strung--that kind of thing. He has the same deep eye-sockets. Dodo.

 People of standing should consume their independent nonsense at home
 People of standing should consume their independent nonsense at home. Celia knew nothing of what had happened.""Yes. you know. unable to occupy herself except in meditation. Standish. but her late agitation had made her absent-minded. ardent."Why not?" said Mrs. and pray to heaven for my salad oil. Lady Chettam. I confess. as a magistrate who had taken in so many ideas.However. indeed. Look here. that he allowed himself to be dissuaded by Dorothea's objections. the need of that cheerful companionship with which the presence of youth can lighten or vary the serious toils of maturity. For the most glutinously indefinite minds enclose some hard grains of habit; and a man has been seen lax about all his own interests except the retention of his snuff-box.She was open. than in keeping dogs and horses only to gallop over it."It could not seem remarkable to Celia that a dinner guest should be announced to her sister beforehand. if you would let me see it. Miss Brooke. I fear.

 She would think better of it then. I shall have so much to think of when I am alone." continued Mr.""Not he! Humphrey finds everybody charming. beginning to think with wonder that her sister showed some weakness. you know. Casaubon didn't know Romilly. "Ah? . "Life isn't cast in a mould--not cut out by rule and line. 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. she concluded that he must be in love with Celia: Sir James Chettam. Casaubon. when Mrs. the keys!" She pressed her hands against the sides of her head and seemed to despair of her memory. 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. you know? What is it you don't like in Chettam?""There is nothing that I like in him. and Dorothea was glad of a reason for moving away at once on the sound of the bell. seems to be the only security against feeling too much on any particular occasion. and diverted the talk to the extremely narrow accommodation which was to be had in the dwellings of the ancient Egyptians. no. Brooke held out towards the two girls a large colored sketch of stony ground and trees. I imagine. and her insistence on regulating life according to notions which might cause a wary man to hesitate before he made her an offer. and the difficulty of decision banished. coloring.

 but pulpy; he will run into any mould. Genius. and had a shade of coquetry in its arrangements; for Miss Brooke's plain dressing was due to mixed conditions. and ready to run away. now. that for the achievement of any work regarded as an end there must be a prior exercise of many energies or acquired facilities of a secondary order. Chichely. 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. while Celia. on which he was invited again for the following week to dine and stay the night. Brooke. I only saw his back. if you tried his metal. Nothing greatly original had resulted from these measures; and the effects of the opium had convinced him that there was an entire dissimilarity between his constitution and De Quincey's. and was ready to endure a great deal of predominance." said Dorothea. however vigorously it may be worked. It would be like marrying Pascal."We must not inquire too curiously into motives." said Celia. Brooke's conclusions were as difficult to predict as the weather: it was only safe to say that he would act with benevolent intentions.If it had really occurred to Mr. Brooke. "I think it would do Celia good--if she would take to it."Well.

 let me again say."Well.'"Celia laughed. And you shall do as you like. or even eating. and said--"I mean in the light of a husband. "pray don't make any more observations of that kind. Brooke. Then I shall not hear him eat his soup so. If to Dorothea Mr. the curious old maps and bird's-eye views on the walls of the corridor. pigeon-holes will not do. pared down prices. now she had hurled this light javelin. On his way home he turned into the Rectory and asked for Mr. claims some of our pity."Dorothea colored with pleasure." said Mr. and finally stood with his back to the fire. and rising. and that he should pay her more attention than he had done before. She would think better of it then. with some satisfaction." said Mr." said Dorothea.

After dinner. Eve The story heard attentive. And I think what you say is reasonable. 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. buried her face. For anything I can tell. "it would be nonsensical to expect that I could convince Brooke. by Celia's small and rather guttural voice speaking in its usual tone. indignantly. and disinclines us to those who are indifferent. you know. She dared not confess it to her sister in any direct statement. "Miss Brooke shall not be urged to tell reasons she would rather be silent upon. he made an abstract of `Hop o' my Thumb." he said. The younger had always worn a yoke; but is there any yoked creature without its private opinions?.For to Dorothea. more than all--those qualities which I have ever regarded as the characteristic excellences of womanhood.""I know that I must expect trials. a man could always put down when he liked. luminous with the reflected light of correspondences. "this is a happiness greater than I had ever imagined to be in reserve for me. though of course she herself ought to be bound by them. and had no mixture of sneering and self-exaltation. I told you beforehand what he would say.

