of any +sort, who would not even by injured by the loss of the money, +seeing that he had an ample salary on which to live? He wondered +at his own weakness. The want of the money was urgent on him in the +extreme. He had reasons for supposing that Mark would find it very +difficult to renew the bills, but he, Sowerby, could stop their +presentation if he could get this money at once into his own hands. + +'Can I do anything for you?' said the innocent lamb, offering his +throat to the butcher. But some unwonted feeling numbed the +butcher's fingers, and blunted his knife. He sat still for half a +minute after the question, and then jumping from his seat, declined +the offer. 'No, no; nothing, thank you. Only write to Mark, and +say that I shall be there to-morrow,' and then, taking his hat, he +hurried out of the office. 'What an ass I am,' he said to himself +as he went: 'as if it were of any use now to be particular.' + +He then got into a cab and had himself driven half-way up Portman +Street towards the New Road, and walking from thence a few hundred +yards down a cross-street he came to a public-house. It was +called the 'Goat and Compasses',--a very meaningless name, one +would say; but the house boasted of being a place of public +entertainment very long established on that site, having been a +tavern out in the country in the days of Cromwell. At that time +the pious landlord, putting up a pious legend for the benefit of +his pious customers, had declared that--'God encompasseth us.' The +'Goat and Compasses' in these days does quite as well; and, +considering the present character of the house, was perhaps less +unsuitable than the old legend. 'Is Mr Austen here?' asked Mr +Sowerby of the man at the bar. + +'Which on 'em? Not Mr John; he ain't here. Mr Tom is in--the +little room on the left-hand side.' The man whom Mr Sowerby would +have preferred to see was the elder brother John; but as he was not +to be found, he did go into that little room. In that room he +found--Mr Austen, junior, according to one arrangement of +nomenclature, and Mr Tom Tozer according to another. To gentlemen +of the legal profession he generally chose to introduce himself as +belonging to the respectable family of the Austens; but among his +intimates he had always been--Tozer. Mr Sowerby, though he was +intimate with the family, did not love the Tozers: but he +especially hated Tom Tozer. Tom Tozer was a bull-necked, +beetle-browed fellow, the expression of whose face was eloquent +with acknowledged roguery. 'I am a rogue,' it seemed to say. 'I +know it; all the world knows it: but you're another. All the world +don't know that, but I do. Men are all rogues, pretty nigh. Some +are soft rogues, and some are 'cute rogues. I am a 'cute one; so +mind your eye.' It was with such words that Tom Tozer's face spoke +out; and though a thorough liar in his heart, he was not a liar in +his face. 'Well, Tozer,' said Mr Sowerby, absolutely shaking his +hands with the dirty miscreant. 'I wanted to see your brother.' + +'John ain't here, and ain't like; but it's all as one.' + +'Yes, yes; I suppose it is. I know you two hunt in couples.' + +'I don't know what you mean about hunting, Mr Sowerby. You gents +'as all the hunting, and we poor folk 'as all the work. I hope +you're going to make up this trifle of money we're out of so long.' + +'It's about that I've called. I don't know what you call long, +Tozer; but the last bill was only dated in February.' + +'It's overdue; ain't it?' + +'Oh, yes; it's overdue. There's no doubt about that.' + +'Well; when a bit of paper is come round, the next thing is to take +it up. Them's my ideas. And to tell you the truth, Mr Sowerby, we +don't think as 'ow you've been treating us just on the square +lately. In that matter of Lord Lufton's you was down on us +uncommon.' + +'You know I couldn't help myself.' + +'Well, and we can't help ourselves now. That's where it is, Mr +Sowerby. Lord love you; we know what's what, we do. And so, the +fact is we're uncommon low as to the ready just at present, and we +must have them few hundred pounds. We must have them at once, or +we must sell up that clerical gent. I'm dashed if it ain't as hard +to get money from a parson as it is to take a bone from a dog. 'E's +'ad 'is account, no doubt, and why don't he pay?' Mr Sowerby had +called with the intention of explaining that he was about to +proceed to Barchester on the following day with the express view of +'making arrangements' about this bill; and had he seen John Tozer, +John would have been compelled to accord to him some little +extension of time. Both Tom and John knew this; and, therefore, +John--the soft-hearted one--kept out of the way. There was no +danger that Tom would be weak; and, after some half-hour of parley, +he was again left by Mr Sowerby, without having evinced any symptom +of weakness. + +'It's the dibs as we want, Mr Sowerby, that's all,' were the last +words which he spoke as the member of Parliament left the room. Mr +Sowerby then got into another cab, and had himself driven to his +sister's house. It is a remarkable thing with reference to men who +are distressed for money--distressed as was now the case with Mr +Sowerby--that they never seem at a loss for the luxuries which small +sums purchase. Cabs, dinners, wine, theatres, and new gloves are +always at the command of men who are drowned in pecuniary +embarrassments, whereas those who don't owe a shilling are so +frequently obliged to go without them! It would seem that there +is no gratification so costly as that of keeping out of debt. But +then it is only fair that, if a man has a hobby, he should pay for +it. Any one else would have saved a shilling, as Mrs Harold +Smith's house was only just across from Oxford Street, in the +neighbourhood of Hanover Square; but Mr Sowerby never thought of +this. He had never saved a shilling in his life, and it did not +occur to him to begin now. He had sent word to her to remain at +home for him, and he now found her waiting. 'Harriet,' said he, +throwing himself back into an easy chair, 'the game is pretty well +up at last.' + +'Nonsense,' said she. 'The game is not up at all if you have the +spirit to carry it on.' + +'I can only say that I got formal notice this morning from the +duke's lawyer, saying that he meant to foreclose at once;--not +from Fothergill, but from those people in South Audley Street.' + +'You expected that,' said his sister. + +'I don't see how that makes it any better; besides, I am not quite +sure that I did expect it; at any rate I did not feel certain. +There is no doubt now.' + +'It is better that there should be no doubt. It is much better +that you should know on what ground you have to stand.' + +'I shall soon have no ground to stand on, none at least of my +own--not an acre,' said the unhappy man, with great bitterness in +his tone. + +'You can't in reality be poorer now than you were last year. You +have not spent anything to speak of. There can be no doubt that +Chaldicotes will be ample to pay all you owe the duke.' + +'It's as much as it will; and what am I to do then? I almost +think more of the seat than I do of Chaldicotes.' + +'You know what I advise,' said Mrs Smith. 'Ask Miss Dunstable to +advance the money on the same security which the duke holds. She +will be as safe then as he is now. And if you can arrange that, +stand for the county against him; perhaps you may be beaten.' + +'I shouldn't have a chance.' + +'But it would show that you are not a creature in the duke's +hands. That's my advice,' said Mrs Smith, with much spirit; 'and +if you wish, I'll broach it to Miss Dunstable, and ask her to get +her lawyer to look into it.' + +'If I had done this before I had run my head into that other +absurdity!' + +'Don't fret yourself about that; she will lose nothing by such an +investment, and therefore you are not asking any favour of her. +Besides, did she not make the offer? and she is just the woman to +do this for you now, because she refused to do that thing for you +yesterday. You understand most things, Nathaniel; but I am not +sure that you understand women; not, at any rate, such a woman as +her.' It went against the grain with Mr Sowerby, this seeking of +pecuniary assistance from the very woman whose hand he had +attempted to gain about a fortnight since; but he allowed his +sister to prevail. What could any man do in such straits that +would not go against the grain? At the present moment he felt in +his mind an infinite hatred against the duke, Mr Fothergill, +Gumption & Gagebee, and all the tribes of Gatherum Castle and South +Audley Street; they wanted to rob of that which had belonged to the +Sowerbys before the name of Omnium had been heard of in the county, +or in England! The great leviathan of the deep was anxious to +swallow him up as prey! He was to be swallowed up, and made away +with, and put out of sight, without a pang of remorse. Any measure +which could not present itself as a means of staving off so evil a +day would be acceptable; and therefore he gave his sister the +commission of making this second proposal to Miss Dunstable. In +cursing the duke--for he did curse the duke lustily--it hardly +occurred to him to think that, after all, the duke only asked for +his own. As for Mrs Harold Smith, whatever may be the view taken +of her general character as a wife and a member of society, it must +be admitted that as a sister she had virtues. + + + +CHAPTER XXXIII + +CONSOLATION + +On the next day at two o'clock punctually, Mark Robarts was at the +"Dragon of Wantly" walking up and down the very room in which the +party had breakfasted after Harold Smith's lecture, and waiting for +the arrival of Mr Sowerby. He had been very well able to divine +what was the business on which his friend wished to see him, and he +had been rather glad than otherwise to receive the summons. Judging +of his friend's character by what he had hitherto had seen, he +thought that Mr Sowerby would have kept out of the way, unless he +had it in his power to make some provision for these terrible +bills. So he walked up and down the dingy room, impatient for the +expected arrival, and thought himself wickedly ill-used in that Mr +Sowerby was not there when the clock struck a quarter to three. But +when the clock struck three, Mr Sowerby was there, and Mark +Robarts's hopes were nearly at an end. + +'Do you mean that they will demand nine hundred pounds?' said +Robarts, standing up and glaring angrily at the member of +Parliament. + +'I fear they will,' said Sowerby. 'I think it is best to tell you +the worst, in order that we may see what can be done.' + +'I can do nothing, and will do nothing,' said Robarts. 'They may +do what they choose--what the law allows them.' And then he +thought of Fanny and his nursery, and Lucy refusing in her pride +Lord Lufton's offer, and he turned away his face that the hard man +of the world before him might not see the tear gathering in his +eye. + +'But, Mark, my dear fellow--' said Sowerby, trying to have recourse +to the power of his cajoling voice. Robarts, however, would not +listen. + +'Mr Sowerby,' said he, with an attempt at calmness which betrayed +itself at every syllable, 'it seems to me that you have robbed me. +That I have been a fool, and worse than a fool, I know well; +but--but--but I thought that your position in the world would +guarantee me from such treatment as this.' Mr Sowerby was by no +means without feeling, and the words which he now heard cut him +very deeply--the more so because it was impossible that he should +answer them with an attempt at indignation. He had robbed his +friend, and, with all his wit, knew no words at the present moment +sufficiently witty to make it seem that he had not done so. +'Robarts,' said he, 'you may say what you like to me now; I shall +not resent it.' + +'Who would care for your resentment?' said the clergyman, turning +on him with ferocity. 'The resentment of a gentleman is terrible +to a gentleman; and the resentment of one just man is terrible to +another. Your resentment!'--and then he walked twice the length of +the room, leaving Sowerby dumb in his seat. 'I wonder whether you +ever thought of my wife and children when you were plotting this +ruin for me!' And then again he walked the room. + +'I suppose you will be calm enough presently to speak of this with +some attempt to make a settlement?' + +'No; I will make no such attempt. These friends of yours, you tell +me, have a claim on me for nine hundred pounds, of which they +demand immediate payment. You shall be asked in a court of law how +much of that money I have handled. You know that I have never +touched--have never wanted to touch--one shilling. I will make no +attempt at any settlement. My person is here, and there is my +house. Let them do their worst.' + +'But, Mark--' + +'Call me by my name, sir, and drop that affectation of regard. What +an ass I have been to be so cozened by a sharper!' Sowerby had by +no means expected this. He had always known that Robarts possessed +what he, Sowerby, would have called the spirit of a gentleman. He +had regarded him as a bold, open, generous fellow, able to take his +own part when called on to do so, and by no means disinclined to +speak his own mind; but he had not expected from him such a torrent +of indignation, or thought that he was capable of such a depth of +anger. 'If you use such language, Robarts, I can only leave you.' + +'You are welcome. Go. You tell me that you are the messenger of +these men who intend to work nine hundred pounds out of me. You +have done your part in the plot, and have now brought their +message. It seems to me that you had better go back to them. As +for me, I want my time to prepare my wife for the destiny before +her.' + +'Robarts, you will be sorry some day for the cruelty of your +words.' + +'I wonder whether you will ever be sorry for the cruelty of your +doings, or whether these things are really a joke to you.' + +'I am at this moment a ruined man,' said Sowerby. 'Everything is +going from me,--my place in the world, the estate of my family, my +father's house, my seat in Parliament, the power of living among my +countrymen, or, indeed, of living anywhere;--but all this does not +oppress me now so much as the misery which I have brought upon +you.' + +And then Sowerby also turned away his face, and wiped from his +eyes tears which were not artificial. Robarts was still walking up +and down the room, but it was not possible for him to continue his +reproaches after this. This is always the case. Let a man endure +to heap contumely on his own head, and he will silence the +contumely of others--for the moment. Sowerby, without meditating +on the matter, had had some inkling of this, and immediately saw +that there was at last an opening for conversation. 'You are +unjust to me,' said he, 'in supposing that I have now no wish to +save you. It is solely in the hope of doing so that I have come +here.' + +'And what is your hope? That I should accept another brace of +bills, I suppose.' + +'Not a brace; but one renewed bill for--' + +'Look here, Mr Sowerby. On no earthly consideration that can be +put before me will I again sign my name to any bill in the guise of +an acceptance. I have been very weak, and am ashamed of my +weakness; but so much strength as that, I hope, is left to me. I +have been very wicked, and am ashamed of my wickedness; but so much +right principle as that, I hope, remains. I will put my name to no +other bill; not for you, not even for myself.' + +'But, Robarts, under your present circumstances that will be +madness.' + +'Then I will be mad.' + +'Have you seen Forrest? If you will speak to him, I think you will +find that everything can be accommodated.' + +'I already owe Mr Forrest a hundred and fifty pounds, which I +obtained from him when you pressed me for the price of that horse, +and I will not increase the debt. What a fool I was again there! +Perhaps you do not remember that, when I agreed to buy the horse, +the price was to be my contribution to the liquidation of those +bills.' + +'I do remember it; but I will tell you how that was.' + +'It does not signify. It has been all of a piece.' + +'But listen to me. I think you would feel for me if you knew all +that I have gone through. I pledge you my solemn word that I had +no intention of asking you for the money when you took the +horse;--indeed I had not. But you remember that affair of +Lufton's, when he came to you at your hotel in London and was so +angry about an outstanding bill.' + +'I know that he was very unreasonable as far as I was concerned.' + +'He was so; but that makes no difference. He was resolved, in his +rage, to expose the whole affair; and I saw that, if he did so, it +would be most injurious to you, seeing that you had just accepted +your stall at Barchester.' Here the poor prebendary winced +terribly. 'I moved heaven and earth to get up that bill. Those +vultures stuck to their prey when they found the value which I +attached to it, and I was forced to raise above a hundred pounds at +the moment to obtain possession of it, although every shilling +absolutely due on it had not long since been paid. Never in my +life did I wish to get money as I did to raise that hundred and +twenty pounds: and as I hope for mercy in my last moments, I did +that for your sake. Lufton could not have injured me in that +matter.' + +'But you told him that you got it for twenty-five pounds.' + +'Yes, I told him so. I was obliged to tell him that, or I should +have apparently condemned myself by showing how anxious I was to +get it. And you know that I could not have explained all this +before him and you. You would have thrown up the stall in +disgust.' Would that he had! That was Mark's wish now,--his +futile wish. In what a slough of despond had he come to wallow in +consequence of his folly on that night at Gatherum Castle! He had +done a silly thing, and was he now to rue it by almost total ruin? +He was sickened also with all those lies. His very soul was +dismayed by the dirt through which he was forced to wade. He had +become unconsciously connected with the lowest dregs of mankind, +and would have to see his name mingled with theirs in the daily +newspapers. And for what had he done this? Why had he thus filed +his mind and made himself a disgrace to his cloth? In order that +he might befriend such a one as Mr Sowerby! + +'Well,' continued Sowerby, 'I did get the money, but you would +hardly believe the rigour of the pledge which was exacted from me +for repayment. I got it from Harold Smith, and never in my worst +straits, will I again look to him for assistance. I borrowed it +only for a fortnight; and in order that I might repay it, I was +obliged to ask you for the price of the horse. Mark, it was on +your behalf that I did all this,--indeed it was.' + +'And now I am to repay you for your kindness by the loss of all +that I have in the world.' + +'If you will put the affair into the hands of Mr Forrest, nothing +need be touched,--not a hair of a horse's back; no, not though you +should be obliged to pay the whole amount yourself gradually out of +your income. You must execute a series of bills, falling due +quarterly, and then--' + +'I will execute no bill, I will put my name to no paper in the +matter; as to that my mind is fully made up. They may come and do +their worst.' Mr Sowerby persevered for a long time, but he was +quite unable to move the parson from his position. He would do +nothing towards making what Mr Sowerby called an arrangement, but +persisted that he would remain at home at Framley, and that any one +who had a claim upon him might take legal steps. 'I shall do +nothing myself,' he said; 'but if proceedings against me be taken, +I shall prove that I have never had a shilling of the money.' And +with this resolution he quitted the Dragon of Wantly. Mr Sowerby +at one time said a word as to the expediency of borrowing that sum +of money from John Robarts; but as to this Mark would say nothing. +Mr Sowerby was not the friend with whom he now intended to hold +consultation in such matters. 'I am not at present prepared,' he +said, 'to declare what I may do; I must first see what steps others +take.' And then he took his hat and went off; and mounting his +horse in the yard of the Dragon of Wantly--that horse which he had +now so many reasons to dislike--he slowly rode back home. + +Many thoughts passed through his mind during that ride, but only +one resolution obtained itself a fixture there. He must now tell +his wife everything. He would not be so cruel as to let it remain +untold until a bailiff were at the door, ready to walk him off to +the county jail, or until the bed on which they slept was to be +sold from under them. Yes, he would tell her +everything,--immediately, before his resolution could again have +faded away. He got off his horse in the yard, and seeing his +wife's maid at the kitchen door, desired her to beg her mistress to +come to him in the book-room. He would not allow one half-hour to +pass towards the waning of his purpose. If it be ordained that a +man shall drown, had he not better drown and have done with it? Mrs +Robarts came to him in his room, reaching him in time to touch his +arm as he entered it. 'Mary says you want me. I have been +gardening, and she caught me just as I came in.' + +'Yes, Fanny, I do want you. Sit down for a moment.' And walking +across the room, he placed his whip in its proper place. + +'Oh, Mark, is there anything the matter?' + +'Yes, dearest; yes. Sit down, Fanny: I can talk to you better if +you will sit.' But she, poor lady, did not wish to sit. He had +hinted at some misfortune, and therefore she felt a longing to +stand by him and cling to him. + +'Well, there; I will if I must; but, Mark, do not frighten me. Why +is your face so very wretched?' + +'Fanny, I have done very wrong,' he said. 'I have been very +foolish. I fear that I have brought upon you great sorrow and +trouble.' And then he leaned his head upon his hands and turned +his face away from her. + +'Oh, Mark, dearest Mark, my own Mark! What is it?' And then she +was quickly up from her chair, and went down on her knees before +him. 'Do not turn from me. Tell me, Mark! tell me, that we may +share it.' + +'Yes, Fanny, I must tell you now; but I hardly know what you will +think of me when you have heard it.' + +'I will think that you are my own husband, Mark; I will think +that--that chiefly, whatever it may be.' And then she caressed his +knees, and looked up in his face, and, getting hold of one of his +hands, pressed it between her own. 'Even if you have been foolish, +who should forgive you if I cannot?' And then he told her all, +beginning from that evening when Mr Sowerby had got him into his +bedroom, and going on gradually, now about the bills, and now about +the horses, till his poor wife was utterly lost in the complexity +of the accounts. She could by no means follow him in the details +of his story; nor could she quite sympathize with him in his +indignation against Mr Sowerby, seeing that she did not comprehend +at all the nature of the renewing of a bill. The only part to her +of importance in the matter was the money which her husband would +be called upon to pay; that, and her strong hope, which was already +a conviction, that he would never again incur such debts. + +'And how much is it, dearest, altogether?' + +'These men claim nine hundred pounds of me.' + +'Oh dear! that is a terrible sum.' + +'And then there is the hundred and fifty which I have borrowed from +the bank--the price of the horse, you know; and there are some +other debts,--not a great deal, I think; but people will now look +for every shilling that is due to them. If I have to pay it all, +it will be twelve or thirteen hundred pounds.' + +'That will be as much as a year's income, Mark; even with the +stall.' That was the only word of reproach she said--if that could +be called a reproach. + +'Yes,' he said; 'and it is claimed by men who will have no pity in +exacting it at any sacrifice, if they have the power. And to think +that I should have incurred all this debt, without having received +anything for it. Oh, Fanny, what will you think of me!' But she +swore to him that she would think nothing of it--that she would +never bear it in her mind against him--that it could have no effect +in lessening her trust in him. Was he not her husband? She was so +glad she knew it, that she might comfort him. And she did comfort +him, making the weight seem lighter and lighter on his shoulders as +he talked of it. And such weights do thus become lighter. A +burden that will crush a single pair of shoulders will, when +equally divided,--when shared by two, each of whom is willing to +take the heavier part--become light as a feather. Is not that +sharing of the mind's burdens one of the chief purposes for which a +man wants a wife? For there is no folly so great as keeping one's +sorrows hidden. And this wife cheerfully, gladly, thankfully took +her share. To endure with her lord all her lord's troubles was +easy to her; it was the work to which she had pledged herself. But +to have thought that her lord had troubles not communicated to +her,--that would have been to her the one thing not to be borne. +And then they discussed their plans; what mode of escape they might +have out of this terrible money difficulty. Like a true woman, Mrs +Robarts proposed at once to abandon all superfluities. They would +sell all their horses; they would not sell their cows, but would +sell the butter that came from them; they would sell the +pony-carriage, and get rid of the groom. That the footman must go +was so much a matter of course, that it was hardly mentioned. But +then, as to that house at Barchester, the dignified prebendal +mansion in the close--might they not be allowed to leave it +unoccupied for one year longer--perhaps to let it? The world of +course must know of their misfortune; but if that misfortune was +faced bravely, the world would be less bitter in its condemnation. +And then, above all things, everything must be told to Lady Lufton. + +'You may, at any rate, believe this, Fanny,' said he, 'that for no +consideration which can be offered to me will I ever put my name to +another bill.' The kiss with which she thanked him for this was as +warm and generous as though he had brought to her that day news of +the brightest; and when he sat, as he did that evening, discussing +it all, not only with his wife, but with Lucy, he wondered how it +was that his troubles were now so light. Whether or no a man +should have his own private pleasures, I will not now say; but it +never can be worth his while to keep his sorrows private. + + + +CHAPTER XXXIV + +LADY LUFTON IS TAKEN BY SURPRISE + +Lord Lufton, as he returned to town, found some difficulty in +resolving what step he would next take. Sometimes, for a minute or +two, he was half inclined to think--or rather to say to +himself--that Lucy was perhaps not worth the trouble which she +threw in his way. He loved her very dearly, and would willingly +make her his wife, he thought or said at such moments; but-- Such +moments, however, were only moments. A man in love seldom loves +less because his love becomes difficult. And thus, when those +moments were over, he would determine to tell his mother at once, +and urge her to signify her consent to Miss Robarts. That she +would not be quite pleased he knew; but if he were firm enough to +show that he had a will of his own in this matter, she would +probably not gainsay him. He would not ask this humbly, as a +favour, but request her ladyship to go through the ceremony as +though it were one of those motherly duties which she as a good +mother could not hesitate to perform on behalf of her son. Such +was the final resolve with which he reached his chambers in the +Albany. On the next day he did not see his mother. It would be +well, he thought, to have his interview with her immediately before +he started for Norway, so that there might be no repetition of it; +and it was on the day before he did start that he made his +communication, having invited himself to breakfast in Brook Street +on the occasion. + +'Mother,' he said, quite abruptly, throwing himself into one of the +dining-room chairs. 'I have a thing to tell you.' His mother at +once knew that the thing was important, and with her own peculiar +motherly instinct imagined that the question to be discussed had +reference to matrimony. Had her son desired to speak to her about +money, his tone and look would have been different; as would also +have been the case--in a different way--had he entertained any +thought of a pilgrimage to Peking, or a prolonged fishing excursion +to the Hudson Bay Territories. + +'A thing, Ludovic! well, I am quite at liberty.' + +'I want to know what you think of Lucy Robarts?' Lady Lufton +became pale and frightened, and the blood ran cold to her heart. +She had feared more than rejoiced in conceiving that her son was +about to talk of love, but she had feared nothing so bad as this. + +'What do I think of Lucy Robarts?' she said, repeating her son's +words in a tone of evident dismay. + +'Yes, mother; you have said once or twice lately that you thought I +ought to marry, and I am beginning to think so too. You selected +one clergyman's daughter for me, but that lady is going to do much +better with herself--' + +'Indeed she is not,' said Lady Lufton sharply. + +'And therefore I rather think I shall select for myself another +clergyman's sister. You don't dislike Miss Robarts, I hope?' + +'Oh, Ludovic!' It was all that Lady Lufton could say at the spur +of the moment. + +'Is there any harm in her! Have you any objection to her? Is there +anything about her that makes her unfit to be my wife?' + +For a moment or two Lady Lufton sat silent, collecting her +thoughts. She thought that there was a very great objection to +Lucy Robarts, regarding her as the possible future Lady Lufton. She +could hardly have stated all her reasons, but they were very +cogent. Lucy Robarts had, in her eyes, neither beauty, nor style, +nor manner, nor even the education which was desirable. She was +almost as far removed from being so as a woman could be in her +position. But, nevertheless, there were certain worldly attributes +which she regarded as essential to the character of any young lady +who might be considered fit to take the place which she herself had +so long filled. It was her desire in looking for a wife for her +son to combine these with certain moral excellences which she +regarded as equally essential. Lucy Robarts might have the moral +excellences, or she might not; but as to the other attributes Lady +Lufton regarded her as altogether deficient. She could never look +like a Lady Lufton, or carry herself in the county as a Lady Lufton +should do. She had not that quiet personal demeanour--that dignity +of repose--which Lady Lufton loved to look upon in a young married +woman of rank. Lucy, she would have said, could be nobody in a +room except by dint of her tongue, whereas Griselda Grantly would +have held her peace for a whole evening, and yet would have +impressed everybody by the majesty of her presence. Then again, +Lucy had no money--and, again Lucy was only the sister of her own +parish clergyman. People are rarely prophets in their own country, +and Lucy was no prophet at Framley; she was none, at least, in the +eyes of Lady Lufton. Once before, as may be remembered, she had +had fears on this subject--fears, not so much for her son, whom she +could hardly bring herself to suspect of such a folly, but for +Lucy, who might be foolish enough to fancy that the lord was in +love with her. Alas! alas! Her son's question fell upon the poor +woman at the present moment with the weight of a terrible blow. 'Is +there anything about her which makes her unfit to be my wife?' +Those were her son's last words. + +'Dearest Ludovic, dearest Ludovic!' and she got up and came over to +him, 'I do think so; I do, indeed.' + +'Think what?' said he, in a tone that was almost angry. + +'I do think that she is unfit to be your wife. She is not of that +class from which I would wish to see you choose.' + +'She is of the same class as Griselda Grantly.' + +'No, dearest. I think you are in error there. The Grantlys have +moved in a different sphere of life. I think you must feel that +they are--' + +'Upon my word, mother, I don't. One man is Rector of Plumstead, +and the other is Vicar of Framley. But it is no good arguing +that. I want you to take to Lucy Robarts. I have come to you on +purpose to ask it of you as a favour.' + +'Do you mean as your wife, Ludovic?' + +'Yes; as my wife.' + +'Am I to understand that you are--are engaged to her?' + +'Well, I cannot say that I am--not actually engaged to her. But +you may take this for granted that, as far as it lies in my power, +I intend to become so. My mind is made up, and I certainly shall +not alter it.' + +'And the young lady knows all this?' + +'Certainly.' + +'Horrid, sly, detestable, underhand girl,' Lady Lufton said to +herself, not being by any means brave enough to speak out such +language before her son. What hope could there be if Lord Lufton +had already committed himself by a positive offer? 'And her +brother, and Mrs Robarts; are they aware of it?' + +'Yes; both of them.' + +'And both approve of it?' + +'Well, I cannot say that. I have not seen Mrs Robarts, and do not +know what may be her opinion. To speak my mind honestly about +Mark, I do not think he does cordially approve. He is afraid of +you, and would be desirous of knowing what you think.' + +'I am glad, at any rate, to hear that,' said Lady Lufton, gravely. +'Had he done anything to encourage this, it would have been very +base.' And then there was another short period of silence. Lord +Lufton had determined not to explain to his mother the whole state +of the case. He would not tell her that everything depended on her +word--that Lucy was ready to marry him only on condition that she, +Lady Lufton, would desire her to do so. He would not let her know +that everything depended on her--according to Lucy's present +verdict. He had a strong disinclination to ask his mother's +permission to get married; and he would have to ask it were he to +tell her the whole truth. His object was to make her think well of +Lucy, and to induce her to be kind, and generous, and affectionate +down at Framley. Then things would all turn out comfortably when +he again visited that place, as he intended to do on his return +from Norway. So much he thought it possible he might effect, +relying on his mother's probable calculation that it would be +useless for her to oppose a measure which she had no power of +stopping by her authority. But were he to tell her that she was to +be the final judge, that everything was to depend on her will, +then, so thought Lord Lufton, that permission would in all +probability be refused. + +'Well, mother, what answer do you intend to give me?' he said. 'My +mind is positively made up. I should not have come to you had not +that been the case. You will now be going down home, and I would +wish you to treat Lucy as you yourself would wish to treat any girl +to whom you knew that I was engaged.' + +'But you say that you are not engaged.' + +'No, I am not; but I have made my offer to her, and I have not been +rejected. She was confessed that she--loves me,---not to myself, +but to her brother. Under these circumstances, may I count upon +your obliging me?' There was something in his manner which almost +frightened his mother, and made her think that there was more +behind this than was told to her. Generally speaking, his manner +was open, gentle, and unguarded; but now he spoke as though he had +prepared his words, and was resolved on being harsh as well as +obstinate. + +'I am so much taken by surprise, Ludovic, that I can hardly give +you an answer. If you ask whether I approve of such a marriage, I +must say that I do not; I think that you would be throwing yourself +away marrying Miss Robarts.' + +'That is because you do not know her.' + +'May it not be possible that I know her better than you do, dear +Ludovic? You have been flirting with her--' + +'I hate that word; it always sounds to me to be vulgar.' + +'I will say making love to her, if you like it better; and +gentlemen under these circumstances will sometimes become +infatuated.' + +'You would not have a man marry a girl without making love to her. +The fact is, mother, that your tastes and mine are not exactly the +same; you like silent beauty, whereas I like talking beauty, and +then--' + +'Do you call Miss Robarts beautiful?' + +'Yes, I do; very beautiful; she has the beauty that I admire. +Good-bye now, mother; I shall not see you again before I start. It +will be no use writing, as I shall be away for so short a time, and +I don't quite know where we shall be. I shall come down to Framley +immediately I return, and shall learn from you how the land lies. I +have told you my wishes, and you will consider how far you think it +right to fall in with them.' He then kissed her, and without +waiting for a reply, he took his leave. Poor Lady Lufton, when she +was left to herself, felt that her head was going round and round. +Was this to be the end of all her ambition,--of all her love for +her son? and was this the result of all her kindness to the +Robarts's? She almost hated Mark Robarts as she reflected that she +had been the means of bringing him and his sister to Framley. She +thought over all his sins, his absences from the parish, his visit +to Gatherum Castle, his dealings with reference to that farm which +was to have been sold, his hunting, and then his acceptance of that +stall, given, as she had been told, through the Omnium interest. +How could she love him at such a moment as this? And then she +thought of his wife. Could it be possible that Fanny Robarts, her +own friend Fanny, would be so untrue to her as to lend any +assistance to such a marriage as this; as not to use all her power +in preventing it? She had spoken to Fanny on this very +subject--not fearing for her son, but with a general idea of the +impropriety of intimacies between such girls as Lucy, and such men +as Lord Lufton, and then Fanny had agreed with her. Could it be +possible that even she must be regarded as an enemy? And then by +degrees Lady Lufton began to reflect what steps she had better +take. In the first place, should she give in at once, and consent +to the marriage? The only thing quite certain to her was this, +that life would be not worth having if she were forced into a +permanent quarrel with her son. Such an event would probably kill +her. When she read of quarrels in other noble families--and the +accounts of such quarrels will sometimes, unfortunately, force +themselves upon the attention of my unwilling readers--she would +hug herself, with a spirit that was almost pharisaical, reflecting +that her destiny was not like that of others. Such quarrels and +hatreds between fathers and daughters, and mothers and sons, were +in her eyes disreputable to all the persons concerned. She had +lived happily with her husband, comfortably with her neighbours, +respectably with the world, and, above all things, affectionately +with her children. She spoke everywhere of Lord Lufton as though +he were nearly perfect,--and in so speaking, she had not belied her +convictions. Under these circumstances, would not any marriage be +better than a quarrel? But, then, again, how much of the pride of +her daily life would be destroyed by such a match as that! And +might it not be within her power to prevent it without any +quarrel? That her son would be sick of such a chit as Lucy before +he had been married to her six months--of that Lady Lufton +entertained no doubt, and therefore her conscience would not be +disquieted in disturbing the consummation of an arrangement so +pernicious. It was evident that the matter was not considered as +settled even by her son; and also evident that he regarded the +matter as being in some way dependent on his mother's consent. On +the whole, might it not be better for her--better for them +all--that she should think wholly of her duty, and not of the +disagreeable results to which that duty might possibly lead? It +could not be her duty to accede to such an alliance; and therefore +she would do her best to prevent it. Such, at least, should be her +attempt in the first instance. + +Having so decided, she next resolved on her course of action. +Immediately on her arrival at Framley, she would send for Lucy +Robarts, and use all her eloquence--and perhaps also a little of +that stern dignity for which she was so remarkable--in explaining +to that young lady how very wicked it was on her part to think of +forcing herself on such a family as that of the Luftons. She would +explain to Lucy that no happiness could come of it, that people +placed by misfortune above their sphere are always miserable; and, +in short, make use of all those excellent moral lessons which are +so customary on such occasions. The morality might perhaps be +thrown away; but Lady Lufton depended much on her dignified +sternness. And then, having so resolved, she prepared for her +journey home. Very little had been said at Framley parsonage about +Lord Lufton's offer after the departure of that gentleman; very +little, at least, in Lucy's presence. That the parson and his wife +should talk about it between themselves was a matter of course; but +very few words were spoken on the matter either by or to Lucy. She +was left to her own thoughts, and possibly to her own hopes. And +then other matters came up at Framley which turned the current of +interest into other tracks. In the first place there was the visit +made by Mr Sowerby to the Dragon of Wantly, and the consequent +revelation made by Mark Robarts to his wife. And while that latter +subject was yet new, before Fanny and Lucy had as yet made up their +minds as to all the little economies which might be practised in +the household without serious detriment to their master's comfort, +news reached them that Mrs Crawley of Hogglestock had been stricken +with fever. Nothing of the kind could well be more dreadful than +this. To those who knew the family it seemed impossible that their +most ordinary wants could be supplied if that courageous head were +even for a day laid low; and then the poverty of poor Mr Crawley +was such that the sad necessities of a sick bed could hardly be +supplied without assistance. 'I will go over at once,' said Fanny. + +'My dear!' said her husband, 'it is typhus, and you must +think of the children. I will go.' + +'What on earth could you do, Mark?' said his wife. 'Men on such +occasions are almost worse than useless; and then they are so much +more liable to infection.' + +'I have no children, nor am I a man,' said Lucy, smiling; 'for both +of which exemptions I am thankful. I will go, and when I come back +I will keep clear of the bairns.' + +So it was settled, and Lucy started in the pony-carriage, carrying +with her such things from the parsonage storehouse as were thought +to be suitable to the wants of the sick lady at Hogglestock. When +she arrived there, she made her way into the house, finding the +door open, and not being able to obtain the assistance of the +servant girl in ushering her in. In the parlour she found Grace +Crawley, the eldest child, sitting demurely in her mother's chair +nursing an infant. She, Grace herself, was still a young child, but +not the less, on this occasion of well-understood sorrow, did she +go through her task with zeal but almost with solemnity. Her +brother, a boy of six years old, was with her, and he had the care +of another baby. There they sat in a cluster, quiet, grave, and +silent, attending on themselves, because it had been willed by fate +that no one else should attend them. 'How is your mamma, dear +Grace?' said Lucy, walking up to her and holding out her hand. + +'Poor mamma is very ill indeed,' said Grace. + +'And papa is very unhappy,' said Bobby, the boy. + +'I can't get up because of baby,' said Grace; 'but Bobby can go and +call papa out.' + +'I will knock at the door,' said Lucy; and so saying she walked up +to the bedroom door, and tapped against it lightly. She repeated +this for the third time before she was summoned in by a low hoarse +voice, and then on entering she saw Mr Crawley standing by the +bedside with a book in his hand. He looked at her uncomfortably, +in a manner which seemed to show that he was annoyed by this +intrusion, and Lucy was aware that she had disturbed him while at +prayers by the bedside of his wife. He came across the room, +however, and shook hands with her, and answered her inquiries in +his ordinary grave and solemn voice. 'Mrs Crawley is very ill,' he +said--'very ill. God has stricken us heavily, but His will be +done. But you had better not go to her, Miss Robarts. It is +typhus.' + +The caution, however, was too late; for Lucy was already at the +bedside, and had taken the hand of the sick woman, which had been +extended on the coverlid to greet her. 'Dear Miss Robarts,' said a +weak voice; 'this is very good of you; but it makes me unhappy to +see you here.' Lucy lost no time in taking sundry matters into her +own hands, and ascertaining what was most wanted in that wretched +household. For it was wretched enough. Their only servant, a girl +of sixteen, had been taken away by her mother as soon as it became +known that Mrs Crawley was ill with fever. The poor mother, to +give her her due, had promised to come down morning and evening +herself, to do such work as might be done in an hour or so; but she +could not, she said, leave her child to catch the fever. And now, +at the period of Lucy's visit, no step had been taken to procure a +nurse, Mr Crawley having resolved to take upon himself the duties +of that position. In his absolute ignorance of all sanitary +measures, he had thrown himself on his knees to pray; and if +prayers--true prayers--might succour his poor wife, of such +succour she might be confident. Lucy, however, thought that other +aid was wanting to her. 