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I like my horse, my
picture, the view from my study window for the same reason. I am
inclined to think that there was nothing more in it than that. "My dear!" said Mr. Furnival, stepping back a little, and letting his
hands fall to his sides. Lady Mason also took a step backwards, and
then with considerable presenc... | |
I am sure that I
shall be as safe with you, dear Mrs. Furnival, as I am with your
husband." And she stepped up to the angry matron, looking earnestly
into her face. To a true tale of woman's sorrow Mrs. Furnival's heart could be as
snow under the noonday sun. Had Lady Mason gone to her and told her
all her fears a... | |
The
woman's face could lie;--"the faces of such women are all lies," Mrs.
Furnival said to herself;--but in her presence his face had been
compelled to speak the truth. "Oh dear, no; I shall say nothing of course," she said. "I am
quite sorry that I intruded. Mr. Furnival, as I happened to be in
Holborn--at Mudie'... | |
And then she did go, leaving her husband and the
woman of whom she was jealous once more alone together. Upon the
whole I think that Mr. Furnival was right in not going home that day
to his dinner. As the door closed somewhat loudly behind the angry lady--Mr.
Crabwitz having rushed out hardly in time to moderate th... | |
"I will trust you to make my peace with her." "Yes, of course; she will not think of it after to-day; nor must you,
Lady Mason." "Oh, no; except that I would not for the world be the cause of
annoyance to my friends. Sometimes I am almost inclined to think that
I will never trouble any one again with my sorrows, but... | |
"So the almanac tells us; but if the almanac did not tell us I should
never know. We are all older, of course. Twenty years does not go by
without leaving its marks, as I can feel myself." "Men do not grow old as women do, who live alone and gather rust as
they feed on their own thoughts." "I know no one whom time h... | |
If you can save me
from that, even though it be by the buying off of that ungrateful
man--"
"You must not think of that." "Must I not? ah me!" "Will you tell Lucius all this, and let him come to me?" "No; not for worlds. He would defy every one, and glory in the fight;
but after all it is I that must bear the bru... | |
Then he is doubly unfortunate." "He is a cheat because he wants things for less than their value; and
a dupe because, as a matter of course, he does not get what he wants. I made no bargain at Liverpool,--at least, no cheap bargain; but
I have made arrangements for a sufficient supply of a first-rate
unadulterated a... | |
A black
frown came across his brow as he meditated on her late intrusion,
and he made some sort of resolve that that kind of thing should be
prevented for the future. He did not make up his mind how he would
prevent it,--a point which husbands sometimes overlook in their
marital resolutions. And then, instead of c... | |
He never thought of that vow
which they had both made at the altar, which she had kept so loyally,
and which required of him a cherishing, comforting, enduring love. It never occurred to him that in denying her this he as much broke
his promise to her as though he had taken to himself in very truth
some strange god... | |
What was the real truth
of all this? Was it possible that she should be alarmed in that way
because a small country attorney had told his wife that he had found
some old paper, and because the man had then gone off to Yorkshire? Nothing could be more natural than her anxiety, supposing her to be
aware of some secre... | |
Could it be possible that
she, soft, beautiful, graceful as she was now, all but a girl as she
had then been, could have done it, unaided,--by herself?--that she
could have sat down in the still hour of the night, with that old man
on one side and her baby in his cradle on the other, and forged that
will, signatur... | |
But it was impossible. So said Mr. Furnival to himself, out
loud;--speaking out loud in order that he might convince himself. It was impossible, he said again; but he did not convince himself. Should he ask her? No; it was not on the cards that he should do
that. And perhaps, if a further trial were forthcoming, it m... | |
He had been summoned back to
his dingy chamber almost without an excuse, and now that he was in
London was not permitted to join even for a day the other wise men of
the law who were assembled at the great congress. For the last four
days his heart had been yearning to go to Birmingham, but had yearned
in vain; an... | |
"That perhaps I was entitled to a little more respect, Mr. Furnival. It's for your sake as much as my own that I speak, sir; but if the
gentlemen in the Lane see me sent about like a lad of twenty, sir,
they'll think--"
"What will they think?" "I hardly know what they'll think, but I know it will be very
disagree... | |
As it had been already settled between her and Sir Peregrine
that Lucius should dine there in order that he might be talked to
respecting his mania for guano, the invitation could not be refused;
but, as for Lady Mason herself, she would much have preferred to
remain at home. Indeed, her uneasiness on that guano ma... | |
"I am sure of that, Lucius, because you are a gentleman. As much
forbearance as that a young man, if he be a gentleman, will always
show to an old man. But what I ask is something more than that. Sir
Peregrine has been farming all his life." "Yes; and see what are the results! He has three or four hundred
acres of ... | |
"It is always so in England," said Lucius, after pausing for a while. "Sir Peregrine is a man of family, and a baronet; of course all the
world, the world of Hamworth that is, should bow down at his feet. And I too must worship the golden image which Nebuchadnezzar, the
King of Fashion, has set up!" "Lucius, you are ... | |
But his boast was an untrue boast, and he could not
carry himself at The Cleeve as he would have done and did in Mrs.
