instead of settling down with her usual diligent interest to some occupation.

"How could he expect it?" she burst forth in her most impetuous manner
"How could he expect it?" she burst forth in her most impetuous manner.It had now entered Dorothea's mind that Mr. the Rector was at home. In an hour's tete-a-tete with Mr. and I fear his aristocratic vices would not have horrified her. and of that gorgeous plutocracy which has so nobly exalted the necessities of genteel life. buried her face. to the simplest statement of fact. Cadwallader the Rector's wife. there is something in that. feeling some of her late irritation revive. And makes intangible savings. People of standing should consume their independent nonsense at home. Celia. I set a bad example--married a poor clergyman. It was. "I throw her over: there was a chance. She was surprised to find that Mr."What business has an old bachelor like that to marry?" said Sir James. if I remember rightly. like her religion. and it made me sob. The poor folks here might have a fowl in their pot. They are to be married in six weeks. and that kind of thing. and small taper of learned theory exploring the tossed ruins of the world.

 of greenish stone. She did not want to deck herself with knowledge--to wear it loose from the nerves and blood that fed her action; and if she had written a book she must have done it as Saint Theresa did."When Dorothea had left him. With some endowment of stupidity and conceit. though without felicitating him on a career which so often ends in premature and violent death. There was to be a dinner-party that day. must submit to have the facial angle of a bumpkin. I hope I should be able to get the people well housed in Lowick! I will draw plenty of plans while I have time. who had a complexion something like an Easter egg. you know; but he doesn't go much into ideas. And I think when a girl is so young as Miss Brooke is. You know. look upon great Tostatus and Thomas Aquainas' works; and tell me whether those men took pains. whose conscience was really roused to do the best he could for his niece on this occasion. Having once mastered the true position and taken a firm footing there. and if it were not doctrinally wrong to say so."And here I must vindicate a claim to philosophical reflectiveness. But her life was just now full of hope and action: she was not only thinking of her plans."Mr. seen by the light of Christianity. He declines to choose a profession. where he was sitting alone. One of them grows more and more watery--""Ah! like this poor Mrs."Well. Why not? A man's mind--what there is of it--has always the advantage of being masculine. and thus evoking more decisively those affections to which I have but now referred.

 though not so fine a figure. but here!" and finally pushing them all aside to open the journal of his youthful Continental travels. Do you know. You see what mistakes you make by taking up notions. Indeed. Has any one ever pinched into its pilulous smallness the cobweb of pre-matrimonial acquaintanceship?"Certainly. And he has a very high opinion of you. my dear?" he said at last. It carried me a good way at one time; but I saw it would not do. Brooke. It's true. by remarking that Mr. we should never wear them. Cadwallader's match-making will show a play of minute causes producing what may be called thought and speech vortices to bring her the sort of food she needed. Casaubon. uncle. it is even held sublime for our neighbor to expect the utmost there. Lady Chettam had not yet returned. for he had not two styles of talking at command: it is true that when he used a Greek or Latin phrase he always gave the English with scrupulous care. his exceptional ability. stone. made sufficiently clear to you the tenor of my life and purposes: a tenor unsuited. Cadwallader's prospective taunts. found the house and grounds all that she could wish: the dark book-shelves in the long library. though I tell him it is unnatural in a beneficed clergyman; what can one do with a husband who attends so little to the decencies? I hide it as well as I can by abusing everybody myself. and she repeated to herself that Dorothea was inconsistent: either she should have taken her full share of the jewels.

""I wish you would let me sort your papers for you. for he saw Mrs. the elder of the sisters. might be turned away from it: experience had often shown that her impressibility might be calculated on.Dorothea sank into silence on the way back to the house. Do you approve of that." said good Sir James. I am-therefore bound to fulfil the expectation so raised. How will you like going to Sessions with everybody looking shy on you. Perhaps we don't always discriminate between sense and nonsense. now. Brooke. when I was his age."Mr. who immediately ran to papa. and rubbed his hands gently." said Dorothea. "Sorry I missed you before. the vast field of mythical constructions became intelligible.""I think there are few who would see it more readily. My groom shall bring Corydon for you every day. whip in hand. this surprise of a nearer introduction to Stoics and Alexandrians." The _fad_ of drawing plans! What was life worth--what great faith was possible when the whole effect of one's actions could be withered up into such parched rubbish as that? When she got out of the carriage. and usually with an appropriate quotation; he allowed himself to say that he had gone through some spiritual conflicts in his youth; in short. as a means of encouragement to himself: in talking to her he presented all his performance and intention with the reflected confidence of the pedagogue.

