HethenproceededtoreadachapterfromtheBible；afterwhichhetookhisleavewiththesameaffectionatekindnesswithwhichhehadgreetedme，havingrepeatedhisdesirethatIshouldconsidereverythinginhishouseasaltogetheratmydisposal。ItisneedlesstosaythatI
wasmuchpleasedwithmyuncle——itwasimpossibletoavoidbeingso；andIcouldnothelpsayingtomyself，ifsuchamanasthisisnotsafefromtheassaultsofslander，whois？IfeltmuchhappierthanIhaddonesincemyfather’sdeath，andenjoyedthatnightthefirstrefreshingsleepwhichhadvisitedmesincethatevent。
Mycuriosityrespectingmymalecousindidnotlongremainunsatisfied——heappearedthenextdayatdinner。Hismanners，thoughnotsocoarseasIhadexpected，wereexceedinglydisagreeable；
therewasanassuranceandaforwardnessforwhichIwasnotprepared；therewaslessofthevulgarityofmanner，andalmostmoreofthatofthemind，thanI
hadanticipated。Ifeltquiteuncomfortableinhispresence；therewasjustthatconfidenceinhislookandtonewhichwouldreadencouragementeveninmeretoleration；andIfeltmoredisgustedandannoyedatthecoarseandextravagantcomplimentswhichhewaspleasedfromtimetotimetopayme，thanperhapstheextentoftheatrocitymightfullyhavewarranted。Itwas，however，oneconsolationthathedidnotoftenappear，beingmuchengrossedbypursuitsaboutwhichI
neitherknewnorcaredanything；butwhenhedidappear，hisattentions，eitherwithaviewtohisamusementortosomemoreseriousadvantage，weresoobviouslyandperseveringlydirectedtome，thatyoungandinexperiencedasIwas，even_I_
couldnotbeignorantofhispreference。I
feltmoreprovokedbythisodiouspersecutionthanIcanexpress，anddiscouragedhimwithsomuchvigour，thatIemployedevenrudenesstoconvincehimthathisassiduitieswereunwelcome；butallinvain。
Thishadgoneonfornearlyatwelve-
month，tomyinfiniteannoyance，whenonedayasIwassittingatsomeneedle-workwithmycompanionEmily，aswasmyhabit，intheparlour，thedooropened，andmycousinEdwardenteredtheroom。
Therewassomething，Ithought，oddinhismanner——akindofstrugglebetweenshameandimpudence——akindofflurryandambiguitywhichmadehimappear，ifpossible，morethanordinarilydisagreeable。
’Yourservant，ladies，’hesaid，seatinghimselfatthesametime；’sorrytospoilyourtete-a-tete，butnevermind，I’llonlytakeEmily’splaceforaminuteortwo；
andthenwepartforawhile，faircousin。
Emily，myfatherwantsyouinthecornerturret。Noshilly-shally；he’sinahurry。’
Shehesitated。’Beoff——tramp，march!’
heexclaimed，inatonewhichthepoorgirldarednotdisobey。
Shelefttheroom，andEdwardfollowedhertothedoor。Hestoodthereforaminuteortwo，asifreflectingwhatheshouldsay，perhapssatisfyinghimselfthatnoonewaswithinhearinginthehall。
Atlengthheturnedabout，havingclosedthedoor，asifcarelessly，withhisfoot；andadvancingslowly，asifindeepthought，hetookhisseatatthesideofthetableoppositetomine。
Therewasabriefintervalofsilence，afterwhichhesaid：
’Iimaginethatyouhaveashrewdsuspicionoftheobjectofmyearlyvisit；butIsupposeImustgointoparticulars。
MustI？’
’Ihavenoconception，’Ireplied，’whatyourobjectmaybe。’
’Well，well，’saidhe，becomingmoreathiseaseasheproceeded，’itmaybetoldinafewwords。Youknowthatitistotallyimpossible——quiteoutofthequestion——
thatanoffhandyoungfellowlikeme，andagood-lookinggirllikeyourself，couldmeetcontinually，asyouandIhavedone，withoutanattachment——alikinggrowingupononesideorother；inshort，IthinkIhaveletyouknowasplainasifIspokeit，thatIhavebeeninlovewithyoualmostfromthefirsttimeIsawyou。’
Hepaused；butIwastoomuchhorrifiedtospeak。Heinterpretedmysilencefavourably。
’Icantellyou，’hecontinued，’I’mreckonedratherhardtoplease，andveryhardtoHIT。Ican’tsaywhenIwastakenwithagirlbefore；soyouseefortunereservedme——’