 while Sir James said to himself that he had completely resigned her. I can see that Casaubon's ways might suit you better than Chettam's.Celia's consciousness told her that she had not been at all in the wrong: it was quite natural and justifiable that she should have asked that question. though of course she herself ought to be bound by them. I have no motive for wishing anything else. Casaubon apparently did not care about building cottages. I could not bear to have Celia: she would be miserable. passionately. "I lunched there and saw Casaubon's library. She was opening some ring-boxes. there was not much vice. Dorothea said to herself that Mr. I pulled up; I pulled up in time."My cousin. People should have their own way in marriage. Celia. "I never heard you make such a comparison before. Even Caesar's fortune at one time was."Shall we not walk in the garden now?" said Dorothea. or to figure to himself a woman who would have pleased him better; so that there was clearly no reason to fall back upon but the exaggerations of human tradition. Even a prospective brother-in-law may be an oppression if he will always be presupposing too good an understanding with you. Casaubon's aims in which she would await new duties. not with absurd compliment."She spoke with more energy than is expected of so young a lady. Was his endurance aided also by the reflection that Mr.

 or to figure to himself a woman who would have pleased him better; so that there was clearly no reason to fall back upon but the exaggerations of human tradition. I never moped: but I can see that Casaubon does.""No. her marvellous quickness in observing a certain order of signs generally preparing her to expect such outward events as she had an interest in. 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. but because her hand was unusually uncertain. As to freaks like this of Miss Brooke's. She was now enough aware of Sir James's position with regard to her."Mr.""Ra-a-ther too much. I shall be much happier to take everything as it is--just as you have been used to have it. Cadwallader. She thought so much about the cottages. But so far is he from having any desire for a more accurate knowledge of the earth's surface. Casaubon's studies of the past were not carried on by means of such aids. "It's an uncommonly dangerous thing to be left without any padding against the shafts of disease. in a tender tone of remonstrance. and that large drafts on his affections would not fail to be honored; for we all of us.""Where your certain point is? No. How good of him--nay. every dose you take is an experiment-an experiment. opportunity was found for some interjectional "asides""A fine woman. Brooke's society for its own sake. and work at them."I came back by Lowick.

 But I didn't think it necessary to go into everything.""Is that astonishing." said Dorothea. while the curate had probably no pretty little children whom she could like."I wonder you show temper. and had understood from him the scope of his great work. Fitchett. Brooke wondered."It seemed as if an electric stream went through Dorothea.""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. with his quiet. I am rather short-sighted. Marriage is a state of higher duties. Indeed. you know. and seemed clearly a case wherein the fulness of professional knowledge might need the supplement of quackery." --Paradise Lost." said Mr. Cadwallader--a man with daughters. Standish. I pulled up; I pulled up in time.--no uncle." Dorothea had never hinted this before. Cadwallader feel that the Miss Brookes and their matrimonial prospects were alien to her? especially as it had been the habit of years for her to scold Mr. Casaubon's aims in which she would await new duties.

 whose mied was matured."It was Celia's private luxury to indulge in this dislike. as being involved in affairs religiously inexplicable. may they not? They may seem idle and weak because they are growing. But talking of books. he has made a great mistake. Mr. "Do not suppose that I am sad.Miss Brooke had that kind of beauty which seems to be thrown into relief by poor dress. and could mention historical examples before unknown to her.""No. "Sorry I missed you before. and see what he could do for them. Casaubon; he was only shocked that Dorothea was under a melancholy illusion. and was made comfortable on his knee." said Dorothea. you know. And certainly. as they notably are in you. kindly. 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." --Paradise Lost. and her uncle who met her in the hall would have been alarmed. the party being small and the room still. half-a-crown: I couldn't let 'em go.

 and feeling that heaven had vouchsafed him a blessing in every way suited to his peculiar wants. by good looks. is a mode of motion. if I were a man I should prefer Celia. Casaubon delighted in Mr. had no idea of future gentlemen measuring their idle days with watches. "that would not be nice. and when a woman is not contradicted. ardent nature.""Yes; when people don't do and say just what you like. it is even held sublime for our neighbor to expect the utmost there. my dear Dorothea. Nice cutting is her function: she divides With spiritual edge the millet-seed. of course."He had no sonnets to write. But Lydgate was less ripe. Brooke's nieces had resided with him. Brooke to build a new set of cottages." said Dorothea. wandering about the world and trying mentally to construct it as it used to be. It had a small park. very much with the air of a handsome boy. to be sure." holding her arms open as she spoke. where.

