andtheoddtwitchingofthelips，whichwaspreliminarytoasmile，whichmadehim。lookintenselymerry—gavethevaryingexpressionsofhisfaceagreaterrange’fromgravetogay，fromlivelytosevere，’thaniscommontomostmen。ToMolly，whowasnotfinelydiscriminativeinherglancesatthestrangerthisfirstnight，hesimplyappeared’heavy—looking，clumsy，’
and’apersonshewassuresheshouldnevergetonwith。’Hecertainlydidnotseemtocaremuchwhatimpressionhemadeuponhismother’svisitor。
Hewasatthatagewhenyoungmenadmireaformedbeautymorethanafacewithanyamountoffuturecapabilityofloveliness，andwhentheyaremorbidlyconsciousofthedifficultyoffindingsubjectsofconversationintalkingtogirlsinastateoffemininehobbledehoyhood。Besides，histhoughtswerefullofothersubjects，whichhedidnotintendtoallowtooozeoutinwords，yethewantedtopreventanyofthatheavysilencewhichhefearedmightbeimpending—withanangryanddispleasedfather，andatimorousanddistressedmother。HeonlylookeduponMollyasabadly—dressed，andratherawkwardgirl，withblackhairandanintelligentface，whomighthelphiminthetaskhehadsethimselfofkeepingupabrightgeneralconversationduringtherestoftheevening；mighthelphim—ifshewould，butshewouldnot。Shethoughthimunfeelinginhistalkativeness；hisconstantflowofwordsuponindifferentsubjectswasawonderandarepulsiontoher。Howcouldhegoonsocheerfullywhilehismothersatethere，scarcelyeatinganything，anddoingherbest，withillsuccess，toswallowdownthetearsthatwouldkeeprisingtohereyes；whenhisfather’sheavybrowwasdeeplyclouded，andheevidentlycarednothing—atfirstatleast—forallthechatterhissonpouredforth？HadMrRogerHamleynosympathyinhim？Shewouldshowthatshehad，atanyrate。Soshequitedeclinedthepart，whichhehadhopedshewouldhavetaken，ofrespondent，andpossiblequestioner；andhisworkbecamemoreandmorelikethatofamanwalkinginaquagmire。Oncethesquirerousedhimselftospeaktothebutler；hefelttheneedofoutwardstimulus—ofabettervintagethanusual。’BringupabottleoftheBurgundywiththeyellowseal。’Hespokelow；hehadnospirittospeakinhisusualvoice。Thebutleransweredinthesametone。Mollysittingnearthem，andsilentherself，heardwhattheysaid。’Ifyouplease，sir，therearenotabovesixbottlesofthatsealleft；
anditisMrOsborne’sfavouritewine。’Thesquireturnedroundwithagrowlinhisvoice。’BringupabottleoftheBurgundywiththeyellowseal，asIsaid。’Thebutlerwentaway，wondering。’MrOsborne’s’likesanddislikeshadbeenthelawofthehouseingeneraluntilnow。Ifhehadlikedanyparticularfoodordrink，anyseatorplace，anyspecialdegreeofwarmthorcoolness，hiswishesweretobeattendedto；forhewastheheir，andhewasdelicate，andhewasthecleveroneofthefamily。Alltheout—of—doorsmenwouldhavesaidthesame；MrOsbornewishedatreecutdown，orkeptstanding，orhadsuch—and—suchafancyaboutthegame；orhaddesiredsomethingunusualaboutthehorses；andtheyhadalltoattendtoitasifitwerelaw。Butto—daytheBurgundywiththeyellowsealwastobebrought；anditwasbrought。Mollytestifiedwithquietvehemenceofaction；shenevertookwine，sosheneednothavebeenafraidoftheman’spouringitintoherglass；butasanopenmarkoffealtytotheabsentOsborne，howeverlittleitmightbeunderstood，sheplacedthepalmofhersmallbrownhandoverthetopoftheglass，andhelditthere，tillthewinehadgoneround，andRogerandhisfatherwereinfullenjoymentofthesame。Afterdinner，too，thegentlemenlingeredlongovertheirdessert，andMollyheardthemlaughing；andthenshesawthemloiteringaboutinthetwilightout—of—doors；Rogerhatless，hishandsinhispockets，loungingbyhisfather’sside，whowasnowabletotalkinhisusualloudandcheerfulway，forgettingOsborne。Voe，victis！AndsoinmuteoppositiononMolly’sside，inpoliteindifference，scarcelyvergingonkindlinessonhis，Rogerandshesteeredclearofeachother。