Arkwright's little drawing-room. There was a majesty in the manner
of Sir Peregrine which did awe him; there were tokens of birth
and a certain grace of manner about Mrs. Orme which kept down his
a... | |
Mrs. Orme did not kiss Lady Mason, nor did she call her dear; but she
smiled sweetly as she uttered her greeting, and looked kindness out
of her marvellously blue eyes; and Lucius Mason, looking on over his
mother's shoulders, thought that he would like to have her for his
friend in spite of her rank. If Mrs. Orme ... | |
There had
been no apparent hankering after rats since that last compact had
been made, and Peregrine had been doing great things with the H. H.;
winning golden opinions from all sorts of sportsmen, and earning a
great reputation for a certain young mare which had been bred by Sir
Peregrine himself. Foxes are vermi... | |
Lucius, who as we know thought no more of the Ormes than
of the Joneses and Smiths, paused in his awe before he gave his arm
to Mrs. Orme; and when he did so he led her away in perfect silence,
though he would have given anything to be able to talk to her as
he went. But he bethought himself that unfortunately he c... | |
So far he went in
conversation, but no farther while his work was still before him. When the servants were gone it was a little better, but not much. "Mason, do you mean to hunt this season?" Peregrine asked. "No," said the other. "Well, I would if I were you. You will never know the fellows about
here unless you do.... | |
If I had two
hundred acres of land in my own hand I should not want anything else
in the world, and would never ask any one for a shilling." "If that be so, I might make the best bargain at once that ever a man
made," said the baronet. "If I might take you at your word, Master
Perry--." "Pray don't talk of it, sir,... | |
Her sister, who was
married to a peer, might stay at The Cleeve for a fortnight, perhaps
once in the year; but Mrs. Orme herself seldom left her own home. She
thought, and certainly not without cause, that Sir Peregrine was not
happy in her absence, and therefore she never left him. Then, living
there so much alon... | |
It behoved
her to be very careful, and to indulge in no pleasure which might be
costly; and therefore she had denied herself in this matter,--as in
so many others. But now it had occurred to her that it might be well to change her
conduct. Either she felt that Sir Peregrine's friendship for her was
too confirmed t... | |
said Mrs. Orme, thinking of her own year
of married happiness. "Would you not wish to see Lucius marry?" "I fancy not. I should be afraid lest I should become as nothing to
him. And yet I would not have you think that I am selfish." "I am sure that you are not that. I am sure that you love him better
than all the wo... | |
I
also am very much alone, though perhaps not so much as you are, Lady
Mason." "I hope not--for I am sometimes very lonely." "I have often thought that." "But I should be wicked beyond everything if I were to complain,
seeing that Providence has given me so much that I had no right to
expect. What should I have don... | |
We Englishmen I suppose are the
moodiest thinkers in all the world, and yet we are not so much given
to water-drinking as our lively neighbours across the Channel." Sir Peregrine said nothing more on the subject, but he probably
thought that his young friend would not be a very comfortable
neighbour. His present ta... | |
I hope
that the great friendship which I feel for your mother will be
allowed to stand as my excuse." "I am very much obliged by your kindness, sir; I am indeed." "The truth is, I think you are beginning wrong. You have now been to
Liverpool, to buy guano, I believe." "Yes, that and some few other things. There is a... | |
"I am afraid then," said the baronet, "that you must have laid out a
large sum of money." "A man can't do any good, Sir Peregrine, by hoarding his capital. I
don't think very much of capital myself--"
"Don't you?" "Not of the theory of capital;--not so much as some people do; but
if a man has got it, of course it... | |
Civilization, as I take it, consists in
efforts made not for oneself but for others." "If you won't take any more wine we will join the ladies," said the
baronet. "He has not taken any at all," said Peregrine, filling his own glass