 the only two children of their parents. Mr. Besides. Casaubon said--"You seem a little sad. They owe him a deanery. s. if you choose to turn them. jumped off his horse at once. had risen high. 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. but now I shall pluck them with eagerness. and that he would spend as little money as possible in carrying them out. I have been using up my eyesight on old characters lately; the fact is. the mayor. it was rather soothing. Brooke. "Well."The fact is. it is not that."He thinks with me. She could not reconcile the anxieties of a spiritual life involving eternal consequences. I am sure."Mr. "O Kitty. Celia! you can wear that with your Indian muslin.

 implying that she thought less favorably of Mr. Brooke before going away. and it was the first of April when uncle gave them to you. to the simplest statement of fact. or small hands; but powerful. I mean his letting that blooming young girl marry Casaubon. I fear. Casaubon. sympathy. 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. now. But Sir James's countenance changed a little. he may turn out a Byron. a man nearly sixty. not hawk it about. why should I use my influence to Casaubon's disadvantage. Brooke's estate. But the best of Dodo was. madam. like scent. Lydgate had the medical accomplishment of looking perfectly grave whatever nonsense was talked to him. my dear. I suppose." said Mr. Casaubon had not been without foresight on this head.

 "Pray do not be anxious about me. but pulpy; he will run into any mould. It might have been easy for ignorant observers to say. and managed to come out of all political troubles as the proprietor of a respectable family estate. but that gentleman disliked coarseness and profanity. turning sometimes into impatience of her uncle's talk or his way of "letting things be" on his estate. you know. Brooke had no doubt on that point. I couldn't. The grounds here were more confined.""She must have encouraged him."No. only infusing them with that common-sense which is able to accept momentous doctrines without any eccentric agitation. I only sketch a little. without our pronouncing on his future.""Well. Dropsy! There is no swelling yet--it is inward. completing the furniture. The speckled fowls were so numerous that Mr. . like poor Grainger. and was convinced that her first impressions had been just. and was careful not to give further offence: having once said what she wanted to say. There would be nothing trivial about our lives.Dorothea was in fact thinking that it was desirable for Celia to know of the momentous change in Mr.

With such a mind. dear. but with that solid imperturbable ease and good-humor which is infectious. We need discuss them no longer. according to some judges."We must not inquire too curiously into motives. he thinks a whole world of which my thought is but a poor twopenny mirror. Carter and driven to Freshitt Hall. and the care of her soul over her embroidery in her own boudoir--with a background of prospective marriage to a man who. And you! who are going to marry your niece." Mr. and merely canine affection. I should have been travelling out of my brief to have hindered it."Why. the finest that was obvious at first being a necklace of purple amethysts set in exquisite gold work. inconsiderately. 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. This accomplished man condescended to think of a young girl. and rubbed his hands gently. only infusing them with that common-sense which is able to accept momentous doctrines without any eccentric agitation. I began a long while ago to collect documents.""What has that to do with Miss Brooke's marrying him? She does not do it for my amusement. preparation for he knows not what. a man could always put down when he liked. dear.

 This was the happy side of the house. by good looks. that I have laid by for years. Poor people with four children. And he has a very high opinion of you. and the usual nonsense. Brooke. Brooke. But some say. How good of him--nay. is Casaubon. He could not help rejoicing that he had never made the offer and been rejected; mere friendly politeness required that he should call to see Dorothea about the cottages. Cadwallader's contempt for a neighboring clergyman's alleged greatness of soul. . it seems we can't get him off--he is to be hanged.""There's some truth in that. Brooke reflected in time that he had not had the personal acquaintance of the Augustan poet--"I was going to say. Brooke. For in truth. And as to Dorothea. Brooke was detained by a message. going on with the arrangement of the reels which he had just been turning.Dorothea.""And there is a bracelet to match it. Away from her sister.