Heretheodiouswretchwoundhisarmroundmywaist。Theactionatoncerestoredmetoutterance，andwiththemostindignantvehemenceIreleasedmyselffromhishold，andatthesametimesaid：
’Ihavenotbeeninsensible，sir，ofyourmostdisagreeableattentions——theyhavelongbeenasourceofmuchannoyancetome；andyoumustbeawarethatIhavemarkedmydisapprobation——mydisgust——
asunequivocallyasIpossiblycould，withoutactualindelicacy。’
Ipaused，almostoutofbreathfromtherapiditywithwhichIhadspoken；andwithoutgivinghimtimetorenewtheconversation，Ihastilyquittedtheroom，leavinghiminaparoxysmofrageandmortification。AsIascendedthestairs，Iheardhimopentheparlour-doorwithviolence，andtaketwoorthreerapidstridesinthedirectioninwhichIwasmoving。I
wasnowmuchfrightened，andranthewholewayuntilIreachedmyroom；andhavinglockedthedoor，Ilistenedbreathlessly，butheardnosound。Thisrelievedmeforthepresent；butsomuchhadI
beenovercomebytheagitationandannoyanceattendantuponthescenewhichIhadjustgonethrough，thatwhenmycousinEmilyknockedatmydoor，Iwasweepinginstronghysterics。
Youwillreadilyconceivemydistress，whenyoureflectuponmystrongdisliketomycousinEdward，combinedwithmyyouthandextremeinexperience。Anyproposalofsuchanaturemusthaveagitatedme；butthatitshouldhavecomefromthemanwhomofallothersImostloathedandabhorred，andtowhomIhad，asclearlyasmannercoulddoit，expressedthestateofmyfeelings，wasalmosttoooverwhelmingtobeborne。Itwasacalamity，too，inwhichIcouldnotclaimthesym-
pathyofmycousinEmily，whichhadalwaysbeenextendedtomeinmyminorgrievances。StillIhopedthatitmightnotbeunattendedwithgood；forI
thoughtthatoneinevitableandmostwelcomeconsequencewouldresultfromthispainfuleclaircissment，inthediscontinuanceofmycousin’sodiouspersecution。
WhenIarosenextmorning，itwaswiththeferventhopethatImightneveragainbeholdtheface，orevenhearthename，ofmycousinEdward；butsuchaconsummation，thoughdevoutlytobewished，washardlylikelytooccur。Thepainfulimpressionsofyesterdayweretoovividtobeatonceerased；andIcouldnothelpfeelingsomedimforebodingofcomingannoyanceandevil。
Toexpectonmycousin’spartanythinglikedelicacyorconsiderationforme，wasoutofthequestion。Isawthathehadsethisheartuponmyproperty，andthathewasnotlikelyeasilytoforegosuchanacquisition——possessingwhatmighthavebeenconsideredopportunitiesandfacilitiesalmosttocompelmycompliance。
Inowkeenlyfelttheunreasonablenessofmyfather’sconductinplacingmetoresidewithafamilyofallwhosemembers，withoneexception，hewaswhollyignorant，andIbitterlyfeltthehelplessnessofmysituation。Idetermined，however，incaseofmycousin’sperseveringinhisaddresses，tolayalltheparticularsbeforemyuncle，althoughhehadneverinkindnessorintimacygoneastepbeyondourfirstinterview，andtothrowmyselfuponhishospitalityandhissenseofhonourforprotectionagainstarepetitionofsuchscenes。
Mycousin’sconductmayappeartohavebeenaninadequatecauseforsuchseriousuneasiness；butmyalarmwascausedneitherbyhisactsnorwords，butentirelybyhismanner，whichwasstrangeandevenintimidatingtoexcess。Atthebeginningoftheyesterday’sinterviewtherewasasortofbullyingswaggerinhisair，whichtowardstheendgaveplacetothebrutalvehemenceofanundisguisedruffian——atransitionwhichhadtemptedmeintoabeliefthathemightseekevenforciblytoextortfrommeaconsenttohiswishes，orbymeansstillmorehorrible，ofwhichI
scarcelydaredtotrustmyselftothink，topossesshimselfofmyproperty。
Iwasearlynextdaysummonedtoattendmyuncleinhisprivateroom，whichlayinacornerturretoftheoldbuilding；andthitherIaccordinglywent，wonderingallthewaywhatthisunusualmeasuremightprelude。WhenIenteredtheroom，hedidnotriseinhisusualcourteouswaytogreetme，butsimplypointedtoachairoppositetohisown。Thisbodednothingagreeable。Isatdown，however，silentlywaitinguntilheshouldopentheconversation。