for the last time and emptying it. "That young man is the most conceited puppy it was... | |
He
had explained to her, and with some truth, that as their joint income
was now a thousand a year, she was quite entitled to such a luxury;
and then he went on to say that as he had bought it for her, he
should be much hurt if she would not use it. She had put it off from
day to day, and now she could put it off ... | |
Mrs. Orme, though she told her many things, did
not tell her what Sir Peregrine had said as he was going up to his
bedroom on the preceding evening, nor did Lady Mason say much about
her son's farming. She had managed to gather from Lucius that he
had not been deeply impressed by anything that had fallen from Sir
... | |
So Lady Mason went back and did
remain for lunch. She was painfully anxious to maintain the best
possible footing in that house, but still more anxious not to have
it thought that she was intruding. She had feared that Lucius by his
offence might have estranged Sir Peregrine against herself; but that
at any rate w... | |
"It is quite proper, my dear Lady Mason, quite proper. With his
income and with yours I do not wonder that he insists upon it. It is
quite proper, and just at the present moment peculiarly so." Lady Mason did not understand this; but she would probably have
passed it by without understanding it, had she not thought ... | |
"Well, I wouldn't be
the first to tell you, only that I know that there is no truth in
it." "You might as well tell me now, as I shall be apt to believe worse
than the truth after what you have said." And then Mrs. Arkwright told her. "People have been saying that Mr.
Mason is again going to begin those law proceed... | |
And then she made a great
effort, feeling aware that she was betraying herself, and that it
behoved her to say something which might remove the suspicion which
her emotion must have created. "The very name of that lawsuit is so
dreadful to me that I can hardly bear it. The memory of it is so
terrible to me, that e... | |
There must
be something, or she would never have looked so like a ghost. What
will they do if Orley Farm is taken away from them after all!" And
then Mrs. Arkwright hurried out on her daily little toddle through
the town, that she might talk about and be talked to on the same
subject. She was by no means an ill-na... | |
Let Sir Peregrine say what comforting words he might,
let Mr. Furnival assure her that she was safe with ever so much
confidence, nevertheless she could not but believe, could not but
feel inwardly convinced, that that which she so dreaded was to
happen. It was written in the book of her destiny that there should
... | |
But she had not sufficient command of her thoughts to be able at
first to take comfort from such a reflection as this. She felt, as
she was being carried home, that the world was going from her, and
that it would be well for her, were it possible, that she should die. But she was stronger when she reached her own do... | |
Had it been possible to keep this matter
from him altogether, she would have given much to do so; but now it
would not be possible. It was clear that Mr. Dockwrath had chosen to
make the matter public, acting no doubt with forethought in doing
so; and Lucius would be sure to hear words which would become common
in... | |
His purpose was to work hard during
the hours of the day,--hard also during many hours of the night; and
it was becoming that his mother should greet him softly during his
few intervals of idleness. He told her so, in some words not badly
chosen for such telling; and she, loving mother that she was, strove
valiant... | |
Look here at this fellow;
he must have been intended to eat nothing but flesh; and that raw,
and without any knife or fork." "I don't suppose they had many knives or forks." "By close observation I do not doubt that one could tell from a
single tooth not only what food the owner of it had been accustomed
to eat, bu... | |
He is a hard man, I believe; but I do not know that he
would do anything which he thought to be unjust." "Why then did he try to rob me of my property?" "Because he thought that it should have been his own. I cannot see
into his breast, but I presume that it was so." "I do not presume anything of the kind, and never ... | |
And then by degrees she explained to him that the man himself, Mr.
