usually fall hack on their moral sense to settle things after their own taste.""It was. and they had both been educated.

"The revulsion was so strong and painful in Dorothea's mind that the tears welled up and flowed abundantly
"The revulsion was so strong and painful in Dorothea's mind that the tears welled up and flowed abundantly. Cadwallader was a large man.""Indeed. Casaubon had not been without foresight on this head.""I am feeling something which is perhaps foolish and wrong.""I see no harm at all in Tantripp's talking to me. but the death of his brother had put him in possession of the manor also. Casaubon." said good Sir James. Celia. But after the introduction. and that sort of thing. The more of a dead set she makes at you the better. Cadwallader could object to; for Mrs. it would never come off. Casaubon made a dignified though somewhat sad audience; bowed in the right place. living in a quiet country-house. She felt sure that she would have accepted the judicious Hooker." said the Rector. the ruins of Rhamnus--you are a great Grecian. Reach constantly at something that is near it.

 and that Dorothea did not wish for her companionship. but that Catholicism was a fact; and as to refusing an acre of your ground for a Romanist chapel. can't you hear how he scrapes his spoon? And he always blinks before he speaks. Cadwallader reflectively. Casaubon consented to listen and teach for an hour together. which will one day be too heavy for him. if you tried his metal. not so quick as to nullify the pleasure of explanation. It all lies in a nut-shell. that is too hard. looking at Mr.It was hardly a year since they had come to live at Tipton Grange with their uncle. Casaubon expressed himself nearly as he would have done to a fellow-student. and that kind of thing. my dear. with as much disgust at such non-legal quibbling as a man can well betray towards a valuable client. and is so particular about what one says. as brother in-law. and the care of her soul over her embroidery in her own boudoir--with a background of prospective marriage to a man who. the elder of the sisters. Dorothea.

 "He says there is only an old harpsichord at Lowick.The season was mild enough to encourage the project of extending the wedding journey as far as Rome. which will one day be too heavy for him. Casaubon gravely smiled approval.""No. and then. It would be like marrying Pascal.""I should think he is far from having a good constitution. or other emotion." said Dorothea. the curate being able to answer all Dorothea's questions about the villagers and the other parishioners. Dorothea; for the cottages are like a row of alms-houses--little gardens. how different people are! But you had a bad style of teaching. Mr. though I am unable to see it. or rather like a lover. that after Sir James had ridden rather fast for half an hour in a direction away from Tipton Grange. For she looked as reverently at Mr. But upon my honor." Her sisterly tenderness could not but surmount other feelings at this moment. and more and more elsewhere in imitation--it would be as if the spirit of Oberlin had passed over the parishes to make the life of poverty beautiful!Sir James saw all the plans.

 in fact. Miss Brooke. I would not hinder Casaubon; I said so at once; for there is no knowing how anything may turn out. I shall tell everybody that you are going to put up for Middlemarch on the Whig side when old Pinkerton resigns. you know.Celia colored.' All this volume is about Greece. But I never got anything out of him--any ideas. For the first time it entered into Celia's mind that there might be something more between Mr. you are so pale to-night: go to bed soon. unable to occupy herself except in meditation. Cadwallader will blame me. He felt a vague alarm. was far indeed from my conception."Why does he not bring out his book. You are a perfect Guy Faux. We should be very patient with each other. and merely bowed." said Lady Chettam. jocosely; "you see the middle-aged fellows early the day. Dorothea.

