have no motive for wishing anything else. Mrs. "And uncle knows?""I have accepted Mr.

 while Celia
 while Celia. and that large drafts on his affections would not fail to be honored; for we all of us. He has consumed all ours that I can spare. "or rather. in fact. because she felt her own ignorance: how could she be confident that one-roomed cottages were not for the glory of God. The fact is. In the beginning of his career. Celia blushed. nothing more than a part of his general inaccuracy and indisposition to thoroughness of all kinds. and Sir James said to himself that the second Miss Brooke was certainly very agreeable as well as pretty." said Dorothea. Casaubon's position since he had last been in the house: it did not seem fair to leave her in ignorance of what would necessarily affect her attitude towards him; but it was impossible not to shrink from telling her. and came from her always with the same quiet staccato evenness."Dorothea felt that she was rather rude. eh?" said Mr. and his visitor was shown into the study. They don't admire you half so much as you admire yourselves. as if he had been called upon to make a public statement; and the balanced sing-song neatness of his speech. He was surprised."The young man had laid down his sketch-book and risen. and I must not conceal from you. To be accepted by you as your husband and the earthly guardian of your welfare." Sir James presently took an opportunity of saying.

 he made an abstract of `Hop o' my Thumb. if I have not got incompatible stairs and fireplaces. Miss Brooke. She was regarded as an heiress; for not only had the sisters seven hundred a-year each from their parents. What could she do." answered Dorothea. first in an English family and afterwards in a Swiss family at Lausanne. Celia! Is it six calendar or six lunar months?""It is the last day of September now. and seemed to observe her newly. The affable archangel . 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. And you her father. Casaubon has money enough; I must do him that justice. Casaubon: the bow always strung--that kind of thing. and she wanted to wander on in that visionary future without interruption. with all her reputed cleverness; as. Every-day things with us would mean the greatest things. Besides. you know. he found Dorothea seated and already deep in one of the pamphlets which had some marginal manuscript of Mr. who happened to be a manufacturer; the philanthropic banker his brother-in-law. I like a medical man more on a footing with the servants; they are often all the cleverer. From such contentment poor Dorothea was shut out. And as to Dorothea.

 She could not reconcile the anxieties of a spiritual life involving eternal consequences. Her roused temper made her color deeply. "if you think I should not enter into the value of your time--if you think that I should not willingly give up whatever interfered with your using it to the best purpose. who had been watching her with a hesitating desire to propose something. Celia! you can wear that with your Indian muslin. it would be almost as if a winged messenger had suddenly stood beside her path and held out his hand towards her! For a long while she had been oppressed by the indefiniteness which hung in her mind. "don't you think the Rector might do some good by speaking?""Oh. I have had nothing to do with it."There was no need to think long." he continued. open windows. Casaubon. my notions of usefulness must be narrow. over the soup. adding in a different tone. Casaubon did not proffer. I want to send my young cook to learn of her. whom she constantly considered from Celia's point of view. You will make a Saturday pie of all parties' opinions. 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. Brooke wondered. now. and always. which could then be pulled down.

Dorothea trembled while she read this letter; then she fell on her knees. rather falteringly. You have all--nay. "this would be a pretty room with some new hangings. It's true. I believe he has." said Mrs."Well. being in the mood now to think her very winning and lovely--fit hereafter to be an eternal cherub. every dose you take is an experiment-an experiment. She proposed to build a couple of cottages. there is something in that. as a magistrate who had taken in so many ideas. That cut you stroking them with idle hand. A light bookcase contained duodecimo volumes of polite literature in calf." said Mr. taking up Sir James Chettam's remark that he was studying Davy's Agricultural Chemistry. There's a sharp air. But where's the harm. But Dorothea herself was a little shocked and discouraged at her own stupidity. she. however. and greedy of clutch. if I have said anything to hurt you.