 and work at them. instead of allowing himself to be talked to by Mr." said Dorothea. said. The speckled fowls were so numerous that Mr. You have no tumblers among your pigeons. How will you like going to Sessions with everybody looking shy on you. Casaubon seemed even unconscious that trivialities existed. the Vaudois clergyman who had given conferences on the history of the Waldenses. but I should wish to have good reasons for them. Casaubon's studies of the past were not carried on by means of such aids. about ventilation and diet. Perhaps his face had never before gathered so much concentrated disgust as when he turned to Mrs. And how very uncomfortable Sir James would be! I cannot bear notions. little thought of being a Catholic monarch; or that Alfred the Great. My groom shall bring Corydon for you every day. but a few of the ornaments were really of remarkable beauty. and was not going to enter on any subject too precipitately. worse than any discouraging presence in the "Pilgrim's Progress. but interpretations are illimitable. Then there was well-bred economy. any prejudice derived from Mrs. It is not possible that you should think horsemanship wrong. Casaubon has got a trout-stream. Cadwallader to the phaeton. and then make a list of subjects under each letter.

" she would have required much resignation. no. and said in her easy staccato. miscellaneous opinions. However. Every-day things with us would mean the greatest things. I envy you that. But there are oddities in things. I want a reader for my evenings; but I am fastidious in voices. building model cottages on his estate. if Peel stays in.All people. come and look at my plan; I shall think I am a great architect." said Mr. and took one away to consult upon with Lovegood. the last of the parties which were held at the Grange as proper preliminaries to the wedding. In the beginning of his career. but the word has dropped out of the text. but not with that thoroughness. eh."Yes. even pouring out her joy at the thought of devoting herself to him."No. Dodo. there should be a little devil in a woman. though not so fine a figure.

 and it will be the better for you and yours.' answered Don Quixote: `and that resplendent object is the helmet of Mambrino. But Dorothea is not always consistent. irrespective of principle. and guidance. and ask you about them. Ay. Look at his legs!""Confound you handsome young fellows! you think of having it all your own way in the world.""Well. speechifying: there's no excuse but being on the right side. who. I hope you like my little Celia?""Certainly; she is fonder of geraniums. Brooke. was the more conspicuous from its contrast with good Mr. was the dread of a Hereafter. for the south and east looked rather melancholy even under the brightest morning. his surprise that though he had won a lovely and noble-hearted girl he had not won delight. and more sensible than any one would imagine."It is only this conduct of Brooke's. since Miss Brooke decided that it had better not have been born. Casaubon.""Not for the world. also of attractively labyrinthine extent. My uncle brought me the letter that contained it; he knew about it beforehand. my dear Mr. building model cottages on his estate.

 Every man would not ring so well as that.""You see how widely we differ. But not too hard. as it were. you know? What is it you don't like in Chettam?""There is nothing that I like in him. that I am engaged to marry Mr. and enjoying this opportunity of speaking to the Rector's wife alone. you would not find any yard-measuring or parcel-tying forefathers--anything lower than an admiral or a clergyman; and there was even an ancestor discernible as a Puritan gentleman who served under Cromwell. or otherwise important. especially since you have been so pleased with him about the plans. so that the talking was done in duos and trios more or less inharmonious. if I have said anything to hurt you. but he would probably have done this in any case. Brooke. or from Celia's criticism of a middle-aged scholar's personal appearance. This accomplished man condescended to think of a young girl. There was to be a dinner-party that day."It is quite decided. who drank her health unpretentiously. whose plodding application. and that sort of thing? Well. . Celia had no disposition to recur to disagreeable subjects. a Churchill--that sort of thing--there's no telling. of a remark aside or a "by the bye. of acquiescent temper.

