L [ B R.ARY 
 
 OF THE 
 
 U N IVERSITY 
 
 OF ILLI NOIS 
 
 FU3s 
 
 v.|
 
 Digitized by the Internet Archive 
 
 in 2010 with funding from 
 
 University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign 
 
 http://www.archive.org/details/sedgeboroughworl01fare
 
 THE SEDGEBOROUGH WORLD. 
 
 YOL. I.
 
 THE 
 
 SEDGEBOROUGH WORLD 
 
 a Tsrofci. 
 
 By A. FAREBROTHER. 
 
 IN TWO VOLUMES.— VOL. I. 
 
 There's a divinity that shapes our ends, 
 Rough hew them how we will. 
 
 4 
 
 LONDON : 
 SAMUEL TINSLEY, 34, SOUTHAMPTON ST., STRAND. 
 
 1872. 
 [A 11 Rights of Translation and Reproduction reserved.]
 
 6<J 
 
 v, ; 
 
 £ BtlSitKtt 
 
 THIS AND WHATEVER WORK I MAY DO IN THE FUTURE 
 
 €*0 T&tX 
 
 WHO, THOUGH NOW REMOVED FROM THIS WORLD OF SORROW, 
 
 STILL IS, AS SHE EVER HAS BEEN, THE MOTIVE POWER 
 
 OF ALL MY WORK; 
 
 AND WITH HER NAME I JOIN THAT 
 
 WHO HAS SHARED ALL MY LESSONS AND EXPERIENCES 
 
 ^
 
 THE SEDGEBOROUGH WORLD. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 " The curtains see 
 Dividing. She is there." 
 
 It was said by every one in Sedgeborough 
 that Florence Aylmer was appallingly intel- 
 lectual. This was thought most amusing by 
 her own family, and no one supposed that as 
 she laughed at it herself she was in the least 
 pained. But what we possess we either 
 overrate or undervalue ; and while ordinary 
 girls heard of her with envy, Florence would 
 have given much to have been considered an 
 ordinary girl, and to have escaped the 
 charge of being intellectual.
 
 2 THE SEDGEB0R0UGH WORLD. 
 
 It was a source of never-failing wonder to 
 her how it came about that the charge was 
 made. She listened with amazement to the 
 witticisms, lively talk, and delicately- worded 
 sarcasms which fell naturally j&om the lips of 
 other women, and felt their authors inspired 
 her with a certain dread. Yet she saw these 
 sought after and courted on all sides, while 
 she, who was never sarcastic or severe, was 
 avoided by most men and women of her own 
 age. The only solution of the problem at 
 which she could arrive was, that she could 
 never speak without seriously meaning what 
 she said, and involuntarily led conversation 
 to literary subjects. She envied the talent 
 which enabled others to talk for hours in 
 lively and amusing strains, and all about 
 nothing. For her own part, she found after 
 a conversation with any one, she had always 
 given and drawn forth thought ; while her 
 mother, and her sister Lois, a girl still in
 
 THE SEDGEBOROUGH WORLD. 3 
 
 the school-room, would not in the same time 
 have penetrated beneath the surface, and. 
 would have been pleasant and amusing 
 without having said anything which could 
 be remembered afterwards. 
 
 Florence was painfully aware that it is 
 a great mistake to treat of a serious sub- 
 ject in general conversation, and yet time 
 after time she fell into the mistake, and 
 constantly exposed the woeful ignorance of 
 her interlocutor, much to their mutual con- 
 fusion. 
 
 Thus it was she gained the reputation of 
 being appallingly intellectual. 
 
 She was not accomplished, like other girls 
 who were yet called commonplace, and of 
 whom no one was afraid. She could neither 
 play nor sing a note — music, indeed, was often 
 a positive pain to her. She had learnt to 
 draw to please her father, who wished her 
 to do something like other women; but then
 
 4 THE SEDGEBOROUGH WORLD. 
 
 not even the most partial critic could call 
 her drawings more than tolerable. 
 
 She declared that some day she would fall 
 from her pinnacle, and be found out to be a 
 pitiful pretender, and then she would be 
 treated with ignominy, " which will be very 
 hard, as I am sure it is no pleasure to me to 
 be placed up here," she said woefully. 
 
 Her elder sister, Lizzie, laughed when she 
 heard this ; for she was perfectly satisfied in 
 her own mind that Florence would never be 
 proved to be a " pitiful pretender," and 
 believed even more implicitly than others in 
 her sister's intellectual powers. 
 
 From her face alone Florence would have 
 gained the character of being intellectual. 
 
 It was a beautiful face. When seen in 
 repose you thought you would wish her never 
 to move ; but when she smiled you wished 
 the smile would always remain. The smile, 
 however, was fleeting as it was sweet. It
 
 THE SEDGEBOEOUGH WORLD. 6 
 
 came apparently to provoke a desire to see 
 it again. Her face was oval, while the dark 
 blue eyes were full of thought and depth ; 
 and if you have seen Guido's Magdalene, you 
 know the colour and the beauty of the hair, 
 which was allowed to fall low over the broad 
 forehead. She w r as about five feet nine 
 inches in height, and moved with a serene 
 grace and dignity, of which she was all un- 
 conscious. The white, well-shaped, rather 
 large hands, were indicative of a character 
 somewhat devoid of practical activity or 
 mechanical power. 
 
 When Florence was twelve, Mrs. Aylmer 
 engaged a lady as governess to her children, 
 whose sole delight was in scientific and philo- 
 sophical studies. She had been attracted by 
 Florence at once, and had devoted herself to 
 the cultivation of an intellect which would, 
 she believed, repay her by sympathy and 
 comprehension. Up to this time Florence
 
 6 THE SEDGEB0R0UGH WORLD. 
 
 had not been strong, and was much, confined 
 to the house ; and when the general work of 
 lessons was over, Miss Frost would proceed 
 to effect the proposed cultivation by reading 
 with her on subjects of which the generality 
 of women are almost ignorant. The strain 
 put on her mind dining the day would often 
 leave Florence exhausted and worn out in 
 the evening, when, nevertheless, she had to 
 appear in the drawing-room and take the 
 part of a woman in conversation. Mrs. 
 Aylmer had doubted the advisability of this 
 method of education, but had hesitated so 
 long before taking steps to put an end to it, 
 that finally these steps were never taken. 
 But as Florence's mind was strong and 
 healthy, this over-exertion did not leave the 
 evil effects that might have been anticipated, 
 and now, at the age of eighteen, she was quite 
 capable of being a companion to Miss Frost, 
 who still remained as governess to Lois.
 
 THE SEDGEBOROUGH WORLD. 7 
 
 Florence's claims to being considered in- 
 tellectual were, therefore, these: — She could 
 read and speak German and French fluently, 
 and was well read in the classical and modern 
 literature of both countries, as well as in that 
 of her own ; for Mrs. Aylmer had herself 
 directed her daughter's English studies, which 
 no one was better qualified than she to 
 do. Florence moreover could have passed a 
 fair examination in Greek and Latin. 
 
 Her historical studies had left her mind 
 a blank as to dates; but the social and 
 political conditions of the different nations 
 were familiar to her ; and I would beg of 
 you only to think how pleasant it would 
 be if we could only say the same. 
 
 She was well versed in the theories main- 
 tained by the different philosophical teachers 
 of ancient and modern times, from Thales 
 to Comte ; and, above all, she could have 
 enlightened you as to the undulatory theory
 
 8 THE SEDGEBOROUGH WORLD. 
 
 of light, radiation, the colour and structure 
 of the sky, and the polarization of its light, 
 — and would have found pleasure in so doing. 
 I fear had her godfathers and godmothers 
 inquired into her religious doctrines, they 
 would hardly have been satisfied. She could 
 not say more of the Apostles' Creed than the 
 first clause ; but she did say that clearly, 
 firmly, and truthfully, — so truthfully, indeed, 
 that any weakening of her faith would have 
 darkened the world to her. In her mind, 
 moreover, might have been found the ele- 
 mental constituents of all true religion — 
 reverence, awe, truth, and love. 
 
 There were some people, who were nearly 
 enough related to have a right to be dis- 
 agreeable, who told Mrs. Aylmer that she had 
 brought up her family badly, and that, 
 having sown the wind, she must expect to 
 reap the whirlwind. Mrs. Aylmer had borne 
 all such prophecies with wonderful equani-
 
 THE SEDGEBOROUGH WORLD. V 
 
 mity, being secretly well satisfied with her 
 own progeny. 
 
 Her eldest son, Sydney, had done well at 
 school, and had now gained golden opinions 
 at Oxford, where he had just taken a good 
 fellowship. Mr. Aylmer, who had always 
 declared that Sydney was too fond of re- 
 finements and subtleties ever to do much, 
 was obliged to admit that he had every 
 cause for satisfaction. Sydney had wished 
 to study medicine, but his father, who 
 seldom interfered with the tastes and 
 wishes of his children, put a direct veto 
 on this. 
 
 " He would not have any son of his a 
 dirty drug-maker." 
 
 " The noblest profession there is," mur- 
 mured Sydney ; but he was young then, 
 and submitted, which he would not have 
 done had he been called on to decide the 
 question now that he was two-and-twenty
 
 10 THE SEDGEBOROUGH WORLD. 
 
 years of age. He was of a naturally inde- 
 pendent disposition, and none of his people 
 knew much of his plans, occupations, or 
 thoughts. He wrote to his mother when he 
 had anything of importance to say, and 
 prided himself on these short notes being 
 direct and to the point. He was not inti- 
 mate with any of his sisters, as he looked 
 upon women as curious and unsatisfactory 
 phenomena. But since they were evils 
 necessary to the conditions of life, he would 
 have inculcated on them the old nursery 
 rhyme — 
 
 Speak when you are spoken to, 
 Do as you are bid ; 
 Shut the door after you, 
 And you'll never be chid. 
 
 The women-kind, therefore, belonging to 
 him did not at all conform to his ideas of 
 what was suitable ; and having found it 
 vanity and vexation of spirit to endeavour 
 to teach them their true position in the
 
 THE SEDGEBOROUGH WORLD. 11 
 
 scheme of creation, he avoided them gene- 
 rally when at home. For Lizzie, indeed, he 
 had some regard, " for she had pretensions 
 to good sense, and an idea, though indis- 
 tinct, of the fitness of things," and he would 
 condescend to notice her occasionally, as a 
 sign of his approval. He thought Florence 
 a monstrosity; and as for Lois, she should be 
 kej)t in the nursery, and be put on a course 
 of bread and water till the sharp edge was 
 taken off her tongue. At all this his mother 
 smiled, and thought he " was young enough 
 yet, poor boy ; but he would be bitten more 
 severely than others when his time came." 
 For Mrs. Aylmer looked on falling in love as 
 a disease which all men must have sooner or 
 later, as their dogs have distemper. 
 
 Her daughter Lizzie Mrs. Aylmer also 
 felt to be very satisfactory. She was not 
 clever, it is true, "but then, poor thing, she 
 is so sensible." Mrs. Aylmer could rely on
 
 12 THE SEDGEBOROUGH WORLD. 
 
 her to be always ready at the right moment, 
 and always to say the right thing. She 
 could entertain all the dull and common- 
 place people, such as heavy young men, from 
 whom Mrs. Aylmer's brightest sallies could 
 not draw forth a spark, and who, when turned 
 over to Lizzie, were metamorjihosed into 
 very pleasant, agreeable companions. More-" 
 over, though Lizzie's features were by no 
 means classical or delicately chiselled, her 
 rich brown hair, fair face, and bright 
 cheeks, made her look quite pretty. She 
 had a sweet voice also, and had learnt 
 enough music to be able to play simple 
 accompaniments to her singing on the 
 piano. 
 
 Lois w r as most like her mother of any of 
 her children in face and character, although 
 her mental capabilities would never equal 
 those of Mrs. Aylmer. Lois was thirteen 
 years of age, was dark-haired, dark-eyed,
 
 THE SEDGEB0E0UGH WOELD. 13 
 
 and vivacious, to whom Miss Frost found it a 
 vain attempt to endeavour to teach what she 
 had taught Florence. She declared that 
 Hegel's theories were "lunatic," that she 
 could have invented better herself; and as for 
 the Institutes of Metaphysics, they were all 
 full of egoism, and she had enough of that 
 without it being brought into her lessons. 
 On the other hand, Huxley and Spencer 
 might be very well-meaning and very in- 
 teresting for those who understood their 
 writings — she could not, that was all ; and as 
 for Newton's apple, she believed it would 
 have fallen to the ground without any law of 
 gravitation, " for you see it grew ripe, and 
 then — why it fell, of course." She liked 
 reading " in moderation, you know," as long 
 as she read about things of which she could 
 afterwards talk with effect; for she could 
 not bear to be ignorant on any subject 
 which was talked of in her presence, and
 
 14 THE SEDGEB0R0UGH WORLD. 
 
 had always something to say — whether 
 that something was sensible or not, might be 
 a question. Notwithstanding her contempt 
 for Hegel, she was unwittingly a disciple of 
 his, in so far that she believed that whatever 
 she thought must be true. She would, for 
 instance, give forth opinions on subjects of 
 which she had never heard before, with an 
 " it stands to reason, you know," — which 
 generally proved to be very convincing to 
 the uninitiated. 
 
 The other remaining child, Charles, a boy 
 of eight, had as yet shown no particular 
 talent, except one for dirtying himself and 
 his clothes on every occasion. It is true he 
 had hinted with mysterious gravity, that 
 probably when he grew to be a man 
 he might become a butler where two foot- 
 men were kept, and was exceedingly hurt 
 when this confidence was not treated with 
 the consideration it deserved.
 
 THE SEDGEB0R0UGH WORLD. 15 
 
 It was Mrs. Hamilton, the wife of her 
 eldest brother, who had told Mrs. Aylmer 
 most clearly, that she thought she was 
 bringing up her family ill. 
 
 "No child of mine should speak until it is 
 spoken to, before coming to years of dis- 
 cretion ; nor should she mix freely in society, 
 as yours do, Evelyn," she had said. 
 
 "But then, you see," replied Mrs. Aylmer 
 with spirit, "my girls are not to be intro- 
 duced -into London society and make great 
 marriages." 
 
 "I really think you should take them to 
 London." 
 
 " Nonsense, Cornelia, you know as well as 
 I that we could not afford it, and would not 
 care about it if we could." 
 
 "I suppose you could not; but it is a 
 pity." 
 
 "I don't see that. My girls will have 
 very pleasant society in Sedgeborough, and
 
 16 THE SEDGEBOROUGH WORLD. 
 
 as much of it as will be good for them. I 
 am afraid when you have succeeded in getting 
 into London society, you will be hardly 
 repaid for your pains. At least, all the 
 Londoners that I have seen — and, thank 
 heaven, they have been few ! — have either 
 been most ordinary peoj^le, or so heartily 
 tired of themselves and everybody else, that 
 I could have jumped like a school-girl when 
 I got away from them." 
 
 "Well, my dear Evelyn, as you say, you 
 have met few of them. But it is the way 
 you let your girls speak to you that I think 
 is not wise. Perhaps it is the fashion among 
 you Sedgeborough folks." 
 
 " As my girls are rational, I treat them 
 like rational beings ; 'of course all girls could 
 not be treated in the same way," she said, 
 with meaning. 
 
 " Lois is becoming a regular little vixen," 
 — and Mrs. Hamilton laughed. She and Mrs.
 
 THE SEDGEBOROUGH WORLD. 17 
 
 Aylmer never hesitated to use to each other 
 
 any words that might occur to them; and 
 
 when it suited her humour, no woman could 
 
 speak with such unblushing insolence as Mrs. 
 
 Hamilton. She would, however, have found 
 
 many people to agree with her as to the way 
 
 Mrs. Aylmer allowed her daughters to speak 
 
 to her. She was much more like their sister, 
 
 and when she spoke sharply to them, thought 
 
 nothing of receiving a sharp reply. She did 
 
 not deny that they had all quick and excitable 
 
 tempers ; but then it was her theory that a 
 
 storm of thunder and lightning clears the air, 
 
 and to be " liable to it" occasionally was, to 
 
 her mind, infinitely preferable to living with 
 
 a smouldering volcano. "Poor Dick," she 
 
 said, thinking of her brother, "I would not 
 
 be in his place for worlds." 
 
 Mr. Aylmer was a lawyer by profession, 
 
 and was considered a most able man. He 
 
 w r as very silent when at home, and though 
 vol. i. c
 
 18 THE SEDGEBOROUGH WORLD. 
 
 fond of his children, and proud of them, he 
 left their management entirely to his wife. 
 Therefore, the whole responsibility of their 
 education fell upon her. " And I am sure I 
 have a handful with you all," she said. 
 
 "Only mamma, dear," said Lois, "like a 
 wise woman, you don't attempt to keep us in 
 hand."
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 " Their tongue is a sharp sword." 
 
 " Thought is the soul of act * * * 
 
 * * * * and incorporeally affects 
 
 The world producing deeds, but not by deeds." 
 
 1 1 How provoking ! Here is a letter from your 
 Aunt Cornelia, saying she is coming to town 
 this afternoon, will call here, and hopes to 
 find some of us at home," said Mrs. Aylmer, 
 impatiently, one afternoon on which she and 
 her two eldest daughters were engaged to go 
 to her mother-in-law's. 
 
 " Oh ! mamma, take Lois with you, if Miss 
 Frost will spare her, and let me stay at 
 home," cried Florence; "we have been living 
 in such a whirl of gaiety lately, I shall be
 
 20 THE SEDGEBOROUGH WORLD. 
 
 quite glad of the holiday. I don't think 
 Aunt Cornelia will stay long." 
 
 "It is very provoking. Cornelia's visits 
 are like angels' only so far as they are few 
 and far between ; she always manages to time 
 them badly. There are to be some very 
 pleasant people at the old lady's." 
 
 "I assure you, mamma, I shall feel quite 
 grateful to Aunt Cornelia, if she will only 
 not stay long. I don't think, after all, that 
 more than an hour's talk will be endurable 
 about Mr. So-and-So, who is so charming, and 
 is second son of a second son of a noble lord, or 
 perhaps only of some honourable baronet." 
 
 "You are becoming quite sarcastic, Flo- 
 rence," laughed Lizzie. "If you go on this 
 way, you will soon show some of that appal- 
 ling intellect about which we have all heard." 
 
 " Shall I go, then, mother," said Florence, 
 rising, " and ask Miss Frost to spare Lois to 
 go with you?"
 
 THE SEDGEBOROUGH WORLD. 21 
 
 "Yes; and remember you must ask your 
 aunt to stay. Say how much pleasure it 
 would give me to see her, as I am sure I never 
 could be so unblushing as to say it myself." 
 
 " And so you ask me to be unblushing for 
 you ? No, I thank you," answered Florence, 
 smiling, as she left the room. 
 
 The school-room was up stairs, and when 
 Florence came in, Lois was being examined 
 in the history of Bysantium. Miss Frost 
 granted leave for her to go with her mother, 
 at which she collected her books gleefully, 
 declaring that she was convinced " good, 
 kind Miss Frost would not regret this, for 
 she, Lois, was sure it would be much better 
 for .Jier to listen to her grandmother's expe- 
 riences and wisdom, than to learn about 
 ' dreadful, shocking women like the Empress 
 Irene.' ' This outburst did not draw a smile 
 from the governess's face, and Florence 
 laughingly bade her sister be gone, and be
 
 22 THE SEDGEB0R0UGH WORLD. 
 
 silent, and drawing a low chair to the fire, 
 said, "I intend to enjoy the luxury of an 
 idle aftenoon." 
 
 u Luxury?" questioned Miss Frost. "I 
 hoped you might intend to read with me. n 
 Miss Frost spoke in low tones, but her voice 
 was hard and grating. She was a woman 
 whose appearance was called, even by her 
 best friends, " unfortunate." Her complexion 
 was swarthy, pallid, and unhealthy, while 
 the shape of her face was square, from the 
 square broad forehead to the square broad 
 chin. Nature, moreover, seemed to have 
 forgotten to give her a nose, until she had 
 only sufficient material left to form an excuse 
 for one, which hardly rose above the surface. 
 Her teeth were large and prominent, being 
 placed in her gums at long irregular inter- 
 vals, so that when her lips were closed her 
 mouth was distorted. Her hair was black 
 and cut short, giving no relief to the short-
 
 THE SEDGEBOROUGH WORLD. 23 
 
 comings of her face, while her thick eye- 
 brows ran across in straight lines. But it 
 was her eyes which beggared description. 
 They were large in size, and, if they had 
 any pretensions to colour, it was to a faint 
 green, much of the white being shown be- 
 neath and at each side of the pupil. It 
 always seemed as though she were looking 
 at you through a mist of thought, and from 
 a world far removed from yours. It must 
 be admitted that her face was as intellectual 
 and striking as it was unprepossessing. 
 
 Mr. Aylmer's daily prayer was, that Lois 
 might be emancipated from the school-room, 
 and Miss Frost dismissed. It was enough to 
 make a man cut his throat, he said, to be 
 forced to live with such an appearance, — her 
 eyes and teeth haunted him : he saw them 
 in his business-room, and he saw them in the 
 dark watches of the night. 
 
 "Good heavens!" he once exclaimed to
 
 24 THE SEDGEBOROUGH WORLD. 
 
 his wife ; " what have I done to deserve 
 such a fate ?" 
 
 " As what?" she inquired, in surprise. 
 
 " As to be forced to live in the house 
 with such an object." 
 
 Miss Frost's manners were cold, almost 
 repellent; and people said of her, " She is 
 an embodied Intellect, not a woman." But 
 Florence could have told a different tale. 
 She knew that Miss Frost's love was diffi- 
 cult to win ; but, when once won, that no 
 trials, however severe, would weaken its 
 intensity. She had no affections which 
 could be rightly or easily given away to all 
 comers, for she knew too well that strangers 
 were repelled by her for them to be any- 
 thing but repellent to her. But for the one 
 or two whom she did love, it would be no 
 extravagance to say that she would go 
 through fire and water for them. 
 
 Florence rose from her seat. "What a
 
 THE SEDGEBOROUGH WORLD. 25 
 
 reproof/' she said. "I know though how I 
 shall get into favour again ; " and going to 
 the bookcase, she brought out a new work 
 by Helmholtz. " I shall read this to you," 
 she continued. 
 
 She had not, however, been allowed to 
 read much before a servant came to tell her 
 that Mrs. Hamilton was in the drawing- 
 room. 
 
 Helmholtz was put away hastily, for 
 Florence knew that her aunt was a terrible 
 person for any one lower than a countess to 
 keep waiting. 
 
 " My dear Florence, how well you look!" 
 was the greeting she received; "it was 
 really good of Evelyn to leave me the flower 
 of her flock. What ! not forgotten to blush 
 yet, though you have come out ? Well, have 
 the good folks of Sedgeborough been gay? 
 Come, and tell me all about it." 
 
 Mrs. Hamilton was a tall, handsome
 
 26 THE SEDGEBOROUGH WORLD. 
 
 woman, who appeared hardly more than 
 thirty years of age. She was usually much 
 admired, but her features were hard, and 
 seemed as though they had been cut out of 
 wood. She was a woman w r ho had never 
 known what it was to blush, and who allowed 
 the principles of truth to be no inconvenience 
 to her. She would have quite despised her- 
 self, had she allowed herself to be restrained 
 by anything so petty. 
 
 " How do you like being a come-out young 
 lady?" she continued, sitting beside Florence, 
 and surveying her in a cool, leisurely way, 
 as from an eminence. 
 
 " How did Agatha enjoy her season last 
 year?" asked Florence. 
 
 "Oh! immensely. Do you mean to say 
 we have not met since we went to London 
 last year ? How strange ! " 
 
 " Not very strange, I think. We were 
 abroad all last summer, and you seldom come
 
 THE SEDGEBOROUGH WORLD. 27 
 
 here. By the bye, mamma was obliged to 
 go out ; but she told me to tell you she 
 hoped you would stay." 
 
 " Quite impossible ! I have only come for 
 a little indispensable shopping. I must be 
 home this evening by seven o'clock, in time 
 to dress for dinner. What do you say to 
 coming out now, and giving me the help of 
 your taste in my purchases ?" 
 
 Florence rose with alacrity. She believed 
 it would be infinitely preferable to go out 
 shopping than to be shut up in the house 
 with her Aunt Cornelia for a long tete-a- 
 tete. 
 
 " You have not told me how you liked 
 your balls," went on Mrs. Hamilton, as soon 
 as they were out. 
 
 " I never dance ; so I don't go to balls." 
 
 " Not dance ? What 's that for ? Eeligious 
 notions?" 
 
 " I do not like it."
 
 28 THE SEDGEBOROUGH WORLD. 
 
 " Perhaps you did not find the partners 
 Sedgeborough could afford all that could be 
 wished?" 
 
 " I have never been to a ball ; but I should 
 think men danced as well in Sedgeborough 
 as anywhere else." 
 
 " Should you ? You have had so much 
 experience, you know." 
 
 " Well, I have not noticed any deformity 
 about them, which would prevent their danc- 
 ing well ; but perhaps that may be from 
 my Sedgeborough eyes." And Florence hated 
 herself for having answered her aunt pettishly. 
 
 " It is a pity you could not go to London. 
 Now you must tell me what milliners' shops 
 you patronize, and what sort of wares they 
 keep. Are they any way tolerable ?" 
 
 Florence thought her mother would have 
 said, " Oh, well enough for us good folks of 
 Sedgeborough. I wonder you did not tele- 
 graph to London or Paris for what you
 
 THE SEDGEBOROUGH WORLD. 29 
 
 wanted." She contented herself, however, 
 with replying that she would take her aunt 
 to the best shops, such as they were. 
 
 It was late before Mrs. Hamilton was satis- 
 fled with the goods shown her, and when 
 Florence left her at the station, she was 
 heartily and thoroughly tired of what she 
 had hoped would prove a holiday. She had 
 just time to prepare for dinner at seven. As 
 they waited in the drawing-room for the 
 guests to arrive, Mrs. Aylmer questioned 
 Florence as to how she had enjoyed 
 herself. 
 
 " Oh ! mamma, she says I am the flower of 
 your flock, and am to pay her a long visit 
 soon," said Florence, and her face was very 
 woeful. 
 
 " Well, you shall have Ernest Stuart to 
 take you to dinner," laughed her mother. 
 " His sister's brother must be clever, so I hope 
 you may be rewarded by a pleasant evening."
 
 30 THE SEDGEBOROUGH WORLD. 
 
 "I don't think even being his sister's 
 brother could redeem a curate from unin- 
 terestingness," said Lizzie. 
 
 The arrival of their friends here put an 
 end to further talk ; and a few minutes after 
 Florence was going down to the dining-room 
 with Mr. Stuart. 
 
 " You have just returned home, have you 
 not?" she asked, to begin a conversation 
 which she expected, from what she could 
 judge from the gravity of his expression, 
 would not be of the most lively. 
 
 "Yes; I came from London three days 
 ago." 
 
 u I suppose it is very dull at this time of 
 year." 
 
 " London is never dull ; at least, not to 
 me ; but, then, I suppose the place where a 
 man's work is, must always be the most 
 interesting to him. The same as her home 
 is never dull to a woman."
 
 THE SEDGEB0R0UGH WORLD. 31 
 
 " I am afraid the correctness of that last 
 generalization, at least, might be disputed." 
 
 " Yes, I suppose I was wrong, or we should 
 not have so many women who seek relief 
 from ennui in the pleasures of society. I 
 have myself met so few of these, and so 
 thoroughly believe in the home-loving, home- 
 keeping woman being the true type of her 
 sex, that, for the moment, I had forgotten 
 their existence." 
 
 " There are many women who find the 
 greatest pleasure in mixing in society, and to 
 whom the exclusiveness of an entirely do- 
 mestic life would be very irksome. A man 
 is not supposed to be satisfied with merely 
 domestic interests, and I do not see why a 
 woman should, who by nature is even more 
 socially inclined." 
 
 " Have you got on that weighty subject — 
 the comparative merits of the two sexes — 
 Miss Florence ? Pray speak louder, that we
 
 32 THE SEDGEBOROUGH WORLD. 
 
 may have the benefit of your observations. 
 Mrs. Aylmer, may I beg that you will call for 
 silence ? Miss Florence Aylmer is going to 
 be kind enough to speak to us." 
 
 Mr. Carrick, a cousin of Mr. Aylmer's, 
 who was often in the house, and who said this, 
 was seated opposite Florence, and had been 
 listening to her for some time. Notwith- 
 standing some disadvantages of personal 
 appearance, his quiet self-possession and com- 
 posure under all circumstances, and the 
 consideration with which he expressed him- 
 self, did not fail to carry weight. 
 
 " It only is, mamma, that Mr. Carrick wants 
 there to be silence, that he may be heard 
 talking," said Florence, when appealed to. 
 
 " We are waiting to hear you talk, Mr. 
 Carrick, now that you have silenced us," said 
 a Miss Cadogan. 
 
