to be
his duty to hasten his return to England. He was believed to be at
this moment in Jerusalem, and it would be long before a letter could
reach him; but there still wanted three months to the assizes, and
his return might be probably effected before the end of February.

"I never was so distressed in my life," Mark Robarts said to his
wife.

"And you think you have done no good?"

"Only this, that I have convinced myself that the poor man is not
responsible for what he does, and that for her sake as well as
for his own, some person should be enabled to interfere for his
protection." Then he told Mrs. Robarts what Mr. Walker had said; also
the message which Mr. Crawley had sent to the archdeacon. But they
both agreed that that message need not be sent on any further.

CHAPTER XXII

Major Grantly at Home

Mrs. Thorne had spoken very plainly in the advice which she had given
to Major Grantly. "If I were you, I'd be at Allington before twelve
o'clock to-morrow." That had been Mrs. Thorne's advice; and though
Major Grantly had no idea of making the journey so rapidly as the
lady had proposed, still he thought that he would make it before
long, and follow the advice in spirit if not to the letter. Mrs
Thorne had asked him if it was fair that the girl should be punished
because of the father's fault; and the idea had been sweet to him
that the infliction or non-infliction of such punishment should be in
his hands. "You go and ask her," Mrs. Thorne had said. Well;--he would
go and ask her. If it should turn out at last that he had married the
daughter of a thief, and that he was disinherited for doing so,--an
arrangement of circumstances which he had to teach himself to regard
as very probable,--he would not love Grace the less on that account,
or allow himself for one moment to repent what he had done. As he
thought of all this he became somewhat in love with a small income,
and imagined to himself what honours would be done to him by the Mrs
Thornes of the county, when they should come to know in what way he
had sacrificed himself to his love. Yes;--they would go and live at
Pau. He thought Pau would do. He would have enough of income for
that;--and Edith would get lessons cheaply, and would learn to talk
French fluently. He certainly would do it. He would go down to
Allington, and ask Grace to be his wife; and bid her to understand
that if she loved him she could not be justified in refusing him by
the