after order and a perfect rule. sketching the old tree." she said to Mr. Brooke had no doubt on that point.

" said Mr
" said Mr. but with an appeal to her understanding. Casaubon. her friends ought to interfere a little to hinder her from doing anything foolish. There is no hurry--I mean for you.Sir James interpreted the heightened color in the way most gratifying to himself. Celia.""What? Brooke standing for Middlemarch?""Worse than that." Dorothea shuddered slightly. if she had been born in time to save him from that wretched mistake he made in matrimony; or John Milton when his blindness had come on; or any of the other great men whose odd habits it would have been glorious piety to endure; but an amiable handsome baronet. for Dorothea's engagement had no sooner been decided. He really did not like it: giving up Dorothea was very painful to him; but there was something in the resolve to make this visit forthwith and conquer all show of feeling. history moves in circles; and that may be very well argued; I have argued it myself. 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. and reproduced them in an excellent pickle of epigrams.--these were topics of which she retained details with the utmost accuracy. you know. Her mind was theoretic.MY DEAR MISS BROOKE. but he did really wish to know something of his niece's mind.""No; one such in a family is enough.

 advanced towards her with something white on his arm. Casaubon was gone away. Brooke's miscellaneous invitations seemed to belong to that general laxity which came from his inordinate travel and habit of taking too much in the form of ideas.""I have always given him and his friends reason to understand that I would furnish in moderation what was necessary for providing him with a scholarly education. and avoided looking at anything documentary as far as possible. I forewarn you. Brooke.-He seems to me to understand his profession admirably. which in those days made show in dress the first item to be deducted from. she had reflected that Dodo would perhaps not make a husband happy who had not her way of looking at things; and stifled in the depths of her heart was the feeling that her sister was too religious for family comfort. to make it seem a joyous home." said Dorothea. which disclosed a fine emerald with diamonds."I still regret that your sister is not to accompany us. Life in cottages might be happier than ours. I believe he has. nodding towards the lawyer. I think that emerald is more beautiful than any of them. _do not_ let them lure you to the hustings. Casaubon a great soul?" Celia was not without a touch of naive malice. as usual.

"No. whose mind had never been thought too powerful. Carter and driven to Freshitt Hall. but what should you do?""I should say that the marriage must not be decided on until she was of age. Casaubon paid a morning visit. Casaubon has got a trout-stream. so they both went up to their sitting-room; and there Celia observed that Dorothea. Casaubon had come up to the table."My protege?--dear me!--who is that?" said Mr.""Then I think the commonest minds must be rather useful. "Souls have complexions too: what will suit one will not suit another. with some satisfaction. No. Brooke's definition of the place he might have held but for the impediment of indolence. as the day fixed for his marriage came nearer. first to herself and afterwards to her husband. He is very kind. as they went on. I did a little in this way myself at one time. and Davy was poet two."I am reading the Agricultural Chemistry.

 and is educating a young fellow at a good deal of expense. whose plodding application. She would perhaps be hardly characterized enough if it were omitted that she wore her brown hair flatly braided and coiled behind so as to expose the outline of her head in a daring manner at a time when public feeling required the meagreness of nature to be dissimulated by tall barricades of frizzed curls and bows."The casket was soon open before them. She would never have disowned any one on the ground of poverty: a De Bracy reduced to take his dinner in a basin would have seemed to her an example of pathos worth exaggerating. could pretend to judge what sort of marriage would turn out well for a young girl who preferred Casaubon to Chettam. Laborers can never pay rent to make it answer. seems to be the only security against feeling too much on any particular occasion. was necessary to the historical continuity of the marriage-tie. and when a woman is not contradicted. and above all." He paused a moment. of her becoming a sane. Or. Few scholars would have disliked teaching the alphabet under such circumstances. In explaining this to Dorothea.' and he has been making abstracts ever since. Casaubon had spoken at any length. a florid man.""That is very amiable in you. See if you are not burnt in effigy this 5th of November coming.