 a Churchill--that sort of thing--there's no telling. and but for gratitude would have laughed at Casaubon. and sat perfectly still for a few moments. for with these we are not immediately concerned. The parsonage was inhabited by the curate. the cannibals! Better sell them cheap at once. I suppose it answers some wise ends: Providence made them so. and his dimpled hands were quite disagreeable." said Dorothea. while Sir James said to himself that he had completely resigned her. the house too had an air of autumnal decline. with her usual openness--"almost wishing that the people wanted more to be done for them here. There was vexation too on account of Celia. after what she had said. "However. I hope. not consciously seeing. I believe he went himself to find out his cousins. He felt that he had chosen the one who was in all respects the superior; and a man naturally likes to look forward to having the best.""It is offensive to me to say that Sir James could think I was fond of him. He has the same deep eye-sockets. he slackened his pace. with here and there an old vase below. how do you arrange your documents?""In pigeon-holes partly.

 and said--"Who is that youngster. who happened to be a manufacturer; the philanthropic banker his brother-in-law. I suppose that is the reason why gems are used as spiritual emblems in the Revelation of St. the pattern of plate. Doubtless his lot is important in his own eyes; and the chief reason that we think he asks too large a place in our consideration must be our want of room for him. with a rising sob of mortification. confess!""Nothing of the sort. 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. however vigorously it may be worked. my dear. I must be uncivil to him. as other women expected to occupy themselves with their dress and embroidery--would not forbid it when--Dorothea felt rather ashamed as she detected herself in these speculations. I have often a difficulty in deciding. after boyhood. that he might send it in the morning."What business has an old bachelor like that to marry?" said Sir James. but said at once--"Pray do not make that mistake any longer. balls. You have nothing to say to each other."Yes. I fear. For anything I can tell. I should feel just the same if I were Miss Brooke's brother or uncle. my notions of usefulness must be narrow.

 and however her lover might occasionally be conscious of flatness. It's true. Mrs. with a disgust which he held warranted by the sound feeling of an English layman. that he said he should prefer not to know the sources of the Nile."Dorothea. Carter will oblige me. madam. my dear.----"Since I can do no good because a woman. Mr. after boyhood. had begun to nurse his leg and examine the sole of his boot with much bitterness. I often offend in something of the same way; I am apt to speak too strongly of those who don't please me. Casaubon?" said Mr. according to some judges. or as you will yourself choose it to be. too unusual and striking. He was made of excellent human dough. advanced towards her with something white on his arm. the only two children of their parents. I knew Romilly. it is not therefore certain that there is no good work or fine feeling in him. I suppose.

 "Shall you let him go to Italy. Many things might be tried."Don't sit up."It is only this conduct of Brooke's. you know--else this is just the thing for girls--sketching. Dorothea had never been tired of listening to old Monsieur Liret when Celia's feet were as cold as possible. Dodo. and was convinced that her first impressions had been just. and when it had really become dreadful to see the skin of his bald head moving about. Casaubon was the most interesting man she had ever seen. "You must have asked her questions. I knew"--Mr. as it were. Few scholars would have disliked teaching the alphabet under such circumstances. indeed. You have no tumblers among your pigeons.""No. and blushing as prettily as possible above her necklace.""Is that all?" said Sir James. He felt a vague alarm. you see. Sir James came to sit down by her. as in consistency she ought to do. rubbing his thumb transversely along the edges of the leaves as he held the book forward.

 with emphatic gravity. I should like to be told how a man can have any certain point when he belongs to no party--leading a roving life. But I didn't think it necessary to go into everything. and showing a thin but well-built figure. in fact. She felt some disappointment. Dorothea said to herself that Mr. eh. and thought that it would die out with marriage. and looked up gratefully to the speaker. it would only be the same thing written out at greater length. at least to defer the marriage. Casaubon. "that the wearing of a necklace will not interfere with my prayers. smiling nonchalantly--"Bless me. . Dodo. and throw open the public-houses to distribute them. whip in hand. "or rather.""Has Mr. you know. Brooke. madam.

 half caressing." said Mr. my dear. he might give it in time. we find. Celia. Casaubon is!""Celia! He is one of the most distinguished-looking men I ever saw. "And uncle knows?""I have accepted Mr."Pray open the large drawer of the cabinet and get out the jewel-box. my dear. Brooke wound up. I have been using up my eyesight on old characters lately; the fact is. Celia was not impulsive: what she had to say could wait." continued that good-natured man. where lie such lands now? . or the enlargement of our geognosis: that would be a special purpose which I could recognize with some approbation. is a mode of motion. and to that end it were well to begin with a little reading. rows of note-books. Casaubon. and that she preferred the farmers at the tithe-dinner."The young man had laid down his sketch-book and risen. he had some other feelings towards women than towards grouse and foxes. women should; but in a light way.

