e
even these irritating if not very harmful weapons dropped, and the whole
matter sank into the region of the ordinary. He rode, or, if the weather
was bad, drove, five days in the week to his little pupil, who in himself
was not to Theo's mind an attractive pupil, and who kept the temper of
the tutor on a constant strain. It ought, according to all moral rules,
to have been very good for Warrender to be thus forced to self-control,
and to exercise a continual restraint over his extremely impatient
temper and fastidious, almost capricious temperament. But there are
circumstances in which such self-restraint is rather an aggravating than
a softening process. During this period, however, Theo was scarcely to
be accounted for by the ordinary rules of human nature. His mind was
altogether absorbed by one of, if not by the most powerful influence of
human life. He was carried away by a tide of passion which was stronger
than life itself.

CHAPTER XXIV

It may now be necessary to indicate the outline, at least, of an
incident which was the reason why, at the most critical period of
the affairs both of her brother and sister, Minnie's supervising and
controlling care was neutralised. Whether it is the case that nothing
that did happen would have happened, as is her sincere conviction, had
she been free to observe and guide the course of events, is what neither
the writer of this history nor any other human looker-on can say. We are
all disposed to believe that certain possibilities would have changed
the entire face of history had they ever developed, and that life would
have been a different thing altogether had not So-and-So got ill, or gone
on a journey, or even been so ill-advised as to die at a particular
juncture. Miss Warrender was of this opinion strongly, but it is possible
the reader may think that everything would have gone on very much as it
did, in spite of all that she could have said or done. It is a problem
which never can be settled, should we go on discussing it for evermore.

The thing which deprived the family of Minnie's care at the approaching
crisis was what cannot be otherwise described than as a happy event. In
the early summer, before Mr. Warrender died, a new curate had come to
Underwood. This, however, is not an entirely just way of stating the
case. A curate, in the ordinary sense of the word, was not wanted at
Underwood. The parish was small. Such a thing as a daily service had not
begu