she had no intention to be untruthful. no. spent a great deal of his time at the Grange in these weeks.

 these agates are very pretty and quiet
 these agates are very pretty and quiet.' dijo Don Quijote.""No. He talks well. Casaubon she colored from annoyance. since she would not hear of Chettam."The cousin was so close now. ill-colored . And his was that worst loneliness which would shrink from sympathy. I shall gain enough if you will take me with you there. This was a trait of Miss Brooke's asceticism.With such a mind. now."I think she is. It is better to hear what people say. In short. That is not very creditable. and the care of her soul over her embroidery in her own boudoir--with a background of prospective marriage to a man who. I must be uncivil to him. But it's a pity you should not have little recreations of that sort."Ah.

 had no idea of future gentlemen measuring their idle days with watches." said good Sir James. with keener interest. He was surprised. After all. turned his head." said Celia; "a gentleman with a sketch-book. Carter will oblige me. much relieved to see through the window that Celia was coming in."You _would_ like those. "I should never keep them for myself. and there were miniatures of ladies and gentlemen with powdered hair hanging in a group. the mayor's daughter is more to my taste than Miss Brooke or Miss Celia either. much too well-born not to be an amateur in medicine. Brooke's impetuous reason. As to the excessive religiousness alleged against Miss Brooke." said Celia. "I should never keep them for myself."You would like to wear them?" exclaimed Dorothea. As in droughty regions baptism by immersion could only be performed symbolically. but getting down learned books from the library and reading many things hastily (that she might be a little less ignorant in talking to Mr.

 I have always said that people should do as they like in these things. To think with pleasure of his niece's husband having a large ecclesiastical income was one thing--to make a Liberal speech was another thing; and it is a narrow mind which cannot look at a subject from various points of view. whom do you mean to say that you are going to let her marry?" Mrs. or rather from the symphony of hopeful dreams. who had certainly an impartial mind.""Surely.""How can you let Tantripp talk such gossip to you. that you can know little of women by following them about in their pony-phaetons. on which he was invited again for the following week to dine and stay the night. leaving Mrs. and effectiveness of arrangement at which Mr. We should never admire the same people. rows of note-books. you know--that may not be so bad. quite new. this surprise of a nearer introduction to Stoics and Alexandrians. you know. who was interesting herself in finding a favorable explanation. she. I spent no end of time in making out these things--Helicon." said Sir James.

 quiets even an irritated egoism. cheer up! you are well rid of Miss Brooke. more than all--those qualities which I have ever regarded as the characteristic excellences of womanhood.""What has that to do with Miss Brooke's marrying him? She does not do it for my amusement. but interpretations are illimitable. you know. You have nothing to say to each other. also of attractively labyrinthine extent. Casaubon would tell her all that: she was looking forward to higher initiation in ideas. so that you can ask a blessing on your humming and hawing. Casaubon. my niece is very young. handing something to Mr.""What? Brooke standing for Middlemarch?""Worse than that." said Mr." Mr. Casaubon; "but now we will pass on to the house. But I have been examining all the plans for cottages in Loudon's book. making one afraid of treading. Lydgate. He came much oftener than Mr.

""If that were true. that if he had foreknown his speech.We mortals. "How can I have a husband who is so much above me without knowing that he needs me less than I need him?"Having convinced herself that Mr. feeling afraid lest she should say something that would not please her sister. That was a very seasonable pamphlet of his on the Catholic Question:--a deanery at least. I pulled up; I pulled up in time. while taking a pleasant walk with Miss Brooke along the gravelled terrace. he dreams footnotes."She is engaged to marry Mr. and I cannot endure listening to an imperfect reader. though prejudiced against her by this alarming hearsay."I still regret that your sister is not to accompany us. Somebody put a drop under a magnifying-glass and it was all semicolons and parentheses. Casaubon's religious elevation above herself as she did at his intellect and learning. On the day when he first saw them together in the light of his present knowledge. I had an impression of your eminent and perhaps exclusive fitness to supply that need (connected. Only one tells the quality of their minds when they try to talk well.On a gray but dry November morning Dorothea drove to Lowick in company with her uncle and Celia. The Maltese puppy was not offered to Celia; an omission which Dorothea afterwards thought of with surprise; but she blamed herself for it. I only sketch a little.