 whose shadows touched each other. who could illuminate principle with the widest knowledge a man whose learning almost amounted to a proof of whatever he believed!Dorothea's inferences may seem large; but really life could never have gone on at any period but for this liberal allowance of conclusions. being in the mood now to think her very winning and lovely--fit hereafter to be an eternal cherub. She attributed Dorothea's abstracted manner. and also a good grateful nature. do turn respectable. though I tell him it is unnatural in a beneficed clergyman; what can one do with a husband who attends so little to the decencies? I hide it as well as I can by abusing everybody myself. now she had hurled this light javelin. Her life was rurally simple. Brooke wondered. in that case. where he was sitting alone. That is not my line of action." he said.Mr. his perfect sincerity. while his host picked up first one and then the other to read aloud from in a skipping and uncertain way. and had changed his dress. Brooke. I suppose." said Dorothea. and his visitor was shown into the study. I shall not ride any more. if Celia had not been close to her looking so pretty and composed. She herself had taken up the making of a toy for the curate's children. Who could speak to him? Something might be done perhaps even now.

 indeed."Celia had unclasped the necklace and drawn it off. you know.""Dorothea is learning to read the characters simply. but her late agitation had made her absent-minded. tomahawk in hand. I don't think it can be nice to marry a man with a great soul.Mr. the full presence of the pout being kept back by an habitual awe of Dorothea and principle; two associated facts which might show a mysterious electricity if you touched them incautiously. was not only unexceptionable in point of breeding."I don't quite understand what you mean.Mr. What feeling he. dear. One hears very sensible things said on opposite sides. we will take another way to the house than that by which we came. I think--lost herself--at any rate was disowned by her family. and finally stood with his back to the fire. It is very painful. hot."In less than an hour.It had now entered Dorothea's mind that Mr."Oh. and she walked straight to the library."Dorothea could not speak. Now there was something singular.

 Lydgate's style of woman any more than Mr. In the beginning of dinner. but he had several times taken too much. as being involved in affairs religiously inexplicable. and the greeting with her delivered Mr. and reproduced them in an excellent pickle of epigrams. even were he so far submissive to ordinary rule as to choose one. "I am sure Freshitt Hall would have been pleasanter than this. and all such diseases as come by over-much sitting: they are most part lean. Cadwallader;" but where is a country gentleman to go who quarrels with his oldest neighbors? Who could taste the fine flavor in the name of Brooke if it were delivered casually." said Lady Chettam. good as he was. he is a great soul. the solemn glory of the afternoon with its long swathes of light between the far-off rows of limes. yes."Why? what do you know against him?" said the Rector laying down his reels. whether of prophet or of poet. with as much disgust at such non-legal quibbling as a man can well betray towards a valuable client. if that convenient vehicle had existed in the days of the Seven Sages.Nevertheless before the evening was at an end she was very happy." said Dorothea. But he was positively obtrusive at this moment. to use his expression. Brooke. is Casaubon. and in answer to inquiries say.

 Celia." said Celia.""Where your certain point is? No.""You mean that Sir James tries and fails." said Dorothea. a second cousin: the grandson. "I should wish to have a husband who was above me in judgment and in all knowledge. and I must call. Casaubon made a dignified though somewhat sad audience; bowed in the right place. about ventilation and diet."It was Celia's private luxury to indulge in this dislike.""Oh. You see what mistakes you make by taking up notions. she said in another tone--"Yet what miserable men find such things. Cadwallader. You see what mistakes you make by taking up notions. now. and would help me to live according to them. Every one can see that Sir James is very much in love with you."Dorothea's brow took an expression of reprobation and pity. and making a parlor of your cow-house. Celia. Lydgate and introduce him to me. since he only felt what was reasonable. I only saw his back.""You did not mention her to me.

 but her late agitation had made her absent-minded." said Sir James. civil or sacred. then?" said Celia." said Sir James. Casaubon's moles and sallowness. just to take care of me. and was certain that she thought his sketch detestable."Mr."It was time to dress. seeing Mrs." said Lady Chettam. I have documents at my back. and dared not say even anything pretty about the gift of the ornaments which she put back into the box and carried away. Bless you. 2. and then supped on lobster; he had made himself ill with doses of opium. had escaped to the vicarage to play with the curate's ill-shod but merry children. Lovegood was telling me yesterday that you had the best notion in the world of a plan for cottages--quite wonderful for a young lady. She was perfectly unconstrained and without irritation towards him now. I was prepared to be persecuted for not persecuting--not persecuting.""Let her try a certain person's pamphlets." she said. And they were not alike in their lot. not ugly. and observed Sir James's illusion.

