arose, he took upon himself to become completely and
thoroughly acquainted with all her means, whatsoever they were; and was
now accurately informed of the vast and repeated sacrifices which the
widow Amory had made in behalf of her present husband.

He did not conceal--and he had won no small favour from Miss Blanche by
avowing it--his opinion, that Lady Clavering's daughter had been hardly
treated at the expense of her son, by her second marriage: and in his
conversations with Lady Clavering had fairly hinted that he thought
Miss Blanche ought to have a better provision. We have said that he had
already given the widow to understand that he knew all the particulars
of her early and unfortunate history, having been in India at the time
when--when the painful circumstances occurred which had ended in her
parting from her first husband. He could tell her where to find the
Calcutta newspaper which contained the account of Amory's trial, and
he showed, and the Begum was not a little grateful to him for his
forbearance, how, being aware all along of this mishap which had
befallen her, he had kept all knowledge of it to himself, and been
constantly the friend of her family.

"Interested motives, my dear Lady Clavering," he said, "of course I may
have had. We all have interested motives, and mine, I don't conceal from
you, was to make a marriage between my nephew and your daughter." To
which Lady Clavering, perhaps with some surprise that the Major should
choose her family for a union with his own, said she was quite willing
to consent.

But frankly he said, "My dear lady, my boy has but five hundred a year,
and a wife with ten thousand pounds to her fortune would scarcely better
him. We could do better for him than that, permit me to say, and he is
a shrewd, cautious young fellow who has sown his wild oats now--who has
very good parts and plenty of ambition--and whose object in marrying is
to better himself. If you and Sir Francis chose--and Sir Francis, take
my word for it, will refuse you nothing--you could put Arthur in a way
to advance very considerably in the world, and show the stuff which he
has in him. Of what use is that seat in Parliament to Clavering, who
scarcely ever shows his face in the House, or speaks a word there? I'm
told by gentlemen who heard my boy at Oxbridge, that he was famous as
an orator, begad!--and once put his foot into the stirrup and mount him,
I've no doubt he won't be the last of the fiel