'If you can do anything for us,' said Mrs +Crawley, 'let it be for the poor children.' + +'I will have them all moved from this till you are better,' said +Lucy boldly. + +'Moved!' said Mr Crawley, who even now--even in his present +strait--felt a repugnance to the idea that any one should relieve +him of any portion of his burden. + +'Yes,' said Lucy; 'I am sure it will be better that you should lose +them for a week or two, till Mrs Crawley may be able to leave the +room.' + +'But where are they to go?' said he, very gloomily. As to this Lucy +was not as yet able to say anything. Indeed when she left Framley +parsonage there had been no time for discussion. She would go back +and talk it over with Fanny, and find out in what way the children +might be best put out of danger. Why should they not all be +harboured at the parsonage, as soon as assurance could be felt that +they were not tainted with the poison of the fever? An English +lady of the right sort will do all things but one for a sick +neighbour; but for no neighbour will she wittingly admit contagious +sickness within the precincts of her own nursery. Lucy unloaded +her jellies and her febrifuges, Mr Crawley frowning at her bitterly +the while. It had come to this with him, that food had been +brought into his house, as an act of charity, in his very presence, +and in his heart of hearts he disliked Lucy Robarts in that she had +brought it. He could not cause the jars and the pots to be +replaced in the pony-carriage, as he would have done had the +position of his wife been different. In her state it would have +been barbarous to refuse them, and barbarous also to have created +the fracas of a refusal; but each parcel that was introduced was an +additional weight laid on the sore withers of his pride, till the +total burden became almost unbearable. All this his wife saw and +recognized even in her illness, and did make some light ineffectual +efforts to give him ease; but Lucy in her new power was ruthless, +and the chicken to make the chicken-broth was taken out of the +basket under his very nose. But Lucy did not remain long. She had +made up her mind what it behoved her to do herself, and she was +soon ready to return to Framley. 'I shall be back again, Mr +Crawley,' she said, 'probably this evening, and I shall stay with +her till she is better.' 'Nurses don't want rooms,' she went on to +say, when Mr Crawley muttered something about there being no bed- +chamber. 'I shall make up some sort of litter near her; you'll see +that I shall be very snug.' And then she got into the pony-chaise, +and drove herself home. + + +CHAPTER XXXV + +THE STORY OF KING COPHETUA + +Lucy, as she drove herself home, had much as to which it was +necessary that she should arouse her thoughts. That she would go +back and nurse Mrs Crawley through her fever she was resolved. She +was free agent enough to take so much on herself, and to feel sure +that she could carry it through. But how was she to redeem her +promise about the children? Twenty plans ran through her mind, as +to farm-houses in which they might be placed, or cottages which +might be hired for them; but all these entailed the want of money; +and at the present moment, were not all the inhabitants of the +parsonage pledged to a dire economy? This use of the pony-carriage +would have been illicit under any circumstances less pressing than +the present, for it had been decided that the carriage, and even +poor Puck himself, should be sold. She had, however, given her +promise about the children, and though her own stock of money was +very low, that promise should be redeemed. + +When she reached the parsonage she was of course full of her +schemes, but she found that another subject of interest had come up +in her absence, which prevented her from obtaining the undivided +attention of her sister-in-law to her present plans. Lady Lufton +had returned that day, and immediately on her return had sent up a +note addressed to Miss Lucy Robarts, which note was in Fanny's +hands when Lucy stepped out of the pony-carriage. The servant who +brought it had asked for an answer, and a verbal answer had been +sent, saying that Miss Robarts was away from home, and would +herself send a reply when she returned. It cannot be denied that +the colour came to Lucy's face, and that her hand trembled when she +took the note from Fanny in the drawing-room. Everything in the +world to her might depend on what that note contained; and yet she +did not open it at once, but stood with it in her hand, and when +Fanny pressed her on the subject, still endeavoured to bring back +the conversation to the subject of Mrs Crawley. But yet her mind +was intent on that letter, and she had already augured ill from the +handwriting and even from the words of the address. Had Lady +Lufton intended to be propitious, she would have directed her +letter to Miss Robarts, without the Christian name; so at least +argued Lucy--quite unconsciously, as one does argue in such +matters. One forms half the conclusions of one's life without any +distinct knowledge that the premises have even passed through one's +mind. They were now alone together, as Mark was out. 'Won't you +open the letter?' said Mrs Robarts. + +'Yes, immediately; but, Fanny, I must speak to you about Mrs +Crawley first. I must go back there this evening, and stay there; +I have promised to do so, and shall certainly keep my promise. I +have promised also that the children shall be taken away, and we +must arrange about that. It is dreadful, the state she is in. +There is no one to see to her but Mr Crawley, and the children are +together left by themselves.' + +'Do you mean that you are going back there to stay?' + +'Yes, certainly; I have made a distinct promise that I would do +so. And about the children; could not you manage for the children, +Fanny--not perhaps in the house; at least not at first, perhaps?' +And yet during all the time that she was thus speaking and pleading +for the Crawleys, she was endeavouring to imagine what might be the +contents of that letter which she had between her fingers. + +'And is she so very ill?' asked Mrs Robarts. + +'I cannot say how ill she may be, except this, that she certainly +has typhus fever. They had some doctor or doctor's assistant from +Silverbridge; but it seems to me that they are greatly in want of +better advice.' + +'But, Lucy, will you not read your letter? It is astonishing to me +that you should be so indifferent about it.' Lucy was anything but +indifferent, and now did proceed to tear the envelope. The note +was very short, and ran in these words-- + +"MY DEAR MISS ROBARTS, +"I am particularly anxious to see you, and +shall feel much obliged to you if you can step +over to me here, at Framley Court. I must +apologize for taking this liberty with you, but +you will probably feel that an interview here +would suit us both better than at the parsonage. +"Truly yours +"M. LUFTON" + +'There; I am in for it now,' said Lucy, handing the note over to +Mrs Robarts. 'I shall have to be talked to as never poor girl was +talked to before: and when one thinks of what I have done, it is +hard.' + +'Yes; and of what you have not done.' + +'Exactly; and of what I have not done. But I suppose I must go,' +and she proceeded to re-tie the strings of her bonnet, which she +had loosened. + +'Do you mean that you are going over at once?' + +'Yes; immediately. Why not? it will be better to have it over, +and then I can go to the Crawleys. But, Fanny, the pity of it is +that I know it all as well as though it had been already spoken; +and what good can there be in my having to endure it? Can't you +fancy the tone in which she will explain it to me, the conventional +inconveniences which arose when King Cophetua would marry the +beggar's daughter? how she will explain what Griselda went +through;--not the archdeacon's daughter, but the other Griselda?' + +'But it came right with her.' + +'Yes; but then I am not Griselda, and she will explain how it would +certainly all go wrong with me. But what's the good when I know it +all beforehand? Have I not desired King Cophetua to take himself +and sceptre elsewhere?' And then she started, having first said +another word or two about the Crawley children, and obtained a +promise of Puck and the pony-carriage for the afternoon. It was +almost agreed that Puck on his return to Framley should bring back +the four children with him; but on this subject it was necessary +that Mark should be consulted. The present scheme was to prepare +for them a room outside the house, once the dairy, at present +occupied by the groom and his wife; and to bring them into the +house as soon as it was manifest that there was no danger from +infection. But all this was to be matter for deliberation. Fanny +wanted her to send over a note, in reply to Lady Lufton's, as +harbinger of her coming; but Lucy marched off, hardly answering +this proposition. + +'What's the use of such a deal of ceremony?' she said. 'I know +she's at home; and if she is not, I shall only lose ten minutes in +going.' And so she went, and on reaching the door at Framley Court +house found that her ladyship was at home. Her heart almost came +to her mouth as she was told so, and then, in two minutes' time, +she found herself in the little room upstairs. In that little room +we found ourselves once before--but Lucy had never before visited +that hallowed precinct. There was something in its air calculated +to inspire awe in those who first saw Lady Lufton sitting bolt +upright in the cane-bottomed arm-chair, which she always occupied +when at work at her books and papers; and this she knew when she +determined to receive Lucy in that apartment. But there was +another arm-chair, an easy, cosy chair, which stood by the +fireside; and for those who had caught Lady Lufton napping in that +chair of an afternoon, some of this awe had perhaps been +dissipated. 'Miss Robarts,' she said, not rising from her chair, +but holding out her hand to her visitor, 'I am much obliged to you +for having come over to me here. You, no doubt, are aware of the +subject on which I wish to speak to you, and will agree with me +that it is better that we should meet here than over at the +parsonage.' In answer to which Lucy merely bowed her head, and took +her seat on the chair which had been prepared for her. 'My son,' +continued her ladyship, 'has spoken to me on the subject of--I +think I understand, Miss Robarts, that there has been no engagement +between you and him?' + +'None whatever,' said Lucy. 'He made me an offer and I refused +him.' This she said very sharply;--more so undoubtedly than the +circumstances required; and with a brusqueness that was injudicious +as well as uncourteous. But at the moment, she was thinking of her +own position with reference to Lady Lufton--not to Lord Lufton; and +of her feelings with reference to the lady--not to the gentleman. + +'Oh,' said Lady Lufton, a little startled by the manner of the +communication. 'Then I am to understand that there is nothing now +going on between you and my son; that the whole affair is over?' + +'That depends entirely upon you.' + +'On me; does it?' + +'I do not know what your son may have told you, Lady Lufton. For +myself I do not care to have any secrets from you in this matter; +and as he has spoken to you about it, I suppose that such is his +wish also. Am I right in presuming that he has spoken to you on +the subject?' + +'Yes, he has; and it is for that reason that I have taken the +liberty of sending for you.' + +'And may I ask what he has told you? I mean, of course, as regards +myself,' said Lucy. Lady Lufton before she answered this question, +began to reflect that the young lady was taking too much of the +initiative in this conversation, and was, in fact, playing the game +in her own fashion, which was not at all in accordance with those +motives which had induced Lady Lufton to send for her. 'He has +told me that he has made you an offer of marriage,' replied Lady +Lufton: 'a matter which, of course, is very serious to me, as his +mother; and I have thought, therefore, that I had better see you, +and appeal to your own good sense and judgement and high feelings. +Of course you are aware--' + +Now was coming the lecture to be illustrated by King Cophetua and +Griselda, as Lucy had suggested to Mrs Robarts; but she succeeded +in stopping it for awhile. 'And did Lord Lufton tell you what was +my answer?' + +'Not in words. But you yourself now say that you refused him; and +I must express my admiration for your good--' + +'Wait half a moment, Lady Lufton. Your son did make me an offer. +He made it to me in person, up at the parsonage, and I then refused +him;--foolishly, as I now believe, for I dearly love him. But I +did so from a mixture of feelings which I need not, perhaps, +explain; that most prominent, no doubt, was a fear of your +displeasure. And then he came again, not to me, but to my brother, +and urged his suit to him. Nothing can have been kinder to me, +more noble, more loving, more generous, than his conduct. At first +I thought, when he was speaking to myself, that he was led on +thoughtlessly to say all that he did say. I did not trust his +love, though I saw that he did trust it himself. But I could not +but trust it when he came again--to my brother, and made his +proposal to him. I don't know whether you will understand me, Lady +Lufton; but a girl placed as I am feels ten times more assurance in +such a tender of affection as that, than in one made to herself, at +the spur of the moment, perhaps. And then you remember that I--I +myself--I loved him from the first. I was foolish enough to think +that I could know him and not love him.' + +'I saw what was going on,' said Lady Lufton, with a certain +assumption of wisdom about her; 'and took steps which I hoped would +have put a stop to it in time.' + +'Everybody saw it. It was a matter of course,' said Lucy, +destroying her ladyship's wisdom at a blow. 'Well; I did learn to +love him, not meaning to do so; and I do love him with all my +heart. It is no use my striving to think that I do not; and I +could stand with him at the altar to-morrow and give him my hand, +feeling that I was doing my duty by him, as a woman should do. And +now he has told you of his love, and I believe in that as I do in +my own--' And then for a moment she paused. + +'But, my dear Miss Robarts--' began Lady Lufton. Lucy, however, +had not worked herself up into a condition of power, and would not +allow her ladyship to interrupt her in her speech. 'I beg your +pardon, Lady Lufton; I shall have done directly, and then I will +hear you. And so my brother came to me, not urging this suit, +expressing no wish for such a marriage, but allowing me to judge +for myself, and proposing that I should see your son again on the +following morning. Had I done so, I could not but have accepted +him. Think of it, Lady Lufton. How could I have done either than +accept him, seeing that in my heart I had accepted his love +already?' + +'Well?' said Lady Lufton, not wishing now to put in any speech of +her own. + +'I did not see him--I refused to do so--because I was a coward. I +could not endure to come into this house as your son's wife, and be +coldly looked on by your son's mother. Much as I loved him, much as +I do love him, dearly as I prize the generous offer which he came +down here to repeat to me, I could not live with him to be made the +object of your scorn. I sent him word, therefore, that I would have +him when you would ask me, and not before.' And, then, having thus +pleaded her cause--and pleaded, as she believed, the cause of her +lover also--she ceased from speaking, and prepared herself to +listen to the story of King Cophetua. But Lady Lufton felt +considerable difficulty in commencing her speech. In the first +place she was by no means a hard-hearted or a selfish woman; and +were it not that her own son was concerned, and all the glory which +was reflected upon her from her son, her sympathies would have been +given to Lucy Robarts. As it was, she did sympathize with her, and +admire her, and to a certain extent like her. She began also to +understand what it was that had brought about her son's love, and +to feel that but for certain unfortunate concomitant circumstances +the girl before her might have made a fitting Lady Lufton. Lucy +had grown bigger in her eyes while sitting there and talking, and +had lost much of that missish want of importance--that lack of +social weight--which Lady Lufton in her own opinion had always +imputed to her. A girl that could thus speak up and explain her +own position now, would be able to speak up and explain her own, +and perhaps some other positions at any future time. But not for +all or any of these reasons did Lady Lufton think of giving way. +The power of making or marring this marriage was placed in her +hands, as was very fitting, and that power it behoved her to use, +as best she might use it, to her son's advantage. Much as she +might admire Lucy, she could not sacrifice her son to that +admiration. The unfortunate concomitant circumstances still +remained, and were of sufficient force, as she thought, to make +such a marriage inexpedient. Lucy was the sister of a gentleman, +who by his peculiar position as parish clergyman of Framley was +unfitted to be the brother-in-law of the owner of Framley. Nobody +liked clergymen better than Lady Lufton or was more willing to live +with them on terms of affectionate intimacy, but she could not get +over the feeling that the clergyman of her own parish,--or of her +son's,--was a part of her own establishment, of her own +appanage--or of his,--and that it could not be well that Lord +Lufton should marry among his own dependants. Lady Lufton would +not have used the word, but she did think it. And then, too, +Lucy's education had been so deficient. She had had no one about +her in early life accustomed to the ways of,--of what shall I say +without making Lady Lufton appear more worldly than she was? Lucy's +wants in this respect, not to be defined in words, had been +exemplified by the very way in which she had just now stated her +case. She had shown talent, good temper, and sound judgement; but +there had been no quiet, no repose about her. The species of power +in young ladies which Lady Lufton most admired was the vis inertiae +belonging to beautiful and dignified reticence; of this poor Lucy +had none. Then, too, she had not fortune, which though a minor +evil, was an evil; and she had no birth, in the high sense of the +word, which was the greater evil. And then, though her eyes had +sparkled when she confessed her love, Lady Lufton was not prepared +to admit that she was possessed of positive beauty. Such were the +unfortunate concomitant circumstances which still induced Lady +Lufton to resolve that the match must be marred. + +But the performance on her part in this play was much more +difficult than she had imagined, and she found herself obliged to +sit silent for a minute or two, during which, however, Miss Robarts +made no attempt at further speech. 'I am greatly struck,' Lady +Lufton said at last, 'by the excellent sense you have displayed in +the whole of this affair; and you must allow me to say, Miss +Robarts, that I now regard you with very different feelings from +those which I entertained when I left London.' Upon this Lucy +bowed her head, slightly but very stiffly; acknowledging rather the +former censure implied than the present eulogium expressed. + +'But my feelings,' continued Lady Lufton, 'my strongest feelings in +this matter, must be those of a mother. What might be my conduct +if such a marriage did take place, I need not now consider. But I +must confess that I should think such a marriage very--very +ill-judged. A better-hearted young man than Lord Lufton does not +exist, nor one with better principles, or a deeper regard for his +word; but he is exactly the man to be mistaken on any hurried +outlook as to his future life. Were you and he to become man and +wife, such a marriage would tend to the happiness neither of him or +of you.' It was clear that the whole lecture was coming; and as +Lucy had openly declared her own weakness, and thrown all the power +of decision into the hands of Lady Lufton, she did not see why she +should endure this. + +'We need not argue about that, Lady Lufton,' she said. 'I have +told you the only circumstances under which I would marry your son; +and you, at any rate, are safe.' + +'No; I was not wishing to argue,' answered Lady Lufton, almost +humbly; 'but I was desirous of excusing myself to you, so that you +should not think me cruel in withholding my consent. I wished to +make you believe that I was doing the best for my son.' + +'I am sure that you think you are, and therefore no excuse is +necessary.' + +'No, exactly; of course it is a matter of opinion, and I do think +so. I cannot believe that this marriage would make either of you +happy, and therefore I should be very wrong to express my consent.' + +'Then, Lady Lufton,' said Lucy, rising from her chair, 'I suppose +we have both now said what is necessary, and I will therefore wish +you good-bye.' + +'Good-bye, Miss Robarts. I wish I could make you understand how +very highly I regard your conduct in this matter. It has been +above all praise, and so I shall not hesitate to say when speaking +of it to your relatives.' This was disagreeable enough to Lucy, +who cared but little for any praise which Lady Lufton might express +to her relatives in this matter. 'And pray,' continued Lady +Lufton, 'give my best love to Mrs Robarts, and tell her that I +shall hope to see her over here very soon, and Mr Robarts also. I +would name a day for you all to dine; but perhaps it will be better +that I should have a little talk with Fanny first.' + +Lucy muttered something, which was intended to signify that any +such dinner party had better not be made up with the intention of +including her, and then took her leave. She had decidedly had the +best of the interview, and there was a consciousness of this in her +heart as she allowed Lady Lufton to shake hands with her. She had +stopped her antagonist short on each occasion on which an attempt +had been made to produce the homily which had been prepared, and +during the interview had spoken probably three words for every one +which her ladyship had been able to utter. But, nevertheless, +there was a bitter feeling of disappointment about her heart as she +walked back home; and a feeling, also, that she herself had caused +her own unhappiness. Why should she have been so romantic and +chivalrous and self-sacrificing, seeing that her romance and +chivalry had all been to his detriment as well as hers,--seeing +that she sacrificed him as well as herself? Why should she have +been so anxious to play into Lady Lufton's hands? It was not +because she thought it right, as a general social rule, that a lady +should refuse a gentleman's hand, unless the gentleman's mother +were a consenting party to the marriage. She would have held any +such doctrine as absurd. The lady, she would have said, would have +had to look to her own family and no further. It was not virtue +but cowardice which had influenced her, and she had none of that +solace which may come to us in misfortune from a consciousness that +our own conduct has been blameless. Lady Lufton had inspired her +with awe, and any such feeling on her part was mean, ignoble, and +unbecoming the spirit with which she wished to think that she was +endowed. That was the accusation which she had brought against +herself, and it forbade her to feel any triumph as to the result of +the interview. When she reached the parsonage, Mark was there, and +they were of course expecting her. 'Well,' said she, in her short +hurried manner, 'is Puck ready again? I have no time to lose, and +I must go and pack up a few things. Have you settled about the +children, Fanny?' + +'Yes; I will tell you directly; but you have seen Lady Lufton?' + +'Seen her! Oh, yes, of course I have seen her. Did she not send +for me? and in that case it was not on the cards that I would +disobey her.' + +'And what did she say?' + +'How green you are, Mark; and not only green, but impolite also, to +make me repeat the story of my own disgrace. Of course she told me +that she did not intend that I should marry my lord, her son; and +of course I said that under those circumstances I should not think +of doing such a thing.' + +'Lucy, I cannot understand you,' said Fanny, very gravely. 'I am +sometimes inclined to doubt whether you have any deep feeling in +the matter or not. If you have, how can you bring yourself to joke +about it?' + +'Well, it is singular; and sometimes I doubt myself whether I +have. I ought to be pale, ought I not? and very thin, and to go +mad by degrees? I have not the least intention of doing anything +of the kind, and, therefore, the matter is not worth any further +notice.' + +'But was she civil to you, Lucy?' asked Mark: 'civil in her manner, +you know?' + +'Oh, uncommonly so. You will hardly believe it, but she actually +asked me to dine. She always does, you know, when she wants to +show her good humour. If you'd broken your leg, and she wished to +commiserate you, she'd ask you to dinner.' + +'I suppose she meant to be kind,' said Fanny, who was not disposed +to give up her old friend, though she was quite ready to fight +Lucy's battle, if there were any occasion for a battle to be +fought. + +'Lucy is so perverse,' said Mark, 'that it is impossible to learn +from her what really has taken place.' + +'Upon my word, then, you know it all as well as I can tell you. She +asked me if Lord Lufton had made me an offer. I said, yes. She +asked next, if I meant to accept it. Not without her approval, I +said. And then she asked us to dinner. That is exactly what took +place, and I cannot see that I have been perverse at all.' After +that she threw herself into a chair, and Mark and Fanny stood +looking at each other. + +'Mark,' she said, after a while, 'don't be unkind to me. I make as +little of it as I can, for all our sakes. It is better so, Fanny, +than that I should go about moaning, like a sick cow;' and then +they looked at her, and saw that tears were already brimming over +from her eyes. + +'Dearest, dearest Lucy,' said Fanny, immediately going down on her +knees before her, 'I won't be unkind to you again.' And then they +had a great cry together. + + + +CHAPTER XXXVI + +KIDNAPPING AT HOGGLESTOCK + +The great cry, however, did not take long, and Lucy was soon in the +pony-carriage again. On this occasion her brother volunteered to +drive her, and it was not understood that he was to bring back with +him all the Crawley children. The whole thing had been arranged; +the groom and his wife were to be taken into the house, and the big +bedroom across the yard, usually occupied by them, was to be +converted into a quarantine hospital until such time as it might be +safe to pull down the yellow flag. They were about half-way on +their road to Hogglestock, when they were overtaken by a man on +horseback, whom, when he came up beside them, Mr Robarts recognized +as Dr Arabin, Dean of Barchester, and head of the chapter to which +he himself belonged. It immediately appeared that the dean was +also going to Hogglestock, having heard of the misfortune that had +befallen his friends there; he had, he said, started as soon the +news reached him, in order that he might ascertain how best he +might render assistance. To effect this he had undertaken a ride +of nearly forty miles, and explained that he did not expect to +reach home again much before midnight. 'You pass by Framley?' +asked Robarts. + +'Yes, I do,' said the dean. + +'Then of course you will dine with us as you go home; you and your +horse also, which will be quite as important.' This having been +duly settled, and the proper ceremony of introduction having taken +place between the dean and Lucy, they proceeded to discuss the +character of Mr Crawley. + +'I have known him all my life,' said the dean, 'having been at +school and college with him, and for years since that I was on +terms of the closest intimacy with him; but in spite of that, I do +not know how to help him in his need. A prouder-hearted man I +never met, or one less willing to share his sorrows with his +friends.' + +'I have often heard him speak of you,' said Mark. + +'One of the bitterest feelings I have is that a man so dear to me +should live so near to me, and that I should see so little of him. +But what can I do? He will not come to my house; and when I go to +his he is angry with me because I wear a shovel hat and ride on +horseback.' + +'I should leave my hat and my horse at the borders of the last +parish,' said Lucy, timidly. + +'Well; yes, certainly; one ought not to give offence even in such +matters as that; but my coat and waistcoat would then be equally +objectionable. I have changed,--in outward matters I mean,--and he +has not. That irritates him, and unless I could be what I was in +the old days, he will not look at me with the same eyes;' and then +he rode on, in order, as he said, that the first pang of the +interview might be over before Robarts and his sister came upon the +scene. Mr Crawley was standing before his door, leaning over the +little wooden railing, when the dean trotted up on his horse. He +had come out after hours of close watching to get a few mouthfuls +of the sweet summer air, and as he stood there he held the youngest +of his children in his arms. The poor little baby sat there, quiet +indeed, but hardly happy. This father, though he loved his +offspring with an affection as intense as that which human nature +can supply, was not gifted with the knack of making children fond +of him; for it is hardly more than a knack, that aptitude which +some men have of gaining the good graces of the young. Such men +are not always the best fathers or the safest guardians; but they +carry about with them a certain duc ad me which children recognize, +and which in three minutes upsets all the barriers between five and +five-and-forty. But Mr Crawley was a stern man, thinking ever of +the souls and minds of his bairns--as a father should do; and +thinking also that every season was fitted for operating on these +souls and minds--as, perhaps, he should not have done as a father +or as a teacher. And consequently his children avoided him when +the choice was given them, thereby adding fresh wounds to his torn +heart, but by no means quenching any of the great love with which +he regarded them. + +He was standing there thus with the placid little baby in his +arms--a baby placid enough, but one that would not kiss him +eagerly, and stroke his face with her soft little hands, as he +would have had her do--when he saw the dean coming towards him. He +was sharp-sighted as a lynx out in the open air, though now obliged +to pore over his well-fingered books with spectacles on his nose; +and thus he knew his friend from a long distance, and had time to +meditate on the mode of his greeting. He too doubtless had come, if +not with jelly and chicken, then with money and advice;--with money +and advice such as a thriving dean might offer to a poor brother +clergyman; and Mr Crawley, though no husband could be more anxious +for a wife's safety than he was, immediately put his back up and +began to bethink himself how these tenders might be rejected. + +'How is she?' were the first words which the dean spoke as he +pulled up his horse close to the little gate, and put out his hand +to take that of his friend. + +'How are you, Arabin?' said he. 'It is very kind of you to come so +far, seeing how much there is to keep you at Barchester. I cannot +say that she is any better, but I do not know that she is worse. +Sometimes I fancy she is delirious, though I hardly know. At any +rate her mind wanders, and then after that she sleeps.' + +'But is the fever less?' + +'Sometimes less, and sometimes more, I imagine.' + +'And the children?' + +'Poor things; they are well as yet.' + +'They must be taken from this, Crawley, as a matter of course.' + +Mr Crawley fancied that there was a tone of authority in the dean's +advice, and immediately put himself into opposition. + +'I do not know how that may be; I have not yet made up my mind.' + +'But, my dear Crawley--' + +'Providence does not admit of such removals in all cases,' said +he. 'Among the poorer classes the children must endure such +perils.' + +'In many cases it is so,' said the dean, by no means inclined to +make an argument of it at the present moment; 'but in this case +they need not. You must allow me to make arrangements for sending +for them, as of course your time is occupied here.' Miss Robarts, +though she had mentioned her intention of staying with Mrs Crawley, +had said nothing of the Framley plan with reference to the children. + +'What you mean is that you intend to take the burden off my +shoulders--in fact, pay for them. I cannot allow that, Arabin. +They must take the lot of their father and their mother, as it is +proper that they should do.' Again the dean had no inclination for +arguing, and thought it might be well to let the question of the +children drop for a little while. + +'And there is no nurse with her?' said he. + +'No, no; I am seeing to her myself at the present moment. A woman +will be here just now.' + +'What woman?' + +'Well; her name is Mrs Stubbs; she lives in the parish. She will +put her younger children to bed, and--and--but it's no use +troubling you with all that. There was a young lady talked of +coming, but no doubt she has found it too inconvenient. It will be +better as it is.' + +'You mean Miss Robarts; she will be here directly; I passed her as +I came here;' and as Dr Arabin was yet speaking, the noise of the +carriage wheels was heard upon the road. + +'I will go in now;' said Mr Crawley, 'and see if she still sleeps;' +and then he entered the house, leaving the dean at the door still +seated upon his horse. 'He will be afraid of the infection, and I +will not ask him to come in,' said Mr Crawley to himself. + +'I shall seem to be prying into his poverty, if I enter unasked,' +said the dean to himself. And so he remained there till Puck, now +acquainted with the locality, stopped at the door. + +'Have you not been in?' said Robarts. + +'No; Crawley has been at the door talking to me; he will be here +directly, I suppose;' and then Mark Robarts also prepared himself +to wait till the master of the house should reappear. But Lucy had +not such punctilious misgivings; she did not much care now whether +she offended Mr Crawley or no. Her idea was to place herself by the +sick woman's bedside, and to send the four children away;--with +their father's consent if it might be; but certainly without it if +that consent were withheld. So she got down from the carriage, and +taking certain packages in her hand made her way direct into the +house. + +'There's a big bundle under the seat, Mark,' she said; 'I'll come +and fetch it directly, if you'll drag it out.' For some five +minutes the two dignitaries of the Church remained at the door, one +on his cob, and the other in his low carriage, saying a few words +to each other and waiting till some one should again appear from +the house. 'It is all arranged, indeed it is,' were the first +words which reached their ears, and these came from Lucy. 'There +will be no trouble at all, and no expense, and they shall all come +back as soon as Mrs Crawley is able to get out of bed.' + +'But, Miss Robarts, I can assure--' That was Mr Crawley's voice, +heard from him as he followed Miss Robarts to the door; but one of +the elder children had then called him back into the sick room, and +Lucy was left to do her worst. + +'Are you going to take the children back with you?' said the dean. + +'Yes; Mrs Robarts has prepared for them.' + +'You can take greater liberties with my friend here than I can.' + +'It is all my sister's doing,' said Robarts. 'Woman are always +bolder in such matters than men.' And then Lucy reappeared, +bringing Bobby with her, and one of the younger children. + +'Do not mind what he says,' said she, 'but drive away when you have +got them all. Tell Fanny I have put into the basket what things I +could find, but they are very few. She must borrow things for +Grace from Mrs Granger's little girl'--(Mrs Granger was the wife of +a Framley farmer);--'and, Mark, turn Puck's head round so that you +may be off in a moment. I'll have Grace and the other one here +directly.' And then, leaving her brother to pack Bobby and his +little sister on the back part of the vehicle, she returned to her +business in the house. She had just looked in at Mrs Crawley's +bed, and finding her awake, had smiled on her, and deposited her +bundle in token of her intended stay, and then, without speaking a +word, had gone on her errand about the children. She had called to +Grace to show her where she might find such things as were to be +taken to Framley, and having explained to the bairns, as well as +she might, the destiny which immediately awaited them, prepared +them for their departure without saying a word to Mr Crawley on the +subject. Bobby and the elder of the two infants were stowed away +safely in the back part of the carriage, where they allowed +themselves to be placed without saying a word. They opened their +eyes and stared at the dean, who sat by on his horse, and assented +to such orders as Mr Robarts gave them,--no doubt with much +surprise, but nevertheless in absolute silence. + +'Now, Grace, be quick, there's a dear,' said Lucy, returning with +the infant in her arms. 'And, Grace, mind you are very careful +about the baby; and bring the basket; I'll give it you when you are +in.' Grace and the other child were packed on to the other seat, +and a basket with the children's clothes put in on top of them. +'That'll do, Mark; good-bye; tell Fanny to be sure and send the day +after to-morrow, and not to forget--' and then she whispered into +her brother's ear an injunction about certain dairy comforts which +might not be spoken of in the hearing of Mr Crawley. 'Good-bye, +dears; mind you are good children; you shall hear about mamma the +day after to-morrow,' said Lucy; and Puck, admonished by a sound +from his master's voice, began to move just as Mr Crawley +reappeared at the house door. + +'Oh, oh, stop!' he said. 'Miss Robarts, you really had better +not--' + +'Go on, Mark,' said Lucy, in a whisper, which, whether audible or +not to Mr Crawley, was heard very plainly by the dean. And Mark, +who had slightly arrested Puck by the reins on the appearance of Mr +Crawley, now touched the impatient little beast with his whip; and +the vehicle with its freight darted off rapidly, Puck shaking his +head and going away with a tremendously quick short trot, which +soon separated Mr Crawley from his family. + +'Miss Robarts,' he began, 'this step has been taken altogether +without--' + +'Yes,' said she, interrupting him. 'My brother was obliged to +return at once. The children, you know, will remain all together +at the parsonage; and that, I think, is what Mrs Crawley will best +like. In a day or two they will be under Mrs Robarts's own +charge.' + +'But, my dear Miss Robarts, I had no intention whatever of putting +the burden of my family on the shoulders of another person. They +must return to their own home immediately--that is, as soon as +they can be brought back.' + +'I really think Miss Robarts has managed very well,' said the +dean. 'Mrs Crawley must be so much more comfortable to think that +they are out of danger.' + +'And they will be quite comfortable at the parsonage.' said Lucy. + +'I do not at all doubt that,' said Mr Crawley; 'but too much of +such comforts will unfit them for their home; and--and I could have +wished that I had been consulted more at leisure before the +proceedings had been taken.' + +'It was arranged, Mr Crawley, when I was here before, that the +children had better go away,' pleaded Lucy. + +'I do not remember agreeing to such a measure, Miss Robarts; +however--I suppose they cannot be had back to-night?' + +'No, not to-night,' said Lucy. 'And now I will go to your wife.' +And then she returned to the house, leaving the two gentlemen at +the door. At this moment a labourer's boy came sauntering by, and +the dean, obtaining possession of his services for the custody of +his horse, was able to dismount and put himself on a more equal +footing for conversation with his friend. + +'Crawley,' said he, putting his hand affectionately on his friend's +shoulder, as they both stood leaning on the little rail before the +door, 'that is a good girl--a very good girl.' + +'Yes,' he said slowly; 'she means well.' + +'Nay, but she does well. She does excellently. What can be better +than her conduct now? While I was meditating how I might possible +assist your wife in this strait--' + +'I want no assistance; none, at least, from man,' said Crawley, +bitterly. + +'Oh, my friend, think of what you are saying! Think of the +wickedness which must accompany such a state of mind! Have you +ever known any man able to walk alone, without assistance from his +brother man?' Mr Crawley did not make any immediate answer, but +putting his arms behind his back and closing his hands, as was his +wont when he walked alone thinking of the general bitterness of his +lot in life, began to move slowly along the road in the front of +his house. He did not invite the other to walk with him, but +neither was there anything in his manner which seemed to indicate +that he intended to be left by himself. It was a beautiful summer +afternoon, at that delicious period of the year when summer has +just burst forth from the growth of spring; when the summer is yet +but three days old, and all the various shades of green which +nature can put forth are still in their unsoiled purity of +freshness. The apple blossoms were on the trees, and the hedges +were sweet with May. The cuckoo at five o'clock was still sounding +his soft summer call with unabated energy, and even the common +grasses of the hedgerows were sweet with the fragrance of their new +growth. The foliage of the oaks was complete, so that every bough +and twig was clothed; but the leaves did not yet hand heavy in +masses, and the bend of every bough and the tapering curve of every +twig were visible through light green covering. There is not time +of the year equal in beauty to the first week of summer: and no +colour which nature gives, not even the gorgeous hues of autumn, +which can equal the verdure produced by the first warm suns of May. + +Hogglestock, as has been explained, has little to offer in the way +of landskip beauty, and the clergyman's house at Hogglestock was +not placed on a green slopy bank of land, retired from the road, +with its windows opening on to a lawn, surrounded by shrubs, with a +view of the small church tower seen through them; it had none of +that beauty which is so common to the cosy houses of our spiritual +pastors in the agricultural parts of England. Hogglestock +parsonage stood bleak beside the road, with no pretty paling lined +inside by hollies and laburnum, Portugal laurels and rose-trees. +But, nevertheless, even Hogglestock was pretty now. There were +apple-trees there covered with blossom, and the hedgerows were in +full flower. There were thrushes singing, and here and there an +oak-tree stood in the roadside, perfect in its solitary beauty. + +'Let us walk on a little,' said the dean. 'Miss Robarts is with +her now, and you will be better for leaving the room for a few +minutes.' + +'No,' said he; 'I must go back; I cannot leave that young lady to +do my work.' + +'Stop, Crawley!' And the dean, putting his hand upon him, stayed +him in the road. 'She is doing her own work, and if you were +speaking of her with reference to any other household than your +own, you would say so. Is it not a comfort to you to know that +your wife has a woman near her at such a time as this; and a woman, +too, who can speak to her as one lady does to another?' + +'These are comforts which we have no right to expect. I could have +done much for poor Mary; but what a man could have done should not +have been wanting.' + +'I am sure of it; I know it well. What any man could do by himself +you would do--excepting one thing.' And the dean as he spoke +looked full into the other's face. + +'And what is there I would not do?' said Crawley. + +'Sacrifice you own pride.' + +'My pride!' + +'Yes; your own pride.' + +'I have had but little pride this many a day. Arabin, you do not +know what my life has been. How is a man to be proud who--' And +then he stopped himself, not wishing to go through the catalogue of +those grievances, which, as he thought, had killed the very germs +of pride within him, or to insist by spoken words on his poverty, +his wants, and the injustice of his position. 'No; I wish I could +be proud; but the world has been too heavy to me, and I have +forgotten all that.' + +'How long I have known you, Crawley?' + +'How long? Ah dear! a lifetime nearly, now.' + +'And we were like brothers once.' + +'Yes; we were equal as brothers then--in our fortunes, our tastes, +and our modes of life.' + +'And yet you would begrudge me the pleasure of putting my hand in +my pocket, and relieving the inconveniences which have been thrown +upon you, and those you love better than yourself, by the chances +of the fate in your life.' + +'I will live on no man's charity,' said Crawley, with an abruptness +which amounted almost to an expression of anger. + +'And is that not pride?' + +'No--yes;--it is a species of pride, but not that pride of which +you spoke. A man cannot be honest if he have not some pride. You +yourself; would you not rather starve than become a beggar?' + +'I would rather beg than see my wife starve,' said Arabin. + +Crawley when he heard these words turned sharply round, and stood +with his back to the dean, with his hands still behind him, and +with his eyes fixed upon the ground. + +'But in this case there is no question of begging,' continued the +dean. 'I, out of those superfluities which it has pleased God to +put at my disposal, am anxious to assist the needs of those whom I +love.' + +'She is not starving,' said Crawley, in a voice very bitter, but +still intended to be exculpatory of himself. + +'No, my dear friend; I know she is not, and do not you be angry +with me because I have endeavoured to put the matter to you in the +strongest language I could use.' + +'You look at it, Arabin, from one side only; I can only look at it +from the other. It is very sweet to give; I do not doubt that. But +the taking of what is given is very bitter. Gift bread chokes in a +man's throat and poisons his blood, and sits like lead upon the +heart. You have never tried it.' + +'But that is the very fault of which I blame you. That is the +pride which I say you ought to sacrifice.' + +'And why should I be called upon to do so? Is not the labourer +worthy of his hire? Am I not able to work, and willing? Have I +not always had my shoulder to the collar, and is it right that I +should now be contented with the scraps from a rich man's kitchen? +Arabin, you and I were equal once and we were then friends, +understanding each other's thoughts and sympathizing with each +other's sorrows. But it cannot be so now.' + +'If there be such inability, it is all with you.' + +'It is all with me,--because in our connexion the pain would all be +on my side. It would not hurt you to see me at your table with +worn shoes and a ragged shirt. I do not think so meanly of you as +that. You would give me your feast to eat though I were not clad a +tithe as well as the menial behind your chair. But it would hurt +me to know that there were those looking at me who thought me unfit +to sit in your presence.' + +'That is the pride of which I speak;--false pride.' + +'Call it so if you will; but, Arabin, no preaching of yours can +alter it. It is all that is left to me of my manliness. That poor +broken reed who is lying there sick,--who has sacrificed all the +world to her love for me,--who is the mother of my children, and +the partner of my sorrows and the wife of my bosom,--even she +cannot change me in this, though she pleads with the eloquence of +all her wants. Not even for her can I hold out my hand for a +dole.' They had now come back to the door of the house, and Mr +Crawley, hardly conscious of what he was doing, was preparing to +enter. + +'Will Mrs Crawley be able to see me if I come in?' + +'Oh, stop, no; you had better not do so,' said Mr Crawley. 