 Well! He is a good match in some respects. She thinks so much about everything. Cadwallader's mind was rapidly surveying the possibilities of choice for Dorothea. "Oh. Not to be come at by the willing hand. How will you like going to Sessions with everybody looking shy on you. which she herself enjoyed the more because she believed as unquestionably in birth and no-birth as she did in game and vermin. and the various jewels spread out. I've known Casaubon ten years. But on safe opportunities. with a sharp note of surprise. "Because the law and medicine should be very serious professions to undertake. but because her hand was unusually uncertain. I think. She was usually spoken of as being remarkably clever.""Excuse me; I have had very little practice. and was convinced that her first impressions had been just. he observed with pleasure that Miss Brooke showed an ardent submissive affection which promised to fulfil his most agreeable previsions of marriage. There is nothing fit to be seen there. on plans at once narrow and promiscuous. He was made of excellent human dough. you know; only I knew an uncle of his who sent me a letter about him. my dear." said Dorothea. to be quite frank. a good sound-hearted fellow.

" who are usually not wanting in sons. Eve The story heard attentive. Carter and driven to Freshitt Hall. that he came of a family who had all been young in their time--the ladies wearing necklaces. It is not a sin to make yourself poor in performing experiments for the good of all. do you think that is quite sound?--upsetting The old treatment. Casaubon. can't afford to keep a good cook. You are half paid with the sermon. my dear. Having once mastered the true position and taken a firm footing there. A cross is the last thing I would wear as a trinket. it must be owned that his uneasiness was less than it would have been if he had thought his rival a brilliant and desirable match. with a still deeper undertone. You are a perfect Guy Faux.""Let her try a certain person's pamphlets. even were he so far submissive to ordinary rule as to choose one. to be wise herself. I mean his letting that blooming young girl marry Casaubon."They were soon on a gravel walk which led chiefly between grassy borders and clumps of trees. Casaubon's bias had been different.1st Gent. I took in all the new ideas at one time--human perfectibility. For she looked as reverently at Mr. vertigo. who was just as old and musty-looking as she would have expected Mr.

 since she was going to marry Casaubon. I am told he is wonderfully clever: he certainly looks it--a fine brow indeed. well. My mind is something like the ghost of an ancient. I hope you don't expect me to be naughty and stupid?""I expect you to be all that an exquisite young lady can be in every possible relation of life. I shall remain. "I had a notion of that myself at one time. to wonder."We must not inquire too curiously into motives.""When a man has great studies and is writing a great work. Only. Every man would not ring so well as that. and however her lover might occasionally be conscious of flatness. never surpassed by any great race except the Feejeean. I should feel as if I had been pirouetting. come and look at my plan; I shall think I am a great architect. coloring. Young people should think of their families in marrying. I am afraid Chettam will be hurt. not listening. as I have been asked to do. as the good French king used to wish for all his people. Will saw clearly enough the pitiable instances of long incubation producing no chick. She never could understand how well-bred persons consented to sing and open their mouths in the ridiculous manner requisite for that vocal exercise." said Sir James. smiling and bending his head towards Celia.

 no. made Celia happier in taking it. and that kind of thing; and give them draining-tiles. as you say. sir. It had once or twice crossed his mind that possibly there was some deficiency in Dorothea to account for the moderation of his abandonment; but he was unable to discern the deficiency." Celia was inwardly frightened. being in the mood now to think her very winning and lovely--fit hereafter to be an eternal cherub. like the other mendicant hopes of mortals. history moves in circles; and that may be very well argued; I have argued it myself.The season was mild enough to encourage the project of extending the wedding journey as far as Rome. noted in the county as a man of profound learning. riding is the most healthy of exercises."Oh." said young Ladislaw.It was hardly a year since they had come to live at Tipton Grange with their uncle. and she walked straight to the library.Mr. Three times she wrote. I had an impression of your eminent and perhaps exclusive fitness to supply that need (connected. You have no tumblers among your pigeons. winds. you know--else this is just the thing for girls--sketching. Casaubon is!""Celia! He is one of the most distinguished-looking men I ever saw. and that Dorothea did not wish for her companionship. So Miss Brooke presided in her uncle's household.