 " Really, Mrs. Aylmer, I feel so distressed, 
 you can't think, that I should have caused
 
 THE SEDGEBOROUGH WORLD. 33 
 
 Miss Cadogan to be silent. I know what a 
 restriction it must be. Pray, beg her to 
 speak on, since Miss Florence Aylmer will not 
 give us the benefit of her learning, after all." 
 
 "You think I like talking?" asked Miss 
 Cadogan. 
 
 " I know you do," he replied, laughing a 
 little. 
 
 "You are interrupting general conversa- 
 tion, Mr. Carrick ; so I beg you will either 
 be silent, or confine your attention to your 
 next neighbour," said Mrs. Aylmer. 
 
 " But, when my next neighbour will have 
 none of my attention, it is rather hard. Miss 
 Scott, do you hear ? Mrs. Aylmer says you 
 are to attend to me, and not to Captain 
 Legrand. It is all Mr. Aylmer' s fault, that 
 we have gone wrong, for talking to his left- 
 hand neighbour." 
 
 After this interlude, general conversation 
 began again. But Florence, for one, felt 
 
 VOL. I. D
 
 34 THE SEDGEBOROUGH WORLD. 
 
 the second beginning more difficult than 
 the first. 
 
 " Does your sister Anne still attend the 
 lectures on Comparative Philology this year ?" 
 she asked. 
 
 "No; I am glad to say, she has given 
 them up. She had no time — her other work 
 was much more important." 
 
 " Do you think so? Do you not think 
 that the cultivation of a talent must always 
 be important ? " 
 
 " I do not see of what importance a 
 more thorough knowledge of Comparative 
 Philology could be to her ; but, at any rate, 
 the value of her other work was such as far 
 to outweigh any it might have." 
 
 "I do admire, so intensely, anyone who 
 gives up their life, as she does, to the doing 
 of good works. And I suppose it would 
 spoil the entirety of her life if the sacrifice 
 were less complete. But, still, every one does
 
 THE SEDGEB0R0UGH WORLD. 35 
 
 owe something to himself, and self-cultivation 
 is an end in itself." 
 
 "Self-cultivation? Well, but is the culti- 
 vation of our moral or our mental capa- 
 bilities the more important ? It can hardly 
 be a question, it seems to me." 
 
 " But a man whose moral capacities alone 
 are cultivated, would be very one-sided and 
 exclusive." 
 
 "We have not time to be anything but 
 one-sided. We must work, or we must 
 think. Thought makes men anxious to see 
 and search further before they act, and so 
 puts an end to action, or makes it undecided, 
 hesitating, and useless. My sister, some 
 years ago, gave herself up to self-cultivation, 
 and finally got completely entangled in a 
 web of doubts and difficulties. She threw 
 it aside at last, and saved herself by 
 action." 
 
 " But thought, though it does not lead to
 
 36 THE SEDGEB0R0UGH WORLD. 
 
 direct action, is an action itself which in- 
 fluences life. The men of thought help the 
 men of action ; they give the light by which 
 the others must walk. I do not say the 
 one is better than the other ; but only that 
 both are necessary." 
 
 " They do not give light; they turn us 
 aside into the ways of darkness," he replied, 
 gravely. 
 
 " Who does that ? What dreadful jDeople 
 are you talking of, Miss Aylmer? " demanded 
 Miss Cadogan. 
 
 "It is a long story," replied Florence, 
 smiling. 
 
 " But I want to hear about these dreadful 
 people. I feel quite curious. May I not 
 hear about them ?" 
 
 "Don't let us talk about any dreadful 
 people, but come away to the drawing- 
 room," said Mrs. Aylmer; and the ladies 
 rose.
 
 THE SEDGEB0R0UGH WORLD. 37 
 
 "Well, Florence, what of the curate?" 
 asked her mother. 
 
 "He thinks the plan by which the uni- 
 verse was made, was — heavens! — 'was his 
 small nine-and-thirty articles.' He has his 
 sisters' intolerance quadrupled." 
 
 ■" Well, intolerance must be rather pleasant 
 for a variety," laughed Miss Cadogan. "Sure, 
 an' I likes a fariety; you are all free-thinkers 
 here. And, besides, he's so handsome, it 
 would be worth while coming out to dinner 
 to look at him. Mrs. Aylmer, whenever 
 you have Mr. Stuart, will you invite me?" 
 
 Miss Cadogan went up then to Anne 
 Stuart. 
 
 "Are you going to Mrs. Carrick's dance, 
 to-morrow?" she asked. 
 
 " No ; we none of us go to balls, now." 
 
 " But this is a dance. It is not a ball at 
 all. It is quite innocent, I assure you." 
 
 " I do not doubt its innocence. I should
 
 38 THE SEDGEBOEOUGH WORLD. 
 
 have said, I suppose, that we do not 
 dance." 
 
 " Don't care about it ? Oh, by the bye, 
 Mrs. Aylmer, did you hear Mrs. Carrick 
 asked Mrs. Forbes to bring her daughter, 
 and she answered, that she did not allow her 
 to dance, for spiritual reasons ? Do you know 
 if it is more spiritual to walk straight than 
 round ? I wish you would tell me. I should 
 like so much to be spiritual." 
 
 Hester Stuart laughed, but said more 
 gravely — 
 
 "It is not the turning round Mrs. Forbes 
 objects to ; but the waste of time and 
 force." 
 
 " You don't think it wrong, Miss Stuart?" 
 
 " No, not wrong. Wrong is a strong 
 word." 
 
 " You only think it foolish? You don't 
 dance, either, Miss Florence Aylmer; is it 
 for the same reason?"
 
 THE SEDGEBOROUGH WORLD. 39 
 
 " No, Florence is too stately to care about 
 
 rapid movement," said Hester, smiling. 
 
 "A fair and stately maid, whose eyes 
 Have touched the colour of the skies." 
 
 laughed Miss Cadogan. 
 
 When the gentlemen came up stairs, Mrs. 
 Aylmer took an opportunity of introducing 
 Mr. Stuart to Miss Cadogan, who made up 
 her mind to draw out his intolerance. 
 
 "We have been discussing dancing," she 
 said. 
 
 "Dancing? That must have been in- 
 teresting and profitable ! " he said, drily. 
 
 "Yes, it was. You know we have a 
 great deal of dancing at this time of year. 
 Do you think deux-temps or trois-temps 
 is best?" 
 
 "I never dance, so cannot offer an 
 opinion." 
 
 "You don't dance? You should get 
 M. D'Alvrecht to give you lessons ; he is in
 
 40 THE SEDGEBOROUGH WORLD. 
 
 town at present. You and Mr. Carrick 
 should take lessons together." 
 
 " What is that about Mr. Carrick?" asked 
 Mr. Carrick, turning round. 
 
 "Mr. Carrick? There's nothing about 
 him, that I can see," she said, laughing. 
 
 " You were talking of me, I am convinced. 
 Miss Aylmer, did you not hear them talking 
 of me?" 
 
 " Mr. Stuart is going to get dancing 
 lessons, and I proposed he should take you 
 with him. It would be an act of charity to 
 your partners." 
 
 " If Miss Cadogan will be dancing mistress, 
 I shall be delighted." 
 
 " Come away, and sing, Miss Cadogan," 
 said Mrs. Aylmer. 
 
 "Now, Miss Cadogan," said Mr. Carrick, 
 following her to the piano, and speaking in 
 tones of remonstrance. " Do not sing loye 
 songs. They are so absurd; and really, I
 
 THE SEDGEBOROUGH WORLD. 41 
 
 think, you are too sensible. You should not 
 sing them." 
 
 She seated herself on the piano-stool, and, 
 leaning forward, said impressively — 
 
 " One word is too often disdained 
 For thee to disdain it." 
 
 " And," he replied, 
 
 " One word is too often profaned 
 For thee to profane it." 
 
 " I did not know you studied Shelley." 
 
 i 1 1 am not so utterly ignorant, Miss Cadogan, 
 as you seem to imagine, of the literature of 
 my country." 
 
 " Shall I sing German, then?" 
 
 "I don't like anything German," he said 
 positively, but half laughingly. 
 
 " French, then?" 
 
 " I don't like French, either. But why 
 not sing English ? It is a much finer language, 
 and, I am sure, much more generally under- 
 stood."
 
 42 THE SEDGEBOROUGH WORLD. 
 
 She sang, 
 
 " My love is like a red, red rose." 
 u I regret you would not take my advice," 
 
 lie said. 
 
 " I believe love must be a painful subject 
 
 with you just now, Mr. Carrick. I wish I 
 
 had sung — 
 
 " Life is real, life is earnest 
 And this world is not its goal," 
 
 —or, 
 
 " There was a reaper, and his name was Death."
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 " So hot a speed, with such advice disposed, 
 Such temperate order in so fierce a course, 
 Doth want example." — Shakspeee. 
 
 " §erene and manly, hardened to sustain 
 The load of life."— Dkyden. 
 
 It had been no hasty, ill-considered action 
 on Ernest Stuart's part, to enter the Church ; 
 but the result of his whole education and 
 character. 
 
 He had not been seized by any ardent, 
 youthful enthusiasm, but had determined on 
 the step gravely and sadly enough. Ambi- 
 tion, interest, and the advice of friends, had 
 all pointed to a ■ more brilliant career, in 
 which he felt he had power to win success, 
 whilst the Church, he knew, only offered
 
 44 THE SEDGEBOROUGH WORLD. 
 
 him long years of hard, and probably thank- 
 less labour. 
 
 But he saw the world "half blind with 
 intellectual light, half brutalized with civi- 
 lization, and mad with sin and pain," and 
 considered that the first duty of every man 
 was to find what physic he could for the 
 evil, and that a life would be well spent, 
 which had served to mitigate the lot of even 
 a few individuals here. 
 
 Mitigation was all he hoped and laboured 
 for ; so that if there was little ardent en- 
 thusiasm, there was a great measure of 
 self-devotion. He did not suppose that a 
 clergyman alone is able to benefit his race, 
 and knew that a man may be equally useful 
 in other professions — perhaps, having a wider 
 extent of influence, even more so. But then 
 he knew, on the other hand, that if he 
 entered another profession, the gratification 
 of his own ambition would become his
 
 THE SEDGEBOROUGH WORLD. 45 
 
 object in life. Florence Aylmer may have 
 been right when she spoke of him as intole- 
 rant. He had been educated in a bigoted 
 Calvinism, and had not yet freed himself 
 from his swaddling clothes, for, during the 
 three years he had had his curacy, he had 
 been so occupied in teaching and helping 
 others, that he had no time left to teach 
 himself. He had allowed his individuality 
 to be absorbed in his work, which work, it 
 is true, was often hindered and impeded by 
 his want of light; for not seeing his way 
 clearly, he as often wounded himself as 
 helped others. On the other hand, his 
 teaching appealed more forcibly to the un- 
 cultivated intellects with which he had to 
 deal, than it would have done had it been 
 more enlightened and refined. 
 
 He really believed that he "had not time 
 to be anything but one-sided." Life was 
 short — twenty-six years of his had gone
 
 46 THE SEDGEBOROUGH WORLD. 
 
 already — and there was work, necessary- 
 work, on every side, and few, if any, to do 
 it. So far as he could see, cultivated men 
 did less of it than those who were uncul- 
 tivated ; because, having a certain amount 
 of light, they could not rest till they had 
 more. He could not understand how men 
 could speak of self-cultivation as an end in 
 itself, when there was a world groaning in 
 misery around them ; and felt it more in- 
 cumbent on him to work on with what 
 powers he had, and succeed in little, though 
 he might fail in much, than to spend his 
 life in seeking light. 
 
 He had taken a curacy in one of the 
 poorest districts in London, and devoted 
 himself, heart and soul, to his work. He 
 had begun, as I have said, with no ardent, 
 youthful enthusiasm, to be disappointed, but 
 with a firm and manly resolve to go on un- 
 influenced and unwearied, though he should
 
 THE SEDGEB0R0UGH WORLD. 47 
 
 be met by constant failure, believing that 
 in the end some sort of harvest must be 
 reaped from seed carefully sown. 
 
 The worst effect of his intolerance was to 
 have made him grave and stern, and to have 
 taken all the brightness from his life. He 
 could not have been human, had he been 
 able to look with a smiling face on more 
 than three-fourths of his fellows hastening to 
 perdition, although it is true he had not 
 yet realized the full force and significance 
 of his own doctrines. Experience had many 
 lessons in store for him, and to such men 
 her lessons are always bitter. 
 
 Miss Cadogan had been right when she 
 remarked on his good looks. He was tall, 
 slight, and erect. He was never known to 
 lounge or stoop, for he was a man whom 
 nature would have to compel to give way 
 entirely, before he would give way in the 
 least. The hair which clustered round the
 
 48 THE SEDGEB0R0UGH WORLD. 
 
 pale high forehead, as well as that of the 
 small moustache, whiskers, and short crisp 
 beard, was raven black. The large deep-set 
 hazel eyes glowed with suppressed enthu- 
 siasm ; while the aquiline nose, strongly- 
 marked brows, and somewhat hard lines 
 about the well-cut mouth, gave the face a 
 character of stern decision. The complexion 
 was olive, and, though usually pale, would 
 occasionally flush under the influence of a 
 sudden thought. 
 
 Ernest was the eldest of the family, and 
 though the parents were both dead, his 
 three sisters and two brothers lived together 
 in their house in Sedgeborough, next the 
 Aylmers'. They had been educated in a 
 strong regard for family relations ; and al- 
 though they had grown to be men and 
 women, with most distinct individualities, 
 they were all on close terms of friendship. 
 
 Each in their different way overflowed
 
 THE SEDGEBOROUGH WORLD. 49 
 
 with energy and zeal. " These Stuarts," 
 some one had said, " should be dealt over 
 the country, so that energy may not be 
 concentrated all in one focus." 
 
 They were unconscious of the immense 
 superiority they possessed, and were utterly 
 incapable of understanding or sympathizing 
 with indolence. Their energy, moreover, 
 never died away aimlessly for want of an 
 object; for, wherever they might be, they 
 always succeeded in finding work. 
 
 The sisters called themselves women, not 
 girls ; and took all the privileges of women. 
 They never hesitated to go about alone, or 
 to find their own employments and occupa- 
 tions ; and what was conventionality, that it 
 should bind them down ? 
 
 It was very pretty and very proper for 
 little girls not to go about the streets alone 
 or to be in the house after a certain hour ; 
 but they would as soon have put on pinafores, 
 
 VOL. I. E
 
 50 THE SEDGEBOROUGH WORLD. 
 
 and gone back to the nursery and mud pies 
 as have been these little girls. They had 
 lived in Sedgeborough all their lives, but 
 were still a source of never failing amaze- 
 ment to their quiet and ordinary fellow 
 citizens, who treated them very much as 
 children would their toys, expecting that, 
 when a certain string was pulled, they would 
 go on being amusing for a given time ; and, 
 if the machinery happened not to work quite 
 so well as usual, feeling as though their just 
 rights had been denied. 
 
 Hester ministered most to their amuse- 
 ment. She would sit down in a business- 
 like manner, and do her best to fulfil her 
 friends' expectations, thinking it odd enough 
 all the time to be made a show of. I can 
 see her now, with' her feet crossed, her hands 
 clasped in her lap, and a curious smile curling 
 the corners of her mouth, as she consented, 
 on being " wound up," to exhibit her eccen-
 
 THE SEDGEBOROUGH WORLD. 51 
 
 tricities, for the entertainment of the spec- 
 tators. 
 
 To Hester the generality of Sedgeborough 
 people did great injustice. Her sense of the 
 ludicrous was so strong, that even on serious 
 subjects she could not resist expressing her- 
 self in the most comical manner; and this 
 struck strangers so forcibly, that they forgot 
 to notice the thoughtfulness that lay beneath. 
 They looked on her simply as some vague 
 amusing phenomenon, supposing that Anne 
 had absorbed all the depth of mental capa- 
 bility which nature had to spare for the 
 women of the family, and Cecil all the moral 
 and lovable qualities. Whilst, had they 
 really tried to understand Hester, they would 
 have found, beneath all her fun and gaiety, 
 a depth of thought and a readiness of sym- 
 pathy of which they had no conception. 
 She considered herself very uncultivated, 
 and was constantly regretting " neglected 
 
 libr; 
 
 UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS
 
 52 THE SEDGEBOROUGH WORLD. 
 
 opportunities." " But it shall not be," she 
 said at this time; "I must not be so dis- 
 gracefully ignorant. I am going to turn 
 over a new leaf and begin to work. It 
 would haye been so nice had I only had 
 literary tastes." 
 
 Although she was only two and twenty, 
 she would talk sadly enough of the present 
 generation, as though she were not of it ; 
 for she felt that she belonged to a world that 
 was gone, and could only look with astonish- 
 ment, not unmixed with admiration, on the 
 ways and manners of the day. This feeling 
 may have been right in a measure. Her 
 eager conservatism — her theories as to wo- 
 man's position and woman's duties — her 
 submission to and respect for her elders — her 
 reverence for and her opinions on education — 
 all belonged to an order that had passed away. 
 She was idealistic in many ways, given to 
 hero worship, and had a loyal and true heart.
 
 THE SEDGEBOROUGH WORLD. 53 
 
 In appearance she was striking, though 
 she had certainly no actual prettiness about 
 her. Her figure was tall and somewhat 
 angular ; her hair and colouring nondescript ; 
 her forehead broad, her eyes grey, and her 
 mouth firm and sweet. As Anne had no 
 inclination for housekeeping or domestic 
 management, Hester took these duties on 
 herself and fulfilled them with zeal. It was 
 on her that her brothers Edward and Louis 
 relied for their home comfort. These men, 
 both lawyers by profession, lived in hopes 
 of doing well some day; and, though that 
 day still lay far off in the future, it was 
 likely that, if perseverance and study bring 
 success, they should be successful. 
 
 Edward was a grave, quiet man, who was ac- 
 customed to speak with a certain precision and 
 determination, which there was no gainsaying. 
 As he went on his way, he looked neither to 
 the right nor the left, so that it seemed as
 
 54 THE SEDGEBOROUGH WORLD. 
 
 though he had fixed his prominent clear blue 
 eyes on some distant object from which nothing 
 would turn him aside. Of him his sister 
 Anne said: " He is a good fellow, and may 
 be relied on," for, notwithstanding the affec- 
 tion which existed between them all, they 
 never scrupled to discuss each other, for they 
 were unable to see why there should be any 
 hesitation felt in the outspeaking of a truth. 
 
 When Ernest and his sisters returned from 
 the Aylmers', Anne said, — 
 
 " The more I see of these people, the more 
 I am struck with their interest in life and all 
 its concerns. Their sympathies are open 
 and ready. Florence is coining with me to 
 Redfern Hospital to-morrow." 
 
 1 i Are you sure there is not more curiosity 
 to see the different forms of life, than sym- 
 pathy with suffering ?" asked Ernest. 
 
 " A little of both," said Hester, laughing. 
 
 "I often think they like to draw us out
 
 THE SEDGEB0R0UGH WORLD. 55 
 
 for their amusement, but quite kindly ! As 
 Ernest says, it is just curiosity in the different 
 forms of life." 
 
 " They l do admire you so intensely,' but 
 like studying you as curious phenomena." 
 
 "I think you do them great injustice," 
 said Anne decidedly; "we have not such 
 ready interest as they in all the different 
 forms of life. We are very exclusive, and if 
 we were to ' so admire' a little inexclusiveness, 
 and to some purpose, it might do us good." 
 
 " There is danger in inexclusiveness, and 
 in such admiration, wasting itself in simple 
 admiration, instead of having result in ac- 
 tion." 
 
 " I am aware there is danger which cannot 
 be too strictly guarded against. I think, 
 however, Mrs. Aylmer is most sensible, and 
 will stop her daughters in time, if they be- 
 come unsound in their judgment." 
 
 "And, as for acting, I rather like the idea
 
 56 THE SEDGEB0R0UGH WORLD. 
 
 of there being pretty young creatures, who, 
 without working themselves, encourage the 
 workers with their sympathy." 
 
 " My dear Hester, I thought you would 
 have been too sensible. Of course it would 
 be very pleasant for the workers if there were 
 1 pretty young creatures' whose sole object 
 in life would be to sympathize with them. 
 But what of the l pretty young creatures' ? 
 It would hardly be for their advantage." 
 
 " It was something like Comte's proposal, 
 that woman should be supported in enforced 
 idleness by the community, in order to form 
 an ideal of humanity," said Edward. 
 
 " Wait a moment, I have something," cried 
 Hester, and then continued bringing out her 
 words with pain and difficulty, but beaming 
 with triumph when they were uttered. 
 "'Nur das Handeln giebt dem Manne ein 
 wiirdiges Dasein.' " 
 
 " Well done, Hester," said Ernest, laugh-
 
 THE SEDGEBOROUGH WORLD. 57 
 
 ing, as he laid his hand with affection on 
 his sister's. 
 
 "The 'a' in 'Handeln' is long," said 
 Anne, and, taking up her candlestick, went 
 to her room.
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 " Here comes Beatrice : by the day, she's a fair lady. 
 I do spy some marks of love in her." — 'Much Ado 
 about Nothing.' 
 
 " Ros. How full of briars is this working-day world ! 
 
 " Cel. They are but burs, cousin, thrown upon thee in 
 holiday foolery. If we walk not in the trodden paths, our 
 very petticoats will catch them." — ' As You Like It.' 
 
 Beatrice Cadogan was the only child of 
 Theophilus Cadogan and Sophia his wife. 
 Mr. Cadogan, as his daughter would have 
 everyone remember, was the second son of 
 Sir Peter Cadogan, of Cadogan. It was 
 such a comfort, Beatrice said, to think that 
 she was even distantly connected with the 
 peerage; and, as for being poor, what was 
 that ! Poverty was so " genteel." It was 
 quite a title to aristocracy in itself. She
 
 THE SEDGEBOROUGH WORLD. 59 
 
 looked down from the Olympian heights of 
 three hundred pounds a year with pity on 
 those plebeians who wallowed in their thou- 
 sands, and, as for the unfashionable part of 
 the town in which she lived, it was so quiet 
 that she would have preferred it under any 
 circumstances. 
 
 Beatrice had forgotten, most probably, that 
 Sir Peter Cadogan had made his money by 
 a stocking manufactory, this forgetfulness 
 on her part being excusable, as Sir Peter 
 had left all this, except the few thousands, 
 from which the three hundred j)ounds were 
 derived, to his eldest son, the present baro- 
 net. As for her great-grandfather, she had 
 not a chance of remembering anything about 
 him, as no one knew what he was, or from 
 whence he had come. So it was that she talked 
 of her proud lineage, and her aristocratic 
 birth. 
 
 Moreover, as his descent was the only
 
 60 THE SEDGEBOROUGH WORLD. 
 
 thing remarkable about her father, it was 
 incumbent on his dutiful daughter to respect 
 that descent. When Mr. Cadogan had con- 
 sidered life, 'twas all a cheat, for he had lived 
 in constant expectation of winning renown, 
 and had always been on the point of writing 
 a book, or making a discovery which was to 
 give him at once a fortune, and a name. 
 But some one was always before him, and 
 wrote or discovered what he was going to 
 write or discover, or the point slipped away 
 from him as he was near its attainment. 
 "My dear," his wife had said, " you had 
 much better give it up, and let us lead a 
 quiet life." But Mr. Cadogan had not given 
 it up, notwithstanding all his wife's assur- 
 ances that for him to attempt to do anything 
 would be utterly futile ; and, until he died, 
 which happened some years before this story 
 opens, he believed as firmly as ever in his 
 own capabilities and chances of achievement.
 
 THE SEDGEBOROUGH WORLD. 61 
 
 Mrs. Cadogan had not meant to be unkind 
 to her husband ; but she had seen how vain 
 would be all his endeavours, and so had 
 wished to save himself and her from being 
 discomposed. 
 
 " Papa keeps us in such a pleasant state of 
 expectation/' Miss Cadogan once said, "that 
 we have not time to be dull ; we are always 
 hoping to be rich." 
 
 She was sixteen years of age when he died, 
 and was now two-and-twenty, and so may 
 have experienced several disappointments 
 herself by this time. If she had, she had 
 borne them with tranquillity and composure ; 
 but, then, it is true, that society expects 
 women to bear their disappointments with 
 composure ; and, though Miss Cadogan was 
 thoroughly self-reliant and independent, she 
 did, in some things, recognize the power of 
 conventionality. 
 
 Her uncle, Sir Peter Cadogan, was a
 
 62 THE SEDGEB0R0UGH WORLD. 
 
 widower with three sons, which, in two ways, 
 was a great satisfaction to Miss Cadogan. 
 
 Firstly : If he had had daughters, she 
 would have ceased to be Miss Cadogan ; and 
 she felt she would not have borne with 
 equanimity to have gone through life as 
 Miss Trichy, which was the name by which 
 she was familiarly known. 
 
 " This may appear trivial, 7 ' she said ; "but 
 life is made up of such trivialities, and hath 
 it not been said, c Despise not the day of 
 small things' ?" 
 
 Secondly : When she went to Cadogan she 
 could enjoy the superabundance of good 
 things there much more at her ease than 
 she could have done had there been a mis- 
 tress of the household. She even preferred 
 to pay her visit when none of her cousins 
 were at home, for they were sandy-haired, 
 troublesome young men, whose presence inter- 
 fered with her comfort and freedom of action.
 
 THE SEDGEBOROUGH WORLD. 63 
 
 In their absence she would revel in the 
 luxury around her much more thoroughly, 
 for her uncle was very inobtrusive, and kept 
 to his own study. She could therefore 
 lounge idly in easy chairs and sofas, or read 
 the newest book, as it suited her ; could play 
 on a splendid piano, or a still more splendid 
 organ, as the humour struck her. She could 
 occupy herself also, and this she considered 
 very delightful, in arranging and re-arrang- 
 ing the furniture of the different rooms. And 
 if all these pleasures should chance to pall, as 
 pleasures will at times, she had only to send 
 for Mrs. Budget, the housekeeper, who she 
 knew could always give her entertainment, 
 for housekeepers have so much experience of 
 life, and know interesting things that no one 
 else knows. 
 
 During these visits at Cadogan she con- 
 sidered that her virtue was put to a severe 
 test, for she was constantly tempted to break
 
 64: THE SEDGEBOROUGH WORLD. 
 
 the sixth commandment. There were so 
 many things in the house which she would 
 have liked to possess, and that no one w^ould 
 have missed. It was really quite a question 
 in casuistry. If she took the things she 
 would be benefiting her uncle, for it would 
 prevent him from being a dog in the manger 
 and keeping what had no value for him : 
 but then she would injure herself. Whether 
 should she do good to herself or to others ? 
 Sir Peter Cadogan, she thought, might have 
 done more than open his doors to her, but 
 this seemed never to occur to him ; and, 
 although he was gracious to his niece, he 
 never gave her any substantial help. One 
 reason for this may have been that his sister- 
 in-law was so little a favourite of his, that he 
 could hardly tolerate her presence in his 
 house. The baronet had many prejudices 
 and fancies which were treated with no con- 
 sideration by his sister-in-law ; moreover, she
 
 THE SEDGEB0R0UGH WORLD. 65 
 
 had been a governess, and it was not sur- 
 prising that his sense of the fitness of things 
 should be outraged at the idea of plebeian 
 blood mixing with that of the noble family 
 of Cadogan, of Cadogan ; for Sir Peter, as 
 well as his niece, had a conveniently short 
 memory on some matters. When he had 
 heard that his brother had really married, he 
 told his wife that he supposed they must ask 
 " the person" to pay them a short visit, 
 ' ' for, as Mrs. Theophilus Cadogan, some 
 attention is due to her." 
 
 Mrs. Theophilus Cadogan — " Heavens! 
 that I should be called upon to go into 
 society with such a name," had been her 
 first exclamation on being led from the 
 altar. Mrs. Theophilus Cadogan, I say, had 
 taken from her husband all her brother-in- 
 law's letters with regard to his marriage, 
 and, reading them, made every word food for 
 
 laughter ; and determined not to forget the 
 vol. i. p
 
 66 THE SEDGEB0R0UGH WORLD. 
 
 disparaging terms which had been applied 
 to her. 
 
 " I believe your grandfather may have 
 had a right to the first syllable of his name, 
 if you like, — to nothing else," she once said 
 to the irate baronet, when he had been talk- 
 ing to her about the duties she would have 
 to fulfil in her present position. " I shall 
 have many difficulties, you say ? Of course 
 I shall. It will be very difficult to live on 
 three hundred a year, especially if we have 
 many children; and when people are poor 
 they have always a number of children." 
 