'You, no +doubt, might be subject to infection, and then Mrs Arabin would be +frightened.' + +'I do not care about it in the least,' said the dean. + +'But it is of no use; you had better not. Her room, I fear, +is quite unfit for you to see; and the whole house, you know, +may be infected.' Dr Arabin, by this time was in the +sitting-room; but seeing that his friend was really anxious +that he should not go farther, he did not persist. + +'It will be a comfort to us, at any rate, to know that Miss Robarts +is with her.' + +'The young lady is very good--very good indeed,' said Crawley; 'but +I trust she will return to her home to-morrow. It is impossible that +she should remain in so poor a house as mine. There will be nothing +here of all the things she will want.' The dean thought that Lucy +Robarts's wants during her present occupation of nursing would not be +so numerous as to make her continued sojourn in Mrs Crawley's +sick-room impossible, and therefore took his leave with a satisfied +conviction that the poor lady would not be left wholly to the +somewhat unskilled nursing of her husband. + + + +CHAPTER XXXVII + +MR SOWERBY WITHOUT COMPANY + +And now there were going to be wondrous doings in West Barsetshire, +and men's minds were much disturbed. The fiat had gone forth from +the high places, and the Queen had dissolved her faithful Commons. +The giants, finding that they could effect little or nothing with +the old House, had resolved to try what a new venture would do for +them, and the hubbub of a general election was to pervade the +country. This produced no inconsiderable irritation and annoyance, +for the House was not as yet quite three years old; and members of +Parliament, though they naturally feel a constitutional pleasure in +meeting their friends and in pressing the hands of their +constituents, are, nevertheless, so far akin to the lower order of +humanity that they appreciate the danger of losing their seats; and +the certainty of a considerable outlay in their endeavours to +retain them is not agreeable to the legislative mind. Never did +the old family fury between the gods and giants rage higher than at +the present moment. The giants declared that every turn which they +attempted to take in their country's service had been thwarted by +faction, in spite of those benign promises of assistance made to +them only a few weeks since by their opponents; and the gods +answered by asserting that they were driven to this opposition by +the Boeotian fatuity of the giants. They had no doubt promised +their aid, and were ready to give it to measures that were decently +prudent; but not to a bill enabling Government at its will to +pension aged bishops! No; there must be some limit to their +tolerance, and when such attempts as these were made that limit had +been clearly passed. All this had taken place openly only a day or +two after that casual whisper dropped by Tom Towers at Miss +Dunstable's party--by Tom Towers, that most pleasant of all +pleasant fellows. And how should he have know it,--he who flutters +from one sweetest flower of the garden to another, + + 'Adding sugar to the pink, and honey to the rose, + So loved for what he gives, but taking nothing as he goes'? + +But the whisper had grown into a rumour, and the rumour into a +fact, and the political world was in a ferment. The giants, +furious about their bishops' pension bill, threatened the +House--most injudiciously; and then it was beautiful to see how +indignant members got up, glowing with honesty, and declared that +it was base to conceive that any gentleman in that House could be +actuated in his vote by any hopes or fears with reference to his +seat. And so matters grew from bad to worse, and these contending +parties never hit at each other with some venomed wrath as they did +now;--having entered the ring together so lately with such manifold +promises of good-will, respect, and forbearance! + +But going from the general to the particular, we may say that +nowhere was a deeper consternation spread than in the electoral +division of West Barsetshire. No sooner had the tidings of the +dissolution reached the county than it was known that the duke +intended to change his nominee. Mr Sowerby had now sat for the +division since the Reform Bill! He had become one of the county's +institutions, and by the dint of custom and long establishment had +been borne with and even liked by the county gentlemen, in spite of +his well-known pecuniary irregularities. Now all this was to be +changed. No reason had as yet been publicly given, but it was +understood that Lord Dumbello was to be returned, although he did +not own an acre of land in the county. It is true that rumour went +on to say that Lord Dumbello was about to form close connexions +with Barsetshire. He was on the eve of marrying a young lady, from +the other division indeed, and was now engaged, so it was said, in +completing arrangements with the Government for the purchase of +that noble Crown property usually known as the Chase of +Chaldicotes. It was also stated--this statement, however, had +hitherto been only announced in confidential whispers--that +Chaldicotes House itself would soon become the residence of the +marquis. The duke was claiming it as his own--would very shortly +have completed his claims and taken possession:--and then, by some +arrangement between them, it was to be made over to Lord Dumbello. +But very contrary rumours to these got abroad also. Men said--such +as dared to oppose the duke, and some few also, who did not dare to +oppose him when the day of battle came--that it was beyond his +grace's power to turn Lord Dumbello into a Barsetshire magnate. The +Crown property--such men said--was to fall into the hands of young +Mr Gresham, of Boxall Hill, in the other division, and that the +terms of purchase had been already settled. And as to Mr Sowerby's +property and the house of Chaldicotes--these opponents of the +Omnium interest went on to explain--it was by no means as yet so +certain that the duke would be able to enter it and to take +possession. The place was not to be given up to him quietly. A +great fight would be made, and it was beginning to be believed that +the enormous mortgages would be paid off by a lady of immense +wealth. And then a dash of romance was not wanting to make these +stories palatable. This lady of immense wealth had been courted by +Mr Sowerby, had acknowledged her love,--but had refused to marry +him on account of his character. In testimony of her love, +however, she was about to pay all his debts. + +It was soon put beyond a rumour, and became manifest enough, that +Mr Sowerby did not intend to retire from the county in obedience to +the duke's behest. A placard was posted through the whole division +in which no allusion was made by name to the duke, but in which Mr +Sowerby warned his friends not to be led away by any report that he +intended to retire from the representation of West Barsetshire. 'He +had sat,' the placard said, 'for the same county during the full +period of a quarter of a century, and he would not lightly give up +an honour that had been extended to him so often and which he +prized so dearly. There were but few men now in the House whose +connexion with the same body of constituents had remained unbroken +so long as had that which had bound him to West Barsetshire; and he +confidently hoped that the connexion might be continued through +another period of coming years, till he might find himself in the +glorious position of being the father of the county members of the +House of Commons.' The placard said much more than this, and hinted +at sundry and various questions, all of great interest to the +county; but it did not say one word of the Duke of Omnium, though +every one knew what the duke was supposed to be doing in the +matter. He was, as it were, a great Llama, shut up in a holy of +holies, inscrutable, invisible, inexorable,--not to be seen by +men's eyes or heard by their ears, hardly to be mentioned by +ordinary men at such periods as these without an inward quaking. +But, nevertheless, it was he who was supposed to rule them. +Euphemism required that his name should be mentioned at no public +meetings in connexion with the coming election; but, nevertheless, +most men in the county believed that he could send his dog up to +the House of Commons as member for West Barsetshire if it so +pleased him. + +It was supposed, therefore, that our friend Sowerby would have no +chance; but he was lucky in finding assistance in a quarter from +which he certainly had not deserved it. He had been a staunch +friend of the gods during the whole of his political life,--as, +indeed, was to be expected, seeing that he had been the duke's +nominee; but, nevertheless, on the present occasion, all the giants +connected with the county came forward to his rescue. They did to +do this with the acknowledged purpose of opposing the duke; they +declared that they were actuated by a generous disinclination to +see an old county member put from his seat; but the world knew that +the battle was to be waged against the great Llama. It was to be a +contest between the powers of aristocracy and the powers of +oligarchy, as those powers existed in West Barsetshire,--and it may +be added, that democracy would have very little to say to it, on +one side or on the other. The lower order of voters, the small +farmers and tradesmen, would no doubt range themselves on the side +of the duke, and would endeavour to flatter themselves that they +were thereby furthering the views of the Liberal side; but they +would in fact be led to the poll by an old-fashioned, time-honoured +adherence to the will of their great Llama; and by an apprehension +of evil if that Llama should arise and shake himself in his wrath. +What might not come to the county if the Llama were to walk himself +off, he with his satellites and armies and courtiers? There he +was, a great Llama; and though he came among them but seldom, and +was scarcely seen when he did come, nevertheless--and not the less +but rather the more--was obedience to him considered as salutary +and opposition regarded as dangerous. A great rural Llama is still +sufficiently mighty in rural England. But the priest of the +temple, Mr Fothergill, was frequent enough in men's eyes, and it +was beautiful to hear with how varied a voice he alluded to the +things around him and to the changes which were coming. To the +small farmers, not only on the Gatherum property, but on others +also, he spoke of the duke as a beneficent influence, shedding +prosperity on all around him, keeping up prices by his presence, +and in forbidding the poor rates to rise above one and fourpence in +the pound by the general employment which he occasioned. Men must +be mad, he thought, who would willingly fly in the duke's face. To +the squire from a distance he declared that no one had a right to +charge the duke with any interference; as far, at least, as he knew +the duke's mind. People would talk of things of which they +understood nothing. Could any one say that he had traced a single +request for a vote home to the duke? All this did not alter the +settled conviction on men's minds; but it had the effect, and +tended to increase the mystery in which the duke's doings were +enveloped. But to his own familiars, to the gentry immediately +around him, Mr Fothergill merely winked his eye. They knew what +was what, and so did he. The duke had never been bit yet in such +matters, and Mr Fothergill did not think that he would now submit +himself to any such operation. + +I never heard in what manner and at what rate Mr Fothergill +received remuneration for the various services performed by him +with reference to the duke's property in Barsetshire; but I am very +sure that, whatever might be the amount, he earned it thoroughly. +Never was there a more faithful partisan, or one who, in his +partisanship, was more discreet. In this matter of the coming +election he declared that he himself--personally, on his own +hook--did intend to bestir himself actively on behalf of Lord +Dumbello. Mr Sowerby was an old friend of his, and a very good +fellow. That was true. But all the world must admit that Sowerby +was not in the position which a county member ought to occupy. He +was a ruined man, and it would not be for his own advantage that he +should be maintained in a position which was fit only for a man of +property. He knew--he, Fothergill--that Mr Sowerby must abandon +all right and claim to Chaldicotes; and if so, what would be more +absurd than to acknowledge that he had a right and claim for the +seat in Parliament? As to Lord Dumbello, it was probable that he +would soon become the largest landowner in the county; and, as +such, who would be more fit for the representation? Beyond this, +Mr Fothergill was not ashamed to confess--so he said--that he hoped +to hold Lord Dumbello's agency. It would be compatible with his +other duties, and therefore, as a matter of course, he intended to +support Lord Dumbello; he himself, that is. As to the duke's mind +in the matter--! But I have already explained how Mr Fothergill +disposed of that. + +In these days Mr Sowerby came down to his own house--for ostensibly +it was still his own house--but he came very quietly, and his +arrival was hardly known in his own village. Though his placard +was stuck up so widely, he himself took no electioneering steps; +none, at least, as yet. The protection against arrest which he +derived from Parliament would soon be over, and those who were most +bitter against the duke averred that steps would be taken to arrest +him, should he give sufficient opportunity to the myrmidons of the +law. That he would, in such case, be arrested was very likely; but +it was not likely that this would be done in any way at the duke's +instance. Mr Fothergill declared indignantly that this insinuation +made him very angry; but he was too prudent a man to be very angry +at anything, and he knew how to make capital on his own side of +charges such as these which overshot their own mark. Mr Sowerby +came down very quietly to Chaldicotes, and there he remained for a +couple of days, quite alone. The place bore a very different +aspect now to that which we noticed when Mark Robarts drove up to +it, in the early pages of this narrative. There were no lights in +the windows now, and no voices came from the stables; no dogs +barked, and all was dead and silent as the grave. During the +greater portion of those two days he sat alone within the house, +almost unoccupied. He did not even open his letters, which lay +piled on a crowded table in the small breakfast parlour in which he +sat; for the letters of such men come in piles, and there are few +of them which are pleasant in the reading. There he sat, troubled +with thoughts which were sad enough, now and then moving to and fro +the house, but for the most part occupied in thinking over the +position to which he had brought himself. What would he be in the +world's eye, if he ceased to be the owner of Chaldicotes, and +ceased also to be the member for the county? He had lived ever +before the world, and, though always harassed by encumbrances, had +been sustained and comforted by the excitement of a prominent +position. His debts and difficulties had hitherto been bearable, +and he had borne them with ease so long that he had almost taught +himself to think that they would never be unendurable. But now-- + +The order for foreclosing had gone forth, and the harpies of the +law, by their present speed in sticking their claws into the +carcass of his property, were atoning to themselves for the delay +with which they had hitherto been compelled to approach their +prey. And the order as to his seat had gone forth also. That +placard had been drawn up by the combined efforts of his sister, +Miss Dunstable, and a certain well-known electioneering agent, +named Closerstill, presumed to be in the interest of the giants. +But poor Sowerby had but little confidence in the placard. No one +knew better than he how great was the duke's power. He was +hopeless, therefore, as he walked about through those empty rooms, +thinking of his past life and of that life which was to come. Would +it not be well for him that he were dead, now that he was dying to +all that had made the world pleasant? We see and hear of such men +as Mr Sowerby, and are apt to think that they enjoy that all +without payment either in care or labour; but I doubt that, with +even the most callous of them, their periods of wretchedness must +be frequent, and that wretchedness very intense. Salmon and lamb +in February, and green pease and new potatoes in March, can hardly +make a man happy, even though nobody pays for them; and the feeling +that one is antecedum scelestum after whom a sure, though lame, +Nemesis is hobbling, must sometimes disturb one's slumbers. On the +present occasion Scelestus felt that his Nemesis had overtaken +him. Lame as he had been, and swift as he had run, she had mouthed +him at last, and there was nothing left for him but to listen to +the 'whoop' set up at the sight of his own death-throes. + +It was a melancholy, dreary place now, that big house of +Chaldicotes; and though the woods were all green with their early +leaves, and the garden thick with flowers, they were also +melancholy and dreary. The lawns were untrimmed and weeds were +growing through the gravel, and here and there a cracked Dryad, +tumbled from her pedestal and sprawling in the grass, gave a look +of disorder to the whole place. The wooden trellis-work was +shattered here and bending there, the standard rose-trees were +stooping to the ground, and the leaves of the winter still +encumbered the borders. Of all the inanimate things of the world +this wood of Chaldicotes was the dearest to him. He was not a man +to whom his companions gave much credit for feelings or thoughts +akin to poetry, but here, out in the Chace, his mind would be +almost poetical. While wandering among the forest trees, he became +susceptible of the tenderness of human nature: he would listen to +the birds singing, and pick here and there a wild flower on his +path. He would watch the decay of the old trees and the progress +of the young, and make pictures in his eyes of every turn in the +wood. He would mark the colour of a bit of road as it dipped into +a dell, and then, passing through a water-course, rose brown, +rough, irregular, and beautiful against the bank on the other +side. And then he would sit and think of his old family: how they +had roamed there time out of mind in those Chaldicotes woods, +father and son and grandson in regular succession, each giving them +over, without blemish or decrease, to his successor. So he would +sit; and so did he sit even now, and, thinking of these things, +wished that he had never been. + +It was dark night when he returned to the house, and as he did so +he resolved that he would quit the place altogether, and give up +the battle as lost. The duke should take it and do as he pleased +with it; and as for the seat in Parliament, Lord Dumbello, or any +other equally gifted young patrician, might hold it for him. He +would vanish from the scene and betake himself to some land whence +he would be neither heard nor seen, and there--starve. Such were +now his future outlooks into the world; and yet, as regards health +and all physical capacities, he knew that he was still in the prime +of his life. Yes; in the prime of his life! But what could he do +with what remained to him of such prime? How could he turn either +his mind or his strength to such account as might now be +serviceable? How could he, in his sore need, earn for himself even +the barest bread? Would it not be better for him that he should +die? Let not any one covet the lot of a spendthrift, even though +the days of his early pease and champagne seem to be unnumbered; +for that lame Nemesis will surely be up before the game has been +played all out. When Mr Sowerby reached his house he found that a +message by telegraph had arrived for him in his absence. It was +from his sister, and it informed him that she would be with him +that night. She was coming down by the mail train, had telegraphed +to Barchester for post-horses, and would be at Chaldicotes about +two hours after midnight. It was therefore manifest enough that +her business was of importance. Exactly at two the Barchester +post-chaise did arrive, and Mrs Harold Smith, before she retired to +her bed, was closeted for about an hour with her brother. 'Well,' +she said, the following morning, as they sat together at the +breakfast-table, 'what do you say to it now? If you accept her +offer you should be with her lawyer this afternoon.' + +'I suppose I must accept it,' said he. + +'Certainly, I think so. No doubt it will take the property out of +your own hands as completely as though the duke had it, but it will +leave you the house, at any rate, for your life.' + +'What good will the house be, when I can't keep it?' + +'But I am not so sure of that. She will not want more than her +fair interest; and as it will be thoroughly well managed, I should +think that there would be something over--something enough to keep +up the house. And then, you know, we must have some place in the +country.' + +'I tell you fairly, Harriet, that I will have nothing further to do +with Harold in the way of money.' + +'Ah! that was because you would go to him. Why did you not come +to me? And then, Nathaniel, it is the only way in which you can +have a chance of keeping the seat. She is the queerest woman I +ever met, but she seems resolved on beating the duke.' + +'I do not quite understand it, but I have not the slightest +objection.' + +'She thinks that he is interfering with young Gresham about the +Crown property. I have no idea that she had so much business at +her fingers' ends. When I first proposed the matter she took it up +quite as a lawyer might, and seemed to have forgotten altogether +what occurred about the other matter.' + +'I wish I could forget it also,' said Mr Sowerby. + +'I really think that she does. When I was obliged to make some +allusion to it--at least I felt myself obliged, and was very sorry +afterwards that I did--she merely laughed--a great loud laugh as +she always does, and then went on about the business. However, she +was clear about this, that all expenses of the election should be +added to the sum to be advanced by her, and that the house should +be left to you without rent. If you choose to take the land round +the house you must pay for it, by the acre, as the tenants do. She +was clear about it all as though she had passed her life in a +lawyer's office.' + +My readers will now pretty well understand what last step that +excellent sister, Mrs Harold Smith, had taken on her brother's +behalf, nor will they be surprised to learn that in the course of +the day, Mr Sowerby hurried back to town and put himself into +communication with Miss Dunstable's lawyer. + + + +CHAPTER XXXVIII + +IS THERE CAUSE OR JUST IMPEDIMENT? + +I now purpose to visit another country house in Barsetshire, but on +this occasion our sojourn shall be in the eastern division, in +which, as every other county in England, electioneering matters are +paramount at the present moment. It has been mentioned that Mr +Gresham, junior, young Frank Gresham as he was always called, lived +at a place called Boxall Hill. This property had come to his wife +by will, and he was now settled there,--seeing that his father +still held the family seat of the Greshams at Greshambury. At the +present moment Miss Dunstable was staying at Boxall Hill with Mrs +Frank Gresham. They had left London, as indeed, all the world had +done, to the terrible dismay of the London tradesmen. This +dissolution of Parliament was ruining everybody except the country +publicans, and had of course destroyed the London season among +other things. + +Mrs Harold Smith had only just managed to catch Miss Dunstable +before she left London; but she did do so, and the great heiress +had at once seen her lawyers, and instructed them how to act with +reference to the mortgages on the Chaldicotes property. Miss +Dunstable was in the habit of speaking of herself and her own +pecuniary concerns as though she herself was rarely allowed to +meddle in their management; but this was one of those small jokes +which she ordinarily perpetrated; for in truth few ladies, and +perhaps not many gentlemen, have a more thorough knowledge of their +own concerns or a more potent voice in their own affairs, than was +possessed by Miss Dunstable. Circumstances had lately brought her +much into Barsetshire, and she had there contracted very intimate +friendships. She was now disposed to become, if possible, a +Barsetshire proprietor, and with this view had lately agreed with +young Mr Gresham that she would become the purchaser of the Crown +property. As, however, the purchase had been commenced in his +name, it was so to be continued; but now, as we are aware, it was +rumoured that, after all, the duke, or, if not the duke, then the +Marquis of Dumbello, was to be the future owner of the Chace. Miss +Dunstable, however, was not a person to give up her object if she +could attain it, nor, under the circumstances, was she at all +displeased at finding herself endowed with the power of rescuing +the Sowerby portion of the Chaldicotes property from the duke's +clutches. Why had the duke meddled with her or with her friends, +as to the other property? Therefore it was arranged that the full +amount due to the duke on the mortgage should be ready for +immediate payment; but it was arranged also that the security as +held by Miss Dunstable should be very valid. + +Miss Dunstable, at Boxall Hill or at Greshambury, was a very +different person from Miss Dunstable in London; and it was this +difference which so much vexed Mrs Gresham; not that her friend +omitted to bring with her into the country her London wit and +aptitude for fun, but that she did not take with her up to town the +genuine goodness and love of honesty which made her lovable in the +country. She was, as it were, two persons, and Mrs Gresham could +not understand that any lady should permit herself to be more +worldly at one time of the year than at another--or in one place +than in any other. 'Well, my dear, I am heartily glad we've done +with that,' Miss Dunstable said to her, as she sat herself down to +her desk in the drawing-room on the first morning after her arrival +at Boxall Hill. + +'What does "that" mean?' said Mrs Gresham. + +'Why, London and smoke and late hours, and standing on one's legs +for four hours at a stretch on the top of one's own staircase, to +be bowed at by any one who chooses to come. That's all done--for +one year, at any rate.' + +'You know you like it.' + +'No, Mary; that's just what I don't know. I don't know whether I +like it or not. Sometimes, when the spirit of that dearest of all +women, Mrs Harold Smith, is upon me, I think I do like it. But +then, again, when other spirits are on me, I think that I don't.' + +'And who are the owners of the other spirits?' + +'Oh, you are one, of course. But you are a weak little thing, by no +means able to contend with such a Samson as Mrs Harold. And then +you are a little given to wickedness yourself, you know. You've +learned to like London well enough since you sat down to the table +of Dives. Your uncle--he's the real, impracticable, unapproachable +Lazarus who declares that he can't come down because of the big +gulf. I wonder how he'd behave, if somebody left him ten thousand +a year.' + +'Uncommonly well, I am sure.' + +'Oh, yes; he is a Lazarus now, so of course we are bound to speak +well of him; but I should like to see him tried. I don't doubt but +what he'd have a house in Belgrave Square, and become noted for his +little dinners before the first year of his trial was over.' + +'Well, and why not? You would not wish him to be an anchorite?' + +'I am told that he is going to try his luck--not with ten thousand +a year, but with one or two.' + +'What do you mean?' + +'Jane tells me that they all say at Greshambury that he is going to +marry Lady Scatcherd.' Now Lady Scatcherd was a widow living in +those parts; an excellent woman, but not one formed by nature to +grace society of the highest order. + +'What!' exclaimed Mrs Gresham, rising up from her chair, while her +eyes flashed with anger at such a rumour. + +'Well, my dear, don't eat me. I don't say it is so; I only say +that Jane said so.' + +'Then you ought to send Jane out of the house.' + +'You may be sure of this, my dear: Jane would not have told me if +somebody had not told her.' + +'And you believed it?' + +'I have said nothing about that.' + +'But you look as if you believed it.' + +'Do I? Let us see what sort of look it is, this look of faith.' +And Miss Dunstable got up and went to the glass over the +fireplace. 'But, Mary, my dear, ain't you old enough to know that +you should not credit other people's looks? You should believe +nothing nowadays; and I did not believe the story about poor Lady +Scatcherd. I know the doctor well enough to be sure that he is not +a marrying man.' + +'What a nasty, hackneyed, false phrase that is--that of a marrying +man! It sounds as though some men were in the habit of getting +married three or four times a month.' + +'It means a great deal all the same. One can tell very soon +whether a man is likely to marry or not.' + +'And can one tell the same of a woman?' + +'The thing is so different. All unmarried women are necessarily in +the market; but if they behave themselves properly and make no +signs. Now there was Griselda Grantly; of course she intended to +get herself a husband, and a very grand one she has got: but she +always looked as though butter would not melt in her mouth. It +would have been very wrong to call her a marrying girl.' + +'Oh, of course she was,' says Mrs Gresham, with that sort of +acrimony which one pretty young woman so frequently expresses with +reference to another. 'But if one could always tell of a woman, as +you say you can of a man, I should be able to tell of you. Now, I +wonder whether you are a marrying woman? I have never been able to +make up my mind yet.' + +Miss Dunstable remained silent for a few moments, as though she +were at first minded to take the question as being, in some sort, +one made in earnest; but then she attempted to laugh it off. 'Well, +I wonder at that,' said she, 'as it was only the other day I told +you how many offers I had refused.' + +'Yes; but you did not tell me whether any had been made that you +meant to accept.' + +'None such was ever made to me. Talking of that, I shall never +forget your cousin, the Honourable George.' + +'He is not my cousin.' + +'Well, your husband's. It would not be fair to show a man's +letter; but I should like to show you his.' + +'You are determined, then, to remain single?' + +'I didn't say that. But why do you cross-question me so?' + +'Because I think so much about you. I am afraid that you will +become so afraid of men's motives as to doubt that any one can be +honest. And yet sometimes I think you would be a happier woman and +a better woman, if you were married.' + +'To such a one as the Honourable George, for instance?' + +'No, not to such a one as him; you have probably picked out the +worst.' + +'Or to Mr Sowerby?' + +'Well, no; not to Mr Sowerby either. I would not have you marry +any man that looked to you for your money principally.' + +'And how is it possible that I should expect any one to look at me +principally for anything else? You don't see my difficulty, my +dear? If I had only five hundred a year, I might come across some +decent middle-aged personage, like myself, who would like me, +myself, pretty well, and would like my little income--pretty well +also. He would not tell me any violent lie, and perhaps no lie at +all. I should take to him in the same sort of way, and we might do +very well. But, as it is, how is it possible that any disinterested +person should learn to like me? How could such a man set about +it? If a sheep have two heads, is not the fact of the two heads +the first and, indeed, only thing which the world regards in that +sheep? Must it not be so as a matter of course? I am a sheep with +two heads. All this money which my father put together, and which +has been growing since like grass under May showers, has turned me +into an abortion. I am not the giantess eight feet high, or the +dwarf that stands in the man's hand--' + +'Or the two-headed sheep--' + +'But I am the unmarried woman with--half a dozen millions of +money--as I believe some people think. Under such circumstances +have I a fair chance of getting my own sweet bit of grass to +nibble, like any ordinary animal with one head? I never was very +beautiful, and I am not more so than I was fifteen years ago.' + +'I am quite sure it is not that which hinders it. You would not +call yourself plain; and even plain women are married every day, +and are loved too, as well as pretty women.' + +'Are they? Well, we won't say any more about that; but I don't +expect a great many lovers on account of my beauty. If ever +you hear of such an one, mind you tell me.' It was almost on Mrs +Gresham's tongue to say that she did know of one such--meaning her +uncle. But, in truth, she did not know any such thing; nor could +she boast to herself that she had good grounds for feeling that it +was so--certainly none sufficient to justify her in speaking of +it. Her uncle had said no word to her on the matter, and had been +confused and embarrassed when the idea of such a marriage was +hinted to him. But, nevertheless, Mrs Gresham did think that each +of these two was well inclined to love the other, and that they +would be happier together than they would be single. The +difficulty, however, was very great, for the doctor would be +terribly afraid of being thought covetous in regard to Miss +Dunstable's money; and it would hardly be expected that she should +be induced to make the first overture to the doctor. + +'My uncle would be the only man that I can think of that would be +at all fit for you,' said Mrs Gresham, boldly. + +'What, and rob poor Lady Scatcherd!' said Miss Dunstable. + +'Oh, very well. If you choose to make a joke of his name in that +way, I have done.' + +'Why, God bless the girl, what does she want me to say? And as for +joking, surely that is innocent enough. You're as tender about the +doctor as though he were a girl of seventeen.' + +'It's not about him; but it's such a shame to laugh at poor dear +Lady Scatcherd. If she were to hear it she'd lose all comfort in +having my uncle near her.' + +'And I'm to marry him, so that she may be safe with her friend.' + +'Very well. I have done.' And Mrs Gresham, who had already got up +from her seat, employed herself very sedulously in arranging +flowers which had been brought in for the drawing-room tables. +Thus they remained silent for a minute or two, during which she +began to reflect that, after all, it might probably be thought that +she was also endeavouring to catch the great heiress for her uncle. + +'And now you are angry with me,' said Miss Dunstable. + +'No, I am not.' + +'Oh, but you are. Do you think I'm such a fool as not to see when +a person's vexed? You wouldn't have twitched that geranium's head +if you had been in a proper frame of mind.' + +'I don't like that joke about Lady Scatcherd.' + +'And is that all, Mary? Now do try and be true, if you can. You +remember the bishop. Magna ist veritas.' + +'The fact is you've got yourself into such a way of being sharp, +and saying sharp things among your friends in London, that you can +hardly answer a person without it.' + +'Can't I? Dear, dear, what a Mentor you are, Mary! No poor lad +that ever ran up from Oxford for a spree in town got so lectured +for his dissipation and iniquities as I do. Well, I beg Doctor +Thorne's pardon, and Lady Scatcherd's, and I won't be sharp any +more; and I will--let me see, what was it I was to do? Marry him +myself, I believe; was not that it?' + +'No; you're not half good enough for him.' + +'I know that. I'm quite sure of that. Though I am so sharp, I'm +very humble. You can't accuse me of putting any very great value +on myself.' + +'Perhaps not as much as you ought to do--on yourself.' + +'Now what do you mean, Mary? I won't be bullied and teased, and +have innuendoes thrown out at me, because you've something on your +mind, and don't quite dare to speak it out. If you have got +anything to say, say it.' But Mrs Gresham did not choose to say it +at that moment. She held her peace, and went on arranging her +flowers--now with a more satisfied air, and without destruction to +the geraniums. And when she had grouped her bunches properly she +carried the jar from one part of the room to the other, backwards +and forwards, trying the effect of the colours, as though her mind +was quite intent upon her flowers, and was the moment wholly +unoccupied with any other subject. But Miss Dunstable was not a +woman to put up with this. She sat silent in her place, while her +friend made one or two turns about the room; and then she got up +from her seat also, 'Mary,' she said, 'give over about those +wretched bits of green branches, and leave the jars where they +are. You're trying to fidget me into a passion.' + +'Am I?' said Mrs Gresham, standing opposite to a big bowl, and +putting her head a little on one side, as though she could better +look at her handiwork in that position. + +'You know you are; and it's all because you lack courage to speak +out. You didn't begin at me in this way for nothing.' + +'I do lack courage. That's just it,' said Mrs Gresham, still +giving a twist here and a set there to some of the small sprigs +which constituted the background of her bouquet. 'I do lack +courage--to have ill motives imputed to me, therefore I will not +say it. And now, if you like, I will be ready to take you out in +ten minutes.' But Miss Dunstable was not going to be put off in +this way. And to tell the truth, I must admit that her friend Mrs +Gresham was not using her altogether well. She should either have +held her peace on the matter altogether--which would probably have +been the wiser course--or she should have declared her own ideas +boldly, feeling secure in her own conscience as to her own +motives. 'I shall not stir from this room,' said Miss Dunstable, +'till I have had this matter out with you. As for imputations--my +imputing bad motives to you--I don't know how far you may be +joking, and saying what you call sharp things to me; but you have +no right to think that I should think evil of you. If you really +think so, it is treason to the love I have for you. If I thought +that you thought so, I could not remain in the house with you. +What, you are not able to know the difference which one makes +between one's real friends and one's mock friends! I don't believe +it of you, and I know you are only striving to bully me.' And Miss +Dunstable now took her turn of walking up and down the room. + +'Well, she shan't be bullied,' said Mrs Gresham, leaving her +flowers, and putting her arm round her friend's waist;--'at least, +not here, in this house, although she is sometimes such a bully +herself.' + +'Mary, you have gone too far about this to go back. Tell me what +it is that was on your mind, and as far as it concerns me, I will +answer you honestly.' Mrs Gresham now began to repent that she had +made her little attempt. That uttering of hints in a half-joking +way was all very well, and might possibly bring about the desired +results, without the necessity of any formal suggestion on her +part; but now she was so brought to book that she must say +something formal. She must commit herself to the expression of her +own wishes, and to an expression also of an opinion as to what had +been the wishes of her friend; and this she must do without being +able to say anything of the wishes of a third person. 'Well,' she +said, 'I suppose you know what I meant.' + +'I suppose I did,' said Miss Dunstable; 'but it is not at the less +necessary that you should say it out. I am not to commit myself by +my interpretation of your thoughts, while you remain perfectly +secure in having only hinted your own. I hate hints, as I do--the +mischief. I go in for the bishop's doctrine. Magna ist veritas.' + +'Well, I don't know,' said Mrs Gresham. + +'Ah! but I do,' said Miss Dunstable. 'And therefore go on, or for +ever hold your peace.' + +'The quotation out of the Prayer Book which you finished just now. +"If any of you know cause or just impediment why these two persons +should not be joined together in holy matrimony, ye are to declare +it. This is the first time of asking." Do you know any cause, +Miss Dunstable?' + +'Do you know any, Mrs Gresham?' + +'None, upon my honour!' said the younger lady, putting her hand +upon her breast. + +'Ah! but you do not?' and Miss Dunstable caught hold of her arm, +and spoke almost abruptly in her energy. + +'No, certainly not. What impediment? If I did, I should not have +broached the subject. I declare I think you would be very happy +together. Of course, there is one impediment; we all know that. +That must be your look out.' + +'What do you mean? What impediment?' + +'Your own money.' + +'Psha! Did you find that an impediment in marrying Frank Gresham?' + +'Ah! the matter was so different there. He had much more to give +than I had, when all was counted. And I had no money when we--when +we were first engaged.' And the tears came into her eyes as she +thought of the circumstances of her early love;--all of which have +been narrated in the county chronicles of Barsetshire, and may now +be read by men and women interested therein. + +'Yes; yours was a love match. I declare, Mary, I often think that +you are the happiest woman of whom I have ever heard; to have it +all to give, when you were so sure that you were loved while you +had nothing.' + +'Yes; I was sure,' and she wiped the sweet tears from her eyes, as +she remembered a certain day when a certain youth had come to her, +claiming all kinds of privileges in a very determined manner. She +had been no heiress then. 'Yes; I was sure. But now with you, my +dear, you can't make yourself poor again. If you can trust no +one--' + +'I can. I can trust him. As regards that I do trust him +altogether. But how can I tell that he would care for me?' + +'Do you not know that he likes you?' + +'Ah, yes; and so he does Lady Scatcherd.' + +'Miss Dunstable!' + +'And why not Lady Scatcherd, as well as me? We are of the same +kind--come from the same class.' + +'Not quite that, I think.' + +'Yes, from the same class; only I have managed to poke myself up +among dukes and duchesses, whereas she has been content to remain +where God has placed her. Where I beat her in art, she beats me in +nature.' + +'You know you are talking nonsense.' + +'I think that we are both doing that--absolute nonsense; such as +schoolgirls of eighteen talk to each other. But there is a relief +in it; is there not? It would be a terrible curse to have to talk +sense always. Well, that's done; and now let us go out.' Mrs +Gresham was sure after this that Miss Dunstable would be a +consenting party to the little arrangement which she contemplated. +But of that she had felt but little doubt for some considerable +time past. The difficulty lay on the other side, and all that she +had as yet done was to convince herself that she would be safe in +assuring her uncle of success if he could be induced to take the +enterprise in hand. He was to come to Boxall Hill that evening, +and to remain there for a day or two. If anything could be done in +the matter, now would be the time for doing it. So at least +thought Mrs Gresham. + +The doctor did come, and did remain for the allotted time at Boxall +Hill; but when he left, Mrs Gresham had not been successful. +Indeed, he did not seem to enjoy his visit as was usual with him; +and there was very little of that pleasant friendly intercourse +which for some time past had been customary between him and Miss +Dunstable. There were no passages of arms between them; no abuse +from the doctor against the lady's London gaiety; no raillery from +the lady as to the doctor's country habits. They were very +courteous to each other, and, as Mrs Gresham thought, too civil by +half; nor, as far as she could see, did they ever remain alone in +each other's company for five minutes at a time during the whole +period of the doctor's visit. What, thought Mrs Gresham to +herself,--what if she had set these two friends at variance with +each other, instead of binding them together in the closest and +most durable friendship! But still she had an idea that, as she +had begun to play this game, she must play it out. She felt +conscious that what she had done must do evil, unless she could so +carry it on as to make it result in good. Indeed, unless she could +so manage, she would have done a manifest injury to Miss Dunstable +in forcing her to declare her thoughts and feelings. She had +already spoken to her uncle in London, and though he had said +nothing to show that he approved of her plan, neither had he said +anything to show that he disapproved of it. Therefore she had +hoped through the whole of those three days that he would make some +sign,--at any rate to her; that he would in some way declare what +were his own thoughts on this matter. But the morning of his +departure came, and he had declared nothing. 