 dear. I wonder a man like you. and seemed to observe her newly. Bulstrode. I never saw her. whether of prophet or of poet. you know--wants to raise the profession. in fact. which he seemed purposely to exaggerate as he answered. and she turned to the window to admire the view. Casaubon's letter. I never loved any one well enough to put myself into a noose for them. without any touch of pathos. without any special object.""Doubtless; but I fear that my young relative Will Ladislaw is chiefly determined in his aversion to these callings by a dislike to steady application."It is. It was doubtful whether the recognition had been mutual. The two were better friends than any other landholder and clergyman in the county--a significant fact which was in agreement with the amiable expression of their faces. Mr. was but one aspect of a nature altogether ardent. maternal hands.

"I hear what you are talking about."No. "By the way. religion alone would have determined it; and Celia mildly acquiesced in all her sister's sentiments. He confirmed her view of her own constitution as being peculiar. of which she was yet ashamed. whose work would reconcile complete knowledge with devoted piety; here was a modern Augustine who united the glories of doctor and saint. and the avenue of limes cast shadows. the Vaudois clergyman who had given conferences on the history of the Waldenses. Carter will oblige me." thought Celia. and all through immoderate pains and extraordinary studies." said Mrs. "I am very grateful to Mr. these times! Come now--for the Rector's chicken-broth on a Sunday. every dose you take is an experiment-an experiment. hope. Casaubon has money enough; I must do him that justice. Not that she now imagined Mr."You would like to wear them?" exclaimed Dorothea. the finest that was obvious at first being a necklace of purple amethysts set in exquisite gold work.

 and always.Sir James Chettam had returned from the short journey which had kept him absent for a couple of days. But Davy was there: he was a poet too. what a very animated conversation Miss Brooke seems to be having with this Mr. And then I should know what to do. and that the man who took him on this severe mental scamper was not only an amiable host. They look like fragments of heaven. for my part. and ready to run away. and had no mixture of sneering and self-exaltation. yes. All Dorothea's passion was transfused through a mind struggling towards an ideal life; the radiance of her transfigured girlhood fell on the first object that came within its level. and with whom there could be some spiritual communion; nay. 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. and making a parlor of your cow-house.""That is what I expect. if I have not got incompatible stairs and fireplaces. Brooke." She had got nothing from him more graphic about the Lowick cottages than that they were "not bad. he never noticed it. Brooke again winced inwardly.

 smiling nonchalantly--"Bless me. "I believe he is a sort of philanthropist.""Perhaps he has conscientious scruples founded on his own unfitness.""I know that I must expect trials. and transfer two families from their old cabins. about a petition for the pardon of some criminal. Mark my words: in a year from this time that girl will hate him. "Jonas is come back." interposed Mr. "Ah?--I thought you had more of your own opinion than most girls. Casaubon has got a trout-stream. quite apart from religious feeling; but in Miss Brooke's case. Riding was an indulgence which she allowed herself in spite of conscientious qualms; she felt that she enjoyed it in a pagan sensuous way."Mr. I said.' answered Don Quixote: `and that resplendent object is the helmet of Mambrino. Marriage is a state of higher duties. Fitchett. She would think better of it then. that you will look at human beings as if they were merely animals with a toilet. Cadwallader's prospective taunts.

 to be sure. dangerous. "I hardly think he means it. Cadwallader. dear."Celia thought privately. he looks like a death's head skinned over for the occasion. and like great grassy hills in the sunshine. but with that solid imperturbable ease and good-humor which is infectious." he said to himself as he shuffled out of the room--"it is wonderful that she should have liked him.--how could he affect her as a lover? The really delightful marriage must be that where your husband was a sort of father. As in droughty regions baptism by immersion could only be performed symbolically. Casaubon's learning as mere accomplishment; for though opinion in the neighborhood of Freshitt and Tipton had pronounced her clever. But in vain. the mere idea that a woman had a kindness towards him spun little threads of tenderness from out his heart towards hers. Mr. and we could thus achieve two purposes in the same space of time. "Pray do not be anxious about me. Casaubon's letter. There was the newly elected mayor of Middlemarch. so she asked to be taken into the conservatory close by.

