and thankful for the occasional chance of a dance.
While she had been sitting by her chaperone,
Mr. Wilkins had made the tour of the room,
dropping out the little fact of his daughter's
being present wherever he thought the seed
likely to bring forth the fruit of partners.
And some came because they liked Mr. Wilkins,
and some asked Ellinor because they had done
their duty dances to their own party, and might
please themselves. So that Miss Wilkins usually
had an average of one invitation to every three
dances: and this principally towards the end of
the evening.

But considering her real beauty, and the care
which her father always took about her appearance,
she met with far less than her due of
admiration. Admiration she did not care for;
partners she did; and sometimes felt mortified
when she had to sit or stand quiet during all
the first part of the evening. If it had not been
for her father's wishes she would much rather
have stayed at home; but, nevertheless, she
talked even to the irresponsive old dowager, and
fairly chattered to her father when she got to
him, because she did not like him to fancy that
she was not enjoying herself.

And, indeed, she had so much happiness in the
daily course of this part of her life, that, on looking
back on it afterwards, she could not imagine
anything brighter than it had been. The delight
of receiving her lover's letters—the anxious
happiness of replying to them (always a little bit
fearful lest she should not express herself and
her love in the precisely happy medium becoming
a maiden)—the father's love and satisfaction
in her—the calm prosperity of the whole household
was delightful at the time, and, looking back
upon it, it was dream-like.

Occasionally Mr. Corbet came down to see her.
He always slept on these occasions at Mr. Ness's;
but he was at Ford Bank the greater part of the
one day between two nights that he allowed
himself for the length of his visits. And even these
short peeps were not frequently taken. He was
working hard at law; fagging at it tooth and
nail; arranging his whole life so as best to
promote the ends of his ambition; feeling a delight
in surpassing and mastering his fellows— those
who started in the race at the same time. He
read Ellinor' s letters over and over again;
nothing else beside law-books. He perceived the
repressed love hidden away in subdued expressions
in his mistress's communications, with an
amused pleasure at the attempt at concealment.
He was glad that her gaieties were not more
gay; he was glad that she was not too much
admired, although a little indignant at the want
of taste on the part of the——shire gentlemen.
But if other admirers had come prominently
forwards, he should have had to take some more
decided steps to assert his rights than he had
hitherto done; for he had caused Ellinor to
express a wish to her father that her engagement
might not be too much talked about until nearer
the time when it would be prudent for him to
marry her. He thought that the knowledge of
this, the only imprudently hasty step he ever
meant to take in his life, might go against his
character for wisdom, if the fact was known
while he was as yet only a student. Mr.
Wilkins wondered a little; but acceded, as he always
did, to any of Ellinor's requests. Mr. Ness was
a confidant, of course, and some of Lady Maria's
connexions heard of it, and forgot it again very
soon; and, as it happened, no one else was
sufficiently interested in Ellinor to care to ascertain
the fact.

All this time, Mr. Ralph Corbet maintained a
very quietly decided attitude towards his own
family. He was engaged to Miss Wilkins; and
all he could say was that he was sorry that they
disapproved of it. He was not able to marry
just at present, and before the time for his
marriage arrived he trusted that his own family
would take a more reasonable view of things,
and be, willing to receive her as his wife with all
becoming respect or affection. This was the
substance of what he repeated in different forms
in reply to his father's angry letters. At length
his invariable determination made way with his
father; the paternal thunderings were subdued
to a distant rumbling in the sky; and presently
the inquiry was broached as to how much
fortune Miss Wilkins would have; how much down
on her marriage; what were the eventual
probabilities. Now this was a point on which Mr.
Ralph Corbet wished himself to be informed
upon. He had not thought much about it in
making the engagement; he had been too young,
or too much in love. But an only child of a
wealthy attorney ought to have something
considerable; and an allowance so as to enable the
young couple to start housekeeping in a
moderately good part of town, would be an advantage
to him in his profession. So he replied to his
father, adroitly suggesting that a letter containing
certain modifications of the inquiry which
had been rather roughly put in Mr. Corbet's
last, should be sent to him, in order that he
might himself ascertain from Mr. Wilkins what
were Ellinor's prospects as regarded fortune.

The desired letter came; but not in such a form
that he could pass it on to Mr. Wilkins; he
preferred to make quotations, and even these
quotations were a little altered and dressed before he
sent them on. The gist of his letter to Mr.
Wilkins was this. He stated that he hoped soon
to be in a position to offer Ellinor a home; that
he anticipated a steady progress in his profession,
and consequently in his income; but that
contingencies might arise, as his father suggested,
which would deprive him of the power of earning
a livelihood, perhaps when it might be more
required than it would be at first; that it was
true that, after his mother's death, a small estate
in Shropshire would come to him as second son,
and of course Eiliuor would receive the benefit
of this property, secured to her legally as Mr.
Wilkins thought best—that being a matter
for after discussion—but that at present his