'Uncle,' she said, in +the last five minutes of his sojourn there, after he had already +taken leave of Miss Dunstable and shaken hands with Mrs Gresham +'have you ever thought of what I said to you up in London?' + +'Yes, Mary; of course I have thought about it. Such an idea as +that, when put into a man's head, will make itself thought about.' + +'Well; and what next? Do talk to me about it. Do not be so hard +and unlike yourself.' + +'I have very little to say about it.' + +'I can tell you this for certain, you may if you like.' + +'Mary! Mary!' + +'I would not say so if I were not sure that I should not lead you +into trouble.' + +'You are foolish in wishing this, my dear; foolish in trying to +tempt an old man into folly.' + +'Not foolish if I know that it will make you both happier.' He made +no further reply, but stooping down that she might kiss him, as was +his wont, went his way, leaving her almost miserable in the thought +that she had troubled all these waters for no purpose. What would +Miss Dunstable think of her? But on that afternoon Miss Dunstable +seemed to be as happy and even-tempered as ever. + + + +CHAPTER XXXIX + +HOW TO WRITE A LOVE LETTER + +Dr Thorne, in the few words which he spoke to his niece before he +left Boxall Hill, had called himself an old man; but he was as yet +on the right side of sixty by five good years, and bore about with +him less of the marks of age than most men of fifty-five do bear. +One would have said, in looking at him, that there was no reason +why he should not marry if he found that such a step seemed good to +him; and, looking at the age of the proposed bride, there was +nothing unsuitable in that respect. But nevertheless he felt almost +ashamed of himself, in that he allowed himself even to think of the +proposition which his niece had made. He mounted his horse that +day at Boxall Hill--for he made all his journeys about the county +on horseback--and rode slowly home to Greshambury, thinking not so +much of the suggested marriage as of his own folly in thinking of +it. How could he be such an ass at this time of life as to allow +the even course of his way to be disturbed by any such ideas? Of +course he could not propose to himself such a wife as Miss +Dunstable without having some thoughts about her wealth; and it had +been the pride of his life so to live that the world might know +that he was indifferent about money. His profession was all in all +to him; the air which he breathed as well as the bread which he +ate; and how could he follow his profession if he made such a +marriage as this? She would expect him to go to London with her; +and what would he become, dangling at her heels there, known only +to the world as the husband of the richest woman in the town? The +kind of life was one which would be unsuitable to him; and yet, as +he rode home, he could not resolve to rid himself of the idea. He +went on thinking of it, though he still continued to condemn +himself for keeping it in his thoughts. That night at home he +would make up his mind, so he declared to himself; and would then +write to his niece begging her to drop the subject. Having so far +come to a resolution he went on meditating what course of life it +might be well for him to pursue if he and Miss Dunstable should +after all become man and wife. + +There were two ladies whom it behoved him to see on the day of his +arrival--whom, indeed, he generally saw every day except when +absent from Greshambury. The first of these--first in the general +consideration of the people of the place--was the wife of the +squire, Lady Arabella Gresham, a very old patient of the doctor's. +Her it was his custom to visit early in the afternoon; and then, if +he were able to escape the squire's daily invitation to dinner, he +customarily went to see the other, Lady Scatcherd, when the rapid +meal in his own house was over. Such, at least, was his summer +practice. 'Well, doctor, how are they all at Boxall Hill?' said the +squire, waylaying him on the gravel sweep before the door. The +squire was very hard set for occupation in these summer months. + +'Quite well, I believe.' + +'I don't know what's come to Frank. I think he hates this place +now. He's full of the election, I suppose.' + +'Oh, yes; he told me to say that he should be over here soon. Of +course there'll be no contest, so he need not trouble himself.' + +'Happy dog, isn't he, doctor? to have it all before him instead of +behind him. Well, well; he's as good a lad as ever lived--as ever +lived. And let me see; Mary's time--' And then there were a few +very important words spoken on that subject. + +'I'll just step up to Lady Arabella now,' said the doctor. + +'She's as fretful as possible,' said the squire. 'I've just left +her.' + +'Nothing special the matter, I hope?' + +'No, I think not; nothing in your way, that is; only specially +cross, which always comes in my way. You'll stop and dine to-day, +of course?' + +'Not to-day, squire.' + +'Nonsense; you will. I have been quite counting on you. I have a +particular reason for wanting to have you to-day--a most particular +reason.' But the squire always had his particular reasons. + +'I'm very sorry, but it is impossible to-day. I shall have a +letter to write that I must sit down to seriously. Shall I see you +when I come down from her ladyship?' The squire turned away +sulkily, almost without answering him, for he now had no prospect +of any alleviation to the tedium of the evening; and the doctor +went upstairs to his patient. For Lady Arabella, though it cannot +be said that she was ill, was always a patient. It must not be +supposed that she kept her bed and swallowed daily doses, or was +prevented from taking her share in such prosy gaieties as came from +time to time in the way of her prosy life; but it suited her turn +of mind to be an invalid and to have a doctor; and as the doctor +whom her good fates had placed at her elbow thoroughly understood +her case, no great harm was done. + +'It frets me dreadfully that I cannot get to see Mary,' Lady +Arabella said, as soon as the first ordinary question as to her +ailments had been asked and answered. + +'She's quite well, and will be over to see you before long.' + +'Now I beg that she won't. She never thinks of coming when there +can be no possible objection, and travelling at the present moment, +would be--' Whereupon the Lady Arabella shook her head very +gravely. 'Only think of the importance of it, doctor,' she said. +'Remember the enormous stake there is to be considered. + +'It would not to her a ha'porth of harm if the stake were twice as +large.' + +'Nonsense, doctor, don't tell me; as if I didn't know myself. I +was very much against her going to London this spring, but of +course what I said was overruled. It always is. I do believe Mr +Gresham went over to Boxall Hill on purpose to induce her to go. +But what does he care? He's fond of Frank; but he never thinks of +looking beyond the present day. He never did, as you know well +enough, doctor.' + +'The trip did her all the good in the world,' said Dr Thorne, +preferring anything to a conversation respecting the squire's sins. + +'I very well remember that when I was in that way it wasn't thought +that such trips would do me any good. But, perhaps, things are +altered since then.' + +'Yes, they are,' said the doctor. 'We don't interfere so much +nowadays.' + +'I know I never asked for such amusements when so much depended on +quietness. I remember before Frank was born--and indeed, when all +of them were born--But, as you say, things were different then; and +I can easily believe that Mary is a person quite determined to have +her own way.' + +'Why, Lady Arabella, she would have stayed at home without wishing +to stir if Frank had done so much as hold up a little finger.' + +'So did I always. If Mr Gresham made the slightest hint I gave +way. But I really don't see what one gets in return for such +implicit obedience. Now this year, doctor, of course I should have +liked to been up in London for a week or two. You seemed to think +yourself that I might as well see Sir Omicron.' + +'There could be no possible objection, I said.' + +'Well; no; exactly; and as Mr Gresham knew I wished it, I think he +might as well have offered it. I suppose there can be no reason now +about money.' + +'But I understood that Mary specially asked you and Augusta.' + +'Yes; Mary was very good. She did ask me. But I know very well +that Mary wants all the room she has got in London. The house is +not at all too large for herself. And, for the matter of that, my +sister, the countess, was very anxious that I should be with her. +But one does like to be independent if one can, and for one +fortnight I do think that Mrs Gresham might have managed it. When +I knew that he was so dreadfully out at elbows I never troubled him +about it,--though goodness knows, all that was never my fault.' + +'The squire hates London. A fortnight there in warm weather would +nearly be the death of him.' + +'He might at any rate have paid me the compliment of asking me. The +chances are ten to one I should not have gone. It is that +indifference that cuts me so. He was here just now, and would you +believe it?--' + +But the doctor was determined to avoid further complaint for the +present day. 'I wonder what you would feel, Lady Arabella, if the +squire were to take it into his head to go away and amuse himself, +leaving you at home. There are worse men than Mr Gresham, if you +will believe me.' All this was an allusion to Earl de Courcy, her +ladyship's brother, as Lady Arabella very well understood; and the +argument was one which was very often used to silence her. + +'Upon my word, then, I should like it better than his hanging about +here doing nothing but attend to those nasty dogs. I really +sometimes think that he has no spirit left.' + +'You are mistaken there, Lady Arabella,' said the doctor, rising +with his hat in his hand, and making his escape without further +parley. As he went home he could not but think that that phase of +married life was not a very pleasant one. Mr Gresham and his wife +were supposed by the world to live on the best of terms. They +always inhabited the same house, went out together when they did go +out, always sat in their respective corners in the family pew, and +in their wildest dreams after the happiness of novelty never +thought of Sir Cresswell Cresswell. In some respect--with regard +for instance, to the continued duration of their joint domesticity +at the family mansion at Greshambury--they might have been taken +for a pattern couple. But yet, as far as the doctor could see, +they did not seem to add much to the happiness of each other. They +loved one another, doubtless, and had either of them been in real +danger, that danger would have made the other miserable; but yet it +might well be a question whether either would not be more +comfortable without the other. + +The doctor, as was his custom, dined at five, and at seven, went up +to the cottage of his old friend Lady Scatcherd. Lady Scatcherd was +not a refined woman, having in her early days been a labourer's +daughter, and having then married a labourer. But her husband had +risen in the world--as has been told in these chronicles before +mentioned--and his widow was now Lady Scatcherd with a pretty +cottage and a good jointure. She was in all things the very +opposite of Lady Arabella Gresham; nevertheless under the doctor's +auspices, the two ladies were in some measure acquainted with each +other. Of her married life, also, Dr Thorne had seen something, +and it may be questioned whether the memory of that was more +alluring than the reality now existing at Greshambury. Of the two +women Dr Thorne much preferred his humbler friend, and to her he +made his visits not in the guise of a doctor, but as a neighbour. +'Well, my lady,' he said, as he sat down by her on a broad garden +seat--all the world called Lady Scatcherd 'my lady,'--'and how do +these long summer days agree with you? Your roses are twice better +out than any I see up in the big house.' + +'You may well call them long, doctor. They're long enough surely.' + +'But not too long. Come, now, I won't have you complaining. You +don't mean to tell me that you have anything to make you wretched? +You had better not, for I won't believe you.' + +'Eh; well; wretched! I don't know as I'm wretched. It'd be wicked +to say that, and I with such comforts about me.' + +'I think it would, almost.' The doctor did not say this harshly, +but in a soft, friendly, tone, and pressing her hand gently as he +spoke. + +'And I didn't mean to be wicked. I'm very thankful for +everything--leastways, I always try to be. But, doctor, it is so +lonely like.' + +'Lonely! Not more lonely than I am.' + +'Oh, yes; you're different. You can go everywheres. But what can +a lone woman do? I'll tell you what, doctor; I'd give it all up to +have Roger back with his apron on and his pick in his hand. How +well I mind his look when he'd come home o' nights!' + +'And yet it was a hard life you had then, eh, old woman? It would +be better for you to be thankful for what you've got.' + +'I am thankful. Didn't I tell you so before?' said she, somewhat +crossly. 'But it's a sad life, this living alone. I declares I +envy Hannah, 'cause she's got Jemima to sit in the kitchen with +her. I want her to sit with me sometimes, but she won't.' + +'Ah! but you shouldn't ask her. It's letting yourself down.' + +'What do I care about down or up? It makes no difference, as he's +gone. If he had lived one might have cared about being up, as you +call it. Eh, deary; I'll be going after him before long, and it +will be no matter then.' + +'We shall all be going after him, sooner or later; that's sure +enough.' + +'Eh, dear, that's true surely. It's only a span long, as Parson +Oriel tells us, when he gets romantic in his sermons. But it's a +hard thing, doctor, when two is married, as they can't have their +span, as he calls it, out together. Well, I must only put up with +it, I suppose, as others does. Now, you're not going, doctor? +You'll stop and have a dish of tea with me. You never see such +cream as Hannah has from the Alderney cow. Do'ey now, doctor.' But +the doctor had his letter to write, and would not allow himself to +be tempted even by the promise of Hannah's cream. So he went his +way, angering Lady Scatcherd by his departure as he had before +angered the squire, and thinking as he went which was most +unreasonable in her wretchedness, his friend Lady Arabella or his +friend Lady Scatcherd. The former was always complaining of an +existing husband who never refused her any moderate request; and +the other passed her days in murmuring at the loss of a dead +husband, who in his life had ever been to her imperious and harsh, +and had sometimes been cruel and unjust. + +The doctor had his letter to write, but even yet he had not quite +made up his mind what he would put in it; indeed, he had not +hitherto resolved to whom it should be written. Looking at the +matter as he had endeavoured to look at it, his niece, Mrs Gresham, +would be his correspondent; but if he brought himself to take this +jump in the dark, in that case he would address himself direct to +Miss Dunstable. He walked home, not by the straightest road, but +taking a considerable curve, round by narrow lanes, and through +thick flower-laden hedges,--very thoughtful. He was told that she +wished to marry him; and was he to think only of himself? And as +to that pride of his about money, was it in truth a hearty, manly +feeling; or was it a false pride, of which it behoved him to be +ashamed as it did of many cognate feelings? If he acted rightly in +this matter, why should he be afraid of the thoughts of any one? A +life of solitude was bitter enough as poor Lady Scatcherd had +complained. But then, looking at Lady Scatcherd, and looking also +at his other near neighbour, his friend the squire, there was +little thereabouts to lead him on to matrimony. So he walked home +slowly through the lanes, very meditative, with his hands behind +his back. Nor when he got home was he much more inclined to any +resolute line of action. He might have drunk his tea with Lady +Scatcherd, as well as have sat there in his own drawing-room, +drinking it alone; for he got no pen and paper, and he dawdled over +his teacup with the utmost dilatoriness, putting off, as it were, +the evil day. To only one thing was he fixed--to this, namely, +that that letter should be written before he went to bed. + +Having finished his tea, which did not take place till near eleven, +he went downstairs to an untidy little room which lay behind his +depot of medicines, and in which he was wont to do his writing; and +herein he did at last set himself down to his work. Even at that +moment he was in doubt. But he would write his letter to Miss +Dunstable and see how it looked. He was almost determined not to +send it; so, at least, he said to himself: but he could do no harm +by writing it. So he did write it, as follows:--'Greshambury, June +185-. My dear Miss Dunstable--' When he had got so far, he leaned +back in his chair and looked at the paper. How on earth was he to +find words to say that which he now wished to have said? He had +never written such a letter in his life, or anything approaching to +it, and now found himself overwhelmed with a difficulty of which he +had not previously thought. He spent another half-hour in looking +at the paper, and was at last nearly deterred by this new +difficulty. He would use the simplest, plainest language, he said +to himself over and over again; but it is not always easy to use +simple, plain language,--by no means so easy as to mount on stilts, +and to march along with sesquipedalian words, with pathos, spasms, +and notes of interjection. But the letter did at last get itself +written, and there was not a note of interjection in it. + + +'MY DEAR MISS DUNSTABLE, + +'I think it right to confess that I should +not now be writing this letter to you, had I not +been led to believe by other judgement than my +own that the proposition which I am going to make +would be regarded by you with favour. Without +such other judgement I should, I own, have feared +that the great disparity between you and me in +regard to money would have given to such a +proposition an appearance of being false and +mercenary. All I ask of you now, with +confidence, is to acquit me of such fault as +that. + +'When you have read so far you will +understand what I mean. We have known each other +now somewhat intimately, though indeed not very +long, and I have sometimes fancied that you were +almost as well pleased to be with me as I have +been to be with you. If I have been wrong in +this, tell me so simply, and I will endeavour to +let our friendship run on as though this letter +had not been written. But if I have been right, +and if it be possible that you can think of a +union between us will make us both happier than +we are single, I will plight you my word and +troth with good faith, and will do what an old +man may do to make the burden of the world lie +light on your shoulders. Looking at my age I can +hardly keep myself from thinking that I am an old +fool; but I try to reconcile myself to that by +remembering that you yourself are no longer a +girl. You see that I pay you no compliments, and +that you need expect none from me. + +'I do not know that I could add anything to +the truth of this, if I were to write three times +as much. All that is necessary is, that you +should know what I mean. If you do not believe +me to be true and honest already, nothing that I +can write will make you believe it. + +'God bless you. I know you will not keep me +long in suspense for an answer. + +'Affectionately your friend +'THOMAS THORNE' + +When he had finished he meditated again for another half-hour +whether it would not be right that he should add something about +her money. Would it not be well for him to tell her--it might be +said in a postscript--that with regard to all her wealth she would +be free to do what she chose? At any rate he owed no debts for her +to pay, and would still have his own income, sufficient for his own +purposes. But about one o'clock he came to the conclusion that it +would be better to leave the matter alone. If she cared for him, +and could trust him, and was worthy also that he should trust her, +no omission of such statement would deter her from coming to him: +and if there were no such trust, it would not be created by any +such assurance on his part. So he read the letter over twice, +sealed it, and took it up, together with his bed candle, into his +bedroom. Now that the letter was written it seemed to be a thing +fixed by fate that it must go. He had written it that he might see +how it looked when written; but now that it was written, there +remained no doubt that it must be sent. So he went to bed, with +the letter on the toilette-table beside him; and early in the +morning--so early as to make it seem that the importance of the +letter had disturbed his rest--he sent it off by a special +messenger to Boxall Hill. 'I'se wait for an answer?' said the boy. + +'No,' said the doctor: 'leave the letter and come away.' + +The breakfast hour was not very early at Boxall Hill in these +summer months. Frank Gresham, no doubt, went round his farm before +he came in for prayers, and his wife was probably looking to the +butter in the dairy. At any rate, they did not meet till near ten, +and therefore, though the ride from Greshambury to Boxall Hill was +nearly two hours' work, Miss Dunstable had her letter in her own +room before she came down. She read it in silence as she was +dressing, while the maid was with her in the room; but she made no +sign which could induce her Abigail to think that the epistle was +more than ordinarily important. She read it, and then quietly +refolding it and placing it in the envelope, she put it down on the +table at which she was sitting. It was full fifteen minutes +afterwards that she begged her servant to see if Mrs Gresham were +still in her own room. 'Because I want to see her for five +minutes, alone, before breakfast,' said Miss Dunstable. + +'You traitor; you false, black traitor!' were the first words which +Miss Dunstable spoke when she found herself alone with her friend. + +'Why, what is the matter?' + +'I did not think there was so much mischief in you, nor so keen and +commonplace a desire for match-making. Look here. Read the first +four lines; not more, if you please; the rest is private. Whose is +the other judgement of whom your uncle speaks in his letter?' + +'Oh, Miss Dunstable! I must read it all.' + +'Indeed you'll do no such thing. You think it's a love-letter, I +dare say; but indeed there's not a word about love in it.' + +'I know he has offered. I shall be glad, for I know you like him.' + +'He tells me that I am an old woman, and insinuates that I may +probably be an old fool.' + +'I am sure he does not say that.' + +'Ah! but I'm sure that he does. The former is true enough, and I +never complain of the truth. But as to the latter, I am by no +means certain that it is true--not in the sense that he means it.' + +'Dear, dearest woman, don't go on in that way now. Do speak out to +me, and speak without jesting.' + +'Whose was the other judgement to whom he trusts so implicitly? +Tell me that.' + +'Mine, mine, of course. No one else can have spoken to him about +it. Of course I talked to him.' + +'And what did you tell him?' + +'I told him--' + +'Well, out with it. Let me have the real facts. Mind, I tell you +fairly that you had no right to tell him anything. What passed +between us, passed in confidence. But let us hear what you did +say.' + +'I told him that you would have him if he offered.' And Mrs +Gresham, as she spoke, looked into her friend's face doubtingly, +not knowing whether in very truth Miss Dunstable were pleased or +displeased. If she were displeased, then how had her uncle been +deceived!' + +'You told him that as a fact?' + +'I told him that I thought so.' + +'Then, I suppose I am bound to have him,' said Miss Dunstable, +dropping the letter on to the floor in mock despair. + +'My dear, dear, dearest woman!' said Mrs Gresham, bursting into +tears, and throwing herself on to her friend's neck. + +'Mind you are a dutiful niece,' said Miss Dunstable. 'And let me +go and finish dressing.' + +In the course of the afternoon, an answer was sent back to +Greshambury, in these words. + +'DEAR DR THORNE, I do and will trust you in everything; and it +shall be as you would have it. Mary writes to you; but do not +believe a word she says. I never will again, for she has behaved +so bad in this matter. 'Yours very affectionately and very +truly, 'MARTHA DUNSTABLE. + +'And so I am going to marry the richest woman in England,' said Dr +Thorne to himself, as he sat down that day to his mutton-chop. + + + +CHAPTER XL + +INTERNECINE + +It must be conceived that there was some feeling of triumph at +Plumstead Episcopi, when the wife of the rector returned home with +her daughter, the bride elect of the Lord Dumbello. The heir to +the Marquess of Hartletop was, in wealth, the most considerable +young nobleman of the day; he was noted, too, as a man difficult to +be pleased, as one who was very fine and who gave himself airs; and +to have been selected as the wife of such a man as this was a great +thing for the daughter of a parish clergyman. We have seen in what +manner the happy girl's mother communicated the fact to Lady +Lufton, hiding, as it were, her pride under a veil; and we have +seen also how meekly the happy girl bore her own great fortune, +applying herself humbly to the packing of her clothes, as though +she ignored her own glory. But nevertheless there was triumph at +Plumstead Episcopi. The mother, when she returned home, began to +feel that she had been thoroughly successful in the great object of +her life. While she was yet in London she had hardly realized her +satisfaction, and there were doubts then whether the cup might not +be dashed from her lips before it was tasted. It might be that +even the son of the Marquess of Hartletop was subject to parental +authority, and that barriers should spring up between Griselda and +her coronet; but there had been nothing of the kind. The +archdeacon had been closeted with the marquess, and Mrs Grantly had +been closeted with the marchioness; and though neither of those +noble persons had expressed themselves gratified by their son's +proposed marriage, so also neither of them had made any attempt to +prevent it. Lord Dumbello was a man who had a will of his own--as +the Grantlys boasted amongst themselves. Poor Griselda! the day +may perhaps come when this fact of her lord's masterful will may +not to her be a matter of much boasting. But in London, as I was +saying, there had been no time for an appreciation of the family +joy. The work to be done was nervous in its nature, and self- +glorification might have been fatal; but now, when they were safe +at Plumstead, the great truth burst upon them in all its splendour. + +Mrs Grantly had but one daughter, and the formation of that child's +character and her establishment in the world had been the one main +object of the mother's life. Of Griselda's great beauty the +Plumstead household had long been conscious; of her discretion +also, of her conduct, and of her demeanour there had been no +doubt. But the father had sometimes hinted to the mother that he +did not think that Grizzy was quite so clever as her brothers. 'I +don't agree with you at all,' Mrs Grantly had answered. 'Besides +what you call cleverness is not at all necessary in a girl; she is +perfectly lady-like; even you won't deny that.' The archdeacon had +never wished to deny it, and was now fain to admit that what he had +called cleverness was not necessary in a young lady. At this +period of the family glory the archdeacon himself was kept a little +in abeyance, and was hardly allowed free intercourse with his own +magnificent child. Indeed, to give him his due, it must be said of +him that he would not consent to walk in the triumphal procession +which moved with stately step, to and fro, through the Barchester +regions. He kissed his daughter and blessed her, and bade her love +her husband and be a good wife; but such injunctions as these, +seeing how splendidly she had done her duty in securing for herself +a marquess, seemed out of place and almost vulgar. Girls about to +marry curates or sucking barristers should be told to do their duty +in that station of life to which God might be calling them; but it +seemed to be almost an impertinence in a father to give such an +injunction to a future marchioness. + +'I do not think that you have any ground for fear on her behalf,' +said Mrs Grantly, 'seeing in what way she has hitherto conducted +herself.' + +'She has been a good girl,' said the archdeacon, 'but she is about +to be placed in a position of great temptation.' +'She has the strength of mind suited for any position,' replied Mrs +Grantly, vaingloriously. But nevertheless even the archdeacon +moved about through the close at Barchester with a somewhat prouder +step since the tidings of this alliance had become known there. The +time had been--in the latter days of his father's lifetime--when he +was the greatest man of the close. The dean had been old and +infirm, and Dr Grantly had wielded the bishop's authority. But +since then things had altered. A new bishop had come there, +absolutely hostile to him. A new dean had also come, who was not +only his friend, but the brother-in-law of his wife; but even this +advent had lessened the authority of the archdeacon. The vicars +choral did not hang upon his words as they had been wont to do, and +the minor canons smiled in return to his smile less obsequiously +when they met him in the clerical circles of Barchester. But now +it seemed that his old supremacy was restored to him. In the minds +of many men an archdeacon, who was the father-in-law of a marquess, +was himself as good as any bishop. He did not say much of his new +connexion to others besides the dean, but he was conscious of the +fact, and conscious also of the reflected glory which shone around +his head. + +But as regards Mrs Grantly it may be said that she moved in an +unending procession of stately ovation. It must not be supposed +that she continually talked to her friends and neighbours of Lord +Dumbello and the marchioness. She was by far too wise for such +folly as that. The coming alliance having been once announced, the +name of Hartletop was hardly mentioned by her out of her own +domestic circle. But she assumed, with an ease that was surprising +even to herself, the airs and graces of a mighty woman. She went +through her work of morning calls as though it were her business to +be affable to the country gentry. She astonished her sister, the +dean's wife, by the simplicity of her grandeur; and condescended to +Mrs Proudie in a manner which nearly broke that lady's heart. 'I +shall be even with her yet,' said Mrs Proudie to herself, who had +contrived to learn various very deleterious circumstances +respecting the Hartletop family since the news about Lord Dumbello +and Griselda had become known to her. Griselda herself was carried +about in the procession, taking but little part in it of her own, +like an Eastern god. She suffered her mother's caresses and smiled +in her mother's face as she listened to her own praises, but her +triumph was apparently within. To no one did she say much on the +subject, and greatly disgusted the old family housekeeper by +declining altogether to discuss the future Dumbello menage. To her +aunt, Mrs Arabin, who strove hard to lead her into some +open-hearted speech as to her future aspirations, she was perfectly +impassive. 'Oh, yes, aunt, of course,' and 'I'll think about it, +Aunt Eleanor,' or 'Of course I shall do that if Lord Dumbello +wishes it.' Nothing beyond this could be got from her; and so, +after a half dozen ineffectual attempts, Mrs Arabin abandoned the +matter. + +But then there arose the subject of clothes--of the wedding +trousseau! Sarcastic people are wont to say that the tailor makes +the man. Were I such a one, I might certainly assert that the +milliner makes the bride. As regarding her bridehood, in +distinction either to her girlhood or wifehood--as being a line of +plain demarcation between those two periods of a woman's life--the +milliner does do much to make her. She would be hardly a bride if +the trousseau were not there. A girl married without some such +appendage would seem to pass into the condition of a wife without +any such line of demarcation. In that moment in which she finds +herself in the first fruition of her marriage finery she becomes a +bride; and in that other moment when she begins to act upon the +finest of these things as clothes to be packed up, she becomes a +wife. When this subject was discussed Griselda displayed no lack +of becoming interest. She went to work steadily, slowly, and +almost with solemnity, as though the business in hand were one +which it would be wicked to treat with impatience. She even struck +her mother with awe by the grandeur of her ideas and the depth of +her theories. Nor let it be supposed that she rushed away at once +to the consideration of the great fabric which was to be the +ultimate sign and mark of her status, the quintessence of her +briding, the outer veil, as it were, of the tabernacle--namely, +her wedding-dress. As a great poet works himself up by degrees to +that inspiration which is necessary for the grand turning-point of +his epic, so did she slowly approach the hallowed ground on which +she would sit, with her ministers around her, when about to discuss +the nature, the extent, the design, the colouring, the structure, +and the ornamentation of that momentous piece of apparel. No; +there was much indeed to be done before she came to this: and as +the poet, to whom I have already alluded, first invokes his muse, +and then brings his smaller events gradually out upon his stage, so +did Miss Grantly with sacred fervour ask her mother's aid, and then +prepare her list of all those articles of underclothing which must +be the substratum for the visible magnificence of her trousseau. +Money was no object. We all know what that means; and frequently +understand, when the words are used, that a blaze of splendour is +to be attained at the cheapest possible price. But, in this +instance, money was no object;--such an amount of money, at least, +as could by any possibility be spent on a lady's clothes, +independently of her jewels. With reference to diamonds and such +like, the archdeacon at once declared his intention of taking the +matter into his own hands--except as insofar as Lord Dumbello, or +the Hartletop interest, might be pleased to participate in the +selection. Nor was Mrs Grantly sorry for such a decision. She +was not an imprudent woman, and would have dreaded the +responsibility of trusting herself on such an occasion among the +dangerous temptations of a jeweller's shop. But as far as silks +and satins went--in the matter of French bonnets, muslins, velvets, +hats, riding-habits, artificial flowers, head-gilding, curious +nettings, enamelled buckles, golden tagged bobbins, and mechanical +petticoats--as regarded shoes, and gloves, and corsets, and +stockings, and linen, and flannel, and calico--money, I may +conscientiously assert, was no object. And, under these +circumstances, Griselda Grantly went to work with a solemn industry +and a steady perseverance that was beyond all praise. 'I hope she +will be happy,' Mrs Arabin said to her sister, as the two were +sitting together in the dean's drawing-room. + +'Oh, yes; I think she will. Why should she not?' + +'Oh, no; I know of no reason. But she is going up into a station +so much above her own in the eyes of the world that one cannot but +feel anxious for her.' + +'I should feel much more anxious if she were going to marry a poor +man,' said Mrs Grantly. 'It has always seemed to me that Griselda +was fitted for a high position; that nature intended her for rank +and state. You see that she is not a bit elated. She takes it all +as if it were her own by right. I do not think that there is any +danger that her head will be turned, if you mean that.' + +'I was thinking rather of her heart,' said Mrs Arabin. + +'She never would have taken Lord Dumbello without loving him,' said +Mrs Grantly, speaking rather quickly. + +'That is not quite what I meant, Susan. I am sure she would not +have accepted him had she not loved him. But it is so hard to keep +the heart fresh among all the grandeurs of high rank; and it is +harder for a girl to do so who has not been born to it, than for +one who has enjoyed it as her birthright.' + +'I don't quite understand about fresh hearts,' said Mrs Grantly, +pettishly. 'If she does her duty, and loves her husband, and fills +the position in which God has placed her with propriety, I don't +know that we need look for anything more. I don't at all approve +of the plan of frightening a young girl when she is making her +first outset into the world.' + +'No; I would not frighten her. I think it would be almost +difficult to frighten Griselda.' + +'I hope it would. The great matter with a girl is whether she has +been brought up with proper notions as to a woman's duty. Of course +it is not for me to boast on this subject. Such as she is, I, of +course, am responsible. But I must own that I do not see occasion +to wish for any change.' and then the subject was allowed to drop. + +Among those of her relations who wondered much at the girl's +fortune, but allowed themselves to say but little, was her +grandfather, Mr Harding. He was an old clergyman, plain and simple +in his manners, and not occupying a very prominent position, seeing +that he was only precentor to the chapter. He was loved by his +daughter, Mrs Grantly, and was treated by the archdeacon, if not +invariably with the highest respect, at least always with +consideration and regard. But, old and plain as he was, the young +people at Plumstead did not hold him in any reverence. He was +poorer than their other relatives, and made no attempt to hold his +head high in Barsetshire circles. Moreover, in these latter days, +the home of his heart had been at the deanery. He had, indeed, a +lodging of his own in the city, but was gradually allowing himself +to be weaned away from it. He had his own bedroom in the dean's +house, and his own arm-chair in the dean's library, and his own +corner on a sofa in Mrs Dean's drawing-room. It was not, +therefore, necessary that he should interfere greatly in this +coming marriage; but still it became his duty to say a word of +congratulation to his granddaughter--and perhaps to say a word of +advice. + +'Grizzy, my dear,' he said to her--he always called her Grizzy, but +the endearment of the appellation had never been appreciated by the +young lady--'come and kiss me, and let me congratulate you on your +great promotion. I do so very heartily.' + +'Thank you, grandpapa,' she said touching his forehead with her +lips, thus being, as it were, very sparing with her kiss. But +those lips now were august and reserved for nobler foreheads than +that of an old cathedral hack. For Mr Harding still chanted the +Litany from Sunday to Sunday unceasingly, standing at that +well-known desk in the cathedral choir; and Griselda had thought in +her mind that when the Hartletop people should hear of the practice +they should not be delighted. Dean and archdeacon might be very +well, and if her grandfather had even been a prebendary, she might +have put up with him. But he had, she thought, almost disgraced +his family in being, at his old age, one of the working menial +clergy of the cathedral. She kissed him, therefore, sparingly, and +resolved that her words with him should be few. + +'You are going to be a great lady, Grizzy,' said he. + +'Umph!' said she. + +What was she to say when so addressed? + +'And I hope you will be happy--and make others happy.' + +'I hope I shall,' said she. + +'But always think most about the latter, my dear. Think about the +happiness of those around you, and your own will come without +thinking. You understand that; do you not?' + +'Oh, yes, I understand,' she said. As they were speaking Mr +Harding still held her hand, but Griselda left it with him +unwillingly, and therefore ungraciously, looking as though she were +dragging it from him. + +'And Grizzy--I believe it is quite easy for a rich countess to be +happy, as for a dairymaid--' Griselda gave her head a little chuck +which was produced by two different operations of her mind. The +first was a reflection that her grandpapa was robbing her of her +rank. She was to be a rich marchioness. And the second was a +feeling of anger at the old man for comparing her lot to that of a +dairy maid. + +'Quite as easy, I believe,' continued he; 'though others will tell +you that it not so. But with the countess as with the dairymaid, +it must depend on the woman herself. Being a countess--that fact +alone won't make you happy.' + +'Lord Dumbello at present is only a viscount,' said Griselda. +'There is no earl's title in the family.' + +'Oh! I did not know,' said Mr Harding, relinquishing his +granddaughter's hand; and, after that, he troubled her with no +further advice. Both Mrs Proudie and the bishop had called at +Plumstead since Mrs Grantly had come back from London, and the +ladies from Plumstead, of course, returned the visit. It was +natural that the Grantlys and the Proudies should hate each other. +They were essentially Church people, and their views on Church +matters were antagonistic. They had been compelled to fight for +supremacy in the diocese, and neither family had so conquered the +other to become capable of magnanimity and good-humour. They did +hate each other, and this hatred had, at one time, almost produced +an absolute disseverance of even the courtesies which are so +necessary between the bishop and his clergy. But the bitterness of +this rancour had been overcome, and the ladies of the families had +continued on visiting terms. But now this match was almost more +than Mrs Proudie could bear. The great disappointment which, as she +well knew, the Grantlys had encountered in that matter of the +proposed new bishopric had for the moment mollified her. She had +been able to talk of poor dear Mrs Grantly! + +'She is heartbroken, you know, in this matter, and the repetition +of such misfortunes is hard to bear,' she was heard to say, with a +complacency which had been quite becoming to her. But now that +complacency was at an end. Olivia Proudie had just accepted a +widowed preacher at a district church in Bethnal Green--a man with +three children, who was dependent on pew-rents; and Griselda +Grantly was engaged to the eldest son of the Marquess of +Hartletop! When women are enjoined to forgive their enemies it +cannot be intended that such wrongs as these should be included. +But Mrs Proudie's courage was nothing daunted. It may be boasted +of her that nothing could daunt her courage. Soon after her return +to Barchester, she and Olivia--Olivia being very unwilling--had +driven over to Plumstead, and, not finding the Grantlys at home, +had left their cards; and now, at a proper interval, Mrs Grantly +and Griselda returned the visit. It was the first time that Miss +Grantly had been seen by the Proudie ladies since the fact of her +engagement had become known. + +The first bevy of compliments that passed might be likened to a +crowd of flowers on a hedge of a rose-bush. They were beautiful to +the eye, but were so closely environed by thorns that they could +not be plucked without great danger. As long as the compliments +were allowed to remain on the hedge--while no attempt was made to +garner then and realize their fruits for enjoyment--they did no +mischief; but the first finger that was put forth for such a +purpose was soon drawn back, marked with spots of blood. 'Of +course it is a great match for Griselda,' said Mrs Grantly, in a +whisper of meekness of which would have disarmed an enemy whose +weapons were less firmly clutched than those of Mrs Proudie; 'but, +independently of that the connexion is one which is gratifying in +many ways.' + +'Oh, no doubt,' said Mrs Proudie. + +'Lord Dumbello is so completely his own master,' continued Mrs +Grantly, and a slight, unintended semi-tone of triumph mingled +itself with the meekness of that whisper. + +'And is likely to remain so, from all I hear,' said Mrs Proudie, +and the scratched hand was at once drawn back. + +'Of course the estab-,' and then Mrs Proudie, who was blandly +continuing her list of congratulations, whispered her sentence +close into the ear of Mrs Grantly, so that not a word of what she +said might be audible by the young people. + +'I never heard a word of it,' said Mrs Grantly, gathering herself +up, 'and I don't believe it.' + +'Oh, I may be wrong; and I'm sure I hope so. But young men will be +young men, you know;--and children will take after their parents. I +suppose you will see a great deal of the Duke of Omnium now.' But +Mrs Grantly was not a woman to be knocked down and trampled on +without resistance; and though she had been lacerated by the +rose-bush she was not as yet placed altogether hors de combat. She +said some word about the Duke of Omnium very tranquilly, speaking +of him merely as a Barsetshire proprietor, and then, smiling with +her sweetest smile, expressed a hope that she might soon have the +pleasure of becoming acquainted with Mr Tickler; and as she spoke +she made a pretty little bow towards Olivia Proudie. Now Mr +Tickler was the worthy clergyman attached to the district church at +Bethnal Green. + +'He'll be down here in August,' said Olivia, boldly, determined not +to be shamefaced about her love affairs. + +'You'll be starring about the Continent by that time, my dear,' +said Mrs Proudie to Griselda. 'Lord Dumbello is well known at +Hamburg and Ems, and places of that sort; so you will find yourself +quite at home.' + +'We are going to Rome,' said Griselda majestically. + +'I suppose Mr Tickler will come to the diocese soon,' said Mrs +Grantly. 'I remember hearing him very favourably spoken of by Mr +Slope, who was a friend of his.' Nothing short of a fixed resolve +on the part of Mrs Grantly that the time had now come in which she +must throw away her shield and stand behind her sword, declare war +to the knife, and neither give nor take quarter, could have +justified such a speech as this. Any allusion to Mr Slope acted on +Mrs Proudie as a red cloth is supposed to act on a bull; but when +that allusion connected the name of Mr Slope in a friendly bracket +with that of Mrs Proudie's future son-in-law it might be certain +that the effect would be terrific. And there was more than this; +for that very Mr Slope had once entertained audacious hopes--hopes +not thought of to be audacious by the young lady herself--with +reference to Miss Olivia Proudie. All this Mrs Grantly knew, and, +knowing it, still dared to mention his name. + +The countenance of Mrs Proudie became darkened with black anger, +and the polished smile of her company manners gave place before the +outraged feelings of her nature. 'The man you speak of Mrs +Grantly,' said she, 'was never known as a friend by Mr Tickler.' + +'Oh, indeed,' said Mrs Grantly. 'Perhaps I have made a mistake. I +am sure I have heard Mr Slope mention him.' + +'When Mr Slope was running after your sister, Mrs Grantly, and was +encouraged by her as he was, you perhaps saw more of him than I +did.' + +'Mrs Proudie, that was never the case.' + +'I have reason to know that the archdeacon conceived it to be so, +and that he was very unhappy about it.' Now this, unfortunately, +was a fact which Mrs Grantly could not deny. + +'The archdeacon may have been mistaken about Mr Slope,' she said, +'as were some other people at Barchester. But it was you, I think, +Mrs Proudie, who was responsible for bringing him here.' Mrs +Grantly, at this period of the engagement might have inflicted a +fatal wound by referring to poor Olivia's love affairs, but she was +not destitute of generosity. Even in the extremest heat of the +battle she knew how to spare the young and tender. + +'When I came here, Mrs Grantly, I little dreamed of what a depth of +wickedness might be found in the very close of a cathedral city,' +said Mrs Proudie. + +'Then, for dear Olivia's sake, pray do not bring poor Mr Tickler to +Barchester.' + +'Mr Tickler, Mrs Grantly, is a man of assured morals and of a +highly religious tone of thinking. I wish every one could be so +safe as regards their daughters' future prospects as I am.' + +'Yes, I know he has the advantage of being a family man,' said Mrs +Grantly, getting up. 