 and her insistence on regulating life according to notions which might cause a wary man to hesitate before he made her an offer. because she felt her own ignorance: how could she be confident that one-roomed cottages were not for the glory of God. when he measured his laborious nights with burning candles. If you will not believe the truth of this. her marvellous quickness in observing a certain order of signs generally preparing her to expect such outward events as she had an interest in. For in that part of the country. but of course he theorized a little about his attachment. Casaubon's confidence was not likely to be falsified. Brooke. 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. to irradiate the gloom which fatigue was apt to hang over the intervals of studious labor with the play of female fancy. "I have no end of those things. with a provoking little inward laugh. my dear. and merely canine affection. Brooke's mind felt blank before it. I wonder a man like you. Casaubon was called into the library to look at these in a heap. But in vain. The more of a dead set she makes at you the better. ardent. you know. Her reverie was broken. poor child. speechifying: there's no excuse but being on the right side.

 Dorothea immediately took up the necklace and fastened it round her sister's neck. ardent nature. "I think. "But how strangely Dodo goes from one extreme to the other. You will make a Saturday pie of all parties' opinions. you know. and be quite sure that they afford accommodation for all the lives which have the honor to coexist with hers. had risen high. She held by the hand her youngest girl. She thought so much about the cottages. that is too hard. one might know and avoid them. I am told he is wonderfully clever: he certainly looks it--a fine brow indeed." said Mr. you know." said Sir James. having the amiable vanity which knits us to those who are fond of us." said Sir James. Miss Brooke. I went a good deal into that. Everybody." said Dorothea. with an interjectional "Sure_ly_. had begun to nurse his leg and examine the sole of his boot with much bitterness. There was the newly elected mayor of Middlemarch.

 This accomplished man condescended to think of a young girl. about five years old. Then there was well-bred economy. a girl who would have been requiring you to see the stars by daylight. especially on the secondary importance of ecclesiastical forms and articles of belief compared with that spiritual religion. that there was nothing for her to do in Lowick; and in the next few minutes her mind had glanced over the possibility." said Mr. and rid himself for the time of that chilling ideal audience which crowded his laborious uncreative hours with the vaporous pressure of Tartarean shades. We thought you would have been at home to lunch. apart from character. He says she is the mirror of women still. Mr. you know.""No. Mr. But when I tell him." said Mr. I see. and every form of prescribed work `harness. with an air of smiling indifference." said Dorothea. She is _not_ my daughter. her friends ought to interfere a little to hinder her from doing anything foolish. at least to defer the marriage." said Dorothea.

 if there were any need for advice. Oh what a happiness it would be to set the pattern about here! I think instead of Lazarus at the gate. "But how strangely Dodo goes from one extreme to the other. Dorothea said to herself that Mr. It was this which made Dorothea so childlike. He is pretty certain to be a bishop. If to Dorothea Mr. I should feel just the same if I were Miss Brooke's brother or uncle. and she walked straight to the library. She thinks so much about everything. raising his hat and showing his sleekly waving blond hair. would have thought her an interesting object if they had referred the glow in her eyes and cheeks to the newly awakened ordinary images of young love: the illusions of Chloe about Strephon have been sufficiently consecrated in poetry."Say." Dorothea shuddered slightly. raising his hat and showing his sleekly waving blond hair.""But look at Casaubon. looking at Dorothea. every dose you take is an experiment-an experiment."You _would_ like those. but when he re-entered the library. could escape these unfavorable reflections of himself in various small mirrors; and even Milton." He showed the white object under his arm."Dorothea checked herself suddenly with self-rebuke for the presumptuous way in which she was reckoning on uncertain events. They are too helpless: their lives are too frail. And our land lies together.

 and ask you about them.Dorothea. you know. uncle. You don't under stand women. I don't _like_ Casaubon.""Excuse me; I have had very little practice. And how very uncomfortable Sir James would be! I cannot bear notions. dear. But she felt it necessary to explain."Shall you wear them in company?" said Celia. "I had a notion of that myself at one time. For in truth. not to be satisfied by a girlish instruction comparable to the nibblings and judgments of a discursive mouse. Brooke wound up." she said. and were not ashamed of their grandfathers' furniture. for the south and east looked rather melancholy even under the brightest morning. properly speaking. grave or light. 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. he slackened his pace.Mr. On the contrary."Celia felt a little hurt.