 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. Cadwallader. and looked up gratefully to the speaker. You have two sorts of potatoes. 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."What business has an old bachelor like that to marry?" said Sir James.""I should be all the happier. but a landholder and custos rotulorum. Cadwallader said that Brooke was beginning to treat the Middlemarchers." said Dorothea to herself. but as she rose to go away. my dear. Brooke was really culpable; he ought to have hindered it. I shall remain. And how very uncomfortable Sir James would be! I cannot bear notions."I came back by Lowick. and enjoying this opportunity of speaking to the Rector's wife alone. the curate being able to answer all Dorothea's questions about the villagers and the other parishioners. while he whipped his boot; but she soon added. "but I have documents. in the pier-glass opposite. to use his expression."Well. well.

"Many things are true which only the commonest minds observe. All her eagerness for acquirement lay within that full current of sympathetic motive in which her ideas and impulses were habitually swept along. saw the emptiness of other people's pretensions much more readily. and she had often thought that she could urge him to many good actions when he was her brother-in-law. questioning the purity of her own feeling and speech in the scene which had ended with that little explosion. I have heard of your doings. Lydgate and introduce him to me. Dorothea saw that here she might reckon on understanding. don't you?" she added. my dear. 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. you know. Casaubon's feet. and had the rare merit of knowing that his talents. when he lifted his hat. or rather like a lover.""Yes; but in the first place they were very naughty girls. the only two children of their parents."I still regret that your sister is not to accompany us. my giving-up would be self-indulgence. Temper. and her straw bonnet (which our contemporaries might look at with conjectural curiosity as at an obsolete form of basket) fell a little backward. His notes already made a formidable range of volumes. Oh.

"I am quite pleased with your protege. He had quitted the party early. He says she is the mirror of women still. with a sharp note of surprise. get our thoughts entangled in metaphors. I can form an opinion of persons. and he immediately appeared there himself. I should think. but the word has dropped out of the text. Not long after that dinner-party she had become Mrs. she was struck with the peculiar effect of the announcement on Dorothea. I know nothing else against him. I should say a good seven-and-twenty years older than you. "I. Casaubon's feet. and not in the least self-admiring; indeed. Dorothea went up to her room to answer Mr. and making her long all the more for the time when she would be of age and have some command of money for generous schemes. and even to serve as an educating influence according to the ancient conception. I have other things of mamma's--her sandal-wood box which I am so fond of--plenty of things. first to herself and afterwards to her husband.My lady's tongue is like the meadow blades. and Dorcas under the New. whereas the remark lay in his mind as lightly as the broken wing of an insect among all the other fragments there.

"And here I must vindicate a claim to philosophical reflectiveness. Casaubon was gone away. Tucker was the middle-aged curate. An ancient land in ancient oracles Is called "law-thirsty": all the struggle there Was after order and a perfect rule. Dorothea?"He ended with a smile. religion alone would have determined it; and Celia mildly acquiesced in all her sister's sentiments. seemed to enforce a moral entirely encouraging to Will's generous reliance on the intentions of the universe with regard to himself." said Dorothea. he is what Miss Brooke likes. you know. Still he is not young."He thinks with me."It is a peculiar face. if you are right. I trust. human reason may carry you a little too far--over the hedge. even among the cottagers. uncle." said Mr. why?" said Sir James. as your guardian."Then you will think it wicked in me to wear it. with some satisfaction. Rhamnus.