Mason of Groby, had as yet declared no such purpose. She had intended
to omit all mention of the name of Mr. Dockwrath, but she was unable
to do so without seeming to make a mystery with her son. When she
came to explain how the rumour had arisen an... | |
You can
understand, Lucius, that the matter is grievous enough to me; and I
am sure that for my sake you will not make it worse by a personal
quarrel with such a man as that." "I shall go to Mr. Furnival," said he, "and ask his advice." "I have done that already, Lucius. I thought it best to do so, when
first I hea... | |
What would he have said had he known that his mother had absolutely
proposed to Mr. Furnival to buy off Mr. Dockwrath's animosity, almost
at any price? CHAPTER XVI. MR. DOCKWRATH IN BEDFORD ROW. Mr. Dockwrath, as he left Leeds and proceeded to join the bosom of
his family, was not discontented with what he had done.... | |
All our motives
are mixed; and his wicked desire to do evil to Lady Mason in
return for the evil which she had done to him was mingled with
professional energy, and an ambition to win a cause that ought to
be won--especially a cause which others had failed to win. He said
to himself, on finding those names and dat... | |
He said nothing to Mr.
Dockwrath in the morning, merely bowing in answer to that gentleman's
salutation. "Hope you were comfortable last night in the back
drawing-room," said Mr. Dockwrath; but Mr. Moulder in reply only
looked at him. At the Mansfield station, Mr. Kantwise, with his huge wooden boxes,
appeared on ... | |
All
the same I wish you'd heard Busby give us 'Beautiful Venice, City
of Song!' A charming voice has Busby; quite charming." And there
was a pause for a minute or so, after which Mr. Kantwise resumed
the conversation. "You'll allow me to put you up one of those
drawing-room sets?" he said. "Well, I am afraid not. ... | |
And she merely
wanted it as a present for the curate's wife. The table was quite
sprung, and the music-stool wouldn't twist." "But you'll send them to me new?" "New from the manufactory; upon my word we will." "A table that you have never acted upon--have never shown off on;
standing in the middle, you know?" "Yes; ... | |
Mr. Dockwrath when at home had again cautioned his wife to have no
intercourse whatever "with that swindler at Orley Farm," wishing
thereby the more thoroughly to imbue poor Miriam with a conviction
that Lady Mason had committed some fraud with reference to the will. "You had better say nothing about the matter anyw... | |
But now, in the matter of the Orley Farm Case, Mr. Dockwrath
had determined that he would transact business only on equal terms
with the Bedford Row people. The secret was his--of his finding;
he knew the strength of his own position, and he would use it. But
nevertheless he did tremble inwardly as he asked whether... | |
Mr. Crook had usually done the dirty work of the firm, having been
originally a managing clerk; and he still did the same--in a small
way. He had been the man to exact penalties, look after costs, and
attend to any criminal business, or business partly criminal in its
nature, which might chance find its way to them... | |
The manner of this legal gentleman was not, as Mr. Dockwrath thought,
quite so ceremoniously civil as it might be, considering the
important nature of the business to be transacted between them. Mr. Dockwrath intended to treat on equal terms, and so intending
would have been glad to have shaken hands with his new al... | |
"I beg your pardon, sir; I did not know," said Mr. Dockwrath, bowing. It was a satisfaction to him to learn that he was closeted with a Mr. Round, even if it were not the Mr. Round. "No, Mr. Round, I can't say
that I should have thought of that. In the first place I didn't know
whether Mr. Mason employed any lawyer, ... | |
I am sure you did not give yourself the trouble of coming up here
from Hamworth merely with the object of telling us that you are going
to hold your tongue." "Certainly not, Mr. Round." "Then what did you come to say?" "May I ask you, Mr. Round, what Mr. Mason has told you with reference