 On hearing these words the honourable 
 baronet's face flushed, his under jaw fell, and 
 his gold eye-glass dropped from the exquisite 
 balance in which it had been held between 
 his fingers. That a woman should talk thir- 
 teen or fourteen days after her marriage 
 about her future family and the probability 
 of its being large, appeared to him immodest,
 
 THE SEDGEB0R0UGH W0KLD. 67 
 
 indecent, inconceivable. As for Mrs. Theo- 
 philus Cadogan, she would have turned any 
 hesitation to do so on her part to scorn. It 
 was an undoubted fact that married women 
 have children — a provision of nature, and 
 therefore, why not speak of it ? Those 
 women ashamed of child-birth should devote 
 themselves to a life of celibacy. 
 
 i i How is it, Peter ? " she asked, — for she had 
 never given him his title, these sort of people 
 are always familiar, — " how is it, Peter, that 
 you have no portraits of your ancestors ? I 
 expected from your letters to your brother 
 to find dark wainscoted walls lined with 
 pictures. Where did your people live before 
 your father bought this house ?" 
 
 " They came over from Ireland." 
 
 " From Ireland? Dear me! all your 
 ancestors ? I am afraid you cannot have 
 had many of them." 
 
 " If you would allowme to explain myself?"
 
 68 THE SEDGEB0R0UGH WORLD. 
 
 She bowed. 
 
 " My father was Irish, and settled in this 
 country." 
 
 " How was it that he lost his fortune ? — 
 for he was a weaver, was he not ? I feel so 
 interested.' 7 
 
 " A — a weaver, Mrs. Theophilus Cadogan?" 
 
 " Would you oblige me by dropping the 
 Theophilus, — as your wife is Lady Cadogan 
 there can be no objection. Yes; a weaver; 
 don't you understand ? One whose employ- 
 ment is to work with a loom, as a dictionary 
 would have it. Was that not his trade, or 
 did your respectable mother support him by 
 knitting stockings ? I have heard both 
 stories." 
 
 After such a conversation as this it was 
 natural enough that Sir Peter should avoid 
 his sister-in-law, and wish to have her as little 
 as possible in the house. 
 
 Miss Cadogan was more like her father in
 
 THE SEDGEB0R0UGH WORLD. 69 
 
 personal appearance than her mother, and so 
 Sir Peter had been gracious to her. Her hair 
 was fair, but, as she said, the supply might 
 have been more plentiful. " The puffs, I 
 know, show behind when mamma does not 
 dress it carefully : if only I were rich, I should 
 supply the deficiencies of nature," she had 
 once remarked. But the forehead, which the 
 hair shaded, was broad and noble, while the 
 complexion of the oval face was delicate as a 
 sea-shell faintly tipped with pink. The short- 
 sighted prominent blue eyes were made to 
 appear even darker than they were in colour 
 by the dark yellow-brown lashes and brows. 
 The lips were thin, and closed firmly over 
 the slightly projecting white teeth. It was a 
 face which looked best in repose, and, 
 knowing this, she studied composure and 
 checked any vivacity of expression she might 
 have. 
 
 She was considered to have abilities above
 
 70 THE SEDGEBOEOUGH WORLD. 
 
 the average, though she could not have 
 passed an examination in any single branch 
 of knowledge. " I went in for general ideas," 
 she said, " as I found them the most easy 
 and pleasant of attainment, and most useful 
 in society. Women won't enter professions 
 in my time, therefore I need not go through 
 the drudgery of preparing for one." 
 
 If she was ignorant on any subject, she 
 did not hesitate to confess the fact ; then, 
 probably the subject would be explained to 
 her if it was one of general interest, which 
 was, as she expressed it, " learning made 
 easy." 
 
 She was musical, and enjoyed few things 
 more than to spend a morning over a piano 
 or an organ ; yet she could not be called a 
 performer, for though she entered into the 
 spirit of the composition she rendered, she 
 never played with j)erfect correctness. 
 
 " I am not a nervous young lady," she
 
 THE SEDGEBOROUGH WORLD. 71 
 
 said; "therefore I don't object to play in 
 public. I don't want people to think me 
 better than I am." 
 
 Beatrice had seen a good deal of life of 
 one kind or another. Mrs. Theophilus Cado- 
 gan was an excellent manager of finances, 
 and a most enterprising woman. She and 
 her daughter were asked and went every- 
 where in Sedgeborough society, notwithstand- 
 ing their limited wardrobes. In summer 
 they went abroad and travelled about in the 
 most extraordinary manner. They had been 
 through Switzerland) France, and the North 
 of Italy, and one year they had gone to 
 Norway in a ship belonging to a Mr. Richard- 
 son, a cousin of Mrs. Cadogan. Mrs. Cado- 
 gan said she would prefer to starve a little 
 to remaining in Sedgeborough all the year 
 round. Also, she did not object to a few 
 hardships, and her daughter would bear them 
 with equanimity, which was, perhaps, as
 
 72 THE SEDGEB0R0UGH WORLD. 
 
 well, as Mrs. Cadogan, when she wished 
 anything, was apt to say with Hudibras : 
 
 " This must be done, and I would fain see 
 Mortal so sturdy as to gainsay." 
 
 Mrs. Cadogan w T ished her daughter to marry. 
 " Why don't yon marry," she said to her; 
 " don't yon know yon are growing old?" 
 Beatrice's face flushed a little. 
 
 " There is no one coming to marry me, 
 There is no one coming to woo," 
 
 was all she replied. Mrs. Cadogan believed 
 that Beatrice had her father's hopeful dispo- 
 sition, and would not marry those whom she 
 conld, because she believed that she should 
 marry some one she could not. For Mrs. 
 Cadogan remembered how, two years ago, 
 when they were in Switzerland, they had 
 become acquainted with a Major Aylmer, a 
 nephew of Professor Aylmer, and how she 
 had hoped that he would become her daugh-
 
 THE SEDGEBOROUGH WORLD. 73 
 
 ter's husband : for the two had been much 
 together, and, although they occasionally dis- 
 agreed strongly, had seemed to get on more 
 than well on the whole. 
 
 When the Cadogans continued their travels 
 Major Aylmer had gone with them, arranging 
 their journeys, and taking care that Miss 
 Cadogan should have the best ojmortunity of 
 seeing the scenery of the country. 
 
 This went on for some weeks, until at last 
 they came to Lucerne. 
 
 One afternoon when there, Maurice Aylmer 
 and Beatrice had gone out together, and 
 some time later, when they returned, Beatrice 
 hastened up to her room, and Major Aylmer 
 went to tell Mrs. Cadogan that he had 
 made up his mind to return to England 
 immediately, having been away longer al- 
 ready than he had intended. 
 
 He left two days after, but during these 
 two days the Cadogans saw little or nothing
 
 74 THE SEDGEBOROUGH WORLD. 
 
 of him. He had a number of arrangements, 
 he said, to make before his departure, and 
 Mrs. Cadogan drily agreed that they seemed 
 to be numerous. 
 
 It was for her daughter's own sake Mrs. 
 Cadogan wished her to be married and 
 settled. She was poor, with expensive tastes, 
 and friendless, so that her future, as a single 
 woman, would not be exactly paradisaical. 
 Her mother had once said to her, " In making 
 your arrangements, I hope you remember 
 that when I am removed, in the course of 
 nature, you will be alone in the world." 
 
 Mrs. Cadogan was, therefore, thoroughly 
 disappointed. It must have been some 
 foolish misunderstanding, and was particu- 
 larly vexatious, as Major Aylmer appeared 
 to be to her daughter's taste, as well as rich, 
 handsome, and clever. If Beatrice were dis- 
 appointed, she kept it to herself, for women 
 do not show these things.
 
 THE SEDGEBOROUGH WORLD. 75 
 
 Major Aylmer had had an ideal of what a 
 woman should be, and might haye said, in 
 the words of a song which Beatrice made 
 him sing, " She must be holy, pure, and 
 tender, my queen." 
 
 There was much that w^as womanly and 
 gracious in Miss Cadogan's character; and 
 this, combined with her talents and the 
 charm of her manners, had fascinated him 
 before he was aware. Her words had often 
 jarred upon him and his sense of what 
 should be, and he would show her his dis- 
 approval, from whence would follow those 
 occasional disagreements which Mrs. Cadogan 
 had noticed. 
 
 "Why should you not call a spade a 
 sjDade?" she asked. 
 
 " There are some spades," was his answer, 
 "which had better not be mentioned at all." 
 
 " You would have us women shut up like 
 chimney ornaments, under glass cases ; so
 
 76 THE SEDGEBOROUGH WORLD. 
 
 that if any rumour of evil around us should 
 reach us, we should put our taper fingers 
 to our delicate ears, lisping. ' I don't be- 
 lieve it.'" 
 
 He replied, sternly, — 
 
 "When there is a keen sense of the evil, 
 the matter is different, Miss Cadogan. It is 
 the familiarity and almost enjoyment in the 
 expression of it that is objectionable." 
 
 " You don't mince matters, Major Aylmer," 
 she said, laughing. 
 
 When Major Aylmer became conscious of 
 the extent of his feelings with regard to Miss 
 Cadogan he was vexed, remembering how 
 she differed from his ideal, that he should 
 have allowed them to arise. For a moment 
 he thought of conquering these feelings in 
 the belief that a union between them could 
 not be for the happiness of either ; but then, 
 again, he thought that if he could win her 
 love, much that he disliked would be altered.
 
 THE SEDGEB0R0UGH WORLD. 77 
 
 "If love is a power," he thought, "it will 
 soften her, and she has not a weak character 
 which must be at the command of the mo- 
 ment's impulse. She is strong enough, I 
 believe, to conquer herself." He had, there- 
 fore, followed where she went, till they came 
 to Lucerne. 
 
 When here, Miss Cadogan had outraged 
 him in every way conceivable, and he had 
 begun to doubt the wisdom of his resolution. 
 During these days Miss Cadogan was under 
 the influence of excitement, so that she hardly 
 knew what she did, was " ausser sich," as 
 the Germans would say. 
 
 Major Aylmer tried his power to restrain 
 her, determining to judge thereby what his 
 chances of success in the future might be ; but 
 she proved restive, and he seemed to have none. 
 
 They went out for a walk one afternoon, 
 and had sat down to admire the beauty of 
 the view, and talk more at ease.
 
 78 THE SEDGEB0R0UGH WORLD. 
 
 Then it was that Beatrice had said those 
 words which had separated her from Maurice 
 Aylmer. When he heard them, he had merely 
 said a stern "Miss Cadogan!" and there was 
 silence between them. 
 
 Intuitively she knew that this was the last 
 straw which had broken the horse's back. 
 Her excitement died within her, and she felt 
 faint and sick at heart, with all the enormity 
 of her sins lying heavily upon her. 
 
 He rose. " Shall we return?" he asked, 
 coldly. 
 
 She got up and walked silently back. At 
 any other time she would have shown peni- 
 tence in a thousand different ways, until she 
 had forced forgiveness. She was a very 
 woman, in so far that she could not bear to 
 live with people who disapproved of her ; 
 lout now she felt that all was at an end 
 between them; that Major Aylrner's de- 
 termination was taken, and would not be
 
 THE SEDGEBOROUGH WORLD. 79 
 
 moved by any pretty penitences on her 
 part. 
 
 On returning to the house she went at 
 once to her own room. Seating herself, she 
 leant her elbow on a table, and her head on 
 her hand, and struggled against the feeling 
 of faintness that had come over her. She 
 could have cried for a little thing, such as 
 having over-fatigued herself, or the wind 
 being in the east, for which Aurora Leigh 
 says women only shed tears ; but she could 
 not cry now. During the two days which 
 elapsed before Major Aylmer left Lucerne, 
 Beatrice felt that life was very bitter, and 
 not worth having. She had to smile, talk, 
 and look as usual ; to fear both her mother's 
 and Major Aylmer' s scrutiny. 
 
 Had Beatrice to live that summer month 
 in Switzerland over again, she would have 
 acted very differently, and the probability is 
 that she would have become Mrs. Aylmer.
 
 80 THE SEDGEBOROUGH WORLD. 
 
 She had grown wiser by this time ; for, after 
 all, she had had the excuse of youth, and it 
 is rather hard that we should expect women 
 to be perfectly sensible, wise and discreet 
 at eighteen, when men are pardoned for 
 youthful wild oats to a much later date. 
 
 Had Beatrice not felt she had been to 
 blame, and had only herself to thank for 
 what had happened, I do not think that she 
 would have improved or grown wiser. 
 
 A woman is always gentle and considerate 
 of others till she has been taught, by expe- 
 rience, the hardness and inconsiderateness of 
 the world, and when men blame women for 
 their hardness and bitterness, saying that in 
 this is the cause of their loss of influence, 
 they might look nearer home to find of what 
 this again is the result. As bitterness in a 
 man is generally caused by disappointed 
 idealism, of having expected to find the 
 world better than it is, so in a woman, it is
 
 THE SEDGEB0R0UGH WORLD. 81 
 
 caused by disappointed trust, by having 
 expected to find one person better than he is. 
 A man talks to a woman, either openly of 
 love, or in tones of love, and tries to make 
 her return the same to him in kind, saying-, 
 in point of fact, — 
 
 " Thus, when thou hast proved me, dear, 
 Woman's love no fable, 
 I will love thee half a year 
 As a man is able." 
 
 And having loved his half year, he goes away 
 and leaves her, and the next comer finds her 
 bitter and hard in her words, and incon- 
 siderate in her deeds. 
 
 Men are not affected in the same way, I 
 suppose, as a rule, because their affections 
 are wider ; they are like limpets, which, when 
 loosened from one rock by the invading sea, 
 can find as great comfort and ease on another. 
 If the human limpets are inclined to stay in 
 the sea now, it may suit them to blame the 
 
 VOL. I. g
 
 82 THE SEDGEBOROUGH WORLD. 
 
 rocks, but is it not realty their own fault and 
 loss ? Who shall say ? 
 
 When Beatrice had known Major Aylmer, 
 she had been merely a foolish girl, who did 
 not understand the full force of her words ; 
 and had he asked her to be his wife, I think 
 he would have found that he had not made 
 a mistake. She had not been really hard 
 and careless of the opinions and feelings of 
 others, and would have been incapable of 
 flirting and playing with men for her own 
 amusement. 
 
 Miss Cadogan was not broken-hearted by 
 what had occurred, and did not immediately 
 think fit to " languish in despair." She 
 enjoyed life and its pleasures as much as 
 ever, and much more fully than most women 
 do, having an immense fund of enjoyment in 
 herself, and great capabilities for making the 
 best of that enjoyment. If she ever felt 
 inclined to be sentimental, and ask " where
 
 THE SEDGEBOROUGH WORLD. 83 
 
 is it now, the glory and the dream ? " she 
 would check herself, and, declaring it was 
 bathos, would ask whether it was the result 
 of over-fatigue or a better-dressed woman. 
 Yet, notwithstanding this, she had nothing 
 of the limpet in her nature, and because she 
 could not marry Major Aylmer, did not 
 transfer her affections to the most suitable 
 who came in her way. 
 
 Mrs. Cadogan hoped that the friendship 
 which now existed between her daughter 
 and Mr. Carrick might ripen into something 
 more. " And, after all, friendship is the best 
 foundation for love and marriage," thought 
 Mrs. Cadogan with a sigh, for she had been 
 disappointed in the love in a cottage which 
 she had chosen. 
 
 Beatrice knew well that it would never 
 do for her to marry Mr. Carrick, for she 
 could say what she liked to him without 
 fearing any reproof he might give. She
 
 84 THE SEDGEBOROUGH WORLD. 
 
 wished to be ruled, and the only thing which 
 fate had given her, of which she was heartily 
 sick, was liberty. 
 
 "Tis licence I have, when I have liberty, 
 For who love that must first be good and wise," 
 
 she said, adapting the words of the poet to 
 suit her own convenience.
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 " Sound, thou trumpet of God ; come forth, Great Cause, 
 
 to array us ! 
 King and leader appear, thy soldiers sorrowing seek 
 
 thee! 
 Would that the armies, indeed, were arrayed. ! where 
 
 is the battle ? 
 Neither battle I see, nor arraying, nor King in Israel. 
 Only infinite jumble, and mess, and dislocation, 
 Backed by a solemn appeal, ' For God's sake, do not stir 
 
 there."' A. H. Clough. 
 
 The morning after the Stuarts had dined at 
 uhe Aylmers', Ernest was employing him- 
 self in finishing a drawing of his sister 
 Cecil's, when Anne looked in at the door, 
 [t was ten o'clock, and having sat up late 
 at night, this was her first appearance, and 
 she was already cloaked and bonneted, ready 
 to go out.
 
 86 THE SEDGEB0R0UGH WORLD. 
 
 " Cecil, are you to be in this afternoon ?" 
 she asked. 
 
 " No, I have a class at Brompton." 
 
 " Is Hester to be in ?" 
 
 " Probably not ; but I cannot answer for 
 Hester's movements." 
 
 " That is wise, for they are slightly 
 erratic," said Ernest, smiling. 
 
 "Well, then, Ernest, Florence Aylmer is 
 to be here at half-past two, to go to Eedfern 
 Hospital ; and if I am not in then, you must 
 bring her to Eedfern Lane, and I shall meet 
 you there." 
 
 " And what will Miss Florence Aylmer 
 say to being left to my care instead of that 
 of my discreet sister ?" 
 
 "You won't eat her, I suppose. It is 
 better that Miss Florence Aylmer should 
 take half-an-hour's walk with you, than that 
 work should be neglected. I shall try to be 
 home, but am afraid it will be useless."
 
 THE SEDGEB0R0UGH WORLD. 87 
 
 11 Don't try, then, Anne. It is certainly 
 better Miss Aylmer should have half-an- 
 hour's walk with me, than that you should 
 be over-worked." 
 
 " And clean up your paints, Cecil, when 
 you are done," said Anne ; " and tidy the 
 room." With which she left, and might 
 shortly after have been seen hastening down 
 the street, looking neither to the right nor 
 the left, — people giving way before her, not- 
 withstanding her slight, fragile appearance. 
 
 " Neat," said Cecil, " Anne asking Flo- 
 rence Aylmer to walk with her, and then 
 going off in this way. Mrs. Aylmer will 
 hardly approve." 
 
 Florence was surprised, when asking at 
 the door for Miss Stuart, to hear the servant 
 say something about " Mr. Ernest." But 
 supposing it to be a mistake, she followed 
 her in. 
 
 Ernest met her in the hall. " My sister
 
 88 THE SEDGEBOROUGH WORLD. 
 
 was obliged to go off on some of her 
 work," he said, in a quiet, matter-of-fact 
 way. l l And as I am the only idle one of 
 the family, she has instituted me her repre- 
 sentative, to take you to Redfern Lane." 
 
 " And Miss Stuart?" asked Florence, in 
 much hesitation. 
 
 " Will join us there," he answered. " Sup- 
 pose we start at once. That is to say," 
 he continued, noticing her hesitation, and 
 smiling, ■" unless you are afraid of trusting 
 yourself to me. I assure you the dangers 
 of the street are few ; and against such as 
 there may be, I shall form a more efficient 
 protector than my sister." 
 
 Florence hastily came to the conclusion 
 that it would be wise to treat the affair as 
 though it were the most natural that could 
 have arisen, although, at the same time, she 
 could not help thinking that the Stuarts 
 were even more unlike other people than
 
 THE SEDGEBOROUGH WORLD. 89 
 
 she had supposed. Ernest had spoken of its 
 being half-an-hour's walk to Redfern Lane, 
 but Florence knew that it would be really 
 much longer, as the Stuarts might be counted 
 on to walk at double the pace of other j^eople. 
 Moreover, she knew that she would have to 
 }3ass through Edward and King Streets, and 
 would probably meet friends who would not 
 be a little surprised to see her walking with 
 Ernest Stuart. 
 
 A sudden idea struck her as she went out 
 of the house. " Did you notice Miss Frost 
 at our house last night?" she asked, blush- 
 ing, and stammering slightly. "I am sure 
 she would like to come with us if she might. 
 May I call at our house and see if she 
 is in?" 
 
 Ernest acquiesced, but felt a certain con- 
 tempt for a woman w T ho could make a fuss 
 about so small a matter as this. Florence 
 rang, and inquired if Miss Frost were in ?
 
 90 THE SEDGEBOROUGH WORLD. 
 
 "Out." " Miss Lois ?" she asked, in despair. 
 Miss Lois was out with Miss Frost. 
 
 The fates were against her, without a 
 doubt ; for she had never known Miss Frost 
 and Lois to be out at this time before. 
 Ernest smiled when he heard the result of 
 her attempt. " You will have to trust your- 
 self to my care, after all," he said. 
 
 " Have you ever been at Redfern Hospital 
 before?" he asked, after a pause. 
 
 " Yes, I have been once or twice. I like 
 going, j^articularly with Miss Stuart, for all 
 the people seem to be so much at their ease 
 with her." 
 
 " Why do you like to go ? " 
 
 " I never thought of putting the question 
 to myself," she said, and smiled one of her 
 rare sweet smiles. "It is partly, I suppose, 
 because I like to see the people, and hear 
 them talk. There is always a certain interest 
 in seeing the different phases of life, I think."
 
 THE SEDGEBOROUGH WOKLD. 91 
 
 " So you go to the hospital to study 
 character," and there was the slightest shade 
 of sarcasm in his voice. 
 
 " If you like to put it in that way ; but it 
 is rather unjust, for it appears as though I 
 had no sympathy for the people, and placed 
 myself on an eminence above them, while 
 really I go to learn from them. They have 
 all seen much more of life than I." 
 
 As he heard these words, he felt rebuked. 
 
 She went to learn where he would have 
 gone to teach. Which was the more gentle 
 and humble spirit ? It could hardly be a 
 question. 
 
 "Moreover," she continued, and smiled 
 again, "they like our visits. They seem 
 to brighten their lives ; and I shall be candid 
 enough to confess that it is pleasant to know 
 that I have done some little thing for them 
 in their sufferings." 
 
 "Does it not rather make you remember
 
 92 THE SEDGEBOROUGH WORLD. 
 
 how much, lies in our power, and how little 
 we do?" 
 
 " I know that you mean that I should 
 work among the people, as your sisters do. 
 But you must remember that there are few 
 women who are free to choose their occupa- 
 tion, as your sisters are. I confess, however, 
 that probably, were I free to choose, I should 
 not decide on the course you seem to think 
 best." 
 
 At this moment they turned into Edward 
 Street, and came face to face with Mr. Carrick. 
 He took off his hat. 
 
 " I hope you are having a pleasant walk, 
 Miss Florence Aylmer," he said. " Is Mrs. 
 Aylmer here ?" looking round inquiringly. 
 
 " No, mamma is not here. We are going 
 to Redfern Hospital. Miss Stuart and I 
 arranged it yesterday." 
 
 And Florence felt her explanation was very 
 lame, and was glad when Mr. Carrick asked,
 
 THE SEDGEBOROUGH WORLD. 93 
 
 —"Miss Stuart? Ah! is she here?" for it 
 gave her an opportunity of mentioning that 
 they were on their way to meet Miss Stuart. 
 
 "I shall beg my sister to make arrange- 
 ments to walk with you too some day, Miss 
 Aylmer," he went on. "But I see Mr. Stuart 
 is anxious to go on. I shan't detain vou 
 longer. If I see Mrs. Aylmer, I shall mention 
 that I have had the pleasure of meeting 
 you," and, laughing a little, Mr. Carrick 
 passed on. 
 
 Florence got more and more uncomfort- 
 able as she passed Mrs. Murray, whose little 
 daughters went nowhere without their 
 mother, — Mrs. Athole, whose daughters never 
 walked two steps without a footman at their 
 heels, — Sir Charles Richards, whose daughters 
 were hardly allowed to say more than two 
 words to any man, — Mr. Evans, whose 
 daughter, Mrs. Aylmer openly said, was 
 "really too fast," — Captain Legrand, Mr.
 
 94 THE SEDGEB0R0UGH WORLD. 
 
 Farebrother, and Mr. Willoughby. The 
 whole of Sedgeborough seemed to have turned 
 out that day, and Florence felt its curious 
 eyes were on her. 
 
 It w r as a relief, at any rate, to know 
 that Mr. Stuart was quite unconscious of 
 any cause of annoyance on her part ; and, 
 moreover, that few people knew who he 
 was ; and, as a forlorn hope, the idea came to 
 her that he might be thought a cousin. 
 
 Now they had left Edward Street, and had 
 only a short way to go in King Street, and 
 then they would get into a quiet, unfrequented 
 part of the town. Florence also was con- 
 vinced she had met everybody whom it was 
 possible to meet. 
 
 " How do you do, Florence ? Do you not 
 remember me?" said a well-known voice, just 
 as she thought all danger was over; and 
 Mrs. Cadogan and Beatrice stopped to speak 
 to her.
 
 THE SEDGEBOROUGH WORLD. 95 
 
 " I did not see you," said Florence, 
 blushing. 
 
 "Yes; you seemed absorbed ! I doubted 
 whether I should interrupt you or not. How 
 do you do, Mr. Aylmer?" she continued, 
 putting up her eye-glass. " It is a long — oh! 
 I beg your pardon ; I thought it was Mr. 
 Aylmer with his daughter." 
 
 Florence introduced Mr. Stuart, and then 
 began her explanations, again about Miss 
 Stuart and the Redfern Hospital. 
 
 "I hope you will enjoy your walk," said 
 Mrs. Cadogan ; "it is certainly a fine day." 
 And then they passed on, Florence plea- 
 santly conscious that Mrs. Cadogan thought 
 her walking about the streets with Mr. Stuart 
 a very extraordinary proceeding. She did 
 not care much whom she might meet after this. 
 
 Redfern Lane was soon reached now, 
 where Anne Stuart joined them. 
 
 The hospital had been erected for the re-
 
 96 THE SEDGEB0R0UGH WORLD. 
 
 ception of those whose illness was pronounced 
 incurable, and in it now were to be found a 
 curious collection of men and women of all 
 ages and occupations. It might be supposed 
 to be a sad and dreary enough place, as all 
 who were in it knew they would only leave 
 it to make their last journey ; but they did 
 not seem, as a rule, oppressed by the sense 
 of the death which was approaching them ; 
 and there was still to be found among them 
 a lively interest in the world and its concerns. 
 They were as ready to make eager friend- 
 ships or bitter enmities as though a whole 
 life lay before them, and were full of com- 
 plaints as to the food and provisions of the 
 hospital. Into Anne Stuart's ears long stories 
 were poured by patients and nurses, with a 
 ' i But, wumman, " or a " Do ye see, wumman" ; 
 and she had to be arbiter in many a quarrel. 
 
 Her interest in the hospital had first been 
 excited some years ago, when there had been
 
 THE SEDGEBOROUGH WORLD. 97 
 
 much sickness in the town, and its nurses 
 had been drawn away to other institutions 
 by the high salaries offered, so that the 
 staff had become so small as to be totally 
 inefficient for its work. Anne had then 
 come forward, and had stayed for several 
 months in the hospital as a regular nurse, 
 shirking none of the labour and none 
 of the inferior duties incumbent on her 
 position. To all inquiries she would 
 briefly reply, " She had liked it. It had 
 been pleasant to get off her fine clothes, 
 and physical labour was a relaxation to 
 her." The lessons she had learnt during 
 three months had been of the greatest 
 service in her after-life. She could under- 
 stand the feelings and characters of the 
 people much more fully from having worked 
 among them as one of themselves. She did 
 not hesitate now to give active, substantial 
 assistance, and might have been seen witli 
 
 VOL. I. H
 
 98 THE SEDGEBOEOUGH WORLD. 
 
 her sleeves tucked up, and an apron tied on 
 in front, scrubbing floors or clothes in many 
 a house, whilst, in a case of sickness, her 
 practical knowledge of the art of nursing 
 was invaluable. 
 
 Florence had been, as she had said fairly, 
 often at the hospital, and Ernest noticed with 
 surprise that she seemed to be quite at home, 
 and would talk to the people with a certain 
 tact and good feeling which won their hearts. 
 He was surprised, because he had looked on 
 her as a beautiful statuette, only " sublime 
 in great houses," and utterly incapable when 
 confronted with real life, the life of the 
 million. He had expected to see her, not- 
 withstanding what she said about going to 
 the hospital to learn, patronize those who 
 had probably much more wisdom than she, 
 simply in right of her purple and fine linen. 
 As he watched her, he saw how faces bright- 
 ened at her approach, and voices lost the
 
 THE SEDGEBOROUGH WORLD. 99 
 
 asperity of their tones when addressing her ; 
 and he recognized that beauty and culture 
 are powers, and not alone of the drawing- 
 room. 
 
 " Live and learn," he thought, and un- 
 consciously had learnt a great and important 
 truth, his ignorance of which had made him 
 impervious to many of the teachings of ex- 
 perience. He would have admitted before, 
 of course, that in living he had to learn, but 
 he had never realized the truth of this so 
 clearly before. 
 
 He had been taught now that his judg- 
 ment had been, in a measure, unjust, and this 
 was at least one step in the right direction. 
 He could not help observing the difference 
 between his sister's and Florence's mode of 
 action. The people did not hesitate to show 
 Anne the worst as well as the better parts of 
 their characters. No angry words and bitter 
 complaints were softened to meet her ears.
 
