Peregrine's Progress

quizzing-glass. "How confoundedly the years flit! Nineteen-and on me soul, our

at me. "Not one, begad, and that's the dooce of it! It seems he don't sw

a in her sternest tone, her handsome fa

what,

with your own base mas

bless us! What's to become of a m

e, Ge

lmost a man

t; Peregrine

We are his legal g

ntil he comes of age!" re

h, is his misfortune!"

or one, nearly trembled. "Misfortune!" she repeated. "Hush

ssians; at my uncle George, standing broad back to the mantel, a graceful, stalwart figure in tight-fitting riding-coat, buckskins and spurred boots; at my wonderful aunt, her dark and statuesque beauty as sh

to herself. "And ever have I striven to be to him the tender mot

said my uncle George, f

have watched over him

of it, Julia," said uncle Georg

has been the pas

lia, your sweet and

him segregated from all that could in any way vitiate or vulgarise; he has had the ablest tutors and been my constant comp

mply mean that your meticulous care of our nephew has turned what should have been an ordinary and humanly promising, ra

e black eyes. "Sir Jervas Vereker!" she exclaimed at last, and in tones of such chilling haughtiness that I, for one, felt very like shivering. There fell another awful silence, aunt Julia sitting very upright, hands clenched on the arms of her chair, dark

n heaven's name, cease rattling your spu

!" he mumbled, and stood

rvas, "I swear the years but lend you new

very naked truth, Jul

handsomer

aunt, yet her long la

is-" said u

h uncle George. "

exclaimed

ursued my uncle Jervas, "a

" added un

ick!" excla

uncle Jervas. "Time hath no

exclaime

to be seen, Julia!

scovered no fewer than four white hairs above my right ear this mor

back in her chair, "I think we we

ward-preci

rge, "we are legal gua

unt Julia. "A vulgar w

, Julia?

with pitchforks and persons in sleeved waistcoats who chew straws and attend to horses

feebly, and groped for his short, cris

could be such a thing!" repeate

what t

org

-pray, Julia, what

he is a young gent

th my unc

ntleman is usually a better man for

imperious hand, "suffer me one word, at least;

rasping whisker again. "Mute, wer

ding her white hands demurely on her knee gazed

my uncle Jervas, "your v

George, "mine too, doo

f to caring for my nephew Peregrine, body and mind. My every thought has been of him or for

him so sedulously that he shall hardly know how to take care of himself; sheltered him so rigorously that, once removed from the sphere of your strong personality, he

, and jingling his spurs). B'gad, and

flashing eye). I-am-not your sweet

oo preternaturally dignified, too confounded sober, so

. Brimstone

ezingly). Ge

. Wholesome

). An occasional black eye-bloody nose

. Mr. V

sker). What I mean to say is,

hew is well enough in many ways, I'll admit, but corp

of icy gloom). S

regard him with an observant eye, the eye not of a

lower in my

ge as your robust self or so burly

plied to myself is, I think, a trifle mispl

sighful). What have

re

wing eye). I should say he would st

stion! Only ostlers, pugilists, and such as yourself,

is a term o' the "fancy"-milling, d'ye see-fibbing is a very gentlemanly

y). Have done with

, he nearly did for me-naked m

). Horrors! this rib

! (Sinks into chair

ly). George is perfectly right, dear soul. Our Peregrine requires a naked mauley (clenches Aunt

the belt, you'll understand, Ju

fficient force to awake him to the stern

an be real without

m his fellows like a coward; for brutality, alas, is a very human attribut

I fought the "Camberwell Chicken," my right ogle being closed a

nephew shall never experience such horro

hen he'll never

de him that. I int

rose again, striving for speech, while un

That's done it, Jervas, that's one

some charming sonnets, and an ode to

aintly). Ode! B

ifles with paints and

dazzle the world with a no

ed! He has a pronounced aversion for most ma

onally, but as for your inhuman

steeplechase from me by a head, Jervas. Ha, that was a race, lad, never enjoyed anything more

re both so terribl

eet woman, just ordinar

nephew is a y

GEOR

uld know how to use his fists-ther

And to shoot s

the society of the Sex. Yet you keep

rs solitude. Love

was Peregrine's age I had been head ove

T. Rep

y-or was it Ann-at least if it wasn't Ann it

JULIA

y young and had never been privileg

egad, Julia-and

e discussing my

to send him up to Oxford or Cambridge, the only chance I see for him is to q

the grandfather clock in the corner rang the hour in its mellow chime. Thereupon m

e and kissed me. Thereafter, having kissed the hand that clas