'Good morning, Mrs Proudie; Good day, +Olivia.' + +'A great deal better than--' But the blow fell upon the empty +air; for Mrs Grantly had already escaped on to the staircase while +Olivia was ringing the bell for the servant to attend to the +front-door. + +Mrs Grantly, as she got into the carriage, smiled slightly, +thinking of the battle, and as she sat down she gently pressed her +daughter's hand. But Mrs Proudie's face was still dark as Acheron +when her enemy withdrew, and with angry tone she sent her daughter +to her work. 'Mr Tickler will have great reason to complain, if, +in your position, you indulge in such habits of idleness,' she +said. Therefore I conceive that I am justified in saying that in +that encounter Mrs Grantly was the conqueror. + + + +CHAPTER XLI + +DON QUIXOTE + +On the day on which Lucy had her interview with Lady Lufton the +dean dined at Framley parsonage. He and Robarts had known each +other since the latter had been in the diocese, and now, owing to +Mark's preferment in the chapter, had become almost intimate. The +dean was greatly pleased with the manner in which poor Mr Crawley's +children had been conveyed away from Hogglestock, and was inclined +to open his heart to the whole Framley household. As he still had +to ride home he could only allow himself to remain a half an hour +after dinner, but in that half-hour he said a great deal about +Crawley, complimented Robarts on the manner in which he was playing +the part of the Good Samaritan, and then by degrees informed him +that it had come to his, the dean's, ears, before he left +Barchester, that a writ was in the hands of certain persons in the +city, enabling them to seize--he did not know whether it was the +person or the property of the vicar of Framley. + +The fact was that these tidings had been conveyed to the dean with +the express intent that he might put Robarts on his guard; but the +task of speaking on such a subject to a brother clergyman had been +so unpleasant to him that he had been unable to introduce it till +the last five minutes before his departure. 'I hope you will not +put it down as an impertinent interference,' said the dean, +apologizing. + +'No,' said Mark; 'no, I do not think that.' He was so sad at heart +that he hardly knew how to speak of it. + +'I do not understand much about such matters,' said the dean; 'but +I think, if I were you, I should go to a lawyer. I should imagine +that anything so terribly disagreeable as an arrest might be +avoided.' + +'It is a hard case,' said Mark, pleading his own cause. 'Though +these men have this claim against me, I have never received a +shilling either in money or money's worth.' + +'And yet your name is to the bills!' said the dean. + +'Yes, my name is to the bills, certainly, but it was to oblige a +friend.' + +And then the dean, having given his advice, rode away. He could +not understand how a clergyman, situated as was Mr Robarts, could +find himself called upon by friendship to attach his name to +accommodation bills which he had not the power of liquidating when +due! On that evening they were both wretched enough at the +parsonage. Hitherto Mark had hoped that perhaps, after all, no +absolutely hostile steps would be taken against him with reference +to these bills. Some unforeseen chance might occur in his favour, +or the persons holding them might consent to take small instalments +of payment from time to time; but now it seemed that the evil day +was actually coming upon him at a blow. He had no longer any +secrets from his wife. Should he go to a lawyer? and if so, to +what lawyer? And when he had found his lawyer, what should he say +to him? Mrs Robarts at one time suggested that everything should +be told to Lady Lufton. Mark, however, could not bring himself to +do that. 'It would seem,' he said, 'as though I wanted her to lend +me the money.' + +On the following morning Mark did ride into Barchester, dreading, +however, lest he should be arrested on his journey, and he did see +a lawyer. During his absence two calls were made at the +parsonage--one by a very rough-looking individual, who left a +suspicious document in the hands of the servant, purporting to be +an invitation--not to dinner--from one of the Judges of the land; +and the other was made by Lady Lufton in person. + +Mrs Robarts had determined to go down to Framley Court on that +day. In accordance with her usual custom she would have been there +within an hour or two of Lady Lufton's return from London, but +things between them were not now as they usually had been. This +affair of Lucy's must make a difference, let them both resolve to +the contrary as they might. And, indeed, Mrs Robarts had found +that the closeness of her intimacy with Framley Court had been +diminishing from day to day since Lucy had first begun to be on +friendly terms with Lord Lufton. Since that she had been less at +Framley Court than usual; she had heard from Lady Lufton less +frequently by letter during her absence than she had done in former +years, and was aware that she was less implicitly trusted with all +the affairs of the parish. This had not made her angry, for she +was in a manner conscious that it must be so. It made her unhappy, +but what could she do? She could not blame Lucy, nor could she +blame Lady Lufton. Lord Lufton she did blame, but she did so in +the hearing of no one but her husband. Her mind, however, was made +up to go over and bear the first brunt of her ladyship's arrival. +If it were not for this terrible matter of Lucy's love--a matter on +which they could not now be silent when they met--there would be +twenty subjects of pleasant, or, at any rate, not unpleasant +conversation. But even then there would be those terrible bills +hanging over her conscience, and almost crushing her by their +weight. At the moment in which Lady Lufton walked up to the +drawing-room window, Mrs Robarts held in her hand that ominous +invitation from the Judge. Would it not be well that she should +make a clean breast of it all, disregarding what her husband had +said? It might be well: only this--she had never done anything in +opposition to her husband's wishes. So she hid the slip within her +desk, and left the matter open to consideration. The interview +commenced with an affectionate embrace, as was a matter of course. +'Dear Fanny,' and 'Dear Lady Lufton' was said between them with all +the usual warmth. And then the first inquiry was made about the +children, and the second about the school. For a minute or two, +Mrs Robarts thought that, perhaps, nothing would be said about +Lucy. If it pleased Lady Lufton to be silent, she, at least, would +not commence the subject. Then there was a word or two spoken +about Mrs Podgens's baby, after which Lady Lufton asked whether +Fanny were alone. 'Yes,' said Mrs Robarts. 'Mark has gone to +Barchester.' + +'I hope he will not be long before he lets me see him. Perhaps he +can call to-morrow. Would you both come and dine to-morrow?' + +'Not to-morrow, I think, Lady Lufton; but Mark, I am sure, will go +over and call.' + +'And why not come to dinner? I hope there is to be no change among +us, eh, Fanny?' And Lady Lufton, as she spoke, looked into the +other's face in a manner which almost made Mrs Robarts get up and +throw herself on her old friend's neck. Where was she to find a +friend who would give her such constant love as she had received +from Lady Lufton? And who was kinder, better, more honest than she? + +'Change! no, I hope not Lady Lufton;' and as she spoke the tears +stood in her eyes. + +'Ah, but I shall think there is if you will not come to me as you +sued to do. You always used to come in dine with me the day I came +home as a matter of course.' What could she say, poor woman, to +this? + +'We were in confusion yesterday about poor Mrs Crawley, and the +dean dined here; he had been over at Hogglestock to see his +friend.' + +'I have heard of her illness, and will go over and see what ought +to be done. Don't you go, do you hear, Fanny? You with your young +children! I should never forgive you if you did.' And then Mrs +Robarts explained how Lucy had gone there, had sent the four +children back to Framley, and was herself now staying at +Hogglestock with the object of nursing Mrs Crawley. In telling the +story she abstained from praising Lucy with all the strong language +which she should have used had not Lucy's name and character been +at the present moment been of peculiar import to Lady Lufton; but +nevertheless she could tell it without dwelling much on Lucy's +kindness. It would have been ungenerous to Lady Lufton to make +much of Lucy's virtue at this present moment, but unjust to Lucy to +make nothing of it.' + +'And she is actually with Mrs Crawley now?' asked Lady Lufton. + +'Oh, yes; Mark left her there yesterday afternoon.' + +'And the four children are all here in the house?' + +'Not exactly in the house--that is, not as yet. We have arranged a +sort of quarantine hospital over the coachhouse.' + +'What, where Stubbs lives?' + +'Yes; Stubbs and his wife have come into the house, and the +children are to remain there till the doctor says that there is no +danger of infection. I have not even seen my visitors myself as yet,' +said Mrs Robarts with a slight laugh. + +'Dear me!' said Lady Lufton. 'I declare you have been very +prompt. And so Miss Robarts is over there! I should have thought +Mr Crawley would have made a difficulty about the children.' + +'Well, he did; but they kidnapped them--that is, Lucy and Mark +did. The dean gave me such an account of it. Lucy brought them +out by twos and packed them in the pony-carriage, and then Mark +drove off at a gallop while Mr Crawley stood calling to them in the +road. The dean was there at the time and saw it all.' + +'That Miss Lucy of yours seems to be a very determined young lady +when she takes a thing into her head,' said Lady Lufton, now +sitting down for first time. + +'Yes, she is,' said Mrs Robarts, having laid aside all her pleasant +animation, for the discussion which she had dreaded was not at +hand. + +'A very determined young lady,' continued Lady Lufton. 'Of course, +my dear Fanny, you know all this about Ludovic and your +sister-in-law?' + +'Yes, she has told me about it.' + +'It is very unfortunate--very.' + +'I do not think Lucy has been to blame,' said Mrs Robarts; and as +she spoke the blood was already mounting to her cheeks. + +'Do not be too anxious to defend her, my dear, before any one +accuses her. Whenever a person does that it looks as though their +cause is weak.' + +'But my cause is not weak as far as Lucy is concerned; I feel quite +sure that she has not been to blame.' + +'I know how obstinate you can be, Fanny, when you think it +necessary to dub yourself any one's champion. Don Quixote was not +a better knight-errant than you are. But is it not a pity to take +up your lance and shield before an enemy is within sight or +hearing? But that was ever the way with your Don Quixote.' + +'Perhaps there may be an enemy in ambush.' That was Mrs Robarts's +thought to herself, but she did not dare to express it, so she +remained silent. + +'My only hope is,' continued Lady Lufton, 'that when my back is +turned you fight as gallantly for me.' + +'Ah, you are never under a cloud like poor Lucy.' + +'Am I not? But, Fanny, you do not see all the clouds. The sun +does not always shine for any of us, and the down-pouring rain and +the heavy wind scatter also my fairest flowers--as they had done +hers poor girl. Dear Fanny, I hope it may be long before any cloud +comes across the brightness of your heaven. Of all the creatures I +know you are the one most fitted for quiet continued sunshine.' And +then Mrs Robarts did get up and embrace her friend, thus hiding the +tears which were running down her face. Continued sunshine indeed! +A dark spot had already gathered on her horizon, which was likely +to fall in a very waterspout of rain. What was to come of that +terrible notice which was lying in the desk under Lady Lufton's +very arm? + +'But I am not come here to croak like an old raven,' continued Lady +Lufton, when she had brought this embrace to an end. 'It is +probable that we all may have our sorrows; but I am quite sure of +this--that if we endeavour to do our duties honestly, we shall all +find our consolation and all have our joys also. And now, my dear, +let you and I have a few words about this unfortunate affair. It +would not be natural if we were to hold our tongues to each other, +would it?' + +'I suppose not,' said Mrs Robarts. + +'We should always be conceiving worse than the truth--each as to +the other's thoughts. Now, some time ago, when I spoke to you +about your sister-in-law and Ludovic--I dare say you remember--' + +'Oh, yes; I remember.' + +'We both thought then that there would really be no danger. To tell +you the plain truth I fancied, and indeed hoped, that his +affections were engaged elsewhere; but I was altogether wrong then; +wrong in thinking it, and wrong in hoping it.' Mrs Robarts knew +well that Lady Lufton was alluding to Griselda Grantly, but she +conceived that it would be discreet to say nothing herself on that +subject at present. She remembered, however, Lucy's flashing eye +when the possibility of Lord Lufton making such a marriage was +spoken of in the pony-carriage and could not but feel glad that +Lady Lufton had been disappointed. + +'I do not at all impute blame to Miss Robarts for what has occurred +since,' continued her ladyship. 'I wish you distinctly to +understand that.' + +'I do not see how any one could blame her. She has behaved so +nobly.' + +'It is of no use inquiring whether any one can. It is sufficient +that I do not.' + +'But I think that is hardly sufficient,' said Mrs Robarts, +pertinaciously. + +'Is it not?,' asked her ladyship, raising her eyebrows. + +'No. Only think what Lucy has done and is doing. If she had +chosen to say that she would accept your son I really do not know +how you could have justly blamed her. I do not by any means say +that I would have advised such a thing.' + +'I am glad of that, Fanny.' + +'I have not given any advice; nor is it needed. I know no one more +able than Lucy to see clearly, by her own judgement, what course +she ought to pursue. I should be afraid to advice one whose mind +is so strong, and who, of her own nature, is so self-denying as she +is. She is sacrificing herself now, because she will not be the +means of bringing trouble and dissension between you and your son. +If you ask me, Lady Lufton, I think you owe her a deep debt of +gratitude. I do, indeed. And as for blaming her--what has she +done that you could possibly blame?' + +'Don Quixote on horseback!' said Lady Lufton. 'Fanny, I shall +always call you Don Quixote, and some day or other I will get +somebody to write your adventures. But the truth is this, my dear; +there has been imprudence. You may call it mine, if you +will--though I really hardly see how I am to take the blame. I +could not do other than ask Miss Robarts to my house, and I could +not very well turn my son out of it. In point of fact, it has been +the old story.' + +'Exactly; the story is as old as the world, and which will continue +as long as people are born into it. It is a story of God's own +telling.' + +'But, my dear child, you do not mean that every young gentleman and +every young lady should fall in love with each other directly they +meet! Such a doctrine would be very inconvenient.' + +'No, I do not mean that. Lord Lufton and Miss Grantly did not fall +in love with each other, though you meant them to do so. But was it +not quite as natural that Lord Lufton and Lucy should do so +instead?' + +'It is generally thought, Fanny, that young ladies should not give +loose to their affections until they have been certified of their +friends' approval.' + +'And that young gentlemen of fortune may amuse themselves as they +please! I know that is what the world teaches, but I cannot agree +to the justice of it. The terrible suffering which Lucy has to +endure makes me cry out against it. She did not seek your son. The +moment she began to suspect that there might be danger she avoided +him scrupulously. She would not go down to Framley Court though +her not doing so was remarked by yourself. She would hardly go +about the place lest she should meet him. She was contented to put +herself altogether in the background till he should have pleased to +leave the place. But he--he came to her here, and insisted on +seeing her. What was she to do? She did try to escape, but he +stopped her at the door. Was it her fault that he made her an +offer?' + +'My dear, no one has said so.' + +'Yes, but you do say so when you tell me that young ladies should +not give play to their affections without permission. He persisted +in saying to her, here, all that it pleased him, though she +implored him to be silent. I cannot tell the words she used, but +she did implore him.' + +'I do not doubt that she behaved well.' + +'But he--he persisted, and begged her to accept his hand. She +refused him then, Lady Lufton--not as some girls do, with a mock +reserve, not intending to be taken at their words,--but steadily, +and, God forgive her, untruly. Knowing what your feelings would be, +and acknowledging what the world would say, she declared to him +that he was indifferent to her. What more could she do in your +behalf?' And then Mrs Robarts paused. + +'I shall wait till you have done, Fanny.' + +'You spoke of girls giving loose to their affections. She did not +do so. She went about her work exactly as she had done before. She +did not even speak to me of what had passed--not then, at least. +She determined that it should all be as though it had never been. +She had learned to love your son; but that was her misfortune, and +she would get over it as she might. Tidings came to us here that +he was engaged, or about to be engaged himself, to Miss Grantly.' + +'Those tidings were untrue.' + +'Yes, we know that now; but she did not know it then. Of course +she could not but suffer; but she suffered within her self.' Mrs +Robarts, as she said this, remembered the pony-carriage and how +Puck had been beaten. 'She made no complaint that he had +ill-treated her--not even to herself. She had thought it right to +reject his offer; and, there, as far as she was concerned, was to +be the end of it.' + +'That would be a matter of course, I should suppose.' + +'But it was not a matter of course, Lady Lufton. He returned from +London to Framley on purpose to repeat his offer. He sent for her +brother--You talk of a young lady waiting for her friends' +approval. In this matter who would be Lucy's friends?' + +'You and Mr Robarts, of course.' + +'Exactly; her only friends. Well, Lord Lufton sent for Mark and +repeated his offer to him. Mind you, Mark had never heard a word +of this before, and you may guess whether or no he was surprised. +Lord Lufton repeated his offer in the most formal manner, and +claimed permission to see Lucy. She refused to see him. She has +never seen him since that day, when in opposition to all her +efforts, he made his way into this room. Mark--as I think very +properly--would have allowed Lord Lufton to come up here. Looking +at both their ages and position he could have had no right to +forbid it. But Lucy positively refused to see your son, and sent +him a message instead, of the purport of which you are now aware-- +that she would never accept him unless she did so at your request.' + +'It was a very proper message.' + +'I say nothing about that. Had she accepted him I would not have +blamed her; and so I told her, Lady Lufton.' + +'I cannot understand your saying that, Fanny.' + +'Well; I did say so. I don't want to argue now about myself +--whether I was right or wrong, but I did say so. Whatever +sanction I could give she would have had. But she again chose to +sacrifice herself, although I believe she regards him with as true +a love as ever a girl felt for a man. Upon my word, I don't know +that she is right. Those considerations for the world may perhaps +be carried too far.' + +'I think that she was perfectly right.' + +'Very well, Lady Lufton; I can understand that. But after such +sacrifice on her part--a sacrifice made entirely to you--how can +you talk of "not blaming her"? Is that the language in which you +speak of those whose conduct from the first to last has been +superlatively excellent? If she is open to blame at all, it is--it +is--' But here Mrs Robarts stopped herself. In defending her +sister she had worked herself almost into a passion; but such a +state of feeling was not customary to her, and now that she had +spoken her mind she sank suddenly into silence. + +'It seems to me, Fanny, that you almost regret Miss Robarts's +decision,' said Lady Lufton. + +'My wish in this matter is for her happiness, and I regret anything +that may mar it.' + +'You think nothing then of our welfare, and yet I do not know to +whom I might have looked for hearty friendship and for sympathy in +difficulties, if not for you?' Poor Mrs Robarts was almost upset +by this. A few months ago, before Lucy's arrival, she would have +declared that the interest of Lady Lufton's family would have been +paramount to her, after and next to her own husband. And even now, +it seemed to argue so black an ingratitude on her part--this +accusation that she was so indifferent to them! From her childhood +upwards she had revered and loved Lady Lufton, and for years had +taught herself to regard her as the epitome of all that was good +and gracious in woman. Lady Lufton's theories of life had been +accepted by her as the right theories, and those whom Lady Lufton +had liked she had liked. But now it seemed that all these ideas +which it had taken a life to build up were to be thrown to the +ground, because she was bound to defend her sister-in-law whom she +had only known for the last eight months. It was not that she +regretted a word that she had spoken on Lucy's behalf. Chance had +thrown her and Lucy together, and, as Lucy was her sister, she +should receive from her a sister's treatment. But she did not the +less feel how terrible would be the effect of any disseverance from +Lady Lufton. 'Oh, Lady Lufton,' she said, 'do not say that.' + +'But, Fanny dear, I must speak as I find. You were talking about +clouds just now, and do you think that all this is not a cloud in +my sky? Ludovic tells me that he is attached to Miss Robarts, and +you tell me that she is attached to him; and I am called upon to +decide between them. Her very act obliges me to do so.' + +'Dear Lady Lufton,' said Mrs Robarts, springing from her seat. It +seemed to her at the moment as though the whole difficulty were to +be solved by an act of grace on the part of her friend. + +'And yet I cannot approve of such a marriage,' said Lady Lufton. +Mrs Robarts returned to her seat saying nothing further. + +'Is not that a cloud on one's horizon?' continued her ladyship. 'Do +you think that I can be basking in the sunshine while I have such a +weight upon my heart as that? Ludovic will soon be home, but +instead of looking to his return with pleasure I dread it. I would +prefer that he would remain in Norway. I would wish that he should +stay away for months. And, Fanny, it is a great addition to my +misfortune to feel that you do not sympathize with me.' Having +said this, in a slow, sorrowful, and severe tone, Lady Lufton got +up and took her departure. Of course Mrs Robarts did not let her +go without assuring her that she did sympathize with her,--did +love her as she ever had loved her. But wounds cannot be cured as +easily as they may be inflicted, and Lady Lufton went her way with +much real sorrow at her heart. She was proud and masterful, fond +of her own way, and much too careful of the worldly dignities to +which her lot had called her; but she was a woman who could cause +no sorrow to those she loved without deep sorrow to herself. + + + +CHAPTER XLII + +TOUCHING PITCH + +In these hot midsummer days, the end of June and the beginning of +July, Mr Sowerby had but an uneasy time of it. At his sister's +instance, he had hurried up to London and there had remained for +days in attendance on the lawyers. He had to see new lawyers, +Miss Dunstable's men of business, quiet old cautious gentlemen +whose place of business was in a dark alley behind the bank, Messrs +Slow & Bideawhile by name, who had no scruple in detaining him for +hours while they or their clerks talked to him about anything or +about nothing. It was of vital consequence to Mr Sowerby that this +business of his should be settled without delay, and yet these men, +to whose care this settling was now confided, went on as though law +processes were a sunny bank on which men delighted to bask easily. +And then, too, he had to go more than once to South Audley Street, +which was a worse infliction; for the men in South Audley Street +were less civil now than had been their wont. It was well +understood there that Mr Sowerby was no longer a client of the +duke's but his opponent; no longer his nominee and dependant, but +his enemy in the county. 'Chaldicotes,' as old Mr Gumption remarked +to young Mr Gagebee; 'Chaldicotes, Gagebee, is a cooked goose, as +far as Sowerby is concerned. And what difference could it make to +him whether the duke is to own it or Miss Dunstable? For my part +I cannot understand how a gentleman like Sowerby can like to see +his property go into the hands of a gallipot wench whose money +smells of bad drugs. And nothing can be more ungrateful,' he said, +'than Sowerby's conduct. He has held the county five-and-twenty +years without expense; and now that the time for payment has come, +he begrudges the price.' He called it no better than cheating, he +did not--he, Mr Gumption. According to his ideas Sowerby was +attempting to cheat the duke. It may be imagined, therefore, that +Mr Sowerby did not feel any great delight in attending at South +Audley Street. And then rumour was spread about among all the +bill-discounting leeches that blood was once more to be sucked from +the Sowerby carcass. The rich Miss Dunstable had taken up his +affairs; so much as that became known in the purlieus of the Goat +and Compasses. Tom Tozer's brother declared that she and Sowerby +were going to make a match of it, and that any scrap of paper with +Sowerby's name on it, would become worth its weight in bank-notes; +but Tom Tozer himself--Tom, who was the real hero of the family-- +pooh-poohed at this, screwing up his nose, and alluding in most +contemptuous terms to his brother's softness. He knew better--as +was indeed the fact. Miss Dunstable was buying up the squire, and +by Jingo she should buy them up--them, the Tozers as well as +others! They knew their value, the Tozers did;--whereupon they +became more than ordinarily active. From them and all their +brethren Mr Sowerby at this time endeavoured to keep his distance, +but his endeavours were not altogether effectual. Whenever he +could escape for a day or two from the lawyers he ran down to +Chaldicotes; but Tom Tozer in his perseverance followed him there, +and boldly sent in his name by the servant at the front door. + +'Mr Sowerby is not just at home at the present moment,' said the +well-trained domestic. + +'I'll wait about, then,' said Tom, seating himself on an heraldic +griffin which flanked the big stone steps before the house. And in +this way Mr Tozer gained his purpose. Sowerby was still contesting +the county, and it behoved him not to let his enemies say that he +was hiding himself. It had been a part of his bargain with Miss +Dunstable that he should contest the county. She had taken it into +her head that the duke had behaved badly, and she had resolved that +he should be made to pay for it. 'The duke,' she said, 'had +meddled long enough;' she would now see whether the Chaldicotes +interest would not suffice of itself to return a member for the +county, even in opposition to the duke. Mr Sowerby himself was so +harrassed at the time, that he would have given way on this point +if he had had the power; but Miss Dunstable was determined, and he +was obliged to yield to her. In this manner Mr Tom Tozer succeeded +and did make his way into Mr Sowerby's presence--of which intrusion +one effect was the following letter from Mr Sowerby to his friend +Mark Robarts:-- + + +'Chaldicotes, July, 185- +'MY DEAR ROBARTS, + +'I am so harrassed at the present moment by an infinity +of troubles of my own that I am almost callous to those +of other people. They say that prosperity makes a man +selfish. I have never tried that, but I am quite sure +that adversity does so. Nevertheless I am anxious about +these bills of yours,' + +'Bills of mine!' said Robarts to himself, as he walked up +and down the shrubbery path at the parsonage, reading +this letter. This happened a day or two after his visit +to the lawyer at Barchester. + +'--and would rejoice greatly if I thought that I could +save you from any further annoyance about them. That +kite, Tom Tozer, has just been with me, and insists that +both of them shall be paid. He knows--no one +better--that no consideration was given for the latter. +But he knows also that the dealing was not with him, nor +even with his brother and he will be prepared to swear +that he gave value for both. He would swear anything for +five hundred pounds--or for half the money, for that +matter. I do not think that the father of mischief ever +let loose upon the world a greater rascal than Tom Tozer. + +'He declares that nothing shall induce him to take one +shilling less than the whole sum of nine hundred pounds. +He has been brought to this by hearing that my debts are +about to be paid. Heaven help me! The meaning of that +is that these wretched acres, which are now mortgaged to +one millionaire, are to change hands and be mortgaged to +another instead. By this exchange I may possibly obtain +the benefit of having a house to live in for the next +twelve months, but no other. Tozer, however, is +altogether wrong in his scent; and the worst of it is +that his malice will fall on you rather than on me. + +'What I want you to do is this: let us pay him one hundred +pounds between us. Though I sell the last sorry jade of +a horse I have, I will make up fifty; and I know you can, +at any rate, do as much as that. Then do you accept a +bill conjointly with me, for eight hundred. It +shall be done in Forrest's presence, and handed to him; +and you shall receive back the two old bills into your +own hands at the same time. This new bill should be +timed to run ninety days; and I will move heaven and +earth, during that time, to have it included in the +general schedule of my debts which are to be secured on +the Chaldicotes property. + +The meaning of which was that Miss Dunstable was to be cozened into +paying the money under an idea that it was a part of the sum +covered by the existing mortgage. + +'What you said the other day at Barchester, as to never +executing another bill, is very well regards future +transactions. Nothing can be wiser than such a +resolution. But it would be folly--worse than folly--if +you were to allow your furniture to be seized when the +means of preventing it are so ready to your hand. By +leaving the new bill in Forrest's hands you may be sure +that you are safe from the claws of such birds of prey as +the Tozers. Even if I cannot get it settled when the +three months are over, Forrest will enable you to make +any arrangement that may be most convenient. + +'For Heaven's sake, my dear fellow, do not refuse this. +You can hardly conceive how it weighs upon me, this fear +that bailiffs should make their way into your wife's +drawing-room. I know you think ill of me, and I do not +wonder at it. But you would be less inclined to do so if +you knew how terribly I am punished. Pray let me hear +that you will do as I counsel you. + +'Yours always faithfully, +'N.SOWERBY' + +In answer to which the parson wrote a very short reply:- + +'Framley, July 185- + +'MY DEAR SOWERBY, +'I will sign no more bills on any consideration. +'Yours truly, +MARK ROBARTS' + +And then having written this, and having shown it to his wife, he +returned to the shrubbery walk and paced it up and down, looking +every now and then to Sowerby's letter as he thought over all the +past circumstances of his friendship with that gentleman. That the +man who had written this letter should be his friend--that very +fact was a disgrace to him. Sowerby so well knew himself and his +own reputation, that he did not dare to suppose that his own word +would be taken for anything,--not even when the thing promised was +an act of the commonest honesty. 'The old bills shall be given +back into your own hands', he had declared with energy, knowing +that his friend and correspondent would not feel himself secure +against further fraud under less stringent guarantee. This +gentleman, this county member, the owner of Chaldicotes, with whom +Mark Robarts had been so anxious to be on terms of intimacy, had +now come to such a phase of life that he had given over speaking of +himself as an honest man. He had become so used to suspicion that he +argued of it as of a thing of course. He knew that no one +could trust either his spoken or written word, and he was content +to speak and to write without attempt to hide this conviction. And +this was the man whom he had been so glad to call his friend; for +whose sake he had been willing to quarrel with Lady Lufton, and at +whose instance he had unconsciously abandoned so many of the best +resolutions of his life. He looked back now, as he walked there +slowly, still holding the letter in his hand, to the day when he +had stopped at the school-house and written his letter to Mr +Sowerby, promising to join the party at Chaldicotes. He had been +so eager then to have his own way, that he would not permit himself +to go home and talk the matter over with his wife. He thought also +of the manner in which he had been tempted to the house of the Duke +of Omnium, and the conviction on his mind at the time of giving way +to that temptation would surely bring him no evil. And then he +remembered the evening in Sowerby's bed-room, when the bill had +been brought out, and he had allowed himself to be persuaded to put +his name upon it--not because he was willing in this way to assist +his friend, but because he was unable to refuse. He had lacked the +courage to say 'No,' though he knew at the time how gross was the +error which he was committing. He had lacked the courage to say, +'No', and hence had come upon him and on his household all this +misery and cause for bitter repentance. + +I have written much of clergymen, but in doing so, I have +endeavoured to portray them as they bear on our social life rather +than to describe the mode and working of their professional +careers. Had I done the latter I could hardly have steered clear +of subjects on which it has not been my intention to pronounce an +opinion, and I should either have laden my fiction with sermons or +I should have degraded my sermons into fiction. Therefore I have +said but little in my narrative of this man's feelings or doings as +a clergyman. But I must protest against its being on this account +considered that Mr Robarts was indifferent to the duties of his +clerical position. He had been fond of pleasure and had given way +to temptation,--as is so customarily done by young men of +six-and-twenty, who are placed beyond control and who have means at +command. Had he remained as a curate still at that age, subject in +all his movements to the eye of a superior, he would, we may say, +have put his name to no bills, have ridden after no hounds, have +seen nothing of the iniquities of Gatherum Castle. There are men +of twenty-six as fit to stand alone as ever they will be--fit to be +prime ministers, heads of schools, Judges on the Bench--almost fit +to be bishops; but Mark Robarts had not been one of them. He had +within him many aptitudes for good, but not the strengthened +courage of a man to act up to them. The stuff of which his manhood +was to be formed had been slow of growth, as it is with many men; +and, consequently, when temptation was offered to him, he had +fallen. But he deeply grieved over his own stumbling, and from +time to time, as his periods of penitence came upon him, he +resolved that he would once more put his shoulder to the wheel as +became one who fights upon earth that battle for which he had put +on the armour. Over and over again, did he think of those words of +Mr Crawley, and now as he walked up and down the path crumpling Mr +Sowerby's letter in his hand, he thought of them again--'it is a +terrible falling off; terrible in the fall, but doubly terrible +through that difficulty of returning.' Yes; that is a difficulty +which multiplies itself in a fearful ratio as one goes on +pleasantly running down the path--witherward? Had it come to that +with him that he could not return--that he could never again hold +up his head with a safe conscience as the pastor of his parish! It +was Sowerby who had led him into this misery, who had brought on +him this ruin? But then had not Sowerby paid him? Had not that +stall which he now held in Barchester been Sowerby's gift? He was +a poor man now--a distressed, poverty-stricken man; but +nevertheless he wished with all his heart that he had never become +a sharer in the good things of the Barchester chapter. 'I shall +resign the stall,' he said to his wife that night. 'I think I may +say that I have made up my mind as to that.' + +'But, Mark, will not people say that it is odd?' + +'I cannot help it--they must say it. Fanny, I fear that we shall +have to bear the saying of harder words than that.' + +'Nobody can ever say that you have done anything that is unjust or +dishonourable. If there are such men as Mr Sowerby--' + +'The blackness of his fault will not excuse mine.' And then again +he sat silent, hiding his eyes, while his wife, sitting by him, +held his hand. + +'Don't make yourself wretched, Mark. Matters will all come right +yet. It cannot be that the loss of a few hundred pounds should +ruin you.' + +'It is not the money--it is not the money.' + +'But you have done nothing wrong, Mark.' + +'How am I to go into the church and take my place before them all, +when every one will know that bailiffs are in the house?' And +then, dropping his head on to the table, he sobbed aloud. + +Mark Robarts's mistake had been mainly this,--he had thought to +touch pitch and not to be defiled. He, looking out from his +pleasant parsonage into the pleasant upper ranks of the world +around him, had seen that men and things in those quarters were +very engaging. His own parsonage, with his sweet wife, were +exceedingly dear to him, and Lady Lufton's affectionate friendship +had its value; but were not these things rather dull for one who +had lived with the best sets at Harrow and Oxford;--unless, indeed, +he could supplement them with some occasional bursts of more lively +life? Cakes and ale were as pleasant to his palate as to the +palates of those with whom he had formerly lived at college. He +had the same eye to look at a horse, and the same heart to make him +go across a country, as they. And then, too, he found that men +liked him,--men and women also; men and women who were high in +worldly standing. His ass's ears were tickled, and he learned to +fancy that he was intended by nature for the society of high +people. It seemed as though he were following his appointed course +in meeting men and women of the world at the houses of the +fashionable and rich. He was not the first clergyman that had so +lived and had so prospered. Yes, clergymen had so lived, and had +done their duties in the sphere of life altogether to the +satisfaction of their countrymen--and of their sovereigns. Thus +Mark Robarts had determined that he would touch pitch, and escape +defilement if that were possible. With what result those who have +read so far will have perceived. Late on the following afternoon +who should drive up to the parsonage door but Mr Forrest, the bank +manager from Barchester--Mr Forrest, to whom Sowerby had always +pointed as the Deus ex machina who, if duly invoked, could relieve +them all from their present troubles, and dismiss the whole Tozer +family--not howling into the wilderness, as one would have wished +to do with that brood of Tozers, but so gorged with prey that from +them no further annoyance need be dreaded? All this Mr Forrest +could do; nay, more, most willingly would do! Only let Mark +Robarts put himself into the banker's hand, and blandly sign what +documentation the banker might desire. 'This is a very unpleasant +affair,' said Mr Forrest as soon as they were closeted together in +Mark's book-room. In answer to which observation the parson +acknowledged that it was a very unpleasant affair. + +'Mr Sowerby has managed to put you into the hands of about the +worst set of rogues now existing in their line of business in +London.' + +'So I suppose; Curling told me the same.' Curling was the +Barchester attorney whose aid he had lately invoked. + +'Curling has threatened them that he will expose their whole trade; +but one of them was down here, a man named Tozer, replied, that you +had much more to lose by exposure than he had. He went further, +and declared that he would defy any jury in England to refuse him +his money. He swore that he discounted both bills in the regular +way of business; and, though this is of course false, I fear that +it will be impossible to prove it so. He well knows that you are a +clergyman, and that, therefore, he has a stronger hold on you than +on other men.' + +'The disgrace shall fall on Sowerby,' said Robarts hardly actuated +at the moment by any strong feeling of Christian forgiveness. + +'I fear, Mr Robarts, that he is somewhat in the condition of the +Tozers. He will not feel it as you do.' + +'I must bear it, Mr Forrest, as best I may.' + +'Will you allow me, Mr Robarts, to give you my advice? Perhaps I +ought to apologize for intruding it upon you; but as the bills have +been presented and dishonoured across my counter, I have, of +necessity, become acquainted with the circumstances.' + +'I am very much obliged to you,' said Mark. + +'You must pay this money, at any rate, the most considerable +portion of it;--the whole of it, indeed, with such deduction as a +lawyer may be able to induce these hawks to make on the sight of +ready money. Perhaps 750L or 800L may see you clear of the whole +affair.' + +'But I have not a quarter of that sum lying by me.' + +'No; I suppose not; but what I would recommend is this: that you +should borrow the money from the bank, on your own +responsibility,--with the joint security of some friend who may be +willing to assist you with his name. Lord Lufton would probably do +it.' + +'No, Mr Forrest.' + +'Listen to me first, before you make up your mind. If you took +this step, of course you would do so with the fixed intention of +paying the money yourself,--without any further reliance on Sowerby +or on any one else.' + +'I shall not rely on Mr Sowerby again; you may be sure of that.' + +'What I mean is that you must teach yourself to recognize the debt +as your own. If you can do that, with your income you can surely +pay it, with interest, in two years. If Lord Lufton will assist +you with his name, I will so arrange the bills that the payments +shall be made to fall equally over that period. In that way the +world will know nothing about it, and in two years' time you will +once more be a free man. Many men, Mr Robarts, have bought their +experience much dearer than that, I can assure you.' + +'Mr Forrest, it is quite out of the question.' + +'You mean that Lord Lufton will not give you his name.' + +'I certainly shall not ask him; but that is not all. In the first +place, my income will not be what you think it, for I shall +probably give up the prebend at Barchester.' + +'Give up the prebend! Give up six hundred a year!' + +'And, beyond this, I think I may say that nothing shall tempt me to +put my name to another bill. I have learned a lesson which I hope +I may never forget.' + +'Then what do you intend to do?' + +'Nothing!' + +'Then those men will sell every stick of furniture about the +place. They know that your property here is enough to secure all +they claim.' + +'If they have the power, they must sell it.' + +'And all the world will know the facts.' + +'So it must be. Of the faults which a man commits he must bear the +punishment. If it were only myself!' + +'That's where it is, Mr Robarts. Think of what you wife will have +to suffer in going through such misery as that! You had better +take my advice. Lord Lufton, I am sure--' But the very name of +Lord Lufton, his sister's lover, again gave him courage. He +thought, too, of the accusations which Lord Lufton had brought +against him on that night, when he had come to him in the +coffee-room of the hotel, and he felt that it was impossible that +he should apply to him for such aid. It would be better to tell all +to Lady Lufton! That she would relieve him, let the cost to +herself be what it might, he was very sure. Only this;--that in +looking to her for assistance he would be forced to bite the dust +in the very deed. + +'Thank you, Mr Forrest, but I have made up my mind. Do not think +that I am the less obliged to you on your disinterested +kindness,--for I know that it is disinterested; but this I think I +may confidently say, that not even to avert so terrible a calamity +will I again put my name to any bill. Even if you could take my own +promise to pay without the addition of any second name, I would not +do it.' There was nothing for Mr Forrest to do under such +circumstances but simply to drive back to Barchester. He had done +the best for the young clergyman according to his lights, and, +perhaps, in a worldly view, his advice had not been bad. But Mark +dreaded the very name of a bill. He was as a dog that had been +terribly scorched, and nothing would again induce him to go near +the fire. + +'Was not the man from the bank?' said Fanny, coming into the room +when the sound of the wheels had died away. + +'Yes; Mr Forrest.' + +'Well, dearest?' + +'We must prepare ourselves for the worst.' + +'You will not sign any more papers, eh Mark?' + +'No; I have just now positively refused to do so.' + +'Then I can bear anything. But, dearest, dearest Mark, will you +not let me tell Lady Lufton?' + +Let them look at the matter in any way the punishment was very +heavy. + + + +CHAPTER XLIII + +IS SHE NOT INSIGNIFICANT? + +And now a month went by at Framley without any increase of comfort +to our friends there, and also without any absolute development of +the ruin which had been daily expected at the parsonage. Sundry +letters had reached Mr Robarts from various personages acting in +the Tozer interest, all of which he referred to Mr Curling, of +Barchester. Some of these letters contained prayers for the money, +pointing out how an innocent widow lady had been induced to invest +her all in the faith of Mr Robarts's name, and was now starving in +a garret, with her three children, because Mr Robarts would not +make good his own undertakings. But the majority of them were +filled with threats;--only two days longer would be allowed; and +then the sheriff's officers would be enjoined to do their work; +then one day of grace would be added, at the expiration of which +the dogs of war would be unloosed. These, as fast as they came, +were sent to Mr Curling, who took no notice of them individually, +but continued his endeavour to prevent the evil day. The second +bill, Mr Robarts would take up--such was Mr Curling's proposition; +and would pay by two instalments of 250L each, the first in two +months, and the second in four. If this were acceptable to the +Tozer interest--well; if it were not, the sheriff's officers must +do their worst and the Tozer interest must look for what it could +get. The Tozer interest would not declare itself satisfied with +these terms so the matter went on. During which the roses faded +from day to day on the cheeks of Mrs Robarts, as under the +circumstances may easily be conceived. In the meantime Lucy still +remained at Hogglestock, and had there become absolute mistress of +the house. Poor Mrs Crawley had been at death's door; for some +days she was delirious, and afterwards remained so weak as to be +almost unconscious; but now the worst was over, and Mr Crawley had +been informed, that as far as human judgement might pronounce, his +children would not become orphans nor would he become a widower. +During these weeks Lucy had not once been home nor had she seen any +of the Framley people. 