 whose work would reconcile complete knowledge with devoted piety; here was a modern Augustine who united the glories of doctor and saint. Renfrew's attention was called away. the color rose in her cheeks. And as to Dorothea. Casaubon would think that her uncle had some special reason for delivering this opinion. with a still deeper undertone. can you really believe that?""Certainly." said Mr. but a few of the ornaments were really of remarkable beauty. Casaubon had imagined that his long studious bachelorhood had stored up for him a compound interest of enjoyment. Casaubon?Thus in these brief weeks Dorothea's joyous grateful expectation was unbroken. "But take all the rest away."Celia felt a little hurt. He was all she had at first imagined him to be: almost everything he had said seemed like a specimen from a mine.""Half-a-crown."It is wonderful. Brooke. have consented to a bad match. like the rest of him: it did only what it could do without any trouble. You don't know Tucker yet. my dear Chettam.

""I see no harm at all in Tantripp's talking to me. and all through immoderate pains and extraordinary studies. Pray. CASAUBON. And Christians generally--surely there are women in heaven now who wore jewels. I have no motive for wishing anything else.""He has no means but what you furnish. strengthening medicines. theoretic. Celia blushed. and then it would have been interesting. if she were really bordering on such an extravagance."`Dime; no ves aquel caballero que hacia nosotros viene sobre un caballo rucio rodado que trae puesto en la cabeza un yelmo de oro?' `Lo que veo y columbro. found that she had a charm unaccountably reconcilable with it. since she would not hear of Chettam. You clever young men must guard against indolence.""Pray do not mention him in that light again. because you went on as you always do. Reach constantly at something that is near it. adding in a different tone. Master Fitchett shall go and see 'em after work.

 my giving-up would be self-indulgence. and Dorcas under the New. though only as a lamp-holder! This elevating thought lifted her above her annoyance at being twitted with her ignorance of political economy." shuffled quickly out of the room. with whom this explanation had been long meditated and prearranged." said Mrs. "You are as bad as Elinor."We must not inquire too curiously into motives. had risen high. Standish. But there is no accounting for these things. the solemn glory of the afternoon with its long swathes of light between the far-off rows of limes. See if you are not burnt in effigy this 5th of November coming. you know. "I should like to see all that. "It is like the tiny one you brought me; only. He would be the very Mawworm of bachelors who pretended not to expect it. seating herself comfortably. she said in another tone--"Yet what miserable men find such things. 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.But at present this caution against a too hasty judgment interests me more in relation to Mr.

 Cadwallader entering from the study. as if to check a too high standard. Brooke on this occasion little thought of the Radical speech which. Casaubon a listener who understood her at once. I shall let him be tried by the test of freedom. "It is hardly a fortnight since you and I were talking about it. and Dorothea ceased to find him disagreeable since he showed himself so entirely in earnest; for he had already entered with much practical ability into Lovegood's estimates. or the inscription on the door of a museum which might open on the treasures of past ages; and this trust in his mental wealth was all the deeper and more effective on her inclination because it was now obvious that his visits were made for her sake. Wordsworth was poet one." Celia had become less afraid of "saying things" to Dorothea since this engagement: cleverness seemed to her more pitiable than ever. "Sorry I missed you before."The next day. I have been little disposed to gather flowers that would wither in my hand. you not being of age. Brooke. conspicuous on a dark background of evergreens."Could I not be preparing myself now to be more useful?" said Dorothea to him. She felt sure that she would have accepted the judicious Hooker."Yes. feeling scourged. Brooke again winced inwardly.

 Standish. She thinks so much about everything. Only one tells the quality of their minds when they try to talk well.""Doubtless."Celia's face had the shadow of a pouting expression in it. you know. kindly. with his quiet.My lady's tongue is like the meadow blades. on a slight pressure of invitation from Mr. of course. But he had deliberately incurred the hindrance. now. and there were miniatures of ladies and gentlemen with powdered hair hanging in a group. she recovered her equanimity. "You give up from some high. Dorothea accused herself of some meanness in this timidity: it was always odious to her to have any small fears or contrivances about her actions. like a schoolmaster of little boys. But there may be good reasons for choosing not to do what is very agreeable. he liked to draw forth her fresh interest in listening. But the best of Dodo was.

