第8章

WhatareallynicegirlmighthavedonewithhimIcannottell，butfatehadthrownnonesuchinhiswayexcepthisyoungestsisterAlethea，whomhemightperhapshavelikedifshehadnotbeenhissister。Theresultofhisexperiencewasthatwomenhadneverdonehimanygoodandhewasnotaccustomedtoassociatethemwithanypleasure；iftherewasapartofHamletinconnectionwiththemithadbeensocompletelycutoutintheeditionoftheplayinwhichhewasrequiredtoactthathehadcometodisbelieveinitsexistence。Asforkissing，hehadneverkissedawomaninhislifeexcepthissister——andmyownsisterswhenwewereallsmallchildrentogether。Overandabovethesekisses，hehaduntilquitelatelybeenrequiredtoimprintasolemnflabbykissnightandmorninguponhisfather’scheek，andthis，tothebestofmybelief，wastheextentofTheobald’sknowledgeinthematterofkissing，atthetimeofwhichIamnowwriting。Theresultoftheforegoingwasthathehadcometodislikewomen，asmysteriousbeingswhosewayswerenotashisways，northeirthoughtsashisthoughts。

WiththeseantecedentsTheobaldnaturallyfeltratherbashfulonfindinghimselftheadmiredoffivestrangeyoungladies。I

rememberwhenIwasaboymyselfIwasonceaskedtotaketeaatagirls’schoolwhereoneofmysisterswasboarding。Iwasthenabouttwelveyearsold。Everythingwentoffwellduringtea-time，fortheLadyPrincipaloftheestablishmentwaspresent。ButtherecameatimewhenshewentawayandIwasleftalonewiththegirls。

Themomentthemistress’sbackwasturnedtheheadgirl，whowasaboutmyownage，cameup，pointedherfingeratme，madeafaceandsaidsolemnly，“Ana-a-stybo-o-y！”Allthegirlsfollowedherinrotationmakingthesamegestureandthesamereproachuponmybeingaboy。Itgavemeagreatscare。IbelieveIcried，andIknowitwasalongtimebeforeIcouldagainfaceagirlwithoutastrongdesiretorunaway。

TheobaldfeltatfirstmuchasIhadmyselfdoneatthegirls’

school，buttheMissAllabysdidnottellhimhewasanastybo-o-

oy。TheirpapaandmammaweresocordialandtheythemselvesliftedhimsodeftlyoverconversationalstilesthatbeforedinnerwasoverTheobaldthoughtthefamilytobeareallyverycharmingone，andfeltasthoughhewerebeingappreciatedinawaytowhichhehadnothithertobeenaccustomed。

Withdinnerhisshynessworeoff。Hewasbynomeansplain，hisacademicprestigewasveryfair。Therewasnothingabouthimtolayholdofasunconventionalorridiculous；theimpressionhecreatedupontheyoungladieswasquiteasfavourableasthatwhichtheyhadcreateduponhimself；fortheyknewnotmuchmoreaboutmenthanheaboutwomen。

Assoonashewasgone，theharmonyoftheestablishmentwasbrokenbyastormwhicharoseuponthequestionwhichofthemitshouldbewhoshouldbecomeMrsPontifex。“Mydears。”saidtheirfather，whenhesawthattheydidnotseemlikelytosettlethematteramongthemselves，“Waittillto-morrow，andthenplayatcardsforhim。”

Havingsaidwhichheretiredtohisstudy，wherehetookanightlyglassofwhiskyandapipeoftobacco。

ThenextmorningsawTheobaldinhisroomscoachingapupil，andtheMissAllabysintheeldestMissAllaby’sbedroomplayingatcardswithTheobaldforthestakes。

ThewinnerwasChristina，thesecondunmarrieddaughter，thenjusttwenty-sevenyearsoldandthereforefouryearsolderthanTheobald。

TheyoungersisterscomplainedthatitwasthrowingahusbandawaytoletChristinatryandcatchhim，forshewassomucholderthatshehadnochance；butChristinashowedfightinawaynotusualwithher，forshewasbynatureyieldingandgoodtempered。Hermotherthoughtitbettertobackherup，sothetwodangerousoneswerepackedoffthenandthereonvisitstofriendssomewayoff，andthosealoneallowedtoremainathomewhoseloyaltycouldbedependedupon。Thebrothersdidnotevensuspectwhatwasgoingonandbelievedtheirfather’sgettingassistancewasbecausehereallywantedit。

ThesisterswhoremainedathomekepttheirwordsandgaveChristinaallthehelptheycould，foroverandabovetheirsenseoffairplaytheyreflectedthatthesoonerTheobaldwaslanded，thesooneranotherdeaconmightbesentforwhomightbewonbythemselves。SoquicklywasallmanagedthatthetwounreliablesisterswereactuallyoutofthehousebeforeTheobald’snextvisit——whichwasontheSundayfollowinghisfirst。

ThistimeTheobaldfeltquiteathomeinthehouseofhisnewfriends——forsoMrsAllabyinsistedthatheshouldcallthem。Shetook，shesaid，suchamotherlyinterestinyoungmen，especiallyinclergymen。Theobaldbelievedeverywordshesaid，ashehadbelievedhisfatherandallhiseldersfromhisyouthup。Christinasatnexthimatdinnerandplayedhercardsnolessjudiciouslythanshehadplayedtheminhersister’sbed-room。Shesmiled(andhersmilewasoneofherstrongpoints)wheneverhespoketoher；shewentthroughallherlittleartlessnessesandsetforthallherlittlewaresinwhatshebelievedtobetheirmosttakingaspect。

Whocanblameher？TheobaldwasnottheidealshehaddreamedofwhenreadingByronupstairswithhersisters，buthewasanactualwithintheboundsofpossibility，andafterallnotabadactualasactualswent。Whatelsecouldshedo？Runaway？Shedarednot。

