What can she do while inseparable from such
a father and mother? The more unlike them she becomes the more
hideous they will appear. Mrs. Mayhew is essentially lacking
in womanly delicacy, and mere coarseness is more tolerable than
fashionable, veneered vulgarity. Mr. Mayhew is a spiritless wretch
whose only protest against his wife's overbearance and indifference
has been intoxication. Linked on either side to so much deformity,
what chance has the daughter unless she escapes from them and
develops a separate life? But are not the ties of nature too close
to permit such escape, and would it not be wrong to seek it? It
certainly would not be Christian, and I am confident Mr. Eltinge
would not advise it. Her lot is indeed a cruel one. No wonder she
clings to Mr. Eltinge and the garden, and that the outside world
seems full of thorns and thistles. Well, I pity her from the depths
of my heart, and cannot see how she will solve the harsh problem
of her life. I imagine she will soon become discouraged and seek
by marriage to obliterate her present ties as far as possible."
Having reached this unsatisfactory conclusion he threw his sketch
impatiently aside and went down to the piazza.
Pages:
521
522
523
524
525
526
527
528
529
530
531
532
533
534
535
536
537
538
539
540
541
542
543
544
545