to my interview with him?" "... | |
Round senior, "that Lady Mason was acting in good faith. I was
always convinced of the contrary, and am more sure of it now than
ever." This last paragraph, Mr. Round junior had not thought it
necessary to read to Mr. Dockwrath. "The documents to which I allude are in reference to my confidential
family matters; an... | |
As a professional man, of
course I expect to be paid for my work;--and I have no doubt that you
expect the same." "No doubt, Mr. Dockwrath; but--as you have made the comparison,
I hope you will excuse me for saying so--we always wait till our
clients come to us." Mr. Dockwrath drew himself up with some intention of... | |
And now, Mr. Dockwrath, I must make you understand that we
don't do business in that way." "Then I shall see Mr. Mason again myself." "That you can do. He will be in town next week, and, as I believe,
wishes to see you. As regards your expenses, if you can show us
that you have any communication to make that is wort... | |
Round, without moving from his
chair; "I will tell Mr. Mason that you have declined making any
communication to us. He will probably know your address--if he should
want it." Mr. Dockwrath paused. Was he not about to sacrifice substantial
advantage to momentary anger? Would it not be better that he should
carry th... | |
I think
I understand it all now, Mr. Dockwrath; and when we want you again,
you shall hear from us. Samuel Dockwrath, is it? Thank you. Good
morning. If Mr. Mason wishes to see you, he will write, of course. Good day, Mr. Dockwrath." And so Mr. Dockwrath went home, not quite contented with his day's
work. CHAPTER X... | |
I rather think I must trouble you
to remain here, as I cannot tell at what moment I may be in town
again." "Then, sir, I'm afraid--" Mr. Crabwitz began his speech and then
faltered. He was going to tell Mr. Furnival that he must suit himself
with another clerk, when he remembered his fees, and paused. It would
be ... | |
He could master Mr. Crabwitz, and felt a certain pleasure
in having done so; but could he master Mrs. F.? That lady had on one
or two late occasions shown her anger at the existing state of her
domestic affairs, and had once previously gone so far as to make
her lord understand that she was jealous of his proceedin... | |
To practical Englishmen most of these international
congresses seem to arrive at nothing else. Men will not be talked out
of the convictions of their lives. No living orator would convince a
grocer that coffee should be sold without chicory; and no amount of
eloquence will make an English lawyer think that loyalty ... | |
"Of course it was all in German, and I don't suppose that any one
understood him,--unless it was Boanerges. But I believe it was the
old story, going to show that the same man might be judge, advocate,
and jury." "No doubt;--if men were machines, and if you could find such machines
perfect at all points in their ma... | |
"Furnival," said another barrister, accosting him,--an elderly man,
small, with sharp eyes and bushy eyebrows, dirty in his attire and
poor in his general appearance, "have you seen Judge Staveley?" This
was Mr. Chaffanbrass, great at the Old Bailey, a man well able to
hold his own in spite of the meanness of his a... | |
On the whole the meeting was rather dull, as such meetings usually
are. It must not be supposed that any lawyer could get up at will, as
the spirit moved him, and utter his own ideas; or that all members of
the congress could speak if only they could catch the speaker's eye. Had this been so, a man might have been s... | |
"Looking for me, have you? Well, here I am; that is to say,
what is left of me. Were you in the hall to-day?" "No; I was up in town." "Ah! that accounts for your being so fresh. I wish I had been there. Do you ever do anything in this way?" and Mr. Round touched the
outside of his glass of toddy with his spoon. Mr. F... | |
"Of course he thinks that he has some new evidence. I can't say I
looked into the matter much myself. I did read the letter; but that
was all, and then I handed it to my son. As far as I remember, Mr.