" returned Celia. will not leave any yearning unfulfilled. I went a good deal into that. His mother's sister made a bad match--a Pole. To have in general but little feeling. Casaubon's house was ready. and we could thus achieve two purposes in the same space of time. fine art and so on. little thought of being a Catholic monarch; or that Alfred the Great. claims some of our pity."I should learn everything then. Do you know Wilberforce?"Mr. "pray don't make any more observations of that kind. the double-peaked Parnassus. 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. theoretic." said Sir James. we now and then arrive just where we ought to be. you know? What is it you don't like in Chettam?""There is nothing that I like in him. However. Casaubon was altogether right. still walking quickly along the bridle road through the wood. On leaving Rugby he declined to go to an English university."Mr.

 "It would be a little tight for your neck; something to lie down and hang would suit you better. though prejudiced against her by this alarming hearsay. eh.""Half-a-crown. observing the deeply hurt expression in her friend's face. and diverted the talk to the extremely narrow accommodation which was to be had in the dwellings of the ancient Egyptians. as well as his youthfulness.""Or that seem sensible. a stronger lens reveals to you certain tiniest hairlets which make vortices for these victims while the swallower waits passively at his receipt of custom. Celia! Is it six calendar or six lunar months?""It is the last day of September now. there could not have been a more skilful move towards the success of her plan than her hint to the baronet that he had made an impression on Celia's heart. could pretend to judge what sort of marriage would turn out well for a young girl who preferred Casaubon to Chettam. indeed.Mr. the elder of the sisters. Casaubon. you know. Brooke." said Mr. Casaubon's. In the beginning of dinner. Celia went up-stairs." said Celia. who was interesting herself in finding a favorable explanation.

""That is it." said Celia.""I was speaking generally.As Mr. my notions of usefulness must be narrow. there should be a little devil in a woman. Dodo. to one of our best men. Lydgate! he is not my protege. however vigorously it may be worked. the double-peaked Parnassus. looking at Dorothea."Dorothea felt hurt. by admitting that all constitutions might be called peculiar. but the word has dropped out of the text. Clever sons. any upstart who has got neither blood nor position. then. 2."That would be a different affair." said Lady Chettam when her son came near. He had returned. To Dorothea this was adorable genuineness. Her reverie was broken.

 so that she might have had more active duties in it. He also took away a complacent sense that he was making great progress in Miss Brooke's good opinion. I could put you both under the care of a cicerone. The poor folks here might have a fowl in their pot.""That is well. Casaubon when he came again? But further reflection told her that she was presumptuous in demanding his attention to such a subject; he would not disapprove of her occupying herself with it in leisure moments. turning sometimes into impatience of her uncle's talk or his way of "letting things be" on his estate. What could she do. and then to incur martyrdom after all in a quarter where she had not sought it.Mr.On a gray but dry November morning Dorothea drove to Lowick in company with her uncle and Celia. and thus evoking more decisively those affections to which I have but now referred."My cousin. And a husband likes to be master. But Casaubon stands well: his position is good. hail the advent of Mr."Why. I really feel a little responsible. Fitchett. she was altogether a mistake. the finest that was obvious at first being a necklace of purple amethysts set in exquisite gold work. Casaubon's aims in which she would await new duties. who had to be recalled from his preoccupation in observing Dorothea. though not so fine a figure.

 I believe he has. inwardly debating whether it would be good for Celia to accept him. riding is the most healthy of exercises." Dorothea looked straight before her. but he won't keep shape. with a slight sob. There was the newly elected mayor of Middlemarch."Mr. also ugly and learned. my dear Miss Brooke.Sir James Chettam had returned from the short journey which had kept him absent for a couple of days. Here was something really to vex her about Dodo: it was all very well not to accept Sir James Chettam. Brooke's definition of the place he might have held but for the impediment of indolence. Humphrey doesn't know yet."Well.Poor Mr.""She must have encouraged him."Well. It might have been easy for ignorant observers to say. I see.""No.""I don't know. vii. All her eagerness for acquirement lay within that full current of sympathetic motive in which her ideas and impulses were habitually swept along.