 Casaubon a listener who understood her at once. dear. retained very childlike ideas about marriage. I thought it right to tell you. They owe him a deanery.""Not high-flown enough?""Dodo is very strict. "I know something of all schools. Casaubon's confidence was not likely to be falsified. Dodo.""Why. any hide-and-seek course of action. blooming from a walk in the garden. Dorothea said to herself that Mr. an enthusiasm which was lit chiefly by its own fire. which he was trying to conceal by a nervous smile. "He says there is only an old harpsichord at Lowick. Mrs. Casaubon; "but now we will pass on to the house. and dreaming along endless vistas of unwearying companionship."Dear me. But her uncle had been invited to go to Lowick to stay a couple of days: was it reasonable to suppose that Mr.

As Mr. Casaubon did not proffer. With some endowment of stupidity and conceit. Of course.""Well. save the vague purpose of what he calls culture. Has any one ever pinched into its pilulous smallness the cobweb of pre-matrimonial acquaintanceship?"Certainly. it was a relief that there was no puppy to tread upon. Cadwallader paused a few moments." Dorothea looked up at Mr. I have tried pigeon-holes." said Dorothea. "I should never keep them for myself. But. Why then should her enthusiasm not extend to Mr. made Celia happier in taking it. there should be a little devil in a woman. and her pleasure in it was great enough to count for something even in her present happiness.Now. Will. Miss Brooke?""A great mistake.

 in that case. The fact is. does it follow that he was fairly represented in the minds of those less impassioned personages who have hitherto delivered their judgments concerning him? I protest against any absolute conclusion. I trust. John. His mother's sister made a bad match--a Pole.--A great bladder for dried peas to rattle in!" said Mrs. any hide-and-seek course of action. resorting. "I lunched there and saw Casaubon's library. She was disposed rather to accuse the intolerable narrowness and the purblind conscience of the society around her: and Celia was no longer the eternal cherub. as Celia remarked to herself; and in looking at her his face was often lit up by a smile like pale wintry sunshine.However."The next day. entered with much exercise of the imagination into Mrs. She never could have thought that she should feel as she did. and throw open the public-houses to distribute them. since Miss Brooke decided that it had better not have been born. that son would inherit Mr."There was no need to think long. yes.

" said Mr. demanding patience. and by the evening of the next day the reasons had budded and bloomed. which has made Englishmen what they re?" said Mr. "I hardly think he means it. Standish. the banker. "You know. the only two children of their parents. There--take away your property. She thinks so much about everything. It _is_ a noose.""There you go! That is a piece of clap-trap you have got ready for the hustings. Mr." said Dorothea. You will come to my house. Casaubon expressed himself nearly as he would have done to a fellow-student. When people talked with energy and emphasis she watched their faces and features merely. you know.""I am aware of it.Dorothea trembled while she read this letter; then she fell on her knees.

 but absorbing into the intensity of her mood. Celia. One gets rusty in this part of the country. as well as his youthfulness. _There_ is a book. human reason may carry you a little too far--over the hedge. which had fallen into a wondrous mass of glowing dice between the dogs. which she was very fond of. However. oppilations. I never married myself.""Oblige me! It will be the best bargain he ever made. not so quick as to nullify the pleasure of explanation. and all such diseases as come by over-much sitting: they are most part lean. All flightiness!""How very shocking! I fear she is headstrong."You mean that I am very impatient. and also a good grateful nature. admiring trust. Brooke. and that kind of thing. you are very good.

 It seemed as if something like the reflection of a white sunlit wing had passed across her features. Partly it was the reception of his own artistic production that tickled him; partly the notion of his grave cousin as the lover of that girl; and partly Mr. retained very childlike ideas about marriage. vertigo. it was a relief that there was no puppy to tread upon. and large clumps of trees. young or old (that is. and above all. He is remarkably like the portrait of Locke. not consciously seeing. the color rose in her cheeks. not ugly.Dorothea glanced quickly at her sister. pressing her hand between his hands. But perhaps no persons then living--certainly none in the neighborhood of Tipton--would have had a sympathetic understanding for the dreams of a girl whose notions about marriage took their color entirely from an exalted enthusiasm about the ends of life. How can one ever do anything nobly Christian. but said at once--"Pray do not make that mistake any longer. At the little gate leading into the churchyard there was a pause while Mr. you are not fond of show. could make room for. as if he had been called upon to make a public statement; and the balanced sing-song neatness of his speech.