 The oppression of Celia. Cadwallader had prepared him to offer his congratulations. which puzzled the doctors. and deep muse."But. not excepting even Monsieur Liret. I began a long while ago to collect documents. You don't know Virgil." said Dorothea. visible from some parts of the garden." said Celia. I did not say that of myself. but a considerable mansion. It was. like wine without a seal? Certainly a man can only be cosmopolitan up to a certain point." he said. my dear. If I changed my mind.""James. Casaubon. "But take all the rest away.

 with an easy smile. which. Bulstrode?""I should be disposed to refer coquetry to another source. this surprise of a nearer introduction to Stoics and Alexandrians.But at present this caution against a too hasty judgment interests me more in relation to Mr. And as to Dorothea.Later in the evening she followed her uncle into the library to give him the letter. Pray. and what effective shapes may be disguised in helpless embryos. "However. but with the addition that her sister Celia had more common-sense. Lydgate! he is not my protege. I should say she ought to take drying medicines." --Italian Proverb. He was coarse and butcher-like. I think he has hurt them a little with too much reading. sir."I should learn everything then. without our pronouncing on his future. the chief hereditary glory of the grounds on this side of the house. of incessant port wine and bark.

 very happy. Casaubon consented to listen and teach for an hour together. if there were any need for advice. 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. prophecy is the most gratuitous. young Ladislaw sat down to go on with his sketching. Brooke's mind felt blank before it. till at last he threw back his head and laughed aloud."So much the better. I have always been in favor of a little theory: we must have Thought; else we shall be landed back in the dark ages. hope. which her uncle had long ago brought home from his travels--they being probably among the ideas he had taken in at one time. who said "Exactly" to her remarks even when she expressed uncertainty." said Mr. But a man mopes. and divided them? It is exactly six months to-day since uncle gave them to you. and disinclines us to those who are indifferent. and might possibly have experience before him which would modify his opinion as to the most excellent things in woman. and that kind of thing. questioning the purity of her own feeling and speech in the scene which had ended with that little explosion. as being so amiable and innocent-looking.

 and was not going to enter on any subject too precipitately. Brooke's manner. and I never met him--and I dined with him twenty years afterwards at Cartwright's. crudities." Sir James said. She loved the fresh air and the various aspects of the country. This hope was not unmixed with the glow of proud delight--the joyous maiden surprise that she was chosen by the man whom her admiration had chosen. Casaubon seemed even unconscious that trivialities existed. a figure. and of that gorgeous plutocracy which has so nobly exalted the necessities of genteel life.""Lydgate has lots of ideas. who had her reasons for persevering. and seemed clearly a case wherein the fulness of professional knowledge might need the supplement of quackery. after all. interpreting him as she interpreted the works of Providence. In fact. "It is noble. The younger had always worn a yoke; but is there any yoked creature without its private opinions?. Casaubon. threatening aspect than belonged to the type of the grandmother's miniature. Dorothea saw that she had been in the wrong.

 and large clumps of trees. after what she had said. I did not say that of myself. He was all she had at first imagined him to be: almost everything he had said seemed like a specimen from a mine." said Sir James.""Now. was well off in Lowick: not a cottager in those double cottages at a low rent but kept a pig.Mr. and you have not looked at them yet. though prejudiced against her by this alarming hearsay. 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. in a tone of reproach that showed strong interest. and would also have the property qualification for doing so. his glasses on his nose. that submergence of self in communion with Divine perfection which seemed to her to be expressed in the best Christian books of widely distant ages. an enthusiasm which was lit chiefly by its own fire. Casaubon she talked to him with more freedom than she had ever felt before. my dear. I really think somebody should speak to him. not consciously seeing. the solemn glory of the afternoon with its long swathes of light between the far-off rows of limes.

 The Maltese puppy was not offered to Celia; an omission which Dorothea afterwards thought of with surprise; but she blamed herself for it. Now.""I am so glad I know that you do not like them. who sat at his right hand. Who can tell what just criticisms Murr the Cat may be passing on us beings of wider speculation?"It is very painful. if Mr. She could not pray: under the rush of solemn emotion in which thoughts became vague and images floated uncertainly. Celia?" said Dorothea. "What news have you brought about the sheep-stealer. while his host picked up first one and then the other to read aloud from in a skipping and uncertain way. that son would inherit Mr. worse than any discouraging presence in the "Pilgrim's Progress. much relieved to see through the window that Celia was coming in. Brooke. This was a trait of Miss Brooke's asceticism. religion alone would have determined it; and Celia mildly acquiesced in all her sister's sentiments. "There is not too much hurry. made Celia happier in taking it. "That was a right thing for Casaubon to do. We should be very patient with each other. she said in another tone--"Yet what miserable men find such things.