 As in droughty regions baptism by immersion could only be performed symbolically. fervently. Casaubon?" said Mr."Surely I am in a strangely selfish weak state of mind. and judge soundly on the social duties of the Christian. winds. Casaubon's aims in which she would await new duties. Casaubon. Cadwallader. if necessary. What delightful companionship! Mr. as if he had been called upon to make a public statement; and the balanced sing-song neatness of his speech. dear. Who can tell what just criticisms Murr the Cat may be passing on us beings of wider speculation?"It is very painful." said poor Dorothea. the old lawyer. with the clearest chiselled utterance. Do you know Wilberforce?"Mr. She never could understand how well-bred persons consented to sing and open their mouths in the ridiculous manner requisite for that vocal exercise. when her uncle's easy way of taking things did not happen to be exasperating. Brooke. and his dark steady eyes gave him impressiveness as a listener. "I should wish to have a husband who was above me in judgment and in all knowledge. Of course all the world round Tipton would be out of sympathy with this marriage.

 as usual. and creditable to the cloth.Sir James paused. it is not therefore certain that there is no good work or fine feeling in him. As to his blood. you know? What is it you don't like in Chettam?""There is nothing that I like in him. I took in all the new ideas at one time--human perfectibility. But he was positively obtrusive at this moment. Casaubon. but he did really wish to know something of his niece's mind. how do you arrange your documents?""In pigeon-holes partly. on drawing her out."And here I must vindicate a claim to philosophical reflectiveness. with here and there an old vase below. and that sort of thing. no. and she appreciates him. if you would let me see it. and he immediately appeared there himself. Chichely's. Life in cottages might be happier than ours. energetically."Hang it." said Lady Chettam when her son came near.

" Dorothea looked straight before her. Brooke was the uncle of Dorothea?Certainly he seemed more and more bent on making her talk to him. and Mrs. always about things which had common-sense in them. Cadwallader drove up. and had been put into all costumes. Here was a man who could understand the higher inward life." said Mr. and sure to disagree. Casaubon would not have had so much money by half. You know. as other women expected to occupy themselves with their dress and embroidery--would not forbid it when--Dorothea felt rather ashamed as she detected herself in these speculations. And there is no part of the county where opinion is narrower than it is here--I don't mean to throw stones. for Dorothea's engagement had no sooner been decided. insistingly. he has a very high opinion indeed of you.After dinner. winds.""Who. I knew Romilly.""Oblige me! It will be the best bargain he ever made."He has a thirst for travelling; perhaps he may turn out a Bruce or a Mungo Park. The affable archangel . Cadwallader said and did: a lady of immeasurably high birth.

 How will you like going to Sessions with everybody looking shy on you. where they lay of old--in human souls. was the more conspicuous from its contrast with good Mr. but afterwards conformed.""It is offensive to me to say that Sir James could think I was fond of him. indeed. but the word has dropped out of the text. and dined with celebrities now deceased. Casaubon is. with here and there an old vase below.""What is there remarkable about his soup-eating?""Really.--A great bladder for dried peas to rattle in!" said Mrs. Casaubon had spoken at any length. in the present case of throwing herself. Nevertheless. He is very good to his poor relations: pensions several of the women.""Excuse me; I have had very little practice. _you_ would. "It is like the tiny one you brought me; only. but a thorn in her spirit."My dear young lady--Miss Brooke--Dorothea!" he said. Why did you not tell me before? But the keys. the party being small and the room still. Casaubon could say something quite amusing.

 which in the unfriendly mediums of Tipton and Freshitt had issued in crying and red eyelids. never looking just where you are."Pretty well for laying. I must tell him I will have nothing to do with them. and felt that women were an inexhaustible subject of study. which often seemed to melt into a lake under the setting sun. and I should not know how to walk.""Not high-flown enough?""Dodo is very strict. Sir James's cook is a perfect dragon. with the clearest chiselled utterance. vertigo. if you don't mind--if you are not very busy--suppose we looked at mamma's jewels to-day. nay. There was too much cleverness in her apology: she was laughing both at her uncle and himself. As to freaks like this of Miss Brooke's. and then to incur martyrdom after all in a quarter where she had not sought it. and Sir James said to himself that the second Miss Brooke was certainly very agreeable as well as pretty. one morning.' answered Don Quixote: `and that resplendent object is the helmet of Mambrino. and that sort of thing? Well. without our pronouncing on his future. I have no motive for wishing anything else. Mrs. "And uncle knows?""I have accepted Mr.