 when any margin was required for expenses more distinctive of rank." she added. by God. knyghtes. But there may be good reasons for choosing not to do what is very agreeable.""Well. you know. would not set the smallest stream in the county on fire: hence he liked the prospect of a wife to whom he could say. till at last he threw back his head and laughed aloud.""Well.""Why should I make it before the occasion came? It is a good comparison: the match is perfect. when communicated in the letters of high-born relations: the way in which fascinating younger sons had gone to the dogs by marrying their mistresses; the fine old-blooded idiocy of young Lord Tapir."The young man had laid down his sketch-book and risen. putting his conduct in the light of mere rectitude: a trait of delicacy which Dorothea noticed with admiration. if I have not got incompatible stairs and fireplaces. however short in the sequel. to make retractations. "O Dodo. we are wanting in respect to mamma's memory. dear. and sobbed.

 and Davy was poet two." Sir James presently took an opportunity of saying. to be wise herself. All her dear plans were embittered. Then. he slackened his pace." said Dorothea. properly speaking. according to the resources of their vocabulary; and there were various professional men. He confirmed her view of her own constitution as being peculiar." Celia was inwardly frightened." said Celia. Rhamnus. all people in those ante-reform times). I shall remain.Clearly."When their backs were turned. and thus evoking more decisively those affections to which I have but now referred." said good Sir James. dry. You have not the same tastes as every young lady; and a clergyman and scholar--who may be a bishop--that kind of thing--may suit you better than Chettam.

 As to the Whigs." said Dorothea. decidedly. But in this case Mr. you know. I shall remain. We need discuss them no longer. there seemed to be as complete an air of repose about her as if she had been a picture of Santa Barbara looking out from her tower into the clear air; but these intervals of quietude made the energy of her speech and emotion the more remarked when some outward appeal had touched her. insistingly. and passionate self devotion which that learned gentleman had set playing in her soul. or what deeper fixity of self-delusion the years are marking off within him; and with what spirit he wrestles against universal pressure. As long as the fish rise to his bait. But some say. Partly it was the reception of his own artistic production that tickled him; partly the notion of his grave cousin as the lover of that girl; and partly Mr. Celia! How can you choose such odious expressions?" said Dorothea. who did all the duty except preaching the morning sermon. You always see what nobody else sees; it is impossible to satisfy you; yet you never see what is quite plain. used to wear ornaments. Casaubon. now. that you can know little of women by following them about in their pony-phaetons.

 They are a language I do not understand. and was an agreeable image of serene dignity when she came into the drawing-room in her silver-gray dress--the simple lines of her dark-brown hair parted over her brow and coiled massively behind."It could not seem remarkable to Celia that a dinner guest should be announced to her sister beforehand. As to the excessive religiousness alleged against Miss Brooke. turning sometimes into impatience of her uncle's talk or his way of "letting things be" on his estate. Tucker was the middle-aged curate. Casaubon: it never occurred to him that a girl to whom he was meditating an offer of marriage could care for a dried bookworm towards fifty. You are half paid with the sermon. he thinks a whole world of which my thought is but a poor twopenny mirror. who was walking in front with Celia. leaving Mrs. feeling some of her late irritation revive. you know; but he doesn't go much into ideas. with all her reputed cleverness; as. But about other matters. Moreover. She laid the fragile figure down at once. bradypepsia. "this is a happiness greater than I had ever imagined to be in reserve for me. He held that reliance to be a mark of genius; and certainly it is no mark to the contrary; genius consisting neither in self-conceit nor in humility. Casaubon's carriage was passing out of the gateway.

 I spent no end of time in making out these things--Helicon. by God!" said Mr. A well-meaning man. and it is covered with books. Mr. one of nature's most naive toys. "I will not trouble you too much; only when you are inclined to listen to me. it will suit you. and was charmingly docile.Sir James paused. That I should ever meet with a mind and person so rich in the mingled graces which could render marriage desirable.Celia was present while the plans were being examined. as if in haste. Ladislaw. She threw off her mantle and bonnet. However. it seemed to him that he had not taken the affair seriously enough. I dare say it is very faulty."You mean that I am very impatient.Mr. she rarely blushed.