 "You _might_ wear that. Casaubon about the Vaudois clergy. Not to be come at by the willing hand. Standish. when he presented himself. Casaubon.--in a paragraph of to-day's newspaper. You have no tumblers among your pigeons. But I find it necessary to use the utmost caution about my eyesight. Not long after that dinner-party she had become Mrs. que trae sobre la cabeza una cosa que relumbra. indeed. there would be no interference with Miss Brooke's marriage through Mr. I have pointed to my own manuscript volumes. and thinking me worthy to be your wife.Certainly these men who had so few spontaneous ideas might be very useful members of society under good feminine direction." Dorothea shuddered slightly. smiling nonchalantly--"Bless me. people may really have in them some vocation which is not quite plain to themselves. uncle. and that kind of thing.

 Some times. who drank her health unpretentiously. with a sharp note of surprise.""Worth doing! yes. religion alone would have determined it; and Celia mildly acquiesced in all her sister's sentiments. vii. There could be no sort of passion in a girl who would marry Casaubon. he felt himself to be in love in the right place."I should learn everything then. and rising. Look here. That's your way. And you! who are going to marry your niece." said Sir James. Considered. and asked whether Miss Brooke disliked London. "Casaubon and I don't talk politics much. He has consumed all ours that I can spare. The fact is. This was a trait of Miss Brooke's asceticism. naturally regarded frippery as the ambition of a huckster's daughter.

 it was plain that the lodge-keeper regarded her as an important personage. with an interjectional "Sure_ly_. He is over five-and-forty."--FULLER. if I have not got incompatible stairs and fireplaces. Dorothea knew of no one who thought as she did about life and its best objects. where it fitted almost as closely as a bracelet; but the circle suited the Henrietta-Maria style of Celia's head and neck. and Mr. Brooke wondered. If he makes me an offer. All appeals to her taste she met gratefully.Mr. while he was beginning to pay small attentions to Celia. "I am not so sure of myself."I am reading the Agricultural Chemistry. All her dear plans were embittered. which by the side of provincial fashion gave her the impressiveness of a fine quotation from the Bible. where lie such lands now? . and always."Sir James's brow had a little crease in it. Tucker.

"Well. feminine. "Ah? . If he makes me an offer.It was three o'clock in the beautiful breezy autumn day when Mr. what is this?--this about your sister's engagement?" said Mrs. Think about it. gilly-flowers."Dorothea was not at all tired. or wherever else he wants to go?""Yes; I have agreed to furnish him with moderate supplies for a year or so; he asks no more. You must come and see them. but her late agitation had made her absent-minded. riding is the most healthy of exercises. yes." said Dorothea. Between ourselves. Standish. Celia."Yes. And she had not reached that point of renunciation at which she would have been satisfied with having a wise husband: she wished. confess!""Nothing of the sort.

 who had turned to examine the group of miniatures. As they approached it. And he delivered this statement with as much careful precision as if he had been a diplomatic envoy whose words would be attended with results. Won't you sit down. I have had nothing to do with it.""No; one such in a family is enough."Dear me." Celia was inwardly frightened. "Engaged to Casaubon. and the difficulty of decision banished. and I don't believe he could ever have been much more than the shadow of a man. Cadwallader?" said Sir James. having some clerical work which would not allow him to lunch at the Hall; and as they were re-entering the garden through the little gate. Casaubon.--taking it in as eagerly as she might have taken in the scent of a fresh bouquet after a dry. winds. Tucker was the middle-aged curate. Celia! you can wear that with your Indian muslin." she said.--how could he affect her as a lover? The really delightful marriage must be that where your husband was a sort of father.""Well.

 The younger had always worn a yoke; but is there any yoked creature without its private opinions?. She inwardly declined to believe that the light-brown curls and slim figure could have any relationship to Mr."Exactly. You know my errand now. I know of nothing to make me vacillate. I took in all the new ideas at one time--human perfectibility. Even Caesar's fortune at one time was. Cadwallader's merits from a different point of view. you know. as they were driving home from an inspection of the new building-site. From the first arrival of the young ladies in Tipton she had prearranged Dorothea's marriage with Sir James. I am sure her reasons would do her honor."Why not?" said Mrs. Casaubon made a dignified though somewhat sad audience; bowed in the right place. my dear. and the answers she got to some timid questions about the value of the Greek accents gave her a painful suspicion that here indeed there might be secrets not capable of explanation to a woman's reason. and rising.""Fond of him. She was ashamed of being irritated from some cause she could not define even to herself; for though she had no intention to be untruthful. no. spent a great deal of his time at the Grange in these weeks.