 100 THE SEDGEBOEOUGH WOELD. 
 
 and in return she did not scruple to blame 
 them roundly when occasion required, and 
 would make no reserve in telling them ex- 
 actly what she thought of their conduct. To 
 her mind, an action was wrong or not wrong, 
 and an excuse was weak and contemptible. 
 This was a striking feature of her character, 
 and was the result of the same quality which 
 made her, whenever she spoke, avoid all 
 adjectives or paraphrases. A thing was 
 or it was not, and was to be stated in the 
 shortest words available. She would have 
 said that she had not breath to waste on 
 rounding her periods ; and, indeed, her fair 
 pale face and slight gliding figure showed 
 that she had not strength of any kind to 
 waste. 
 
 When Florence Aylmer returned home, 
 she went to her own room, and drawing a 
 low chair to the fire, sat buried in thought, 
 though she had a book on her knee.
 
 THE SEDGEBOROUGH WORLD. 101 
 
 It had been curious to her to meet a man 
 like Mr. Stuart, who despised all that she 
 had been taught to respect, who thought 
 that the attainment of intellectual light and 
 culture was not an object of life. There had 
 seemed to her to be so much confusion in 
 the world, for all men were vaguely looking 
 for a leader somewhere in the darkness, and, 
 finding none, were rushing blindly on in 
 their own way, too often increasing the 
 misery around by their actions. The method 
 and order of things were turned from their 
 old way, and all creation appeared to cry 
 out, "For Grod's sake, do not, stir there!" to 
 those who would in their blindness physic 
 the evil with quack remedies, which, after 
 the first moment, served only to increase the 
 weakness of the system. Florence laughed 
 a little as she drew her picture home, and 
 saw Ernest Stuart pouring black draughts 
 down submissive throats. But though she
 
 102 THE SEDGEBOEOUGH WORLD. 
 
 laughed, she believed the matter to be serious 
 enough. "It were better," she thought, 
 " not to teach until he had something more 
 to teach than the distorted truths which are 
 all we possess. But his actual work does 
 good, though his teaching may not."
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 "I come to visit thee in masquerade." — Dryden. 
 " Rattling nonsense in full volleys break." — Pope. 
 "Let order die." — Shakespere. 
 
 Florence had not much opportunity of 
 telling her mother about her misfortunes 
 that afternoon, as all such subjects were 
 avoided before her father, and immediately 
 after dinner they had to prepare for Mrs. 
 Carrick's dance. 
 
 " It was unfortunate," Mrs. Aylmer said; 
 " but Florence was not to blame; and every 
 one knew that the Stuarts had an original 
 way of arranging matters." 
 
 " You will get the credit of being a fast 
 young lady, Florence, as well as an appal- 
 lingly intellectual person," laughed Lizzie.
 
 104 THE SEDGEBOROUGH WORLD. 
 
 " And people will sliake their beads," 
 went on Lois, " saying they had always 
 been convinced that poor dear Mrs. Aylmer 
 would have to reap the fruits of having 
 educated her family so ill, and they were 
 sure they had constantly said so." 
 
 " Mr. Evans will ask Mrs. Forbes, l If she 
 has done this publicly, what must she not 
 have done under the rose?'" added Lizzie. 
 
 "It is dreadful the freedom allowed to 
 girls ! I wonder what the world is coming 
 to ! " said Lois, in exact imitation of Mrs. 
 Forbes's look and manner. 
 
 Florence went to Mrs. Carrick's because 
 dances of the sort were always amusing to 
 on-lookers, and she would join, too, in an 
 occasional square dance. 
 
 When the Aylmers entered the Carricks'. 
 drawing-room, they found a large party 
 already assembled. The guests were, how- 
 ever, all of the Aylmers' particular set, and
 
 THE SEDGEBOROUGH WORLD. 105 
 
 were exceedingly intimate among them- 
 selves. 
 
 Shortly after supper, Mrs. Cadogan came 
 and seated herself by Mrs. Aylmer. 
 
 "I did not know," she said, "that you 
 went in for the emancipation of young 
 ladies." 
 
 "It depends on what you mean by the 
 phrase." 
 
 "I do not mean emancipation from their 
 medical or political, but from their social 
 and conventional disabilities. And you 
 support your theory by practice, I see." 
 
 "Emancipation from social and conven- 
 tional disabilities ? I really wish I under- 
 stood. In the first place, I do not see how I 
 could support any theory about a young lady 
 by practice ; and, in the second, I consider 
 conventionality necessary, if tiresome." 
 
 " Oh, so your practice is more advanced 
 than your theory ! "
 
 106 THE SEDGEBOROUGH WORLD. 
 
 "Now, Mrs. Cadogan, I demand an ex- 
 planation," said Mrs. Aylmer, laughing; 
 "for this really gets serious." 
 
 ' ' Perhaps you think it is only an old- 
 fashioned prejudice on our parts, to suppose 
 that young ladies — I beg your pardon, young 
 women, I know it is not the thing to speak 
 of ' ladies' now-a-days, when we are all 
 made after one fashion, with no difference in 
 the quality 1 — well ! as I said, I suppose it is 
 an old-fashioned prejudice that young women 
 should not choose their own companions as 
 well as young men. We are old-fashioned, I 
 know, but confess I was not aware how far 
 advanced you are. Do you go with Lizzie 
 to the assembly on Wednesday, or does she 
 go with Mr. Arbuthnot?" 
 
 Lizzie was at that moment dancing with a 
 Mr. Arbuthnot, who was supposed to pay 
 her great attention. 
 
 Mrs. Aylmer laughed, but looked vexed.
 
 THE SEDGEB0R0UGH WORLD. 107 
 
 " Florence explained the circumstance of 
 her walk with Mr. Stuart to you. What 
 could the poor child have done ? I am sure 
 I should not have known how to get out of 
 the difficulty myself." 
 
 " Indeed! But then I do not think that 
 even the strictest martinet could object to 
 your walking with the young man, if you 
 wished to do so." 
 
 " What are you discussing here?"" asked 
 Mr. Aylmer, joining them. 
 
 " The propriety, or impropriety, of your 
 wife taking a walk with Mr. Stuart." 
 
 " Ernest Stuart, the curate, do you mean? 
 You must have small matter for discus- 
 sion, if you can find much to say about 
 that." 
 
 "I should certainly have supposed it to 
 be quite an innocent amusement; but your 
 wife seems to think she might experience 
 some difficulty to avoid it." 

 
 108 THE SEDGEBOROUGH WORLD. 
 
 " You have made a great deal out of my 
 poor words.'' 
 
 "He's very handsome, I hear," went on 
 Mrs. Cadogan, meditatively. 
 
 " Your daughter thought him so," burst 
 in Mrs. Aylmer. But the other continued, 
 paying her no heed, " Still, he is so young, I 
 should not have thought there would have 
 been any danger." 
 
 There was a cry at that moment that Mr. 
 Carrick had disappeared, that he was not 
 going to dance, and that it was shameful. 
 A raid was made from the room of young 
 men in search of the culprit. Mr. Carrick 
 walked in at last, looking very like a lamb 
 being led to the sacrifice, his persecutors 
 following him in triumph. When called 
 upon to explain his conduct, he, standing in 
 the middle of the room, addressed the com- 
 pany in plaintive accents : — " A young lady, 
 I shall not mention names," but his eyes
 
 THE SEDGEBOROUGH WORLD. 109 
 
 rested on Miss Cadogan, "a young lady, at 
 present amongst you, has, on another occa- 
 sion, accused me of dancing badly, and 
 expressed compassion for my partners. I 
 have no desire to cause unhappiness to any 
 young lady, particularly when she is a guest 
 of my mother's. I therefore determined 
 not to dance. May I retire ? I wish to 
 retire. Pray allow me." 
 
 There was a cry that Miss Cadogan must 
 dance with him ; and Beatrice came forward, 
 bowed, made a step backwards, and bowed 
 again, letting her hands hang loosely before 
 her. 
 
 "Miss Carrick," he said, "will you do 
 me the honour of taking a turn in the 
 mazy?" 
 
 A waltz was struck up, and she said again, 
 as they were dancing, — 
 
 " I did not know your nature was so 
 tenderly sensitive."
 
 110 THE SEDGEBOROUGH WORLD. 
 
 "And why should I not have a sensitive 
 nature, Miss Cadogan?" 
 
 " Oh ! if you like it, there is no reason 
 why you should not have it ! I should have 
 thought it would be a great inconvenience. 
 Is it not?" 
 
 " I can't talk when waltzing, Miss Cadogan, 
 really I can't. It is too much to expect." 
 
 "Are you giddy? I'll get you a chair. 
 But if you won't dance with me, I shall dance 
 with myself;" and, drawing her arm from 
 his, she went on waltzing in the most grace- 
 ful manner, and with the most perfect self- 
 possession conceivable. 
 
 Mr. Carrick, thus left in the lurch, appealed 
 to Florence, who sat near. 
 
 " Miss Florence Aylmer, pray look at Miss 
 Cadogan. Is it customary for young ladies 
 to dance by themselves ? But really, now, 
 is it customary?" 
 
 " If he won't waltz with you, let me," said
 
 THE SEDGEBOROUGH WORLD. Ill 
 
 Mr. Arbuthnot, and would have claimed 
 Beatrice, but Mr. Carrick came forward 
 again. 
 
 " La, la, la/' sang she, in tune to the music, 
 and waltzed on equably, leaving them to their 
 dispute. Mr. Rallis, an excitable old man, 
 with long white hair, and a face that a 
 painter would have coveted as a model, 
 might have been seen, at this juncture, 
 throwing himself on his knees before Mrs. 
 Aylmer, kissing her gloved hand, and con- 
 juring her to give him " one turn, for the 
 love of heaven ! " 
 
 " There might be some question as .to pro- 
 priety here," quoth Mrs. Cadogan. Florence 
 and a Mr. Handbarn, to whom she was 
 talking, were the quietest persons in the 
 room. Mr. Handbarn had, at one time of 
 his life, been the representative in Parlia- 
 ment of a large county ; but now times were 
 changed for him, and he was glad to accept
 
 112 THE SEDGEBOROUGH WORLD. 
 
 of any invitation to eke out a scanty subsist- 
 ence. He was well read, and could talk, 
 and talk well, on most literary subjects, 
 delighting in making long quotations from 
 classical poetry, and in showing his know- 
 ledge of out-of-the-way events or ancient 
 documents. His clothes, that might have 
 been robbed from a scarecrow, his long, 
 untidy beard, and general dishevelled ap- 
 pearance, would have induced a stranger, 
 who met him on the road, to take him for a 
 common vagrant. 
 
 The tumult in the room seemed to increase 
 with every moment, for the cotillion was 
 going on, and new and extraordinary figures 
 were being invented by ingenious minds. 
 
 Mrs. Aylmer turned with a laugh to 
 Captain Legrand, the only stranger in the 
 room. 
 
 "I hope," she said, " you do not think we 
 are often like this ? "
 
 THE SEDGEBOROUGH WORLD. 113 
 
 He smiled excusingly. 
 
 "Ah!" hereplied; " I assure you I quite 
 understand it is Sedgeborough." 
 
 " But that is exactly what you are not to 
 think it is." 
 
 "I quite understand, I assure you." 
 
 And Mrs. Ayhner, with a sigh, gave up 
 trying to say anything more. It did not 
 matter much, she thought, what he might 
 please to think of Sedgeborough manners ; 
 and she turned away to laugh at Mr. Carrick 
 and Mr. Arbuthnot waltzing together with 
 much spirit, having been rejected as partners 
 by all the ladies. 
 
 VOL. I.
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 " Anxious cares the pensive nymph oppressed." 
 "I '11 get me to some place more void." 
 
 Shakespeke. 
 
 " You have not opened your mouth for 
 one hour, Trichy — for one hour and three 
 minutes." 
 
 " And how many seconds, mamma ?" 
 
 " One. I have been looking at the clock." 
 
 " A profitable employment !" 
 
 " I do not mean that I have been gaping 
 at it all this time." 
 
 " Gaping would not have helped you much 
 towards seeing." 
 
 " Oh, very well ! if you will have a minute 
 description. At three o'clock, when you 
 yawned, I looked at the time; and again,
 
 THE SEDGEBOROUGH WORLD. 115 
 
 when you last yawned, I looked, and found 
 it to be precisely four minutes and one 
 second after four o'clock. What have you 
 been thinking of all this time, may I inquire ?" 
 
 Miss Cadogan clasped her hands behind 
 her head, and, stifling a yawn, said, " I have 
 been meditating offering a visit to the worthy 
 baronet." 
 
 "And what's that for?" 
 
 " A little change." 
 
 " What, are you pining away and becoming 
 interesting? — are you suffering from any 
 secret pain? Confide in me, and do not let 
 concealment, like a worm in the bud, gnaw 
 at your damask cheek." 
 
 " It's only a headache, mamma." 
 
 " That's no secret pain, at any rate. I 
 have heard of nothing else the whole day." 
 
 " Seriously, I want to go to Cadogan, and 
 get away for a little. My own idea of myself, 
 my idea of other people's idea of me, and
 
 116 THE SEDGEBOROUGH WORLD. 
 
 other people's real ideas, have been haunting 
 me, as the witches haunted Macbeth." 
 
 Mrs. Cadogan cast up her eyes — " How 
 affecting!" 
 
 " They have made me do things I should 
 never have dreamt of doing." 
 
 " I am sure I am glad to hear that you 
 have not dreamt of some of the things you 
 have done. Such nightmare could only have 
 been promoted by severe indigestion." 
 
 " I want to walk over ploughed fields 
 study the crops, and entertain honest county 
 big- wigs. A country gentleman is a most 
 refreshing — " 
 
 " Notice in the Lancet. A new tonic dis- 
 covered. Dr. Cadogan has, by one of his 
 valuable experiments, found out that a coun- 
 try gentleman is an excellent tonic. This 
 venerated physician, with his usual sacrifice 
 of self where the welfare of his race is con- 
 cerned, tried the effect of the tonic first on
 
 THE SEDGEBOROUGH WORLD. 117 
 
 himself, and found his shattered nervous 
 system instantly remedied. We can but ex- 
 press the gratitude all men must feel towards 
 him, wishing, at the same time, he would not 
 be so careless of his most valuable life. This 
 last experiment was quite foolhardy." 
 
 Beatrice continued : — 
 
 " The learned Dr. Cadogan had tried this 
 tonic some years previously, but his consti- 
 tution proved to be too fragile." 
 
 " So that," burst in her mother, " he 
 hardly survived the experiment." 
 
 " He therefore believes, to this day, that 
 the fault was in the tonic which really was 
 in himself. He forgets the old saying, ' Milk 
 for babes, but strong meat for men.' " 
 
 " You are too clever, Trichy ! Well ! so 
 you are going to be refreshed by county big- 
 wigs. When did you come to this con- 
 clusion ?" 
 
 Beatrice laughed.
 
 118 THE SEDGEBOROUGH WORLD. 
 
 " This morning, mamma, wlien I saw how 
 my pink silk had been destroyed by last 
 night's performances." 
 
 " Your dress will hardly be refreshed by 
 the ploughed fields ; at least, I should sup- 
 pose not. If really they are good for dresses, 
 I shall send my black silk with you." 
 
 " Well ! shall I write to Sir Peter ?" 
 
 " Do anything you like, my dear." 
 
 Miss Cadogan rose, and went to the writing- 
 table. " Are there any stamps?" she asked. 
 
 " There was a stamp left over yesterday. 
 But you speak of stamps ? Perhaps a note 
 to a baronet requires more than one. I have 
 not so much experience in matters relating to 
 baronets as a Cadogan by birth must have." 
 
 " Yes, there's a stamp." 
 
 Beatrice leisurely took the stopper from 
 the ink-bottle ; then, resting her head on her 
 hand, remained staring out at the window.
 
 THE SEDGEBOROUGH WORLD. 119 
 
 " Out of the day and night 
 A joy has taken flight, 
 Fresh spring and summer and winter hoar 
 Move my faint heart with grief, but with delight 
 No more; oh, never more !" 
 
 quoted Mrs. Cadogan, in lugubrious accents. 
 
 " You must have a more obliging dispo- 
 sition, mamma, than I gave you credit for, 
 if winter hoar ever could have moved you to 
 delight," said her daughter, with a shudder. 
 
 Beatrice -really did like the society she 
 met at her uncle's, and took an interest 
 in agricultural matters. She prided herself 
 on being a good judge as to the ploughing 
 of a field or the growth of a crop. She was 
 quite interested in potatoes and turnips, and 
 she thought people very well occupied who 
 were employed in their cultivation. They 
 were much more profitable, she was sure, 
 than ideas or theories, and she only wished 
 her father had recognized this : it would 
 have been better for himself and his family.
 
 120 THE SEDGEBOROUGH WORLD. 
 
 I think at times that she even persuaded 
 herself that she was made for a country life, 
 and was a farm-mistress spoiled. The case 
 really was, that everything with relation to 
 life interested her, and it was not merely for 
 an occupation, or in order to make herself 
 popular, that made her inquire into the feed- 
 ing and rearing of poultry, or made her take 
 the plough in her own slender hands, and 
 endeavour to make a straight furrow. She 
 had one disadvantage in all this : she was 
 not brave ; and the sight of the most inno- 
 cent of cows filled her with puerile fears. 
 One of her sandy -haired cousins had once 
 attempted to teach her to ride, but without 
 success. 
 
 "Is there any satisfaction," she asked, 
 ' ' in being bumped up and down on the 
 back of a terrible animal like this ? " And 
 then, again, " I suppose it will become plea- 
 sant er in time?"
 
 THE SEDGEB0R0UGH WORLD. 121 
 
 But, although her cousin had endeavoured 
 to persuade her that it would become plea- 
 santer, Beatrice never trusted her person 
 again on horseback. 
 
 " I think every sane person," she said, " is 
 born with an instinct of self-preservation. 
 I know, at any rate, that I have no desire 
 to have my precious head broken. If I 
 wished to put an end to my existence, 
 I should choose a more agreeable method. 
 Hamlet's bare bodkin, unpleasant as it 
 sounds, would make a much better quietus." 
 
 " Oh ! if you are going to quote poetry, 
 I shall go!" said the sandy-haired cousin, 
 which made Beatrice inclined to quote all 
 the poetry she knew. 
 
 There was silence between Beatrice and 
 her mother, and. the ticking of the little 
 brass clock on the mantelpiece made itself 
 distinctly heard. 
 
 It is said that a room tells of the character
 
 122 THE SEDGEBOROUGH WORLD. 
 
 of its inhabitants ; but this room of the 
 Cadogans was merely suggestive of their 
 poverty. It is only rich people who can 
 afford to show their character in their fur- 
 niture. The room was small, and ill lighted 
 by two rather dusty windows. 
 
 " Let us be clean, whatever we are!" 
 Beatrice had once exclaimed ; and seizing 
 her duster with her own fair hands, had 
 rubbed hastily at the panes, and thought it 
 rather an amusing employment. 
 
 " Cleanliness is next to godliness," she 
 said, and rubbed again. But she soon grew 
 tired of this, for there was no one to admire 
 her and applaud her energy, and she craved 
 for sympathy in all she did. 
 
 Their visitors, being accustomed to bright 
 panes as a natural thing, performed by 
 proper functionaries at stated intervals, never 
 thought of admiring Mrs. Cadogan's, who 
 herself thought the windows were well
 
 THE SEDGEBOROUGH WORLD. 123 
 
 enough as they were, and it was unneces- 
 sary to do more than have them cleaned in 
 May and November. 
 
 The darkness had this advantage cer- 
 tainly, that it partly hid the deficiencies of 
 the room, for the carpet was threadbare, 
 and the chair-covers worn and faded ; while 
 the books which lay scattered about the 
 tables, with no attempt at arrangement, were 
 not the well-bound, pretty, pictorial works, 
 such as Travels in the Holy Land, or Views 
 of Cathedral Towns of England, which are so 
 suitable for a lady's drawing-room. They 
 looked as well read as they were ill bound, — 
 books which other women would have hidden 
 in some obscure corner, if they had admitted 
 them into the room at all. 
 
 It may be very contemptible, but few 
 women could be perfectly happy and com- 
 fortable with Mrs. Cadogan's shabby, thread- 
 bare surroundings. They are affected by
 
 124 THE SEDGEBOEOUGH WORLD. 
 
 such trivial things in a very absurd way. 
 That a woman when married should stay 
 at home, and find all her happiness in her 
 home-life and the quiet monotony of the 
 British fireside, is right and proper and 
 desirable, and the married generally feel 
 they are in their right place, and come 
 up to our expectations ; but how is it w r ith 
 the less fortunate daughters of the house, 
 who have no defined place to fill in the 
 w r orld? Brought up, it may be, in a luxu- 
 rious home, where they had at their com- 
 mand all that can please, amuse, and gratify 
 taste and embellish life, they have been 
 obliged, when the hey-day was passed, to 
 leave the home which had been as a Garden 
 of Eden, and, as maiden ladies, seek some 
 spot in the wide waste of the wrorld where, 
 with their high hopes faded, and the vision 
 of life darkened, they may rest and await 
 the end. And others, who seek by a mer-
 
 THE SEDGEBOROUGH WORLD. 125 
 
 eenaiy marriage to avoid such a fate, are 
 not less distressing to the beholder. 
 
 Beatrice's thoughts, as she sat at the table, 
 were more on the troubles of one woman in 
 particular than with the sex in general. 
 
 There had returned to her the sense of the 
 vanity of the world, which had weighed her 
 down at Lucerne ; and for the second time 
 in her life she allowed herself to indulge in 
 sentiment. 
 
 The pink silk was ruined, and where was 
 she to get another ? " Dig I cannot, and to 
 beg I am ashamed," she thought ; and, look- 
 ing life seriously in the face, asked, — 
 
 " Was this sort of thing to go on for ever ? 
 Was she always to be in need of pink silks ?" 
 For, after all, how she is to get these same 
 pink silks, is the great question of a woman's 
 life. 
 
 She might marry ; and Beatrice dipped her 
 pen into the ink.
 
 126 THE SEDGEBOROUGH WORLD. 
 
 She must either marry, or be contented to 
 live without pink silks. 
 
 She had arrived at this conclusion, when 
 she was startled by an exclamation from her 
 mother, who, on walking across the room, 
 had caught her foot in a hole in the carpet. 
 
 " It must be patched," said Mrs. Cadogan ; 
 and it was remarkable how Mrs. Cadogan 
 always used such words on similar occasions, 
 and seemed to suppose that they would have 
 a magical effect. Beatrice sprang from her 
 chair, procured a needle and thread, and 
 began to darn the hole. The employment 
 cheered her, and when her mother drily 
 inquired — " Do you like your occupation?" 
 — her spirits remained undamped. 
 
 " I'll mend my pink silk," she said ; " and 
 put white over it." 
 
 " And won't go to Cadogan, and take the 
 country gentleman's tonic, which, though 
 nasty, is strengthening ? "
 
 THE SEDGEBOROUGH WORLD. 127 
 
 " Yes," replied Beatrice, " I shall go to 
 Cadogan; but I'll wait for the Chepstow 
 ball." 
 
 " Three hundred a year," thought Beatrice; 
 " a woman should be able to live comfortably 
 on three hundred a year. I am sure I should 
 prefer my crust of bread, my hollow oak and 
 liberty, to any establishment." 
 
 " I believe people are much happier when 
 poor," she said, uttering her thoughts aloud. 
 
 "Sol have heard you say, my dear," was 
 her mother's reply. 
 
 Beatrice did write to her uncle that after- 
 noon, and offer to pay him a visit. 
 
 She would then determine what she should 
 do, she said ; for she would have plenty of 
 time for thought.
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 " Why droops my Lord, like over-ripened corn, 
 Hanging his head at Ceres' plenteous load 1 
 Why doth the great Duke Humphry knit his brows, 
 As frowning at the favours of the world 1 
 Why are thine eyes fixed to the sullen earth 1 
 What seest thou there ? " 
 
 " The oracle within, that which lives, 
 He must invoke and question." 
 
 Mr. Caerick had drawn his chair to the fire, 
 and sat smoking his cigar, and meditating on 
 human life. Apparently, he was inclined to 
 take a gloomy view of this, for there was a 
 cloud on his brow, which not even the delicate 
 fumes of his havannah could dissipate. He 
 was not an inveterate smoker, but usually he 
 was susceptible to the soothing influence of
 
 THE SEDGEBOROUGH WORLD. 129 
 
 tobacco. The world, indeed, must be very 
 black, and the fates very adverse, when a 
 man refuses to be soothed by his cigar. 
 
 Mr. Carrick was aggrieved, and thought 
 he had a just right to be so. He had been 
 hardly dealt with. 
 
 He reviewed his past actions, and his con- 
 science told him he had not been desperately 
 wicked ; that he had not only kept the Ten 
 Commandments, but had given liberally to 
 the poor. He had been taught to expect that 
 a man reaped as he sowed ; but, as far as he 
 could see, his reapings were very different 
 from what they should be. Yet things were 
 going well with him, outwardly. He was 
 doing well in his profession — people even 
 said he was doing wonderfully well. He had 
 a loving mother, pretty sisters, and a com- 
 fortable house to come home to every night. 
 He seemed to have little cause for dissatis- 
 faction. Was it that Miss Cadogan had been 
 
 K
 
 130 THE SEDGEBOROUGH WORLD. 
 
 right, when she said that love was a painful 
 subject to him ? 
 
 No. He was not in love. He had ex- 
 perienced that feeling once or twice in his 
 life before, and he knew that it did not re- 
 semble that from which he suffered now. 
 Miss Cadogan's words had not brought a 
 conscious blush to his cheek, or caused him 
 the slightest discomposure; so that beyond 
 a doubt, if he languished in despair, the fair- 
 ness of a woman was not the cause. 
 And yet it was. 
 
 In point of fact, Mr. Carrick hesitated on 
 what course of action it was incumbent on 
 him to take. Two lay open before him, 
 and their advantages and disadvantages 
 were so equally balanced, that he could 
 not say he actually preferred one to the 
 other. 
 
 " Here are two paths," he said, addressing 
 the chairs and tables; " one of which leads
 
 THE SEDGEBOROUGH WORLD. 131 
 
 to Elysium, the other to the other place, and 
 I do not know which is which." 
 
 He was not in love, but he thought of 
 marriage. 
 
 There was a lady, good-looking, clever, 
 and universally a favourite, and who was a 
 favourite of his own, though he was not in 
 love with her, in one scale ; and bachelor- 
 hood — j)leasant, agreeable bachelorhood — in 
 the other. The lady was poor ; he had paid 
 her some attention, and everybody expected 
 him to make her his wife. But then he 
 thought his attention had been only that of 
 a friend to a very charming woman. Also, 
 he questioned if he did not owe something to 
 himself. A man has to eat for himself, 
 digest for himself, and in general take care 
 of his own dear self, and, therefore, might he 
 not be allowed to live for himself ? He did 
 not wish to be selfish, and he wished to do 
 right • but, at the same time, he did not
 
 132 THE SEDGEBOROUGH WORLD. 
 
 wish to plunge hurriedly into matri- 
 mony. 
 
 He liked the lady : he thought even that 
 she would make a most agreeable companion 
 in this journey through life ; but then, if she 
 married him, it would be for his establish- 
 ment, for his goods and chattels. And if he 
 married her, what would he do it for ? Not 
 for her goods and chattels, for she had none ; 
 and not for love, as he had none. 
 
 For charity ? Yes. 
 
 And because it was expected of him? Yes. 
 But did she expect him to marry her ? That 
 was the question on which everything hung, 
 and to which he could not give an answer. 
 
 Beatrice Cadogan had in no way given 
 given him to suppose that she expected him 
 to make an offer of his hand ; but still it was 
 undeniable that she allowed him to approach 
 her more nearly than any other man. She 
 talked to him by preference, whenever she
 
 THE SEDGEB0R0UGH WORLD. 133 
 
 had an opportunity; for even when she had 
 begun a conversation with another person, 
 she would break it to talk with hirn. It 
 was noticeable, also, that she would even 
 rise from where she was seated, to place 
 herself beside him ; and when a young lady 
 acts in this way, it surely must have a 
 meaning ? 
 
 He admitted that he could not see what 
 there was in this to remark on or blame ; he 
 was unable to understand what contamina- 
 tion a young girl could receive from being 
 near him. But still he knew in the world's 
 opinion such an action was to blame, and 
 such contamination considered a point of 
 fact, and therefore he must suppose that she 
 was willing to brave the opinion of the world 
 in order to have the pleasure of sitting near 
 him. When a woman acts in this way, it 
 can surely only mean one thing ! 
 
 He was not self-conceited ; but still he
 
 134 THE SEDGEBOROUGH WORLD. 
 
 did not suppose himself to be of so unlovable 
 a nature as to make it unlikely a woman 
 should bestow her regard on him. When 
 Mr. Carrick had come to this conclusion, 
 there seemed but one course open to him — 
 to go to Miss Cadogan, and offer her his hand 
 in marriage. 
 
 Having come to this conclusion, Mr. Car- 
 rick, in the basest way, pretended he had 
 not. 
 
