the bearing, that Arthur expressed
himself as we have heard in the colloquy with Warrington, which is
reported in the last chapter.

When a man is tempted to do a tempting thing, he can find a hundred
ingenious reasons for gratifying his liking; and Arthur thought very
much that he would like to be in Parliament, and that he would like to
distinguish himself there, and that he need not care much what side he
took, as there was falsehood and truth on every side. And on this and
on other matters he thought he would compromise with his conscience, and
that Sadduceeism was a very convenient and good-humoured profession of
faith.

CHAPTER LXIV. Phyllis and Corydon

On a picturesque common in the neighbourhood of Tunbridge Wells, Lady
Clavering had found a pretty villa, whither she retired after her
conjugal disputes at the end of that unlucky London season. Miss Amory,
of course, accompanied her mother, and Master Clavering came home for
the holidays, with whom Blanche's chief occupation was to fight and
quarrel. But this was only a home pastime, and the young schoolboy was
not fond of home sports. He found cricket, and horses, and plenty of
friends at Tunbridge. The good-natured Begum's house was filled with a
constant society of young gentlemen of thirteen, who ate and drank much
too copiously of tarts and champagne, who rode races on the lawn, and
frightened the fond mother, who smoked and made themselves sick, and the
dining-room unbearable to Miss Blanche. She did not like the society of
young gentlemen of thirteen.

As for that fair young creature, any change as long as it was change was
pleasant to her; and for a week or two she would have liked poverty and
a cottage, and bread-and-cheese; and, for a night, perhaps, a dungeon
and bread-and-water, and so the move to Tunbridge was by no means
unwelcome to her. She wandered in the woods, and sketched trees and
farmhouses; she read French novels habitually; she drove into Tunbridge
Wells pretty often, and to any play, or ball, or conjurer, or musician
who might happen to appear in the place; she slept a great deal; she
quarrelled with Mamma and Frank during the morning; she found the little
village school and attended it, and first fondled the girls and thwarted
the mistress, then scolded the girls and laughed at the teacher; she was
constant at church, of course. It was a pretty little church, of immense
antiquity--a little Anglo-Norman bijou, built the day