iends here the
obligations we are under to them now; (I mean, of course, the pecuniary
part of the obligation;) and we may be able to place Isabella and
Harriet in a situation in society where their talents and virtues may be
exercised with as much benefit to others, and without such painful
labour and care as will probably be their lot, if, as we have hitherto
expected, they have to work for their own subsistence. Are not these
real, solid advantages?"

"I believe they are," replied Jane. "And you too--"

"O, I am out of the question just now, and so are you, Jane. We must
now forget ourselves, and even each other, if we mean to decide coolly
for the good of those who depend on us. Are there any other advantages?
Is honour, fame, or whatever else we call it, a good?"

"What kind of honour will it be?" asked Jane. "The honour of bravery, I
suppose--a soldier's glory."

"More than that," said Charles. "He may have the reputation of talent,
of industry, and of general honourable principle."

"This kind of reputation is valuable in many respects," said Jane; "but
it may be had at home as well as in India, better perhaps: for I do not
know how to reconcile the rapid acquisition of wealth with honourable
principle."

"Nor I," said Charles. "Well, do you reckon this honour an advantage?"

"I think not," said Jane. "I do not desire a mere soldier's glory for
any one I love, since it is bought by violence, and must therefore
harden the heart: and honour of a better kind may be had, as far as it
is desirable, at home."

"I quite agree with you," said Charles. "Then again, the increase of
knowledge, and enlargement of mind, which is obtained by travelling, and
intercourse with foreign nations, is, in my opinion, a real advantage,
though Mrs Rathbone does not mention it. We are not considering how it
is counterbalanced; but is it not in itself a good?"

"It is," said Jane; "and now I fancy we have come to the end of the
list. For power, influence, high connexions, the ability to exercise
beneficence, all come under the heads of wealth and honour: and as to
the benefit to Alfred of exerting himself for his family, that also may
be had at home, and may be all the more beneficial for the wealth not
being got so easily as in India. But _health_ is the grand objection.
I do wonder at the way in which Mrs Rathbone speaks of this. She
speaks of many who die in England as well as in India: but who does not
know the