 He now began at the other side of the 
 question, and eagerly brought up the argu- 
 ments against the step he had proved to be 
 incumbent on him to take as a gentleman 
 and a man of honour. His excuse must be, 
 that he was a lawyer ; and I suppose it was a 
 pleasant deception, even though he was the 
 only one deceived, to suppose that he was 
 holding court as a judge, and had on the 
 robes of office. 
 
 In the first place, he did not wish to be
 
 THE SEDGEB0R0UGH WORLD. 135 
 
 married, at the same time desiring that his 
 vvishes should go for nothing — absolutely 
 nothing — in the whole affair. He had a 
 most comfortable home, with a mother who 
 thought him perfection, and sisters who 
 allowed him to rule them with a docility 
 which was charming. 
 
 If he married, he would not be asked so 
 much into society as he was now, would have 
 to live in smaller rooms, and be contented 
 with a less well-appointed table ; for he knew 
 it was a culpable act in a family man of 
 limited means to spend money on the 
 pleasures of good living. And Mr. Carrick 
 was not above being susceptible to these 
 pleasures. 
 
 Luxury, he preached, was a very great 
 evil, and when indulged in lavishly became 
 even wicked; but in preaching this he 
 merely did his duty as a British citizen, and 
 was not on that account bound to deny him-
 
 136 THE SEDGEBOROUGH WORLD. 
 
 self his turtle and oysters, his champagne 
 and maraschino, which would decidedly have 
 been carrying virtue too far. 
 
 He knew that if he married he would 
 have to relinquish these things, and yet not 
 have the satisfaction of enjoying a sense of 
 his own virtue. 
 
 Every man would have agreed with Mr. 
 Carrick that these last arguments far out- 
 weighed the former. Although sacrifice of 
 self is very well in theory, a man is bound 
 first to look after his own person and welfare. 
 If he knew that other men would pay heed 
 to his comfort and regard his wishes, it would 
 be all very well to do the same by them. 
 But, unfortunately, the world is differently 
 constituted. Each individual has, as Mr. 
 Carrick remarked, to eat for himself, digest 
 for himself, and in general take care of his 
 own dear self. Nature has done all in her 
 power to make him selfish, in making his
 
 THE SEDGEBOROUGH WORLD. 137 
 
 person his castle, in which he immures him- 
 self and prepares to sustain the assaults of all 
 who approach. It is curious enough how we 
 still regard all strangers as enemies, and 
 stand on our guard against them until assured 
 that they are very well-meaning individuals. 
 Hobbes said that man is the enemy of 
 man ; and we seem to make his words as true 
 now as ever by our conduct, notwithstanding 
 our advanced civilization and much-talked-of 
 progress. It was Voltaire who said that 
 men's natures are composed of the tiger and 
 the monkey; and at the present day the 
 tiger has whitened his claws, and the monkey 
 laid a thin varnish of philanthropy over his 
 misdeeds. Justice, however, must be done 
 to Mr. Carrick. He wished to act rightly 
 by Miss Cadogan, the world, and himself. 
 His cigar was finished, and his fire had burnt 
 low, and he was not nearer the solution of 
 his difficulty than he had been before.
 
 138 THE SEDGEB0R0UGH WORLD. 
 
 The judge, having heard the case, had 
 proved himself inefficient, for he was unable 
 to pronounce sentence, and he and the 
 prisoner at the bar might as well have been 
 in bed. 
 
 Mr. Carrick determined to think no more 
 of the matter that night. He would act, he 
 said, as the occasion prompted ; and so left 
 the final settlement of this, the most im- 
 portant question of his life, to chance. And 
 yet not to chance, for a man's sudden actions 
 are decided by his previous thoughts, deeds, 
 and life. If he has allowed himself to think 
 falsely, his words will involuntarily be false 
 when he is unexpectedly called on to speak. 
 In the same way, our deeds in the past 
 determine our deeds in the future.
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 " 'Tell me softly and hastily what's in the pantry.' 
 ' Little enough,' answers Phoebe." 
 
 Sir Walter Scott. 
 
 "Tis a debt we owe Humanity." 
 
 " Uncle Stuart has sent us two wild ducks," 
 said Hester, coming into the drawing-room 
 one evening. 
 
 " That is very good of him," said Edward. 
 
 " Yes, and we are going to give a party." 
 
 "And that will be very good of us. I 
 suppose, wild ducks being such immense birds, 
 we must call in our Mends to help us to 
 consume them." 
 
 Hester laughed. "It is right we should 
 give a party," she began. 
 
 "I quite agree with you, my dear! It
 
 140 THE SEDGEBOROUGH WORLD. 
 
 would be a great pity that others should not 
 enjoy Uncle Stuart's wild ducks as well as 
 ourselves. Do you propose to give us any- 
 thing else for dinner ?" 
 
 " What nonsense, Edward! This is a 
 good opportunity to give a party; and we 
 must do it some time. We can't go and 
 feast with our friends without feasting them 
 too." 
 
 " I only made inquiries, my dear, because 
 I thought that, before coming home that 
 day, I should minister to the necessities of 
 nature at an eating-house." 
 
 "Don't let us give any parties, dear 
 Hester ! Pray don't ! " pleaded Louis. 
 
 " Oh ! Hester, have pity on us ! we neither 
 want to feast with other people nor to feast 
 them here," was echoed on all sides. 
 
 "I'll consume both wild ducks myself, if 
 you like, dear Hester. Oh ! Hester, don't 
 let us give a party," Louis began again.
 
 THE SEDGEB0R0UGH WORLD. 141 
 
 " Oh ! Hester, don't give a party," begged 
 every one. 
 
 " I '11 tell you whom we shall have," went 
 on Hester, composedly. "We'll not have 
 any elderly people. Edward's wife shall do 
 all that kind of entertainment for us when 
 she comes." 
 
 "Yes, when she comes. The elderly 
 people will have to wait some time for their 
 wild ducks, I fear." 
 
 "Well, Hester, whom are we to have? 
 You have as yet only told us whom we are 
 not to have," said Ernest. 
 
 " Ernest, you see, looks forward to the 
 party with the keenest anticipations of en- 
 joyment," said Hester, her face twisting up 
 in the curious fashion which always be- 
 tokened amusement. 
 
 " On the contrary, Hester, I have been 
 thinking of joining Edward in his refresh- 
 ment at the eating-house ; but I know all
 
 142 THE SEDGEBOROUGH WORLD. 
 
 our entreaties will pass unheeded, — that when 
 you have once said, ' We must give a party/ 
 there is no hope for us, and the party will be 
 given. Therefore, I ask, which is to be the 
 day, and who the guests ?" 
 
 11 Do have some one of respectable years, 
 Hester, or we shall all forget the dictates of 
 decorum. A grey head would have a sober- 
 ing effect on our spirits," said Cecil. 
 
 " Then they shall just not have to be 
 sober." 
 
 " Every one must understand," said 
 Anne, " that we cannot give stiff dinner- 
 parties." 
 
 " Thank heaven!" was Edward's fervent 
 ejaculation. But his sister continued, — 
 
 ' ' Hester is quite right ; it will do you all 
 good : you seem afraid of your species." 
 
 "Well, Hester, who is to come?" asked 
 Edward again. 
 
 ' ' I want to have Miss Cadogan and Mr.
 
 THE SEDGEBOROUGH WORLD. 143 
 
 Carrick ;" and her face again twisted up with 
 amusement. 
 
 " Hester, Hester, this is shocking! So 
 young, and yet so full of schemes, " cried 
 Louis. 
 
 " But I thought," said Edward, " you were 
 going to ask those who feasted us, so that 
 they may feast us again. I don't think either 
 Miss Cadogan or Mr. Carrick has done 
 so." 
 
 "Well, Mr. Carrick and Miss Cadogan; 
 and whom besides?" inquired Anne. 
 
 "Miss Carrick, Miss Evans, and Miss 
 Alison; Mr. Farebrother, Mr. Willoughby, 
 and Charlie Richards. That will make 
 quite a nice little party." 
 
 " And the Miss Aylmers ; you might have 
 them," was Ernest's suggestion. 
 
 1 ' Lizzie and Florence ? Let me see, we must 
 get two more men. Harry Macdonald will 
 be in town, and Mr. Murray."
 
 144 THE SEDGEB0R0UGH WORLD. 
 
 " There, the weighty question is settled," 
 said Cecil. 
 
 "And done with, I hope;" and Anne 
 sighed, as though the conversation about it 
 had been very wearisome. " Give me some 
 tea, Hester, and let it be strong," she con- 
 tinued. 
 
 "You would be much more comfortable 
 if you would take off your cloak and bonnet, 
 Anne," advised Ernest ; for Anne had just 
 returned home as the arrival of the wild 
 ducks was announced. 
 
 "Come and sing, Cecil," said Hester, 
 going to the piano. " Anne, you and the 
 boys must join us." 
 
 Hester began to play, and Anne hastily 
 swallowed her tea ; and, advancing towards 
 the piano with a piece of bread in her hand, 
 joined in the song. Her bonnet was untied, 
 and was pushed on one side of her head ; her 
 cloak unfastened, and thrown back on her
 
 THE SEDGEBOROUGH WORLD. 145 
 
 shoulders : she looked and felt worn out and 
 exhausted; but she forgot this entirely in 
 the pleasure of singing. 
 
 The brothers were affected in the same 
 way by the music. They had each a 
 book, and had intended to continue to 
 read, but involuntarily they also began to 
 sing,— 
 
 " Abide with me : fast falls the eventide; 
 The darkness thickens; Lord, with me abide. 
 When other helpers fail, and comforts flee, 
 Help of the helpless, O abide with me ! " 
 
 At the last words, " In life, in death, 
 Lord, abide with me," Anne said, " Now let 
 us have i Lead, kindly Light'; and, Cecil, 
 get me another cup of tea, and strong." 
 
 " Dram drinking ! " said Edward. 
 
 " I don't care ; I must have it." 
 
 " So says the dram drinker." 
 
 "Poor thing, let her have her tea in 
 peace," said Cecil. 
 
 " Then give her some food as well." 
 
 VOL. I. l
 
 146 THE SEDGEBOROUGH WORLD. 
 
 "No; I only want tea. Well, Hester, go 
 
 on." 
 
 They then sang "Lead, kindly Light." 
 " Do yon know," said Hester, when it 
 was finished, " I found myself rushing about 
 Edward Street to-day, singing psalms; and 
 when I was choosing ribbons, I could only 
 hum, ' Consider the lilies of the field, they 
 toil not neither do they spin,' which seemed 
 strikingly suitable." 
 
 Louis, turning again to his book, began, — 
 
 " Was maclit der Herr Papa." 
 
 And the others went on, entering with spirit 
 and animation into the song, and indulging 
 in such gesticulations that any one enter- 
 ing the room would have doubted their 
 sanity, — 
 
 " Was maclit der Herr Papa, 
 Was niacht der ledere Herr Papa, 
 Si Sa, 
 Herr Papa, 
 Was macht der ledere Herr Papa."
 
 THE SEDGEBOROUGH WORLD. 147 
 
 No sooner was this finished than Louis began 
 again, in the most solemn of tones, — 
 
 " There were three crows sat on a tree, 
 And they were black as crows could be," 
 
 — which was again taken up by all present. 
 When the room was quieter again, Ernest said, 
 tx I often am surprised Mr. Aylmer does not 
 send in a request that we may enjoy our- 
 selves less noisily." 
 
 " He should rather send us his thanks for 
 allowing him to share our fun," said Cecil. 
 
 " Well, I trust you may not go on in this 
 way when our friends come to do honour to 
 the wild ducks. If Cecil thinks a grey head 
 would be of any service, I could procure a 
 wig for the occasion." 
 
 "No," said Hester; "you shall see how 
 grave and severe I shall be, and, besides, 
 Anne will keep us in order. She is so tired 
 to-night, that she has a mind in common with 
 us, and can only indulge in our silliness."
 
 148 THE SEDGEBOROUGH WORLD. 
 
 ' ' I hojoe my mind is not in common with 
 yours to-night, for your own sakes," said 
 Anne, and sank into a chair. 
 
 " More tea, more tea !" cried Cecil. 
 
 Hester ran to the table, poured out the 
 cup of tea, while Louis put in cream and 
 sugar, and Edward seized a loaf of bread 
 and a carving-knife. 
 
 " I am too tired," said Anne, turning away 
 from the tea. 
 
 " Oh, poor dear! This will never do! 
 It must have its tea ; now will it, dear?" said 
 Hester. 
 
 "And its little piece of bread," cried 
 Edward, brandishing his carving-knife. 
 
 Hester got behind her sister, and endea- 
 voured to pour the tea down her throat, 
 while all the others danced round her as 
 though they were Red Indians: Edward and 
 Ernest seemed to have been metamorphosed, 
 and had changed their characters completely.
 
 THE SEDGEB0R0UGH WORLD. 149 
 
 But I suppose even the gravest of men, when 
 amongst those with whom he has played as 
 a child, forgets at times, and especially under 
 the influence of gaslight, the years which 
 have intervened. Ernest was the first to 
 recollect himself, and, turning away, sat 
 down to his book again, looking as grave 
 and sober, " as though," Hester said, " he 
 had nothing to do with us, and disowned 
 our proceedings." 
 
 ""Well, write your notes, Hester," said 
 Anne, putting a final end to the affair by 
 leaving the room. 
 
 " I have done quite an excellent piece of 
 work," said Edward, with satisfaction. "She 
 will go to her bed much sooner, and we may 
 have some chance of seeing her at breakfast 
 to-morrow." 
 
 "A faint chance, I fear," said Cecil. " I 
 am going off, too, or I shan't be down 
 either."
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 " The guests are met, 
 The feast is set ; 
 May'st hear the merry din." — Coleridge. 
 
 " From all parts they are coming, 
 As if we kept a fair." — Shakespere. 
 
 On the morning of the clay on which the 
 Stuarts were to give their party, Cecil came 
 into the drawing-room, where Hester was 
 busily engaged arranging various matters, 
 and said, — 
 
 " My dear Hester, I saw Aunt Charles to- 
 day, and she told me she has not seen you 
 for ten days ; and she thinks, considering 
 how near she lives, that it would not take 
 many minutes of your valuable time if you 
 were to look in. Then she sighed, — and
 
 THE SEDGEB0R0UGH WORLD. 151 
 
 you know what it means when Aunt Charles 
 sighs, — 'I think, when I have so many nieces, 
 some might come to see me ; but no one 
 cares about me. I am neglected and mis- 
 understood on all sides.' n 
 
 " It is very odd how Aunt Charles always 
 thinks she is neglected. She would have us, 
 like little dogs, running at her heels all the 
 day," cried Hester, impatiently. 
 
 "She is old, we must remember," said 
 Anne, "and make excuses." 
 
 " Oh, dear ! I hope I shall never be so 
 old that it must serve as an excuse for un- 
 reasonableness. Besides, Anne, it is easy for 
 you to make excuses, for she never sends for 
 you." 
 
 " Well, Hester, you will never be forgiven 
 if you do not go to her to-day," said Cecil, 
 preparing to set about her own occupations. 
 
 " But I can't; it is out of the question. 
 This room must be tidied."
 
 152 THE SEDGEBOROUGH WORLD. 
 
 "If you go, I'll tidy the room," said 
 Anne. 
 
 " You tidy the room!" was Hester's dis- 
 dainful reply. " I know what you would do. 
 You would begin with the best possible of 
 intentions : some idea would strike you, and 
 everything else under the sun would vanish 
 from your recollection, until you had worked 
 it out satisfactorily." 
 
 " Hester wishes there were no such things 
 as ideas," said Cecil, laughing at her sister's 
 vehemence, who asked immediately after, in 
 tones of despair, — 
 
 " Was Aunt Charles quite serious?" 
 
 " Quite. She thinks you have used her 
 badly. You are her goddaughter, and owe 
 her certain attention. She is sure she does 
 not ask for much." 
 
 ".It is most provoking. I suppose her 
 daughters have been fighting ! Well, Cecil, 
 I must leave these things to you."
 
 THE SEDGEBOROUGH WORLD. 153 
 
 A few minutes later Hester might have 
 been seen hastening down the street, drawing 
 on her gloves and tying her bonnet- strings. 
 
 " Where are you going to, so fast?" asked 
 her cousin, Charles Richards, stopping her in 
 her course. He was a small, slight man, with 
 a handsome face, which was spoilt by the 
 colour of his complexion. Like the famous 
 Sir Jacob Kilmansegg, 
 
 " He had roll'd in money, like pigs in mud, 
 Till it seem'd to have enter'd into his blood 
 By some occult projection ; 
 And his cheeks, instead of a healthy hue, 
 As yellow as any guinea grew, 
 Making the common phrase seem true 
 About a rich complexion." 
 
 He continued, with a feeble smile, — 
 
 ' ' You will give colds to every one whom 
 you pass, you are going at such a pace. You 
 make quite a draught." 
 
 " How are you to-day, Charles ? Better, 
 I hope," she said, cheerfully. 
 
 " Oh, wretched, wretched! I have not
 
 154 THE SEDGEBOEOUGH WORLD. 
 
 slept for nights. I have such lumbago, and 
 the gout in my feet is unbearable." 
 
 " I wonder cousin Charlotte let you come 
 out. How is she ?" 
 
 "I think she is very well; but she won't 
 hear of it. She says her cough has been 
 more troublesome than usual." 
 
 " People who are accustomed to be ill 
 seem to think it quite a luxury, and will 
 never admit that they are better." 
 
 " Had they really been ill, had they suf- 
 fered as I have suffered during these last 
 weeks, it would be very different." 
 
 " Well, good-bye: I am going to see Aunt 
 Charles;" and Hester hastened on, thinking 
 that when she left him her cousin seemed to 
 walk more lamely than he had done before. 
 She laughed, too, as she remembered having 
 stayed with him and his sister at their 
 country place, and how it used to be a 
 regular custom that, when the two met in the
 
 THE SEDGEBOROUGH WORLD. 155 
 
 morning, they should give a lengthy, sensa- 
 tional, and minute description of their suffer- 
 ings during the night. 
 
 "Oh, Charles! I had such spasms. I 
 thought my last moment had come. I rang 
 for Jamieson, and got some sal volatile, but 
 it did no good." 
 
 " I slept for five minutes between one and 
 two o'clock, Charlotte ; but then was seized 
 with such violent cramp." 
 
 Hester laughed, I say, as she recollected 
 this ; and it is curious how, even to the best 
 natured, the sufferings of others can cause 
 amusement. 
 
 Mrs. Charles Sidmouth had been a Miss 
 Stuart, while her husband had been a cousin 
 of the Aylmers ; so that she formed a link 
 between the two families. She was a hand- 
 some woman in appearance ; her nephew 
 Ernest bearing her some resemblance. She 
 had, however, nothing of his enthusiasm of
 
 156 THE SEDGEBOROUGH WORLD. 
 
 character, and the coldness of her steel-grey 
 eyes struck brave men with terror. She 
 exaggerated largely both the good and ill 
 which men did her, and took an equal de- 
 light in making out that strangers had 
 shown her unexanrpled kindness, and that 
 friends had injured her grievously. She 
 was an eager partisan and a bitter enemy. 
 Her three daughters were of mature years, 
 and sour in temper. Whenever they were 
 dull or in want of occupation, it was alleged 
 that they took to fighting among themselves. 
 It was, indeed, no unusual thing for one of 
 them to shut herself up in her room for 
 twenty-four hours, seeing no one but the 
 servant who brought her food ; the reason 
 for this being that she had been defeated 
 in some war of words. They had many 
 agreeable qualities, and, when apart from 
 one another, could be entertaining in their 
 own solemn and grim fashion.
 
 THE SEDGEB0R0UGH WORLD. 157 
 
 Mrs. Sidrnouth never interfered in her 
 daughters' quarrels. "When women come 
 to a certain age they must arrange these 
 matters for themselves/' she said; and ex- 
 pected that her nieces should pay her con- 
 stant visits, in case all her daughters should 
 have felt inclined to shut themselves up at 
 one time. When Hester came into the draw- 
 ing-room, she found Mrs. Sidmouth sitting 
 in an erect and stately attitude, a book open 
 on a little table before her, and a mark 
 lying ready for insertion. 
 
 Mrs. Sidmouth raised her eyes from her page 
 solemnly, and with an expression in them as 
 though it were Sunday, and she was disturbed 
 in her meditations. She put in her mark, 
 closed her book, and rising slowly, and with 
 dignity, advanced to meet her niece, and 
 greeted her with a grave kiss. Hester knew 
 the meaning of this reception, and could 
 have translated it into these words, —
 
 158 THE SEDGEB0R0UGH WORLD. 
 
 " You have used me badly, and, after 
 all the affection I have lavished on you, I 
 expected better things. Moreover, as your 
 father's sister, I had a right to be differently 
 treated by your father's daughter." 
 
 Hester, however, thought her aunt had 
 no reason to feel aggrieved, and that to 
 coax or pet her into good humour would be 
 wrong, and minister to her fancies. She 
 made up her mind, therefore, to be pleasant, 
 cheerful, and amusing. 
 
 "Well, Aunt Charles, how have you been?" 
 she asked, and smiled in a bright way, which 
 said, as clearly as words could have done, 
 ' ' I am sure you have been quite well and 
 happy." 
 
 " Very well," Mrs. Sidmouth answered, in 
 a manner that implied that she kept back 
 many and important reservations. 
 
 " That's right. And the girls ? " 
 
 " Very well." With the same reservations.
 
 THE SEDGEBOROUGH WORLD. 159 
 
 " Have you been reading- anything good?" 
 was Hester's next question. 
 
 Mrs. Sidmouth smiled, and replied, in 
 tones of contemptuous pity, — 
 
 " My dear, do you know a modern author 
 whose writings are good ? The trash, the 
 wretched trash, published now-a-days is in- 
 conceivable." 
 
 "Oh! do you think so? I only wish 1 
 had time to read all the books published." 
 
 Mrs. Sidmouth pursed up her mouth, and 
 drew in the corners in a way which showed 
 how most pitiable she considered Hester's 
 condition to be. 
 
 " In my young days," was her reply, "we 
 read the works of Sir Walter Scott." 
 
 " But we read Sir Walter Scott's books, 
 too," said Hester, her face twisting up 
 comically. 
 
 " There is nothing, nothing in modern 
 literature which can be compared to his
 
 160 THE SEDGEBOROUGH WORLD. 
 
 writings for the beauty of the style, the 
 healthiness of the thought, and the purity." 
 Mrs. Siclmouth said these words, leaning for- 
 ward towards her niece, but in such low, 
 confidential tones, that Hester could hardly 
 catch their meaning. Mrs. Sidmouth lived 
 in constant fear lest the very stones should 
 prate of her whereabouts. Her movements 
 were as stealthy as her voice was low and 
 mysterious. She considered it unladylike, 
 moreover, to speak above a whisper, and 
 would frequently reprove Hester for the 
 vehemence of her tones, saying, "I am not 
 deaf, my dear," or, " Sweet is a low voice 
 in woman ;" to which last Hester would 
 reply, "I'd rather be bitter, then, than be 
 sweet, at such cost to most of my friends." 
 
 "I quite agree with you in admiring Sir 
 Walter Scott's books," she said, and then 
 looked round, startled by the sound of a 
 heavy, deep-drawn sigh at her ear. She
 
 THE SEDGEBOROUGH WORLD. 161 
 
 saw her cousin, Charlotte Sidmouth, stand- 
 ing in the middle of the room, her arms 
 hanging limply by her side, and an expres- 
 sion of unutterable misery in the large dark 
 eyes which were fixed on Hester. 
 
 Charlotte Sidmouth was tall, with broad 
 shoulders and a square figure ; about her 
 head hung short locks, whose auburn colour 
 was now mixed with white. She was a 
 clever woman, who wrote and read much, but 
 spoke little in general society. Indeed, when 
 at a party, she would frequently look such a 
 picture of abject misery, that a stranger 
 might have supposed her to be the victim of 
 some bitter remorse : she said the cause was 
 her ill health ; but it really was a form of shy- 
 ness, and the result of eccentricity of temper. 
 
 She gave utterance now to a long, deep- 
 drawn sigh, which could only have proceeded 
 from the soundest of lungs. " Gracious! what 
 
 is that?" cried her mother, and with a sudden, 
 VOL. I. m
 
 162 THE SEDGEBOROUGH WORLD. 
 
 theatrical start she clutched at Hester's arm. 
 She heard the same sound a dozen times 
 a day, but it caused her as much excite- 
 ment at the recurrence as though it were 
 perfectly novel and startling. 
 
 " Only Charlotte groaning in agony over 
 the woes of life," said Hester, laughing. 
 " Come, cheer up, Charlotte, you have not 
 committed a crime yet." And Hester, spring- 
 ing from her chair, endeavoured to make 
 her cousin join in a waltz, but failed to 
 2)roduce any effect on the immense frame, 
 which remained immovable as a statue. 
 
 "Come and sit down, Hester," commanded 
 her aunt. " We have really passed the time 
 of life adapted to frolics. Florence Aylmer 
 was here to-day," she continued. " She is 
 a beautiful creature — beautiful." And as 
 her aunt shook her head, and smiled over 
 Florence Aylmer's beauty, Hester knew she 
 was restored to a better humour.
 
 THE SEDGEBOKOUGH WORLD. 163 
 
 " She is very charming, certainly." 
 
 "Oh, beautiful! a beautiful creature — 
 and intellectual. She came and sat with 
 me a long time. She sat there," — pointing 
 to a seat near, — " and told me all about her 
 thoughts, her reading, and her doings. She 
 was full of Anne's hospital. And Lois came 
 with her, — a bright, vivacious little body, 
 a fine child, — who rattled and talked to me 
 about herself." 
 
 Charlotte heaved another sigh. 
 
 "What is it this time, Charlotte?" asked 
 Hester. " Things in general, or something 
 in particular?" 
 
 " I am sorrowing for Florence Aylmer. 
 She does not believe that the moon stood 
 still at Ajalon." 
 
 "She's a good creature," replied Mrs. Sid- 
 mouth, "and believes much more than people 
 give her credit for. I have had a long talk 
 with her, and she opened her heart to me."
 
 164 THE SEDGEBOROUGH WORLD. 
 
 "I am coming to see Ernest," went on 
 Charlotte. " He believes in his Bible." 
 
 "I hope a great many people do/' said 
 Hester, gravely. 
 
 " Yes, whenever it suits them. They all 
 make mental reservations ; but with Ernest 
 I can talk on any subject, however minute, 
 and he follows me with grave concurrence." 
 
 " I think you are unjust," began Hester. 
 
 u No, I am not. You say you believe 
 everything, and think you do, no doubt ; 
 still, were I to talk to you as I do to Ernest, 
 you would laugh, and turn my words into 
 ridicule." 
 
 "I hope I should not," said Hester, in 
 distress. 
 
 "I daresay you hope, Hester Stuart; 
 but hoping won't do much good. I was 
 speaking to Ernest about the Tables of Stone 
 being handed over to Moses when last we 
 met, and was pleased with his remarks."
 
 THE SEDGEB0R0UGH WORLD. 165 
 
 "Do you see much of Florence Aylmer, 
 my dear?" asked Mrs. Sidinouth, breaking 
 in again. " I think she would make a good 
 companion for you." 
 
 Hester laughed, for she knew that, how- 
 ever she and Florence might like each other, 
 their minds were too little in common for 
 them ever to become companions. She 
 knew also that her aunt thought, that inter- 
 course with Florence might improve her 
 manners, and might even teach her to 
 modulate her voice. 
 
 It was shortly after this that Hester re- 
 turned home. 
 
 When all her guests had assembled that- 
 evening, she rather regretted the youthful- 
 ness of the party after all, and wished there 
 had been some one present over thirty years 
 of age. Ernest took down Miss Evans to 
 dinner. She was a lively, vivacious girl, of 
 about nineteen years of age, a relation of the
 
 166 THE SEDGEBOROUGH WORLD. 
 
 Stuarts, though not a native of Sedgeborough. 
 Her only beauty was the quantity of her 
 fair hair, for her face was plain, almost to 
 reioulsiveness. She had a sallow complexion, 
 pale green eyes, and a long nose, which 
 seemed to have been unable to determine 
 what shape to take, as it rose and fell at 
 intervals. She spoke in a high voice, 
 rattling out her words as though it were her 
 greatest desire to get rid of them with as 
 much expedition as possible. She had a 
 habit also of shrugging up her slight shoul- 
 ders to her ears as she spoke. The Stuarts 
 did not like any of the family much, — but 
 then they were relations, — so they never con- 
 fessed this. It was a point of honour with 
 them to like all their connexions by blood. 
 The Evanses themselves were very different in 
 this matter. Miss Evans declared openly, to 
 any one who would listen, that though she was 
 fond of her brothers she detested her sisters.
 
 THE SEDGEBOROUGH WORLD. 167 
 
 "It is so good of you to ask me without 
 Elizabeth," she said to Ernest; "we have 
 been having such fights lately, that we could 
 not have come in the same carriage." 
 
