ButyoumustconductyourselfwithdiscretioninwhateverstateoflifeitpleasesGodtoplaceyou，whethermarriedorsingle。Youmustreverenceyourhusband，andconformtohisopinioninallthings。Lookuptohimasyourhead，anddonothingwithoutconsultinghim。’—ItwasaswellthatLordCumnorwasnotamongsttheaudience；orhemighthavecomparedpreceptwithpractice。—’Keepstrictaccounts；andrememberyourstationinlife。IunderstandthatMr——’lookingaboutforsomehelpastothenameshehadforgotten—’Anderson—Hendersonisinthelaw。Althoughthereisageneralprejudiceagainstattorneys，Ihaveknownoftwoorthreewhowereveryrespectablemen；andIamsureMrHendersonisone，oryourgoodmotherandouroldfriendGibsonwouldnothavesanctionedtheengagement。’’Heisabarrister，’putinCynthia，unabletorestrainherselfanylonger。
’Barrister—at—law。’’Ah，yes。Attorney—at—law。Barrister—at—law。Iunderstandwithoutyourspeakingsoloud，mydear。WhatwasIgoingtosaybeforeyouinterruptedme？Whenyouhavebeenalittleinsocietyyouwillfindthatitisreckonedbadmannerstointerrupt。Ihadagreatdealmoretosaytoyou，andyouhaveputitalloutofmyhead。Therewassomethingelseyourfatherwantedmetoask—whatwasit，Harriet？’’IsupposeyoumeanaboutMrHamley！’’Oh，yes！weareintendingtohavethehousefullofLordHollingford’sfriendsnextmonth，andLordCumnorisparticularlyanxioustosecureMrHamley。’’Thesquire？’askedMrsGibsoninsomesurprise。LadyCumnorbowedslightly，asmuchastosay，’IfyoudidnotinterruptmeIshouldexplain。’’Thefamoustraveller—thescientificMrHamley，Imean。Iimagineheissontothesquire。LordHollingfordknowshimwell；butwhenweaskedhimbefore，hedeclinedcoming，andassignednoreason。’HadRogerindeedbeenaskedtotheTowersanddeclined？MrsGibsoncouldnotunderstandit。LadyCumnorwenton，—’Nowthistimeweareparticularlyanxioustosecurehim，andmysonLordHollingfordwillnotreturntoEnglanduntiltheveryweekbeforetheDukeofAtherstoneiscomingtous。IbelieveMrGibsonisveryintimatewithMrHamley；doyouthinkhecouldinducehimtofavouruswithhiscompany？’AndthisfromtheproudLadyCumnor；andtheobjectofitRogerHamley，whomshehadallbutturnedoutofherdrawing—roomtwoyearsagoforcallingatanuntimelyhour；andwhomCynthiahadturnedoutofherheart。MrsGibsonwassurprised，andcouldonlymurmuroutthatshewassureMrGibsonwoulddoallthatherladyshipwished。’Thankyou。YouknowmewellenoughtobeawarethatIamnottheperson，noristheTowersthehouse，togoaboutsolicitingguests。ButinthisinstanceIbendmyhead；highrankshouldalwaysbethefirsttohonourthosewhohavedistinguishedthemselvesbyartorscience。’’Besides，mamma，’saidLadyHarriet，’papawassayingthattheHamleyshavebeenontheirlandsincebeforetheConquest；whileweonlycameintothecountyacenturyago；andthereisatalethatthefirstCumnorbeganhisfortunethroughsellingtobaccoinKingJames’sreign。’IfLadyCumnordidnotexactlyshifthertrumpetandtakesnuffthereonthespot，shebehavedinanequivalentmanner。Shebeganalow—tonedbutneverthelessauthoritativeconversationwithClareaboutthedetailsofthewedding，whichlasteduntilshethoughtitfittogo，whensheabruptlypluckedLadyHarrietup，andcarriedheroffintheverymidstofadescriptionshewasgivingtoCynthiaaboutthedelightsofSpa，whichwastobeoneoftheresting—placesofthenewly—marriedcoupleontheirwedding—tour。Neverthelessshepreparedahandsomepresentforthebride：aBibleandaPrayer—bookboundinvelvetwithsilver—clasps；andalsoacollectionofhouseholdaccount—books，atthebeginningofwhichLadyCumnorwrotedownwithherownhandtheproperweeklyallowanceofbread，butter，eggs，meat，andgroceriesperhead，withtheLondonpricesofthearticles，sothatthemostinexperiencedhousekeepermightascertainifherexpenditureexceededhermeans，assheexpressedherselfinthenotewhichshesentwiththehandsome，dullpresent。’