'Why should she incur the risk of conveying +infection for so small an object?' as she herself argued, by +writing letters, which were duly fumigated before they were opened +at the parsonage. So she remained at Hogglestock, and the Crawley +children, now admitted to all the honours of the nursery, were kept +at Framley. They were kept at Framley, although it was expected +from day to day that the beds on which they lay would be seized for +the payment of Mr Sowerby's debts. Lucy, as I have said, became +mistress of the house at Hogglestock, and made herself absolutely +ascendant over Mr Crawley. Jellies, and broth, and fruit, and even +butter, came from Lufton Court, which she displayed on the table, +absolutely on the cloth before him, and yet he bore it. I cannot +say that he partook of these delicacies with any freedom himself, +but he did drink his tea when it was given to him although it +contained Framley cream;--and, had he known it, Bohea itself from +the Framley chest. In truth, these days, he had given himself over +to the dominion of this stranger; and he said nothing beyond, +'Well, well', with two uplifted hands, when he came upon her as she +was sewing the buttons of his own shirts--sewing on the buttons and +perhaps occasionally applying her needle elsewhere,--not without +utility. He said to her at this period very little in the way of +thanks. + +Some protracted conversations they did have, now and again, during +the long evenings; but even in these he did not utter many words as +to their present state of life. It was on religion chiefly that he +spoke, not lecturing her individually, but laying down his ideas as +to what the life of a Christian should be, and especially what +should be the life of a minister. 'But though I can see this, Miss +Robarts,' he said, 'I am bound to say that no one has fallen off so +frequently as myself. I have renounced the devil and all his +works; but it is by word of mouth only--by word of mouth only. How +shall a man crucify the old Adam that is within him, unless he +throw himself prostrate in the dust and acknowledge that all his +strength is weaker than water?' To this, often as it might be +repeated, she would listen patiently, comforting him by such words +as her theology would supply; but then, when this was over, she +would again resume her command and enforce from him a close +obedience to her domestic behests. + +At the end of the month Lord Lufton came back to Framley Court. His +arrival there was quite unexpected; though as he pointed out when +his mother expressed some surprise, he had returned exactly at the +time named by him before he started. + +'I need not say, Ludovic, how glad I am to have you,' said she, +looking into his face and pressing his arm; 'the more so, indeed, +seeing that I hardly expected it.' + +He said nothing to his mother about Lucy the first evening, +although there was some conversation respecting the Robarts family. + +'I am afraid that Mr Robarts has embarrassed himself,' said Lady +Lufton, looking very seriously. 'Rumours reach me which are most +distressing. I have said nothing further to anybody as yet--not +even to Fanny; but I can see in her face, and hear in the tones of +her voice, that she is suffering some great sorrow.' + +'I know all about it,' said Lord Lufton. + +'You know all about it, Ludovic?' + +'Yes; it is through that precious friend of mine, Mr Sowerby, of +Chaldicotes. He has accepted bills for Sowerby; indeed he told +me.' + +'What business had he at Chaldicotes? What had he to do with such +friends as that? I do not know how I am to forgive him.' + +'It was through me that he became acquainted with Sowerby. You must +remember that, mother.' + +'I do not see that as any excuse. Is he to consider that your +acquaintances must necessarily be his friends also? It is +reasonable to suppose that you in your position must live +occasionally with a great many people who are altogether unfit +companions for him as a parish clergyman. He will not remember +this, and he must be taught it. What business had he to go to +Gatherum Castle?' + +'He got his stall at Barchester by going there.' + +'He would be much better without his stall, and Fanny has the sense +to know this. What does he want with two houses? Prebendal stalls +are for older men than he--for men who have earned them, and who at +the end of their lives want some ease. I wish with all my heart +that he had never taken it.' + +'Six hundred a year has its charms all the same,' said Lufton, +getting up and strolling out of the room. + +'If Mark really be in any difficulty,' he said, later in the +evening, 'we must put him on his legs.' + +'You mean, pay his debts?' + +'Yes; he has no debts except these acceptances of Sowerby's.' + +'How much will it be, Ludovic?' + +'A thousand pounds, perhaps, more or less. I'll find the money, +mother; only I shan't be able to pay you quite as soon as I +intended.' Whereupon his mother got up, and throwing her arms +round his neck declared that she would never forgive him if he ever +said a word more about her little present to him. I suppose there is +no pleasure a mother can have more attractive than giving away her +money to an only son. + +Lucy's name was first mentioned at breakfast the next morning. Lord +Lufton had made up his mind to attack his mother on the subject +early in the morning--before he went up to the parsonage; but as +matters turned out, Miss Robarts's doings were necessarily brought +under discussion without reference to Lord Lufton's special +aspirations regarding her. The fact of Mrs Crawley's illness had +been mentioned, and Lady Lufton had stated how it had come to pass +that all the Crawley children were at the parsonage. + +'I must say Fanny has behaved excellently,' said Lady Lufton. 'It +was just what might have been expected from her. And indeed,' she +added, speaking in an embarrassed tone, 'so has Miss Robarts. Miss +Robarts has remained at Hogglestock and nursed Mrs Crawley through +the whole.' + +'Remained at Hogglestock--through the fever!' exclaimed his +lordship. + +'Yes, indeed,' said Lady Lufton. + +'And is she there now?' + +'Oh, yes; I am not aware that she thinks of leaving just yet.' + +'Then I say it is a great shame--a scandalous shame!' + +'But, Ludovic, it was her own doing.' + +'Oh, yes; I understand. But why should she be sacrificed? Were +there no nurses in the country to be hired, but that she must go +and remain there for a month at the bedside of a pestilent fever? +There is no justice in it.' + +'Justice, Ludovic? I don't know about justice, but there was great +Christian charity. Mrs Crawley has probably owed her life to Miss +Robarts.' + +'Has she been ill? Is she ill? I insist upon knowing whether she +is ill. I shall go over to Hogglestock myself immediately after +breakfast.' To this Lady Lufton made no reply. If Lord Lufton +chose to go to Hogglestock she could not prevent him. She thought, +however, that it would be much better that he should stay away. He +would be quite as open to the infection as Lucy Robarts; and, +moreover, Mrs Crawley's bedside would be as inconvenient a place as +might be selected for any interview between two lovers. Lady +Lufton felt at the present moment that she was cruelly treated by +circumstances with reference to the Miss Robarts. Of course it +would have been her part to lessen, if she could do so without +injustice, that high idea which her son entertained of the beauty +and worth of the young lady; but, unfortunately, she had been +compelled to praise her and to load her name with all manner of +eulogy. Lady Lufton was essentially a true woman, and not even +with the object of carrying out her own views in so important a +matter would she be guilty of such deception as she might have +practised by simply holding her tongue; but nevertheless she could +hardly reconcile herself to the necessity of singing Lucy's +praises. + +After breakfast Lady Lufton got up from her chair, but hung about +the room without making any show of leaving. In accordance with +her usual custom she would have asked her son what he was going to +do; but she did not dare so to inquire now. Had he not declared, +only a few minutes since, whither he would go? 'I suppose I shall +see you at lunch?' at last she said. + +'At lunch? Well, I don't know. Look here, mother. What am I to +say to Miss Robarts when I see her?' and he leaned with his back +against the chimney-piece as he interrogated his mother. + +'What are you going to say to her, Ludovic?' + +'Yes, what am I to say,--as coming from you? Am I to tell her that +you will receive her as your daughter-in-law?' + +'Ludovic, I have explained all that to Miss Robarts herself.' + +'Explained what?' + +'I have told her that I did not think that such a marriage would +make either you or her happy.' + +'And why have you told her so? Why have you taken upon yourself to +judge for me in such a matter, as though I were a child? Mother, +you must unsay what you have said.' Lord Lufton, as he spoke, +looked full into his mother's face; and he did so, not as though he +were begging from her a favour, but issuing to her a command. She +stood near him, with one hand on the breakfast-table, gazing at him +almost furtively, not quite daring to meet the full view of his +eye. There was only one thing on earth which Lady Lufton feared, +and that was her son's displeasure. The sun of her earthly heaven +shone upon her through the medium of his existence. If she were +driven to quarrel with him, as some ladies of her acquaintance were +driven to quarrel with their sons, the world for her would be +over. Not but what facts might be so strong as to make it +absolutely necessary that she should do this. As some people might +resolve that, under certain circumstances, they will commit +suicide, so she could see that, under certain circumstances, she +must consent even to be separated from him. She would not do +wrong,--not that which she knew to be wrong,--even for his sake. If +it were necessary that all her happiness should collapse and be +crushed in ruin around her, she must endure it, and wait God's time +to relieve her from so dark a world. The light of the sun was very +dear to her, but even that might be purchased at too dear a cost. + +'I told you before, mother, that my choice was made, and I asked +you then to give your consent; you have now had time to think about +it, and therefore I have come to ask you again. I have reason to +know that there will be no impediment to my marriage if you will +frankly hold out your hand to Lucy.' + +The matter was altogether in Lady Lufton's hands, but, fond as she +was of power, she absolutely wished that it were not so. Had her +son married without asking her, and then brought Lucy home as his +wife, she would undoubtedly would have forgiven him; and much as +she might have disliked the match, she would, ultimately, have +embraced the bride. But now she was compelled to exercise her +judgement. If he married imprudently, it would be her doing. How +was she to give her expressed consent to that which she believed to +be wrong? 'Do you know anything against her; any reason why she +should not be my wife?' continued he. + +'If you mean as regards her moral conduct, certainly not,' said +Lady Lufton. 'But I could say as much as that in favour of a great +many young ladies whom I should regard as very ill-suited for such +a marriage.' + +'Yes; some might be vulgar, some might be ill-tempered, some might +be ugly; others might be burdened with disagreeable connexions. I +can understand that you should object to a daughter-in-law under +any of these circumstances. But none to these things can be said +of Miss Robarts. I defy you to say that she is not all respects +what a lady should be.' + +But her father was a doctor of medicine, she is the sister of the +parish clergyman, she is only five feet two in height, and is so +uncommonly brown. Had Lady Lufton dared to give her catalogue of +her objections, such would have been its extent and nature. But +she did not dare do this. + +'I cannot say, Ludovic, that she is possessed of all that you +should seek in a wife.' Such was her answer. + +'Do you mean that she has not got money?' + +'No, not that; I should be very sorry to see you making money your +chief object, or indeed any essential object. If it chanced that +your wife did have money, no doubt you would find it a +convenience. But pray understand me, Ludovic; I would not for a +moment advise you to subject your happiness to such a necessity as +that. It is not because she is without fortune--' + +'Then why is it? At breakfast you were singing her praises, and +saying how excellent she was.' + +'If I were forced to put my objection into one word, I should +say--' and then she paused, hardly daring to encounter the frown +which was already gathering itself on her son's brow. + +'You would say what?' said Lord Lufton, almost roughly. + +'Don't be angry with me, Ludovic; all that I think, and all that I +say on this subject, I think and say with only one object--that of +your happiness. What other motive can I have for anything in this +world?' And then she came close to him and kissed him. + +'But tell me, mother, what is this objection; what is this terrible +word that is to sum up the list of all poor Lucy's sins, and prove +that she is unfit for married life?' + +'Ludovic, I did not say that. You know that I did not.' + +'What is that word, mother?' + +And then at last Lady Lufton spoke it out. 'She is--insignificant. +I believe her to be a very good girl, but she is not qualified to +fill the high position to which you would exalt her.' + +'Insignificant!' + +'Yes, Ludovic, I think so.' + +'Then, mother, you do not know her. You must permit me to say that +you are talking of a girl whom you do not know. Of all the +epithets of opprobrium which the English language could give you, +that would nearly be the last she would deserve.' + +'I have not intended any opprobrium.' + +'Insignificant!' + +'Perhaps you do not quite understand me, Ludovic.' + +'I know what insignificant means, mother.' + +'I think that she would not worthily fill the position which your +wife should take in the world.' + +'I understand what you say.' + +'She would not do you honour at the head of your table.' + +'Ah, I understand. You want me to marry some bouncing Amazon, some +pink and white giantess of fashion who would frighten the little +people into their proprieties.' + +'Oh, Ludovic! You are intending to laugh at me now.' + +'I was never less inclined to laugh in my life--never, I can assure +you. And now I am more certain than ever that your objection to +Miss Robarts arises from your not knowing her. You will find, I +think, when you do know her, that she is as well able to hold her +own as any lady of your acquaintance--aye, and to maintain her +husband's position too. I can assure you that I shall have no fear +of her on that score.' + +'I think, dearest, that perhaps you hardly--' + +'I think this, mother, that in such a matter as this I must choose +for myself. I have chosen; and now I ask you, as my mother, to go +to her and bid her welcome. Dear mother, I will own this, that I +should not be happy if I thought that you did not love my wife.' +These last words he said in a tone of affection that went to his +mother's heart, and then he left the room. + +Poor Lady Lufton, when she was alone, waited till she heard her +son's steps retreating through the hall, and then betook herself +upstairs to her customary morning work. She sat down at last as +though about to occupy herself; but her mind was too full to allow +of her taking up her pen. She had often said to herself, in days +which to her were not as yet long gone by, that she would choose a +bride for her son, and that then she would love the chosen one with +all her heart. She would dethrone herself in favour of this new +queen, sinking with joy into her dowager state, in order that her +son's wife might shine with the greater splendour. The fondest +day-dreams of her life had all had reference to the time when her +son should bring home a new Lady Lufton, selected by herself from +the female excellence of England, and in which she might be the +first to worship her new idol. But could she dethrone herself for +Lucy Robarts? Could she give up her chair of state in order to +place thereon the little girl from the parsonage? Could she take +to her heart, and treat with absolute loving confidence, with the +confidence of an almost idolatrous mother, that little chit who, a +few months since, had sat awkwardly in one corner of her +drawing-room, afraid to speak to any one? And yet it seemed that +it must come to this--to this--or else those day-dreams of hers +would in nowise come to pass. She sat herself down, trying to +think whether it were possible that Lucy might fill the throne; for +she had begun to recognize it as probable that her son's will would +be too strong for her; but her thoughts would fly away to Griselda +Grantly. In her first and only matured attempt to realize her +day-dreams, she had chosen Griselda for her queen. She had failed +there, seeing that Fates had destined Miss Grantly for another +throne; for another and higher one, as far as the world goes. She +would have made Griselda the wife of a baron, but fate was about to +make that young lady the wife of a marquis. Was there cause for +grief in this? Did she really regret that Miss Grantly, with all +her virtues, should be made over to the house of Hartletop? Lady +Lufton was a woman who did not bear disappointment lightly; but +nevertheless she did almost feel herself to have been relieved from +a burden when she thought of the termination of the Lufton-Grantly +marriage treaty. What if she had been successful, and, after all, +the prize had been other than she had expected? She was sometimes +prone to think that that prize was not exactly all that she had +once hoped. Griselda looked the very thing that Lady Lufton wanted +for a queen; but how would a queen reign who trusted only to her +looks? In that respect it was perhaps well for her that destiny had +interposed. Griselda, she was driven to admit, was better suited +to Lord Dumbello than to her son. But still--such a queen as +Lucy! Could it ever come to pass that the lieges of the kingdom +would bow the knee in proper respect before so puny a sovereign? +And then there was that feeling which, in still higher quarters, +prevents the marriage of princes with the most noble of their +people. Is it not a recognized rule of these realms that none of +the blood royal shall raise to royal honours those of the subjects +who are by birth un-royal? Lucy was a subject of the house of +Lufton in that she was the sister of the parson and a resident +denizen of the parsonage. Presuming that Lucy herself might do for +a queen--granting that she might have some faculty to reign, the +crown having been duly placed on her brow--how, then, about that +clerical brother near the throne? Would it not come to this, that +there would no longer be a queen at Framley? And yet she knew that +she must yield. She did not say so to herself. She did not as yet +acknowledge that she must put out her hand to Lucy, calling her by +name as her daughter. She did not absolutely say as much to her own +heart--not as yet. But she did begin to bethink herself of Lucy's +high qualities, and to declare to herself that the girl, if not fit +to be a queen, was at any rate fit to be a woman. That there was a +spirit within that body, insignificant though the body might be, +Lady Lufton was prepared to admit. That she had acquired the +power--the chief of all powers in this world--of sacrificing +herself for the sake of others; that, too, was evident enough. That +she was a good girl, in the usual acceptation of the word good, +Lady Lufton never doubted. She was ready-witted, too, prompt in +action, gifted with a certain fire. It was that gift of fire which +had won for her, so unfortunately, Lord Lufton's love. It was +quite possible for her also to love Lucy Robarts; Lady Lufton +admitted that to herself; but then who could bow the knee before +her, and serve her as a queen? Was it not a pity that she should +be so insignificant? + +But, nevertheless, we may say that as Lady Lufton sate that morning +in her own room for two hours without employment, the star of Lucy +Robarts was gradually rising in the firmament. After all, love was +the food chiefly necessary for the nourishment of Lady Lufton--the +only food necessary. She was not aware of this herself, nor +probably would those who knew her best have so spoken of her. They +would have declared that family pride was her daily pabulum, and +she herself would have said so too, calling it, however, by some +less offensive name. Her son's honour, and the honour of her +house!---of those she would have spoken as the things dearest to +her in this world. And this was partly true, for had her son been +dishonoured, she would have sunk with sorrow to the grave. But the +one thing necessary to her daily life was the power of loving those +who were dear to her. Lord Lufton, when he left the dining-room, +intended at once to go up to the parsonage, but he first strolled +round the garden in order that he might make up his mind what he +would say there. He was angry with his mother, having not had the +wit to see that she was about to give way and yield to him, and he +was determined to make it understood that in this matter he would +have his own way. He had learned that which it was necessary that +he should know as to Lucy's heart, and such being the case he would +not conceive it possible that he should be debarred by his mother's +opposition. 'There is no son in England loves his mother better +than I do,' he said to himself; 'but there are some things which a +man cannot stand. She would have married me to that block of stone +if I would have let her; and now, because she is disappointed +there--Insignificant! I never in my life heard anything so +absurd, so untrue, so uncharitable, so--She'd like me to bring a +dragon home, I suppose. It would serve her right if I did--some +creature that would make the house intolerable to her.' 'She must do +it though,' he said again, 'or she and I will quarrel,' and then he +turned off towards the gate, preparing to go to the parsonage. + +'My lord have you heard what has happened?' said the gardener, +coming to him at the gate. The man was out of breath, and almost +overwhelmed by the greatness of his own tidings. + +'No; I have heard nothing. What is it?' + +'The bailiffs have taken possession of everything at the +parsonage.' + + + +CHAPTER XLIV + +THE PHILISTINES AT THE PARSONAGE + +It has already been told how things went on between the Tozers, Mr +Curling, and Mark Robarts during that month. Mr Forrest had +drifted out of the business altogether, as also had Mr Sowerby, as +far as any active participation in it went. Letters came +frequently from Mr Curling to the parsonage, and at last came a +message by special mission to say that the evil day was at hand. As +far as Mr Curling's professional experience would enable him to +anticipate or foretell the proceedings of such a man as Tom Tozer +he thought that the sheriff's officers would be at Framley +parsonage on the following morning. Mr Curling's experience did +not mislead him in this respect. 'And what will you do, Mark?' +said Fanny, speaking through her tears, after she had read the +letter which her husband handed to her. + +'Nothing. What can I do? They must come.' + +'Lord Lufton came to-day. Will you go to him?' + +'No. If I were to do so it would be the same thing as asking him +for the money.' + +'Why not borrow it of him, dearest? Surely it would not be so much +for him to lend?' + +'I could not do it. Think of Lucy, and how she stands with him. +Besides, I have already had words with Lufton about Sowerby and his +money matters. He thinks that I am to blame, and he would tell me +so; and then there would sharp things said between us. He would +advance me the money if I pressed him for it, but he would do so in +a way that would make it impossible that I should take it.' + +There was nothing more, then, to be said. If she had had her own +way, Mrs Robarts would have gone at once to Lady Lufton, but she +could not induce her husband to sanction such a proceeding. The +objection to seeking assistance from her ladyship was as strong as +that which prevailed as to her son. There had already been some +little beginning of ill-feeling, and under such circumstances it +was impossible to ask for pecuniary assistance. Fanny, however, +had a prophetic assurance that assistance out of these difficulties +must in the end come to them from that quarter, or not at all; and +she would fain, had she been allowed, make everything known at the +big house. On the following morning they breakfasted at the usual +hour, but in great sadness. A maid-servant whom Mrs Robarts had +brought with her when she married, told that a rumour of what was +to happen had reached the kitchen. Stubbs, the groom, had been in +Barchester on the preceding day, and, according to his account--so +said Mary--everybody in the city was talking about it. 'Never +mind, Mary,' said Mrs Robarts, and Mary replied, 'Oh, no, of course +not, ma'am.' In these days Mrs Robarts was ordinarily very busy, +seeing that there were six children in the house, four of whom had +come to her but ill supplied with infantine belongings; and now, as +usual, she went about her work immediately after breakfast. But +she moved about the house very slowly, and was almost unable to +give her orders to the servants, and spoke sadly to the children +who hung about her wondering what was the matter. Her husband at +the same time took himself to his book-room, but when there did not +attempt any employment. He thrust his hands into his pockets, and, +leaning against the fire-place, fixed his eyes upon the table +before him without looking at anything that was on it; it was +impossible for him to betake himself to his work. Remember what is +the ordinary labour of a clergyman in his study, and think how fit +he must have been for such employment! What would have been the +nature of a sermon composed at such a moment, and with what +satisfaction could he have used the sacred volume in referring to +it for arguments? He, in this respect, was worse off than his +wife; she did employ herself, but he stood there without moving, +doing nothing, with fixed eyes thinking of what men would say of +him. Luckily for him, this state of suspense was not long, for +within half an hour of his leaving the breakfast-table, the footman +knocked at his door--that footman with whom, at the beginning of +his difficulties, he had made up his mind to dispense, but who had +been kept on because of the Barchester prebend. + +'If it please you reverence, there are two men outside,' said the +footman. Two men! Mark knew well enough what men they were, but +he could hardly take the coming of two such men to his quiet +country parsonage quite as a matter of course. + +'Who are they, John?' said he, not wishing any answer, but because +the question was forced upon him. + +'I'm afeard they're--bailiffs, sir.' + +'Very well, John; that will do; of course they must do what they +please about the place.' And then when the servant left him, he +still stood without moving, exactly as he stood before. There he +remained for ten minutes, but the time went by very slowly. When +about noon some circumstances told him what was the hour, he was +astonished to find that the day had not nearly passed away. And +then another tap was struck on the door--a sound which he well +recognized--and his wife crept silently into the room. She came +close up to him before she spoke, and put her arm within his.' + +'Mark,' she said, 'the men are here; they are in the yard.' + +'I know it,' he answered gruffly. + +'Will it be better that you should see them, dearest?' + +'See them; no; what good can I do by seeing them? But I shall see +them soon enough; they will be here, I suppose, in a few minutes.' + +'They are taking an inventory, cook says; they are in the stable +now.' + +'Very well; they must do as they please; I cannot help them.' + +'Cook says that if they are allowed their meals and some beer, and +if nobody takes anything away, they will be quite civil.' + +'Civil! But what does it matter! Let them eat and drink what they +please, as long as the food lasts. I don't suppose the butcher +will send you more.' + +'But, Mark, there's nothing due to the butcher,--only the regular +monthly bill.' + +'Very well; you'll see.' + +'Oh, Mark, don't look at me in that way. Do not turn away from +me. What is to comfort us if we do not cling to each other now?' + +'Comfort us! God help you! I wonder, Fanny, that you can bear to +stay in the room with me.' + +'Mark, dearest Mark, my own dear, dearest husband! Who is to be +true to you, if I am not? You shall not turn from me. How can +anything like this make a difference between you and me?' And then +she threw her arms round his neck and embraced him. It was a +terrible morning to him, and one of which every incident will dwell +in his memory to the last day of his life. He had been so proud in +his position--had assumed to himself so prominent a standing--had +contrived, by some trick which he had acquired, to carry his head +so high above the heads of neighbouring parsons. It was this that +had taken him among great people, had introduced him to the Duke of +Omnium, had procured for him the stall at Barchester. But how was +he to carry his head now? What would the Arabins and Grantlys say? +How would the bishop sneer at him, and Mrs Proudie and her +daughters tell of him in all their quarters? How would Crawley look +at him--Crawley, who had already once had him on the hip? The +stern severity of Crawley's face loomed upon him now. Crawley, +with his children half naked, and his wife a drudge, and himself +half starved, had never had a bailiff in his house at Hogglestock. +And then his own curate, Evans, whom he had patronized, and treated +almost as a dependant--how was he to look at his curate in the face +and arrange with him for the sacred duties of the next Sunday? His +wife still stood by him, gazing into his face; and as he looked at +her and thought of her misery, he could not control his heart with +reference to the wrongs which Sowerby had heaped on him. It was +Sowerby's falsehood and Sowerby's fraud which had brought upon him +and his wife this terrible anguish. + +'If there be justice on earth he will suffer for it yet,' he said +at last, not speaking intentionally to his wife, but unable to +repress his feelings. + +'Do not wish him evil, Mark; you may be sure he has his own +sorrows.' + +'His own sorrows! No; he is callous to such misery as this. +He has become so hardened by dishonesty that all this is mirth to +him. If there be punishment in heaven for falsehood--' + +'Oh, Mark, do not curse him!' + +'How am I to keep myself from cursing when I see what he has +brought upon you?' + +'"Vengeance is mine, saith the Lord,"' answered the young wife, not +with solemn, preaching accent, as though bent on reproof, but with +the softest whisper into his ear. 'Leave that to Him, Mark; and +for us, let us pray that He may soften the hearts of us all;--of +him who has caused us to suffer, and of our own.' Mark was not +called upon to reply to this, for he was again disturbed by a +servant at the door. It was the cook this time herself, who had +come with a message from the men of the law. And she had come, be +it remembered, not from any necessity that she as cook should do +this line of work; for the footman, or Mrs Robarts's maid, might +have come as well as she. But when things are out of course +servants are always out of course also. As a rule, nothing will +induce a butler to go into a stable, or persuade a housemaid to +put her hand to a frying-pan. But now that this new excitement had +come upon the household--seeing that the bailiffs were in +possession, and that the chattels were being entered into a +catalogue, everybody was willing to do everything--everything but +his or her own work. The gardener was looking after the dear +children; the nurse was doing the rooms before the bailiffs could +reach them; the groom had gone into the kitchen to get their lunch +ready for them; and the cook was walking about with an inkstand, +obeying all the orders of the great potentates. As far as the +servants were concerned, it may be a question whether the coming of +the bailiffs had not hitherto been regarded as a treat. + +'If you please, ma'am,' said Jemima cook, 'they wishes to know in +which room you'd be pleased to have the inmin-tory took fust. +'Cause ma'am, they wouldn't disturb you nor master more than can be +avoided. For their line of life, ma'am, they is very civil--very +civil indeed.' + +'I suppose they may go into the drawing-room,' said Mrs Robarts, in +a sad low voice. All nice women are proud of their drawing-rooms, +and she was very proud of hers. It had been furnished when money +was plenty with them, immediately after their marriage, and +everything in it was pretty, good, and dear to her. O, ladies, who +have drawing-rooms in which the things are pretty, good, and dear +to you, think of what it would be to have two bailiffs rummaging +among them with pen and ink-horn, making a catalogue preparatory to +a sheriff's auction; and all without fault or extravagance of your +own! There were things there that had been given to her by Lady +Lufton, by Lady Meredith, and other friends, and the idea did occur +to her that it might be possible to save them from contamination; +but she would not say a word, lest by so saying she might add to +Mark's misery. + +'And then the dining-room,' said Jemima cook, in a tone almost of +elation. + +'Yes; if they please.' + +'And then master's book-room here; or perhaps the bedrooms, if you +and master be still here.' + +'Any way they please, cook; it does not much signify,' said Mrs +Robarts. But for some days after that Jemima was by no means a +favourite with her. + +The cook was hardly out of the room before a quick footstep was +heard on the gravel before the window, and the hall door was +immediately opened. + +'Where is your master?' said the well-known voice of Lord Lufton; +and then in half a minute he also was in the book-room. + +'Mark, my dear fellow, what's all this?' said he, in a cheery tone +and with a pleasant face. 'Did you not know that I was here? I +came down yesterday; landed from Hamburg only yesterday morning. +How do you do, Mrs Robarts? This is a terrible bore, isn't it?' +Robarts, at the first moment, hardly knew how to speak to his old +friend. He was struck dumb by the disgrace of his position; the +more so as his misfortune was one which it was partly in the power +of Lord Lufton to remedy. He had never yet borrowed money since he +had filled a man's position, but he had had words about money with +the young peer, in which he knew that his friend had wronged him; +and for this double reason he was now speechless. + +'Mr Sowerby has betrayed him,' said Mrs Robarts, wiping the tears +from her eyes. Hitherto she had said no word against Sowerby, but +now it was necessary to defend her husband. + +'No doubt about it. I believe he has always betrayed every one who +has ever trusted him. I told you what he was some time since; did +I not? But, Mark, why on earth have you let it go so far as this? +Would not Forrest help you?' + +'Mr Forrest wanted him to sign more bills, and he would not do +that,' said Mrs Robarts, sobbing. + +'Bills are like dram-drinking,' said the discreet young lord: +'when one once begins, it is very hard to leave off. Is it true +that the men are here now, Mark?' + +'Yes, they are in the next room.' + +'What, in the drawing-room?' + +'They are making out a list of the things,' said Mrs Robarts. + +'We must stop that at any rate,' said his lordship, walking off +towards the scene of operations; and as he left the room Mrs +Robarts followed him, leaving her husband by himself. + +'Why did you not send down to my mother?' said he, speaking hardly +above a whisper, as they stood together in the hall. + +'He would not let me.' + +'But why not go yourself? or why not have written to me,-- +considering how intimate we are!' Mrs Robarts could not explain to +him that the peculiar intimacy between him and Lucy must have +hindered her from doing so, even if otherwise it might have been +possible; but she felt that such was the case. + +'Well, my men, this is bad work you're doing here,' said he, +walking into the drawing-room. Whereupon the cook curtsied low, +and the bailiffs, knowing his lordship, stopped from their business +and put their hands to their foreheads. 'You must stop this, if +you please,--at once. Come let's go out into the kitchen, or some +place outside. I don't like to see you here with your big boots +and the pen and ink among the furniture.' + +'We ain't a-done no harm, my lord, so please your lordship,' said +Jemima cook. + +'And we is only a-doing our bounden dooties,' said one of the +bailiffs. + +'As we is sworn to do, so please your lordship,' said the other. + +'And is wery sorry to be unconwenient, my lord, to any gen'leman or +lady as is a gen'leman or lady. But accidents will happen, and +then what can the likes of us do?' said the first. + +'Because we is sworn, my lord,' said the second. But, +nevertheless, in spite of their oaths, and in spite also of the +stern necessity which they pleaded, they ceased their operations at +the instance of the peer. For the name of a lord is still great in +England. + +'And now leave this, and let Mrs Robarts go into her +drawing-room.' + +'And, please your lordship, what is we to do? Who is we to look +to?' In satisfying them absolutely on this point Lord Lufton had +to use more than his influence as a peer. It was necessary that he +should have pen and paper. But with pen and paper he did satisfy +them;--satisfy them so far that they agreed to return to Stubbs's +room, the former hospital, due stipulation having been made for the +meals and beer, and there await the order to evacuate the premises +which would no doubt, under his lordship's influence, reach them on +the following day. The meaning of all which was that Lord Lufton +had undertaken to bear upon his own shoulder the whole debt due by +Mr Robarts. And then he returned to the book-room where Mark was +still standing almost on the spot in which he had placed himself +immediately after breakfast. Mrs Robarts did not return, but went +up among the children to counter-order such directions as she had +given for the preparation of the nursery for the Philistines. +'Mark,' he said, 'do not trouble yourself about this more than you +can help. The men have ceased doing anything, and they shall leave +the place to-morrow morning.' + +'And how will the money--be paid?' said the poor clergyman. + +'Do not bother yourself about that at present. It shall be so +managed that the burden shall fall ultimately on yourself--not on +any one else. But I am sure it must be a comfort to you to know +that your wife need not be driven out of her drawing-room.' + +'But, Lufton, I cannot allow you--after what has passed--and at +the present moment--' + +'My dear fellow, I know all about it, and I am coming to that just +now. You have employed Curling, and he shall settle it; and upon +my word, Mark, you shall pay the bill. But, for the present +emergency, the money is at my banker's.' + +'But, Lufton--' + +'And to deal honestly, about Curling's bill I mean, it ought to be +as much my affair as your own. It was I that brought you into this +mess with Sowerby, and I know now how unjust about it I was to you +up in London. But the truth is that Sowerby's treachery has nearly +driven me wild. It has done the same to you since, no doubt.' + +'He has ruined me,' said Robarts. + +'No, he has not done that. No thanks to him though; he would not +have scrupled to do it had it come in his way. The fact is, Mark, +that you and I cannot conceive the depth of fraud in such a man as +that. He is always looking for money; I believe that in all his +hours of most friendly intercourse,--when he is sitting with you +over your wine, and riding beside you in the field,--he is still +thinking how he can make use of you to tide him over some +difficulty. He has lived in that way till he has a pleasure in +cheating, and has become so clever in his line of life that if you +or I were with him again to-morrow he would again get the better of +us. He is a man that must be absolutely avoided; I, at any rate, +have learned to know so much.' In the expression of which opinion +Lord Lufton was too hard upon poor Sowerby; as indeed we are all +apt to be too hard in forming an opinion upon the rogues of the +world. That Mr Sowerby had been a rogue, I cannot deny. It is +roguish to lie, and he had been a great liar. It is roguish to make +promises which the promiser know he cannot perform, and such had +been Mr Sowerby's daily practice. It is roguish to live on other +men's money, and Mr Sowerby had long been doing do. It is roguish, +at least, so I would hold it, to deal willingly with rogues; and Mr +Sowerby had been constant in such dealings. I do not know whether +he had not at times fallen even into more palpable roguery than is +proved by such practices as those enumerated. Though I have for +him some tender feeling, knowing that there was still a touch of +gentle bearing round his heart, an abiding taste for better things +within him, I cannot acquit him from the great accusation. But, +for all that, in spite of his acknowledged roguery, Lord Lufton was +too hard upon him in his judgement. There was yet within him the +means of repentance, could a locus penitentiae have been supplied to +him. He grieved bitterly over his own ill-doings, and knew well +what changes gentlehood would have demanded from him. Whether or no +he had gone too far for all changes--whether the locus penitentiae +was for him still a possibility--that was between him and the +higher power. + +'I have no one to blame but myself,' said Mark, still speaking in +the same heart-broken tone and with his face averted from his +friend. + +The debt would now be paid, and the bailiffs would be expelled; but +that would not set him right before the world. It would be known +to all men--to all clergymen in the diocese, that the sheriff's +officers had been in charge of Framley parsonage, and he could +never again hold up his head in the close of Barchester. 