 "Poor Mrs. Evans! You should have 
 some compassion for her, Gertrude," was 
 Ernest's reply. 
 
 "Oh, poor mamma! she goes dropping 
 her prayers about the house, that we may 
 be converted. She is like the woman in 
 Dickens's i Tale of Two Cities,' constantly on 
 the flop. I am only surprised her spiritual 
 knees are not worn away by this time." 
 
 Ernest was glad after this to turn to 
 Florence Aylmer, who was on his other side. 
 Miss Evans addressed herself to Edward 
 Willoughby, who was her next neighbour, 
 and with whom she had some intimacy, on 
 account of being related. He was very par- 
 ticular about women's appearance, manners, 
 and general conduct, and wished most heartily
 
 168 THE SEDGEBOROUGH WORLD. 
 
 he could disown his relationship with Miss 
 Evans. He was himself very good looking, 
 and therefore had a right to be, particular, 
 although, being only one-ancl-twenty, he had 
 not yet gained that full command over his long 
 arms and legs that might have been desirable 
 for his own ease and self-possession. In 
 character he was sensitive, impulsive, and 
 oenerous, and had an immense amount of 
 energy of a certain kind, which it w r as the 
 desire of his life to exhaust on " something 
 practical." Combined with this were two 
 disadvantages: firstly, when he had money 
 in his pocket, he was never at ease till it 
 was spent ; secondly, when a friend made 
 him a confidence, he could never rest until 
 he had imparted it to some other friends in 
 the strictest confidence. 
 
 "I am quite tired of you, Mr. Carrick; 
 everybody conspires to send us to dinner 
 together. I am sure we should both agree in
 
 THE SEDGEBOROUGH WORLD. 169 
 
 liking a little variety. You can have nothing 
 new to talk about," said Miss Cadogan, as 
 she put her arm into Mr. Carrick's. 
 
 " I suppose the reason is, that you always 
 talk to me wherever we may be placed at the 
 table." 
 
 i i I wonder who my next neighbour will be. 
 Mr. Macdonald, you here ! How do you do ? 
 I am quite glad to see a face from Cadogan." 
 
 Mr. Macdonald, who was the son of one of 
 those county big-wigs whom Miss Cadogan 
 thought so invigorating a tonic, laughingly 
 confessed himself pleased that she should be 
 glad to see him. As he spoke it might have 
 been seen from his manner that he was not 
 without a certain shyness, which probably 
 proceeded from pride and reserve. He was 
 extremely handsome and aristocratic looking, 
 so that Miss Cadogan felt that in talking to 
 him she was in her element ; for had he not 
 a lineage which might be compared to her
 
 170 THE SEDGEBOKOUGH WORLD. 
 
 own ? Moreover, Miss Cadogan's soul delighted 
 to draw forth his opinions on the subject of 
 " those Eadical fellows." She always held 
 that there was nothing more amusing than 
 the conservatism of a true Conservative. 
 
 " These sort of things are all very well in 
 theory, but they won't do in practice; that is 
 always what I say, they won't do in practice," 
 he would say, and shake his handsome head 
 sagely, and wave his long white hands in 
 the air to enforce and give effect to his words. 
 
 " He has a right to consider himself wise, 
 though," thought Beatrice, laughing at her- 
 self; "for has he not inherited his ideas 
 from a long line of ancestors ? " 
 
 " The shabby way the Government con- 
 ducts its affairs is shameful," he continued. 
 
 " How ? " asked Beatrice. 
 
 " Oh! in the army, in the navy, and in 
 every department, in fact. I know it has 
 caused great discontent in the army."
 
 THE SEDGEB0R0UGH WORLD. 171 
 
 " I wish I could hear all about it," said 
 Beatrice; " but I must go with the ladies. 
 You must come and tell me about it after- 
 wards." 
 
 In the drawing-room, Miss Evans threw 
 herself on a sofa, saying, " The gentlemen 
 won't be long away, I hope. I feel inclined 
 to go to sleep till they come." 
 
 When they came upstairs, Ernest Stuart 
 went immediately to Florence, and, sitting 
 down beside her, remained talking to her for 
 the rest of the evening. They had found 
 some subjects on which they could agree, 
 and Ernest was gradually led on to speak 
 of his own life and work as he had never 
 spoken of them to any other person. He 
 had met Florence several times since they 
 had been to the hospital together, and every 
 meeting had served to increase the interest 
 in her which had then been aroused. Un- 
 consciously he began to alter the force and
 
 172 THE SEDGEBOROUGH WORLD. 
 
 meaning of her words to him on former 
 occasions ; so that he saw now in her talk 
 about light and culture a sign of the purity 
 and beauty of her nature. " It is possible 
 for women like her," he said to himself, " to 
 tread on this ground, because their own 
 character will save them from the evil conse- 
 quences which would come to others. I see 
 how I misunderstood her." Florence inten- 
 tionally avoided those subjects on which she 
 knew they could not agree, and was quite 
 unaware that she had led him to make a 
 mistake as to her real opinions. 
 
 "Miss Cadogan," said Mr. Carrick, "are 
 you not going to say a word to me?" 
 
 "No, I am tired of you. Lizzie Aylmer 
 is going to sing ; go and turn over her leaves. 
 Mr. Willoughby, how mournful you look ; is 
 anything wrong?" 
 
 " How?" asked Edward, and allowed his 
 long eyelashes to fall over his cheek in a way
 
 THE SEDGEBOROUGH WORLD. 173 
 
 which plainly said he thought it was a liberty 
 on Miss Cadogan's part, which he felt bound 
 to resent, to make any remark on his personal 
 appearance. 
 
 " I ask why ? and you ask i how ? ' in re- 
 turn. Your questions are most enigmatical. 
 By the bye, Mr. Stuart," she continued, 
 addressing Louis, "I have to call on the 
 Miss Sidmouths ; but I should like to know 
 first what condition of spirits I am likely to 
 find them in. Can you tell me ? " 
 
 " Low, low," said Louis, shaking his head. 
 
 " They are the most entertaining people 
 I know." 
 
 "I am glad you should be entertained by 
 my cousins." 
 
 " Now, Mr. Stuart, that is too bad. Every- 
 body is a cousin of yours, I believe. You 
 cannot expect us always to remember that. 
 Mr. Macdonald, are you a cousin of Mr. 
 Stuart ? I suppose so."
 
 174 THE SEDGEBOROUGH WORLD. 
 
 " No," he replied, laughing, and shaking 
 his head. 
 
 " Indeed! wonderful! Then, Mr. Stuart, 
 we may talk of Mr. Macdonald." 
 
 " Suppose we don't talk of any one ? " 
 
 " Oh, yes, but I want to speak of Mr. Mac- 
 donald. What has he been doing with him- 
 self lately, do you know?" 
 
 " Enjoying himself, I suppose." 
 
 " Yes, thank you, Miss Cadogan, I have 
 been enjoying myself very well." 
 
 " Of course you have. You are an eldest 
 son, and the whole arrangement of society is 
 constituted to minister to the enjoyment of 
 an eldest son." 
 
 " Won't you speak to me now, Miss 
 Cadogan ? " asked the indefatigable Mr. 
 Carrick, returning to the charge. 
 
 " There are Lizzie and Florence Aylmer 
 going ; so I am going to take my departure 
 under their wings."
 
 THE SEDGEB0R0UGH WORLD. 175 
 
 " Your carriage lias been announced." 
 
 Beatrice said good-bye to the Stuarts, and 
 went from the room with the Aylmers and 
 Ernest Stuart. 
 
 " Is your carriage here, Miss Cadogan ?" 
 he asked. 
 
 " Yes, here in point of fact — my carriage 
 and pair. I walk home with my maid." 
 She then bade them good-night, and walked 
 towards her home with her servant. 
 
 It was not long, however, before Ernest 
 joined her. 
 
 " You must let me come with you," he said. 
 
 " Did you see the Aylmers safely home ?" 
 she asked, looking at him critically. The 
 light of the street lamp fell on his face, and 
 she could have sworn he blushed. 
 
 " Florence was most beautiful to-night," 
 she said again. 
 
 "Yes," he answered slowly; "she is 
 beautiful."
 
 176 THE SEDGEBOROUGH WORLD. 
 
 "I hope she will never marry; it would 
 spoil her," she said next. 
 
 " How wet the roads are," he exclaimed, in 
 hopes of changing the conversation. 
 
 "You'll wet your feet: you had better 
 go back." 
 
 He laughed. 
 
 " No, I thank you." 
 
 " Don't you agree with me that it would 
 spoil her if she were ever to marry ?" 
 
 " I have really not thought on the subject." 
 
 " She wore blue to-night. Do you not like 
 the colour?" 
 
 "Yes, I like the colour," he replied; all 
 astray as to what she might mean. 
 
 She laughed. " This is our house. Good- 
 night, and thanks for your company. I hope 
 neither of us will dream of blue angels." And 
 Beatrice went into the house. 
 
 " How they enjoyed themselves as they 
 sat apart," she thought ; "but they were both
 
 THE SEDGEBOROUGH WORLD. 177 
 
 unconscious of it till I put it into his head. 
 They are ignorant of these things, poor 
 dears ! " 
 
 Beatrice's warning about the blue angels 
 had been in vain. Ernest was like nothing 
 so much as a high-mettled horse, which, 
 having the bit between his teeth, will dash 
 forward in a mad career. He had seized 
 his idea, and nothing could stop him in his 
 course or give him pause. His idea was that 
 Florence Aylmer was the purest and fairest 
 creature the world had ever seen ; that their 
 former differences of opinion had arisen from ' 
 his being unable to comprehend her finer 
 nature. 
 
 " What a life such a woman might lead !" 
 he thought, and this was only a step from the 
 thought, " What a life a man might lead 
 with such a woman for his helpmate !" With 
 men like Ernest such steps are quickly taken ; 
 they rush on from one idea to another, until 
 
 VOL. I. N
 
 178 THE SEDGEB0R0UGH WORLD. 
 
 they have created a fabric of so unsubstantial 
 and illusive a nature, that it is unable to 
 endure the weight of their faith, and falls 
 beneath it. The question is, will the faith 
 be crushed with the illusion, or rise trium 
 pliant, either to form another or to gain 
 wisdom and stability ? 
 
 In the struggle which ensues in their 
 nature there is always something tragical, 
 for is it not a question of life or death — the 
 life or death of the soul ? 
 
 To Ernest the world had suddenly be- 
 come beautiful — a dream, a poem. When he 
 awoke to the sternness of the reality, would 
 he have strength to survive the shock ?
 
 CHAPTER XL 
 
 " Come down, maid, from yonder mountain height : 
 What pleasure lives in height (the shepherd sang), 
 In height and cold, the splendour of the hills ? 
 But cease to move so near the heavens, and cease 
 To glide a sunbeam by the blasted pine, 
 To sit a star upon the sparkling spire ; 
 And come, for love is of the valley ; come, 
 For love is of the valley'; come thou down 
 And find him." — Princess. 
 
 When people live next door in a town like 
 Sedgeborough, it is wonderful how frequently 
 they are thrown together, or how often they 
 are reminded in one way or the other of 
 each other's existence. 
 
 The true foundation, it must be remem- 
 bered, of an ideal like that which Ernest was 
 forming of Florence Aylmer is thought; so
 
 180 THE SEDGEBOROUGH WORLD. 
 
 that it was much more important to its 
 growth that he should be made to think of 
 her, than that they should meet often or talk 
 much. The intercourse which they had held 
 together had been sufficient to arouse a 
 mutual interest; and there being between 
 them, notwithstanding the differences in 
 their characters, some natural affinity, this 
 interest unconsciously grew and ripened in 
 each. 
 
 Florence was aware that without a certain 
 exclusiveness a man cannot work ; that as 
 soon as he begins to see side-truths and side- 
 lights his strength in action is weakened. 
 Ernest, she saw also, had many, and even 
 brilliant abilities. He was a first-rate clas- 
 sical scholar, and his studies in this direction 
 were to him of absorbing interest. He would 
 have been well content could he have chosen 
 an occupation which would have had some 
 connexion with these ; and even now, if he
 
 THE SEDGEB0R0UGH WORLD. 181 
 
 took up one of the works of a favourite author, 
 it would warm him to such enthusiasm that 
 he found it difficult to lay it down at the call 
 of duty. He had a keen and delicate sense 
 of any artistic literary beauty; and in this he 
 and Florence had much in common. He 
 could speak to her of the books or particular 
 passages he admired, and could be certain 
 that he would not be met with the high-bred, 
 quiet ridicule with which any expression of 
 real feeling is treated in society. 
 
 To Florence also, it must be remembered, 
 it was rare to come in contact with a man 
 who thought there were more important 
 and interesting topics of conversation than 
 wdiat Mr. or Mrs. So-and-So did, and what 
 Miss So-and-So said. He never thought of 
 discussing his neighbours, or of restricting 
 conversation in the approved fashion to pass- 
 ing and outward events. She could feel sure 
 he really meant what he said, and did not
 
 182 THE SEDGEBOROUGH WORLD. 
 
 talk the jargon of a particular set ; the forms 
 and phrases of society having no importance 
 in his eyes. 
 
 I suppose she cannot have been wholly 
 uninfluenced by his good looks and the 
 charm of his manner ; for not even those to 
 whom his intolerance was obnoxious could 
 deny that he had a certain fascination. He 
 had an old-world chivalry of nature and 
 courtesy of demeanour towards all whom he 
 might meet, and we must admit that 
 
 " Manners are not idle, but the fruit 
 Of loyal natures and of noble minds." 
 
 It must be recollected also that, though a 
 curate, he had nothing in common with the 
 ordinary type of his class which is familiar 
 to us all : a man who has taken orders for 
 an employment, and who is associated in our 
 minds with croquet, gossip, and clerical jokes, 
 and whose greatest ambition is to be popular 
 in the society into which he is thrown.
 
 THE SEDGEBOROUGH WORLD. 183 
 
 One afternoon, Lois went into Lizzie's room, 
 and, after fumbling about the table, as though 
 in search of something lost, said, confidentially, 
 " Do you know, Lizzie, I think Florence is 
 in love ! " 
 
 Lizzie looked up, laughing. 
 
 "With a new work on calorific rays?" 
 she asked. 
 
 " No, that 's just it ; don't you see ?" 
 
 " No, I am sorry I don't." 
 
 " Why, Lizzie, you are stupid!" cried 
 Lois, impatiently. "Don't you see, she has 
 had some learned volume on her knee the 
 whole morning, and yet has been constantly 
 staring out of the window in a brown study." 
 
 " And that is a sign of love, is it ?" 
 
 "Yes, of course; don't you know?" was 
 the eager answer. "You feel happy, and 
 then you get doleful, then happy again, 
 am sure Florence is in love. I have seen 
 her smile constantly, which usually she never
 
 184 THE SEDGEB0R0UGH WORLD. 
 
 does when reading. I am sure I don't wonder, 
 considering what she reads; and then she 
 gets quite grave, and sighs a little, and turns 
 over a page, of which, I am sure, she does 
 not know one syllable." 
 
 " How do you come to know the meaning 
 of these wonderful signs ? One would ima- 
 gine your own experience had been lively." 
 
 " You are too silly, Lizzie! I have seen 
 them often in others ; and, besides, I know 
 them perfectly." 
 
 "Well, remember not to tell everybody 
 what your fancies are." 
 
 " They are not fancies." 
 
 Miss Frost was also dissatisfied with 
 Florence at this time ; but she did not seem 
 so conversant with the signs of love as Lois, 
 for she puzzled over these same fits of abstrac- 
 tion, but could find no cause to account for 
 them. Florence looked well in health, and 
 Miss Frost was utterly incapable of under-
 
 THE SEDGEBOROUGH WORLD. 185 
 
 standing how any one not dangerously ill 
 could fail to be absorbed in a new scientific 
 work. She thought, for her own part, that, 
 even were she dying, a brochure would 
 recall her to life. 
 
 "Mrs. Aylmer, have you noticed anything 
 wrong about Florence ?" she asked, one day. 
 " She is not like herself at all. Last Sunday 
 afternoon, when she came to read to me, she 
 was quite abstracted. I could see her mind 
 was elsewmere." 
 
 u I dare say," said Mrs. Alymer, in reply, 
 1 i that she has had enough of reading for a 
 time. It is generally noticeable with girls of 
 her age, that a reaction sets in, and they abjure 
 for a space what they have liked before." 
 
 " But there must be some reason," per- 
 sisted Miss Frost. " Such a reaction in 
 Florence would be quite unaccountable." 
 
 " The reason is to be found in satiety, I 
 think."
 
 186 THE SEDGEBOROUGH WORLD. 
 
 " I could understand that, were it satiety 
 of parties, balls, or amusements generally." 
 
 " But not of thought? Can't you really? 
 Eeading and thought have been to Florence 
 what amusements are to other girls, and she 
 has got tired of them, I suppose-, as they 
 tre of thes3." 
 
 " I cannot say I am satisfied. Have you 
 really not seen that there is something wrong, 
 Mrs. Aylmer? I am sure Lois has. She 
 3fiilks constantly of l the fair and abstracted 
 Florence.' " 
 
 " Here comes Lizzie, we '11 ask her. Lizzie, 
 is there anything wrong about Florence ?" 
 
 " Lois says she is in love, mamma," said 
 Lizzie, laughing. 
 
 "The stupid, silly child!" cried Miss 
 Frost, indignantly. " How she gets such 
 notions about love, I don't know; but it 
 is too much when she would give them to 
 Florence also."
 
 THE SEDGEBOROUGH WORLD. 187 
 
 " Yes, she certainly could not have fixed 
 on any one more unlikely than Florence to 
 be affected in that way. I am sure, Miss 
 Frost, it is only relaxation the child re- 
 quires." 
 
 " But she has not worked much for a 
 month, at least." 
 
 " It may be, then, she requires work," said 
 Mrs. Aylmer, laughing. " But I believe, 
 for my part, there is nothing wrong with 
 her at all." 
 
 Miss Frost had no doubt that, whatever 
 the nature of Florence's complaint might be, 
 work would be good for her. She there- 
 fore determined to reason with her, and 
 point out that she had been going astray, 
 and took the first opportunity of following 
 her to her room, and speaking on the sub- 
 ject. 
 
 " Florence," she said, " I have been very 
 anxious about you, and quite unable to
 
 188 THE SEDGEBOROUGH WORLD. 
 
 understand your conduct. You have been 
 wasting your time." 
 
 Florence laid her hand affectionately on 
 Miss Frost's shoulder, as she answered, — 
 
 " I have not been wasting my time. I 
 have been learning, only I have had another 
 teacher." 
 
 " Another teacher?" repeated Miss Frost, 
 in tones of quick resentment and jealousy. 
 
 " Yes ; and have been learning most neces- 
 sary lessons." 
 
 " And your teacher ?" 
 
 " Has been life," she replied. "It has 
 taught me that there are more important 
 things for me than scientific or philosophical 
 studies." 
 
 "More important? Florence! what do 
 mean ?" 
 
 " That a life would be ill spent which had 
 only individual learning for its end; but 
 cases are very different, Miss Frost. You
 
 THE SEDGEBOROUGH WORLD. 189 
 
 influence and train the minds of others, while 
 I remain absorbed in my thoughts, which 
 can have no use, and which have, indeed, 
 given me so far an isolated existence. The 
 lesson I have learnt is that we must all work ; 
 the lesson I have still to learn is what my 
 work is to be." 
 
 " This mania about woman's work and 
 sphere and usefulness, — has it touched you too, 
 Florence?" cried Miss Frost, in exasperation. 
 
 "Yes; and it seems to me that every 
 woman must be touched by it. You have 
 found out your sphere of usefulness, and I 
 must find mine." 
 
 u Then what do you propose to do ?" 
 
 "You are vexed with me, I see, and dis- 
 appointed ; but you must make excuses for 
 a time. I have known and understood so 
 little the significance of life, that what know- 
 ledge I have gained has come as a revelation 
 to me."
 
 190 THE SEDGEBOROUGH WORLD. 
 
 u You have come to no determination, 
 then?" 
 
 " To none except this. I have resolved 
 to enter more into the interests of other 
 people ; but, at the same time, I do not in 
 the least intend to give up reading." 
 
 After this conversation, Florence made an 
 effort to rouse her mind from abstraction to 
 active thought. It is no exaggeration to 
 call this an effort on her part ; for when a 
 mind is occupied with personal affairs, it is 
 almost impossible that it should turn with 
 ready interest to an obscure or difficult 
 study. Florence succeeded so well, how- 
 ever, as to satisfy Miss Frost, and assure her 
 that a " little rousing" had been all that was 
 necessary.
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 
 " beautiful creature, what am I 
 That I dare to look her way ?"— Tennyson. 
 
 " The drift of the matter is dark, an Isis 
 Hid by a veil." — Tennysos. 
 
 " At war with myself and a wretched race ; 
 Sick, sick to the heart, of life am I." — Tennyson, 
 
 Once, when Florence went to see Mrs. Sid- 
 mouth, she had been asked by her to visit a 
 poor woman who was dying of consumption, 
 and take her a few delicacies. 
 
 " I heard of her some time ago as being 
 in great necessity, and gaye her work to do, 
 which was an assistance. She was so grateful, 
 poor thing ! But her health has failed com- 
 pletely since then. She has come through 
 many trials, and it may do her good to see
 
 192 THE SEDGEB0R0UGH WORLD. 
 
 a young and kind face," Mrs. Sidmouth 
 had said. 
 
 So Florence, one afternoon, accompanied 
 by her maid, who carried wine and jelly, 
 went to Brompton Lane, where Mrs. Blake 
 lived. 
 
 She was directed to go two stairs up; and 
 taking the basket from the servant's hand, 
 and bidding her wait outside, she went in. 
 
 It was a low and wretched room, into 
 which the small, dark window scarcely 
 allowed any light to penetrate ; two panes 
 were broken, but the apertures were so 
 closely stuffed with rags, that not a breath 
 of air could enter to purify the foetid atmo- 
 sphere. This room Mrs. Blake shared with 
 six others. When Florence came in, however, 
 there were only two occupants. 
 
 Mrs. Blake was lying on a miserable chaff 
 bed, which looked as though it had seen 
 many generations. She was pale and ema-
 
 THE SEDGEBOROUGH WORLD. 193 
 
 ciated, gasping for every breath convulsively ; 
 and Florence, as her eyes rested on her, felt, 
 with a sense of dread, that death must be 
 near. She saw also, bending over the 
 woman, the slight, well-known figure of 
 Ernest Stuart. He was speaking in low, 
 eager tones, and she hesitated whether to 
 advance or not ; but he, too, had seen her, and 
 came towards her, with a flush rising to his 
 cheek — for was she not now fulfilling his ideal ? 
 
 The moment after, his thoughts, however, 
 returned to the suffering woman, whose 
 chances of eternal life or death were hanging 
 in the balance. 
 
 u Flor — Miss Aylmer," he said, in tones of 
 suppressed eagerness, " go to her, and speak 
 to her; it is her last chance of salvation. 
 You may have more, you must have more, 
 power than I." 
 
 He took the basket from her hand. " She 
 cannot eat anything," he said; " I have tried." 
 
 VOL. I.
 
 194 THE SEDGEBOROUGH WORLD. 
 
 Florence then stepped forward to the bed- 
 side, while Ernest went to the window so 
 that she might feel unembarrassed in her 
 talk. He turned to look at her for one 
 moment, as she leant over the bed. It was 
 almost the last time that he saw his ideal in 
 Florence Aylmer ; and, as he looked at her, 
 he told himself she w T as hardly human in her 
 purity and perfection. 
 
 Florence told the woman how Mrs. Sid- 
 mouth, on hearing of her illness, had sent 
 her. 
 
 " Aye," she said, " I 'in near my end." 
 
 " And near the haven of rest." 
 
 " They tell me no." 
 
 "Then they tell you wrong; death must 
 bring rest and comfort." 
 
 " I canna say I believe I am forgi'en." 
 
 " But your sins are forgiven you." 
 
 " The torment o' hell," murmured the 
 woman, between her parched lips.
 
 THE SEDGEB0R0UGH WORLD. 195 
 
 " There is no such place ; it is only in 
 our own minds : we suffer from it here. We 
 shall all be brought to heaven hereafter." 
 
 The words were hardly uttered before the 
 woman drew a long, gasping breath, clutched 
 at her arm, and then sank back rigid. 
 
 " Mr. Stuart ! " cried Florence ; and Ernest 
 came forward, and saw that all was over. 
 The room had become very dark to Florence ; 
 she felt faint and giddy, so that it was only 
 with a great effort that she retained her self- 
 command. 
 
 Ernest led her to the door. " If you go, 
 Miss Aylmer," he said, "I shall join you 
 immediately. I must first speak to the neigh- 
 bour who was with her when I came." 
 
 Florence found her way downstairs, slowly 
 and with difficulty; but Ernest joined her 
 before she got into the street. 
 
 They walked on silently for some time, 
 Florence feeling that utterance of any kind
 
 196 THE SEDGEBOROUGH WORLD. 
 
 was impossible, for it was the first time she 
 had been in presence of death, — and what a 
 death ! 
 
 She felt, too, that Ernest had been to 
 blame for having embittered the last mo- 
 ments of a life, the end of which would have 
 been sad enough at any rate. 
 Ernest spoke first. 
 
 "Dreadful," he said, "to think how often 
 in this life we are too late ! It might have 
 been a soul saved." Then she turned to him, 
 a faint colour tinging her pale cheek, and 
 her voice thrilling with indignation, — 
 
 " You think that woman was created to live 
 miserably here and suffer torment hereafter ; 
 and you can worship the Being you consider 
 capable of such a creation ? Do you not 
 know, Mr. Stuart, that your creed of Chris- 
 tianity, if it has a meaning, means this — that 
 a perfect man was born who conquered death? 
 Eternal death is not an existence to which
 
 THE SEDGEB0R0UGH WORLD. 197 
 
 men are doomed in their life hereafter ; it 
 is estrangement from the Divine Being, from 
 which we must suffer more now than in the 
 future." 
 
 " If Christianity means anything? And 
 my creed ? Florence, — Miss Aylmer, — what 
 do you mean?" 
 
 " You have been worshipping a Being of 
 your own creation, who would simply have 
 been human had not inordinate power made 
 him inhuman." 
 
 " Miss Aylmer," and his face became white 
 to his lips, whilst his long, slender hands were 
 tightly clenched, " do you know what you 
 say?" His ideal, which had become part of 
 his very nature, lay shattered at his feet. 
 
 " Yes," she answered firmly, " I know 
 what I say, and feel it more strongly than I 
 have expressed it." 
 
 " Miss Aylmer, you do not believe," he 
 began, and then stopped, continuing again
 
 198 THE SEDGEB0R0UGH WORLD. 
 
 after a pause, his words being forced out 
 painfully, — " you do not believe in the Atone- 
 ment, and that through faith alone we are 
 saved?" 
 
 " I certainly do not think that belief in a 
 doctrine can save us." 
 
 " It is the one essential thing." 
 
 " Then you believe," she said, " that all 
 who do not hold the Christian faith shall not 
 enter the kingdom of heaven? I should 
 prefer to be in your hell to your heaven; 
 it would be the better place." 
 
 " Miss Aylmer, I entreat of you to recol- 
 lect what you say. You deliberately reject 
 the revelation which the Divine Being has 
 given us of Himself — deliberately, and with 
 open eyes." 
 
 " If I have rejected any truth," was her 
 answer, ". it is not a wilful rejection. What 
 I wish you to recognize is this : that God has 
 many ways besides the narrow one which we
 
 THE SEDGEBOROUGH WORLD. 199 
 
 take to draw men to Himself. We must not 
 limit His power by our systems and creeds." 
 
 " Great God !" he cried, the words wrung 
 from him in the strength of his passion. " Do 
 you not see you have turned aside from the 
 simple truth, ' Strait is the gate, and 
 narrow is the way, which leadeth unto 
 life?' It is terrible to see you philosophizing 
 calmly on the brink of destruction." 
 
 " How is it possible you can retain a creed 
 like this, mixing in life as you have done ? 
 It is far more terrible, believe me, than my 
 calm philosophy, that you should be able to 
 preserve your reason ; you who have seen 
 numbers of your fellow men who have lived in 
 sin and ignorance die without any sense of 
 the divine existence, holding that death is 
 eternal." 
 
 " We cannot answer as to the fate of those 
 who have not been shown the truth here." 
 
 " You speak of the truth," she said, in calm
 
 200 THE SEDGEBOROUGH WORLD. 
 
 surprise, " as though it could be grasped by 
 a human mind ! " 
 
 He went on paying her no heed. 
 