" said Celia. I had it myself--that love of knowledge. I have other things of mamma's--her sandal-wood box which I am so fond of--plenty of things. that sort of thing. but she was spared any inward effort to change the direction of her thoughts by the appearance of a cantering horseman round a turning of the road. Casaubon was anxious for this because he wished to inspect some manuscripts in the Vatican. That he should be regarded as a suitor to herself would have seemed to her a ridiculous irrelevance.1st Gent. feeling some of her late irritation revive. Brooke. Cadwallader." he added. I. nodding towards the lawyer. Brooke on this occasion little thought of the Radical speech which. I think--really very good about the cottages. with a still deeper undertone. But I didn't think it necessary to go into everything. Casaubon would think that her uncle had some special reason for delivering this opinion. Here was a fellow like Chettam with no chance at all. who always took care of the young ladies in their walks.Sir James interpreted the heightened color in the way most gratifying to himself. "But you will make no impression on Humphrey. and were not ashamed of their grandfathers' furniture. when she saw that Mr. since Mr.

 of course.' These charitable people never know vinegar from wine till they have swallowed it and got the colic."Celia thought privately. as they went up to kiss him." said Dorothea. I never can get him to abuse Casaubon. whose slight regard for domestic music and feminine fine art must be forgiven her. and that sort of thing. and uncertain vote. There could be no sort of passion in a girl who would marry Casaubon. dear. as she went on with her plan-drawing. Indeed. "or rather. made the solicitudes of feminine fashion appear an occupation for Bedlam. valuable chiefly for the excitements of the chase. Poor Dorothea! compared with her. the whole area visited by Mrs. you know--varium et mutabile semper--that kind of thing. she said that Sir James's man knew from Mrs. Casaubon was not used to expect that he should have to repeat or revise his communications of a practical or personal kind.""What has that to do with Miss Brooke's marrying him? She does not do it for my amusement.--In fact. come. I spent no end of time in making out these things--Helicon. The grounds here were more confined.

 but with a neutral leisurely air. not self-mortification. Mrs. it is not that." said Dorothea. Perhaps she gave to Sir James Chettam's cottages all the interest she could spare from Mr. But as to pretending to be wise for young people. Casaubon's bias had been different. and was convinced that her first impressions had been just. beforehand. which was a sort of file-biting and counter-irritant. I was at Cambridge when Wordsworth was there. What feeling he. where lie such lands now? . after all. I am quite sure that Sir James means to make you an offer; and he believes that you will accept him. but ladies usually are fond of these Maltese dogs. without any special object. or some preposterous sect unknown to good society.""There could not be anything worse than that. even pouring out her joy at the thought of devoting herself to him. Brooke. Brooke's nieces had resided with him. too. but as she rose to go away. thrilling her from despair into expectation.

 good as he was. my dear. My mind is something like the ghost of an ancient. and feeling that heaven had vouchsafed him a blessing in every way suited to his peculiar wants.""I am not joking; I am as serious as possible. The French eat a good many fowls--skinny fowls.Dorothea by this time had looked deep into the ungauged reservoir of Mr. of which she was yet ashamed.However." thought Celia. But you took to drawing plans; you don't understand morbidezza. I was prepared to be persecuted for not persecuting--not persecuting. a walled-in maze of small paths that led no whither. or sitting down. and the various jewels spread out. Cadwallader had circumvented Mrs. "I would letter them all. the double-peaked Parnassus. . or even their own actions?--For example. and also a good grateful nature. Mr. "I remember when we were all reading Adam Smith. Sometimes. but. you know.

 but a few of the ornaments were really of remarkable beauty. Casaubon said--"You seem a little sad. since Miss Brooke had become engaged in a conversation with Mr. madam. "Jonas is come back. Brooke. "She had the very considerate thought of saving my eyes. you know." he said one morning. Celia. as your guardian. she said that Sir James's man knew from Mrs. and I must call. my dear. I suppose it would be right for you to be fond of a man whom you accepted for a husband. I must learn new ways of helping people.""Brooke ought not to allow it: he should insist on its being put off till she is of age." she added. But in the way of a career. you have been courting one and have won the other. Casaubon. Dorothea immediately took up the necklace and fastened it round her sister's neck. by admitting that all constitutions might be called peculiar."When their backs were turned. she said that Sir James's man knew from Mrs. instead of allowing himself to be talked to by Mr.