'My dear +fellow, if we were all to make ourselves miserable for such a +trifle as this,--' said Lord Lufton, putting his arm affectionately +on his friend's shoulder. + +'But we are not all clergymen,' said Mark, and as he spoke he +turned away to the window and Lord Lufton knew that the tears were +on his cheek. + +Nothing was then said between them for some moments, after which +Lord Lufton again spoke,-- + +'Mark, my dear fellow!' + +'Well,' said Mark, with his face still turned towards the window. + +'You must remember one thing; in helping you over this trifle, +which will really be a matter of no inconvenience to me. I have a +better right than that even of an old friend; I look upon you as my +brother-in-law.' Mark turned slowly round, plainly showing the +tears upon his face. + +'Do you mean,' said he, 'that anything more has taken place?' + +'I mean to make your sister my wife; she sent me word by you to say +that she loved me, and I am not going to stand upon any nonsense +after that. If she and I are both willing no one alive has a right +to stand between us, and, by heavens, no one shall. I will do +nothing secretly, so I tell you that, exactly as I have told her +ladyship.' + +'But what does she say?' + +'She says nothing; but it cannot go on like that. My mother and I +cannot live here together if she opposes me in this way. I do not +want to frighten your sister by going over to her at Hogglestock, +but I expect you to tell her so much as I now tell you, as coming +from me; otherwise she will think I have forgotten her.' + +'She will not think that.' + +'She need not; good-bye, old fellow. I'll make it all right +between you and her ladyship about this affair of Sowerby's.' And +then he took his leave and walked off to settle about the payment +of the money. + +'Mother,' said he to Lady Lufton that evening, 'you must not bring +this affair of the bailiffs up against Robarts. It has been more +my fault than his.' + +Hitherto not a word had been spoken between Lady Lufton and her son +on the subject. She had heard with terrible dismay of what had +happened, and had heard also that Lord Lufton had immediately gone +to the parsonage. It was impossible, therefore, that she should +now interfere. That the necessary money would be forthcoming she +was aware, but that would not wipe out the terrible disgrace +attached to an execution in a clergyman's house. And then, too, he +was her clergyman,--her own clergyman, selected and appointed, and +brought to Framley by herself, endowed with a wife of her own +choosing, filled with good things by her own hand! It was a +terrible misadventure, and she had begun to repent that she had +ever heard of the name of Robarts. She would not, however, have +been slow to put forth the hand to lessen the evil by giving her +own money, had this been either necessary or possible. But how +could she interfere between Robarts and her son, especially when +she remembered the proposed connexion between Lucy and Lord Lufton? + +'Your fault, Ludovic?' + +'Yes, mother. It was I who introduced him to Mr Sowerby; and, to +tell the truth, I do not think he would ever have been intimate +with Sowerby if I had not given him some sort of commission with +reference to money matters then pending between Mr Sowerby and me. +They are all over now,--thanks to you, indeed.' + +'Mr Robarts's character as a clergyman should have kept him from +such troubles, if no other feeling did so.' + +'At any rate, mother, oblige me by letting it pass by.' + +'Oh, I shall say nothing to him.' + +'You had better say something to her, or otherwise it will be +strange; and even to him I would say a word of two,--a word in +kindness, as you so well know how. It will be easier for him in +that way, than if you were altogether silent.' + +No further conversation took place between them at the time, but +later in the evening she brushed her hand across her son's +forehead, sweeping the long silken hairs into their place, as she +was wont to do when moved by any special feeling of love. +'Ludovic,' she said, 'no one, I think, has so good a heart as you. +I will do exactly as you would have me about this affair of Mr +Robarts and the money.' And then there was nothing more said about +it. + + + + +CHAPTER XLV + +PALACE BLESSINGS + +And now, at this period, terrible rumours found their way into +Barchester, and flew about the cathedral towers and round the +cathedral door; aye, and into the canons' houses and the humbler +sitting-rooms of the vicars choral. Whether they made their way +thence up to the bishop's palace, or whether they descended from +the palace to the close, I will not pretend to say. But they were +shocking, unnatural, and no doubt grievous to all those excellent +ecclesiastical hearts which cluster so thickly in those quarters. +The first of these had reference to the new prebendary, and to the +disgrace which he had brought on the chapter; a disgrace, as some +of them boasted, which Barchester had never known before. This, +however, like most other boasts, was hardly true; for within but a +very few years there had been an execution in the house of a late +prebendary, old Dr Stanhope; and on that occasion the doctor +himself had been forced to fly away to Italy, starting in the +night, lest he also should fall into the hands of the Philistines, +as well as his chairs and tables. 'It is a scandalous shame,' said +Mrs Proudie, speaking not of the old doctor, but of the new +offender; 'a scandalous shame: and it would only serve him right if +the gown were stripped from his back.' + +'I suppose his living will be sequestered,' said a young minor +canon who attended much to the ecclesiastical injunctions of the +lady of the diocese, and was deservedly held in high favour. If +Framley were sequestered, why should not he, as well as another, +undertake the duty--with such stipend as the bishop might award? + +'I am told that he is over his head and ears in debt,' said the +future Mrs Tickler, 'and chiefly for horses which he has bought and +not paid for.' + +'I see him riding very splendid animals when he comes over for the +cathedral duties,' said a minor canon. + +'The sheriff's officers are in the house at present, I am told,' +said Mrs Proudie. + +'And is he not in jail?' said Mrs Tickler. + +'If not, he ought to be,' said Mrs Tickler's mother. + +'And no doubt soon will be,' said the minor canon; 'for I hear that +he is linked up with the most discreditable gang of persons.' + +This was what was said in the palace on that heading; and though, +no doubt, more spirit and poetry was displayed there than in the +houses of the less gifted clergy, this shows the manner in which +the misfortune of Mr Robarts was generally discussed. Nor, indeed, +had he deserved any better treatment at their hands. But his name +did not run the gauntlet for the usual nine days; nor, indeed, did +his fame endure at its height for more than two. This sudden fall +was occasioned by other tidings of a still more depressing nature; +by a rumour which so affected Mrs Proudie that it caused, as she +said, her blood to creep. And she was very careful that the blood +of others should creep also, if the blood of others was equally +sensitive. It was said that Lord Dumbello had jilted Miss +Grantly. From what adverse spot in the world these cruel tidings +fell upon Barchester I have never been able to discover. We know +how quickly rumour flies, making herself common through all the +cities. That Mrs Proudie should have known more of the facts +connected with the Hartletop family than any one else in Barchester +was not surprising, seeing that she was so much more conversant +with the great world in which such people lived. She knew, and was +therefore correct enough in declaring, that Lord Dumbello had +already jilted one other young lady--the Lady Julia Mac Mull, to +whom he had been engaged three seasons back, and that therefore his +character in such matters was not to be trusted. That Lady Julia +had been a terrible flirt and greatly given to waltzing with a +certain German count, with whom she had since gone off--that, I +suppose, Mrs Proudie did not know, much as she was conversant with +the great world,--seeing that she said nothing about it to any of +her ecclesiastical listeners on the present occasion. + +'It will be a terrible warning, Mrs Quiverful, to us all; a most +useful warning to us--not to trust to the things of this world. I +fear they made no inquiry about this young nobleman before they +agreed that his name should be linked with that of their +daughter.' This she said to the wife of the present warden of +Hiram's Hospital, a lady who had received favours from her, and was +therefore bound to listen attentively to her voice. + +'But I hope it may not be true,' said Mrs Quiverful, who, in spite +of the allegiance due by her to Mrs Proudie, had reasons of her own +for wishing well to the Grantly family. + +'I hope so, indeed,' said Mrs Proudie, with a slight tinge of anger +in her voice; 'but I fear that there is no doubt. And I must +confess that it is no more than we had a right to expect. I hope +that it may be taken by all of us as a lesson, and an ensample, and +a teaching of the Lord's mercy. And I wish you would request your +husband--from me, Mrs Quiverful--to dwell on this subject in +morning and evening lecture at the hospital on Sabbath next, +showing how false is the trust which we put in the good things of +this world;' which behest, to a certain extent, Mr Quiverful did +obey, feeling that a quiet life at Barchester was of great value to +him; but he did not go so far as to caution his hearers, who +consisted of the aged bedesmen of the hospital, against matrimonial +projects of an ambitious nature. In this case, as in all others of +the kind, the report was known to all the chapter before it had +been heard by the archdeacon or his wife. The dean heard it, and +disregarded it; as did also the dean's wife--at first; and those +who generally sided with the Grantlys in the diocesan battles +pooh-poohed the tidings, saying to each other that both the +archdeacon and Mrs Grantly were very well able to take care of +their own affairs. But dripping water hollows a stone; and at last +it was admitted on all sides that there was ground for fear,--on +all sides, except at Plumstead. + +'I am sure there is nothing in it; I really am sure of it,' said +Mrs Arabin, whispering to her sister; 'but after turning it over in +my mind, I thought it right to tell you. And yet I don't know now +but I am wrong.' + +'Quite right, dearest Eleanor,' said Mrs Grantly. 'And I am much +obliged to you. But we understand it, you know. It comes, of +course, like all other Christian blessings, from the palace.' And +then there was nothing more said on it between Mrs Grantly and her +sister. But on the following morning there arrived a letter by +post, addressed to Mrs Grantly, bearing the postmark of +Littlebath. The letter ran:- + +'MADAM, +'It is known to the writer that Lord Dumbello +has arranged with certain friends how he may escape +from his present engagement. I think, therefore, that +it is my duty as a Christian to warn you of this. +'Yours truly, +'A WELLWISHER' + +Now it had happened that the embryo Mrs Tickler's most intimate +bosom friend and confidante was known at Plumstead to live at +Littlebath, and it had also happened--most unfortunately--that the +embryo Mrs Tickler, in the warmth of her neighbourly regard, had +written a friendly line to her friend Griselda Grantly, +congratulating her with all the female sincerity on her splendid +nuptials with the Lord Dumbello. + +'It is not her natural hand,' said Mrs Grantly, talking the matter +over with her husband, 'but you may be sure it has come from her. +It is part of the new Christianity which we learn day by day from +the palace teaching.' But these things had some effect on the +archdeacon's mind. He had learned lately the story of Lady Julia +Mac Mull, and was not sure that his son-in-law--as ought to be +about to be--had been entirely blameless in that matter. And then +in these days Lord Dumbello made no great sign. Immediately on +Griselda's return he had sent her a magnificent present of +emeralds, which, however, had come to her direct from the +jewellers, and might have been--and probably was--ordered by his +man of business. Since that he had neither come, nor sent, nor +written. Griselda did not seem to be in any way annoyed by this +absence of the usual sign of love, and went on steadily with her +great duties. Nothing, as she told her mother, had been said about +writing, and, therefore, she did not expect it. But the archdeacon +was not quite at his ease. 'Keep Dumbello up to his p's and q's, +you know,' a friend of his had whispered to him at his club. By +heavens, yes. The archdeacon was not a man to bear with +indifference a wrong in such a quarter. In spite of his clerical +profession, few men were more inclined to fight against personal +wrongs--and few men more able. + +'Can there by anything wrong, I wonder?' said he to his wife. 'Is +it worth while that I should go up to London?' But Mrs Grantly +attributed it all to the palace doctrine. What could be more +natural, looking at all the circumstances of the Tickler +engagement? She therefore gave her voice against any steps being +taken by the archdeacon. A day or two after that Mrs Proudie met +Mrs Arabin in the close and condoled with her openly on the +termination of the marriage treaty;--quite openly, for Mrs +Tickler--as she was to be--was with her mother, and Mrs Arabin was +accompanied by her sister-in-law, Mary Bold. + +'It must be very grievous to Mrs Grantly, very grievous indeed,' +said Mrs Proudie, 'and I sincerely feel for her. But, Mrs Arabin, +all these lessons are sent to us for our eternal welfare.' + +'Of course,' said Mrs Arabin. 'But as to this special lesson, I am +inclined to doubt that it--' + +'Ah-h! I fear it is too true. I fear that there is no room for +doubt. Of course you are aware that Lord Dumbello is off for the +Continent.' Mrs Arabin was not aware of it and she was obliged to +admit as much. + +'He started four days ago, by way of Boulogne,' said Mrs Tickler, +who seemed to be very well up in the whole affair. 'I am so sorry +for poor dear Griselda. I am told she has got all her things. It +is such a pity, you know.' + +'But why should not Lord Dumbello come back from the Continent?' +said Miss Bold, very quietly. + +'Why not, indeed? I'm sure I hope he may,' said Mrs Proudie. 'And +no doubt he will some day. But if he be such a man as they say he +is, it is really well for Griselda that she should be relieved from +such a marriage. For, after all, Mrs Arabin, what are the things +of this world?--dust beneath our feet, ashes between our teeth, +grass cut for the oven, vanity, vexation, and nothing more!'--well +pleased with which variety of Christian metaphors, Mrs Proudie +walked on, still muttering, however, something about worms and +grubs, by which she intended to signify her own species and the +Dumbello and Grantly sects of it in particular. This now had gone +so far that Mrs Arabin conceived herself bound in duty to see her +sister, and it was then settled in consultation at Plumstead that +the archdeacon should call officially at the palace and beg that +the rumour might be contradicted. This he did early on the next +morning, and was shown into the bishop's study, in which he found +both his lordship and Mrs Proudie. The bishop rose to greet him +with special civility, smiling his very sweetest smile on him, as +though of all his clergy the archdeacon were the favourite; but Mrs +Proudie wore something of a gloomy aspect, as though she knew that +such a visit at such an hour must have reference to some special +business. The morning calls made by the archdeacon at the palace +in the way of ordinary civility were not numerous. On the present +occasion he dashed at once into his subject. 'I have called this +morning, Mrs Proudie,' said he, 'because I wish to ask a favour +from you.' Whereupon Mrs Proudie bowed. + +'Mrs Proudie will be most happy, I am sure,' said the bishop. + +'I find that some foolish people have been talking in Barchester +about my daughter,' said the archdeacon; 'and I wish to ask Mrs +Proudie--' + +Most women under such circumstances would have felt the awkwardness +of their situation, and would have prepared to eat their past words +with wry faces. But not so Mrs Proudie. Mrs Grantly had the +imprudence to throw Mr Slope in her face--there, in her own +drawing-room, and she was resolved to be revenged. Mrs Grantly, +too, had ridiculed the Tickler match, and no too great niceness +should now prevent Mrs Proudie from speaking her mind about the +Dumbello match. + +'A great many people are talking about her, I am sorry to say,' +said Mrs Proudie; 'but, poor dear, it is not her fault. It might +have happened to any girl; only, perhaps a little more care--; +you'll excuse me, Dr Grantly.' + +'I have come here to allude to a report which has been spread about +in Barchester, that the match between Lord Dumbello and my daughter +has been broken off and--' + +'Everybody in Barchester knows it, I believe,' said Mrs Proudie. + +--'and,' continued the archdeacon, 'to request that that report may +be contradicted.' + +'Contradicted! Why, he has gone right away,--out of the country!' + +'Never mind where he has gone to, Mrs Proudie; I beg that that +report may be contradicted.' + +'You'll have to go round to every house in Barchester then,' said +she. + +'By no means,' replied the archdeacon. 'And, perhaps, it may be +right that I should explain to the bishop that I came here +because--' + +'The bishop knows nothing about it,' said Mrs Proudie. + +'Nothing in the world,' said his lordship. 'And I am sure I hope +that the young lady may not be disappointed.' + +--'because the matter was so distinctly mentioned to Mrs Arabin by +yourself yesterday.' + +'Distinctly mentioned! Of course it was distinctly mentioned. +There are some things which can't be kept under a bushel, Dr +Grantly; and this seems to be one of them. Your going about in +this way won't make Lord Dumbello marry the young lady.' That was +true; nor would it make Mrs Proudie hold her tongue. Perhaps the +archdeacon was wrong in his present errand, and so now he began to +bethink himself. 'At any rate,' said he, 'when I tell you that +there is no ground whatever for such a report you will do me the +kindness to say that, as far as you are concerned, it shall go no +further. I think, my lord, I am not asking too much in asking +that.' + +'The bishop knows nothing about it,' said Mrs Proudie again. + +'Nothing at all,' said the bishop. + +'And as I must protest that I believe the information which has +reached me on this head,' said Mrs Proudie, 'I do not see how it is +possible that I should contradict it. I can understand your +feelings, Dr Grantly. Considering your daughter's position the +match, as regards earthly wealth, is a very great one. I do not +wonder that you should be grieved at its being broken off; but I +trust that this sorrow may eventuate in a blessing to you and to +Miss Griselda. These worldly disappointments are precious balms, +and I trust you know how to accept them as such.' The fact was +that Dr Grantly had done altogether wrong in coming to the palace. +His wife might have some chance with Mrs Proudie, but he had none. +Since she had come to Barchester he had had only two or three +encounters with her, and in all of these cases he had gone to the +wall. His visits to the palace have always resulted in his leaving +the presence of the inhabitants in a frame of mind by no means +desirable, and he now found that he had to do it once again. He +could not compel Mrs Proudie to say that the report was untrue; nor +could he condescend to make counter hits at her about her own +daughter, as his wife would have done. And thus having utterly +failed, he got up and took his leave. But the worst of the matter +was, that, in going home, he could not divest his mind of the idea +that there might be some truth in the report. What if Lord +Dumbello had gone to the Continent resolved to send back from +thence some reason why it was impossible that he should make Miss +Grantly his wife? Such things had been done before now by men in +his rank. Whether or no Mrs Tickler had been the letter-writing +wellwisher from Littlebath, or had induced her friend to do so, it +did seem manifest to him, Dr Grantly, that Mrs Proudie absolutely +believed the report which she promulgated so diligently. The wish +might be father to the thought, no doubt; but that the thought was +truly there, Dr Grantly could not induce himself to disbelieve. His +wife was less credulous, and to a certain degree comforted him; +but that evening he received a letter which greatly confirmed the +suspicions set on foot by Mrs Proudie, and even shook his wife's +faith in Lord Dumbello. It was from a mere acquaintance, who in +the ordinary course of things would not have written to him. And +the bulk of the letter referred to ordinary things, as to which the +gentleman in question would hardly have thought of giving himself +the trouble of writing a letter. But at the end of the note he +said,--'Of course you are aware that Dumbello is off to Paris; I +have not heard whether the exact day of his return is fixed.' + +'It is true, then,' said the archdeacon, striking the library table +with his hand, and becoming absolutely white about the mouth and +jaws. + +'It cannot be,' said Mrs Grantly; but even she was now trembling. + +'If it be so, I'll drag him back to England by the collar of his +coat, and disgrace him before the steps of his father's hall.' And +the archdeacon as he uttered the threat looked his character as an +irate British father much better than he did his other character as +a clergyman of the Church of England. The archdeacon had been +greatly worsted by Mrs Proudie, but he was a man who knew how to +fight his battles among men--sometimes without too close a regard +to his cloth. + +'Had Lord Dumbello intended any such thing he would have written or +got some friend to write by this time,' said Mrs Grantly. 'It is +quite possible that he might wish to be off, but he would be too +chary of his name not to endeavour to do so with decency.' + +Thus the matter was discussed, and it appeared to them both to be +so serious that the archdeacon resolved to go at once to London. +That Lord Dumbello had gone to France he did not doubt; but he +would find some one in town acquainted with the young man's +intentions, and he would, no doubt, be able to hear when his return +was expected. If there were real reason for apprehension he would +follow the runagate to the Continent, but he would not do this +without absolute knowledge. According to Lord Dumbello's present +engagements he was bound to present himself in August next at +Plumstead Episcopi, with the view then and there taking Griselda +Grantly in marriage; but if he kept his word in this respect no one +had a right to quarrel with him for going to Paris in the +meantime. Most expectant bridegrooms would, no doubt, under such +circumstances, have declared their intelligence to future brides; +but if Lord Dumbello were different from others, who had a right on +that account to be indignant with him? He was unlike other men in +other things; and especially unlike other men in being the eldest +son of the Marquess of Hartletop. It would be all very well for +Tickler to proclaim his whereabouts from week to week; but the +eldest son of a marquess might find it inconvenient to be precise! +Nevertheless the archdeacon thought it only prudent to go up to +London. 'Susan,' said the archdeacon to his wife, just as he was +starting;--at this moment neither of them were in the happiest of +spirits--'I think I would say a word of caution to Griselda.' + +'Do you feel so much doubt about it as that?' said Mrs Grantly. But +even she did not dare to put a direct negative to this proposal, so +much had she been moved by what she had heard! + +'I think I would do so, not frightening her more than I could +help. It will lessen the blow if it be that the blow is to fall.' + +'It will kill me,' said Mrs Grantly; 'but I think that she will be +able to bear it.' On the next morning Mrs Grantly, with much +cunning preparation, went about the task that her husband had left +her to perform. It took her long to do, for she was very cunning +in the doing of it; but at last it dropped form in words that there +was a possibility--a bare possibility--that some disappointment +might even yet be in store for them. + +'Do you mean, mamma, that the marriage will be put off?' + +'I don't mean to say that I think it will; God forbid! but it is +just possible. I dare say that I am very wrong to tell you this, +but I know you have sense enough to bear it. Papa has gone to +London, and we shall hear from him soon.' + +'Then, mamma, I had better give them orders not to go on with the +marking.' + + + +CHAPTER XLVI + +LADY LUFTON'S REQUEST + +The bailiffs on that day had their meals regular--and their beer, +which state of things, together with an absence of all duty in the +way of making inventories and the like, I take to be the earthly +paradise of bailiffs; and on the next morning they walked off with +civil speeches and many apologies as to their intrusion. 'They was +very sorry,' they said, 'to have troubled a gen'leman as were a +gen'leman, but in their way of business what could they do?' To +which one of them added a remark that, 'business is business.' This +statement I am not prepared to contradict, but I would recommend +all men in choosing a profession to avoid any that may require an +apology at every turn; either an apology or else a somewhat violent +assertion of right. Each younger male reader may, perhaps, reply +that he has no thought of becoming a sheriff's officer; but then +are there not other cognate lines of life to which, perhaps, the +attention of some such may be attracted? On the evening of the day +on which they went Mark received a note from Lady Lufton begging +him to call early on the following morning, and immediately after +breakfast he went across to Framley Court. It may be imagined that +he was not in a very happy frame of mind, but he felt the truth of +his wife's remark that the first plunge into cold water was always +the worst. Lady Lufton was not a woman who would continually throw +his disgrace into his teeth, however terribly cold might be the +first words with which she spoke of it. He strove hard as he +entered her room to carry his usual look and bearing, and to put +out his hand to greet her with his customary freedom, but he knew +that he failed. And it may be said that no good man who has broken +down in this goodness can carry the disgrace of his fall without +some look of shame. When a man is able to do that, he ceases to be +in any way good. + +'This has been a distressing affair,' said Lady Lufton, after her +first salutation. + +'Yes, indeed,' said he. 'It has been very sad for poor Fanny.' + +'Well; we must all have our little periods of grief; and it may +perhaps be fortunate if none of us have worse than this. She will +not complain herself, I am sure.' + +'She complain!' + +'No, I am sure she will not. And now all I've got to say, Mr +Robarts is this: I hope you and Lufton have had enough to do with +black sheep to last you your lives; for I must protest that your +late friend Mr Sowerby is a black sheep.' In no possible way could +Lady Lufton have alluded to the matter with greater kindness than +thus joining Mark's name with that of her son. It took away all +the bitterness of the rebuke, and made the subject one on which +even he might have spoken without difficulty. But now, seeing that +she was so gentle to him, he could not but lean the more hardly on +himself. + +'I have been very foolish,' said he, 'very foolish, and very wrong, +and very wicked.' + +'Very foolish, I believe, Mr Robarts--to speak frankly and once for +all; but, as I also believe, nothing worse. I thought it best for +both of us that we should have just one word about it, and now I +recommend that the matter be never mentioned between us again.' + +'God bless you, Lady Lufton,' he said, 'I think no man ever had +such a friend as you are.' She had been very quiet during the +interview, and almost subdued, not speaking with the animation that +was usual to her; for this affair with Mr Robarts was not the only +one she had to complete that day, nor, perhaps, the one most +difficult of completion. But she cheered up a little under the +praise now bestowed on her, for it was the sort of praise she loved +best. She did hope, and perhaps flatter herself, that she was a +good friend. + +'You must be good enough, then, to gratify my friendship by coming +to dinner this evening; and Fanny, too, of course. I cannot take +any excuses, for the matter is completely arranged; I have a +particular reason for wishing it.' These last violent injunctions +had been added because Lady Lufton had seen a refusal rising in the +parson's face. Poor Lady Lufton! Her enemies--for even she had +enemies--used to declare of her, that an invitation to dinner was +the only method of showing itself of which her good-humour was +cognizant. But let me ask of her enemies whether it is not as good +a method as any other known to be extant? Under such orders as +these obedience was of course a necessity, and he promised that he, +with his wife, would come across to dinner. And then, when he went +away, Lady Lufton ordered her carriage. + +During these doings at Framley, Lucy Robarts still remained at +Hogglestock, nursing Mrs Crawley. Nothing occurred to take her +back to Framley, for the same note from Fanny which gave her the +first tidings of the arrival of the Philistines told her also of +their departure--and also of the source whence relief had reached +them. 'Don't come, therefore, for that reason,' said the note, +'but, nevertheless, do come as quickly as you can, for the whole +house is sad without you.' + +On the morning after the receipt of this note Lucy was sitting, as +was now usual with her, beside an old arm-chair to which her +patient had been lately promoted. The fever had gone, and Mrs +Crawley was slowly regaining her strength--very slowly, and with +frequent caution from the Silverbridge doctor that any attempt at +being well too fast might again precipitate her into an abyss of +illness and domestic inefficiency. + +'I really think I can get about to-morrow,' said she; 'and then, +dear Lucy, I need not keep you longer from your home.' + +'You are in a great hurry to get rid of me, I think. I suppose Mr +Crawley has been complaining about the cream in his tea.' + +Mr Crawley had on one occasion stated his assured conviction that +surreptitious daily supplies were being brought to the house, +because he had detected the presence of cream instead of milk in +his own cup. As, however, the cream had been going for sundry days +before this, Miss Robarts had not thought much of his ingenuity in +making the discovery. + +'Ah, you do not know how he speaks of you when your back is +turned.' + +'And how does he speak of me? I know you would not have the +courage to tell me the whole.' + +'No, I have not; for you would think it absurd coming from one who +looks like him. He says that if he were to write a poem about +womanhood, he would make you the heroine.' + +'With a cream-jug in my hand, or else sewing buttons on to a +shirt-collar. But he never forgave me about the mutton-broth. He +told me, in so many words, that I was a--story-teller. And for +the matter of that, my dear, so I was.' + +'He told me you were an angel.' + +'Goodness gracious!' + +'A ministering angel. And so you have been. I can almost feel it +in my heart to be glad that I have been ill, seeing that I have had +you for my friend.' + +'But you might have had that good fortune without the fever.' + +'No, I should not. In my married life I have made no friends till +my illness brought you to me; nor should I ever really known you +but for that. How should I get to know any one?' + +'You will now, Mrs Crawley; will you not? Promise that you will. +You will come to us at Framley when you are well? You have +promised already, you know.' + +'You made me do so when I was too weak to refuse.' + +'And I shall make you keep your promise, too. He shall come also, +if he likes; but you shall come whether he likes or no, and I +won't hear a word about your old dresses. Old dresses will wear as +well at Framley as at Hogglestock.' From all which it will appear +that Mrs Crawley and Lucy Robarts had become very intimate during +the period of the nursing; as two women always will, or, at least, +should do, when shut up for weeks together in the same sick room. + +The conversation was still going on between them when the sound of +wheels was heard upon the road. It was no highway that passed +before the house, and carriages of any sort were not frequent +there. + +'It is Fanny, I am sure,' said Lucy, rising from her chair. + +'There are two horses,' said Mrs Crawley, distinguishing the noise +with the accurate sense of hearing which is always attached to +sickness; 'and it is not the noise of the pony-carriage.' + +'It is a regular carriage,' said Lucy, speaking from the window, +'and stopping here. It is somebody from Framley Court, for I know +the servant.' And as she spoke a blush came to her forehead. Might +it not be Lord Lufton, she thought to herself--forgetting, at the +moment, that Lord Lufton did not go about the country in a close +chariot with a fat footman. Intimate as she had become with Mrs +Crawley she had said nothing to her new friend on the subject of +her love affair. The carriage stopped, and down came the footman, +but nobody spoke to him from the inside. + +'He has probably brought something from Framley,' said Lucy, having +cream and such-like matters in her mind; for cream and such-like +matters had come from Framley Court more than once during her +sojourn there. 'And the carriage, probably, happened to be coming +this way.' But the mystery soon elucidated itself partially, or, +perhaps, became more mysterious in another way. The red-armed +little girl who had been taken away by her frightened mother in the +first burst of fever had now returned to her place, and at the +present moment entered the room, with awe-struck face, declaring +that Miss Robarts was to go at once to the big lady in the +carriage. + +'I suppose it's Lady Lufton,' said Mrs Crawley. Lucy's heart was +so absolutely in her mouth that any kind of speech was at the +moment impossible to her. Why should Lady Lufton have come hither +to Hogglestock, and why should she want to see her, Lucy Robarts, +in the carriage? Had not everything between them been settled? And +yet--! Lucy, in the moment for thought that was allowed to her, +could not determine what might be the probable upshot of such an +interview. Her chief feeling was a desire to postpone it for the +present instant. But the red-armed little girl would not allow +that. + +'You are to come at once,' said she. + +And then Lucy, without having spoken a word, got up and left the +room. She walked downstairs, along the little passage, and out +through the small garden, with firm steps, but hardly knowing +whither she went or why. Her presence of mind and self-possession +had all deserted her. She knew that she was unable to speak as she +should do; she felt that she would have to regret her present +behaviour, but yet she could not help herself. Why should Lady +Lufton have come to her here? She went on, and the big footman stood +with the carriage door open. She stepped up almost unconsciously, +and, without knowing how she got there, she found herself seated +by Lady Lufton. To tell the truth her ladyship also was a little +at a loss to know how she was to carry through her present plan of +operations. The duty of beginning, however, was clearly with her, +and therefore, having taken Lucy by the hand, she spoke. 'Miss +Robarts,' she said, 'my son has come home. I don't know whether +you are aware of it.' She spoke with a low gentle voice, not quite +like herself, but Lucy was much too confused to notice this. + +'I was not aware of it,' said Lucy. She had, however, been so +informed in Fanny's letter, but all that had gone out of her head. + +'Yes; he has come back. He has been in Norway, you know-- +fishing.' + +'Yes,' said Lucy. + +'I am sure you will remember all that took place when you came to +me, not long ago, in my little room upstairs at Framley Court.' In +answer to which, Lucy, quivering in every nerve, and wrongly +thinking that she was visibly shaking in every limb, timidly +answered that she did remember. Why was it that she had then been +so bold, and now was so poor a coward? + +'Well, my dear, all that I said to you then I said to you thinking +that it was for the best. You, at any rate, will not be angry with +me for loving my son better than I love any one else.' + +'Oh, no,' said Lucy. + +'He is the best of sons, and the best of men, and I am sure that he +will be the best of husbands.' + +Lucy had an idea, by instinct, however, rather than by sight, that +Lady Lufton's eyes were full of tears as she spoke. As for herself +she was altogether blinded, and did not dare lift her face or to +turn her head. As for the utterances of any sound, that was quite +out of the question. 'And now, I have come here, Lucy, to ask you +to be his wife.' + +She was quite sure that she heard the words. They came plainly to +her ears, leaving on her brain their proper sense, but yet she +could not move or make any sign that she had understood them. It +seemed as though it would be ungenerous in her to take advantage of +such conduct and to accept an offer made with so much +self-sacrifice. She had not time at the first moment to think even +of his happiness, let alone her own, but she thought only of the +magnitude of the concession which had been made to her. When she +had constituted Lady Lufton as the arbiter of her destiny she had +regarded the question of her love as decided against herself. + +She had found herself unable to endure the position of being Lady +Lufton's daughter-in-law while Lady Lufton would be scorning her, +and therefore she had given up the game. She had given up the +game, sacrificing herself, and, as far as it might be a sacrifice, +sacrificing him also. She had been resolute to stand to her word +in this respect, but she had never allowed herself to think it +possible that Lady Lufton should comply with the conditions which +she, Lucy, had laid upon her. And yet such was the case, as she so +plainly heard. 'And now I have come here, Lucy, to ask you to be +his wife.' How long they sat together silent, I cannot say; +counted by minutes the time would not probably have amounted to +many, but to each of them the duration seemed considerable. Lady +Lufton, while she was speaking, had contrived to get hold of Lucy's +hand, and she sat, still holding it, trying to look into Lucy's +face,--which, however, she could hardly see, so much of it was +turned away. Neither, indeed, were Lady Lufton's eyes perfectly dry. +No answer came to her question, and therefore, after a while, it +was necessary that she should speak again. + +'Must I go back to him, Lucy, and tell him that there is some other +objection--something besides a stern old mother; some hindrance, +perhaps, not so easily overcome?' + +'No,' said Lucy, and it was all which at the moment she could say. + +'What shall I tell him then? Shall I say yes--simply yes?' + +'Simply yes,' said Lucy. + +'And as to the stern old mother who thought her only son too +precious to be parted with at the first word--is nothing to be said +to her?' + +'Oh, Lady Lufton!' + +'No forgiveness to be spoken, no sign of affection to be given? Is +she always to be regarded as stern and cross, vexatious and +disagreeable?' Lucy slowly turned round her head and looked up into +her companion's face. Though she had as yet no voice to speak of +affection she could fill her eyes with love, and in that way make +to her future mother all the promises that were needed. 'Lucy, +dearest Lucy, you must be very dear to me now.' And then they were +in each other's arms, kissing each other. Lady Lufton now desired +her coachman to drive up and down for some little space along the +road while she completed her necessary conversation with Lucy. She +wanted at first to carry her back to Framley that evening, +promising to send her again to Mrs Crawley on the following +morning--'till some permanent arrangement could be made,' by which +Lady Lufton intended the substitution of a regular nurse for her +future daughter-in-law, seeing that Lucy Robarts was now invested +in her eyes with attributes which made it unbecoming that she +should sit in attendance at Mrs Crawley's bedside. But Lucy would +not go back to Framley on that evening; no, nor on the next +morning. She would be so glad if Fanny would come to her there, and +then she would arrange about going home. 'But, Lucy, dear, what am +I to say to Ludovic? Perhaps you would feel it awkward if he were +to come to see you here.' + +'Oh, yes, Lady Lufton; pray tell him not to do that.' + +'And is that all that I am to tell him?' + +'Tell him--tell him--he won't want you to tell him anything;--only +I should like to be quiet for a day, Lady Lufton.' + +'Well, dearest, you shall be quiet; the day after to-morrow +then.--Mind, we must not spare you any longer, because it will be +right that you should be at home now. He would think it very hard +if you were to be so near, and he was not to be allowed to see +you. And there will be some one else who will want to see you. I +shall want to have you very near to me, for I shall be wretched, +Lucy, if I cannot teach you to love me.' In answer to which Lucy +did find voice enough to make sundry promises. And then she was +put out of the carriage at the little wicket gate, and Lady Lufton +was driven back to Framley. I wonder whether the servant when he held +the door for Miss Robarts was conscious that he was waiting on his +future mistress. I fancy that he was, for these sort of people +always know everything, and the peculiar courtesy of his demeanour +as he let down the carriage was very observable. + +Lucy felt almost beside herself as she returned upstairs, not +knowing what to do or how to look, and with what words to speak. It +behoved her to go at once to Mrs Crawley's room, and yet she longed +to be alone. She knew that she was quite unable either to conceal +her thoughts or express them; nor did she at the present moment want +to talk to any one about her happiness,--seeing that she could not +at the present moment talk to Fanny Robarts. She went, however, +without delay into Mrs Crawley's room, and with that little eager +way of speaking quickly which is so common with people who know +that they are confused, said that she feared she had been a very +long time away. 'And was it Lady Lufton?' + +'Yes; it was Lady Lufton.' + +'Why, Lucy; I did not know that you and her ladyship were such +friends.' + +'She had something particular she wanted to say,' said Lucy, +avoiding the question, and avoiding also Mrs Crawley's eyes; and +then she sat down in her usual chair. + +'It was nothing unpleasant, I hope.' + +'No, nothing at all unpleasant; nothing of that kind.--Oh, Mrs +Crawley, I'll tell you some other time, but pray do not ask me +now.' And then she got up and escaped, for it was absolutely +necessary that she should be alone. + +When she reached her own room--that in which the children always +slept--she made a great effort to compose herself, but not +altogether successfully. She got out her paper and blotting book, +intending, as she said to herself, to write to Fanny, knowing, +however, that the letter when written would be destroyed; but she +was not able even to form a word. Her hand was unsteady and her +eyes were dim and her thoughts were incapable of being fixed. She +could only sit, and think, and wonder and hope; occasionally wiping +the tears from her eyes, and asking herself why her present frame +of mind was so painful to her? During the last two or three months +she had felt no fear of Lord Lufton, had always carried herself +before him on equal terms, and had been signally capable of doing +so when he made his declaration to her at the parsonage; but now +she looked forward with an undefined dread to the first moment in +which she should see him. And then she thought of a certain +evening she had passed at Framley Court, and acknowledged to +herself that there was some pleasure in looking back to that. +Griselda Grantly had been there, and all the constitutional powers +of the two families had been at work to render easy a process of +love-making between her and Lord Lufton. Lucy had seen and +understood it all, without knowing that she understood it, and had, +in a certain degree, suffered from beholding it. She had placed +herself apart, not complaining--painfully conscious of some +inferiority, but, at the same time, almost boasting to herself that +in her own way she was the superior. And then he had come behind +her chair, whispering to her, speaking to her his first words of +kindness and good-nature, and she had resolved that she would be +his friend--his friend, even though Griselda Grantly might be his +wife. What those resolutions were worth had soon become manifest +to her. She had soon confessed to herself the result of that +friendship, and had determined to bear the punishment with +courage. But now-- + +She sate so for about an hour, and would fain have so sat out the +day. But as this could not be, she got up, and having washed her +face and eyes returned to Mrs Crawley's room. There she found Mr +Crawley also, to her great joy, for she knew that while he was +there no questions would be asked of her. He was always very +gentle with her, treating her with an old-fashioned, polished +respect--except when compelled on that one occasion by his sense of +duty to accuse her of mendacity respecting the purveying of +victuals--, but he had never become absolutely familiar with her as +his wife had done; and it was well for her now that he had not done +so, for she could not have talked about Lady Lufton. In the +evening, when the three were present, she did manage to say that +she expected Mrs Robarts would come over on the following day. 'We +shall part with you, Miss Robarts, with the deepest regret,' said +Mr Crawley; 'but we would not on any account keep you longer. Mrs +Crawley can do without you now. What she would have done, had you +not come, I am a loss to think.' + +'I did not say that I should go,' said Lucy. + +'But you will,' said Mr Crawley. 'Yes, dear you will. I know that +it is proper now that you should return. Nay, but we will not have +you any longer. And the poor dear children, too,--they may +return. How am I to thank Mrs Robarts for what she has done for +us?' It was settled that if Mrs Robarts came on the following day +Lucy should go back to her; and then, during the long watches of +the night--for on this last night Lucy would not leave the bedside +of her new friend till long after the dawn had broken, she did tell +Mrs Crawley what was to be her destiny in life. To herself there +seemed nothing strange in her new position; but to Mrs Crawley it +was wonderful that she--she, poor as she was,--should have an +embryo peeress at her bedside, handing her her cup to drink, and +smoothing her pillow that she might be at rest. It was strange, and +she could hardly maintain her accustomed familiarity. Lucy felt +this at the moment. + +'It must make no difference, you know,' said she, eagerly; 'none at +all between you and me. Promise me that it will make no +difference.' The promise was, of course, exacted; but it was not +possible that such a promise should be kept. Very early on the +following morning--so early that it woke her while still on her +first sleep--there came a letter for her from the parsonage. Mrs +Robarts had written it, after her return home from Lady Lufton's +dinner. The letter said:- + +'MY OWN DEAR DARLING, +'How am I to congratulate you, and be eager +enough in wishing you joy? I do wish you joy, and am +so very happy. I write now chiefly to say that I +shall be over with you about twelve to-morrow, and +that I must bring you away with me. If I did not some +one else, by no means so trustworthy, would insist on +doing it.' + +But this, though it was thus stated to be the chief part of the +letter, and though it might be so in matter, was by no means so in +space. It was very long, for Mrs Robarts had sat in writing it +till past midnight. She went on to say, after two pages had been +filled with his name:- + +'I will not say anything about him, but I must tell +you how beautifully she has behaved. You will own +that she is a dear woman; will you not?' + +Lucy had already owned it many times since the visit of yesterday, +and had declared to herself, as she has continued to declare ever +since, that she never doubted it. + +'She took us by surprise when we got into the drawing- +room before dinner, and she told us first of all that +she had been to see you at Hogglestock. Lord Lufton, +of course, could not keep the secret, but brought it +out instantly. I can't tell you now how he told it +all, but I am sure you will believe that he did it in +the best possible manner. He took my hand and pressed +it half a dozen times, and I thought he was going to +do something else; but he did not, so you need not be +jealous. And she was so nice to Mark, saying such +things in praise of you, and paying all manner of +compliments to your father. But Lord Lufton scolded +her immediately for not bringing you. He said it was +lackadaisical and nonsensical; but I could see how +much he loved her for what she had done; and she could +see it too, for I know her ways, and know that she was +delighted with him. She could not keep her eyes off +him all the evening, and certainly I never did see him +so well. + +'And then while Lord Lufton and Mark were in the +dining-room, where they remained a terribly long time, +she would make me go through the house that she might +show me your rooms, and explain how you were to be the +mistress there. She has got it all arranged to +perfection, and I am sure she has been thinking about +it for years. Her great fear at present is that you +and he should go and live at Lufton. If you have any +gratitude in you, either to her or to me, you will not +let him do this. I consoled her by saying that there +are not two stones upon one another at Lufton as yet; +and I believe such is the case. Besides, everybody +says that it is the ugliest spot in the world. She +went on to declare, with tears in her eyes, that if +you were content to remain at Framley, she would never +interfere in anything. I do think that she is the +best woman that ever lived.' + +So much have I given of this letter formed but a small portion of +it, but it comprises all that it is necessary that we should know. +Exactly at twelve o'clock on that day Puck the pony appeared, with +Mrs Robarts and Grace Crawley behind him, Grace having been brought +back as being capable of some service in the house. Nothing that +was confidential, and very little that was loving, could be said at +the moment, because Mr Crawley was there, waiting to bid Miss +Robarts adieu; and he had not as yet been informed of what was to +be the future fate of his visitor. So they could only press each +other's hands and embrace, which to Lucy was almost a relief; for +even to her sister-in-law she hardly as yet knew how to speak +openly on this subject. + +'May God Almighty bless you, Miss Robarts,' said Mr Crawley, as he +stood in his dingy sitting-room ready to lead her out to the +pony-carriage. 