IfyouaredrivingintoHollingford，Harriet，perhapsyouwilltakethesebookstoMissKirkpatrick，’saidLadyCumnor，aftershehadsealedhernotewithallthestraightnessandcorrectnessbefittingacountessofherimmaculatecharacter。’IunderstandtheyareallgoinguptoLondonto—morrowforthiswedding，inspiteofwhatIsaidtoClareofthedutyofbeingmarriedinone’sownparish—church。Shetoldmeatthetimethatsheentirelyagreedwithme，butthatherhusbandhadsuchastrongwishforavisittoLondon，thatshedidnotknowhowshecouldopposehimconsistentlywithherwifelyduty。Iadvisedhertorepeattohimmyreasonsforthinkingthattheywouldbeill—advisedtohavethemarriageintown；butIamafraidshehasbeenoverruled。Thatwasheronegreatfaultwhenshelivedwithus；shewasalwayssoyielding，andneverknewhowtosay\"No。\"’Mamma！’saidLadyHarriet，withalittleslycoaxinginhertone。’Doyouthinkyouwouldhavebeensofondofher，ifshehadopposedyou，andsaid\"No，\"whenyouwishedher’TobesureIshould，mydear。Ilikeeverybodytohaveanopinionoftheirown；onlywhenmyopinionsarebasedonthoughtandexperience，whichfewpeoplehavehadequalopportunitiesofacquiring，Ithinkitisbutproperdeferenceinotherstoallowthemselvestobeconvinced。Infact，Ithinkitisonlyobstinacywhichkeepsthemfromacknowledgingthattheyare。
Iamnotadespot，Ihope？’sheasked，withsomeanxiety。’Ifyouare，dearmamma，’saidLadyHarriet，kissingthesternupliftedfaceveryfondly，’Ilikeadespotismbetterthanarepublic，andImustbeverydespoticovermyponies，foritisalreadygettingverylateformydriveroundbyAsh—holt。’ButwhenshearrivedattheGibsons’，shewasdetainedsolongtherebythestateofthefamily，thatshehadtogiveuphergoingtoAsh—holt。Mollywassittinginthedrawing—roompaleandtrembling，andkeepingherselfquietonlybyastrongeffort。ShewastheonlypersontherewhenLadyHarrietentered；theroomwasallindisorder，strewedwithpresentsandpaper，andpasteboardboxes，andhalf—displayedarticlesoffinery。’YoulooklikeMariussittingamidsttheruinsofCarthage，mydear！What’sthematter？Whyhaveyougotonthatwoe—begoneface？Thismarriageisnotbrokenoff，isit？ThoughnothingwouldsurprisemewherethebeautifulCynthiaisconcerned。’’Oh，no！that’sallright。ButIhavecaughtafreshcold，andpapasayshethinksIhadbetternotgotothewedding。’’Poorlittleone！Andit’sthefirstvisittoLondontoo！’’Yes。ButwhatImostcareforisthenotbeingwithCynthiatothelast；
andthen，papa’—shestopped，forshecouldhardlygoonwithoutopencrying，andshedidnotwanttodothat。Thensheclearedhervoice。’Papa，’
shecontinued，’hassolookedforwardtothisholiday，—andseeing—and—，andgoing—oh！Ican’ttellyouwhere；buthehasquitealistofpeopleandsightstobeseen，—andnowhesaysheshouldnotbecomfortabletoleavemeallaloneformorethanthreedays，—twofortravelling，andoneforthewedding。’JustthenMrsGibsoncamein，ruffledtooafterherfashion，thoughthepresenceofLadyHarrietwaswonderfullysmoothing。’MydearLadyHarriet—howkindofyou！Ah，yes，Iseethispoorunfortunatechildhasbeentellingyouofherill—luck；justwheneverythingwasgoingonsobeautifully；Iamsureitwasthatopenwindowatyourback，Molly，—youknowyouwouldpersistthatitcoulddoyounoharm，andnowyouseethemischiefIamsureIshan’tbeabletoenjoymyself—andatmyonlychild’sweddingtoo—withoutyou；forIcan’tthinkofleavingyouwithoutMaria。Iwouldrathersacrificeanythingmyselfthanthinkofyou，uncaredfor，anddismalathome。’’IamsureMollyisassorryasanyone，’saidLadyHarriet。’No。Idon’tthinksheis，’saidMrsGibson，withhappydisregardofthechronologyofevents，’orshewouldnothavesatewithherbacktoanopenwindowthedaybeforeyesterday，whenItoldhernot。Butitcan’tbehelpednow。Papatoo—butitismydutytomakethebestofeverything，andlookatthecheerfulsideoflife。IwishIcouldpersuadehertodothesame’