’LadyMargaret，’atlengthhesaid，inatoneofgreatersternnessthanIthoughthimcapableofusing，’Ihavehithertospokentoyouasafriend，butIhavenotforgottenthatIamalsoyourguardian，andthatmyauthorityassuchgivesmearighttocontrolyourconduct。Ishallputaquestiontoyou，andIexpectandwilldemandaplain，directanswer。HaveIrightlybeeninformedthatyouhavecon-
temptuouslyrejectedthesuitandhandofmysonEdward？’
Istammeredforthwithagooddealoftrepidation：
’Ibelieve——thatis，Ihave，sir，rejectedmycousin’sproposals；andmycoldnessanddiscouragementmighthaveconvincedhimthatIhaddeterminedtodoso。’
’Madam，’repliedhe，withsuppressed，but，asitappearedtome，intenseanger，’IhavelivedlongenoughtoknowthatCOLDNESSanddiscouragement，andsuchterms，formthecommoncantofaworthlesscoquette。Youknowtothefull，aswellasI，thatCOLDNESSANDDISCOURAGEMENT
maybesoexhibitedastoconvincetheirobjectthatheisneitherdistastefulorindifferenttothepersonwhowearsthismanner。Youknow，too，nonebetter，thatanaffectedneglect，whenskilfullymanaged，isamongstthemostformidableoftheengineswhichartfulbeautycanemploy。
Itellyou，madam，thathaving，withoutonewordspokenindiscouragement，permittedmyson’smostmarkedattentionsforatwelvemonthormore，youhavenorighttodismisshimwithnofurtherexplanationthandemurelytellinghimthatyouhadalwayslookedcoldlyuponhim；
andneitheryourwealthnoryourLADYSHIP’
therewasanemphasisofscornontheword，whichwouldhavebecomeSirGilesOverreachhimself’canwarrantyouintreatingwithcontempttheaffectionateregardofanhonestheart。’
Iwastoomuchshockedatthisundisguisedattempttobullymeintoanacquiescenceintheinterestedandunprincipledplanfortheirownaggrandisement，whichInowperceivedmyuncleandhissontohavedeliberatelyenteredinto，atoncetofindstrengthorcollectednesstoframeananswertowhathehadsaid。AtlengthI
replied，withsomefirmness：
’Inallthatyouhavejustnowsaid，sir，youhavegrosslymisstatedmyconductandmotives。Yourinformationmusthavebeenmostincorrectasfarasitregardsmyconducttowardsmycousin；mymannertowardshimcouldhaveconveyednothingbutdislike；andifanythingcouldhaveaddedtothestrongaversionwhichI
havelongfelttowardshim，itwouldbehisattemptingthustotrickandfrightenmeintoamarriagewhichheknowstoberevoltingtome，andwhichissoughtbyhimonlyasameansforsecuringtohimselfwhateverpropertyismine。’
AsIsaidthis，Ifixedmyeyesuponthoseofmyuncle，buthewastoooldintheworld’swaystofalterbeneaththegazeofmoresearchingeyesthanmine；hesimplysaid：
’Areyouacquaintedwiththeprovisionsofyourfather’swill？’
Iansweredintheaffirmative；andhecontinued：
’ThenyoumustbeawarethatifmysonEdwardwere——whichGodforbid——theunprincipled，recklessmanyoupretendtothinkhim’——herehespokeveryslowly，asifheintendedthateverywordwhichescapedhimshouldberegisteredinmymemory，whileatthesametimetheexpressionofhiscountenanceunderwentagradualbuthorriblechange，andtheeyeswhichhefixeduponmebecamesodarklyvivid，thatIalmostlostsightofeverythingelse——’ifhewerewhatyouhavedescribedhim，thinkyou，girl，hecouldfindnobriefermeansthanweddingcontractstogainhisends？’twasbuttogripeyourslenderneckuntilthebreathhadstopped，andlands，andlakes，andallwerehis。’
Istoodstaringathimformanyminutesafterhehadceasedtospeak，fascinatedbytheterribleserpent-likegaze，untilhecontinuedwithawelcomechangeofcountenance：
’Iwillnotspeakagaintoyouuponthis——topicuntilonemonthhaspassed。Youshallhavetimetoconsidertherelativeadvantagesofthetwocourseswhichareopentoyou。Ishouldbesorrytohurryyoutoadecision。Iamsatisfiedwithhavingstatedmyfeelingsuponthesubject，andpointedouttoyouthepathofduty。