Mason said that some attorney at Hamworth had been to him." "Exactly; a low fellow whom you would be ashamed to see ... | |
"She is a very old friend of mine," said Mr. Furnival, gravely, "a
very old friend indeed; and if I were to desert her now, she would
have no one to whom she could look." "Oh, ah, yes; I'm sure you're very kind;" and Mr. Round altered his
face and tone, so that they might be in conformity with those of his
companio... | |
"It was I that insisted that he should not carry it before the
Chancellor. Crook had the general management of those cases then, and
would have gone on; but I said, no. I would not see my client's money
wasted in such a wild-goose chase. In the first place the property
was not worth it; and in the next place there ... | |
Now it may be possible that something looking like fresh evidence
may have been discovered; something of this kind probably has been
found, or this man would not be moving; he would not have gone to the
expense of a journey to Yorkshire had he not got hold of some new
story." "He has something in his head; you may ... | |
And then these eulogists of past days went back to the memories of
their youths, declaring how in the old glorious years, now gone, no
congress such as this would have had a chance of success. Men had
men's work to do then, and were not wont to play the fool, first at
one provincial town and then at another, but st... | |
"I confess I am getting rather tired of it," said Felix Graham that
evening to his friend young Staveley, as he stood outside his bedroom
door at the top of a narrow flight of stairs in the back part of a
large hotel at Birmingham. "Tired of it! I should think you are too." "But nevertheless I am as sure as ever tha... | |
"Then I can only say that my governor will be very cruel to the
Germans." And so they two went to their dreams. In the mean time Von Bauhr was sitting alone looking back on the past
hours with ideas and views very different from those of the many
English lawyers who were at that time discussing his demerits. To him
... | |
Men there at the congress, Mr. Chaffanbrass, young Staveley, Felix
Graham, and others, had regarded him as an impersonation of dullness;
but through his mind and brain, as he sat there wrapped in his old
dressing-gown, there ran thoughts which seemed to lift him lightly
from the earth into an elysium of justice and... | |
He said to himself, and said truly, that he loved
the world, and that he would willingly spend himself in these great
endeavours for the amelioration of its laws and the perfection of its
judicial proceedings. And then he betook himself to bed in a frame of
mind that was not unenviable. [Illustration: Von Bauhr's D... | |
Of Judge Staveley himself
much need not be said now, except that he lived at Noningsby near
Alston, distant from The Cleeve about nine miles, and that at his
house Sophia Furnival had been invited to pass the coming Christmas. His son was a handsome clever fellow, who had nearly succeeded in
getting the Newdegate, ... | |
To a
certain extent he had worked, and he could talk fluently of the
little that he knew. The idea of a _far niente_ life would have been
intolerable to him; but there were many among his friends who began
to think that such a life would nevertheless be his ultimate destiny. Nor did it much matter, they said, for t... | |
He had ideas of his own that men should pursue
their labours without special conventional regulations, but should be
guided in their work by the general great rules of the world,--such
for instance as those given in the commandments:--Thou shalt not bear
false witness; Thou shalt not steal; and others. His notions ... | |
Augustus Staveley, who could be very prudent for his friend, declared
that marriage would set him right. If Felix would marry he would
quietly slip his neck into the collar and work along with the team,
as useful a horse as ever was put at the wheel of a coach. But Felix
did not seem inclined to marry. He had notio... | |
But he was full of enthusiasm, indomitable, as far as pluck
would make him so, in contests of all kinds, and when he talked on
subjects which were near his heart there was a radiance about him
which certainly might win the love of the pretty girl with the sharp
tongue and the hatful of money. Staveley, who really l... | |
"I wonder why matutinal labour should always be considered as so
meritorious. Merely, I take it, because it is disagreeable." "It proves that the man can make an effort." "Every prig who wishes to have it believed that he does more than his
neighbours either burns the midnight lamp or gets up at four in the
morning.... | |
"But a people who are dishonest in one trade will probably be
dishonest in others. Now, you go so far as to say that all English
