orne; no cousin, at least, in the world's ordinary language, no
niece indeed of her uncle, unless by his special permission that she
should be so.

When the interview was over, she went up alone to the drawing-room,
and there she sat thinking. She had not been there long before her
uncle came up to her. He did not sit down, or even take off the hat
which he still wore; but coming close to her, and still standing, he
spoke thus:--

"Mary, after what has passed I should be very unjust and very cruel
to you not to tell you one thing more than you have now learned. Your
mother was unfortunate in much, not in everything; but the world,
which is very often stern in such matters, never judged her to have
disgraced herself. I tell you this, my child, in order that you may
respect her memory;" and so saying, he again left her without giving
her time to speak a word.

What he then told her he had told in mercy. He felt what must be her
feelings when she reflected that she had to blush for her mother;
that not only could she not speak of her mother, but that she might
hardly think of her with innocence; and to mitigate such sorrow as
this, and also to do justice to the woman whom his brother had so
wronged, he had forced himself to reveal so much as is stated above.

And then he walked slowly by himself, backwards and forwards through
the garden, thinking of what he had done with reference to this girl,
and doubting whether he had done wisely and well. He had resolved,
when first the little infant was given over to his charge, that
nothing should be known of her or by her as to her mother. He was
willing to devote himself to this orphan child of his brother, this
last seedling of his father's house; but he was not willing so to do
this as to bring himself in any manner into familiar contact with the
Scatcherds. He had boasted to himself that he, at any rate, was a
gentleman; and that she, if she were to live in his house, sit at his
table, and share his hearth, must be a lady. He would tell no lie
about her; he would not to any one make her out to be aught other or
aught better than she was; people would talk about her of course,
only let them not talk to him; he conceived of himself--and the
conception was not without due ground--that should any do so, he
had that within him which would silence them. He would never claim
for this little creature--thus brought into the world without a
legitimate position in which to stand--he