'You have brought sunshine into this house, even in +the time of sickness, when there was no sunshine; and He will bless +you. You have been the Good Samaritan, binding up the wounds of +the afflicted, pouring in oil and balm. To the mother of my +children you have given life, and to me you have brought light, and +comfort and good words,--making my spirit glad within me as it had +not been gladdened before. All this hath come of charity, which +vaunteth not itself and is not puffed up. Faith and hope are great +and beautiful, but charity exceedeth them all.' And having so +spoken, instead of leading her he went away and hid himself. How +Puck behaved himself as Fanny drove him back to Framley, and how +those two ladies in the carriage behaved themselves--of that, +perhaps, nothing need be said. + + + +CHAPTER XLVII + +NEMESIS + +But in spite of these joyful tidings it must, alas! be remembered +that Poena, that just but Rhadamanthine goddess, whom moderns +ordinarily call Punishment, or Nemesis when we wish to speak of her +goddess-ship, very seldom fails to catch a wicked man though she +have sometimes a lame foot of her own, and though the wicked man +may possibly get a start of her. In this instance the wicked man +had been our unfortunate Mark Robarts; wicked in that he had +unwittingly touched pitch, gone to Gatherum Castle, ridden fast +mares across the country to Cobbold's Ashes, and fallen very +imprudently among the Tozers; and the instrument used by Nemesis +was Mr Tom Towers of the Jupiter, than whom, in these our days, +there is no deadlier scourge in the hands of that goddess. In the +first instance, however, I must mention, though I will not relate, +a little conversation that took place between Lady Lufton and Mr +Robarts. That gentleman thought it right to say a few words more +to her ladyship respecting those money transactions. He could not +but feel, he said, that he had received the prebendal stall from +the hands of Mr Sowerby; and under such circumstances, considering +all that had happened, he could not be easy in his mind as long as +he held it. What he was about to do would, he was aware, delay +considerably his final settlement with Lord Lufton; but Lufton, he +hoped, would pardon that, and agree with him as to the propriety of +what he was about to do. + +On the first blush of the thing Lady Lufton did not quite go along +with him. Now that Lord Lufton was to marry the parson's sister it +might be well that the parson should be a dignitary of the Church; +and it might be well, also, that one so nearly connected with her +son should be comfortable in money matters. There loomed, also, in +the future, some distant possibility of higher clerical honours for +a peer's brother-in-law; and the top rung of the ladder is always +more easily attained when a man has already ascended a step or +two. But, nevertheless, when the matter came to be fully explained +to her, when she saw clearly the circumstances under which the +stall had been conferred, she did agree that it had better be given +up. And well for both of them that it was--well for them all at +Framley--that this conclusion had been reached before the scourge +of Nemesis had fallen. Nemesis, of course, declared that her +scourge had produced the resignation; but it was generally +understood that this was a false boast, for all clerical men at +Barchester knew that the stall had been restored to the chapter, +or, in other words, into the hands of the Government, before Tom +Towers had twirled the fatal lash above his head. But the manner +of the twirling was as follows:- + +'It is with difficulty enough,' said the article in the Jupiter, +'that the Church of England maintains at the present moment that +ascendancy among the religious sects of this country which it so +loudly claims. And perhaps it is rather from an old-fashioned and +time-honoured affection for its standing than from any intrinsic +merits of its own that some such general acknowledgement of its +ascendancy is still allowed to prevail. If, however, the patrons +and clerical members of this Church are bold enough to disregard +all general rules of decent behaviour, we think we may predict that +this chivalrous feeling will be found to give way. From time to +time we hear of instances of such imprudence, and are made to +wonder at the folly of those who are supposed to hold the State +Church in the greatest reverence. + +'Among those positions of dignified ease to which fortunate +clergymen may be promoted are the stalls of the canons or +prebendaries in our cathedrals. Some of these, as is well known, +carry little or no emolument with them, but some are rich in the +good things of the world. Excellent family houses are attached to +them, with we hardly know what domestic privileges, and clerical +incomes, moreover, of an amount which, if divided, would make glad +the hearts of many a hard-working clerical slave. Reform has been +busy even among these stalls, attaching some amount of work to the +pay, and paring off some superfluous wealth from such of them as +were over full; but reform has been lenient with them, +acknowledging that it was well to have some such places of +comfortable and dignified retirement for those who have worn +themselves out in the hard work of their profession. There has of +late prevailed a taste for the appointment of young bishops, +produced no doubt a feeling that bishops should be men fitted to +get through really hard work; but we have never heard that young +prebendaries were considered desirable. A clergyman selected for +such a position should, we have always thought, have earned an +evening of ease by a long day of work, and should, above all +things, be one whose life has been, and therefore in human +probability will be, so decorous as to be honourable to the +cathedral of his adoption. + +'We were, however, the other day given to understand that one of +these luxurious benefices belonging to the cathedral of Barchester, +had been bestowed in the Rev Mark Robarts, the vicar of a +neighbouring parish, on the understanding that he should hold the +living and the stall together; and on making further inquiry we +were surprised to learn that this fortunate gentleman is as yet +under thirty years of age. We were desirous, however of believing +that his learning, his piety, and his conduct, might be of a nature +to add peculiar grace to his chapter, and therefore, though almost +unwillingly, we were silent. But now it has come to our ears, and, +indeed, to the ears of all the world, that this piety and conduct +are sadly wanting; and judging of Mr Robarts by his life and +associates, we are inclined to doubt even his learning. He has at +this moment, or at any rate had but a few days since, an execution +in his parsonage house at Framley, on the suit of certain most +disreputable bill discounters in London; and probably would have +another execution in his other house in Barchester close, but for +the fact that he has never thought it necessary to go into +residence.' + +Then followed some very stringent, and, no doubt, much-needed +advice to those clerical members of the Church of England who are +supposed to be mainly responsible for the conduct of their +brethren; and the article ended as follows:- + +'Many of these stalls are in the gift of the respective deans and +chapters, and in such cases the dean and chapters are bound to see +that proper persons are appointed; but in other instances the power +of selection is vested in the Crown, and then an equal +responsibility rests on the Government of the day. Mr Robarts, we +learn, was appointed to the stall in Barchester by the late Prime +Minister, and we really think that a grave censure rests on him for +the manner in which his patronage has been exercised. It may be +impossible that he should himself in all such cases satisfy himself +by personal inquiry. But our Government is altogether conducted on +the footing of vicarial responsibility. Quod facit per alium, +facit per se, is a special manner true of our ministers, and any +man who rises to high position among them must abide by the danger +thereby incurred. In this peculiar case we are informed that the +recommendation was made by a very recently admitted member of the +Cabinet, to whose appointment we alluded at the time as a great +mistake. The gentleman in question held no high individual office +of his own; but evil such as this which has now been done at +Barchester, is exactly the sort of mischief which follows the +exaltation of unfit men to high positions, even though no great +hope of executive failure may be placed within their reach. + +'If Mr Robarts will allow us to tender to him our advice he will +lose no time in going through such ceremony as may be necessary +again to place the stall at the disposal of the Crown!' + +I may observe that poor Harold Smith, when he read this, writhing +in agony, declared it to be the handiwork of his hated enemy, Mr +Supplehouse. He knew the mark; so, at least, he said; but I myself +am inclined to believe that his animosity misled him. I think that +one greater than Mr Supplehouse had taken upon himself the +punishment of our poor vicar. This was very dreadful to them all +at Framley, and, when first read, seemed to crush them to atoms. +Poor Mrs Robarts, when she heard it, seemed to think that for them +the world was over. An attempt had been made to keep it from her, +but such attempts always fail, as did this. The article was copied +into all the good-natured local newspapers and she soon discovered +that something was being hidden. At last it was shown to her by +her husband, and then for a few hours she was annihilated; for a +few days she was unwilling to show herself; and for a few weeks she +was very sad. But after that the world seemed to go on much as it +had done before; the sun shone upon them as warmly as though the +article had not been written; and not only the sun of heaven, +which, as a rule, is not limited in his shining in any display of +pagan thunder, but also the genial sun of their own sphere, the +warmth and light of which were so essentially necessary to their +happiness. Neighbouring rectors did not look glum, nor did the +rectors' wives refuse to call. The people in the shops at +Barchester did not regard her as though she were a disgraced woman, +though it must be acknowledged that Mrs Proudie passed her in the +close with the coldest nod of recognition. + +On Mrs Proudie's mind alone did the article seem to have any +enduring effect. In one respect it was, perhaps, beneficial; Lady +Lufton was at once induced by it to make common cause with her own +clergyman, and thus the remembrance of Mr Robarts's sins passed +away the quicker from the minds of the whole Framley Court +household. And, indeed, the county at large was not able to give +to the matter that undivided attention which would have been +considered its due at periods of no more than ordinary interest. +At the present moment preparations were being made for a general +election, and although no contest was to take place in the eastern +division, a very violent fight was being carried on in the west; +and the circumstances of that fight were so exciting that Mr +Robarts and his article were forgotten before their time. An edict +had gone forth from Gatherum Castle directing that Mr Sowerby +should be turned out, and an answering note of defiance had been +sounded from Chaldicotes, protesting on behalf of Mr Sowerby, that +the duke's behest would not be obeyed. + +There are two classes of persons in this realm who are +constitutionally inefficient to take any part in returning members +of Parliament--peers, namely and women; and yet it was soon known +through the whole length and breadth of the county that the present +electioneering fight was being carried on between a peer and a +woman. Miss Dunstable had been declared the purchaser of the Chace +of Chaldicotes, as it were, just in the very nick of time; which +purchase--so men in Barsetshire declared, not knowing anything of +the facts,--would have gone altogether the other way, had not the +giants obtained temporary supremacy over the gods. The duke was a +supporter of the gods, and therefore, so Mr Fothergill hinted, his +money had been refused. Miss Dunstable was prepared to beard this +ducal friend of the gods in his own county, and therefore her money +had been taken. I am inclined, however, to think that Mr +Fothergill knew nothing about it, and to opine that Miss Dunstable, +in her eagerness for victory, offered to the Crown more money than +the property was worth in the duke's opinion, and that the Crown +took advantage of her anxiety, to the manifest profit of the public +at large. And it soon became known also that Miss Dunstable was, +in fact, the proprietor of the whole Chaldicotes estate, and that +in promoting the success of Mr Sowerby as a candidate for the +county, she was standing by her own tenant. It also became known, +in the course of the battle, that Miss Dunstable had herself at +last succumbed, and that she was about to marry Dr Thorne of +Greshambury, or the "Greshambury apothecary", as the adverse party +now delighted to call him. 'He has been little better than a quack +all his life,' said Dr Fillgrave, the eminent physician of +Barchester, 'and now he is going to marry a quack's daughter.' By +which, and the like to which, Dr Thorne did not allow himself to be +much annoyed. But all this gave rise to a very petty series of +squibs arranged between Mr Fothergill and Mr Closerstill, the +electioneering agent. Mr Sowerby was named 'the lady's pet', and +descriptions were given of the lady who kept this pet, which were +by no means flattering to Miss Dunstable's appearance, or manners, +or age. And then the western division of the county was asked in a +grave tone--as counties and boroughs are asked by means of +advertisements stuck up on blind walls and barn doors--whether it +was fitting and proper that it should be represented by a woman. +Upon which the county was again asked whether it was fitting and +proper that it should be represented by a duke. And then the +question became more personal as against Miss Dunstable, and +inquiry was urged whether the county would not be indelibly +disgraced if it were not only handed over to a woman, but handed +over to a woman who sold the oil of Lebanon. But little was got by +this move, for an answering placard explained to the unfortunate +county how deep would be its shame, if it allowed itself to became +the appanage of any peer, but more especially of a peer who was +known to be the most immoral lord that ever disgraced the benches +of the Upper House. And so the battle went on very prettily, and, +as money was allowed to flow freely, the West Barsetshire world at +large was not ill satisfied. It is wonderful how much disgrace of +that kind a borough or county can endure without flinching; and +wonderful, also, seeing how supreme is the value attached to the +Constitution by the realm at large, how very little the principles +of that Constitution are valued by the people in detail. The duke, +of course, did not show himself. He rarely did on any occasion, +and never on such occasions as this; but Mr Fothergill was to be +seen everywhere. Miss Dunstable, also, did not hide her light +under a bushel; though here I declare, on the faith of an +historian, that the rumour spread abroad of her having made a +speech to the electors from the top of the porch over the +hotel-door at Courcy was not founded on fact. No doubt she was at +Courcy, and her carriage stopped at the hotel; but neither there +nor elsewhere did she make any public exhibition. 'They must have +mistaken me for Mrs Proudie,' she said, when the rumour reached her +ears. But there was, alas! one great element of failure on Miss +Dunstable's side of the battle. Mr Sowerby himself could not be +induced to fight it as became a man. Any positive injunctions that +were laid upon him he did, in a sort, obey. It had been a part of +the bargain that he should stand the contest, and from that bargain +he could not well go back. But he had not the spirit left to him +for any true fighting on his own part. He could not go up on the +hustings, and there defy the duke. Early in the affair Mr +Fothergill challenged him to do so, and Mr Sowerby never took up +the gauntlet. + +'We have heard,' said Mr Fothergill, in that great speech which he +made at the Omnium arms at Silverbridge--'we have heard much during +this election of the Duke of Omnium, of the injuries which he is +supposed to have inflicted on one of the candidates. The duke's +name is very frequent in the mouths of the gentlemen--and of the +lady--who support Mr Sowerby's claims. But I do not think that Mr +Sowerby himself has dared to say much about the duke. I defy Mr +Sowerby to mention the duke's name upon the hustings.' And it so +happened that Mr Sowerby never did mention the duke's name. + +It is ill fighting when the spirit it gone, and Mr Sowerby's spirit +for such things was not wellnigh broken. It is true that he had +escaped from the net in which the duke, by Mr Fothergill's aid, had +entangled him; but he had only broken out of one captivity into +another. Money is a serious thing; and when gone cannot be had +back by a shuffle in the game, or a fortunate blow with the +battledore, as may political power, or reputation, or fashion. One +hundred thousand pounds gone, must remain as gone, let the person +who claims to have had the honour of advancing it be Mrs B or my +Lord C. No lucky dodge can erase such a claim from the things that +be--unless, indeed, such dodge be possible as Mr Sowerby tried +with Miss Dunstable. It was better for him, undoubtedly, to have +the lady for a creditor than the duke, seeing that it was possible +for him to live as a tenant in his own old house under the lady's +reign. But this he found to be a sad enough life, after all that +was come and gone. + +The election on Miss Dunstable's part was lost. She carried on the +contest nobly, fighting it to the last moment, and sparing neither +her own money nor that of her antagonist; but she carried it on +unsuccessfully. Many gentlemen did support Mr Sowerby because they +were willing enough to emancipate their county from the duke's +thraldom; but Mr Sowerby was felt to be a black sheep, as Lady +Lufton had called him, and at the close of the election he found +himself banished from the representation of West Barsetshire; +--banished for ever, after having held the county for +five-and-twenty years. Unfortunate Mr Sowerby! I cannot take leave +of him here without some feeling of regret, knowing that there was +that within him which might, under better guidance, have produced +better things. There are men, even of high birth, who seem as +though they were born to be rogues; but Mr Sowerby was, to my +thinking, born to be a gentleman. That he had not been a +gentleman--that he had bolted from his appointed course, going +terribly on the wrong side of the posts--let us all acknowledge. +It is not a gentlemanlike deed, but a very blackguard action, to +obtain a friend's acceptance to a bill in an unguarded hour of +social intercourse. That and other similar doings have stamped his +character too plainly. But, nevertheless, I claim a tear of Mr +Sowerby, and lament that he has failed to run his race discreetly, +in accordance with the rules of the Jockey Club. He attempted that +plan of living as a tenant in his old house at Chaldicotes, and of +making a living out of the land which he farmed; but he soon +abandoned it. He had no aptitude for such industry, and he could +not endure his altered position in the county. He soon +relinquished Chaldicotes of his own accord, and has vanished away, +as such men do vanish--not altogether without necessary income; to +which point in the final arrangement of their joint affairs, Mrs +Thorne's man of business--if I may be allowed so far to +anticipate--paid special attention. And thus Lord Dumbello, the +duke's nominee, got in, as the duke's nominee had done for very +many years past. There was no Nemesis here--none as yet. +Nevertheless, she with the lame foot will assuredly catch him, the +duke, if it be that he deserve to be caught. With us his grace's +appearance has been so unfrequent that I think we may omit to make +any further inquiry as to his concerns. + +One point, however, is worthy of notice, as showing the good sense +with which we manage our affairs here in England. In an early +portion of this story the reader was introduced to the interior of +Gatherum Castle, and there saw Miss Dunstable entertained by the +duke in the most friendly manner. Since those days the lady has +become the duke's neighbour, and has waged a war with him, which he +probably felt to be very vexatious. But, nevertheless, on the next +great occasion at Gatherum Castle, Doctor and Mrs Thorne were among +the visitors, and to no one was the duke more personally courteous +than to his opulent neighbour, the late Miss Dunstable. + + + +CHAPTER XLVIII + +HOW THEY WERE ALL MARRIED, HAD TWO CHILDREN, AND LIVED HAPPY EVER +AFTER + +Dear affectionate, sympathetic readers, we have four couple of +sighing lovers with whom to deal in this our last chapter, and I, +as leader of the chorus, disdain to press you further with doubts +as to the happiness of any of that quadrille. They were all made +happy, in spite of that little episode which so lately took place +at Barchester; and in telling of their happiness--shortly, as is +now necessary--we will take them chronologically, giving precedence +to those who first appeared at the hymeneal altar. In July, then, +at the cathedral, by the father of the bride, assisted by his +examining chaplain, Olivia Proudie, the eldest daughter of the +Bishop of Barchester, was joined in marriage to the Rev Tobias +Tickler, incumbent of the Trinity district church in Bethnal +Green. Of the bridegroom in this instance, our acquaintance has +been so short, that it is not, perhaps, necessary to say much. When +coming to the wedding he proposed to bring his three darling +children with him; but in this measure he was, I think prudently, +stopped by the advice, rather strongly worded, from his future +valued mother-in-law. Mr Tickler was not an opulent man, nor had +he hitherto attained any great fame in his profession; but, at the +age of forty-three he still had sufficient opportunity before him, +and now that his merit has been properly viewed by high +ecclesiastical eyes the refreshing dew of deserved promotion will +no doubt fall upon him. The marriage was very smart, and Olivia +carried herself through the trying ordeal with an excellent +propriety of conduct. Up to that time, and even for a few days +longer, there was doubt at Barchester as to that strange journey +which Lord Dumbello did take to France. When a man so +circumstanced will suddenly go to Paris, without notice given even +to his future bride, people must doubt; and grave were the +apprehensions expressed on this occasion by Mrs Proudie, even at +her child's wedding breakfast. 'God bless you, my dear children,' +she said, standing up at the head of her table as she addressed Mr +Tickler and his wife; 'when I see your perfect happiness--perfect, +that is, as far a human happiness can be made perfect in this vale +of tears--and think of the terrible calamity which has fallen on +our unfortunate neighbours, I cannot but acknowledge His infinite +mercy and goodness. The Lord giveth and the Lord taketh away.' By +which she intended, no doubt, to signify that whereas Mr Tickler +had been given to her Olivia, Lord Dumbello had been taken away +from the archdeacon's Griselda. The happy couple then went in Mrs +Proudie's carriage to the nearest railway station but one, and from +thence proceeded to Malvern, and there spent their honeymoon. And a +great comfort it was, I am sure, to Mrs Proudie when authenticated +tidings reached Barchester that Lord Dumbello had returned from +Paris and that the Hartletop-Grantly alliance was to be carried to +its completion. She still, however, held her opinion--whether +correctly or not who shall say?--that the young lord had intended +to escape. 'The archdeacon has shown great firmness in the way in +which he has done it,' said Mrs Proudie; 'but whether he has +consulted the child's best interests in forcing her into a marriage +with an unwilling husband, I for one must take leave to doubt. But +then, unfortunately, we all know how completely the archdeacon is +devoted to worldly matters.' + +In this instance the archdeacon's devotion to worldly matters was +rewarded by that success which he no doubt desired. He did go up +to London, and did see one or two of Lord Dumbello's friends. This +he did, not obtrusively, as though in fear of any falsehood or +vacillation on the part of the viscount, but with that discretion +and tact for which he has been so long noted. Mrs Proudie declares +that during the few days of his absence from Barsetshire he himself +crossed to France and hunted down Lord Dumbello at Paris. As to +this I am not prepared to say anything; but I am quite sure, as +will be all those who knew the archdeacon, that he was not a man to +see his daughter wronged as long as any measure remained by which +such wrong might be avoided. But, be that as it may--that mooted +question as to the archdeacon's journey to Paris--Lord Dumbello was +forthcoming at Plumstead on the 5th August, and went through his +work like a man. The Hartletop family, when the alliance was found +to be inevitable, endeavoured to arrange that the wedding should be +held at Hartletop Priory, in order that the clerical dust and +dinginess of Barchester Close might not soil the splendour of the +marriage gala doings; for, to tell the truth, the Hartletopians, as +a rule, were not proud of their new clerical connexions. But on +this subject Mrs Grantly was very properly inexorable; nor when an +attempt was made on the bride to induce her to throw over her mamma +at the last moment and pronounce for herself that she would be +married at the priory, was it attended with any success. The +Hartletops knew nothing of the Grantly fibre and calibre, or they +would have made no such attempt. The marriage took place at +Plumstead, and on the morning of the day Lord Dumbello posted over +from Barchester to the rectory. The ceremony was performed by the +archdeacon, without assistance, although the dean, and the +precentor, and two other clergymen, were at the ceremony. +Griselda's propriety of conduct was quite equal to that of Olivia +Proudie; indeed, nothing could exceed the statuesque grace and fine +aristocratic bearing with which she carried herself on the +occasion. The three or four words which the service required of +her she said with ease and dignity; there was neither sobbing nor +crying to disturb the work or embarrass her friends, and she signed +her name in the church books as "Griselda Grantly" without a +tremor--and without a regret. + +Mrs Grantly kissed her and blessed her in the halls as she was +about to step forward to her travelling carriage leaning on her +father's arm, and the child put up her face to her mother for a +last whisper. 'Mamma,' she said, 'I suppose Jane can put out her +hand at once on the moire antique when we reach Dover?' Mrs +Grantly smiled and nodded, and again blessed the child. There was +not a tear shed--at least, not then--nor a sign of sorrow to cloud +for a moment the gay splendour of the day. But the mother did +bethink herself, in the solitude of her own room, of those last +words, and did acknowledge a lack of something for which her heart +had sighed. She had boasted to her sister that she had nothing to +regret as to her daughter's education; but now, when she was alone +after her success, did she feel that she could still support +herself with that boast? For, be it known, Mrs Grantly had a heart +within her bosom and a faith within her heart. The world, it is +true, had pressed upon her sorely with all its weight of +accumulated clerical wealth, but it had not utterly crushed +her--not her, but only her child. For the sins of the father, are +they not visited on the third and fourth generation? But if any +such feeling of remorse did for awhile mar the fullness of Mrs +Grantly's joy, it was soon dispelled by the perfect success of her +daughter's married life. At the end of the autumn the bride and +bridegroom returned from their tour, and it was evident to all the +circle at Hartletop Priory that Lord Dumbello was by no means +dissatisfied with his bargain. His wife had been admired +everywhere to the top of his bent. All the world at Ems, and +Baden, and at Nice, had been stricken by the stately beauty of the +young countess. And then, too, her manner, style, and high dignity +of demeanour altogether supported the reverential feeling which her +grace and form first inspired. She never derogated from her +husband's honour by the fictitious liveliness of gossip, or allowed +any one to forget the peeress in the woman. Lord Dumbello soon +found that his reputation for discretion was quite safe in her +hands, and that there were no lessons as to conduct in which it was +necessary that he should give instruction. Before the winter was +over she had equally won the hearts of all the circle at Hartletop +Priory. The duke was there and declared to the marchioness that +Dumbello could not possibly have done better. 'Indeed, I do think +he could,' said the happy mother. 'She sees all that she ought to +see, and nothing that she ought not.' + +And then, in London, when the season came, all men sang all manner +of praises in her favour and Lord Dumbello was made aware that he +was reckoned among the wisest of his age. He was married a wife +who managed everything for him, who never troubled him, whom no +woman disliked, and whom every man admired. As for feast of +reason and for flow of soul, is not a question whether any such +flows and feasts are necessary between a man and his wife? How +many men can truly assert that they ever enjoy connubial flows of +soul, or that connubial feasts of reason are in their nature +enjoyable? But a handsome woman at the head of your table, who +knows how to dress, and how to sit, and how to get in and out of +her carriage--who will not disgrace her lord by her ignorance, or +fret him by her coquetry, or disparage him by her talent--how +beautiful a thing it is! For my own part I think that Griselda +Grantly was born to be the wife of a great English peer. + +'After all, then,' said Miss Dunstable, speaking of Lady +Dumbello--she was Mrs Thorne at this time--' after all, there is +some truth in what our quaint latter-day philosophers tell +us--"Great are thy powers, O Silence!"' The marriage of our +friends, Dr Thorne and Miss Dunstable, was the third on the list, +but that did not take place till the end of September. The lawyers +on such an occasion had no inconsiderable work to accomplish, and +though the lady was not coy, nor the gentleman slow, it was not +found practicable to arrange an earlier wedding. The ceremony was +performed at St George's, Hanover Square, and was not brilliant in +any special degree. London at the time was empty, and the few +persons whose presence was actually necessary were imported from +the country for the occasion. The bride was given away by Dr +Easyman, and the two bridesmaids were ladies who had lived with +Miss Dunstable as companions. Young Mr Gresham and his wife were +there, as was also Mrs Harold Smith, who was not at all prepared to +drop her own friend in her new sphere of life. 'We shall call her +Mrs Thorne instead of Miss Dunstable, and I really think that will +be all the difference,' said Mrs Harold Smith. To Mrs Harold Smith +that probably was all the difference, but it was not so to the +persons most concerned. + +According to the plan of life arranged between the doctor and his +wife she was still to keep up her house in London, remaining there +during such period of the season as she might choose, and receiving +him when it might appear good to him to visit her; but he was to be +the master in the country. A mansion at the Chace was to be built, +and till such time as that was completed, they would keep the old +house at Greshambury. Into this, small as it was, Mrs Thorne,--in +spite of her great wealth,--did not disdain to enter. But +subsequent circumstances changed their plans. It was found that Mr +Sowerby could not or would not live at Chaldicotes; and, therefore, +in the second year of their marriage, that place was prepared for +them. They are now well known to the whole county as Dr and Mrs +Thorne of Chaldicotes,--of Chaldicotes, in distinction to the +well-known Thornes of Ullathorne in the eastern division. Here +they live respected by their neighbours, and on terms of alliance +both with the Duke of Omnium and with Lady Lufton. 'Of course +those dear old avenues will be very sad to me,' said Mrs Harold +Smith, when at the end of a London season she was invited down to +Chaldicotes; and as she spoke she put her handkerchief up to her +eyes. + +'Well, dear, what can I do?' said Mrs Thorne. 'I can't cut them +down; the doctor would not let me.' + +'Oh, no,' said Mrs Harold Smith, sighing; and in spite of her +feeling she did visit Chaldicotes. + +But it was October before Lord Lufton was made a happy man;--that +is, if the fruition of his happiness was a greater joy than the +anticipation of it. I will not say that the happiness of marriage +is like the Dead Sea fruit--an apple which, when eaten, turns to +bitter ashes in the mouth. Such pretended sarcasm would be very +false. Nevertheless, is it not a fact that the sweetest morsel of +love's feast has been eaten, that the freshest, fairest blush of +the flower has been snatched and has passed away, when the ceremony +at the altar has been performed, and legal possession has been +given? There is an aroma of love, an undefinable delicacy of +flavour, which escapes and is gone before the church portal is +left, vanishing with the maiden name, and incompatible with the +solid comfort appertaining to the rank of wife. To love one's own +spouse, and to be loved by her, is the ordinary lot of man, and is +a duty exacted under penalties. But to be allowed to love youth and +beauty that is not one's own--to know that one is loved by a soft +being who still hangs cowering from the eye of the world as though +her love were all but illicit--can it be that a man is made happy +when a state of anticipation such as this is brought to a close? +No; when the husband walks back from the altar, he has already +swallowed the choicest dainties of his banquet. The beef and pudding +of married life are then in store for him;--or perhaps only the +bread of cheese. Let him take care lest hardly a crust remain--or +perhaps not a crust. But before we finish, let us go back for one +moment to the dainties--to the time before the beef and +pudding were served--while Lucy was still at the parsonage, and +Lord Lufton still staying at Framley Court. He had come up one +morning, as was now frequently his wont, and, after a few minutes' +conversation, Mrs Robarts had left the room--as not unfrequently on +such occasions was her wont. Lucy was working and continued her +work, and Lord Lufton for a moment or two sat looking at her; then +he got up abruptly, and, standing before her, thus questioned her:- + +'Lucy,' said he. + +'Well, what of Lucy now? Any particular fault this morning?' + +'Yes, a most particular fault. When I asked you, here, in this +room, on this very spot, whether it was possible that you should +love me--why did you say that it was impossible?' + +Lucy, instead of answering at the moment, looked down upon the +carpet, to see if his memory was as good as hers. Yes; he was +standing on the exact spot where he had stood before. No spot in +all the world was more frequently clear before her eyes. + +'Do you remember that day, Lucy?' he said again. + +'Yes, I remember it,' she said. + +'Why did you say it was impossible?' + +'Did I say impossible?' She knew that she had said so. She +remembered how she had waited till he had gone, and that then, +going to her own room, she had reproached herself with the +cowardice of the falsehood. She had lied to him then; and now--how +was she punished for it? + +'Well, I suppose it was possible,' she said. + +'But why did you say so when you knew it would make me so +miserable?' + +'Miserable! nay, but you went away happy enough! I thought I had +never seen you look better satisfied.' + +'Lucy!' + +'You had done your duty, and had had such a lucky escape! What +astonishes me is that you should have ever come back again. But +the pitcher may go to the well once too often, Lord Lufton.' + +'But will you tell me the truth now?' + +'What truth?' + +'That day, when I came to you--did you love me at all then?' + +'We'll let bygones be bygones, if you please.' + +'But I swear you shall tell me. It was such a cruel thing to +answer me as you did, unless you meant it. And yet you never saw +me again till after my mother had been over for you to Mrs +Crawley's.' + +'It was absence that made me--care for you.' + +'Lucy, I swear I believe you loved me then.' + +'Ludovic, some conjurer must have told you that.' She was standing +as she spoke, and, laughing at him, she held up her hands and shook +her head. But she was now in his power, and he had his +revenge--his revenge for her past falsehood and her present joke. +How could he be more happy when he was made happy by having all his +own, than he was now? And in these days there again came up that +petition as to her riding--with very different result now than on +that former occasion. There were so many objections, then. There +was no habit, and Lucy was--or said she was--afraid; and then, what +would Lady Lufton say? But now Lady Lufton thought it would be +quite right; only were they quite sure about the horse? Was +Ludovic certain that the horse had been ridden by a lady? And Lady +Meredith's habits were dragged out as a matter of course, and one +of them chipped and snipped and altered, without any compunction. +And as for fear, there could be no bolder horsewoman than Lucy +Robarts. It was quite clear to all Framley that riding was the +very thing for her. 'But I never shall be happy, Ludovic, till you +have got a horse properly suited for her,' said Lady Lufton. And +then, also, came the affair of her wedding garments, of her +trousseau--as to which I cannot boast that she showed capacity or +steadiness at all equal to that of Lady Dumbello. Lady Lufton, however, +thought it a very serious matter; and as, in her opinion, Mrs +Robarts did not go about it with sufficient energy, she took the +matter mainly into her own hands, striking Lucy dumb by her frowns +and nods, deciding on everything herself, down to the very tags of +the boot-ties. + +'My dear, you really must allow me to know what I am about;' and +Lady Lufton patted her on the arm as she spoke. 'I did it all for +Justinia, and she never had reason to regret a single thing that I +bought. If you'll ask her, she'll tell you so.' Lucy did not ask +her future sister-in-law, seeing that she had no doubt whatever as +to her future mother-in-law's judgement on the articles in +question. Only the money! And what could she want with six dozen +pocket-handkerchiefs all at once? There was no question of Lord +Lufton's going out as Governor-General to India! But twelve dozen +pocket-handkerchiefs had not been too many for Griselda's +imagination. And Lucy would sit alone in the drawing-room at +Framley Court, filling her heart with thoughts of that evening when +she had first sat there. She had then resolved, painfully, with +inward tears, with groanings of her spirit, that she was wrongly +placed in being in that company. Griselda Grantly had been there, +quite at her ease, petted by Lady Lufton, admired by Lord Lufton; +while she had retired out of sight, sore at heart, because she felt +herself to be no fit companion to those around her. Then he had +come to her, making matters almost worst by talking to her, +bringing the tears into her eyes by his good-nature, but still +wounding her by the feeling that she could not speak to him at her +ease. But things were at a different pass with her now. He had +chosen her--her out of all the world, and brought her there to +share with him his own home, his own honours, and all that he had +to give. She was the apple of his eye, and the pride of his +heart. And the stern mother, of whom she had stood in so much awe, +who at first had passed her by as a thing not to be noticed, and +had then sent out to her that she might be warned to keep herself +aloof, now hardly knew in what way she might sufficiently show her +love, regard and solicitude. + +I must not say that Lucy was not proud in these moments--that her +heart was not elated at these thoughts. Success does beget pride, +as failure begets shame. But her pride was of that sort which is +no way disgraceful to either man or woman, and was accompanied by +pure true love, and a full resolution to do her duty in that state +of life to which it had pleased her God to call her. She did +rejoice greatly to think that she had been chosen, and not +Griselda. Was it possible that having loved she should not so +rejoice, or that, rejoicing, she should not be proud of her love? +They spent the whole winter abroad, leaving the dowager Lady Lufton +to her plans and preparations for their reception at Framley Court; +and in the following spring they appeared in London, and there set +up their staff. Lucy had some tremblings of the spirit, and +quiverings about the heart, at thus beginning her duty before the +great world, but she said little or nothing to her husband on the +matter. Other women had done as much before her time, and by +courage had gone through with it. It would be dreadful enough, +that position in her own house with lords and ladies bowing to her, +and stiff members of Parliament for whom it would be necessary to +make small talk; but, nevertheless, it was to be endured. The time +came, and she did endure it. The time came, and before the first +six weeks were over she found that it was easy enough. The lords +and ladies got into their proper places and talked to her about +ordinary matters in a way that made no effort necessary, and the +members of Parliament were hardly more stiff than the clergymen she +had known in the neighbourhood of Framley. She had not been long +in town before she met Lady Dumbello. At this interview also she +had to overcome some little inward emotion. On the few occasions +on which she had met Griselda Grantly at Framley they had not much +progressed in friendship, and Lucy had felt that she had been +despised by the rich beauty. She also in her turn had disliked, if +she had not despised, her rival. But how would it be now? Lady +Dumbello could hardly despise her, and yet it did not seem possible +that they should meet as friends. They did meet, and Lucy came +forward with a pretty eagerness to give her hand to Lady Lufton's +late favourite. Lady Dumbello smiled slightly--the same smile +which had come across her face when they two had been first +introduced in the Framley drawing-room; the same smile without the +variation of a line,--took the offered hand, muttered a word or +two, and then receded. It was exactly as she had done before. She +had never despised Lucy Robarts. She had accorded to the parson's +sister the amount of cordiality with which she usually received her +acquaintance; and now she could do no more for the peer's wife. +Lady Dumbello and Lady Lufton have known each other ever since, and +have occasionally visited each other's houses, but the intimacy +between them has never gone beyond this. + +The dowager came up to town for about a month, and while there +contented to fill a second place. She had no desire to be the +great lady in London. But then came the trying period when they +commenced their life together at Framley Court. The elder lady +formally renounced her place at the top of the table--formally +persisted in renouncing it though Lucy with tears implored her to +resume it. She said also, with equal formality--repeating her +determination over and over again to Mrs Robarts with great +energy,--that she would in no respect detract by interference of +her own from the authority of the proper mistress of the house; +but, nevertheless, it is well known to every one at Framley that +old Lady Lufton still reigns paramount in the parish. + +'Yes, my dear; the big room looking into the little garden to the +south was always the nursery; and if you ask my advice, it will +remain so. But, of course, any room you please--' + +And the big room looking into the little garden to the south is +still the nursery at Framley Court. + + + + + +End of Project Gutenberg's Etext Framley Parsonage, by Anthony Trollope + |