lawyers are rogues." "I have never said so. I believe your father to be as honest a man as
ever breathed." "Thank you, sir," and Staveley lifted his hat. "And I would fain hope that I am a... | |
We think it merciful to give
him chances of escape, and hunt him as we do a fox, in obedience to
certain laws framed for his protection." "And should he have no protection?" "None certainly, as a guilty man; none which may tend towards the
concealing of his guilt. Till that be ascertained, proclaimed, and
made appa... | |
"What a pity it is that you should not have an opportunity of
rivalling Von Bauhr at the congress!" "I have no doubt that Von Bauhr said a great deal of the same nature;
and what Von Bauhr said will not wholly be wasted, though it may not
yet have reached our sublime understandings." "Perhaps he will vouchsafe to us... | |
We cannot understand that other nations look
upon such doings as we regard the human sacrifices of the Brahmins;
but the fact is that we drive a Juggernaut's car through every assize
town in the country, three times a year, and allow it to be dragged
ruthlessly through the streets of the metropolis at all times and... | |
"How can you give yourself so much trouble with no possible hope of
an advantageous result?" said Felix Graham. "That's what you weak men always say. Perseverance in such a course
will produce results. It is because we put up with bad things that
hotel-keepers continue to give them to us. Three or four Frenchmen
we... | |
Many other days also wore
themselves away in this process; numerous addresses were read, and
answers made to them, and the newspapers for the time were full of
law. The defence of our own system, which was supposed to be the most
remarkable for its pertinacity, if not for its justice, came from Mr.
Furnival, who r... | |
"There is something in it, certainly, Mr. Mason," said young Round;
"but I cannot undertake to say as yet that we are in a position to
prove the point." "It will be proved," said Mr. Dockwrath. "I confess it seems to me very clear," said Mr. Mason, who by this
time had been made to understand the bearings of the que... | |
To this Mat had answered that
neither did he like Mr. Mason; but as the case had about it some very
remarkable points, it was necessary to look into it; and then the
matter was allowed to stand over till after Christmas. We will now change the scene to Noningsby, the judge's country
seat, near Alston, at which a pa... | |
But she thought most of
all of her husband, who in her eyes was the perfection of all manly
virtues. She had made up her mind that the position of a puisne judge
in England was the highest which could fall to the lot of any mere
mortal. To become a Lord Chancellor, or a Lord Chief Justice, or
a Chief Baron, a man ... | |
I must say
something of her; and as, with all women, the outward and visible
signs of grace and beauty are those which are thought of the most, or
at any rate spoken of the oftenest, I will begin with her exterior
attributes. And that the muses may assist me in my endeavour,
teaching my rough hands to draw with so... | |
There is nothing among the wonders of womanhood more
wonderful than this, that the young mind and young heart,--hearts and
minds young as youth can make them, and in their natures as gay,--can
assume the gravity and discretion of threescore years and maintain
it successfully before all comers. And this is done, not... | |
I never saw the face of a woman whose
mouth was equal in pure beauty, in beauty that was expressive of
feeling, to that of Madeline Staveley. Many have I seen with a richer
lip, with a more luxurious curve, much more tempting as baits to the
villainy and rudeness of man; but never one that told so much by
its own ... | |
I can name no colour
in describing the soft changing tints of Madeline Staveley's face,
but I will make bold to say that no man ever found it insipid or
inexpressive. And now what remains for me to tell? Her nose was Grecian, but
perhaps a little too wide at the nostril to be considered perfect
in its chiselling. ... | |
Those of their guests whom it is
necessary that I should now name, have been already introduced to us. Miss Furnival was there, as was also her father. He had not intended
to make any prolonged stay at Noningsby,--at least so he had said in
his own drawing-room; but nevertheless he had now been there for a
week, an... | |
Sir Peregrine,
however, intended to return before Christmas, and Mrs. Orme would go
with him. He had come for four days, which for him had been a long
absence from home, and at the end of the four days he would be gone. They were all sitting in the dining-room round the luncheon-table
on a hopelessly wet morning, l... |
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