 " But as for those who have rejected the 
 truth openly and deliberately for the wisdom 
 of the world, we have been told, in clear, 
 unmistakable words, the future that awaits 
 them. Miss Aylmer, I conjure you, I beg 
 of you, to think of this. Were you to die 
 now " — he was unable to continue. He could 
 not pronounce sentence openly on the woman 
 whom he loved, and yet he knew he must 
 pronounce sentence on her to himself. Were 
 she to die, she could not be saved ; she was 
 at enmity with God. For the woman who 
 had died so short a time before in the dark- 
 ened room, in miserable circumstances, there 
 might be some hope of. mercy ; for he could 
 not tell whether she had ever had a chance 
 or not of receiving the truth, as he called it. 
 But for Florence Aylmer there was no such
 
 THE SEDGEBOROUGH WORLD. 201 
 
 hope. She had rejected the Divine guidance, 
 and had chosen her own path ; had preferred 
 the wisdom of men to that of God. And this 
 was the woman whom he had loved — his ideal 
 of all that was true and noble ! 
 
 Had he been a weaker man, he would 
 have shrunk from drawing the conclusions of 
 his creed home to what concerned himself. 
 He would have made excuses for Florence, 
 and invented many ways by which she could 
 escape from the judgment he would have 
 pronounced on others. But Ernest Stuart, 
 knowing that were she a stranger he would 
 condemn her, condemned her, though she 
 had won his love. 
 
 Experience had brought home to him the 
 full bitterness of his creed, and even-handed 
 justice commended the ingredients of the 
 jDoisoned cup to his own lips which he had 
 before commended to others. He was 
 strong, and did not turn aside as another
 
 202 THE SEDGEBOKOUGH WOKLD. 
 
 might have done, but drank the poison to the 
 dregs, his very strength lending bitterness 
 to the draught. 
 
 Was it not true what she had said, that in 
 his hell would be found more righteous men 
 than in his heaven ? Now he saw the full 
 blackness of the world his imagination had 
 created. He saw an angry and revengeful 
 God, seated on the throne of power, who had 
 permitted the blood of the innocent to be 
 shed for a few elect, and who had created 
 millions for destruction. He saw Florence 
 Aylmer as he had seen her bending over the 
 bed of the dying woman, and he recalled the 
 fair and noble beauty of her face, and knew 
 that they were separated for ever by an 
 unfathomable gulf ; for he was not made of 
 so slight a stuff as to be able to throw the 
 creed of his youth and his manhood aside at 
 the first shock his faith encountered. The 
 rains descended, the floods came, the winds
 
 THE SEDGEBOROUGH WORLD. 203 
 
 blew, and beat on his house, and it did not 
 fall. The question was, would it fall even- 
 tually ? and falling, what would be left ? Had 
 he strength sufficient to arise to new life out 
 of the destruction of the old? Had he enough 
 elasticity and adaptiveness of character to 
 build a new edifice ? 
 
 He hardly knew how they reached home, 
 or how they separated. As he paced about 
 his room, struggling for composure and sub- 
 mission, it was a relief to remember that in 
 two days' time he must return to London. 
 He would thus be able to forget his own 
 troubles in working to save others as lost as 
 Florence Aylmer. The thought then came 
 to him that he must make one effort to save 
 her. Common humanity would give him the 
 right to do so, putting the claims of his love 
 aside. He seized a pen, and wrote as follows : 
 
 " After what has passed between us, I 
 cannot leave this without making an effort
 
 204 THE SEDGEBOROUGH WORLD. 
 
 to influence you. I beg of you, Miss Ayhner, 
 as a man who has given you his love and 
 trembles for your eternal welfare, to consider 
 well your position, and the reasons for which 
 you have rejected the Divine Revelation. If 
 you do this truthfully and earnestly, it can- 
 not be in vain. 
 
 " Ernest Stuart." 
 
 It was nothing to him that he had no 
 right to address her; he knew her well 
 enough to be aware that she was incapable 
 of feeling any offence at his conduct. 
 
 END OF BOOK FIRST.
 
 BOOK SECOND. 
 
 " O'er strange lands, across the sea, 
 My falcon has come back to me." 
 
 E. D. Cross.
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 " A spirit fit to start an empire, 
 And look the world to awe." 
 
 It was about the time that these occurrences 
 were taking place in Sedgeborough, that 
 Maurice Aylmer had occasion to visit Oxford. 
 He went to see a ward of his, who was an 
 undergraduate at Balliol, and arrange some 
 business matters with him. 
 
 After he had transacted this, it recurred 
 to his mind that Sydney Aylmer was at 
 Christ Church, and that he might do well 
 to employ what time he had yet at his dis- 
 posal in going to see him.
 
 208 THE SEDGEBOROUGH WORLD. 
 
 On making inquiries, lie found that his 
 cousin was at home, and was shown up to 
 his room. 
 
 It was many years since they had met, 
 and Maurice remembered having been rather 
 repelled by the brusquerie of the red-haired, 
 undeveloped youth, whose individuality 
 seemed to run counter to that of most 
 other people. He knew, however, that men 
 who are polished in their manners and 
 adaptive in their character at eighteen years 
 of age have seldom stuff enough in them 
 to form afterwards anything but the most 
 commonplace of beings, and probably expe- 
 rience of life and association with other 
 men had softened Sydney's eccentricities. 
 Moreover, Sydney's father was the nearest 
 relation Maurice Aylmer had, and was the 
 heir-presumptive to his property. " No 
 doubt," he thought, " Sydney will have in- 
 herited a certain amount of eccentricity;"
 
 THE SEDGEBOROUGH WORLD. x 209 
 
 and smiled a little as he recalled to mind a 
 long walk in the rain he had enjoyed with 
 Mr. Aylmer some years ago, when he had 
 been quite a lad. They had shared the 
 same umbrella ; and Mr. Aylmer broad, and 
 Maurice slight, in these days, the wet drops 
 had dripped down his neck or on to his shoulder . 
 Moreover, his attempts to cheer the way 
 by conversation were met by chilling 
 monosyllabic replies ; so that from these 
 attempts he soon desisted, wishing, with all 
 the impetuosity of these times, his cousin 
 would be civil, if he chose to use his umbrella. 
 Maurice Aylmer had been very different 
 then from what he was now, at the age of 
 thirty -five. A picture of him, painted at 
 that time, is hanging in the dining-room at 
 Aylmer Court. It represents an eager, im- 
 petuous boy, who looked out into the world 
 as though he would not rest until he had 
 
 found the secret of existence, or would beat 
 VOL. i. P
 
 210 THE SEDGEBOROUGH WOKLD. 
 
 out his strength in a passionate endeavour to 
 do so. The thinness of the face gave undue 
 prominence to the square broad forehead, 
 aquiline nose, and piercing grey-blue eyes. 
 It was a striking face, but would never have 
 led any one to suppose that he would be the 
 handsome man he afterwards became. 
 
 He was six feet three in height, but the 
 proportions and symmetry of his form were 
 perfect. The square head was splendidly 
 set on the broad shoulders. Strangers were 
 always struck by a fashion he had of facing 
 round completely if he wished to see any- 
 thing or address any one. His movements 
 all appeared to be slow, measured, and well 
 considered; but he had an advantage over 
 others in this, that from his immense size 
 and strength of limb he required half the 
 time and half the exertion for his actions 
 which other men used. His features were well 
 cut, but massive, — the fairness of his com-
 
 THE SEDGEBOROUGH WORLD. 211 
 
 plexion presenting 1 a striking contrast to the 
 straight black hair, which he wore divided 
 in the centre, and the dark eyes. The 
 lower part of his face was completely con- 
 cealed by the long curling beard which 
 swept across his breast. Of this beard he 
 was particularly proud. There was not 
 another in Europe, he said, which could 
 be compared to it. 
 
 His whole appearance gave you the im- 
 pression of immense power and repressed 
 strength, moral and physical, — of a man who 
 would not be lightly turned away from any 
 object he had in view, and yet who, if con- 
 vinced it were wise to desist, would desist. 
 He had found the secret and motive of his 
 own being, and by this had gained 
 
 " Self- reverence, self-knowledge, self-control." 
 
 He had learnt to act 
 
 "The law he lived by without fear, 
 And because right is right, to follow right."
 
 212 THE SEDGEBOROUGH WORLD. 
 
 The impetuosity and passion in the boy 
 had been trained by the man into per- 
 severance and earnestness. Of course, entire 
 self-subjection can never be gained, and even 
 yet he could be led away by the moment's 
 impulse, and a fire, not entirely under his 
 control, would kindle within him. 
 
 Maurice Aylmer had been left alone in the 
 world, with an immense fortune at his dis- 
 posal, when he was only seventeen years of 
 age. His guardian and cousin, Mr. Aylmer, 
 was disposed to leave his management as 
 much as possible in his own hands. 
 
 " He did not wish to be burdened with 
 strange young men," he said; "he had a 
 wife to look after, which was as much as 
 could be expected of any man. And as for 
 the property, he had never had any of his 
 own to manage, and did not see why he 
 should have all the trouble now of learning 
 the trade, and none of the advantage."
 
 THE SEDGEBOROUGH WORLD. 213 
 
 Aylmer Court was a large property, in the 
 Lake country, which had been in the hands 
 of the present family for many genera- 
 tions; but, besides this, Maurice succeeded 
 to £30,000 a year. 
 
 Maurice's father had only had one sister, a 
 widow in these days, a Mrs. Radnor, and 
 his wife had died very shortly after their 
 only son's birth. 
 
 When Mrs. Eadnor heard of her brother's 
 death, she hastened to Aylmer Court to 
 see her nephew, and advise his guardian 
 as to his future career, which, considering 
 his wealth and position, was not one to be 
 entered on lightly. 
 
 Mrs. Radnor was a thoroughly kind-hearted 
 woman, but I doubt whether she would have 
 hastened to console her nephew with the 
 same eagerness, or felt so deep a sympathy 
 in his loss, had it not been for this same 
 £30,000 a year. She would have been very
 
 214 THE SEDGEB0R0UGH WORLD. 
 
 sorry for the " poor boy," but would have 
 uttered many more platitudes about loss 
 being common to the race, and its having 
 a strengthening effect on a young man's 
 character if he set forth in life fully aware 
 of its hardships. Mrs. Radnor would have 
 denied this strenuously, and with much 
 genuine indignation ; but she had practised 
 petty falsenesses so long in society, that it 
 w r as not surprising that she should be also 
 false to herself. She was a handsome woman, 
 on whom her fifty-two years had not left 
 many traces of care. She was full of energy 
 and restlessness and ambition of a small 
 kind. She was ready at any moment to 
 start on a journey of any length, for any 
 reason whatever ; indeed, so far did she 
 carry this, that it almost developed into a 
 mania. It was alleged against her that she 
 had once gone to Paris to get a piece of 
 black ribbon ; and her nephew would never
 
 THE SEDGEBOROUGH WORLD. 215 
 
 have been surprised had lie met her unex- 
 pectedly in any of the four quarters of the 
 globe in which he might chance to be travel- 
 ling. There was noticeable in her high- 
 toned voice a certain peevishness and bitter- 
 ness, which told of many disappointed hopes 
 and desires. Her life had not been pillowed 
 so softly, after all, as it seemed to be, and 
 weariness and disappointment may have 
 caused this restlessness of spirit, which was 
 always seeking exhaustion in what was too 
 often useless and thankless labour. The good 
 nature which I have mentioned was quite 
 the chief characteristic of her disposition ; 
 and if she thought a person more worthy to 
 be served who had a title and rank, it was as 
 much a fault of her intellect as of anything 
 else. She really had a most sincere com- 
 passion for any one who did not know a 
 countess. She thought seriously that such 
 people belonged to a lower creation, and it
 
 216 THE. SEDGEBOROUGH WORLD. 
 
 was natural enough that she should have 
 most sympathy with those whom she con- 
 sidered were of her own species. 
 
 Maurice Aylmer, at seventeen years of age, 
 was handsome, rich, and alone in the world, 
 and therefore Mrs. Radnor hastened to lavish 
 her affection and care on him. 
 
 Mr. Aylmer, gloomy and miserable at being 
 torn away from his natural sphere to look 
 after a stray youth whom he had never seen 
 before, and whom he never cared to see again, 
 was willing enough that Mrs. Radnor should 
 dictate to him what was to be done. As far 
 as he could see, she and Maurice were the 
 most suitable people to decide on the matter, 
 and he would be thankful if they would take 
 it from his hands altogether. 
 
 " Maurice must go into the Guards," said 
 Mrs. Radnor. "He might get into his cousin 
 Lord Lake's regiment." 
 
 " But when there is no chance of fighting,
 
 THE SEDGEBOROUGH WORLD. 217 
 
 aunt, I do not see the advantage of the army 
 as a profession." 
 
 Mr. Aylmer smiled grimly at the boy's 
 innocence. 
 
 " My dear boy," and Mrs. Radnor smiled 
 too, " young men in your position join the 
 
 Guards in order to see life and get into 
 society. Not that there would be any diffi- 
 culty in your getting into society under any 
 circumstances." 
 
 " By society, being always understood," 
 put in Mr. Aylmer, " a certain set in 
 London where people are called Lord and 
 Lady instead of Mr. and Mrs." 
 
 Maurice wished to see life, and naturally 
 supposed that in society it could best be seen. 
 He therefore declared his ambition was to 
 become a Guardsman ; and the affair was 
 settled. Mr. Aylmer completed all the 
 arrangements of the place under Mrs. 
 Radnor's directions, and proved himself so
 
 218 THE SEDGEBOROUGH WORLD. 
 
 malleable to her will, that she became con- 
 vinced the poor man was really sensible, 
 though he had no chance of entering society. 
 
 " You must leave the house as it is at 
 present, Maurice," she said, looking round 
 the large handsome drawing-room, with its 
 heavy old-fashioned furniture ; " for of course 
 you won't be here much. "We must leave all 
 refurnishing to your wife. I hope you will 
 marry well, Maurice; all your }:>eople have 
 married well." 
 
 So Maurice went into the Guards, and lived 
 the life that is natural to young and wealthy 
 barbarians. As his aunt would say, he entered 
 society and saw life, — which means that he 
 was shown many evil ways, and spent his 
 days in hunting, shooting, betting, &c. But 
 even during these years he did not abandon 
 himself entirely to the animal enjoyment of 
 life ; but seeing the shallowness and exclusive- 
 ness of the set which was all the world to
 
 THE SEDGEBOROUGH WORLD. 219 
 
 his aunt, he kept up his interest in other 
 concerns. He had seen active service in the 
 Crimea, and what he saw there of life excited 
 in him a desire to see more of men and 
 the world than society could ever show him. 
 When he was seven-and-twenty, he left the 
 army, and the last ten years of his life were 
 spent in travelling and in gaining 1 wisdom ; 
 for he did not travel as a sportsman in search 
 of adventures to relieve the monotony of 
 existence, but as a man anxious to see all the 
 different phases of life, and learn from them 
 what he could. Nor was he, on the other 
 hand, that aimless being, a man without 
 ambition, travelling vaguely in search of 
 knowledge. He was thoroughly practical, 
 and would have agreed entirely with Hester 
 Stuart's authority, Helmholtz, in saying, that 
 " Das AYissen allein ist aber nicht Zweck des 
 Menschen auf der Erde," and " Nur das 
 Handeln giebt dem Mamie cin wtirdiges
 
 220 THE SEDGEBOROUGH WORLD. 
 
 Dasein " ; and in tlie world of literature he 
 was well known as the author of many useful 
 and able works. The well-being of humanity 
 was not so much a passion with him as it was 
 with Ernest Stuart. It was rather the object 
 of his well-regulated desires. But then it 
 must be remembered that he was a tolerant, 
 large-minded man, who did not suppose that 
 the greater part of his species were hurrying 
 to destruction. He saw clearly the failure of 
 man even in his best endeavours ; and knew 
 that — 
 
 " The best 
 Somehow eludes us, ever still might be, 
 And is not." 
 
 But this did not blind him to the positive 
 good that may be found. His influence over 
 others was greater than that of Ernest, because 
 of his wider sympathies, based on a character 
 which was really stronger. The one man 
 was idealistic, sensitive, and morbid ; the 
 other, rational, grave, and self-contained.
 
 THE SEDGEB0R0UGH WORLD. 221 
 
 Maurice might have been thought " high, 
 self-contained, and passionless"; but it was 
 not so, for he had beneath the calm exterior 
 a nature full of fire and passion, which he had 
 curbed to his will. 
 
 Major Aylmer found his cousin Sydney 
 changed beyond all recognition, and he could 
 hardly have believed that the fair-haired man 
 before him was the brusque, ill-mannered boy 
 of so few years back. Although the exclusive- 
 ness of the Oxford world, with its want of 
 broad human interest, had not been as favour- 
 able a school for Sydney as might have been 
 chosen, it had developed him wonderfully ; 
 or, perhaps, the developing power had been 
 laten in his character. He was still intoler- 
 ant in a sense of other worlds and interests 
 than his own, though his intolerance was 
 toned down, especially in expression. He 
 hated what was called society, and a party 
 was weariness and vexation of spirit to him.
 
 222 THE SEDGEB0R0UGH WORLD. 
 
 With regard to amusements of this nature, he 
 might have said, with Sir George Cornewall 
 Lewis, that life would be very tolerable if it 
 were not for its pleasures. But, on the other 
 hand, he had a lively appreciation of many 
 pleasures of life. The study of natural science 
 in all its branches was a keen delight ; wher- 
 ever he went he carried his microscope with 
 him, so that his sister Lois called it his 
 shadow. He enjoyed also a lively sense 
 of his own wisdom and good sense, which 
 latter quality he believed to be about the 
 highest a man could have. He despised 
 idealism, and was pleased when he could take 
 one of his sisters to task for rhodomontading, 
 as he called it ; and at the expression of any 
 feeling on their part, he would ejaculate 
 " Stuff," with much vehemence. 
 
 For the rest, he was methodical, precise, 
 clear-sighted, and persevering, with more of 
 the tortoise than the hare in his disposition.
 
 THE SEDGEBOROUGH WORLD. 223 
 
 He was of a small, slight person, which was 
 always carefully and nattily dressed. His 
 manner of walking gave him something of 
 the appearance of a diminutive steam-engine ; 
 his steps were short, quick, and very cha- 
 racteristic. His hair had lost much of its 
 redness of shade, even in his whiskers and 
 moustache, which, it is true, did not yet pre- 
 sent any very formidable appearance. His 
 eyes were fall of expression ; in colour they 
 w^ere of that peculiar steel-blue which is 
 generally seen only accompanying a critical, 
 sarcastic disposition. He was short-sighted, 
 and always went about with spectacles fixed 
 on a nose, the shape of which was not even 
 to his own satisfaction. The two cousins 
 had a long talk on many subjects; at the 
 end of which Sydney said, — 
 
 " You never come our way, do you ?" 
 " To Sedgeborough ? No ; I have not 
 been there for many years."
 
 224 THE SEDGEBOROUGH WORLD. 
 
 "Well, Aylmer Court is not very far off; 
 and if you are ever down there, we should 
 be happy to see you. I shall be down there 
 at Easter, if you care to come." 
 
 A quick flush came over Major Aylmer' s 
 face, as all the vague possibilities of such a 
 visit occurred to him. 
 
 " Thank you," he replied ; " I shall be at 
 the Court then, and shall be happy to go to 
 Sedgeborough. I should know some of my 
 relations." 
 
 " My people will be glad to see you, I am 
 sure," said Sydney. 
 
 Maurice, as he went away, felt glad that 
 he should have an opportunity of seeing Miss 
 Cadogan again. " What if she be married ?" 
 he thought ; and the question came with quick 
 pain. 
 
 He might disapprove of Beatrice in many 
 ways, and see that she was a woman who 
 would not make his life happy in the com-
 
 THE SEDGEBOEOUGH WORLD. 225 
 
 fortable, easy sense of the word. But, then, 
 life was not meant to be spent in sitting still, 
 eating and drinking; and it might be a 
 question if a union with Beatrice would not 
 conduce to their mutual advantage. He 
 recognized that there was a certain affinity 
 between them ; and was this a thing to be 
 put aside ? 
 
 The case would have been different had 
 she merely exercised a fascination over him, — 
 he would have been able to free himself from 
 the influence of this at once, — or had it been 
 from their having been thrown together that 
 their intimacy had arisen. He had been 
 brought into as close connexion with other 
 women, and they had not influenced him as 
 Beatrice had done. The simple feeling which 
 prompts a man to throw down a book or a 
 newspaper to talk to a woman, and the laissez 
 alter which leads this talk to other talk about 
 eternal ties and knots which are not to be 
 
 VOL. I. Q
 
 226 THE SEDGEBOROUGH WORLD. 
 
 cut here or hereafter, would not have ruled 
 him. He really believed that a woman whom 
 a man chooses to be his wife should be 
 chosen for some other reason than that she 
 has made an agreeable companion during 
 a short journey, and has talked to him 
 pleasantly about the weather and things in 
 general. 
 
 This may have arisen from his belief that 
 a wife enters into a man's interest, that he 
 takes her really for better for worse, and not 
 to become simply a domestic machine and 
 household manager. 
 
 It might be well, therefore, that Beatrice 
 Cadogan should become his wife without 
 respect to her wisdom and goodness.
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 " Changelings and fools of Heaven, and thence shut out, 
 Wildly we roam in discontent about." — Dryden. 
 
 Beatrice Cadogan was glad when it was 
 finally fixed that she should spend some time 
 with her uncle. Her depression and de- 
 spondency increased in an unaccountable 
 manner with every day that she remained at 
 Sedgeborough, so that her mother said, — 
 
 "I am sure I shall be thankful to get you 
 away. I am also thankful you should be 
 with your uncle when in this humour : it will 
 repay him for all his treatment of me." 
 
 " But, mamma," was her daughter's reply; 
 " the fact is, that you have been so brilliant 
 in your remarks of late, that in order to reply 
 to you as you deserved, I have worn out my
 
 228 THE SEDGEB0R0UGH WORLD. 
 
 intellect. I am like a ship after it has been 
 out in a heavy sea, in need of repairs, and 
 must make for port." 
 
 "Your metaphors are always so striking 
 and so poetical, dear Trichy," said Mrs. 
 Cadogan, " I fully expect that you will drop 
 into yerse some day, like Mr. Wegg. It 
 would be such a satisfaction to think that 
 a child of mine is a poet, — one of the great 
 ones of the earth ! Only think, Trichy, how 
 pleasant it would be were you to^ be called 
 ' The nightingale of Sedgeborough.' Now 
 that is a pretty idea, is it not ? Quite worthy 
 of your mother ?" 
 
 "You Sedgeborough people are all so 
 clever, I am heartily tired of you ! " went on 
 Beatrice. " If there is a thing I loathe, it is 
 a clever person. If I ever marry, my husband 
 shall be an imbecile." 
 
 "My unfortunate grandchildren, what a 
 fate will be theirs !"
 
 THE SEDGEBOROUGH WORLD. 229 
 
 u It shall be niy prayer that they should 
 inherit their father's mental incapacities." 
 
 " This is a second edition of ' Locksley 
 Hall/ and you are going to Cadogan to de- 
 claim about c The dreary, dreary moorland, 
 and the barren, barren shore.' " 
 
 "It is quite true, though, I think a clever 
 person, an intellectual person, or even an 
 intelligent person, is quite intolerable. Every- 
 body in Sedgeborough has been put under 
 a glass-frame, and has been forced into most 
 unnatural growth." 
 
 " Pretty idea for a poem that. Let me 
 see — 
 
 ' A maid I was. Ah, well a-day ! 
 Doomed in Sedgeborough town to stay, 
 Where the good folks, like plants below, 
 Glass-frames were always forc'd to grow ; 
 Which them so very clever made, 
 That I was' cast into the shade.' " 
 
 " Is that impromptu, mamma? Since you 
 
 can't be Mr. Wegg, you deserve to be his 
 
 wife."
 
 230 THE SEDGEBOROUGH WORLD. 
 
 In point of fact it was a relief to Beatrice 
 to go away from her mother for a little. 
 Mrs. Cadogan was rather trying to those 
 even who were most attached to her, and 
 recognized her real kindness and good feel- 
 ing. Beatrice found it a great exertion to 
 talk and laugh when she felt inclined to be 
 silent and commonplace. Now, her uncle 
 merely expected her to be punctual for all 
 meals, to say a few words about the weather 
 during their progress, and look well at the • 
 head of his table. He would only have been 
 surprised had she been brilliant and witty, 
 for he had never been accustomed to witty 
 conversation, and did not understand its 
 meaning. Had he heard anything of the 
 kind, he would, probably, have reasoned with 
 himself as follows : — He was never witty; he 
 was a gentleman, therefore a gentleman was 
 never witty. His bailiff and the attorney 
 who managed his affairs sometimes perpe-
 
 THE SEDGEBOROUGH WORLD. 231 
 
 trated jokes, and Sir Peter considered this 
 conduct savoured of audacity. 
 
 If, therefore, it was audacious and under- 
 bred in his bailiff or attorney to indulge in 
 wit in his presence, what would it not have 
 been in his niece ? 
 
 And Beatrice really found it an exhilarat- 
 ing change when she was allowed to be 
 commonplace, and do nothing more worthy 
 of remark than find something new to say 
 about the weather at all the different meals. 
 
 She had arrived at Cadogan on a Saturday, 
 and the next morning she prepared to walk 
 to church with her uncle at half-past ten. 
 Sir Peter took his gold-headed stick and 
 Beatrice a light cane, and they started ready 
 to encounter the dangers of the way. If they 
 were to meet any cow or dangerous animal, 
 Beatrice feared, however, these weapons 
 of defence would not be of much service. 
 Hers was too light and small to do much
 
 232 THE SEDGEBOROUGH WORLD. 
 
 execution, and she was convinced her uncle's 
 sense of propriety would be outraged to such 
 a degree at any animal daring to advance 
 towards him — Sir Peter Cadogan, of Cadogan 
 — that he would be deprived of all self- 
 possession and power of action. 
 
 " What a pity it is," she thought, a little 
 sadly, as they started on their walk this 
 Sunday morning, " that cows are not re- 
 specters of persons." 
 
 " Is Miss Dreadnought still unmarried?" 
 she inquired, as they passed a villa belong- 
 ing to a Mr. Dreadnought, a man of good 
 family, and much celebrity in many 
 ways. 
 
 " She is not married; and I would beg 
 you to observe, Beatrice, that when young 
 women forget to acknowledge the dictates of 
 decorum, and the proper reticence which is 
 incumbent on their position, they do remain 
 — ahem — I would beg you to observe that such
 
 THE SEDGEBOEOUGH WORLD. 233 
 
 young women, however great their charms, 
 do remain — ahem — longer unmarried than 
 would otherwise have been the case." 
 
 " You think, then, that Miss Dreadnought 
 might have been charming, if she had been 
 taught to restrain her speech and give up 
 hunting." 
 
 "I think it is distressing when a young 
 lady of Miss Dreadnought's position and 
 descent so forgets — ahem — those principles 
 and considerations — ahem — those principles 
 and considerations which should rule her 
 conduct. It is — ahem — distressing when 
 she forgets what is due to herself." 
 
 " Andher ancestors, — she should remember 
 her ancestors," laughed Beatrice. 
 
 " And her many noble relatives, who 
 cannot but be vexed that she should, without 
 the due thought and consideration which 
 might have been expected from her — ahem — 
 that she should ride to hounds — ahem —
 
 234 THE SEDGEBOEOUGH WORLD. 
 
 seldom accompanied by a more respectable or 
 trustworthy person than her father's groom." 
 
 Voices at that moment broke upon their 
 ears, one of which was that of a female, 
 pitched in a high and querulous key. 
 
 " Dread nought, Uncle Peter! We have 
 spoken of the angel, and see her wings. 
 Mr. Macdonald has been walking to church, 
 and she, of course, quite by accident, came 
 out as he passed their gates." 
 
 It was rather amusing, Beatrice thought, 
 that this accident occurred so frequently, for 
 every Sunday Miss Dreadnought chanced to 
 start for church as Mr. Macdonald passed her 
 gate. 
 
 " Perhaps," thought Beatrice, " she may 
 be afraid of cows too, and may wish to have 
 Mr. Macdonald's protection." It was really 
 quite generous of her to make this excuse, 
 for she knew well that Miss Dreadnought 
 feared neither man nor beast.
 
 THE SEDGEBOROUGH WORLD. 235 
 
 As they came into the churchyard, the 
 two parties joined company, and greetings 
 were exchanged. To judge from Miss Dread- 
 nought's appearance, no one could have 
 believed what rumour said of her. It is true 
 that she w r as of a large substantial person 
 for a young lady who called herself two-and- 
 twenty years of age, and she did not seem 
 to lack physical power. But the expression 
 of her face would have led a stranger to 
 suppose that she was liable to the vapours of 
 our grandmothers. She seemed hardly able 
 to support the weight of her head, — which it 
 must be admitted was by no means diminu- 
 tive, — and would hang it first on one side 
 and then on the other, in a fashion which 
 had the merit of being striking, if not 
 elegant. 
 
 Mr. Macdonald said once that she re- 
 minded him of a well-developed cabbage, 
 for though her body was large, it looked
 
 236 THE SEDGEBOROUGH WORLD. 
 
 slender in comparison to the size of her 
 head. 
 
