ad
sweet gravity in her face, and not be touched with fresh admiration for
her--and not feel, at least vaguely, that she had entered on a new life
in which it was a sort of desecration to allude to the painful past. And
the old friends who had a real regard for her, but whose cordiality had
been repelled or chilled of late years, now came round her with hearty
demonstrations of affection. Mr. Jerome felt that his happiness had a
substantial addition now he could once more call on that 'nice little
woman Mrs. Dempster', and think of her with rejoicing instead of sorrow.
The Pratts lost no time in returning to the footing of old-established
friendship with Janet and her mother; and Miss Pratt felt it incumbent on
her, on all suitable occasions, to deliver a very emphatic approval of
the remarkable strength of mind she understood Mrs. Dempster to be
exhibiting. The Miss Linnets were eager to meet Mr. Tryan's wishes by
greeting Janet as one who was likely to be a sister in religious feeling
and good works; and Mrs. Linnet was so agreeably surprised by the fact
that Dempster had left his wife the money 'in that handsome way, to do
what she liked with it,' that she even included Dempster himself, and his
villanous discovery of the flaw in her title to Pye's Croft, in her
magnanimous oblivion of past offences. She and Mrs. Jerome agreed over a
friendly cup of tea that there were 'a many husbands as was very fine
spoken an' all that, an' yet all the while kep' a will locked up from
you, as tied you up as tight as anything. I assure _you_,' Mrs. Jerome
continued, dropping her voice in a confidential manner, 'I know no more
to this day about Mr. Jerome's will, nor the child as is unborn. I've no
fears about a income--I'm well aware Mr. Jerome 'ud niver leave me stret
for that; but I should like to hev a thousand or two at my own disposial;
it makes a widow a deal more looked on.'

Perhaps this ground of respect to widows might not be entirely without
its influence on the Milby mind, and might do something towards
conciliating those more aristocratic acquaintances of Janet's, who would
otherwise have been inclined to take the severest view of her apostasy
towards Evangelicalism. Errors look so very ugly in persons of small
means--one feels they are taking quite a liberty in going astray; whereas
people of fortune may naturally indulge in a few delinquencies. 'They've
got the money for it,' as the girl said of her mistress who had m