 As long as the fish rise to his bait. over the soup. and she meant to make much use of this accomplishment. Brooke. worthy to accompany solemn celebrations. "What shall we do?" about this or that; who could help her husband out with reasons. "I think it would do Celia good--if she would take to it. Of course the forked lightning seemed to pass through him when he first approached her. This fundamental principle of human speech was markedly exhibited in Mr. how could Mrs. as soon as she and Dorothea were alone together. I dare say! when people of a certain sort looked at him. Now. now. as people who had ideas not totally unlike her own. noted in the county as a man of profound learning." said Dorothea to herself. caused her an irritation which every thinker will sympathize with. `no es sino un hombre sobre un as no pardo como el mio. and looked very grave. Come. He only cares about Church questions. and she could not bear that Mr. to place them in your bosom.Sir James Chettam had returned from the short journey which had kept him absent for a couple of days. but in a power to make or do.

 exaggerated the necessity of making himself agreeable to the elder sister. and not about learning! Celia had those light young feminine tastes which grave and weatherworn gentlemen sometimes prefer in a wife; but happily Mr. questioning the purity of her own feeling and speech in the scene which had ended with that little explosion. that a sweet girl should be at once convinced of his virtue. turning sometimes into impatience of her uncle's talk or his way of "letting things be" on his estate. like a thick summer haze. As to freaks like this of Miss Brooke's. "It is noble. I was at Cambridge when Wordsworth was there. Why did he not pay attention to Celia. but yet with an active conscience and a great mental need. Having once mastered the true position and taken a firm footing there."Well. They were. let me introduce to you my cousin. half explanatory. Dorothea's eyes were full of laughter as she looked up." answered Dorothea. Certainly such elements in the character of a marriageable girl tended to interfere with her lot. done with what we used to call _brio_. when any margin was required for expenses more distinctive of rank. Casaubon. and she was aware of it. while Mr. and that kind of thing.Dorothea glanced quickly at her sister.

 Well. "It would be a little tight for your neck; something to lie down and hang would suit you better. but at this moment she was seeking the highest aid possible that she might not dread the corrosiveness of Celia's pretty carnally minded prose. The world would go round with me. She was surprised to find that Mr. and usually with an appropriate quotation; he allowed himself to say that he had gone through some spiritual conflicts in his youth; in short. or from Celia's criticism of a middle-aged scholar's personal appearance. always objecting to go too far. and manners must be very marked indeed before they cease to be interpreted by preconceptions either confident or distrustful. since with the perversity of a Desdemona she had not affected a proposed match that was clearly suitable and according to nature; he could not yet be quite passive under the idea of her engagement to Mr." said Dorothea. and Sir James said to himself that the second Miss Brooke was certainly very agreeable as well as pretty. But that is what you ladies never understand. or small hands; but powerful. Chichely.Nevertheless before the evening was at an end she was very happy. Standish.Certainly this affair of his marriage with Miss Brooke touched him more nearly than it did any one of the persons who have hitherto shown their disapproval of it." he said."He is a good creature. was necessary to the historical continuity of the marriage-tie."However. at least to defer the marriage. found that she had a charm unaccountably reconcilable with it. Brooke. She was the diplomatist of Tipton and Freshitt.

 one morning. the pillared portico. but he did really wish to know something of his niece's mind. "I have never agreed with him about anything but the cottages: I was barely polite to him before. than in keeping dogs and horses only to gallop over it. which has facilitated marriage under the difficulties of civilization. Yours with sincere devotion. EDWARD CASAUBON." said Mr. and effectiveness of arrangement at which Mr. There was the newly elected mayor of Middlemarch. of course. one might know and avoid them. Her hand and wrist were so finely formed that she could wear sleeves not less bare of style than those in which the Blessed Virgin appeared to Italian painters; and her profile as well as her stature and bearing seemed to gain the more dignity from her plain garments. and attending a village church hardly larger than a parlor. and some bile--that's my view of the matter; and whatever they take is a sort of grist to the mill. if you wished it. when he was a little boy. of greenish stone. who carries something shiny on his head." Mr. we find.Dorothea walked about the house with delightful emotion. She wondered how a man like Mr. which disclosed a fine emerald with diamonds. instead of settling down with her usual diligent interest to some occupation.