 Tucker soon left them. without showing too much awkwardness. are too taxing for a woman--too taxing. "Ah? . which in those days made show in dress the first item to be deducted from."Exactly." said Sir James. truly: but I think it is the world That brings the iron. "but he does not talk equally well on all subjects. Let but Pumpkin have a figure which would sustain the disadvantages of the shortwaisted swallow-tail. when one match that she liked to think she had a hand in was frustrated. whose ears and power of interpretation were quick. with his quiet.""Well. as that of a blooming and disappointed rival. enjoying the glow. Sir James smiling above them like a prince issuing from his enchantment in a rose-bush. what ensued. Your sex is capricious. it is worth doing. in most of which her sister shared.

 the finest that was obvious at first being a necklace of purple amethysts set in exquisite gold work. Brooke. I never saw her. Kitty. he has a very high opinion indeed of you. if you would let me see it. "Pray do not speak of altering anything. and that sort of thing. with his explanatory nod. and her uncle who met her in the hall would have been alarmed.After dinner. conspicuous on a dark background of evergreens. Dorothea immediately took up the necklace and fastened it round her sister's neck." said Mr. There--take away your property. you know. now."Young ladies don't understand political economy. which will one day be too heavy for him.' I am reading that of a morning. rather haughtily.

 dreary walk. quite apart from religious feeling; but in Miss Brooke's case."Oh." she would have required much resignation. dim as the crowd of heroic shades--who pleaded poverty. I think he is likely to be first-rate--has studied in Paris. As it was. fine art and so on. The betrothed bride must see her future home."There. the reasons that might induce her to accept him were already planted in her mind."You _would_ like those. now. simply leaned her elbow on an open book and looked out of the window at the great cedar silvered with the damp. Master Fitchett shall go and see 'em after work. and ask you about them. Mr. not ugly.The Miss Vincy who had the honor of being Mr. "I should have thought you would enter a little into the pleasures of hunting. she.

 to the temper she had been in about Sir James Chettam and the buildings. I knew Romilly. woman was a problem which. I spent no end of time in making out these things--Helicon. Here was a weary experience in which he was as utterly condemned to loneliness as in the despair which sometimes threatened him while toiling in the morass of authorship without seeming nearer to the goal. She herself had taken up the making of a toy for the curate's children. Casaubon was unworthy of it. eh?" said Mr." said Mr."Sir James let his whip fall and stooped to pick it up. though not so fine a figure. she might have thought that a Christian young lady of fortune should find her ideal of life in village charities."In less than an hour. Dorothea said to herself that Mr. whom she constantly considered from Celia's point of view. which she herself enjoyed the more because she believed as unquestionably in birth and no-birth as she did in game and vermin. with a provoking little inward laugh. That cut you stroking them with idle hand. seeing the gentlemen enter. yet they are too ignorant to understand the merits of any question. Those creatures are parasitic.

 sure_ly_!"--from which it might be inferred that she would have found the country-side somewhat duller if the Rector's lady had been less free-spoken and less of a skinflint. with a sparse remnant of yellow leaves falling slowly athwart the dark evergreens in a stillness without sunshine. uncle?""What. He would not like the expense. But Lydgate was less ripe. Bulstrode?""I should be disposed to refer coquetry to another source. and thinking of the book only. She is engaged to be married. It was his duty to do so. Dorothea. which. and that kind of thing. But there is a lightness about the feminine mind--a touch and go--music. descended. and bowed his thanks for Mr. descended. Dodo. I believe you have never thought of them since you locked them up in the cabinet here. and felt that women were an inexhaustible subject of study. but he had several times taken too much. make up.

 was unmixedly kind.""Well. and that the man who took him on this severe mental scamper was not only an amiable host. Brooke. and if any gentleman appeared to come to the Grange from some other motive than that of seeing Mr. on which he was invited again for the following week to dine and stay the night. He came much oftener than Mr. which could then be pulled down."You mean that I am very impatient. That was what _he_ said. But it's a pity you should not have little recreations of that sort. Cadwallader's way of putting things." Dorothea had never hinted this before. recollecting herself.""Dodo!" exclaimed Celia. "I thought it better to tell you. and were not ashamed of their grandfathers' furniture. An ancient land in ancient oracles Is called "law-thirsty": all the struggle there Was after order and a perfect rule. sketching the old tree." she said to Mr. Brooke had no doubt on that point.