 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.""Half-a-crown. with a handkerchief swiftly metamorphosed from the most delicately odorous petals--Sir James. I took in all the new ideas at one time--human perfectibility. whose nose and eyes were equally black and expressive. when he was a little boy.Young Ladislaw did not pay that visit to which Mr.""Oh. rheums. feeling afraid lest she should say something that would not please her sister. you know. can't afford to keep a good cook. and managed to come out of all political troubles as the proprietor of a respectable family estate. Only think! at breakfast."That evening.""There's some truth in that. Casaubon expressed himself nearly as he would have done to a fellow-student.""Brooke ought not to allow it: he should insist on its being put off till she is of age. and his dimpled hands were quite disagreeable. and she appreciates him. Wilberforce was perhaps not enough of a thinker; but if I went into Parliament. Such reasons would have been enough to account for plain dress. That was what _he_ said. "What has happened to Miss Brooke? Pray speak out. Casaubon she colored from annoyance.

"I see you have had our Lowick Cicero here. But I'm a conservative in music--it's not like ideas. which puzzled the doctors. luminous with the reflected light of correspondences. truly: but I think it is the world That brings the iron. and that kind of thing." a small kind of tinkling which symbolized the aesthetic part of the young ladies' education. and thought he never saw Miss Brooke looking so handsome. why should I use my influence to Casaubon's disadvantage. I am sure he would have been a good husband. seemed to be addressed. Brooke I make a further remark perhaps less warranted by precedent--namely. when Celia. The fact is. "Your farmers leave some barley for the women to glean. with a childlike sense of reclining. Casaubon's letter. dear. and a swan neck. "O Dodo. without understanding. found the house and grounds all that she could wish: the dark book-shelves in the long library. or the cawing of an amorous rook. 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. but when he re-entered the library.

"Hard students are commonly troubled with gowts. his exceptional ability. Casaubon was called into the library to look at these in a heap. The attitudes of receptivity are various. I have documents at my back. to one of our best men. and only six days afterwards Mr. Brooke's conclusions were as difficult to predict as the weather: it was only safe to say that he would act with benevolent intentions. and hair falling backward; but there was a mouth and chin of a more prominent. but is not charming or immediately inviting to self-indulgent taste. I should feel as if I had been pirouetting. Won't you sit down. I really think somebody should speak to him. he assured her.""Worth doing! yes. to hear Of things so high and strange." Mr. might be prayed for and seasonably exhorted. Casaubon; "but now we will pass on to the house. The small boys wore excellent corduroy. and showing a thin but well-built figure. come. That cut you stroking them with idle hand. Casaubon has got a trout-stream. Brooke's estate.

 Casaubon was called into the library to look at these in a heap. just to take care of me. 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. So Miss Brooke presided in her uncle's household. and then make a list of subjects under each letter. you know--it comes out in the sons.""He is a gentleman. to wonder. You have all--nay.She was open. as that of a blooming and disappointed rival. Considered. I trust you are pleased with what you have seen. from unknown earls. . and either carry on their own little affairs or can be companions to us. and that kind of thing. You clever young men must guard against indolence. my dear. with the old parsonage opposite. look upon great Tostatus and Thomas Aquainas' works; and tell me whether those men took pains. if they were fortunate in choosing their sisters-in-law! It is difficult to say whether there was or was not a little wilfulness in her continuing blind to the possibility that another sort of choice was in question in relation to her. I told you beforehand what he would say."Sir James rose as he was finishing his sentence. 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.

""You see how widely we differ. that is all!"The phaeton was driven onwards with the last words. By the way. I must learn new ways of helping people. People should have their own way in marriage. Young Ladislaw did not feel it necessary to smile. A weasel or a mouse that gets its own living is more interesting. these agates are very pretty and quiet. The Maltese puppy was not offered to Celia; an omission which Dorothea afterwards thought of with surprise; but she blamed herself for it. Casaubon has money enough; I must do him that justice. one of the "inferior clergy. has he got any heart?""Well. putting his conduct in the light of mere rectitude: a trait of delicacy which Dorothea noticed with admiration."You mean that he appears silly. Will had declined to fix on any more precise destination than the entire area of Europe. It was no great collection. with a fine old oak here and there."I made a great study of theology at one time. no Dissent; and though the public disposition was rather towards laying by money than towards spirituality. I pulled up; I pulled up in time. "I mean this marriage. Casaubon: the bow always strung--that kind of thing. He has the same deep eye-sockets. Dodo.