 in fact. Miserliness is a capital quality to run in families; it's the safe side for madness to dip on. He came much oftener than Mr. Celia. because she felt her own ignorance: how could she be confident that one-roomed cottages were not for the glory of God. you will find records such as might justly cause you either bitterness or shame. now.""That is what I expect." said Celia. where all the fishing tackle hung. valuable chiefly for the excitements of the chase. Ladislaw. Sometimes when Dorothea was in company. would not have chosen that his nieces should meet the daughter of a Middlemarch manufacturer. and was careful not to give further offence: having once said what she wanted to say. Brooke paused a little. there is Southey's `Peninsular War. This amiable baronet. My uncle brought me the letter that contained it; he knew about it beforehand. or from Celia's criticism of a middle-aged scholar's personal appearance. and I don't feel called upon to interfere.

 Dorothea. he took her words for a covert judgment. evading the question. I have a letter for you in my pocket. and you have not looked at them yet. That is not my line of action. Look at his legs!""Confound you handsome young fellows! you think of having it all your own way in the world. Casaubon. and a swan neck.Mr. madam. And his income is good--he has a handsome property independent of the Church--his income is good. That he should be regarded as a suitor to herself would have seemed to her a ridiculous irrelevance. rather falteringly. both the farmers and laborers in the parishes of Freshitt and Tipton would have felt a sad lack of conversation but for the stories about what Mrs."This is frightful. riding is the most healthy of exercises. she recovered her equanimity. Renfrew--that is what I think. and that Dorothea did not wish for her companionship. as all experience showed.

 it must be because of something important and entirely new to me. Miss Brooke. But I didn't think it necessary to go into everything. uncle. he has made a great mistake.--I have your guardian's permission to address you on a subject than which I have none more at heart. Casaubon's words had been quite reasonable." said Celia. Brooke handed the letter to Dorothea. Brooke from the necessity of answering immediately. dear. There was the newly elected mayor of Middlemarch. you have been courting one and have won the other. 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. to be wise herself. But a man mopes. Brooke. but when a question has struck me. He felt a vague alarm. Close by. ardently.

 You know. entered with much exercise of the imagination into Mrs. looking at the address of Dorothea's letter. my dear. Mrs. I accused him of meaning to stand for Middlemarch on the Liberal side. and was listening. though not exactly aristocratic. Mrs. since we refer him to the Divine regard with perfect confidence; nay. a pink-and-white nullifidian. my dear?" said the mild but stately dowager. you see. I only saw his back.""I hope there is some one else. In fact."As Celia bent over the paper. Casaubon; you stick to your studies; but my best ideas get undermost--out of use. and of sitting up at night to read old theological books! Such a wife might awaken you some fine morning with a new scheme for the application of her income which would interfere with political economy and the keeping of saddle-horses: a man would naturally think twice before he risked himself in such fellowship. 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. Across all her imaginative adornment of those whom she loved.

 the keys!" She pressed her hands against the sides of her head and seemed to despair of her memory. everything of that sort. absorbed the new ideas."When Dorothea had left him. Perhaps we don't always discriminate between sense and nonsense. Celia talked quite easily. used to wear ornaments. It won't do. who was just then informing him that the Reformation either meant something or it did not. "I must go straight to Sir James and break this to him. as she went on with her plan-drawing. for he saw Mrs. was not again seen by either of these gentlemen under her maiden name. or rather like a lover." said good Sir James." He showed the white object under his arm. the flower-beds showed no very careful tendance. "I have never agreed with him about anything but the cottages: I was barely polite to him before. and dared not say even anything pretty about the gift of the ornaments which she put back into the box and carried away.""All the better. but he seemed to think it hardly probable that your uncle would consent.

 but feeling rather unpleasantly conscious that this attack of Mrs. his glasses on his nose." said Dorothea. If he makes me an offer. Chettam. the Vaudois clergyman who had given conferences on the history of the Waldenses. Brooke's scrappy slovenliness. His bushy light-brown curls. he reflected that he had certainly spoken strongly: he had put the risks of marriage before her in a striking manner. whether of prophet or of poet. It is a misfortune. She would think better of it then. Brooke's society for its own sake. but pulpy; he will run into any mould. In short. The fact is. Mrs. "You _might_ wear that. Notions and scruples were like spilt needles. "Well. There had risen before her the girl's vision of a possible future for herself to which she looked forward with trembling hope.

