bags him when he has had no chance to rise upon his wing, does fire at a
sitting bird. In this instance, however, Lady Clavering's little
speeches were made only to Mrs. Clavering and to Florence. She said
nothing personally to the rector, and he therefore might have escaped.
But his wife talked him over.

"I think you should go for Harry's sake," said Mrs. Clavering.

"I don't see what good it will do Harry."

"It will show that you approve of the match."

"I don't approve or disapprove of it. He's his own master."

"But you approve, you know, as you countenance it; and there cannot
possibly be a sweeter girl than Florence Burton. We all like her, and
I'm sure you seem to take to her thoroughly."

"Take to her; yes, I take to her very well. She's ladylike, and though
she's no beauty, she looks pretty, and is spirited. And I daresay she's
clever."

"And so good."

"If she's good, that's better than all. Only I don't see what they're to
live."

"But as she is here, you will go with us to the great house?"

Mrs. Clavering never asked her husband anything in vain, and the rector
agreed to go. He apologized for this afterward to his son, by explaining
that he did it as a duty. "It will serve for six months," he said. "If I
did not go there about once in six months, there would be supposed to be
a family quarrel, and that would be bad for the parish."

Harry was to remain only a week at Clavering, and the dinner was to take
place the evening before he went away. On that morning he walked all
round the park with Florence--as he had before often walked with
Julia--and took that occasion of giving her a full history of the
Clavering family. "We none of us like my cousin Hugh," he said. "But she
is at least harmless, and she means to be good-natured. She is very
unlike her sister, Lady Ongar."

"So I should suppose, from what you have told me."

"Altogether an inferior being."

"And she has only one child."

"Only one--a boy now two years old. They say he's anything but strong."

"And Sir Hugh has one brother."

"Yes; Archie Clavering. I think Archie is a worse fellow even than Hugh.
He makes more attempts to be agreeable, but there is something in his
eye which I always distrust. And then he is a man who does no good in
the world to anybody."

"He's not married?"

"No; he's not married, and I don't suppose he ever will marry. It's on
the cards, Florence, that the future baronet may be." Then she frowned