Hehadmanyoccupationsinwhichheneedednocompanionship，evenifshehadbeenqualifiedtogiveit。Theworstwas，thatshefoundhewasinthehabitofoccupyingthelibrary，herfavouriteretreat，inthemorningsbeforeMrsHamleycamedown。Sheopenedthehalf—closeddooradayortwoafterhisreturnhome，andfoundhimbusyamongbooksandpapers，withwhichthelargeleather—coveredtablewasstrewn；andshesoftlywithdrewbeforehecouldturnhisheadandseeher，soastodistinguishherfromoneofthehousemaids。Herodeouteveryday，sometimeswithhisfatherabouttheoutlyingfields，sometimesfarawayforagoodgallop。Mollywouldhaveenjoyedaccompanyinghimontheseoccasions，forshewasveryfondofriding；andtherehadbeensometalkofsendingforherhabitandgreyponywhenfirstshecametoHamley；onlythesquire，aftersomeconsideration，hadsaidhesorarelydidmorethangoslowlyfromonefieldtoanother，wherehislabourerswereatwork，thathefearedshewouldfindsuchslowwork—tenminutesridingthroughheavyland，twentyminutessittingstillonhorseback，listeningtothedirectionsheshouldhavetogivetohismen—ratherdull。Now，whenifshehadhadherponyhereshemighthaveriddenoutwithRoger，withoutgivinghimanytrouble—shewouldhavetakencareofthat—nobodyseemedtothinkofrenewingtheproposal。Altogetheritwaspleasanterbeforehecamehome。Herfathercameoverprettyfrequently；sometimestherewerelongunaccountableabsences，itwastrue；whenhisdaughterbegantofidgetafterhim，andtowonderwhathadbecomeofhim。Butwhenhemadehisappearancehehadalwaysgoodreasonstogive；andtherightshefeltthatshehadtohisfamiliarhouseholdtenderness；thepowershepossessedoffullyunderstandingtheexactvalueofbothhiswordsandhissilence，madetheseglimpsesofintercoursewithhiminexpressiblycharming。Latterlyherburdenhadalwaysbeen，’WhenmayIcomehome，papa？’Itwasnotthatshewasunhappy，oruncomfortable；shewaspassionatelyfondofMrsHamley，shewasafavouriteofthesquire’s，andcouldnotasYetfullyunderstandwhysomepeopleweresomuchafraidofhim；andasforRoger，ifhedidnotaddtoherpleasure，hescarcelytookawayfromit。Butshewantedtobeathomeoncemore。Thereasonwhyshecouldnottell；butthissheknewfullwell。MrGibsonreasonedwithhertillshewaswearyofbeingcompletelyconvincedthatitwasrightandnecessaryforhertostaywhereshewas。Andthenwithaneffortshestoppedthecryuponhertongue，forshesawthatitsrepetitionharassedherfather。DuringthisabsenceofhersMrGibsonwasdriftingintomatrimony。Hewaspartlyawareofwhitherhewasgoing；andpartlyitwaslikethesoftfloatingmovementofadream。Hewasmorepassivethanactiveintheaffair；though，ifhisreasonhadnotfullyapprovedofthestephewastendingto—ifhehadnotbelievedthatasecondmarriagewastheverybestwayofcuttingtheGordianknotofdomesticdifficulties，hecouldhavemadeaneffortwithoutanygreattroubletohimself，andextricatedhimselfwithoutpainfromthemeshofcircumstances。Ithappenedinthismanner：—LadyCumnorhavingmarriedhertwoeldestdaughters，foundherlaboursasachaperonetoLadyHarriet，theyoungest，considerablylightenedbyco—operation；and，atlength，shehadleisuretobeaninvalid。