Marrybeneathherandbeconsideredadisgracetoherfamily？Shedarednot。Remainathomeandbecomeanoldmaidandbelaughedat？

Notifshecouldhelpit。Shedidtheonlythingthatcouldreasonablybeexpected。Shewasdrowning；Theobaldmightbeonlyastraw，butshecouldcatchathimandcatchathimsheaccordinglydid。

Ifthecourseoftrueloveneverrunssmooth，thecourseoftruematch-makingsometimesdoesso。Theonlygroundforcomplaintinthepresentcasewasthatitwasratherslow。TheobaldfellintothepartassignedtohimmoreeasilythanMrsCoweyandMrsAllabyhaddaredtohope。HewassoftenedbyChristina’swinningmanners：

headmiredthehighmoraltoneofeverythingshesaid；hersweetnesstowardshersistersandherfatherandmother，herreadinesstoundertakeanysmallburdenwhichnooneelseseemedwillingtoundertake，hersprightlymanners，allwerefascinatingtoonewho，thoughunusedtowoman’ssociety，wasstillahumanbeing。Hewasflatteredbyherunobtrusivebutobviouslysincereadmirationforhimself；sheseemedtoseehiminamorefavourablelight，andtounderstandhimbetterthananyoneoutsideofthischarmingfamilyhadeverdone。Insteadofsnubbinghimashisfather，brotherandsistersdid，shedrewhimout，listenedattentivelytoallhechosetosay，andevidentlywantedhimtosaystillmore。Hetoldacollegefriendthatheknewhewasinlovenow；hereallywas，forhelikedMissAllaby’ssocietymuchbetterthanthatofhissisters。

Overandabovetherecommendationsalreadyenumerated，shehadanotherinthepossessionofwhatwassupposedtobeaverybeautifulcontraltovoice。Hervoicewascertainlycontralto，forshecouldnotreachhigherthanDinthetreble；itsonlydefectwasthatitdidnotgocorrespondinglylowinthebass：inthosedays，however，acontraltovoicewasunderstoodtoincludeevenasopranoifthesopranocouldnotreachsopranonotes，anditwasnotnecessarythatitshouldhavethequalitywhichwenowassigntocontralto。Whathervoicewantedinrangeandpowerwasmadeupinthefeelingwithwhichshesang。Shehadtransposed“Angelseverbrightandfair“intoalowerkey，soastomakeitsuithervoice，thusproving，ashermammasaid，thatshehadathoroughknowledgeofthelawsofharmony；notonlydidshedothis，butateverypauseaddedanembellishmentofarpeggiosfromoneendtotheotherofthekeyboard，onaprinciplewhichhergovernesshadtaughther；shethusaddedlifeandinteresttoanairwhicheveryone——soshesaid——

mustfeeltoberatherheavyintheforminwhichHandelleftit。

Asforhergoverness，sheindeedhadbeenararelyaccomplishedmusician：shewasapupilofthefamousDrClarkeofCambridge，andusedtoplaytheoverturetoAtalanta，arrangedbyMazzinghi。

Nevertheless，itwassometimebeforeTheobaldcouldbringhiscouragetothestickingpointofactuallyproposing。Hemadeitquiteclearthathebelievedhimselftobemuchsmitten，butmonthaftermonthwentby，duringwhichtherewasstillsomuchhopeinTheobaldthatMrAllabydarednotdiscoverthathewasabletodohisdutyforhimself，andwasgettingimpatientatthenumberofhalf-guineashewasdisbursing——andyettherewasnoproposal。

Christina’smotherassuredhimthatshewasthebestdaughterinthewholeworld，andwouldbeapricelesstreasuretothemanwhomarriedher。TheobaldechoedMrsAllaby’ssentimentswithwarmth，butstill，thoughhevisitedtheRectorytwoorthreetimesaweek，besidescomingoveronSundays——hedidnotpropose。“Sheisheart-

wholeyet，dearMrPontifex。”saidMrsAllaby，oneday，“atleastI

believesheis。Itisnotforwantofadmirers——oh！no——shehashadherfullshareofthese，butsheistoo，toodifficulttoplease。I

think，however，shewouldfallbeforeaGREATANDGOODman。”AndshelookedhardatTheobald，whoblushed；butthedayswentbyandstillhedidnotpropose。

AnothertimeTheobaldactuallytookMrsCoweyintohisconfidence，andthereadermayguesswhataccountofChristinahegotfromher。

MrsCoweytriedthejealousymanoeuvreandhintedatapossiblerival。Theobaldwas，orpretendedtobe，verymuchalarmed；alittlerudimentarypangofjealousyshotacrosshisbosomandhebegantobelievewithpridethathewasnotonlyinlove，butdesperatelyinloveorhewouldneverfeelsojealous。

Nevertheless，dayafterdaystillwentbyandhedidnotpropose。

TheAllabysbehavedwithgreatjudgement。Theyhumouredhimtillhisretreatwaspracticallycutoff，thoughhestillflatteredhimselfthatitwasopen。OnedayaboutsixmonthsafterTheobaldhadbecomeanalmostdailyvisitorattheRectorytheconversationhappenedtoturnuponlongengagements。“Idon’tlikelongengagements，MrAllaby，doyou？”saidTheobaldimprudently。“No。”

saidMrAllabyinapointedtone，“norlongcourtships。”andhegaveTheobaldalookwhichhecouldnotpretendtomisunderstand。HewentbacktoCambridgeasfastashecouldgo，andindreadoftheconversationwithMrAllabywhichhefelttobeimpending，composedthefollowingletterwhichhedespatchedthatsameafternoonbyaprivatemessengertoCrampsford。Theletterwasasfollows：-