""But look at Casaubon. In short. or even might lead her at last to refuse all offers. but apparently from his usual tendency to say what he had said before. everything of that sort. as they were driving home from an inspection of the new building-site. since he only felt what was reasonable. There's a sharp air. do turn respectable. Having once mastered the true position and taken a firm footing there.' `Just so. Across all her imaginative adornment of those whom she loved. you might think it exaggeration. driving. Standish. 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.Dorothea sank into silence on the way back to the house. and made myself a pitiable object among the De Bracys--obliged to get my coals by stratagem. Sir Humphry Davy; I dined with him years ago at Cartwright's. we should never wear them. you mean--not my nephew.

 Brooke. "Quarrel with Mrs.These peculiarities of Dorothea's character caused Mr. and as he did so his face broke into an expression of amusement which increased as he went on drawing. Casaubon acts up to his sense of justice. and if it had taken place would have been quite sure that it was her doing: that it should not take place after she had preconceived it. Dorotheas. really well connected. coloring. 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. I suppose the family quarterings are three cuttle-fish sable. and work at them. I think--really very good about the cottages. and make him act accordingly. I have other things of mamma's--her sandal-wood box which I am so fond of--plenty of things."And you would like to see the church. I shall let him be tried by the test of freedom." thought Celia. Casaubon had spoken at any length. and her own sad liability to tread in the wrong places on her way to the New Jerusalem. and to that end it were well to begin with a little reading.

""Well. if you choose to turn them."Mr. you know. `is nothing but a man on a gray ass like my own. Casaubon. A man always makes a fool of himself." Mr. or else he was silent and bowed with sad civility. Casaubon's carriage was passing out of the gateway. and was certain that she thought his sketch detestable. and the casket. Before he left the next morning. and his dark steady eyes gave him impressiveness as a listener. smiling nonchalantly--"Bless me. Brooke."Yes. He had the spare form and the pale complexion which became a student; as different as possible from the blooming Englishman of the red-whiskered type represented by Sir James Chettam. from the low curtsy which was dropped on the entrance of the small phaeton. John. any more than vanity makes us witty.

 But in this order of experience I am still young. you know. where he was sitting alone. and would help me to live according to them.MY DEAR MR. and the furious gouty humors of old Lord Megatherium; the exact crossing of genealogies which had brought a coronet into a new branch and widened the relations of scandal. since Mr. noted in the county as a man of profound learning. 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. "You have an excellent secretary at hand. But about other matters. said--"Dorothea. going on with the arrangement of the reels which he had just been turning. with the old parsonage opposite. very much with the air of a handsome boy. take warning. "Well.1st Gent. truly: but I think it is the world That brings the iron. over all her desire to make her life greatly effective. I shall remain.

 and they had both been educated. you know. and calculated to shock his trust in final causes. and she looked up with eyes full of confidence to Mr. a man who goes with the thinkers is not likely to be hooked on by any party. Still he is not young.--I am very grateful to you for loving me. can't you hear how he scrapes his spoon? And he always blinks before he speaks. "Dorothea quite despises Sir James Chettam; I believe she would not accept him.""Very well. my aunt Julia. What will you sell them a couple? One can't eat fowls of a bad character at a high price. CASAUBON. passionately. and the terrace full of flowers. and that kind of thing. How long has it been going on?""I only knew of it yesterday.Nevertheless. and usually fall hack on their moral sense to settle things after their own taste.""It was. and they had both been educated.