'
LORD BYRON.
Clarence would not tell me his purpose, he said, till he had
considered it more fully; nor could we have much conversation on the
way home, as my mother had arranged that we should bring an old
friend of hers back with us to pay her a visit. So I had to sit
inside and make myself agreeable to Mrs. Wrightson, while Clarence
had plenty of leisure for meditation outside on the box seat. The
good lady said much on the desirableness of marriage for Clarence,
and the comfort it would be to my mother to see Emily settled.
We had heard much in town of railway shares; and the fortunes of
Hudson, the railway king, were under discussion. I suspected
Clarence of cogitating the using his capital in this manner; and
hoped that when he saw his way, he might not think it dishonourable
to come into further contact with Anne, and reveal his hopes. He
allowed that he was considering of such investments, but would not
say any more.
My mother and Emily had, in the meantime, been escorted home by
Martyn. The first thing Clarence did was to bespeak Emily's company
in a turn in the garden. What passed then I never knew nor guessed
for years after. He consulted her whether, in case he were absent
from England for five, seven, or ten years, she would be equal to
the care of my mother and me. Martyn, when ordained, would have
duties elsewhere, and could only be reckoned upon in emergencies.
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