THE

CORNHILL MAGAZINE.

AUGUST, 1860.

Framley Parsonage.

CHAPTER XXII.

HOGGLESTOCK PARSONAGE.

At the end of the last chapter, we left Lucy Robarts waiting for an introduction to Mrs. Crawley, who was sitting with one baby in her lap while she was rocking another who lay in a cradle at her feet. Mr. Crawley, in the meanwhile, had risen from his seat with his finger between the leaves of an old grammar out of which he had been teaching his two elder children. The whole Crawley family was thus before them when Mrs. Robarts and Lucy entered the sitting-room.

"Pray don't

And she put

"This is my sister-in-law, Lucy," said Mrs. Robarts. move now, Mrs. Crawley; or if you do, let me take baby." out her arms and took the infant into them, making him quite at home there; for she had work of this kind of her own, at home, which she by no means neglected, though the attendance of nurses was more plentiful with her than at Hogglestock.

Mrs. Crawley did get up, and told Lucy that she was glad to see her, and Mr. Crawley came forward, grammar in hand, looking humble and meek. Could we have looked into the innermost spirit of him and his life's partner, we should have seen that mixed with the pride of his poverty there was some feeling of disgrace that he was poor, but that with her, regarding this matter, there was neither pride nor shame. The realities of life had become so stern to her that the outward aspects of them were as nothing. She would have liked a new gown because it would have been useful; but it would have been nothing to her if all the county knew that the one in which she went to church had been turned three times. It galled him, however, to think that he and his were so poorly dressed.

"I am afraid you can hardly find a chair, Miss Robarts," said Mr. Crawley.

"Oh, yes; there is nothing here but this young gentleman's library,"

VOL. II.-NO. 8.

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