must say, insult on his. He told me that I had no business
to suggest that you would be expelled from his house. I
replied that the threat had come, if not from him, then
from Lady Tringle. Upon this he accused me of positive
falsehood, asserting that your aunt had said nothing of
the kind. I then referred him to Lady Tringle herself, but
refused to stay any longer in the room with him, because
he had insulted me.

So you will see that I did less than nothing by my
embassy. I told myself that it would be so as I descended
into the underground cavern at the Gloucester Road
Station. You are not to suppose that I blame him more, or,
indeed, so much as I do myself. It was not to be expected
that he should behave as a gentleman of fine feeling. But,
perhaps, it ought to have been expected that I should
behave as a man of common sense. I ought to have taken
his advice about the auction, apparently, in good part.
I ought not to have writhed when he scorned my poor
earnings. When he asked as to my ideas, I should not have
alluded to your aunt's threat as to turning you out. I
should have been placid and humble; and then his want of
generous feeling would have mattered nothing. But spilt
milk and broken eggs are past saving. Whatever good things
may have come from your uncle's generosity had I brushed
his hair for him aright, are now clean gone, seeing that I
scrubbed him altogether the wrong way.

For myself, I do not know that I should regret it very
much. I have an idea that no money should be sweet to a
man except that which he earns. And I have enough belief
in myself to be confident that sooner or later I shall
earn a sufficiency. But, dearest, I own that I feel
disgusted with myself when I think that I have diminished
your present comfort, or perhaps lessened for the future
resources which would have been yours rather than mine.
But the milk has been spilt, and now we must only think
what we can best do without it. It seems to me that only
two homes are possible for you,--one with Sir Thomas
as his niece, and the other with me as my wife. I am
conceited enough to think that you will prefer the latter
even with many inconveniences. Neither can your uncle
or your aunt prevent you from marrying at a very early
day, should you choose to do so. There would be some
preliminary ceremony, of th