 For the rest, a good complexion, grey eyes, 
 and nondescript hair, made her consider 
 herself " lovely"; and this she was not 
 ashamed to confess. She could not under- 
 stand, for her part, how it was that every 
 man did not fall in love with her. Mr. Mac- 
 donald, on the other hand, could understand 
 it very well, though she walked to church 
 with him every Sunday. 
 
 In fact, her carelessness as to her use or 
 abuse of language, her hunting and shooting, 
 seldom fascinated men, though she amused 
 them. She herself felt at times that the 
 life she led was hardly satisfactory, and would 
 say occasionally that she would like to give 
 up her hunting horses, keep a carriage, and 
 act more in accordance with the ideas of 
 other people. If it is a virtue to be free from 
 pride, she was certainly virtuous in this
 
 THE SEDGEBOROUGH WORLD. 237 
 
 matter. She rather liked men to call her 
 " Jem," her real name being Jemima, and 
 she would have talked as much and as 
 readily to Sir Peter's coachman as to Sir 
 Peter himself. Sir Peter spoke of her faults 
 with severity; but had so often said that a 
 young woman in her position should act 
 differently, that he had convinced himself 
 that this position was very high. It was, 
 moreover, a point of fact, that she was well- 
 descended, could count several titled names 
 among those of her relations, and had occa- 
 sionally visited at noble houses. Sir Peter, 
 therefore, could not fail to be inspired with 
 a great respect for her position, and this 
 respect was gradually reflected on Miss 
 Dreadnought herself. There is something 
 very charming to an elderly widower in a 
 young face, even though it be of the longest, 
 which smiles on him as readily as on 
 a younger man ; for if Miss Dreadnought
 
 238 THE SEDGEBOROUGH WORLD. 
 
 walked to church with Mr. Macdonald, she 
 as regularly walked back from church with 
 Sir Peter, and talked to him in the prettiest 
 manner conceivable, and as though she had 
 been a bread-and-butter girl of seventeen, 
 who had never ridden to hounds in her life. 
 
 Beatrice, following her uncle and Miss 
 Dreadnought with Mr. Macdonald, noticed 
 the modulations in the tones of their voices, 
 as well as the pretty and youthful gestures 
 perpetrated by the lady, and thought to 
 herself that Cadogan would not long be a 
 second home for her to come to whenever 
 she was tired of her own. Miss Dreadnought 
 she knew would, if she ever came to be 
 Lady Cadogan, invite her for a stiff and 
 occasional visit to the hall, and would do 
 her the honours of her establishment with 
 marked condescension. But Miss Cadogan 
 felt it would be wormwood and gall to her 
 to be treated with marked condescension by
 
 THE SEDGEBOROUGH WORLD. 239 
 
 Miss Dreadnought, to whom she had con- 
 descended in her day, as mistress of her 
 uncle's house. Then, also, she might, in the 
 course of nature, cease to be Miss Cadogan 
 by courtesy, for the real Miss Cadogan might 
 come to take her own position in society. 
 
 Beatrice was glad when, as they stojyped 
 at the villa gates, her uncle refused all invi- 
 tations to go in; but, turning to Mr. Mac- 
 don aid, asked him to lunch at Cadogan, 
 saying he would take him round the farm 
 afterwards, and let him see some prize 
 bullocks. Mr. Macdonald, who had bullocks 
 of his own, expressed himself happy to come 
 to lunch, and see those of Sir Peter, while 
 Beatrice indulged in surmises as to what 
 there was in going round a farm which 
 should make it so essentially an enjoyment 
 for a Sunday afternoon. She knew that she 
 had a pleasant sense of her own virtue, and 
 of doing her duty as a British citizen, when
 
 240 THE SEDGEBOROUGH WORLD. 
 
 she put on her thick boots, and accompanied 
 her uncle in these walks. 
 
 Miss Cadogan was not, however, destined 
 to have her usual quiet Sunday walk. In 
 the first place, Mr. Macdonald talked and 
 laughed, so that she was obliged to talk and 
 laugh also, unmindful of her uncle's presence. 
 In the second place, she followed her uncle 
 into the cowhouse, and saw Mr. Macdonald 
 feeling and pinching the beasts with the air 
 of a connoisseur. She was seized with an 
 eager desire to show her own familiarity 
 with the pursuits of a country life. She was 
 not obliged to advance far to obtain her 
 object, wdiich was a great encouragement to 
 proceed, for in the stall nearest the door two 
 calves were stabled. 
 
 She took a last glance to see the way Mr. 
 Macdonald pinched the bullocks, and, as he 
 looked business-like, and as though he under- 
 stood all about the matter, she determined to
 
 THE SEDGEBOROUGH WORLD. 241 
 
 give her calf just such another. She walked 
 up the stall fearlessly — so fearlessly, indeed, 
 that she chose the larger of the two on 
 which to prove her knowledge of these 
 affairs. 
 
 Mr. Macdonald and Sir Peter were stopped 
 in their quiet and stately progress by the 
 sound of distracted cries for help coming 
 from the distance. 
 
 " Gracious Heaven!' 7 cried the baronet, 
 and, as on another occasion which has been 
 recorded, he dropped his lower jaw and his 
 delicately-poised eye-glass. He stood mo- 
 tionless in the centre of the way, so that 
 Mr. Macdonald had much difficulty in passing 
 him to hasten to Miss Cadogan's assistance. 
 Sir Peter said again, with slow articulation, 
 
 " Gracious Heaven ! " 
 
 Beatrice ha 1 pinched her calf with fingers 
 
 which, though white and slender, were not 
 
 devoid of strength ; and the calf, excited by 
 VOL. i. R
 
 24:2 THE SEDGEB0R0UGH WORLD. 
 
 such unusual and extraordinary treatment, 
 turned round upon her in self-protection, and 
 kicked and buffeted her against the wall. 
 1 < Help ! " cried Miss Cadogan, ' ' help ! "—and, 
 seizing her cane, she dealt blows of no 
 doubtful significance on the back of the 
 unfortunate and duly-incensed animal, which 
 was preparing itself for a more terrible 
 onslaught, when Mr. Macdonald came to the 
 assistance of both it and its antagonist. 
 When extricated, Miss Cadogan announced, 
 with solemnity, "She would never touch one 
 of these beastly creatures as long as she 
 lived." 
 
 " But why did you choose a calf?" cried 
 Mr. Macdonald, no longer able to restrain 
 his amusement. 
 
 " Do you think it would have been better 
 had I done it to a developed calf?" she 
 asked, with indignation. "I should have 
 been killed outright, that is all." She had
 
 THE SEDGEBOROUGH WOKLD. 243 
 
 gone out into the courtyard as she said this, 
 and had seated herself on a wheelbarrow, to 
 gain breath and composure, when the baronet 
 joined them. 
 
 " Beatrice/' he said, with severity and 
 dignity, " I must — ahem — must beg you to 
 preserve — ahem — the amenities of life." 
 
 "I am sure I wish your calves would," 
 she said, joining in Mr. Macdonald's laughter. 
 
 " You have startled and surprised me," he 
 began again. 
 
 " But, dear me! I think I should have 
 startled and surprised you more had I not 
 called for help, and you had found a corpse, 
 not yet cold, on your return. Mr. Mac- 
 donald, you are a barbarian to laugh," she 
 continued, turning on him with warmth ; 
 " consider the possibilities of the case !" 
 
 " Suppose that we conduct — ahem — con- 
 duct Miss Cadogan to the house." 
 
 So Beatrice was conducted to the house.
 
 244 THE SEDGEBOROUGH WORLD. 
 
 " Good-bye, Mr. Macdonald," she said; 
 " and let me inform you that the way you 
 ridiculed my distress was shameful." 
 
 "Let me advise you, as a friend, not to 
 pinch calves again," was his answer.
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 " Man meets with man at leisure and at ease : 
 We to our neighbours and our equals come." 
 
 Ox the seventh day of Beatrice's visit to 
 Cadogan, there was a large dinner-party — 
 one of those pompous affairs at which, she 
 said, everybody looked like a well-regulated 
 machine, which consumed as much food and 
 uttered as many words as were expected, 
 and no more. 
 
 Very stately and dignified Sir Peter looked, 
 and very charming and self-possessed his 
 niece looked, as they received their guests. 
 
 Beatrice was taken in to dinner by a Lord 
 Alfred Darlington, who seemed infinitely to 
 prefer the pleasures of the table to the
 
 246 THE SEDGEBOROUGH WORLD. 
 
 pleasures of conversation. She could make 
 allowances for this sort of thing, as she, too, 
 was quite capable of enjoying the entrees, 
 entremets, and dry sherry provided; but 
 still she thought Lord Alfred carried his 
 attention to these things too far. 
 
 She turned, therefore, to her other neigh- 
 bour, who proved to be much more amusing. 
 He told her, in the most pleasant and con- 
 tented manner conceivable, that the country 
 had gone to the dogs, and that he had said 
 so long ago. 
 
 ''We'll have a revolution," he said, smil- 
 ing, as he quaffed his champagne. "When 
 these Republicans have sent all the trade 
 from the country, they '11 have to rise to find 
 some employment." And, beaming over his 
 cotelettes a la soubise, he descanted on what 
 he should do were he in power. He would 
 put an end to strikes with a high hand ; he 
 would send troops of soldiers among all mal-
 
 THE SEDGEBOROUGH WORLD. 247 
 
 contents, with orders to spare no one, young 
 or old, woman or child. 
 
 "It does not matter, you know, if all 
 whom you kill are to blame. Just shoot 
 down a few, and the discontented will be 
 frightened." 
 
 "You should become a Member of Parlia- 
 ment, Mr. Ditchley," said Beatrice, who had 
 found this conversation very enlivening. 
 
 "Oh, no," he said, deprecatingly, but 
 thinking that this was a very charming girl, 
 who could recognize merit when she saw it. 
 "Oh, no, I don't think of that; but if I 
 were to go to Parliament, I should soon 
 let people know what I thought about 
 matters." 
 
 "I am sure your system of government 
 would be delightful. You would put every- 
 body out of the way who inconvenienced us 
 or interfered with our comfort." 
 
 " I 'd soon put an end to the present state
 
 248 THE SEDGEBOROUGH WORLD. 
 
 of affairs, at any rate ; but as it is we shall 
 all be murdered in our beds some of these 
 days. I may not live to see it," he said, 
 smiling pleasantly, "but you will, you 
 will." 
 
 In the drawing-room, after dinner, the 
 ladies talked in gentle, moderate tones about 
 their children, their houses, their servants, 
 and their neighbours, satisfied as long as 
 they could patter out their words without 
 long pauses, and never dreaming of saying 
 anything new or interesting. They did not 
 want sense, but only talk; and had any of 
 their number attempted to give them new 
 ideas, they would probably have considered 
 her upsetting and troublesome. 
 
 Miss Dreadnought talked in querulous, 
 drawling tones of camellias, cinerarias, and 
 other greenhouse plants, of her adoration of 
 ferns, and the beauty of the advancing spring, 
 in a manner which would have warranted
 
 THE SEDGEBOROUGH WORLD. 249 
 
 any stranger in denying the truth of the 
 accusations against her. 
 
 Beatrice gave old Mrs. Melville a glowing 
 description of her Sunday's adventure, who 
 said to her, with the greatest earnestness, 
 " My dear, you should never do things like 
 that. It is all very well to go with your 
 uncle to the cows, and very nice, I am sure, 
 but you should take care of yourself. A 
 young girl should never expose herself to any 
 unnecessary difficulty." 
 
 Sir Peter, when he came to the drawing- 
 room, went up to Miss Dreadnought at once, 
 and Beatrice noticed how pleased he seemed 
 to be with her conversation, and, listening, 
 heard that she talked to him about a new 
 pelargonium ; so that she questioned herself 
 as to what there could be in pelargoniums to 
 make them a subject so eminently adapted 
 for a young lady to descant on. 
 
 "If Mr. Macdonald were to talk to my
 
 250 THE SEDGEBOROUGH WORLD. 
 
 uncle about pelargoniums, lie would be 
 thought troublesome and foolish " ; and, 
 again, " I wonder if Major Aylmer would 
 have liked me better had I spoken to him 
 about the fullness, richness, and beauty of a 
 flower of which ' dear Lady Duncar' is so 
 fond." Then she came to the conclusion that 
 it must be the aristocratic name, and not 
 the pelargonium, which was so full of interest 
 for her uncle. 
 
 Occasionally, during the course of the 
 evening, young ladies would be induced to 
 go to the piano and sing; but Beatrice 
 noticed that their music was entirely me- 
 chanical. They sang of love, despair, and 
 sorrow, with an easy, well-bred, self-satisfied 
 grace that was very charming. She supposed, 
 from what she knew of them, that they would 
 have considered it quite improper to have 
 put depth of expression into the words of a 
 love-song. When Miss Dreadnought went to
 
 THE SEDGEBOROUGH WORLD. 251 
 
 the piano, Beatrice felt some curiosity as to 
 what she would sing, and was surprised to 
 hear her warble forth, with a happy face, 
 
 " Tears, idle tears, I know not what ye mean ; 
 Tears from the depth of some divine despair 
 Rise to the heart and gather to the eyes 
 On looking on the happy autumn fields, 
 And thinking of the days that are gone by." 
 
 As Beatrice had no desire that the county 
 big-wigs and their ladies should consider her 
 improper, she determined, when she was 
 asked to go to the piano, to sing a song in 
 which she could retain the happiness of her 
 expression with reason. 
 
 " A very pleasant party," said Sir Peter, 
 with self-satisfaction, when his guests had 
 gone. "I am quite glad, my dear, to have 
 been enabled to show you a little — ahem — a 
 little good society. Whenever you come 
 here, I shall make an effort — ahem — for your 
 advantage, to see some of my friends, as on
 
 252 THE SEDGEBOROUGH WORLD. 
 
 this occasion. Very superior man, Lord 
 Alfred Darlington!" 
 
 "He eat as though he had not seen food 
 for a week, and is very silent," said Beatrice. 
 
 " Perhaps he may be silent with you, my 
 dear, since — ahem — you are not — ahem — so 
 conversant with the topics of society as — 
 ahem — ahem — the lady who sits at the head 
 of my table usually is — Miss Dreadnought." 
 
 i ' Does she usually sit at the head of your 
 table?" asked Beatrice, raising her eyebrows. 
 
 " If you would kindly allow me to pro- 
 ceed" — 
 
 " Well, uncle, what of Miss Dreadnought?" 
 
 " Miss Dreadnought, who is accustomed — 
 ahem — to move in the best circles, informs 
 me that — ahem — Lord Alfred Darlington is 
 an exceedingly superior young man." 
 
 ' ' But there are many kinds of superiority. 
 There is a superiority of mind or of morals, 
 a superiority of rank and position, and a
 
 THE SEDGEB0R0UGH WORLD. 253 
 
 superiority of appetite ; to which latter Lord 
 Alfred has, no doubt, many claims." 
 
 " Beatrice," said her uncle, intones of grave 
 reproof, " I am distressed to be compelled 
 by duty — ahem — by duty, to inform you that 
 you have — ahem — shown a carelessness in 
 your actions and words during the last few 
 days of which — ahem — I cannot approve." 
 
 Beatrice laughed a little, for the only way 
 she had ever displeased her uncle before was 
 by her misfortune and adventure on the 
 Sunday previous. 
 
 On going to her room, she found lying on 
 the table a letter from her mother, which had 
 come by the evening's post. It ran as 
 follows : — 
 
 " Dear Trichy, — You must come home to- 
 morrow; you are engaged to dine at the 
 Aylmers', at seven o'clock. I was at the 
 Murrays' last night, and met Miss Evans for 
 the first time. They say that she is clever,
 
 254 THE SEDGEB0R0UGH WORLD. 
 
 and I suppose that talent must therefore 
 consist in a short memory, as the only re- 
 markable thing I could discover about her 
 was that she had forgotten the body of her 
 gown. She coughed once during dinner , 
 and I took the opportunity to offer her a lace 
 shawl of my own. This she declined, under 
 the impression that she was warmly clothed. 
 What a revelation it must have been when 
 she looked in her glass on her return home ! 
 Young Mr. Willoughby was seated beside 
 me, and I do not know what horrified him 
 most, my charity or her forgetfulness ! It 
 is quiet true that Florence Aylmer has the 
 Stuart mania. 
 
 " Your affectionate parent, 
 
 " S. Cadogan. 
 
 " Thursday, Sedgeborougk." 
 
 Beatrice was much surprised by the con- 
 tents of this letter. She knew her mother 
 was perfectly serious, and that, whatever her
 
 THE SEDGEBOROUGH WORLD. 255 
 
 own inclinations might be, she must return 
 home. But what could her mother's motive be? 
 
 Beatrice puzzled long over this question, 
 and could not find any answer to it. ' ' What 
 waste of money," she thought, "to let me 
 come here for only a week. And shall I 
 ever come back again under the same pleasant 
 circumstances ? I should have liked to have 
 stayed on, and had a little fight with Miss 
 Dreadnought. It would have been so ex- 
 hilarating; and, besides, I believe I should 
 have been the victor. Possession is nine- 
 tenths of the law ; and I, having possession of 
 my uncle, would not let him escape from me 
 easily." 
 
 It was not, however, for her own sake 
 merely that she regretted the fascination 
 wmich she saw Miss Dreadnought w r as begin- 
 ning to exercise over Sir Peter. Beatrice 
 was sincerely attached to her uncle, notwith- 
 standing his pompous manners and words,
 
 256 THE SEDGEBOROUGH WORLD. 
 
 and did not believe that a marriage with 
 Miss Dreadnought would be conducive to 
 his happiness. As Lady Cadogan, she be- 
 lieved that Miss Dreadnought would drop all 
 the artificial appearance of innocence, and 
 all those pretty ways which she put on now 
 to charm the old man; that she would in 
 many ways wound his self-love and the 
 sense of propriety which was to him the 
 dearest thing on earth. She would have 
 power over him, and would use it, not to 
 contribute to his happiness, but to that of 
 herself and her own friends. Sir Peter 
 would see this, and at the same time would 
 not have strength enough of character and 
 resoluti< n to put an end to it, and exert his 
 own authority.
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 " Her fair form may stand and shine, 
 
 Make bright our days, and light our dreams j 
 Turning to scorn, with lips divine, 
 
 The falsehood of extremes." — Tennyson. 
 
 "Aug' mein aug' was sinkst du nieder? 
 Goldne Traume, kommt ihr wieder 1 
 Weg du Traum ! so gold du bist 
 Hier auch LieV und Leben ist." — Gothe. 
 
 " Der edle Mensch 
 Sey hiilfreich und gut ! 
 Unermiidet schaff' er 
 Das Niitzliche, Rechte." — Gothe. 
 
 Florence Aylmer had known that the day- 
 dream of her life was over when she and 
 Ernest had separated after their return from 
 visiting Mrs. Blake. 
 
 But hers was not a nature in which love 
 
 took the form of passion, which, when it is 
 vol. i. 8
 
 258 THE SEDGEBOROUGH WORLD. 
 
 disappointed, throws a veil of darkness over 
 the world. She did not beat out her sorrow 
 in despair, or storm Heaven with her cries. 
 She went about as usual, satisfied Miss Frost 
 with her studies, her mother and sisters by 
 her interest in other matters. If her courage 
 gave way, it was only for the space of a 
 moment, when she would bow her head with 
 a bitter cry, or her eyes would fill unac- 
 countably with tears when she had seemed 
 to be engrossed in some employment. 
 
 This sorrow could never have taken a 
 positive form had it not been for the letter 
 which Ernest had written, and in which he 
 had told her that he loved her, in express 
 terms; for there is a certain pride and re- 
 straint natural to women which forbid them 
 to admit their love, even to themselves, 
 until they have been told that they are 
 loved. 
 
 It was well for Florence that she soon
 
 THE SEDGEBOROUGH WORLD. 259 
 
 found relief in work, and that of a kind, 
 moreover, which she knew would have been 
 acceptable to Ernest. 
 
 Anne Stuart had frequently offered to take 
 her about with her, so that she might see the 
 kind of employment she had ; and Florence 
 now asked her to do this. But it needed 
 very short experience to prove to her that 
 she could neither teach at a Sunday-school 
 nor preach at mother's meetings. She could 
 not attend sewing societies for home or foreign 
 missions, during which the ladies assembled 
 entertained each other by religious gossip, 
 which appeared to her even in worse taste 
 than the gossip which they would have cha- 
 racterized as worldy. She then remembered 
 Miss Mabberely, a friend of her mother's, 
 who, being of independent means and ad- 
 vanced years, devoted her life to work 
 among the poor of Sedgeborough, and had 
 once said to the Aylmers, " If any of you
 
 260 THE SEDGEBOROUGH WORLD. 
 
 get tired of enjoying yourselves, you can 
 come to me." She had taken a room in one 
 of the poorest parts of the town, and here 
 she kept a school for children who would 
 otherwise have been allowed to grow up on 
 the streets as best they might. Miss Mab- 
 berely was gifted with a decided and ener- 
 getic character ; so that, though the number 
 of her scholars was fluctuating, she held her 
 school, on the whole, well together. She 
 had hitherto had no assistance in these under- 
 takings, as most of the ladies of Sedge- 
 borough seemed to agree with Mrs. Cadogan, 
 who had said, frankly, "I believe in the 
 Articles of my Church, which plainly con- 
 demn all works of supererogation, as proceed- 
 ing from the Evil One." And those few who 
 did desire to be useful in their day pre- 
 ferred to put themselves under the direction 
 of the clergy. 
 
 " They need the presence of black coats to
 
 THE SEDGEBOROUGH WORLD. 261 
 
 encourage them, poor things," Miss Mab- 
 berely said ; " and it is just as well they 
 should be conscious of their weakness, and 
 go where they may be of some service. In 
 some land, you know, the worms would 
 destroy the crops if it were not for the crows. 
 I don't like crows myself, but no doubt they 
 are frequently useful. We all have our fail- 
 ings, and Heaven forbid I should ridicule 
 those of my sisters !" 
 
 Florence and Lizzie had often gone to this 
 school of Miss Mabberely's, and had been 
 pleased and amused by what they had seen ; 
 and so, in her present difficulty, Florence 
 determined to apply to Miss Mabberely, aware 
 that her mother would approve of any work 
 done in connexion with her. 
 
 Miss Mabberely was glad to accept Florence's 
 offer of help, for she had often found the 
 numbers of her pupils made it impossible to 
 preserve even an appearance of order ; and,
 
 262 THE SEDGEBOROUGH WORLD. 
 
 besides this, she felt that to have sympathy 
 in her work would be an encouragement to 
 herself. 
 
 " You must not expect to find it a plea- 
 sant or enlivening occupation," she said to 
 Florence. " You will have many head- 
 aches and disappointments, and will find 
 the children dirty, disobedient, and unruly. 
 You must expect that no sooner have you 
 fixed your affections on one child, and got 
 it to learn something, than an evil impulse 
 will seize it, and make it stay away until it 
 has forgotten everything. Or it may be 
 that it will take measles ; after which it will 
 be useless to attempt to teach it at all. I 
 have found there is nothing like an attack 
 of measles for depriving children of the small 
 amount of brains given them by Nature. If 
 you can make up your mind to these sort of 
 occurrences, I shall be most happy to have 
 you."
 
 THE SEDGEBOROUGH WORLD. 
 
 2G3 % 
 
 Florence smiled, as she replied the idea 
 did not seem very encouraging, but that she 
 could make up her mind to it; so that it 
 was arranged that Florence should spend 
 three hours of every morning with her. 
 
 It was to this that Mrs. Cadogan referred, 
 in her letter to Beatrice, when she said that 
 Florence was touched by the Stuart mania. 
 She did not at all approve of the affair, and 
 she told Mrs. Aylmer so plainly ; but then, 
 when was Mrs. Cadogan not plain in her 
 speech ? 
 
 " I can understand it when there is a 
 clergyman in the case ; but when there is 
 nothing of the kind, it appears to me most 
 unhealthy. It is one of the signs of the 
 times. Why cannot a young lady be con- 
 tented to stay in her father's house ; and if 
 she must have work, why should she not 
 make his shirts and sew on his buttons ?" 
 she asked.
 
 264 THE SEDGEB0R0UGH WORLD. 
 
 " Mrs. Cadogan, did you ever make a 
 shirt for your father?" inquired Mr. Aylmer. 
 
 " No; but had I been able to stay in his 
 house, I should not have wished for any 
 work, as I should have been satisfied to 
 spend my days, as a young lady ought, in 
 talking, walking, reading, and playing a 
 little music. You see I had to be a gover- 
 ness, and had therefore to read a good deal 
 and play a great deal." 
 
 " Florence's occupation is very innocent," 
 went on Mr. Aylmer; " and not in the least 
 one which will make her strong-minded, in 
 the bad sense of the word. Lois and Miss 
 Frost walk with her to Miss Mabberely's 
 school every morning, and Miss Mabberely 
 walks back with her to the gardens, through 
 which she comes herself, and so reaches 
 home without having been in the streets 
 alone, which, I am aware, is considered a 
 shocking impropriety."
 
 THE SEDGEBOROUGH WORLD. 265 
 
 Mrs. Sidmoutli also expressed disapproval 
 of Florence's conduct in this matter. " A 
 young girl should have plenty of employ- 
 ment in her father's house and in her own 
 occupations, without running about the world 
 in search of work," she said, and shook her 
 head with grave solemnity. 
 
 "But, Mrs. Sidmoutli," replied Florence, 
 to whom these remarks had been personally 
 addressed, " I do not fly about the world in 
 search of work. I inquired, and found that 
 there was work ready at hand, and in doing 
 it I surely am not to blame. It is not plea- 
 sant, I admit, but I hope it soon may become 
 so." 
 
 " My dear, do you not remember what 
 Pascal said — so very truly — that many, many 
 of the evils of life are created ' by a man's 
 being unable to sit still in his own room.' " 
 
 " Yes, I do remember, and think he is 
 right in this as far as it goes. I should be
 
 266 THE SEDGEBOROUGH WORLD. 
 
 much to blame were I to create work, or 
 blindly attempt that for which I have not 
 sufficient knowledge. No one can deprecate 
 more than I the philanthropy which makes 
 men, as soon as they see an evil, rush to the 
 effect its cure, without seeing clearly also 
 the way to do so. I do not think I can be 
 accused of this, for I certainly know my 
 ABC, and have to teach very little more 
 than this." 
 
 " Ah ! Philanthropy, like Hester's — I 
 know," and Mrs. Sidmouth nodded and 
 looked very meaning. " She rushes at a man, 
 takes him by the throat, and declares he 
 shall become a good citizen and Christian, 
 whether he will or not." Mrs. Sidmouth, in 
 saying this, acted the part she supposed her 
 niece to play with great force and energy. 
 She stretched out her hand, seized her ima- 
 ginary man, and shook him with great 
 heartiness and goodwill.
 
 THE SEDGEB0R0UGH WORLD. 267 
 
 Her daughter Charlotte, who had been 
 present during this discussion, here closed 
 her book, gave utterance to a melancholy 
 groan, and, paying no heed to her mother's 
 theatrical start and exclamation, said, " If I 
 were only rich, Florence, I should pay for 
 the education of these unfortunate pupils of 
 yours by some good and orthodox Christian. 
 It is sad to think how their infant minds 
 will be perverted. " 
 
 Florence answered, " I am sure Miss 
 Mabberely would be delighted if you did." 
 
 Lizzie once or twice went with her sister, 
 and Miss Mabberely, on these occasions, in- 
 sisted on giving her work also among the 
 children. " They are so dirty," objected 
 Lizzie. 
 
 " You can get soap and water, I supjDose, 
 when you go home," said Miss Mabberely ; 
 adding, " you are much more suited for this 
 kind of thing than Florence. Her intellect
 
 268 THE SEDGEBOROUGH WORLD. 
 
 is of too abstracted and refined a nature ever 
 to understand the tricks and fashions of 
 children. Nor can she impress her ideas on 
 them with such force as we can. If we had 
 only a number of men and women here, she 
 would give them a first-rate lecture on 
 science or ethics." 
 
 In point of fact, it was very hard and 
 unsatisfactory work for Florence. She found 
 the greatest difficulty in making the children 
 understand her or in gaining any influence 
 over their minds. It is to her credit, how- 
 ever, that she determined to persevere. 
 
 I suppose it must have been, unconsciously, 
 some encouragement to her to know that 
 Ernest Stuart would probably hear what she 
 was doing, and might either be led to judge 
 less severely or to question the justice of his 
 judgments. She had never heard his name 
 mentioned by his sisters since his departure, 
 for they never supposed that she could be
 
 THE SEDGEBOROUGH WORLD. 269 
 
 in the least interested to hear of him, and 
 she could not trust herself to ask any ques- 
 tion, however unimportant. She would not 
 have heard much, even had she asked, for 
 Ernest had never been a good correspondent ; 
 and now the short letter that they had re- 
 ceived, had merely announced his arrival in 
 London, and gave none of those seemingly 
 unimportant details in which women take so 
 great a delight. 
 
 END OF VOL I. 
 
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